The worst thing about that sad little fact is that only Arsenal and Chelsea were actually in the last 16 of the Champions League. The other two, Manchester United and Manchester City, couldn’t even get that far, finding themselves in the same European competition inhabited by Birmingham City, Celtic and Malmö (no, I don’t know where that is either).
Just what has happened to the once domineering English game? Not so long ago there were two English sides in the Champions League final – three in the semi-finals. Just as it looked like England were going to dominate for decades to come the rug has been pulled right from under them.
It is in fact the Spanish, a nation formally known for being such dire underachievers, who are dominating the world game right now. Winning the 2010 World Cup playing in second gear and dominating Manchester United at Wembley in last season’s Champions League final. And if it’s not a Spaniard grabbing all the headlines it’s that little Argentine wizard – he slammed five past Leverkusen earlier this month in Barcelona’s 10-2 riot of Leverkusen. I can’t imagine an English side beating Leverkusen full stop right now, never mind 10-2.
Sir Alex Ferguson spoke after the Champions League final defeat about gaining some ground on Barcelona this season but the gap has expanded ever further, with United being unable to even get to the Europa League final. Meanwhile not even a leg break for David Villa has stopped Barcelona from casually destroying everyone in their path.
To be fair to Manchester United, the players they brought in over the summer are all young prospects for the future. Smalling, Jones, Young, and De Gea have all been decent players this year, as has Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley, both returning from their loan spells at Sunderland and Wigan respectively.
But of all the players at the club, who has been the star man this year? Well that’s an easy one: Paul Scholes.
And that’s the problem.
When Paul Scholes came out of retirement to play against Manchester City I thought he’d be a great backup player for the club. As it turns out he’s irreplaceable in the first team squad. There is no way a 37 year old man who hasn’t played a competitive game in over half a year should be outshining current players in the centre of midfield at a club of Manchester United’s stature. Alright he’s Paul Scholes, but the gulf in class and ability between him and his teammates is astonishing.
United’s biggest problem is right in the middle of the park where they haven’t been their dominating selves in years. Michael Carrick gets plenty of stick but I feel if it wasn’t for him, United would not be top of the league with 10 games to go. He’s having one of his best seasons at Old Trafford and is a key player for them alongside Wayne Rooney, Antonio Valencia, Ryan Giggs and Jonny Evans, who also gets far too much stick as he’s done brilliantly at the back in the absence of arguably United’s best player, Nemanja Vidic.
Now, in total contrast let’s have a look at the other central midfielders at the club. Anderson looked to be a promising talent but I’ve lost a bit of faith in him after he was run ragged by a team that everyone thought were a type of ice cream, Otelul Gelati. There has certainly been some echoes of Kleberson ringing around Old Trafford when he’s been on the pitch recently. Tom Cleverley is getting there, and Phil Jones has done well when picked to play in the midfield but the team are so lacking Fergie’s been forced to put Giggs in there for some games. Darren Fletcher is being sorely missed.
Against Bilbao over the two legs, the Spanish side, 7th in La Liga, made Manchester United look like a Sunday League team. All of their goals were effortless, and I was surprised to see Rafael in the team for the second leg after his horrendous error for Bilbao’s third at Old Trafford. To say United looked average is a massive overstatement. They’ve gone from being schooled in football by the Spanish champions to being schooled by the team who finished 6th in La Liga last season. Bilbao simply wanted it more, and the gulf in technical ability between the two sides was frightening to say the least.
The problem for the English is that we don’t really produce any technically gifted players. Mainly because we train our kids with size 5 footballs from an early age; and all we really teach them is how to hoof the ball down field to a big burley striker. Ah the beautiful game. It’s no surprise there are hardly any English players overseas, why would anyone want us? We’re about as technical as Harry Redknapp.
We need a system like the Germans have: teach them the technique, let their natural abilty grow, keep their feet on the ground, and instil hard work into them. Then maybe we'll get somewhere at a national level at least.
We need a system like the Germans have: teach them the technique, let their natural abilty grow, keep their feet on the ground, and instil hard work into them. Then maybe we'll get somewhere at a national level at least.
At the domestic level, of course the English Premier League is more competitive than La Liga and obviously I’d prefer to watch an English game over a Spanish one any day (with the obvious exception of El Classico), but put Real Madrid and Barcelona in the Premier League and they’d have the top two places sewn up by February.
Next season the Italians are to lose a Champions League spot, meaning they’ll be one behind the English Premier League, who will keep four. To be honest, why not just take two from England and give six spots to the Spanish? It’d up the quality of the tournament tenfold.
As an Englishman I’m pretty worried about the future of English sides in Europe. If Serie A is having a Champions League spot taken from them, then UEFA’s eyes must be firmly cast onto England now. Just think, if they do take a spot from England, Liverpool won’t be seen in the Champions League for decades!
Alright, the Italians probably do deserve to lose a spot based on how much their league has deteriorated over the years, but the English sides have got a lot of ground to catch up on themselves if they want to really compete in Europe. They need to improve in many areas, most notably in defence. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much poor defending in a season of Premier League football than I have this season. Some of it isn't too far off the standard we used to play at school.
All the top players in England are thinly spread across the teams, which is actually the reason the Premier Legaue is better than all others. However, saying that I think there are only really six world class players in the Premier League: Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, David Silva, and Ashley Cole. That’s it. There are plenty of good players but just six world class players. Barcelona have six in their side alone.
All the top players in England are thinly spread across the teams, which is actually the reason the Premier Legaue is better than all others. However, saying that I think there are only really six world class players in the Premier League: Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, David Silva, and Ashley Cole. That’s it. There are plenty of good players but just six world class players. Barcelona have six in their side alone.
I don’t think England will be losing a spot anytime soon, but let’s face it, UEFA don’t like England that much, only the other day they were complaining because the Premier League scheduled the Merseyside derby on the same night as the Champions League matches. The only reason that happened is because UEFA decided to stretch out the matches of the last 16 all so they can make more money in advertisements as they did with the group matches no doubt.
I sometimes think I hate UEFA even more than FIFA. But then I remember Qatar bought a World Cup.
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