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CyberKev
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It pains me to be forced into a concession speech on the opening day of the year, with some five months of the competition still to run, but reality bites and it bites hard. The much loved, and equally hyped, Liverpool side isunofficially out of the running for the 2002-2003 Premiership and has much thinking to do in the lead-up to next season's competition. This is, in some ways, a big call given that the Reds are a mere four points off second and on the brink of an overdue return to form, but it is almost impossible for them to get the required points from here. 78 points will be the minimum requirement for success in this competition and only the most perversely optimistic of Reds fans could see the side accruing44 points from a maximum 51, to say nothing of the fact that it is highly unlikely that Arsenal willperform sufficiently below par to drop 16+ points in the run home. Houllier's team can rightly feel hard done by this season, given that it has only been outplayed in general play (in the EPL) 3 times this season [Middlesborough, Sunderland & Arsenal] and in a world that was fair and equal, would either be leading the competition outright or sitting hard on the Gunner's heels in second. In spite of this, Houllier will need to look hard at the overt defensiveness of his tactics and should look seriously at purchasing a wide running player to provide much needed support to Riise. Excuses are a dime a dozen in this competition and Houllier will need to check them at the door and make some hard decisions if the Reds are to return to the Champions League next season.
Several sides have impressed me this season -- Chelsea, Everton, Southampton, Middlesborough, Newcastle, Blackburn & Charlton. Chelsea have performed well enough to warrant serious title aspirations and are sitting comfortably in second spot as the field rounds the bend and begins the uphill run for home. I fear that the Blues will fall off a tad from here; not enough to fall out of the top six, mind you, but the best they can seriously hope for is a Champions League spot. The same can probably be said of all the above sides bar Newcastle who I suspect will hold fast to fourth spot for the remainder of the campaign. I would probably be one of painfully few Liverpool tragics willing to admit this, but I'm actually hoping that Everton can maintain the momentum it displayed pre-XMAS. Wayne Rooney is as exciting a youngster as I have seen in this competition and he provides a vibrant spark to an unsung, but ever evolving outfit. I'm also enjoying Southampton's surprise run in the top ten and believe that they have the capacity to stay there, although a place in Europe may prove just beyond their reach. Gordon Strachan is again proving himself a manager of considerable substance, and impresses as much as other unsung heroes of the sidelines, most notably -- Claudio Ranieri (Chelsea), Alan Curbishley (Charlton), Graeme Souness (Blackburn) & Steve McLaren (Middlesborough). Those griping Frenchmen Wenger & Houllier could do worse than study these guys for helpful hints on how to conduct themselves during and after premiership matches, although this would entail both men making the quantum mental leap required to comprehend the cold, hard fact that their sides are not imbued with an incontravenable, god-given right to victory every time they take to the field!
You could also, of course, throw Sir Alex Ferguson into this select group of miserly whiners, although he does warrant credit for turning around a season that seemed thoroughly doomed a couple of long months ago. The much loathed Manny U are not quite the talented tour de force they were a few years back, but they do possess a grit borne of countless title triumphs and, for this reason alone, cannot be discounted at this stage. I doubt they'll salute the judges, however, although they just may be capable of pulling off a memorable upset in the Champions League.
At the other end of the table I fear that Bolton, Sunderland & West Bromwich Albion are all set for demotion at season's end. This presumes that embattled West Ham will defy history by becoming the first side to avoid relegation having turned last at the New Year mark of the season. The Hammers will certainly lift when a couple of big names return and showed last season that they were more than capable of holding their end-up in the run home. It wasn't that long ago that you could have easily slipped Leeds United into relgation discussions, but the side has recovered touch and should win more than it loses from here-on-in.
This only leaves Arsenal to cover and while the side has not been able to match the class and brutality of the last campaign it is still adequately equipped to go back-to-back. This must surely be Seaman's last run around in top company and glaring gaps are still evident at times in the Gunner defence, but the side still has no peer when its attack is up and running, ensuring that it will win shootouts anywhere and everywhere at least 8 times out of 10. I loathe Wenger's side with a growing passion, but bugger me breadthways I do so like to watch them play! Chalk-up some more silverware for the Highbury faithful...
