Football News: Assessing The Premier League Title Challengers

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Chelsea

Manager: Antonio Conte.
The Italian has plenty of experience of title wins, admittedly in a much weaker league with a team a long way ahead of the rest, but he did show that he is an excellent man manager, who can bring a group together as a team. Conte is also not afraid to make the tough decisions, dropping team mainstays and leaving them on the sidelines. The only issue is that he struggles tactically against the very best managers. So long as he ensures his team continue to pick up wins against the lesser sides, or his luck holds out as it did against Man City who missed so many chances, then losing against the top tier managers is not going to stop them being there or thereabouts at the end of the season. They are more likely to be a problem next season, when European competition will test him.

Team Strengths:
Experience - not just as footballers generally, but experience of winning titles. Recent experience too, as they were the title winners just over a year ago.
Togetherness - right now they are a team, working as a team. So long as they do not suffer another meltdown, which seems highly unlikely under Conte.
Attacking pace - Diego Costa is not the fastest forward, but he does have pace and his movement can be exceptional. Added to that there is support around him from the likes of Pedro and Eden Hazard. They can cut teams apart on the counter and do not allow their opponent the breathing space to organise.
Width - one thing the back three does do for them is allow them to keep their width on the attack. If needed they can also double up, as the front three have the freedom to drift out wide and double up on a fullback.
Eden Hazard - on his day he is unplayable.
N'Golo Kante - now Conte has figured out how to use him, it is like having an extra man in midfield. He is simply the best at being everywhere at once.
Goalkeepers - they have two keepers, in Thibaut Courtois and Asmir Begovic, that would be first choice for most teams.
Spending power - Chelsea have the money to spend to fix weak areas of the squad in January.

Weaknesses:
Defence - not David Luiz, though I know most people do not rate him, he is a very good defender, well suited to a back three. It is the players alongside him that are the issue. While Cesar Azpilicueta is a very good full back, he is still learning the role as a right sided centre back of three. More of an issue is Gary Cahill, who was never the best player, but is now a liability, particularly on the ball.
Wing backs - Victor Moses is makeshift and lacks defensive know how. Against Man City, for instance, his 'brilliant defensive block' actually should have been a simple clearance, but he was caught ball watching and had to charge in late to make a dangerous clearance. He will need to learn the defensive side of the game or be upgraded. Marcos Alonso is better defensively and a decent crosser of the ball, but he is not ideally suited to the wing back role, he is more of a defender. Worse is the lack of a back up, there are no real options on the left.
Strength in depth - the first choice eleven is a match for anyone in the league, but the back up options weaken the team considerably. If they have a long term injury to Diego Costa, in particular, there is a real shortage of options there, as Michu Batshuayi has not looked at all ready for the Premier League.

Manchester City

Manager: Pep Guardiola
Guardiola entered the Premier League with a reputation of being 'the Messiah', with the press lauding him as the greatest coach in the world, despite his record never really making that case for him. He took over the best team in the world, at Barcelona, but in need of a fresh hand at the tiller, as the previous manager, Frank Rijkaard, had let standards slip. He did get them playing well, sensationally well at times, initially, but results and performances dropped from the early brilliance, over time. After a year's sabbatical, Guardiola took over at Bayern Munich, just after they became European champions. While they again played some sensational stuff at times, they were never pushed in domestic competition and never looked like winning the Champions League again. By the time he left, they were again on the slide and looking less of a team than they were when he first took over. Early season impressions of Man City have confirmed the sensational football, at times, but there is still the lack of any kind of defensive acumen that has been shown throughout his coaching career. If teams can manage to get the ball, his teams are hopeless at defending and can be sliced apart at will. However, the difficulty is getting the ball off them in the first place.

Team Strengths:
Pep's reputation - the manager has such a great rep that he can attract the best players to the team. Allied to Citeh's billions, they have the ability to buy top class players, if they choose to, in January to push on for the title.
Attacking thrust - with the way City play the ball around, they can break down anyone and create chances for themselves.
Kevin De Bruyne - he offers them a goalscoring threat from midfield and excellent delivery from set pieces.
David Silva - on his game he is an incredible player. One of the best in the Premier League, a little magician on the ball. He gives them a real creative spark to help find the runs of De Bruyne or Aguero.
Sergio Aguero - power, pace and a killer instinct in front of goal. One of the best strikers in world football.
Pace - almost every player in the squad has genuine pace, with the notable exception of Aleksandar Kolarov.

