Many people are in appreciation of some of the transfers
made by the ‘not-so-big teams’ and rightly so. In particular, West Ham, Leicester City and
Swansea City have caught my eye and both have made decent starts to the new
campaign.
Andre Ayew and Dimitri Payet will be instrumental for both
teams and pivotal if either reach the knockout rounds. Both left French side
Marseille, after a topsy turvy season in the South of France. Starting
superbly, Marseille were clear at the top of Ligue 1, and much of it was
attributed to the Argentine tactician, Marcelo Bielsa. As for Leicester, Claudio Ranieri is achieving the best out of Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian international has made a blistering start to the season scoring 5 goals in his opening 7 games, culminating in a nomination for August's Player of the Month.
After 6 games, all three sides sit in the top half with West Ham in 3rd, Leicester in 4th and Swansea further back in 7th.
West Ham have played some nice football this season, similar to what they experienced in the opening stages last season. In the last campaign, Diafra Sakho was key and his 12 goals made him the Hammers' top goal scorer last season. While they started the season well, two wins in the last sixteen games presumably sealed Sam Allardyce's fate and paved the way for Slaven Bilic. This season, West Ham have started with confidence, and the introduction of Dimitri Payet has proved a master stroke by the former Croatian international.
Like many other clubs, West Ham are threat from full back. Aaron Cresswell, signed from Ipswich in summer 2014, was voted the club's Player of the Year last season and made an average of six defensive actions a game, according to Squawka. West Ham managed to fend off interest from both Chelsea and Manchester City during the transfer window. He is equally adept in the defensive and offensive apartment, creating 30 chances last season and 7 this season - two have led to goals.
They lead the way in the goal scoring tally with 13 and conceding 7 goals - the second most inside the top ten. Offensively they have been superb this season and they look as if they could cause problems for any defence in Europe at times. Bilic has a bit of work to conduct on the defence if they are going to challenge for the European places, but with him getting to know his new squad, I suspect this will improve in the coming weeks. West Ham look good this season and I thoroughly enjoy watching them.
Similar to the Hammers, Garry Monk's Swans have been earning praise for their style of praise this year. The loss of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City was expected to cause problems last season, but his replacement in Bafetimbi Gomis is just as good. The French international has netted on four occasions this year and is going through a streak of good form. He displays similar physical strengths to Bony, hence why he is taking to Swansea like a duck to water. Currently one goal off Callum Wilson and Riyad Mahrez in the scoring charts, Gomis is becoming one of the favourites for the golden boot when the season concludes.
Gomis has made a great start to the season, but he has formed a formidable partnership with former Marseille man Andre Ayew. Recently named Player of the Month for August, he was the star of the side for Marseille last season, creating 22 chances and scoring 10 in the league. With Swansea, he is quickly becoming a fan favourite at the Liberty Stadium and provides one of the main creative sparks in the side. While Monk has commented that the Welsh side will not rely on the Ghanian, a fit Ayew will greatly ameliorate their chances of European football.
Former Liverpool star Jonjo Shelvey is also a key player for the Welsh side. He has a terrific range of passes and is the heart beat of the midfield for the past season. Lying a bit deeper, he is able to break up the play and offer defensive reinforcement, and has adopted this role since the arrival of Ayew. Swansea may not have scored many goals, but their creative players Ayew, Jefferson Montero and Shelvey have the guile to produce more chances for Gomis to feed off. I do think they will able to qualify for Europe, whether through the league position or else a cup victory.
Last for now is Leicester City. The pundits among us may have been able to predict West Ham and Swansea's terrific start. but there won't be many to have predicted the start of Ranieri's men. I remember back to when Ranieri was appointed, there was much criticism about this and why Nigel Pearson was sacked. Pearson steered the Foxes away from relegation with a magnificent run of form that culminated in them finishing 14th, not bad considering they were rooted to the bottom from game-week 13 right through to week 31.
