After watching how Chelsea and Manchester United performed today, it’s time to dig out my Arsenal shirt. It’s tempting to conclude that the reds and the blues are simply playing worse than before, but it seems more likely that the rest of the league ((with some notable exceptions!)) have simply raised their game, and the teams that used to dominate their opponents haven’t been able to adapt.
The one thing that I can’t understand is what’s happened to Spurs. The fact that Berbatov has only scored one goal so far is obviously part of it, but perhaps it’s more significant that Martin Jol has been under such pressure from the start. When a popular coach loses the support of the owner, team performance suffers. (OK, perhaps that argues against my earlier point. Perhaps Chelsea are simply playing badly right now.)