It has been a remarkable, chaotic, incredible, season and we're now at the mid-way point.
Five managerial changes, four different leaders, two points covering the top five.
Sensational goals, horrendous misses, moments of high drama and sheer comedy.
There's still a long way to go buy Mirror Sport's Martin Lipton runs his eye over the Premier League academy scholars.

Arsenal

Working towards: That elusive first trophy since 2005. Achieving that would end the doubts.
Overall effort: Brilliant response to opening day setback but last few weeks have exposed the fault-lines. Now is the real test.
Head boy: Aaron Ramsey.
Bottom of the class: Nicklas Bendtner.
Manager: Wenger’s faith in his principles have been justified. Ozil signing altered mindset.
Must do better: Gunners have been outstanding against mid-table sides and Boxing Day turnaround at Upton Park showed desire.
Grade: A-

Aston Villa

Working towards: Survival, again. Villa started season well but seem to be losing their way and four straight defeats are a worry.
Overall effort: Learning to meet Paul Lambert’s expectations but home form a growing concern. Must score more goals.
Head boy: Brad Guzan.
Bottom of the class: Christian Benteke.
Manager: Paul Lambert believed his players would benefit from last season. Recent weeks pose questions over that view.
Must do better: Forwards have to deliver more. Villa fans are wondering what has gone wrong with Benteke.
Grade: C

Cardiff City

Tom Dulat

 Working towards: Another season in the top flight but in danger of being destroyed from within by the machinations of the owner.
Overall effort: Malky Mackay could hardly have done more organisationally yet it is not enough for the money men. No, me neither.
Head boy: Gary Medel.
Bottom of the class: Vincent Tan.
Manager: Sacking and treatment of Mackay has been nothing short of scandalous. Good luck to the next man. You’ll need it.
Must do better: An understanding of what is possible would help. That, though, appears to be beyond the collective thoughts of those in charge.
Grade: B- (for Mackay); E (for the owner).

Chelsea

Working towards: The title, of course. Well, that’s what Roman Abramovich expects. Jose Mourinho knows it, too.
Overall effort: The return of the Special One has not been the panacea for recent ills envisaged by the majority of the fans but well-placed.
Head boy: John Terry.
Bottom of the class: Ashley Cole.

 Manager: Mourinho is aware of the fate that awaits any “failed” Chelsea manager. But coping well so far and enjoying the challenge.
Must do better: It would help if the strikers could contribute properly. Chelsea need midfield quality, a clinical edge and to stop conceding silly goals. Don’t write them off.
Grade: B+

Crystal Palace

Working towards: What looked like a miracle a month but now just seems unlikely. Four wins in seven represents momentum.
Overall effort: It’s the lack of quality, rather than endeavour, that has cost Palace. But quality counts at this level.
Head boy: Joel Ward.
Bottom of the class: Jose Campagna.
Manager: Tony Pulis knew the job he was inheriting from best mate Ian Holloway. Has given Eagles hope.
Must do better: In every department. Expectation is that Pulis will seek to tighten things up but he needs a reliable source of goals.
Grade: C-

Everton

Working towards: A top four place. Still odds against but plenty in blue half of Merseyside are starting to believe despite Boxing Day.
Overall effort: Outstanding. Changed the way they have played and brought a real buzz to Goodison. Loan signings have worked superbly.
Head boy: Ross Barkley.

