Sorry it took a couple of days. I'm sure many of you have been unable to function without knowing my predictions, so I'll get right on with it!
Manchester City
Now I was raised by a City fan so I do have a slight bias towards the Blue half of Manchester. Having said that, I really do see them doing very well this season. They have made, in my opinion, some excellent signings already this season, and are being linked with more good, young, hungry players. I thought they were excellent in spells last season and needed a few more players of better quality to really push on. I think this even more in the absence of any significant signings at Man Utd, Arsenal or Chelsea so far. David Silva is a brilliant player and I think that even though he is small in stature, he isn't afraid of hard work, so has the ingredients to be a success in the Premier League. The left-back Kolarov will be a huge improvement on Bridge from what I've seen. Jerome Boateng looked very good in the World Cup for Germany at centre back, and that should solve one of their weaknesses from last season. If they get either Edin Dzeko or Mario Balotelli too then I think they will have a formidable first XI and good backup too. Perhaps most importantly this all reminds me of Jose Mourinho's signings at Chelsea initially. None of these players have tasted huge success and are still hungry to do so. I think they will make a challenge for the title this year and if they stick with the manager for next season too then I think they have a very bright future ahead of them.
Manchester United
The Red Devils are a strange case at the moment. They should have loads of cash available if the noises coming out of the club from both the Glazers and Alex Ferguson are to be believed. However, the only signings added to what is widely recognised as a fairly weak squad have been Chris Smalling from Fulham and Javier Hernandez from Chivas in Mexico. I'm aware Ferguson has said the market is inflated and that he has faith in his youngsters coming through. The problem is that he inflated the market with last year's Ronaldo transfer and from what I've seen the youngsters are either not good enough or not ready. There is still a good first XI at the club, but the backup is weak and some players are either ageing (Scholes, Giggs, Neville), broken (Hargreaves), or underperforming (Carrick, Berbatov). I'm of the opinion that Ferguson works brilliantly when he has a very good assistant to aid him, and I don't think Mike Phelan is that man. Queiroz was very good with signings and tactics and Phelan doesn't seem good enough. They always challenge so I'd expect Ferguson to have them up there, but I think current prices of around 6/4 are way too short.
Newcastle United
So we move on to the madhouse! Or not so much now that Chris Hughton seems to have restored order to the asylum! The problem with Newcastle, and also perversely their greatest strength is the fans. The support they give is tremendous, but the constant going on about how they are a 'big club' on the back of some moderate success over a decade ago is frankly ridiculous. They are a medium sized club with a good fanbase, no more. And it does seem that a year in The Championsip has given the fans a bit of humility. The team steamrolled all opposition in The Championship, and will be looking to take some of that momentum into this campaign. However, there is a lack of real quality in this team. Steve Harper is a solid goalkeeper and the defence is also decent. In midfield there are a lot of hardworkers like Smith and Barton, but no cutting edge. And up front Andy Carroll looks a promising striker, but I have my doubts as to whether Peter Lovenkrands will be as good as last year once making the step up. I don't think they'll go down, as there are teams far worse and there seems to be a real team spirit there now. But, I thinka few seasons of consolidation are on the cards and the fans should be happy with that. They probably wont be though, so expect Hughton's job to be on the line evry time they lose a couple!
Stoke City
Another team I have a soft spot for. I don't think Tony Pulis is given the credit he deserves for making Stoke seem like part of the Premier League furniture now. When they came up they were meant to be sent from whence they came having had a hiding every week. To their immense credit they set about making themselves very difficult to beat and making the Brittania Stadium a fortress. Having survived with ease that first year Pulis tried to add some flair to a functional side with the likes of Tuncay coming in. Whilst this didn't work out, it shows a flexible approach that many assumed he didn't have. I think if they can add some flair and a regular goalscorer to a team that is very hard to beat they might trouble the top 6 or 7. That signing looks unlikely this summer though so I think another relatively solid mid-table finish beckons. Probably having upset some of the big boys along the way!
Sunderland
I think it would be fair to say that having spent a decent sum of money last summer Steve Bruce's team underachieved a bit. Darren Bent was an inspired signing. Whilst not brilliant at any part of the game he is preficient at most aspects and if the team is set up to provide him with chances he will put a lot of them away. I liked Lorik Cana so it suprised me somewhat to see him leave for Galtasaray. This could be down to the signing of Cristian Riveros of Paraguay though. Another central midfielder, he impressed me at the World Cup with his tackling, but also with his ability to pick a pass. I think he should be a success. John Mensah looked good for Ghana at centre back too, and Bruce is in the process of once agian signing Titus Bramble. The backline seemed to be the problem last year and I don't think Bramble will make an awful lot of difference. He's decent backup if that's what he is being bought as, but if he is going to be first choice then I'd question Bruce's judgement. Cattermole being fit for a whole season should provide extra protection. I think he is the closest thing England have to a disciplined, tough-tackling defensive midfielder so he will be one to watch for me. There are some promising players coming through like Colback and Waghorn, who enjoyed successful loans at Ipswich and Leicester in The Championship last season respectively. They should agin be a team to watch, but will probably end up aorund mid-table I think.
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