The Premier Event
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/885/1/The-Premier-Event/Arsenal-Aston-Villa-Birmingham-City-Blackburn-Rovers.html
Nick Dorrington
By Nick Dorrington
Published on 08/10/2007
While Americans are busy studying minicamp performances to get an edge in fantasy football drafts, they're turning their eyes to football across the Atlantic. We're not talking Cowboys-Colts, we're talking the English Premiership, and ASM's Nick Dorrington has a preview. Never paid much attention to the EPL but interested in a primer? Go no further because here it is; every team broken down and everything you need to know for '07/'08.
While Americans are busy studying minicamp performances to get an edge in fantasy football drafts, they're turning their eyes to football across the Atlantic. We're not talking Cowboys-Colts, we're talking the English Premiership, and ASM's Nick Dorrington has a preview. Never paid much attention to the EPL but interested in a primer? Go no further because here it is; every team broken down and everything you need to know for '07/'08.
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers
Arsenal
Players In: Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, undisclosed), Bacary Sagna (Auxerre, undisclosed), Havard Nordtveit (FK Haugesund, undisclosed).
Players Out: Thierry Henry (Barcelona, £16.1m), Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough, £2m), Fabrice Muamba (Birmingham, £2m), Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, undisclosed), Mart Poom (Watford, free), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m), Jose Antonio Reyes (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Kerrea Gilbert (Southend, loan), Ryan Garry (Bournemouth, free).
Many predict Arsenal to struggle to keep their top four place this season. The loss of Thierry Henry is obviously massive, but in Robin Van Persie they have a potential replacement, who is only going to get better with regular first team football.
Arsene Wenger will be hoping for more goals from his attacking midfielders this season, and will expect Alexander Hleb and Tomas Rosicky to contribute at least 8-10 goals each over the campaign.
Their main problem last season was putting away their chances, so Wenger will be hoping that new signing Eduardo da Silva can be that ‘fox in the box’ they have been looking for over the last few seasons.
We’ve seen Arsene Wenger deal with players such as Anelka, Petit and Overmars leaving the club before, but Thierry Henry was more than a single player, he was the symbol of how Arsenal played their football. Although they do have players who can fill his boots, I feel this will be a transition season for Arsenal and they will lose the last Champions League place to their North London rivals.
Prediction: 5th place
-------------------------
Aston Villa
Players In: Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham, £8.5m), Marlon Harewood (West Ham, undisclosed), Harry Forrester (Watford, undisclosed), Eric Lichaj (unattached, free)
Players Out: Aaron Hughes (Fulham, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Bolton, free), Steven Davis (Fulham, undisclosed), Gavin McCann (Bolton, £1m), Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls, free), Stephen Henderson (Bristol City, free), Lee Hendrie (Sheffield United, free), Robert Olejnik (Falkirk, free), Chris Sutton (released).
Aston Villa had a patchy season last time around, starting off well, dipping in the middle of the season and then coming back to form near the end.
American owner Randy Lerner hasn’t been as generous with his cheque book as many Villa fans would probably have hoped, but with a few weeks still to go until the transfer deadline day, they may still add a few new faces.
Martin O’Neill has added steel to his midfield with the signing of Nigel Reo Coker from West Ham and his side does now include a lot of fresh young talent, mixed with a few experienced heads to steady the ship.
Much of their success will be down to the fitness and form of John Carew. The massive Norwegian striker looked brilliant at times in Villa’s run-in to last season, but his injury proneness is definitely a concern for O’Neill.
I would expect Villa to be more consistent this season, although with other clubs spending big around them, a top ten finish is probably the best they can hope for.
Prediction: 10th
-------------------
Birmingham City
Players In: Olivier Kapo (Juventus, £3m), Garry O'Connor (Lokomotiv Moscow, £2.7m), Fabrice Muamba (Arsenal, £2m), Stuart Parnaby (Middlesbrough, free), Daniel de Ridder (Celta Vigo, free), Richard Kingston (Antalyaspor, free), Rafael Schmitz (Lille, season loan), Franck Queudrue (Fulham, £2.5m).
Players Out: Bruno N'Gotty (Leicester, free), Julian Gray (Coventry, free), Stephen Clemence (Leicester, fee rising to £1m), DJ Campbell (Leicester, £2.1m).
Birmingham are in danger of becoming a yo-yo club, too good for the Championship but not quite good enough to stay in the Premiership.
Steve Bruce has added to his squad in numbers, with a couple more expected to come in before the transfer deadline. Daniel de Ridder looks like a great signing in midfield, but you still have to wonder where the goals are going to come from.
Garry O’Connor is unproven at Premiership level and their other striking options leave a lot to be desired. It is no wonder they are trying to resurrect a deal to bring Egyptian striker Mido to St Andrews.
Unfortunately for Birmingham I just don’t see enough quality in their squad to stay up, especially with almost all of the current Premiership teams have strengthened their squads since last season. Relegation looms.
Prediction: 19th
-------------------
Blackburn Rovers
Players In: Gunnar Nielsen (BK Frem Copenhagen, undisclosed), Maceo Rigters (NAC Breda, undisclosed), Roque Santa Cruz (Bayern Munich, undisclosed).
Players Out: Andy Todd (Derby, undisclosed), Michael Gray (Wolves, released).
Mark Hughes has once again added shrewdly to his Blackburn squad, who have built a reputation as a side that is very hard to beat, especially at Ewood Park.
His side are strong in the tackle, but also possess some players with real quality, a mix that saw them finish in a UEFA Cup spot last season.
