Premiership season predictions
As the Premiership stampedes ever-nearer to opening this weekend, what kind of blogger would i be without parading my predictions for the season? If our BBC “experts”, i.e. Mark Lawrenson can do it (he said Middlesbrough top 10 finish last season) then so can i.
This article will focus on those who actually have a chance of finishing as champions – at this point, sixteen clubs are automatically excluded. Of the remaining four (we all know who they are), i think that Arsenal are not capable of challenging for the title – possibly another ‘transition’ season, i.e. teenagers unable to cope with the demands of the league, i.e. trophyless, again.
Between Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, i am quite concerned the league may finish in that order. Chelsea are a settled side and will improve under Ancelotti and a fit Michael Essien cannot be underestimated and is vital to their title bid. A happy Drogba can also mean a lot of unhappy afternoons for central defenders – but please, please centre backs – if you’re going to tackle him, make sure you mean it and he stays down for a reason…a tippy-tappy challenge helps no one.
United have opted to bank the majority of the £80m received from the Ronaldo transfer and bought a cheeky ‘champ manager-esque’ free transfer in the form of housewives’ favourite Michael Owen. Valencia (the human, not the city) could begin to fill the void left by Ronaldo and attacking talent still oozes from the side and a big season for Rooney beckons and Berbatov’s flashes of brilliance need to be more sustained…
The defence is as strong as ever – although current injuries suggest otherwise so younger players like Foster, Evans and the Da Silva twins are likely to see more game time – not necessarily a bad thing. As long as Rio can insert his brain before every match and set Vidic to ‘kill’ then the defence will be fine. Picking up away points at tough grounds will be crucial. Is 4 titles in a row asking too much?
Liverpool have made one good signing (G.Johnson) and one big sale (Alonso) and one unknown quantity (Aquilani). I was expecting a friend for Torres up front this season so they are a striker light from the off and pin their hopes on Gerrard scoring his crucial goals at crucial times like he does. Liverpool will again be well-organised in defence and pretty dull to watch as a result so i don’t expect to be watching many Liverpool matches on Sky this season.
So, yes, the Premiership will be “predictable” again, but as at least a dozen teams will just be happy just to stave off relegation – it’s up to those few mentioned to actually go out and win the damn thing.
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Tags: Alberto Aquilani, antonio valencia, arsenal, Ben Foster, Carlo Ancelotti, chelsea, didier drogba, Fernando Torres, Football, Glen Johnson, Jonny Evans, liverpool, Manchester United, mark lawrenson, michael essien, michael owen, middlesbrough, Nemanja Vidic, premier league, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, wayne rooney, Xavi Alonso
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