BPL Power Rankings: Week 4

1. Liverpool- 10 Points
Last Week- 2
It pains me to put this team in the top slot. Beat United, and this is what you get though. Huge win for the Reds, and I suspect they did it with a Torres and Gerrard at half speed. Still undefeated.


2. Chelsea- 10 Points
Last Week- 3
Excellent 3-1 win over City, at Eastlands. The boys in blue showed that regardless of owner, there is still a gap between the top four and everybody else. Massive game against United on Sunday morning. Still undefeated.

3. Arsenal- 9 Points
Last Week- 5
Normally, Arsenal go up to Ewood Park and struggle against Blackburn. Not this time around, however. A 4-0 blow to Blackburn brings the spotlight back on to Wenger's beautiful football.

4. Aston Villa - 7 Points
Last Week- 6
Dominating performance 2-1 at Spurs. I was only able to follow the game via ESPN Gamecast, but Spurs were never really in the meatch to begin with. If they hadn't made those mistakes against Stoke earlier in the season, they'd be right up with Liverpool and Chelsea. Speaks volumes about the work that Martin O'Neill has done.

5. Manchester City- 6 Points
Last Week- 1
Bit of a drop-off for the Citizens considering they added Robinho to their squad. They have bounds of talent on this team, still they clearly need time to gel together. I expect they will be tormenting clubs later into the season.

6. Manchester United- 4 Points
Last Week- 4
Remember they still have a game in hand as well. The loss to Liverpool was on the road, and clearly Berbatov needs a little time to find his feet for Fergie. The loss can be directly attributed to an absolutely foolish own goal.

7. Hull City- 7 Points
Last Week- 16
This team just simply will not be denied. Another massive win for the first-timers, this time at the expense of St. James' Park and Newcastle United. While I credit the victory more to the mess that is Newcastle, than the skill that is Hull City, they deserve credit. Nobody expected them to reach 7 points before Christmas.


8. Fulham- 6 Points
Last Week- 17
I arbitrarily dropped this team in my last power rankings, and they made me feel the hurt. They beat a wounded Bolton team, and that's an example of winning the games you have to win if you want to stay alive in the Premier League.

9. Portsmouth- 6 Points
Last Week- 12
They've responded to their early losses against Chelsea and United by rattling off two in a row. Well done by 'Arry and his boys. Good win against Middlesbrough as well, not the shabbiest of opponents.

10. Middlesbrough- 6 Points
Last Week - 8
Tough loss for Gareth Southgate and co. You can't fault them for losing on the road to Portsmouth, many a good teams have gone to the South Coast and returned with nothing. I've been impressed with this team's play so far this season, they have a big match at Sunderland this weekend.

11. West Ham- 6 Points
Last Week- 7
Losing to West Brom is normally unacceptable, but they can slide this time because they were playing without a full-time manager. Also I think West Brom will be able to nick quite a few points from visitors. Congratulations to Gianfranco Zola, Chelsea legend, on the new job.



12. Wigan Atheltic- 4 Points
Last Week- 10
Slight slip up for them after drawing at home to Sunderland. I'm sure Steve Bruce would have wanted his boys to win that, but then again they still retain their title as unluckiest team in the Premier League. This team should absolutely have more points this season.

13. Sunderland- 4 Points
Last Week- 18
This may be lofting Sunderland a bit too high, but I do think they are this good. Excellent job drawing at the JJB against Wigan, and their defense is becoming a tough group to score upon.

14. West Brom- 4 Points
Last Week- 19
Good job beating an opponent of better quality. West Ham were a little disorganized and West Brom's potent attack took full advantage of it. Things get a little trickier this week hosting Aston Villa.

15. Everton- 6 Points
Last Week- 14
At first thought, I believed this was a Jeckyll and Hyde situation. Good one week, terrible the next. Nope, they're just bad. I know they won over the weekend, beating Stoke City on the road. But a 3-2 squeaker isn't going a long way in convincing me that this team is legitimate. When you add that the other team they beat was West Brom, that adds up to a lot of question marks for David Moyes's squad.

16. Bolton Wanderers- 4 Points
Last Week- 13
This team stinks, and they play as such. They lost on the road to Fulham this past weekend, and I see a lot more of that coming in their future. There's just no positive play coming out of the Reebok this year, I'm starting to get that relegation feeling about them.

17. Blackburn Rovers- 4 Points
Last Week- 9
That win over Everton becomes less shiny every passing week. That 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Arsenal make it even less shiny. How do you lose 4-0 at home? I don't care if you are playing against a World XI, that should never happen. This team is in the UEFA Cup, they aren't supposed to be that bad. Paul Ince is not going to make it to the New Year.

18. Stoke City- 3 Points
Last Week- 20
The only reason they aren't in 20 is because the two teams below them need to be mocked and ridiculed. Find a bookie, place all of your money on this team being relegated. Send royalty checks to Sami Hamdan care of the PineRiders.

19. Tottenham Hotspur- 1 Point
Last Week- 15
Draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and lose at home to Villa? Does that seem like a team that has it all together? They do this every single year, it's absolutely amazing. I don't get it, I don't know if it's something in the water, or the pressure on them from their fans. How can you only pull 1 point from 12 when your team is this loaded? I'm beyond disappointed with the way they have performed.

20. Newcastle United- 4 Points
Last Week- 11
My goodness. I don't want to spoil the article I'm writing about them this week, but wow. This team is just reeling, falling apart. If something doesn't change around quickly they are going to find themselves in the Coca-Cola Championship next season, and that is a shame for every fan of the game. This one especially hurts because of my connections to the city, these are troubled times for the Magpies, and my heart goes out to all the fans.