Is a British league system really a bad idea?

Every few years, the idea of including the likes of Celtic and Rangers into the English football league system is thrown around but is always rejected. Any suggestion of a combined British system is seen as an insult to people on either side of the borders and they fear losing independence for each separate FA. Any possibility of cooperation is also dismissed as seen during the summer when they couldn't even agree on creating UK teams to participate in the Olympic Games.

The English football leagues have multiple Welsh teams already competing with Swansea being a regular in the Premier League since their promotion back in 2011. They've gone on to achieve two top ten finishes, they've gone on to win the 2013 League Cup and had a run in the UEFA Europa League the following year. Cardiff also had a stint in the top flight during the 2013/2014 season so there were two Welsh teams in the English top flight for the first time. Newport County play their trade in League two and Wrexham play in the National League. If they had to play in the Welsh leagues again, they would likely dominate and achieve top five finishes and if the other Welsh clubs benefited from the money in the English leagues like Swansea and Cardiff do, they would improve and reach a higher standard as well.

The Scottish Challenge Cup has already taken the first steps towards a British competition as it invited the top two teams from Wales and Northern Ireland to participate alongside the lower league Scottish teams. Welsh champions, The New Saints have reached the quarter finals and stand a good chance of becoming the first Welsh team to win a Scottish tournament. Welsh teams have won English trophies before as Cardiff lifted the 1927 FA Cup and Swansea with their recent League Cup win. Even Queen's Park have reached the English FA Cup final in two consecutive years back in 1884 and 1885. They now play their trade in the Scottish third tier. British link ups is common throughout history and we shouldn't really be a surprise if it happens again.

Also, with Celtic's dominance of Scottish football, it would help them improve if they were in a more competitive league. Their recent three all draw with Manchester City in the Champions League showed that they are capable of competing with English teams. Celtic have won the Scottish title for the last five consecutive years and seem to be well on their way to making it a sixth this season. With Rangers now back in the top flight, it won't take long before they resume taking turns in dominating. The last time a team other than Celtic or Rangers won the league, it was Aberdeen in 1985 with a young Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, in the same time period there have been nine different English champions and although Ferguson did dominate English football with Manchester United, it has all changed since his retirement. English football has become even more open and competitive with the last four seasons being won by four different teams with Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Leicester all lifting the trophy. With Celtic's inclusion, they wouldn't find it as easy and would have to improve to lift another title.

English teams would dominate the leagues at first with only Celtic being good enough to represent Scotland in the Premier League and Swansea for the Welsh clubs, the likes of Aberdeen, Rangers and Hearts should be able to compete in the Championship with the rest of the top Scottish teams being lower league and the Welsh being in the fourth or fifth tier at first. They would all quickly get better and the money in English football would help the club's improve. It would also help the national teams with more clubs playing at a higher level, it would give the national teams more options with The Welsh and Scottish teams benefiting.

The only problem is that the FA's wouldn't agree. They fear losing their individuality with the national teams and their structures. The idea of having a football team to represent team GB at the Olympic Games was rejected for the Rio Olympics despite the agreement for the 2012 London Olympics for that exact reason. If everybody agreed to unite, something special could happen with a new system and even possibly with a British national team which could be able to take on the best teams in the world. Football fans across Britain could be persuaded to accept a new combined league but without the associations agreeing, it will only ever be a dream.

Manchester City's owners are building an empire

The City Football Group was formed to oversee the expanding franchise of teams under the "City" umbrella which started with the Abu Dhabi United Group's purchase of Manchester City back in 2008. It has since spread to three continents and has five teams fully under their control and partial ownership of another. The aim does appear to be the creation of a footballing empire and dominance on a global scale where each side could dominate their continents and the Club World Cup could have just "City" teams.

