A new season brings a sense of optimism and expectation for clubs and fans all over the country, but don’t expect the conclusion of this season’s Premier League chase to be much different from the last. This weekend Manchester United and Chelsea meet in the FA Community Shield as the appetiser to the league season, and both sides will be fighting for the title all the way down to the wire yet again.Not only should both sides be leading the way domestically but a strong Champions League challenge from each club is also on the menu. Liverpool continued their historical love affair with Europe’s premier club competition last season by reaching the final and although Rafa Benitez has strengthened his side and may bring Liverpool closer to the top two at home, it’s unlikely to be enough to overhaul them at present. In the eyes of many, Arsenal play the most eye catching and attractive football. However, playing beautiful football isn’t always enough (ask recent Argentina sides) to ensure success in the form of trophies. Arsenal’s first task is to fill the void left by Thierry Henry and despite the arrival of Eduardo da Silva (still awaiting a work permit) and the recall of Nicklas Bendtner from last season’s loan spell at Birmingham; it’s a void that is likely to prove too big to fill immediately. Will Arsenal entertain their fans and neutrals alike with their brand of football? Undoubtedly. Will Arsenal drop points against sides they dominate against through the lack of a consistent finisher? Most likely, yes. And that will prove to be their downfall at home and abroad.
Let’s take a closer look at the top two sides in the country and those hoping to challenge them.
Manchester United – The Carlos Tevez saga continues and with the High Court date set for August 22nd it means that unless a settlement is reached beforehand, Carlitos will be in limbo as the season kicks off. If we are to believe that Tevez will eventually team up with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, then Manchester United will have at their disposal the kind of attacking threat that only Barcelona can claim to surpass.
In midfield, the signing of Owen Hargreaves is also key to the objective of retaining the Premiership and winning the Champions League. Hargreaves has for a long while, up until the 2006 World Cup, been a player under valued by England fans. Much of this had to do with him being played out of position for his national side, or not being given a sufficient period of time to exhibit his qualities in his preferred position. That perception changed last summer and now the Red Devils are likely to benefit from his energy and will to win. Alex Ferguson has his options in the centre of midfield along with Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes and it will be interesting to see which pair Ferguson goes with more often than not when his side are faced with crunch games domestically and in European competition.
Aside from these two key signings, United also brought in Nani and Anderson and although a first year in England is expected to be a developmental and learning experience for both, there will doubtless be times where either player makes a worthwhile contribution to their side and provide a sign of things to come in the future.
Defensively not much has changed at Old Trafford. Ben Foster is back from a successful loan spell at Watford and will provide cover for Edwin Van der Sar. I would argue that Foster may already be worthy of displacing Van der Sar now, never mind in the coming years. Carlos Tevez is not the only Argentine involved in a transfer dispute, Gabriel Heinze appears to want out of Old Trafford and sees Anfield as his next destination. Manchester United has a different point of view and Heinze is seeking legal advice in an effort to clinch the move. Should Heinze prove successful he will be the first player in over 40 years to move directly from Manchester United to Liverpool. With the additions made Manchester United have rightfully been installed as favourites to retain the title and if England are to have another representative in the Champions League final this season, then despite the demands of both competitions, the Old Trafford outfit look to have the strength in depth to provide an almighty challenge on both fronts.
Chelsea – As good as Manchester United look on paper at present, only a fool would write off Chelsea’s chances to match them every step of the way. A side built by Mourinho that lays its foundation on a strong defence found that very strength damaged last season by injuries at critical periods of the season. It even required Michael Essien to play a number of games at centre back, and despite acquitting himself fairly well, a centre back by nature he is not and thus Chelsea were caught out at times when they would otherwise not be. Having sold William Gallas (as part of the deal to bring Ashley Cole to Stamford Bridge) and Robert Huth before the start of last season Chelsea were lacking depth in that area and that has been addressed this time around. Cue the arrival of Tal Ben Haim from Bolton and the impending arrival of Alex subject to approval of his work permit. Alex was in fact signed back in 2004 by Chelsea and was effectively ‘parked’ at PSV until a time where he satisfied the criteria necessary to obtain his work permit to play in England. These arrivals along with a fit and healthy John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho means that Essien can spend this season doing what he does best, which is providing a bundle of energy to Chelsea’s midfield. If there is one flaw to Essien’s game it is the perhaps once too often rash tackle, but in totality he is a midfielder with all the qualities required to be a force at the highest level.
