Premier League Round-Up: Matchweek 20 & Mid-season Review
Just a sneak peek of what Liverpool are going to be doing in May
Credit: Liverpool FC
Midweek:
Tottenham 2-1 Brighton
Bournemouth 1-1 Arsenal
Aston Villa 1-0 Norwich
Chelsea 0-2 Southampton
Crystal Palace 2-1 West Ham
Everton 1-0 Burnley
Sheff United 1-1 Watford
Man United 4-1 Newcastle
Leicester 0-4 Liverpool
Wolves 3-2 Man City
Weekend:
Brighton 2-0 Bournemouth
Newcastle 1-2 Everton
Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace
Watford 3-0 Aston Villa
Norwich 2-2 Tottenham
West Ham 1-2 Leicester
Burnley 0-2 Man United
Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
Liverpool 1-0 Wolves
Man City 2-0 Sheff United
We are officially at the midway point of the Premier League season, actually we are 1 game over the midway point but close enough. So for this blog we are going to do mid-season grades for each team.
Arsenal
Grade: F
Even as a Chelsea fan and a big Arsenal hater, I don’t think I’m being biased when I give them an F for how this season has went thus far. Through 20 games they have just 24 points and sit 6 points above the relegation zone. Now Arsenal are way too talented of a team to ever dream of getting relegated but the fact that they sit this low in the table at this point in the season has to be incredibly concerning to Arsenal fans. Arsenal have moved on from their manager Unai Emery and gave the position to newcomer and former player, Mikel Arteta. Aubameyang continues to score with a 2nd best in the league 13 goals, but the rest of the team has been horrible and the defense is in shambles. Will Arteta be able to shake up the team and guide them back to at least a Europa League spot? Can only go up from here for Arsenal.
Aston Villa
Grade: D
There’s no way around it but to this point it’s been a big disappointment for Aston Villa this season. They spent big in the off-season and while I didn’t have them finishing in the top half of the table, I had them just outside of it and finishing higher than the other 2 newly promoted teams. Also would probably help if your record summer signing scored more than 4 goals through 20. Villa better hope they don’t lose Grealish in the winter transfer window, as it seems he is always linked to a move away, or they will for sure be relegated back to the second tier.
Bournemouth
Grade: C-
Bournemouth haven’t been good this season, but at the same time they’re not in the relegation zone…….at least at the moment. Bournemouth have consistently been a mid table club since being promoted in 2015 and they’re just a few points from being just that, but at the same time they’re just a few points from being relegated. Bournemouth could definitely use some more goals from their attack. Is this finally the season that Eddie Howe can’t guide them to safety? It definitely won’t happen if they were to lose Ake in the January transfer window.
Brighton Hove & Albion
Grade: B-
Brighton have been a pleasant surprise in the first half of the season. Brighton just barely missed relegation last season when they finished 17th with 36 pts. They were also one of the worst scoring sides in the Premier League. Surprisingly they have been able to score some goals this season and have 24 pts through 20 games. Barring a collapse, Brighton should be safe from relegation and playing in the Premiership next year, which for them is a win.
Burnley
Grade: C+
Burnley continue to be the most average team in the world, but hey at least average doesn’t get you relegated. They sit in 13th place, 6 pts from relegation and much like Brighton, should be safe barring a huge collapse. Burnley’s attack has held up thus far with Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes leading the way and Burnley look to be on the way to a similar finish as last season.
Chelsea
Grade: B
That grades just seems to high to give to this team but considering that they sit in the top 4 with a 4 pt gap over 5th at the midpoint, you kind of have to give them this grade. I didn’t think that Chelsea had much of a shot at top 4 but so far they are proving me and everybody else wrong. Granted the inconsistencies in this team definitely scare me going forward. Matteo Kovacic has been a huge revelation for Chelsea this season and outside of him, you’d have to look long and hard to find another player who’s form has been consistent this season. Jorginho, Kante, Abraham, Willian, Pulisic, Mount, are all players who have single handily won games for Chelsea this year but also been horrible in others. But I guess as long as you can continue to have at least one player step up each week, that formula can continue to work or at least we will see.
