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With International Euro 2012 qualifiers forcing a break in European club play, let us take this opportunity to look at what is developing in some of the major European football leagues:

Part 1:

English Premier League (EPL):

Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea! Unfortunately for all teams not named Chelsea, Chelsea started this year’s Premier League campaign in dominating fashion: 3 victories, 3 clean sheets, and a +14 goal differential. Last year’s FA Cup and Premier League champions returned essentially the same squad as last season with the only notable addition being Brazilian Ramires from Benfica and the only notable departures being Michael Ballack, Deco, and Ricardo Carvalho to Bayer Leverkusen, Flumenise, and Real Madrid, respectively. With Michael Essien once again healthy (Essien made only 14 appearances during the 2009/10 EPL), Ballack was already forgotten at Stamford Bridge on opening day, and the only concerns Blues fans have faced at this point in the season revolved around the fitness of Frank Lampard and John Terry. Lampard was scheduled to undergo a hernia operation this week and sit out 2-3 weeks, while Terry continued to struggle with a nagging hamstring injury left over from this summer’s World Cup. Terry’s inability to rest his injuries pointed to Chelsea’s lack of depth in the middle of the defense.

Promising Start: Chelsea has had many bright spots, but Florent Malouda appears to be the brightest. The in-form Chelsea hit-man, who scored 12 goals last season, has 3 starts and 4 goals. He has scored in every match, thus far.

Manchester United, last year’s runner up, returned an almost identical squad to last season and, thus, was projected to finish second best, once again. Sir Alex Ferguson’s nonchalant attitude against Fulham in the second round of the EPL led to United starting the only notable addition, Javier Hernandez (Chicharito), in place of Rooney, who was reportedly out sick with a stomach bug, instead of the more experienced Michael Owen. Chicharito struggled and United dropped valuable points at Fulham. Ferguson compounded his questionable line-up decision at forward by starting Park Ji-Sung in place of a perfectly healthy Nani, who came on late and contributed to the 2-2 draw by missing a penalty with 3 minutes remaining. The penalty would have put United up 3-1 and, effectively, ended the match. Fortunately, United rebounded with a through display of class against West Ham which saw Rooney finally open his 2010/11 EPL account, although it should be noted that it came from the penalty spot. Nani also rebounded by scoring in the win against West Ham.

Promising Start: The florescent bright spot for United, unquestionably, has been Dimitar Berbatov, who appears determined to improve on his 12 goals and 5 assist record from last season. The lanky Bulgarian has already finished 2 goals and passed off 1 assist in his first 3 starts. Further, his early season form has forced brilliant saves and robbed the 29 year-old of a hand full of goals.

Arsenal, last year’s bronze medalist, has impressed early in the campaign with Captain Cesc Fabregas and Dutch striker Robin Van Persie finally returning to the starting line-up in last weekend’s win over Blackburn Rovers. Unfortunately, that match marked yet another injury for the Dutch striker who only started 14 games for the Gunners last season. Although this injury does not appear to be serious, forward thinking by Arsene Wenger led to signing Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux over the summer. In 2 starts and an appearance off the bench, the Frenchman has looked comfortable in the Arsenal system and has already opened his Premier League scoring account. Although most of the publicity about Arsenal’s long-term future gravitates towards Jack Wilshire, Cesc Fabregas’s return to the lineup means England’s 18 year-old midfielder must blend into the crowd of spectators wearing Arsenal kits at the Emirates. Arsenal’s young season has displayed great promise in its young team, but one youngster has been head and shoulders above his teammates after 3 rounds: Theo Walcott.

Promising Start: Theo Walcott, 21 years young, scored a hat-trick in his first start of the season and notched another tally in his second start lock into a 4 way tie for top EPL scoring honors with Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and Andy Carroll. Walcott, who made 23 appearances but only started on 12 occasions last season, has made his early season case to be a regular in Arsene Wenger’s starting XI.

Last season, 7 points separated Tottenham, who finished 4th, from Liverpool, who finished 7th. Manchester City and Aston Villa, who finished 5th and 6th, respectively, were in the hunt for the coveted 4th place finish, which, ultimately, led to Tottenham’s birth into the Champions League group stages. Entering this season, Tottenham and Manchester City bolstered their squad and seemed destined to, once again, fight it out for 4th place (if not better), while Liverpool and Aston Villa lost important central players and seemed unlikely to make legitimate runs at the top of the league. Both City and Spurs returned managers who have established themselves as leaders, leaving little doubt as to who made the decisions in their respective locker rooms.

In sharp contrast, Pool’s new manager, Roy Hodgeson, struggles to grab control of his team following the transfer deadline demands and departure of defensive-midfielder Javier Mascherano, and Villa searches to name a permanent manager after Martin O’Neill suddenly stepped aside a week before the season. However, Liverpool still retains a glimmer of hope with the positive additions of Raul Meireles and Chritian Polsen to replace the losses of Aquilani and Mascherano. Liverpool’s success this season hinges on how quickly these additions assimilate to the EPL, the fitness of Fernando Torres, and the continuing development of David Ngog.

The biggest Positive surprise of the season (Thus Far): Blackpool’s 4-0 victory against Wigan on opening day.

The biggest Negative surprise of the season (Thus Far): Everton have a disappointing 1 point after matches against Blackburn, Wolves, and Villa (without Milner).

Interesting Stat (Thus Far): 4 EPL matches have had a 6-0 score line.

(Chelsea vs West Brom; Arsenal vs Blackpool; Chelsea vs Wigan; Newcastle vs Wigan)

Notable Quote: "I think he was going to Bayern Munich yesterday for £18 million. He is available now for about £8 million and we thought for that amount of money he is a top player.” – Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp speaking about his last minute attempt to acquire Rafael Van Der Vaart from Real Madrid at the transfer deadline.