By adding Roque Santa Cruz and young Dutch forward Marco Rigters, Hughes now has plenty of options in attack, and I would expect Blackburn to be one of higher scoring teams outside the top five.
Although many around them have spent big money, I believe Hughes has molded a team more than capable of challenging for a UEFA Cup spot and they should definitely be in the hunt come the last few games of the season.
Prediction: 8th
Players In: Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, undisclosed), Bacary Sagna (Auxerre, undisclosed), Havard Nordtveit (FK Haugesund, undisclosed).
Players Out: Thierry Henry (Barcelona, £16.1m), Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough, £2m), Fabrice Muamba (Birmingham, £2m), Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, undisclosed), Mart Poom (Watford, free), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m), Jose Antonio Reyes (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Kerrea Gilbert (Southend, loan), Ryan Garry (Bournemouth, free).
Many predict Arsenal to struggle to keep their top four place this season. The loss of Thierry Henry is obviously massive, but in Robin Van Persie they have a potential replacement, who is only going to get better with regular first team football.
Arsene Wenger will be hoping for more goals from his attacking midfielders this season, and will expect Alexander Hleb and Tomas Rosicky to contribute at least 8-10 goals each over the campaign.
Their main problem last season was putting away their chances, so Wenger will be hoping that new signing Eduardo da Silva can be that ‘fox in the box’ they have been looking for over the last few seasons.
We’ve seen Arsene Wenger deal with players such as Anelka, Petit and Overmars leaving the club before, but Thierry Henry was more than a single player, he was the symbol of how Arsenal played their football. Although they do have players who can fill his boots, I feel this will be a transition season for Arsenal and they will lose the last Champions League place to their North London rivals.
Prediction: 5th place
-------------------------
Aston Villa
Players In: Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham, £8.5m), Marlon Harewood (West Ham, undisclosed), Harry Forrester (Watford, undisclosed), Eric Lichaj (unattached, free)
Players Out: Aaron Hughes (Fulham, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Bolton, free), Steven Davis (Fulham, undisclosed), Gavin McCann (Bolton, £1m), Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls, free), Stephen Henderson (Bristol City, free), Lee Hendrie (Sheffield United, free), Robert Olejnik (Falkirk, free), Chris Sutton (released).
Aston Villa had a patchy season last time around, starting off well, dipping in the middle of the season and then coming back to form near the end.
American owner Randy Lerner hasn’t been as generous with his cheque book as many Villa fans would probably have hoped, but with a few weeks still to go until the transfer deadline day, they may still add a few new faces.
Martin O’Neill has added steel to his midfield with the signing of Nigel Reo Coker from West Ham and his side does now include a lot of fresh young talent, mixed with a few experienced heads to steady the ship.
Much of their success will be down to the fitness and form of John Carew. The massive Norwegian striker looked brilliant at times in Villa’s run-in to last season, but his injury proneness is definitely a concern for O’Neill.
I would expect Villa to be more consistent this season, although with other clubs spending big around them, a top ten finish is probably the best they can hope for.
Prediction: 10th
-------------------
Birmingham City
Players In: Olivier Kapo (Juventus, £3m), Garry O'Connor (Lokomotiv Moscow, £2.7m), Fabrice Muamba (Arsenal, £2m), Stuart Parnaby (Middlesbrough, free), Daniel de Ridder (Celta Vigo, free), Richard Kingston (Antalyaspor, free), Rafael Schmitz (Lille, season loan), Franck Queudrue (Fulham, £2.5m).
Players Out: Bruno N'Gotty (Leicester, free), Julian Gray (Coventry, free), Stephen Clemence (Leicester, fee rising to £1m), DJ Campbell (Leicester, £2.1m).
Birmingham are in danger of becoming a yo-yo club, too good for the Championship but not quite good enough to stay in the Premiership.
Steve Bruce has added to his squad in numbers, with a couple more expected to come in before the transfer deadline. Daniel de Ridder looks like a great signing in midfield, but you still have to wonder where the goals are going to come from.
Garry O’Connor is unproven at Premiership level and their other striking options leave a lot to be desired. It is no wonder they are trying to resurrect a deal to bring Egyptian striker Mido to St Andrews.
Unfortunately for Birmingham I just don’t see enough quality in their squad to stay up, especially with almost all of the current Premiership teams have strengthened their squads since last season. Relegation looms.
Prediction: 19th
-------------------
Blackburn Rovers
Players In: Gunnar Nielsen (BK Frem Copenhagen, undisclosed), Maceo Rigters (NAC Breda, undisclosed), Roque Santa Cruz (Bayern Munich, undisclosed).
Players Out: Andy Todd (Derby, undisclosed), Michael Gray (Wolves, released).
Mark Hughes has once again added shrewdly to his Blackburn squad, who have built a reputation as a side that is very hard to beat, especially at Ewood Park.
His side are strong in the tackle, but also possess some players with real quality, a mix that saw them finish in a UEFA Cup spot last season.
By adding Roque Santa Cruz and young Dutch forward Marco Rigters, Hughes now has plenty of options in attack, and I would expect Blackburn to be one of higher scoring teams outside the top five.
Although many around them have spent big money, I believe Hughes has molded a team more than capable of challenging for a UEFA Cup spot and they should definitely be in the hunt come the last few games of the season.
Prediction: 8th
Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Derby County, Everton
Bolton Wanderers
Players In: Gavin McCann (Aston Villa, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Aston Villa, free), Zoltan Harsanyi (FC Senec, undisclosed), Blerim Dzemaili (Zurich, undisclosed), Gerald Cid (Bordeaux, undisclosed), Danny Guthrie (Liverpool, season loan), Heidar Helguson (Fulham, undisclosed), Mikel Alonso (Real Sociedad, loan), Christian Wilhelmsson (Nantes, loan).