This season Essien will be joined in midfield by Florent Malouda and the French international should prove to be a hit. Whether Chelsea can get the best out of Michael Ballack remains to be seen and with the number of options Mourinho has in midfield, he can afford to mix and match based on the specifics of the opponent they are facing. Much like with who Ferguson will prefer in the centre of his midfield at crunch time, it will also be interesting to see which midfield line up Mourinho chooses to go with when some of the higher profile battles commence. Real Madrid have made their intentions to sign Arjen Robben quite clear and although Chelsea have not expressed a willingness to part with the Dutch wideman, the smart money appears to be on his departure rather than his continued stay at Stamford Bridge.
Going forward, as with Ballack, Chelsea will hope that this season will see the real Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukrainian forward had proved his world class credentials year after year at AC Milan, but those qualities were rarely shown last season. However, it is quite common even for some of the world’s best players to take a season or more to fully adapt to a new country, a new culture and most importantly in this instance, a different style of football. The Premier League is known for the pace of its matches and the lack of time in comparison to Serie A that players have on the ball. Shevchenko hasn’t lost any of his ability, but has he lost half a step in pace? Yes. That more than anything may have been exposed last season and may again this season. Chelsea will lose John Obi Mikel, Essien and Didier Drogba to the African Nations Cup at the turn of the year. To counter the loss of Drogba as well as provide an additional player to the forward line in general, Claudio Pizarro was brought in from Bayern Munich. In terms of defence and midfield the Blues look more than strong enough to claim the major trophies that they seek. However, it is upfront where Chelsea are still lacking in comparison to Manchester United at home and Barcelona abroad that may just mean they miss out on both the Premiership and Champions League.
Liverpool and Arsenal fell short of top spot by more than twenty points last season and although Liverpool have sufficiently strengthened enough to believe they can certainly close that gap, it’s harder to be as optimistic for Arsenal’s chances. As with Chelsea, Liverpool’s defensive foundation was already quite solid and it’s going forward where Benitez has looked to improve. Is Fernando Torres worth the money? If he scores goals consistently, then he is. It’s something that Liverpool have lacked since Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler were banging them in at the Kop, and if Torres can provide the 20 plus goals a season in the league that Liverpool are hoping for then they may actually have more to say in this title race than just being a comfortable third. Ryan Babel also has the capability to make the Reds a more dynamic proposition going forward and that explosiveness is sure to delight the Anfield crowd.
If Liverpool’s new look attack does not provide the injection of goals that is expected, they can at least rely on a very solid defence, protected by Javier Mascherano. Mascherano’s arrival last season after being criminally underused by West Ham allows Steven Gerrard to do more of his damage in and around the opposition penalty area and if Liverpool do start clicking as an attacking force, Gerrard could well find himself on the score sheet as much as Frank Lampard has the past few seasons for Chelsea. Gerrard has hit double figures in the league once (2005/06 season), and I would fully expect him to surpass the 10 league goals he scored that season this time around. On paper Liverpool still don’t look strong enough to win the league or even be in the top three or four contenders for the Champions League, but Benitez’s side have proven to be very durable in cup competitions. Liverpool fans are eager to taste success in the league once more and although that won’t happen this season, there should be a clear progression in Liverpool this season that will be evident as far as their league campaign is concerned.
Arsenal are a young side but that is not to their disadvantage as many of these young talents have a fair amount of experience. Arsenal’s Achilles heel is not a lack of talent but a lack of killer instinct. Not only do the Gunners lack the cutting edge that Manchester United can claim to have, they also lack the depth of squad. Comparatively speaking Arsenal have spent far less in recent years than Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. Despite the quality and talent level of their first eleven being as good if not better on a technical level individually to their competitors during the recent past, the size of their squad has always been relatively small. It hasn’t stopped Arsenal from achieving some wonderful successes under Arsene Wenger during his tenure, but it certainly will be their undoing this season. Selling your prized asset is never the best way to improve a team and even though Henry’s departure was not Arsenal’s wish, his absence will be evident during the season. It’s natural that Arsenal will need time to build a new identity and the pressure is on Robin Van Persie to make this team his own now and prove to be a player Arsenal can rely on to consistently produce the goods. Van Persie missed much of last season through injury and it should go without saying that keeping him fit and healthy will be vital to Arsenal’s chances of making some noise this season.
