Stevie has come out (insert joke here) and given us the thumbs up for finishing top 4, originally I thought top 6 more realistic but looking at our rivals for the top 4, id personally suggest our direct rivals will be spurs, arsenal, Chelsea & Newcastle, making it 5 teams going for 2 spots. On the face of it you'd have thought we have no chance but with spurs likely to lose adebayour & modric, arsenal possibly losing their talismanic captain van persie & Chelsea bedding in their latest quality additions, aswell as losing the unpeerless drogba, I believe we might have an outside chance. Newcastle are a great team but teams could potentially know what to expect this season. Interested to see what people will think but our new signings from last season will have bedded in & I think we will see a much more effective Stewart downing this season. Personally I'll stick my neck out and say we will finish 4th, it'd be hard work but providing we get Joe Allen to play alongside Lucas and another forward to operate outwide I think we can do it. Be interesting to also hear from fans of the above teams to see how you feel your team is shaping up.
City and United will be up there. Chelsea SHOULD be challenging for the title, but it depends on Di Matteo. Arsenal will be in and around 4th. Spurs are about as strong as us, but they have a much stronger attack than we do, and will beat the smaller sides easier. Newcastle - it's a lottery. Not much too them past their starting XI, so they might struggle with Europe in the equation, and Ba/Cisse/Cabaye could have second season syndrome. They've never been tested when the going is tough. Anyway, I'd take 5th right now, and I think we'll finish 6th
I really dont know what to expect from Chelsea. They have the players, but I'm not sure on the manager. But also, it doesnt look like Di Matteo is doing the signings. They have signed some awesome players, but they all play the same sort of positions. This could mean great depth, or serious unbalance. Arsenal are always top 4, even when you think they wont be. Even if they loose Van Persie, they have signed some good talent. I dont know what to expect from Spurs either, in the long run I think AVB could revolutionise them. But will he have a quick start this time? Newcastle I think will be competing at the top end of the table again, but I cant imagine them in the top 5. They have a good team together but last season there was no pressure. This season will be a true test of character. As for us, I believe we can do it. Like Spurs, its about whether Rogers will start fast or slow. The head to heads between these teams will be interesting. Also, Martin O'Neill could get Sunderland stiffing around the top 8 to.
Pretty much agree with this. I do think Spurs are ahead of us at the moment, have signed well but could well suffer if they can't sign Adebayor (or another who can bang some goals in) and lose Modric. They have strengths and weaknesses as we do but I guess the AVB gamble will see them sink or swim. He'll be under more pressure than any other managers if they start slowly. Chelsea have bought good players so it's a question of how RDM fits them in and keeps the old farts happy (a sack of pies for Lamps, a new gun cabinet for Cashley, a few players wives and a Bernard Manning joke book for Terry will surely inspire them). Arsenal will suffer if RVP goes but look to have bought (or be lining up) enough quality to keep them up there, united will be up there as usual but City still the team to beat IMO. Will have taken unbelievable confidence from last season so it's now about how they handle being the team everyone else will want to beat. Newcastle have quality and again will take much confidence from last year. Looks like they'll be hanging on to the majority of their players but again if they don't start well confidence can drain away quickly. Everton (got to include them as the finished above us ) will struggle a bit more for me this year. Lost a good servant in Cahill even though last year was his poorest since he joined and if they lose Baines as well that's two players who won't be easy to replace. Goals from Jelovich will be vital for them as will strong showings from the likes of Jagielka, Howard and Feillani if they want to be up and around the top 6. As for us I just can't see a push for top 4 yet unfortunately. Obviously this is dependant on signings etc but I still think we lack quality in certain areas. We obviously need to be able to turn chances created into goals this year (kind of the point of football right...score more than them). We need greater contributions from the whole team in this area but would be so nice just to have someone who looked totally confident in front of goal. A full season from Luis would be massive and the more minutes we get out of Lucas and Agger the higher we will finish. An improved season from Ch'Adam, Downing and Mandy if they're still at Anfield would also make a difference (and let's be honest they surely can't be any less effective this year...can they?). Finally I would love to see some more of the youth players come through as well starting with the early UEFA games and if they play well then they get closer to the first team. This for me will make for a successful season even if we don't get top four. Blood the best ones now and let them develop into the future of the club. Work them hard, instill and develop in them the tactics and skills required to take us forward and if some don't make the grade at least we get a bit of re-sale value. It's certainly going to be another tough one this year but I still think we have a decent enough squad to be in the top 6 but lots of hard work to do and massive improvements required for a top 4 push COYR
I think O'Neill is incredibly over-rated. Compared to the top sides he won't cut it. Just watch him sign lots of average ex-players for Sunderland. He's good in a crisis, sure, but in the long term? Everton will finish above Sunderland, as usual and on a tenth of the budget. What worries me is our start - August and September are AWFUL for us under the best circumstances, especially with a new manager who is already under fire for not being Rafa Benitez or similar.
And they never looked like getting the CL, which is what they wanted. Remember Spurs weren't what they are now, and City hadn't started buying the Agueros etc yet. He wouldn't be able to do it now. He had a good team at Villa that was slowly prised apart, and he couldn't replace them.
