This will now be kept regularly up to date and when my new laptop arrives the whole page will be jazzed up for the 21st century as it is very out of date to say the least.
Anyways...What a start to the Premier League it has been with big results against the big teams for Cardiff - beating Man City and Aston Villa beating City and Arsenal away. United struggling, Spurs getting thumped at home by West Ham and Southampton beating Liverpool at Anfield too. Thats to name but a few. But these results are the big reasons why the fans love the Premier League so much. On any day, any team could beat any other, which is something that is not seen in other leagues around the World.
8 games in and the title could go anywhere in my opinion. Its Arsenal that have impressed people the most and the signing of a certain Mr Ozil seems to have given the side a huge lift in confidence! The rise of Aaron Ramsey has been nothing short of incredible and gives that new signing to the Arsenal squad as he is a completely different player to previous years where fans have constantly been critical of his performances. The football they have played this year and the battling characteristics to grind out results have been lacking for years at the Emirates, but maybe this is a big turn. I still feel they need to add some depth to their squad particularly up top, but I feel they could be there or there abouts. A tricky 6 games awaits them though and I feel that we will know more about their prospects after that.
Man City for me are the team to beat. Yes they slipped up in a couple of games but in both they were absolutely dominant and I expect with Pelligrini and the players all adjusting to work together they will soon find that regular cohesion and be a force to reckon with this year. The strength of their squad is a big key factor.
Chelsea will not be far behind. Mourinho back in the realm and leading his troops as Mourinho does. Always makes his teams hard to beat, sets them up in an extremely organised way and has a knack of grinding out results from poor performances. A strong squad puts them in a strong position to mount a challenge on all levels this year.
Manchester United on the other hand are struggling and find themselves quite a way behind already into the early part of the season. The importance of Sir Alex Ferguson has been proven (if people struggled before hand) and with David Moyes now in charge the team will take some time to adapt to a new style and a new man holding the reigns. The summer was very unsuccessful for United in terms of signings and only a deadline day deal for Fellani happened. A good solid signing, yet a player lacking the creativity which United so badly need. I feel they will come strong as the season continues and if Van Persie and Rooney stay fit I believe anything could happen. Signings needed in January otherwise the title will be easily taken from them.
Spurs have been the team that has impressed me a lot this year and they made some big transfers in the summer to cover for the loss of Bale. However the best signing of all has to be bringing back Andros Townsend from the countless clubs he has been loaned out too. Villas Boas has unearthed a gem here and in many ways has got some that brings you around 60%-70% of what bale did which would of been more than anyone could of imagined. The strength in their squad is fantastic and if they can continue to gel together there is no reason why Spurs won't be too far behind this year. A top 4 finish is certainly not out of the question.
Finally Liverpool. I have huge amounts of respect for the owners for giving Brendon Rodgers time, something that seems to be forgotten about in football. He has developed the team into playing some exciting football and Rodgers has also brought out the best in Daniel Sturridge who seems to be returning the faith shown by the manager with his performances on the pitch. Liverpool defensively may struggle at times and their squad does feel a little light to mount a title challenge, but a top 4 finish could be in their sights this year. With no European distractions expect a strong season ahead for the Reds.
If you have any comments on this please do not hesitate to contact me and I would love to have a discussion. If you have anything you would like me to discuss then I am also happy to write about that too.
Many Thanks
James
