Introduction
The level of play and the investments that are made are only two of the arguments that Premier League is the strongest football league in the world right now. Not only that English football clubs give usually 4 top teams that are considered favorites for the UEFA Champions League trophy, but the level of play of the teams in the middle and lower pack is much higher than in any other league. Here are the top five English football clubs, not by the current league position.
Step 1
Manchester United has been dominating Premier League in the last years. They are the champions of the last two seasons and leading the table in this one. Having a hall of fame coach like Sir Alex Ferguson is almost a guaranteed success every year. He always seems to find the right combination of players, no matter what super star player he loses. His team is built right now around Wayne Rooney, a prolific striker, with savvy veterans like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes and explosive players like Nani or Ashley Young.
Step 2
The other team from Manchester, Manchester City, managed to turn things around in the last few years and to emerge as one of the top English football clubs. After 4 years of huge investments, the club dominated more than a half a season, being the uncontested leaders, with a meticulous and offensive style of play. Only the lack of experience in competing for such a trophy made them loose the first spot in front of Manchester United. The team is loaded with great players on all positions and even on the bench. Manager Roberto Mancini has a hard time filling those 11 spots every game. There is a big competition for playing time between strikers like Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli or Edzin Dzeko, midfielders like David Silva, Yaya Toure or Samir Nasri or defenders like Vincent Company, Aleksandar Kolarov or Gael Clichy. They also have the number one goalkeeper of the England national team, Joe Hart.
Step 3
Arsenal had a slow start of the season, being one of the English football clubs that had to suffer the most changes. At the beginning of the season they sold their captain and leader Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City. They were probably two of the best three players of the team. After only a few games, manager Arsene Wenger was forced to make some under the radar transfers to fill the gaps. The team slowly recovered under the fantastic play of Robin van Persie, who is considered the third best striker in European football after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He is probablly the best player that any of the English football clubs has right now.
Tips
Chelsea hired a new manager this season to turn the team in one of the top English football clubs again: Andre Villas Boas. He tried to rebuild the team by transferring a lot of new players to replace the old and longtime Chelsea veterans like Frank Lampard, John Terry or Didier Drogba, but that plan backfired and he got sacked.
Sources and Citations
Liverpool did not have a very good season, even though they made expensive transfers. The fans had bigger expectations this year and wanted the team to become one of the top English football clubs again, but the improvement was not that significant.
