Premiership Power Poll

We're roughly one-eighth of the way through the Premiership season, with most teams having played five matches already, so I've decided to compile my impressions into a sort of power ranking. This is not just the league standings, though of course it's not tremendously different either.

1. Chelsea (5-0-0, 15 pts)
The sky seems to be the limit for Chelsea. 38 wins from 38 games? An entire Premiership season without allowing a goal? Why not? Chelsea's roster is preposterously stacked with talent - it seems like virtually everyone on the team is a star for their respective national teams (meaning that this year's World Cup qualifying could be the only thing that slows Chelsea down). Certainly the Blues have picked up just where they left off last season - five straight wins, most notably victories over Arsenal and Tottenham, and no goals conceded yet (a year after they set a new Premiership record with just 15 allowed).

2. Charlton (4-0-0, 12 pts)
We'll see just how good Charlton really are when they host Chelsea at The Valley on the 17th of this month, but until then the Addicks have earned this spot. They haven't played the best of competition yet, with Middlesbrough probably being the top of the four, but Charlton have scored eight while conceding just one, nothing to sniff at, and three of their four wins have come on the road, never an easy place to get three points in the Premiership. Much of the credit belongs to 21-year-old striker Darren Bent, who owns five of Charlton's eight goals so far.

3. Manchester United (3-1-0, 10 pts)
Though a draw in the Manchester derby has Man U sitting behind their crosstown rivals on the table, the Red Devils have a game in hand on City and have been more overall impressive so far. The goal allowed to Joey Barton in that game was the first Man U had conceded all year, while Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney have been scoring for United as expected so far. A trip to Liverpool on the 18th may be Man U's only serious league test between now and a November 6 tilt with the defending champs.

4. Manchester City (3-2-0, 11 pts)
Stuart Pearce's side have run off 13 consecutive Premiership matches without a loss, and current results suggest there's a chance that streak could be run to nearly 20, though a trip to Highbury in late October will provide a stiff challenge. With a regrouped attack that hasn't seemed to be missing Shaun Wright-Phillips yet, City are not in the class of a Chelsea or Man U in terms of overall talent but should have enough to play their way into Europe if they keep up current standards.

5. Liverpool (1-2-0, 5 pts)
The Reds have had a slow start to the season in terms of fixtures due to their European commitments. Though they haven't lost yet, they also haven't looked that good in the league, with two goalless draws and a 1-0 win over Sunderland to show for their efforts. However, their continued advancement into the group stages of the Champions League shows that this is still a strong team. The question remains this: will Liverpool prioritize Europe over the Premiership as they seemed to do last season? If so, they may find themselves dropping down the table and this ranking.

6. Tottenham Hotspur (2-2-1, 8 pts)
Spurs also have two goalless draws to their name, but also a pair of 2-0 wins, and their only loss so far came to Chelsea. That loss wasn't even as bad as it looks (and against Chelsea, that's not too bad), since both of the Blues' goals came after Mido was sent off for Spurs. With current England starter Paul Robinson in net, Spurs will find themselves engaged in a lot of defensive struggles, especially if the offense doesn't pick it up a bit.

7. Arsenal (2-0-2, 6 pts)
Arsenal have been very bipolar so far this season. The year started with a 2-0 win over Newcastle, a slim 1-0 loss at Stamford Bridge, and a 4-1 rout of Fulham. Then the Gunners went to Middlesbrough and went down 2-1. Arsenal still have the talent to return to Europe and the top of the table, but this is not the same team that went undefeated in 2004, especially with Patrick Vieira now at Juventus and Thierry Henry currently nursing an injured groin.

8. Bolton Wanderers (2-2-1, 8 pts)
Last year's sixth-place finish earned Bolton their first-ever trip to Europe in the club's 111 years. The Trotters are somewhat known for their age (many of their stars are above the age of 30), so it remains to be seen if all the extra football will take a toll, especially on the club's league fortunes. So far, apart from a 1-0 home loss to Everton, Bolton have been fairly impressive, with wins at West Ham and home to Newcastle.

9. Middlesbrough (2-1-2, 7 pts)
Boro's 2-1 win over Arsenal cemented them as a solid contender for European play for a third consecutive year. They've been a bit up and down, however, with a 3-0 loss at home to Charlton and a 3-0 win at Birmingham serving as the opposite ends of the spectrum. Boro are unlikely to challenge for a Champions League spot but could make some noise for the UEFA Cup and could play a spoiler role.