Players Out: Ben Haim (Chelsea, free), Idan Tal (Betar Jerusalem, undisclosed), Chris Howarth (Carlisle, free), Henrik Pedersen, Quinton Fortune, David Thompson, Cesar Martin (all released).
I fear for Bolton this season.
Sammy Lee’s signings seem to indicate that he intends to continue in the long ball style that Sam Allardyce used to great effect whilst in charge of the club.
However, without the leadership and organisational skills of Allardyce, I feel that Bolton are going to struggle to get anywhere near their 7th place finish last season.
Along with Allardyce, they have also lost influential defender Tal Ben Haim to Chelsea and I think these two losses may be enough to consign them to a bottom half finish.
Prediction: 14th
--------------------
Chelsea
Players In: Florent Malouda (Lyon, £13.5m), Tal Ben Haim (Bolton, free), Steve Sidwell (Reading, free), Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich, free), Jacob Mellis (Sheffield United, £1.3m), Danny Philliskirk (Oldham, undisclosed).
Players Out: Geremi (Newcastle, free) Yves Ma-Kalambay (Hibernian, free), Nuno Morais (Apoel Nicosia, undisclosed), Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla, season loan), Jimmy Smith (Norwich, season loan), Michael Mancienne (QPR, season-long loan), James Russell (Stevenage).
Despite not spending as much money as in previous summers, Chelsea have added some excellent free transfer signings to the squad, along with the signing of Florent Malouda, who I think will be a big hit in the Premiership.
Jose Mourinho seems to have realised that they got a bit stale in the offensive third at times last season and they look set to adopt a more attacking philosophy this season.
They have plenty of options defensively and are definitely still the best equipped side to challenge Manchester United for the title.
Mourinho’s men have a point to prove this season and they look to regain the Premiership title from United. I fully expect the title race to go down to the wire, but I can see United just pipping Chelsea to the crown.
Prediction: 2nd
-------------------
Derby County
Players In: Robert Earnshaw (Norwich, £3.5m), Tyrone Mears (West Ham, £1m), Claude Davis (£3m), Andy Todd (Blackburn, free), Ben Hinchcliffe (free agent), Andy Griffin (Portsmouth, free), Lewis Price (Ipswich, undisclosed).
Players Out: Seth Johnson, Morten Bisgaard, Lee Grant (all released), Ryan Smith (Millwall, £150,000), Paul Peschisolido (Luton, free), Paul Boertien (Walsall, free), Lee Camp (Derby, £300,000), Steve Cann (Rotherham, released), Richard Jackson (Luton, free).
Derby manager Billy Davies has bought a lot of players from the Championship that he knows will give him 100% commitment over the season.
Unfortunately, commitment itself is not normally enough to keep you in the Premiership.
He is relying heavily on Robert Earnshaw to become a regular Premiership goalscorer and will have to hope that young starlets such as Giles Barnes take to the league quickly if they are to stand any chance of staying up.
In the end I think Premiership survival is beyond them, and I expect to see them back in the Champioship come next season.
Prediction: 20th
--------------------
Everton
Players In: Leighton Baines (Everton, undisclosed), Lukas Jutkiewicz (Swindon, undisclosed), Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United, £4m), Steven Pienaar (Borussia Dortmund, loan)
Players Out: Richard Wright (West Ham, free), Alessandro Pistone (released), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United, £1m), James Beattie (Sheffield United, £4m), Scott Phelan (Bradford, free).
Everton have added some solid midfield cover, but seem intent on adding some more attacking options before the start of the season.
Provided they can get in a couple of attacking players, then their solid defence will allow them to consolidate their position this year.
They finished sixth last season despite a glut of injuries throughout the season, and if they can keep everyone fit then I think they can finish in the same place again.
Prediction: 6th
Players In: Gavin McCann (Aston Villa, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Aston Villa, free), Zoltan Harsanyi (FC Senec, undisclosed), Blerim Dzemaili (Zurich, undisclosed), Gerald Cid (Bordeaux, undisclosed), Danny Guthrie (Liverpool, season loan), Heidar Helguson (Fulham, undisclosed), Mikel Alonso (Real Sociedad, loan), Christian Wilhelmsson (Nantes, loan).
Players Out: Ben Haim (Chelsea, free), Idan Tal (Betar Jerusalem, undisclosed), Chris Howarth (Carlisle, free), Henrik Pedersen, Quinton Fortune, David Thompson, Cesar Martin (all released).
I fear for Bolton this season.
Sammy Lee’s signings seem to indicate that he intends to continue in the long ball style that Sam Allardyce used to great effect whilst in charge of the club.
However, without the leadership and organisational skills of Allardyce, I feel that Bolton are going to struggle to get anywhere near their 7th place finish last season.
Along with Allardyce, they have also lost influential defender Tal Ben Haim to Chelsea and I think these two losses may be enough to consign them to a bottom half finish.
Prediction: 14th
--------------------
Chelsea
Players In: Florent Malouda (Lyon, £13.5m), Tal Ben Haim (Bolton, free), Steve Sidwell (Reading, free), Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich, free), Jacob Mellis (Sheffield United, £1.3m), Danny Philliskirk (Oldham, undisclosed).
Players Out: Geremi (Newcastle, free) Yves Ma-Kalambay (Hibernian, free), Nuno Morais (Apoel Nicosia, undisclosed), Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla, season loan), Jimmy Smith (Norwich, season loan), Michael Mancienne (QPR, season-long loan), James Russell (Stevenage).
