Thoughts/Predictions/Ideas on the coming Premiership Season

PHB

Well we've been waiting a while for this sort of discussion It's been popping up in threads here and there so I figure Problem with waiting for the transfer window to close is that the season is upon us in 9 days! Woohoo

I think the top 4 will be the same as always unless somebody implodes, which I don't think they will. Spurs may push the following year I think. Spurs to come fifth, Villa Portsmouth to come 6th/7th with Everton losing some ground.

Chelsea:
Chelsea to me have improve their squad somewhat, but not in the areas that they had problems, most importantly, in width. Robinho would be a big boost, they are missing magic men since Robben left.
Boswinga is a decent RB, but I'm not sure he's a huge improvement. Although allowing Essien back to CM is a good thing, since he's amazing.
For me, I don't think Chelsea will be as strong this year as they were under Mourinho. They want to shift to an attacking style of play, but getting the balance right for that takes time, and I can't see them managing to get it right instantly. That said, their squad is so unbelievably strong that they are still going to hit 80+ points I'd say.

Liverpool:
Liverpool have strengthened with Keane, and have added some decent full backs which should sure up their defence again [although I don't think it'll reach the previous levels due to the shift towards attack].
For me, unless they add to their squad currently, I expect them to line up in most games

---Gerrard

---

Keane

---

Babel----

---

Torres

---

and unless Babel comes on in leaps and bounds, I don't see them being consistant enough in attack. They also need to deal with their inability to take enough off the top 4, especially United. I think they might do better than last year, but ultimately I expect them to trail off and be effectively out of the race by Christmas (like 8ish points behind of whatever)

Arsenal:
Arsenal for me have only gotten better. Yes they lost Flamini and that is a loss, but imo he is an overrated player. Wenger is looking for a replacement, and I think Denilson may be able to step up. I think as always once they get on a roll, they are unstoppable, and the way their fixtures have worked out I think its pefect for them.
That said, I think unless the squad is strengthened in defence, they are really at risk. An injury to Sagna and their defence goes to crap, so he needs to stay fit. If Van Persie can stay fit, they will be the best attack in the league for beating teams outside the top 6. I expect them to be top of the league come March.

United:
United for me haven't really changed much. Once again our entire season depends on Rooney staying fit, as without him, we're a bit ****ed. Hopefully we'll add another striker to solve that. Anderson and Nani I think will both come along well, and imo if Rooney can stay fit we are odds on favorites for the league. If we can sign another striker, I think we have an incredibly good balanced squad, possibly one of the best I've seen. If not, its going to be a nail buiting season.
But we've got a tough start with our injuries and we've got a tough first half of the season. If we can stay with 3-5 points of the leaders up to Christmas, I think we'll come through in the end.

Final table for me is going to be like last year I think
United win by 3-5 points
Chelsea second
Arsenal close third maybe even second depending on Chelsea
Liverpool fourth by about 5-10 points after 3rd

herbieflowers

Arsenal to surprise us again

Mr Alan

PHB wrote: »

Arsenal:
Arsenal for me have only gotten better. Yes they lost Flamini and that is a loss, but imo he is an overrated player. Wenger is looking for a replacement, and I think Denilson may be able to step up. I think as always once they get on a roll, they are unstoppable, and the way their fixtures have worked out I think its pefect for them.
That said, I think unless the squad is strengthened in defence, they are really at risk. An injury to Sagna and their defence goes to crap, so he needs to stay fit. If Van Persie can stay fit, they will be the best attack in the league for beating teams outside the top 6. I expect them to be top of the league come March.

and there was me thinking you were going on all last season about how good Hleb is, and yet his departure doesnt even merit a mention :rolleyes:

BlueBandit

Think Arsenal could be in for a long season, squad looks even smaller than last years, loosing Flamini, Hleb and Gilberto and only Nasri, who is a bit of an unknown quantity, coming in.
Chelsea will be interesting, considering they now have deco fighting with Lampard and Ballack for the place in midfield. Scolari will have to adapt back to club management quickly, such a wealth of talent though and with their winning mentality I cant see them being far away at the end.
Liverpool, well ever since Roy Evans they have looked a quality player or two away from being serious title contenders and I dodnt see any change to that this season.
Kneck on the line time

United
Chelsea
Pool
Arse/Spurs

Whos for the drop?

