Mark Chapman column: Can the chasing pack catch the top four?

"Can they get to the next level?"

"Can this player take them to the next level?"

"Are they ready to move to the next level or have they reached their limit?"

I have asked those questions a lot over the weekend which, as well as demonstrating a lack of originality on my part, also shows what all fans are looking for from the new season. Yes, we want new signings. Yes, we want a new kit that sticks to our traditions (stripes are stripes, hoops are hoops and don't change the home colour, p*ss about with the 3rd strip if you must) and yes we want owners who won't shaft us. But most of all we want progress. We want this season to be better than the last. Jerry Seinfeld talks about there being four levels of comedy: Make your friends laugh, make strangers laugh, get paid to make strangers laugh, make people talk like you because it's so much fun. There are equally four levels in the Premier League: Hoping to win the title, hoping to squeeze into the top four, hoping for a top 10 finish and hoping to stay up. The difference between comedy and the Premier League is that you can see the line of progression in comedy. But can you really see a line of progression in top-flight football? Can anyone ever go from hoping to stay up to hoping to win the title? That's not to say that you can't progress. Stoke, Southampton, Swansea and Crystal Palace fans are probably on the verge of screaming 'he knows nothing' right now. All are well-run clubs, with very good managers who use the market brilliantly. But, to bring it back to my often asked questions - can they go to the next level? The depressing way of looking at it would be that the signings of Yohan Cabaye, Ibrahim Afellay and Andre Ayew will allow the clubs to do nothing more than stand still; to finish in the top half and not be dragged into a relegation battle. The glass half full way of looking at it - which my naturally sunny demeanour prefers - is that these signings might just close the gap. The title contenders appear obsessed with buying big names at big prices using the same big agents while at the same time continually failing to tempt Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona into selling players they don't want to lose. By doing that, have they missed out on some of the above players? Have they missed out on opening weekend stars Georginio Wijnaldum and Dimitri Payet, and the likes of Gerard Deulofeu as well? If you want the league to be a surprise, you have to hope so. If you want bright young managers to progress instead of hitting the glass ceiling of seventh place, you have to hope so. And if you want me to not ask the same questions over the next nine months you definitely have to hope so.