By Sriram Chidambaram and Arnav Sampigethaya
Source- cdn.vox-cdn.com
What we learnt from the 2020/21 Premier League Season so far
5 Game weeks have passed in the 2020-21 Premier League season and things have been crazy so far. There have been numerous upsets, goals, hat-tricks and rogue VAR decisions.
First of all, the League table looks very interesting. Everton are on top, followed by Aston Villa, Liverpool and Leicester. Arsenal are in 5th while Spurs and Chelsea are not even in the top 6. The Manchester clubs who have played a game less are in the bottom half of the table. Let's take a moment to take all the madness in.
Everton with their new signing James Rodriguez has dominated the league so far. The Columbian has scored three goals and has provided assists for many more. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and the Everton front line have visibly benefited from the addition of James as they continue to score goals at an alarming rate. Calvert-Lewin has scored in every game so far with an astonishing goals-per-game average of 1.40. Everton’s draw against Liverpool last weekend proved they are true title-contenders and they can compete with the big clubs.
Aston Villa took the World by surprise when they hammered Liverpool 7-2 in-game week 4. Villa have proven consistency so far as they remain unbeaten after 4 games. Villa’s new signings Emi Martinez, Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley have played a major role in their success. Emi Martinez has kept 3 clean-sheets out of 4 games, Ollie Watkins scored a hat-trick against Liverpool and Ross Barkley scored the injury-time winner against Leicester. We don’t know how long Villa’s good form will last but we all will definitely enjoy it as long as it does.
One of the biggest talking points this season is the sheer number of goals. At present, the goals per game average is at 3.79 and there have been 5 hat-tricks this season already.
One of the main contributors to the rise in goal scoring is the new hand-ball rule which has led to many penalties. In their game week 3 fixture against Manchester City, Leicester became the first-ever Premier League side to score 3 penalties in one game. The astonishing thing is that not only the big clubs are loading the back of the net, but also the relatively smaller clubs like Aston Villa, West Ham, Leeds and Brighton. With the number of penalties, goals, hat-tricks and overall drama in the Premier League this season, things seem to be more exciting than ever.
We are only 5 game weeks into the season, but we have already witnessed a number of extraordinary games. Starting with Liverpool’s 4-3 victory over Leeds on opening week, followed by Tottenham’s 5-2 thrashing of Southampton (which was 1-1 at half-time), to Brighton’s 2-3 defeat against Manchester United (where Bruno Fernandes scored the 100th-minute penalty, which was awarded after full-time). Wait that's not all, there was the 3-3 draw between Chelsea and West Brom (where West Brom squandered a 3-0 lead in the second half), Manchester City’s 2-5 defeat to Leicester (where Leicester scored 3 penalties and 2 worldies), Spurs’ 6-1 smashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford (Hard to believe Man Utd were actually leading 2 minutes in), Aston Villa’s, most surprising, 7-2 thrashing of Liverpool, and finally West Ham’s 3-3 draw at Tottenham ( which saw The Hammers come back from 3 goals down with 8 minutes remaining).
Why the 2020/21 Premier League season had been so Crazy
The erratic nature of this Premier League season could be attributed to the absence of fans. Pundits suggest that there is less pressure on the players without fans because of the atmosphere they create. Fans expect enthralling action and don’t like watching their teams sit back and absorb pressure. Due to this pressure being absent, players are comfortable and tend to play better football rather than entertaining football. On the other side of the spectrum, teams who relied on their support like Liverpool are struggling. It has become woefully apparent that some teams rely on their fans to push them that extra bit further and the lack of fans has made them look vulnerable.
The real effect of the lack of fans isn’t felt on the quality of football as much as the financial aspects. While it says seem like a business has carried on, as usual, the spending in the Premier League is the lowest it’s been for over five years. It’s especially affected the livelihoods of stadium staff who’s job has become redundant in this new period. Iconic characters like Arsenal’s club mascot, Gunnersaurus have been laid off causing outrage among fans. If the incoming transfer business was bad, the outgoing business has been dismal. With the incoming cash flow into the Premier League decreasing by 62%, it has made it so that most clubs are running a loss. Most clubs want fans back and the UK citizens make a case that if they are allowed to go to pubs and other indoor gatherings, they should be allowed to go for football matches which are outdoors and therefore less likely to spread the virus. However, at the moment, Boris Johnson’s government has no plans to improve the situation for now and fans have to continue to endure the financial brunt of this pandemic.
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