No Olympic hangover as Premier League gets off to fast start

There is no doubting that the Olympics were a brilliant spectacle. The general (though not universal) spirit in which the sports were played made a lasting impression on those who watched. The quality of the competition was also impressive. London 2012 was billed as the pinnacle of sporting competition, and it lived up to that billing. The inevitable consequence, however, was unfavourable comparisons with football. Footballers have been depicted as over-paid prima-donnas, with no respect for one another and a misunderstanding of the meaning of sportsmanship. To some, the sense of entitlement held by some footballers ran in stark contrast to the more worthy, but more humble, Olympians.

I for one did not hold that view. Though the majority of Olympians were inspirational, footballers as a collective did not deserve the harsh criticism they have received. Some footballers, admittedly, fit the descriptions. The repeated off-field (and often on-field) indiscretions of players like John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, to name but a few, do not match up to the astronomical wages that they earn. Perhaps the worst culprit last year was Carlos Tevez, a man who continued to paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a week despite refusing to play, that is until his Manchester City side looked destined to win the league title at which point he magically returned. It is perhaps understandable, then, that a lot of people openly stated their disinterest in the start of the new Premier League season. Categorically, I was not one of them.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Olympics. But they have to be accepted for what they are, a test of sporting ability which comes around every four years and is the zenith of achievement in the majority of its events. Part of what makes the Olympics so important to those who compete, and what makes a medal so cherished, is the fact that it is the one time every four years where their sport receives a share of the limelight. This is not true for all Olympic sports, with football and tennis being two notable examples. But for equestrian, handball, athletics, judo, rowing and many more, the Olympics is the biggest prize. Football is a different beast. It is not about disciplined training leading up to one single test of ability. It is about teams going head-to-head with each other over the course of a season, crowning as champions the team who performed best over a full set of games. It is great if people have been inspired by the Olympics to take up and/or follow a new sport. But to suggest that we should replace the focus on football, our national sport, and instead follow the Olympic sports all year round is unrealistic and, in my opinion, devalues the Olympic Games themselves.

It was with great excitement, then, that I anticipated the new Premier League season. The league, and footballers in general, had something to prove. While it will take far longer than one weekend for footballers themselves to clean up their reputation, the last few days have firmly re-established football in the nation’s interest. Whether or not you like the players themselves, any observer cannot fail to have been enthralled with the entertainment that has been on offer as the Premier League kicked-off.

There was great entertainment virtually across the board. For tension, the game of the weekend was the Monday Night Football offering. Everton, on the back of dominant performances by Marouane Fellaini and Phil Jagielka, got a deserved victory over Manchester United. It was Fellaini who scored the only goal of the game, but his contribution throughout the game was phenomenal, almost unbeatable in the air. For United, Wayne Rooney wasn’t at the races and new signing Robin van Persie didn’t get a sniff when he came off the bench as United were smothered by Everton who were the deserved winners. For drama, the Etihad Stadium was the place to be on Sunday afternnon, as Premier League holders Manchester City came from behind to snatch victory over last season’s Championship winners, Southampton. The Saints put up a great account of themselves and could lay claim to having deserved something out of the game. Substitutes Ricky Lambert and Steven Davis gave them the lead in the second-half after Carlos Tevez’s opener. But the resilient City came back themselves with goals from Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri.

If nothing else, the fact that last year’s runaway title contenders have been shown to lack the invincibility which they seemed to have for long periods of last season is promising for the competitiveness of the coming season. Chelsea got off to a winning start, and they will hope to contend this year. New signing Eden Hazard put in an impressive shift as they beat Wigan 2-0. But this year it will not only be the top where all is to play for. The lower sections of the league will be tighter than ever this year, with no clear relegation favourites. Any team outside the top seven or eight is in potential danger. Many saw Swansea as candidates for ‘second-season syndrome’ but new manager Michael Laudrup masterminded a 5-0 drubbing of QPR, for whom big money signings only ever seem to make the team worse. Fulham also won 5-0, against Norwich, placing the Swans and Cottagers at the top of the league in its early days. West Brom also got off to a flying start with a great win over Liverpool, who look set for another difficult season. Newcastle showed last season was no fluke with victory over Tottenham, while Sunderland held out for a fine point away at Arsenal. West Ham took three points on their return to the top flight, defeating Aston Villa, while Reading scored a late penality to get a point at home to Stoke.

The first weekend, then, has shown the unpredictability that should make this season one of the best. Last year’s Premier League had the most dramatic ending, as well as some of the most remarkable games in league history (Man United 8-2 Arsenal, Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal to name just two off the top of my head). But it had is flaws, with the top two running away with things and Wolves and Blackburn looking inevitable for relegation in the last couple of months. This year, the league looks more open than ever. If the entertainment of the first week can be matched throughout the season then we are in for a cracker. If that is the case, then come summer 2013 it will be the start of the new football season, not another Olympic Games, that we are all craving. The Olympics are great, but so too is the football season, and the Premier League is the best in the world. Let them both have their well-established places and stop trying to compare them.