It really gets on my tits to hear the John Motsons and Clive Tyldesleys of this world forever referring to the Premiership as 'the best league in the world'. They might have more money than the rest and can certainly put on some cracking games but once you take the top four out of the equation, maybe adding Newcastle, Everton, Tottenham and Man City, the rest are nonentities merely making up the numbers. Watford v Blackburn, Fulham v Wigan, Sheff. Utd. v Middlebrough? No thanks.
My preference is for the flair of the Spanish and French Leagues. The Ligue 1 Round-up on Channel 5 is fast becoming compulsive viewing although, with Lyon running away with the title again, it is the overall quality of the play which catches my eye more than any competitive championship challenge. And nobody can fail to be impressed by the skills of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia and even some of Spain's lesser lights - remember Villarreal? - who all seem to have at least one magician who can get me off my seat.
And if it was a straight choice between going to an English game or a trip to the Bundesliga or Serie A, take my word for it, I would be digging out my passport and heading for the airport. Maybe I've just grown too familiar with English football and prefer a change to the same old names who seem to dominate the wall-to-wall TV coverage week after week.
However, with the Premiership being so close at hand, most Bears follow events South of the border and we all have our favourite teams. Mine are Chelsea, Man.City and Everton - it is definitely a blue jersey thing - and, having latched on to events at Stamford Bridge when Charlie Cooke, Peter Osgood and Chopper Harris were the main men, I enjoy seeing Chelsea on top, even if it is thanks to a few Russian roubles and, of course, the influence of the hero of Seville 2003. Did I ever thank you properly for that, Jose?
By adding Ballack, Shevchenko and Ashley Cole to last season's title winning squad,
he has raised the bar yet again and fired out a 'catch us if you can' message to the rest. It wasn't too big a surprise to see the newcomers take time to settle but they were always far too good to struggle for any length of time. Now that the teething process is over, and Didier Drogba has risen to the challenge posed by the summer signings, I expect Chelsea to set off on a long unbeaten run and eventually put sufficient daylight between themselves and their rivals.
The big drawback for Chelsea will be their greater desire to win the Champions League. Having gone 50 years since their last league title win, then successfully defended their crown, I believe that, if given a one-or-the-other choice, they would opt for European glory over three-in-a-row. And I reckon Arsenal, having come so close in Paris last May, would also prefer Champions League success to domestic supremacy.
They have clearly put their early season troubles behind them and have moved swiftly up the table. Now working on his third 'new' team in his ten years at the club, Arsene Wenger has put together a very exciting young squad and, even if they don't do it this season, the Gunners are sure to be better off for the experience and will be back on top sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, in their first season at the Emirates Stadium, they are as much strangers to their new environment as their opponents, with only the backing of the crowd - and Arsenal fans never have been the noisiest - giving them any feeling of being at home. But this will change in time and Arsenal will benefit greatly.
Man.Utd.'s early season form has earned them rave reviews and, now that Rooney is back amongst the goals, they have emerged as the biggest threat to Chelsea. United are certainly good to watch and, like most Bears, I was pleasantly surprised to see them take their eye off the ball in Copenhagen recently. Hopefully, they will be up for the fight at the Scum Dome next week. Victory over Ra Sellick will confirm ManUre as group winners and will enable them to focus on Premiership matters before the Champions League moves into knock-out mode in the new year.
As I write, United lead by three points and it would be very interesting if they were to stretch their advantage by winning when Chelsea go to Old Trafford towards the end of the month. But I still reckon Jose has got the strength in depth to handle the long haul and peg back any deficit, just so long as they don't get too wrapped up in the European thing.
The biggest surprise of the opening stage of the season has been the evaporation of Liverpool's challenge. They've got no shortage of top players but the newcomers don't seem to have gelled into a team so the Scousers have blown hot and cold and been found wanting in the games that matter, losing to Chelsea, Man.Utd., Arsenal and, of course, Everton. And more worrying for Rafa Benitez is the not insignificant point that they haven't mustered so much as a single goal in these crunch matches and have gone down without a fight.
Strangely, while I reckon Chelsea and Arsenal would prefer winning in Europe to domestic success, Liverpool are undoubtedly more focussed on their bid to top the Premiership. But it won't happen this season, although they might just generate a few pangs of jealousy elsewhere by sustaining their Champions League campaign beyond expectations.
Elsewhere, it is all about the UEFA Cup spots and the arrival of O'Kneel at Villa Park has stirred up a few 'villains'. Look out for Aston Villa winning more than their fair share of penalty kicks thanks to the usual suspects - they've already started! - but I'll be very surprised if they don't begin to drop towards mid-table fairly soon. Their games with Bolton should be worth watching, if only for the crime count and the greetin-faced response of the two managers, and Sheffield United and Neil Warnock look more than capable of standing up for themselves in a scrap. But whatever else it might be, it will not be top quality football.
As always, the promoted clubs have been well tipped to go straight back down but, just like Wigan last season, Reading have been the surprise packet this time around and may well succeed in getting enough points on the board in the first half of the season to survive any dip in form further down the road. But Watford have struggled from day one and Charlton, having punched above their weight for years, could find it well nigh impossible to make up the ground they have lost. Many reckon Sheffield United will also make a quick return from whence they came but, for what its worth, I'm inclined to tip West Ham to go down. All the takeover nonsense is rocking the boat, I don't see Alan Pardew sticking around and the whole deck of cards could collapse around them. Just a hunch.
And speaking of hunches, I'm up for Chelsea doing the league and cup Double this term, with only Barcelona spoiling their season by returning to haunt them in the latter stages of the Champions League. But a lot can happen between now and May so who knows how it all might pan out, although you can expect to be reading an insufferable 'I told you so' piece if this wee gaze into my crystal ball turns out to have any substance to it.
LITTLE BOY BLUE