Despite not spending as much money as in previous summers, Chelsea have added some excellent free transfer signings to the squad, along with the signing of Florent Malouda, who I think will be a big hit in the Premiership.
Jose Mourinho seems to have realised that they got a bit stale in the offensive third at times last season and they look set to adopt a more attacking philosophy this season.
They have plenty of options defensively and are definitely still the best equipped side to challenge Manchester United for the title.
Mourinho’s men have a point to prove this season and they look to regain the Premiership title from United. I fully expect the title race to go down to the wire, but I can see United just pipping Chelsea to the crown.
Prediction: 2nd
-------------------
Derby County
Players In: Robert Earnshaw (Norwich, £3.5m), Tyrone Mears (West Ham, £1m), Claude Davis (£3m), Andy Todd (Blackburn, free), Ben Hinchcliffe (free agent), Andy Griffin (Portsmouth, free), Lewis Price (Ipswich, undisclosed).
Players Out: Seth Johnson, Morten Bisgaard, Lee Grant (all released), Ryan Smith (Millwall, £150,000), Paul Peschisolido (Luton, free), Paul Boertien (Walsall, free), Lee Camp (Derby, £300,000), Steve Cann (Rotherham, released), Richard Jackson (Luton, free).
Derby manager Billy Davies has bought a lot of players from the Championship that he knows will give him 100% commitment over the season.
Unfortunately, commitment itself is not normally enough to keep you in the Premiership.
He is relying heavily on Robert Earnshaw to become a regular Premiership goalscorer and will have to hope that young starlets such as Giles Barnes take to the league quickly if they are to stand any chance of staying up.
In the end I think Premiership survival is beyond them, and I expect to see them back in the Champioship come next season.
Prediction: 20th
--------------------
Everton
Players In: Leighton Baines (Everton, undisclosed), Lukas Jutkiewicz (Swindon, undisclosed), Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United, £4m), Steven Pienaar (Borussia Dortmund, loan)
Players Out: Richard Wright (West Ham, free), Alessandro Pistone (released), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United, £1m), James Beattie (Sheffield United, £4m), Scott Phelan (Bradford, free).
Everton have added some solid midfield cover, but seem intent on adding some more attacking options before the start of the season.
Provided they can get in a couple of attacking players, then their solid defence will allow them to consolidate their position this year.
They finished sixth last season despite a glut of injuries throughout the season, and if they can keep everyone fit then I think they can finish in the same place again.
Prediction: 6th
Fulham, Liverpool, Man City, Man U
Fulham
Players In: Diomansy Kamara (West Brom, £6m), Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, £1m), Steven Davis (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Chris Baird (Southampton, £3.025m), David Healy (£1.5m), Paul Konchesky (£2m), Lee Cook (QPR, undisclosed) Hameur Bouazza (Watford, undisclosed).
Players Out: Claus Jensen (released), Mark Pembridge (released), Tomasz Radzinski (released), Mark Crossley (released, now at Oldham), Michael Brown (Wigan, undisclosed), Franck Queudrue (Birmingham, £2.5m).
Fulham have spent heavily this summer compared to seasons past, with Chairman Mohammed Al Fayed backing Lawrie Sanchez in his first Premiership managerial appointment.
Sanchez has a point to prove and has largely signed players he has worked with before in his previous position as Northern Ireland manager.
One may question the quality in his signings, but Sanchez has proved before that he knows how the get the best out of players, and although they won’t set the Premiership alight, I expect Fulham to comfortably survive relegation.
Prediction: 15th
--------------------
Liverpool
Players In: Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Lucas Leiva (Gremio, undisclosed), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao, £270,000), Nikolay Mihaylov (Levski Sofia, undisclosed), Krisztian Nemeth (MTK Budapest, undisclosed), Andras Simon (MTK Budapest, undisclosed), Andriy Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, free), Dani Pacheco (Barcelona, £350,000), Alex Kacaniklic (Helsingborg, undisclosed), Marvin Purie (Borussia Dortmund, undisclosed), Gary Mackay Stevens (Ross County, undisclosed), Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, £5m), Ryan Babel (Ajax, £11.5m).
Players Out: Djibril Cisse (Marseille, £6m), Craig Bellamy (West Ham, £7.5m), Luis Garcia (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva, £2m), Danny Guthrie (Bolton, loan), Robbie Fowler (Cardiff, free), Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid, free), Boudewijn Zenden (Marseille, free), Mark Gonzalez (Real Betis, undisclosed).
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has shipped out the remaining dead wood at the club and has signed players in Torres and Babel that can really help to take the club to the next level.
They have been criticised in the past for their defensive style, so by adding pace up front and more options out wide, Benitez looks all set to send his team out onto the field which a much more attacking look this season.
Whilst I expect Liverpool to cut the gap to Manchester United and Chelsea at the top of the league, I don’t think they are quite there yet, but with their focus on signing promising young players, they will be a force to be reckoned with for many years yet.
Prediction: 3rd
-------------------
Manchester City
Transfers In: Geovanni (Cruzeiro, free), Rolando Bianchi (Reggina, £8.8m), Gelson Fernandes (FC Sion, undisclosed), Martin Petrov (Atletico Madrid, £4.7m), Javier Garrido (Real Sociedad, £1.5m), Vedran Corluka (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk, £8m), Valeri Bojinov (Fiorentina, undisclosed).
Transfers Out: Sylvain Distin (Portsmouth, free), Trevor Sinclair (Cardiff, free), Stephen Jordan (Burnley, free), Hatem Trabelsi (released), Joey Barton (Newcastle, £5.8m), Nicky Weaver (Charlton, free).
