Yogesh Joshee Ghost Of Christmas Standings Past
Aug 07, 2015
Yogesh Joshee
Ghost Of Christmas Standings Past
‘Tis the season to be jolly…for Chelsea fans. With
their star-studded team perched comfortably on
the top of the Premier League table at 42 points,
we go into Christmas weekend, or week 18 of
EPL (as some of the more religious would say), with
the standings fairly reflecting why many
firmly believe the Barclays’ Premier League to be the most interesting
football league in the world.
Even though Mourinho’s
team, with its lethal combination of talent and
experience, has so far performed consistently to keep competition at bay,
with the exception of relentless Manchester City, weathered fans know better than to start rejoicing just
yet. Premier League history stands testimony to the fact that top-of-the-table team
before Christmas teams almost never wins the title.
While City is hot on heels of the table leader, it is from the third position
and below that things get really interesting this particular season.
Competition is fierce between Manchester United and and ten teams below it, with some teams
leveled on the same points with only
goal difference setting them apart. With teams like Manchester United,
Arsenal, Liverpool (the historically top-tier teams)
battling for a steady place in the top half, it is no surprise that the January
transfer rumors are wilder than usual, by EPL standards.
In the Gunners weekenddraw with Arsenal in a
nerve-wrecking game thatwasn’t decided until the last
few minutes, bothLiverpool and Arsenal lost
crucial points, a luxuryneither could afford.
Wenger’s team, the tableleaders on 1st January 2014,
are now sixth on the table –a rather unsatisfactory
place for Arsenal fans whofor the past few seasons,
and more importantly forthe past few games, have
seriously reflected on theirfaith in the French
mastermind.
Wenger has loosened Arsenal’s purse strings for the past two seasons with high profile purchases like Mesut Özil
and Alexis Sánchez and despite last year’s FA Cup victory, this finally seems like the season Arsenal fans are no
longer content with barely surviving the season. The January transfer market will show how far Arsene
Wenger is willing to go to keep the team in the next year’s Champions League run.
All teams still have two games each between
Christmas and New Years to gain the
essential points before deciding on transfer
tactics for the January window. All in all, the
next two weeks promise a lot of
excitement for EPL fans and if the transfer rumors are even slightly
true, even more excitement to follow as
2015 unfolds.For more, please visit:
http://yogeshjoshee.uk