Peyton Manning

Man Utd
Im not buying into this whole 'we need to strengthen' crap. We've got arguably the best starting 11 in the world, with some damn good players pushing to get into that 11. Fitness is the key this season - off to a bad start on that front already but we can cope. Like PHB said, Rooney staying fit is key. I can see Tevez having a sensational season - his preseason has been exceptional. Carrick to pull the strings from midfield as usual, and you dont get a better back 5 than what we have. Big season for our young talent as well, with Possebon, Campbell, Evans, Foster, Rafael and Fabio looking for game time. They should get that too with the new 7 sub rule. Perhaps Lee Martin too if he sticks around. What do I not want to see? John O'Shea starting in midfield.
Prediction: 1st

Chelsea
Yet another summer of change at the Bridge. They've got a good manager in, but unproved at club level. How effective he is remains to be seen. Deco is a cracking signing if you ask me, but where to accomodate him in that midfield of Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Ballack and himself. Keep in mind that they also have wingers to satisfy in Cole, Wright-Phillips, Malouda and Kalou. I expect Lampard and Drogba to hang around, for one more season at least. Chelsea are always a threat, and are always going to be up around the top 2/3.
Prediction: 2nd

Arsenal
Tricky summer so far. I dont for one second believe Flamini is over rated. He has been criminally under rated for years, and deserved all his compliments last season. Really dont think he should have left, but Arsenal will miss both him and Hleb. Nasri is a good young player, he'll slot in perfectly into Hleb's position. Hopefully he adapts well to the English game. Key for the Gunners this season is Van Persie staying fit. Big things predicted of him last season only to be dashed due to injury. Eduardo will be welcomed back also, and the young players will be one year older and more mature. It will be interesting to see how Walcott performs this season.
Prediction: 3rd

Liverpool
Made some pretty good signings in Keane and (inevitably) Barry. It should ensure they dont have to fight it out with the likes of Villa, Everton and co. for 4th place, but Spurs could be a threat to that security. While those signings will seperate them from the lower teams even further, I just dont see those 2 helping to close the gap between Liverpool and the top 2/3. Torres will have another great season, thats not in doubt. Expect whatever hopes of title challenge to be gone by February.
Prediction: 4th

ITT-Pat

I think it'll be bery similiar up the top again with Utd and Chelsea being very close. I think Arsenal are going to be great for 3/4 again and fall away in the last 10 weeks of the season. But i think Liverpool will be a bit tighter to them this season.

5th place will be very interesting with Everton, Portsmouth, and Villa battling it out. However if Spurs can remain stable at the back(IF), Bent can find a bit of form and Di Santos can settle in well I think they'd be my picks for 5th place. For me, Modric and Bentley will slot in very well into their side so if Di Santos can provide a bit of flair in their attack, it'll be a big season for them.

Down the bottom, I think it'll be Stoke, Bolton and West Brom going down. I think Hull have added enough strength where they might scrape survival. I think Blackburn may struggle this year too.

PHB

Mr Alan wrote: »

and there was me thinking you were going on all last season about how good Hleb is, and yet his departure doesnt even merit a mention :rolleyes:

Hleb is a fantastic footballer, no doubt. But to be honest, Vela Walcott or Nasri imo will be able to step up and replace him in terms of end product. Hleb to an extent personified everything that was wrong with Arsenal. In the final 3rd, he just didn't do enough, despite being unreal outside of it. Arsenals overall play will suffer, but I think without him they will imo become more ruthless, albeit less attractive.

BlueBandit they haven't just added Nasri, they've also added Vela, who is a cracking footballers.

herbieflowers

wasn't he just on loan somewhere, as opposed to being signed? Ramsey could have a good season, too.

BlueBandit

PHB wrote: »

BlueBandit they haven't just added Nasri, they've also added Vela, who is a cracking footballers.

