Chelsea and Man City are both stuttering – and that’s far from where the parallels end. Both sets of fans are unhappy after the weekend. Both clubs have billionaire foreign investors who have poured millions into the club. Both are nouveau-riche – neither has previously been a the forefront of the English game. Rival fans will say both lack history, without the illustrious past of United, Liverpool and Arsenal. And with some justification. Both have Italian managers who have enjoyed success in their homeland with Milanese sides. And now, to pull themselves into even closer alignment, both are developing similar styles of play with similar potential problems.

Both lay foundations in a solid defence and excellent goalkeeper. Although Chelsea showed significant cracks against Sunderland, conceding those three only took them to eight in total, whilst City have conceded just ten in thirteen games. That’s two better than Arsenal and five better than Man Utd, the next two on the list.

This is not only down to the orthodox back five both teams play, but also to the midfield in front of them. Taking this weekend for example, City lined up with De Jong, Yaya Toure and a defensively minded James Milner in front of their backline – and on several occasions the more defensive Barry has been the latter of the trio. Chelsea, meanwhile, used Mikel, Ramires and Zhirkov in front of their admittedly makeshift back four.

What that means, aside from defensive solidity, is a potential lack of thrust up front. This has been particularly pertinent for Man City, who despite the rich array of attacking talent – Tevez, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Balotelli, Silva, Johnson, Milner, Wright-Phillips (although he is shit) have struggled massively for goals, especially when Tevez is absent.

Chelsea started the season like a train, with Drogba, Malouda and Anelka tearing teams apart – but they have struggled in recent games too, as sides work out how to defend against a front three and static midfield.

It’s like three separate units – defence for defending, midfield for protecting the defence, and then three ‘offensive’ players whose job it is to score all the goals. All well and good, but when they don’t fire, like Drogba suffering from Malaria or Malouda off-colour for Chelsea, and City’s whole forward line yet to take off (Tevez aside) there is a very blunt edge up top.

Unlike Man City, this is not Chelsea’s first choice XI, however. Lampard and Essien, two box to box midfielders, bring far greater cohesion and thrust to the side when they play, and it is no coincidence that the abysmal Sunderland result was whilst both were missing. When both were present, Chelsea were steamrollering all comers.

Will they re-find their form once their two best midfielders are back? We will see. City’s problem is far more acute – they have to find, buy, and integrate those type of players into their misfiring and unhappy squad. Or Mancini has to prove his worth with a mass tactical reshuffle.

Many similarities, the same shortcomings, but two very different solutions.

p.s. Arsenal are going to win the league.

An up to date list of the Premier League players who will be missing this summer. Click the names for more news on the injury…

John Obi Mikel – knee injury

Didier Drogba – fractured elbow

Rio Ferdinand – left knee ligament damage

Michael Essien – hamstring & knee

Michael Ballack – right ankle ligament damaget

Jozy Altidore – Ankle

Martin Skrtel – Ankle

Valon Behrami – doubtful, Hamstring

Nani – doubtful, Shoulder

Nicklas Bendtner – Thigh

For the first time in seven years, there will be no English representation in the last four of the UEFA Champions League.

To say that an era has ended would be excessive, but it is certainly notable that none of the established ‘Big Four’ have reached their usual positioning amongst Europe’s elite.

You only need to look at each side’s individual demises to know that the margins are small in these knockout battles. United go out to on away goals to a wonder strike from Arjen Robben.

Chelsea were guilty of a slight lack of energy and guile in attempting to break down the brick wall that is the Inter defence whereas Arsenal were, wholly reasonably, outclassed by a player who operates on a different planet. Only Liverpool can be seen to have seriously regressed from past endeavours, having been eliminated at the group stages.

If we go looking for wider influences behind a poor year for the English sides, can one be found in the emergence of Manchester City as a spending powerhouse?

In the summer, they swooped to relieve Arsene Wenger of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor; they enticed long-term Liverpool target Gareth Barry to Eastlands; and perhaps most significantly of all, they convinced Carlos Tevez to move from the red to blue side of Manchester.

Most pundits point to Xavi Alonso’s departure as a key influence in Liverpool’s fall from grace. Would Barry have proved a more able replacement than the brittle and under-used Alberto Aquilani?

In the face of a central defensive crisis, Arsene Wenger could have done with Kolo Toure in the Nou Camp in place of the creaking Mikael Silvestre. And surely Adebayor would have proved a more dangerous threat to the Barcelona defence than Nicklas Bendtner?

Lastly, Sir Alex Ferguson took a chance last night on a clearly under-par Wayne Rooney, not least due to the lack of dynamism offered by £30m alternative Dimitar Berbatov. How he would love to have called upon an on-fire Tevez.