Manchester City - The first team bought by the Abu Dhabi Group and in the years since the takeover, they have established themselves as one of the best in England but so far have struggled to make their mark on the European stage. They are the most successful of the City Group clubs as they've added the 2012 and 2014 Premier League titles, the 2014 and 2016 League Cups, the 2011 FA Cup and the 2012 Community Shield. They did manage to get to the semi finals of the Champions League last season but nobody really believed they could go on and win it so now Pep Guardiola has been brought in to lead them to European glory.

Manchester City Women - In 2012 the already existing Manchester City Ladies was acquired and joined to the Manchester City men so they are linked. They had a slight name change and became the Manchester City Women but the joining with the men was not just for a name change, it enabled the City Group to start pumping money into the side. They quickly became one of the best teams in England with one of the best stadiums in the Women's Super League and also some of the best players because they can offer what few other English women's teams can offer, a professional contract. They have brought women's football into the public eye and helped boost the sport in England. Since the City Group got the team, they've won the 2014 FA WSL Cup and are well on their way to winning their first Women's Super League title this season.

New York City - The MLS franchise was established in 2013 but didn't begin their first season until 2015. In their inaugural season, they finished in a disappointing eighth and missed out on a play off spot. Top players have been brought in like David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo to help get the new franchise up and running. This season has been better as they have guaranteed a spot in the play offs and could still win the Supporters Shield for 2016. With the squad improving so much so quickly, they should be aiming to win the MLS Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League within the next three seasons. So far, they have not won any silverware but it is only their second season and they should be able to start dominating the USA and bringing in the trophies soon.

Melbourne City - In 2014, Melbourne Heart were bought out by the City Group and became the third City team. In their first season under the new ownership, they finished fifth in the regular season and reached the play offs semi finals and in their second season, they improved with a fourth place finish to qualify for the play offs but they once again lost in the semi finals. The side will only get better and will be hoping to push on from their semi final defeats to win the Grand Final and eventually try and win the AFC Champions League. The seemingly unlimited resources available and also the signing of Australian legend Tim Cahil will help improve Melbourne City's stature with fans across the country.

Melbourne City Women - After the success of the women's football team in Manchester, the City Group decided to do the same in Melbourne. Only being founded in 2015, they only have the one season to their name but in their inaugural season last year, they got a clean sweep of trophies by winning the W-League Premiers after winning twelve games out of twelve in the regular season and they also went on to win the Grand Final. Two trophies out of two from the first season and they could easily go on to dominate women's football in Australia for the next few years.

Yokohama F. Mariners - The City Group do not own the Mariners but they do have a minority share in the club and it does appear likely that they will want a Japanese franchise and will probably try and buy the club outright. They could change the name to incorporate them into the group of "City" clubs.

With Europe, North America and Asia all being home to a City club, it wouldn't surprise me if we will soon see a South American or even African club joining the growing group. The aim does appear to be dominance of world football on the men's and women's stages and although dominance is going to be very difficult, the teams are each becoming successful in their own right.

Manchester United, The English Galacticos

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester United have been quite happy to spend big in order to bring success back to Old Trafford and they have broken their own transfer record multiple times and now even gone and broken the world transfer record with the £89 million signing of Paul Pogba. The trophies have been few and far between and since 2012, there have been four managers at the helm but now with Mourinho, the Galacticos of England might just be able to bring the good times back to the red side of Manchester.

David De Gea - Brought in by Sir Alex Ferguson and has become the best goalkeeper in the Premier League in the years since his retirement. He has been named as Manchester United's player of the season for the last three consecutive years and is now considered to be one of the best if not the best goalkeeper in the world.

Eric Baily - The young Ivory Coast international defender was brought in as Jose Mourinho's first signing for £30 million and has been named man of the match in his first two games for United. He helped lift the first trophy of the Mourinho era in the 2-1 win over Leicester in the Community Shield.

Luke Shaw - The young left back was voted as the best left back in the Premier League after his last season with Southampton and became the world's most expensive teenager after completing the move to United, which was in the region of £30 million.

Paul Pogba - The new world record transfer. The Frenchman rejoined United for £89 million and joined Mourinho's new look side. The transfer dragged on for most of the summer but was finished before the start of the Premier League and there is a lot of expectation on his shoulders to help give United the extra boost in the title race.

