The Big Four (and a half)
We all know who they are. United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. They’re the four princes of English football: they’re the teams that share the spoils; they’re the fats cats with the big players and money spilling out of their pockets. But could this football season be different?
Many rivals have tried to supplant them. Tottenham and Newcastle are two notable examples, who between them have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on new players, fresh management teams and global scouting networks. But it hasn’t worked. The last team to break the monopoly of the ‘big four’ in the Premier League is Everton, and that was way back in 2005.
This year things look a little different. Here’s a snapshot of the Premier League table as we approach the end of February:
The obvious question is can Aston Villa maintain their position amongst the top four for another twelve games? Currently they are sat six points clear of Arsenal, and with thirty six points left there is a very good chance that things could change.
But the Aston Villa manager, Martin O’Neill, has slowly built a strong, committed team at Villa Park. The acquisition of Ashley Young may be his biggest success, but of equal note is the resurgence of players such as Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry and the emergence of others like Gabriel Agbonglahor and Curtis Davies.
But Arsenal are no dropouts. With Emmanuel Adebayor, Eduardo, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott on the verge of a return to the first team, and with the purchase of Andrei Arshavin – their fans can rightly expect an upturn in fortunes. The race for the Champions League could just be about to heat up.
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Who do you think is going to make it? Keep abreast of all the latest developments online and on digital television with Sky Sports and Sky Sports News.
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Lead image credit: Gordon Flood