As I say, the margins are small. At the business end of a season, squad depth is vital. Thanks to Man City’s mega bucks, their Premier League rivals have been weakened and now exposed by Europe’s best.

Name six players who have played for at least two of the following four English clubs: Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United (The Big Four, you could say…)

AND

Real Madrid or Barcelona

Email us for the answers… contact@footballsup.com

• Jose Mourinho is still the king of Stamford Bridge – The Special One had a remarkable record there in charge of Chelsea, and in inflicting a rare home defeat on Ancelotti’s men reminded everyone, especially Chelsea fans, just how good he is. Indeed, his favourite biscuits were put out specially for him, he has a wall dedicated to him and his achievements within the stadium, and was raucously applauded by the Chelsea fans. They wish he was still there.
• Serie A is not dead yet – Despite AC Milan’s abject defeat to Man United, there is life in the old (in Milan’s case very old) Italian dog yet. Inter fully deserved what in the end was comprehensive qualification, and particularly in the second half outplayed Chelsea. No-one will want to draw them in the next round.
• But they are no angels - Inter employed every trick in the book from shirt pulling, tugging, holding and fouling to diving, moaning, complaining and dramatising to the more sly but no less infuriating timewasting, the most cowardly form of cheating. Despite catching up in the insidious stakes English sides still have a lot to learn from cunning Italians.
• Didier Drogba is still repulsive – The Ivorian was sent off again, making 4 of his 5 dismissals in the Champions League. Clearly he has a problem with losing – not a sin in itself, but coupled with his on pitch histrionics they make him a thoroughly dislikable character despite his obvious footballing merits.
• Referees need to man up – We’ve commented on this several times before, but until referees clamp down on holding and shirt pulling in the box defenders will continue to cheat relentlessly. Drogba himself was clearly held by Walter Samuel in what was a clear foul, and there were several other potential penalties. The common argument is ‘if refs gave every one of those there would be ten penalties a match’ – no there wouldn’t you absolute spastic, DEFENDERS WOULD STOP DOING IT. It needs to happen.
• Wesley Sneijder is a great footballer – A delightful performance from Inter’s dutchman showed why he has been so crucial to Inter this term. Chelsea were linked with him months ago and must rue missing out. Particularly last night.
• The first half was one of the worst halves of football I’ve seen in a long time – Bitty, scrappy, and very low on quality. The second was better as the game opened up a bit, but this was an absorbing contest rather than a great one.

Here it is in full:

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, £11.3million)
2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona, £10.4million)
3 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, £9.1million)
4 Samuel Eto’o (Internazionale, £9.1million)
5 Kaka (Real Madrid, £8.7million)
6 Emmanuel Adebayor (Manchester City, £7.4million)
7 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, £7.4million)
8 Carlos Tevez (Manchester City, £7million)
9 John Terry (Chelsea, £6.5million)
10 Frank Lampard (Chelsea, £6.5million)

11 Thierry Henry (Barcelona, £6.5million)
12 Xavi (Barcelona, £6.5million)
13 Ronaldinho (AC Milan, £6.5million)
14 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, £6.5million)
15 Daniel Alves (Barcelona, £6.1million)
16 Michael Ballack (Chelsea, £5.6million)
17 Raul (Real Madrid, £5.6million)
18 Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United, £5.6million)
19 Kolo Toure (Manchester City, £5.6million)
20 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, £5.2million)

21 Robinho (Manchester City, £5.2million)
22 Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, £5.2million)
23 Victor Valdez (Barcelona, £5.2million)
24 Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla, £5.2million)
25 Deco (Chelsea, £5.2million)
26 Didier Drogba (Chelsea, £4.8million)
27 Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, £4.8million)
28 Francesco Totti (Roma, £4.8million)
29 Luca Toni (Roma, £4.8million)
30 David Villa (Valencia, £4.8million)

31 Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich, £4.8million)
32 Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich, £4.8million)
33 Ashley Cole (Chelsea, £4.8million)
34 Fernando Torres (Liverpool, £4.8million)
35 Gareth Barry (Manchester City, £4.8million)
36 Patrick Vieira (Internazionale, £4.8million)
37 Charles Puyol (Barcelona, £4.3million)
38 Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, £4.3million)
39 Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid, £4.3million)
40 Andreas Pirlo (AC Milan, £4.3million)

41 Phillipe Lahm (Bayern Munich, £4.3million)
42 Frank Ribery (Bayern Munich, £4.3million)
43 David Beckham (AC Milan, £4.3million)
44 Wayne Bridge (Manchester City, £4.3million)
45 Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid, £4.3million)
46 Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United £4.1million)
47 Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal, £4.1million)
48 Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea, £4.1million)
49 Ryan Giggs (Manchester United £4.1million)
50 Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus, £4.1million)

Ummm…. where to start? The very inclusion of Wayne Bridge? The fact Gareth Barry is higher than Iniesta? The fact Cesc Fabregas doesn’t appear on the list? The fact Del Piero and Giggs are 49th and 50th, with such dross above them? The fact Ronaldo earns more than twice as much as Rooney? I could go on. But I’ll let you find/draw your own fantastic conclusions…

Notes:

(1) The figures are the result of research carried out in more than 30 publications worldwide that specialize in football. Of which, the major newspapers and magazines of the top leagues in the world.

