Premier League Five Points: Chelsea the team to beat, United not dead yet
We're far enough into the Premier League season now to start making some observations about this year's crop of contenders. It's clear that some consensus early thoughts -- that Liverpool and Manchester United would struggle, and that Chelsea and City were the class of England -- were right on. Others, like the supposed strength of Tottenham and the disaster predicted at Southampton, were way off.
Here's five things we learned from this weekend's run of matches ahead of the international break.
1) Chelsea, not Manchester City, are the team to beat.
It's not quite an apples to apples comparison, but Chelsea's canter past Arsenal Sunday felt far more instructive than City's late flurry to down Aston Villa Saturday by the same scoreline. Arsenal are still a team that is likely to finish in the top four, while Villa are punching well above their weight at present. Manuel Pelligrini can say what he likes -- he claimed that this was his side's "best win" of the season -- but the fact is that Villa were good value for money and held what is alleged to be the Prem's best attacking team at bay for most of the match. In contrast, Chelsea slowly strangled a slick Arsenal side that showed far more bite in this match than in years past, and rarely looked in serious danger. Chelsea do win ugly -- Sunday might have seen four red cards -- but they look inexorable. City, in contrast, still look shaky at the back, something Villa tried but failed to fully exploit.
2) Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere cannot play at the same time.
Of late, Arsene Wenger has taken to noting that Ozil won a World Cup playing out wide. Why? Because Ozil has been a veritable magician out there for the Gunners -- disappearing in every game. The problem is clear: Ozil is a finesse player who needs the room and freedom to create and Wilshere -- a dogged but limited fellow in comparison -- hogs all the space there when he's on the field. When Ozil is given freedom to roam -- say, against Galatasaray - he's a true genius. But when he's shunted out wide, his contributions are minimal. Some claim that Wilshere is a spent force, stunted by dodgy ankles and the very English case of a bit too much too soon. That's unfair, but Wenger does have a problem here. He must address it.
3) Alan Pardew, on borrowed time
Papiss Cisse began his career up North as a scorer of great goals. Right now, Newcastle will take any old goal at all, and Cisse's two scuffed-in shots this weekend to snatch a draw at Swansea probably saved his manager's bacon -- for a fortnight, anyway. But why is Pardew in this situation in the first place? It's only fair to note that he's taken the Toon into the top half of the table twice during his tenure and saved them from relegation as well. It seems that Pardew is a fall guy for a spectacularly poorly run team. Their owner is a cipher, they feud with their fan groups and the local press, and they have sold off almost all their best players without replacement. It's not like Pardew's an angel (just ask David Meyler) but is there any manager, anywhere, who could address such woes?
4) Liverpool's relief belies a lack of belief
When you see a team wildly celebrate winning over West Brom, you know that team is in trouble. Few outside of Liverpool expected this team to repeat last year's heroics, but many did think they could make a decent fist of it. Instead, the Reds look a team that not only hasn't gelled, but one that doesn't think it can win every game. Yes, they have taken some hits - Daniel Sturridge's absence and the Luis Suarez soap both proved costly in different ways to this side - but the fact that the team remains so vulnerable at the back and so static in the middle is truly worrying. Last season, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Steven Gerrard were fearsome; this season they concede possession too readily. In the back, the decision to let Daniel Agger depart looks very foolhardy, summed up Saturday by Dejan Lovren's silly foul. Even Brendan Rodgers is warning that there may be more bad times to come. That's a bitter coda to what was a heartwarming year last season.
5) Manchester United are not dead yet
Let's be clear: United are not a good side. They are very porous in the back, they are static in the middle of the park, and if they did not have two world-class goal-scorers, they would be dead in the water. And yet: they sit fourth going into the break. That's reflection of how even this league is right now as well as a sign that if they can get their legs under them, they will win a European place. Angel Di Maria is making a case for MVP right now, Falcao is finally off the mark, and Danny Blind is starting to look like a very shrewd buy. If Louis van Gaal can find some answers for his decimated defense, this team will pull out some squeakers -- just as they did Sunday against Everton.
