Race for the BPL Title

With just 6 games left of the 2015-16 Premier League season, Leicester sit top of the table with a 7 point advantage over nearest rivals Tottenham. Just four more wins from their last games secures Premier League glory in what has been an astonishing team performance galvanised by the managerial expertise of Claudio Ranieri at the helm. Where does this leave the 'top four regulars'?

After a horrific start to the season, Roman Abramovich quickly waved the axe at Jose Mourinho to be replaced by Guus Hiddink. Since then Chelsea have rose up the league table and are now hunting for a spot in Europe. Despite the supporters not wanting to admit it, neither Manchester United and Liverpool are ready for a title charge and contain too much 'dead weight', evidenced further by either side not being able to topple Leicester and Spurs. The other side of Manchester have faltered too much and Pellegrini has rightfully paid the price by not getting his contract renewed at the end of the year. Admittedly, injuries have not helped, but with the quality in depth in the City set up, they really should be blowing the rest of the competition away.

That just leaves Arsenal. Currently sitting in 3rd place, a point off their North London rivals, this was Arsenal's year, to borrow the phrase, and yet again they have blown it. Arsene Wenger will be held to account even more than in previous years, where they had the ever-young excuse of 'we can't compete against Chelsea/United/City (delete as appropriate) who spend all around them.' At 8 points adrift, I don't see Arsenal catching Leicester particularly with tricky away matches to West Ham and Manchester City. Admittedly, it the rest of their fixtures are against considerably weaker opposition, most of which are currently battling relegation. Dropped points at the weekend will make it very difficult to catch up and even if they throw together a run of form, it could be a case of too little, too late for the Gunners.

Leicester City have been a breath of fresh air for the Premier League this season and have quickly endeared themselves into the hearts of everyone. Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have ripped defences to shreds and are rightly at the top of the pile and much of this can be attributed to the managerial expertise of Claudio Ranieri, who possibly would not have been at the club had his Greece side not succumbed to back to back defeats to Northern Ireland and the Faroe Islands. Nobody could have predicted the mesmeric rise of Leicester City and I can even be quoted as to say that they will finish outside the top 6! A win at the Stadium of Light on Sunday secures the side Champions League football next season, and nice amount of money for the owners to hopefully put back into the club.

The real challenges start when the league concludes for the East Midlands club. Regardless whether they win the title or not, they will come under pressure to sell their key men such as Kasper Schmeichel, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante among others. Ideally, I'm sure they would want to keep hold of most of their side and improve it with additions from the transfer window, but I don't think they would pass up on the opportunity to charge one of their rivals a fortune. After all, they got most of their players for pennies compared to the rumoured values of them currently. From a business aspect, it will be a win win situation.

On any other season, Spurs would be the side that everyone wants to win but they have been pipped to the post by Leicester. Spurs are beginning to reap the rewards of the signings that were acquired with the money gained from the sale of Gareth Bale. Nacer Chadli and Christian Erikson in particular have often gone under the radar in terms of performances. Erik Lamela blows hot and cold but on his day can be scintillating. It is often a frustration of mine that he cannot be more consistent and injury free as he has the talent to beat any defender on his day. Toby Alderweireld has been a revelation at the back having been bought from Atletico Madrid in the summer. Sent on loan to Southampton last year, the Belgian was constantly at the heart of the Saints' early run of form and has picked up from where he has left off.

Undoubtedly however, all the plaudits have been going the way of Dele Alli. The teenager was signed by Pochettino in February 2015 for an initial fee of £5m. Hindsight may be a wonderful thing but there will be many other sides kicking themselves at not purchasing the player. He announced himself to the stage with his first goal in the 1-1 draw against Leicester City, as well as scoring memorable goals against Crystal Palace as well as cracking strike in an international friendly against France. Like Leicester, Spurs have unearthed a lower league gem and one that has rose to be touted as one of the best English prospects. He will also be exciting to watch for English fans in the white jersey when playing at the European Championships this summer.

How will Spurs and Leicester fair in the transfer market and in the Champions League next season?

The club owners will be licking their lips at the prospect of Champions League football. From a financial point of view, they will receive €12m for competing in the group stage of the Champions League while also bagging a healthy €1.5m for each win and €500k for each draw.  On top of this, they have the added market pull of offering Champions League football. The money must be spent wisely, or else they will just descend back into mid-table mediocrity, particularly as the other teams around them will spend big. According to http://www.totalsportek.com/, the champions will collect just under £78.8m while the runners up will receive £77.6m and this is excluding television money. The managerial nous of Ranieri and Pochettino will be seriously tested as they aim to replicate what they have achieved this year.

The season is reaching an exciting climate and it is looking likely that we will have a new name on the Premier League trophy and I certainly look forward to see how the current top 2 sides approach the coming transfer market. 

Pushing for Europe

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.

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.