Juan Mata - David Moyes' most expensive signing and he even became United's club record transfer after his £37.1 million move from Chelsea in January 2014. He became a key player under Van Gaal and even scored the equaliser during the FA Cup final. He's started this season off well with the opener against Bournemouth.

Anthony Martial - Widely regarded as a panic buy by the English media, the £36 million United paid Monaco for him was quickly forgotten about as he scored on his league debut against Liverpool and went on to became United's top scorer for the season. The young French international became the world's most expensive teenager, taking the title from Luke Shaw and was voted as the best young player in Europe.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - The serial winner was brought in on a free after his contract with PSG ended. Mourinho reunited with Ibrahimovic after their time together at Inter Milan and the former Sweden international managed to score United's winner on his debut to lift the Community Shield and also scored on his league debut in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth. Zlatan is looking to add to the trophies he's won in The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France.

Falcao and Di Maria - Both brought in by Van Gaal but unfortunately only stayed in Manchester for one season. Both were regarded amongst the best in their positions and were seen as excellent purchases for United. Di Maria became United's all time record transfer but is considered as a flop after being sold for around £10 million less a year later whilst Falcao was loaned in from Monaco but injuries ruined any real chance of securing a permanent move to Manchester.

With all the money in the Premier League and with United's sponsorship deals with the likes of Chevrolet and Adidas, it looks like there will be more superstar signings in the next few years to help United get back to the top but it is the mixture of world class and homegrown players like Lingard and Rashford that really mirror the original Galacticos from Madrid. The Mourinho era has started with the Conmunity Shield and he will be hoping for much more with his record breaking side.

Will Newcastle win promotion this season?

With the Championship season now underway, Newcastle started as favourites to go on and win it and when you look at the squad that they've assembled, you can see why. They have arguably the best squad in the league, most experienced manager and history is on their side as well. It'll be a long season but a lot of people do believe the title is already decided and it's only promotion for the rest to play for. Last time Newcastle were in the Championship, they bounced straight back up by winning the league with 102 points. Despite all of the positives leading up to the season, it's been a disastrous start. They are still many people's favourites and they could very possibly still go on to win the league but they will have to improve.

Their squad is surely the envy of all of the other Championship teams. Although they have lost a few top players like Wijnaldum, Cisse, Coloccini, Townsend and Taylor and they seem likely to lose more players like Krul, Tiote and Sissoko before the transfer window ends, their recruitment to replace them has been impressive. Hanley from Blackburn and Clark from Aston Villa will help boost the defence, Hayden, Ritchie and Diame bolster the midfield and Dwight Gayle has been brought in to lead the front line. With the likes of Shelvey, Perez, Mitrovic, Colback, Janmaat and Dummet all staying despite relegation and with younger players hoping to make it into the first team like Aarons and Armstrong, there is a good mix of international quality players and young players eager to prove themselves.

They have a manager who has won promotion a couple of times in Spain and gone on to win major tournaments such as the Europa League and Champions League and was even the manager of Real Madrid only a year ago. Rafa is the most experienced manager in the Championship and has about seven years of managerial experience in English football with Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle last season. There aren't many other managers in the Championship with the same level of top tier experience. Reading have Jaap Stam who has had a few years coaching in the Ajax system and Aston Villa have another Champions League winning manager with Di Matteo. The competitiveness and quality level in this years Championship might mean that Benitez will have to use all his experience from getting promoted during his time in Spain more than competing at the highest level to help his Newcastle side bounce back up.

Now two games into the season, they find themselves at the wrong end of the table without a single point. It is early days but the Newcastle fans would expect results from day one. Newcastle have one of the biggest fan bases in England and are always very demanding. Perhaps their expectations are too high because over the last twenty years, they have seen their team go through highs and lows. The mid nineties saw Newcastle achieve multiple second place finishes and more top six finishes. From 2002 to 2004, they managed to finish in the top five for three years in a row. Even more recently in 2012, they finished fifth in their second season back in the top flight. They are capable of being a top ten team in the Premier League and should really be pushing on from that to try and win domestic cups and try to get a European place but instead they find themselves constantly flirting with relegation and competing in the second tier of English football.

