Football 2008-09

[Paul Clement]

We're within a few weeks of the start of the new season, and it looks like it could be quite an exciting one. Teams have strengthened, and the competitiveness between Man Utd and Chelsea looks set to continue. Elsewhere, Hull and Stoke are joining the Premiership party and West Brom are having there usual bi-seasonal stint in the top flight.

We normally give out predictions for the season at the start of these threads, so I'll start the ball rolling with a brief run down of my predictions, with some more in depth analysis to come between today and hopefull the end of the coming week.

Premiership
1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Everton
6. Tottenham
7. Portsmouth
8. Blackburn
9. Man City
10. Aston Villa
11. Sunderland
12. Newcastle
13. West Ham
14. Middlesbrough
15. Wigan
16. Bolton
17. West Brom
18. Fulham
19. Stoke
20. Hull

F.A Cup
Arsenal

Carling Cup
Newcastle

Champions League
Real Madrid

UEFA Cup
Tottenham

Promotion from Championship
Birmingham
Ipswich
Reading

[Paul Clement]

I'll start my in depth analysis in the Premership order I have predicted, so we start with:

Chelsea: -

After the disappointment of last season, Chelsea will be heading into the new season with a new manager and hopefully a new footballing philosophy. Mourinho’s surprising departure last year was apparently due to Abramovich’s wish to see the team play a more attacking style of football, and although Avram Grant managed to get the club into second place in almost every competition they entered, the style of play didn’t radically change. With Scolari now in charge of the team, I expect the season ahead to show us a vastly different Chelsea. The playing staff may not have changed significantly, but I expect them to burst onto the scene with a far greater attacking purpose.

As usual, the foundation of the Chelsea side will be a strong defence that will leak few goals. Cech is still arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premiership and with John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Ashley Cole at the back, there is a core of solidity and experience that will serve them well for the season ahead. The right back slot has been a more problematic position for the club over the last few seasons, with Paulo Ferreira, Juliano Belletti, Glen Johnson and Khalid Bhoularouz all having tried to stake a claim for the role, and all having failed. The new piece of the jigsaw is Jose Bosingwa, the player who replaced Ferreira as right back for the Portuguese national side. Scolari knows the player well, and will be confident that he can utilise the player to ensure that there are no weak spots in the Chelsea defence. Beyond the first choice back four, there is the likes of Wayne Bridge and the previously mentioned Ferreira and Belletti to fill in where needed. Alex has had a season in the Premiership and will be the stronger for it, although the club will be hoping that their first choice central defenders are fit for the majority of the season.

The midfield is where Chelsea really has a wealth of talent. The club look to have kept hold of Frank Lampard for at least another season, and with Michael Ballack having started to show the form that made him a Bayern Munich legend towards the end of last season, the centre of midfield is as strong as any in the Premiership. The addition of Deco, another player Scolari knows all too well, will give some real competition to the centre of the park. It’s unlikely that all three will play together, but any one of them would make an excellent impact substitute, coming on to terrorise tired defences late in the game. Michael Essien will take on the mantle of holding midfielder from the recently departed Makelele, and would be expected to fill the role with little problem. This leaves Joe Cole fighting it out for a place on the wings with Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou and Shaun Wright-Phillips, although the latter player is being linked with a move away from the club. Malouda will be hoping to show the sort of form he displayed in the early weeks of the previous season before his form dipped, while Salomon Kalou will probably consider the wing role his best chance of gaining regular football compared to the limited chances he will gain in his more natural striking position. Perhaps the player with the biggest question mark against him, at least for the next season, will be John Obi Mikel. Brought in under acrimonious circumstances, Mikel was considered to be a great emerging talent, but with the array of skill ahead of him in the pecking order growing, he will have to bide his time if he wants to become a first team regular. If the Chelsea midfield does have a weakness to it, it is the apparent lack of a replacement for Essien. Playing, as he does, in a role that tends to collect a number of cautions, and adding his occasional lapses in temperament, it would be foolish to expect Essien to remain an ever present throughout the season. This could be the opportunity Mikel will be waiting for, but he isn’t a natural holding midfielder and this could be the one position that Scolari will look to strengthen in before the start of the season.

Up front, the question that most Chelsea fans will be wondering is whether Didier Drogba will stay at the club. He’s been quite up front is his desire to leave the club, and a reunion with Mourinho at Inter looks to be a likely resolution. The question that remains, as with Lampard, is whether the move will come this season or next. Given Scolari’s lack of movement in the transfer market, the signs are that Drogba will be staying at the club. Under the previous two managers, Chelsea tended to play with one man up front. With Scolari’s ambition of playing attacking football, this could mean that Nicolas Anelka gets to play up front alongside Drogba. More likely though, Anelka will play a supporting role at the club this season, although whether the player dubbed Le Sulk will accept this is another question. Claudio Pizzaro will most likely chip in with appearances in the Carling Cup and the Premiership games against minnows such as Hull and Stoke, but the likelihood is that he will be nothing more than a peripheral player.

