Premier League Preview!
Jag har äran att presentera en genomgång av alla Premier League lag inför säsongen 2013!
Tanken var att göra den tillsammans med en som bor i England och följer med försäsongen på plats via media. Hans analys var dock så bra och innehållsrik att jag inte blandar mig i eftersom jag mest har koll på det spelmässiga och de högst rankade lagen. Stort tack för denna analys! Obs, kommentera gärna här. Det förra inlägget fick en kommentar redan.
Following several key changes to management in the Premier League this summer, it's very difficult to predict how the top of the table will finish this season. I've decided to try it anyway by analysing player transfers, pre-season form and recalling how each club ended last season's campaign.
1. Chelsea
1. Chelsea
Although it will undoubtedly be tight at the top, I feel Chelsea might just edge it. They were not at their best last season, but they still ended up 3rd in the league and walked away with the Europa League title. Their pre-season form has been great, only losing to Real Madrid and beating Roma, Milan and Inter along the way. Not many players have been bought yet, but I don't think Chelsea really needed more players. Andre Schurrle is a very exciting addition though and really feels like more of an added bonus. Last but not least, the fans are overjoyed at the return of Jose Mourinho, who will surely give the club a huge lift. Things would have been easier for him had Chelsea managed to buy Falcao or Cavani. But can he get Torres back on track? Is Lukaku the new Drogba? Or maybe Ba will be the game changer that Chelsea lacked in certain games last season?
The special one! Mourinho är tillbaka och krigar om nya titlar med Chelsea!
3. Man U
2. Man City
It would be hard to imagine Manchester City finishing lower than 2nd with the squad they possess. Tevez has been sold, but big names Fernandinho, Jesus Navas and Negredo have all been brought in. I don't know much about Pellegrini, but I do know he had a bad time at Real Madrid. He seemed to do a much better job at Malaga though, which probably earned him his position at Man City. City's pre-season was ok, but they lost against bigger teams like Arsenal and Bayern Munich. On paper I believe Man City have the best squad by far, but it will all depend on how long it takes Pellegrini to get them playing as a team.
One thing you can always be sure of, is that Manchester United will never be far from the top. Even with the best manager of all time leaving, United have that winning mentality installed at the club and I don't believe anything will ever change that. However I do believe they will have to fight harder than ever if they are to succeed this season. No notable signings have been made, but some would argue that as reigning champions, fresh blood isn't a necessity. Pre-season didn't go all that well either, losing to two different Asian clubs and drawing their last friendly against Swedish club, AIK. I think the key to Man United succeeding again this season all depends on Van Persie staying fit. But of course the transfer window is open for another two weeks and a big name purchase like Fabregas, could increase the chances of retaining the title.
Skall Rooney fortsätta spela i United?
4. Arsenal
Having the longest standing manager in English topflight football, Arsenal are probably the most stable team in the league at the moment. They are also however the most underachieving. Sure it's not easy with big spending clubs like Man City, Chelsea and Man United above them. But I also believe it's down to the club wasting money on buying the wrong players. Following a good pre-season, things might be about to change though. I think Wenger really needs to win something or at least finish above 4th this season, to prove to the fans that the club is heading in the right direction and not just treading water. To do this he really needs to pick up a player or two in the remaining two weeks of the transfer window. Walcott is too heavily relied on to get the goals and I don't think the defence is strong enough either. But who knows, Giroud might hit a good run of form and if Vermaelen stays fit, then maybe Arsenal have got what it takes to do better this season.
More so than with any other club, what happens in the transfer market will be key to how Spurs will do this season. Is Bale going? If he stays, will he be happy? If he is sold, who will they be able to buy to replace him? It's almost impossible to predict where Spurs will end up without having the answers to these questions. If he is happy to stay, then top 4 is a possibility. If he goes or is made to stay against his will, I think Spurs will have a much more difficult job getting to where they want to be, despite the big signings of Paulinho and Soldado. Pre-season wasn't all that successful, but is slightly irrelevant considering Bale didn't take part due to injury.
Bale på väg till Real Madrid eller?
Everton fans were of course sad to see Moyes leave, but should be very happy to have Martinez taking over as manager. Martinez is an excellent tactician. He made Swansea what they are today, by installing a short-passing philosophy; something which is in his blood, progressing through the Spanish youth system as a player. He also won the FA cup with Wigan last season and I believe he did as much as he possibly could with the players he had and limited transfer funds. Not having much money for transfers is also quite normal at Everton. But if they are forced sell Fellaini or Baines, the money will probably be spent on one or two new players for Martinez to utilise in his tactics.
7. Liverpool
7. Liverpool
Similar to Tottenham, Liverpool's campaign depends a lot on Suarez staying or going. I would have expected this to have been cleared up earlier this summer, because if Suarez is sold now, there isn't much time to use the money to strengthen attack. However recent headlines indicate that Suarez is staying and that will mean a lot for Liverpool's chances this season. They've also had an impressive pre-season, only losing one game against Celtic.
