In today’s transfer market the spending gulf between the top and bottom clubs is vast. But there is now even a money gulf between the top clubs. Two teams who have recently lived in their neighbour’s shadow are enjoying their own very different resurgences, one is free-spending whilst the other uses its limited funds wisely. Manchester city’s new owners have limitless bags of cash to spend and are attempting to mount an attack upon the established top four. Meanwhile, Everton have improved unrecognisably under the expert management of David Moyes. Everton, not a rich club by premier league standards, manage to consistently out-gun their big spending premiership rivals and to finish in the European places. I personally wouldn’t bet against them doing it again this year. Like their close neighbours, Everton could really do with some investment and a new stadium, But Moyes and chairman bill Kenwright continue to just get on with the job, and Everton continue to impress. Everton and Manchester City are now embroiled in one of the most interesting transfer stories of the summer.
Big Money has now made certain super-rich clubs capable of signing a all their transfer targets, leaving the smaller clubs in a position where saying ‘no’ is impossible. City’s impressive spending power has allowed them to amass a formidable strikeforce, but any armchair analyst can see that there is a lack of balance in the side and defensive players are urgently required. Mark Hughes’ primary target is Everton’s Joleon Lescott, who last year had the season of his life. In the Everton defence Lescot was partnered with Phil Jagielka who is now a long term injury victim. If Moyes were to lose Lescott to Man City, the defence that performed so well last year will be broken up entirely. Recent experience tells us that the amount of money available at Eastlands means that a deal is likely.
Hughes has made offers of 15 and 18 million to date, But Moyes has refused to do business, aware that selling his best players to what will probably prove his closest rival is a bad move. Hughes has clearly been riled by Everton’s position on the matter and has, somewhat embarrassingly stating that he would “go over Moyes’ head” and do a deal “with the decision makers”. This has left David Moyes understandably furious, and interestingly, reports have begun to emerge linking city with other defensive targets, notably Matthew Upson.
Even if Everton hold firm over the player’s not for sale status, they will never be able to match City’s wages, and Lescott, who is earning the going rate for a player of his ability at Everton, can suddenly match the league’s top earners with a move to City, tempting even to the most committed of players. In the face of these amounts of money the player will always want to move. In response Lescott has duly handed in a transfer request, which Moyes has rejected. His man-management skills will now be put to the test.
Looking at the transfer sagas of the close season in a wider context we can see that with such huge amounts of money involved managers will be made to work just as hard during the close season as they will have to during the regular season. The precedent was set last season by Martin O’Neil in the big story of last summer, the proposed transfer of Gareth Barry to Liverpool. O’Neil remained determined that if Barry was to leave, it would be for an inflated fee, regardless of the players wishes and contract length. This approach however achieved limited success, as Barry, who was nearing the end of his contract stayed at Villa, only to leave for Man City a year later, for 12 million, while Liverpool were willing to pay around 20 million. Similarly this year, Rafa Benitez attempted to keep Alonso at Liverpool in the face of heavy pressure from Real Madrid. Benitez ultimately failed, his position undermined somewhat by his willingness to sell Alonso for 15 million, just a year earlier. But for Moyes a happy ending is more likely, Lescott has four years remaining on his contract, so a the prospect of him leaving under the Bosman ruling in the near future is out of the question and with the transfer window set to slam shut in a little over two weeks, Hughes has little option but to look at other targets or make an over the top offer that has to be accepted. Either way expect more twists in this story. As for the impact of limitless money in football, it looks as though transfer market hostility is more popular than ever.
Saturday 15 August 2009
Wednesday 12 August 2009
Tittle-Tackle #7
Martin Petrov wants to move on:
Good point, but Man City do pay bench polishers, as in the actual cleaners of the bench area, around £20,000 a week.
No footballer is content with polishing the bench and I am no exception.
Good point, but Man City do pay bench polishers, as in the actual cleaners of the bench area, around £20,000 a week.
Tuesday 11 August 2009
The Left Footer
One of the ongoing sagas in football is the left-hand side of midfield and defence. This is a problem that plagued the England side for many years and resulted in the likes of Steve Guppy and Chris Powell receiving England call ups. If you despise Ashley Cole, at least admit that his presence as a world class full back allowed us to have some consistency on the left of defence.
This problem expands beyond the England side, with many Premier League teams facing this question with regards to left backs and left wingers:
Should we play the left footer or the better player?
