Unanswered Questions – Title Challengers

By Thomas O'Loughlin | 7th October 2009

Unanswered Questions - Title Challengers | read this item

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chelsea v liverpool Two weeks ago ex-Manchester United and Millwall player Eamon Dunphy wrote that this year’s title would be fought out between Man United and Chelsea after the Manchester derby.

Two weeks later a lot has changed. United perform poorly against Sunderland and this Monday Dunphy states it’s going to be a battle between Arsenal and Chelsea.

So what has changed in two weeks? United enjoyed an excellent away win against Stoke which was then followed by a very poor performance against Sunderland. Arsenal, on the other hand, were lucky to overcome Fulham thanks to some excellent goalkeeping and then as expected beat Blackburn who have struggled so far this season.

Before I start my argument, Chelsea are clear favourites to win the league and are far more consistent than any other team in the league. Their challengers are weaker than last year and are vulnerable against the smaller, weaker clubs.

Liverpool

Liverpool looked totally out of their depth on Sunday and they do not have a hope of winning the title with their current squad. The team has too many passengers and depends too much on Gerrard and Torres. Lucas is one of the worst players to ever wear a Liverpool shirt yet he is picked nearly every week. How often do we hear Benitez praising Lucas and defending his ability?

Fernando Torres gets less credit from his manager than Lucas gets. After the huge progress made last season they are now back to square one with poor players and a poor squad. Jamie Carragher has lost much of his pace and has struggled to be a key influence this season. They comprehensively beat the likes of Hull and Burnley and were over-hyped because of this. Man City could well overtake Liverpool this season and force them out of the Champions League spots.

Arsenal

After last Sunday’s win over Blackburn, Arsenal were suddenly viewed as contenders again. Over the last few years it has become customary to expect a lightning start from the Gunners and then watch them fade away as the season goes on. This season they have started well, only losing two tricky away games against the Manchester clubs.

However, there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal’s problems with dealing with physical teams always creates a few difficulties during the season for them. Van Persie provides quality up front and Fabregas is one of the best midfielders in the world but they are poor in defense and Blackburn did show this at the weekend.

Manchester United

United are a far weaker team this year, and unless Wayne Rooney is playing at his best, the team struggles. Fletcher has been excellent this season providing key contributions in the big games. Nani started the season well but in the last few games has once again gone back to his old habits and is becoming a very frustrating player to watch. Michael Carrick has been terrible this season and the return of Owen Hargreaves should provide some good defensive cover in midfield. If United are to win the league, key contributions have to be made by attacking midfielders like Anderson, who has shown his potential in a United shirt. Players like Park and Gibson have to disposed of as they are simply not good enough to play for United.

Finally, if someone is going to challenge Chelsea this season, then their respective frailties are going to have to be addressed. Both Arsenal and Man Utd have the money to do so, but it remains to be seen whether either club will invest in the January transfer window.

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