Is this the most fascinating Premier League title race in the past 10 years?
Irrefutably, some readers might instantly think after reading this headline ‘how can you say that after so many teams have played so poorly?!’ I would have to say I completely agree, but only with the part about teams being so poor.
For this reason, and several others, arguably this season has been the most attractive and interesting in the past decade at the top. The pure amount of drama it has brought to the game and football fans has lead it to become so gripping and unpredictable that any ‘big four’ team supporter would even be unsure as to whether their team is going to win.
This time three or four years ago, Manchester United and Chelsea fans would have confidently said ‘yeah, we’ll win this weekend’. Four years before that time, Arsenal fans would have been able to say the exact same, perhaps with even more confidence considering their ‘invincibility’.
Nowadays however, you just simply do not know. Wolves beating a team like Manchester United would have seemed virtually impossible a few years back. On the 5th of February 2011 however, Wolverhampton Wanderers made history by doing just that. This season therefore has proven that anyone can beat anyone. No top team in the Premier League this season has particularly cruised, and because of that the excitement of how games will end up, and how the league overall will turn out, is irresistible.
What has made this season so interesting also is the fact that it’s no longer a three horse race. For many years, it was always Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal that football fans spoke about being in contention for the title, and occasionally Liverpool depending on their large variety of form. In the 2010/2011 season however, Manchester City and Tottenham have also become more involved in the chase for the crown, which is great to watch.
While Tottenham have become better through the odd signing and impressive developments of players like Bale and Modric, Manchester City have utilised their funds to the maximum by purchasing top class players, all worthy of a title winning side. Obviously, Tottenham are now virtually out of it, but they have proved they have the ability to seriously contend.
We have also seen teams come back from the dead several times this season, which shows that no team in the top four or five can ever be counted out of the race, unless severely behind. Chelsea had an awful run of form in November and December which saw them seriously fall behind in the chase. Thanks to rediscovered form however, and some luck with rival teams faltering, they are now only four points behind second place Arsenal. Arsenal had a similar spell in which they fell several points behind Manchester United. Once again however, they recently had the opportunity to level out on points with them.
It’s safe to say that no team have particularly put in a title winning performance so far this campaign. But, is it so much due to a lack of quality in teams, or more of an increase in equality between teams? Equality results in more unpredictable and irregular results in the league, and means therefore that the Premier League winners nowadays throughout the season simply can not be forecasted so easily, and have to put much more of an effort in to succeed. Great for us fans, bad for the teams.
