Premier League Mid-Season Review

Usually as we move into the Festive Football period, the League is starting to take shape. More often than not the table has been nicely split into fifths: title challengers; Euro hopefuls; those stuck in mid-table mediocrity; the dogfighters; and of course the relegation favourites. Yet here we are at the half-way point of the tightest Premier League season in years, and it seems impossible to predict.

At the time of writing, there are only two small gaps opening up – one at the very bottom, the other at the very top.

Both West Brom and Blackburn are hoping Santa brings them some results over Christmas, with woeful form meaning they’re propping up the table, at least 5 points behind the rest. Blackburn have attempted to rectify the problem by sacking Paul Ince and appointing Sam ‘Oh-Sunderland-don’t-want-me-then-I-guess-I’ll-take-Blackburn’ Allardyce. Don’t hold your breath, Rovers faithful. West Brom haven’t done anything about their situation. As long as manager Mowbray continues to try ‘sexy football’, the Baggies will continue to lose.

A hamstring injury left a Torres-shaped hole, but unbelievably Liverpool still top the table, with Chelsea and Man Utd snapping at their heels. Title predictions seem impossible as this ‘big three’ continues to play ‘tit-for-tat’ stealing points from each other when necessary. It says something for the standard of the League this year that Arsenal have beaten Chelsea and Man Utd (who are, at the time of writing enduring a draining World Club competition in Japan), and the Gunners are still languishing in 5th, 8 points behind Liverpool.

With Hull and Villa surprisingly good, and Newcastle and Tottenham surprisingly bad, these last few months have made for exciting viewing. Besides the small aforementioned gaps, the league is bum-squeakingly close. Fans’ cheeks are clenched across the country as they look for the results, knowing that with a mere 5 points separating managerless Sunderland in 18th and Portsmouth in 8th, a win could turn relegation battlers into Euro contenders.

If nothing else is clear, it’s obviously going to be a nervous 2009. Still, if the tension we’re all suffering is bad, I wouldn’t want to be a Ref this season...