March 25
With the stakes ever-raising in the Premier League, this season’s rollercoaster ride promises to be more dramatic than ever. To entertain the themepark metaphor further, there are more rides and attractions than ever before, each more extravagant and appealing than the last, with so little room between them that everywhere you look there’s one that could well win the top prize.
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| Chelsea's slide down the table begins |
The bottom line? The title race is wide open. More of a marathon than a sprint, as the old adage goes, sure – just ask Chelsea. The Blues came flying out of the blocks, opening the campaign with back to-back 6-0 drubbings, only to spectacularly fall face-first over the high hurdle that is the congested November fixture list.
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| Giggs and Scholes, United heroes |
Manchester United will re-enforce the marathon mantra, like the wily veteran so cool and comfortable at the head of the pack. Taking part no matter the weather, unfailingly turning up early wearing short shorts and a vest. Rarely spectacular, always consistent, and always with a story on hand to entertain the youngsters.
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| Arsenal youngster Jack Wilshere |
Speaking of which, Arsenal still don’t have the marathon mindset either, although they show promising signs of maturing. The youngster in the race, pulling off the spectacular only to fail at tasks more straightforward or mundane, always with ‘Le Prof’ looking on with furrowed brow.
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| Tevez, sporting snood |
Those are the contenders, along with the newly-competitive Manchester City. The blue side of Manchester turned up just too late to enter the marathon, pulling up in an impossibly shiny Aldi A4 and sporting the very latest in high-performance clothing ‘technology,’ explaining to anyone who’ll listen that wearing a ‘snood’ somehow gives him the athletic edge.
Back to the football. This time last season, this year’s champions-elect Manchester United were moving up to top spot, only to be pipped to the title in the last few games of the season by a Chelsea team who’d spent most of the season in 1st position. This time around, with Chelsea in 3rd place and United on top, there promises to be just as little love lost between the title rivals who have between them collected 19 out of the last 24 domestic honours.
United will have to prove their pedigree once more, with league fixtures remaining away to 2nd place Arsenal and at home to Chelsea, leaving them securely in the driving seat to claim a record 19t championship. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have been below par this season, often seeing through scrappy games. Their sheer longevity and ability to get see out matches shows that where they sometimes aren’t entertainers, they are undeniably winners.
Chelsea’ mettle will be tested as well, with an unfavourable draw against the Sir Alex Ferguson’s team in the Champions League. It remains to be seen whether bragging right will be shared between the English heavyweights, or whether one team can plunder all the spoils.
Arsenal meanwhile face a tough task to claim even a scrap of silverware this season, with their recent defeat at the hands of the ruthlessly brilliant Barcelona effectively ending their hunt for glory for a seventh successive season. The misery is compounded further after a string of bad results ruling them out of an unprecedented quadruple, after being dumped out of the FA cup by United and losing the Carling Cup Final in a shock 1-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Birmingham City. Once again the imaginative Gunners reap little from their exhilarating creative football, having demonstrated little in the way of grit or resilience.
In a season of unpredictable excitement, one thing remains a certainty: if you can guarantee this sort of Hollywood twist storyline every year, the metaphorical themepark – or marathon – whichever you like best, will be well worth the entry price
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