Major League Soccer (MLS)

**BCWWF** · 04-15-2009, 10:42 AM

No, you're misunderstanding. This isn't a knock on the Premiership having four good teams. I know every league is like that, and that a couple are really bad. That wasn't my point though.

I've gone through this before in the main thread, but I find that comparing UEFA Cup results is the best test of how good a league is when you cut off the disproportionate top of it. All of the top teams are in a class of their own (Big Four in England, Big Three in Italy, Two in Spain, etc.) Below that is where it gets interesting.

I can look for my breakdown, but when you compare UEFA Cup results since like 2001, it is clear that Spain has the strongest league top-to-bottom. I'm just saying, if you take the G16 or whatever top teams out of each league, the Premiership would not be head and shoulders above the rest.

That all said, the Championship still is probably the top No. 2 league in the world, and the American players don't have the tactical training and knowledge of the game to truly stand out even there yet.

04-15-2009, 10:42 AM	#12
BCWWF The People's Member Posts: 18,092	No, you're misunderstanding. This isn't a knock on the Premiership having four good teams. I know every league is like that, and that a couple are really bad. That wasn't my point though. I've gone through this before in the main thread, but I find that comparing UEFA Cup results is the best test of how good a league is when you cut off the disproportionate top of it. All of the top teams are in a class of their own (Big Four in England, Big Three in Italy, Two in Spain, etc.) Below that is where it gets interesting. I can look for my breakdown, but when you compare UEFA Cup results since like 2001, it is clear that Spain has the strongest league top-to-bottom. I'm just saying, if you take the G16 or whatever top teams out of each league, the Premiership would not be head and shoulders above the rest. That all said, the Championship still is probably the top No. 2 league in the world, and the American players don't have the tactical training and knowledge of the game to truly stand out even there yet.