Week Three Preview, Just For You

Come Saturday the transfer window dust should have settled and we’ll be left with the always calm matchdays. At the time of writing this post it is Thursday evening and not all transfers will have gone through so just to put a disclaimer in and so you don’t question our sanity if we haven’t covered some big transfers you might have expected in this preview the reason is we’re coming to you from the past! In fact, we’re going to break with all expectation and won’t really be mentioning transfers that much since we’re going to cover all the major stories coming from this past ‘Deadline Day Week’ (patent pending so keep your mits off our phrase Jim White).

This weekend will obviously be interesting to see the debuts of a number of players and also the effect that big name signings have on a team. Will Tottenham players be affected by the loss of Luka Modric and the subsequent arrival of Moussa Dembele? Will West Ham’s strikers be motivated to keep their place ahead of the apparently imminent signing of Andy Carroll on loan or will it peeve some players off? These are all really interesting sideshows to the games and regardless of whether some of the bigger signings are playing I’m sure teams like Fulham and Sunderland might find their fans have been inspired by their marquee signings of Dimitar Berbatov and Adam Johnson respectively. Both of whom are really good signings for these teams I’d venture to add. But we will see anyway won’t we...

So – now to preview some of the weekend’s action:

WBA v Everton - Saturday afternoon sees two of the season’s surprise packages so far meeting at the Hawthorns. Before you cry out Everton fans I mean it’s a surprise you’ve started so well (I don’t know if you knew this but you haven’t really started the season well in most of David Moyes’ reign) not that your squad is excellent – we already knew that. West Brom have also started a lot better than anyone could have predicted other than Frank Skinner and Adrian Chiles. Last weekend’s last gasp draw at White Hart Lane was a terrific result for the Baggies and Romelu Lukaku looks like a really good loan signing. He has come on as an impact sub for both his games so far granted, but he really does look a handful. He has got Drogba-like presence up front and is a man mountain but he has a really good turn of pace. I was surprised Chelsea didn’t keep him actually to provide an alternative to Torres but their loss is West Brom’s gain. Everton played excellent football against Aston Villa and up front they look really dangerous. It’s hard to see past the Toffees for this one, but I have a strange feeling the Baggies might nick a draw again, keeping both sides undefeated.

Prediction: WBA 1-1 Everton

Man City v QPR – Saturday evening sees the return of the game which probably everyone outside of the red half of Manchester (including me) saw as one of the best of all time from May last year (anytime I hear “AGUEROOOOO” I still feel queasy). Citeh’s defence has actually looked unstable this season, in stark contrast to last year. I am a bit sceptical about Mancini’s lineup on Sunday at Anfield though and to be honest I think the inclusion of Kolo the Klown over Joleon Lescott had to be a gesture to Brian Marwood to show him just how thin City’s defence is and their need for another CB to fill the gap if either Kompany or Lescott get injured. It seems Mancini’s got his wish this week with Matija Nastasic close to signing from Fiorentina with the added bonus of Stefan Savic going in the opposite direction to boot! They’ve also added Scott Sinclair to effectively replace Adam Johnson on the bench as well so his pockets will be happy at least even if there doesn’t appear to be any other reason for that move. QPR have been incredibly active in the transfer window this summer and this week is no different, with Julio Cesar arriving from Internazionale so far. This is a really astounding move considering Cesar was a Champions League winner just over 2 years ago whilst Rangers were in the Championship. Granted Cesar’s form has dipped since then but he is a very good goalkeeper and was Inter’s number one just last season. Goodness knows what was going through Rob Green’s head when Cesar was signed though and it’s difficult to imagine Green will be the first choice for much longer at all. Unfortunately for C though I think Rangers squad still needs to gel and I can only see a routine win for Citeh here even though it pains me.

Prediction: Citeh 3-1 QPR

Liverpool v Arsenal – This looks like being the stand out game of the weekend and it is a meeting between two sides who could really do with a morale boosting victory to really get their season going. Last week’s draw against the champions was much needed for Liverpool and they looked like a side beginning to get to grips with Brendan Rodgers’ style and the result will help their belief and inspire them to integrate more fully into the system. Raheem Sterling looked really bright against Citeh and his emergence should see him ahead of Stewart Downing in the pecking order for a long time to come in theory. The arrival of Nuri Sahin is actually quite interesting since Joe Allen produced a man of the match performance and Jonjo Shelvey performed really well for a man thrown into the deep end and having to come on for the injured (and unlucky) Lucas after 5 minutes. It will be interesting to see if Rodgers plumps for Sahin ahead of Shelvey (I can’t believe he’d drop Allen after last week) or sticks with the same midfield that kept Citeh to such a bare minimum of chances really. Likewise it’ll be interesting to see how Arsenal do this week. 0 goals scored and 0 goals conceded is hardly the start Arsene will have dreamed of, but the fact is they haven’t conceded and they have played against 2 teams who have effectively parked the bus against them. In this game it really doesn’t seem like Liverpool will do that and that could be to Arsenal’s advantage. Is this the game that Giroud or Podolski or Cazorla finally click? I think it could be and I’m sticking my neck out to say I can see another score draw here.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal

Elsewhere this weekend, Man Utd take on Southampton at what should actually be a packed St Mary’s this time (as opposed to my very wrong prediction about this last week). Crewe take on a Coventry team in disarray after manager Andy Thorn was sacked this week, and they will be hoping that there is a delayed reaction to this.

Finally, it’s a massive game for Union Berlin on Monday night as they host their city rivals Hertha BSC in what will be an electric atmosphere at the Alten Forsterei!

Enjoy the weekend and deadline day everyone!

C&J

Week Review: Round Two

Hello all, we hope you've had a good bank holiday weekend. We are back up to full strength this week after last week's staff shortages so we've got a lot to review from this weekend's action...

