Football is a funny game. I believe it is the only game where teams are actively proud to seek out a 4th position. It used to be champions or nothing, but apparently, standards have to be lowered. This year, the BPL sees a couple of really serious contenders for the much-wanted 4th position.
We have Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspurs vying for the last spot to qualify for the Champions League. Well, at least to qualify for the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. I must say that I have written off Manchester City earlier but it seems that Roberto Mancini has managed to work his magic in his first two games in charge.
Granted the teams he faced weren’t the top-of-the-bunch but it was these teams that Mark Hughes had trouble dispatching. As a Manchester United fan, I am supposed to hate Manchester City with all my guts but somehow, I favour them in the race.
As long as Roberto Mancini sorts out the defensive problems, they have enough creativity and firepower upfront to challenge any of the traditional top four teams. This means that one of the giants will be slayed and unfortunately, Liverpool looks the most likely sacrifice. Rafa Benitez may have chalked up a crucial win over Aston Villa but I think their troubling patch earlier may be too much for them to overcome.
Not to say that Spurs and Aston Villa don’t have a chance, but I think the billions spent on Manchester City may prove to be the deciding factor. Not to mention, they can spend even more in January. While Aston Villa showed their strength against United, I don’t think they have the depth to match Spurs and City.
When it comes to crunch time, that depth will be important. So, here is to a very exciting season ahead of us. This might yet be the most interesting BPL season yet.
The ball is round! I hope Liverpool makes it to 4th spot :P
@Mark haha well they got 2 wins lately :P But so did Man City haha