All you sackers are crackers...

I’m almost at fuming level. First Steve Clarke, and now Andre Villas Boas; when’s this streak going to end? 

It’s all very well and good the Premier League being competitive, and it shows by the reactions of players, crowds and managers on and off the pitch with the noise, passion, commitment and attitude. But does it need to be shown so openly by chairmen and owners?

You get the feeling there is panic and worry among the prawn sandwich brigade when they see their team lose three or four on the bounce, so what do they do? Sack the manager.

In Clarke’s case, West Brom are hovering just two points clear of safety having picked up zero out of a possible 12 in their last four league games, failing to score in the last two. But look further beyond that, and you see a 2-2 draw away to Chelsea - which should have been a 2-1 victory were it not for a controversial penalty in the last minute that rescued the hosts - and an even more impressive 2-1 victory at Old Trafford against Manchester United at the end of September, the Baggies’ first since 1978.

To be fair to West Brom though, what do they fully expect? The loss at home to Norwich is far from acceptable, but losing 1-0 away to Cardiff isn’t a result that a manager can be judged on, especially with a home clash against Hull coming up on the weekend. Perhaps if Clarke were to lose that his position may be reviewed, but ultimately it’s got to come down to their position at the end of the season, and that is not going to be in the bottom 3.

Spurs, meanwhile, have had a more difficult time recently, but that is life in the Premier League. Ok, they should not be losing 5-0 at home to Liverpool (even with 10 men), or 6-0 away to City, but before that they had the best defence in the league! The tightest at least, and this run just seems like a blip, so was it fair for AVB to lose his job?

Let’s go back to the summer, and even the end of last season. Spurs finished fifth, one point behind Arsenal (4th) and three behind Chelsea (3rd), so not really a bad season at all given it was AVB’s first. However Bale’s form came at a price, £80million in fact as he was sold to Real Madrid, but Spurs went on to spend £100million on new players, including £30million on Erik Lamela from Roma, £7million on FC Twente’s Nacer Chadli, and £26million on Roberto Soldado. In addition to those were Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen, Paulinho and Etienne Capoue. A staggering five new midfield players, and it’s no wonder the young Portugese manager didn’t know his best team.

But the question remains, just how many of those players did AVB actually want? How many of them were Franco Baldini’s signings? Perhaps the answer lies with the small number of appearances made by Lamela, Chadli and Capoue.

Excuse the pun, but one of the most striking statistics from the weekend was that Spurs registered no shots on target; surely that says something about the players more than the manager? 

But my conclusion has to fall to panic on Daniel Levy’s part, or embarrassment following the defeats to City and Liverpool. Just look at other aspects to the season; they have a 100% record in the Europa League, and are through to the last-32, a win against West Ham on Wednesday will see them through to the semi-final of the League Cup, so are Spurs really doing that badly? 

Manchester United are certainly in a worse position in the league, and have suffered embarrassing league defeats to City, West Brom, Everton and Newcastle (and were close to losing at home to Stoke too!), so why hasn’t David Moyes’ position been endangered? I think Jamie Redknapp may have had a point in blaming the Spurs board’s policies…

At this point it is probably fair to give credit to Norwich for sticking with Chris Hughton, despite their heavy losses, because having backed him in the summer, they are giving him the chance to get it right instead of moving back to square one, and that is just what Tottenham have now done, so they can forget any chances of finishing in the top four, and for me even winning a trophy. At least under AVB they had those chances.

So what now for Spurs? They need a manager, and quick, because if they don’t get settled and start picking points up soon, they will have absolutely no hope, and European football next season could be a very big ask. Not to mention their difficult start to the New Year!

So the gap at the top of the league is slowly tightening, with City’s 6-3 thriller over leaders Arsenal leaving Manuel Pellegrini’s side three points behind, and Liverpool’s 5-0 romp at White Hart Lane on Sunday taking them second, just two behind.

A narrow win for Chelsea against Crystal Palace leaves them two points behind too, and Everton are still sniffing around with 31 points after a very promising start under Roberto Martinez.

Where, then, could the Barclays Premier League trophy be leaning towards, with just four points separating the leaders and fifth placed Everton as the busy yet definitive Christmas schedule comes up?

One thing seems for certain; it wont be remaining at Old Trafford after a slow start for David Moyes. I personally feel sorry for the Scot because Sir Alex Ferguson’s legacy is so long and successful, some fans are naïve to think that the trophies would carry on coming immediately, and I imagine some of them aren’t old enough to remember that Sir Alex himself was on the verge of being sacked early on in his United days after a similar scenario.