I'd be more worried about them findning a replacement for silva/Flamini. You can have all the silky skilled youngsters you like, and they do have an awful lot of them, but I think to win a league it needs to be balanced out with some more experienced players who can shut out a game or grind out a one nil on a wet January evening in Bolton. Think that could be their undoing again but reckon Wenger has a better idea of his squad than I do so they will probably storm the thing:D:D

prendy

[QUOTE=Archimedes;56822402
Arsenal
Prediction: 4th

Liverpool

Prediction: 4th[/QUOTE]

nice prediction, who gets 3rd?

i think the top 4 will tighten this year, hopefully 3-4 teams are there come April.
i think Chelsea will win the league this year, Pool 2nd, manu 3rd and aresnal 4th.
Spurs and everton complete the top 6

for the drop i think Hull and Stoke are nailed on and i think west/brom or wigan will go with them.

Peyton Manning

BlueBandit wrote: »

I'd be more worried about them findning a replacement for silva/Flamini. You can have all the silky skilled youngsters you like, and they do have an awful lot of them, but I think to win a league it needs to be balanced out with some more experienced players who can shut out a game or grind out a one nil on a wet January evening in Bolton. Think that could be their undoing again but reckon Wenger has a better idea of his squad than I do so they will probably storm the thing:D:D

Nothin to worry about so, they'll have their Reebok visit out of the way in September

Pepe LeFrits

Wenger has said recently that he'd 'maybe' like to add one more experienced player to the Arsenal squad. If that happens, it'll definately be a lot beefier than last season and in pretty good shape. I hope he signs a big aerially powerful CB, but a DM would be nice also.

- Lehmann (GK), Flamini (MF), Gilberto (MF) and Hleb (MF) have left the squad.
- Mannone (GK), Djourou (DF), Ramsey (MF), Bischoff (MF), Nasri (MF), Wilshere (MF) and Vela (ST) have been added to the (first team) squad.
- The existing squad is 1 year older and more experienced, with probably Gallas being the only player who is on the wrong side of the peak.
- The van Persie, Eduardo and Rosicky factor is a bit of a wild card.

CHD

United need a striker badly.Dont think Ronaldo is going to bang in 40 odd again this year. Teams will be ready for him also this year and United need Tevez and Rooney to start scoring more goals.Have a feeling VDS is going to have a bad season.
They will be there til the end in all competitions anyway.

Last year Chelsea sacked a manager and started again under an unknown who the squad seemingly didnt even have faith in from 7th place.(i think!) They then went on to go the distance in all competitions,We all know how that went and how it could easily have gone the other way.Boswingwa and Deco have come in.Freeing up Essien to play midfield which is a huge boost.Scolari is a good manager and will get the best out of this team who will go the distance in all competitions also.Things can only get better this year and hopefully Europes No.1 ranked team can win Europes No.1 prize without eh...slipping up!!

Arsenal i think will have the worst season for a while and struggle to keep a hold of fourth.I think the loss of Flamini and Hleb are huge. Ramsay and Nasri arent going to make a huge impact straight away imo.Arsenal will start well but fade away after Christmas.

Liverpool have made a good signing in Keane who should link up well with Torres.Torres has his first full season with a quality strike partner at Anfield and is obv. huge for Pool.Benitez will finally get things right this year and Liverpool will be 3rd i think within 7-10 points of the top spot.Dont think any serious challenge will be made but Pool are on the up.

Everton will grind away results as usual and challenge for the Uefa cup spots along with Pompey, Spurs, City and Villa.

Villa if they can keep Barry and keep there better players injury free will be up there but the loss of Mellberg is huge.Sidwell and Friedel are both good signings.

City under Hughes should be a tough team to break down and beat.If Jo is as good as we are led to beleive then City will lead this pack i think.

Spurs are being talked up alot.I will beleive it when i see it but they wont be challenging for 4th place this year.Selling Keane and now possibly Berbatov is taking a step back after taking a step forward.Can Ramos work his magic?

Pompey seem to go from stregth to stregth and winning the FA cup last year will give them alot of confidence.Selling Muntari wasnt the best idea but Diarra is a class act.Redknapps teams are always hard to beat and Defoe and Crouch could form a deadly strikeforce.

