The 2009/10 Premiership: Possibly The Most Exciting Ever?

The new EPL season is less than two weeks away and the fabled top four, may cease to be as less established teams look to gain an even greater foothold for a chance to appear in the Champions League and move one step closer to ending Man Utd's tenure at the top.

The Premier League was regarded by many as the best league in the world. But that mantle has switched over to La Liga. With many of England's best players leaving for Spain, what will the coming season hold for our regular table toppers?

The headlines show the gulf between the big four has lessened between them and the teams immediately between them. There has been an exodus of stars but replacements have been few and far between.

The champions, Man Utd, have lost two essential players: Cristiano Ronaldo offered a goalscoring presence that has been unlike any other and will be close to irreplaceable. His replacement, Antonio Valencia won't have the same impact as Ronaldo this season, but fans will be hoping he will improve on his two goals last term.

Tevez, on the other hand, left for the blue half of Manchester and his precise timing of scoring important goals will be sorely missed.

Michael Owen's preseason looks promising, but friendlies are not to the standard of the league. Judging by his recent injury record, Ferguson's man management has to be close to impeccable if the League trophy is to stay at Old Trafford.

Arsenal have seen two of their biggest stars leave for Man City and with no notable replacements to note of and Senderos' potential transfer to perpetual nearly men Everton, it would seem Arsenal are selling their Champions League spot to arguably their two closest rivals for it.

They have lost a target man that has provided goals, but have no one to replace him. Vieira's possible return could give them the stability they need since they lost Gilberto, however this could prove to be a further backward step for the Gunners as Vieira is older and hasn't been at his best for Inter.

Liverpool have joined the backwards moving clubs by allowing Xabi Alonso, one of the finest passers of a ball in the modern game, to join Real Madrid and there is no one on the horizon to replace them.

Moves for Valencia's Silva and Villa have never materialised and none of them have stated a desire to emigrate from Spain. Glen Johnson's somewhat overpriced move brings a little attacking relief, however Arbeloa who had done a good job in the right back role went to Real Madrid who got a bargain for £3.5m.

Although Chelsea haven't let go of any of their players, their ageing squad still presents a stumbling block to their league aspirations. With named targets either shunning them or moving elsewhere, Chelsea are in need of some vitality to reinvigorate themselves.

Joe Cole's return from injury could be just that, but with just less then a month to go of the transfer window, the Blues have plenty of time to steal a march on their title rivals. The only notable acquisition is that of manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Despite Man City's massive summer spending, Everton still remain the closest to breaking the top four. The have broken into it before while dispelling the rumour that you have to match the big teams' financial muscle. With the return of Jo on loan, should the returning Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka and Yakubu stay injury free, Everton have more than enough to improve on their last finish given the current state of the teams above them.

Man City will hope their blue revolution will reap instant rewards after buying Champions League proven players, however that may backfire as they shuffle their first team and the players look to acclimatise to each other.

Not only Man City and Everton threaten the established order.

Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa threatened but fell away towards the end of the season but a few signings such as Downing and Delph could give them a better chance of competing.

Spurs run the top four close in their meetings and Harry Redknapp has breathed new life into the club since he took over and he is getting the best out of the team.

As the anticipated start of season slowly beckons, the big teams seem to have improved in one aspect, and that is their bank balances but with the lack of quality available they are unable to improve and subsequently the teams below them are closing in on them.