Surprises of the Premiership

ukevents · Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 1916

Surprises of the Premiership

We are reaching that point in the ‘Premiership’ calendar where it becomes increasingly tempting to take the league seriously. At the beginning stages of the campaign the league is not something to be taken with any weight. It is a piece of trivial, the amusing story after the main news. Teams jump from relegation places to challenging for the UEFA cup, from league title challengers to mid-table anonymity. Teams picked to end up in the top four struggle at the wrong end and teams picked for relegation top the league. However, as the season progresses and more games pass us by, the league stabilises and begins to make sense once more. At the stagnation of this violent shake up, which usually happens around Christmas, the question then remains as to which teams have settled in places none would have predicted. Which teams are sitting somewhere unfamiliar to them?

The bad news first, Bolton and Tottenham seem to be destined for seasons to forget. It was always going to be difficult for Bolton to deal successfully with the loss of Sam Alladyce, but who knew they would cope this badly? Bolton have been the epitome of consistency for a number of seasons. They have never had a season so remarkable to be challenging for the champions league but they have comfortably landed their UEFA cup places for a few seasons. This year they find themselves in the relegation zone. They have the same backbone of the team. Jääskeläinen remains an ever remarkable last line of defence, Kevin Nolan the backbone of the midfield and upfront they have the talents of Anelka and Diouf. With this rich fillet of talent and graft, they shouldn’t find their neighbours in the likes of Wigan or Derby, no disrespect to these teams. Sammy Lee determined to impose his own style at the expense of a tried and tested formula, causing friction with players who have been nothing but servants to the club; Gary Speed and Ivan Campo are not players to distance yourself with. Lee’s sacking seemed a long time coming and it remains to be seen if Gary Megson can turn it around for the club and save them from relegation. The idea of Bolton Wanderers playing Championship football two seasons ago seemed an alien concept.

Tottenham’s season is not so catastrophic but still incredibly disappointing considering expectations. Finishing fifth for two seasons running and, making the impressive summer signings of Gareth Bale and Darren Bent, many had this team picked to break into the top four this season. Instead, they have found themselves routed in the bottom half, unable to escape through a combination of injuries and lacklustre performances. A impressive looking squad has transformed into one that is unbalanced, with too many strikers to keep happy, too little defensive depth and nobody to fill their troublesome left-midfield position, plagued by instability and in-fighting. Defoe and Berbatov seem to be looking to pastures new and Zakora and Jenas are shadows of their former selves. Again, similar to Bolton, this transformation is remarkable considering that the squad is ever-so similar to the one that achieved the heights of last season. Again, similar to Bolton, they have been infected by off-field uncertainty that seems to always manage to kill a football team. Their situation is more self-inflicted. Martin Jol’s job was doomed as soon as it emerged that they had spoken to Ramos about succeeding him, and this utter disrespect for their manager and impatience has caused the situation you find they find themselves in. Before the scandal, they were going through a bad run of results, afterwards they crystallised it into the poor start they had. The board can have no one to blame but themselves. Their man Ramos may be able to turn the tide and bring Tottenham back up the league, but they cannot now reach the dizzying heights of last season. Their season, in terms of making progress on the last, has died.

On a more positive note, some teams have emerged to surprise us all with their quality and consistency. Manchester City were the butt of many jokes this summer. First, they were the sinking ship. They were the club people where bursting to jump out of. First came the manager, then the captain, then the chairman. Next, they became the absurd loony bin of a football club. The new chairman, Thakin Shinawatra, is a wanted man in his own country. The new manager, Sven Goran Ericksson, is a failed England manger. Their new squad were foreign unknowns, players in anonymous European mid-table fodder. Players that Ericksson played millions for. We scoffed and we laughed and now we are collectively eat our words as this new team lie third in the premiership. The foreign unknowns have turned out to be players of real quality that have taken little time settling into a new league. Petrov has proved to be real classy winger capable of finding delicious, cutting passes and possessing great pace. Elano is a real playmaker that generates and regulates the heartbeat of the team. These classy forward outfits, together with a rock solid defence from existing stalwarts in Micah Richards and Richard Dunne, has created a team that, even if they don’t make the champions league this season, will not be saying hello to the bottom half of the table anytime. They are a new force to be reckoned with.

So what is the moral of all these differing circumstances? To see once great powers languish at the bottom and former minnows establish themselves on top serves to point out the fragility of it all. There are educated guesses we can make about the premier league, but we actually no very little about how it might go. Who would have guessed Leeds would be a League One side a few years ago? Who would have guessed Charlton Athletic would be playing in the Championship this season? Who would have guessed Wigan and Reading would be in the Premiership a few seasons ago? Success at a team rests on an incredibly fragile relationship between managers and players. If the squad can be cohesive enough to work as a team, to play as a team, and to play with an enthusiasm for their manager, then teams win matches. Change one of these factors and the whole house comes crumbling down.

Written by Alex for UKEvents.net