This season, the Premiership
threatened to reach boiling point with the overabundance of Managerial talent
& transfer funds boosted by the new TV deal.
Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola,
Jurgen Klopp, Antonio Conte, Arsene Wenger & their respective “projects” in
a land mass measuring 50,000 square miles. Terrifying innit! All of them have
their reputations on the line; pushed by impatient boards/owners to be
successful yesterday. Spurs, Leicester, Southampton, Everton, West Ham won’t go
quietly into the night either.
Add the lucrative new TV deal to
this concoction and you have madness. $20-30 Million for a player they really
want (need is another question altogether) is not beyond the reach of even the newly
promoted teams. Transfer activity from the mid-table clubs peaked this year
resulting in the 1 Billion pounds figure being breached by 8.30 AM on Deadline
day (Against 870 Mn spent last season).
In all this hype, it is easy to
lose track of the small matter of Football. Does the game on field match up?
The first 3 rounds have been
interesting if not exactly enthralling. The two Manchester clubs, boosted by
their star additions have notched up the full quota of points (United by the
skin of their teeth in the 92nd Minute against Hull). Manchester United
is adapting to the “Mou” way; Tougher still, unlearning Van Gaal’s sideways
style. True to form, Mourinho has already sidelined a world cup winning legend
prompting outrage from all over Germany. Propelled forward by Zlatan, Pogba &
the variety of attacking talent, United are already a sure shot contender for
the top 4. They are yet to reach the level of fluidity of a top team though. An
inexperienced defense is a worry too -something which may come back to haunt
them as the fixtures pile up.
City is another big spender in
transition with erstwhile “untouchables” being discarded. Pep has his people
and process in place. There was a telling moment against West Ham when Pep
frantically waved Willy
Caballero onto a “Neuer”esque position midway between the penalty box and the
halfway line. They look a more settled team with their attack more in Sync. They
are not averse to winning ugly when it is called for too, as the 3-1 result
over West ham showed.
Chelsea is the other team with their full quota of
points; though they threatened to drop em at multiple occasions in their first
2 games. Contrary to last season, they managed to find solutions to dig
themselves out of trouble though. Costa’s getting the goals; new signing
Batshuayi looks sharp and has a mean shot. The Burnley game saw Hazard firing
again. Spoilt for choice in midfield, Conte has used Fabregas sparingly. With
new addition Kante adding steel to the midfield, Chelsea’s weakness remains the
lack of depth in defense. Conte is winning over the fans with his celebrations and
will get more brownie points for bringing in David Luiz, a crowd favourite from
PSG.
Arsenal, Liverpool & Spurs have been inconsistent
at best. The opening weekend saw the first 2 play out a 4-3 thriller which
confirmed the backlines of both teams are in need of immediate replenishment.
Spurs have not been finding goal scorers; Harry Kane has had a quiet start.
The first 3 rounds have seen some upsets – Hull beating
Leicester on opening day with 14 fit players available, Burnley stunning
Liverpool 2-0 with only 19% possession.
Overall it has been a fairly interesting beginning. It
will get better with the Managers finding their best formations, combinations
and players. With purse strings loosening & increasing accessibility of
talent, clubs from the lower rungs will challenge the biggies at every turn. The
Premier league remains as open as ever; nothing can be taken for granted.
