It's never to early to have a recap, right?
Woeful Wigan
I didn't expect Wigan to combust this early, and certainly not at home to Blackpool, but this team looks doomed.
A Change is as Good as a Rest
Aston Villa looked rejuvenated under the watch of Kevin McDonald. Young players like Albrighton didn't look out of place. West Ham were poor and James Milner is gone, so Week 2 will be interesting. For West Ham, this could be a close run thing come May.
No Cesc? Big Problems
Arsenal were poor against a pretty solid Liverpool. Liverpool coped much better without Torres than Arsenal did without Fabregas. Only an uncharacteristic error by Reina and a moment of madness from Joe Cole spared Arsenal. Chamakh was a peripheral figure and the only good thing you could say was that he showed himself capable of 'scoring' the type of goal Arsenal don't score often enough. Winning ugly ain't easy, but it's necessary.
In with the Old, out with the Young
For a 2nd consecutive week, Paul Scholes looked like Man Utd's best player and Wayne Rooney looked as out of sorts as he did in the World Cup. Surely the better teams will find a way to stymie Scholes and then Rooney will need to step up. Time is on their side at this point.
Hit for 6
Ominously for the rest of the Premier League, Chelsea start where they left off-scoring lots of goals against weak opposition. The performance wasn't great (seriously), but the win was convincing. Wigan should be running scared.
Getting there
Ok, so if it wasn't for Joe Hart, Man City could have been 3-0 down at half-time. But they weren't, and the 2nd half performance against Spurs was much better. This team has too many good players in too many positions not to succeed at some point, the question is when? A point at Spurs is a good start.
Plastic Dreams
Ironic that the poor effort to keep out Bassong's header that gave Spurs any hope was down to one Scott Sutter.
Pavlyuchenko showed what he could do with the 2nd goal-he's a player that has much more to give than we have seen so far in my view.
In other news
It looks like Real Madrid have landed Mesut Ozil-but surely they've picked the wrong Germans from the World Cup team-unless money is an object (and maybe it is?) I would have gone for Schweinsteiger and Muller over Khedira and Ozil myself. I thought Khedira was just ok in the World Cup (and might not have played at all were it not for the absence of Michael Ballack, among others), bar the 3rd place game maybe, and Ozil was very hit and miss.
Shay Given will hopefully have a new club before August 31. I really like Joe Hart and don't have a problem with him being 1st choice at Man City, but Shay is still too good a keeper not to be starting somewhere, and why not Arsenal? His perceived lack of command in the box coupled with Arsenal' lack of height at the back might not be a good fit.
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Thursday 12 August 2010
Predictions eh?
So after a relatively mundane World Cup, we had what seemed to be one of the quietest and less interesting off seasons in recent memory (Word Cup aside, I seem to recall saying something similar at this time last year...). So here we go, a few lines on each of the 20 Premier League teams, in the order I expect them to finish.
1. Man Utd
Wayne Rooney should have plenty left in the tank after the World Cup, and Javier Hernandez looks a live-wire, as well as possessing enough talent to score the type of goal we saw in the Community Shield last weekend, so Utd should once again score plenty of goals. There's also a chance that the languid Bulgarian could come alive but that would be stretching things I suppose. Utd should have plenty of motivation this year, and still look like the most dangerous team on the attack in the Premier League. As Chelsea showed last year, loads of goals can make up for deficiencies in other areas of the pitch.
2. Arsenal
Arsenal strengthened their team where they were weak (centre back and centre forward) and perhaps now only a decent goalkeeper stands between Arsene and some silverware. Shay Given would do the job (but why now and not 2 years ago?), but I don't realy know enough about Laurent Koscielny or Marouane Chamakh to say how they will adapt to an away game at Bolton or the attentions of Ryan Shawcross. And, as Alan Smith says, 'who will mark Drogba?' Still, Fabergas is still here and is fit starting the season, and Aaron Ramsey could be back before Christmas. Plenty for the Gunners fans to look forward to in the year ahead.
3. Chelsea
Ramires could be very good, and there is no Afrcian Nations Cup this year, so why do Chelsea drop 2 places? Last season, they relied on other teams failures as much as their own strenghths to win the title. I see a small drop off in their own form and a slight uptick in those of Man Utd and Arsenal leaving Chelsea just off the pace this season. John Terry and Petr Cech especially seemed to have regressed from the Mourinho years, and Ashley Cole doesn't seem to want to play in, let alone for, England these days. Most of the squad is free of serious injury at the outset, and the importance of the return of Michael Essien cannot be understated, so a hot start (their first 5 games should be considered very winnable) could change my mind, but for now, the glass is half empty. The pressure to win the Champions League could also impact the title run in (assuming Chelsea make it past the group stage).
4. Liverpool
Roy Hodgson restores some pride on the red half of Merseyside, and a potential takeover could provide funds to strengthen the XI, either now or during January. This prediction is only valid as long as Fernando Torres reverts to the 2009 edition and not the sorry sight we saw during the World Cup.
