Why watching football from England is a major disadvantage | Untold Arsenal: Supporting the club, the manager and the team
Why are the leaders of PGMOL so keen on keeping things under wraps? Martin Ødegaard takes the high road, and there are certain insights about Arsenal that the media tends to overlook.
The discussions about football in English media mainly focus on English football, which is to be expected. However, if you frequently check out football commentary from other countries, you'll notice that they often provide insights into the sport on a broader scale as well.
I'm not just talking about scores or match summaries; I'm referring to a deeper understanding of how football is structured, the challenges the sport faces, and similar topics. As a consequence, fans in other countries often have a better grasp of English football than we do of theirs. When this topic comes up, it's usually justified by the idea that English football is superior to that of other nations, even though our few international titles might challenge that claim. Nevertheless, we often hear that we created the sport and that our league is the most competitive one out there.
Consequently, it's quite common for fans from other countries to be much more familiar with English football than many people in England are with football from other nations.
In the past, one could easily dismiss this gap in understanding by pointing out that in countries like Italy, Germany, Spain, or France, there are usually just one or two teams that dominate the league. In contrast, England has always seemed unpredictable in terms of which team might rise to the top. However, the last seven seasons have proven this idea wrong. Over this time, Manchester City has won the league six times, while Liverpool has secured it once. In Spain, the winners are more evenly spread, with Real Madrid and Barcelona both taking the title three times, and Atletico Madrid claiming it once.
In France, the scores were PSG 6 and Lille 1. Over in Germany, Bayern Munich also dominated with a score of 6 against Bayer Leverkusen's 1. However, the situation in Italy was quite different, with Juventus leading at 3, followed by Inter Milan with 2, and both Milan and Napoli scoring 1 each.
To summarize, Italy has been the most competitive league in Europe over the past seven years, boasting a diverse range of champions. In contrast, the Premier League, along with the leagues in Germany and France, has shown less competition, with the same teams frequently taking the title.
The myth continues, fueled by media figures who likely aren't even aware of who the reigning champions are globally. Consequently, when there's a discussion elsewhere in the world about a football-related matter that the English media suddenly decides to focus on, it often seems disconnected from the topics they typically cover. As a result, it appears odd to many, and not a lot of people pay attention to it.
The negative view of news from other countries causes people to genuinely believe that leagues across Europe aren't as competitive as those in England, which is simply not true. Consequently, we miss the opportunity to engage in conversations about what others around the world are discussing, preventing us from potentially shaping those discussions.
Similar to the potential football strike in France—oh well, just amusing foreigners who don’t really get the sport. Plus, they only have one champion every season.
As a result, we often miss out on the important discussions. These include the increasing frequency of international matches, the rising costs for TV networks to air these events, and the dwindling attendance in domestic leagues as fans become more accustomed to watching international football during the week, leading to fewer viewers for local games. Additionally, there's a significant drop in budgets for lower-tier leagues, and even some clubs in the top league are feeling the strain—Ligue 1 serves as a case in point. Medical professionals responsible for player fitness are also expressing concerns, stating that they cannot effectively maintain player health with such a packed schedule of games.
What’s the latest on this topic? If you stay updated with football news outside of the Premier League, you might have come across FIFPRO advocating for restrictions on the number of matches players can participate in each year. They're also calling for breaks between lengthy stretches of international games, as well as time off after international fixtures and during the Christmas period, without the obligation of training.
On the other hand, UEFA and FIFA continue to schedule more and more matches, consistently backed by the media, which knows a lucrative opportunity when it sees one. The media craves more football because it's easy and inexpensive to report on, which means they often overlook stories where players advocate for a reduction in games.
Once again, the media is covering a topic that directly affects it, and we shouldn't expect it to present this information in an unbiased or sensible way, because that’s just not going to occur.
