Nineteen games in is the perfect time to assess the English top flight's good and bad and discuss which clubs are fulfilling their potential
20. Aston Villa
Good: About a team 11 points from safety and has not won since the first game of the season? Nothing.
Bad: Tim Sherwood might never be more than an interim manager, but losing Fabian Delph, Christian Benteke, Ron Vlaar and Tom Cleverley – more than a third of the team that reached last season’s FA Cup final – made succeeding at Villa improbable.
And while the club spent £50m in the summer – a rare show of commitment from owner Randy Lerner – doing so on a myriad of unproven players was negligent.
Fulfilling potential? No. While the club has been drifting ever since Martin O’Neill resigned in 2010, their implosion this season has been remarkable.
Only Sunderland (six) in 2005-06 and Derby (seven) in 2007-08 have had fewer points after 19 games – relegation is inevitable.
19. Sunderland
Good: The emergence of Duncan Watmore – the former Altrincham footballer who has become one of the club’s most talented and trusted players.
If that wasn’t charming enough, the 21-year-old also graduated with a first-class degree in economics and business management from Newcastle University in December.
Bad: So much. Sam Allardyce is a capable top-flight manager, but not even he can coax a squad comprised of ageing stars on undeserved, lucrative contracts into making up the seven points that separates them and safety.
A first Premier League relegation for Big Sam beckons.
Fulfilling potential? Yes. The Black Cats have done well to remain in the Premier League for this long.
18. Newcastle
Good: Georginio Wijnaldum. The torrid time endured by Memphis Depay – the Dutchman’s former PSV team-mate – at Manchester United demonstrates how difficult the transition from the Eredivisie to the Premier League is. Wijnaldum has done so with ease.
Bad: Only Sunderland have conceded more goals than the Magpies, while their 19 goals scored is fewer than every team but Aston Villa, Swansea and West Brom. It is also worth remembering that six of those were in the same game.
Fulfilling potential? It is difficult to judge with Newcastle anymore.
The club spent £50m in the summer and appointed Steve McClaren – a manager who, despite resembling the lead character in a spoof spy film, is a much better option than John Carver. Yet it is not really surprising the club that lolls from one crisis to the next is in this position.
17. Swansea
Good: Managerless and just two points outside the relegation zone, yet there is no sense of crisis at the Welsh club.
Their defensive record is much better than any other side in the bottom six and some smart business in January – Patrick Bamford would be ideal – should keep them safe.
Bad: The dismissal of Garry Monk – who in September was labelled a future England manager after outwitting Louis van Gaal – was not typical of chairman Huw Jenkins.
It felt like the end of the 10-year management model that had propelled them from League One to the Premier League.
Fulfilling potential? Not compared to last season, but a lack of significant recruitment in the summer – which Monk and the club were praised for at the time – has left their squad a little thin and enabled rivals to overtake them.
16. Bournemouth
Good: How Eddie Howe has remoulded his side after losing several integral players to long-term injuries has been superb.
The Cherries’ recent six-match unbeaten run – which included wins against Chelsea and Manchester United – has made Premier League survival a possibility.
Bad: Callum Wilson, who has been out injured since September, remains the club’s top scorer with five goals. And while aquiring a pacey striker in January would be ideal, the likelihood of doing so is remote.
That increases the pressure on Glenn Murray, Junior Stanislas and Josh King.
Fulfilling potential? Of course. Bournemouth are currently outside the relegation zone – a remarkable position considering their injuries.
Even if they end the season inside it, to still be competing at this stage has reaffirmed that their manager is one of the country’s most talented and intelligent.
15. Norwich
Good: The win against Manchester United was the Canaries’ most notable, but that their other four have been against teams below them in the table – Sunderland, Bournemouth, Swansea and Aston Villa – is more significant.
A continuation of that form will ensure safety.
Bad: Questioning the scoring prowess of a promoted side is not original, but do not expect either Dieumerci Mbokani and Cameron Jerome to reach double figures.
Fulfilling potential? Yes. While not garnering the same recognition as either Watford or Bournemouth, Norwich are enjoying an impressive and unfussy season.
Those two adjectives are also applicable to Alex Neil, their 34-year-old manager who has done a remarkable job in his 12 months at Carrow Road.
14. Chelsea
Good: It turns out Willian is really good at taking free-kicks. And, erm, nothing else.
Bad: Eden Hazard – compared to Cristiano Ronaldo at the start of the season, remember – is on a 29-game goal drought.
Nemanja Matic, meanwhile, appears to have been kidnapped and replaced by a bumbling double and Cesc Fabregas is enduring a decline even more alarming than fellow one-time teen prodigy Wayne Rooney. We could go on.
Fulfilling potential? Nope. The club that were champions by eight points last season are currently three clear of the relegation zone. A pathetic title defence.
13. West Brom
Good: At this stage of the season 12 months ago, the Baggies were one point clear of the relegation zone. This year, they are six. Solid stuff from Tony Pulis.
Bad: Saido Berahino, the scorer of 14 top-flight goals last season, has been vacant ever since his deadline-day move to Tottenham collapsed.
That is regrettable for a side averaging less than a goal a game. They would be wise to sell him in January.
Fulfilling potential? Yeah. There is not much to get excited about at the Hawthorns. But the Baggies are 13th – which is where they finished last season – and their pragmatic manager will be chuffed if they do so again.
12. Southampton
Good: The development of Sadio Mane, who is now one of the Premier League’s most gifted forwards.
His influential performance in the 4-0 win over Arsenal on Boxing Day – a deft first touch, pace, power and intelligent decision making – emphasised his potential to be one of the world’s best.
Bad: See above. The performances of Mane are worrying for a club that routinely sells their best players.
It would be no surprise if silly money is offered for him in January. He would be perfect for Manchester United.
Fulfilling potential? Just about. Losing key players for the second successive summer – Morgan Schneiderlin, Nathaniel Clyne and the on-loan Toby Alderweireld – was bound to affect the Saints eventually.
11. Everton
Good: The performances of Romelu Lukaku, whose 15 league goals this season is already five more than he scored in the entirety of last.
The Belgian’s strike against Aston Villa in November made him the fourth-youngest player in Premier League history to reach 50 goals.
Bad: Roberto Martinez’s side are not good enough defensively. Despite only Leicester and Manchester City scoring more goals than the Toffees, no team has drawn more games (eight).
Fulfilling potential? Not if you ask the Everton supporters. Lukaku and Ross Barkley have been two of the top flight’s outstanding performers, but dropping points to the teams around them – most recently against Stoke at Goodison Park – are undermining them.
Roberto Martinez’s position will come under threat if that continues.
READ: Blowing the whistle on 2015: Our half-time report on the Premier League’s top clubs
