How is it looking so far?

Well for most sides in the division 6 games have past, the window is firmly shut, and the players at their disposal will have to do their best to accumulate the points between now and January. The window was undoubtably one of the more quieter windows in recent times, and it's no co-incidence that this falls in line with the apparent inflation in prices. The sides who have the money have spent it, but you can't help but feel sides who are working on a tight budget have fallen short of targets because they can't or wont pay the going rate. Alot of this is down to greedy agents who not only want the best deal for their player, but the best deal for themselves, because afterall, the higher the transfer fee the more money pocketed for the agent.

Anyway, onto the league table so far, the current top 4 shows several peoples end of season finish already, Chelsea lead the way, Man United sit 2nd, whilst Liverpool occupy 3rd, and big-spenders Man City sit 4th. Chelsea have been excellent so far, 18 points available, 18 points taken, and whilst many will compare this start to the promising start Luiz Felipe Scolari made, you can't help but feel this Chelsea side are even stronger than recent season's, and have superb strength in depth far superior to most, if not all in the division. Man United's only defeat came from an un-expected source, Burnley, this seasons potential suprise package turned them over on home soil, and so far Man United have proven not to be the only victims at Turf Moor. Very much in the same way as Stoke City's opening premier league season, Burnley are already showing signs that their home fixtures could be a task for the best of sides.

Liverpool started the season in a less than impressive fashion accumulating the same defeats they recieved in the enter 08/09 season in the first 3 games! Reports of back-room staff problems continue to linger, with the on-going protests amongst the Kop faithful of Hicks and Gillet, and the apparent unsettled Rafael Benitez showing signs he may not be in this job for many years to come. However, Liverpool have steadied the ship over recent weeks, 5 straight victories in all competitions has rekindled hope, and a home tie against struggling Hull on Saturday could see that run continue.

Man City made a convincing start to their campaign, 5 straight victories in all competitions, and no goals conceded in the first 3, fans and pundits alike were starting to debate whether money could really buy them success, and I suppose this is still an open topic. However, their dominance came to an abrupt end at the hands of Champions Manchester United, Man City levelled things up on 3 occasions at Old Trafford only for a seemingly faulty stop-watch to bail Manchester United out of trouble in the 96th minute. This isn't an act of bitterness on my behalf, but the stats themselves show every reason to question the added time. The second half saw 5 goals and 4 substitutions totalling a time of 4 minutes 30 seconds, and whilst there was the idiot fan briefly on the pitch, and the time added on for celebrations, does that really accumulate a further 2 minutes 30 seconds? For me, no.

Onto Aston Villa, it's fair to say they made a poor start to the season, a suprise home defeat at the hands of Wigan, and a less than convincing start to their Europa League campaign with a defeat in Vienna. But a suprise victory at Anfield has kick-started their season, despite going out on away goals in the Europa League, Villa have accumulated 4 straight league victories and progression to the last 16 of the Carling Cup. Gabby Agbonlahor is in dangerous form scoring in his last 4 games, and if they can keep him fit they could see him hit 10-15 goals this season.

The 6th place does Spurs no justice whatsoever at the moment, for me, they've looked one of most improved sides from the 08/09 campaign, and whilst they can't compete much financially with the likes of Man City, many believe they have a better chance of breaking into the top 4 than the Eastlands club. 5 straight victories in all competitions casted people's eyes towards them. Then their next two games saw Manchester United visit White Hart Lane, and Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge, two defeats saw them fall down the table, but a fantastic response last-night with a vintage 5-1 victory at Deepdale in the cup means they continue to look very much a different side from the relegation threatened side Harry took on board just a season ago.

Arsenal's start has been very similar to Spurs's, they started off with 4 straight victories in all competitions, but then back-to-back defeats to Man United and Man City saw them fall down the league. But they showed real metal to respond from being two goals down in Liege, a fantastic 2-3 turn around saw them make a 100% start to the Champions League campaign, and have later followed up with 2 victories in the Premiership and Carling Cup, and two clean sheets. I'm a firm believer that if Arsenal could play to their potential on a more regular basis they would win the league hands-down, but as things stand I continue to question whether they have enough experienced faces in the side to achieve things, and whether despite a good fee, they have replaced Adebayor properly.

Sunderland under Bruce have already showed signs of being the improved side people thought they might be, their current position isn't too far away from many people's end of season thoughts, 8th. Early signs show what could prove to be their down-fall though, away form, 3 points from a potential 9 away from home is not the start i'm sure Bruce would've wanted on his travels, defeats at the hands of Stoke and Burnley were convincing to say the least, and they could've found themselves losing by a bigger margin in these games. However, 9 points from a possible 12 on home turf shows the Stadium of Light could be a tricky fixture for many a side this season, add that to convincing progression to the last 16 of the Carling Cup, Sunderland have made a solid start.

