The Sports Corner

Bullen’s Banter: Who’s ready to gatecrash the elite?

For many years now it has been agreed that there are four competitors in the Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

These teams have realistic title ambitions are always expected to fill the first four spots in the league. However due to substantial foreign investment and the evolutionary forces in the Premier League, could the safety net of the ‘Big Four’ be weakening? 

Which teams are ready to battle with the league’s elite and get their hands on the title? Let’s see.

Aston Villa

At this specific moment in time, I would say Aston Villa are most prepared to break into the top four. Firstly, a well respected boss in Martin O’Neill is going to enhance any team’s potential and he has done that at Villa with style. After his silver-laden reign at Scottish giants Celtic, O’Neill felt he had to prove himself in the most competitive league in the World. He had been rumoured to be a possible candidate to replace Sir Alex Ferguson once he retired, but Villa came asking and he gratefully accepted. He quickly installed an attacking approach that resulted in sublime football and a climb up the table. He also gave academy star Gabriel Agbonlahor a more prominent role and signed exciting winger Ashley Young from Watford and experienced striker John Carew to give Villa a more creative dimension. It worked as the combination of strength and speed has bamboozled many Premier League sides. Not only that, decent signings in various positions such as Curtis Davies in defence, Steve Sidwell in midfield and Luke Young and Nicky Shorey at full backs has added a strong balance to the team. With good investment from owner Randy Lerner, Aston Villa could become a serious contender indeed.

Everton  

They were involved in a bitter battle for that last Champion League’s spot with Mersyside rivals Liverpool last season and have started to show the form that can compete with the league’s finest. Again like Villa, a lot of the success must be credited to the manager, David Moyes. Moyes has transformed Everton into a more than decent Premier League side since his arrival at Goodison Park. Tremendously shrewd in the transfer market and tactically astute on the pitch has seen the climb of Everton, who had struggled in previous years before Moyes. Everton’s key to future success is their exciting youth system, as the club that nurtured Wayne Rooney has a few more aces up their sleeves. 16-year-old midfielder Jack Rodwell is highly thought of as well as 14-year-old sensation Jose Baxter. Victor Anichebe and Leon Osman are proof that youth is given a chance and combined well with experience (i.e. Phil Neville and Joseph Yobo) and class (e.g. Mikel Arteta) is a recipe for success.

Manchester City

Must be considered a contender even though their league position suggests otherwise. Their squad includes a number of top class internationals such as Elano, Martin Petrov and Shaun Wright-Phillips. The funding from the Abu Dhabi group seems to be unlimited highlighting the record Premier League transfer fee when they acquired Brazilian superstar Robinho. As well as all the attacking flair and creativity that is present in the Manchester City squad, if defensive partnership Richard Dunne and Micah Richards are fit and motivated then they can be impenetrable. The problem at City however has been stability, as the sacking of previous boss Sven-Goran Eriksson emphasized this despite the fans approval. This season’s new boss Mark Hughes has had to deal with murmurs of discontent following the team’s poor performances with skyrocketed expectations. Hughes will not be given as much time as he would like in the new cut throat mentality spreading through football but if he can get his squad to work as a cohesive unit then Manchester City would not just be a force in the Premier League but in Europe as well.