The Premier League Contenders and Pretender: Revised

So two months ago before the winter break I posted this: Breaking Down the Premier League Contenders and Pretenders Midway Through The Year. At the moment I would like to revise what I had said. The teams in the "Contender" category were Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Everton. The team in the "Pretender" category were Manchester Untied, Liverpool, Southampton/Newcastle.

As of today, February 5th, the Premier League table looks as follows:

1. Arsenal - 55 points
2. Manchester City - 53 points
3. Chelsea - 53 points
4. Liverpool - 47 points
5. Everton - 45 points
6. Tottenham - 44 points
7. Manchester United - 40 points
8. Newcastle - 37 points
9. Southampton - 35 points
10. Aston Villa - 27 points
11. Stoke City - 25 points
12. Swansea City - 24 points
13. Hull City - 24 points
14. Sunderland - 24 points
15. Norwich City - 24 points
16. West Brom - 23 points
17. Crystal Palace - 23 points
18. West Ham - 22 points
19. Cardiff City - 21 points
20. Fulham - 19 points

So let's get into the categories.

Contenders

Arsenal: Well we are into crunch time in the Premier League and (literally) surprise, surprise the Gunners are on top of the table. Arsene Wenger's men have been consistent all season and look poised for a stay at the top of the league table. The lack of a striker depth could doom them, but Wenger has his men and his fans believing again, and that's huge.

Chelsea: Are we not convinced by Mourinho's men yet? I still stand firm in my stance that Mourinho isn't as "special" as his nickname states, but there's no doubting the quality of football that Chelsea have been playing lately. They ground out a great 1-0 against Manchester City AT the Etihad and look primed to pounce to the top of the table if Arsenal slip up.

Manchester City: Despite a home defeat to Chelsea, City are still the best attacking team in the Premier League and have all the weapons that could vault them to the top of the league. Injuries should be a worry for Manuel Pellegrini, but City are still in the mix at the top of a tight title race.

OKAY so I know that the Contenders didn't change, but what about the Pretenders?

Pretenders

Everton: I'm going to keep it short and sweet, they don't have enough to take them to the Champions League.

Manchester United: Doesn't it just seem a matter of time before David Moyes gets his marching orders? Despite the great purchase of Juan Mata from Chelsea, United are playing lackluster football and at this point we really have to question if it's lack of talent or lack of a real manager.

Tottenham: Just not enough chemistry within the team for me. Too many players that want to play the same spot and no real striker that poses a threat. Spurs are REALLY missing Gareth Bale who saw the writing on the wall and got out ASAP.

So there you have it. My revised Premier League Contenders and Pretenders, what do you think? Did I get it wrong?

I'll make another one as the title race heats up even more. For now please comment and share this post!

Juan Mata Joins Manchester United

It had been coming for some time, Juan Mata has left Chelsea. Where he went no one saw coming. Instead of being sold to a team outside of the Premier League he was sold to "rivals" Manchester United.

Mata had a great 3 seasons at Chelsea, 18 goals in 82 appearances, a Champions League title, FA Cup, and Europa League title. The arrivals of Oscar, Hazard, Willian, and Schurrle saw Mata forced to the bench for most of this season. There were talks that Mata didn't fit Mourinho's system and that might be right, but I personally feel he wasn't given enough time in the first team to fully adapt to the system.

Mata going to United is a sign that the club is committed to at least finishing in the top 4, splashing a club record 37.1 million pounds on the Spaniard. Mata will surely be hoping that going to United and playing regularly will land him a spot in the Spain squad that heads to Brazil for the World Cup.

Fans of the club will surely be hoping he will have a Mesut Ozil like effect, where his signing reinvigorates the fan base and players and lifting them into form.

Where Mata will play in the team is another mystery as his preferred spot is the number 10 role that is currently occupied by the teams current number 10, Wayne Rooney. My prediction is Mata will play on the left or right and drift into the middle.

The signing of Mata will likely see the talk that David Moyes can't sign world class players subside, but unless he signs 1 or 2 more world class/quality players those talks will again start up.

Manchester United are back?

Over the last couple months the team once feared throughout, Manchester United, lost some of its mystique as being one of those teams you feared playing. Lackluster results against some mediocre teams and a blowout against cross-town rivals Manchester City saw the Red Devils at mid table and looking pretty ordinary.

Many were calling for David Moyes' head and rightly so, no fan of a hugely successful team wants to see them play average football and come away with average results. Talks of a dispute between star Wayne Rooney and the fact that Manchester United was failing to bring in any big name stars in the summer was troubling.

Fast forward to the present (November 28 as I write this) and Manchester United are doing pretty well for themselves, all things considered. Sitting in 6th at the moment they aren't exactly where many wanted or predicted them to be come this close to the winter break, but they have been building momentum. In their last 3 games in the Premier League they have come away with 7 points and haven't lost a game since a shock 2-1 defeat to West Brom. So what has changed since that embarrassing defeat?

When the season kicked off you could tell that not everyone was buying in to David Moyes' system, and that showed in their losses to Liverpool, Manchester City, and West Brom. They didn't have the usual attacking threat that we are accustomed to seeing from them and their biggest addition in the summer, Marouane Fellani, wasn't bringing much to the team at the time. Fast forward past that last defeat, United have looked like a completely different team: confident in attack, their defense while only keeping 4 clean sheets in the past 10 games has looked a lot better, and midfield play has gotten significantly better also.

The fixtures up next for United are tough. Their next four games are away to Spurs, home against Everton, home against Newcastle, and home to Shakthar. All of those are lose-able games, but also winnable if you are United. At this point in the season last year United was on top of the league and looking like they were unbeatable, now they look mortal but seem to have some of the magic left. Can they make a run at a top 4 spot? I say yes, they might squeak in the number 4 spot, but the competition at the top of the table is stiff and United will have to be firing on all cylinders to keep pace in the Premier League.

What do you think? Are United finding their stride? Will they finish in the top 4? Should David Moyes be fired if they fail to make it to the Champions League?