So I'm coming home today from Bryan's send-off at Triple B's when I notice a peculiar phenomenon. Never before have I had to dodge as many snow removal crews as I have in the last two days. I've been driving for six years now, and I've not had to experience the weaving, starting, and stopping that comes with avoiding those behemoth machines in such frequency. Very disturbing.

For fans of English soccer (or more appropriately football), this is an exciting time of the year. Most teams have now played exactly half of their 38 game schedule or are within one game of doing so. Every year there are some surprises and this season is no exception. There are also predictable things that seem shocking at first, but were entirely predictable.

Same As Always
Of course, no English Premier season would be complete without the obligatory three horse race for first place. This year's race has two old favorites and a relative newcomer this kind of situation. As always, Manchester United and my boys Arsenal are fighting it out but are followed close behind by moneybags Chelsea. Arsenal haven't lost yet but play to a draw more often than they probably should. United is a bit surprising this year, with the Red Devils having offloaded two important players in David Beckham and Juan Sebastian Veron. Chelsea have slumped in form, having lost 4-2 to Charlton Athletic a few weeks back then suffering an embarrasing draw with Division One's Watford.

Big Surprises
As of right now, Charlton Athletic are in the fourth spot. And who do we thank for this? I'm not sure, actually. Charlton have two players that most fans know: Paulo Di Canio and Jason Euell. Neither of them have scored much, and I'm not sure how they keep on winning. Go figure.

Fulham are holding strong in fifth place. Keep in mind that Fulham was just promoted a few years back and haven't really signed a large number of high-profile players.

What the crap is Aston Villa doing in sixth? Last season, Villa was two spots shy of relegation. Now they're in a UEFA cup spot. The funny thing is, they lose whenever I watch them play.

Why is Newcastle so far down the table? I can't figure this one out either. Newcastle finished third last year, and truly outclassed everyone underneath them. I thought that was the beginning of a Newcastle revolution. Perhaps I was wrong.

Looking further down the list, I can see that Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, and Tottenham Hotspur are faring quite badly. Tottenham in particular is struggling in the relegation zone - something the usually strong side is unacustomed to. The problem here is that they have two players that can score: Robbie Keane and Freddi Kanoute. Kanoute's not playing much as of late, so Keane-o is shouldering much of the burden. Oh well. If they go down, perhaps a good side (like Arsenal) will scoop Keane up and use his vast talents for something other than losing.

I Told You So
Did I call this one or what? Leeds United is sitting right there second to last in the table. Last season, some predicted Leeds to actually win the championship. I didn't, though. Leeds just happens to have sold each and every player that ever made them a good side, while keeping the ones that probably held them back from greatness. Mark Viduka seems to be spending more time with the media than on the pitch lately, while Alan Smith can't play a game without getting suspended for two. Gone are the Ferdinands, the Bowyers, and the Kewells. You'd think that after selling huge names like those they could buy some good talent. Apparently this is not the case. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of them providing they can actually win some games in Division One and get back into the Premiership for 2005.

Everton seems to have lost the fire that made them so unpredictable last season. Although I commend David Moyes for trying to ease Wayne Rooney into the game, they need him to come into his own. This kid could be the next Michael Owen, but he's not quite there yet. They pin an awful lot of pressure on Rooney, putting him into tough matches when they need an equalizer or winner. The fans already hail him as their on-the-pitch saviour, but perhaps they should put greater weight on the experienced players they already have.

When It's All Said And Done

This is how I see things ending up this season:

1. Arsenal
2. Manchester United
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
5. Fulham
6. Newcastle United
7. Charlton Athletic
8. Southampton
9. Manchester City
10. Aston Villa
11. Everton
12. Bolton Wanderers
13. Birmingham
14. Tottenham Hotspur
15. Middlesbrough
16. Blackburn Rovers
17. Leicester
18. Portsmouth
19. Leeds United
20. Wolverhampton

Well, that's my personal opinion on the whole mess. Feel free to let me know if you think I'm wrong or yell at me if you don't appreciate all the sports talk.

It's been emotional.

- Colin (invincibleironman@hotmail.com)