Any calls for a winter break in the Premier League should be royally quashed after what has been the most exciting festive period in many years. We have seen the demise and replacement of two managers, seven delicously-dropped points from Chelsea and, just when you thought that the highlight of the transfer window was Lou Macari moving from Setanta to ESPN, City fork over an inexcusable £27 million for Edin Dzeko. Eventful to say the least.
However, perhaps the main talking point over the last few weeks has been the return of the talismanic Kenny Dalglish to Anfield. Although supposedly acting as interim manager until the end of the season, retaining the services of King Kenny for the long-haul will no doubt be top of the list of priorities at the Liverpool boardroom. While Roy Hodgson had his moments, his inability to win
over the fans, compounded by the signing of the useless Poulsen and Konchesky, ultimately cost him his job. While the appointment of the King will no doubt lift the squad, let’s not get carried away with ourselves. Such is the frailty of the Reds this season that a top-half finish would be deemed a success for Dalglish.
In contrast, one of the teams punching way above their weight this season is Sunderland. A top seven finish and a place in Europe is not out of the question for the Black Cats as Steve Bruce continues to prove his worth. However, they will face a challenging run-in having sold goal-machine striker Darren Bent to Villa, who are seriously struggling for some consistent form at the moment. However, with only six points separating 12th place from the bottom, the relegation battle is too close to call. That said, with desperately weak squads and painfully average managers, surely it is West Ham and Wigan who have the most to worry about in the coming months.
The top half is just as close with Arsenal pushing United and City in what will be a tense title run-in. United’s games-in-hand will prove vaulable as they try to create some breathing space between themselves and their Manchester rivals who are finally looking like a team rather than a group of individual stars. Yaya Toure and David Silva in particular have been justifying their outrageous price-tags.
The return of Frank Lampard from injury will provide some relief for Chelsea but you just can’t see them coming back and retaining the title this year after their winter self-destruction. Drogba especially has looked out of sorts with only 8 leagues goals so far compared to the 29 of last season. Across town at Tottenham, things seem to be shaping up nicely for a second consecutive top-four finish but, like Chelsea, the title may be just out of their reach. The arrival of Steven Pienaar from Everton means that Harry Redknapp will be weighed down with tricky wingers for the rest of the season with the likes of Bale and Lennon in good form.
The coming weeks’ action should give us a clearer picture of how the season will pan out as the title race intensifies, the relegation battle comes to a fore and the men are separated from the boys.