10. West Ham (2-1-1, 7 pts)
A 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa on Monday proved that West Ham are not a team that come up only to go right back down. The Hammers already own two wins, and both are over established Premiership sides (the other was a 3-1 win over Blackburn to open the year). It remains to be seen if they can play on the road, however, with only a 0-0 draw at Newcastle so far. Still, their early home form has been quite impressive, especially for newcomers.

11. Wigan (2-0-2, 6 pts)
Wigan have also shown solid form so far as they hope to join West Ham in beating the average of two callups going right back down the following season. The Latics' wins have only come over bottom-feeders Sunderland and West Brom so far, but their two losses were 1-0 defeats to Chelsea and Charlton, both found at the other end of the table and usually known for scoring more. This solid defensive form may bode well for Wigan down the road.

12. Blackburn Rovers (1-2-2, 5 pts)
Aside from a 2-1 home triumph over Fulham, Blackburn have looked likely to repeat their form of last year - good enough to be several spots from the relegation zone, but not good enough to make the top half of the table. Goalless draws against Spurs and Bolton have shown fine defensive form, though.

13. Aston Villa (1-2-2, 5 pts)
Villa sink to this level after being embarrassed at West Ham. Their one win so far was a slim triumph over Blackburn, and they did well to draw Bolton 2-2 in the opener, but they have looked solidly mediocre otherwise. The game against West Ham was probably not as bad as it looks by the score line, but a lack of finishing on the Villans' part was the nail in the coffin.

14. Fulham (1-2-2, 5 pts)
Brian McBride has had strong early form, but a 1-0 win over Everton has been the only real bright spot for the Cottagers so far, with a massive 4-1 defeat at Arsenal and a 2-1 loss to equally middling Blackburn also on the card. Fulham looks again like their main role in the Premiershp will be as possible spoilers.

15. Newcastle (0-2-3, 2 pts)
Though still without a win, Newcastle slots into 15th spot in this poll because of the addition of Michael Owen, who should provide some punch to an attack that has netted just one goal in five games. At least their form hasn't been terrible - their three losses have come to teams good enough to be playing in Europe this season. Still, with Owen in town the Magpies need to start scoring soon to keep Graeme Souness' job at St. James' Park.

16. Everton (1-0-3, 3 pts)
One of the least likely top-four teams ever, last year's Everton squad put the Ewing Theory to the test by getting rid of Wayne Rooney and running into Europe regardless, a year after finishing 17th and avoiding relegation by just six points. While David Moyes may have gotten the most out of the Toffees in 2004-05, however, 2005-06 is looking like it might be a return to form. The Blues just lost at home to Portsmouth and have scored just one goal in four games, though they have done well enough defensively by only conceding four. After crashing out of the Champions League in qualifying, Everton will look to make a UEFA Cup run, but that may be the highlight of their season.

17. Birmingham City (1-1-3, 4 pts)
Birmingham have a number of strong players, including Finnish striker Mikael Forssell, but in an odd twist have yet to win at St. Andrews, with losses to Man City, Boro, and Charlton. Their road form has been better although against worse teams, with the one win so far coming at West Brom. Another season in the bottom half looks likely, though the Blues have the talent to make a run at the top half.

18. Portsmouth (1-1-3, 4 pts)
A 1-0 win at Everton has been the only real bright spot so far for Portsmouth, who could well be looking at a relegation battle this year after escaping last year while rivals Southampton went down. Pompey have been solidly in the bottom half since making their Premiership debut in 2003-2004, and this year's squad doesn't look likely to change that.

19. West Bromwich Albion (1-1-3, 4 pts)
West Brom narrowly escaped relegation last year on the final day of the season, becoming the first club in Premiership history to be bottom of the table at Christmas and stay up. The Baggies can't keep relying on those survival tactics, though, especially if they're going to lead the league in goals conceded as they are, with ten, one-eighth of the way through. WBA opened the season with four points from two games by drawing Man City and beating Portsmouth 2-1, but it's been downhill from there, with a 4-0 drubbing at Chelsea and losses to Birmingham and, most recently, newcomers Wigan. Without Geoff Horsfield scoring four of West Brom's five goals so far, the Baggies would be even worse off.

20. Sunderland (0-0-5, 0 pts)
Sunderland surely hoped to contend in the top flight after topping the Championship, but right now the only record they're challenging is their own mark for Premiership futility - 19 points, set in 2003. That Black Cats side finished with 27 losses from 38 games, just four wins, and a goal differential of -44, all records in the ten-year history of the 20-team Premiership. This year's squad have begun with five losses from five games, scoring just two goals and conceding nine. If Mick McCarthy's men can't get into the win column - or at least the draw column - when they host another straggler in West Brom on the 17th, we may have to clear some space in the record book for the first team that didn't win a Premiership game all season.