The recent poor seasons at St James' Park have seen the fans turn on owner, Mike Ashley, for his lack of funding and poor footballing decisions. The appointment of Benitez and the money spent during last season show that Ashley was trying to turn things around. Over £75 million spent last season and over £40 million spent so far this season shows that it isn't for lack of trying but maybe the problems cannot be solved just by throwing money at them.

It's easy to get carried away after a couple of poor results but if Benitez's men don't turn things around soon and pick up some points, there will be plenty of angry fans asking questions. They ended last season with a 5-1 win over third place Spurs so the squad do have the ability but they just need to use it in the games that matter. If they can't, they could decline quite quickly and find themselves at home in the Championship like other former Premier League teams like Fulham, Blackburn, Wolves and Leeds who have fallen and been unable to drag themselves back into the top flight. Whatever happens, this could be a year to remember for Newcastle fans, for better or for worse.

Will England ever win another major tournament?

England's exit from the European Championships was a disappointing one but not really a surprising one as the English always manage to fall short in major tournaments. One win in four and a 2-1 loss to Iceland in the round of sixteen saw Roy Hodgson resign and the same questions get asked. People question if they can cope with the pressures that come from a major tournament, people question if the Premier League is causing burnout in the players, some people question the tactics and player selection and some just simply wonder if the players are even good enough. Frustratingly however, these are not new questions, the last time we won a major tournament was back in 1966 and the last time we even got to the semi finals of a major tournament was the 1996 European Championships. We should be able to get to semi finals every now and then but it appears that unless the competition is being held in England, we just can't perform.

Since the turn of the century, England's biggest success at a major tournament has been to reach the quarterfinals, which they have done on four separate occasions. If we want to be a top country we have to compare ourselves to the best in the Europe. Spain have won the World Cup once, the Euros twice, two other quarterfinals and a runners up in the Confederations Cup. Germany won the World Cup in 2014 and also reached two other finals and four semi finals. Italy have won one World Cup and reached two European Championship finals. France won the Euros in 2000, reached the World Cup final in 2006 and reached this years European Championship final. The Netherlands have reached one final and three semi finals and even Portugal, who won the 2016 European Championships, reached one other final and three semi finals. All within the same time period. Even Greece won the Euros in 2004, Wales got to the semi finals this year and Turkey and Russia both reached the 2008 semi finals. All further than England.

The suggestion that England could not cope with the pressure is completely unacceptable. The pressure of a semi final or final would be a lot to deal with but to get defeated in the round of sixteen has nothing to do with pressure. It's more likely complacency and arrogance that caused the poor performances throughout the tournament and not just against Iceland. The England squad for these Euros have 14 Premier League, 11 FA Cup and 4 Champions League winners medals as well as multiple other titles. They are used to winning, they should be able to take the winning club mentality with them in to international duty. There have been poor performances throughout the tournament and the only time England upped their game was for the Wales match. A 1-1 draw with Russia. A 0-0 draw with Slovakia and the 2-1 loss to Iceland. Wales went on to ease past Russia in the final group game with a 3-0 win. Slovakia were beaten 3-0 by Germany in the round of sixteen and France thrashed Iceland 5-2 in the quarterfinals. This is how England should have beaten teams, instead they went into each game with an undeserved arrogance to think they can win without even trying.

The idea that players suffer burnout from playing in the premier league has been a popular excuse after the last few disappointing tournaments and the suggestion that we need a winter break to help counteract burnout has been requested for just as long. Despite this, the Premier League had the most players at the Euros with Liverpool being represented more than any other team at the tournament. Due to the cosmopolitan nature of the league, there were 139 players from the English football league system that were taken to France and 18 of the 24 participating nations had players from English clubs. The final between Portugal and France had eight players from English clubs starting so it's quite clear that they had no such problem with burnout like the English players despite playing in the exact same circumstances. Even some of the best players of the tournament like Payet, Ramsey and Allen managed to represent the Premier League in UEFA's team of the tournament and only La Liga had more players in the team.

