Something is happening. Something weird. Something that suggests that some level of social mobility still exists in European football.

Hull City, a newly promoted side, have been drawing praise for briefly rising to fourth place – they are in sixth position only on goal difference at the moment – in the Barclays Premier League, but they are not an isolated phenomenon. A quick glance around the Continent reveals that 2008-09 may be shaping up as the year of the underdog.

Hoffenheim, the Bundesliga newcomers, sit atop the German table. Udinese and Napoli, a club who were in Serie B only two years ago, are second and fourth, respectively, in Serie A.

Toulouse, a side who avoided relegation only on the last day of the season last year, lie in fourth place in France and Grenoble, newly promoted to Ligue 1, are eighth also only on goal difference.

In Russia, Rubin Kazan have won their first league title, holding a ten-point lead over CSKA Moscow, who are in second, with three games to go. Last season, Kazan finished tenth. In the Netherlands, the league leaders are AZ Alkmaar, who have vaulted from an eleventh-placed finish last season in the Eredivisie.

Or how about Ergotelis, who, last May, came within a point of relegation? They are sixth in the Greek Super League.

Leixões, another side who narrowly avoided relegation last season, are top of the Portuguese league, but could be usurped tonight by Nacional, hardly a perennial powerhouse, as demonstrated by their tenth-place finish in 2007-08. North of the border, Kilmarnock offer a similar tale in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League – they finished second bottom last year and are fourth only on goal difference.

Indeed, La Liga seems to be the only significant European league that is not serving up a dramatic turnaround or Disneyesque underdog tale. And the absence of a surprise package may be a surprise in itself.

The temptation is to look at all this and suggest some kind of broader trend. After all, there must be a unifying thread linking all these tales of overachievement. In fact, there isn’t. Some clubs have had injections of money to varying degrees, some have not. Some have managers who have built success over time, others are propelled by newcomers. Some have revolutionised their side, with a dozen summer signings, others have kept things relatively intact. Some have been distinctly lucky with their recent results, others have not, if anything, they deserve to be farther up the table.

Can we chalk all this up to the randomness of football results? Maybe we can, and maybe we should. Because all too often, when looking at the game, we force ourselves to look for reasons why things happen.

Team A win because they have a very good manager. Team B win because they spend a lot of money. Team C win because they pay off referees. And so on.

But sometimes things just happen at random. Sometimes they happen because – contrary to what transfer fees and wage packets tell us – the difference between superstars and average top-flight players is not that big. Sometimes they happen because football is a low-scoring game in which individual episodes are disproportionately important.

And sometimes things happen because the ball is round, not square.

And another thing...

Maradona puts reputation on the line with new role

Diego Maradona’s investiture as Argentina coach was quickly placed in the “shock appointment” category (one BBC listener likened it to Gary Neville becoming manager of Liverpool). But why should it be a shock?

Is it a lack of credentials? He has virtually no coaching experience, but neither did Franz Beckenbauer, who took over as the West Germany coach in 1984, nor Michel Platini, who became France coach in 1988, nor Jürgen Klinsmann, at the helm of Germany in 2004.

Is it his outspoken nature? That did not seem to be a problem for Luis Aragonés, who led Spain to Euro 2008, or Johan Cruyff, the architect of the Barcelona “dream team”, or even a certain José Mourinho.

Is it that he used cocaine? Well, the man who is likely to be elected President of the United States in less than 48 hours also did his share of cocaine many years ago.

Personally, what I find shocking – but in a positive way – is that it would be far easier for Maradona to stay on the sidelines and bask in his legendary status.

By taking this job, he is putting his reputation on the line, he is opening himself up for criticism, he is entering the line of fire. And, whatever else you think of him, that takes guts.

River in sea of problems

For all the smaller clubs overachieving, there are, naturally, big clubs on the slide. None more so perhaps than River Plate, who are bottom in the Argentine league and have gone 11 matches without a win. That defies conventional wisdom, not least because Diego Simeone, the club’s bright and worldly coach, led River to the title last June.