English Premier League: 9 Lessons We've Learned from First Half of the Season

As we go into the new year, the Barclays Premier League has just passed the halfway stage for the 2011/12 season.

Some people will no doubt be shocked at some of the season's occurrences so far, whereas others will sit there thinking: "I knew it was all going to happen."

Whatever your standpoint, I'm going to take a look at some things we know now that we didn't know before we started.

Some are surprising, some are amusing, but one thing is for sure—they make interesting reading, if I do say so myself!

Demba Ba Seemingly Has No Injury Issues

When Stoke turned down the chance to sign Demba Ba after he failed a club medical due to a knee problem, no one batted an eyelid.

West Ham subsequently snapped him up, and his impressive appearances for the Hammers caused Newcastle to take notice.

Fast track a year on and Ba is hot property having scored 22 goals in 31 appearances.

His injury "problems" don't seem to exist, and the likes of Liverpool and Spurs are apparently looking into a buy-out clause around £10 million.

Manchester City Are the Real Deal

Many people thought it might be another season before Manchester City could compete for the Premier League title, but Roberto Mancini's boys have shown they're the real deal and currently lead the title race  by three points after 20 games.

Their true character will start to show now as they lose key players such as the Toure brothers to the African Cup of Nations.

Squad rotation may become paramount as injuries and suspensions begin to mount before the ever-increasing pressure of fan expectations.

We now know they're capable, so let's see if they can achieve.

Neil Warnock Was the First Manager to Lose His Job in 2012

If you're a Barclays Premier League manager, then there's no such thing as job security.

Neil Warnock was the first casualty of 2012 after he received his marching orders on Sunday following QPR's one-all draw against MK Dons in the FA Cup third round.

Warnock had been at the club for 22 months and had seen the side promoted to the Premier League from the Championship.

Steve Kean is the next favourite to be axed according to odds on thesackrace.com.

The FA Won't Deal with Racism Lightly

The Suarezgate scandal has dominated newspaper headlines throughout December after the FA gave the Liverpool striker an eight-game ban following an altercation between the player and Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

With a John Terry racism incident still running with QPR's Anton Ferdinand, we could expect to see some further strong justice from the FA later this year.

Age Is No Barrier

With Paul Scholes taking to the pitch against Manchester City in Sunday's FA Cup tie, you could have been forgiven for thinking you were seeing things.

Scholes retired from football at the end of the 2010/11 season but has been coaxed back into playing by Alex Ferguson, as he was desperately short of midfield options due to an injury crisis.

Arsenal's FA Cup triumph against Leeds United on Monday was a similarly strange affair with the winner coming from none other than Thierry Henry.

Henry is back at the club on a two-month loan deal and has immediately repaid Arsene Wenger's faith.

With Henry now aged 34 and Scholes aged 37, the duo have proven that age is no barrier if you've got the ability.

Mario Balotelli = Great Headlines

Everyone knew Mario Balotelli was a little eccentric whilst he was at Inter Milan, but what we didn't know was how much headline entertainment he would provide in his first season in England.

Here's a sample of some Balotelli headlines from 2011.

The Daily Mail: "Fire starter! Manchester City bad boy Mario Balotelli's £3m house set on fire after fireworks let off in his bathroom"

Metro: "Mario Balotelli 'takes truant boy back to school and gives bullies ticking off'"

People: "Mario Balotelli outrage after the striker threw darts at youth players"

These are to name but a few!

For a more extensive rundown, click here.

Form Is Temporary, Class Is...Temporary?!

Fernando Torres made the red half of Merseyside livid by signing for Chelsea in January 2011.

What the first half of this season has shown us is that form is temporary and class is...well, temporary!

Torres has been a miserable flop at Chelsea and doesn't look even close to returning to his Liverpool best.

Having great attacking talent around you in the form of Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Didier Drogba et al has been no aid for the Spaniard as his record stands at 29 appearances with three goals since signing for the Blues.

The 2011/12 season hasn't given Torres the confidence boost people expected.

Robin Van Persie Is One of Europe's Hottest Strikers...Goal-Wise

In contrast to Fernando Torres, Robin Van Persie has shown us that he is the second most prolific striker in Europe.

Suffice to say that we only could know this statistic after the performances in the first half of the 2011/12 season were combined with the back end of 2010/11, which is why I have included it.

The Dutchman has already begun to be linked with the likes of Barcelona.

Players Have Forgotten the Art of Penalty Taking

Penalties should be a walk in the park for Premier League strikers, but it just never seems that straightforward once they've placed the ball on the spot.

According to MyFootballFacts— who claim to be correct up until December 26th—there have been 19 unconverted penalties so far this season, which is pretty atrocious to say the least.

Bearing in mind we're only halfway through this campaign, 2010/11 saw the total missed all season at 22 - just three more than this season's current number.

Afterthoughts.........

So there we have some facts and figures that we can ponder as we enter the business half of the season.

Season 2011/12 has been a great one thus far, and the top six are showing that anyone could move some places if they got a run of form going.

Penalties could be the difference for the likes of the lower-placed teams trying to ensure survival.

Wigan Athletic, Blackburn and West Brom were the worst offenders behind Liverpool, and their league status suggests the lack of conversions could be partly to blame for their relative positions.

One thing for sure is that there will be plenty more twists and turns before we head into the summer break, and I dare say Mario Balotelli might be in the papers at some point!

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