Now that Sam Allardyce has been appointed, we can look forward but people will ask if he's really any better than Hodgson. The FA wanted a change, to build a legacy that will run through the main team and into the youth teams so everybody knows how to play the same way for England. Can Allardyce be the one to set the foundation of this new playing style? It'll be hard to say without seeing any games but Allardyce does have a good track record as a manager, keeping Sunderland up last season, getting West Ham promoted back to the Premier League and stabilising them as a top tier club and taking Bolton from the second division and turning them into a top six side and into Europe. He could very well turn Englsnd's fortunes around but he will need time and the backing of everybody to follow his ideas but it is asking a lot of him to turn this team into World Cup winners in his contracted two years. I think he has a very good chance of improving the side but it'll be too hard to turn us into winners anytime soon. 

My Premier League team of the year

As the Premier League season comes to an end, it's time to have a look forward to the award season and my team of the season. Leicester and Spurs have surprised everybody and both maintained their strongest title challenges in premier league history.

David De Gea - It is hard to look past Schmeichel and Lloris for best goalkeeper of the year but De Gea has once again showed his qualities with Manchester United in their disappointing campaign. Time after time, United have relied on his quality to get out of trouble with world class saves and man of the match performances being the main positives from another poor season. Rumours continue to circulate surrounding his future but his consistency and quality are turning him into arguably the best goalkeeper in world football.

Kyle Walker - His season didn't start as well as he would have hoped with a 1-0 away loss at Old Trafford and being credited for an own goal but he has become a key member of a solid Spurs defence that went fourteen league games without defeat in the first three months of the season. With only a handful of losses in the league all season and with a top two finish all but guaranteed, Walker and Spurs have had a season to remember.

Wes Morgan - Captain of the best Leicester side in the club's history, he has been a solid defender and capable leader in their search for the title. The defensive partnership between Huth and Morgan has been brilliant and has inspired Leicester to the most clean sheets in the league and five consecutively through March and into April. He is likely and deservedly going to lift the premier league trophy in May and it will be the icing on what has been the best season of his career.

Toby Alderweireld - After a fantastic season with Southampton last year, Spurs swooped in and signed him for just over eleven million and what a bargain buy he has turned out to be. He has turned into the best centre back in the league and has been one of the first names on the Spurs team sheet every week. Helping Spurs to a comfortable top four finish and taking them very close to the first title since 1961, he is somebody Spurs need to keep hold of if they want to push on next season.

Aaron Cresswell - He has continued showing his quality after an impressive debut season in the premier league last season and he is the best left back in the league. Even though Spurs' Rose and Leicester's Fuchs would get most of the praise, I believe that West Ham's search for a Champions League place has been down to the form of a few key players and Cresswell is easily one of those players. He has managed to stay under the radar but he should be considered as one of the best left sided defenders in the county and should even be considered for the European Championships in the summer.

Dimitri Payet - West Ham's best player of the season without a shadow of a doubt. His performances have helped them push for a top four place and he is West Ham's leading goal scorer so far. With all of his qualities, he has given them an extra threat going forward as he's been scoring and assisting with ease and the biggest threat coming from the free kicks as he is gaining the reputation as a real set piece specialist.

Dele Alli - The twenty year old has had a dream debut season in the premier league. He is already considered to be one of the best attacking midfielders in the league and is a key part of the Spurs and even the England team. With Spurs having their best season in the premier league era, Alli is one of the main names in Pochettino's young English crop of players and stands a good chance of being voted Spurs' player of the season.