Here's the formula:
If you play a right footed left winger it is more important to play a left footed left back because there is a need for width in attack. For example, Ferguson was able to play Rooney effectively on the left hand side because of Patrice Evra's infinite ability to get forward. Simultaneously, Rooney's willingness to cover back allowed Evra to bomb forward with confidence.
In contrast, Aston Villa often looked unbalanced when Martin O'Neill played the two right footed Youngs on the left hand side. Ashley Young looked fantastic last season, but on his forays inside, there was often space on the left that wasn't being exploited. In these situations, Abonglahor was often drawn into this space, consequently removing himself from goalscoring positions. With the signing of his former Boro teammate Stewart Downing, Luke Young will be able to be part of a more balanced left hand side. And hopefully, Downing's arrival will lead to Ashely Young being given the central roaming role that he could thrive in. Alternatively, Ashley Young will remain wide on the left, with Shorey (if he regains MON's confidence) providing the balance going forward.
This problem, has in fact become a template for success on the right hand side of the pitch. The case in point being the play of Lionel Messi for Barcelona. His runs from the the right hand side on his left foot have left defences with few answers, and caused Gus Hiddink to claim that, Jose Bosingwa, playing as a right footed left back would have an easier time defending him. Here it becomes truly odd, because Bosingwa defended Messi exceptionally well. Left footers can move to the right and vice versa -- it depends on the situation.
The point here is clear, the original notion that focused upon the lack of the left footed player, especially within the England setup, was in fact misguided, or perhaps, that area of the pitch has simply changed. Being balanced on the left, doesn't depend upon both players being left footed, it relies on the balance of the two players. Arguably, two right footers with a better understanding will be more successful than two left footers. Further, Messi proves that having the ability to come inside can be more dangerous than to the ability to go on the outside. Simply put, in modern football, the wide positions are becoming more diverse in their duties, and consequently, the traditional concept of the search for a 'good left foot' could be coming to an end.
This problem expands beyond the England side, with many Premier League teams facing this question with regards to left backs and left wingers:
Should we play the left footer or the better player?
Here's the formula:
If you play a right footed left winger it is more important to play a left footed left back because there is a need for width in attack. For example, Ferguson was able to play Rooney effectively on the left hand side because of Patrice Evra's infinite ability to get forward. Simultaneously, Rooney's willingness to cover back allowed Evra to bomb forward with confidence.
In contrast, Aston Villa often looked unbalanced when Martin O'Neill played the two right footed Youngs on the left hand side. Ashley Young looked fantastic last season, but on his forays inside, there was often space on the left that wasn't being exploited. In these situations, Abonglahor was often drawn into this space, consequently removing himself from goalscoring positions. With the signing of his former Boro teammate Stewart Downing, Luke Young will be able to be part of a more balanced left hand side. And hopefully, Downing's arrival will lead to Ashely Young being given the central roaming role that he could thrive in. Alternatively, Ashley Young will remain wide on the left, with Shorey (if he regains MON's confidence) providing the balance going forward.
This problem, has in fact become a template for success on the right hand side of the pitch. The case in point being the play of Lionel Messi for Barcelona. His runs from the the right hand side on his left foot have left defences with few answers, and caused Gus Hiddink to claim that, Jose Bosingwa, playing as a right footed left back would have an easier time defending him. Here it becomes truly odd, because Bosingwa defended Messi exceptionally well. Left footers can move to the right and vice versa -- it depends on the situation.
The point here is clear, the original notion that focused upon the lack of the left footed player, especially within the England setup, was in fact misguided, or perhaps, that area of the pitch has simply changed. Being balanced on the left, doesn't depend upon both players being left footed, it relies on the balance of the two players. Arguably, two right footers with a better understanding will be more successful than two left footers. Further, Messi proves that having the ability to come inside can be more dangerous than to the ability to go on the outside. Simply put, in modern football, the wide positions are becoming more diverse in their duties, and consequently, the traditional concept of the search for a 'good left foot' could be coming to an end.
Monday 10 August 2009
Football and Literature #2: 'The Fight' by Norman Mailer
The first installment of Football and Literature featured Joe Stretch’s Wildlife, a book that contained direct references to football. For this article, we will move away from a direct to connection to football, we will however remain in the realm of sport, and still, footy.