After two seasons of Man Utd dominance in the Premiership, Chelsea will be fired up to reclaim their crown. The signings may not have finished, although things seem quiet on the transfer front at present, but the core of the side is in place already. The added experience and guile afforded to the club by Deco, and the pace and trickery of Bosingwa should be the pieces of the jigsaw that allows the club to kick on from where Mourinho left off.

[Paul Clement]

Man Utd:-

To say that Man Utd fans would have been delighted with the previous campaign would be an understatement of epic proportions. To retain their Premiership crown was success enough, but to win the Champions League too was the icing on the cake.
The club have been quiet in the transfer market so far, but with the array of talent available to them, few signings are really required. That’s not to say that squad can’t be improved on, it just takes a special player to turn Sir Alex’ head.

After an injury ravaged previous season, Gary Neville will be hoping to regain his place in the Man Utd defence, but this won’t be an easy task. Wes Brown, for so long a player on the periphery of things at both national and league level, stepped up to the challenge and delivered when asked to do so. His performances during the last campaign will make him a hard player to shift from the team, and Neville may have to face the prospect of being an irregular starter for the team this season. The centre of defence has arguably the best pairing in the Premiership, with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic proving to be the meanest of combatants to face. The form of last season is sure to carry on into the upcoming one, and the club will be very hard to score against. The defensive line up is completed by the inclusion of Patrice Evra, perhaps the most attacking full back in Europe. If there is a weak point in the Utd defence, it is the man between the sticks. At 37 years of age, time may be finally catching up with Edwin van der Sar, and neither Tomasz Kuszczak nor Ben Foster look ready to step up and take his place just yet. Beyond the first choice defence, the club have an able if unspectacular group of players to step in when the called upon. Mikael Silvestre and John O’Shea will wait patiently for their chance and won’t let the side down when they do get the opportunity.

The line between midfield and attack in the Man Utd side is fairly fluid, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani being hard to pinpoint into an exact role. The spine of the team is stable, with Michael Carrick or Owen Hargreaves playing as the more defensive minded member of the centre of midfield. Either player is more than capable in the position, although Hargreaves offers more protection to the back four, whilst Carrick has an excellent eye for a pass. The fact that neither player has firmly established himself in the role will, perhaps surprisingly, be a big positive for Ferguson as it means that both players are contesting the one slot available to them. The years are starting to catch up with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, but the club have brought in players who can fill the space these two will leave when they finally retire in the shape of Nani and Anderson respectively. These two youngsters gained far more experience than they perhaps bargained for last season, and they should build on what they’ve learnt about the Premiership. Obviously, the bulk of the pre-season has centred on the Cristiano Ronaldo saga. His move to Real Madrid looks to have an air of inevitability about it, but it seems unlikely that his departure will be during this coming season. His recovery from the ankle operation he had during the close season looks set to keep him out for the first couple of months of the season , and although the club won’t struggle without him in the side, it is obvious that a player of his enormous talent will be missed.

It’s up front where Man Utd looks a little sparse. Tevez and Rooney are world class players, but beyond these two, the club has to rely on the injury prone Louis Saha or change the formation if ever an injury hits one of their main two. It’s no surprise then, that the club have been linked with Spurs’ Dimitar Berbatov. Whether he will end up at the club is a matter of debate. Man Utd usually get their man, but there is a strong sense of anger coming out of the London clubs camp, and recent reports suggest that the club are only willing to deal with Man Utd for at least 8 million more than any other club would have to offer. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Old Trafford club start casting their net out in search of another target, and perhaps this would be the best thing for them. Berbatov is not a goal poacher, and plays in a role similar to Tevez and Rooney; a more prolific striker seems to be the missing ingredient for the Manchester club.

Although they are as strong as they were last season, I get the feeling that this will be a year too far for the ageing members of their squad. There could be a last hurrah for Scholes, Giggs and Neville, but it’s more likely to come in Europe than at a national level.

[Paul Clement]

Arsenal:-

It’s been a close season that I’m sure Arsenal fans will want to forget. Mathieu Flamini left the club on a free transfer for the continental pastures of Milan, Alexander Hleb has pushed through a move to Barcelona and Arsene Wenger has made the admission that most football fans were already aware of, that Arsenal’s debt from the building of their new stadium means they have had to become a selling club. Another notable, yet less unexpected, departure was that of Gilberto Silva. The Brazilian has moved on to the Greek league and with him goes the only established defensive midfielder left at the club.