The Transfers In part of Manchester City’s preview will probably be completely out of date by the time this is published, simply because the rate at which new manager Sven Goran Erikkson is welcoming new faces to the club is quite astonishing. Their new Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra is certainly not scared to flash the cash.
The eight players signed so far will rectify most of the complaints City fans had with their team last season, notably a lack of pace and finishing ability up front, and a lack of creative midfielders to supply the strikers that they did have.
Martin Petrov, along with Brazilian duo Geovanni and Elano, will provide a quality supply to the new forward line of Rolando Bianchi and Valeri Bojinov, which should see City score plenty of goals this season.
With the signings all coming so late in the day, it will take time to them to gel into a team, which will adversely effect their league position come the end of the season. A slot just outside of the UEFA Cup places looks most likely.
Prediction: 9th
-------------------
Manchester United
Transfers In: Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, £17m), Anderson (Porto, undisclosed), Nani (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed), Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom, undisclosed), Carlos Tevez.
Transfers Out: Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, £5.5m), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal, undisclosed), Alan Smith (Newcastle, £6m).
Alex Ferguson’s United reclaimed their Premiership crown last seasons, showcasing some stunning attacking football along the way.
This summer Ferguson has added two special young talents in Nani and Anderson, which should give him plenty of options off the bench if things aren’t going their way.
He has also added Owen Hargreaves, who will sit in front of the back four and allow the more creative midfield players ahead of them to do their thing.
The signing of Carlos Tevez will cause many raised eyebrows, simply because he seems to be very similar to Wayne Rooney. In fact, the signing of Tevez will allow United’s ever rotating forward line to cause opposition defences even more problems with their movement and could turn out to be an inspired signing come the end of the season.
I expect United to retain their crown, although it will be another colossal battle between them and Chelsea.
Prediction: 1st
Players In: Diomansy Kamara (West Brom, £6m), Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, £1m), Steven Davis (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Chris Baird (Southampton, £3.025m), David Healy (£1.5m), Paul Konchesky (£2m), Lee Cook (QPR, undisclosed) Hameur Bouazza (Watford, undisclosed).
Players Out: Claus Jensen (released), Mark Pembridge (released), Tomasz Radzinski (released), Mark Crossley (released, now at Oldham), Michael Brown (Wigan, undisclosed), Franck Queudrue (Birmingham, £2.5m).
Fulham have spent heavily this summer compared to seasons past, with Chairman Mohammed Al Fayed backing Lawrie Sanchez in his first Premiership managerial appointment.
Sanchez has a point to prove and has largely signed players he has worked with before in his previous position as Northern Ireland manager.
One may question the quality in his signings, but Sanchez has proved before that he knows how the get the best out of players, and although they won’t set the Premiership alight, I expect Fulham to comfortably survive relegation.
Prediction: 15th
--------------------
Liverpool
Players In: Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Lucas Leiva (Gremio, undisclosed), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao, £270,000), Nikolay Mihaylov (Levski Sofia, undisclosed), Krisztian Nemeth (MTK Budapest, undisclosed), Andras Simon (MTK Budapest, undisclosed), Andriy Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, free), Dani Pacheco (Barcelona, £350,000), Alex Kacaniklic (Helsingborg, undisclosed), Marvin Purie (Borussia Dortmund, undisclosed), Gary Mackay Stevens (Ross County, undisclosed), Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, £5m), Ryan Babel (Ajax, £11.5m).
Players Out: Djibril Cisse (Marseille, £6m), Craig Bellamy (West Ham, £7.5m), Luis Garcia (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva, £2m), Danny Guthrie (Bolton, loan), Robbie Fowler (Cardiff, free), Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid, free), Boudewijn Zenden (Marseille, free), Mark Gonzalez (Real Betis, undisclosed).
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has shipped out the remaining dead wood at the club and has signed players in Torres and Babel that can really help to take the club to the next level.
They have been criticised in the past for their defensive style, so by adding pace up front and more options out wide, Benitez looks all set to send his team out onto the field which a much more attacking look this season.
Whilst I expect Liverpool to cut the gap to Manchester United and Chelsea at the top of the league, I don’t think they are quite there yet, but with their focus on signing promising young players, they will be a force to be reckoned with for many years yet.
Prediction: 3rd
-------------------
Manchester City
Transfers In: Geovanni (Cruzeiro, free), Rolando Bianchi (Reggina, £8.8m), Gelson Fernandes (FC Sion, undisclosed), Martin Petrov (Atletico Madrid, £4.7m), Javier Garrido (Real Sociedad, £1.5m), Vedran Corluka (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk, £8m), Valeri Bojinov (Fiorentina, undisclosed).
Transfers Out: Sylvain Distin (Portsmouth, free), Trevor Sinclair (Cardiff, free), Stephen Jordan (Burnley, free), Hatem Trabelsi (released), Joey Barton (Newcastle, £5.8m), Nicky Weaver (Charlton, free).
The Transfers In part of Manchester City’s preview will probably be completely out of date by the time this is published, simply because the rate at which new manager Sven Goran Erikkson is welcoming new faces to the club is quite astonishing. Their new Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra is certainly not scared to flash the cash.
The eight players signed so far will rectify most of the complaints City fans had with their team last season, notably a lack of pace and finishing ability up front, and a lack of creative midfielders to supply the strikers that they did have.
Martin Petrov, along with Brazilian duo Geovanni and Elano, will provide a quality supply to the new forward line of Rolando Bianchi and Valeri Bojinov, which should see City score plenty of goals this season.
