This and That: Looking at the upcoming English Premier League Season

With the new English and Scottish Football Season’s peeking over the horizon, I thought I’d give some quick musings as both a way of making use of my free time while also, hopefully, writing something informative and entertaining. Best laid plans and all that.

English Premier League

I’ve designated both Manchester City and Chelsea as favourites for the title this year, which is ironically what I did last year as well, with a chasing pack of Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool behind them.

Whether Liverpool will be able to mount a title challenge without Luis Suarez in their ranks remains to be seen. It would be easy to write them off as title contenders thanks in part to Suarez leaving and also the increased pressure of European competition. However, never underestimate Liverpool Football Club’s penchant for annoying me. It would be foolish to write them off, especially after how close they came last year.

Arsenal are a team I will happily write off immediately. I can say with pretty much 99% confidence that they will not win the League this year. In fact I will say that they will never win the League again as long as Arsene Wenger is their manager. The FA Cup win, rather than being an impetus that invigorates Wenger to have a genuine crack at the Title, will instead end up being the pacifier in which he uses to soothe The Gooner moaning throughout this season when Arsenal inevitably find themselves out of the Title Hunt by March. Combine this with them collapsing against the first Top Team they face in The Champions League knock outs, before scraping Fourth in the League and you pretty much have Arsenal’s trajectory for this season, and every season thereafter until Wenger finally leaves his position. Oh well, watching The Gooner’s complain will provide ample entertainment at least.

Manchester United is a bit of a different animal this year and I’m finding it hard to predict what will happen with them. Based on the squad they have and in conjunction with their ambitious new manager in Louis Van Gaal, you’d think that they would be nailed on for a top four finish. Whether that happens or not though remains to be seen. It’s not out of the question that they could win the title but I'm thinking more likely they’ll finish just outside of the Top Two after a decent stab of it.

Chelsea are a genuine threat this season in my opinion. Jose Mourinho has bought relatively well and appears to have a team capable of winning the League this year. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas are “name” players who appear to be what the side is looking for, that being a 15-20 goal a season striker and a midfield anchor. Bringing Didier Drogba back for another go around seems like a reasonable step as well. Despite being another year older, Drogba still has yet to lose the predatory instincts in front of goal that make him such a threat, although one imagines that he’ll be more of a backup option this season.

Having new boy Van Gaal in the house may actually assist Mourinho in some ways as there will be slightly less focus on him. Some may scoff at the idea of Mourinho quietly getting on with things in the background while Van Gaal, Wenger and Brendon Rodgers soak up the press attention. But hey, first time for everything right?

Manchester City, defending Champions and still sickeningly loaded with “name” players, look very capable of defending their title. The fact that Yaya Toure seems to have shut down the rumours that he wants to move on will no doubt boost City’s title hopes. Toure was the driving force for City last season and would have been a very difficult player to replace. I’ll be honest and say that I lost quite a lot of respect for him during the summer saga that unfolded where his agent complained that the club hadn’t wished him Happy Birthday to a satisfactory enough level and that he wanted to leave as a result.

It didn’t help that he then insinuated that the club had refused him the right to visit his mortally ill brother and demanded he partake in the post-season tour. Firstly, I sincerely doubt that Manchester City would, or indeed even could, do that to their star player. Secondly, even if they did do that, to publically air it in an attempt to force a move struck me as being in particular poor taste from the man. I’m hardly a City fan but I’d be shocked if the club had been as unpleasant as Toure and his agent had accused them of being.

Regardless, it seems like Toure is sticking around and no doubt everything will be forgotten if he ends up playing a deciding factor in City picking up another League Title. You’d have to think that City, even with falling afoul of Financial Fair Play rules, will be in the title mix not just this season but for many other seasons in the future. There’s a genuine chance that they might start collecting a considerable League Title haul in the next few years. They’ve already got two and it wouldn’t surprise me if they added a third this season.

And what of the rest, including my beloved Everton? Though disappointing that the Blues were unable to get over the fourth place line last season, there were enough positive signs that I was generally happy come the end of the season. Securing Fifth place and bringing European nights back to Goodison Park was certainly a good achievement for Roberto Martinez in his first season as manager. The signings of Gareth Barry and Muhammed Besic have been a bonus but, as of the writing of this, the club is still yet to officially sign anyone else.

Romelu Lukaku seems like he's far off from joining the club at this point and I’m starting to worry the signings that Everton need to make will be made long after the opening game against Leicester, if they are made at all. Considering that Everton have to play both Arsenal and Chelsea before the close of the transfer window, I’m genuinely worried that things are going to get quite ugly at the start of this season. Obviously, I hope to be proven wrong. To have Lukaku, Henen and possibly another couple of players all under contract before the trip to the King Power Stadium on the 16th August seems like a far off impossible dream. But hey, maybe the club will surprise us?

As for Tottenham Hotspur, I just don’t know with them anymore. For the past 3-4 seasons they’ve had genuine chances to break into the Top Four club and get “juiced in” as one of the big boys, but they just haven’t been able to get over the hump. Constant instability at the club, be it in regards to managerial appointments or playing staff, has left them far off from where they want to be. The sacking of AVB in particular seemingly made no sense. Once again, Villas-Boas came into a club with a mandate for a fresh start only to have it pulled away by people above him in the pecking order. Will Spurs be top four this season? I have to think that with Liverpool riding the wave of last season and with Man United bringing in Van Gaal that it will be a big ask of the London club.

In regards to Southampton, it’s interesting that the Titanic set off from Southampton docks, as Southampton FC is looking about as watertight as that aforementioned vessel. And that’s after it hit the iceberg! I have no idea what’s going on at that club. It doesn’t make any sense. You have the best season you’ve ever had in the Premiership, so you sell all your best players in one window. Madness. Unbridled, unabashed, unashamed and down right unbelievable MADNESS. I worry for them this season, I really do.

I also worry for Aston Villa. An historic club in a state of flux. The summer signings don’t seem to suggest that the club is looking upward. If anything, it looks like Villa would take a sixteenth place finish at the moment. I’m rooting for The Villains, if only because their situation reminds me a bit too much of Everton pre-2002. The similarities are striking and are hitting a bit too close to home for my liking. Here’s hoping they don’t get relegated. A Premier League without the Claret and Blue would be a lesser one in my opinion.

That’s enough for now I think. I’ll be back looking at Scotland in the next day or so.

Peace Out