We're just over a quarter of the way through the Premier League season now and the big guns are starting to fire, but who will be triumphant after 28 more games?
Let's start with the favourites, Manchester United. United started the season in their usual can't be arsed way. A 0-0 draw and win on penalties to win the Community Shield, followed by a draw at home with Newcastle and a win at Portsmouth were soon shadowed by nearly a month without a win, losing to Zenit and Liverpool, a 0-0 draw with Villareal and 1-1 with Chelsea saw their crown slip. But then ref power took over and the refs helped them noch up six straight wins, a draw at Everton and an easy win at home to West Ham (although Aldershot would have no problem thumping West Ham at the moment). United are renowned for their slow start followed by crucial strings of victories and this year is proving to be no different, or is it? Watching United at the moment is not the pretty sight it once was. They seem to be labouring, the flowing football demonstrated in the first half against West Ham was classic United, but whereas last season United could have sent out an injured Gary Neville for the second half on his own and still knocked in 3 more goals, this season they look about as interested in winning by 5 goals as Graham Norton is in Giselle Bundchen. For me, their hunger is lost, the Ronaldo thing and the fact they have more World Class strikers than Katie Price has diminished their hunger to win and could prove vital in their challenge.
Next up, Chelsea. Arsenal may be making the headlines and winning admirers with their passing, but not far behind are Chelsea. Their football this season, coupled with their technique and willingness to shoot from pretty much anywhere on the park, means that they look better than ever. OK, so they may have spent the GDP of a medium sized European country on players, but it still doesn't hide the fact that they are playing classic football and winning. The goal from Lampard last night is one of the best you will see this season and they way they have opened many teams up this season means that I don't think they will have any problem scoring. Their problems could be in defence, where I think they look shaky, but then as they have only conceded four goals in all competitions this season, I may be barking at the wrong postman.
Arsenal started last season flying and looked the team to beat, but after failing to make any signings in the January sales getting beaten in the Carling Cup final and losing their top striker through injury, they lost the plot faster than a Tottenham manager at the start of a new season. So far they haven't been strong. They have played some utterly incredible football, but have lacked the punch. Maybe they need a player like Barton in midfield to give them some punch, then again maybe they don't need Barton's type of punch as they couldn't afford to lose him to the community service. On their current form, Arsenal look the weakest of the top four, mainly because of the amount of goals they are leaking and their unwillingness to shoot from outside the six yard area.
Liverpool have made their best start to a Premier League season so far. Although they haven't had the class of Chelsea, or the complete dominance of Man Utd; Liverpool have been able to grind out important results when needed. Their defeats of both United and Chelsea suggest that this may be their year, especially when they have Torres on form and Kuyt popping up with important goals when needed. Their defence can be worrying, shaky when under pressure, but they seem to balance it with an unnerving ability to grab a crucial odd goal in the 97th minute. This is definitely the best Liverpool team since 1990, but their performance against Portsmouth last night was woeful. Without Torres and Keane, they lacked imagination up front and never looked like scoring. If they continue to play like that, their season will be over before March, but if they continue to snatch a win from the jaws of a draw, they could well be challenging for the title come May.
In conclusion, my tip for the top four finish:
1. Chelsea - very difficult to beat and irrestible going forward.
2. Liverpool - keep notching up the odd goal and if Torres can stay injury free, could challenge.
3. Man Utd - look uninterested and Ferguson already has an excuse ready talking about the World Championship Final in Japan.
4. Arsenal - quality passing and football cannot replace a weak defence and difficulty to score.
This is only after 10 games and there is still a lot of football to play. Man Utd are much better after Halloween and Liverpool are normally playing for their wages by January, so this could be a season without precedent. Chelsea simply look unbeatable over 38 games, whereas the others seem to have problems at the moment. I know others have their views, let me know yours.
Oh dear, who would have thought that the way to lift yourself out of a dismal World Cup qualifying campaign would be to appoint a former drug addict who has battled for years with weight problems, tax worries and made numerous outrageous political comments?
