The Premier League and Europe: A Subconscious Uncoupling?

And so, a devastating fortnight for English clubs in Europe draws to a close. For the second time in three years, we have no representative in the Champions League beyond the last 16. Even more worryingly, it's the fourth time in five seasons that no English side has made it to the quarters of the Europa League. And never before have both happened in conjunction. So what has gone wrong? How has a league extolled for its pace and power, ranked as one of the top two leagues in the world, deteriorated when it comes to the European competitions?

However, as the stats above suggest, twas not always thus. Between 2004/2005 and 2008/2009, we had at least one English side in the Champions League final every year, and two in 2007/2008! That was less than ten years ago, and I'm struggling to understand what's changed in the intervening period.

Or maybe it's a trend thing. Here, I find a little bit more evidence. From the introduction of the Champions League, there was a six-season period where no Premier League side made it out of the group stages. However, this was the early 90s. The Premier League was not seen as the all-conquering force in world football that it is today, with the enormous spending power available. Equally, it's worth noting that just one side entered the competition from the English league. Compare that to the capitulation that saw three exit the Champions League in the past two weeks, and you see how unfair the comparison between the two is.

So, we've seen that English clubs are struggling to find their great historic form in the Champions League at present, but is it any different when we look at Europe's secondary club competition? Do we have previous heights that we simply aren't hitting?

The short answer - no. Unlike the Champions League, where England at least has an illustrious past, the country has had just eight teams get to the quarter-finals or beyond - and three of those came in the same season! (2012-13 for those who care). According to this recent history, it's hardly a surprise to see English clubs fail to make the cut.

What's more worrying is who the English clubs are being beaten by. For this, I want to look a bit more closely at this season now. In the Champions League, Liverpool failed to make it out of a group consisting of the Spanish side in third place last year (albeit Real Madrid), a Swiss side and a Hungarian debutant. Although the other three managed it to make it through groups far harder than that (bear in mind City's group of Bayern Munich, Roma and CSKA Moscow), they perished to the French champions, runners up and Spanish runners up. This has left a octet of three Spanish sides, two French teams, a German, an Italian and a Portuguese. Now, the three Spanish and the German I can accept, but the other five are all eminently beatable by the likes of Chelsea, City and Arsenal. So the questions remains, why didn't they?

The Europa League is even worse. FA Cup runners-up Hull were beaten before the competition even began, dumped out on away goals by Belgian side Lokeren. Though both of our entrants into the group stages made their way safely through to the Round of 32, where they were joined by Liverpool,  both the Anfield club and Tottenham were dumped out at this stage, losing to Besiktas and Fiorentina respectively. Finally, Everton's annihilation at the hands of Ukraine giants Dynamo Kiev (can't you almost feel the sarcasm?) caps a simply horrendous season in Europe for English clubs. Again, look at at who's left. Two Italians, two Ukrainians, a Spaniard, a Russian, a German and a Belgian. Of those, I would perhaps rank three (Wolfsburg, Sevilla and Napoli) more highly than the likes of Spurs and Everton. But with none of those teams playing our sides, how do we not have more representatives in the last eight?

Perhaps we need to look at the mindset of British clubs when it comes to the European game. Here, there are a couple of potential factors. However, as my title suggests, these are by no means deliberate choices made by English clubs to the detriment of performances in Europe, merely an unintended consequence.

Firstly, just look at the respective value of league and European competitions for English clubs. Last season, champions Manchester City received £24.7m for winning the Premier League title, with additional TV fees taking the total received by the Blues to a whopping £96.5m. Just to prove that English football does not unfairly benefit the champions, fourth placed Arsenal claimed a total of £92.8m. Bear in mind that this is before the mammoth TV rights deal from BT and Sky that sees the Premier League pocket in excess of £5.1bn. If we compare that to the total received for Champions League participation and progression, we see a stark difference. Liverpool's exit in the group stages earned the club just £7.67m in prize money and TV rights, while last season's winners of the competition, Real Madrid, secured £41.5m. The Europa League difference is even more stark. Spurs, who finished sixth in the Premier League, made almost £90m in domestic competition, whilst only securing £4.27m for their participation in the Europa League. With this difference, it would surely come as no surprise for clubs to, either consciously or subconsciously, focus more heavily on domestic competition.

