Who will shine this coming season and who will suffer

Article by Tibbolini

With the new season just weeks away, the premier league clubs have by now taken steps to strengthen their teams for the campaign ahead. But who will shine and who will falter in the coming season? This looks to be one of the most exciting and close fought premier league titles for years, as well as the relegation battle seeming to get tighter and tighter every year. So what is going to happen next season?

Title Contenders

Obviously the proclaimed ‘Big 4’ will be seen as the main title contenders for the coming season. This monopoly of these teams looks set to continue for the new season, but who will finish where? And will Man City cause an upset and ruffle their feathers? Arsenal’s strength of course is in their attack. With players such as Walcott, Arshavin, Van Persie and Fabregas, Arsenal certainly has enough firepower

to pose a threat, but only time will tell if they are up to the challenge. Certainly, with the gifted Fabregas leading the team, they will not lack creativity, although the team still has a compulsive attitude to want to walk the ball into the net, which can pose problems.

The problem Arsenal face is they don’t seem to be tough enough at the back, especially when up against bigger and more rugged opposition. This was made evident last season at Anfield, where despite scoring 4 goals, defensive errors meant they came away from the game with only 1 point. Wenger has looked to address this problem with the signing of £10 million defender Thomas Vermalaen, but he is yet to prove himself in a big league.

Chelsea go into this campaign knowing that they risk being left behind if they don’t make a genuine assault on the title this year. They have spent big on Yuri Zhirkov, paying a fee believed to be around £18 million for the Russian wing back. They will be looking for him to link up well with Ashley Cole, providing more creativity to the Chelsea attack. These players know how to win, even when they don’t play well. No matter what is said, they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

The main problem Chelsea face is the aging of the squad. Players like Lampard, Drogba, Ballack, Anelka, are all aging. Can Carlo Ancellotti deliver the goods for Chelsea? His record at Milan wasn’t overly impressive in the league. 1 Scudetto in 7 years shows his attitude as a cup man, and will most likely look to the Champions League as this team’s clearest chance of silver wear.

Liverpool will be looking at this season as possibly their greatest chance in years to win the league title. They have strengthened in the right back area with the acquisition of Glen Johnson for a fee believed to be £18 million. If Liverpool can hold onto their talented midfield duo of Alonso and Mascherano, they will really fancy their chances, especially with the perceived weakening of Man Utd.

However, a problem Liverpool faced last year was the fact they have one top quality striker in Fernando Torres. If he were to get injured, then they would face serious problems and in my opinion would not be anywhere near as much of a goal threat. They would still have Kuyt as possible cover but he is not in the same league as a striker.

Last but not least, the Champions Manchester United. Last season United were the best, no matter what fans of the other members of the top 4 say. The main issue they have is replacing the goals scored by Ronaldo and Tevez. They have signed Michael Owen on a free transfer as well as Antonio Valencia from Wigan for £16 million. These signings I think hint towards United focussing more on team play next season, with Valencia providing genuine width and providing assists for Rooney and Berbatov.

But just how big a void will Ronaldo have left? He had the ability to produce moments of magic, even when not playing well. Of course United can never be written off, but it looks like they face a much tougher season than last year, with the departure of their beloved number 7.

Battle for the Top 4

As well as the Title Race, it will be interesting to see if any of the other sides can break into the monopoly of the big 4 and cause a real upset.

Aston Villa under Martin O’Neill are renowned for being a traditional team in the sense of having out and out wingers with a big man in the centre to cross to. Their main strength following the loss of captain Gareth Barry lies in Ashley Young and lightning quick striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, who last season helped Aston Villa win countless points away from home with their style of counter attacking football. The acquisition of £12 million signing Stewart Downing means they will focus even more on wide play in the coming season.

However, their man weakness will be the loss of 2 of their most influential players. Not only the sale of Gareth Barry to Manchester City for £12 million, but the loss of Martin Laursen to retirement, who has been a rock at the back for villa in the last couple of seasons. Another problem they face is squad depth, as was evident last year with their complete collapse towards the end of the season, going from champions league contenders to scraping 6th place.

Everton will also fancy another crack at breaking into the top 4. Everton of course the last club to achieve this feat in 2005. Everton will look to the form near the end of last season which saw them march past Aston Villa to 5th and hope to keep that form up going into this new season. In Tim Cahill and Fellaini Everton certainly pose an Aerial threat. When combined with the silky skill of mikel arteta and the potent strike force of yakubu and saha (if he stays fit), Everton will certainly fancy their chances. Their problem much like Aston Villa is squad depth. With European games to play in the Europa League, will they be able to keep their players fit?

Finally, we come to Manchester City, the enigma. On paper, a formidable team, more than capable of challenging the top 4. But on the pitch, will this work out? Manchester City’s transfer policy this summer has led to the club now having something like 10 strikers. The signings of Santa Cruz, Adebayor and Tevez will certainly make City a potent attacking force, but will this cause unrest for the other players at the club who are on a distinctly lower wage? If you were to compare City to a car, you would say they have the front end of a Ferrari, but the back end of a bus.