Balls-ups

Our main talking point this week has to be the abnormal number of goalkeeping and defensive errors we've seen in the Premier League since the start of the season. Several of the Premier League's most experienced custodians like Petr Cech, David De Gea and Rob Green (can I really place him in that sentence along with those names?!) have found themselves on the receiving end of criticism from fans, managers and the press alike for misjudging long range shots or crosses, whilst we've seen Skrtel and Collins send woefully short backpasses to their respective keepers. Is it sheer coincidence that these keepers are all making dreadful mistakes at the same time or is there something everyone is missing? Well, we think the latter. Specifically, we think the ball is to blame. The new Nike Maxim ball looks as though it will take some getting used to and is swerving all over the place. Several strikers and midfielders are trying their luck from innocuous looking distances and it is really causing goalies to panic and parry what seem like straight forward catches, or in some cases inadvertently they've even ended up help divert the ball into their net. Saturday’s game at Villa Park saw both Shay Given and Tim Howard appear to misjudge the flight of the ball in mid-air and end up letting in tame shots they would usually have snapped up. Rob Green let in a really harmless daisy cutter from Michu, while Adam 'Butterfingers' Federici has let in 2 howlers already this season from fairly innocuous shots on goal, and Petr Cech’s mistake was in the same game as Federici’s second mistake of the season. Meanwhile David De Gea and Pepe Reina both lost themselves in the flight of crosses to allow their opponents to score an absolute gift. These are not all bad goalkeepers and there have been an extraordinary amount of errors for such a short period of time. Therefore, the common factor would seem to be the new ball.

Chelsea: Genuine title contenders?

Chelsea have started the season like a house on fire and as many pundits have remarked, Roman is finally getting the exhilarating football he has apparently craved at Stamford Bridge for so long. Eden Hazard looks magnificent, and it seems more and more likely he will be the next Premier League world superstar after Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Fernando Torres seems to have hit on some form, and he must be carrying through the confidence he gained from his golden boot winning exploits at Euro 2012 with that tremendous 2 goal haul. Juan Mata was a class act last season but now he has some equally gifted and classy team-mates Chelsea look incredibly potent going forward. However, I don’t want to come off as biased but I am really not that impressed with them defensively. They conceded 2 against Reading and looked on the rack in that game for a period. They kept a clean sheet against Newcastle, but as far as I could tell, Newcastle had some very decent chances, which you would normally expect Ba and Cisse to put away. Papiss Cisse in particular had 2 very good chances and had he been sharper this could have been a very different result. I think Chelsea could come undone against more clinical teams really as David Luiz always looks like he has a mistake in him, while John Terry looks like he’s over the hill now. With Victor Moses going in to sit on the bench, Marko Marin still not playing and Daniel Sturridge in reserve though, Chelsea appear to be going with the mantra ‘attack is the best form of defence’ so irrespective of whether it works or not, it should be bloody exciting at the Bridge this season!

Stoke City RFC have a non-controversial game v Arsenal!

Is it me or do Stoke save their very roughest for Arsenal? Stoke fans, players and management alike appear to have a vendetta against Arsenal and their combative style turns into borderline GBH. I am sure it is this fixture which leads to Stoke being frowned upon so much by other clubs and the football purists. I remember coming across this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGmJrfAAKyE a while back - this game is usually a carbon copy of it. These bully-boy tactics have paved the way for a player with absolutely zero football ability, Andy Wilkinson, to play regular Premier League football and 'shine' on occasions like this. Once again, this brute who Pulis has clearly groomed to play 'the Stoke way' was flying in to tackles, some reckless and most needless, and, like team mate Robert Huth, deserved his customary yellow card. Though for all their full-bloodedness, the rest of the Stoke team weren't as fiery as usual for this one and didn't look like they could score in a month of Sundays. Fortunately for them, Arsenal were reduced to hopeful long punts that went miles wide or over the bar. There were only the two bookings mentioned, 14 shots in total (Stoke managed just three and no corners) and the game finished a bore 0-0 draw.

Championship pacesetters

Early days and all that, but Blackpool have made an extremely impressive start in the Championship this season. Ipswich were their latest victims this weekend, who they demolished 6-0 at Bloomfield Road on Saturday. Nouha Dicko has had the same impact he had when on loan at Blackpool from Wigan last season, whilst Tom Ince has shown what a class act he is in the opening three games. Promisingly, Ince has also started to show the consistency he struggled to find last season. Blackpool fans will be hoping he is still a Tangerine on Saturday morning. Next up in the league for the Seasiders is a tough trip to the King Power stadium to take on Leicester City, where I expect they'll be given a more thorough examination of their promotion credentials.

Usual roundup:

Similarly to Chelsea I think Manchester United’s season will be chock full of attacking excitement, but defensive openness. The summer signings have been mainly attacking and Shinji Kagawa looks like a real bargain at £12m and an absolute class act. His partnership with RVP up front for United this season should be really exciting and I think that those 2 signings are sending a message to Wayne Rooney. For years he has been indispensable and when fit, has played. He has been United’s only top class player in reality since Ronaldo left and he has perhaps become lackadaisical due to this. He doesn’t look like the hungry Rooney of old (unless of course you count the extra few pounds he seems to have put on this summer!), and now he will have to perform week in week out, or he can be replaced by players at least as good as him. I hope he responds well to the message rather than sulking but only time will tell. His injury lay-off could be a good chance for him to regroup and come back stronger, but he will probably have a real fight on his hands when he gets back just to get in the starting XI.

A marked improvement for QPR this week, who recovered sufficiently from their drubbing last week to gain a point at Norwich, traditionally a ground on which they have had some awful luck over the years. Whilst I wasn't at the game (probably a blessing), I gather that yet again Grant Holt gave the QPR defensive duo of Clint Hill and Anton Ferdinand a torrid time and both were given yellow cards. Clint Hill struggled so much that Hughes saw the need to replace him with Onuoha whilst Anton Ferdinand's yellow card was specifically as a result of Holt's standard tactic of dragging the man to ground with him when he falls over and convincing the referee he was fouled. The only surprise this time around was that Holt didn't score a 99th minute winner against us!

Oh, and a message for Chris Hughton if I may: Yes, it was a foul on Cisse for the penalty, and yes there was encroachment on Zamora's behalf, but how many encroachment incidents go unspotted every week? It seems to me that the fuss about encroachment only ever surfaces when the rebound is tucked away by an onrushing attacker. So seeing as the rule is not properly policed, I don't really see a problem. However, you can guarantee that because Mr Hughton kicked up a fuss this week, some poor bugger in League Two next week is going to have to retake his spot kick because the FA will have sent out a memo to referees to watch for it this week.

