Half time English Premiership

End of 2005. My view on the performance of the Premiership teams so far.

Arsenal: 7 defeats halfway through the season with 3 coming at a trot would be unthinkable 2 seasons back. The Arsenal team this season is no different from the one last season minus Patrick Viera. It only goes to show how an enigmatic figure can change the fortunes of the club. Injury to Ashley Cole is played down for Arsenal's downfall, whom acts extra attacking bite and energy to free-flowing Arsenal. Thiery Henry, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg must pick up their swagger again. Alexander Hleb didn't leave much of an impression and inadequate backup for Sol Campbell and Toure constiutues to a lack of confidence at the back. The only bright spark is probably only Robin Van Persie who may be a coming star in this year's World Cup. Skillful, fast and a lethal left foot, he is the white Anelka. A classic North London battle against hated rivals Tottenham for the final Champions' League spot is worth anticipating.

Aston Villa: Largely anonymous for the first part of the first half of the season. Steven Davis is a precocious talent who may find his way to bigger clubs next season. Milan Baros is starting to hit form and David O'Leary must find the right players to provide the service that he needs. Aston Villa with so many years and exposure in the Premiership are just regular mid table finishers. Bolton, Boro, Wigan, Man City are all above them in competency. Another mid table finish this season.

Birmingham: Jan Jarosik, a Chelsea player has been the best player for Steve Bruce's side so far. His midfield partner Nicky Butt is a pale shadow of the one he was in Manchester United in the late nineties. The defence has been a total letdown this season, Matthew Upson doesn't merit a place in the England side and too lightweight and inconsistent to lead the backline. Emile Heskey has been a lone ranger up front and hasn't been too convincing. The departure of Walter Pandiani will make way for more second tier strikers from the League One. Hardly encouraging for the relegation candidates.

Blackburn: Craig Bellamy and Sheffi Kuqi are good fowards and I forsee it will blossom into a fine strike partnership. After beating Wigan, they became the first team outside the top 5 to beat Wigan at home. In Morten Gamst Pedersen, they have an excellent midfielder who deserves to be piling his trade with the top teams in Europe. However, inconsistency is costing Mark Hughes' side. Encouraging performances followed by lapses in the defensive department. Best hope is the Leauge Cup for them this season but they face a hungry Manchester United side that is out of Europe.

Bolton: Sam Allardyce has turned Bolton from relegation contenders a few seasons ago to European chasers. Bolton's midfield quartet of Kevin Nolan, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Gary Speed and Jay Jay Okocha has been dynamic, creative and efficient. Their defining moment came at the 4-0 whipping of Everton. Jared Borgetti hasn't adapted as quickly as Big Sam would have hoped but there is quality on the bench to cover for the attacking department. Bolton is essentially a very well managed team with a group of players that are tactically sound, extremely fit and unbridled determination. Just look at Gary Speed. UEFA Cup quarter finalists and another shot at it next season.

Charlton: A blistering start to the season. Danny Murphy reminded us of the old Paul Scholes and Gazza. Jerome Thomas and Dennis Rommendahl were ferraris down the flanks and Darren Bent reminded us of a younger Les Ferdinand. Charlton always start the season well and end the season in a freefall landslide. Things are not looking bright in the Valley and Charlton players start to lose consistency and motivation after losing a few games. Luke Young though, remain as solid as ever. Another disappointing mid-table finish this season.

Chelsea: Frank Lampard, John Terry, William Gallas, Claude Makelele and Petr Cech left off where they started last season - A series of top-class efficient performances week in week out. For a squad obviously not lacking in world-class squad depth, Chelsea have a luxury of players taking turns to hit form. Last season it was Damien Duff and Arjen Robben, recently it has been Joe Cole and Hernan Crespo. Consistentcy is not an issue for Mourinho's all-conquering side, but they'll have Manchester United and Liverpool pushing them all the way if they are distracted by European ambitions. However, the 11 point advantage they have over their rivals give them the cushion to slip up a little. Jose Mourinho will become the second manager to win back to back Premiership titles come May.

Everton: A complete mess. They were unlucky to draw Villareal in their third round Champions' League qualifier and after being knocked out of the elitist continental competition, confidence was shattered. An embarrassing defeat in the first round of the UEFA cup, failure to progress at the League Cup leaves them the FA Cup as their only possible silverware this season. The unfathomable fact is that this is the same Evertone team that finished 4th place last season with big name signings. Phillip Neville, Mikel Arteta, Andy Van der Meyde, Nuno Valente, Simon Davies and Matteo Ferrari are all decent performers in their previous clubs but have all failed to gel as a team with last season's heroes. David Moyes has struggled to motivate his team this season and probably still suffering the hangover of last season's success. A possible relegation candidate but may just escape.

Fulham: They are one of the best attacking teams in the country to be honest. Steed Marlbranque and Luis Boa Morte in particular are the people Fulham have to hold on to secure another Prremiership season. Chris Coleman is a talented young manager but his squad is simply too thin for a decent mid table finish. Good football don't win you matches. Fulham to escape relegation yet again.

