Six games into the new Premier League season and there are only five clubs who have yet to taste a league win.
You won’t be surprised to hear that three of those clubs are the newly promoted trio, Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton.
Yet as far as I’m concerned, the former two should not be alarmed.
Leicester City have shown in their immediate return to the top-flight that they will be no pushovers and in Steve Cooper have an astute manager.
He kept Nottingham Forest up against the odds two seasons ago, and it is this SBOTOP writer’s belief that it is perhaps his link with their Midlands rivals which has led to some Foxes’ fans not backing him.
I could be wrong, I could be out of order, but they should be careful what they wish for.
Sure, Leicester have taken the joint-fewest shots per game in the Premier League so far this season, while also conceding a league-high 19.3 shots on average.
And even after 10 departures and nine incomings totalling £77.4 million following their Championship success last season, the squad feels trapped between two styles at best and totally unplanned at worst.
But Cooper deserves time and over the next four matches, Leicester will face Bournemouth, Southampton, Forest, and Ipswich.
Another side with no wins yet but a few early Premier League 2024 highlights are the team which gained the other automatic promotion spot last term.
Kieran McKenna has already performed quite a feat in guiding Ipswich from League One, where they had lingered for four years, straight to the sharp end of a brutal Championship promotion fight, and then immediately to the top-flight.
The Premier League 2024 betting odds made them joint favourites for the drop at the start of the season, and naturally so as that is so often the case for the newly promoted clubs.
Yet remember, barely any outsiders expected Ipswich Town to last the course in an automatic promotion race against Leicester, Leeds and Southampton, all of whom could fuel their campaigns with Premier League resources. But they did and some.
Their latest result, a 2-2 home draw with Aston Villa, felt like a moment they arrived.
As acclaimed writer Henry Winter put, following Liam Delap’s double: “Nurtured at Manchester City, and having learned on loan at Stoke, Preston and Hull, the 21 year-old now flourishes at Ipswich Town. He led the line well against Aston Villa and scored twice. Delap’s second showcased all his qualities of speed, strength, a stepover to elude Diego Carlos and emphatic left-footed finish across a world champion goalkeeper in Emi Martinez. Kieran McKenna and Mark Ashton have landed another gem, for an initial £15m, potentially only £20m. At a time when Lee Carsley has voiced his concern about the lack of No 9s emerging, Delap should at some point step up from the England Under-21s to the seniors.”
Praise indeed.
As for the other sides without a league win, three points for Crystal Palace is surely only a matter of time away.
They have lost key men in Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen this summer but the Eagles have talent.
It has been a different story so far this term season, failing to win any of their opening six games and unable to hold on after taking the lead at Goodison Park last Saturday.
But with a bit more concentration and clinical finishing, they could have been home and hosed.
Certainly, Palace controlled the first half at Everton with pass master Adam Wharton showcasing why he is an England international aged just 20 by pulling the strings in the centre of the park.
As for Southampton, it is a big ask to expect them to stay up with a limited squad, granted there have been glimpses of potential in recent weeks, and I remain impressed by their manager Russell Martin.
The biggest fall guys this season for me could be Wolves.
They have had a tough start to the campaign and, in theory, their run of fixtures is about to become less daunting but I find it hard to imagine Wolves making major Premier League strides this season.
That is not to detract from the fine job Gary O’Neil did last term.
Remember, he took over on the eve of the 2023-24 season with the club predicted to be in a relegation scrap following a summer of turmoil only to steer them to a comfortable 14th place finish.
He was duly rewarded with a new four-year contract to see through a period of transformation at the club.
Yet that is the word: Transformation. How much further, realistically, can he take them? Relegation, I fear.
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