Union Berlin went down 2-0 to 2. Bundesliga new boys SV Sandhausen. It's not been a great start in the league for the boys from Köpenick and the same travel sickness bug suffered last season seems to have carried into this one. Next week: home to Hertha in the Stadtderby. It doesn't get any easier!

And the less said about Crewe's game at Brentford, the better!

What we learned this week: 
-  Everton are flying
-  Whilst they are good at creating chances, Southampton's defence is a huge cause for concern
- Wigan's summer recruits seem to be very shrewd, particularly Arouna Kone.
-  Swansea's result v QPR wasn't a one-off, but Sunderland promise to provide a sterner test next week
-  City look vulnerable at the back - Sparky take note!
- Zonal marking is a hated system. No-one seems to like it, so why do managers play it?
-  MK Dons can't keep 11 men on the pitch, whilst the real Wimbledon have shipped 11 goals in 2 games. Sort it out Dons!

Match Review: Bournemouth 1-1 MK Dons

Five minutes in and a lot of the crowd is still queuing at the ticket office

I took the opportunity whilst in the area to watch another club with a high turnover of personnel in recent times that has been sparked by a sugar daddy turning up off the pitch. Bournemouth were at home (think it was called the Goldsands Stadium this week) to Franchise FC, the club whose fans I always enjoy telling that they are not a proper club.

After missing the opening five minutes due to a ridiculous policy where fans were unable to pay on the turnstile and instead were made to queue up with all those collecting season tickets from the booking office, I walked in to a game which the home side had started very brightly indeed and were pushing the ball around nicely. It was clear to me straight away that Bournemouth wanted to get their wide players on the ball at every possible opportunity. You could sense the anticipation in the crowd in particular whenever the ball was played to Marc Pugh, who was able to trick his way past the full back every time and deliver crosses into the area. 

Bournemouth were knocking on the door.

Early exchanges

After all that early neat build up play though, it was ironically a very scrappy goal that broke the deadlock on 16 minutes. A miscued shot from outside the area ricocheted off a MK Dons defender and found its way to the feet of Lewis Grabban, who was able to swivel and pass the ball beyond the despairing MK Dons keeper Martyn whilst off balance. Not a pretty goal but I have to admire goals like this - reacting quickly to a loose ball is very difficult. 

The momentum was now with Bournemouth and for the next ten minutes they visibly grew in confidence and MK Dons were looking rattled. So much so that hot-head Alan Smith managed to fly in to an ugly two-footed tackle on Harry Arter and earn himself yet another career red card. Alan Smith looks likely to be the pantomime villain in League One this season and the Bournemouth fans took great pleasure in abusing him even after he had left the pitch. They even had the audacity to call the MK Dons team 'dirty northern bastards', which made me laugh as a frequent advocate of the argument that the north starts from Watford. I then realised that they could sing that to fans of any football league club bar Exeter, Torquay and Plymouth. And they probably do, and laugh at it every time.

Half time, 1-0 to the hosts

MK Dons keeper David Martin had resorted to time wasting from the 20th minute in a damage limitation effort and his team mates were losing track of Pugh who was constantly switching flanks, twisting and turning and whipping in crosses. But these crosses were of diminishing quality and seemed to be becoming more and more hopeful. At half time I noted in the programme that Pugh made 218 crosses in the league last year (the most in the league) but was only credited with 7 assists. This statistic told a story in itself and remained the key feature of Bournemouth's second half play. It ultimately proved their downfall and, sensing that Bournemouth had ran out of ideas, MK Dons were given the incentive to try to bring themselves back in to the game. And they were rewarded for a bolder second half approach when, a few minutes after Dean Bowditch spurned their most clear cut opportunity of the game with the goal gaping, neat build up play saw them thread through the Bournemouth defence and Daniel Powell calmly finished a move by dinking the ball over the outrushing Schwan Jalal. 

The home fans' frustration began to pour out and, smelling blood, Karl Robinson sent on Jabo Ibehre in search of an unlikely victory. There were no clear cut chances after this though; the home side huffed and puffed and the crosses came from deeper and deeper - the attractive football from the first half had descended (or should I say ascended) into Sam Allardyce style hoofball. MK Dons did show a little attacking prowess but any inroads into the Bournemouth half were soon mopped up by the impressive Cook and Addison. 

Towards the end Matt Tubbs was brought on in a final throw of the dice by manager Groves, but his introduction was met by jeers by some of the crowd, a sign that not all has been rosy for Tubbs since his big money move to Dorset from Crawley. Obviously one goal in nine appearances illustrates that he hasn't exactly hit the ground running since January but the guy has had a major operation to recover from and Bournemouth fans will need to be patient with him while he rediscovers form. Lee Barnard has been drafted in to try and make up for the lack of goals but even this, together with tonight's result and performance, simply aren't good enough to please the expectant Bournemouth fans who sensed MK Dons were there for the taking when down to ten men (as all football fans do in the same situation). The Cherries were booed off (harshly, in my opinion, as MK Dons are no pushovers) by sections of their support at the end. Clearly, as QPR have also proved in the last few weeks, big change and big money doesn't necessarily pay dividends straight away in football. In the words of Take That, "Have a little patience". That's my lesson for you all from this week's football.

Man of the match: Daniel Powell - 21 year old attacker that showed great energy and promise throughout the game. Was able to keep his head in the face of adversity and keep his nerve to finish superbly when a chance came his way. Looks a good prospect and clearly the MK Dons staff and fans rate him highly.

Match Review: QPR 0-5 Swansea City

The stage is set for a horror show...

How embarrassing it is to type that scoreline out. Yes, it still hurts over a week on... 

This match was meant to be the dawning of a new era at QPR. After surviving on the last day of last season, Mark Hughes promised there would be no repeat of that relegation dogfight this season and eight new 'quality' signings showed real intent by the club. The pre-season interviews and noises being made by the people that put the PR in QPR ensured that there was an air of optimism pre kick-off. A hysteria about the club and a genuine belief, or should I say expectation, that this season QPR would establish themselves as a force in the Premier League. Today they turned up thinking three points were in the bag (I, too, found myself believing for the first time in ages that QPR would win comfortably here, something I never allow myself to do because I am of the opinion that in football you should always expect the worst and then go home happy should anything different happen). But it's easy to see why I felt confident: QPR were unbeaten against the Swans throughout their league history and had beaten them comfortably towards the back end of last season. Surely a home banker here? Nobody in blue and white hoops around the stadium considered that Swansea had made some shrewd signings and got a new manager with a new approach compared with that side that lost 3-0 at Loftus Road in April. Unfortunately, Mark Hughes and his QPR players must be included in that number...

