Champions Manchester United have already won the first silverware of the season by beating rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield, but their main focus will still be maintaining their grip on the coveted League trophy.
City themselves have spent big once again, with Argentine striker Sergio Aguero joining for the best part of £40m from Athletico Madrid. Chelsea have a new manager in the young André Villas-Boas, and the pressure will be on the Portugese to emulate the success that a certain fellow countryman enjoyed at Stamford Bridge.
City themselves have spent big once again, with Argentine striker Sergio Aguero joining for the best part of £40m from Athletico Madrid. Chelsea have a new manager in the young André Villas-Boas, and the pressure will be on the Portugese to emulate the success that a certain fellow countryman enjoyed at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal look likely to lose Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, and a lack of big name signings will certainly have Gunners fans concerned that a top four place may begin to slip away from Arsene Wenger's men, let alone a potential title challenge.
The first Welsh team will compete in the English Premier League this season, and play-off winners Swansea City will be hoping that it will not just be a one off experience at this level. Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City both return to the top flight of English football, and for all three of the newly promoted teams survival will be the main aim in the coming campaign.
So, will there be a blue moon rising across Manchester, or will Ferguson prevail and maintain the red dominance. Maybe once again a Portugese maestro can capture the imagination in the capital, or can a club legend restore the long forgotten success down Anfield way. Some of the FWF Magazine writers look ahead to the new Premier League season, and give their predictions of how the teams will finish at the top and bottom of the table.
Manchester United will once again be the team to beat this season, and Alex Ferguson has been quick to strengthen this year, replacing veteran goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar with young Spanish stopper David de Gea. Teenager Phil Jones, signed from Blackburn Rovers, provides some depth in central defence, but this signing will probably be one for the future rather than a regular starter in the big games this season. Ashley Young, on the other hand, will provide a new dimension and more width to the team. Ferguson will be counting on the former Aston Villa winger's pace and tremendous delivery into the box to provide the likes of Rooney and Herndandez with plenty of chances in front of goal. If Wesley Sneijder joins then there is no doubt that United will be a formidable force, and will certainly be competing for the title once more.
Their main challengers should come in the shape of city rivals Manchester City, and long term competitors for the league title Chelsea. City's riches propelled them to the dizzy heights of the Champions League, and third place, last season, and with the resources available to them the aim for Roberto Mancini will certainly be to improve on that this time around – and I believe that they can, and will, do just that.
Chelsea will maybe require a more transitional period under new guidance, but their squad is experienced enough to succeed. I do anticipate, however, that it will the two Manchester teams who finish top of the pile in the new campaign, and I'm going to boldly predict that it will be the Sky Blues who pip the Reds for the title come next May.
Their main challengers should come in the shape of city rivals Manchester City, and long term competitors for the league title Chelsea. City's riches propelled them to the dizzy heights of the Champions League, and third place, last season, and with the resources available to them the aim for Roberto Mancini will certainly be to improve on that this time around – and I believe that they can, and will, do just that.
Chelsea will maybe require a more transitional period under new guidance, but their squad is experienced enough to succeed. I do anticipate, however, that it will the two Manchester teams who finish top of the pile in the new campaign, and I'm going to boldly predict that it will be the Sky Blues who pip the Reds for the title come next May.
Liverpool have invested a lot of money in their team under Kenny Dalglish, and will certainly aim to push back into the top four. Their squad looks strong, even if it maybe lacks many genuine stars, other than Steven Gerrard and possibly Luis Suarez. A weakened Arsenal side should be there for the taking though, and unless major signings are brought in by Wenger I can see Liverpool snatching fourth place and the remaining Champions League spot from the Gunners' grasp.
