Barclays Premier League so far: Top Four

With the weekend’s matches over, we are a quarter into this year’s English Premier League. Over the summer there have been talks about who would be the main title contenders this year. Will the absence of Ronaldo weaken the defending champions….will Chelsea stamp their authority this time around…will Liverpool be able to sustain last year’s performance….will the beautiful game of Arsenal bring them success. Who would be fighting for the Europa league place this year….Will the newly promoted teams survive in the league….which manager’s head will be the first to roll. However the biggest question was will the traditional top four of the league be finally broken by big spending City. After the first 9 matches, some of these questions have already been answered and some are still in balance. We can however get a better idea of how the season will span out and what can be expected come May.

In this first part I would like to review the season so far for the so called Top Four.

Manchester United: Defending Champions

Ronaldo or No Ronaldo, Manchester United find themselves in a familiar position…the top of the league. Traditionally, United have been slow starters. But given the competitive nature of the league this year, falling behind early in the season is not an option. Yes the performances have not been of the normal United quality, but they have been effective in grinding out results. Apart from a shock at Burnley and a lucky draw against Sunderland, United have had a clean slate. The defence has been a bit shaky. With Van Der Sar just returning back from injury, Ben Foster has had to cover in for him. At times he has looked nervous, making wrong decisions at times and at times he has been quite brilliant. Ferdinand and Vidic have been in and out of the team making the makeshift United defence vulnerable. Antonio Valencia has failed to impress so far, comin up with decent performances yet unable to recreate his performance with Wigan. Michael Owen has not had much opportunity but he will always be remembered for his 96th minute winner in one of the greatest Manchester derbies at Old Trafford. Wayne Ronney has had a great start to the season while Berbatov is finally finding his scoring touch. The key performer for United this season has been veteran winger Ryan Giggs. His performances so far have defied his age. He has lead from the front, heading the United attacks, creating magic when the team has needed it. He has also managed to maintain his record of scoring in every season of the Premier League. United are slowly but surely adjusting to life without Ronaldo, adjusting their game and at the same time making sure that they do not let go of the title race. Manchester United can only get better.

Chelsea: Hot FavouritesChelsea are the hot favourites this year to win the league and bring United’s domination to an end. So far they have lived up to expectations. Chelsea are the same, the same players, the same coaching staff, the motivation has been the same if not higher and so have the fans. The only change has been at the healm. A new manager in the form of Carlo Ancelloti, someone who has won the Champions League not only as a player, but also as a coach. What a big difference it has been so far. So what has the Italian brought to this team then. Chelsea have always been famous for the trouble brewing within the dressing room. All that is now a thing of the past as the manager has brought calm and harmony among the players. He has implemented his famous diamond formation that he used with great effect at Milan. Finally he has brought together two of the most lethal strikers on the planet, Drogba and Anelka. He has played them together regularly, something previous managers failed to do. The quality of football has also improved under Ancelloti. The players seem to be enjoying their game, showing the same resolve of Chelsea teams of old, fighting it out till the very end. Two away losses at Wigan and Villa have been the only setbacks in an otherwise perfect start to the season. The key performer this season has been Didier Drogba. Ancelloti has been successful in getting the best out of him. He has paired well with Anelka, not only scoring goalsfor fun, but creating goals for the team as well. The question to be asked here is can they get better. The only obstacle that lies in Chelsea’s path is their priority this year. Is it the Champions League Or the Domestic title. Everyone knows the answer to that question, right???

Liverpool : A pack of falling cards?Last season Liverpool lost just 2 games throughout the entire season. This season with 9 games gone, they have already lost 4 games. And this same team was so close to lifting their 19th crown last season. At the start of the season, Sir Alex had said that Liverpool will find it difficult to repeat what they achieved last year. So far that seems to be true. Benitez’s men are slowly but surely letting go of the title race. To come back from here, they will require a near perfect record in the remainder of the season. Something that is not so easy in this league. What has hurt Liverpool then? Is it the Xabi Alonso effect or the over-reliance on Gerrard and Torres. If these two fire Liverpool are firing on all cylinders but if they fail or are injured then Liverpool fail to take off. Or has it been the tactical failures on the part of manager Benitez. The defense has looked shaky recently and the midfield lacks stability. Torres has been magnificent this season, firing goals left, right and centre. But it is the midfield that has been the major problem. It lacks shape and stability. Xabi Alonso’s replacement Alberto Aquiliani is still out injured. New signing Glen Johnson on the other hand has had a great start to his Liverpool career. The key performer this year has been Yossi Benayoun. He is slowly cementing his place in the team. Someone who can change matches. Someone other than Gerrard and Torres to turn and win matches for Liverpool. Liverpool have had a horrible fortnight. Slumping to 4 straight losses, two in the league against Chelsea and Sunderland and two in the Champions league against Fiorentina and Lyon. Next up are the defending champions United. Will it be the final nail in the coffin for Liverpool. At the start of the season it was predicted that one of the Top Four will be replaced by City. No one knew at that time who will it be. 9 games into the season, Liverpool look like that team now. Trailing behind in the Champions league group stages and fighting to stay alive, things are not looking good. Are they going to make it to the knockout stage of the Champions league??? Are they gonna make it to the Champions league at all next year??? All this is just hanging by a thread.

Arsenal: The beautiful game continues…

The Arsenal season so far has been great. They have been banging in goals for fun, playing delightful football that they are famous for, the Arsenal brand of football. Most of their wins have been by a huge margin, cruising past opponents at ease. At the start of the season there were talks about how the Toure and Adebayor departures to City will affect the Gunners. So far the effect has been negligible. Toure’s replacement new signing Thomas Vermaelen has had a bright start to his Arsenal career. Not only has he been defensively solid, he has been great going forward, getting in on the score sheet on quite a few occasions. Up front Van Persie has been in scorching form. Having managed to stay fit, he has taken on the scoring mantle at Arsenal. Thomas Rosicky has started giving some great performances after having been out for 18 months. With Samir Nasri yet to return things do look good for Arsenal. Cesc Fabregas has been the key performer for the Gunners this year. The Arsenal captain has been very instrumental in midfield. Not only has he created numerous goals for his teammates, he has also got a few under his belt with some eye-candy scores. According to many Fabregas had his best game in an Arsenal shirt, when he scored 1 and set up 4 goals in their mauling of Blackburn. Although they have got past everyone else with ease the only two defeats have been against their near rivals, the two teams from Manchester. With much of the season left, Arsenal will hope to keep up the class and the maturity that they have been shown in order to challenge for the title come May. Whether or not they succeed is something only time will tell. Will it be the same old story for Arsenal or will the beautiful Arsenal brand of football finally yield silverware.

Next up is a review of the “ Best of the rest ” in the Premier league. The teams fighting for a place in the Europa league.