Crystal Palace
Grade: B
Another B as we have another team achieving above where most thought they’d be. Palace currently sit in 9th place with 27 pts. Now the offense has been horrible, which is exactly what I said was there biggest weakness heading into the season but they’re defense has made up for it. To this point, Palace have the 4th best defensive record in the league. Also Jordan Ayew has been big for Palace this season scoring nearly 1/3 of the team’s goals and he’s on pace to top his career best. If Palace can hang onto Zaha and bring in a striker in January, they should be able to stay in the top 10 come end of the season.
Everton
Grade: C
I’m giving Everton a C which a few weeks ago would have been the most undeserving grade ever but what a turn around they’ve had in December since parting ways with Marco Silva. Heading into their Dec. 7th match-up against Chelsea, Everton were sitting in a relegation spot. Everton have now won 3 of their last 5 games and tied in the other 2. Oh yeah, they also brought in one of the world’s best managers in Carlo Ancelotti. Now Ancelotti hasn’t exactly had a challenge in quite sometime as he’s only had jobs at the biggest clubs in the world, and this Everton job is different than those. So it will be interesting to see how much this proven winner can turn this club around, but all in all a big get by Everton to hire Ancelotti.
Leicester City
Grade: A
Leicester was in line for an A+ till they got smoked by Man City and Liverpool in the past week. But even that doesn’t take away from what an incredible season it has been for Leicester City. Brendan Rodgers would be in line for manager of the season in any other season but of course Liverpool just happen to be having quite the season. More on that in a little. But I will tell you that Jamie Vardy is on pace for player of the year. He leads the league with 17 goals and has been absolutely incredible. Vardy and Maddison have formed quite the duo in attack and then you add on to that their defense which has been great and you have Leicester City sitting in 2nd place at the midway point. Despite giving up a combined 7 goals in the Man City and Liverpool games this past week, they still have the 2nd best defensive record in the league. I really hope Leicester can keep it up and grab a Champions League spot as they deserve it.
Liverpool
Grade: A+
I wish I could give higher than an A+ because Liverpool deserve it. What Jurgen Klopp is doing with this team is mind boggling. Since Liverpool had to go win the Club World Cup there for a week, they actually are at the halfway point of their season with just 19 games played. And in those 19 games, Liverpool have won 18 of them and the other was a draw to Manchester United in October. Even with a game in hand they have a 13 pt lead over 2nd place. This title race is done and dusted and Liverpool are on their way to winning their first league title in exactly 30 years. The question now is are they going to keep this up and set some records and are they going to match the 2003-04 Arsenal team as the only other team to go through the entire season without a loss. I don’t see it happening but then again I didn’t see them winning 18 of their first 19 games and walking away with the title.
Manchester City
Grade: C+
A C+ might be a little harsh for a team sitting in 3rd place in the table but Manchester City have lofty standards and thus I’m going to grade them on such. Last season Manchester City only lost 4 games all season long and now at the midway point they’ve already lost 5 this season. Now last season was record breaking for City, that’s how good they were but they’ve had some bad results this season with losses to Norwich, 2 losses to Wolves and even lost the first match-up with Manchester United. City might be the highest scoring team in the league by some measure but the defensive injuries have been too much to overcome. City have a 10 pt gap over 5th place and no shot at winning the title, so they should definitely put all their focus into Champions League this season.
Manchester United
Grade: C+
I was in between a B- and C+ for United but opted for the latter because again, as one of the biggest clubs in the world and the biggest in England, 5th place just isn’t good enough. They’ve shown some bright spots this year with the draw against Liverpool, wins over City, Tottenham and Chelsea, but too many draws and not enough wins have kept them out of the top 4. Martial, Rashford and James have been a great attacking trio for United this season and there’s a lot to look forward to with a lot of good young talent. Now they just need to move on the from the disaster that’s Paul Pogba. Sir Alex Ferguson knew exactly what he was doing when he let him walk the first time. Get rid of Pogba and bring in another world class CM that actually wants to be there and win.
Newcastle United
Grade: B-
Newcastle currently sit in 11th place with 25 pts. Before the season I had Newcastle just missing relegation but so far it looks like they are headed for a better finish than that. The biggest shock to me is how well the team have done under Steve Bruce. Steve Bruce is one of those coaches in England that just gets passed around from every mid table team it seems, but a success is the only way to describe his first season thus far. Also just want to say that I was 100% correct when I said “Joelinton who?” when talking about Newcastle’s record signing. He had an average season in the Bundesliga which isn’t as hard at the Premier League so his £40 million price tag made and still makes no sense whatsoever. Maybe if Newcastle could have spent that money better they’d be in the top half of the table. Also shoutout to Jonjo Shelvey who has easily been Newcastle’s best player this season.
