Thu 28 Sep 06
Behind the Chants: Teams on the Rise and Fall
We may be only six games into the new season but already the results give us cause to consider the fate of the EPL’s likely lads:
Tottenham
After a dizzying year under Martin Jol that nearly took the Yid Army into the Champions League — with the high of a classic derby against the poilus of Highbury and the low of the final day botulism run — fans were expecting much more at White Hart Lane. Over the summer Tottenham kept Davids and acquired Berbatov but lost Carrick to Manchester United. And the result? 17th in the table, including a right shellacking at the hands of the Scouse. Two wins in hand could in theory take them back up but their form (no away wins, GD -6) isn’t encouraging.
Wigan
Dave Whelan’s boys burst onto the scene with an opening day nail-biter against Chelsea and kept their form to finish midway in the table in their first year of promotion. Their start this year was much less flashy and one wonders what impact the sales of Nathan Ellington and Jimmy Bullard may have had.
Reading
The new Wigan. Their disciplined drive through the Championship has barely faltered, especially when they recently held the Red Devils to a draw at the Madejski Stadium.
Aston Villa
This season’s Cinderella tale, without question. After a player uprising and the humiliating departure of gaffer David O’Leary, there was genuine doubt over the future of Birmingham’s last outpost in top-flight football. But with the arrival of Martin O’Neill and the club’s purchase by financier Randy Lerner, the Villans have escaped the clutches of both the sheriffs and the Grim Reaper. Their current form is encouraging, going undefeated thus far.
Paul Canniff
