Premier league review 2014/15: Mid November - Mid-January
The season is now firmly shaping up and for some teams it is almost impossible to see where they'll end up at the end of the 38 games. Only twenty one games, the mid to bottom of the table has become extremely tight and this could be one of the most exciting end to the relegation scrap (not too sound cliche!).
Surprise teams are still flying high but Swansea will be slightly worried after Bony sale
Southampton are still flying high after beating alot of teams comfortably. Their most recent result against Manchester United, a 1-0 win, demonstrates the possibly of them gaining European football for next season. Ronald Koeman is already a contender for Manger of the season as he has transformed a team that had its nucleus (Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Callum Chambers and Rickie Lambert) sold off to a team that is feared among other Premier league clubs. Southampton deserve full credit for buying players that fit their new manager's style of play well (which doesn't always happen when a club has alot of money from recent player sales).
West Ham are another team flying high, although they had a spell recently where they dropped some points. However, they currently sit in seventh and have the chance to jump up to fifth with a win over Hull at Uptown Park. Enner Valencia has been the star man for Big Sam's team, always popping up when they need a vital goal. Andy Carroll has also come into good form, with a fantastic goal in his last game against Swansea.
Swansea have been left with a hole in their team after Wilfred Bony agreed to join Manchester City for £28 million. Bony is currently away on international duty with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations but will be relishing in that his fantastic form has earned him a place in one of England's best teams. Swansea must fill that attacking hole fast if they want to finish among the top eight. It is hard to see who they will get has a good enough replacement but £28 million can persuade the majority of clubs to part with their top striker.
Some teams continue to struggle...
There are some teams that have not started their season at all. One of those teams is Everton. This season has become a total and complete contrast to last season's fifth place as they currently sit in twelfth place and has arguably the worst defence in the league. It seems that Martinez has become a victim of his past success, as defenders are nervous wrecks and teams know that they can beat Everton if they push up the field fast and don't let them settle. Small problems have slowly become season-threatening worries for the Everton faithful.
Arsenal aren't really struggling but they are being carried by Alexis Sanchez and his extremely out-of-place quality compared to the rest of the Arsenal team. Arsenal may not be in danger of having no season at all but they must buy a center-back and a central defensive-midfielder to have a chance of finishing in the top four (as always) and to take the pressure off their Chilean superstar.
Obviously there are teams near the bottom of the table that don't have a consistent enough run to make their fans think they won't be in a relegation battle at the end of the season. These teams are listed below:
Swansea have been left with a hole in their team after Wilfred Bony agreed to join Manchester City for £28 million. Bony is currently away on international duty with Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations but will be relishing in that his fantastic form has earned him a place in one of England's best teams. Swansea must fill that attacking hole fast if they want to finish among the top eight. It is hard to see who they will get has a good enough replacement but £28 million can persuade the majority of clubs to part with their top striker.
Some teams continue to struggle...
There are some teams that have not started their season at all. One of those teams is Everton. This season has become a total and complete contrast to last season's fifth place as they currently sit in twelfth place and has arguably the worst defence in the league. It seems that Martinez has become a victim of his past success, as defenders are nervous wrecks and teams know that they can beat Everton if they push up the field fast and don't let them settle. Small problems have slowly become season-threatening worries for the Everton faithful.
Arsenal aren't really struggling but they are being carried by Alexis Sanchez and his extremely out-of-place quality compared to the rest of the Arsenal team. Arsenal may not be in danger of having no season at all but they must buy a center-back and a central defensive-midfielder to have a chance of finishing in the top four (as always) and to take the pressure off their Chilean superstar.
Obviously there are teams near the bottom of the table that don't have a consistent enough run to make their fans think they won't be in a relegation battle at the end of the season. These teams are listed below:
- Everton
- Hull City
- Newcastle
- Aston Villa
- West Brom
- Sunderland
- QPR
Chelsea don't look like they'll lose out to City
Chelsea may have been beaten by Newcastle and Tottenham away but they don't look catchable. True, Manchester City are close to them and have added to their difficult striker fitness regime by buying Bony, but Chelsea's team is fantastic and in my opinion is the third best team in the world (at club level). The list of quality players is endless and are known by every football fan across the world. In some games, they have stages of play which look exceptional and may to a certain extent can be seen as a carbon copy of Pep Guardiola's dominate Bayern Munich team.
Manchester City have bought the Premier league's top goalscorer in 2014 (20 goals) for £28 million (£25 million upfront cash and £3 million in performance related add-ons). Bony becomes the most expensive African player in history, passing Emmanuel Adebayor's £25 million transfer from Arsenal to Manchester City in July 2009.
