THe league has Improved

[zzgloo]

I can n't believe myself saying this...but it appears the league has improved...and improved alot......
never have I remeber the league having so many good teams.....
.
Damash
Mes kerman
Fulad
Saba
Malevan
.....are excellent teams.....
Zob Ahan
Sepahan
Tractor
Perspolise
Esteghlal
.......are great too
Rah Ahan
Naft e Abadan
Saipa
Shahrdari Tabriz
.....are not any push overs
Shahin
Naft Tehran
....can beat any team on a good day...
.................................................. ......
I do not ever recall having so much competition......

[Babak agha]

^ well you have to call yourself one question: have other team become good or have the good clubs (pp & ss) become weaker?

You've the same situation here in Holland where the typical power houses like Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord are not expected to win all their games anymore, and the "weaker" teams have a chance of even making European football.

But everybody in Holland agrees on the fact that the league has become weaker.....It's more exciting this way and the competition is more thrilling and less predictable. But it also means that the Dutch league has gone from a 5th place in Europe to a 9th place and is on brink of getting a 10th position....

Now I don't follow the Iranian league that closely, but from the shape/caliber of players we see in TM these days compared to last 20 years, the situation at PP for example, and the fact that the best two players of the league are 35+ years old...........

[zzgloo]

ESTEGHLAL is very strong.......and although pp appears to be weak...but, with thier fan base....they will not be ,at the end,any worse than 7 th on the league chart........
For the first time, we have so many teams, that are pretty good, without having any big name players......such as Saba, Fulad, and Malevan....
.
It appears,while the league has not produced any super star...but it has produced so many good players.....,and the teams that have hired 35+ ex-super stars,are not neccessarly better teams.......
Many teams....are succeeding with team works..........
There may be 12 teams...that are hoping to get the Asian Club league candidates...that is to say, 12 teams have realistic hopes to be among top 4 teams....that is great.

[Babak agha]

Well if the competitiveness and the catching up by the lower teams is the result of good management, coaching, and team work: then my hat off to them. And that would be a great thing for Iranian football.

[Kaiser Amir]

What certainly HAS NOT IMPROVED and, if anything, has worsened, is the RIDICULES DEFENSIVE ORGANIZATION of the IPL teams.

I don't see the full matches, just the highlights, and the majority of the goals conceded are direct result of MIND-BLOWING BLUNDERS you don't even see in Romania's 3rd division.

As long as we have this problem, our football we'll struggle at the international level.

[Hajagha]

You will find your answer when they visit their Asian rivals.

Cheers,

[St_Mark]

What certainly HAS NOT IMPROVED and, if anything, has worsened, is the RIDICULES DEFENSIVE ORGANIZATION of the IPL teams.
I don't see the full matches, just the highlights, and the majority of the goals conceded are direct result of MIND-BLOWING BLUNDERS you don't even see in Romania's 3rd division.
As long as we have this problem, our football we'll struggle at the international level.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

[zzgloo]

It appears...the league has far many known names than it used to !
may be it has not produced any so called super stars such as Ali Daei or Karimi , but just one level below, it has produced players more than ever...........That is how I see it.

[BacheLot]

The sheer quality of play on pitch seems dramatically improved to me too..!
A few years back I couldn't be bothered to even watch the so called highlights of league games, but nowadays I'm pleasantly entertained by them..! Or it may just be that I'm only watching Karimi's movement on the pitch..!??

[Babak agha]

^ I have a hunch that it's the last thing

If you eliminate the "stars" of the league and just look at the game itself you still see the same thing we saw 15 years ago:

1. Players usually don't move until they receive a pass.

2. When they receive the ball it's painfully obvious that they don't have an idea where they are, where their team mates are, where the opponent is, and what's the best possible thing to do.

3. After receiving the ball this is what players do: run with the ball, try to drible the opponent, and only when they run out of space and are under too much pressure, they will look up for a teammate. And usually the pass doesn't connect after all.

4. 9 out of every goal in IPl is due to basic defending and goalkeepers mistakes.

5. Goals resulting from teamwork and a clear gameplan are very rare to witness.

[Hadi]

lol the league has not improved.

due to the unprofessional nature of our football, the laughable transfer system, the poor condition of the picthes and lack of coaching, all teams are more or less equal and any team can beat any other team. This has translated into a close fought league in recent years. but it doesnt mean we have improved as a footballing nation at all.

[zzgloo]

lol the league has not improved.

due to the unprofessional nature of our football, the laughable transfer system, the poor condition of the picthes and lack of coaching, all teams are more or less equal and any team can beat any other team. This has translated into a close fought league in recent years. but it doesnt mean we have improved as a footballing nation at all.

Hadi Jan...those conditions have always existed.......If you pay attention to the situation now, and around the time when Ali Daei was the head coach of TM.....do you recall what kind of shape " The League " was in ?...do you recall there was a discussion as about the shortage of talents ?....not haveing a new generation of talents ?...very few " Names " ?......
Is it like that Now ?
when did we ever have up to 10 teams capable of winning the Cup ?

[Nokhodi]

lol the league has not improved.

due to the unprofessional nature of our football, the laughable transfer system, the poor condition of the picthes and lack of coaching, all teams are more or less equal and any team can beat any other team. This has translated into a close fought league in recent years. but it doesnt mean we have improved as a footballing nation at all.

Come on, you have to admit the scheduling and financing has at least improved.
Yes, its not exactly high quality, but gone are the days when games would get cancelled because a travelling team's bus would break down in the middle of a trip.

[BacheLot]

^ I have a hunch that it's the last thing

If you eliminate the "stars" of the league and just look at the game itself you still see the same thing we saw 15 years ago:

1. Players usually don't move until they receive a pass.

2. When they receive the ball it's painfully obvious that they don't have an idea where they are, where their team mates are, where the opponent is, and what's the best possible thing to do.

3. After receiving the ball this is what players do: run with the ball, try to drible the opponent, and only when they run out of space and are under too much pressure, they will look up for a teammate. And usually the pass doesn't connect after all.

4. 9 out of every goal in IPl is due to basic defending and goalkeepers mistakes.

5. Goals resulting from teamwork and a clear gameplan are very rare to witness.

yea i agree for most part, the classic irani approach (as u described) to the game hasnt changed too much..! but i certainly see the pace of the games has certainly seemed picked up and even the heads up playing has improved slightly..! Zob was certainly playing very good heads up, team football and their success in ACL seemed to have been an inspiration to other league players to re-think their individualistic approach to the game..!!

[Adesor Vafaseya]

Hadi Jan...those conditions have always existed.......If you pay attention to the situation now, and around the time when Ali Daei was the head coach of TM.....do you recall what kind of shape " The League " was in ?...do you recall there was a discussion as about the shortage of talents ?....not haveing a new generation of talents ?...very few " Names " ?......
Is it like that Now ?
when did we ever have up to 10 teams capable of winning the Cup ?

Come on, you have to admit the scheduling and financing has at least improved.
Yes, its not exactly high quality, but gone are the days when games would get cancelled because a travelling team's bus would break down in the middle of a trip.

I agree with both above posts. The league has slightly improved in terms of game scheduling, however its is of course far behind our other continental rivals such as J-League, South Korea, UAE, and even China.

So we are still far behind, where given our history (3 times Asian Cup winner, 3 times Asian Games winner, thrice qualifier to WC etc etc) we should have never been be that much fallen behind the UAE league, Chinese league in terms of management and organization etc...

nonetheless, I hope these very tiny sign(s) of improvement will continue....