tom.chCouldn't be more outlandish. The small teams in England are better than most continental small teams. It's got nothing to do with individual players making a big name in a different country. There are numerous other influences like age, manager, their personal comfort, etc.
Also, don't start that jibber-jabber about respectable knowledge of the game. That only highlights your ignorance.
I disagree. I think there is a conception that mid to lower level English teams are better than their continental counterparts because people who follow the epl have heard of those teams and the players on those teams and haven't heard of players on the less famous continental teams, and so make the assumption that the English teams and players must be better because they have heard of them. All this is just a result of the EPL being much more commercialized than other leagues and marketed to a primarily English-speaking audience, which, obviously, the French, Spanish, Italian, and German leagues are not. I don't personally think it's a coincidence that, since the turn of the century, only two English teams have won the Europa league, and those two teams were Liverpool and Chelsea, who aren't exactly small fish.
I agree about other influences making things click, hence the reason I was the one saying that trying to use examples to prove this is kind of silly.
As far as knowledge goes, I've heard people who only watch a few epl games a year talk about how much better it is than any other league, but couldn't name a single player on a team like Juventus. I don't know about you, but I don't personally hold the opinion of a soccer "fan" who can't name anyone on the champions of Italy in high regard.
