If you were to ponder the current emotions of supporters from all 20 Premier League teams, only a small proportion would be completely content with the start their side has made to this engrossing season.

Chelsea and Southampton have began the campaign in spectacular fashion, while Newcastle United, Swansea City and West Ham United have also enjoyed unexpectedly fast starts. Further down the table, Burnley fans will be delighted to have notched back-to-back wins, but aside from those aforementioned, will any supporters rate their start better than “average”? If they were being brutally honest, then probably not.

The mediocre displays from some of the league’s top names have been a catalyst for what’s been one of the most competitive starts to the season in recent memory. The  foursome of Southampton, Newcastle United, Swansea City and West Ham United have all conducted astute summer business and have operated with a subsequent swagger. Meanwhile, teams that were in the upper reaches of the Premier League last season are striving hopelessly for momentum.

Manchester United only just look to be getting their act together, Liverpool and Arsenal have endured torrid starts, while Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have struggled to accrue any kind of impetus in the early weeks of the season. There are few neutrals complaining about the current state of affairs, though.

For it’s made for a much more exciting Premier League package; Liverpool, for example, are just four points clear of the relegation zone and five off the Champions League places. But astute signings aside, what else has helped expedite the rapid rise of these supposed lesser teams in comparison to the usual suspects? And do they have what it takes to sustain their sparkling form for the remainder of the campaign?

Perhaps what’s most notable about the Southampton, Swansea and the likes is that they aren’t wholly reliant on one standout player. Of course, each team has their star men, but you get the impression from their early displays that if Saints, for example, were to lose one of Graziano Pelle or Dusan Tadic, it wouldn’t be completely catastrophic to their cause.

The same applies to a similar degree to West Ham and Newcastle, but it cannot be said for big spenders like Liverpool—who have looked completely toothless in attack without Daniel Sturridge’s dynamism—and Arsenal—who would be in a much worse predicament had it not been for the sparkling displays of the scintillating Alexis Sanchez.

There’s an unknown factor about a lot of the players drafted into the Premier League by some of the surprise packages too. English football isn’t quite as difficult to adapt to as it once was, and subsequently, players like Tadic, Pelle, Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho and Ayoze Perez have come into the league and flourished almost immediately.

They’re also teams have shown a variety of stylistic facets. West Ham in particular are a team who have added an attacking panache to their cohesive defensive style, while Southampton and Swansea—though they typically play an expansive, free-flowing style—can mix things up with Pelle and Wilfried Bony leading their respective lines.

By contrast, sides like Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton seem predictable in their duties. The two Merseyside clubs in particular were capable of oscillating between devastating counter attacking and enticing possession-based styles of football last season, but the ability to tailor those principles seem to be lacking in the current campaign.

Naturally, thoughts will now turn to whether this season’s surprise packages can keep up these distinguished levels of performance. And while there have been undeniable strides made by those clubs enjoying an unanticipated spell in the upper reaches of the Premier League table, much will come down to how the sides negotiate the flurry of games to come.

Southampton, for example, have been fortunate enough to field more or less the same core of players for the majority of the season. But if injuries, suspensions and fatigue begin to creep into their squad over the convoluted Christmas period, how will they cope should two or three key men drop out?

In addition, teams like Arsenal. Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham that boast genuine quality will surely find their stride as the season rolls on, meaning any lapses will be punished much more readily than they have done so far.

But there are a few things in the favour of these surprise packages, namely that they aren’t involved in European competition. That’ll give managers the requisite time to put the minutes in with their squad on tactical work and nurse any knocks that players may pick up as the arduous campaign begins to take effect in earnest.

That’s not a luxury the likes of Arsene Wenger, Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez and Mauricio Pochettino will be afforded as they look to juggle domestic and European commitments. And although these sides have a squad depth that far surpasses the majority of Premier League sides, the effect of travelling to far foreign lands does take its toll.

It’ll make for engrossing viewing, though, and as we move towards the mid-point of the campaign, it’ll be interesting to see whether the more illustrious names do surge to the top of the table. But with a host of “mid-table” sides showing no shortage of class nor fear in the early exchanges, we’re surely set for one of the most evenly contested seasons in recent memory.

Follow Matt on Twitter @MattJFootball

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