It is quite a popular belief in England that the FAPL is the best league in the world. But is it really?

Whilst watching Bayern tonight in a CL qualifier the commentators were discussing the merits of the Bundesliga and the demise of Serie A. This is what got me thinking. And I reckon that the Bundesliga has a good shout for being the best. They seem to have a bit of everything: good sized and vocal crowds, decent quality football, lots of big modern stadiums, reasonably cheap tickets and even a decent national team. And maybe their strongest feature is a record of 6 different winners in the last 10 seasons. I guess their only weakness is that they can't afford to compete for the world's better players.

I can see that the French league is improving and that Serie A is struggling a bit what with low attendances and a few controversies. I hope that no one is offended at leaving so many other leagues off the poll but I figured it would take an impressive argument to claim the Eredivise or Scottish Prem is the continents finest top flight division.

But there are plenty on this board that have a great knowledge of world football and I wondered what the opinions of you lot are.

It is quite a popular belief in England that the FAPL is the best league in the world. But is it really?

Whilst watching Bayern tonight in a CL qualifier the commentators were discussing the merits of the Bundesliga and the demise of Serie A. This is what got me thinking. And I reckon that the Bundesliga has a good shout for being the best. They seem to have a bit of everything: good sized and vocal crowds, decent quality football, lots of big modern stadiums, reasonably cheap tickets and even a decent national team. And maybe their strongest feature is a record of 6 different winners in the last 10 seasons. I guess their only weakness is that they can't afford to compete for the world's better players.

I can see that the French league is improving and that Serie A is struggling a bit what with low attendances and a few controversies. I hope that no one is offended at leaving so many other leagues off the poll but I figured it would take an impressive argument to claim the Eredivise or Scottish Prem is the continents finest top flight division.

But there are plenty on this board that have a great knowledge of world football and I wondered what the opinions of you lot are.

Well beeing German I dont really like the Bundesliga. Quality of the players is just too low compared to Spain and the PL. Also I dont like all these modern plastic stadiums.

Also it might seem to be open with a lot of possible winners but to be honest the question is just is Bayern in a good shape? If yes they win, if not its going to be some other team. Dortmund is strong at the moment but I dont think they will keep this up for much longer. A good thing about it is the crop of new young players that is coming through (ie Götze...)

That's probably very true about Bayern but it isn't a lot different in the other leagues I listed is it? And whilst the stadia in Germany are a bit plastic, they look a lot better than all the English club's plastic stadia. Think places like Boro, Derby, Stoke, Coventry and so on. If it wasn't for the different coloured seats you wouldn't know which ground you are in. And as for Wigan's ground, shudder.

Maybe it's a case of the grass being greener but I do like the look of both the German and French leagues.

For me the Premier League is number one. Serie A is getting better but still have some way to go to crawl back up from the dirt. Bundesliga is an exciting league, but the quality isn't quite at the top.

Ligue 1 is getting better, but is still not great.

La Liga have Barcelona and Real Madrid - that's it. Not fun when there's always just two teams fighting for the trophy.

So overall, the Premier League is the best.

Bundesliga for me, followed by PL.

If we're being honest the top 6 teams are a cut above the rest in England, which is the same in Spain, with realistically only 2/3 teams being able to win it, any one of 8 teams can realistically win Bundesliga which makes it the most competitive.

In terms of out and out quality, La Liga wins hands down for me

Myself I've got to say that for the standard of play Premier League by a solid mile. 4 teams in England have made the CL final over the past 6 seasons. Even Spuds towelled up the two big teams from Italy at least once.

Now you might say that only 4 teams have ever won the PL, but I think if you put those 4 teams in their respective years into any other league, then there might not be so many other winners there either.

As for the other things, I think Germany benefit mainly from having a liberal policy towards standing, and that makes their atmosphere on matchday a little better in some places. Obviously at a place like Westafaelstaion in Dortmund having a single stand with 35,000 standing doesn't hurt either. For obvious reasons I don't think England would ever go back to standing, but I don't for a second think that outweighs the PL in terms of quality and excitement in play.

watch out for the Russians

watch out for the Russians

Is that the modern day equivalent of "Beware the Ides of march"?

i saw a version of Julius Caesar a couple of weeks ago. It was quite well choreographed. Particularly the 'Ides of March' incident.

watch out for the Russians

Have to agree with that. The Russian league is improving.

Is it just me who feels the championship is the most exciting league in the world. Vastly unpredictable at both ends of the table culminating in the play off final which for some reason is more positive and free flowing than the champs league final.

Is it just me who feels the championship is the most exciting league in the world. Vastly unpredictable at both ends of the table culminating in the play off final which for some reason is more positive and free flowing than the champs league final.

the problem is you have to get through a whole sesason of average footbal to get to that stage

Call me old fashioned, but give me Everton against Stoke over Spanish football any day.

Just can't get into it.