THE 20th FA Premier League season is three months old and is already developing into an intense scrap for the championship, European positions and the battle to stay afloat in the top flight. There has been some landslide scorelines, surprising stories and sorry struggles and it is time to assess how things are panning out so far.
The rise and rise of Manchester City
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| SHAKING: Manchester City set a high standard at Old Trafford |
Last season, Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City went very negative in games against the top teams, but this season is a totally different story. There might have been the well-publicised conflict between the manager and former golden boy Carlos Tevez, but the players have responded magnificently to the challenge of aiming to win the title that has eluded them for so long. They ripped Tottenham to shreds, 5-1 in August at White Hart Lane, but the result that shook the football world came last week, when they routed Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford. If that doesn’t mark City down as serious challengers, I don’t know what will. Sergio Aguero is the signing of the season, Edin Dzeko looks a totally different player and David Silva’s football is on another planet. Still unbeaten, Manchester City have set a standard so far that is proving difficult to keep up with.
Never write off the Red side of Manchester
Despite the 6-1 mauling by their city rivals, Manchester United look very strong in regards to the title battle. He has gone off the boil since the moment of madness in Montenegro for England, but Wayne Rooney is almost back to his best. Sir Alex Ferguson’s ability to give youth such as Phil Jones, Danny Wellbeck and Tom Cleverly a real chance in the first team has been a shrewd decision. After some early season wobbles, David de Gea is beginning to look like a solid first choice goalkeeper, though he has some way to go to match standards set by Schmeichel and Van der Sar. The 8-2 demolition of Arsenal and a masterful 5-0 triumph at Bolton highlighted United’s attacking threat, but they still look vulnerable defensively, as Chelsea proved and Manchester City showed to devastating effect. However, seasoned campaigners often come through, so you’d be a fool to write off Manchester United.
Newcastle’s surprising start
Alan Pardew has brought together a brilliant team unit at St. James Park and the results speak for themselves. Demba Ba is following in the footsteps of Alan Shearer in the famous No.9 shirt on Tyneside and they hold the best defensive record in the league. Last night’s impressive 3-1 triumph at Stoke has taken the Magpies upto third place, still unbeaten and going remarkably well. The Geordies fans will begin to expect now and although they still have some way to go, a tilt at the European positions would be daft to not rule out. They have been a genuine and excellent surprise package so far.
AVB and Chelsea: The cracks begin to show
I criticised Chelsea strongly in the summer for their decision to hire the youthful Andre Vilas-Boas as boss instead of someone far more experienced. Despite a promising start, which included a very open and expansive attacking line-up at Old Trafford, but ended in a 3-1 defeat, I fear the cracks are beginning to show. Chelsea’s team is ageing and badly; the youth of the squad in the Mourinho era is long gone. John Terry is at the centre of a race row for alleged comments he made to Anton Ferdinand during a bad-tempered loss at QPR. Fernando Torres has shown signs of great form, but still is unpredictable to work out and discipline has been shocking, with four reds in the league already. Defensively, they were totally exposed by Arsenal at the weekend, conceding five at Stamford Bridge in the league for the first time since December 1989. Exciting to watch at times, but fresh new blood on the playing side is urgently required in West London. Don’t be too surprised if Mr. Abramovich gets the chequebook out in January again.
Who is the leading light in North London?
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| DEVASTATING: Van Persie is in the form of his life in Arsenal's recovery |
Both Arsenal and Tottenham made nightmare starts to the season, as they took heavy thrashings off the two rampant Manchester clubs, but there have been significant signs of improvement in North London. Since losing 5-1 to City, Tottenham have won six of their last seven games, with Luka Modric looking back to his best and Emmanuel Adebayor proving an excellent loan signing. Their 4-0 demolition of Liverpool in September was one of Spurs best ever Premier League performances. With eight wins from nine in all competitions since woefully losing 4-3 at Blackburn, Arsenal have turned a corner, culminating in that incredible 5-3 win at Chelsea on Saturday. Robin Van Persie is leading by example as captain and is in great goalscoring form. I still worry for the Gunners if the injury-prone Dutchman picks up an injury, but Arsene Wenger’s youngsters have defied the critics. Although a serious title challenge is unlikely from either side, both can’t be discounted in the battle for fourth place and that crucial Champions League chance.
Signs of recovery from Anfield
The last two years have been very bleak for Liverpool supporters, but Kenny Dalglish is slowly lifting them out of the wilderness. Luis Suarez has shown his immense quality and that there is life after Torres. Andy Carroll still has a lot to do to justify his hefty price tag but a morale boosting goal at West Brom on Saturday will do his confidence no wonders. Despite Raul Meireles departing for Chelsea and Steven Gerrard’s constant injury troubles, the consistency of Charlie Adam and Lucas in the centre of the park has shown that the Reds are more than a one-man team. A 4-0 nightmare at Tottenham aside, Liverpool have produced some excellent results, including away wins at Everton and Arsenal along the way. Like the North London sides, a title tilt looks a long shot, but there are signs of promising recovery in the second generation of the Dalglish Anfield reign.
Great attacking from the newly promoted sides
All three promoted teams have come up and once again shown that the gap between the Premiership and the Championship is now not as big as some might think. Swansea City’s home record is very impressive, with three wins and two draws, just conceding one goal in the process. They sit in the top half and although I worry about their strength in depth, Brendan Rodgers has adjusted well to Premiership life. So too has Paul Lambert at Norwich. An expansive side, full of promising youngsters has scared the life out of Chelsea and Manchester United already. Then, they took a deserving point at Anfield two weeks ago. With excellent starts, both teams have a chance of staying up. I reckon QPR have the best squad out of the new sides. Tony Fernandes investment in the club has seen the likes of Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips arrive at Loftus Road and the 1-0 win over Chelsea was a mighty result for everyone connected with the club. There have been bad days, such as the 6-0 battering they took from Fulham, but with the ability to strengthen when the transfer window opens again, Neil Warnock might finally have a squad worthy of his talents in the top division. For me, there’s a good chance all three promoted sides will stay up and if so, that will be the first time this has happened since 2001/02.
Relegation worries for the established
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| GO: The message from Blackburn fans to their beleaguered boss |
Sitting bottom of the league at the moment, Wigan can’t buy a point if their life depended on it. They have lost seven games in a row since the beginning of September. As he stayed loyal to the Lactics in the summer, by turning down a move to Aston Villa, Roberto Martinez is in no danger of the sack but his team need a result. They also need Hugo Rodallega to start scoring soon; otherwise I don’t know where the goals are going to come from. Bolton’s defence has conceded 27 goals in their first ten games and the last team to do that in the Premiership were Barnsley in season 97/98. The Tykes were relegated at the end of that season, so the omens don’t look good for Owen Coyle’s side. I feel for Steve Kean, who is in an almost impossible situation at Blackburn. The fans want his head, but the side is playing well, if not getting the right results. Kean can’t help that he has the most inept owners the Premiership has ever seen. Note to the Indian owners at Ewood Park; Stick to the chickens, you are hopeless at football! I worry for Wolves too, who won their first two games, but collected little since and despite showing some potential; I’m still unconvinced by Aston Villa under the guidance of Alex McLeish. It’s difficult to say who will go down, but some of the established clubs in the Premiership will be feeling the pressure already.
Winter is approaching and the games will now be coming thick and fast. After Christmas, things in the league will begin to take shape, but if the first three months have anything to go by, then the FA Premier League is proving once more why it is the most unpredictable league in the world.
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