(2) The figures are unofficial and approximate, and depend on new hires, or renewals of each contract.

(3) Figures refer to gross wages of the players (before tax), which of course does not include advertising contracts, gaming awards, signing bonuses, or other extra pay.

(4) There may from time to time differences with the figures, due to exchange rate in relation to players do not receive their salaries in euros. You can read the original article in full here.

Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Everton (not to mention their recent draw with Hull) coupled with United only getting a point against Villa means Arsenal are only six points behind Ancelloti’s men, and five points behind Fergusons. Here is how the top of the table looks:

Even this unpredictable season, I think we can rule out Liverpool. And prior to last night, it was arguable that you could rule out Arsenal, too. Not any more… look at this run in:

Away games to Stoke and Spurs, and a home game to Man City, are the only games against sides in the top half of the table! (Assuming Birmingham will slip to their rightful place). It’s not inconceivable (although is unlikely) that Arsenal could win every single one of those games. And if they do, you have to fancy them making up six points on Chelsea. And five on United. It’s a big if, but Arsenal’s title challenge is back on track…

Fancy it?

We’ve already tipped Arsenal, and Chelsea – so now let’s go with United to make sure we’re not wrong. And our reasoning? Read on to find out…

It’s not their form – although convincing against an (albeit dreadful) Everton side, United have yet to hit top gear this season. And their performance against Sunderland, where stealing a point was daylight robbery, was one of the worst I can remember United producing.

It’s not their players – they have lost Ronaldo and Tevez and replaced them with Owen and Valencia (and I suppose Obertan) – a bad swap in anyone’s books. Rooney aside they lack invention, and with Owen yet to convince in front of goal, a goalscorer.

It’s not their rivals – admittedly Liverpool are nothing short of disastrous, but Chelsea look as convincing as any side have for years, steamrollering the opposition. And Arsenal on their day can beat anyone – until their recent setback against Sunderland they were really pushing themselves into contention.

Of course their manager is a factor – however much you hate Man United, you have to admire Alex Ferguson and all he has achieved. If you don’t you are either incredibly blinkered or downright retarded. But Sir Alex can only do so much.

No – what could win United the title, is their next ten games. Look how easy they are:

28-11-2009 Premier League Portsmouth (A)
05-12-2009 Premier League West Ham United (A)
12-12-2009 Premier League Aston Villa (H)
15-12-2009 Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers (H)
19-12-2009 Premier League Fulham (A)
27-12-2009 Premier League Hull City (A)
30-12-2009 Premier League Wigan Athletic (H)
09-01-2010 Premier League Birmingham City (A)
16-01-2010 Premier League Burnley (H)
26-01-2010 Premier League Hull City (H)

Incredible hey? Apart from Villa at home, and perhaps Fulham away, you would expect those games to be a cakewalk. And in that timespan, Chelsea face Arsenal, Man City, Everton, and Sunderland.

Alex Ferguson himself has said that if United are as close as one point behind come the New Year, he would be not only delighted but confident of retaining the title for a fourth season.

And there is no side in the world that, once the momentum is with them (a situation these ten games should create) are better at chasing down a lead.

If United get within a couple of points, Chelsea will be looking nervously over their shoulders – and you wouldn’t bet againt them being overhauled.

I think these are our most covered topics. We’ve discussed it here, here, and here, and provided material for Patrick Barclay. If you read those articles (which I don’t suspect for a second you will) you’ll see our position is abundantly clear. There were two incidents this weekend that fulled the debate – one in the United/Chelsea game, and one in the Liverpool/Birmingham game. Here is our take on them…

1. Drogba on Brown, Chelsea v United

We’ll be biased here, as there is no more vitriolic hater of Drogba than us. But he quite clearly fouled Wes Brown, preventing the baked bean from likely clearing John Terry’s header. But that is not our main gripe. Our gripe is the universally cited reason that it wasn’t given. And we’re going to pull Danny Murphy up on this – he’s by no means the only, or most guilty party, but he put it perfectly on ESPN’s pre-match coverage last night. This is paraphrased as I don’t have the actual quote:

You can’t give those. If you gave every single foul like that, the game would be stopped every 5 seconds

That. is. not. a. reason.

