Monday, March 2, 2009

EPL this month

March is upon us and the title race looks over already. It’s only Man Utd now with both Chelsea and Liverpool falling behind. This is how the teams did in Feb 09.

Top Teams this Month
Manchester United – They are on a roll. Beating all comers both home and away, Man Utd set a defensive record this year. They need to screw-up badly to lose the title now. Anyone think Alex Ferguson will allow that to happen? I don’t think so either.

Fulham- Roy Hodgson proves once and for all what a good manger he is. Even the sale of a key player like Jimmy Bullard has not affected their performance all that much. Like Zola at West Ham, Hodgson has managed to get the most out of his players. He even got them to outplay Arsenal away! If they can improve their away form, don’t be surprise if Fulham are in Europe next season.

Wigan- At the start of the season, some people say that Wigan might be in relegation problem. Then Steve Bruce found a gem in Zaki and the season was safe. Selling Emile Heskey was a risk but it was also a good business as his contract is up at the end of the season. They are safe for the season, and that’s all they ask for.

Surprise Team this month
Chelsea- Luiz Felipe Scolari sure didn’t last long. Guus Hiddink is a good manager but he’s not a long-term replacement as he will only be there till the end of the season. What should worry Chelsea fans is the amount of power the players seems to have. Scolari fell foul of it the same way Avram Grant did. Not good for any future manager of Chelsea.

Disappointing Teams this month
Hull City- After 5 games at the start of the season, Hull City was sixth in the league. That sure seems a long time ago huh? After their dream start, Hull City are now in real danger of relegation. Hull has just registered one victory in their last 17 Premier League matches and are just points above the drop. Boss Phil Brown need to turn things around in a hurry.

Arsenal- Arsenal may have got their man in new signing Andrei Arshavin, unfortunately he’s not the kind of player the Gunners need right now. They need a ball-winner, a defensive midfielder. Manager Arsene Wenger refusal to buy that kind of player is going to cost them dear come end of the season.

Middlesbrough- Middlesbrough is in the bottom 3 and in big trouble this season. Manager Gareth Southgate has a serious problem upfront as none of his strikers can buy a goal. The victory against Liverpool was most needed but unless one of the strikers (looking at you Afonso Alves) starts scoring regularly, Boro may be going down this season.

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