The number 1 shirt now firmly belongs to Manuel Almunia, following Jens Lehmann early season blunders last year and then his departure from the club soon after the previous season ended. Of the big four clubs, Arsenal certainly have the keeper with the biggest question marks hanging over him. He’s performed well enough, but you get the impression watching him, that there’s an error waiting to happen. In front of him, it’s the same back four that played for the majority of last season. Clichy, Gallas, Toure and Sagna are all experienced performers but there will have been big parts of the previous season that the two centre backs will certainly want to forget. On paper, the Gallas/Toure partnership should be up there with Terry/Carvalho and Ferdinand/Vidic, but for some reason the pair seem to be incapable of playing to their potential when put together. This state of affairs led Wenger to employ Toure in a right back role towards the end of last season, and it will be interesting to see if he decides to continue with this now that Sagna is fit again. If one of the central defenders is dropped from the starting XI, it will have a significant impact on the defensive effectiveness of the team. Senderos and Djourou have failed to impress when called upon, and early pre-season media hype suggested that Wenger was keen to strengthen his team in this area. Since then, Wenger has announced his happiness with the strength of his defence; words that could come to backfire on him before the season ends. The left back position is perhaps the securest of the back four, with Armand Traore being the latest exciting left back to emerge from the youth team, following in the footsteps of Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy.

The midfield is starting to look a little lightweight. With Flamini and Gilberto Silva gone, either Alexandre Song or Abou Diaby will need to make the step up into becoming a first team regular. In Fabregas, the club has one of he best midfield generals in the Premiership, but Hleb’s exit means more reliance is going to be placed on the injury prone Tomas Rosicky. The signing of Samir Nasri has been the only real positive for Arsenal so far, and the exciting youngster will be expected to take on a major role in the Arsenal line up this season. With Hleb having left the club, the right sided midfield position will most likely go to Emmanuel Eboue. Eboue is a converted full back, and offers a lot of defensive cover when he plays, but as an attacking option his skills are less than reliable.

Up front, the main topic of conversation for the Arsenal fans has been Emmanuel Adebayor. With a, host of clubs declaring an interest, Arsenal slapped a hefty; some would say unrealistic, price tag on the Togo striker. Arsenal will be hoping that Adebayor can maintain the scoring form he showed last season, especially with Eduardo still to recover from the horrific injury he received last season. Van Persie will be aiming to play more regularly and if he can, Arsenal has a versatile player available to them who can play up front, but is as equally adept at dropping back onto either wing. Walcott and Bendtner will compliment the strike force rather than being a major part of it, although the time is soon approaching when Walcott will need to show the ability that made Wenger pay so much for him. Another emerging talent is Mexican, Carlos Vela. An Arsenal player for the last few seasons, a lack of a work permit has meant the youngster has had to play on loan in the Spanish leagues until he achieved dual nationality. Now that he is able to play for he club, expect Arsenal to unleash him onto an unsuspecting Premiership during the coming season.

Last year, I predicted that the loss of Thierry Henry would have a major impact on Arsenal. It did, but not in the way I expected, with the club pulling together and various players improving their personal performances in light of the departure of their talismanic hero. This year, they head into the season with some less exciting departures, but the balance of the team seems to have been upset. Despite this, I expect the club to be within touching distance of the Premiership leaders for much of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s another unknown gem on Wenger’s horizon, and his ability to polish them into the complete article could be his saving grace for the season.

[Paul Clement]

Liverpool:-

Despite their lack of signings, Liverpool have had a busy pre-season in the transfer market. The on-off Gareth Barry transfer still seems to be unresolved, with Benitez stating that they haven’t given up on the Villa midfielder, and they finally got their man after another rancorous transfer battle with Spurs for Robbie Keane. The money spent appears to have been the bulk of the transfer budget available to Benitez, and it seems unusual that such a big club have been so stringent with their money considering the cash available the previous season when they managed to acquire Fernando Torres. If Barry is to join Keane at Anfield, it will need to be financed by the sale of some of the squad players’ already at the club.

Pepe Reina will remain as custodian behind a defence that boasts two new signings. Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen have been added to the squad as Benitez tries to strengthen the back line, consigning Steve Finnan to a probable move away from the club along the way. With Skrtel, Agger and Carragher fighting it out for the two centre back berths don’t be too surprised if Carragher moves into a full back position to enable Benitez to play all three of them. Aurelio and Arbeloa will be pushing for a place in the side, but it seems as if the days are numbered for Sami Hyypia with three players ahead of him in the pecking order now.

