It’s been 2 months now and a fast 2 months it has been. The English Premier League 08/09 kicked-off last weekend and it pretty much looks like same old same old. The opening fixture has given me the expectation that it’ll be a 2 horse race for the title, while 3 others will be going for third and the rest slugging it out amongst themselves.
Predicting relegation places is as hard as guessing who will win the title but I have my money on Fulham finally being amongst their level in League One. The past 2 years have seen them deteriorate rapidly and this year will see them gone despite their heroics towards the back-end of last season. Normally, newly promoted clubs get the higher expectations to go back down again and looking at the likes of Hull, Stoke and West Brom, a seasoned gambler wouldn’t bet against them but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Hull. They looked good for their win against Fulham but it’s still early days.
Tottenham, to say the obvious, look to never emmulate their better days as a footballing club of the 90s. All throughout this decade, they have been trying to swoop for young players who seem to have a bright future in football but it just seems beyond them now. Success breeds success and the same goes for mediocracy, sadly. I see Modric playing a few seasons before realizing that pastures are greener somewhere else. Berbatov and Keane have seen this and more will follow suit.
Newcastle seem to have a bit about them but I wonder if they will last the marathon. If the season was a one-off game, Toon fans will probably be celebrating till next season which says a lot about recent successes for Newcastle. Gutierrez looked lively and Coloccini looked solid but Newcastle has a knack of getting their enthusiastic players injured and center backs looking like baffons or maybe the latter is just reserved to Titus Bramble and Jean-Alain Boumsong.
Liverpool and Arsenal are… well, Liverpool and Arsenal. They offer early promise only to end up failing to deliver. Being a United fan, I’ll just leave it at that.
Chelsea look like champion contenders. They have a fantastic squad and have a coach who has been there and done that. They demolished the same side that United failed to score against a week before despite their dominance. Which is why, I think, they’ll be around come May.
Manchester United gave a performance worthy of a win but couldn’t deliver. Many would say it was down to the absence of one Cristiano Ronaldo. Some would say Fraizer Campbell isn’t ready for the big stage. Some would say United lack the cutting edge which is the reason Sir Alex is so desperate to sign Berbatov. My response to this is a professional bbbblllluuuuuueeeeeekkkkkkk. Passebon and Rafael look very good prospects and ones to look out for the future. Rooney only just recovered from a virus. And things can only get better. There are 37 more games to go and the season is still a long way ahead.
United for the title, Chelsea second, Fulham, Stoke and West Brom relegated. But that’s just me.
Filed under: Sports