At the other end of the table the favourites for relegation will usually consist of the promoted teams from the Championship, plus one or two sides who have flirted with the drop in recent years, and I can't see this season being much different. I expect Swansea in particular to struggle, as their attacking and expansive style could see them being extremely vulnerable against higher quality Premier League sides – similar to the plight of Blackpool last year. It's difficult to see who else will join them, although on paper Norwich don't possess a great team, they have the potential to grind out results and Paul Lambert has instilled a fantastic team spirit at Carrow Road. Wigan have lost some key players and haven't yet signed many replacements, so this could well be the year that the Latics bow out of Premier League football.
Overall it promises to be another fantastic season, with both Manchester clubs looking strong and Liverpool on the up. Hopefully there can also be a few surprise packages thrown in for good measure, and plenty of goals and entertainment to keep the punters happy!
Predictions:
Winners: Manchester City
Runners up: Manchester United
Third: Chelsea
Fourth: Liverpool
Fifth: Arsenal
Relegated: Norwich, Wigan, Swansea
The Premier League will be entering its twentieth season this weekend, and it is certainly shaping up to be an interesting one.
Champions Manchester United strengthened significantly in the close season with the addition of Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea. With United legends Paul Scholes and Edwin Van Der Sar both retiring, it seems that Sir Alex is once again assembling a side capable of competing for trophies on all fronts.
But the champions are not the only team who have had a major overhaul of players, with Liverpool spending large amounts on British talent this season. The Reds have brought in no fewer than three midfielders, in the form of Charlie Adams, Stuart Downing and Jordan Henderson, for the sum total of £44m. Manager Kenny Dalglish will be looking to improve on last season’s disappointing sixth placed position and break into the top four.
Manchester United’s ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City have also strengthened in search of their first top flight domestic title since 1968. They have strengthened with the signing of experienced left back Gael Clichy from Arsenal, and also broke the UK transfer record to snare Argentinian striker Sergio ‘kun’ Aguero for a staggering £38m. With rumours of last season's top scorer Carlos Tevez on his way out of the Etihad Stadium, Aguero looks like a ready-made replacement following an impressive Copa America.
Arsenal went into the close season with another transfer dilemma on the cards, with club captain Cesc Fabregas eager to move to his home team of Barcelona. This deal seems likely, with recent reports indicating that a fee between the two clubs has now been agreed. But the Gunners have made some purchases of their own this season, with Ivorian striker Gervinho and young Englishman Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain arriving at the Emirates.
Chelsea go into this season with a new manager, in the form of Andre Villas-Boas - the eighth manager of the Abramovich era. The rookie coach comes to Chelsea after just 18 months managerial experience, but in his first full season as a manager he lead his Porto side to an unprecedented domestic treble, leading to much of the press dubbing him the new Jose Mourinho. Chelsea have been pretty quiet on the transfer front, although they appear to have completed the signing of striker Romelu Lukaku - who has been touted as the new Didier Drogba – from Belgian side Anderlecht. The Blues are also rumoured to be in the market for a playmaker, with Tottenham’s Luka Modric the number one target.
Other noticeable movers in the transfer window include Sunderland, who have brought in a number of players including exciting young English striker Connor Wickham and Manchester United utility man John O’Shea. West Bromwich Albion have also bought well in the close season, in the form of English keeper Ben Foster and proven Premier League quality in Fulham’s Zoltan Gera.
I think that Manchester United will again be crowned champions come next May. Sir Alex has bought fantastically well this season with three good quality young players, who will bolster the side along with Tom Cleverly and Danny Wellbeck, who were out on loan last season. All of these players have drastically lowered the average age of the team. Man City have a lot of quality in their squad, but I think it will be a hard job for Roberto Mancini to balance all of their individual egos. Don’t be surprised if he is sacked at some point this season. Despite the probable loss of captain Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal will maintain top four status this season with a tilt at the League Cup, and I expect new signing Gervinho to shine. Chelsea will complete the big four with a so-so campaign, but I predict a strong run in the FA Cup. Liverpool will find it hard to gel all of those midfield players, and will ultimately fail to make the top four.