Norman Mailer’s The Fight is a New Journalistic account of the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, Ali versus Foreman, 1974, in Zaire, Africa. The book, as with all New Journalistic writing, doesn’t simply report, it conveys a substance beyond the facts. Mailer sets the personality clash of the two fighters against the simultaneously inviting and rejecting location of Zaire. The book perfectly communicates the role of personality beyond skill in such individual sporting clashes. As much as this fight was a contest between differing boxing styles, it was a match between the different attitudes that represented these styles. The root of Mailer’s effort is in the fascinating character of his dual subjects: Ali and Foreman.
Football, of course, is an eleven-a-side affair. But, the style/personality clashes that Mailer so ably conveys appear in two ways within football.
Firstly, each team carries a philosophy. In some cases, this approach is young and new, the passing style you may expect Martinez to introduce at Wigan for example. For some teams, a team wide philosophy is built over many years, i.e. Arsene Wenger’s belief in youth and the importance of selling players soon after the reach their peak. It is clear that the heavyweights of football are the managers, if Mailer were to write a book on the Premier League; maybe Ferguson would be his Ali, with Wenger riding the ropes as Foreman. Each manager has a selection of punches to throw, Giggs has long being Ferguson’s left hook, and last season, Delap was Tony Pulis’ long arm jab. Beyond the manager though, every team has a personality, and this persona is organic. This is most clear when you see a manager struggling; his input is outweighed by the mutating attitude of the team. There are other factors, such as club ownership, but teams like Newcastle for example, tend to have a negative attitude that outlives multiple managers. There needs to be balance between the manager’s input and the team’s, manager’s personality might be Ali’s right, whilst the team’s collective attitude could act as his left. In combination, the rights and lefts of each team square off against each other in every game, and they represent the battle of personality.
Secondly, Mailer’s effort links to the public thirst/interest for individual battles within the eleven-a-side game. A strong example of this is the conflict between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, an ongoing contest that was summed up by the cult-hit video of their spat in the tunnel in 2004. This was the pinnacle of clash in ideology, but similarly, it was a case of two players with a similarly overpowering will. Further, how often does the media seek to boil down a game to an individual battle? Each match is built from a series of individual battles, which build into a team battle. No goal is a result of one single battle; there is a build up of play that leads to a one-on-one with the keeper or a winger embarrassing a fullback. But, we like to see a match hinging on a fight between two players. We remember Thierry Henry’s consistent embarrassment of Jamie Carragher, or the amusing clip of Phillip Lahm battling Jan Koller in a Haye/Valuev style of encounter. We think about Seaman’s elbow versus McAllister in Euro 96 and Vinnie Jones grabbing Gazza’s balls.
The Fight teaches us as much about team sport as it does about individual sport. All sport is a battle between two entities, and where we can, whether we want to boil it down to its smallest element: two ideologies going at it until one succumbs, or the pair walk away in mutual admiration. With the Premier League starting on Saturday, give it a go, try tand focus on the individual battles and consider their role in making football so successful. Modern sport isn’t just about wins, draws and losses, it’s about personalities and philosophies that are widely known and widely established. These elements cannot exist without the individual fights that we love to watch and talk about, no matter how insignificant or ancillary they are to the final result. Vieira and Keane’s scuffle didn’t even take place on the pitch, but it remains iconic – simply, we just can’t resist the stuff.
Norman Mailer’s The Fight is a New Journalistic account of the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, Ali versus Foreman, 1974, in Zaire, Africa. The book, as with all New Journalistic writing, doesn’t simply report, it conveys a substance beyond the facts. Mailer sets the personality clash of the two fighters against the simultaneously inviting and rejecting location of Zaire. The book perfectly communicates the role of personality beyond skill in such individual sporting clashes. As much as this fight was a contest between differing boxing styles, it was a match between the different attitudes that represented these styles. The root of Mailer’s effort is in the fascinating character of his dual subjects: Ali and Foreman.
Football, of course, is an eleven-a-side affair. But, the style/personality clashes that Mailer so ably conveys appear in two ways within football.
Firstly, each team carries a philosophy. In some cases, this approach is young and new, the passing style you may expect Martinez to introduce at Wigan for example. For some teams, a team wide philosophy is built over many years, i.e. Arsene Wenger’s belief in youth and the importance of selling players soon after the reach their peak. It is clear that the heavyweights of football are the managers, if Mailer were to write a book on the Premier League; maybe Ferguson would be his Ali, with Wenger riding the ropes as Foreman. Each manager has a selection of punches to throw, Giggs has long being Ferguson’s left hook, and last season, Delap was Tony Pulis’ long arm jab. Beyond the manager though, every team has a personality, and this persona is organic. This is most clear when you see a manager struggling; his input is outweighed by the mutating attitude of the team. There are other factors, such as club ownership, but teams like Newcastle for example, tend to have a negative attitude that outlives multiple managers. There needs to be balance between the manager’s input and the team’s, manager’s personality might be Ali’s right, whilst the team’s collective attitude could act as his left. In combination, the rights and lefts of each team square off against each other in every game, and they represent the battle of personality.
