Hype masks English failings

FOR the English clubs who have so often scaled the heights in Europe’s most prestigious competition these last few years, this season’s struggle to escape even its foothills has come as an unpleasant surprise.

As many as three of the four Barclays Premier League sides in the UEFA Champions League could be eliminated when the group stages reach their conclusion on Wednesday night.

While Arsenal are already through as winners of Group F, their domestic rivals find themselves in varying degrees of peril. Manchester City’s hopes seem to hang by the thinnest thread, with Chelsea also up against it, and Manchester United still requiring a point away from home. Even if United win, they are likely to progress only as runners-up, which could expose them to a monumental challenge in the first knockout round.

Viewed in the context of recent years, when English clubs have dominated the competition, this is a startling state of affairs. Six of the last seven Champions League finals have included at least one Premier League team. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, three of the semi-finalists were from England. Liverpool (in 2009/10) are the only English club in the last five seasons not to get beyond the opening round.

And yet suddenly, here is England, resigned to the exit of one club, fearing that of another, and daring to contemplate even a third tumbling into the relative wilderness of the Europa League. They would argue that none of the four teams are yet out, but with the smallest English points total after five matches since 2004, there is no denying that it has been unusually hard work.

It raises questions about the self-styled “best league in the world”. While its leading clubs have the financial muscle to compete with the biggest names abroad, the suspicion is that they lack the finesse to do so on the pitch. Even last season, Manchester United had the wherewithal to earn a Champions League final showdown with Barcelona, but none of the refinement required to win it.

The impression this season is that the Premier League’s front-runners have not been properly prepared for the demands of continental sparring. Is it a coincidence that Arsenal, apparently ill-equipped for their domestic challenge, should be the only team to negotiate the group stages comfortably? England’s top clubs have been full of fire and commitment, sometimes naively so, in what has been an entertaining league season, but the quality does them no favours abroad.

What do admirers of the EPL mean when they say that it is the “best”? The “best” at what? Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the Scottish Premier League, has argued that the top flight in this country is an exciting product, attractive to broadcasters, but few would confuse that with quality. “What are the issues people think about when they compare the Premier League to the German League and the Spanish and Italian leagues?” asks Holger Hieronymus, vice chief executive officer of the Deutsche Fussball Liga and a European Cup-winning defender with Hamburg in 1983. “What are the milestones? The number of spectators on matchdays? The success of their clubs in international competition?”

Maybe a league should be measured by the champions it produces. On the basis that Spain has the best team in Europe, and according to some, the best of all time, La Liga takes a bit of beating. With Real Madrid rampant at home and abroad this season, their case appears to be stronger than ever. If Valencia, who are just behind the big two domestically, secure a scoring draw at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, they will progress at Chelsea’s expense.

It is a realistic scenario. Chelsea have a porous back line this season, no protection for it and a new manager, Andre Villas-Boas, whose players have yet to adapt. Sloppiness in attack and defence – most notably in a 1-1 draw with Genk, the Belgian champions – has left them on the brink of elimination from a competition that means so much to Roman Abramovich, their owner.

Neither are they the only ones guilty of carelessness. Despite a strong start to the season, Manchester United have slowed up, hampered by a midfield that lacks creativity and a shortage of street wisdom in Europe. While that can be attributed partly to a transitional period in which several young players have been introduced, their recent history of lengthy Champions League runs has caused a degree of complacency to creep in. That, in fact, was the manager’s explanation for the 3-3 draw with Basel at Old Trafford. Even if they secure the point they need in Switzerland on Wednesday night, it is likely to mean that they have failed to win their group for the first time in six years.

Manchester City are entitled to be aggrieved at their inclusion in the debate, although their reminder that this is a first attempt at the Champions League should be put in perspective. Tottenham Hotspur made their debut in the competition last season, but went on to reach the quarter-finals. And it should not be forgotten that most of City’s players have Champions League experience.

In fairness, the draw was unkind to City, who found themselves in the toughest of the eight groups. Their task at Eastlands on Wednesday is to inflict on Bayern Munich their first defeat of the competition and hope that Napoli do not win at Villarreal, the Spanish side who are bottom of Group A without so much as a point yet.

Bayern Munich, whose only flaw in the competition so far has been a 1-1 draw in Naples, are one of many positive football stories coming out of Germany right now. Bayer Leverkusen, whose final match is against Genk, are top of Chelsea’s group. The progress in Europe of their clubs is such that the country will be given four Champions League places in 2012/13. According to UEFA’s co-efficients, they are now ranked third behind Spain and England in Europe.

Add to that the progress of Germany’s national side, and England has cause to look over its shoulder. Quite apart from the 4-1 thrashing they were handed by their old enemies at the last World Cup finals, they cannot have failed to notice the 100 per cent record with which Germany cruised through their Euro 2012 qualifying section.

Unlike England, Germany can claim not only that their clubs are heading in the right direction, but that their national side is benefiting.

Hieronymus thinks that a shift in power is under way. “If the process continues, I am very optimistic that in the near future Germany will operate on a very good level, more comparable to the English clubs. At several important crossroads in our development, Germany has made some very good decisions, for example with youth development. A lot of talented young players are now playing in the German first division. And it was very impressive how the national side made its way through qualifying.”

The last time Manchester United failed to qualify for the second round of the Champions League was in season 2005/06, when they finished bottom of their group, a disappointment that was followed by five consecutive years in which they went through as winners. Should they, or perhaps more likely, their rivals come up short this week, the challenge will be to respond in the same way. If they don’t, someone else will.