The Overview of the premiership season 2011-12 part 2

Lets just keep going with the previews shall we..                                                          9.     NEWCASTLE: There is no such thing as a quiet season near The River Tyne is there?As Newcastle returned to the premier league last season it was no surprise that it was an eventful one.They started off very well with a victory at the Emirates and thrashings of Villa(6-0) and neighbours Sunderland(5-1)in the first part of the season but this wasn't enough for owner Mike Ashley who sacked Chris Hughton and brought in Alan Pardew who saw through the sale of Andy Carroll for 35million pounds to Liverpool and did reasonably well in guiding the club to 12th.A lack of signings so far this season contradicts the statements coming out of Newcastle earlier this year that they would spend all of the Andy Carroll money.They clearly lack a top quality striker and the loss of Kevin Nolan to West Ham means the club starts this season in a much weaker position than last season.Even so I think the squad has enough quality to stay away from the relegation battle but it will be difficult to improve on last season's league position unless money is spent.                10.     NORWICH: Back to back promotions from the League One to the Premiership is an impressive record on anyone's CV.So a lot of credit must go to Paul Lambert for taking over the club soon after they were given a hiding on the opening day of the 2009-10 season as they lost 7-1 at home to Colchester.Who would have thought then that less than 24months later they club would be back in the Premiership.Norwich were excellent last season in the championship last season and captain Grant Holt will be looking to make his mark on the league.With good signings such as Kyle Naughton on loan from Spurs,Richie De Laet on loan from Manchester United,James Vaughan from Everton and Bradley Johnson from Leeds,I would say they have a genuine chance of surviving in the league this season.With an impressive manager to boot,I would put money of Norwich avoiding the drop.        11.     QPR:  After the "Faurlin-Gate" last season where the fans were put through torture it would be a relief for the club as they start planning for life in the big time.The third party ownership issue should not overlook what has been an excellent season for Neil Warnock and Co.The club received further good news recently that they would be retaining the services of the talismanic Adel Taarabt who was central to the promotion campaign last season.Even though QPR are currently one of the richest clubs in the world,Little money has been given to Neil Warnock to improve the squad and only three players in the form of Kieron Dyer,Danny Gabbidon and Jay Bothroyd have come in as FREE transfers.The tension between the manager and the board is clear to see and this creates a bad atmosphere at the club.Unless they decide to splash the cash I do not see this squad having enough in them to survive in the league this season.                                           12.     STOKE: Stoke had arguably their best season yet in 2010-11.They must be one of the few promoted clubs who for the 3seasons they have been in the league have very rarely been considered candidates for relegation.Last season they club not only comfortably stayed up but also reached the Finals of the FA CUP.Although they lost to City in the Final,Tony Pulis must be delighted with the  "consolation" of playing in Europe this season.Although most people believe the team plays more of a physical game,I disagree.Last season Stoke played some excellent football and with Matthew Etherington down the left flank and the rejuvenated Jermaine Pennant down the right Stoke showed they have plenty of football in them.The club have already signed Jonathan Woodgate and if fit(BIG IF)he can be a top quality defender to partner  captain Ryan Shawcross.I would say the expectation of Stoke this season would be similar to that of Fulham.A mid-table finish coupled with a decent run in Europe should mean progress for a club that is already on the up          13.     SUNDERLAND: I honestly have lost count of the signings Sunderland have made in the close season.Steve Bruce seems to be signing anyone and everyone that is available.After a Jekyll and Hyde season in 2010-11 where the club lost top scorer Darren Bent,Bruce will be looking to make sure the club are more consistent.Jordan Henderson also left for Liverpool in the summer.So in come Wes Brown,John O'Shea,Connor Wickham,Ji Dong Won,Craig Gardner,Sebastian Larsson,Keiren Westwood and David Vaughan.All of those in my opinion are good signings(except I cannot comment about Ji-Dong Won since I do not watch the K-League).Clearly the midfield is very strong and with the experienced winner John O'Shea as captain I  expect Sunderland to have a decent season.The club also got Stephane Sessegnon in January and he looks impressive.With that squad Steve Bruce knows a top 10 finish is necessary and I believe they will get that.                                                                   .                             14.     SWANSEA: Swansea were without doubt the best footballing side in the Championship last season.I believe Brendan Rodgers has done very well since coming here from reading.So it was no surprise when the club went up through the playoff finals 4-2.They have already made three signings in the form of Robert Earnshaw,Wayne Routledge and Leroy Lita .Overall I believe the Swans will enjoy this season in the Premier League and with good quality football and a top manager survival is very much a possibility for this Welsh based club.                       15.     TOTTENHAM: It was all bout the Champions League for Spurs last season and those glorious nights at White Harte Lane when they beat Inter Milan and got past AC Milan will always be remembered.Most people say their performance in the league was decent but I felt they let cheap points get away from them and if they were a little bit more careful and focused they could have easily been in the top 4.Van Der Vaart,Modric and Bale were the stars of the season and it was an opportunity missed last season.The reason I feel that is because now with the emerging power of Man City and the resurgence of Liverpool it will be even harder to break into the top 4 and Spurs wanted to make sure that this Champions League campaign was not a one time thing.With the way things have gone it might just be that way and this point was reinforced when Luka Modric submitted a transfer request to leave the club.Harry has done miracles since taking over but this season is going to be a challenge and without a top quality striker to finish things off it will be hard for Spurs to get into the top 4.Unless Modric stays,Bale does it consistently in the league(which in my opinion he hasn't) and a couple of top signings are made I see them finishing in and around 6th but no higher.                                                    16.     WEST BROM: To say that West Brom had an up and down season in 2010-11 would be an understatement.They went from being as high as 4th in October to being 18th in early 2011 when Roberto Di Matteo was replaced by Roy Hodgson.He did an excellent job to guide to club to 11th and stop the club going down yet again after coming up(they are the ultimate yo-yo club).Chris Brunt,Youssouf Mulumbu and Peter Odemwingie were excellent last season and they are very key players for the club now with Odemwingie managing to score the highest number of goals for West Brom in a single Premier League season(15).The club are also looking to bring in Ben Foster to replace Scott Carson who has left for Turkey.They are also in talks with Zoltan Gera and Owen Hargreaves which would add strength to that midfield.If Hodgson can somehow keep Hargreaves fit he can be an excellent addition and could be central to the team.As such  I do not see the club pulling up too many trees next season and a lower midtable finish should be enough to satisfy the Baggies fans.                                                                                                                             17.     WIGAN:The scale of what Wigan have done over the past fifteen years has not been appreciated as much as it should have been.No t that long ago the club were in the Fourth Tier of English Football and it was a fantastic achievement when Roberto Martinez and his troops pulled off the incredible survival to ensure a SEVENTH consecutive season in the Top division.It is a very difficult club to manage with the lack of fans in the Stadium(I understand that very few people actually live in Wigan)and not being the top sport in the are must not help.Add to that the fact that the club regularly loses its best players and it becomes clear that survival is success for this club.As expected the club have lost the brilliant Charles N'Zogbia to Aston Villa  and with no real signings so far this season promises to be a very tough one as well.I completely expected them to go down even as far as March 2011 and they overcame the odds to stay up.This season might be a similar one but with Roberto Martinez at the helm the club can hope to atleast stay in this division but anything more than that is unlikely.                                                                             18.  WOLVES: Wolves for me were by far the most impressive of those relegation candidates last season.They fought for every minute of the game,played decent football and even managed to defeat the likes of Manchester United  and Chelsea.Matt Jarvis was their best player and an England International call cemented this fact.Yet after all that the club just managed to stay up by the skin of their teeth.They needed a late goal from Stephen Hunt on the last day to make sure of survival.Mick McCarthy must wonder why he cannot get this team to be higher up than 17th.The club have added new faces in the form of Roger Johnson from Birmingham and Jamie O'Hara has signed on a permanent basis.With really good strikers in Steven Fletcher and Kevin Doyle the club should score goals this season but their defence is weak and Roger Johnson should provide much needed presence at the back.Survival must be the name of the game again for Wolves but I really feel if they can get a good run of results the club finish higher up.                                                                                       Since this is my first real blog(2parts) I would like to just confirm that I will be posting a blog every Friday on all things Football primarily focusing on the Premier League and the Champions League.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