Secondly, Mailer’s effort links to the public thirst/interest for individual battles within the eleven-a-side game. A strong example of this is the conflict between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, an ongoing contest that was summed up by the cult-hit video of their spat in the tunnel in 2004. This was the pinnacle of clash in ideology, but similarly, it was a case of two players with a similarly overpowering will. Further, how often does the media seek to boil down a game to an individual battle? Each match is built from a series of individual battles, which build into a team battle. No goal is a result of one single battle; there is a build up of play that leads to a one-on-one with the keeper or a winger embarrassing a fullback. But, we like to see a match hinging on a fight between two players. We remember Thierry Henry’s consistent embarrassment of Jamie Carragher, or the amusing clip of Phillip Lahm battling Jan Koller in a Haye/Valuev style of encounter. We think about Seaman’s elbow versus McAllister in Euro 96 and Vinnie Jones grabbing Gazza’s balls.
The Fight teaches us as much about team sport as it does about individual sport. All sport is a battle between two entities, and where we can, whether we want to boil it down to its smallest element: two ideologies going at it until one succumbs, or the pair walk away in mutual admiration. With the Premier League starting on Saturday, give it a go, try tand focus on the individual battles and consider their role in making football so successful. Modern sport isn’t just about wins, draws and losses, it’s about personalities and philosophies that are widely known and widely established. These elements cannot exist without the individual fights that we love to watch and talk about, no matter how insignificant or ancillary they are to the final result. Vieira and Keane’s scuffle didn’t even take place on the pitch, but it remains iconic – simply, we just can’t resist the stuff.
Should the Old Firm be in the Premier League?
As a Rangers fan, I can honestly say I would love to escape the monotonous seasonal one-two that occurs in the SPL. I 'firmly' believe that the Old Firm could compete and feasibly win in the Premier League and I have had many a discussion with friends on why and why not the pair should be allowed in. The argument for such an entry is not only pub talk, but is an ongoing argument at the highest level of football, with two opposing sides being represented by 'money men' and the 'traditionalists'.
The subject of Rangers and Celtic becoming part of the Premier League continues to be a major talking point and Rangers manager, Walter Smith, has clearly defined views on the matter:
I would love to see it happen, because it would be of enormous benefit to both clubs and for the Scottish national team, but I don't know whether English teams, in the end, would vote for that. I don't think they would.
I remember being at Everton once where it was asked at a board meeting and the directors said there would be no chance of it happening. That would be the case in most boardrooms, because Rangers and Celtic would not come down here to be middle-of-the-league clubs. After the bedding-in period they would be among the challengers for the title. I think that would be apparent to most English clubs, and that is why I don't think we will get the opportunity.
The main argument against the introduction of the Old Firm to the Premier League is the simple fact that both clubs are Scottish, despite the fact that one is arguably more Irish than Scottish. Other opponents argue that they wouldn’t bring anything to the league, or that the SPL would simply collapse in the wake of the Old Firm's departure. My reply to people, who bring up nationality as a reason against, is that Cardiff have won the FA Cup, and just last year, nearly won it again. Cardiff are a Welsh team, along with Swansea and Wrexham. Further, Cardiff could, in the very near future, be in the Premier League.
Some of my pessimistic friends comment: 'Well if that’s the case, that Rangers and Celtic have become too big for the SPL, then why shouldn’t a similar isolated duo of teams such as Ajax and PSV play in the Bundesliga for example?' Well, for starters the Eredivisie earns more money than the SPL, so neither of those two clubs are dying a slow death. Also, if you look at the previous winners in that league over the last ten years, no club has one the title more than two times in a row. It is however true that the remaining clubs would be severely hurt financially by the Old Firm heading south of the border.
Most clubs, but especially the smaller SPL sides, rely on their four Old Firm games to boost the coffers; the away fans of both the Glasgow sides outnumber the home supporters when they play clubs like Inverness and Hamilton. But, on the flip side, maybe it is time for the other teams to stop relying upon the Old Firm and to start working with more realistic budgets. Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs all have good stadiums, with good behind the scenes set-ups, these would be the clubs to step into the void. After a few years finishing in the top two, and getting into the Champions League, they would start to see some real money.
