The Big Gap

For most of this season, it has looked like it may well be the one where the 'Big Four' are finally broken into. Manchester United lost five league games before Christmas for the first time in years, Chelsea have been solid yet defensively unimpressive in several matches and Liverpool have been on a truly horrendous run of form losing twelve games in all competitions, and finding it nigh on impossible to string more than two wins together. As for Arsenal, well they've performed very well, but let's be honest, with their final league positions in the last 4 seasons reading 4th,4th,3rd and 4th and no trophies since Patrick Vieira was captain, they weren't exactly formidable anyway. Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa have been touted as the trio to do it and their players and form have been impressive in patches. Yet look at the league table tonight and you will see Arsenal, Chelsea and United over 9 points ahead of this 'threatening' trio and the much-derided Anfield outfit just one point off 4th, despite the fact they've been playing so badly for so long. The 'Big Four' may not be getting much better, United look distinctively less lethal without a certain Portuguese player, Chelsea are aging, Arsenal still look a bit lightweight both in defence and at centre-forward and Rafa's squad's frailties are under more scrutiny than ever, but the truth is, they're still miles ahead of the others. City can throw all their Arab's money at the squad and hire whichever managers they want and it does look like they will make the break-through soon enough, but not just yet. Liverpool are still in touch despite their recent form and if they string some results together which SURELY they have to now, they will achieve that 'Guaranteed' fourth place and Champions League qualification. The squads of the big four have the experience and depth which keeps them ahead of the pretenders. You can't buy a whole squad who have been swimming in the deep end of Europe's Elite tournament for most of the past decade in one go. City are trying but it will take time, Villa are going about it slowly under Martin O'Neill, building on each season with shrewd, usually British acquisitons, and Spurs are somewhere in between the two. But no matter how bad the 'Big Four' have become this season, it appears the gap had become so big, that it's going to take the most heroic of efforts for any team to break into their ranks and start to contest titles and Champions League's on a regular basis...