Ex-Leeds, Villa boss O'Leary: Premier League quality going backwards
Former Leeds United and Aston Villa boss David O'Leary says the Premier League is going backwards.
O'Leary is concerned that the need to keep the Premier League established as the most exciting brand of football in the world has made the values of simple defending expendable.
O'Leary said: "The quality of the Premier League has not improved - if anything it has gone backwards.
"I think even Sir Alex would not view his current United side as his best crop so it was a fantastic achievement to get to the Champions League final and win the league last year.
"Manchester City have had an unbelievable amount of money to spend but they are still emerging.
"We have got carried away with it - I've just come back from Dubai and the only football they really get excited about is the Premier League. Defending-wise the top teams are conceding too many goals and that really hurts them in Europe.
"Think of the Chelsea side under Jose Mourinho with a young John Terry and Frank Lampard - a really strong team; think of the Arsenal side of a few years ago or Manchester United when Cristiano Ronaldo was there. Are they as good [now]? No way.""Chelsea have gone backwards, Arsenal have gone backwards, Liverpool are not a challenge any more.
Join the conversation on 
Tribal Games
Tribalfootball Store
Results & Fixtures
Matches
| Home | Away | Score | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun May 13th | |||
| Stoke City | Bolton Wanderers | 2 - 2 | 14:00 |
| West Bromwich Albion | Arsenal | 2 - 3 | 14:00 |
| Everton | Newcastle United | 3 - 1 | 14:00 |
| Sunderland | Manchester United | - 1 | 14:00 |
| Wigan Athletic | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 - 2 | 14:00 |
| Manchester City | Queens Park Rangers | 3 - 2 | 14:00 |
| Swansea City | Liverpool | 14:00 | |
| Norwich City | Aston Villa | 14:00 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Fulham | 14:00 | |
| Chelsea | Blackburn Rovers | 2 - 1 | 14:00 |
Tables
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 64 | 89 |
| Manchester United | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 56 | 89 |
| Arsenal | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 25 | 70 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 25 | 69 |
| Newcastle United | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 65 |
| Chelsea | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 64 |
| Everton | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 56 |
| Liverpool | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 52 |
| Fulham | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | -3 | 52 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | -7 | 47 |
| Swansea City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | -7 | 47 |
| Norwich City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | -14 | 47 |
| Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | -1 | 45 |
| Stoke City | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | -17 | 45 |
| Wigan Athletic | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -20 | 43 |
| Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 17 | 14 | -16 | 38 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | -23 | 37 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | -31 | 36 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | -30 | 31 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | -42 | 25 |
Related Stories
-
May 15 Wigan boss Martinez under consideration at Liverpool
-
May 13 PREMIER LEAGUE WRAP: MAN CITY CLINCH TITLE, BOLTON ARE RELEGATED WHILST ARSENAL SECURE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT
-
May 01 The shirt on your back must be Rooney!
-
May 24 Giggs delighted with Man Utd London form
-
May 23 Real Madrid ace Ronaldo rates Mourinho ahead of Man Utd boss Ferguson
Popular Stories
-
May 26 AC Milan expect Man Utd, Real Madrid offers for Spurs reject Boateng
-
May 26 Chelsea to offer Guardiola £15M-a-year to make move
-
May 26 Man Utd won't give up on Shinji Kagawa negotiations
-
May 25 Chelsea strike personal terms with Porto star Hulk
-
May 24 Lille ace Hazard chooses Man Utd: Only minor details to be settled
Comments (4)
Yeah man! True talk. Its annoying how the form of there teams have dipped!
Yeah man! True talk. Its annoying how the form of there teams have dipped!
What is going on with tribal football when you comment on an article the comment ends up on a different article. What is that about.
Post new comment