What followed the impeccably observed tribute pre kick-off and in the 5th minute to QPR's greatest number 5 (the late Alan McDonald) was completely unscripted. A defensive collapse completely atypical of the displays QPR fans used to see by the late McDonald. After a quiet but positive enough opening from the home side, Swansea were a goal up with their first proper attempt on goal - a real blunder from Green who ended up palming a shot from Michu into the net which he should really have saved. You could sense the shock that followed that goal around the ground but for around fifteen minutes QPR fans were determined to roar the ball into Vorm's net. Jamie Mackie missed an absolute sitter which, to be fair to him, he normally puts away. And I just sensed after that miss that it wasn't going to be QPR's day.

QPR bossed possession and huffed and puffed until half time but, with me being the negative soul that I am, I just couldn't see the Superhoops getting back into it. Hughes had gone with a 4-5-1 formation with Cisse up front as a lone striker. Playing this formation at home always disappoints me, it seems so negative and needless when we had a fully fit strike partner in Bobby Zamora or Andy Johnson to play alongside him. Cisse looked completely isolated throughout the game and lacked the required support from Taarabt, Hoilett and Mackie who should have been around the box to apply more pressure on the Swans defence and latch on to rebounds from anything not cleared by them or parried by Vorm. There were a couple of occasions where the keeper spilled but nobody in Hoops was there to gobble up the loose ball.

No sooner had the game restarted than it was 2-0. Apparently the goal went in in the 53rd minute, but it really didn't feel like that. After some classic Swanselona build up Michu was a yard ahead of the last defender and Green was off his line. I thought he would fluff it but to my amazement he kept his cool and produced an absolutely outstanding finish with a brush of the boot. A terrific goal. Game over. The QPR fans grew frustrated and players looked at each other. Alarmingly, no shouts from Green could be heard like I used to hear from Paddy Kenny; there was no post-mortem by the defenders or goalkeeper. 

The usual 60 minute substitution mark came and went without a change by Hughes. The players appeared lethargic and disinterested, and sure enough on 63 minutes it was 3-0. Non-existent defensive play from Onuoha allowed for Dyer to ghost towards goal and finish. This was getting ugly. Nathan Dyer, the player who everyone tells me is good but I tell them he dives, he's a thief and never shows up against QPR, then helped himself to another goal thanks to the generosity of QPR's defenders. Scott Sinclair even came off the bench to bid farewell to Swansea fans by scoring and not celebrating - a clear sign that his future lay elsewhere. But even after shipping a 5th the QPR players still continued to show less emotion than even him - except for Jamie Mackie, who, turning to the fans shaking his head and clearly hurting, acknowledged the shout from the Loft to keep his chin up. 

Maybe the weight of expectation showed here, but to me it seemed Hughes and co. clearly underestimated the Jacks and turned up expecting to win. 

Anyway, enough criticising QPR; as I left the ground, I felt a sense of déjà-vu (QPR lost 4-0 to Bolton on the opening day of last season, too) but strangely this result, despite being worse, didn't leave me half as worried as that day. On the positive side, Fabio looked good going forward (not so great in his primary role as a defender, mind!) and Park enjoyed a good debut.

Everything that QPR did wrong, Swansea countered by doing right. Chico Flores and Michu shone on their debuts whilst every De Guzman delivery had me worried (not only because our defence was abysmal but also because he had a bloody good delivery!). Laudrup got his tactics as party pooper spot on, which, together with the displays of the new signings, must bode well for the Swans who feared that Rodgers' departure would be the beginning of the end of their Premiership days. On this evidence (yes I know it's only one game!), the Swans could replicate that 11th place finish of last year.

Perhaps the people that put the PR in QPR have got to me too - for me this was just not our day. The press will no doubt tell everyone how we are doomed after this game and going to be the next Portsmouth, Leeds or whoever else spent big and went down saddled with huge debt, but I'm convinced this was a blip. An embarrassing blip at that though. Furthermore, having had a week to reflect, I feel a little less bad about it, especially after watching the same Swans team brush West Ham aside by a margin that could equally have been five. With this comforting result in mind, I shall keep calm and carry on...

Man of the match: Hard to look beyond Michu for this one: what an introduction to English football! Looks an absolute steal.

Back in the swing of things

Week one of the 2012/13 Premier League season is over and it was a pretty decent start wasn't it?! Unless you're a fan of one of the sides that lost anyway...

Chelsea 4-2 Reading - Chelsea look good and Eden Hazard could be the star of the season having already racked up 5 assists in 2 games (if you count winning penalties - as Fantasy Premier League do!). Torres is off the mark even if it was in very dubious circumstances. Today Chelsea have also signed Cesar Azpilicueta today from Marseille. Right back was arguably their weakest position - although Branislav Ivanovic has made a pretty decent fist of it at that position in the first week! I, for one, can't wait for new Match Of The Day pundit Mick McCarthy to discuss Azpilicueta and try to pronounce that surname! Reading can feel pretty hard done by having essentially lost the game by the third goal which Torres converted from an offside position. But I'm sure Brian McDermott won't have expected anything from the game beforehand, and the spirit shown by the Royals in coming back to 2-1 from 1-0 down bodes well for them. If Adam Federici can discover some consistency they may start picking up results.

It's hard to draw good conclusions about the season from the first week but if the opening weekend suggests anything it is that there isn't a gulf in class between the promoted sides and the rest of the league and they will make a very decent go of it this season. Norwich and Aston Villa fans in particular must be worrying about what lies ahead this season now I imagine.