N'Golo Kanté - He has been one of the most surprising talents this season as he was mostly unknown to English fans but he has gone on to be the most effective defensive midfielder and can walk into any team in the premier league. Hard working and good on the ball, his partnership with Drinkwater has given Leicester an incredibly efficient midfield. People thought it was going to be hard to find somebody who could match Cambiasso's form from last year but not only has Kanté played better than the Argentine, he has been influential in their march to the title.

Riyad Mahrez - Another Leicester player in my team but he has been one of the best. He has given them an extra threat going forward and really impressed during the early stages of the season. Crucial goals have won Leicester a lot of points and the Algerian has been linked with moves to almost every top European team. As the highest scoring midfielder in the league this season, he has played in most of Leicester's games this season, he will be very hard to replace if he does end up leaving.

Jamie Vardy - My player of the season. He has been Leicester's best player and has been at the forefront of their title push. He managed to break Ruud Van Nistleroy's record for most consecutive games to score in. Vardy scored in eleven consecutive premier league games between the 19th August and the 28th November 2015. If he continues his amazing form into next season, Leicester should be a real threat again in the league and even in the champions league.

Harry Kane - Spurs' leading goal scorer and talisman has picked up where he left off last year and is showing his critics that he is good enough and is even being linked with moves to the likes of Real Madrid and is likely to be the top goal scorer in the league this year. The first time an Englishman has been top goal scorer since Kevin Phillips in 2000. If he keeps improving at the rate he is, he will be easily one of the best strikers in world football.

There are some players who have had great seasons but just don't quite deserve a place in my team of the year. The likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Danny Simpson, Danny Rose, Danny Drinkwater, Mesut Özil, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku have all had a good year and almost got in the team.

Is China a threat to Europe's major leagues?

Over the last twelve months, we have seen an influx of top quality and well known players leaving top European teams to play in China. It has come as a surprise to many that the Chinese Super League is able to attract so many players who are in the prime of their careers. The Chinese appear to be finally embracing football and are eager to dominate Asia as the leading footballing nation and they appear to have the money to accomplish this.

This isn't the first time that China has tried to attract players to enhance the league. In 2012, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba both joined Shanghai Shenhua, Yakubu joined Guangzhou R&F after his impressive season back in the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and Guangzhou Evergrande signed Lucas Barrios from Borussia Dortmund. Over the next few years, players came and went with the likes of Vagner Love leaving CSKA Moscow and Alessandro Diamanti leaving Bologna to join the Chinese league. The players who moved to China were good but not good enough to make a real impact.

This all started to change in 2015 when they started attracting key international players and well known names with history at the top levels. The difference was that now it wasn't just one or two players joining, it was a flood that would continue into the next year. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao signed Paulinho and Robinho, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua signed former Liverpool and PSG midfielder Mohamed Sissoko, Demba Ba and Tim Cahill. Asamoah Gyan joined Shanghai SIPG and Eidur Gudjohnsen joined Shijiazhuang Ever Bright.

In preparation for the 2016 season, even more high quality players joined the league. Chinese Super League teams were beating major European teams to major big money signings. Burak Yilmaz left Galatasaray to join Beijing Guoan. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao replaced Robinho by spending €42 million on Jackson Martinez. Hebei China Fortune signed Gervinho, Gael Kakuta and Stephane Mbia. Jiangsu Suning signed former Manchester City striker Jô, Ramires from Chelsea and they beat Liverpool to the signing of Alex Teixeira from Shakhtar Donetsk but they still had to spend £38 million to get him. Shanghai Greenland Shenhua signed Fredy Guarin from Inter Milan and Obafemi Martins from Seattle Sounders.

The major signings don't stop with the Chinese Super League as Chinese League One (second division) side Beijing Renhe signed Croatian international Nikica Jelavic from West Ham. If teams from lower Chinese leagues are able to sign international players from top European teams, it is a real sign of how serious they are to try and improve their relationship with the worldwide footballing community. The most surprising thing is that they haven't done this a lot earlier due to how competitive the Chinese are with sports during events like the Olympics.

