Why do English Premier League teams struggle in European tournaments?

Football is by far the most popular sport in the world. People start playing it at a very early age and many of them go on to become great professionals. Others simply remain die-hard fans for the rest of their life. Even the USA slowly becomes fond of the sport as the country hosts a number of box office friendly matches every summer during the off-season. Their stadiums are full and sports bars are crowded as well – not everywhere yet, but it’s a nice start. The raising popularity of football across the USA is mainly due to the extensive coverage of the English Premier League that TV networks provide there. English football is considered (by many) to be the best championship in the world. It is said to be the most dynamic and unpredictable tournament among all other domestic competitions. The game there has a lot of flare, beautiful goals, tenacity and big crowds.

But there is something a little disturbing of late. English teams have a hard time playing well and with good results in the European club tournaments such as Europa League and the Champions League. The latter is the most highly paid, most expensive sport tournament in the world. It is also the most (World cup aside) prestigious football tournament to win. If you are looking to establish your dominance or cement your legacy as a football player, coach, president or owner grabbing this title must be your main goal. We had to clarify this because many people suggest that English teams just don’t care about European Trophies because winning everything in England is a greater achievement. Frankly this isn’t true. First off let’s discuss the money. The Champions League is the most sponsored tournament of them all. Also it has the most viewers in every country across Europe and some parts of the world. The financial reason is a very good one for this title to be pursued.  Even if you are a club making a lot of money in your domestic championship you simply can’t pass the financial injection that UEFA will give you if you win it all In Europe. Another good reason is the opportunity to really prove you are the best football club there is. In order to win the Champions League you need to beat the best teams from the top countries. And there are some of the best start players who play in these teams. We simply need to mention Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who play for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. And then there are the giants of Bayern Munich, arguably the best team in Europe. There are other top class Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and French teams you need to eliminate in order to become a champion. In short it’s a merciless marathon after which you will deservingly be pronounced an undisputable champion if you win it. So we simply cannot fathom how can anyone defend the idea that there’s nothing to play for in Europe.

So the reasons for English clubs failings in Europe need to be found elsewhere. First comes recruitment. Many footballers play in England for enormous salaries that many say they don’t deserve. A lot of “stars” come and go. And this problem exists together with the other problem – young players. Every English team is forced to use at least 3 players under the age of 21 in their first team. This affects coaching a lot. Every team needs to dig out decent enough English players although it’s hard to believe that great cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, London and Birmingham can’t produce great football talent. Famous well-paid players see England as a transition place. They come and go. Team chemistry is rarely built. Spanish and German players tend to stay and play at their domestic championships for years.

Another thing is the game itself. English football isn’t very well tactically built. It’s fine when two English teams clash because they play the same. When you meet a very well prepared Paris Saint-Germain you can’t expect to have an easy game. Furthermore technical skills aren’t top priority in English football. People play with more physicality, more fouls and speed. You will rarely see beautiful moves – it’s mostly pushing and jumping with hard fouls. Also Premier league teams play a very attacking football. The mindset is simply not defensive and this is why very few superstar defenders play there. Furthermore defensive backs usually embrace the role of wingers and this allows many teams to leave empty spaces on the sides when it comes to defense.
In short the reasons are:

 

• Bad tactics

 

• Lackluster defense

 

• A lot of money, not much class

 

• Competitiveness of the EPL

 

• Complacency

 

• Lack of game intelligence

 

• Bad recruitment

It hasn’t been all bad though. Between the year 2005 and 2009 there was always at least one English club playing in the final of the Champions League. And in 2008 two English clubs squared off – Manchester United vs. Chelsea. The 2005 final needs to be specially noted because of Liverpool’s outstanding return from 0-3 against Milan. The English team finally claimed the title after a penalty shootout. The last time a Premier Team won it all was in 2012 when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich again after penalties. But we are talking about English football in general. The fact that one team made it to final and the rest lost in the 1/8 final round isn’t one to be proud of.

Many teams have been reshaped over the last season and we are yet to see what they are capable of. But we have to say that other clubs outside of England have gotten better too. If we this year the English teams fail to reach the late stages of the tournament they might lose their right to send 4 teams in the Champions league and receive just a 3 team quota.

Amazing structures that never got built

Construction has been an integral part of the evolution of mankind. Today we are able to built immense structures which cover huge areas and which can provide shelter or business opportunities to numerous people simultaneously. However, not all construction projects have become a reality as some of them were simply too costly, extravagant or big to be made. Here are some of the most fascinating edifice concepts that were never realised.

