The BPL, as the Year Changes
By Jordan Katz
2013 is upon us. A new year has begun, filled with resolutions, optimism, all
those positive things. Now seems like a good time to take a look at the various
storylines that have come up in this year in the BPL.
Manchester United, The Comeback Kids: Sitting atop the table at this time is
Manchester United. After losing the title famously last year to Manchester
City, this season United have been sticklers for late game luck and heroics.
Starting with Robin Van Persie scoring twice in five minutes to bury
Southampton, United have been able to consistently pull off come from behind
wins to place themselves at the top of the table. They overcame a 2-0 deficit
to Aston Villa to win 3-2, and beat Manchester City with a last second free
kick to give them a 3-2 win at the Etihad. United’s many close wins have proven
that they have a champion’s pedigree. No lead is too big for them to overcome
as they have proven time and time again this season. Law of averages says that they’re
bound to lose some close games and get some unlucky breaks by the time the
season is over, but I somehow doubt that will apply to Sir Alex Ferguson’s men.
Manchester City, Ups and Downs: Sitting at second place is the defending
champion, Manchester City. The “Noisy Neighbors” of Manchester haven’t done
anything outstanding in how they win games. They’ve lost twice; first to Man U,
and then surprisingly to Sunderland, but have generally been in a good form.
The reason for their second place ranking is their penchant for coming away
with draws in games that they should win. If they could’ve turned road draws
against Stoke and West Ham into wins, they’d be in first place, two points
ahead of United. On the field performance in the BPL has been mainly smooth
sailing, with the loss to Sunderland being the only real exception. The
problems for City lie in European play and off the field. City bombed out of
the Champions League after failing to win a game in six tries in another
unsuccessful attempt in club football’s finest competition. City also has its
share off the field problems, and by problems, I mean Mario Balotelli and
Roberto Mancini’s spats. The two Italians have feuded all throughout the
season, which culminated in Balotelli’s subbing off in the Manchester Derby.
Balotelli was taken off, and immediately went down to the tunnel, which earned
him a fine from City. There are strong rumors of Balotelli being sold to AC
Milan come the January transfer market, which could benefit both the Italian
and Manchester City.
Chelsea, Two Spaniards, An Italian and a Russian: When Chelsea brought in Eden
Hazard over the summer, it surely seemed like the Belgian international’s
performance would be the biggest story for Chelsea this year. But people forgot
that Roman Abramovich owns Chelsea, and that Fernando Torres, despite having a
successful Euros, has yet to be consistent for the club. Abramovich, never shy
to fire managers, fired Roberto Di Matteo after the defending European
Champions got shellacked 3-0 by Juventus. Less than 24 hours later, the man who
scored 26 goals for Chelsea was sacked, and Rafa Benitez was then appointed to
interim manager, his first gig after being in charge of Liverpool. The response
to the new Spanish manager at first was harsh, but has since warmed up as
Chelsea has been playing better. In correspondence with Benitez taking the
helms at Chelsea has been the improved form of Fernando Torres. The Spanish
striker, who since joining the Blues has had more ups and downs than an extreme
roller coaster, seems to have finally found his comfort zone . In his most
recent four games, Torres has three goals and an assist, once again prompting
whispers of “Torres is back.” If Torres’ continues at this rate, he will help
his fellow countryman, Benitez, in putting the interim manager in good standing
with the supporters, and winning games for Chelsea.
The Wild Tie for Fourth: There’s three teams tied for
fourth, and there could be four if not for the London subway cleaners going on
strike. Tottenham, Everton and West Brom are all tied at 33 points while
Arsenal has 30 points on one less game. Arsenal and Tottenham fighting for fourth
place is not surprising at all. They finished 3th and 4th last year, and find
themselves in the same position However, Everton and West Brom being in this
position is far more interesting. The Toffees finished 7th last year, while the
Baggies finished 10th. For Everton, the driving force has been the big Belgian,
with the even bigger hair, Marouane Fellaini. Fellaini has 8 goals, which is
more than Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, and Fernando Torres, among others. Whilst
other players have been making major contributions to Everton’s campaign,
Fellaini has been pivotal towards Everton sitting tied at 4th. West Brom has
taken advantage of Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku and Shane Long, as the two have
combined for 11 goals. West Brom dominated in November, winning 4 in a row to
shoot them up to the table, which included beating Chelsea. While it’s quite
likely the Spurs and Arsenal will hold their positions around 4th place all
season, you’ll have to watch to see if Everton and WBA can keep up their good
form all way into May, and qualify for European competition.