The Overview of the premiership season 2011-12 part 1

FINALLY the wait is over...the new football season is upon us and with all the big clubs expected to splash the cash this promises to be one of the most exciting seasons yet.Last season showed us how unpredictable this league can be with more twists and turns than a telephone wire.With the Community Shield kicking off the season on August 7th with a Manchester derby(Is there a better way to start a season?No)I will have a look at the other 18teams in the league in this preview(in 2parts) for this week and next week I will have a look at the two Manchester clubs currently touring the U.S. on their pre-season tour.                                                          1.     ARSENAL:Here we go AGAIN.After six trophyless seasons for Wenger something had to give.Surely now was the time to revamp the squad.Surely now was the time to improve the spine of the team.With the weakness in the centre of defence clear to everyone,Arsenal had to invest this summer.But so far the only significant signing this summer has been Lille forward Gervinho.A typical Arsenal signing in a position where they have decent players already (Nasri,Arshavin,Rosicky,Walcott to name a few).With the Fabregas saga looking like it will keep going on and on and with Nasri looking like he will leave next summer if not this one,Arsenal are realistically in grave danger of giving up their top 4 spot.The one thing they have going for them is Jack Wilshire who with one full season under his belt will arguably be even better this season and will be the focal point of the midfield if Fabregas were to leave.With the dangerous(and injury prone)Van Persie set to lead the team Arsenal can still aim for a top four finish but winning the league may just be out of their grasp until they improve the defence.      2.     ASTON VILLA:What a turbulent twelve months it has been for Villa.Starting with O'Neil resigning just before the start of the season the 2010-11 season culminated in Villa finishing 9th losing their manager Gerrard Houllier due to health and safety reasons.Arguably the club most mentioned about throughout the summer,they have now also lost their best two players of last season in Ashley Young who has gone to Manchester United and Stewart Downing who has gone to Liverpool.If that wasn't enough there was the controversial appointment of Alex Mcleish as manager from relegated neighbours Birmingham.Mcleish will have to win over the Villa fans by getting a few wins under his belt early on.He has already made one excellent signing in City keeper Shay Given and will be looking to sign players to provide service to 24million pound striker Darren Bent.Marc Albrighton looks a very bright prospect for this season and Villa will be looking to finish in the top 8 this season atleast.Top 6 might just be beyond their reach.                                3.      BLACKBURN:The 2010-11 season was a very interesting one(we don't say that often about this club!)for Blackburn.Indian poultry company Venky's took over the club in the middle of the season and showed how naive they were by firing the impressive Sam Allardyce who had guided the club into the top ten.Steve Kean was hired and with a manager of no experience it was not surprising when Blackburn were flirting with relegation but they survived.Just.They lost young defender Phil Jones over the summer to Manchester United.With no real signings so far(and El-Hadji Diouf literally disappearing)this season looks like it might again be all about avoiding the dreaded drop and survival.                                                                    4.     BOLTON:The overall view in England was that Bolton have had a very decent season under manager Owen Coyle.But their league position might state otherwise.Undoubtedly their is a good feeling throughout the club and the quality of the football last season left its mark with the Mark Davies equaliser against Blackpool and Johan Elmander's solo goal against Wolves moments that will be remembered by Bolton fans for a while.Bolton have lost Elmander and Matt Taylor already this season and replacements must be found to keep the club on the up.Daniel Sturridge provided a lot of excitement with plenty of goals when he arrived on loan from Chelsea in January last season and Owen Coyle will be looking to get him back for atleast another season.With Bolton looking to sign Villa midfielder Reo-Coker and Burnley pair Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears this season the trotters will be aiming for a top 10 finish .                                                               