The Inverted Mid-Table

Newcastle United -- trying to stay afloat just above the relegation zone. Charlton Athletic -- at rock bottom of the table. Portsmouth, Aston Villa and Everton having their fair share of being in the top 5 with Liverpool languishing at mid-table. Sounds absurd? This year’s English Premier League season is a roller-coaster of surprises, backfiring what the pundits had predicted. While last season had the bizarre event of Wigan actually in second place at one point of time, this season offers even more of these unexpected turns. It seems as though the middle section of the Premier League table has been turned upside down.

Some of the potential relegation battlers are at the top half while a few of the decently equipped mid-table teams have suddenly found themselves in trouble. Though decent teams do sometimes have their bad streaks in every season, there is at most only one or two of them with a bad run at any one time. This season however, tells a different story. It's as if some plague has swept across the usual mid-table teams like some kind of major conspiracy -- this rash of usually under-performing teams that has suddenly popped up from nowhere.

Teams like Tottenham and Liverpool looked impressive before the season started with the addition of new promising players to the squad. Liverpool especially, managed to secure the services of the highly acclaimed Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt to bolster their attacking force. West Ham shocked many with the capture of talented Argentinean duo, Tevez and Mascherano under the noses of richer clubs. Unfortunately, the results by the first half of the season do not reflect the magnitude of their transfers. Although Liverpool performed decently at home, their away form has been horrendous. With only one 'away' goal in hand and December fast approaching, even the likes of Kuyt do not seem to be able to solve their woes. Tottenham’s new transfers have not impressed as expected. The poor results and inconsistency has planted the team at the bottom half of the table. Since having Tevez and Mascherano in the squad, West Ham has lost eight successive competitive matches, and sometimes it seems as though West Ham were much better of without the two.

The most horrifying team performances in this year’s Premier League has got to be from Charlton and Newcastle. Charlton’s fortunes seem to have had a major turn around after the departure of manager Alan Curbishley. Iain Dowie, the former manager of Crystal Palace (which did not survive in the Premier League), looked certain to bring Charlton down in the same road. The Charlton board got panicky and Dowie got the axe to become this season’s first managerial casualty. Alan Curbishley was in charge of Charlton for 16 years and Iain Dowie was in charge of Charlton for 16 games.

Newcastle United is not far from the bottom of the table either. Just about 2 weeks ago, the team was sitting in the relegation zone. Charlton could perhaps have a small excuse with the managerial change and lack of established players. However, Newcastle can gain no sympathy from the fans, as they have been simply lacklustre. Even though Michael Owen is out for the entire season, the squad still boasts notable names like Albert Luque, Damien Duff, Obafemi Martins and Emre. With 13 games played, they have only won twice. That is truly a poor record for an established club such as Newcastle. The final straw came for the fans when the team lost 0-1 to newly promoted Sheffield United right at home in St James’ Park. Their humiliation and frustration has finally forced a group of them to call for the sacking of the board of directors at the stadium. Newcastle’s manager, Glenn Roeder now has his job on thin ice if the results continue to plummet. His initial success at the club could be attributed to the fact that he was not Graeme Souness. However, with the bad results lingering, it won’t save him from the boot.

Christmas is approaching soon and it will be interesting to see how these clubs will try to dislodge the likes of Portsmouth and Bolton to gain their so called “rightful places” back. For Newcastle and Charlton, if fortune still doesn’t turn around for them, its Division 1 for them next year.

By: Stanley Lee