In comparison, foreign clubs do not have the same financial incentive at home. Barring Barcelona and Real Madrid, who combined secure almost half of the annual La Liga TV rights, currently valued at around £482m, the rest are relative paupers, with current champions Atletico Madrid securing just £31m - pittance when compared to the Premier League. It's a similar story in Italy, where Juventus take home a financial package to rival England, but second placed Roma manage only £52m, just over half that of the Turin side. In Germany, it is even more obvious, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen all taking around £18m in TV rights. With such a large disparity, it is hardly surprising to see teams from these nations taking a greater interest in European competitions, and also explains the rise of Eastern European nations, who without Champions League and Europa League money would perhaps struggle financially.

In terms of a conscious effort to prioritise the league in England, we can see evidence of this with squad selection from the likes of Spurs and Everton in some Europa League ties, with the Londoners in particular coming under scrutiny for fielding seemingly weakened sides. However, this is not the case for Europe's premier competition. With much made of Roman Abramovic's desire for European glory, none of the English participants have obviously favoured domestic competition - demonstrating that either this is a subconscious element, or needs explaining by some other means.

The second factor is a simple one. The fact remains that English sides are still not playing to the style of the European game. If you look at recent winners of both the Champions League and Europa League, neither have used power over pace. Arguably the best European side for some time, the Barcelona from the late 000s/early 2010s, had not a single truly powerful player, with Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol the only ones to add real steel to the play. Flair has always been the key factor in Europe, as demonstrated by the goalscoring abilities of both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

And yet, English sides continue to buy tall, powerful players. Take Manchester City, for example. This January, requiring a striker, their eyes turned to Wilfried Bony, a man famed for his strength and power, but not for his speed. This signing more than any other signifies the inherent importance placed on the Premier League over the Champions League, even if they do not make that conscious decision themselves.

English sides have traditionally been powerful, in order to cope with the more robust elements of the English game, particularly when facing lower league opposition. To this end, I think it will be quite different to marry the two objectives going forward. Therefore, from a purely business standpoint, it makes no sense to look to win the Champions League at the expense of the Premier League, regardless of what Roman Abramovic may say. A subconscious uncoupling it may have been, but it would be to the detriment of English clubs' finances to reconnect with European competition any time soon.

UEFA Super Cup 2013: What A Difference A Year Makes

                                  What a difference a year makes... 8742 little hours... After their complete obliteration at the hands of Atletico Madrid, and in particular Radamel Falcao, in the UEFA Super Cup in 2012, Chelsea this time lined up against Bayern Munich for the same trophy last night. Unlike last year, in which Chelsea had started the night as Champions League champions, and favourites, last night the Londoners began as distinct outsiders, and Europa League holders. With Bayern Munich sweeping all aside on their route to the Champions League title last year, and with the highly sought-after Pep Guardiola now at the helm, there were few that suggested that Chelsea would realistically win. However, with Mourinho back at his spiritual home, Chelsea were quietly confident. And history was on their side...

                                    Last May, Chelsea were in a vastly similar position, in which they lined up against a heavily favoured Bayern Munich side. This was not for the UEFA Super Cup, but for the most impressive European accolade available, the Champions League. Further supporting Munich's tag of favourites was the fact that they were playing on home soil, at the Allianz Arena. The early predictions looked fairly accurate, as the Bavarians set about their English opponents. Chances came and went, with Olic, Gomez and Robben all coming close, with the latter rapping the post with a low drive. Chelsea offered little in the way of forward motion, with Solomon Kalou having their best opportunity. However, as the game moved towards the last ten minutes, Bayern upped the pace, which paid off almost immediately. Toni Kroos placed an excellent cross to the far post, which was met by Muller. His downwards header bounced off the floor and into the roof of the net, handing Bayern a valuable 1-0 lead. With time ticking down, Chelsea won a corner. Another fantastic delivery from Juan Mata found Didier Drogba, who powered the header past Manuel Neuer to send the game into extra time.

                                       In extra time, the pattern of Bayern dominance continued. Just 5 minutes into the extra period, a poor challenge by Drogba on Franck Ribery earned the Bavarians a penalty. However, Robben's spot-kick was poor and easily saved by Cech. The rest of the extra time was tight and uneventful, meaning that the game went to the lottery of a penalty shootout. After Bayern scored their first, Mata could only find Neuer, handing the Germans the advantage. The next four penalties were all scored, including one by Manuel Neuer himself. Ivica Olic was the next man up, but his tame penalty was saved by Cech to his left. After Ashley Cole levelled the match at 3-3, Bastien Schweinsteiger would take the critical penalty. The Bayern captain could only hit the post, meaning that Drogba had the chance to win the Champions League for Chelsea. The Ivorian striker, who had already agreed to move to China with Shanghai Shenhua, knew that this would be his last kick as a Chelsea player. Placing the ball confidently, he sent Neuer the wrong way to win the trophy for the Londoners. Just one year and a few months later, few would see the replay being as similar.