Everton, no signings yet.Cant see them improving much and i think they will struggle a little bit this year unless they can bring in Moutinho and a couple others.Good team but they have tougher competition this year.

Newcastle and West Ham wont improve much at all.Dissapointing seasons on the way i think.Wigan are going to maybe break top 10.Either them or Newcastle.Blackburn will slump down to bottom half this year imo.

Fulham might just stay on the safe side of the bottom half with Sunderland.Hodgson is a good manager and Keane will get the best out of his Sunderland team.The addition of Diouf and half of Spurs bench is a step in the right direction.

Boro under Southgate are slowly but sirely getting worse.Steve Gibson is too nice as a chairman and needs to sack this excuse for a manager before Chritmas or it could be goodbye Boro for a few years.Bolton have another idiot for a manager in Megson and rest assured he will get the worst out of his team.

The three new boys look weak to me, Stoke,Hull and WBA are going to battle with Boro and Bolton to stay up.

Chelsea
Man United
Liverpool
Arsenal
Man City
Aston Villa
Spurs
Everton
Portsmouth
Newcastle
Wigan
Blackburn
West Ham
Sunderland
Fulham
West Brom
Bolton
Boro
Hull
Stoke

Im half asleep and cant remember what i wrote at the start of this probably full of mistakes! But thats my predictions!

herbieflowers

CHD wrote: »

United need a striker badly.Dont think Ronaldo is going to bang in 40 odd again this year. Teams will be ready for him also this year and United need Tevez and Rooney to start scoring more goals.Have a feeling VDS is going to have a bad season.
They will be there til the end in all competitions anyway.

Ronaldo has been very dangerous the last couple of seasons, though. And Rooney and Tevez scored 20 each (roughly) last season, depsite Rooney having a belowpar season and Tevez being new to the team

SantryRed

1st: Chelsea
2nd: United
3rd: Liverpool

Fight for 4th/5th/6th/7th: Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City, Villa, Pompey, Fulham
Don't know what way it'll finish though.

Relegated: Hull, Stoke and Sunderland hopefully:D

Surprise Team: Fulham

herbieflowers

Yeah, Hodgson's done a good job and having AJ there means they've effectively replaced the goals that McBride provided over the last few seasons.

SantryRed

Bullard back fit too for the whole season.

They're a completely different team when he plays.

Will provide plenty of assists for Johnson this year. Would be very surprised to see them in the bottom half.

Bounty Hunter

CHD wrote: »

Villa if they can keep Barry and keep there better players injury free will be up there but the loss of Laursen is huge.Sidwell and Friedel are both good signings.

Laursen what? i assume/hope you mean Mellberg

jesus_thats_gre

I should know better than to post here this early but I can't help myself. Would ideally like to wait until the day before kick off and for all/most signings to be completed - by Liverpool and Arsenal especially.


So here goes it:

1st/2nd place:

Once again, I see it as being a toss up for the league between Chelsea and United.

Chelsea:

I have no doubt that Big Phil will do ok but I am not sure whether he will be able organise the Chelsea defence as well as Jose did. I have always felt that this was where Chelsea's real strenght lay. I think Chelsea would have won one of at least the PL or the CL last season had they been as tight as they were previous seasons.

Deco is an extremely talented player but I would echo what most have said already. How in lords name to they plan to accomadate all those superstars that will all be expecting to start.

I am not convinced by Bosingwa (sp?). Granted, I haven't seen much of him except for Euro2008.

It is looking like Chelsea and Liverpool will be playing near identical systems this season.

Man United:

No one can really dispute the quality that United possess. There isn't really much to say in my opinion other than that they probably need another striker.

I don't see Ronaldo scoring quite so many goals this season but there is no reason why he won't score 75% of what he got last season.

I also feel that Nani will really start to push for a starting place and could have a good season.

The top 2 will be extremely close (a match or two at most). If either of them are going to concede their position in the top 2, it will be Chelsea. I still think that they have the best squad but there is far too many unknowns. On the other hand, United are as stable as you can get.