Some issues ahead of this weekend's games:

First of all, Wolverhampton Wanderers bank manager must be the happiest man in the Midlands at the moment having received just under £25million today for Steven Fletcher and Matt Jarvis. These were two players who had requested transfers and wanted to leave the club, yet both have fetched over £10million in transfer fees! Steven Fletcher was never going to realistically stay at Molineux in the Championship given he scored 12 league goals in a failing relegated side. He will flourish at Sunderland where they play a system based around wingers, given that his heading is second to none. However, £14m seems a lot of money especially considering Tottenham signed Emmanuel Adebayor for just £5m. There are differences, yes, but both players wanted to leave their respective club and both scored over 10 league goals last year, while Wolves weren't motivated to sell like City were the Fletcher deal seems a bit steep. Matt Jarvis seems like a good signing for West Ham but again it comes at a high price since Jarvis can't really be considered a young prospect anymore since he's 26. This move seems like it's his chance to finally prove he can live up to the big reputation he gained as a youngster. Compare Jarvis' price to the £7m Chelsea paid for the young German winger Marko Marin who is 23 years old and the old 'English players are more expensive than foreign talent' argument begins to rear its head again, and with reason. Time will tell if the deals are worth it for those clubs, I suspect that Fletcher will be and most probably Jarvis too whose crossing for the big West Ham strikers like Carlton Cole could be a good combination.

Liverpool v Man City - This weekend could also be a big one for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool. Last week's defeat to West Brom brought back ugly memories of last season's struggle on Merseyside and the win at Hearts in the Europa League didn't exactly instill confidence in the side's ability to bounce back. Brendan Rodgers' philosophy and style of play was always going to take a while to get used to for players and success won't come over night. Players like Charlie Adam, Jay Spearing, Jamie Carragher and even Steven Gerrard don't really seem to be suited to the quick passing and slick movement of a Rodgers' team and signings like Joe Allen and the likely signing of Nuri Sahin will probably see players such as those mentioned above (probably excluding Gerrard) start to be phased out. But Sunday's game is a completely different proposition for everyone concerned. Anfield against the champions will be an electric atmosphere and you just wonder if this could inspire the players to put in a good performance and shock the champions and all their naysayers. Even if they don't get a result Liverpool's owners need to give the new regime time to bed in and the players time to adjust to the new system, then Liverpool might be able to turn a corner. A result on Sunday could help speed up that process, and it wouldn't shock me if they get one. City's defence looked less than rock solid against Southampton, and a good day for 'Pool's strikers could punish them.

Prediction: Liverpool 1-1 Man City

Southampton v Wigan - Southampton enjoyed an eventful return to the Premier League last weekend and their performance against Man City must have been incredibly heartening for Saints fans. Rickie Lambert started on the bench last week but it is difficult to imagine he will still be there against the Latics on Saturday given his goalscoring cameo from the bench at the Etihad. He looked like a man full of confidence from last term after finishing as the Championship's top scorer. On the other hand, at the heart of Wigan's defence Ivan Ramis endured one of the worst debut performances I can remember in the Premier League era, and Lambert must be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of coming up against Ramis this weekend. Wigan played Chelsea granted but they offered little in reality once they were 2-0 down and I think that St Mary's will be rocking with excitement at being back on the big stage and that will catapult Southampton to the win.

Prediction: Southampton 3-1 Wigan

Chelsea v Newcastle - Who could forget last season's epic encounter between these two teams. This game was witness to two spectacular goals by Papiss Cisse and one which was undoubtedly goal of the season - his infamous 'banana' shot (credit Jacob Steinberg). Chelsea have started the season really well as mentioned above and Newcastle got a creditable win against Spurs last weekend so this is a tough one to call. Chelsea have been shaky at the back, especially against Reading, and with the Dembas up front for Newcastle any chances that come Newcastle's way will most likely be snapped up. New signing Vurnon Anita may be drafted in to replace the injured Check Tiote and he is a similarly combative midfielder/defender who will probably be a solid signing for Alan Pardew, so Tiote may be missed less than you'd expect. I think Newcastle can nick a point here as Chelsea bump back to reality.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Newcastle

This weekend neither C nor J will be attending any matches unfortunately, but this weekend will see the much anticipated match reports from C's visit to Loftus Road on Saturday and then Dean Court on Tuesday!

Enjoy the weekend's football everyone, we will!

C&J

Welcome back football!

First of all I'd like to apologise for the late posting of the weekend's football review this week. Unfortunately we've been suffering a bout of staff shortage.

In summary it was not a good weekend really for either C or J with their respective teams! C was present at Loftus Road to watch the R's suffer opening day humiliation at the hands of the Swans with a 5-0 mauling. While J's beloved Red Devils were beaten soundly 1-0 by a very impressive Everton team on Monday night. Meanwhile J was also at the Alexandra Stadium on Saturday to watch Crewe Alex lose 2-1 to 10-man Notts County disappointingly.

C & J would like to apologise for some misleading information posted in last week's preview of the weekend games. Union Berlin were not playing Rot Weiss Essen in 2. Bundesliga but it was in fact the DfB cup. We can only offer our sincere apologies at this mix up and can assure you the member of staff responsible for this mix up was hastily fired. On a lighter note Union Berlin won 1-0 and this result marks their first cup win in 5 years!

We hope that you did not put any weight on our weekend predictions as we showed ourselves to be absolutely awful at predicting results. Both C & J got one correct result out of three and there were no correct scores! As you can probably tell the betting companies love us!

On to a round up of important points regarding this weekend's action:

QPR 0-5 Swansea - C will be bringing you a match report from the QPR game on Saturday and he was also present at Bournemouth v MK Dons last night so I will leave analysis on these matches to him but I would say that Michu looks a terrific player and an absolute steal at £2m. Opta Joe told me that he was the highest scoring midfielder in La Liga last year and he is an early candidate for signing of the season by Swansea. More importantly, he is also a Fantasy Football dream for me, picking up 18 points this weekend!

Everton 1-0 Man Utd - I was actually not too disheartened by this result as I thought Everton were terrific and there won't be many harder teams United will face the rest of this season. Everton were bang up for the game and Marouane Fellaini was unplayable. United had 4 central defenders injured and Michael Carrick was valiant in defence but was no match for Fellaini so sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say the better team won. Everton were hungry and passionate, whereas United lacked urgency and the majority of the players looked lethargic. I would go so far as to say the only players that really turned up on the day and performed well were De Gea and Shinji Kagawa.Kagawa looks a really good player and his runs were so intelligent, and his passing was exceptional. The weight of each pass seemed to be measured to perfection and if the strikers have a better game he could be an excellent link up and creative player. The sight of Robin Van Persie in a United shirt was one to behold and I cannot wait to see him and an on-form Wayne Rooney link up together.

