In all honesty outside the top 6 or so clubs there is much of a muchness and the rest can all beat each other - we could finish anywhere between 8th and 16th depending how we progress, top 6 is not realistic this season .
I recall Richard Moore commenting these last few seasons on how poor the PL is outside the top 4 and he had a point. However, this season I think we're seeing plenty of teams that can play a bit. Southampton's movement and passing was excellent on Saturday, they're certainly not a bad team despite their results to date. I think the number of quality players joining the PL's smaller teams has certainly changed, who'd have thought a few years ago a team like Southampton could sign a player like Ramirez, Swansea with Michu or players like Green, Park and Hoillett joining bloody QPR?
The other obvious change is the style of play. With the possible exception of Stoke, almost all teams are playing a more technical, passing game. Of course we're going to struggle in this area, we've been hoofing it for far too long and it'll take time to catch up. Still, better late than never. What we do need to do is show teams some respect. We tried to match Southampton with an open game and got deservedly stuffed. A bit more tactical caution away from home may be needed. We can save the cavalier approach for Villa Park, a place where I think we will finally start getting the performances and victories under Lambert&Co.