[Rob]

Seems to me it's getting pretty close to it, from the level of play I've seen from the games I've watched so far this season.

 

[The Green One]

I wasn't really there in 1992/3, but I can remember thinking Sheffield Wednesday signing Regi Blinker was amazing, so yes.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Im not old enough to judge really but I doubt the Championship had Giggs, Cantona, Shearer, Gazza etc.

 

[Rob]

Well no, it doesn't have the top, top bracket of players. There obviously isn't the strength of Cantona, Adams, Le Tissier, Giggs, Shearer, Wright, Ince and people like that.

What it does have though, is a lot of good English players now, the kind that would have made a living in the premiership 15 years ago easily. Plus the kind of foreigners that got brought in. Depth too.

Hell it was less than 10 years ago that I thought Gilles De Bilde was a massive signing.

 

[Rob]

This was the top 10 scorers list back then, btw.

Teddy Sheringham 22 Tottenham Hotspur
Les Ferdinand 20 Queens Park Rangers
Dean Holdsworth 19 Wimbledon
Micky Quinn 17 Coventry City
Alan Shearer 16 Blackburn Rovers
David White 16 Manchester City
Chris Armstrong 15 Crystal Palace
Brian Deane 15 Sheffield United
Matthew Le Tissier 15 Southampton

I would only say Sheringham, Shearer, Sir Les and Le Tiss would be shoe in premiership players nowadays.

 

[JawZ2002]

in simple answer, yes.
but again im kinda too young.

earliest memory of footballing knowledge for me would be the time i played Domarks CM93/4

but who was the top scorer in the first first division (under the EPL)
also other players would be intriging.

but in todats climate we see Mpenza (although he isnt the player he used to be, at Plymouth Argyle....) getting old foriegn players begining to drop down our leagues.

 

[Excalibur76]

I wasn't really there in 1992/3, but I can remember thinking Sheffield Wednesday signing Regi Blinker was amazing, so yes.

check out this site which lists all the players from the squads from 93/94 season to present

http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/squads94.htm

a selection of foreigners from the 93/94 era

Ronny Rosenthal
Erik Thorsveldt
Erland Johnson
Dmitri Kharine
Maurizio Gaudino (who I thought was going to be class)
Ken Monkou
Jan Aage Fjortoft

It was only from 95/96 season that the EPL started getting in some decent foreigners IMO

 

[Jibril]

The quality of football is appalling. Trust me. The only thing that makes the Championship interesting is competitiveness. Most teams are much of a muchness - Out of the 24 clubs, probably 18 or so of them start the season with hope of reaching the play-offs at least. And it is a fair and realistic ambition.

I wasn't around in 92', but I can't imagine the Premiership being this bad. You might see the odd good game now and then, but generally, it is really a poor division.

 

[The Green One]

Gaudino was class, but foolishly we didn't sign him.

 

[Hunter Lionheart]

Hm... In 92/93 would guys like Michael Kightly, James Beattie and Rob Earnshaw be EPL starters? I reckon so.

 

[DeJackal]

Answer in my opinion. NO

I reckon the Championship is the best second tier league in the world. It's something like the sixth richest league in the world and one of the most attended. Great standard of play and great stadiums and facilities.

But that's seriously underestimating the Premiership in 1992/93. There are too many average overated foreigners in the Premiership who would be no better than homegrown players.

I think the Championship had better quality pitches and stadiums than the Premiership did back then. But the level of play is not there yet.

 

[Rob]

Absolutely unquestionable that they would be.

EDIT - To Hunter's question, that was.

 

[Rob]

Answer in my opinion. NO

I reckon the Championship is the best second tier league in the world. It's something like the sixth richest league in the world and one of the most attended. Great standard of play and great stadiums and facilities.

But that's seriously underestimating the Premiership in 1992/93. There are too many average overated foreigners in the Premiership who would be no better than homegrown players.

I think the Championship had better quality pitches and stadiums than the Premiership did back then. But the level of play is not there yet.

I think most of them are better than people like Francis Benali.

 

[DougCoglan]

I think the professionalism and fitness levels of the Championship are better than the EPL of 92/3

 

[coelho]

The Championship is a poor league in terms of touch and tecnique, the premiership wouldn't be much better if it didn't have foreigners.

 

[Rob]

The championship is not exactly short of foreign players anyway.

 

[Wally]

Definitely if you look at the money and signings made.

Back in '92, the premiership had guys like Jeroen Boere.

Nowadays you get the B level talents from here like Agustien ( btw has he done anything at Birmingham so far? ) or Glenn Loovens signing for Championship clubs for good money (wagewise).

You could even say the signings now are even better. Boere and Boogers just were journeymen while Loovens and Agustien were once touted to be future Dutch top club players.

 

[Rob]

Aguestien hasn't done anything yet. But it's a good squad and he arrived late so we can phase him in.

Loovens has gone to Celtic now. Which is another trend lately. That good championship players can step straight up to CL teams.

Also Adam Lallana is going to be excellent.

 

[The Green One]

Lee Trundle

 

[Est1975]

Not sure, Just because it is competitive doesnt mean its good. In actual fact its so competitive because they all have the same tactics, same formation, same hoofball mentality, same ageing defenders and strikers and the same up and coming midfielder plus the occasional foreigner.