Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Southampton turnaround has been impressive while West Ham might end up giving Manuel Pellegrini a £10m severance package for little gain
A lot of clubs have spent the season yo-yoing around the Premier League. In early November Bournemouth were seventh and Brighton were eighth, and now both are fighting relegation; Crystal Palace were seventh at the start of December and now they aren’t looking comfortable; Southampton have appeared doomed, safe and now look uncertain again; Burnley have crossed the halfway line eight times already. Beneath the top two, there is real competitive balance; people have always said that in the Premier League anyone can beat anyone, and this year – aside from Liverpool, and Manchester City when they turn it on – it is actually true.
As a result there are unexpected teams at the top, where Leicester are still going toe-to-toe with City and Sheffield United are in the European places, and there is real quality at the bottom. You look at Watford, West Ham, Aston Villa, Bournemouth – they have some very, very good players, and in all likelihood at least one of those teams will go down.
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