However, Chelsea are alot more capable of coping with injuries to key players than United are. If Ronaldo, Rooney or Ferdinand/Vidic suffer serious injuries, it will make things very difficult for them.

3rd/4th place:

This will, as always in recent seasons, be between Liverpool and Arsenal.

Arsenal

Last season, Arsenal proved quite a few (me included) doubters wrong. They played by far the best football in the league but eventually faded during the final quarter of the season.

In my opinion, the reason for this was down to the injury to Eduardo, tiredness to key players, what seemed to be the loss of faith in Kolo and Gallas having a mini breakdown. For me, none of the above problems have been solved fully (except for adding depth in attacking midfield).

Eduardo offered Arsenal exactly what they needed and scored some extremely important goals when no one seemed to be able to shoot, nevermind stick it in the back of the net. For me, he is Arsenal's best goal scorer. Van Persie and Adebayor are more rounded and gifted players but are way short of Eduardo in front of goal. Van Persie is most of the most talented players in the world but will he be able to remain fit for a whole season? Adebayor had a great season but I wonder if he will continue that form onto next season. I am not convinced by Bendtner but then again, he is effectively a 3rd/4th choice and is defo good enough for this role. It will be interesting to see how Walcott plays this season. I think that he could have a decent season.

Key payers were also depended on too much last season in my opinion. I really don't think that there was anywhere near sufficient depth in the first team to rest the key players as much as they needed to be. As it stands, they have lost Flamini and Gilberto and not replaced either with players of similar calibre. An experienced central midfielder needs to be signed as while I have no doubt that the youngsters will be able to step up, I don't think that they will be ready to do so straight away.

Nasri will more than likely be a success over the course of the season but I wonder how long it will take him to settle in. Ramsey and Whilshere both seem to be extremely talented youngsters but I doubt they will feature in the PL much next season. Vela looks to be a decent player also.

I also think that they need another centre back. I also wonder whether Gallas is really captain material.

At the end of the last season, I felt that if Arsenal could really look forward and add 1 or 2 players to their first 16 and add 2 or 3 more to the overall squad for cover that they could seriously challenge for the league this season.

Instead, what they have had to do is contend with is 3 players from the first 16 leaving, 2 of which are from the starting 11 and had great seasons, and one of their main strikers being seemingly intent on moving on and not keeping his mouth shut.

Ultimately, as it stands now, I don't think they have made any sort of real step forward. They have added depth in attacking midfield, lost genuine quality in defensive midfield and not addressed glaring shortcomings in theit defence.

Liverpool

I really don't know what to write here. Being a fan, I am obviously optimistic but would like this post to remain as impartial as possible (impossibly difficult if I am honest).

Liverpool's major shortcoming last season was in the number of games that their drew in the middle of the season. IIRC, a large percentage of these draws were due to extremely sloppy defending. The loss of Agger early in the season was extrmely significant for Liverpool. Hypia done ok in the end but he struggled initially. By the time that Skrtel was signed, the damage was already done. We had already sacrificed anything up to 16 points or so.

The return of Agger from injury and the cover that we now have in the centre of defence should remove the possibility of the above occurring again this season. This could realistically mean that we could have an extra 8 or 9 points on the board come the end of the season.

Liverpool have also been pretty busy when it comes to full backs. they now have 3 players available on both flanks - Arbeloa, Finnan and Degan on the right with Dossenna, Aurellio and Insua on the left. There is a good chance that Finnan could leave with Darby taking his place after having a good pre-season. Degan and Dossenna in particular seem to be far more attack minded than anything we have had previously. They will certainly offer more going forward but I am no convinced of their defensive abilities - Degan in particular.

Either way, I am confident that Liverpool will concede less goals than they did last season.

I think that the signing of Keane will lead to a decent improvement in the first team. I also think that the inevitable addition of Barry will also lead to a minor improvment. The figure being quoted for both players are anything up to 50% more than I would see them as being worth but I still believe that they are good signings as there will be little or no time required for them to settle in. Better players on paper from abroad could have been signed but they would have needed months to settle in. The addition of the two lads will lead to a good few more goals this season

In the same way that I think Nani will contribute alot more to United this season, I think that Babel will develop significantly as a player this season and play an important role.