Vad händer med Suarez? Brendan Rodgers har problem just nu.
Consistently finishing mid-table the last few seasons, I believe Fulham will repeat the trend again this time round. They've strengthened the squad well by signing goalkeeper Stekelenburg and full-back Riether. Most notably they've replaced the absence of Dembele in attacking-midfield, by signing Taarabt on loan from QPR. I think this transfer will be key when trying to get the most out of star-player, Berbatov. They didn't get the wins they wanted in pre-season, losing narrowly against respected clubs like Werder Bremen and Parma, but drawing 1-1 against Real Betis was seen as a positive result.
Swansea had a great pre-season, winning seven games straight and beating Malmö 4-0 on aggregate in Europa League qualifying. Laudrup is also very successful when dealing in the transfer market. Last seasons influential midfielder De Guzman has signed another season-long loan and new players Bony and Canas have impressed when featuring in the friendlies. I think Shelvey will also impress and prove to be an interesting addition to a strong looking squad. If Swansea qualify for the Europa League, fitness will be vital as the Thursday group stage fixtures have proven to be a strain on other English teams last season.
Another club that has impressed in the transfer market is Sunderland. Giaccherini is massive signing and could prove pivotal in Sunderland's campaign. Diakite and Altidore could also prove to be key additions to the squad. Defence was already a strong point for Sunderland, so it will be important for Giaccherini, Johnson and Sessegnon to link up and create the much needed goals. Pre-season was quite good including a 3-1 win against Spurs and only losing 1-0 in a tight game against Man City.
Sunderland spelade en intressant och sevärd fotboll ifjol.
A couple of weeks ago I wouldn't have thought West Brom could match their impressive 8th position achieved last season. But following impressive displays from new loan signing Anelka, I believe a repeat mid-table position will be quite probable. West Brom have also managed to capture the Championship's Player of the Year, Matej Vydra. Vydra scored 20 goals in 41 games on loan at Watford last season and played a massive part in Watford reaching the play-off finals.
Newcastle fans could be in for a rough ride this season. Suffering from internal problems, the appointment of Joe Kinnear as Director of Football proved very unpopular amongst the supporters. If however the club can keep a lid on these problems and do what they do best, there is no reason why they can't finish in a respectable mid-table position. Remy is a new big-name signing and a string of other star players at the club including; Cisse, Cabaye, Ben Arfa and Gouffran, will all be expected to perform well and improve on the disappointing 16th position of last season.
Cardiff are another club that a few weeks ago would have been on my teams to get relegated list. However the transfer market can change a lot for a club, especially when you've got a billionaire Malaysian owner named Vincent Tan. Cardiff were in desperate need of a solid centre-back and they may just have found that in the record signing of Caulker from Spurs. I'm also led to believe that Medel from Sevilla is a good signing for the club. If all else fails, I'm sure Tan will splash out in January to keep the club from getting relegated.
Cardiff sponsoreras av "visit Malaysia".
There's been a lot of changes at Norwich since they impressively finished 11th last season. Goalscorer Holt has been sold and creative midfielder Surman has been loaned out. Although I believe Norwich are strong enough to stay up, I think they will struggle to get goals and will therefore find it hard to improve on last seasons performance.
Villa have struggled the last few seasons and I can't see that changing this time round. Benteke will be heavily depended on to get goals again. Whilst new signings Luna and Okore will be expected to tighten up the defence that leaked so many goals last season.
I think we know what to expect from Allardyce's team after the completed signing of Andy Carroll from Liverpool...longballs and crosses! Although this tactic and the squad will probably be strong enough to beat weaker teams, probably keeping them from getting relegated in the process. I really can't see West Ham getting many points from teams in the top half of the table.
Although achieving a respectable 14th position last season, I think Southampton will struggle this season. However big signings like Wanyama from Celtic and Lovren from Lyon will probably help the club to stay up.
Välkomna!
Hull have signed a lot of new players, but I still can't see this being enough to keep them from getting relegated. They just clinched automatic promotion in what was quite a weak Championship division.
Predicting what will happen to Stoke under new manager Mark Hughes is quite difficult. On a positive note, he prefers a more physical and defensive approach to the game, which fits in perfectly with Stoke's style of play. On a negative note for Hughes, the beautiful game has progressed a lot from his stubborn old ways and I think many teams will brush a side Stoke with ease when playing away. However Stoke are always solid at home and surely won't drop many points at the Britannia with their passionate fans. But will it be enough?
Chamakh klar för bottentippade Crystal Palace!
Crystal Palace will undoubtedly be the weakest side this season in my opinion. Manchester United bought their star player Zaha and anyone who watched Palace last season, will know that Zaha was involved with nearly every goal they scored. They've signed a few new players, but no-one that will make enough difference to help Palace stay at this level. Maybe Derby's record for lowest points in a season could even be beaten here.
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