 Bottom of the class: Nikola Jelavic.
Manager: Roberto Martinez has answered the doubters in terrific style. Now has to prove it’s long-term and that Sunderland was a blip.
Must do better: Could do with more defensive back-up but basically looking to continue what they have done so well and keep Lukaku fit.
Grade: A-

Fulham

Working towards: Seventeenth place. That will do. But it’s going to be a hard old slog. Need Clint Dempsey loan to work.
Overall effort: Poor. Too many sloppy displays, too many defensive mistakes, too few goals. Martin Jol paid the price but responsibility wider than that.
Head boy: Sascha Riether.
Bottom of the class: Bryan Ruiz.
Manager: Jol needed to be put out of his misery. Form improved under Rene Meulensteen but results hadn’t until Norwich win.
Must do better: Stop the basic errors. Get Brede Hangeland fit. And find a way of turning performances into points. Quickly.
Grade: D-

Hull City

Working towards: The chance to do it all over again next season, whatever the club is then named. Not easy amid growing acrimony.
Overall effort: If you’d asked Bruce in August and offered this position he’d have taken it. But it always gets harder for promoted sides after Christmas.
Head boy: Tom Huddlestone.

 Bottom of the class: Danny Graham.
Manager: Bruce has kept the tensions from damaging his squad. He knows the tough part starts now.
Must do better: Only one away win shows where Hull need to improve. But commitment and organisation is total.
Grade: B

Liverpool

Working towards : In an ideal world, that first title since 1990. Maybe more realistically a top four finish. Christmas is for dreaming, though.
Overall effort: Terrific from the start of the season. Coped without Suarez for opening month, coping without Gerrard and Sturridge now.
Head boy: Luis Suarez.
Bottom of the class: Jose Enrique.
Manager: Brendan Rodgers may feel he has exceeded reasonable expectations already. But the genie is out of the bottle now.
Must do better: Still prone to odd shockers, like Southampton and Hull. Every Kopite will have asked Santa to keep Suarez fit for the next five months.
Grade: A

Manchester City

Working towards: Being champions, pure and simple. Rivals are trying to turn up the heat but they are right - this is City’s title to lose.
Overall effort: Holistically, okay. Too many poor away days but that seems to have been fixed. At the Etihad, they are an unstoppable force.
Head boy: Sergio Aguero.

 Bottom of the class: Stevan Jovetic.
Manager: Manuel Pellegrini has delivered the attacking football Roberto Mancini could not. Now is the real examination.
Must do better: Just 11 points out of 27 on their travels tells its own story and could have slipped up at Fulham. Sort away form and it’s a cakewalk.
Grade: B+

Manchester United

Working towards: Officially, the title. Realistically, this season, the top four. Anything else would be a bitter blow, transition season or not.
Overall effort: The Fear Factor that was earned in the Fergie years has been allowed to dissipate too easily. Recent displays have been a boost for Moyes and his players.
Head boy: Wayne Rooney.
Bottom of the class: Marouane Fellaini.
Manager: David Moyes knew he faced the hardest task in football. Has kept his head when all about were losing theirs. But United are supposed to win.
Must do better: Vulnerabilities must be conquered, and swiftly. United lack that sense of destiny of the past. Once gone, it will take a long time to regain it.
Grade: C+

Newcastle United

Working towards: Europa League, now. Not that anyone would seriously have thought that in August. Shows how rapidly sights are recalibrated.
Overall effort: A team one, but Alan Pardew deserves real credit, especially given the potential craziness that seemed set to take over in the summer.
Head boy: Loic Remy.
Bottom of the class: Papiss Cisse.
Manager: Pardew has bounced back in great style after last season’s flirtation with the drop. Held his nerve over Yohan Cabaye, too.
Must do better: Cohesiveness between club and fans would help, as would the end of the needless spat with the Tyneside media. What matters, though, is results.
Grade: B+

Norwich City

Working towards: A third straight year in the top flight, for the first time since the early 90s. That would be a success.
Overall effort: A very mixed bag. Too many poor days but always seem to dig out a result when really needed.
Head boy: Gary Hooper.