Norwich City
Grade: D
Norwich currently sit in dead last in the table by a 3 pt margin. Despite some big wins over Man City and Everton, Norwich have been very poor this season especially on the defensive side of things. Norwich have given up a league worst 40 goals through 20 games and are not scoring goals at a high enough clip to make up the difference. It’s pretty hard to get results giving up 2 goals a game. Without Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell, Norwich might not have 5 pts this season. They desperately need some results quick or they are headed back to the Championship division.
Sheffield United
Grade: A
Out of all the newly promoted teams, I had Sheffield United finishing last out of the group. Actually I not only had them finishing behind both Aston Villa and Norwich City but I picked Sheffield United to finish dead last in the Premier League. They made minimal changes over the summer transfer window but I just didn’t think they added enough firepower to the squad to compete. Well was I wrong. Sheffield United sit in 8th place through 20 games and just 2 pts behind 5th place. They’ve been incredible defensively and actually even have a positive goal differential. Sheffield actually have the same amount of losses on the season as Manchester City and Manchester United and have less losses than Chelsea and Tottenham. Biggest surprise of the season in my opinion.
Southampton
Grade: C-
Grade: Despite being a mainstay in the Premier League for the last decade, this was the season I thought that Southampton would go back down. They currently sit in 15th place but just 4 pts above 18th place. They currently have 2nd worst defense in the league but are scoring enough goals in a handful of games to get outright wins. Danny Ings is having the best Premier League season of his career with 12 goals so far. It’s going to be scrappy for Southampton but if Ings can continue his hot form and the defense can play well against bad competition then they should survive.
Tottenham
Grade: B-
Maybe a B- is too high for a team that I picked to finish 2nd place and is sitting in 6th but considering everything the team has been through and the recent changes at the club, I’m still confident in them going forward. As we all know Pochettino is out as Tottenham manager and Mourinho has been brought in. The squad received a boost and have won 5 out of 8 games so far under Mourinho and are only out of 4th place by 4 pts. Not bad for a team that was 12 pts out of 4th place at the end of Novemeber. Tottenham would be my pick to make top 4 out of Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham, but Mourinho has some fixing to do with that defense.
Watford
Grade: F
Despite scoring a league low of 15 goals, they somehow find themselves not in last place, just 19th. Watford are up there with Arsenal as far as being a circus this season. They’re on their third manager and one of those managers was an ex that sucked the first time he was with the club. Finally they’ve landed on Nigel Pearson and he’s the only reason this club is not sitting in 20th. Since Pearson took over, Watford have won 2 out of their last 4 and have scored 6 of their 15 goals on the season in those 4 matches. It will be interesting to see if they can somewhat continue this going forward because if they can they can climb out of the relegation zone to safety. To me Watford has the talent there, that’s why it was so shocking the way they played the first half of this season.
West Ham
Grade: D
This is a team that is sinking like a rock. Had it not been for their hot start to the season, they had 3 wins in their first 6 games and only 2 in the last 14, then West Ham would be sitting in a relegation spot. Instead they sit just 1 pt above a relegation spot with a game in hand. Oh who am I kidding that game in hand is against Liverpool so essentially they have 19 pts through 20 games. The defense has to be better for West Ham going forward and they need more goals from Haller. In my opinion, West Ham are getting relegated at the end of the season.
Wolverhampton
Grade: B+
I thought Wolves slightly overachieved last season with their 7th place finish and had them to finish slightly lower this season but they’ve looked every bit the part to challenge for a European spot as they sit in 7th again. And Wolves have been able to do this again all the while playing and advancing to the knockout stage in Europa League. Most of the times we see a mid-table club struggle when competing in European competitions but not the Wolves. Very impressive and Nuno Santo is the coach that Arsenal should have went after in my opinion.
We don’t get a break for long. January is much like December with matches pretty much twice a week. Premier League is back on New Year’s Day and we also have the FA Cup starting this weekend.
Thanny