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.