With the signings all coming so late in the day, it will take time to them to gel into a team, which will adversely effect their league position come the end of the season. A slot just outside of the UEFA Cup places looks most likely.
Prediction: 9th
-------------------
Manchester United
Transfers In: Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, £17m), Anderson (Porto, undisclosed), Nani (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed), Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom, undisclosed), Carlos Tevez.
Transfers Out: Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, £5.5m), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal, undisclosed), Alan Smith (Newcastle, £6m).
Alex Ferguson’s United reclaimed their Premiership crown last seasons, showcasing some stunning attacking football along the way.
This summer Ferguson has added two special young talents in Nani and Anderson, which should give him plenty of options off the bench if things aren’t going their way.
He has also added Owen Hargreaves, who will sit in front of the back four and allow the more creative midfield players ahead of them to do their thing.
The signing of Carlos Tevez will cause many raised eyebrows, simply because he seems to be very similar to Wayne Rooney. In fact, the signing of Tevez will allow United’s ever rotating forward line to cause opposition defences even more problems with their movement and could turn out to be an inspired signing come the end of the season.
I expect United to retain their crown, although it will be another colossal battle between them and Chelsea.
Prediction: 1st
Middlesborough, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Reading
Middlesborough
Players In: Tuncay Sanli (Fenerbahce, free), Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal, £2m), Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid, £7m), Luke Young (Charlton, £2.5m).
Players Out: Mark Viduka (Newcastle, free), Stuart Parnaby (Birmingham, free), Abel Xavier (LA Galaxy, free), Malcolm Christie (released), Danny Graham (released), Jason Kennedy (Livingston, loan), James Morrison (West Brom, £1.5m).
Middlesborough failed to convince last season in Gareth Southgate’s first season in charge and are likely to slip below their 12th place finish last time around.
The partnership of Mark Viduka and Yakubu up front was their saving grace through much of the season. With Viduka having left for North-East rivals Newcastle, and Yakubu looking ever more likely to move, a partnership of Tuncay and Jeremy Aliadiere hardly looks as lethal.
They are ok defensively, but distinctly average everywhere else, so I expect Middlesborough to find themselves in a relegation battle for most of the season. They may just have enough to survive.
Prediction: 17th
--------------------
Newcastle
Players In: Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free), Joey Barton (Man City, £5.8m), David Rozehnal (Paris St Germain, £2.9m), Geremi (Chelsea, free), Alan Smith (Manchester United, £6m), Claudio Cacapa (Lyon, free), Jose Enrique (Villarreal, £6.3m).
Players Out: Scott Parker (West Ham, £7m), Titus Bramble (Wigan, free), Antoine Sibierski (Wigan, free), Craig Moore (released), Olivier Bernard (released), Alan O'Brien (undisclosed).
Sam Allardyce faces the monumental task of pleasing the St James’s Park crowd as he takes over as Newcastle manager.
He has added a decent selection of players and has shipped out some of the underperformers from years gone past.
It will take a while for Sam to work his magic with Newcastle, but with such a large array of attacking talent, they should be in the hunt for a UEFA Cup place.
Prediction: 7th
-------------------
Portsmouth
Players In: David Nugent (Preston, undisclosed), John Utaka (Rennes, undisclosed), Sylvain Distin (Manchester City, free), Hermann Hreidarsson (Charlton, free), Sulley Muntari (Udinese, undisclosed), Martin Cranie (Southampton, undisclosed), Arnold Mvuemba (Rennes, undisclosed), Callum Reynolds (Rushden & Diamonds, undisclosed).
Players Out: Svetoslav Todorov (Charlton, free), Daryl Fordyce (released), Andy Griffin (Derby, free), Collins Mbesuma (Bursaspor, undisclosed).
Harry Redknapp loves to wheel and deal in the transfer market, with this summer being no exception.
He has spent big on two new strikers in Nugent and Utaka, whom he will be hoping will take quickly to the Premiership and provide him good options up front alongside Benjani and their top scorer last season Kanu.
Sylvain Distin is a shrewd free transfer signing and should form a good partnership with Sol Campbell in defence.
I expect Portsmouth to be in the hunt for a top ten finish but to fall just short come the end of the season.
Prediction: 11th
--------------------
Reading
Players In: Khalifa Cisse (Boavista, £650,000), Emerse Fae (Nantes, £2.5m).
Players Out: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free), Greg Halford (Sunderland, £2.5m), Curtis Ujah (Yeovil, free), Jonathan Hayes (MK Dons, loan).
Steve Coppell’s side surprised almost everyone last season, belying their tag as favourites for relegation to secure an 8th place finish.
However, second-season syndrome is almost certain to kick in this time around as it did for Wigan last season.
They have lost Steve Sidwell to Chelsea and without his influence in midfield they may struggle to control games as they were able to last season.
With a lack of summer signings they may have become a bit too predictable and I expect them to struggle, although they should be comfortably safe from relegation.
Prediction: 13th
Players In: Tuncay Sanli (Fenerbahce, free), Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal, £2m), Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid, £7m), Luke Young (Charlton, £2.5m).
Players Out: Mark Viduka (Newcastle, free), Stuart Parnaby (Birmingham, free), Abel Xavier (LA Galaxy, free), Malcolm Christie (released), Danny Graham (released), Jason Kennedy (Livingston, loan), James Morrison (West Brom, £1.5m).
Middlesborough failed to convince last season in Gareth Southgate’s first season in charge and are likely to slip below their 12th place finish last time around.
The partnership of Mark Viduka and Yakubu up front was their saving grace through much of the season. With Viduka having left for North-East rivals Newcastle, and Yakubu looking ever more likely to move, a partnership of Tuncay and Jeremy Aliadiere hardly looks as lethal.