Liverpool: After a sluggish start to the season, Rafa Benitez's side have chalked up 10 successive wins, a strong position for the Champions' League quarters (against Benfica in second round) and a new found confidence surrounding Anfield. Guus Hiddink at Australia is reviving Harry Kewell's fortunes and Benitez is giving him a run in the team to wake up the sleeping footballing genius inside Kewell during his Leeds days. If Carragher and Steven Gerrard can keep themselves fit for the entire campaign, there is no reason why this Liverpool side cannot push Chelsea all the way to the end of the season.

Manchester City: Under Stuart Pearce, they have become a very disciplined and hardworking side. Joey Barton, in particular has been spectecular in midfield, scoring the essential goals, making the necessary tackles and carving the chances for his team mates. Andy Cole has been a good signing as well and linking up perfectly with Darius Vasell. Stuart Pearce has also managed to convert Antonio Siberski and Danny Mills to quality Premiership players. With a few quality signings in the next transfer window, UEFA Cup position is highly likely for the blue half of Manchester.

Manchester United: Contrasting fortunes in domestic and european arenas. It's already a catastrophic season in many's eyes when they were knocked out by Benfica and scoring just 3 goals in the group stages. Domestically, they've scored more points than they did in their treble winning season at this point of the season and its a real shame that Chelsea is just doing much better. Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nisterooy need to stay fit for this Manchester United team to function. League Cup semi-finals await and together with the FA Cup may be their saving grace for them this season. Hard luck for the domestic title this season.

Middlesbrough: Together with Everton, the most disappointing teams in the Premiership so far. With a team boasting of past Premiership hotshots like Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank and Yakubu and promising English stewarts like Stewart Downing and James Morrison, underperforming is really an exaggeration. Steve McClaren's side usually performs better in the second half of the season but things are not going to improve if they continue playing the way they are now. Unlikely to continue their 3rd European campaign unless miracles happen in their UEFA Cup competition.

Newcastle United: The biggest mistake so far this season is to sell Jermaine Jenas to Tottenham Hotspurs. Emre and Scott Parker are decent acquisitons but why not keep the 3 of them in the same team? The crux of the problem is still their defensive liabiltity pair of Titus Bramble and Jean Boumsong who are both extremely error-prone, slow and weak in the air. Injuries to Stephen Carr and Stephen Taylor have conpletely left the defense in shambles and the excellent Shay Given have to fend for himself many a times. Michael Owen breathed new life into St.James' Park for a while but the ageing Shearer, incompetent Shola Ameobi and the uncommitted Albert Luque are not the best of alternative attacking options. Graeme Souness to get the sack at the end of another disappointing season.

Portsmouth: A team that is both lacking in quality and media coverage. Their biggest signing Laurent Robert has cemented his status as the Premiership's Djalminha with his host of disciplinary and off-field problems. The problem with Portsmouth is that we've never really even heard of their players. A platoon of Newcastle rejects such as Lomana Lua Lua, Andy O'Brien and Andy Griffin is not gonna save this club from relegation. Not even Harry Redknapp.

Sunderland: If there is anything more certain than Chelsea running away with the title this season, it has to be Sunderland finding themselves at the foot of the table at the end of the season. Mick McCarthy is to blame for his failure to motivate his players who were First Division champions. The likes of Wigan and West Ham have more or less secured Premiership status with much more hunger, drive and belief. With the exception of Dean Whitehead, the whole team including the manager deserves to go down this season.

Tottenham: Martin Jol has finally revived the sleeping giants of English football. It is heartening to know that for one Premiership game, Tottenham fielded 8 Englishmen on the pitch: Robinson, King, Dawson, Gardner, Carrick, Lennon, Jenas and Defoe; which is extremely rare in the increasingly foreign saturated English league nowadays. Edgar Davids, Ahmed Mido, Lee Young-Pyo and Jermaine Jenas have all been excellent signings and performing consistently. Definitely Europe next season but which competition?

West Brom: May yet again escape relegation this season. Bryan Robson's side has been chalking up the odd wins, most notably against Tottenham. They need a fair share of luck to survive but considering that Sunderland has already hogged on to one relegation slot, Birmingham, Portsmouth and Everton playing more and more like Division One teams, they do stand a decent chance of slogging it out again in the Premiership next season. But then again, Bryan Robson's managerial abilities are always in doubt and he needs to push West Brom to a decent finish this season.

West Ham: Few expected them to be at the top half of the table for most of the season. Nigel Reo-Cooker and Marlon Harewood have impressed in particular. For me, the best player for West Ham halfway through the season has been Roy Caroll who gave his team the neccessary big stage experience he acquired during his Old Traffod days. Teddy Sheringham at 39 is still a very intelligent player and much more useful than many of the strikers in the other Premiership clubs. Only complacency can stop them from celebrating their first season back at the top flight.

Wigan: Paul Jewell is already the manager of the year by assembling a wonderful team of fighters and creating a sporting fairy tale. Not only has he steered clear of relegation this early in the season, the team is challenging for UEFA slots and was 2nd in the league during a certain period. Henri Camara is justifying every single penny that Jewell paid for with his highly energetic displays and goal-scoring feat. Pascal Chimbonda and James Bullard are my favourites players for the Lactics so far. Reward them with a UEFA Cup place.