Speaking of Rooney - I've seen him get a lot of stick on a number of sites but any player can have an off night. Wayne Rooney on a good day is better than the majority of players in the Premier League and it is impossible to expect him to be on his game 100% from the word go at the start of the season. With time for him and RVP to gel in training they could be a devastating combination.

 I would like to see United sign a combative midfielder to provide some steel in front of the defence as they were bullied by Everton in this area and were lacking in this department all of last season. Cleverley is a great prospect but he is creative and we need a destructive force more than anything. A player in the mould of Check Tiote would be extremely productive in this United side.

I think I speak for all Man United fans when I say watch out City, now we have Alex Buttner that title is ours...seriously though, I don't see the point in sending a young prospect Fabio out on loan to leave one left back, then bringing a new young prospect to provide back up? Seems illogical. But Fergie is God and when he does something who am I to question it!

Crewe 1-2 Notts County - I was present at Gresty Road for this season opener and it was a not too disheartening loss for the Railwaymen. It was a fairly even game without a lot of clear cut chances. Notts County were simply more clinical and took their two chances really well. They have a lot of League 1 quality players, such as Francois Zoko signed from Carlisle in the summer, and this showed in relation to Crewe who have an exciting young side, but whom are mostly from the youth setup in League 2 or from the non-leagues. Mathias Pogba was a summer signing up front from Wrexham to provide a physical presence up front, but strangely he was deployed on the left for most of the game, which seemed to just waste his main attributes. He did get on the score sheet late on to notch his 11th goal in 12 games. Notts County were reduced to 10 men in the 60th minute when Yoann Arquis was sent off but they held on as they were 2-0 up at the time. They were indebted to Lee Hughes who cleared a Max Clayton shot off the line late on to deny Crewe an equaliser. Overall Crewe had enough positives to take from the game, and a happy sidenote is that they beat Scunthorpe 2-1 away from home for their first points of the season, thanks to Ajay Leitch-Smith and Luke Murphy.

What we learned this weekend:

• Santi Cazorla could be a difference maker for Arsenal this season, he looks a real class player, in the mould of a Fabregas. They will hope Giroud or Podolski can take the chances that he will undoubtedly create.
• Is every comeback win from Man City going to be like 'that May afternoon at the Etihad last season'?
• Newcastle showed it doesn't look like last season's achievements were a fluke.
• Fulham look like they will be one of the best sides to watch this season, on pure attractiveness of football.
• Start with Rickie Lambert, Nigel.
• Aston Villa need a good striker quickly.
• I may have underestimated West Brom in my season's preview!

If you would like us to cover any issues or teams or transfers etc that we haven't already please comment on the blog or let us know on twitter ( @esdbfootball ) and we'll be happy to oblige!

Enjoy tonight's matches and we will be back soon!

C&J

Football is back v2

First of all, both of us would welcome any comments on our posts, we'd like any feedback you have for us newbies in this blogging world so please feel free to leave any thoughts or opinions you have! Liverpool fans have been bombarding me with criticism about my prediction for their league position this year so feel free to let us know what you think of our predictions and what yours are!

So, onto this weekend. Football is back! I for one cannot wait, and the season is already hotting up before a ball has been kicked. C has already given his predictions for 3 games so here are mine:

Saturday 3pm sees a disgruntled and unsettled Arsenal taking on Sunderland at the Emirates. I don't know if any of you have heard but Robin Van Persie has left Arsenal to join the mighty Red Devils and taken his place ahead of Samir Nasri as the next incarnation of Beelzebub to Gunners fans. Alex Song also looks as if he is on his way to Barcelona and this is a move that may not actually be too bad for Arsenal as Song was at his most effective last season linking up with RVP so with him gone, Song may not be such a threat so Arsenal will cash in now. I'm looking forward to seeing how Arsenal line up in attack, and it'll be interesting to see whether Lukas Podolski will be deployed on the wing like he is normally used by Germany or up front like he was at Cologne. I reckon he could be played up front since he had such a successful season last year in front of goal, and he will probably line up with Olivier Giroud alongside him and Santi Cazorla just behind. I'm not sure RVP leaving is the end of the world for Arsenal and that looks like a very good front line. Sunderland have just completed the signing of Louis Saha on a free but I'm not sure how fit he will be (as much as it is possible for Saha to actually be fit!), but he looks head and shoulders better than any other Sunderland strikers so how he fares will probably dictact how the Mackems fare. Arsenal will be out to prove there is life after Robin and will win comfortably in my opinion. Expect at least one headline about the game to be along the lines of 'Robin Who?'

Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland

At the same time on Saturday West Brom will be hosting Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool side in an intriguing clash between two sides with new managers. It's always hard to tell how a side will set up and play when they have a new manager, and the fact that this is Steve Clarke's first managerial job makes it especially hard to predict for West Brom. I'd like to see a bit of Romelu Lukaku in this game as I have him down as the next 'Drogba'. West Brom's new signings were largely unknown quantities so it'll be interesting to see how they fare as well. Liverpool fans will be hoping that 'this is their year' (isn't it every year) and it seems almost certain that the style of football should be an awful lot more interesting and attractive than last years. I think that Liverpool might well play Borini furthest forward in attack with Luis Suarez playing off him, which is interesting. Liverpool have also bought another winger this year with Oussama Assaidi signing from Heerenveen, so now they should have width on both flanks and with Joe Allen in midfield and Lucas back it seems this could be the start of a new-look setup, which I predict will start well with a nice steady win at the Hawthorns.

Prediction: West Brom 0-2 Liverpool

Then late Sunday afternoon, Man City take on newly promoted Southampton. The Saints are fresh from the phenomenal capture (or almost anyway) of Bologna winger Gaston Ramirez. This was an amazing transfer which seemed to come from nowhere and is a genuinely exciting prospect for Saints fans. The club went through some really tough times and were in administration in 2009 so it is nice for them to have some success and that signing could be a game changer for Southampton in any prospective relegation battle this season. He hasn't signed yet though but it will be interesting to see if Saints will be buoyed by that signing. Man City have got a settled side and looked good in the Community Shield and look to be playing even more attacking football this year, which is their strong point so makes sense for them to be successful. Where Jack Rodwell fits in will be interesting, could Gareth Barry be about to make way? Or will Rodwell be on the bench? Daniele De Rossi sounds like he could be moving to the Etihad soon, but with or without him City won't struggle to get past Southampton, I'm expecting an easy win for the home side.

