by Will Pearson
Diego Costa |
The Barclays Premier League is the most watched, supported
and well-known league in world football. It is broadcasted in 212 territories
around the globe, working with 80 different broadcasters. The TV audience for
Premier League games is 4.7bn, and the number of homes reached last season
increased 11 per cent to 643m. In total, the League clocked up 185,000 hours of
TV coverage in 2010/11, an increase of 65 per cent on the previous campaign.
With this level of support, players are expected to put on a real show, and the
start of each season is dripping with anticipation and expectation.
This
summer saw the busiest transfer window in BPL
history, with a record transfer fee payed for Angel Di Maria, a jaw-dropping £59.7
million, as Manchester United look to overcome the shame of last season’s seventh place finish. Other notable transfers include Spanish striker Diego Costa to Chelsea, and controversial
Italian Mario Balotelli to Liverpool. With big
names like these gracing the BPL
stage, it came as no surprise that the season got off to one of the most
exciting starts to date.
All
eyes were on Manchester United, as they kicked off the season at home against Swansea. Fans thought that
under a manager of Louis Van Gaal’s experience and achievements, they would
instantly regain the dominance they once showed under Sir Alex Ferguson.
However, goals from Ki and SigurĂ°sson quelled the optimists, and United walked
away with a 2-1 defeat, at home. Thinking it was simply an adjusting match, and
after a strong pre-season, it came as an even bigger shock when United only
managed a draw against both Sunderland and
newly promoted Burnley, in the following
weeks. It seems that the dip in form for the league’s most decorated team is
not yet over.
Liverpool entered the season on the back of an
exceptional second place finish in 2013/14. Having lost star player
Luis Suarez to Barcelona
over the summer, few pundits are predicting similar heights this time around,
and the Reds have a point to prove in the BPL,
and in their return to the Champions League. The acquisition of Mario Balotelli
for the bargain price of £16 million seems to have paid off, after an
exceptional performance from the young Italian in Liverpool’s
3-0 battering of Spurs. Raheem Sterling, however, has been their stand out
player. 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games speak volumes about the 19 year-old’s
talent. Daniel Sturridge is yet to find the form of last season, and an injury
during international duty has put him out of manager Brendan Rodgers’ plans for
the coming weeks.
The
squad Chelsea
boasts is incredible by anyone’s standards, and fans and pundits alike are
backing Jose Mourinho’s men to go all the way this year. The blues have more
than lived up to the expectations, having not lost a game so far. With a lack
of prominent strikers since Didier Drogba’s departure, new acquisition Diego
Costa seems to have been the final piece of the jigsaw, scoring 7 goals in just
4 games. It can be argued that Chelsea haven’t faced the more challenging
opposition the BPL has to offer,
but with Costa in an already eye-catching team, I cannot see the Blues settling
for anything less than the title this year.
Last
year’s champions, Manchester City, certainly looked like a top 4 team after a
convincing 3-1 win over Liverpool. However, a slip up against Stoke, which
resulted in a loss, and a draw with Arsenal have given them a less than
convincing start to the campaign. This could be down to the fact that City did
not make any ‘marquee signings’ over the summer, and highlights the importance
big names have on teams.
At the
other end of the table, Newcastle, West Brom and Burnley
have all endured a miserable start. Magpie’s boss Alan Pardew looks to be on
his way out after a crushing 4-0 defeat to a weakened Southampton side at the
weekend, with the ‘toon army’ still awaiting their first win of the season. West Bromwich find themselves in a similar position
after having only secured 2 points out of a possible 12. However, it is still
early days, and both could achieve a lot this season. Other clubs such as Burnley and QPR look likely candidates for
relegation, and I would also be worried if I were a Crystal Palace
supporter looking at current performances. Whatever the outcome, the Barclays
Premier League will undoubtedly live up to its reputation as the world’s most
dramatic and entertaining competition.
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments with names are more likely to be published.