The Best League in the World?

Which league is the best in the world?
The age old question which has been on everyone’s minds at least once, will be revisited in this blog to try and give a statistical view to decide whether La Liga or the Premier League is better. I’ll take into account such things as the number of different teams to have broken into the top four, the difference between first and fifth, their European successes and failiures and much more.

So, I’ll begin by talking through the depth in quality of the league. The first point to mention here is how many teams have broken into the top two. In La Liga, there’s been a total of 7 different clubs to finish in the top four; this in comparison to the Premier League where only six different sides have achieved a Champions League spot. This statistic disproves the vastly believed theory that in England, the league is more spontaneous; anything can happen in any game, and any team can finish as high as they aspire. Also, despite the fact that everybody stands by the quote of La Liga being ‘a two team league’, in the 2007-2008 season, Barcelona were a staggering 10 points adrift of second place Villarreal; Villarreal now consequentially languishing in the Liga Adelante. These stats just go to show how crazy the Spanish leagues can be. In the English leagues, what is never mentioned is that Manchester United have finished in the top two every year for the past five, alongside Chelsea who’ve been there for three of those five. It’s only now that City have been given a major cash injection that those two can expect a regular competitor at the top of the league, below those, it’s anybody’s guess as to what happens.

Now to show the difference in class between the top side, and the top side outside of ‘The Big Four’. In Spain, the gap currently stands at around 30 points per season. Compare that total alongside the Prem, which is 24 points a season. This shows that the difference between the top sides in England can be closed quicker than in Spain, the top sides in England also have a tendency to be able to get results against each other; something you don’t see outside of ‘El Clasico’ too often in Spain.

Next up, we'll see how well these leagues are represented on a continental scale. I’ll begin with the English sides, and they’ve actually done very well in recent years, With Chelsea and Manchester United having both won the trophy, and United also having had two other final appearances which they lost out in. England has had representation in the Final in four of the last five seasons; the best record of any nation in Europe. So although Spain now can’t live up to the dizzy heights of our European exploits, Barcelona have represented Spain in a final twice in recent times; winning on both occasions. Real Madrid had also came close with three Semi Final appearances since 2008. These statistics show me that although the English sides have been better represented, both nations have had their fair share of successes; these are emphasised even more so by an additional stat that no side away from England and Spain have won the tournament since AC Milan beat Liverpool in 2007.

My penultimate point in this discussion is about how open and adaptable the two leagues are. I’ll measure this by looking at the numbers of newly promoted clubs that have survived in their first seasons. In the Premier League, over the five seasons I studied, 10 sides were able to stay up, that’s an average of 2 out of 3 sides staying up. A great survival rate and a one that shows the league is very competitive and easy to adapt too. La Liga had an identical record making all the new clubs ambitious of their chances when they make the step up.

Now finally on to the winners, and it seems that in the Premier League it takes near enough 85-90 points a season to win the title. That points total works out solely at 30 wins a season, when you look it that way, it shows you how dominant they big clubs are, and contrary to popular belief, it also show the big sides rarely drop points to the little clubs. Compare that with La Liga though, and it seems miniscule. In the last three Liga campaigns, the title winner has clocked up over 95 points, and in one of those seasons, Madrid hit 96 points as the runners-up! Truly staggering when you consider that the 100 points of last season for Real would require 33 wins and a draw. Phenomenal.

Right. Now that all of the facts and figure have been accounted for, I think that it’s fair to say that both leagues are able to outclass each other in individual aspects, but on the whole, I cannot look past our very own, Barclays Premier League as the best league in world football. The pace our game is played at, the competitive nature between the top sides, mixed in with the gritty determination at the bottom is unrivalled. The way last season ended may never be eclipsed in any league in the world for drama; to win the league on the last day is enough of a task, but to score twice in stoppage time is nothing short of a miracle. So yes, I truly believe, that we see the very best league in the world, live in our own country.