Eight games into the season and the premier league has thrown up more surprises than anyone could have imagined. The so called greatest league in the world was expected to highlight the quality of the teams who have invested millions into their sides. Many commentators were worried that the gulf between the “big four” and the rest of the teams has become so vast that the only teams that could put up any sort of challenge to them would be Manchester City, Spurs and Aston Villa. In stark reality the first six games has shown that the gulf between these teams is diminishing.
This is not a result of the rest the teams catching up on the upper tier of the premiership sides but highlights the decline of the top four! Many may point to the start made by Chelsea in response to this argument and state that Chelsea have continued on with the form they finished last year that saw them win the double. If you take a closer look at the season last year yes Chelsea did win the league but yet only finished one point ahead of Manchester United who lost eight games last year.
As for the FA cup all you have to do is look at there opponents in the final, Portsmouth and see how much interest others teams must have put into the competition if they were able to reach the final. This year they have made a flying start but the teams they were scoring goals for fun against would struggle in most Sunday leagues. Chelsea decline was evident in there loss to Manchester City there first real test of the season which they failed miserably. Luckily for Chelsea they had a chance to bounce back against another alleged big four side Arsenal, this week in which they won easily. Although Chelsea will probably go on to win the Double again this year there decline is only been papered over by the accelerated decline of the rest of the premiership.
As for Arsenal they are no longer a top side as top sides win trophies and although no one can argue with the success that greeted the Wenger era the fact remains that no other top club in Europe would stick with a manger that hasn’t won anything in six years. Arsenal’s failure to replace the erratic lunatic, which was Jens Leman, has cost them dearly in recent years. In reality arsenal are an above average team nothing more and nothing less.
The other two teams in the top four are falling quicker than shares in Anglo Irish. Liverpool are in free fall with Gillette and Hicks on there way back to Texas looking for there next sports team to plunder and pillage. Their legacy will be accelerant in the decline of Liverpool football club with the lack of interest from the previous owners replicated in the attitude and form of players on the pitch with Liverpool second from bottom in the premier league above only West Ham on goal difference.
The escudos from Liverpool will start in earnest in June were there top players they have (well all three of them Gerard, Torres and Reina) looking for clubs that are going places in the opposite of Liverpool football club! The similar situation is happening in Manchester not on the blue side of Manchester where money in thrown about like a Fianna Fail weekend think in but on the Red side of Manchester. Poor buys from Ferguson such as Berbatov coupled with there huge debt maybe a sign that the Glazer have lost trust in Ferguson on the transfer market and United ability to attract big name players which is reflected in his summer signings Bebe, Smalling and Hernandez with top players such as Ozil, and Van der Vaart all choosing not to come to old Trafford.
With five draws in there first eight games it seems like Liverpool the attitude of the owners in filtering down to the players on the pitch and in the January transfer window Fergusson will have to pay over the odds to recruit big name players to the club and fight against the tide to keep the players at the club. This season will highlight the flaws of the so called greatest league in the world.
IMAGE: Football Match Cartoon – image credit: Pearson Scott Foresman/Wikipedia (Public Domain)
This article was originally published in:
Fountain News Digital – November 2010 (Issue 1)
We are re-publishing all articles from our past newsletter, Fountain News Digital, and you can view all completed newsletters here. There were nine issues published in total between 2010 and 2012.
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