Friday 31 December 2010

Premier League half term report: Part 2

Here's part 2 of my Premier League review.

Clubs M - W

  • Man Utd - The ‘unconvincing invincibles’ is how I’d describe Man Utd this season.


  • Man City - Ignoring all the money and media scrutiny, Man City can win the Premier League this season.


  • Spurs - Some of the best games I’ve seen this season have involved Spurs.


  • Newcastle....continually try their best to show everyone they’re a joke of a football club.


  • Manchester City

    After years of plodding along in middling mediocrity, you can’t look at the back pages of the papers anymore without seeing another Man City story.

    Ignoring all the money and media scrutiny, Man City can win the Premier League this season.

    They’ve got the players, it’s just a question of whether they believe they can win it; and if the team spirit is there in the squad.

    If they’re going to win the league or come close then it’s obvious that Carlos Tevez needs to be on form and kept happy.

    I don’t really understand all the stuff surrounding his transfer request. I thought it was just a family issue, but there’s more to it then that.

    To be honest I’m getting bored with Man City. They're like neighbours down the road who’ve suddenly won the lottery.

    Now you can never get any piece and quiet because there’s always some drama going on at their place.

    Man City to finish second


    Manchester Utd

    The ‘unconvincing invincibles’ is how I’d describe Man Utd this season. Still unbeaten, but they’ve hardly setting the world alight.

    Despite all this they look in poll position to win the title for a record 19th time. The advantage that Utd have is that they’re the least flawed out of all their rivals for the title.

    If I was a Man Utd fan, my biggest concern would be Wayne Rooney.

    After the soap opera of the will he/won’t he leave, he’s signed a new contract but still doesn’t look anywhere near the form we associate with him.

    He’s hardly done anything for Utd or England since he got injured back in March.

    Dare I say it, is Rooney actually just overrated? Perhaps he’s just not as good as people thought he was.

    I think Utd will win the title, but Rooney needs to improve.


    Newcastle


    This is nothing personal against Newcastle fans, but Newcastle continually try their best to show everyone they’re a joke of a football club.

    The sacking of Chris Hughton is without question the most ridiculous decision made by any club this season. The only positive is that his reputation shouldn’t be damaged too much.

    Before Mike Ashley’s decision, Newcastle were having a pretty good if slightly inconsistent season.

    Ashley’s claim that he wanted a more experienced manager might have made sense if someone like Martin O’Neill had come in, but Alan Pardew? His experience of the Premiership isn’t that great.

    Recent results have been quite poor, and with so few points separating teams at the bottom, Newcastle are going to be battling out like a lot of other clubs to stay up.


    Stoke

    Stoke get a lot of criticism for their style of play - there can be a lot of snobbery in the Premier League when you support a so called ‘unfashionable club’ and Stoke have been on the receiving end of this.

    I do have a lot of respect for Tony Pulis and what Stoke have achieved in recent seasons, although only Stoke fans can love their style of play.

    I watched the Stoke/Birmingham game on Sky earlier in the season – the beautiful game it wasn’t! In saying that, the second half was really entertaining.

    Stoke are having another good season. For so long, I looked at Stoke as being your quintessential Championship club, in a championship town.

    They’ve now re-invented themselves as a solid if unglamorous mid table Premier League club.


    Sunderland

    Ignoring the 5-1 humiliation against Newcastle, it’s been a good season so far for Sunderland.

    They’re not exceeding expectations nor are they under-performing. They look on course for a top 10 finish, which is good progress under Steve Bruce.

    They don’t seem to be relying so heavily on Darren Bent’s goals as they were last season, and the signing of Asamoah Gyan looks a good move, even if he was over priced at £13 million.


    Tottenham

    I wouldn’t normally advise anyone visiting London to take a trip to Tottenham, except if you want some footballing entertainment.

    Some of the best games I’ve seen this season have involved Spurs.

    Harry Rednapp thinks Tottenham can win the League. He must be the only person who thinks so.

    Rafael van der Vaart, must be the signing of the season. So many foreign players struggle to adapt to English football, but van der Vaart looks as if the Premier League is his natural home.

    You can’t talk about Spurs without mentioning Gareth Bale, who’s beginning to look world class. Funny how things can change, it wasn't that long ago people were saying Spurs always lost whenever Bale played.

    What can Spurs do this season? They can certainly beat Milan in the Champions League and progress to the semis (need to avoid Barcelona and Madrid).

    I can see them battling it out with Chelsea of Arsenal for the last Champions League spot.


    West Brom

    Everyone’s favourite yo-yo club!

    I went to the Hawthorns last September to watch Birmingham play, and was really impressed by West Brom.

    It’s been a great start to the season, with every West Brom fan beginning to believe this return to the Premier League won’t result in the usual ending of relegation back to the Championship.

    Unfortunately for West Brom their recent results have taken a dip, despite good performances. They’re getting dragged back down again.

    I would like to see them stay up this time, but they seem to struggle when Peter Odemwingie isn’t playing. They need to keep him fit – If they do they should survive.


    West Ham

    Where would West Ham be without Scott Parker?

    It would be all over for them without him, he’s been an inspiration. You still keep hearing stories of him going to Spurs, but he surely isn’t going to go in January.

    Bottom at Christmas, usually means relegation, but West Ham aren’t dead and buried yet. If they beat Wolves on New Year’s Day, it would probably take them out of the relegation zone.

    West Ham look a mess to be honest. I know David Sullivan and Karen Brady will eventually sort things out off the pitch, but there’s not much to inspire confidence on the pitch.

    Talking about inspiring confidence, everytime I see and hear Avram Grant on telly, I think ‘Is this man able to inspire anyone?’

    I can speak from first hand knowledge as a Birmingham fan to know, that Sullivan and David Gold don’t sack managers, but even if they manage to stay up, I can’t see Grant being in charge next season.


    Wigan

    What can I say about Wigan?

    At best Wigan are a League One club, artificially inflated by the money of Dave Whelan.

    They’re a poor side, but everytime I think they going to sink to the bottom of the table, they keep producing results that keep their head above water.

    I know every fan looks at certain clubs in the Premier League and thinks ‘I won’t miss them if they go down’ a lot of fans might think that about my own club, Birmingham.

    But with Wigan I really wouldn’t miss them if they got relegated, as a club I don’t think they bring much to the Premier League table.

    Sorry Wigan fans!


    Wolves

    Honest, hardworking, battling, no nonsense – words that spring to mind when you think about Wolves.

    They’re a mirror image of the manager Mick McCarthy.

    After losing to Wigan over Christimas I thought that was it - they were going down, but after beating Liverpool a few days ago they’re back in touch with everyone.

    Wolves concede too many goals and don’t score enough - which can only mean goodbye Premier League, hello Championship.

    As I write this they’ve got a massive game against West Ham on New Year’s day.

    With the league so tight, you can’t say that whoever loses will go down, but if one of them loses you've got to make them favourites for relegation.

    1 comment:

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