In the relegation zone I see Blackburn, Wigan and Swansea going down to the Championship. None of these clubs have significantly strengthened in the summer and have all lost key players to Premiership rivals.
Predictions:
Champions: Manchester United
Runners up: Manchester City
Third: Arsenal
Fourth:Chelsea
Fifth: Liverpool
Relegated: Blackburn, Wigan, Swansea
Simeon Goldstraw
This Premier League season promises to be one of the most intriguing to date. We have three promoted clubs with little experience and a gulf in finance compared with many fellow top flight sides, and a title race that seems to be evolving into a battle of financial clout.
In that case then, it should be Manchester City who are firm favourites? Not necessarily. Manchester United and Liverpool have been digging deep into their pockets to counteract the Mancini spending spree. Meanwhile Arsenal have been typically quiet, spending most of their summer persuading existing players to stay, something that is becoming increasingly difficult when competing with the astronomical wages on offer elsewhere. Tottenham Hotspur have been surprisingly quiet in the transfer window thus far.
United have already spent over £50m recruiting talent, including Ashley Young and Phil Jones, a message that they’re keen to hold depth in different areas of the pitch, and prepared to spend money for it - a sign of intent on Sir Alex Ferguson’s part. Manchester City had been linked with both Jones and Young, in addition to Wesley Sneijder, who Manchester United are apparently closing in on. The Dutchman could give them the skill they need to retain their winning mentality, and to build on last year’s success and defend the title.
In my opinion, other than Man Utd, only Chelsea and Man City are genuine title contenders. In former Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas Chelsea have a manager who can speak English without taking lessons, the first time that has happened since Gus Hiddink. If you exclude the Dutchman, their last full-time manager to speak English when he joined the club was Jose Mourinho, who also happened to join Chelsea from Porto. A good omen maybe? Well, Villas-Boas has certainly taken a different approach to Mourinho - who spent and spent and spent in his first season at Chelsea. It paid off too, as when Mourinho took charge Chelsea did not have a title winning squad, but they certainly do now.
It would appear that Villas-Boas has addressed the ageing striker issue by signing Romelu Lukaku from Anderlecht, a deal that is apparently almost complete. Now Chelsea can boast three decent strikers under the age of 30 in Daniel Sturridge, Fernando Torres, and Lukaku. In fact, the biggest job Villas-Boas has on his hands is defending himself against the inevitable uprising that the senior Chelsea squad members are likely to cause when things aren’t going their way.
Scolari and Ancelloti suffered levels of disrespect from the Chelsea first team that Mourinho would have thrown players out of the door for, no matter what their importance. If Villas-Boas can gain, and maintain, control of the Chelsea dressing room, he could become a success at Stamford Bridge.
It would appear that Villas-Boas has addressed the ageing striker issue by signing Romelu Lukaku from Anderlecht, a deal that is apparently almost complete. Now Chelsea can boast three decent strikers under the age of 30 in Daniel Sturridge, Fernando Torres, and Lukaku. In fact, the biggest job Villas-Boas has on his hands is defending himself against the inevitable uprising that the senior Chelsea squad members are likely to cause when things aren’t going their way.
Scolari and Ancelloti suffered levels of disrespect from the Chelsea first team that Mourinho would have thrown players out of the door for, no matter what their importance. If Villas-Boas can gain, and maintain, control of the Chelsea dressing room, he could become a success at Stamford Bridge.
Man City completed the signing of Sergio Aguero, which probably just pushes Tevez further out of a door he didn’t just open, but knocked down himself. However, the realistic fact is that Tevez couldn’t win a title for Man City, Aguero couldn’t win one for Athletico Madrid, and Gaël Clichy, their other big name signing, couldn’t win one for Arsenal. But this Man City team has a stable manager under its belt, and now an FA Cup trophy for good measure. You certainly wouldn’t bet against them repeating that achievement, along with a
Champions League quarter finals appearance, this campaign. But they just don’t have the experience, or the leadership, to see out a title when the going gets tough.
