04/20/24
June 19, 2007
"This is high-calibre marketing - taking an inferior product and improving it through packaging.": Top quality trolling from Alexi Lalas, who responds to sniping from across the pond with tongue-in-cheek praise of the Premiership's capacity to sell Wigan-Charlton as a Super Sunday spectacular.
I was just reading that article. I'd have to agree with a lot of the comments made about the Premiership, it is over-rated. But it is still top entertainment, and has some of the best footballers in the world playing there.
posted by Fence at 05:19 AM on June 19, 2007
It's certainly not the most technically proficient league in the world (Spain and Italy to name but two are way ahead on that score). However it's probably the most exciting, which is presumably why it's watched by such a global audience. "The experts in England talk about David Beckham as if he's going into semi-retirement. Who said anything about semi? ;-)
posted by squealy at 05:30 AM on June 19, 2007
"But a whole world exists outside of England." Worth posting for that line alone. Some top quality sarcasm there.
posted by JJ at 07:34 AM on June 19, 2007
The guy has a point. The past couple of weeks I've been watching the run-in of the La Liga season, and in terms of skill and entertainment, it shits all over the Premier League.
posted by afx237vi at 08:09 AM on June 19, 2007
Regardless of how technical the league is, it's still borderline unwatchable because for 90% of the teams, the games just don't matter. Unless you are Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool, or Arsenal, you really don't have a shot at winning the League title. There hasn't been a team outside of that group to win the championship since Blackburn did it in '95. Seriously, can anyone really get excited for a Portsmouth - Reading game?
posted by pholcomb at 09:37 AM on June 19, 2007
Since I can only get La Liga matches in Spanish, which I can't understand especially at the speed the announcers go at, and only second choice Italian matches on FSC versus four and usually five EPL matches (albeit with the best 1 or 2 skimmed for Setanta), for me EPL is the best choice. Certainly the run of play is better than in MLS and most of you know the grudge I hold against MLS anyway. Lalas was a great player but he can kiss my messy brown behind these days.
posted by billsaysthis at 10:20 AM on June 19, 2007
pholcomb - if anything I'm only making your point even stronger by pointing out that Liverpool don't need to be in that elite group (having never won the Premier League), but I feel duty bound as a long-suffering Liverpool fan to do so anyway. Since it started in 1992/3, Man Utd have won it nine times, Arsenal three times, Chelsea twice, and Blackburn once. Having said that, I sometimes think there's more excitement at the bottom of the league than the top.
posted by JJ at 11:24 AM on June 19, 2007
Plenty of excitement in the Championship. Every year. This would be why the attendances down there are very pleasing.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:49 PM on June 19, 2007
I think the whole thing is a bit of a straw argument beaten up by the English red tops. No serious football fan will undervalue a league like MLS, which has some good things going for it - like salary caps. Lexy doesn't have to bother responding, really, but he makes some amusing comments and these will obviously get a good run in the press. Probably just what he wanted. Just on salary caps - how do they figure in Lexy's plan for future world domination by the LA Galaxy? Surely they exist partly to stop this happening.