The most striking thing about this season has been the lack of consistency amongst the expected top teams. City, United and particularly Chelsea have all been worse than last season, Arsenal have stayed about the same. Chelsea’s fall has been especially dramatic; the manager seems to have fallen out with some players to a level which ruined the team spirit and performance. I would also say they were a bit complacent in the transfer market, expecting the same group of players to be able to win the league again when their form in the second half of last season was significantly lower than the first. Having said that I thought they’d still win it too…
Leicester City have been a revelation, and along with other clubs like Crystal Palace and Watford have shown it’s really not all about big money signings. With the right team spirit, characters and tactics you can go a long way. What also stands out about this group of clubs is that they generally play a more direct style than the big clubs. 4-4-2 and/or pacey wingers with a good strike partnership has worked very well for them. This used to be the way most teams played in the Premier League (including the biggest clubs) but not anymore.
The 4-2-3-1 formation is very much in favour with all of the big clubs now. I presume this is seen as being more effective in Europe? Well not so far... It just seems to be in fashion, I don’t know why it’s deemed to be more effective than 4-4-2/4-3-3, which was certainly more successful for United a few years ago. I think a lot of the foreign owners want to create the next Barcelona, which is not so easy when the whole history of a country has been playing in a far more direct way, no matter how much money you throw at it. The whole things smacks of corporate mentality – a feeling you have to emulate what your competitors are doing to build an acceptable brand to satisfy shareholders.
Poor attitudes and big egos of certain players have also damaged the big clubs. I’ve no doubt this is a significant reason for the lack of consistency. If you throw too much money at players (especially from an early age) it will undoubtedly effect the motivation of some – it’s only human. What you need to counter this is a strong manager, and one that has full control over transfers and playing staff matters. I don’t think any of the top clubs have both of these now. The board having a say on the transfer policy of a club is one of the biggest problems of the modern day game; this needs to be left to the manager, coaches and scouts who know what the football team requires.
Injuries are another issue affecting the big clubs more than they used to, I don’t know why this is. The title race will hinge much on the fitness of players like Kompany, Aguero, Sanchez and Coquelin. I do think Leicester have a chance, if they really believe they can do it. Tottenham are also contenders, only 4 points off the lead now. If I had to pick I’d go with Arsenal - Ozil is finally playing like he’s capable of which has made a big difference for them. When you combine this with Sanchez returning this will bring a lot of goals. City’s problem is still the attitude of certain players, there’s not enough togetherness or consistency in effort. I can’t see Aguero and Kompany stay fit for long enough to counteract this.
