I've always loved the English Premier League, like most other Kiwis and Australians and nearly every country on this beautiful planet. It's the competition that offers up the sort of football we love as well as the English footballing culture thrown in to the mix. It's a big pot that is on the boil with all the different elements of a great competition; from skill and pace to tactics and atmosphere, we call it a boil up, Americans call it gumbo but I don't really know what the Poms call it ... we'll settle for a super curry.

But I've always been a bit weary of the EPL, too. It's the epitome of us and them, there are the big clubs who splash the cash and remain at the top of the table for years, well that's been the case for the past decade. The EPL in my sport loving tenure has been a top dogs vs the battlers competition. This season is no different, or is it? It's no different in the sense that Chelsea, one of the main culprits (bastards) are at the top and look destined for glory with the title pretty much in the bag before December.

However this season offers hope and brings a cheeky smile to my dial. The top 4 currently consists of Chelsea, Southampton, Man City and West Ham. That's how I want the EPL to look! Southampton have shown that you don't need the big bucks to climb the ladder, you just need to be smart. They lost a large portion of their impressive squad last season - ironically most of them went to Liverpool, but were wise and bought the right players to: A) Serve as suitable replacements and B) Ensure their success was not a one hit wonder. Had you heard of Graziano Pelle before the start of the season? I hadn't ... oh wait neither had you? Exactly.

West Ham were on the brink last season with fans enraged at Big Sam Allardyce's managerial style. As long as he's playing Winston Reid, Big Sam has a free pass to a BBQ and a Double Brown or 5 at the Nichey Niche Cache weekly congregation. He has West Ham firing, playing a different brand of footy and generally looking like a very good EPL side.

Swansea in 5th? Weren't they supposed to not be so good after Michael Laudrup was given the flick? After that flash in a pan Michu man left? This season is a weird one, weird in a very beautiful way. It's not even the usual 2nd tier teams that are performing well - Liverpool, Spurs and Everton are all mid table battlers #rejoice. We're seeing fresh faces, fresh ideas and a vibrancy in the EPL that has been missing for a while. We haven't soldiered through the Christmas period so things are still up in the air but we can only judge the EPL on what has happened and what is happening, fresh.

Which brings me to the two teams of the Niche Cache. My Arsenal and the Wildcard's Manchester United. Ah we're dicks huh, supporting the big dogs and all? They sit in 6th and 7th and offer a whole different sense of freshness. I'm fully on board with how this season's EPL is turning out because I'm reasonably used to disappointment at the hands of the Gunners. Sure, we've been in the mix most seasons but we've been far from contenders so to me this season is not really a whole lot different to all the others. Except there's all these 'smaller' clubs doing so well. I can't speak for the Wildcard but while Arsenal were the joke of the EPL, United were winning everything so there has been more of a drop as opposed to Arsenal's near decade long plateau. Seeing United in 7th will take some getting used to but as long as Liverpool are doing shit, I'm sure he won't mind.

Will it last? I don't know, there's this Financial Fair Play rule thingy that could ensure a more level playing field but the way the system is I wouldn't back it to make a huge difference. Seeing Southampton finish the season in the top 4 will make a difference, so too if any other team like West Ham, Swansea, Stoke, ... Newcastle!?, etc. finish in the top 6. The buzz it would create will be a great boost for the EPL and who knows, maybe we'll see some sort of serious shit in the way the EPL works.