FCConnecticut
Player Valuation: £2.5m
As a relatively new fan to the game of English Football one of the more perplexing aspects of the game and the league is the iron clad nature of the Big Four. Those four teams that will be the only teams vying for the league title. While there seem to be popular choices, from year-to-year, of teams that can crack the top 4 but then it would seem only 4th is obtainable. The sleeping giants and up and comers are all sexy bets like Tottenham and New Castle but even they are given a slim chance by the TV and print journalist. I know it is early, but being the crazy American I want to suggest the unthinkable, two teams will crack the top 4 this year.
Manchester City has some mojo going on under Sven and even an indictment against their new owner wont slow this team down, only injuries can. Sven, especially in the current climate of McClaren, is an enigma in England. He will continue to work his magic for a club that as of now thinks they can beat anybody.
Then there is Everton, quietly and unassumingly building a strong team. Probable the only team to start the season where the first 11 all had played for them the year before. Not a ton of signing like some teams but an improved back line combined with the return of Manny Fernades in a crowded mid field should be basis enough for even a slightly improved campaign over last years where they missed 5th by 2 pts. Add a proven striker to compliment AJ and you've got a recipe that may not be as flashy or pretty as Tottenham would like to be but one that is consistently a tough out for anybody.
Just as importantly as the emergence of new teams will be the coming down a notch or two for the existing big four. At first blush Arsenal looks to be the most likely candidate as they appear a bit unsettled after losing Henry. Anytime you bring a lot of ego's into one place a delicate ecosystem emerges. Normally it sustains itself by a shared burden of responsibility where in one superstar or another steps up in times of need. As long as the team is winning, it's all good. Start losing and the fingers will start pointing, privately if not publicly. These players are here for Champions league play and proximity to other great players. Fall out of the top four and watch how fast the wheels come off the cart.
While Arsenal seems unsettled it is hard to say which team amongst the remaining three could see the tumble necessary to help not one but two new teams crack the top four. I don't have a good enough understanding of the squads to identify an Achilles heel type player or position where an injury could really set the team back but my perception is that Chelsea has the most interchangeable part and there fore the least like of the bunch. In the end it may not take much more than just one of those low point total type of years like 2003 or 2004 campaigns when 60 and 61 pts respectively were enogh for a 4th place finish.
So not only do I think the time is ripe for a new team or two to crack the BIG four, I think the BIG four as we know it today will be a thing of the past in just a few short years.
Manchester City has some mojo going on under Sven and even an indictment against their new owner wont slow this team down, only injuries can. Sven, especially in the current climate of McClaren, is an enigma in England. He will continue to work his magic for a club that as of now thinks they can beat anybody.
Then there is Everton, quietly and unassumingly building a strong team. Probable the only team to start the season where the first 11 all had played for them the year before. Not a ton of signing like some teams but an improved back line combined with the return of Manny Fernades in a crowded mid field should be basis enough for even a slightly improved campaign over last years where they missed 5th by 2 pts. Add a proven striker to compliment AJ and you've got a recipe that may not be as flashy or pretty as Tottenham would like to be but one that is consistently a tough out for anybody.
Just as importantly as the emergence of new teams will be the coming down a notch or two for the existing big four. At first blush Arsenal looks to be the most likely candidate as they appear a bit unsettled after losing Henry. Anytime you bring a lot of ego's into one place a delicate ecosystem emerges. Normally it sustains itself by a shared burden of responsibility where in one superstar or another steps up in times of need. As long as the team is winning, it's all good. Start losing and the fingers will start pointing, privately if not publicly. These players are here for Champions league play and proximity to other great players. Fall out of the top four and watch how fast the wheels come off the cart.
While Arsenal seems unsettled it is hard to say which team amongst the remaining three could see the tumble necessary to help not one but two new teams crack the top four. I don't have a good enough understanding of the squads to identify an Achilles heel type player or position where an injury could really set the team back but my perception is that Chelsea has the most interchangeable part and there fore the least like of the bunch. In the end it may not take much more than just one of those low point total type of years like 2003 or 2004 campaigns when 60 and 61 pts respectively were enogh for a 4th place finish.
So not only do I think the time is ripe for a new team or two to crack the BIG four, I think the BIG four as we know it today will be a thing of the past in just a few short years.