This weakness at the back may prove to be their downfall. What good is scoring 3 goals when you let in 4? This is the area City really need to focus on and are currently chasing Chelsea captain John Terry, which would be some signing if they could pull it off. If City were to sign a couple of top quality defenders, then they would be genuine top 4 contenders, but as it is, we will just have to wait and see.

Relegation Candidates

This year’s relegation battle could be the tightest for years. After last season’s drama, the survivors will know they will have to work even harder this year to stay in the Premier League.

Birmingham City are the yo-yo team of the Premier League. One season they are up, the next they are down. This could count to their advantage as they will have more experience than before of a proper relegation battle. They have spent big this summer, namely the Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez, for a fee believed to be around £10 million. This is quite a gamble by Birmingham, but if they stay up and he scores 15+ goals, they will feel more than justified.

A problem Birmingham may face with their new star striker however is if he will be able to stand it in the Premier League. In his medical unforeseen knee problems were found, meaning this is an even bigger risk by Birmingham. Will he be able to hack it in the premiership?

Being a team managed by Sam Allardyce, Blackburn will play a certain style of football. Much like the end of last season, they will be very direct and with big players such as Samba, can expect to win most aerial battles. With the sale of Roque Santa Cruz, Blackburn should have money to spend, although they are yet to spend it.

However, losing a player the quality of Santa Cruz will surely have an effect on Blackburn, although with Roberts and McCarthy up front he will not be as badly missed as some may think. Their main problem last season was squad depth which saw Christopher Samba playing up front at the end of last season. With £18 million in the transfer kitty this will need to be addressed and if it is, Blackburn should be safe for next season.

Following the signings of Paul Robinson and Sean Davis, Bolton look like a more solid team than last season. Robinson will provide industry down the left side of the team while proving sturdy as a rock in defence. Sean Davis will give some bite to their midfield, making Bolton tough opposition next season. Kevin Davies will give as much effort as ever, chipping in with his usual goals to help the team as well as being a nuisance to opposition defences. Matt Taylor should also score a few, as well as driving the team on in his usual enthusiastic manner and with his will to win.

Bolton may face problems in the coming season from a lack of creativity. With only Kevin Davies up front and no genuine top class forward alongside him, I can’t see this Bolton team scoring lots of goals. They should have enough to stay up, but at a push it looks like the best they can hope for is mid table this season.

Burnley go into this season having never before played in the Premier League. Burnley haven’t spent much this summer, choosing to keep their squad mostly from last season. This could be a clever move by the manager, as the players will know each other well and will have no problem playing together. They definitely won’t lack belief following last seasons Carling Cup wins over sides such as Chelsea and Arsenal. Home form will play a large part in their survival bid this year and they will most likely look to what Stoke achieved last season mostly due to their home form.

Burnley’s main problem is the fact they have never played in the Premier League before. They may have played a few Premier League sides in the cups, but playing them week in week out is a much harder task. They will have to hope to emulate the achievements of Stoke last season and will need their fans right behind them all season, even when things aren’t going well.

Stoke will also be looking to stay in the Premier League for the second year in a row. Home form will play a key part again with the backing of the home crowds at stoke. By keeping basically the same team as last year, Stoke are sure to keep that team spirit that served them so well last season. They will be looking to improve on last years finish and go even better this season. If they can improve their away form there is no reason why Stoke can’t aim for a mid table finish.

Sunderland will also be hoping they can improve on last season, after constantly hovering above the brink of relegation. The signing of young striker Frazier Campbell for £3.5 million is a positive move and Sunderland fans will hope he can strike up a partnership with towering striker Kenwyne Jones. They will look to these 2 to fire Sunderland to safety.

Sunderland however will need to improve their defence which last season saw them throw away vital points. With Steve Bruce in charge, a man renowned for his defensive ability ad following the good defensive backline he brought to Birmingham City a few years ago, there should be cause for optimism. If they can sort this out they should have enough to keep them safe.

Hull go into this season hardened following the drama of last seasons survival. After a fantastic first half to the season, Hull began to drop and drop down the table until eventually they were in the midst of a relegation dogfight. This will be their man area of focus for next season. Phil Brown is looking to improve the size of the squad at Hull to make sure his players don’t become stale. Also, they will need to hope that Geovanni can recapture that magic which saw him perform outstandingly in the first half of the season. I feel much of what Hull achieve next year will depend on the form of Geovanni. As well as Geovanni, they have young and promising English centre back Michael Turner who will be looking to impress again with this being the last season before the next World Cup. If Hull can keep these players at the top of their game there is no reason why they can’t stay up.

Finally, we come to Wolves. Champions of the Championship last year, and by some distance. They have looked to Kevin Doyle, the former Reading Striker, to strike up a partnership with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. If they do, then with Kevin Doyle’s Premiership Experience this Wolves team should excite their fans. They will certainly have an attacking edge to them and it remains to be seen if this will work in their favour.

The signing of defender Zubar should help provide some steel to their backline, which is vital when playing against players such as Torres and Rooney. One thing is for sure, to stay up in this league, you need a solid defence.

So, in conclusion it looks like this will be quite an exciting season, at both ends of the table. Can Liverpool win their first league title since 1990? Can anybody break the monopoly of the top 4? Who will go down and who will survive? All questions to be answered in the coming season. One thing is for sure. We are in for a hell of a ride.