The main, and most moronic, argument against this move is: 'What would they bring to the table?' This argument is where the 'money men' come into play, and the money could quite possibly the thing that allows the Old Firm in. The appeal of the Old Firm is world-wide as Tony Mowbray recently stated. Mowbray, who left West Brom to take charge at Celtic Park this summer, knows that even a well organized club like West Brom finds it very hard to compete at the highest level. But, he is of the belief that the Old Firm, with its fan base, would be able to hold their own in the Premiership.
My first game in charge was in Australia and to see 25,000 Celtic supporters in the stadium suggest it is a world-wide club that would bring a world-wide audience to the Premiership.
I think they would enhance the Premier League.
Bolton's chairman, Phil Gartside, envisages a revamped Premiership set up which would involve the Premier League being reduced to 18 clubs and the introduction of a second tier of 18 clubs, including the two Glasgow sides. His plan won’t work, as middle-level English teams, and even some of the big boys, would not support the arrival of Celtic and Rangers into the Premier League as they know that the Old Firm teams, with Premier League money at their disposal, would ultimately threaten their own place within the league. A different proposal would've have to be created.
If a suitable solution was found, the Old Firm would bring a great deal to English football. The most significant aspect of which would be a following that exceeds all, bar Manchester United and Liverpool. Currently Celtic and Rangers are third and fourth in average home attendance tally, behind Manchester United and Arsenal. They also have a traveling support that is the equal to any in English football. Although it is hard to believe overseas interest in the Premier League could grow, it undoubtedly would if Celtic and Rangers were involved. This would be especially true in North America and Australia, whose large Scottish and Irish ex-pat communities still fervently follow the Old Firm. At the very least, the idea of the Old Firm joining the Premier League qualifies as innovative. It is workable too, both in a geographical and logistical sense. With cheap inter-city flights, it would cost the same for a fan of Chelsea or Portsmouth to travel up to Glasgow as it would to watch their sides play any of the teams in the North East.
The relocation of the Old Firm would be a good thing for the global brand that is the Premier League, it would also benefit the Scottish national team, and eventually the other smaller SPL sides, but can I see it happening in the next 10 years? Possibly. In the next 5 years? No way.
The relocation of the Old Firm would be a good thing for the global brand that is the Premier League, it would also benefit the Scottish national team, and eventually the other smaller SPL sides, but can I see it happening in the next 10 years? Possibly. In the next 5 years? No way.
Josh
Friday 7 August 2009
James Hoxey's 2009/2010 Predictions: Part 2
6. Who's going to win the Champions League at the Bernabeau?
Part of me wants to say Real Madrid. But I am feeling a little bit kind and might just tip Chelsea to tick that big old Champions League box this year. Ancellotti has done it before.
7. Who are the PFA going to dub 'Player of the Season'?
This year, I have really given it a lot of thought. Once I recovered from my headache I decided that this could be a defensive player's year. Joleon Lescott. You read it here first.
8. Who's going to be the PFA's 'Young Player of the Season'?
Young player of the year is a tough shout, but maybe we could see a great debut season from Rafael at United. With Ronaldo gone, Fergie could be looking for a lot more from his full backs going forward.
9. Which manager's going to have a season to remember?
That's going to be Owen Coyle. Being a Scot, you can't look beyond him piping up in a Fergie style.
10. Which manager's going to have a season to forget?
I hate to say it, but super Roy Hodgson might struggle to find that extra spark this season as he will be under a lot more pressure to deliver during this campaign.
11. Give us a random prediction?
Steve Coppell to get a job with a Premier League club.
Part of me wants to say Real Madrid. But I am feeling a little bit kind and might just tip Chelsea to tick that big old Champions League box this year. Ancellotti has done it before.
7. Who are the PFA going to dub 'Player of the Season'?
This year, I have really given it a lot of thought. Once I recovered from my headache I decided that this could be a defensive player's year. Joleon Lescott. You read it here first.
8. Who's going to be the PFA's 'Young Player of the Season'?
Young player of the year is a tough shout, but maybe we could see a great debut season from Rafael at United. With Ronaldo gone, Fergie could be looking for a lot more from his full backs going forward.
9. Which manager's going to have a season to remember?
That's going to be Owen Coyle. Being a Scot, you can't look beyond him piping up in a Fergie style.