Weaknesses:
Goalkeepers - with or without Joe Hart, the City goalkeepers are simply not good enough.
Defence - if it can even be called that? It is almost non-existent in its utter incompetence. Not just John Stones, it is the whole unit, though he is certainly a major culprit.
Injuries - they have a large section of the team that is injury prone and liable to miss out on too many games each season. Vincent Kompany and Fabian Delph stand out as the prime examples, but Sergio Aguero can usually be relied on to have a few injury periods each season as well.

Liverpool

Manager: Jurgen Klopp
Another manager with experience of winning league titles, though this time not with the best team in the league. However, unlike Guardiola and Conte, his experience was from several years ago. Klopp's strengths are his ability to get a team playing at a high tempo, with increased fitness and bringing individuals together as a team. While his antics on the touchline often just seem a bit of a joke, they do, usually, act as an inspiration to both the crowd and the team. Klopp likes his players to play with intensity and his antics remind players of that. Most of the time anyway.

Team Strengths:
Klopp - not just for the fact he inspires the players, but for the way he has the crowd behind him. That makes a huge difference, as Leicester City showed last season, getting the fans onside can be a big factor in success.
Attack - Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho are a fearsome trio, though not quite on the Barcelona level, but still capable of breaking down any defence. Add to them the back up options of Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge, and you see a very strong attack capable of scoring any time.
Joel Matip - the Cameroon international has been excellent since he arrived in the summer. He exudes an aura of calm, which is much needed at the back by this Liverpool team.
Pressing - the ability of this team to force mistakes and win the ball back high up the pitch is a big part of the reason behind their high number of goals.
Philippe Coutinho - he has the ability to unlock any defence, and links particularly well with Firmino.
Roberto Firmino - it is not just his phenomenal workrate that makes him such a good player, it is his excellent touch and movement. He buzzes around everywhere, causing havoc and has the ability to make the most of the havoc he causes.
Sadio Mane - on form, the Senegalese winger has the pace and skill to destroy any defence. Even on a bad day, his pace ensures the opposition either sit back or get hit constantly by him on the break. That creates space for the midfield to operate in.
Youngsters - there are a group of players on the verges of the first team that are all chasing a berth in the team. They can easily provide a big boost to the side just when things are not going your way.

Weaknesses:
Goalkeepers - Loris Karius is still trying to settle in and build his confidence, but worse is his back up, Simon Mignolet, who has proven to be among the worst keepers in the Premier League. While Karius has the potential to be an excellent keeper in time, in the short term he has to learn the league and build confidence in himself.
Defence without Matip - in 7 games with Karius in goal and Matip in defence, Liverpool conceded 5 goals. Without Matip, against Bournemouth, the defence folded the moment it was put under pressure and conceded 3. It does not matter who partners who, without Matip the defence looks awful.
Risks - they do take risks going forward, getting more bodies involved in the attacking third and playing an extremely high line. That is always going to be a big risk, though it is also comes with high rewards.

Arsenal

Manager: Arsene Wenger
After so long in charge of Arsenal, people seem to have become polarised with regards to Wenger. He is either responsible for all that is good about Arsenal or he has been holding the club back for years. Wenger won so much in his early period with the Gunners, but, in recent years his sole aim seems to have been to finish in the top 4 and qualify for the Champions League. Wenger does have experience of winning titles with Arsenal, but it has been a long time since his last one. Wenger's teams play excellent attacking football, which is often a joy to watch, but he is not the most pragmatic of managers and that can often cost his team. Also he is like an over indulgent parent at times, he gives his players a lot of leeway, which can be a problem, and is extremely loyal, standing by them far too long. At least this summer saw him finally loosen the purse strings and remove the major complaint of most Arsenal fans, by spending money in the transfer window to strengthen the team and squad.

Team Strengths:
Stability - Wenger has been in charge for a long time, so the players, in the main, are well versed in how to play the way he expects.
Goalkeepers - in Petr Cech, Arsenal have an experienced league title winner who is a calming influence on the backline. They also can count on a decent back up in David Ospina.
Style of play - it is one of the best to watch in the Premier League and always leads to chances.
Hector Bellerin - one of the best right backs in the world right now though still only 21. His frightening pace and excellent first touch makes him a real threat charging forward down the right flank. Bellerin's pace also means he can get back in and not get exposed when he makes a marauding run forward.
Francis Coquelin - he provides that steel and bite in the midfield that has been missing since the days when Arsenal were winning the league.
Mesut Ozil - an extravagant talent that creates umpteen chances.
Alexis Sanchez - he has a very good argument for being the best player in the Premier League. Not just immensely talented but has an excellent work ethic and can play on either flank or up top.

