The players have gone on international duties and there will be no Premier League game played until the 20th of October. Each team has played 7 games so far and the time has come  for our first assessment of each team. Some teams had a slow start but recovered well,some are still struggling while some have made a great start but slowly losing pace. So let’s look at each club and see how they’ve fared so far. We have also rated each time out of 10.

Note : The ratings are based solely on the initial expectations of the club, hence a lower placed team in the league could have a higher rating than the team placed above them.

Arsenal : 7/10

Though Arsenal lie in the 7th spot behind city rivals Tottenham and Chelsea, they will not be too disappointed because they have played at least 3 big games so far : Man City, Chelsea and Stoke away (not sure if i should count Liverpool game as a big game). That is why Arsenal have a rating of 7 and we’re not being too critical about them. But in all fairness they would have hoped to win at least one of those games.  Cazorla and Podolski have adjusted well but Giroud really needs to step up to the next level to be a regular.They need to sort out their striker problems if they want to finish in the top 3.

 

Aston Villa : 3/10

Paul Lambert’s Villa could well be on their way to the Championship if he doesn’t sort out the mess soon.They are in 16th place. No home win yet and eyebrows were raised when he stripped Bent from captaincy and dropped him against West Ham. Ironically Bent came on as a substitute and scored the equalizer in that match. Villa have some very good players like Agbonlahor, N’zogbia,Given, Dunne and current captain Ron Vlaar but they are just not getting it right.

 

Chelsea : 9/10

League leaders, no losses so far, playing attractive football unlike last season and won their only big game (against Arsenal). The only reason Chelsea do not get a straight 10 is because of their draw against QPR and given their form and class, one would have expected them to win all their 7 fixtures. But the real test for Chelsea starts now. With a flurry of tough fixtures lined up mixed with tricky Champions League matches in the middle, this will undoubtedly be a very important time of the season for the Blues.

 

Everton : 8/10

Had a superb start to the season with an opening day victory against Man United, a game in which they dominated the Red Devils in all areas. They also proved the start wasn’t a fluke and maintained pace with the top 3 clubs and lie in fourth place. If they can keep a hold of their midfield magician Fellaini this winter, then they could be serious contenders for Europe.

 

Fulham :  6/10

Bobby Zamora said “many players do not like the manager Marin Jol” and  Martin Jol has accused Bobby Zamora of “sour grapes” in reply. All this happened only a few days back and though the club are doing OK in 9th and maintaining their pre season target of finishing in the top 10. This row will certainly spice things up. It will be interesting to see how Fulham react to this after the break.

 

Liverpool : 3/10

Had the worst start to a Premier League season in 101 years. Lots of questions over the unavailability of a second striker have been raised. Liverpool have definitely missed a trick here. But despite this, they played good attractive football( apart from the first game) so far. With a new manager choosing to give teenagers regular first team football, Liverpool is a club going through a transition. But that cannot be an excuse for their under achievements.

They are the only team to play against the teams that finished 1,2,3 from last season so far hence the board will not be too harsh on Brenden Rogers now. If they can manage to get around 20 points from their next 12-13 games,then they will have around 26 points from the first half of the season. And then if they get in a good striker to partner Suarez, they can think about Europa League again. But unless all these happen, it looks very unlikely for them to finish in the top 6.

 

Manchester City : 7/10

The defending Champions are the only team apart from Chelsea to remain unbeaten in the league so far. But 3 draws in 7 games is not an ideal start for City. It is hard to find mistakes in a team which boasts of big names in each and every position and players who hardly make any mistakes. But one would be a fool to write off City so early in the season and we can expect them to bounce back immediately.They have the same points as their city rivals United and are 3rd only on goal difference.

 

Manchester United : 7/10

Second in the league but already have two losses in 7 games. And they are yet to face Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal. They have been poor defensively although injuries have not helped them out. They have been over reliant on RVP although it’s changing now. They are known to make comebacks both in the games as well as in the table standings. So it will be only a matter of time for United to be on top of the table.

 

Newcastle United : 5/10 

They are 10th in the table and it would have been O.K. had it been 2 years back. But after finishing 5th last season and increasing their standards and expectations, Newcastle haven’t quite made the start they’d wanted. Sadly for them, their entire first choice defence and goal keeper are injured.

 

Norwich City :  2/10 

This team is our pick for the “team definitely getting relegated”  this season. No wins so far and very poor defensively, Norwich let in 17 goals this season and lie in the 19th spot. It will take a big effort from both the manager and the players if they somehow manage to stay in the top flight.

 

Q.P.R. : 1/10

They deserve to be criticized. Just 2 draws in 7 games and no wins puts them right at the bottom of the table. The sad part is that Q.P.R have signed no less than 12 players in the Summer Transfer window. Though half of those signings “were” big names once, most of the players are past their prime. It will be a shame to see players like Park Ji Sung, Bosingwa, Julio Cesar or Granerio playing in the Second Division next season as Q.P.R. are heading right there.

 

Reading : 3/10

Another team without any wins so far. They look weaker of the 3 promoted clubs and will need some good home results. 3 of their next 4 fixtures are against Fulham, QPR and Norwich and they should look to take maximum points from these games.

 

Southampton : 5/10

Their league position(17) is pretty harsh on the club which is playing good offensive football. But their defence is a contrast to their attack. They scored 12 goals in 7 games but they let in 20 goals this season more than any other club. They have a 5/10 not only because of their good style of play but also because they played both the Manchester clubs, Arsenal and the in-form Everton.

 

Stoke City : 6/10

In contrast to Southampton, Stoke scored 6 and let in only 5. Their stats read 1 win, 1 loss and 5 draws. Arguably the roughest and the most physical team of the League, they will be happy to already get points from Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.

 

Sunderland : 5/10

The trademark mid table club, Sunderland fans will not be too worried. But they will not have much to celebrate either. They know they will not get relegated but they will certainly not win anything either. Their main target will be to finish in the top 10.

 

Swansea : 6/10 

After the departure of Allen and Scott Sinclair in the summer, one would have expected Swansea to struggle. But Michu has been a real steal for them and his 6 goals so far are just what the doctor ordered for the club. 

 

Tottenham Hotspur :  7/10

After 2 points from 3 games, Spurs managed to win the rest of the 4 games in a row. This included a massive 3 points against Manchester United. New boss AVB asked only for 1 thing – time and he is likely to get it here. They made some real good signings in summer including Dempsey, Dembele and Lloris but the departure of Van Der Vaart and Modric will still have voids. AVB has done a good job so far this season and the team looks settled after their early struggle but up next for them is a game against city rivals Chelsea. This game will have so many mini battles in itself – the battle of the fans, the players and most importantly AVB vs his former club.

 

West Brom : 8/10 

Exceeding expectations already. Only the 3-0 loss against Fulham is the black mark of their season so far. With wins over Liverpool and Everton, West Brom have made a bright start. But they haven’t faced any big teams so far but totally deserve credit for the work done till now.

 

West Ham : 7/10

The best of the 3 promoted teams, it will take some drastic errors for the Hammers to get relegated again. All this with Andy Carroll playing just 2 games. The English striker was sent from Liverpool to West Ham to get his form back. If he starts netting goals, then West Ham can as well finish above Liverpool itself.

 

Wigan Athletic : 4/10

The Premier League pundits stated that Wigan wouldn’t be able to run their luck for the third time in a row. They are currently in the 15th place with just 1 win and with teams like Aston Villa and Southampton who are placed below them likely to move up, it could be a long and tense season for them yet again.

 

So this is how the teams have fared so far and our ratings based on their performances. Feel free to comment.