The Liverpool midfield is looking a little sparse at the moment. Gerrard remains the key man and it is apparent that Gareth Barry is the man that the manager sees as the ideal partner for him in the centre of the park. Xabi Alonso remains at the club on borrowed time, with Arsenal appearing interested in signing the defensive midfielder who has dropped behind Mascherano in the pecking order. It’s on the flanks that the club look to need the most improvement though. Ryan Babel has been used sparingly so far while the right side of midfield seems to belong to converted striker Dirk Kuyt. With Riise gone, I expect to see Babel get more appearances in the coming season, but one player unlikely to hang around is Jermaine Pennant. Having failed o live up to his potential, Pennant is being targeted by Blackburn as a possible replacement for David Bentley, and given the clubs need for cash to buy Barry, a deal looks likely to be agreed. That leaves the enigmatic Yossi Benayoun to fill in wherever he is needed across the middle and to come on as an impact substitute.

The departure of Peter Crouch has afforded Liverpool the funds to get in a quality strike partner for Fernando Torres. Robbie Keane will offer the guile that will enable Torres to score the goals, while allowing Gerrard to drop a little deeper into midfield and use his creativity to open up the defences of the opposition in the area he knows best. Beyond the front two though, there is a dearth of ability with Voronin the only other recognised striker in the squad. The fact that he fired blanks for the majority of the precious season should be a worry for the manager, but a further acquisition in the striker department looks to be highly unlikely.

Despite the signing of Keane, the club don’t really seem to have closed the gap on their rivals. There isn’t the strength in depth needed within the squad for them to challenge for the title, but enough to ensure Champions League football returns to Anfield come the end of the season.

[Paul Clement]

Everton:-

With one of the smallest squads in the Premiership, Everton will have their work cut out to repeat the fifth place finish of last season. Despite this, I’m still backing them to be the club to push the closest for a Champions League place. The pre-season has been relatively quiet, with the only activity being the imminent departure of Andrew Johnson and a failed bid for Sporting Lisbon’s Joao Moutinho, but I suspect that there will be a few signings made before the season kicks off.

Defensively, Everton have a sound and settled line up. Yobo and Lescott provide one of the best defensive partnerships outside of the big four, while Leighton Baines, Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka add experience and ability in the full back positions. With Nuno Valente and Tony Hibbert available as cover, it would take a lot for the clubs defence to be severely weakened by injuries or suspension. As well as being a superb defender, Joleon Lescott will also weigh in with a few goals, as he did last season, when attacking corners.

In midfield, the guile of Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill will be complimented by the work ethic of Steven Pienaar and Phil Neville, when he’s not needed in defence. Again, there is a solid look to the line up emerging, and with Leon Osman added to the mix; they should have a midfield that creates chances, especially from the wings. The one question mark over the midfield is Andy van der Meyde. Injuries and personal problems have blighted his career over the last few seasons, and the expectation has been that the club would dispense with his services sooner rather than later. With his international career apparently in tatters, Van der Meyde will be hoping to use the coming season to reignite his fortunes. If fit, he could offer an interesting contrast to Arteta on the wing, but his recent history does lead to doubts whether he can ever recapture the sort of form that made Inter Milan sign him from Ajax.

The main transfer activity of note has been the transfer of Andrew Johnson to Fulham. Although still an Everton player at the time of writing, Johnson’s impending departure to Fulham for a reported 12 million looks to an odd move. The player is still on the fringes of the England squad, and had a good first season with the club. His statistics for last season may have been poorer, but that was largely due to the arrival of Yakubu, and Moyes preferred formation of playing with a lone striker. The money from Johnson’s departure will be used to improve the squad, but 12 million doesn’t go far at the level Everton are aiming for and I would be surprised to see that money spent on more than two players. Whether one of them is a striker remains to be seen. The reason a striker may not be a top priority for Moyes is the form of Yakubu since his arrival and the emergence of Anichebe and James Vaughan as more than satisfactory replacements when called upon. Yakubu will be the man the club looks to get the bulk of their goals, but the main thrust of the Everton attack will be keeping clean sheets at the other end.

With their strong defence, Everton will be a tough nut to crack for most Premiership teams, and should gain a lot of tight wins thanks to the goalscoring touch of Yakubu. Expect them to be challenging for the Champions League spot again this season.