They are ok defensively, but distinctly average everywhere else, so I expect Middlesborough to find themselves in a relegation battle for most of the season. They may just have enough to survive.
Prediction: 17th
--------------------
Newcastle
Players In: Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free), Joey Barton (Man City, £5.8m), David Rozehnal (Paris St Germain, £2.9m), Geremi (Chelsea, free), Alan Smith (Manchester United, £6m), Claudio Cacapa (Lyon, free), Jose Enrique (Villarreal, £6.3m).
Players Out: Scott Parker (West Ham, £7m), Titus Bramble (Wigan, free), Antoine Sibierski (Wigan, free), Craig Moore (released), Olivier Bernard (released), Alan O'Brien (undisclosed).
Sam Allardyce faces the monumental task of pleasing the St James’s Park crowd as he takes over as Newcastle manager.
He has added a decent selection of players and has shipped out some of the underperformers from years gone past.
It will take a while for Sam to work his magic with Newcastle, but with such a large array of attacking talent, they should be in the hunt for a UEFA Cup place.
Prediction: 7th
-------------------
Portsmouth
Players In: David Nugent (Preston, undisclosed), John Utaka (Rennes, undisclosed), Sylvain Distin (Manchester City, free), Hermann Hreidarsson (Charlton, free), Sulley Muntari (Udinese, undisclosed), Martin Cranie (Southampton, undisclosed), Arnold Mvuemba (Rennes, undisclosed), Callum Reynolds (Rushden & Diamonds, undisclosed).
Players Out: Svetoslav Todorov (Charlton, free), Daryl Fordyce (released), Andy Griffin (Derby, free), Collins Mbesuma (Bursaspor, undisclosed).
Harry Redknapp loves to wheel and deal in the transfer market, with this summer being no exception.
He has spent big on two new strikers in Nugent and Utaka, whom he will be hoping will take quickly to the Premiership and provide him good options up front alongside Benjani and their top scorer last season Kanu.
Sylvain Distin is a shrewd free transfer signing and should form a good partnership with Sol Campbell in defence.
I expect Portsmouth to be in the hunt for a top ten finish but to fall just short come the end of the season.
Prediction: 11th
--------------------
Reading
Players In: Khalifa Cisse (Boavista, £650,000), Emerse Fae (Nantes, £2.5m).
Players Out: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free), Greg Halford (Sunderland, £2.5m), Curtis Ujah (Yeovil, free), Jonathan Hayes (MK Dons, loan).
Steve Coppell’s side surprised almost everyone last season, belying their tag as favourites for relegation to secure an 8th place finish.
However, second-season syndrome is almost certain to kick in this time around as it did for Wigan last season.
They have lost Steve Sidwell to Chelsea and without his influence in midfield they may struggle to control games as they were able to last season.
With a lack of summer signings they may have become a bit too predictable and I expect them to struggle, although they should be comfortably safe from relegation.
Prediction: 13th
Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Wigan
Sunderland
Players In: Dickson Etuhu (Norwich, £1.5m), Kieran Richardson (Manchester United, undisclosed), Greg Halford (Reading, £2.5m), Russell Anderson (Aberdeen, £1m), Michael Chopra (Cardiff City, £5m), Paul McShane (West Brom, £2.5m), Craig Gordon (Hearts, £9m), Roy O'Donovan (Cork City, undisclosed).
Players Out: Kenny Cunningham (released), Tommy Miller (Ipswich, released), Stephen Elliott (Wolves, undisclosed).
Roy Keane did brilliantly to win the Championship and secure promotion to the Premiership in his first season in charge.
He has signed a mixture of solid young players and a few with a point to prove, who will join players such as Dwight Yorke who already have Premiership experience.
Keane might not have the most talented squad at his disposal, but if even half of his winning mentality rubs off onto his players then Sunderland should be able to survive instant relegation back to the Championship.
It will certainly be interesting to see him face off against the likes of Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson on the touchline.
Prediction: 16th
--------------------
Tottenham Hotspur
Players In: Gareth Bale (Southampton, £5m), Adel Taarabt (Lens, undisclosed), Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Bilbao, undisclosed), Darren Bent (Charlton £16.5m), Younes Kaboul (Auxerre, £8m), Danny Rose (Leeds, undisclosed), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Hertha Berlin, undisclosed).
Players Out: Emil Hallfredsson (Lyn-Oslo, undisclosed), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria, undisclosed), Mark Yeates (Colchester, undisclosed), Charlie Daniels (Leyton Orient, loan).
Spurs have added a lot of competition for places with their summer signings and now have one of most impressive looking squads in the Premiership.
Younes Kaboul has looked extremely solid in defence in pre-season and offers real quality cover whilst Ledley King is injured for the early part of the season.
Darren Bent adds extra pace to their frontline and has already struck up a good partnership with Dimitar Berbatov in pre-season.
They’ve brought in Gareth Bale to solve their problems at left-back, although their left side of midfield still looks a little weak. Young Frenchmen Adel Taarabt may be the one to fill it, as the player dubbed in France as ‘the new Zidane’ embarks on his first full season in England.
I expect Spurs to be the mix with the top five throughout the season, and they should have enough to steal 4th place, and the last Champions League place away from North London rivals Arsenal.
Prediction: 4th
-------------------
West Ham United
Transfers In: : Scott Parker (Newcastle, £7m), Julien Faubert (Bordeaux, £6.1m), Richard Wright (Everton, free), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, £7.5m), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m).