The Chinese Super League is the latest to try expanding and improving. It is following in the footsteps of the MLS but is trying to skip the phase of being known as a footballing retirement home. The MLS has come a long way and is earning more and more respect from the outside world but it has a reputation of only taking players at the end of their careers who are past their best. The Chinese Super League are spending a lot of money to avoid this by getting the majority of players in their late twenties and by taking players like Cahill and Martins from MLS clubs, they are giving the MLS a fight to be the best league from outside of Europe and South America.

The Chinese transfer window closes on the 26th of February so they could still bring a couple of big names to the Super League. The biggest rumour is that Hebei China Fortune are close to the signing of Ezequiel Lavezzi from PSG. Other stories have linked almost everybody with a move to China from Carlos Tevez to English Premier League players such as Juan Mata, Yaya Toure and Radamel Falcao. Chelsea also rejected a move for Oscar by a Chinese club during the January transfer window.

Now that the world knows the Chinese Super League has the financial capability and willingness to use it, more players will undoubtedly join a Chinese club. With all of that in mind, the Chinese Super League is most definitely a threat to European leagues as it has the ability to compete for the best players in the world and is not shy about meeting demands financially. The league needs time to grow and it will have to get rid of the limit it has on foreign players to be able to attract them all but it could become one of the best leagues in the world.

Is the Premier League the best in the world?

The Premier League is considered to be the best in the world but is it really fair to have such a title when it has been eight years since a premier league player has won the Ballon D'or, and four years since a premier league team has won the champions league. The Premier League is most definitely the most competitive of the top divisions but I think it doesn't necessarily deserve the title of the best.

Chelsea's 2012 Champions League victory was the last European triumph and since then, the gulf of quality seems to have increased incredibly between the top English teams and the best from the rest of Europe. The main German and Spanish teams are leading the way as the best in Europe now and you can even say that the Italian and even French teams are able to match the English. Since Chelsea won the trophy, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Juventus have all reached a final and even in Europe's secondary competition, the Europa League, there have only been two English winners in the last fifteen years and since Chelsea won it in 2013, Sevilla have won it consecutively. After a lack of recent major successes in Europe, the premier league is in danger of losing its fourth champions league spot to the Italian Serie A. If this does happen, it will be impossible to judge them as the best.

The premier league has some very good players but the great players, the best in the world are all playing elsewhere in Europe. The top five most expensive signings have all joined Real Madrid or Barcelona. Bale, Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, Neymar and Suarez are the most expensive players in the world and also the most expensive in history. Another key fact is that three of these players, Ronaldo, Bale and Suarez, all left premier league teams to join la liga and all within the last six seasons. If the premier league wants to be considered the best, it cannot lose its best players to the Spanish giants. It needs to convince players that playing in England is the top level. It needs to convince them that playing in Spain is not a step up in their careers. However, at this moment in time, most players see Real Madrid and Barcelona as the ultimate clubs in world football with once in a lifetime opportunities.

As I mentioned before, the last premier league Ballon D'or winner was Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2008 and since then, there hasn't been a single premier league player in the final three for the Ballon D'or. The UEFA team of the year is another sign of who the best players are and the 2015 team of the year didn't have a single premier league player. To add to this, the last five team of the years have featured only three. Bale, Ozil and Di Maria were all playing for premier league teams when picked for the team of the year and Bale and Di Maria have both since left. This lack of established world class player is worrying and it also links in to the Spanish teams spending the most on the most expensive players. If you want to have the best players, you have to spend big on them. This could happen with the new TV deals that will make the premier league clubs the richest in the world but this won't matter if teams like Barcelona continue with their amazing dominance and success like they achieved in 2015. Winning La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup all in a calendar year. Why would a player want to leave a team in that sort of position.

