Are the teams more even in premiership or...

[Modo]

...is it that most of the top teams are underachieving?

It's been a strange season, well not for Man U who are doing what they always do, but what the hell is going on with the rest?

To anyone saying or thinking that we're "only" a couple of points behind Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea, you need to look down the table. We're also 15 points from being relegated atm.
Yes, FIFTEEN!!

I've read columns about how the English teams aren't doing too well in Europe these days, but is it really surprising?

Chelsea are no longer the powerhouse they used to be.
Spurs are Bale FC.
Man City are lead by a knob.
Arsenal are lead by an even bigger knob and we?
We'll we're in a "rebuilding phase".

Personally I think it's a little bit of both. If I lost you I mean that some of the top teams, us included, are underachieving but they're also dropping points because some of the "lesser" teams are stronger today.

 

[Rosco]

It's not a coincidence that the premiership teams have done less well since the 50% tax rate came in.

The premiership has become more even because of a combination of factors - some of the top teams don't spend as heavily as previously (united in particular, Chelsea went through a spell where they didnt either) some other mid level teams (villa, sunderland, stoke) started spending more heavily, smaller clubs have become a lot more shrewd than the likes of us (WBA, Swansea).

Unfortunately for us Spurs became more clever when they got rid of Harry, making the mistake of selling one their best players and reinvesting the money to strengthen a number of positions and actually improving. Something most fans would tell you no club with ambition would do.

 

[Markeh]

It's not a coincidence that the premiership teams have done less well since the 50% tax rate came in.

The premiership has become more even because of a combination of factors - some of the top teams don't spend as heavily as previously (united in particular, Chelsea went through a spell where they didnt either) some other mid level teams (villa, sunderland, stoke) started spending more heavily, smaller clubs have become a lot more shrewd than the likes of us (WBA, Swansea).

Unfortunately for us Spurs became more clever when they got rid of Harry, making the mistake of selling one their best players and reinvesting the money to strengthen a number of positions and actually improving. Something most fans would tell you no club with ambition would do.

Thats a massive part right there, Xabi Alonso being one of the first to highlight how much money he will lose being in England and how players will want to go elsewhere. Money talks and England isn't quite the place to be anymore.

 

[juniormember]

That doesn't explain how well Spanish teams are doing. They no longer enjoy the tax break for foreigners (I think!), yet they seem to be as strong as they've ever been in Europe.

 

[juniormember]

It's not a coincidence that the premiership teams have done less well since the 50% tax rate came in.

The premiership has become more even because of a combination of factors - some of the top teams don't spend as heavily as previously (united in particular, Chelsea went through a spell where they didnt either) some other mid level teams (villa, sunderland, stoke) started spending more heavily, smaller clubs have become a lot more shrewd than the likes of us (WBA, Swansea).

Unfortunately for us Spurs became more clever when they got rid of Harry, making the mistake of selling one their best players and reinvesting the money to strengthen a number of positions and actually improving. Something most fans would tell you no club with ambition would do.

So you must believe that them selling Bale in the summer and reinvesting that money by spreading it around for other players can only strengthen them.
Let's see what the more clever Spurs will do in the summer, and how they perform next season.

 

[keniget]

Is there any evidence to link the current situation to the 50% tax issue?

As far as I can tell, Premiership teams are still outspending their continental counterparts with a few notable exceptions such as Madrid, PSG and Bayern. La Liga is broke apart from the top three. In Serie A most teams are run pretty frugally and even Milan and Juve, the former especially, are having to be pretty calculated when they spend big.

I don't think the Premiership is as 'broke' as commentators are making out. Football is cyclical and the English teams were never going to be able to keep up that level of dominance forever. A couple teams such as Chelsea are rebuilding, others are enduring a difficult period such as City and Arsenal... they will all emerge as strong forces when things settle.

If you do want to link it to the changing financial landscape then I think we have to go back further than this season. The bubble burst in countries like Spain quite a few years ago and teams have had to adapt to coping with crippling debts and not being able to spend any money. This happened in a climate where continental clubs understood that they couldn't match the financial might of the Premiership anyways. Look at what the Dortmund chief was quoted as saying in another thread - they had to find another way of competing. And teams in other leagues have. England is way behind in this respect and only now is slowly catching up the idea that they can't solve everything by spending, spending, spending forever especially with FFP supposedly kicking in.

There are a couple of exceptions in England though. Spurs are one of them and that's why they are where they are and you have to respect that. Much to Ross' delight I have to say that whilst their success has been helped by having a succession of decent managers there, it's largely been directed by those behind the scenes and again perhaps because they're closer to home they don't get the respect that other clubs on the continent get.

How have they done it?

1. They've been hoovering up promising British talent for years now (often from the Championship). Some have paid off more than others (Dawson vs Reid), however on balance it's been a successful strategy.

2. They've bought in low-cost (and more importantly low-risk) talent from the continent as well - Assou-Ekotto, Holtby, Prince Boateng and so forth. They hit jackpot with Modric by doing what we did with Suarez really - buying in a top tier talent when the competition wasn't quite as fierce as it really should've been. It always seems like Spurs are buying loads of players but spread betting has worked for them.

3. They've sold top players at the right time and for the right price and not squandered the money too badly (although there have been some bad miscalculations too, see: Bentley)

They've made mistakes too of course (such as allowing Redknapp to dictate transfers too much) but generally they've proven that a long-term view with good people behind the scenes can yield the right results. And now they can slowly shift their policies with a view to consolidating their position as a top team.

 

[FoxForceFive]

That's a fucking great post mate.

Cant argue at all. Jut sad it's about fucking spurs & not us.

I can imagine Mystic throwing his windows tablet through the window after reading this.

 

[keniget]

I can imagine Mystic throwing his windows tablet through the window after reading this.

Haha, yeah. I like the detail of the Windows tablet too.

The luxury Spurs have had over the years is a relatively pressure free environment in which to operate. It's much harder to take a long-term view when the media, fans and sponsors are all expecting you to do be a top-tier team.

We are all so afraid of letting down our history / brand (to the fans it's the history and to the football people it's probably now the brand)... it's a difficult situation to manage.