Prediction: Man City 4-0 Southampton

So as C said we'll be back to review the weekend's action next week, and in the meantime I'm off to the mighty Alexandra Stadium to see Crewe v Notts County! Enjoy your football this weekend everyone, I will!

C&J

Football is back

After what seems like an eternity, football is back this weekend, for real this time (the Olympics, Capital One Cup First Round and an England friendly don't count).

It's the football fan's Christmas Eve. One more sleep! The wait is nearly over and football is once again the talk of the office.

We've had a go at predicting the Premier League table in May with intriguing results . We both ended up picking the same top 4 in the same order with Citeh as Champions.

The bottom three was a lot harder to pick out though; it could be any three from about eight! Both of us have Wigan and Reading below the dreaded dotted line but we're divided on Norwich and Southampton.

So, J reckons:

1. Man City
2. Man Utd
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Tottenham
6. Newcastle
7. Liverpool
8. Everton
9. QPR
10. Stoke
11. Sunderland
12. Fulham
13. Aston Villa
14. West Ham
15. WBA
16. Swansea
17. Norwich
18. Wigan
19. Southampton
20. Reading

C went with:

1. Man City
2. Man Utd
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Tottenham
6. Liverpool
7. Everton
8. Newcastle
9. Sunderland
10. Aston Villa
11. QPR
12. WBA
13. Stoke
14. Fulham
15. West Ham
16. Southampton
17. Swansea
18. Wigan
19. Norwich
20. Reading

We're going to have to wave our prediction disclaimer at you already now that RVP has indeed moved to United and Wigan are actually signing decent players. It looks like there is a lot more business to come though and I'm sure that we'll get plenty of stick for our predictions in May when one team finishes a lot higher than we've put them.

Arsenal fans will still be reeling over the loss of Van Persie (he signs where he wants) whilst all three of Fulham's fans will be debating at tonight's meeting of Putney Chess Club whether to boo Clint Dempsey should he dare go near Craven Cottage this weekend. Similarly, I expect Stoke fans are still coming to terms with the devastating blow of losing Lewis Moult on a free to Northampton whilst Chelsea fans will no doubt be questioning their club's ambition after they allowed both Sam Walker and Sam Hutchinson to leave on loan.

On to this weekend's action then, and there's a few eye-catching ties this weekend. 

Firstly, at 3pm the Happy Hammers return to the Premier League with a home tie against Aston Villa. Both sides have brought in a handful of players each and I'm expecting a physical yet cagey encounter. I don't think Lambert will go with his Norwich approach of attacking, direct football until he signs a forward that will prove more of a nuisance than the rather lightweight Bent or Agbonlahor, so I can see them wanting to play on the deck as the West Ham centre halves will mop up anything that comes at them in the air. Expect the exact opposite to that from West Ham, whose players are experts when it comes to football being played in the sky. Consequently, I can see Villa getting bullied in the air and in central midfield too by Diarra and Diame. Three points to the Cockney boys for me.

Prediction: West Ham 2-1 Aston Villa

Saturday tea-time sees Newcastle entertain Spuds at the Sports Direct Arena. The Toon Army will be hoping to pick up where they left off last season but may have to do it without Ba, Cisse, Cabaye and Ben Arfa who are all fitness worries! I find that managers are quite good at playing mind games with this sort of thing though so I'd expect three of them to start and one of them to score. In the opposing dugout, AVB has big boots to fill down at the Lane. Even without Modric, I think he has a pretty formidable team to choose from, except for up front. I suspect Spurs fans will leave the stadium on Saturday night pondering what might have been three points if they had had a quality striker and a fit Scotty P. I'm thinking Newcastle will take the lead, AVB will be crouched down posing and then do a Mourinho-esque treble substitution. Following this, Gylfi will score a free-kick to nick a point...

Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Spurs

The weekend will be rounded off under the floodlights at Goodison Park where Everton host Manchester United in what has provided a classic encounter over the past few seasons. Everton fans will be delighted that they have Jelavic and Pienaar right from the start this time around but they have been slow out of the blocks in recent seasons. United will want to prove a point against the side whose draw at Old Trafford sparked the beginning of the end of their title bid last year. They will feel that this is probably a good time to visit the Blue side of Merseyside though as Everton don't appear to be done with their Summer's business yet. The deadly duo of Van Persie and Rooney to bag a 2nd half goal each here after Jelavic nods Everton into a first half lead. Trust me on this one...

Prediction: Everton 1-2 Manchester United

This weekend C's off to watch his beloved Hoops v Swansea and is also taking in the mouth-watering prospect of Bournemouth v MK Dons whilst holidaying in the area on Tuesday night.

In our next instalment, J will take the reins with a look back at the weekend's action and he'll chew over the first week's big talking points, including the fortunes of QPR, United, Crewe Alexandra and Die Unioner, who are away at Rot Weiss Essen in the headline game on German TV on Monday night. 

Enjoy the weekend!

C&J

Premier League preview

So here goes then, the promised season preview (written yesterday so probably out of date already!)... Note we're having some formatting issues but we're new to this so you'll let us off.

J: I want to start this blog post by saying that this is the strangest pre-season I’ve ever known. Normally there are a few marquee signings and lots of money thrown about and everyone seems raring to go for the new season. This year it seems like every single team still has more signings to make and no one is ready yet. I am waiting for at least one or two big money moves to happen, and who knows maybe it’ll be Jim White’s dream come true and everything will happen on deadline day.

C: I've found it incredibly difficult to pick my bottom three and actually think that this season it could go right to the wire for all three relegation places, with any of the bottom 8 I have tipped being what I would consider potential candidates. Wigan are conducting some late business and they like many other clubs in the bottom half could yet render my predictions below useless.