[Paul Clement]

Spurs:-

Most Spurs fans would probably agree that the Carling Cup win did little more than paper over the cracks of what was ultimately a disappointing season. The club had finished the two previous seasons in fifth place, and the sage was supposed to be set for them to push on and give a real challenge for the final Champions League spot. The problems began before the season even started, with Martin Jol starting to lose the dressing room, and with players being brought in for highly inflated transfer prices. The debate over whether it was Jol or Director of Football, Comolli, who sanctioned the signing of Darren Bent still rages amongst the Spurs faithful, as does the view that the team was strengthened in the wrong areas. The defence was a known problem, but nothing was done about it, and eventually Jol paid for it with his job. Juande Ramos took over and, during the January transfer window, managed to stabilise things with the astute purchase of Jonathan Woodgate.
The close season has given Ramos the chance to stamp his own emphasis on the team, and this has resulted in a number of arrivals and departures already. No other team in the Premiership has seemed to have had more transfer rumours surrounding them than Tottenham. Almost every day, a new player is set to arrive, and another is set to leave. Some rumoured signings, such as Samuel Eto’o never looked to be particularly reaslistic, but there is certainly an air of expectation around the club.

The close of last season saw the Spurs defence strengthened by the additions of Alan Hutton, Gilberto and Jonathan Woodgate, and this appears to have been enough to satisfy Ramos, if not the Spurs fans. With Kaboul, Rocha and Lee Young-Pyo likely to be leaving the club, and with Chimbonda already gone there are concerns that the centre of defence could be exposed should Ledley King’s injury problems continue. Dawson has recently signed a new contract, indicating that Ramos rates the player as good cover, but previous seasons suggest that he doesn’t have that little bit extra required of a top defender. Young Chris Gunter will be used as cover for Hutton, and Gareth Bale should be close to returning from injury and will hopefully be able to recapture the sort of form that endeared him to the Spurs fans at the start of last season. If further cover is required, midfielder Jamie O’Hara has also been pressed into service as an emergency left back, and didn’t disappoint when asked to do so. Despite an effective first choice defence, the strength in depth isn’t really there and a couple more signings, especially a centre back would ease a lot of Spurs fans fears. Meanwhile, Paul Robinson has left the club following a loss of form and confidence and has been replaced by Brazilian keeper Heurelho Gomes.

The new look Spurs midfield is going to be a very attack minded one, with Croatian Euro Championship playmaker Luka Modric and former Barcelona youngster Giovani Dos Santos being brought into the club. With David Bentley looking set to arrive from Blackburn, there is a question whether the Spurs formation will change to the 4-5-1 system Ramos favoured while in charge of Sevilla. These three players would offer the attacking options to compliment a lone striker, leaving two players, most likely Zokora and Huddlestone to occupy the holding roles in front of the back four. With Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon available as back up, the Spurs team could become exceptionally strong in the middle of the park. Steed Malbranque looks set to leave, and the money received from his and other transfers could, quite conceivably, be used to strengthen the midfield further.

The biggest surprise for Spurs fans has been the departure of Robbie Keane to Liverpool. As vice-captain, Keane had seemed to be settled at White Hart Lane for the rest of his career, but the opportunity to join the club he supported as a boy was a lure he couldn’t ignore. The transfer fee of 19 million was excellent business for a 28 year old, but the player will be hard to replace, both on the pitch and in the hearts of the Spurs fans. The other half of an excellent strike partnership could also be on his way. Dimitar Berbatov is certainly a better player than Robbie Keane, but most fans would have rather seen the moody Bulgarian leave the club that their legend in the making. Berbatov has appeared unsettled at the club since the start of last season, with regular reports of interest from Man Utd being bandied about. This season, the reports went a step further, and it seemed like a departure was imminent. With reports of Berbatov having been tapped up by Utd, the relationship between the clubs from Manchester and London, already damaged during the sale of Michael Carrick, seems to have been sunk further. Berbatov’s departure is still looking likely, but with the Spurs board appearing to want to teach their northern rivals a lesson, the price on Berbatov’s head has risen to an unrealistic 38 million. If Berbatov should depart t club, that would leave Darren Bent as the sole recognised striker at the club. Bent himself has been the target of transfer speculation, and his days have long seemed numbered at the club following a disappointing opening season fuelled by his lack of opportunities on the pitch. As such, it comes as no surprise that Spurs have been linked with a plethora of strikers in the media. Podolski, Pavlyuchenko, David Villa, Eto’o and Milito have all been names bandied about, but as yet nothing concrete has emerged from these ponderings.

Despite the loss of Keane, Spurs have the funds and the pull to attract an equally skilled replacement and should have cemented a place in the top half of the table again. Another season of domestic and UEFA cup action awaits the club, rather than a sustained Premiership challenge, but the signs are that Ramos is moving the club in the right direction again.

