Eleven games have come and gone in the English Premier League this season, and believe or not a third of the season is gone.
Now that the international break is over until next year it is time for the business part of the season to commence.
The mad winter rush is approaching where we can expect to see Boxing Day, New Year’s games and FA Cup matches, leaving every football fan very excited.
Let’s have a look at the best performing clubs so far this season – Chelsea, Southampton and West Ham.
1. Chelsea FC
If you’re a Chelsea fan, such as myself, you will know that this is the season that we have been waiting for since we won the UEFA Champions League on that famous May night in Munich.
The entire squad is finally complete, including Jose Mourinho’s return which was a masterstroke by Roman Abramovich as he is the best coach for the club. The goalkeeping positions are insanely stacked and is of the envy of every club in the world with Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois backed up by Mark Schwarzer.
The defence has been extremely efficient with the evergreen John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta holding the fortress. David who? The midfield is clicking well with the signing of Cesc Fabregas as the midfield general working wonders. Eden Hazard has less responsibility and hence can be more creative and damaging to the opposition and Oscar is proving why he got the nod over Juan Mata with excellent performances week in, week out.
Nemanja Matic, Andre Schurrle, Ramires and Willian provide the tracking back and industry needed to keep the team balanced, which makes the Chelsea squad so damn good. Up front the curse of Fernando Torres has finally been lifted and Diego Costa is proving the real deal, immediately shutting up all speculations of another big money flop from outsiders.
Nine EPL goals already this season see him as a joint favourite with Kun Aguero for the Golden Boot winner. Loic Remy has been good when called upon, scoring a few goals in his limited game time so far, and the return of King Didier Drogba is an emotional and spiritual lift for Chelsea.
They are the big winners of the season so far. I expect them to finish first.
2. Southampton FC
I thought Southampton were doomed for relegation after selling off their best players and manager at the end of last season. But let us quickly check up on how the Saints old boys are doing so far.
Luke Shaw has gone to Manchester United and struggled with injuries and his weight. Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert are finding game time hard at Liverpool. Mauricio Pochettino is struggling at Spurs with Daniel Levy breathing down his neck and Calum Chambers is being overplayed and stretched to the limit at Arsenal.
Meanwhile, back on the south coast they are even better than last year, with the statistics to prove it. They are second in the EPL, have the best defensive record and they have the biggest win of the season, destroying Sunderland 8-0. A big shout out goes to Ronald Koeman for organising his lads when morale was down and keeping the way the Saints play intact.
Credit goes to Nathaniel Clyne, whose performances have got him an England call up and widespread recognition as England’s new right back. It is funny how Arsenal didn’t even sign Southampton’s best right back as Clyne is better than Chambers defensively and has more games to his name when they were both at the club last season. United should be looking at him as a replacement to the injury-prone and useless Rafael.
Graziano Pelle is everything that Rickie Lambert was for Southampton, a tall target man and with a good strike and heading ability, not to mention being younger and better than the England benchwarmer. Pelle has already found the back of the net numerous times this season and will continue to do so.
The Saints are looking to be a shock top four club this year and with Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal choking on their cereal every weekend this will the best time in the history of the league for a newcomer to usurp the big boys into the Champions League.
I hope that Southampton can do it. The looks on Shaw, Pochettino and Lallana’s faces will be priceless. I expect Southampton to finish anywhere between third and sixth this year.
3. West Ham
Big Sam Allardyce has done the remarkable. West Ham were a club going nowhere last season with a bunch of money wasted on useless players such as Andy Carroll. However, this season it looks like Sam’s scouts have got it right bringing in World Cup star Enner Valencia, Ligue 2 top scorer Diafra Sakho and somehow persuading Alex Song to spend a year in the east side of London.
These new signings, the rebirth of Stewart Downing, dependability from keeper Adrian and defender Winston Reid’s performances have led West Ham to the lofty heights of fourth place. Now, some may say it’s too early in the season to be praising them, but in the games played this season they have defeated Liverpool and Manchester City with Song starring in both upsets.
Song has returned to his best form at West Ham, pulling the strings and laying assist after assist and keeping him beyond this season will be near impossible now that the whole world knows this. If Barcelona decide to sell then big clubs will be first in line to pick up Song after his man of the match performances, providing he can keep it up this season.
Valencia and Sakho have been the best two-pronged strike force in the EPL with either one of them scoring in most games this year, and with Downing and Song behind them the opportunities will carry on presenting themselves for these unheralded players. Come season’s end West Ham could be faced with tempting bids from larger clubs.
If West Ham keep doing what they’re doing I can see them securing Europa League position this year with them finishing anywhere between sixth and eighth.
Chelsea and Southampton are the clear best two teams in the league at the moment. Some may say that West Ham don’t deserve a mention because they haven’t been tested against Chelsea and have already been beaten 3-1 by the Saints.
However, I’ll give West Ham credit for spending wisely and starting the season off with a bang. I expect all three teams to have excellent seasons and we shall see if this is the case when the time comes to review the entire season next year.
Thanks for reading and let me know how you feel about the EPL in the comments section.
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