Dave. Cracking post. I've said this on a few occasions that this is just phase one of John Henrys overall plan. You ain't seen nothing yet,there is more to come, however he will invest as long as he gets a return on his investment. He will just demand progression, I for the like cannot see a reason why Kenny won't deliver. If JWH gets what he wants, then he will continue to invest. I also cannot for the life of me see him do a Hicks and Gillett when we get to a certain point, turning the tap off. I don't think John Henry is that sort of person. I reckon that if we are within touching distance of getting where we want to be and I don't have to spell it out what that is,he will provide the tools that are needed to ensure we get there. Once we get there, he will provide the tools to ensure we stay there, staying there is sometimes harder than getting there.
This is in order of where I feel teams will finish; 1.)Manchester City: Now RM has finally got a trophy under his belt, I feel he could go on and do the big one. The team just have too much talent to be stopped in my opinion. 2.)Chelsea: Good young manager with fresh ideas to impose on an aging squad, but I still feel there big guns will not fire. Fernando won't get game time with the amount of strikers they have so it will be a painful season for him, as for all the other 3 billion strikers they have who all crave the limelight 3&4.) Manchester United/Liverpool: United; They have lost VDS, and no matter what United fans say, De Gea will never be as good as VDS. I just think the signings they have made will prove to be poor signings, and I am backing De Gea to struggle in England. Liverpool; Made big time improvements, and from the pre-season games, look very good in attack and when we finally had a 1st XI defence out, looked very sharp overall. I can actually see Liverpool pipping United to 3rd.
In my honest opinion,if Ferguson had to have addressed Man Uniteds problematic central midfield area, I would have said they would be nailed on champions. And even as painful as it would be to do,I would not have any hesitation in doing so. However he hasn't, they still don't have a central midfield. The poor central midfield they had last season following scholes retirement is effectively worse. There is the De Gea situation,now I don't care what Man United fans say,but this will weaken them. He's a rookie keeper with no premiership experience that will be thrown in at the deep end. He will either sink or swim. Its a massive risk. I strongly believe that Chelsea will be crowned champions Man United,City and Liverpool will battle it out for top 2nd/3rd/4th and Arsenal and Spurs will battle it out for 5th and 6th.
I agree with your assessment dave, the league is pretty tough to call this year especially with new arrivals at so many of the top teams it'll be fascinating to see who gels their players together best. I think last years strange season was driven partly by an increase in quality at the bottom half clubs combined with issues and behind the scenes troubles at some of the top clubs. I also believe more of the lower teams played more open and attacking footy than has been seen in recent years with a bit less "park the bus" style football. I honestly think this new look Liverpool squad will be capable of winning a lot more games this year as we just simply have so many more options in terms of players and formations available to us. Of course it is possible the new players won't work out as is the case at any club but IMO Kenny has now got more players he feels confident he can mould into a quality TEAM. The Prem is an incredibly tough league so I take nothing for granted...Sunderland next weekend will be a tough game and a really good test for us...but am I confident about the season ahead...damn right I am
Let me explain this. I though Chelsea made a few huge mistakes at the start of the summer. Ancellotti should not have been sacked, there was a lot of unwrest and you took a very long time to find a manager. Hiddink got put off by disagreements and I thought you would end up with Mark Hughes. By mid table I was thinking about 7th.
If Mark Hughes had to have been appointed Chelsea manager,they would end up finishing lower than Everton,and that would be 10th. They made the right choice in Vllas Boas, They are my tip for the title.
I'm still not convinced by the Chavs title credentials for the following reasons: Young, inexperienced manager who is going to have to pit his wits against much better managers than he's used to on a weekly basis and a wholly different style of football. Torres is going to make headlines but if it's for the wrong reasons then this is going to surely be detrimental to their title challenge. Malouda, Lampard and Drogs all a year older and not necessarily going to provide a consistent driving force for a whole season. Without Essien in the central midfield and with Ramires in it's hardly going to strike fear into opposition midfields. Luiz looks exceedingly dodgy at the back at times so the jury is still out on him plus Cech hasn't been inspiring as much confidence as he used to. Don't get me wrong they will without doubt be a strong unit as usual and with the signing of Lukaku they have definately strengthened up front but I still think there are unresolved issues at Chavski that always seem to be lurking in the background (Abramovichs twitchy trigger finger, Coles twitchy trigger finger, Terrys twitchy penis and Torres twitchy feet to name a few)
Still think this year will be between Man United and Chelsea with Man City third and Spurs or Liverpool in fourth but a little way behind; l do see Arsenal dropping out of the race early this year.
