Fans of the English Premier League won’t shut up about how great it is.
It’s apparently the best league in the world, although that is up for debate.
Now, to be clear, I’m one of those people. I absolutely love the Premier League, and wouldn’t swap it for La Liga, Serie A, or any other league in Europe or around the world.
However, with something as great as the Premier League, there’ll always be things to hate about it. And not just rival teams.
There’s no end to the irritation the league can provoke. But here are just the top three.
Limited coverage
A Facebook friend of mine from South Africa was recently complaining that this year they’re not getting Carabao Cup coverage.
If you find it strange that someone in South Africa was complaining about missing the least important matches of the season, hear this: on their basic network package, they get live coverage of all Premier League games, most FA Cup games, most Champions League games, and a range of other European leagues.
That makes it all the more frustrating that, in the UK itself, we miss important matches and wait for the highlights. If you’re okay with sneaking around, find out how to watch English Premier League live online from anywhere.
International breaks
I know I’m not alone in this one. International breaks are necessary – some of the time. There are World Cup qualifying matches that need to take place, and that can be a joy to watch.
However, when we have to take a break from weekly football action to watch an uninspired England side play a couple of friendlies, it’s enough to make me lose my mind.
The papers start reporting on things as banal as players’ lunches to getting worked up about supposed slights to patriotism.
If only we could just have our weekly football back, our papers wouldn’t bother nearly as much to start major controversies
Pundits and their xenophobia
When Marco Silva was appointed manager of Hull City, Paul Merson and Phil Thompson lost their minds.
Why wasn’t the job given to a British manager? British managers are never given a chance!
While their arguments were patently untrue – English managers are given many chances but just have not been able to succeed – the same controversy is brought up every time a job goes to a foreign manager.
Somehow, these pundits are only happy when David Moyes or Roy Hodgson are undeservedly given another chance after having failed miserably at their last clubs.
They then fail again, and when a better foreign manager gets given the position, we go through the whole debacle. It’s a never-ending cycle, and probably the most annoying thing about the Premier League.
Despite these things, I wait with bated breath for every matchday, ready to continue arguing that the Premier League is the best league in the world – even if it isn’t.
