Ah, it's that time of year again. Time to predict and ultimately fail in attempting to foresee the 10 months ahead. It's quite hard for me, as a Gooner to be talking about other team's prospects given the recent events at Arsenal, but I'm content with leaving my anger-filled thoughts towards Van Persie (and it looks like, Alex Song) until another day. The best for all us Gooners and indeed all football fans across the world is to relax, sit back and prepare for another year of sheer drama.
For Arsenal, the objectives are clear. The club has always been well equipped for life post-Van Persie, and just as with Nasri, Fabregas, Henry and Vieira before him, Arsenal will once again be heading in a forward direction. The replacements for Van Persie are more than capable of bringing glory days back to the Emirates the Club. Whether they hit the ground running will more than likely shape Arsenal's season as they are easily the top strikers, though it doesn't take much to be ahead of Park and Chamakh in the pecking order.
I think overall, it's been a satisfying summer for us. Thankfully, I can't say the same for Tottenham. Having one solitary striker going into the new season must be hard. Not to mention having their best player leave for Spain. Not forgetting also that they have a manager who's desperate to show what he's got. And let's also not forget that they're probably still hurting deep down about losing the final Champions League spot to Chelsea back in May - I know I would be. That said, I have been surprised at some predictions that suggest the future is bright for Spurs, they'll be struggling for 4th at best.
 |
| New captain; new start |
I genuinely believe Arsenal can challenge for the title. I don't think, right now, we've quite got the legs to last a full campaign but we'll certainly be up there. I'll be expecting us to be also-rans by the time May comes around, but that's the price you pay when your club doesn't win things. But thanks to Wenger's new-found ability to sign multiple players in one window, we can compete with the big-boys. In fact, it's not them I'm worried about; if we stop dropping points at home to teams like Wigan and Norwich, then we'll be up there for sure.
For our title rivals, I think United are still the team to beat. City are stronger on paper but they haven't changed much, and the tag of champions may unsettle a few of them - namely James Milner and Gareth Barry - probably the worst players with a winner's medal.
I'm not sure RVP will be as lethal for United. He'll score a fair proportion of their goals but United have a totally different setup to Arsenal. Even without this new addition which I'm still livid about, they have a class team - and Berbatov. I can't see them letting City in for glory again. United will start as favourites, for me.
As for the other top-half sides, Liverpool have bought really well. If they get a great start it could be the start of something big for them, though for all we know, they could've bought a whole bunch of Chamakhs. They should easily be in the top 6 once they get in their stride.
Newcastle won't get the same treatment as last season so I'm not expecting them to repeat the joys of the year before - plus the Europa League will take out a few players who aren't used to three games a week. Their squad will be severely stretched and they'll have a fight on their hands to get back into Europe once again.
Chelsea are looking good and for me have the most exciting team on paper - but their pre-season was oh, so poor results-wise. Certainly by the standards of the teams they put out and the teams they played - and judging by Eden Hazard's priceless backheel attempt last week, maybe they haven't bought that well after all - maybe just a bunch of big egos.
And finally, the relegation battle. All the three new-boys have bought really well, and I think at least two of them will stay up. If any team is really going to struggle it's one of the existing teams. I think Norwich will struggle with the combination of Paul Lambert's absence and possible SSS - Second Season Syndrome. Swansea could also very well have this problem and may miss the tactical approach of Rodgers. I also think this may be the final straw for Wigan, but I'll certainly be rooting for them with the powers of Ryo Miyaichi helping them to avoid the drop.
I predicted 0 teams in the correct position last August - I even put Newcastle a lowly 17th! I'm hoping for better luck this time around - here's my vision of the PL table in May 2013:
1. Manchester United
2. Manchester City
3. Arsenal
4. Chelsea
5. Liverpool
6. Tottenham
7. Everton
8. Newcastle
9. Stoke City
10. Queens Park Rangers
11. Sunderland
12. Fulham
13. Aston Villa
14. West Ham
15. Swansea
16. Reading
17. West Brom
18. Wigan
19. Southampton
20. Norwich
Enjoy the season, everyone.
COME ON YOU REDS!
Comments
Post a Comment