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.