Ugly, But Effective, Stoke City: Tony Pulis’ men of Stoke are infamous for
playing “anti-football”. They play physical and don’t focus on trying to play
with an aesthetically pleasing style, rather the use one that prevents them
losing games, which shows in their record. They have only lost 3 games, the
same amount of losses suffered by both Chelsea and Manchester United. They have
a league-leading 10 draws. Stoke is a team that will happily take an ugly
looking 0-0 draw over a thrilling 5-4 loss. And that kind of attitude has been
working for Stoke. They only lead the league in only conceding 14 goals in 19
games, less than a goal per game. No one likes to play Stoke, and they’re fine
with that, as they could sneak into a Europa league spot with such a strong
defense. Stoke currently sits in 8th place, but if Everton or West Brom begin
to fade, they could sneak into 7th place and play in the Europa League.
The Surprise of Michu: Raise your hand if you expected a Spanish striker to be
the leading scorer in the BPL in December. Okay, you probably thought that
would be Fernando Torres. Would you have expected Michu, previously of Rayo
Vallecano, to be that striker? Doubtful. Michu has caught most people by
surprise. The striker, who scored 15 times in Spain last year, has already
scored 13 times this season for Swansea. He has been one of the biggest
surprises of the BPL, and massive credit must be given to Michael Laudrup and
Swansea for finding such a gem in the rough.
A Pair of Disappointments, Newcastle and Liverpool: The two parties involved in
Andy Carroll transfer have both had lackluster seasons thus far. Newcastle, who
last year finished 5th, is now sitting in 15th place. Demba Ba has been just about
single handedly keeping the Magpies out of a relegation battle, with 11 goals,
good for second in the BPL. Injuries to two of Newcastle’s top players,
Frenchmen Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa has hurt them thus far. The Newcastle
squad from last season has hardly changed, as the Ba and Cisse striker force is
still in tact, yet Newcastle has been performing much worse. Injuries have been
hurting Alan Pardew’s men, but a drop of 10 spots in the table is surely not at
all expected. Liverpool has also been disappointing, but that really depends on
what you expected from Brendan Rodgers’ men from Anfield. They currently sit in
10th place, a meager fall from last season’s 8th place finish. It’s clear that
Rodgers doesn’t intend to return Liverpool to a dynasty overnight, but rather
rebuild the squad. Luis Suarez, much like Demba Ba, has been doing the majority
of the scoring with 11 goals to his name. While expecting Liverpool to make the
Champions League is ridiculous, it’s fair to think the Reds could make the
Europa League. Still, unless they improve their play in the second half of this
season, the only chance Liverpool has at European competition is winning the FA
Cup.
Bound for Relegation, and Who Saw it Coming?, QPR: Last season QPR needed
Bolton drawing with Stoke just to stay in the BPL. In response to that they
made moves in the off-season to bring in some more talent. Stephane M’Bia,
Granero, Julio Cesar, and Junior Hoilett, were among the several players QPR
acquired to ensure that they wouldn’t be facing relegation again this season.
That backfired. They have won just a single game. Even if the firing of Mark
Hughes, and the hiring of Harry Redknapp, QPR still sits dead last in the
table. It’s sad to see, as QPR tried to spend to improve their team, and seemed
to make some smart signings, but instead, they’re in the relegation zone, and
it’s highly unlikely that Harry Redknapp can “wheel and deal” his way out of
QPR’s tough situation.
1:57 PM
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