 Bottom of the class: Ricky Van Wolfswinkel.
Manager: Chris Hughton’s “negative” approach has alienated some fans but he will point, with reason, to the table.
Must do better: More goals, for certain. A bit more creativity too. And no more of the palsied performances at City or Liverpool.
Grade: C+

Southampton

Working towards: Despite their impressive start, a top half finish and the continued development of a fantastic crop of home-grown talent.
Overall effort: Newton’s Law of Gravity has applied - what goes up, must come down. But Saints have still over-achieved massively.
Head boy: Adam Lallana.
Bottom of the class: Victor Wanyama.
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino has banished the doubters and made Southampton a pleasure to watch.
Must do better: Demonstrate the recentslump has been banished. Too many sloppy goals conceded in last six weeks.
Grade: B+

Stoke City

Working towards: Mid-table survival, allowing Mark Hughes time to see his footballing principles take root.
Overall effort: Not been easy at times and some negative comparisons with the Pulis era from supporters. They seemed to be easing before Newcastle debacle.
Head boy: Stephen Ireland.

             

 Bottom of the class: Kenwyne Jones.
Manager: Hughes knows what he wants to do. Peter Coates is a chairman who will give him time to do it.
Must do better: Show that words can be translated into deeds by ensuring Stoke are no longer a by-word for pragmatis but must tighten up.
Grade: C-

Sunderland

Working towards: Salvation, from any source. It’s been horrendous for most of the season with Paolo Di Canio’s bedlam bequest hard to banish.
Overall effort: Was there any? Not at the start, which left the Black Cats in a filthy mess. Getting out of it from here will be a huge feat despite Everton win.
Head boy: John O’Shea.
Bottom of the class: Adilson Cabral.
Manager: Gus Poyet inherited a car crash of a club. Shame that they are still bumping into things.
Must do better: Stopping the own goals and silly red cards would help. But it needs more than that. A lot more.
Grade: E+

Swansea City

Working towards: Last season, if honest. Inconsistency and European demands have bedevilled the Swans although they start in a healthy place.
Overall effort: Like the curate’s egg, good in parts. At times they have looked great. On other occasions, very ordinary.
Head boy: Wilfried Bony.
Bottom of the class: Michu.
Manager: Michael Laudrup’s stock remains high but the summer turmoil was a disruptive distraction.
Must do better: A few more bodies would help but Laudrup knows he has to play better in the League. Michu needs to recapture his fitness and goal threat.
Grade: C-

Tottenham Hotspur

Working towards: A top four spot, which, despite themselves, is still possible. The table never lies. Even if you think it does.
Overall effort: Not good enough. The loss of Gareth Bale was always going to take its toll but the new boys let down themselves and the manager.
Head boy: Kyle Walker.
Bottom of the class: Roberto Soldado.
Manager: Andre Villas-Boas’ inflexibility proved his downfall. Contract or not, Tim Sherwood looks like a temporary plaster over the wounds.
Must do better: More courage when the going gets tough. No more pitiful collapses. And a few more goals.
Grade: C-

West Bromwich Albion

Working towards: A mid-table finish, even if the board thinks otherwise. Internal expectations have overtaken realities.
Overall effort: Impact of that last-gasp penalty at Chelsea was greater than anyone could’ve imagined. But the Baggies have rediscovered stability.
Head boy: Youssouf Mulumbu.
Bottom of the class: Nicolas Anelka.
Manager: Steve Clarke’s sacking seemed mystifying from the outside. Failure to recruit replacement underlines that view.
Must do better: Stop the moping and get on with it. Summer signings need to bring more to the party. Berahino a plus.
Grade: C-

West Ham United

Working towards: Being a top flight club when they move to the Olympic Stadium. Nothing else matters.
Overall effort: Apart from games with Spurs, miserable. The Upton Park fans are starting to turn and even Sam Allardyce accepts their right to do so.
Head boy: Ravel Morrison.
Bottom of the class: Mladen Petric.
Manager: Allardyce’s switch to no strikers should have been a gimmick, not a tactic. He has to get a proper front man in.
Must do better: Pretty much everything. The Hammers are locked in a dance with death. Unless they score more, they will face the ultimate fate.
Grade: D-