No One Can Compete With The Premier League Top Six

Leicester have given every team optimism but this season – with the spending power of the top six sides – there is a gap.

Mind The Gap
But that gap has always been there. Leicester did something that was extraordinary that no one in their wildest dreams expected. I don’t think we’ll see it again for a number of years because of the spending power and wages that the top clubs are paying.

None of the other sides can compete with that.

You only have to look at Everton, who finished seventh last season. They were looking to break into the top six with the amount of money that they spent, but they’re still behind those top six clubs.

Impressive Big Guns
Morata’s hatrick against Stoke on Saturday was certainly one of the highlights of the weekend. I actually fancied a draw in this game because of the way Stoke played against Arsenal and Man United this season. It was a really, really impressive performance from Chelsea.

I couldn’t help but be impressed by Man City’s performance also. Man United managing to come away with the win against Southampton deserves a lot of praise too. To come out with a win without necessarily playing well deserves plenty of credit too.

In contrast, Crystal Palace are in a dire situation now. They’ve got games against United and Chelsea coming up, then there’ll be huge pressure on them for their clash with Newcastle – which looks like the only winnable game for them in the next three games. It’ll be ‘watch this space’ with them over the next few weeks to see if they can actually pick some points up.

Bhoys Run
Celtic are now on a run of 57 domestic games unbeaten after their 2-0 win over Rangers on Saturday. With Celtic being so good in Europe the past few seasons and qualifying for the Champions League, it puts them on a different platform altogether compared to other teams in Scotland. Other sides in the Scottish Premier League simply cannot compete with Celtic due to the revenues that they’re generating so in turn the league is far too weak for Celtic.

It was comfortable enough win for them at Ibrox.

Celtic’s only competition this season is in Europe.

Rodgers has stressed that he still wants to be playing Champions League football in the New Year and the games against Anderlecht will be key to that.

Thanks For The Memories, Jimmy
I was extremely saddened at the loss of Jimmy Magee last week. I did a show with Jimmy about four or five years ago along with Niall Quinn. I had spoken to him in passing before but this was the first time I got to speak to him properly.

I sat down with him an hour before the show and just listened to his incredible knowledge of sport.

He was able to tell me snippets of my footballing career that certainly had gone over my head.

He remembered all the finer details from games that others probably wouldn’t think too much about. That was particularly striking for me. He was an absolute gentleman and so nice to speak to. His passion for sport in general was over-riding when you got to speak to him.

Champions League Chances
I think all the English sides have a great chance of progressing from the group stages. Liverpool, from the way they’ve started, maybe don’t give you much optimism. Celtic also have their work cut out and I don’t think they’ll do it, with PSG and Bayern Munich in their group.

Tottenham beating Borussia Dortmund in their opening game gives them a great chance in a very tough group.

I think City and Chelsea will progress and go quite far this season.

Chelsea have a good chance, given how their side is set up. Liverpool is the only Premier League side I’d be worried about, due to their defensive problems.