Football Food For Thought / Paul Moon / 08 August 2008 /

Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo appreciates the tactical discipline of Serie A and the South American swashbuckling-like style of La Liga football but both of these still fall short of the excitement and thrills of the Premiership. Here's why...

I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but you would have to be a masochist to enjoy the turgid and pedestrian Serie A. Though Italy boasts some of the top defenders from around the world, the games are just so boring to watch. Channel 4 used to air a match every week on a Sunday from this league and Channel Five had a go last year but it has now been taken off our screens due to a lack of viewers.

Now the stench and stigma of scandal wafts over it. The revolting match fixing episodes have reduced their league in stature as they bathe in their own effluence. FIGC prosecutor Stefano Palazzi charged 26 individuals for sporting fraud and violating fairness and probity. Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina were demoted to the second division for their involvement while Juventus were stripped of their last two Serie A titles.

This is not the first time this has happened which makes it worse! Teams had been found guilty of match fixing before in Italian football. The most recent case in Serie A occurred in 1980 when AC Milan and Lazio were relegated. In Serie B, Genoa was forcibly relegated to Serie C/1 in 2005. They will need a lot of time to recover from this.

In terms of the actual style of play, I accept patience, technique and control are essential but I like a little excitement with my football. All things considered Serie A has slipped some way behind the other two leagues.

I have always loved Spanish football (Euro 2008 was fantasy) and the way they play the game, South American style, but the Premiership is a better league than La Liga. My learned Spanish friends accept this and besides, there is proof.

Money and marketing are bigger in the Premier League than in any other non-American sport and the financial credence there eclipses anything that Spain or Italy can boast. Some would argue that money would be the ultimate undoing of this league, something that I am less concerned with, because I accept the concept of cycles within sport.

The Deloitte Football Money League reveals which clubs are the biggest earners in the world. England have five in the top twenty, the Italians have four and Spain just three. If you appreciate the depth of the Premiership and the other English leagues, the comparison ends there.

Chelsea are the major player in European football today. You can bet on them being in this exulted position for as long as the oligarch pumps in his millions. They will go close again to winning the Premiership and the Champions League; it is the biggest football certainty of the season.

The most exciting Premiership season awaits and latest Betfair odds show: Chelsea [2.9] Manchester United [2.94] Arsenal [6.0] Liverpool [8.0] Tottenham [55] Manchester City [190] Aston Villa [260] Everton [380] Bar [400]. Will Arsenal and Liverpool close the gap?

The Premiership captures by far the biggest worldwide audiences, far more than La Liga and that cannot be accidental. The competitiveness and the excitement make it compulsive viewing for the neutral.

The most exciting crop of young players plays in the Premiership, along with the biggest managers in the game today. Generally the referees are better and do not fall for theatrics. It has the best and most knowledgeable supporters and there is little racism. The game is multi-racial and black players are worshipped as much as white ones (see Luis Aragones).

We are about to enter a phase where the Premiership will dominate European football. Sepp Blatter will try and think of ways to neutralise it. Sponsorship and TV revenues look assured in the short term and will bolster funds making it able to lead rather than follow. Millionaire's cue up to buy clubs and get involved, not always a good thing but evidence of how attractive things are.

European coaches and players have been cemented into the framework, bringing their expertise. All the indications are that the Premiership is going to be the strongest for a while yet. All we need now is a national team...

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