Alex Ferguson made the point after the weekend's round of games that the title race is closer this year because the rest of the league has caught up with the big boys in terms of talent and strength in depth. While the likes of Manchester City and Spurs have obviously added to their squads, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are much poorer then they were. Arsenal were beaten by Braga tonight. They were beaten at home by Spurs after leading 2-0. They've also lost at home to West Brom and Newcastle. Despite what Wenger says they have a terrible team. There defense and goalkeeper is mid-table at best. Walcott and Wilshere are incredibly over-rated. Fabregas is playing like a guy who doesn't want to be there. Rosicky, Bendtner and Vela wouldn't make the bench at most top clubs in Europe. They're going no where and i think that Wenger has taken them as far as he can. They need a new manager and an open cheque book.
Manchester United struggled to beat 9 man Wigan 2-0 at the weekend. They've won 7 games out of 14. They've leaked goals all season. Their midfield is awful. And they couldn't beat Rangers at Old Trafford.
Chelsea are possibly the only team with an excuse out of the big guns. They've been missing Lampard for most of the season(that's 20+ goals), Essien has been injured quite a lot. Terry is missing. Alex is playing injured. However, they haven't helped themselves either. The signing of Ramires has been a disaster. He is so poor and has been missing in matches when his team need him most. Obi Mikel should have been sold too. He's awful. Kalou is too inconsistent. The sacking of Ray Wilkins has been a disaster for them, and has put Ancelotti under immense scrutiny. It seems Abramovich still hasn't any football sense. Between the 12th and the 27th of December they play Spurs, Arsenal and Man United. Ancelotti could be gone if those results don't pan out right for them.
So, are the others closing the gap on the top boys? Yes, but the main reason is because the top three are lacking the talent they once had. I also don't think that Spurs have any chance of winning the Premiership. The strain of playing in Europe and the Premier League will take it's toll and i wouldn't expect Spurs to make even the top 5. Strangely enough, i think that if the new Liverpool owners splash the cash in January they could actually nick a top 4 finish. They're only 6 points behind Manchester City and 3 behind Spurs. I don't know what all the fuss was about. Roy's doing a great job :)
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