6-0, 6-0, 6-0.

It reads like the result of a first round match at Wimbledon where Roger Federer has decided to get nasty with some hapless qualifier.

Instead it's the score line from three of the games from the second round of the English Premier League in England, where the gap between football's haves and have not's grows wider each season.

It would seem title holders Chelsea won't settle for anything less than a half dozen goals lately. Not content with Walloping Wigan Athletic in the final round last season by scoring eight goals before the champagne corks were popped for the title celebrations, they went back for seconds last weekend and put another six past The Latics.

The week prior it was West Bromwich Albion's turn to be mauled at Stamford Bridge on their return to the big time as Ancelloti's men hit them for six.

Looking at the weekend's other results you could be forgiven for thinking that English top flight defences are as leaky as Julia Gillard's election campaign.

Arsenal tore apart 10-man Blackpool with six goals of their own. On their return to the Premier League Newcastle United enjoyed serving Aston Villa with six more.

Whilst the free scoring is great for the TV highlights packages it does reinforce the strident criticism of The League (as expressed here at BPL by our own Ed Wyatt) that it is little more than a trumped up snooze-athon with only a quartet of teams contending for the title whilst everyone else gets their turn to be the Washington Generals.

And don't be surprised if this weekend throws up its' first managerial casualty. Having conceded a whopping 18 goals in their last three league games, Wigan boss Roberto Martinez will have to shelve aspirations to play "Wengerball" and hang on for grim death as his team takes a trip to White Hart Lane to take on Tottenham Hotspur. Another tennis score line would see The Spaniard clearing out his locker at the DW Stadium.

For Roy Hodgson's Liverpool the trip to Eastland's midweek to take on Manchester City was a reality check. Having conceded a late equalizer to Arsenal on the opening day and having to settle for a draw, they were out muscled and played by Roberto Mancini's stable of football thoroughbreds 3-0.

Liverpool is without a win to start the campaign which makes this weekend's home clash with West Brom non-negotiable. Hodgson's team has to win or already it will be playing catch up in its quest to recapture its Champions League spot - something it considers its birthright.

For City, the inclusion of Ya Ya Toure and Dutch enforcer Nigel De Jong has given a squad rich on exuberance and talent extra muscle and power in midfield. City head to Sunderland this weekend and Steve Bruce has every reason to be worried. Manchester City look like Sky Blue Supermen at the moment and the only thing that looks capable of stopping them is the super egos in the locker room or those other blues camped in west London SW1W.

Closer to home the contrast couldn't be greater. The A-League is a competition where any team looks capable of knocking off any other. And the table makes for strange and intriguing viewing. Competition giants and last year's Grand Finalists Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC are winless and sharing the cellar with the new boys Melbourne Heart after three rounds.

Victory's failure to clinch all three points in that frantic and spiteful encounter with North Queensland Fury last weekend must have coach Ernie Merrick worried. Whilst Mate Dugandzic continues to develop and Carlos Hernandez showed signs of his best last week, Victory's finishing was woeful and will need to improve if they're to claim their first win of the season when they visit Gold Coast United this weekend.

For Sydney FC this week's match against the Central Coast Mariners can't come quickly enough.

Last week's loss to Ange Postecoglou's young and improving Brisbane Roar underscored just how important Alex Brosque and Mark Bridge are to any successful title defence. Without them, Sydney looks impotent. More worrying is the fact that last year's rock-solid defence on which their title success was built looks decidedly shaky. With Simon Colisomo and Clint Bolton having packed their bags for Melbourne, and defensive midfield enforcer Karol Kisel having returned to Slovakia, Sydney looks vulnerable at the back.

There's plenty to like about Franz Straka's "Green Machine" which is currently second on the A-League table. Big striker David Williams has been one of the early stars of this campaign and looks set for a breakout season. With Ugandan Isak Cernak providing bedrock in midfield and support from Chris Payne, Fury might defy all pre-season predictions and figure in this years' title battle.

A win at home this week against a resurgent Adelaide United would certainly add to their momentum. It'll be easier said than done though. The Reds were back to something like their best in their 3-2 triumph over Melbourne Heart last weekend at Hindmarsh. Young midfielders Iain Ramsay and Matthew Leckie played with pace and daring to score all three for United last Friday night. The return from injury of former Brisbane Roar striker Sergio van Dijk will make Adelaide an even more frightening attacking force on their trip to the tropics in what shapes as the match of the round.