Which leaves us with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. Liverpool could be there or thereabouts for large parts this season, as they’ve spent money and have a manager whose past successes are incontrovertible. But with Carroll and Henderson yet to reach their peak, and Gerrard and Carragher the wrong side of 30, you get the feeling a title would be optimistic.
I feel the same about Arsenal, if Fabregas and Nasri leave then they probably won’t even be fighting for the Champions League places. Even with their two little playmakers, Arsenal looked devoid of a winning mentality last season, which is the same problem that Arsene Wenger has failed to address time and time again – in addition to a lack of quality in the goalkeeping department and in central defence.
If we see Nasri’s move to Manchester cancelled, and Fabregas’ plane to Barcelona terminated, in addition to two mysterious goalkeeping and defensive heroes arriving at the Emirates, then who knows, maybe this is Arsenal’s year.
Tottenham may also be lucky to finish in the Champions League places this season. There is a mini-exodus from White Hart Lane, Modric appears intent on a move to Chelsea and players such as Crouch and Palacios are also set to leave. The deals are still in Tottenham's hands, but that strength and depth, and that team togetherness, that Redknapp has worked so hard to install and develop seems to have been undermined. Unless we see a Bale special, in terms of the Welshman avoiding injury, or unless Defoe can recapture his past goalscoring form, Tottenham probably won’t have a look in.
Predictions:
Champions: Manchester United
Runners up: Man City
Third: Chelsea
Fourth: Liverpool
Fifth: Tottenham
Relegated: Swansea, QPR, Blackburn
Winners –Manchester United
If David de Gea can resemble Edwin Van Der Sar more than Fabien Barthez this coming season then Manchester United will win the league. Much has been made about replacing Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, but the trio hardly made an impact last season and United still won the league. Having a reliable goalkeeper is essential, especially if United want business to remain as usual at the top.
Adding Ashley Young to the team will make them stronger, and if Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez can continue their successful partnership up front, then title number twenty will be heading to Old Trafford next Summer.
Manchester City will be Man United's closest rivals after strengthening yet again in the summer. However, similarly to United, they lack creativity in central midfield, and goals will be hard to come by with Carlos Tevez looking for an exit. Sergio Aquero is untested in the Premier League, while Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko have yet to prove the doubters wrong. Chelsea and Liverpool are in transitional periods this season, with Chelsea signing young players to integrate into their veteran team and Liverpool having signed an entirely new starting eleven since the turn of the year. Both the Reds and the Blues will qualify for the Champions league and seriously challenge for the league title next season.
Arsenal will ultimately fall short this season and end up out of the top four for the first time this millennium. Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas are finalising moves away, plus the gunners desperately need two centre halves that can defend, a left back to cover the injury prone Kieran Gibbs and a world class goalkeeper to keep the ball out the net. Signing Gervinho takes some of the goal scoring burden away from Robin Van Persie, plus Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain will provide width on the left. But their defence has been a problem for a long time, and it's a problem that doesn't look like it will be solved any time soon. They may give Liverpool a run for their money for a period of time, but will ultimately end up finishing fifth.
For relegation I just went for what are, in my opinion, the three weakest teams in the Premier League this season, in Blackburn,Wigan and Queens Park Rangers. Blackburn would have been relegated last year if Steve Kean had been in charge for the whole season. His lack of managerial experience, coupled with an ageing squad, struggled for goals and creativity last time around. Their biggest strength was their defence, but Phil Jones has been sold, while Christopher Samba is needed elsewhere. Rovers' new signings have no Premier League experience between them, and in my view the Ewood Park outfit will go down.