5. Man City
David Silva. Yaya Toure. Jerome Boateng. Mario Balotelli. James Milner. Some Serbian guy. Yes, half a team arrived at the Middle Eastlands this summer as Man City keep on keeping on. How will all these new arrivals blend with a team that was good enough to finish within 3 points of Champions League football last year? Maybe not this year, but soon, Man City are likely to get there, just as Chelsea did before them. What they don't have is a manager of the pedigree of Jose Mourinho, who had a lot to do with Chelsea's recent success.
6. Everton
It's hard not to like what David Moyes has done at Goodison. A solid team, with a lot of nice players. Hopefully Donegal's own Seamus Coleman makes the right back spot his own this season. Jermaine Beckford gets the chance to prove himself at a higher level than League 1.
7. Spurs
All this talk of signing William Gallas should worry Spurs fans. Another team that has pretty much stood pat this summer, with Brazilian Sandro that only signing of note.
8. Stoke City
Signing Kenwyne Jones for £8m is a statement of intent-and Stoke are well placed to consolidate last years 11th place finish. One of the most fervent home crowds and a positive style of play make them one of the best of the rest.
9. Sunderland
Can Darren Bent repeat last season's scoring feat? If he can, Sunderland could improve on last season's 13th place-which came about largely as a result of 14 consecutive matches without a win. Manager Steve Bruce has made some good moves in both the transfer and loan markets.
10. Aston Villa
A bad start before a ball is even kicked. I'm not Martin O'Neill's biggest fan, but he brought a fair bit of solidity to Villa. I can understand his frustration at a lack of signings, but look around the league and many other teams have stood pat this summer as well. As for losing James Milner, well, if someone offered me £18m and Stephen Ireland, I'd probably take it (even though a little less money and Craig Bellany thrown into the package might have made it more appealing...). Villa will regress, and barely fend off the Brummies for the right to call themselves Birmingham's first team in 2011.
11. Birmingham
Losing Joe Hart will hurt, but Ben Foster is probably going to turn out to be a decent keeper, once he gets regular playing time. Birmingham had the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, but managed and average of only 1 goal a game at home. Nicola Zigic will need to hit the ground running for Alex McLeish's side this season, or Birmingham may struggle to stay on the top half. I'm not really sure what to expect from them this time round.
12. Blackburn
Unless he's coaching Newcastle, Sam Allardyce's teams have tended to be pretty solid. Phil Jones looks like a decent centre half and the supporting cast looks pretty solid, but Nikola Kalinic will need to up his scoring rate, otherwise Blackburn could struggle.
13. Newcastle
Let's be honest, Newcastle probably belong in the Premier League. However, they are in arguably the most competitive tier, i.e. those that find themsleves fighting to stay out of the relegation zones for much of the season.
14. Bolton
Owen Coyle looks like he made the right move in leaving Burnley for Bolton earlier this year. Ivan Klasnic is now on board full-time and has a record of 1 goal in 3 wherever he has played, which isn't bad.
15. Fulham
A good manager and the same sqaud as last season-so why not a higher league position this time round? I don't know, I just don't trust London clubs.
16. West Ham
West Ham will rely heavily in Scott Parker again this season. Avram Grant gets a crack at managing in the Premier League with less expectation than he faced at Chelsea and much less pressure (or an impending sense of doom) than he faced at Portsmouth last season.
17. Wolves
I'm surprised that Mick McCarthy's bunch stayed up (with something to spare) last season. If they can do it once, they can do it once more.
18. Wigan
Just how many Caldwells should you field in a team? Wigan held on to Rodallega and N'Zogbia, so might stay up. But I doubt it, and, once this team goes down, I don't know if we'll see them in the Premier League for a long time.
19. West Brom
Brom goes up, Brom goes down. I'd like to see Roberto Di Matteo (and indeed Steven Reid) do well, but I can't see West Brom doing much better than this.
20. Blackpool
A fantastic achievement to reach the Premier League, and that's probably as good as it gets, bar a few tasty Ian Holloway soundbites.
1. Man Utd
Wayne Rooney should have plenty left in the tank after the World Cup, and Javier Hernandez looks a live-wire, as well as possessing enough talent to score the type of goal we saw in the Community Shield last weekend, so Utd should once again score plenty of goals. There's also a chance that the languid Bulgarian could come alive but that would be stretching things I suppose. Utd should have plenty of motivation this year, and still look like the most dangerous team on the attack in the Premier League. As Chelsea showed last year, loads of goals can make up for deficiencies in other areas of the pitch.
2. Arsenal
Arsenal strengthened their team where they were weak (centre back and centre forward) and perhaps now only a decent goalkeeper stands between Arsene and some silverware. Shay Given would do the job (but why now and not 2 years ago?), but I don't realy know enough about Laurent Koscielny or Marouane Chamakh to say how they will adapt to an away game at Bolton or the attentions of Ryan Shawcross. And, as Alan Smith says, 'who will mark Drogba?' Still, Fabergas is still here and is fit starting the season, and Aaron Ramsey could be back before Christmas. Plenty for the Gunners fans to look forward to in the year ahead.
