“As we ease into the dreamy relentlessness of football’s festive period, it’s easy to forget the staccato nature of the opening months of the season, short sprints of fixtures punctuated by the four words most Premier League fans hate hearing: ‘It’s another international break.’ Supporters may despair as their favourite players disappear around the world three times in three months but these mandated interruptions do allow the season to be divided into four neat sections, something many managers exploit by targeting a block of games almost as a hyper-focused mini-season. For those of us on the outside, splitting the campaign into smaller chunks can offer us a bit more insight than simply looking at the league table, especially as the campaign progresses. Welcome, then, to The Four Seasons of the Premier League So Far. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