After suffering an opening day defeat at the hands of Stoke, Burnley looked like a side in great need of strengthening in several areas, they showed straight away they can pass the ball well and look dangerous on the counter, but basic defensive errors saw them undone, and i'm sure from that position every Burnley would've took 9th place after 6 games! Burnley's home form will undoubtably be their key to trying to beat the drop, and early signs show it could prove to be their saving grace, on home turf Burnley have took 9 points from a possible 9, with Man Utd proving to be one of those victims. However, the recent injury of last season's top scorer Martin Paterson till new year could prove a costly blow and they'll need to do their best to replace his goals.

Stoke have made a solid start to their campaign and have started early in questioning the doubters who tipped them to suffer a dose of ' second season syndrome ' , the big difference for me from them and the sides that have previously suffered it is the investment they made in the Summer. Reading for example made a stunning start to their first season in the top flight, but then in the second season they invested minimally and tried to rest on their laurels, it back-fired on them and saw them go down. However, Stoke under ambitious chairman Peter Coates and manager Tony Pulis have continued to build on last seasons achievements and look to not only beat the drop again, but try and improve on their previous 12th place finish. New faces such as Tuncay, Huth, Arismendi, and Whitehead show the clubs intentions, and with these new faces and money in the bank for January much more could be achieved for The Potters. Stoke have picked up from where they left off in terms of home form, 6 points from a possible 9 and an unfortunate defeat to Chelsea shows they will continue to prove many side a problem at ' Fortress Britannia ' , and despite no wins been recorded on the road so far in the league, 1 defeat from a possible 3 has showed steady improvement, and with Everton the next trip they'll fancy their chances.

Birmingham have made a mixed start to their campaign, they couldn't have wished for a tougher opening tie than Man United, and despite losing the tie to a 1-0 defeat, several chances showed early promise for them. Their next two games so 4 points from a possible 6 at home, but in neither game did they show great promise though, and in all honesty they were fortunate to come away with a point against a Stoke side that created bags of chances. Since then Birmingham achieved Carling Cup progression at the St. Marys Stadium, but suffered back-to-back league defeats, including a home defeat to bitter rivals Aston Villa. But Birmingham responded well in the league, they captilised on a woeful Hull outfit and recorded their first victory on the road of the season. However, their Carling Cup progression came to an end this week with a comfortable 2-0 defeat at Sunderland. Overall I think McLeish will take great promise from their start, and with takeover talks on-going, money could be their to spend in January.

Wolves wil be perfectly happy with a 12th place position so far, they've made a very mixed start, a less than convincing home defeat to West Ham on the opening day showed signs of a tough season ahead, but football at it's unpredictable best saw them then go and win at a Wigan side who were coming off a win at Villa Park! Wolves certainly didn't disgrace themselves in their next game either, going down 1-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium. Next up saw progression in the Carling Cup against Swindon, a less than flattering performance, but i'm sure Mick himself would say Cup games are all about progression. Wolves then had to wait another two games before their next victory, and it came over a Fulham side who have started slowly this season. With Fulham's obvious weakness being their away form i'm sure Wolves targetted this before the season as a game they would need something from, they stood upto the challenge and came away with a hard-fought 2-1 victory. And last-night saw them put in a stubborn display at Old Trafford, Man United found themselves down to 10 men after 30 minutes, but their second string proved strong enough to progress, in a defeat that left Mick McCarthy frustrated. Early signs are encouraging for Wolves though, Milijas in particular looks to be an excellent bit of business.

Everton made an horrendous start to their campaign, WITH Joleon Lescott still at the club they found themselves on the end of an opening day 1-6 thumping to Arsenal, defensively they looked all-over the place, and with the Lescott departure imminent and the expectancy that very little of the funds were going to be spent on recruitment, early signs were concerning for The Toffees. However, in the Europa League Everton have looked a force for anyone! They dispatched of Sigma Olomouc 5-1 on aggregate, and soon set about AEK Athens, with a 4-0 victory last-week. League form has improved slightly though, but not drastically, 2 wins from a possible 5 is not the start Moyes would've hoped for, but recent form suggests they are on the up, their last 3 games in all competitions has shown 3 straight victories, 11 goals scored, and 0 goals conceded. I suspect Everton may not achieve a 5th place finish this season, but David Moyes and Everton continue to amaze me at how much they seem to achieve on a shoe-string budget compared to several.