3. Chelsea
Ramires could be very good, and there is no Afrcian Nations Cup this year, so why do Chelsea drop 2 places? Last season, they relied on other teams failures as much as their own strenghths to win the title. I see a small drop off in their own form and a slight uptick in those of Man Utd and Arsenal leaving Chelsea just off the pace this season. John Terry and Petr Cech especially seemed to have regressed from the Mourinho years, and Ashley Cole doesn't seem to want to play in, let alone for, England these days. Most of the squad is free of serious injury at the outset, and the importance of the return of Michael Essien cannot be understated, so a hot start (their first 5 games should be considered very winnable) could change my mind, but for now, the glass is half empty. The pressure to win the Champions League could also impact the title run in (assuming Chelsea make it past the group stage).
4. Liverpool
Roy Hodgson restores some pride on the red half of Merseyside, and a potential takeover could provide funds to strengthen the XI, either now or during January. This prediction is only valid as long as Fernando Torres reverts to the 2009 edition and not the sorry sight we saw during the World Cup.
5. Man City
David Silva. Yaya Toure. Jerome Boateng. Mario Balotelli. James Milner. Some Serbian guy. Yes, half a team arrived at the Middle Eastlands this summer as Man City keep on keeping on. How will all these new arrivals blend with a team that was good enough to finish within 3 points of Champions League football last year? Maybe not this year, but soon, Man City are likely to get there, just as Chelsea did before them. What they don't have is a manager of the pedigree of Jose Mourinho, who had a lot to do with Chelsea's recent success.
6. Everton
It's hard not to like what David Moyes has done at Goodison. A solid team, with a lot of nice players. Hopefully Donegal's own Seamus Coleman makes the right back spot his own this season. Jermaine Beckford gets the chance to prove himself at a higher level than League 1.
7. Spurs
All this talk of signing William Gallas should worry Spurs fans. Another team that has pretty much stood pat this summer, with Brazilian Sandro that only signing of note.
8. Stoke City
Signing Kenwyne Jones for £8m is a statement of intent-and Stoke are well placed to consolidate last years 11th place finish. One of the most fervent home crowds and a positive style of play make them one of the best of the rest.
9. Sunderland
Can Darren Bent repeat last season's scoring feat? If he can, Sunderland could improve on last season's 13th place-which came about largely as a result of 14 consecutive matches without a win. Manager Steve Bruce has made some good moves in both the transfer and loan markets.
10. Aston Villa
A bad start before a ball is even kicked. I'm not Martin O'Neill's biggest fan, but he brought a fair bit of solidity to Villa. I can understand his frustration at a lack of signings, but look around the league and many other teams have stood pat this summer as well. As for losing James Milner, well, if someone offered me £18m and Stephen Ireland, I'd probably take it (even though a little less money and Craig Bellany thrown into the package might have made it more appealing...). Villa will regress, and barely fend off the Brummies for the right to call themselves Birmingham's first team in 2011.
11. Birmingham
Losing Joe Hart will hurt, but Ben Foster is probably going to turn out to be a decent keeper, once he gets regular playing time. Birmingham had the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, but managed and average of only 1 goal a game at home. Nicola Zigic will need to hit the ground running for Alex McLeish's side this season, or Birmingham may struggle to stay on the top half. I'm not really sure what to expect from them this time round.
12. Blackburn
Unless he's coaching Newcastle, Sam Allardyce's teams have tended to be pretty solid. Phil Jones looks like a decent centre half and the supporting cast looks pretty solid, but Nikola Kalinic will need to up his scoring rate, otherwise Blackburn could struggle.
13. Newcastle
Let's be honest, Newcastle probably belong in the Premier League. However, they are in arguably the most competitive tier, i.e. those that find themsleves fighting to stay out of the relegation zones for much of the season.
14. Bolton
Owen Coyle looks like he made the right move in leaving Burnley for Bolton earlier this year. Ivan Klasnic is now on board full-time and has a record of 1 goal in 3 wherever he has played, which isn't bad.
15. Fulham
A good manager and the same sqaud as last season-so why not a higher league position this time round? I don't know, I just don't trust London clubs.
16. West Ham
West Ham will rely heavily in Scott Parker again this season. Avram Grant gets a crack at managing in the Premier League with less expectation than he faced at Chelsea and much less pressure (or an impending sense of doom) than he faced at Portsmouth last season.
17. Wolves
I'm surprised that Mick McCarthy's bunch stayed up (with something to spare) last season. If they can do it once, they can do it once more.
18. Wigan
Just how many Caldwells should you field in a team? Wigan held on to Rodallega and N'Zogbia, so might stay up. But I doubt it, and, once this team goes down, I don't know if we'll see them in the Premier League for a long time.
19. West Brom
Brom goes up, Brom goes down. I'd like to see Roberto Di Matteo (and indeed Steven Reid) do well, but I can't see West Brom doing much better than this.
20. Blackpool
A fantastic achievement to reach the Premier League, and that's probably as good as it gets, bar a few tasty Ian Holloway soundbites.
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