Hotel Attraction

Designed by the legendary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, the Hotel Attraction was supposed to be the tallest building in New York. The edifice was planned to be 360 metres high but was discarded as the concept was too unrealistic for its time. Until the mid-1950s little was known about the structure. It was the release of Joan Matamala i Flotats’s report “When the New World called Gaudí” that shared more light about the building. However, Gaudí’s work was not in vain as his plans were used as a basis for the reconstruction of Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York.

Ville Contemporaine

French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier thought he could solve Paris’s urban housing crisis by creating a large modern neighbourhood which would have the capacity to accommodate a total of three million residents. The focal part of his construction concept was a cluster of skyscrapers built on steel frames with glass façades. Each edifice would be 60 floors tall and have both commercial and residential properties. The quarter was supposed to be linked to the remainder of the French capital via a gigantic transportation hub that would provide both bus and rail services. It would also have had its own airport and highway network that will connect Ville Contemporaine to the other nearby settlements of the area. Although it sounded good on paper, the project had numerous downsides, such as the fact that the architect emphasised on automobile transportation and kept pedestrian circulation to a minimum and more importantly that after completion the price of the properties would be so high that only the richest people in France would be able to afford to live in the neighborhood which ultimately doesn’t serve the initial goal of the quarter.

Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid

This super structure was supposed to be located in the Tokyo Bay in Japan. It was designed by the Shimizu Corporation and if it was built it would have been the largest man-made edifice on the planet. The mega-city was planned to be twelve times higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza and would had the capacity to house a total of one million people. The structure would have been comprised of 55 smaller pyramids (each the size of the prolific Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, USA) which would have been connected to one another via nanotubes. Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid would have been resistant to strong winds, earthquakes and tsunamis and would have been covered with photovoltaic film that would transform sunlight into electricity. Pond scum and algae would have been used as a secondary power source. Upon completion the structure would have covered an area of 8 square kilometres and would have had a height of over 2.000 metres. The reason why it never left the planning table is that it couldn’t be built with the present conventional materials.

Fourth Grace

New structures are being built in the city of Liverpool on a frequent basis and this keeps all contractors that provide eco-friendly rubbish removals in Liverpool extremely busy. Sadly, one of the structures that never got the green light was the Fourth Grace. The edifice’s concept was created by Will Alsop and was submitted under the name “The Cloud”. It got its name due to the fact that it was supposed to be constructed in close proximity to the world famous Three Graces of Liverpool which are:

• Cunard Building which dates back to the mid-1910s

• Port of Liverpool Building which was construction from 1903 to 1907

• Royal Liver Building which was built between 1908 and 1911

The Fourth Grace would have been one of the tallest buildings in the city with a height of about 119 metres and would have overshadowed any of the aforementioned edifices. It was designed in the Zoomorphic architectural style and would have been used as an office building. It would also have housed a 107-room hotel. The local authorities however decided to cancel the construction of the structure in 2004 as it would have been too expensive.

The Palace of the Soviets

The Palace of the Soviets was supposed to be an administrative centre and congress hall in Moscow, Russia. The structure was to be built on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and upon completion would have been one of the tallest buildings on the globe. It was designed by Boris Iofan who planned to top the edifice with a gigantic statue of Lenin. The total height of the structure would have been 495 metres (antenna spire included) and would have had a count of 100 floors. Unlike the other entries from the list, the Palace of the Soviets got green lighted and its building began in 1937. The construction work was halted during World War II and in 1942 the structure was dismantled so that its steel can be used for the fortifications of the Russian capital. After the end of the war the steel was used for the construction of the Bolshoy Krasnokholmsky Bridge. The aforementioned mentioned cathedral was rebuilt on the site during the late 1990s.

Volkshalle

This mammoth monumental edifice was designed by German architect Albert Speer and commissioned by Adolf Hitler. It was supposed to become Berlin’s most importantly and emblematic structure and a symbol of the German’s strength and power. If completed it would have had the largest dome on Earth and would have been one of the largest structure made by man. The project however was never realised due to the break of the Second World War. CG Images of Volkshalle have been used in scenes of the highly rate television show “The Man in the High Castle”.

