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Five talking points so far from the EPL
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Is this the year? AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano
While 11 matches played isn’t any normal marking point within a given EPL season, who says you need to reach halfway before doing a little table-wide analysis? Let’s check out a few key developments so far this year and see what might lie ahead.
1) The Big 4 are doing their thing. People might want more parity within the league, but we once again look like we’re heading toward the normal tight finish between the usual suspects. Aston Villa and Hull City both sit tied for fourth with Arsenal at 20 points, but right now only Villa looks like they could make a run at breaking into that select group.
2) Title already looking like a reach for Arsenal. Granted, it’s early. Quite early. But some things start to make you wonder about a team in the long run, and Arsenal’s last couple weeks have started to put those questions into our heads. The four-four draw at home against Tottenham, while a thrilling game, was an absolute disaster from the Gunners’ standpoint. Blowing a two-goal lead at home in the last couple minutes doesn’t bode well for a squad trying to build on last year, when they jumped out to a great start only to falter near the finish line. Even worse, they’ve failed miserably to bounce back from that defeat with a 2-1 loss to Stoke last weekend and then a draw at home to Fenerbahce (who they beat 5-2 away) on Wednesday. And those who read the papers see Wenger getting a bit edgy. You can’t call games must-win at this point, but losing all three points on Saturday at the Emirates to Man United would be rough to say the least.
3) Hard to differentiate between Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool at this point. There’s no doubt that Man United suffered early from both injuries and a brutal schedule, but they look to be back on track now with an in-form Ronaldo and 21 points with a game in hand. Still, letting Hull back into Saturday’s game wasn’t a very impressive display, and the Reds have had some finishing issues lately (ending with Dimitar Berbatov’s miss last night that could’ve given United the win against Celtic). At this point, Chelsea and Liverpool have looked consistently the best, although both have suffered defeats in the last few weeks (Chelsea to Liverpool and Roma, Liverpool to Tottenham). Chelsea can’t be pleased with the 3-1 loss away to Roma on Tuesday, but they still look very solid under Scolari. At this point you can’t really pick out one of these clubs and say they seem the best-suited to win the title. Perhaps this weekend will give us some helpful hints.
4) Hull City is for real. Even with losses to Chelsea and Man United, Hull continues to show they’re a genuine threat every week as they continue on with this historic first season in top-flight English football. They showed plenty of grit in battling back at Old Trafford, and relegation appears to be almost off the table at this point. The key will be not getting caught up in being so high in the standings. Staying in the EPL had to be the goal at the beginning of the season, and they can’t let early success distract them from that.
5) Tottenham fans can finally breathe again. Has a club ever gone from such depths to moments of euphoric elation in such a short time span? Anything is possible now with Harry the Magician at the helm, and finally the potential that many saw in this team heading into the season is starting to show itself on the field. With the stunning comeback at the Emirates and Saturday’s crucial win against Liverpool, there is reason to hope again at White Hart Lane. We’ll see what Redknapp has up his sleeve for tonight’s UEFA Cup action against Dinamo Zagreb.
