Week 8 Power Rankings

Week 8 Power Rankings

1. Chelsea-- Until someone gets within 3 points of the English superpowers, the top of the list is destined for Chelsea.
2. Manchester City--  The team many people are expecting to give a real challenge to Chelsea, Man City have looked much better as the season has progressed.  Manager Roberto Mancini must find a way to get Adam Johnson more opportunities on the pitch.
3. Arsenal--  While they sit behind the Red Devils of Man U, the gunners look like the stronger side so far this season.  The issues to look at going forward are the injuries and whether Arshavin can give full effort more times than not.
4. Manchester United--  This squad has no publicity going for it other than the stories about Berbatovs stellar begin to the season.  Between issues to put the ball in the net beyond Berbatov and the defensive lapses late in games, Man U is lucky to be this high in the list.
5. Tottenham--  Of the big 5 in the EPL this season, Tottenham have been more up and down than anyone.  They had the stellar game versus Man City to begin the season but have also laid two inconceivable eggs in losses to West Ham and Wigan.
6. West Brom--  The baggies have not lost any matches at home this season but have been terrible on the road losing handily to Chelsea 6-0 and 1-0 to Liverpool with an inexplicable win versus Arsenal as well.  They get the chance to show they are road warriors traveling to Old Trafford to match up with the Red Devils of Man U.
7. Stoke City--  Stoke fought out of early season issues to get a solid spot in the top ten .  They now look like one of the hotter teams in the EPL.
8. Fulham--  The cottagers have been able to make up for the loss of Zamora with the emergence of American Clint Dempsey in the forward spot.  The union of Zamora and Dempsey up front is an intriguing option for the later part of the season.
9. Blackpool--  This squad defies all convention in continuing to stay in the top ten.  Maybe by the end of the season Blackpool will be in their expected slot, but lets enjoy the ride until it stops.
10. Aston Villa--  The issues that this team has attempted to fight through with the manager leaving to start the season and the delayed start of the Houllier era have backtracked this squad somewhat.  A mid table finish in a season of turmoil is a reasonable goal.
11. Sunderland--  This is an intriguing squad with the addition of Gyan with the scoring touch of Darren Bent.  A team like Stoke, that could challenge for the 7-8 spots when all is said and done.
12. Bolton-- A team that is somewhat brutal to watch but play the style that is more in tune with staying out of relegation.  Bolton has played to ties in 5 of the 7 matches to start the season.
13. Blackburn--  Other than complaints for their somewhat overly aggressive style of fouling, Blackburn has toiled in obscurity this season.  13 is about the spot I would expect the season to end with them in.
14. Everton--  This is a bold move sending Everton up so many spots with a single win, but I think that Everton has finally decided to play the ball they are capable of and should only go up from here.
15. Birmingham--  Even though they are a disappointing team this season with the changes that were expected to improve the squad, Birmingham is still one of the best 15 squads in the EPL.
16. Wigan--  Maybe Roberto Martinez has finally made Wigan learn to play ball correctly after so many horrible performances to start the season.  They were the hottest team in the EPL going into international break and have several winnable games that could either shoot them up the table or tumble them into relegation land.
17. Newcastle--  With the reports that Andy Carroll may not get much playing time in the next few games added to the devastating injury to Ben Arfa, things are not looking good for Newcastle.  They are staring the relegation zone right in the face only one point away.
18. Liverpool--  That win versus Newcastle seems so long ago with the injuries, ownership issues, and lack of talent for a Liverpool squad.  They are running out of time to keep from getting docked 9 points for the ownership issues by the Premier League offices.  That would be devestating considering that they would be at negative points if that happened.
19. Wolverhampton--  The issue for the Wolves is they just dont have the talent of other EPL squads.  A move down the the Chamionship League may be a good thing to allow them to reassess things and decide how to be more of a mid level team in the EPL.
20. West Ham--  Other than a suprise win versus Tottenham, this season has been a disaster for the Hammers.  They still have plenty of time to turn it around and be a decent squad, but things must change soon to even give them a chance to survive relegation.