Happy New Year
It’s only a few days old, but already 2010 has been a hectic one for the Premier League clubs (and their supporters). Manchester United were upset by Leeds in the FA Cup, Ashley Cole was booked for an audacious attempt to get an invite onto Top Gear (getting clocked at an impressive 100mph in a 50mph zone) and things have gone from bad to worse for poor old Portsmouth, who may be forced to combine the ignominy of coming last on the table with the joy of doing it for no pay – with news that the club is in dire financial straits and on the verge of collapse.
January also marks the start of transfer season – that time of the year when clubs desperate to stave off relegation or climb back into contention settle in for their regular game of multi-million pound musical chairs. The clubs at the bottom of the table will be looking to make some moves, and the big four will as always will feature heavily in the transfer gossip – but the 400 pound gorilla in the middle of the room that is becoming increasingly hard to ignore is Manchester City, a club with the resources and ambition to splash out heavily during the transfer window and has already been linked with the likes of Patrick Vieira Ivan Cordoba and Cristian Chivu – names that could reinvigorate City’s unexpected and probably ill-fated title campaign overnight.
The table at the start of the year looks pretty much like it usually does at this point on the calendar, with Chelsea and Manchester United fighting it out for top honours and Arsenal breathing heavily down their necks. The only real surprise is Liverpool, who are mired in 7th place and will have to overcome indifferent form and their worst start to a season in recent memory if they hope to hold off the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Aston Villa to retain their spot in the top four.
At the other end of the spectrum things are even more grim, with Bolton, West Ham, Wigan and the Wolves all heading toward what promises to be a fairly desperate battle for Premiership survival. Pompey meanwhile, who are dead last on the ladder and hot favourites with the bookies to be demoted, are probably more worried about getting their pay-cheques for next week than they are about their pay-cheques for next season…but this is the Premier League folks, and stranger things have happened.
Happy New Year football fans, and all the best for a safe and prosperous 2010.