If Chelsea have another injury crises period they will crumble. Injuries can break a teams season if they are ill prepared. Chelsea already have Essien out, who I believe is your best player.
There are just too many unknowns as yet. Can Arsenal build a side if the lose Fabregas and Nasri? What have the done to strengthen their back 4? Will Villas-Boas be able to blend a side from the players that he's got? Will he be able to break the player power that seems to prevail? Can he get a lot more out of Torres? Will City finally let their forwards have some freedom to show their skills? Will United finally do something about their pourous midfield? Even against a City side that was relucatnt to attack, City found their way through the United midfield far too easily. Will Liverpool be able to marry all the midfield potential with the firepower of Suarez and Carroll? Will Spurs turn up this season? Can they find a settled forward line? What happens if Modric does go? Looking at all of the above, I conclude that there is no side 'head and shoulders' above the rest. That is what will make this season very interesting and give all of the top 6 clubs from last season the chance to win this.
Going by today. Man United do not look anywhere near as strong as their fans will make you believe. Then again they are still convinced Wayne Rooney is world class. Neither are city for that matter. However its still pre-season. Liverpool have been judged unfairly for having a patchy pre-season, and others should be judged in the same way. I stand by my opinion that I feel Chelsea will win the league...possibly by default the reason being,I cannot for the life of me see them having a mid-season slump like the one they had last season. Liverpool to replace Arsenal in the top four..for the simple reason,if you stand still,you get left behind.
Well said. To add to Chelsea: Will Villa Boas be able to break the player power at Chelsea when some of the players are older than he is!! Some of those ego's wont like being criticized by some one who has possible spent less time in football than them. Players like Drogba.
There will be no stand-out team. The reason I feel Chelsea will win it,their squad is settled,no real upheaval. Liverpool are a work in progress,Man City have issues with regards to egos. I do not think Man United are stronger than last season,they are in my opinion weaker, and that is down to the keeper. If Kenny can sign the centre back and left back we need,we will be a far stronger proposition and may surprise a few people.
Personally, I feel the top 6 will stay the same. Don't know what order though! But I can see Sunderland getting 7th place. Steve Bruce is a good manager and has brought some good players. Everton will be around 7th. Same as Fulham.
Agreed. We've got the top 6 battling for 4 places, we've got 4 or 5 teams battling for the Top 10 and we've got 8 or 9 teams battling to stay up! It's gonna be a crackin season!
I think it's going to be so tight at the top that I can see the top 4 or 5 being seperated by very few points. United looked good going forward but weren't great at the back. I think Ferdinand is past it, so weather Jnes & Smalling can step up will remain to be seen. Dea Gea didn't look great either. From what I remember City had about 3 shots on target, and he conceded from 2 of them (the second was shocking, he could have taken one step and picked it up). City didn't look that great either. Without Tevex hassling defenders they just sit back and I don't think their defence and central midfield is good enough to cope with pressure. Milner & Barry just aren't good enough in the middle and they don't have a CB to go alongside Kompany. Also their left backs are weak and not very good defensively. Arsenal haven't really gone forward. If they lose Fabregas & Nasri right at the end of the window and Wenger is reluctant to spend the money I could see them coming 5th or 6th. I think we all know they need a CB & GK and I'm suprised they didn't go for Given. Chelsea are a settled side now but it's weather AVB can get the best out of Torres which would mean having to change the way they play all together. Also his key players are another year older. Can Lampard still get up and down like he used to? Will Drogba be happy playing second to Torres? Losing Essian is also massive blow as he's the only one in the middle that can tackle. So really, none of the top 4 from last year look any stronger and the chance for us gatecrash is certainly there.
InBiscanwetrust. Would I be wrong in saying that the thing that our 3 main signings have in common is that they have good characters,meaning there isn't an ego amongst the three of them. As we all know egos can split dressing rooms,and this is my opinion that if Man City want to succeed long term,they need to be managed by someone that has a bigger ego than the players and off the top of my the only person I can think of is Jose Mourinho. The likes of Kenny and Fergie can ensure they get respect by pointing to their medal collections. So they don't need to use the ego tactic. Thats the only way to deal with modern footballers and it is to cut them off at the ankles. And I think I've pointed out both ways.
Firstly scholes barely played last season i dont think there weaker at all, but thats just me personally. and i think both newcastle and everton will finish the season in the top half
