French buys having difficulty bridging a widening gap
2 min read
Having looked at the European Club Rankings table and the teams left in European competition, we turn our attention to the top ranked leagues in Europe. I thought, given all the transfer speculation beginning at the moment, like our links to 25-year-old (26 in April) Moussa Marega playing in Portugal, that knowing where the various leagues were ranked might give some perspective to the quality of the opposition.
The top tier leagues have always been regarded as England, Italy, Germany, Spain and France. However, a look at the rankings and we see France have slipped into sixth place, having been overtaken by Portugal.
Apart from Hugo Lloris there is the impression that the young players coming out of France are not holding their own in the Premier League, at least not in the top echelons of it. Anthony Martial is not a first choice at Manchester United, Clinton N'jie was loaned back to France and his replacement Georges-Kevin N'Koudou has fared little better, perhaps even worse.
The table would suggest that the gap between the French league and the Premier League has grown and that players are having to make a greater leap to succeed, which in turn carries greater risk that they will fail to do so.
We rarely see players from Russia or the Ukraine so it is then left to searching for players from ninth ranked Holland and 10th ranked Belgium.
Given that these ranking come from a French football website EuroTopFoot they are worrying for players in Ligue 1 looking for moves to the money-laden Premier League.
Eurotopfoot League Ranking
Last update : 16/03/2017
Rank
|
Country
|
Points
|
1
|  ESP |
8205
|
2
|  ENG |
6475
|
3
|  GER |
4712
|
4
|  ITA |
4234
|
5
|  POR |
3164
|
6
|  FRA |
2776
|
7
|  RUS |
2028
|
8
|  UKR |
1811
|
9
|  NED |
1703
|
10
|  BEL |
1459
|
11
|  TUR |
1290
|
12
|  GRE |
920
|
13
|  SUI |
870
|
14
|  CZE |
631
|
15
|  ROM |
420
|
16
|  DEN |
419
|
17
|  SCO |
407
|
18
|  AUT |
406
|
19
|  CYP |
347
|
20
|  CRO |
283
|
Further THBN Reading
An eco step towards ensuring North London is Tottenham Hotspur blue
Boufal, was he another Mitchell flop?
No news of a Spurs scout watching Marega
Claude Puel was watching a different game
Spurs better at the art of winning a penalty
Impressive WHL record goes on
Harry Winks made his mark when he came on
Slowing the game down made for a tense victory
Over 800 Spurs articles at Tottenham Hotspur News
2 comments
I suspect the integration of any new player into a successful squad is difficult. It must be especially difficult if the team don't speak your language, have a different culture and play a game which is more intense than the one you are used to.
Indeed our own magnificent captain Hugo was reserve keeper for months after we signed him.
I don't think the difficulty is especially a French league problem it is difficult for many international footballers coming here. Actually it's a huge problem for British players stepping up from reserve team or lower league to the Premier. Deli of course smashes my theory but who else.
Having watched PSG, Monaco and Lyon play European opposition recently i am convinced there is a pool of potential plyers provided we are patient with them AND give them opportunities to perform .
Even French managers (apart from the one obvious exception) have failed to stamp their mark on the EPL.
It's just not in the nature of the beast.