One positive about the premier league is that it is definitely a very competitive and entertaining league with any of potentially six teams competing for the title and eight teams going for the top four positions. In comparison, Spain has Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Nobody else outside of these three can realistically win the title anytime soon. In Germany, Bayern Munich appear to be dominating as they are on their way to a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title and in France, PSG are currently twenty two points clear of Monaco as league leaders. Italy is becoming more competitive this season with the revival of Inter Milan under Mancini challenging Juventus after their four consecutive Serie A titles. This competitiveness in the premier league this season has a lot to do with the new money as lesser teams such as Stoke and Leicester are able to bring in a higher quality of player and therefore compete with the top teams. Surprises such as Chelsea's downfall enable the lesser clubs to believe they can compete at the top. Leicester are at the top of the table with Arsenal and Manchester City and there is actually a belief that they can qualify for the Champions League and even win the title.

With all that in mind, yes. You could say in terms of entertainment, the premier league is amazing. Possibly even the best because who doesn't want to see a team like Leicester go on and win the league. True underdogs are always fan favourites but it is also causing the top teams to miss out on competing for the top prize in world football. The UEFA Champions League. Therefore, for that reason, it is lacking behind a couple of its European rivals and cannot be talked about as the greatest league.

Are Manchester United turning things around after beating Swansea?

After what can only be described as an awful run of form, in which United hadn't won a game in eight, they managed to get back to winning ways at home to managerless Swansea. Although the performance was better than previous games, it is hard to judge this as the turn in Van Gaal's season or as it could just be a narrow win that could mean nothing if they fail to beat Sheffield United or Newcastle in the next couple of games. 

The problems are clear to see at United as they have only won four of their last sixteen games in all competitions. They are lacking creativity, desire and a goalscorer who can challenge for the league's golden boot. Some of these problems can be fixed in the transfer market, but the rest must be worked on before and during the games either through a change in playing style and formation or with an improvement with squad unity. It doesn't matter how good the individuals are because if they don't play for their team mates or for the club as a whole, they won't be successful. The main question at the moment is will Van Gaal be the man to lead United forward and get the team improving or will somebody else be brought in. Jose Mourinho was widely believed to be replacing the Dutchman and he had the backing of a lot of fans and pundits, even to the point where before the Manchester United, Chelsea game, scarves with Mourinho's face on it were being sold to the Old Trafford faithful.  

To try and solve the problem of lacking an attacking threat, United have gone out and recalled Adnan Januzaj, somebody who should never have been sent out in the first place, from Borussia Dortmund and also Will Keane from Preston. They still need to sign one or two attacking players but it is a step in the right direction. The main problem with recalling Keane is that he has only scored two goals in twenty two matches at a lower level so it is unlikely that he will thrive playing for United's first team. The situation United find themselves in with only Rooney and Martial as recognised strikers all comes from Van Gaal's decision to let go of the majority of United's attacking players. The biggest mistake was selling Hernandez as he has gone on to score nineteen goals so far and has been voted the best player in the Bundesliga for November and December. 

On the positive side, United's performances are slowly improving, they put up a fight against Chelsea and were unlucky to only draw and they have got the full three points the following game against Swansea. There is more of a determination to get forward and also, the majority of the play is quicker and the passes are going forward more. Also, Rooney and Martial both scored, the first time the two strikers have been on the scoresheet together since September in the Capital One Cup win over Ipswich. So, United are improving in the attacking sense but they need to recapture the defensive form that saw them boast the best defensive record in the league at the start of the season as they could have easily slipped up against Swansea and Chelsea. 

The main thing to look forward to now is the reopening of the transfer window and the knowledge that United have a team of young talented players that should be able to win major trophies in the next couple of years with the likes of Shaw, Memphis, Pereira, Martial and Januzaj all being aged twenty one or younger as of writing this. With a spine of these players, there are really no excuses if United fail to be at the top, at least competing for the Premier League title. If Van Gaal, or whoever is the manager over the next year, spends wisely and adds quality players to this young team, it should be a quick return to the top after a few bumpy years. 

Despite the positive thinking, there are a few ifs and buts and no real guarantees. United will either be the team people expect them to be once again or they will go through a decade of mediocrity similar to that of Liverpool. One thing is for certain, the next five or ten games are crucial for United's and Van Gaal's season.