The dawn of a new season will always bring a renewed sense of optimism to football teams across the world. For many, It usually takes a series of defeats to deliver the hammer blows of realism and yet this year the premiership feels and looks peculiar.
After suffering their 6th defeat of the league season to Arsenal, Liverpool have left the door wide open to the likes of Spurs, Aston Villa and Manchester City, who all chase top four finishes. Compound this with inconsistency from the remainder of the big four and you have many predicting the end of this elite group.
I prefer to stay away from such band wagons and point to the second half of the season where injuries, fatigue and doubts will challenge these teams to their very limits. Villa present a compelling case study as Martin O’Neill’s men saw 11 of their 17 premier league victories last season come before the new year.
However, there are other mountains to face, namely the pressure associated with rising expectation. It may be good fun to smash Wigan 9-1 in November when nobody expects anything, but when columns, radio shows and television channels turn their attention to the team, can the players handle the heat? Manchester City have a slight advantage here, as their team comprises of the likes of Tevez, Adebayor and Toure, who have experience with such matters.
If it wasn’t hard enough, there is the question of talent and match winners. In the marathon of a league, no team, no matter how strong, can be expected to play well throughout. Ultimately, there are spells where a select few must stand up and provide the difference. The consistency of men like Gerrard, Lampard, Torres and Ronaldo are testament to this.
All in all, I guess you could say I will be very surprised if the ‘big four’ is broken this season.