If you pulled everyone up who committed a snide, dirty, underhand offence like shirtpulling it wouldn’t make the game stop every five seconds – it would stop people doing it. Admittedly there would be a transition phase while players got used to the fact they could not cheat, and during that period there may be more stoppages than normal, but ultimately it would wipe thos fouls out and would be for the tremendous good of the game.

The problem with this is the referees. As with one of the articles above, referees with the courage to punish these ‘minor’ offences should be lauded – a sly shirt tug or push in the back that sends you off balance as you are about to shoot (or in the case above, clear a goal bound header) is as ‘effective’ as scything the legs away. Referees have to have the balls to give a foul in these situations, else it will never be eradicated.

Furthermore, if players do not get fouls for the not-so-subtle shirt tug or the push in the back, it encourages them to exaggerate – fouls only seem to be given when the victim hits the ground, which has a logical progression – diving. By not penalising offenders, refs are inviting simulation. Another compelling reason to ensure they do.

2. David Ngog, Liverpool v Birmingham

David Ngog, after a poorly timed lunge by Lee Carsley, fell as if fouled – although there was no contact. It was a dive, as Carsley did not touch him. But what was he supposed to do?

After beating the man and inciting a rash scythe, should Ngog have let Carlsley’s studs smash into his ankle, risking serious injury? He did enough to earn the penalty (or pelanty as Chris Waddle repeatedly put it), Carsley’s tackle saw to that. He didn’t get the ball and dived in in the box – the fact he didn’t actually catch Ngog is immaterial.

It’s murder vs attempted murder – yes a less severe offence, but an offence nonetheless. And an offence in the box should be a penalty.

Both Wayne Rooney and Darren Bent have recently pre-meditated lunges by goalkeepers and diluted the effect by starting to go down before contact was actually made – and there was every sympathy for them. Why wait for a full-blooded assault by the keeper when you know the foul is coming. Do your best to self preserve. And Ngog did exactly that.

Again, it comes down to referees. If a rash/dangerous/mis-timed tackle is made, referees should penalise the offender whether or not contact is made.

This would remove the necessity for contact and for injury – if you know you are going to be hammered into by a two-footed studs-up tackle from a brutish defender are you not entitled to try and get out of the way? Does that make the tackle any less dangerous? And therefore any less of a foul?

Perhaps last night’s decision was in fact very good, progressive refereeing.

I doubt it though.

N.B. Any cheating discussed above – or in fact probably ever – pales into comparison with this animal. She should be caged… Thanks to Colin Mercer for the video.

Roughly a quarter of the way into the new season and the Big Four have experiences vastly contrasting fortunes. We have a look at them…

Chelsea

Won five from five, on a great run currently, Drogba firing, Lampard re-finding his goalscoring touch, defence shored up… it all looks good for Carlo Ancelotti. Defeats to Wigan and Aston Villa have blighted their record but they are rightly strong favourites for the title. The return of Joe Cole is a boon, and there is a definite feeling around Stamford Bridge that not only is the Premier League there for the taking, but the Champions’ League too. The fact their transfer embargo has been suspended, allowing them to spend big in January when they lose influential players to the ACN, is significant.

Man United

United have been far from convining this season yet still have 25 points, only two less than Chelsea. They have lacked invention (Rooney aside), their formerly rock solid defence has looked ropey (Evra aside) and they already appear reliant on old timers Giggs and Scholes, who will not last the season. Nani has been nothing short of disastrous, Valencia yet to impress, Owen yet to convince he is not shot… yet they keep winning. Reputation is single handedly dragging them to victories. But how long will that last?

Liverpool

An all round disaster. Neither Gerrard nor Torres are or have been fully fit, and they have lost six of their last seven in all competitions. They have lost five in the league already, from eleven matches – last season they lost only two all season. Carragher looks shot, Alonso has left a gaping void… Benayoun is the only one who has really stepped up. They are in big trouble, Rafa is in big trouble, and Man City, Villa, Spurs et al must be filled with hope.

Arsenal

Outsiders at the start of the season (well, not ours) Arsenal have been playing some cracking football. They set a new Premier League record for goals scored and create reams of chances – but as their draw with West Ham showed (2-0 up with 18 mins to go) they still have a soft core. That will need to be largely eradicated (depending on how much their rivals struggle) for them to last the pace.

Our Prediction

1. Chelsea

2. Arsenal

3. Man United

4. Man City

5. Liverpool

6. Villa