5.     CHELSEA:At the end of last season it was all doom and gloom for the men in blue as they finished the season without any silverware and as is the precedent set at Stamford Bridge...the Manager was sacked.It is a situation that is unlikely to change under owner Roman Abramovich.Most people were expecting Guus Hiddink to take over when Carlo Ancelotti was unceremoniously removed after their last match against Everton but Hiddink's reluctance to take over a full time manager's job at such a big club was a stumbling block.So in comes 33year old Andres Villas-Boas.The man who guided Porto to three trophies last season enters a dressing room dominated by the players and a club which refuses to step out of Mourinho'sAbramovich's purchase,Getting Torres back to his best will be one of the objectives presented to Villas-Boas.He must win the Premier League or the Champions League to survive but I feel they have their roads blocked in both.With the dilemma of Drogba-Torres and lack of creativity in midfield I see Chelsea struggling to catch the two Manchester clubs but nonetheless a top 4 finish should be secure and with a bit of luck and a couple of clever signings the premier league trophy might return to West London.                                                   6.     EVERTON:What can be said about David Moyes that hasn't already been said?He is an exceptional manager who has kept this side regularly on the brink of Europe season in-season out.But there must come a time when he moves on to a club where he has the money to spend on players.Last season was almost identical to the 2009-10 season in that Everton started very slowly and were even bottom of the league in September but slowly picked up and ended the season in a respectable 7th place.I doubt very much that they can go beyond 7th unless there is some investment in the team but yet I feel when the players are fit they have one of the best Midfield's in the league.With the outstanding form of Leighton Baines and a solid back five which includes Tim Howard and Phil Jagielka if Everton could just find that player who could score twenty goals every season then they would be a massive threat to the big six.But until then 7th is the best the toffees can hope to achieve.                                                                                                                           7.     FULHAM:With the (relatively)shock departure of Mark Hughes at the end of last season which overall was a good one for the team(Finished 8th),Fulham appointed Martin Jol to take over the reigns at Craven Cottage.Last season they missed Bobby Zamora and he could be vital for them if fit this season.Jol has had a tough start with the london club as Fulham kicked off their Europa League Qualification Round(where they got in via the fair play rankings)on June 30th.That is a very early start and with the demands of the premier league,Fatigue in the latter stages of the season might be unavoidable.I believe the signing of John Arne Riise might prove to be an excellent addition to the squad and with a decent defence already in place you can expect Fulham to be organised and not give away many goals.A mid table finish in the league is likely and Jol should be looking at reaching the late stages in the Europa League where they reached the final in 2010 under Roy Hodgson.                                                                                                                  8.     LIVERPOOL:Last season was a turbulent one for the Anfield club as Roy Hodgson failed to leave a mark at the club and the new owners from the U.S. headed by John W.Henry decided(rightly) to move on and bring back the Legend that is Kenny Dalgish.Liverpool's form improved dramatically as a result and they will be hoping for a similar level throughout this season.New signings have arrived in the form of Jordan Henderson,Charlie Adam and Steward Downing.I believe the club still needs to strengthen in defence and a left-back and a centre-back are needed to complete the team.However it will be interesting what formation Dalgish employs to incorporate all the signings including the excellent Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll who were bought in January after the sale of Fernando Torres.There is an overload in the central midfield position where Adam,Henderson,Gerrard,Lucas,Meireles,Poulsen and Spearing will be fighting it out for arguably only two positions.Overall I think the squad is pretty good and Dalglish will expect to challenge for the top  4 if not the League itself.With no European involvement for the club this season Liverpool can completely focus on the League and I see them finishing in the top 4 for that reason.