At last, after almost a whole month of no top-class football on TV, the premiership season arrives to save us all! With Chelsea continuing to spend as if there is no tomorrow, with their signings of Ballack and Shevchenko, the season could well be over before it starts, but with Liverpool snapping up virtually anyone, and Arsenal making the shrewd signing of Rosicky, it may not be that one-sided. Here are my views on each teams chances in the coming season.
Arsenal
Retaining the services of Thierry Henry could be a very good move, with Rosicky providing excellent service (along with a cracking shot), and with young players like Fabregas and Van Persie constantly improving, they could have a chance of winning the league, and I’m sure Arsene would like to go one step better in the Champions League.
Aston Villa
IMO, Villa have had probably the worst build up out of any side in the premiership, however, the recent acquisition of Martin O’Neill as manager could prove vital, although with the takeover talks still being decided, money to make changes may arrive to late for the August transfer window.
Blackburn Rovers
Securing UEFA Cup football last year was an excellent result for Mark Hughes’ team, however selling Craig Bellamy to Liverpool may not have been such a good decision, but with the signing of South African striker Benni McCarthy they have signed one of Africa’s leading marksmen.
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton’s key problem currently is in the strikeforce department, and currently they are yet to have signed anyone to improve their chances infront of goal. Holding on to big Sam was important for them, and he will be hoping to continue his good work.
Charlton Athletic
As much as Simon Jordan will protest, Charlton begin a new era under Iain Dowie this season, and he’s been busy signing several players, including Ireland international Andy Reid, who struggled at Spurs (IMO he was a big podgy), and Amady Fae from Newcastle. Securing the signature of Darren Bent is key, and in a new era Charlton will be hoping their usual end-of-season slump will be a thing of the past.
Chelsea
Judging by Chelsea’s continuing signings over the summer, yet again they are going to be the team to beat, capturing Ballack on a free (albeit with a rather hefty pay-cheque) and Shevchenko for over £30m could add to the team something they have been missing. Selling Duff to Newcastle shows a shift in the teams emphasis in wing play, although looking at their performance in the Community Shield, Shevchenko & Drogba need to work together a bit more
Everton
Securing the services of Andy Johnson could prove a very good signing for Everton, and with James Beattie they have an all English strike pairing (you don’t see that very often eh). With Nigel Martyn retiring, and Richard Wright in a constant state of injury, they have signed Tim Howard from Manchester United on a season-long loan. Fans will be hoping their defence is of a better standard this year, particularly IMO Joesph Yobo who seems to make too many mistakes at times.
Fulham
Fulham will be hoping to score more goals this year, however Chris Coleman has yet to add to his strikeforce, however with the signing of Jimmy Bullard from Wigan, and Franck Queudrue from Middlesbrough they added some interesting players. Personally, I don’t rate their chances much, and I fear they may be relegated.
Liverpool
As I write this Liverpool are in the process of signing yet ANOTHER player, Dirk Kuyt from Feyenoord. Rafa is definitely making a push for it this season, adding Pennant, Bellamy and Gonzales to an attack already containing Luis Garcia and Stevie G, and after beating Chelsea (again) in the Community Shield they could have the makings to take a long awaited Premiership title. That said, if they lose 4-1 at home to Chelsea this season Rafa may have to look again at how he plays the champions in the league.
Manchester City
Stuart Pearce has strengthened City’s defence over the summer, bringing in Andreas Isaakson, the Swedish international keeper, and Micah Richards is constantly improving as he matures. Paul Dickov adds to the options upfront, with Andrew Cole still scoring plenty, and Darius Vassell providing a constant threat.
Manchester United
Selling Ruud Van Nistelrooy could scupper United’s chances of taking any silverware this season, although they have strengthened their midfield with Carrick and quite possibly Owen Hargreaves, I can’t see them scoring that many currently, and they are likely to be left relying on Wayne Rooney too much.
Middlesbrough
With McClaren off to manage England, ‘boro chairman Steve Gibson made a very bold move to make untested Gareth Southgate manager, and I’m not too sure whether it was a good decision. Sylvain Distin is believed to be on his way to the Riverside, but I think they may rely too much on Yakubu to get the goals, and be left in the lower half of the table.
Newcastle United
Managing to persuade the FA to enable Glenn Roeder to stay on will please the toon army, as he has pushed them on into the UEFA Cup after a disastrous start to the season under Graeme Souness. However, losing Michael Owen to his freak knee injury in the world cup could cause them problems especially with Kuyt likely to join Liverpool, leaving them to rely on Ameobi and Luque. That said, the signing of Damien Duff (at a bargain £5m) was fantastic, and I think they could scrape a UEFA Cup spot again, but they still need to find a proper goal-scorer from somewhere.
Portsmouth
After Harry Redknapp’s remarkable turnaround at Fratton Park last year was amazing, whether they can avoid the drop this year will depend on whether the signings of Sol Campbell & David James can strengthen their defence. The signing of Kanu yesterday could be important, although whilst at WBA he wasn’t particularly sparkling, and pairing with one of LuaLua and Mwaruawari, who aren’t the most prolific of strikers, could be interesting. I think they are likely to avoid relegation, but struggle and finish in the lower half of the table.
Reading
After romping away with the Championship title last year, Steve Coppell will be looking to emulate what Wigan and West Ham did last year, and avoid any relegation worries in mid-table. They may have quality goalscorers, in Leroy Lita, Dave Kitson & Kevin Doyle, but I’m not sure there defence will be able to hold out against world-class strikers such as Henry and Shevchenko, and I think they too will finish in the lower half of the table, but are likely to avoid relegation.
Sheffield United
After 12 years in Division One, the blades are back, and I’m quite sure Neil Warnock will provide plenty of entertainment in the coming season. Whether his team will is a different question, after signing as many strikers as possible last year, I don’t really think any of them have any real chance of scoring, and defensively I think they are relatively weak. I can’t see them avoiding relegation I’m afraid.
Tottenham Hotspur
Narrowly missing out on a Champions League shows the progress Martin Jol has made with Spurs, signing Dimitar Berbatov should add to their goalscoring, although losing Carrick to Manchester United could affect their midfield. I think that with the squad Spurs have, a place in the UEFA Cup should be achieved, and with a bit more effort a Champions League place could be theirs.
Watford
Gaining promotion was a fantastic achievement for Adie Bothroyd’s side, but I don’t think they will be able to avoid relegation this year. They have a relatively weak defence, and with very little money to spend I can see them finishing bottom of the league.
West Ham United
West Ham’s young squad still have room to improve, and with Rob Green joining (once he’s recovered from his excruciating groin injury) they have added a quality young keeper, although losing Dean Ashton for the foreseeable future is a big blow. I think they will be able to do at least as well as last year, and maybe go one better in the FA Cup.
Wigan Athletic
I don’t think Wigan will do as well as they did last year, with Jason Roberts and Jimmy Bullard already leaving, and with everyone’s favourite donkey Emile Heskey joining the club. With loan keeper Chris Kirkland finally getting his first England cap they have a quality keeper, but I don’t see them finishing as high up, possibly just scraping a top half finish.
This week sees some lovely midweek premership matches, with Chelsea facing a rather tough tie at Bolton the best of the weeks fixtures. With Bolton beating Arsenal at the weekend, a now regular occurrence when the Gunners goto the Reebok, the Trotters will be looking forward to this match, while Chelsea will be hoping for 3 points to aid their chase of Man Utd. Bolton are 3rd in the table, but Chelsea have an 8 point gap above them, and I don’t think they will slip up here. My Prediction: 2-1 Chelsea.