Transfers Out: Paul Konchesky (Fulham, £3.25m), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, £8.5m), Tyrone Mears (Derby, £1m), Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Teddy Sheringham (Colchester, released), Shaun Newton (Leicester, released), Roy Carroll (Rangers, free).
West Ham narrowly avoided relegation last season on the final day of the season, but should improve significantly over that this time around.
They have signed players with Premiership experience, and a forward line of Craig Bellamy and Dean Ashton has the potential to be very profitable.
However, they still don’t look to have enough to break into the top half of the table and the loss of Carlos Tevez will have a much greater effect than many at Upton Park expect it to.
Prediction: 12th
--------------------
Wigan Athletic
Players In: Antoine Sibierski (Newcastle, free), Titus Bramble (Newcastle, free), Mario Melchiot (Rennes, free), Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborg, undisclosed), Carlo Nash (Preston, £300,000), Jason Koumas (West Brom, £5.3m), Michael Brown (Fulham, undisclosed).
Players Out: Leighton Baines (Everton, undisclosed), Lee McCulloch (Rangers, £2.25m), Matt Jackson (Watford, free), Arjan de Zeeuw (released), David Unsworth (released), Andreas Johansson (AaB Aalborg, free).
Wigan only escaped relegation on the final day of last season and look set for another struggle this season.
Inspirational manager Paul Jewell left the club over the summer and his replacement Chris Hutchings had an awful the record the last time he took over from Jewell at Bradford in the late nineties.
Their signings fail to inspire and the inevitable result seems to be relegation.
Prediction: 18th
Players In: Dickson Etuhu (Norwich, £1.5m), Kieran Richardson (Manchester United, undisclosed), Greg Halford (Reading, £2.5m), Russell Anderson (Aberdeen, £1m), Michael Chopra (Cardiff City, £5m), Paul McShane (West Brom, £2.5m), Craig Gordon (Hearts, £9m), Roy O'Donovan (Cork City, undisclosed).
Players Out: Kenny Cunningham (released), Tommy Miller (Ipswich, released), Stephen Elliott (Wolves, undisclosed).
Roy Keane did brilliantly to win the Championship and secure promotion to the Premiership in his first season in charge.
He has signed a mixture of solid young players and a few with a point to prove, who will join players such as Dwight Yorke who already have Premiership experience.
Keane might not have the most talented squad at his disposal, but if even half of his winning mentality rubs off onto his players then Sunderland should be able to survive instant relegation back to the Championship.
It will certainly be interesting to see him face off against the likes of Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson on the touchline.
Prediction: 16th
--------------------
Tottenham Hotspur
Players In: Gareth Bale (Southampton, £5m), Adel Taarabt (Lens, undisclosed), Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Bilbao, undisclosed), Darren Bent (Charlton £16.5m), Younes Kaboul (Auxerre, £8m), Danny Rose (Leeds, undisclosed), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Hertha Berlin, undisclosed).
Players Out: Emil Hallfredsson (Lyn-Oslo, undisclosed), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria, undisclosed), Mark Yeates (Colchester, undisclosed), Charlie Daniels (Leyton Orient, loan).
Spurs have added a lot of competition for places with their summer signings and now have one of most impressive looking squads in the Premiership.
Younes Kaboul has looked extremely solid in defence in pre-season and offers real quality cover whilst Ledley King is injured for the early part of the season.
Darren Bent adds extra pace to their frontline and has already struck up a good partnership with Dimitar Berbatov in pre-season.
They’ve brought in Gareth Bale to solve their problems at left-back, although their left side of midfield still looks a little weak. Young Frenchmen Adel Taarabt may be the one to fill it, as the player dubbed in France as ‘the new Zidane’ embarks on his first full season in England.
I expect Spurs to be the mix with the top five throughout the season, and they should have enough to steal 4th place, and the last Champions League place away from North London rivals Arsenal.
Prediction: 4th
-------------------
West Ham United
Transfers In: : Scott Parker (Newcastle, £7m), Julien Faubert (Bordeaux, £6.1m), Richard Wright (Everton, free), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, £7.5m), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m).
Transfers Out: Paul Konchesky (Fulham, £3.25m), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, £8.5m), Tyrone Mears (Derby, £1m), Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Teddy Sheringham (Colchester, released), Shaun Newton (Leicester, released), Roy Carroll (Rangers, free).
West Ham narrowly avoided relegation last season on the final day of the season, but should improve significantly over that this time around.
They have signed players with Premiership experience, and a forward line of Craig Bellamy and Dean Ashton has the potential to be very profitable.
However, they still don’t look to have enough to break into the top half of the table and the loss of Carlos Tevez will have a much greater effect than many at Upton Park expect it to.
Prediction: 12th
--------------------
Wigan Athletic
Players In: Antoine Sibierski (Newcastle, free), Titus Bramble (Newcastle, free), Mario Melchiot (Rennes, free), Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborg, undisclosed), Carlo Nash (Preston, £300,000), Jason Koumas (West Brom, £5.3m), Michael Brown (Fulham, undisclosed).
Players Out: Leighton Baines (Everton, undisclosed), Lee McCulloch (Rangers, £2.25m), Matt Jackson (Watford, free), Arjan de Zeeuw (released), David Unsworth (released), Andreas Johansson (AaB Aalborg, free).
Wigan only escaped relegation on the final day of last season and look set for another struggle this season.
Inspirational manager Paul Jewell left the club over the summer and his replacement Chris Hutchings had an awful the record the last time he took over from Jewell at Bradford in the late nineties.
Their signings fail to inspire and the inevitable result seems to be relegation.
Prediction: 18th