By Rasmus Lukunka

20 Jan 2012

It was a thrilling first half in the Premier League. Only one manager, Neil Warnock of Queens Park Rangers, was sacked while Steve Kean at Blackburn survived. Chelsea and Arsenal looked shades of their former selves while newcomers Norwich and Swansea provided a breath of fresh air. Newcastle sold their “star players” but improved on their performance and results. Kenny Dalglish has spent real big money but is yet to receive a return on that investment.

The beginning of the second half of the season has seen the return of legends Paul Scholes and Thierry Henry while marquee players like Yaya Toure, Didier Drodba, Bemba Ba, and Chike Tiote are off representing their Countries at the African Cup of Nations tournament.

At the summit of the league table are Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspurs. There’s been much debate about who will win the league this season.

A few weeks ago Manchester City were being hailed as the undisputed favourites. After a string of uncertain displays and the loss of the Toure brothers to the African Cup of Nations, City now look a different side to the one that terrorized their opponents at the beginning of the season. League losses to Chelsea and Sunderland along with recent FA and Carling Cup losses at the hands of Man United and Liverpool respectively have drawn blood; much to the delight of the hounds in the league!

Similar to Manchester City, champions Manchester United had a blazing start to the season only to experience a dip in form. Unlike City, United’s problems have been compounded by the mile-long injury list to key players likes Vidic, Cleverly, Fletcher, Young, the Da Silva Twins, and Smalling. And that’s in addition to short spells of injuries to the likes of Jones, Ferdinand, Chicharito, and Welbeck. Rooney, Nani, Carrick, Welbeck, and Valencia have provided the light in the dark.

Tottenham have been on a steady rise since the appointment of Harry Rednapp as manager. For the first time in decades, Spurs are the best team in London. Despite an injury crisis in defense and with 21 games played and 17 left, they are third in the table and deservedly so! That’s nothing compared to United who they trail by a mere two points. Spurs’s Chelsea connection comes in the form of on-loan striker Emmanuel Adebayor who’s produced 9 goals and 6 assists so far this season. However, it is Scott Parker who has been instrumental in the club’s ascendance this season.

As we edge closer to the end of this thrilling season questions remain, who will be champions? Will it be City, United, or Spurs? Of the Three, who would you say are pretenders, contenders, and challengers?

Man City possess a large reserve of ammunition in their arsenal. The most significant being their financial backing, which provides the luxury to acquire the best talents money can buy. Additions to their squad would temporarily fill the void left by the Toure brothers and help maintain their current league position. For those reasons, City will always compete and are Contenders.

Man United can’t financially compete with Man City but then again, not many teams can. Their squad is capable of walking into any team, perhaps with the exception of Barcelona. However, United have something money can’t buy – experience. In addition to this, the current champions have key players who have been injured for a while and are scheduled to return in due time. Despite these injuries they’re remarkably hot on the heels of their city rivals. United certainly are Challengers.

Spurs have definitely contributed to the excitement of the EPL title race. With Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool struggling for consistency, Spurs have capitalized on this opportunity and earned the right to third spot – so far. Unlike the Manchester clubs, they have neither the financial backing nor the history and experience to seriously contend or challenge for the title and they appear to lack the depth demonstrated by their competitors. Compared to Manchester City or Manchester United, Spurs are the Pretenders.

Anything can happen between now and the end. Stay tuned.