5 Things We’ve Learnt from the Premier League this Season – the Festive Update

As the dust settles on the first half of the season, with Liverpool at the summit and Huddersfield at the foot, the Monkey casts his eye over the key talking points thus far.

The title is now Liverpool’s to lose, not City’s to win

7 points clear going into a head to head match up, Jurgen Klopp’s side remain unbeaten and the favourites to win their first Premier League title. Liverpool have been here before though – twice in recent times – and it is up to Klopp and his talented side to silence the critics and lose the bottlers tab once and for all. City are no strangers to a wobble, and after starting the season like a steam train now look like a side who lack the key parts to get going again. Put simply, they must beat Liverpool on Thursday evening to put themselves back in this title race. It’s hard to see how Pool would lose 3-4 games against all the other teams in the league – which is realistically what would need to happen if City fail to beat them. 

Whilst Salah is back to his thrilling, rapier best – there is no doubt that the key man this season has been Virgil Van Dijk. The Dutch colossus is the player of the year elect and if Liverpool can keep him injury free, it would be an almighty shock from here were they not to prevail come May. They have conceded just 8 goals in 20 matches and indeed, you could double their goals against column… and they would still have the league’s best defence. Van Dijk possesses the energy of Vidic, the leadership of Terry and the talent of Ramos. He is the best centre back the league has seen since his compatriot Jaap Stam. Indeed, much like Stam, Van Dijk has been under-rated until this point. The former Manchester United player is rarely remembered when people list the great defenders of the past 20 years – but before his falling out with Ferguson he won six trophies in three seasons and was, on his day, almost unbeatable. 

After Gerrard’s slip, the collapse at Crystal Palace and Rafa’s meltdown… Liverpool dare not lose it from here again. 

They can conquer who believe they can.

Liverpool must now, finally, believe.

Ole is not the Messiah, Jose was just a very naughty boy

Three wins, 12 goals and all is well again at Old Trafford. With the title well gone, the United hierarchy finally put both Mourinho and the fans out of their collective misery and decided to let an old boy put the fun back into the club for a few months. The big decisions for United are yet to come however.

There were mitigating circumstances for Jose’s now obligatory third season collapse, and there is little doubt that many of the problems at United stem all the way up to the board and owners. But despite that, the sheer and relenting negativity – both on and off the pitch – was ill befitting a club of any stature, let alone this one. Jose should have been sacked in October when it was clear he had lost the dressing room.

Solskjaer has put smiles back on faces, not least his own, but he is not the long term solution and United need to get both the Director of Football and Manager roles exactly right. With Liverpool and City looking as strong as they are, and the chances of prising Pochettino away from his loyal young bucks looking unlikely at best – United can ill afford another misstep.

Relegation battle? More like a pea shooter fight.

The bottom half of the table makes desperate reading. Less of a battle, more a group of toddlers dumped in the middle of a forest and asked to escape. From 13^th down we have 8 teams who, by rights, probably all deserve to be relegated.

Brighton lead the way. Who have had both their centre backs sent off this season, have a 45 year old pensioner up front and their best player from last season still yet to turn up to this one.

Palace and Newcastle rarely score, a by-product of having played much of the season without an actual striker.  They have less points between them than Arsenal. And aren’t even in the relegation zone.

Cardiff City staying up would be one of the league’s greatest ever stories – were it not for the fact that they could conceivable do so with about 28 points.

Southampton can’t defend, or shoot without Danny Ings. Burnley are having one of those seasons when everything goes wrong, all of the time – although seem to have finally come to the decision of many clubs before them – that Joe Hart isn’t… and never was… the answer.

All of which leaves Fulham – who are an absolute mess, all be it marginally better with Raineri now in charge – and Huddersfield – who have 10 points.

10. After 20 games. And are somehow still only 2 wins away from safety.

Can we relegate 6 teams this year? The Championship doesn’t deserve these teams… let alone the Premier League.

Wolves the lone carnivore in a field of herbivores.

Currently lying in 7^th spot, there is little doubt that thus far Wolves have been the pick of the clubs beneath the royalty that lines the top six. Defensively solid and quick through midfield, they have also been the only team capable of spoiling the party. They have beaten Spurs and Chelsea and drawn with United, Arsenal and City. With a talented manager and young squad, they could well threaten even higher up next year if they invest correctly in the summer.

It seems harsh to pick on a striker who has scored 6 and made 6 so far, but Raul Jimenez is far from the finished article and it’s tempting to wonder how good this side could become if they had attackers who could… well… actually shoot.

Wolves have rotated but their first choice front three of Jimenez, Jota and Costa have just 9 goals between them after 20 games. They have had 107 shots of which only 35 have even been on target. Indeed only Southampton & Palace have a worse shot to goal conversion rate this season – and both of those are skewed by the amount of long range efforts their trigger happy midfielders fire in.

Wolves could do worse than stick Doherty up front.

No wait… he already is. My bad.

The Golden Boot will go down to the wire.

More closely contested than the actual title race, the league’s Golden Boot looks an almighty scrap this year. Salah, Kane and Aubameyang are all tied on 13 so far. The consistency of the first two offset by the feast or famine nature of the latter. Kane’s numbers are of particular note given this season he has remodeled himself as a holding midfield player.

Behind them lies a free flowing Hazard and the City pair of Sterling and Aguero. Both well rested and back to full fitness, only a fool would discount either if the club triumphs on Thursday.

For those of you who have asked. Morata is not likely to threaten.

He currently has the same number of goals this season as under 11 sensation David Brooks. Who is taking time off from his paper round to play football for Bournemouth this year… with admiral success.

Happy Hunting