WE ARE NOW two-thirds of the way through what has been the strangest of Premier League seasons.
And while Manchester City appear to have the title race already wrapped up, there is nevertheless no shortage of storylines in the soap opera that is English football’s top flight.
In the latest episode of The Punt — our monthly show sponsored by William Hill that looks ahead to the major sporting events — The42′s Gavan Casey is joined by Miguel Delaney, chief football writer at The Independent, freelance football journalist David Sneyd and broadcaster Johnny Ward.
The topics up for discussion are Man City’s transformation, from looking out of sorts early on in the campaign, to the point where they now hold a commanding 10-point lead thanks to their 19-game winning streak.
Our guests give their thoughts on the changes second-placed Man United would need to make to be seen as genuine title challengers, before turning their attention to the current misfortunes of defending champions Liverpool.
Since recording, the Reds have revealed that captain Jordan Henderson has been added to the lengthy list of injuries after undergoing groin surgery.
Further down the table, ninth-placed Tottenham are in also sorts of trouble as Jose Mourinho’s tenure turns sour.
“The whole Mourinho thing is just so tedious now,” says Miguel. “Even this week, you sometimes feel like his only response is to put on a defiant press conference.
“The football they’re playing is abysmal and it points to all the usual bigger issues. I do think this is a disproportionately low ebb in the same way that in October, [Harry] Kane and [Heung-Min] Son were in ludicrously unsustainable good form.
“They’re probably on unsustainably bad form now and there will be a bit of a levelling out, but if you want the outlook of your club to be different or to be more promising for the medium-term future, I don’t think Mourinho is the answer anymore.
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens. He’s in the worst form of his career and he has never worked his way out of a similar situation, so we’ll see how that goes.”
After a short break, Johnny and Gavan look ahead to the Cheltenham Festival, which will mark a year since the beginning of Ireland’s first lockdown when it comes around next month.
They chat about what a Cheltenham week with no fans will mean, before giving some early tips on the Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle and the Triumph Hurdle with the latest William Hill odds.
This episode of The Punt is also available in audio-only form wherever you get your podcasts.
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Originally published at 12.57