Are Tottenham good enough to take advantage of a Henry-less Arsenal and break into the top four? Not in my opinion. In fact they may find that their place as the fifth best side in the country is challenged by a pack of clubs including Everton, Bolton, Portsmouth, Blackburn, Newcastle and West Ham. The good news for Spurs is that they kept hold of Dimitar Berbatov and added Darren Bent to their mix of options in attack. However, Spurs are just not strong enough throughout to crack the top four and their hopes are likely to lie again in a good Uefa Cup run as well as the other domestic cup competitions.
Everton finished last season in sixth place but I’m not convinced they will be able to retain or improve on that position this season. Everton largely stood still in the transfer market and in football, standing still often means moving backwards. Sam Allardyce played a significant role in raising the standards and expectations at Bolton and now Sammy Lee will have to prove he can keep up the kind of results that Bolton fans have now become accustomed to. The difference between Bolton staying in the top six or seven of the league or dropping down to mid-table or just below may be Nicolas Anelka. The club have revealed they would be prepared to sell him to a Champions League club if the price was right and with a month still left of the transfer window, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the enigmatic French forward is plying his trade elsewhere.
Allardyce now finds himself trying to revive the proverbial sleeping giant – Newcastle. The Magpies certainly have options upfront with the return from injury of Owen, the arrival of Mark Viduka adding to Obafemi Martins and Shola Ameobi. Allardyce proved at Bolton he could get the best out of a host of foreign players and he will try to work his magic now with Albert Luque. Keeping Owen fit will be key for Newcastle and the options they have going forward may be much needed as Newcastle still lack quality and depth in defence. ‘Big Sam’ has already stated this publicly and it may well be that Newcastle bring in another player or two in that area before the transfer window closes. David Rozehnal has been brought in from PSG, but it will require far more than just him for Newcastle to build a foundation at the back to match the potential they have in forward areas.
Portsmouth and West Ham have both active in the transfer market in an effort to break into that top six. Harry Redknapp has brought in Sylvain Distin, Sulley Muntari and David Nugent, all of whom will bolster the quality of the first team. Having revealed plans to open a new stadium in 2011, Portsmouth are certainly a team on the up and qualifying for the Uefa Cup next season is a realistic proposition for them. Turmoil and controversy surrounded West Ham last season, and even when Tevez scored the winner at Old Trafford to secure their Premier League status the wrangling and conflict was not nearly at an end. Whatever the rights and wrongs of West Ham’s continued existence in the top tier of English football, the fact is that the Hammers will take their place in the Premier League this season and will hope to put last season’s poor season behind them. For the first time in his managerial career, Alan Curbishley has had the opportunity to prove he can not only do something with nothing (as he did for much of his time at Charlton), but do a little more with a lot more at West Ham. Funds have been readily available for Curbishley this summer and he has taken that opportunity to bring in a number of new faces. Craig Bellamy, Scott Parker and Freddie Ljungberg have been brought in largely to replace those who have made their exits in the form of Carlos Tevez, Nigel Reo-Coker and Yossi Benayoun. Another new signing West Ham made but who won’t be in action for six months is Julien Faubert. A ruptured Achilles tendon will rule the £6.1m midfielder out for much of the season. Injury robbed West Ham of Dean Ashton for the whole of last season and his recovery is almost like having a new £15m forward inserted into the side. Despite the struggles of last season, West Ham should fare a lot better this season and be looking up the table rather than down.
Blackburn Rovers have just completed the signing of Roque Santa Cruz and teaming up with Benny McCarthy could help propel Mark Hughes’ side into the top six. Blackburn are currently involved in Intertoto Cup competition and will believe that they now have the makeup to qualify for the Uefa Cup directly next season rather than having to fight for a place through the Intertoto Cup again.
A new season promises much for many a club, but only a few set of clubs and fans will finish the season with their expectations reached. Who those clubs will be only time will tell. A season of ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments is not far away for millions of fans across the country.
How do you see the new Premier League season turning out at the top end and for your club?
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