It's looking like we could have something that we haven't seen in a while. Liverpool may actually win the league. We might have to come to terms with the Premier League spectrum changing once again, with actual coaching prevailing over throwing money at things.
Having said that, we have this season learnt the value of Sir Alex Ferguson's coaching talent, as if we didn't already know it. United are currently languishing in 7th, with Liverpool leading the way at the top. Have the tides shifted? Well, evidently they have. Brendan Rodgers deserves an enormous amount of credit for this season, and at the moment, his side look like the most likely title winners, with Chelsea being so inconsistent with results such as losing 1-0 at Crystal Palace being coupled with a 6-0 win over Arsenal, and Arsenal themselves having faded away and now face a battle just to finish in the top four. Liverpool's closest rivals look like being Manchester City, with their games in hand, as well as getting considerably more consistent results than Chelsea. It's obvious that the title decider will be at Anfield, when City face Liverpool. If someone had said to me at the start of the season "Liverpool are going to win the league this season" I would have spat my drink out, permitting I was drinking something at the time. But now, I'd have to revise that opinion, and for me, Liverpool are the favourites to win the Premier League title for the first time and become the fifth name on the trophy.
I initially backed Chelsea at the start of the season, but it seems to me that Mourinho, being the genius that he is, was right that Chelsea are just a 'little horse that needs milk' (milk = striker). He knows his team, and if I were a betting man, I'd bet on them to win the title next season. Unless Stoke suddenly become really good. As I've previously mentioned, Chelsea have been too inconsistent this season, which for me has cost them the title. On a positive note, Eden Hazard has been exceptional, and if it weren't for him, Chelsea would be in a much worse position, simply because their strikers haven't been firing at the same rate as strikers in the other top teams.
Liverpool's charge to the top of the league has been spearheaded by the best player in the Premier League, Luis Suarez, not to mention his strike partner, Iago Aspa...Daniel Sturridge. 'SAS' as they have become known in the media have become one of the most formidable strike partnerships in recent times and has seen a return to the two up front, something lacking in the modern game. If you think about previous title winners, the majority of them have had two up front. Shearer and Sutton for Blackburn, Cole/Yorke/Sheringham/Solskjaer at United and Henry and Bergkamp at Arsenal. I think a lot of credit has to go to Brendan Rodgers for that. Firstly, sticking with Luis Suarez after his misdemeanors and then getting him to sign a new contract, and for bringing in Daniel Sturridge last January to partner the Uruguayan. They now seem to be reaping the rewards from this, and giving a new lease of life to players like Jordan Henderson and Glen Johnson who seem to be enjoying their football again. Liverpool - Premier League champions?
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