“The entertainment value [of the Premiership] is definitely going downhill,” says Chris Waddle, the former Spurs, Newcastle and England star (and now Radio Five Live match summariser).

In an interesting article on the BBC Sport web site, Waddle explains why attendance numbers are down this year for certain clubs most notably Blackburn, Wigan and Manchester. What the article fails to mention, however, is that those three teams are from the same North West area — a part of England where there is so much football to choose from and typically not one of the most affluent areas of England.

What’s interesting is that the average attendance this season is far higher than previous seasons. But that’s because Old Trafford has increased its capacity, and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium has over 20,000 more seats than Highbury.

While tickets to Premiership matches are expensive, it costs more to watch a match in Spain. This is from Phil Ball, the ESPN Soccernet and critically-acclaimed author who’ll be one of the guests on this Sunday’s EPL Talk Podcast.

Regarding Waddle’s claims about the entertainment value going downhill, I’m not in complete agreement however there have been fewer sensational matches so far this season. What I do admit is that the number of weak teams in the division so far this year is far greater than last year. So it’s not the league’s fault but more so the individual teams that are playing poor football. The list includes:

Charlton, West Ham, Man City, Newcastle, Watford, Sheffield United, Liverpool, Wigan and Spurs — a disappointing nine teams in all out of 20 in the league. Sure many of these teams have been entertaining at times, but overall their level of play has been underwhelming.