Diving Right In

Looking briefly at the mid-January landscape in England....

The poll question on last night's Fox Football Fone-In was "Is the Premiership a three-horse race?," implying that its down to Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea for the title. The verdict from callers and from the hosts was somewhat split, but ultimately pointed to the prevailing winds that this is indeed a three team hunt for the Premier League crown. Though the fact that this is even a question at all is testimony to Chelsea's surprising form, as the loss of Essien, Drogba, Obi Mikel, and Kalou (egads!) to the African Cup of Nations plus injuries to John Terry and Schevchenko should serve as writing on the wall, yet the Blues continue to get results, having lost only once in their last 25 competitions. Meanwhile, many would argue that, Chelsea notwithstanding, its ludicrous to call this even a two-horse race right now, with the way United look. Arsenal have been the feel-good story of the year so far, especially for those who favor attractive, flowing football, but they're also facing overwhelming expectations of a late-season fade due to their youth and inexperience. The conventional wisdom is that Arsene Wenger's Gunners are a year away (and yet they stand tied with United at 51 pts!). The reason for the seemingly unanimous opinions of experts forecasting a repeat title for Man U. is probably due to the fact that they're the best team in England. Cristiano Ronaldo is playing out of his mind and would like to talk to Kaka right about now about that Fifa "player of the year" distinction, Rooney has further cemented himself as England's most dangerous and prolific scoring option, Tevez always seems to have an eye for goal, and they're solid and sturdy and deep at every position. They're the smart money, the safe pick, the odds-on favorite, whatever you wanna call it...but still, you gotta like the drama of a young, fearless Arsenal side trying to stay neck and neck with them down the stretch. The midfield rotation of Cesc, Rosicky, Flamini, Hleb and Eboue is the best for my money in the world, though Inter would have something to say about that claim (see below). And who knows if Avram Grant's boys can really stick their noses in there and make it a truly epic race to the end. I'm sure all the world will be keepign its eyes on this, the most popular league on the planet (but is it the best? ah, that is for another day...)


Key English fixtures this week:

Birmingham v. Chelsea
Fulham v. Arsenal
Reading v. Man Utd.

More on the lower half of the table, the relegation fight, and some observations on Serie A and La Liga next time...