[Dirk Gently]

My predictions of what I'd like to happen...

Premiership
1. Liverpool
2. Everton
3. Tottenham
4. Newcastle
5. Bolton
6. Aston Villa
7. Portsmouth
8. Blackburn
9. Man City
10. Arsenal
11. Sunderland
12. Man Utd
13. West Ham
14. Middlesbrough
15. Wigan
16. Chelsea
17. West Brom
18. Fulham
19. Stoke
20. Hull

F.A Cup
Liverpool

Carling Cup
Liverpool

Champions League
Liverpool

UEFA Cup
Liverpool

Can't blame a guy for dreaming can you?

[duncan]

Charlton's season starts this Saturday at home to newcommers Swansea City. I went to the home pre season "Friendly" last weekend and we lost 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao. I put friendly in speech marks as I use the term loosely. The spaniards treated it like a cmpetitive match and rolled around feigning injury at every opportunity. One of them punched Jonathan Fortune in the face and even man handled the ref before being sent off!

Anyway, I digress.

My point is that I saw absolutely nothing to inspire me with confidence for the new season. My prediction is that we will struggle and could be involved in a relegation fight as we have sold sold sold and have bought nobody in except a failed Crystal Palace Captain and someone from the non league divisons. There is no money to spend and Pardew is feeling optimistic for 8th place!

And this is a club that wanted an immediate return to the Premiership!!!

My arse.

[Captain Tancredi]

Swindon 3 Tranmere 1- not a very good start, but at our level if you're going to start well you need a settled squad who can hit the ground running, which we haven't. We were missing several key players (first choice keeper and forward both injured and captain/centre half suspended) and the players we've brought in over the break just don't have the same pedigree as the ones they've replaced. If there's a positive we can take away it's that Bas Savage made sure that we did at least get on the scoresheet, and I suspect that having a lighthouse centre-forward may save us games in the future. It's just unfortunate that we have another long trip to Grimsby on Tuesday in the League Cup, and then home to Hartlepool (who hit 4 today- let's hope they've got that out of their system!) next weekend.

[Larry]

We're within a few weeks of the start of the new season, and it looks like it could be quite an exciting one. Teams have strengthened, and the competitiveness between Man Utd and Chelsea looks set to continue. Elsewhere, Hull and Stoke are joining the Premiership party and West Brom are having there usual bi-seasonal stint in the top flight.

We normally give out predictions for the season at the start of these threads, so I'll start the ball rolling with a brief run down of my predictions, with some more in depth analysis to come between today and hopefull the end of the coming week.

Premiership
1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Everton
6. Tottenham
7. Portsmouth
8. Blackburn
9. Man City
10. Aston Villa
11. Sunderland
12. Newcastle
13. West Ham
14. Middlesbrough
15. Wigan
16. Bolton
17. West Brom
18. Fulham
19. Stoke
20. Hull

F

I know Fulham, have been flirting with relegation for the last few seasons but with the signings they have made this summer I'd be very supprised if they went down. Hull, you really fear for them and of the 3 promoted teams they certainly look thwe weekest, Stoke, & WBA I think might supprise a few people but again it's hard to see them staying up.

At the top I think Chelsea will win the title and 2nd place will be a battle between Manchester Utd and Liverpool, whom with the signing of Robbie Keane should be a lot stronger this year.

Arsenal, I can't really see them mounting a strong enough challange for the title and should finish 4th.

the Uefa Cup places will be as last season between Everton, Portsmouth, Aston Villa with Tottenham joining them.

[Larry]

As for West Ham, - the football we played at home last season was dull, boring and with out any ambition we only finished 10th because Spurs and Newcastle had suvh poor seasons.

Curbishley, has turned us into another Charlton, we have made hardly any signings this summer and I can't see things improving this season and honestly can't see us finishing much higher then 12th.

I do get the feeling we will be dragged into a relegation battle weather or not we go down will depend on how the 3 promoted clubs do.

Curbishley, is one of the favourites to be the first manager to lose his job, with the reports in last weeks papers about the owners blaming Curbishley for the financial problems and a poor start to the season might just see him sacked.

If that happens I for one will be chearing very loudly.

[Dave Lewis]

I love Tim's prediction that we win everything - I want to add The World Cup, The X Factor, and Pipe Smoker of the Year to that list.

Last year I was apparently still here at prediction time but had thankfully gone before the true extent of my folly was revealed... to save you clicking on the old thread here it is...


