For a good laugh, take a look back at my early-season recap after matchday 5. Some of my assessments were spot-on, but others look pretty hilarious now (Man U’s title chances in particular 😝, but also my naive belief in Chelsea’s German signings). At least VAR has been (mostly) improved since then…
Once again, this special newsletter edition will be a retrospective on some of the big talking points of the season so far, commentary on notable players & managers, etc. Some of it’s in earnest, but some of it will be tongue-in-cheek (see the last topic).
The League at a Glance
Biggest Surprises:
Let’s start with the current table standings—why not? I definitely didn’t expect to see Man U leading the table at this point, and Man City have made quite a comeback after a lackluster start to the season, too. And frankly, Liverpool should not have weathered their injury crisis as well as they did—recent dry spell aside—but I guess that’s the champion mentality showing through. I think that if we’ve learned anything about this season, it’s to expect the unexpected.
Harry Kane continues to lead the assist board, although Bruno Fernandes and Jack Grealish are hot on his heels. This is only surprising because you have to wonder why we didn’t see more of Kane’s assisting prowess before this season.
West Ham are quietly having an excellent season. Probably not good enough to break into the European spots, but a vast improvement over their flirtation with the relegation zone last season.
That Burnley were the team to break Liverpool’s unbeaten home record. Sure! 🤪
Biggest Letdowns:
Tottenham’s set-piece defense. Enough said.
The Leedsanity train lost its steam. They look like a team that could use a transfer or two to inject some fresh energy and ideas.
Newcastle’s motivation. They’re like a mid-table team at the end of the season with nothing left to play, except that it’s not the end of the season and they are not that far off the relegation zone. 🚨
I really feel for Wolves, because they probably could have dealt with losing Jota to Liverpool, if it weren’t for Jiménez suffering that head injury that he still hasn’t returned from. They aren’t in any danger of going down, but they won’t be challenging for a European spot this year.
Timo Werner’s inability to find the back of the net. Dude is struggling. I still think Lampard takes a lot of the blame for Chelsea’s issues though, since he’s not exactly playing to his new signings’ best strengths/positions.
Team Power Ranking:
My version of the power ranking is predicting where I think teams will end up on the final matchday, not a snapshot of their current form. In other words, some teams might improve their standing by the end of the season, while others who are in good form at the moment might hit a wall and slide down the table. I’m only ranking my top 10 teams, but for context, here is the full current table:
My ranking:
Tottenham (you have to believe)
Manchester City
Liverpool
Manchester United
Leicester City
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Everton
Southampton
West Ham United
This time around, my biggest debate (with myself 😛) was between Man U and Leicester. I could easily see them flipping places. Seventh place probably seems harsh for Chelsea, but does anyone really see them hitting a consistent run of form? There are too many variables in their lineup right now, and Lampard seems to have lost the plot. So I do think we’re likely to see them miss out on Europe next season, barring an FA Cup win (I’m not even going to suggest that they’re capable of winning the Champions League, because they’re not!). Aston Villa on the other hand, despite having an inferior roster on paper, seem to actually know how to play together.
Special Topics
Manager talk
It’s been a weird season for Premier League managers. Klopp’s nerves seem to be fraying with every game, Pep might be getting his mojo back, and Mourinho is as mercurial as ever. Brendan Rodgers at least can be confident that he’s helping his team overperform.
As for managers that might need to start looking for another job, I’m kind of surprised that Arteta isn’t in that conversation more often. Yes, Arsenal have had better results recently (besides getting knocked out of the FA Cup), but is mid-table really acceptable for them? I somehow doubt Arsenal fans (or the board) are okay with how the season is going.
Lampard seems the most likely to be fired first, though you get the sense that things are going stale at Newcastle to a more worrying degree. I do feel some pity for Lampard, because he never should have been put in this position to begin with. Way to needlessly sour a club legend’s reputation, Chelsea! You don’t hire a manager with that little first team experience to run one of the most popular clubs in the world. Ridiculous.
Relegation watch
Sheffield going down is a foregone conclusion, and things aren’t looking good for West Brom, either. Although Fulham is only a point ahead of West Brom and five points off safety (with a game in hand), they still seem the most likely to get out of trouble, since their form has been steadily improving throughout the season. I’m not just saying this because their manager is a former Spurs man, but I would much rather see them stay up than Brighton. I’ve never liked Brighton.
Scheduling woes
I personally will be happy when all the postponed matches have been fulfilled, so I can stop doing so much math in my head just to figure out table scenarios. But who knows if more matches will end up being postponed in the future? There are several teams, Tottenham included, that don’t have much space at all in their schedules to rearrange fixtures. I understand why the FA didn’t want to cancel the FA Cup (tradition, TV money, etc.), but it really should have been the competition to go to leave some breathing room in the last half of the season. Although there have been rumors that the Olympics are in doubt now, which would leave room for the Euros to be pushed back… Too many question marks.
I was going to include a section on players to watch (from other teams, obviously—Spurs Across the Pond will continue to keep an eagle eye on all Spurs players 😉), but I’m sure the names would not surprise anyone who’s been tuning in to other matches across the league—James Maddison, Phil Foden, the underrated (by Gareth Southgate) Nick Pope, just for a few examples. Anyone else y’all having been noting?
And once again, the team most in need of a Ted Lasso appointment: Newcastle United (Sheffield would seem the obvious choice, but there’s no hope there, honestly)
Hope you enjoyed this mid-season recap, and here’s to a resurgent title run from Spurs, and a cup trophy or two.
COYS