CyberKev
It pains me to be forced into a concession speech on the opening day of the year, with some five months of the competition still to run, but reality bites and it bites hard. The much loved, and equally hyped, Liverpool side isunofficially out of the running for the 2002-2003 Premiership and has much thinking to do in the lead-up to next season's competition. This is, in some ways, a big call given that the Reds are a mere four points off second and on the brink of an overdue return to form, but it is almost impossible for them to get the required points from here. 78 points will be the minimum requirement for success in this competition and only the most perversely optimistic of Reds fans could see the side accruing44 points from a maximum 51, to say nothing of the fact that it is highly unlikely that Arsenal willperform sufficiently below par to drop 16+ points in the run home. Houllier's team can rightly feel hard done by this season, given that it has only been outplayed in general play (in the EPL) 3 times this season [Middlesborough, Sunderland & Arsenal] and in a world that was fair and equal, would either be leading the competition outright or sitting hard on the Gunner's heels in second. In spite of this, Houllier will need to look hard at the overt defensiveness of his tactics and should look seriously at purchasing a wide running player to provide much needed support to Riise. Excuses are a dime a dozen in this competition and Houllier will need to check them at the door and make some hard decisions if the Reds are to return to the Champions League next season.
Several sides have impressed me this season -- Chelsea, Everton, Southampton, Middlesborough, Newcastle, Blackburn & Charlton. Chelsea have performed well enough to warrant serious title aspirations and are sitting comfortably in second spot as the field rounds the bend and begins the uphill run for home. I fear that the Blues will fall off a tad from here; not enough to fall out of the top six, mind you, but the best they can seriously hope for is a Champions League spot. The same can probably be said of all the above sides bar Newcastle who I suspect will hold fast to fourth spot for the remainder of the campaign. I would probably be one of painfully few Liverpool tragics willing to admit this, but I'm actually hoping that Everton can maintain the momentum it displayed pre-XMAS. Wayne Rooney is as exciting a youngster as I have seen in this competition and he provides a vibrant spark to an unsung, but ever evolving outfit. I'm also enjoying Southampton's surprise run in the top ten and believe that they have the capacity to stay there, although a place in Europe may prove just beyond their reach. Gordon Strachan is again proving himself a manager of considerable substance, and impresses as much as other unsung heroes of the sidelines, most notably -- Claudio Ranieri (Chelsea), Alan Curbishley (Charlton), Graeme Souness (Blackburn) & Steve McLaren (Middlesborough). Those griping Frenchmen Wenger & Houllier could do worse than study these guys for helpful hints on how to conduct themselves during and after premiership matches, although this would entail both men making the quantum mental leap required to comprehend the cold, hard fact that their sides are not imbued with an incontravenable, god-given right to victory every time they take to the field!
You could also, of course, throw Sir Alex Ferguson into this select group of miserly whiners, although he does warrant credit for turning around a season that seemed thoroughly doomed a couple of long months ago. The much loathed Manny U are not quite the talented tour de force they were a few years back, but they do possess a grit borne of countless title triumphs and, for this reason alone, cannot be discounted at this stage. I doubt they'll salute the judges, however, although they just may be capable of pulling off a memorable upset in the Champions League.
At the other end of the table I fear that Bolton, Sunderland & West Bromwich Albion are all set for demotion at season's end. This presumes that embattled West Ham will defy history by becoming the first side to avoid relegation having turned last at the New Year mark of the season. The Hammers will certainly lift when a couple of big names return and showed last season that they were more than capable of holding their end-up in the run home. It wasn't that long ago that you could have easily slipped Leeds United into relgation discussions, but the side has recovered touch and should win more than it loses from here-on-in.
This only leaves Arsenal to cover and while the side has not been able to match the class and brutality of the last campaign it is still adequately equipped to go back-to-back. This must surely be Seaman's last run around in top company and glaring gaps are still evident at times in the Gunner defence, but the side still has no peer when its attack is up and running, ensuring that it will win shootouts anywhere and everywhere at least 8 times out of 10. I loathe Wenger's side with a growing passion, but bugger me breadthways I do so like to watch them play! Chalk-up some more silverware for the Highbury faithful...
CyberKev
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