Turning The Tables

The first weekend of the 2008-2009 Premier League season is over. And whom do I see topping the league table? Why, it’s none over than those Blues with a die-hard “let’s fritter our money away on useless talent, since we appear to have an infinite supply of it streaming through” attitude. I stand firm by my comment a few years back that Roman Abramovich will grow bored of his venture into the world of football and withdraw all of his cash funds, leaving Chelsea on the verge of bankruptcy. But for now, I duly admit that Chelsea performed well yesterday afternoon in their season opener against Portsmouth. Hey, I give credit where credit is due.

4-0 was by no means a flattering scoreline; Chelsea tore Pompey apart time and time again. And Deco was thoroughly impressive on his debut, netting both a goal and a man of the match award.

I think the signings this year for the West London club are a lot more sensible; Deco, in particular, looks to be an astute purchase. Chelsea did have a torrid time during the last campaign, with many unfair decisions going against them, talismanic players being missing at crucial moments, and a massively under-qualified manager at the helm. Say what you will about Avram Grant’s success at Chelsea; he wasn’t right for the job in the first place. Just because he got by on dumb luck for most of the first half of this year does not mean he would have been able to repeat that this time around. Chelsea look formidable, and I can envision them lifting the trophy come May. No, they aren’t going to romp to the title – the other 3 teams of the illustrious “Top 4” will push them all the way – but there will be no final game decider to settle the question of who will be crowned champions.

The air surrounding Manchester United has been tainted ever since “Ronaldogate” began. I don’t know whether the squad is under-prepared this time around, or missing players took their toll in the first game, but the desire to chase the title this year doesn’t seem to be burning as brightly as last season. They lack hunger – in comparison right now, Chelsea have this in abundance. Still, United will churn out good results, and deliver when necessary. A comfortable second place might be in store.

It’s been reiterated to Arsène Wenger on many an occasion: you can’t win anything with kids! Sir Alex Ferguson disproved that theory in the 90s with the likes of Beckham, Scholes and the Neville brothers, only now, given the raised level of competition, the feat cannot be replicated as easily. Arsenal’s tactics have, for the most part, failed during critical stages of the season for the last 3 years. Last season, they punished the slip-ups of the rivals to take an early comfortable lead in the race. Then came the implosion, and Arsenal plummeted down the table, finishing the season languishing in third, when they should have finished higher. The departures of Hleb and Flamini are huge body blows, though Samir Nasri will partly fill that gaping void (as shown on Saturday).

Liverpool? It’s hard to say what will happen to them. On paper, the squad is strong, and could very well challenge for silverware in one department. But unrest off the pitch persists. The rift between the owners could effortlessly affect player morale, and consequently match performances. Probably the side at most risk of dropping out of the top four. Maybe Spurs, if they can get some consistency going, can overhaul them.

Such a premature prediction table can draw incorrect assumptions. First of all, one must be aware that the transfer window is still open, so teams still have the opportunity to strengthen. Secondly, one cannot foresee injuries which play vital roles in outcomes. Nevertheless, I predicted that Manchester United would be triumphant last season, with Chelsea runners-up, Liverpool in 3^rd, and Arsenal 4^th (in reality, Liverpool and Arsenal finished the other way around), as well as correctly predicted 2 out of the 3 relegated sides (I said: 20^th- Derby, 19^th- Wigan. 18^th- Reading. It was actually: 20^th- Derby, 19^th- Birmingham, 18^th- Reading).

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Tottenham Hotspur
6. Newcastle United
7. Aston Villa
8. West Ham United
9. Portsmouth
10. Manchester City
11. Sunderland
12. Blackburn Rovers
13. Middlesbrough
14. Bolton Wanderers
15. Fulham
16. West Bromwich Albion
17. Everton
18. Hull City
19. Wigan Athletic
20. Stoke City

The middling places are pure guesswork. Otherwise, I’d say those will be the top five, and the bottom three. Everton figure that low in the table because they haven’t been active in the transfer market, and when that happens, things begin going the way of your opposition at crunch time. Likelihood is they will be in a lower-mid table position. Hull have a reasonable chance of survival, so I can't definitely say they'll go down. However, it seems implausible to think a different team will be relegated in their place. Hmm...

And can somebody please tell Wigan Athletic that dressing like Chelsea will not help you play like Chelsea? Worse still is that they chose Chelsea's ghastly fluorescent away kit! I'd exclude them from the league for that offence alone!