Wigan surviving last season was a miracle, they climbed out of the relegation zone in the final weeks of the season after spending most of the campaign close to the foot of the table. Staying up was mainly down to manager Roberto Martinez and his never say die attitude, coupled with the goals from midfield from Charles N’Zogbia. But the Frenchman has since been sold to Aston Villa, and their only major signing thus far has been goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi, whose loan deal from Bolton has been made permanent. This means the miracle won’t strike twice and the Latics will almost certainly be relegated.
QPR are one of the top five richest clubs in the Premier League, despite only being promoted this season, but the expected spending spree hasn’t happened. Only £1.5m has been spent on transfers so far, and all of those signings having come from the Championship. Keeping Adel Taarabt was a necessity, but the squad has very little Premier League experience between them and they will probably join Wigan in the Championship next season.
Finally, I just wanted to add that I think Wolves will surprise a few people this season, with everyone else not already mentioned fighting it out in a very close relegation contest.
Predictions:
Champions: Manchester United
Runners up: Manchester City
Third: Chelsea
Fourth: Liverpool
Fifth: Arsenal
Relegated: Blackburn, Wigan, QPR
PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFERS SO FAR
ARSENAL
Players in: Gervinho (Lille) , Carl Jenkinson (Charlton) , Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton)
Players out: Gael Clichy (Man City), Denilson (Sao Paulo) Loan, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich) , Mark Randall (Chesterfield), Roarie Deacon (Sunderland), Wellington (Levante) Loan, Kyle Bartley (Rangers) Loan
ASTON VILLA
Players in: Shay Given (Manchester City), Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa)
Players out: Ashley Young (Manchester United), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Brad Friedel (Tottenham)
BLACKBURN
Players in: David Goodwillie (Dundee United), Myles Anderson (Aberdeen), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade)
Players out: Phil Jones (Man Utd), Frank Fielding (Derby), Jake Kean (Rochdale) Loan, Michael Potts (York), Zurab Khizanishvili (Kayserispor)
BOLTON WANDERERS
Players in: Darren Pratley (free agent), Nigel Reo-Coker (free agent), Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears (both Burnley)
Players out: Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan), Matt Taylor (West Ham), Danny Ward (Huddersfield), Joey O'Brien (West Ham)
CHELSEA
Players in: Oriol Romeu (Barcelona), Thibaut Courtois (Genk), Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo)
Players out: Yury Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala), Michael Mancienne (Hamburg), Jack Cork (Southampton), Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid) Loan, Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg) Loan, Fabio Borini (Parma), Sam Walker (Northampton) Loan.
EVERTON:
Players in: Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon) Loan
Players out: James Vaughan (Norwich)
FULHAM:
Players in: John Arne Riise (Roma), Pajtim Kasami (Palermo), Marcel Gecov (Slovan Liberec), Dan Burn (Darlington), Csaba Somogyi (free agent)
Players out: Jonathan Greening (Nottingham Forest), David Stockdale (Ipswich) Loan, Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace)
LIVERPOOL:
Players in: Stewart Downing (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland), Charlie Adam (Blackpool), Doni (Roma)
Players out: Paul Konchesky (Leicester), Milan Jovanovic (Anderlecht), Gerardo Bruna (Blackpool), Martin Hansen (Bradford) Loan, Stephen Darby (Rochdale) Loan, Tom Ince (Blackpool)
MANCHESTER CITY:
Players in: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade), Costel Pantilimon (Poli Timisoara)