Undoubtedly, Riyad Mahrez has been their star performer this season and leads the way in terms of goals with five and has been grabbing the headlines. He seems to be the player that is able to create something out of nothing this season and if he continues this form, then Leicester will be a real force. They have had their fair share of luck, including a 3 goal comeback to seal the victory against Aston Villa as well as scoring two goals to snatch a draw of Stoke City. While people may say that they have been lucky up to this stage so far, I am a firm believer that you are the architects of your own luck.
They lead the way in the goal scoring tally with 13 and conceding 7 goals - the second most inside the top ten. Offensively they have been superb this season and they look as if they could cause problems for any defence in Europe at times. Bilic has a bit of work to conduct on the defence if they are going to challenge for the European places, but with him getting to know his new squad, I suspect this will improve in the coming weeks. West Ham look good this season and I thoroughly enjoy watching them.
Similar to the Hammers, Garry Monk's Swans have been earning praise for their style of praise this year. The loss of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City was expected to cause problems last season, but his replacement in Bafetimbi Gomis is just as good. The French international has netted on four occasions this year and is going through a streak of good form. He displays similar physical strengths to Bony, hence why he is taking to Swansea like a duck to water. Currently one goal off Callum Wilson and Riyad Mahrez in the scoring charts, Gomis is becoming one of the favourites for the golden boot when the season concludes.
Gomis has made a great start to the season, but he has formed a formidable partnership with former Marseille man Andre Ayew. Recently named Player of the Month for August, he was the star of the side for Marseille last season, creating 22 chances and scoring 10 in the league. With Swansea, he is quickly becoming a fan favourite at the Liberty Stadium and provides one of the main creative sparks in the side. While Monk has commented that the Welsh side will not rely on the Ghanian, a fit Ayew will greatly ameliorate their chances of European football.
Former Liverpool star Jonjo Shelvey is also a key player for the Welsh side. He has a terrific range of passes and is the heart beat of the midfield for the past season. Lying a bit deeper, he is able to break up the play and offer defensive reinforcement, and has adopted this role since the arrival of Ayew. Swansea may not have scored many goals, but their creative players Ayew, Jefferson Montero and Shelvey have the guile to produce more chances for Gomis to feed off. I do think they will able to qualify for Europe, whether through the league position or else a cup victory.
Last for now is Leicester City. The pundits among us may have been able to predict West Ham and Swansea's terrific start. but there won't be many to have predicted the start of Ranieri's men. I remember back to when Ranieri was appointed, there was much criticism about this and why Nigel Pearson was sacked. Pearson steered the Foxes away from relegation with a magnificent run of form that culminated in them finishing 14th, not bad considering they were rooted to the bottom from game-week 13 right through to week 31.
Undoubtedly, Riyad Mahrez has been their star performer this season and leads the way in terms of goals with five and has been grabbing the headlines. He seems to be the player that is able to create something out of nothing this season and if he continues this form, then Leicester will be a real force. They have had their fair share of luck, including a 3 goal comeback to seal the victory against Aston Villa as well as scoring two goals to snatch a draw of Stoke City. While people may say that they have been lucky up to this stage so far, I am a firm believer that you are the architects of your own luck.
Will Leicester be able to keep this run of form up? We all long for a fairy tale story but I'm not convinced. Squad depth around Christmas time will be a major factor as to whether they can retain the momentum. At the same time, not many people thought that Southampton would be able to continue their form for so long last season, so there is every possibility that the Foxes can follow in the Saints' footsteps. Leicester City should be aiming for a high mid table finish either 6th, 7th or 8th however should not be too disheartened if they finish 10th or 11th. It would be steady progress to build on for next season.
West Ham and Swansea really should be pushing for a Europa League spot as both have the squads capable of challenging. In the domestic cups they also have a great opportunity with the ties generally being one match. The ground work has been laid for these sides, now it is time for the respective managers to act upon it.
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