Weaknesses:
Left side - with Sanchez up front, the left flank is totally exposed, with Nacho Monreal really struggling to cope without the protection Sanchez gave him.
Injuries - Arsenal always suffer far too many injuries, long term ones especially. The recent one to Santi Cazorla is an especially bitter blow for the team.
Strength in depth - particularly in defence, it is really lacking.

Tottenham Hotspur

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino
Like Guardiola and Klopp, Pochettino likes his team to press high when they lose the ball, and to play with intensity. Unlike those two, and all the other managers mentioned in this article, he has no experience as a league title winning manager. Pochettino has a lot to prove, his teams are always good defensively, but lack goals. Also, after last season's late capitulation, Pochettino has to prove he can manage a team when the pressure hits. In the past, it has been said that his team's fade at the end of the season, but last season they stayed the course until discipline collapsed as their bittle went, rather than their fitness.

Team Strengths:
Defence - they are a very solid team who seldom give up any goals, let alone many.
Energy - they are very rarely outworked by their opponent, with plenty of running in the team.
Hugo Lloris - one of the best keepers in the Premier League with fantastic distribution, which adds an extra dimension to their play.
Toby Alderweireld - the Belgian centre half is perfectly suited to the Prem and the Spurs style of play. His partnership with Jan Vertonghen is particularly effective.
Moussa Dembele - one of the best playmakers around. He moves like a Rolls Royce, just cruising over the ground deceptively fast and he has a fantastic touch, sometimes it is like the ball is glued to his foot as he twists and turns around, through and past opponents.
Harry Kane - goals and workrate he offers in abundance, it is clear he is a player playing for the team he supports and that it gives him an extra 10%.

Weaknesses:
Full backs - they are extremely attacking and always looking to get forward, often too early and so get caught upfield. That is why it is so important that Vertonghen and Alderweireld are extremely comfortable being dragged out wide on the cover, as both can play the full back positions.
Summer transfers - as yet, no one brought in during the summer has improved the team at all. In fact, in the case of Victor Wanyama, Moussa Sissoko and Vincent Janssen, they make the team worse when they are in it.
No cover for Kane - there is no cover for Kane in the squad at all, in fact there is a general lack of goals in the squad other than Kane. It is a longstanding issue that has not been addressed for years now.

Manchester United

Manager: Jose Mourinho
One thing that can be said for Mourinho is that he is a winner. Win at all costs is the code he has worked by as a manager. Rules are there to be bent or broken, tactics are there to stifle and disrupt, it is not about being entertaining to Mourinho, it is about winning things. He certainly has plenty of experience of winning league titles, in Portugal, Italy and Spain, as well as the English Premier League. However, something seems to have gone seriously wrong extremely quickly for the man with the midas touch. Just a few months on from his Chelsea side strolling to the title he was sacked with Chelsea in complete disarray and struggling along in the bottom half. Fallouts with players and staff marked his final months. Still, when United wanted a manager to restore the glory days, there were very few people who could boast a CV to compare to Mourinho. Since taking charge things have been mixed. There are signs of improvement in the play, but that is tempered by signs of a man on the edge. Mourinho does not look a happy man in Manchester.

Team Strengths:
Money - there is plenty of money to spend on one of (if not the) most expensive squads assembled in world football ever. It certainly has the highest wage bill, but there is more money available to the manager to build his team.
David De Gea - a top class goalkeeper. They are very lucky he never ended up joining Real Madrid.
Title winning experience - they have a number of players with experience of winning league titles in various countries.
Eric Bailly - the young centre back has been a revelation since signing for Man Utd.
Paul Pogba - if Mourinho can find a way to draw the best out of him, his mercurial talents are perfectly capable of winning matches singlehandedly.
Youngsters - there are a number of players in and around the first team squad, such as Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, who can offer something different when called upon.
Mourinho - a proven winner who has shown he can win titles.

Weaknesses:
Defence - other than Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia, there is no one in the squad that can be relied on to put in good performances consistently, even when they can stay fit.
Midfield balance - so far the balance in midfield is just not there. They have yet to learn each others game enough to work together properly, leaving holes behind them at times and at others there is a lack of support for the forwards.
Lack of pace - there are far too many players in the first choice team that lack pace. While Mourinho perseveres with Zlatan Ibrahimovic up top, there is a need for pace to come from elsewhere in the team.
Mourinho - while he is a proven winner, he does not look the same as the fresh faced manager who initially came in and proclaimed himself the 'Special One'. Now there are times when, instead of being a plus, he becomes a negative. He does not seem happy and that is showing in some of the performances and results.
Squad - it may be a hugely expensive squad, earning obscene amounts of money, but there is a real lack of real quality in it.

Written by Tris Burke December 06 2016 12:50:14