– Life along the Slaney

Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Valladolid on Saturday evening completed an unbeaten first half of a season for the first time in their history and highlights the growing disparity between La Liga and the Premiership.
Looking at the top of the English game none of the teams in the top four can say they have had a great first half of a season. Chelski have stumbled, United have failed to fire, Arsenal took an age to get going and the other four teams scrambling for top four status are unable to get a proper grasp on the position.
The situation could have been made perfectly clear if the Scousers win and Spurs trip up, Rafa’s team will sit in the final Champion’s League position despite one of the worst runs in the team’s history.
It is hard to say whether the quality of teams in the Premiership is of an overall higher standard than La Liga, thereby making it more competitive or if the top teams in English football are at the start of a slippery slope which will see them topple from the top tier of European football.
Barca decimated United in last year’s Champions League final. They outclassed England’s three-in-a-row champions with a display of skill unseen in the English game.
The closest we get to see such displays is from Arsenal though they lack the grit and determination that make Barca an all-round team.
There is no doubt that some of the teams in La Liga do not pose much of a threat to Barca. Almeria, Xerez and Tenerife would not strike fear into the hearts of any English club but Burnley, Portsmouth or Hull would unlikely keep Messi and Co awake at night either.
The argument that the Premiership is the strongest league in Europe is a contentious one. It is without doubt the most exciting, offering more twist and turns than Harry Redknapp answering questions from the tax man. There are goals aplenty but to go with it, enough terrible defending to make Paulo Maldini cry.
The question really comes down to a matter of quality – and there is a serious lack of this in the Premiership. It is clear for anyone to see that Barca and their rivals Real Madrid hold the power in Europe at the moment and all the top players in the world will look for a move to Spain before any other option.
With Real looking to pry Rooney from United’s grasp in a similar way they took Ronaldo to the Bernabéu, the possibility of the Premiership becoming a second or third rate league looks increasingly possible.