Players out: Shay Given (Aston Villa), Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Jo (Internacional), Michael Johnson (Leicester) Loan, Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Loan, Ben Mee (Burnley) Loan, Donal McDermott (Bournemouth) Loan, Andrew Tutte (Rochdale) Loan, Scott Kay (Macclesfield) Loan,
MANCHESTER UNITED:
Players in: Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers), David de Gea (Atletico Madrid)
Players out: John O'Shea (Sunderland), Wes Brown (Sunderland), Bebe (Besiktas) Loan, Ritchie de Laet (Norwich) Loan, Corry Evans (Hull) Loan, Robert Brady (Hull) Loan, Ryan Tunnicliffe (Peterborough) Loan, Scott Wootton (Peterborough) Loan, Nicky Ajose (Peterborough)
NEWCASTLE UNITED:
Players in: Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes), Demba Ba (West Ham), Mehdi Abeid (Lens), Gabriel Obertan (Manchester United)
Players out: Kevin Nolan (West Ham), Wayne Routledge (Swansea), Kazenga LuaLua (Brighton) Loan, Daniel Leadbitter (Torquay), Michael Richardson (Leyton Orient) Loan, Ben Tozer (Northampton), Patrick McLaughlin (York)
NORWICH CITY:
Players in: James Vaughan (Everton), Steve Morison (Millwall), Bradley Johnson (Leeds) Free, Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield), Ritchie de Laet (Manchester United) Loan, Elliott Bennett (Brighton), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham) Loan
Players out: Jed Steer (Yeovil) Loan, Luke Daley (Plymouth), Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness Caledonian Thistle)
QPR:
Players in: DJ Campbell (Blackpool), Kieron Dyer (free agent), Danny Gabbidon (free agent), Jay Bothroyd (free agent), Bruno Perone (free agent)
Players out: Mikele Leigertwood (Reading), Peter Ramage (Crystal Palace) Loan, Lee Brown (Bristol Rovers), Angelo Balanta (MK Dons) Loan, Joe Oastler (Torquay), Max Ehmer (Yeovil) Loan
STOKE CITY:
Players in: Jonathan Woodgate (free agent)
Players out: Abdoulaye Faye (West Ham), Matthew Lund (Oldham) Loan, Carl Dickinson (Watford), Andrew Davies (Crystal Palace) Loan
SUNDERLAND:
Players in: Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPI) , Conor Wickham (Ipswich), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham), Kieran Westwood (Coventry), Ji Dong-won (Chunnam Dragons), Craig Gardner (Birmingham), David Vaughan (free agent), Wes Brown (Manchester United), John O'Shea (Manchester United), Roarie Deacon (Arsenal)
Players out: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor) Loan, Steed Malbranque (St Etienne) Jean Yves Mvoto (Oldham), Nathan Luscombe (Hartlepool), Robbie Weir (Tranmere), Michael Kay (Tranmere), Liam Noble (Carlisle) Loan
SWANSEA:
Players in: Danny Graham (Watford), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht), Jose Moreira (Benfica), Wayne Routledge (Newcastle), Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough), Steven Caulker (Tottenham) Loan
Players out: Dorus de Vries (Wolves), Darren Pratley (Bolton)
TOTTENHAM:
Players in: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa), Soleymane Coulibaly (Siena), Cristian Ceballos (Barcelona)
Players out: Jamie O'Hara (Wolves), Bongani Khumalo (Reading) Loan, Nathan Byrne (Bournemouth) Loan, Ryan Mason (Doncaster) Loan, Kyle Naughton (Norwich) Loan, Stephen Caulker (Swansea) Loan.
WEST BROM:
Players in: Zoltan Gera (free agent), Ben Foster (Birmingham) Loan, Billy Jones (free agent), Gareth McAuley (Ipswich), Marton Fulop (Ipswich).
Players out: Boaz Myhill (Birmingham) Loan, Scott Carson (Bursaspor) Borja Valero (Villarreal), Chris Wood (Birmingham) Loan
WIGAN:
Players in: Dave Jones (free agent), Ali Al-Habsi (Bolton)
Players out: Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa), Antonio Amaya (Real Betis), Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes) Loan
WOLVES:
Players in: Jamie O'Hara (Wolves), Dorus de Vries (Swansea), Roger Johnson (Birmingham)
Players out: Greg Halford (Portsmouth), Scott Malone (Bournemouth) Loan, Carl Ikeme (Middlesbrough) Loan, Danny Batth (Sheffield Wednesday) Loan, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Sheffield United) Loan
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