                                         However, it is worth examining the recent history of this Super Cup. Bearing in mind the reputation of the respective competitions from which the two clubs qualify, you would always expect the Champions League winners to be victorious in these games. However, if we look at the last ten matches in the Super Cup, the record is much more even than would be anticipated. Based on the last 10 editions, including last night, the score is Champions League 5 Europa League 5. Even more startling is the fact that the winner has alternated between the Champions League winner and Europa League winner for the last 10 years. Particularly surprising results over the last decade include the 2006 final, in which Sevilla demolished a Ronaldinho inspired Barcelona side 3-0. The 2010 final was also shocking, as the Jose Mourinho managed Inter Milan side was comprehensively beaten by Atletico Madrid, with goals from Forlan and Aguero condemning Mourinho to his second Super Cup defeat. It remains the only trophy that Mourinho has competed for and not won. Last year's final also involved Atletico, as they destroyed the Chelsea side 4-1, with a first half hat-trick from Falcao.

                                           With the evidence of the last decade, it should not have come as too much of a surprise that Chelsea performed admirably during last night's encounter. From the beginning, they made it clear that they would not simply defend, and that they were highly capable on the break. This was proven just 8 minutes in, as a lightning fast counter from Eden Hazard found new-boy Andre Schurrle. The German's cut-back fell neatly into the path of Fernando Torres, who expertly volleyed past the helpless Neuer. Every year there is speculation over whether the Spaniard would reclaim his form, but this finish implies that form is temporary but class in permanent. After the goal, Chelsea had to withstand some heavy pressure from the German champions, but they continued to pose a threat on the break. As the half-time break drew close, Brazilian midfielder Ramires picked up a silly yellow card for a challenge on Ribery, which would come back to haunt him later. Nevertheless, the English side managed to hang onto their lead going into half-time.

                                              Mourinho's team talk would have been very much along the lines of 'keep going, and do not concede early'. But this team talk went out of the window within two minutes of the restart. After a good attacking start, Chelsea lost the ball to Franck Ribery. He jinked inside a couple of defenders before unleashing a powerful shot. Though the shot was close to the goalkeeper, and error by Cech allowed the ball to fly off his hands and into the net to level the scores. Chances then came by for both sides, with Oscar wasting the best one for the Londoners. However, the game turned after 85 minutes. After a poor touch, Bayern substitute Mario Gotze went into a challenge second favourite with Ramires. The Brazilian's challenge was robust, and arguably two footed, leaving the German prostrate on the floor. This prompted a second yellow card for the midfielder, leaving Chelsea in trouble. The remainder of the match took place in Chelsea's half, with long range shots peppering Cech's goal. But the breakthrough did not come, meaning that another 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, and another 30 minutes of extra time.

                                                  Extra time started with a bang for the English side, as they reclaimed the lead just three minutes into the extra period. Eden Hazard, who had dominated the Bayern defence all game, managed to skip inside of Phillip Lahm and fire a shot towards goal. Similarly to Bayern's goal, questions must be asked about the goalkeeper, who failed to deal with the shot, allowing it to fly past him. Having claimed the lead, Chelsea then decided to shut up shop, defending deeply and requiring their goalkeeper to redeem himself. And that he did, making stunning saves to deny Mandzukic from point blank range. As time ran out, the shots were coming in from long range, and Bayern had resorted putting crosses into Chelsea's box. It looked impossible to break through the wall of blue defenders, until the very last kick of the game. A hopeful ball was flicked on by Mandzukic to the feet of Javi Martinez, and the Spanish international managed to beat Cech at his near post to ensure that the contest went to penalties.

                                                     Remembering the events of May 2012, both sides would have been well aware of each other. This time, the penalties began with 8 consecutive successful penalties, taking the contest effectively into sudden death. After Xherdan Shaqiri found the net (just) for Bayern, the weight fell onto the shoulders of Romelu Lukaku. After a stuttering start, the penalty was weak, and easily saved by Neuer. This ensured that Bayern earned revenge on their English opponents, and claimed the Super Cup, retaining the incredible alternating run between Champions League/Europa League clubs. Chelsea will take solace in the fact that Bayern are currently considered the best team in the world, and Chelsea were within one kick of beating them. This will not prevent the agony for Lukaku and the rest of the squad, but it does show just how far the Londoners have come.