Big four of BPL : Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd.
Man Utd
Worthy European Champions ! Champions in BPL 2 consecutive seasons... wat else can I say abt them ? Strong in attack and defense. Most importantly, despite all the hype abt their attacking style, they possess a hidden ability to grind out results when the going gets tough... Just like the few 1-0 victories they churned out of nothing and no where.
Particularly this season, with Hargreaves and Nani, they added another ability to perform in European competitions. An ultimate team that will beat any team. Meanwhile, Ferguson built on a solid foundations from mentally strong players like Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Roy Keane, and now Ronaldo, Rooney and even Vidic. Mind you, despite Diego Forlan being a burst in EPL eventually, he too was a mentally tough player in my opinion.
Verdict: Premier League contenders for years to come, with or without Cristiano Ronaldo. Anderson and Nani has shown enough promise to take over in 1-2 seasons.
Arsenal
Whenever Arsene Wenger's side is mentioned, attacking flair would be brought mind. Their fluidity in their passing and execution during their attack is so breath-taking thaking that I would say they are the most exciting and entertaining team in BPL currently.
Personally, Arsenal seemed to have modelled their attacking flair and passing from the Man Utd old days where they played a more passing game in the days of Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Cantona. However, somehow, they were unable to replicate the mental strength to grind out results; the mental strength of the players really need polishing, how could a broken ankle of certain Eduardo disrupt the entire team so much ?
Ppl who wanna tok abt the days where Arsenal did won the league... well... they have old boys like Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Emmanuel Petit, Tony Adams and even Anelka which could grind out results for them when needed. After that, the players that Arsene Wenger seemed to buy are very talented but weak minded players... pple like Reyes, Overmars and even the recent Gallas.
Verdict: Unless Arsenal start grinding out results, they can never be true contenders for the Premier League. And alot would also depend on their collective form next season.
Chelsea
While Arsenal modelled Man Utd's flair, Chelsea replicated the other side - the toughness. Some pple call it boring, well, all I can say is that when Ferguson tried to rebuld the team, he brought in no-nonsense players like Alan Smith and even Vidic. So wat Mourinho was probably doing was that he wanted to heighten the mental strength of the squad before adding flair pieces to try and build a dynasty. However, a certain Russian was unable to wait so long... so well in came Avram Grant.
So now that some pundits are saying that Grant has actually did a good job, well, all I can say is he built on the solid foundations of Mourinho... no respect from me at all !
Verdict: Likely the closet contender to Man Utd for the Premier League next season.
Liverpool
I conclude that Rafa Benitez is an avid CM fan. If not, how else could we find any explanations for his tinkering of players. hahaha
Seriously, I feel that he is more suited to be a manager for a mid-table club which has a high turnover of players. In this way, he would be more effective in his tinkering of the squad. Afterall he is indeed a very shrewd tactician.
Dun pin too much hope on Liverpool though... no matter how well they play next season, once the tinkering starts, so does their descending on the table again..
Verdict: Unless the tinkering stops, even a Torres or a Maradona can't save Liverpool.
So there you have it, my take for this season and next season.
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