With changes in management and playing personnel at
England’s largest clubs, this was expected to be the most open title race.
Mourinho has often been quoted saying that any of six teams could win this
season’s title. Aside from gate crushing Everton, those six teams now occupy
the top positions in the league.
At exactly the mid-way point of this season’s race,
of the six tipped teams, you could say that Manchester United and Tottenham
have so far had disappointing seasons while Arsenal and Liverpool have been
amazing. To put into perspective just how fickle applauds during the course of
a season can be, Liverpool this season’s Christmas Champions now seat in lowly fifth
place just two points above the disappointing duo.
Arsenal on the other hand has returned to the
summit! Against Newcastle, Wenger showed that Arsenal is now willing to
compromise their silky DNA for a Stoke-like approach if it will allow them to
cling onto three valuable points. Such a display of hunger for the title
justifies tipping Arsenal as genuine title contenders. On the flip side, I must
warn Arsenal fans that contrary to reports that he is on the verge of signing a
contract extension, such drive for success at all costs may point to a planned
Wenger exit with a bang. He has the look that I saw in Feguson’s eyes last
season, especially when United were playing against Real Madrid in the
Champions League.
Despite Arsenal’s presence at the top of the league,
most pundits are tipping Manchester City as favorites for this season’s title.
Inconsistent away from home during the first half of the season, City now seem
to be settling into their stride and are lurking just a point behind the summit.
The ease with which City blew away Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium will give them
a lot of confidence entering into the second half of the season. It is now an
increasingly popular saying especially adopted by Arsenal fans that this league
will be won by consistently beating teams in the lower half of the table rather
than beating the big six. While partially true that consistency against the
course of the entire race will determine the winner of this marathon, loosing
against a major rival is such a big blow, “six-pointer” is no exaggeration.
Although not many pundits agree with me at this
point of the season, I rate Chelsea as City’s major rivals for the title. While
Arsenal and Liverpool have already been consistently playing out of their
skins, Chelsea have remained “there abouts” without quite impressing, of course
until last weekend against Liverpool. Mourinho has used the first half of this
season to down play his sides chances and keep all the pressure off what he
considers to be a very inexperienced group of players. A master of mind games,
he will try to get under the skin of those he considers to be major threats for
the title and this could just unsettle the opposition. You would think that
Pelligrini is experienced and diplomatic enough not to be sucked in but he has
never quite faced the brunt of Mourinho’s tactics. Chelsea’s misfiring strikers
are also likely to pick up in the second half of the season as Mourinho’s
public criticism inspires them to finally start scoring.
While Rodgers has tremendously improved this
Liverpool’s performances from last season, I think he and his squad are just
too inexperienced to win the title this season. Facing the challenge of a tenacious
Everton as well as resurgent Manchester United and Tottenham, holding on for a
top four finish will be as good as Liverpool are genuinely in contention for.
However, if Rodgers keeps improving Liverpool at this pace, they are likely to
be genuine contenders for next season’s title.
In conclusion, this season’s title is Man City’s to
loose, Chelsea’s to win and Arsenal’s to grab. City boasts the most complete squad;
Chelsea has the savviest manager and Arsenal the most stability. I get the
feeling that for Wenger it is now or never, so it will be interesting to see
what happens at Arsenal at the end of the season.
Enjoy a happy and successful 2014!
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