All things considered, I don't think Roy Hodgson will be particularly delighted with Fulham's start to the campaign, they are going along ok in the Europa League, but a current 14th place in the league, and 2 wins from a possible 5 suggests they may have a task on their hands to improve or match last seasons efforts. 3 points from a possible 9 away from home suggests away form could prove a problem for them again. There is a notable plus point for Fulham though, and that is their defender Brede Hangeland is still at the club, Fulham were the victim of several bids for him in the summer following an impressive debut season, but Fulham turned their nose up at the offers and have argueably kept their key player for at least another season. Fulham are in no danger of relegation in my opinion, a solid 11th-12th place finish is what I expect.

Roberto Martinez arrived at Wigan pre-season with an excellent football league CV from his success's with Swansea City, but early signs suggest it wont be a bed of roses at the DW Stadium. Wigan did however make a fantastic start with 3 points at Villa, however Wigan have achieved just 1 victory in the league since, including an humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Blackpool at Bloomfield Road in the Carling Cup. The honeymoon period is over for Martinez, their key player from 08/09 season Valencia, has departed and argueably hasn't been replaced, the gates continue to be on the low side at Wigan, limited funds are available compared to many, and i'm sure Dave Whelan and the Wigan support would take survival this season.

Financial problems seem to be continuing to reer their ugly head at Upton Park with debts seemingly mounting in pre-season, I think their financial problems have been temporarily stabled, but Zola has had limited funds to work with this pre-season. It was always going to be difficult for Zola to match last season's success's with the inflation in prices surrounding football, but i'm sure the current 16th place position will not please him. West Ham have won just 1 league game this season, on the opening day at Wolves, since then points have been hard to come by for the Hammers, add to that their early departure from the Carling Cup and things don't look promising. I don't believe West Ham will go down under Zola, I still think they'll finish near mid-table, but they'll need to start improving on league form soon as they don't want to find themselves in this situation by Christmas.

I can honestly say following my visit to the Reebok Stadium last week, that Bolton look very much a shadow of the side Stoke faced on the opening day of the 08/09 season. Gary Megson for some reason continues to be a very disliked man in Bolton, and to be perfectly honest I think he's a decent manager, a likeable bloke, and will keep Bolton up this season. They do need points on the board soon though, 17th place is undoubtably not the start the Trotters would've wanted, like West Ham they have also only recorded 1 victory this campaign in the league, however, they do find themselves in the last 16 of the Carling Cup, maybe a trophy may make the Bolton fans like Gary? I doubt it somehow!

I've been quite suprised by Blackburn's poor start to be honest, I'm not saying they are going to finish in the top half this season, but Allardyce has proven in the past at Bolton, and with Blackburn in the latter stages of the 08/09 campaign that he is a good manager to have when limited funds are available. He very much adopts the same style of football everywhere he goes, and overall, throughout football it's served him well. Blackburn have also only won 1 game from 5 in the league though, with 0 points away from home so far, they do have a game in hand however, but Allardyce has a task on his hand this season in seems. It's not all bad though, they are in the last in the last 16 of the Carling Cup following progression at the City Ground this week.

Many predict that characteristic plonker Phillip Brown could be the first manager to recieve the chop this season, and early signs suggest that's very much possible. Brown does hold a good relationship with chairman Paul Duffen, but just how long will his patience last before he has to act? Hull sit 19th, and have also only recorded 1 victory in the league this season. Brown for me invested very poorly in Summer window, with a late panic loan of well-known liability Ibrahima Sonko joining his ranks as the seeming replacement for former defender Michael Turner. Hull's downfalls started on Boxing Day 2008 at the City of Manchester Stadium in my opinion. A unique on the pitch half-time team-talk for me lost the dressing room for him, and I don't believe it's been recovered since. Hull are strangely a far more difficult side away from home than they are at the KC, but for me they are a side that are doomed for relegation, adding to their league woes with a 4-0 home thumping to Everton in the Carling Cup last-night.

Portsmouth's takeover continues to amaze me, so far the logic behind it has been non-visible, no money has been made available from one of the ' poorer ' Arabs to grace premiership clubs over recent seasons, and several championship quality panic buys in the Summer at the last minute does nothing to suggest they can beat the drop so far. 0 points have been recorded so far in the league, and points don't seem to be round the corner as things look. Paul Hart's interviews suggest he is fighting a losing battle at the moment, and is resigned to relegation. Portsmouth need to hope the cash is splashed in January, and hope they can produce something quite stunning at the business end of the season to beat the drop. However! They are through to the last 16 of the Carling Cup having come from behind to win at Brunton Park.