So Man Ure (yawn) wins another English Premier League title. The top six remain unchanged with some shuffling of places—and all of this decided some weeks ago. Are we having fun yet?

Per usual, the relegation scrap ended up being more interesting than the race at the top. The last several weeks set up an interesting finale that never really lived up to the billing. There were exactly two twists—the Man Ure goal that temporarily raised Newcastle from the drop zone, and the Aston Villa goal that put them back down—and that was it. Even the dying moments weren’t that interesting as Newcastle looked pathetic and defeated for most of the second half. A goal would have been a miracle and it would have cruel on Hull, who at least played well for about half the season—which is a half more than Newcastle.

I think what puts me off the most is the sycophantic coverage of the Premier League in the American media, most notably from Soccern*t and Fox Soccer Channel. On Saturday, Wolfsburg won their first Bundesliga title ever with a convincing 5-1 rout on a day where three teams had a shot at winning the league. The main story on Soccern*t? Whether Mark Hughes had the backing of the Man City board. And the French league gets even less coverage despite the fact that they will be crowning a new champion for the first time in forever, as it’s mathematically impossible for Lyon to be champs again. Sad, really. For FSC it’s somewhat understandable as they focus on England and Italy, the two leagues for which they own the broadcasting rights. For Soccern*t, it’s pretty inexcusable.

What I find remarkable is that F365 is fairly critical of these developments as well considering that they, as an English website, have more right than anyone to tout Premier League dominance. But as I read their final Premier League Winners and Losers, they’re less than happy at the rather predictable shape of the table, and how it doesn’t look like things will change anytime soon.

Thought F365 doesn’t go this far, I place a lot of blame on American bandwagon-jumping fans who buy the Big Four jerseys and splash cash on Pay-Per-View games that make the richest more rich. You can’t tell me that it’s the French and Germans who are splashing cash, and from what I’ve seen in Latin American countries, there’s at least equal interest in the Spanish and Italian leagues. The finger is pointing directly at the US and (probably moreso) Southeast Asia. Ironic then that these are the markets FIFA has so desperately wanted to involve in order to bust up the power of European football.

And though very few on these shores care to listen, I have to say once again that La Liga from top to bottom is a more entertaining league than the England. The Premier League obviously boasts the best top four teams, and arguably the best top six. But my God, have you ever actually tried to watch Wigan vs. Blackburn? Boro vs Sunderland? I would rather watch relegation-teetering Osasuna or mid-table plodders Mallorca a hundred times over rather than the bottom half of the Premier League. The speed and physicality of the league are only beautiful to watch when they’re balanced out by grace, and only the top few teams have that in abundance. All too often the games on Saturday resemble two blindfolded boxers duking it out, but I wonder how many Americans even notice, choosing to pay the additional fee to watch the big games on Setanta instead…

Maybe I’m just crabby, or maybe I just remember a time when it used to be different. All I know is that ten years ago the big talk was about a breakaway European super league, a single table of 18 of the best teams across Europe. Back then it seemed ludicrous, a plot devised by money men with no respect for tradition; now, it might at least make things more interesting. And the fact that I’m bored enough to entertain the idea depresses me.

Current Mood: Ho Hum |