It has been a long time since the Premiership has been so
heavily contended by so many teams. Although Man United seem to be
the team to catch, all the top five are vying for the vital
Champions League places. However, the coming weeks will still hold
further twist as turn as many of the top teams still have to face
eachother. For example, Chelsea must still play Man United twice,
if they won both these games, and their game in hand, they could
glose the gap to just four points and be back in the tital run.
That depends on Arsenal’s results in their matches who have a
simpler run in but still have to play Manchester United. All the
top five Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea have to
play at least one match against another team. So much is still
possible in this season.
With such competition for the title and the Champions League
spots, it is easily becoming a season of unmatched excitement. The
question I ask is whether this level of competition is due to a
decrease in quality of the top teams, or vast improvement among the
peripheral teams in the tital race such as Spurs and Manchester
City as they begin to seriously rival the top teams.
In the case of Spurs, their team has vastly improved under Harry
Redknapp and is arguably their best Premiership side. The players
brought in in recent years have significantly added to the quality
in the league. Their performance in this seasons Champions League
best illustrates their fantastic growth. There is no doubt that
they have began to close the gap on the ‘Top five’ (that’s
existence is now beginning to waiver) with great performances
against Arsenal and Inter Milan this year. The addition of the
World Class Rafael van der Vaart has brought them on to another
level and if they continue to improve in the next few years will no
doubt begin challenging for the title soon. Their biggest problem
may arise if Harry Redknapp leaves for the England job as he has
suggested, at the end of next season. Their improved stature will
no doubt enable them to bring in someone well up to the challenge
if this occurs.
Manchester City are a squad that continues to improve in quality
with every signing. Getting all the players to gel with constant
arrivals may be the most difficult challenge they face. Not always
the most exciting team to watch City can sometimes focus on
stifling opponents rather than allowing their quality to flourish
and win them games. They have definitely used their huge bundles of
money to acquire higher ability players to rival the league
leaders. They are more of a team than they were last year and I
think there is still more to be seen from players like Silva and
Kolarov, as well as new signing Edin Dzeko. If they maintain a
level of consistency within the squad, perhaps adding fewer players
but with higher quality, they will definitely become more than just
‘Noisy Neighbours’ for Sir Alex.
The remaining three of the top four currently in the
championship race – Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United – are a
different story. Arsenal’s squad has matured this year and are
definitely still in the race, they have been very consistent this
year and have the opportunity of some Silverware that the clubs
supporters long for. They have improved upon recent years and look
like real solid contenders this year. Chelsea made the biggest
signing of the January transfer window in Fernando Torres as they
look for replacements for what is a very ageing squad. They have
finished in the top 4 since the 2002/03 season and after curbing
their spending in recent years their squad has aged. This year has
at times looked like one of their weakest squads, in terms of the
players available on the bench. Despite ageing their team still
have the quality to mount a challenge for the title as everyone
thought at the start of the year, but they have slipped away. This
is not down to decreasing quality as they have the same team that
won the league just last year.
Liverpool are still worth a mention as despite a couple of rough
years, things may be starting to look up. With some new players
over the summer financed by their new owners I am sure they will
back in amongst it next season. They will need to work hard to keep
the influential Pepe Reina if they fail to gain Champions League
qualification this year. If they keep hold of him, and Kenny
Dalglish in charge, who seems to have reinvigorated the side
somewhat, they will be a more solid team.
This season has been great so far, with any team capable of
beating another, Wolves and Blackpool have been great examples of
this with some fantastic wins. The top 4 spots are being heavily
contested this year and has created a thrilling season. This
competition is without doubt down to vast improvements to Spurs and
Manchester City teams and not declining quality in the top teams.
The coming games listed below will be the most pivotal matches in
deciding who finishes where this season. The improving quality is
without question only beneficial to the English game and is going
to make for a fantastic finish to the season. If Liverpool can get
themselves out of their current rut, next year may well prove to be
even more exciting. They could also play a big role in how the
league ends up this year. I certainly can’t wait!
1 March 2011: Chelsea vs Manchester United
6 March 2011: Liverpool vs Manchester United
20 March 2011: Chelsea vs Manchester City
10 April 2011: Liverpool vs Manchester City
16 April 2011: Arsenal vs Liverpool, Manchester City vs Spurs
30 April 2011: Arsenal vs Manchester United, Chelsea vs Spurs
7 May 2011: Manchester United vs Chelsea
15 May 2011: Liverpool vs Tottenham