JOHANNESBURG - Two weeks into the English Premiership, one can tell where the process is heading to.
One thing for sure is that, the top pecking order is likely to be tempered with big time this season.
While both Manchester City who pipped Liverpool to the title last season and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea are looking invincible, the same cannot be said of the other chasing pack.
Liverpool and Arsenal are looking shaky while fading former champions Manchester United are looking to be in an even worse condition than last year.
City have looked imperious as ever and the way they dismissed Liverpool on Monday was a statement of intent.
They have a solid backline well-marshalled by captain Vincent Kompany while the midfield directed by Yaya Toure is looking in commanding form. Goals upfront look like they can come from anyone and that completeness must send some shivers in the spine of the opposition.
Chelsea have also started the season like a house on fire. Their new recruits of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa looks to have developed an early understanding and the more they play together, the more they will become a thorn in the flesh for the opposition.
From the early projection, the title is likely to be a straight-forward contest between City and Chelsea and with Mourinho’s pedigree; he might just have an edge over Manuel Pellegrini.
So while the fight for the title might be from the usual suspects, Liverpool who came close to winning the title in more than two decades last season, have shown their chase last season was down to the influence of one man – Uruguay’s Luis Suarez.
Since his departure to Barcelona after he was haunted out of England by the ubiquitous British media, the Reds have looked out of sorts and their 3-1 defeat by the champions underscored how undercooked Liverpool are looking this year.
Brendan Rodgers also made some random panic buying and most of his new acquisitions lack some bite.
Arsenal who squeezed past Beskitas to qualify for the Champions League group stages and also came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Goodson Park don’t look convincing either.
Despite going against the tradition by going big into the market, the Gunners are looking frail upfront and will not mount a serious title campaign.
Record league winners Manchester United have looked out of sorts since the club coaching legend Sir Alex Ferguson called time on his long career.
They finished seventh last season thereby failing to qualify even for the Europa League.
Despite having a new mentor in Dutchman Louis van Gaal, things have not looked any better for the Old Trafford side.
They are yet to win a competitive game this season and their 4-0 mauling at the hands of minnows in the League Cup during the midweek, summed up a potentially precarious season again.
This makes for interesting reading. It is never nice to have same old teams dominating; the more other teams come to the fore the better.
The likes of Everton and Tottenham Hotspurs have a good opportunity to break the monopoly and qualify for the Champions League.
What has made the English league more exciting than other European competitions is its unpredictability. This season it is likely to be more complicated.