Less so than Arsenal, I think that Liverpool have a handful of quality young players that will start to appear throughout the season. They will likely feature in the cups more than anything though.

Conceeding less and scoring more should lead to more points. We will have to see how many more.

As it stands, Liverpool will re-take 3rd place from Arsenal. If Arsenal sign a good central midfielder and defender, it would be near impossible for me to make a prediction. Throw in injuries to key players to either side and god knows what will happen.

Predicting that Liverpool with finish ahead of Arsenal will no doubt be hotly contended so I made every attempt to explain why I have come to that conclusion.

I think that about 10 points at most will seperate the top 4.



5th/6th/7th place:

Tottenham
Portsmouth
Man City
Aston Villa
Everton
Sunderland
Newcastle
Fulham
West Ham
Middlesbrough
Blackburn
Wigan
Bolton
Hull
Stoke
West Brom


Will add comments to the remaing teams when I get my energy back. Damned epic posts!

Mr.Nice Guy

Top tier...


Man Utd - 1st

Very tricky opening fixtures with away trips to Portsmouth, Liverpool and Chelsea in the first five games. I think United will make a lacklustre start to the season but I would expect them to be right amongst the top group by the year's end. I think in 09 they will dominate and will clinch the title with a bit more ease than they did last season. Ronaldo, as much as I dislike him, will be a big figure.

Chelsea - 2nd

Definitely have the best squad I reckon but I'm not convinced on Scolari. Anelka has looked good in pre-season so I don't think the early loss of Drogba will affect them too much. I can see Chelsea getting off to a strong start but fading in the final stretch like last season with Grant.

Arsenal - 3rd

They started last season on fire and despite losing some big players I expect the same this year as their early fixtures should be no problem. Adebayor has committed himself to the club and Van Persie looks to be back fit so I can see Arsenal banging in the goals. But, like last season, I think they will lack the legs for the long haul.

Liverpool - 4th

Look much more potent up front with Keane joining Torres but I still see them being inconsistent and dropping points. I don't think they'll be involved in the title by February unlike the above three.


Second tier...

I would expect the battle for the remaining European places to involve Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Spurs, Man City, and Everton.

I think Pompey will be a surprise package. Defoe and Crouch can form a formidable partnership and with a strong defence and midfield to build upon, expect them to be in the top half.

Villa should do good again and with Friedel in goal I think they'll leak fewer goals despite not having Bouma or Mellberg.

Spurs have lost Keane but I think Bentley is a good signing in midfield. Modric I'm not sure about but if they keep hold of Berbatov and Bent finds the net they can be up there. Will be interesting to see how the new goalkeeper does.

I can see Man City doing well under Hughes but a lot rests on new signing Jo. I think they will challenge for Europe but fall away eventually.

I think Everton will disappoint a bit this season. Without Carsley I'd worry about them not having enough protection in midfield and Johnson going will take away an option up front. They'll be top half I think but at the lower end of the scale.

Third tier...

It gets harder to predict this half of the table as you don't know who will be managing who as the season goes on but I suspect the clubs in the bottom half but not in danger of a relegation scrap would be Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Wigan. I think some of these teams will flirt with the drop zone but in the final weeks I'd say these teams will be safe.

Bottom tier...

The six teams I'd fancy to be in the battle for survival would be Bolton, West Brom, Blackburn, Fulham, Stoke and Hull.

I think Hull and Stoke are doomed from the off so I'd look to one of the other four as being a contender for the drop.

I'm not convinced about Paul Ince. I've heard newspaper reports of unease behind the scenes and I wonder if he'll be there by the end of the season. Same goes for Megson. A lot rests on new signing Elmander. Without Anelka and Diouf it remains to be seen how Bolton will cope. Fulham did well to survive but I think they'll be scrapping again. Don't think they'll go down however. West Brom will be amongst it but I'd expect them to pull away as Sunderland did last season.