 

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich – a brief history

Greenwich is one of the best known places in London. Everyone has heard the name of the borough and the area, even they have never been here before. The reason for that is mainly the fact that the Prime Meridian is named after Greenwich, and from there – the internationally used Greenwich Mean Time. The Royal Observatory of Greenwich, one of the oldest scientific institutions of its kind, was the responsible factor for those things.

The building of the observatory, which is no longer serving its original purpose, is located in the mid of Greenwich Park in an area that offers a breathtaking panorama of the River Thames. It was commissioned by no other King Charles II, thus the designation Royal. The charter for the construction was signed in 1675 and the foundation stone for the future observatory was laid on 10 August that same year. The construction of the building was entrusted to Sir Christopher Wren, who is probably the most highly acclaimed architect in British history. There is little doubt that such a title is wholly deserved. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt as many as 52 churches after the Great London Fire, but other buildings that are his work include  St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Royal Naval College, the front of Hampton Court Palace and many others.

Wren was actually commissioned to create the first purpose-built scientific facility in British history. He was given 500 pounds for the project, which eventually went over budget and was completed the next year (1675) for 520 pounds.

In addition to the Observatory itself, the position of Astronomer Royal was also established. His duties were to govern the activities that are taking place in the Royal Observatory, or to quote from the original chart with which the position was established: “”apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation.” The first occupier of the post was no other than John Flamstead who is to this day remembered for his scientific feat of cataloging no less than 3000 stars. Most of this strenuous work was completed while he was at the position of Astronomer Royal. Actually, his persona became so tightly connected to the Royal Observatory that long after his death the place was still referred to by locals as the Flamstead House.

Originally, the Observatory was built with the purpose of housing the instruments and equipment of the Astronomer Royal and to accommodate him at best in the course of his work. Eventually additional responsibilities for the occupant and staff of the observatory were added, like hosting Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office, and of course marking the official time of the day.

Sir Jonas Moore, who at the time of the establishment acted as Surveyor General at the Ordnance Office, and is reputed to be the brain behind the establishment of the observatory and establishing John Flamstead as director, furthermore donated two clocks, work of the famed clock-master Thomas Tompion, which were installed high in the principle room of the building – the Octagon Room. The position of the clock and their unique designed gave an unparallel accuracy at the time – seven seconds per day.
Despite the myriad of brilliant scientists and the tons of good work that has been done in the Royal Observatory, what the place will always be remembered for would be the establishment of the Prime Meridian. This happened in 1851. The person behind the establishment of the Greenwich Meridian was Sir George Airly. Until the end of the 19^th century all ships and nautical maps around the world used the Greenwich Prime Meridian as a main reference point. The decision that namely Greenwich would be home to the prime meridian was made at a congress at the behest of the US President Chester A. Arthur. As many as 41 delegates from 25 nations attended the so called International Meridian Conference that took place in October 1884. At that time the Greenwich Meridian was already so popular with trade and military sailors that there was little surprise in the decision that it is to become the official Prime Meridian of the world. It passes through the Airy transit circle (51°28′40.1″N 0°0′5.3″W) of the Greenwich observatory.

Some other major points in the history of the Royal observatory can be seen in the following brief chronology:

 

• 22 June 1675 – the Observatory is founded

 

• 10 August 1675 – beginning of the construction

 

• 1714 Longitude Act established the Board of Longitude and Longitude rewards. Until the act was dissolved in 1828, the Astronomer Royal was always Commissioner of Longitude.

 

• 1767 – the publication of Nautical Almanac began courtesy to Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne

 

• 1818 Oversight of the Royal Observatory was transferred from the Board of Ordnance to the Board of Admiralty.

 

• 1833 – by dropping of Time ball the daily time signals were established

 

• 1899 – extension of the Royal Observatory, known as the South Building, was completed

 

• 1924 – hourly time signals began being broadcasted via radio

 

• 1957 – The Royal Observatory was moved to Herstmonceux. The Greenwich site is renamed to The Old Royal Observatory

 

As it was already mentioned, there is no longer scientific work done at the old site. Today however the Observatory Museum, which is the main function the building carries out, is one of the most interesting attractions in Greenwich Park and in the borough as a whole. If you are coming to live in Greenwich and you have already left it to your professional man and van services in South East London to handle the move, come here with your kids. You will be more than happy with the time spend at the observatory, because you will relax, de-stress and you will get acquainted with your new place of residence in the best possible manner – through its rich history and cultural importance.