Discounting the Community Shield (the REAL Mickey Mouse trophy), United’s best hopes for silverware are in the FA Cup or the League Cup; I’m not sure they have what it will take to win the Champions League.

1st - Arsenal (Predicted - 2nd)

Forgive me if I’m being harsh, but Arsenal thus far have failed to overcome their old selves and haven’t really come through any real tests. A slim win over rivals Tottenham and that 2-0 victory over Liverpool at The Emirates  made people sit up and take note that maybe Wenger has cracked his usual hoodoo of losing against the top teams, but defeats at Manchester United and City, and that draw to Everton have condemned him to his usual predicament; Arsenal cannot beat their rivals.

It’s been a difficult week for Arsenal, especially losing to Napoli in the Champions League which has condemned them to face Bayern Munich in the last-16,a very heavy price to pay for finishing second. Such a tough fixture may also add to the fatigue which we started to see at The Etihad on the weekend. 

Would it be wrong to suggest Mesut Özil’s honeymoon period is over? And another same-old issue has re-surfaced; the need for a striker.

However you cannot win the title whilst losing to your rivals, so they need to take their chances when they entertain Chelsea this weekend, and the Manchester clubs later in the season. And if Wenger can bring in a top striker in January, I think 2nd would be both fair and reasonable.

2nd - Liverpool (Predicted - 4th)

Perhaps a bigger surprise than Everton, Brendan Rodgers’ side have flourished this season, despite Luis Suarez missing the start of the season (and still going on to become the league’s top scorer!). His goals have only added to The Reds’ start, and the maturity he showed when captaining the side in Sunday’s 5-0 win might just suggest that he is over his behavioural mishaps.

As with the summer, the key for Liverpool in the January transfer window will be to keep hold of the Uruguayan, and it could be easier given the possibility of securing Champions League football next season. 

Naturally consistency will also be a factor, and as the season wears on, experienced players like Steven Gerrard will be crucial to keeping the side level headed and stop them making mistakes that could cost them points. Fourth will be a good finish for them they aren’t quite title winners, but they aren’t a million miles off.

3rd - Chelsea (Predicted - 3rd)

It’s been tossed around a lot this season, ‘you shouldn’t go back’, and I wonder if that is starting to go through Jose Mourinho’s head.

Two points off the top you can’t say it’s been bad, statistically. But having watched them, there is something not quite right with the team, and the pure quality of individuals seems to be keeping them going, something Mourinho will look to change given time.

A Champions League draw against Galatasaray, with former striker Didier Drogba spearheading their attack, may give them hope in Europe, and they will not have written off their chances in any competitions despite Jose’s confession that he doesn’t expect to win a trophy this season.

That said, I think those frailties within the team will result in a third place finish, although I’d fully expect them to pick up a trophy, whether that be the dream Champions League, or the other commonly adopted Mickey Mouse cup.

4th - Manchester City (Predicted - 1st)

Not a very flattering position for the League’s top scorers, especially after massive wins over United, Tottenham and Arsenal, but there has been a problem on the road, and points have amazingly been dropped against the lower teams (Sunderland, Villa, Stoke, Cardiff…).

But City now have a good run behind them, and a good run of fixtures ahead of them, so that momentum could see them rise to the top of the table. With a juicy tie against Barcelona coming up in the Champions League in February, Pellegrini will now see this period as more crucial than before so he can build up points and potentially a gap so that he can play his best squad against the Catalan giants.

With or without progression in Europe though, I expect City to take the title because of strength and depth in squad, and the shrewdness of Pellegrini as a manager.

5th - Everton (Predicted - 5th)

Wow. Who would have thought this? Despite being relegated with Wigan at the back end of last season, Roberto Martinez has now shown his quality as a manager with a very good squad at Everton. Some will point to Romelu Lukaku as the salvation for the Toffees, but you’ve got to look back too. 

Gerard Deulofeu was looking dangerous, although he now faces a spell on the sidelines with injury, but Gareth Barry, Ross Barkley and Seamus Coleman also look very sound and secure in the midfield, and are working well.

But it is about keeping it up all season, and this season has thus far been a reverse to Everton’s usual pattern of starting off poorly and getting stronger, so fans will be sincerely hoping to avoid their team dropping off, and central to that will be keeping players fit. A successful season would be fifth and a spot in the Europa League, although it will be a battle with former manager David Moyes and his United side.