Premier League: Five things we'd really like to see in 2021 to cheer us up

2020 will undoubtedly go down as a runt in history's litter, an 'annus horribilis' that has seen a global pandemic wreak havoc on our lives while in football circles an entire pantheon of great names have left us far too soon.

Frankly, we cannot wait to swap calendars and throw this past year in the bin.

It is hoped then that 2021 will be a much-needed shot in the arm - both figuratively and literally in the case of a vaccine - and though our wish-list below of things we'd like to see happen in the Premier League won't magically heal the world or unmelt the ice caps they might just raise a smile. That at least will have us heading in the right direction. That at least would be a start.

1) The Blades to pick up points

Sheffield United were a welcome tonic to the top-flight last season, with their over-lapping centre-backs and refreshing ambition.
At the helm was a likable and astute coach in Chris Wilder while on the pitch his newly-promoted side made a mockery of perceived wisdom on a weekly basis by remaining in the reckoning for a Champions League spot for much of the campaign.

Which makes it all the sadder to see them struggle so badly this term, with just two meagre points to their name and a first win still hopelessly beyond their reach as a new year beckons. Cruelly put, they've gone from the sublime to the ridiculously poor.

The Blades have already 'claimed' an unwanted record for posting the worst start to any Premier League season and are worryingly still nine points adrift of Derby County's all-time low of 11 from 2007-08. Regardless of your allegiance we can surely all agree that Wilder's team deserve a better legacy than this.

Though likely fated to drop - United are 8/11 to finish rock bottom by the season's end - let's hope this team who deal only in mad extremes find some semblance of form in the months ahead.

2) Spurs see out games

Everyone loves a redemption story even if the person in question has long been cast as football's pantomime villain so it's been surprisingly enjoyable witnessing Jose Mourinho restore his reputation at Tottenham.

With his side competing in the early stages of a title race it didn't take long for his trademark smirk to return, along with some fabulously barbed comments to boot and it was great to see because maybe we'd had our fill of this managerial don appearing to be broken beyond repair after three chaotic years at Old Trafford. Against the odds Jose was back and boy did we miss hating on him instead of feeling only pity.

But then Tottenham dropped points at Crystal Palace late on after taking an early lead and when the same scenario occurred at Wolves this week it's led to serious doubts about their ability to see out games: a prerequisite for any successful team.

Spurs have dropped nine points so far to goals conceded in the final ten minutes and though this damns an overly cautious approach undertaken when ahead it's also relevant that 10 of their 15 concessions to date have come via set pieces and pens.

It's an issue that must be resolved or else we're going to be deprived of a comeback tale, a feel-good second act that's going to be much sought-after in 2021. Sort it out Tottenham.

Spurs are 3/1 to win 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0 at home to Fulham this Wednesday

3) Managers given time

Seemingly every other week another club is dragged into a media-created 'crisis' and though this instinctively feels unedifying it is anything but a new phenomenon. It was ever so.

The same applies too to the constant speculation surrounding a manager's job security - with Frank Lampard the latest in the firing line - but at least here we are sensing a sea-change in attitudes from the clubs with only Slaven Bilic relieved of his role as the season approaches the halfway mark.

Of course, this newly-discovered patience and pragmatism will have more to do with Covid-related financial necessity than the growing of a conscience but it's a very welcome development all the same, especially when it's acknowledged that at this stage last year eight different gaffers had received their P45.

It is a nigh-on certainty that fewer coaches will depart this term than at any time in living memory with 2012's record low of seven set to be considerably beaten. Let's hope the unfortunate Croatian stands alone as the only one to walk.

4) A dramatic title scrap

In seven of the last ten seasons, the champions have coasted home through the final furlongs while we reluctantly turned our gaze to the top four and relegation dog-fights to get our late fix of drama. In 2019/20 and 2017/18 the trend for one-team processions reached surreal heights with Liverpool and Manchester City winning by 18 and 19-point margins respectively.

Yet can anyone confidently claim that a single club will run away with it this time out? Sure, Liverpool are justifiable favourites but their draw at home to West Brom this week illustrated once again that consistency is impossible in this current climate while a long-term injury to Virgil Van Dijk makes their back-line mortal.

Encouragingly drunken renditions of Auld Lang Syne are only days away and only six points separate the top eight and should this continue can you imagine the scenes with a couple of games to spare? Bluntly, we deserve that this season. We deserve a finale so tense and tight it makes Sergio Aguero's strike against QPR appear anti-climactic by comparison.

With momentum on their side Manchester United are a generous 9/1 to win their first title for eight years.

5) England leads the way

Presently ten of the 15 most prolific strikers in the Premier League are English, a rich harvest that bodes extremely well for the national team ahead of the Euros next summer.

With Kane, Sterling, and Rashford already established within the Three Lions squad and Abraham, Grealish, and Ings knocking on the door Gareth Southgate will be spoilt for choice when selecting his striking rota and that's not to overlook a number of uncapped forwards who are regularly impressing such as Patrick Bamford and Ollie Watkins.

Rarely before have England been so well furnished with an array of attacking talent in red-hot form and though it might be a touch Brexity to request such a thing wouldn't it be nice if the goal-scoring charts were topped by an all-English one, two, three come May to reflect this.

Evergreen Jamie Vardy is 5/1 to snag a consecutive Golden Boot this season