10. Which manager's going to have a season to forget?
I hate to say it, but super Roy Hodgson might struggle to find that extra spark this season as he will be under a lot more pressure to deliver during this campaign.
11. Give us a random prediction?
Steve Coppell to get a job with a Premier League club.
Thursday 6 August 2009
James Hoxey's 2009/2010 Predictions: Part 1
1. Who's going to be in the top four, and in what order?
1. Man Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
This order I feel will be the one come the end of the season. Ferguson could single handedly enter the record books ahead of Liverpool for league titles and finally 'knock them off their f***ing pedestal'. Ronaldo might be gone, but they have strength and depth, and I can see Ferguson playing a narrower formation this season, using the skill and power of the team through the middle channels.
Chelsea are certainly going to look at proving they can still be a force, and it's a good thing they've hired Ancellotti as he is a specialist in managing cultured, seasoned players. With key figures at the club aging, Lampard and Drogba are in their 30s now, maybe the Italian will get a couple more Big Four standard years from this squad.
Liverpool seem to be taking a huge step backwards in selling Alonso and ultimately, Gerrard will have to drop deep to compensate for this, meaning Liverpool will lose a big lump of their attacking force.
Arsenal will probably hang in there, with Wenger proving you can just about stay in the Big Four with kids...
2. Who's going down?
18. Hull
19. Birmingham
20. Stoke
Hull haven't strengthened enough, and, considering their dependence on Premier League veterans such as the heroic Nicky Barmby, it will be only be a matter of time before they lose their legs in the last 10 minutes of games and leak goals.
Birmingham have strengthened, but they seem to lack that special player which many promotion sides bring in to provide those moments of class in a game, like Geovanni offered Hull when they were finding their Premier League 'legs'.
Stoke will be on their way with a severe case of 'Readingitis'; when you combine a great debut season and no strengthening, the only way is down. You can't rest staying up on Delap-mans shoulders.
3. Which team is going to show the biggest improvement?
It has got to be Manchester City. If they keep all of these new players fit, they should be able to improve on last seasons performance you would hope.
4. Who's going to bang in the most goals?
This season will be Fernando Torres' year, he is looking to be the only out and out goal scorer Liverpool play this year, and he's certainly potent enough in front of goal.
5. Who's going to win the FA Cup?
Liverpool. Rafa needs to grab some sort of Silverware this season, I fancy him to make sure Liverpool are at Wembley this year.
1. Man Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
This order I feel will be the one come the end of the season. Ferguson could single handedly enter the record books ahead of Liverpool for league titles and finally 'knock them off their f***ing pedestal'. Ronaldo might be gone, but they have strength and depth, and I can see Ferguson playing a narrower formation this season, using the skill and power of the team through the middle channels.
Chelsea are certainly going to look at proving they can still be a force, and it's a good thing they've hired Ancellotti as he is a specialist in managing cultured, seasoned players. With key figures at the club aging, Lampard and Drogba are in their 30s now, maybe the Italian will get a couple more Big Four standard years from this squad.
Liverpool seem to be taking a huge step backwards in selling Alonso and ultimately, Gerrard will have to drop deep to compensate for this, meaning Liverpool will lose a big lump of their attacking force.
Arsenal will probably hang in there, with Wenger proving you can just about stay in the Big Four with kids...
2. Who's going down?
18. Hull
19. Birmingham
20. Stoke
Hull haven't strengthened enough, and, considering their dependence on Premier League veterans such as the heroic Nicky Barmby, it will be only be a matter of time before they lose their legs in the last 10 minutes of games and leak goals.
Birmingham have strengthened, but they seem to lack that special player which many promotion sides bring in to provide those moments of class in a game, like Geovanni offered Hull when they were finding their Premier League 'legs'.
Stoke will be on their way with a severe case of 'Readingitis'; when you combine a great debut season and no strengthening, the only way is down. You can't rest staying up on Delap-mans shoulders.
3. Which team is going to show the biggest improvement?
It has got to be Manchester City. If they keep all of these new players fit, they should be able to improve on last seasons performance you would hope.
4. Who's going to bang in the most goals?
This season will be Fernando Torres' year, he is looking to be the only out and out goal scorer Liverpool play this year, and he's certainly potent enough in front of goal.
5. Who's going to win the FA Cup?
Liverpool. Rafa needs to grab some sort of Silverware this season, I fancy him to make sure Liverpool are at Wembley this year.
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