1. Liverpool
2. Manchester United
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
(I'm living the dream a bit here, but these will be the top four teams... just not necessarily in this order...)
-----------------
5. Tottenham
6. Portsmouth
-----------------
7. Aston Villa
8. Sunderland
9. West Ham
10. Blackburn
11. Manchester City
12. Newcastle
13. Bolton
14. Middlesbrough
15. Reading
16. Everton
17. Fulham
-----------------
18. Birmingham
19. Wigan
20. Derby


Hmmm... I bet I can do WORSE than that this year.

1. Arsenal
2. Liverpool
3. Man United
4. Chelsea
--------------------
5. Tottenham
6. Man City
--------------------
7. Portsmouth
8. Aston Villa
9. West Ham
10. Everton
11. Sunderland
12. Blackburn
13. Bolton
14. Fulham
15. Wigan
16. West Brom
17. Newcastle
--------------------
18. Middlesbrough
19. Hull
20. Stoke

This could change depending on:

Van Persie's toe/Gareth Barry/Ronaldo being sued/Big Phil's moustache/Juande's career as a De Niro impersonator/Thaksin's impending imprisonment/Harry's wife/Randy Lerner's name/Iceland/Tesco/Roy Keane's razor/Paul Ince's utter lack of managerial experience at this level/Peter Kay's utter lack of comedic talent/Andy Johnson's utter lack of hair/Emile Heskey's "emotional return" to Leicester in the January transfer window/Zoltan Gera's appearance in the Battle Of The Planets movie/Kevin Keegan making the Geordie dream come true and having "everyone's second favourite team" finish where they rightfully belong - one place lower than I've tipped them/Gareth Southgate's pizza advert retribution/Kingston Communications taking over the whole telephonic world/Robbie Williams' breasts.

...and the results of football matches.

[duncan]

Well. we had a great 2-0 home win and that failed Palarse captain I mentioned in my last post took just 1 min 46 secs to score the first goal of our new season. Let's hope things continue like that!

[Paul Clement]

Portsmouth:-

Ever since their dramatic escape from relegation a couple of seasons ago, when they looked certainties to go down, Portsmouth have gone from strength to strength. Harry Redknapp has assembled a strong squad that finally got some silverware in the form of the FA Cup last season. The basis of the squad is still there, but as usual, Harry has spent his transfer funds on improving the overall squad. Each season, the squad balance, on paper at least, seems to get stronger and the inclusion of Peter Crouch will be a boost to the attacking options available to Pompey.

There is a solid defensive backbone to the side, with David James finding the sort of form that made him an England international in the first place. He has seemed to improve his overall performance in the last few seasons, becoming far more consistent and less prone to blunders. Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin will form the bedrock of the defence, with the imminent signing of Younes Kaboul giving a little more competition for places. The player may not have sparkled while at Spurs, but his reputation in France was built on some excellent performances while at Auxerre, and underneath the silly mistakes of last season, there is a quality defender lurking in the shadows. With Lauren, Glen Johnson and Herman Hreidarsson contesting the full back slots, the defence has good overall strength in depth.

The loss of Sulley Muntari weakens the creativity of the Portsmouth midfield, and as yet there hasn’t been a viable replacement signed. Because of this, the side look a little too workmanlike in this department. Lassana Diarra has the ability to step up to the plate, but Pedro Mendes, Richard Hughes, Papa Bouba Diop and Sean Davis are all players more accustomed to breaking up play and holding the line in front of the back four. On the wings, Portsmouth will be delighted to have kept hold of Niko Kranjcar, who has attracted the interest of Arsenal amongst others, and he will not only offer good wing play, but will chip in with more than his fair share of goals too.

It’s up front where Portsmouth look at their most effective. Jermaine Defoe came in to the club towards the back end of last season and showed the form that he was never on the park long enough to do at Spurs. His goals will be a huge part of Portsmouth’s success this season, and with Peter Crouch as a partner, he should get a lot of knock downs to run on to. They still have Kanu in their side, and although he is unlikely to start many matches, he is an awesome ability to bring on as an impact substitution. The player with the most to prove in the Portsmouth side is David Nugent. Hailed as being one of the best players in the Championship, he was brought in at the start of last season and has spectacularly failed to deliver when given the opportunity. He has been linked with a return to various Championship clubs throughout last season and this close season, but still remains at the club. If he wants to secure his future in the Premiership, whether it is with Portsmouth or not, this is the make or break season for him. He won’t get many chances, one suspects, but when he does he will need to make the most of them and ensure he plays his way back into Redknapp’s thinking.

