BEWARE, BIG BOYS!

Non-Big 6 clubs make life more difficult for elite teams in Premier League

Thirteen points were all that separated the sixthplaced Manchester United (58) and the 14th-placed Aston Villa (45) in the recently concluded Premier League 2021/22 season.

The tiny gulf in points – lower compared to the previous six English top-flight seasons – indicated the intense battle between the Europa League qualifying teams (usually placed 5th and 6th) and the clubs below them who aspire to make it to continental events. The introduction of the Europa Conference League – the third-tier competition – is a welcome boost for the ‘non-Big 6’ PL teams to taste European football.

West Ham United (56 points) and Leicester City (52 points), who finished seventh and eighth respectively in the 2021/22 table, were the best of the rest in the last two campaigns. While West Ham and Leicester had showed in the 2020/21 season that the ‘Top 6’ need not necessarily be the ‘Big 6’, they failed to dislodge the usual suspects from the top the following year. But, that does not mean they are not forces to reckon with.

Pep Guardiola, whose Manchester City team edged out Liverpool to the PL crown last month, had acknowledged in 2021 that not only the ‘Big 6’ but also a few others – referring to West Ham and Leicester – battle for the top prizes.

Brighton and Hove Albion made waves at the beginning of the season, but was unable to convert draws into wins (it played out as many as 15 stalemates). Despite losing just 11 matches – the joint fourth-least in the competition – Brighton could finish only ninth in the standings. Next to it in the table was Wolverhampton Wanderers, which overcame a stuttering start only to end the campaign on a low (with 3 losses and 2 draws).

Newcastle United, which underwent an ownership change midway through the season, remarkably finished just outside the ‘Top 10’ after failing to register a win in its first 14 matches. Billed as one of the favourites to go down in the early part of the season, Newcastle spent big in the winter transfer window and made heads turn with their revival.

With a new-look and younger squad – in comparison to previous seasons – Crystal Palace stunned many by taking the 12th position in the ladder. However, the surprise package of the season was Brentford, which came 13th in its debut PL campaign. The 14th-placed Aston Villa had an up-and-down run, but was not far away from the top half of the table.

It is not for nothing Guardiola recently stressed that the PL is one of the toughest competitions in the world. “The Premier League is more difficult [than the Champions League]. I am not saying the Champions League is not important. [Here, there are] lots of weeks, games, injuries, good and bad moments, and different situations,” said Guardiola.

The so-called ‘underdogs’ and ‘dark horses’ are only making life more difficult for the elite clubs of the English land.