I think Arsenal will end up stronger even without RVP... especially if they buy Cazorla. Can't see them having a bad start like last season. I believe RVP had a spectacular one off season and this season he will still be a crucial player (for whoever he plays for) but he wont score that many goals. The usual 15-17 tops maybe? Arsenal will move on. We have an extremely hard start to the season which could end up putting a lot of pressure on BR and the team if all doesn't go well. Spurs lost 5-1 and 3-0 to both Manc teams at the start of last season and still managed to go onto a fantastic run. Arsenal didn't have good results in similar fixtures either and they survived. I think we will finish 7th.
Actually, Villa were always in the running of champions league come the last third of the season. They just always bottled it at the end
I can see this season shaking out like last season in that no side apart from maybe City will feel comfortable. CITY Have the comfort of a squad that is relatively settled and the psychological advantage of winning last season. Therefore it will be a big shock if they are not in the top 4. UNITED If there is one side that could well slip up badly this season, I believe that it could be United. There were plenty of cracks on view last season and I don't believe that the former 'steel' still exists within the side. However, at this stage I will predict a top4 4 finish. CHELSEA It's not so much a question of players but far more a question of management. Just how much management did Di Matteo do last season? I he gets it wrong or the 'characters' take against him then there could be problems. ARSENAL Perhaps it's a tale of 2 players. The will he won't he surrounding RvP and the never ending story (or perhaps non-story) of Wilshire. Last season only had a limited number of attacking ideas and little true creativity. That could hurt them this season. SPURS I know one thing - if AVB continues with that 'high line' there's going to be plenty of space behind their back 4 for opposing attackers! They also need to find a striker. It could be a tough year for them. NEWCASTLE Last season they over-performed. However everybody knows how to play them now and I don't expect a similar finish from them. LFC There's still just too many variables to be considered at the moment. However I'll stick my neck out and predict that top 4 is possible and it all depends and not just on our own efforts. So, for what it's worth that's what I think - for the moment!
Chelsea without Drogba isnt such a daunting prospect for opposing teams i´d suggest for all their quality signings if JT gets an 8 match ban (if) then Mr Playstation himself Luiz will be lining up and we all know what a liability he is so could be a difficult start for them if things conspire against them. Spurs, someone mentioned the high line, with Dawson and the ageing Gallas along with the potential loss of Modric, could be a recipe for disaster if they dont keep the ball in midfield , something the exit of Modric will almost make a certainty. I think Arsenal you can never tell what you will get but although Giroud is no mug he is untested & could be another chamakh, podolski is a middle of the road player so cant see him replacing the goals Van persie A) scored & B) created. It will be very interesting but I personally think we have a better chance of top 4 than we did last season and thats something we must look to take advantage of.
I dont think you can say Newcastle over performed last season. They were very smart and put a really good team together. Alan Pardew did a great job motivating them. Krul, Coloccini, Tiote, Cabaye, Cisse, Ba and Ben Arfa are quality players, easily of top 6 quality. Several cleverly signed from obscure places before bigger clubs noticed. With some additions at the back and a star attacker they could be awesome.
I'd agree with that. It's too early to tell for either of our clubs. We still need another winger(or two), a replacement for Modric, 2 strikers and if rumours are to be believed a goalkeeper(I think Brad is good enough). As Zingy says, a slow start isn't a killer. AVB started well last year and ended up sacked, whilst we started slow and recovered quickly. Should be an exciting season and I think there will be a busy 3 weeks in the run up to the start of the season for a few clubs as they scramble to get their squads in place. I'll be gutted if we're still doing deals on the 31st August.
Not getting Adebayor would be a huge blow for Spurs. I can't see many other strikers of his quality wanting to go to Spurs.
I think its interesting you say two wingers. I'm a big fan of both Bale and Lennon. I think Friedel is a goal keeping hero, but he is in his 40's so maybe you'll look for some one for him to hand the reigns to in the future. Not this year though. I think AVB will try to put you in a 433 formation. In fact this system could soon replace 442 as the normal system in the PL. --------------------Friedel----------------------- -Walker-----Dawson-------??????----Asso Ekotto- --------------------Parker----------------------- --------Sigurdsson----------Muntinho------------ --Van Der Vaart---------------------Bale-------- -------------------??????????------------------- I can see you signing Joau Muntiniho.
Manchester City- They will obviously be up there. They, for me, still have the best squad in the Premier League. Should really finish top this season also. Chelsea- Added a lot of fire-power to their squad, but for me it depends on Torres. In a 4-3-3 you can have all the service in the world, but if the striker can't convert the chances then it's useless Manchester United- You can never write them off, but realistically I think they'll finish 3rd this year. Haven't added any real talent to the squad apart from that Kagawa, who I think will struggle with the physicality of the Premier League. Liverpool/Tottenham- Can see either Tottenham or Liverpool taking Arsenal's spot in the CL. It all depends on how well Borini/Carroll can finish. Because with Rodger's style of management, they'll get the chances. Tottenham will probably pip us to it, as they have more talent in their squad. Arsenal- If RVP goes, it's game over for Arsenal. He was the key to them finishing 3rd last season.