There are probably more signings to come for the Delboy of the footballing world, and Redknapp has an eye for a player. The team will be challenging for a European place, and will be hoping for a good cup run to try to keep hold of their FA Cup title, but I think the fact they will be playing in Europe too this year will be a bridge too far for a club whose starting line up is far better than the squad players available for call up. They’ll start brightly, but come the close of the season, expect them to start to fade.

[Dirk Gently]

I love the fact that Man Utd couldn't beat Portsmouth in normal football time & had to rely on penalties in the Community (Charity) Shield!

[Larry]

Well. we had a great 2-0 home win and that failed Palarse captain I mentioned in my last post took just 1 min 46 secs to score the first goal of our new season. Let's hope things continue like that!

to be fair you would really expect to take 3pts off a newly promoted team with 3 of your next 4 games against Watford, Reading and Wolves they will be a lot tougher and might give some indication of how good the charlton team is this season.

[Pip Madeley]

I love the fact that Man Utd couldn't beat Portsmouth in normal football time & had to rely on penalties in the Community (Charity) Shield!

I love the fact that the season hasn't even started yet and United already have silverware

[Captain Tancredi]

Alternatively, it's only August and United have won their last trophy of the year...

Shame they had to get so worked up about it, though- Portsmouth do seem to be hard for United to break down defensively, particularly with two of their biggest guns sitting in the stands.

[Pip Madeley]

You would've said that last year...

[Captain Tancredi]

Grimsby 2 Tranmere 0- because when you're having a shaky start to the season, you really need a midweek League Cup tie on the opposite side of the country. Doesn't seem to have been for lack of trying, though, and to look at the substitutions I get the impression that Ronnie Moore had written the game off to bad luck with about 20 minutes to go and brought on some of the summer signings to give them a run out.

[Alex]

That's some great stuff above Paul, I'm an Arsenal man and agree with most of your points, I think this year we're going to struggle a little unless some of the players up their game - and like you say, Walcott really needs to show why Wenger paid so much for him.

[Dave Tudor]

I reckon Paul could do a better job as a pundit than of these so-called experts!

Here's my prediction for the Premiership, with one or two surprises - expect me to be completely wrong!

1. Manchester United
2. Liverpool
3. Chelsea
4. Tottenham Hotspur
5. Arsenal
6. Aston Villa
7. Everton
8. Manchester City
9. Portsmouth
10. Blackburn Rovers
11. West Ham United
12. Middlesbrough
13. West Bromwich Albion
14. Fulham
15. Sunderland
16. Bolton Wanderers
17. Newcastle United
18. Wigan Athletic
19. Stoke City
20. Hull City

I can't really see anyone other than Man. Utd. winning the league, although - much as it pains me to say it - Liverpool will push them close, especially if Torres is in good form, and forges a good partnership with Robbie Keane. Chelsea will not have such a good season, and, I don't know why, but I just have a feeling Scolari won't make much of an impression, and may leave after just one season as boss. The main change at the top - and this is where I may fall flat on my face! - is that i believe Spurs will become the dominant club in north London. I'm not really convinced by Arsenal these days, but I feel that Tottenham are a club going somewhere, and I honestly think that Ramos can push them into the top four.

Elsewhere, the usual contenders of Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Man. City and Blackburn will be challenging for the UEFA Cup spots, but I don't think that Everton will have such a good season. I don't know what it is about Everton (and Evertonians!) that I should feel so negative after they had such a good season last term, but they're struggling to bring in fresh blood, they've lost a couple of influential players in Carsley and Johnson, and the new stadium saga rolls on, creating unrest behind the scenes, what with Chief Executive Keith Wyness leaving, and especially with manager David Moyes, who has still not finalised a new deal. I even feel that if the current situation continues, Moyes may even go by the end of this season. That is a worst case scenario, of course, but he's done wonders for the club, with few resources, and I'm sure he can only take so much before he decides to look for a new challenge elsewhere. The board need to start pulling their finger out and really backing him. However, I can't be totally negative, so I'm going to back them for the UEFA Cup.

My other cup predictions are:

FA Cup: Tottenham

Carling Cup: Aston Villa

Champions League: Real Madrid

UEFA Cup: Everton

Oh. and one final prediction: Shrewsbury Town to win League Two!

[cyberchris35]

I don't think Hull Will go straight down or maybe I should put I hope Hull won't go straight down. I also think that Chelsea will win the Premiership.

[Larry]

I don't think Hull Will go straight down or maybe I should put I hope Hull won't go straight down. I also think that Chelsea will win the Premiership.

sadly mate, Hull do look the weekest of the 3 promoted tteams and I honestly can't see them staying up all I hope is that if they don't do what Derby did and they go down with a fight and put a good few points on the borde/