Mutta siis syynä on edelleenkin se, että mannerjoukkueet eivät ole parempia, vaan vain vähemmän kuormitettuja?
Jotkun on ja jotkut ei. Kuormitus vaikuttaa mihin tahansa joukkueseen ja mitä enemmän sitä on, niin sitä vaikeampi on vetää tiukkaa ottelutahtia. Erityisesti pari viime kautta ovat osoittaneet, että Valioliigaseurojen on erittäin vaikea pärjätä molemmilla rintamilla. Valioliigajoukkueet viettää joulutauon pelikentällä ja jokainen peli pitää vetää sata lasissa. Alasarjajengitkin pistää usein cupissa hyviäkin Valioliigajoukkueita todella tiukille esimerkiksi vuoden 2009 Valioliigan mestari ja CL-voittaja Manchester United meni ja hävisi kolmanneksi korkeimman sarjatason Leedsille seuraavan vuoden cupissa kotikentällä varsin nimekkäällä miehistöllä. Tuoreempiakin esimerkkejä toki on, mutta tuo Unitedin joukkue lienee sellainen, ettet sinäkään varmaan sen tasoa kyseenalaista. Mitä noita pelaajien ja managerien kommentteja lukee, niin ihan joka paikassa ei edes pääsarjan häntäpää haasta vakavissaan kärkijoukkueita.
Conte, who set the record for Serie A points with 102 in his final season at Juventus, does not think matching the achievement in England is feasible and insists that even Chelsea's current run of eight consecutive victories should be regarded as a rare and impressive feat.
"No, it's impossible," Conte said when asked if any team could break 100 points in the Premier League. "(Right) now it's impossible and in the future it will be very, very difficult because every single game [in this league] is very tough.
Muller, who spent three years under the tutelage of Guardiola, suggests that the reason for the two-time Champions League winning mentor's struggles is the unpredictable and highly competitive nature of the league.
"The Premier League is very difficult with many strong teams," Muller told his club's television channel, FCB.tv.
"It's not easy to win against every team. You have a lot of games in England.
"It's the first year of Pep being at Manchester City, and there are many factors which make the task difficult for him.
"For me, it's not a big surprise that there aren't any clear start-to-finish winners of the title," he concluded.
In an exclusive interview with Omnisport, Eriksson - who spent a year in charge of City in 2007-08 - said: "If you are the coach of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid, the chances to win something are huge.
"When you go to the Premier League, you have six, seven, eight teams who are fighting to win. Confidence is much higher in the Bundesliga or La Liga.
"The difference between Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico [Madrid] lately, and the others, is rather big. But the difference between City, Chelsea, United, Arsenal and Tottenham is not that big.
"It is more difficult for any coach to work in the Premier League than any other league. You can lose or win against any team."
‘It’s not new for me, but it’s difficult in this league. It’s different here,’ Pedro told the Daily Telegraph.
‘At Barcelona, it’s normal to win most of the games and sometimes it’s too easy.’
En todellakaan sano, että Valioliigan kärkijoukkueet olisivat Realin, Barcan tai Bayernin tasolla tällä hetkellä, mutta heikkoon euromenestykseen "paskuus" ja asioiden väärin tekeminen ei ole ainut syy.
