Chasing pack have power to shake up Chelsea and United

James Olley
13 Aug 2010

The duopoly that has dominated the Premier League in recent years now has more challengers than ever before.

While Chelsea and Manchester United have wrestled for supremacy and shared the last six titles equally between them, the reduction in their summer spending allied with the development of those beneath has dramatically diminished the gap.

Manchester City will have spent £100million if and when James Milner arrives and, heck, even Arsene Wenger has put his hand in his pocket. This season pits the glorious predictability of proven performers Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney against the tantalising potential of an injury-free Arsenal side and an instant rapport between City's galacticos.

Throw in Tottenham who if building on last season's success must by definition challenge for the biggest domestic prize while Liverpool's embryonic resurgence under Roy Hodgson is an intriguing sub-plot.

It is established order against irresistible possibilities. The known against the unknown.

This season marks the death of the Big Four' moniker. Those clubs already mentioned make a top six which Aston Villa and Everton would reasonably argue should be a top eight, although they cannot surely lay claim to a legitimate title challenge.

The dominating duo remain the pair to catch, however, but there are more pre-season doubts surrounding Chelsea and United than is customary.Carlo Ancelotti had an ageing squad last season and while steps have been taken to address that with the departures of Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco, the players that Chelsea rely on more than any others for success — Lampard, Drogba and Terry — are another year older with no sign of the burden easing.

Terry's form is a hot topic. No one can doubt his commitment to the cause and the 29-year-old remains a hugely influential figure at Stamford Bridge but the murmurs surrounding his performances continue to gather volume.

A susceptibility to pace appears to be increasing and Chelsea's four successive pre-season defeats have raised a concern over the vulnerability to set-pieces that reared itself last season to resurface once again. Chelsea start as favourites, with an impressive squad and a Double to defend, and should Lampard and Drogba produce the goods and stay injury free again, they may not be stopped.

But their case is not necessarily overwhelming, which is similarly true at Old Trafford. United rarely played well last season. Rooney single-handed hauled them to within one point of the title and his injury almost certainly ended their hopes. It is a close call but Rooney is more important to United than Drogba is to Chelsea. Early indications suggest the 24-year-old will take time to come good again — he has not scored since 30 March when suffering the ankle injury the fall-out of which, in truth, he is yet to fully recover from.

Javier Hernandez looks a promising acquisition, Bebe must be one for the future having played third-tier Portuguese football last season but Dimitar Berbatov and, to a lesser extent, Michael Owen must share the burden.

The lack of replacements for Scholes and Ryan Giggs points to a degree of vulnerability in midfield while defensively Rio Ferdinand needs to put his injury fears behind him.

Arsenal's season hinges on much the same. There is little doubt that the Gunners have one of the best starting line-ups in the League but probably the worst injury record. The back-up players have either been not up to scratch or too inexperienced but that is the consequence of not spending lavishly on your squad for instant return.

Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie are key to Arsenal's hopes but it is at the back where their season will be defined. Arsene Wenger must surely sign another centre-back while their pursuit of Mark Schwarzer remains a work in progress.

Spurs will be heavily impacted by the Champions League regardless of whether they beat Young Boys next week. Disappointment in Europe would savage early season morale and while their squad looks very capable, it remains to be seen if Harry Redknapp has the resources to navigate three big matches in a week.

Manchester City will learn, if they haven't already, that money can't buy them love and they must integrate quickly to hit the ground running against a backdrop of the vast majority hoping they will falter.

Fulham must deal with the aftermath of Roy Hodgson's departure to match, let alone, surpass last season's exploits but the squad have stayed almost entirely intact and without European distraction, Mark Hughes's target of a top-10 finish is a realistic one.

For West Ham, Avram Grant showed at Portsmouth that he can foster a team spirit in the most turbulent of circumstances and should the inspirational Scott Parker enjoy another fine season, they can steer well clear of a relegation battle that looks likely to feature Blackpool, West Brom, Wolves, Newcastle, Wigan and Bolton.

The summit will feel a long way off for these clubs but the chasing pack immediately behind front-runners Chelsea and Manchester United may believe the pinnacle could now be surmountable.