The season of Davids slaying Goliath after Goliath

Newcastle midfielder Cheik Tiote celebrates after his equalizing goal against Arsenal

It was a typical Saturday evening and I was flopped in front of the TV. Newcastle was hosting Arsenal and I was curious to see how the Toons fared after losing their star man, Andy Carroll to Liverpool. The match started and it looked like it was over with 26 minutes on the clock as Arsenal eased into a comfortable 4-0 lead. Feeling a bit sorry for the Toons, I was overly grateful for the halftime whistle.

The first few minutes of the second half was again painful for the Toon fans as their team struggled, then suddenly it all changed. A fourth goal of the season for Leon Best, sandwiched between two Joey Barton penalties made me sit up straight and smile in anticipation. The Arsenal defense crumbled under the intense pressure from the home team, urged on by the intensifying roar of their fans. The rest they say is history but Cheik Tiote’s first goal in English football completed the greatest comeback of all time.

This season of the Barclay’s English Premier League (EPL) has been one rollercoaster of a ride for every team. The hungry Wolves breaking the illusion of invincibility surrounding Manchester United, a disciplined Sunderland side dismantling champions Chelsea at Stanford Bridge and a determined West Brom side thrashing Arsenal. One thing is clear though, English football is changing.

Gone are the days when teams like Bolton, Wolverhampton and Sunderland succumb to the pressures of playing against the big names of English football. Instead, the game has become attack-minded, raging with flair with fancy back heels and outrageously exceptional goals. (Wayne Rooney’s match-winning volley against City is worth a mention here). There is a belief among teams that with proper discipline and tremendous hard work, they can have a go at any team in the league; be it away or on their own turf.

This amounts to one of the reasons why the league table is so tight at both ends this season. Teams are finding it difficult to string a decent run of games. Every match is hard work and no team has the luxury of taking their eyes off the ball, be it those fighting against relegation, challenging for the title or competing for coveted European spots.

However, many believe the quality of English football has gone down and that although teams are scoring goals, they are letting goals in as well. So far this season, 797 goals have been scored and conceded. Last season, with 38 rounds of matches played, 964 goals were scored and conceded. With 11 rounds of matches still to be played, it is highly likely that the teams will surpass this number by a margin.

I do agree that as a fan (even of Liverpool) it has become extremely difficult to predict in which games your team will drop points. But as a fan of football, this season has been the most exciting season of recent times. Seeing newcomers Blackpool play such attractive football and witnessing the change in Bolton’s game makes me feel proud to be a fan of the beautiful game.

And come May, no matter who wins the title or who relegates, this would be written down as a season of Davids slaying Goliath after Goliath. Dimitar Barbetov might have scored six goals in one match and Fernando Torres may be the most expensive player in English football. But the names of Charlie Adam of Blackpool, Demba Ba of West Ham and Peter Odemwinge of West Brom would certainly leave a greater mark on the minds of EPL watchers around the world.

(By Mizna Mohamed)