My gut feeling is that the three to be relegated will be Bolton, Stoke and Hull.

jesus_thats_gre

I really do prefer threads like this where there are long, carefully considered posts.

weemcd

my utd predictions:

*tevez to be league top goalscorer
rooney to bag 20 goals and a shed load of assists
ronaldo to sit out the early season and struggle with fitness before christmas, get stonger as the season progresses and return to his full strength as the season draws to a close. . .
hargreaves to start 30+ league games this year and firmly establish himself
giggs to start ~ 20 league games
gary Neville to start => 10 league games
*** henrik to sign with us on a one year pay-as-you-play deal

utd to win the premiership by 2 points.

general:

arsenal to surprise everyone by playing magnificently or failing magnificently. . .

sunderland to finish above newcastle

chelsea & liverpool to retain their current positions

(* = pinch of salt required )

PHB

In the same way that I think Nani will contribute alot more to United this season, I think that Babel will develop significantly as a player this season and play an important role.

Do you really think he will add that much though?
Nani last season got 3 goals and 9 assists in 1500 minutes.
Babel got 4 goals and 3 assists in 1450 minutes.

I don't think its unreasonable to say that next year Nani will probably be better than Babel.

Most United fans I know aren't particuarly comfortable with Nani being first choice LWer next season [indeed he won't be if Berbatov joins], I can't seem to understand why Liverpool fans are comfortable with Babel.

---

In my opinion, the reason for this was down to the injury to Eduardo, tiredness to key players, what seemed to be the loss of faith in Kolo and Gallas having a mini breakdown.

For me, the key incident that hurt Arsenal last year was Sagna getting injuried. They lost their solid defence. The thing about Arsenal is that the system makes them better than they are individually. However if a part of that system doesn't work, it all breaks down. When Sagna was lost, there was nobody decent to cover him and it all went to ****e.

CHD

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

Laursen what? i assume/hope you mean Mellberg

yep i was half asleep

ditpoker

Spurs: selling keane (and probably berb) is almost like completing the transition from Jol to Ramos. That said, i think there is alot of false optimism generated by a good preseason. I think getting corluka and more defensive cover is great. Top 8 is expected. 6th or 5th would be a brilliant league campaign. lower than 8th would be disappointing. We simply cant compete with top 4. we;re getting closer but a year or three off yet. Only way spurs, or anyone else, gets near top 4 is not if they do well, but rather arse or pool do badly.

uefa cup please... yum yum yum!

ditpoker

Non club related predictions:
The FA clamp down on RESPECT for ref's for about 3 weeks, til something kicks off at united or chelsea and nothing is done about it.

Rafa will get blasted in the press for... well... anything really and liverpool fans will stand behind him until he gets the sack, when pool fans will all say they saw it coming. by the way, rafa is getting the sack for failing to get out of champ league group and being mid table having played 18, won 4, drawn 14, lost 0.

Gareth Barry is allowed move to Liverpool at last, deal falls through after Barry fails a medical, boards.ie gives up and deletes itself.

Hull to finish in top half. COME ON THE HULL!!!

No one remembers why bristol or stoke showed up.

Trapatoni keeps putting positive spins lapped up by the public cos it was said with an accent, hiding the abysmal qualification run. fortunately, ireland qualify cos our group is next to sh1te.

Eircom league gets rebranded by butter company, new slogan "i cant believe its not football" is surprise success and attendances go up.

Amateur clubs nationwide canvass their leagues for summer football while they sit in on weekend afternoons during nov-jan due to rain and cold. Idea never gets off ground, reasons cited include "the idea of amateur summer football is too reasonable and smart"

LuckyLloyd given Mod status in the soccer forum. Soccer forum closes after three days after all users are banned for not agreeing with Lloyd.

kraggy

Manchester Utd
Liverpool
Chelsea
Arsenal
Spurs
Everton

glenjamin

1st Chelsea
2nd Man Utd
3rd Liverpool
4th Arsenal
5th Spurs
6th Aston Villa
7th Portsmouth
8th Everton
9th Man City
10th Newcastle
11th West Ham
12th Blackburn
13th Sunderland
14th Wigan
15th Fulham
16th Bolton
17th Middlesbrough
18th West Brom
19th Stoke
20th Hull City

CHD

i like it ^^