Arsenal

In
Santi Cazorla (Malaga CF) £16m
Olivier Giroud (Montpellier) Undisclosed 
Lukas Podolski (FC Cologne) Undisclosed 

Out
Manuel Almunia (released)
Denilson (Sao Paulo) Loan
Gavin Hoyte (released)
Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad) Undisclosed

Ryo Miyaichi (Wigan) Loan

J: So Arsenal have actually made some signings – and they look like good ones! Santi Cazorla is an excellent player and he could really light up the Premier League. He is a player in the Fabregas mould and will link up play between the midfield and attack, with the quality you associate with Spanish midfielders. Giroud had a good season for Montpellier but he could go either way ala Chamakh. Lukas Podolski is a really good signing in my opinion and has a proven track record. The only question seems to be whether he will get homesick from Cologne like he did at Bayern Munich a few years ago. The prospect of Podolski and Gervinho on the wings looks enticing for Arsenal and now they just need to keep RVP. I personally think he will stay so look for Arsenal to have a solid season. The signing of Nuri Sahin on loan from Real Madrid would add some class to their midfield but he is very similar in a way to Jack Wilshere so let’s hope for England’s sake he doesn’t impede Jack’s chances once he regains fitness. 4^th place would be a success and I think they’ll get it.

Prediction: 4th

C: It seems to me that every Summer is the same down at the Emirates, where Arsene Wenger finds his pre-season preparations heavily disrupted by strong suggestions that the star player from the preceding season wants out. This summer's high profile name being linked with a move away from North London is Robin Van Persie, who scored a staggering 30 Premier League goals last season (none of which, I might add, were scored at Loftus Road). As I write this, the will he or won't he saga is still dragging on and that can't be good for any club's preparations. If he does stay, I wonder whether he will enjoy quite such a prolific season next year and wonder how the fans will take to him next year - no fan likes to see a player that doesn't want to be at the club. If he doesn't, then a huge burden is placed upon the rest of the team to compensate for the man who has profited from the classic neat build up play. Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud look like they can take on some of that burden, but they are unknown quantities in the Premier League and  several players from the French and German leagues have found it very difficult to adapt to life in England's top flight - for every Yohann Cabaye and Bacary Sagna there's a Marouane Chamakh and Pascal Cygan. Nonetheless, I'm intrigued by the prospect of Arsenal actually spending some money this Summer and do think that we will see a much better Arsenal side this season, particularly in the big games where the young Arsenal team of recent seasons have perhaps been overawed by the occasion. The big money signings and the know how within the Arsenal ranks still lead me to conclude that they will once again finish above Spurs.

Prediction: 4th

Aston Villa

In
Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord) Undisclosed 
Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar) Free 
Matthew Lowton (Sheffield United) Undisclosed 
Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord) Undisclosed 

Out
James Collins (West Ham United) Undisclosed 
Carlos Cuellar (Sunderland) Free 
Emile Heskey (released)

J: Paul Lambert moved to Villa from Norwich and to be honest I can see why he did it. Last season’s success will be incredibly hard to replicate at Norwich whereas Villa were subjected to dire football under Alec McLeish and barely survived relegation. The only way for Villa is up in every way in my opinion and Lambert was an excellent appointment by Randy Lerner. Vlaar is a solid replacement for James Collins but him and Richard Dunne will be very susceptible to pace this year, so maybe Ciaran Clark will step up. Brett Holman is a solid winger but don’t expect him to be a goal scorer – his maximum league haul for AZ in 4 seasons was 5 goals! If Darren Bent stays fit that will be a big help and he can be the ‘Grant Holt’ focal point for Villa this season. Barry Bannan, Marc Albrighton and Stephen Ireland all need a big season as well, they have the potential and Lambert could be the man to bring it out. A step up from last year is on the cards but Villa are still some way off from challenging the top teams yet.

Prediction: 13th

C: So Paul Lambert has jumped ship from a club with stability and at which he enjoyed the adulation of the fans to one where managers are being heavily scrutinised, attendances are dropping and fans are losing faith in the board's ambition. An interesting move, I for one probably wouldn't have done it but it's fair to say that there are some quality players still at Aston Villa and Paul Lambert is a winner and motivator who won't stand for any nonsense. He may also feel that this is an opportune time to join Villa and last season's disastrous campaign may work in his favour - the fans will have limited expectations and he will feel confident that with the group of players he has at his disposal he will be able to better 16th place.

On the signings front, it seems Lambert has decided to go Dutch and has brought in winger Brett Holman, Moroccan international midfielder Karim El Ahmadi and defender Ron Vlaar for relatively modest transfer fees.  Villa did seem quite naive last season, particularly at the back, and all three players drafted in from Holland seem like solid Premier League signings, the latter two significantly bolstering Villa's defensive options. Add to that Darren Bent's return from injury, which will also seem like a new signing for Lambert, and it's clear that things are looking up at Villa Park going in to the new campaign. Lambert has also signed Matthew Lowton, who showed real promise when I saw him playing for Sheffield United in the Championship a few seasons back. It will be interesting to see in what capacity Lambert decides to use Lowton this season. I'm finding the mid table sides very difficult to place this season and think that I may have ended up placing Villa a bit high based on who I think they will finish above. Somehow, they've ended up in tenth, which just doesn't seem right.

Prediction: 10th

Chelsea

In
Eden Hazard (Lille) Undisclosed 
Thorgan Hazard (FC Lens) Undisclosed 
Marko Marin (Werder Bremen) Undisclosed
Oscar (Internacional) Undisclosed 

Out
Jose Bosingwa (released)
Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid) Loan
Ulises Davila (Sabadell) Loan
Kevin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen) Loan
Matej Delac (Guimaraes) Loan
Didier Drogba (released) 
Salomon Kalou (Lille) Free
Milan Lakovic (Guimaraes) Loan

Romelu Lukaku (WBA) Loan

J: Still riding the wave of Munich, Chelsea have made a lot of signings and their team has arguably changed more dramatically than any other top team in the league. The likes of Kalou and Bosingwa have gone from the fringes and Drogba will be a massive miss for the whole league. But it seems like there is going to be a change in overlook and tactics this year from Di Matteo and Chelsea look an exciting proposition this year. Hazard has got the potential to light up the league this year and is arguably this summer’s marquee signing so far, but he may need a little time to adjust from the French style of play just like Robert Pires did. Oscar looked exciting through the Olympics (if that is an indicator – I’m not sure it really is) and I think Chelsea will line up with a 4-2-3-1 with Oscar/Mata/Hazard/Ramires/Marin contesting places behind Torres – not a bad bunch to choose from! Marin will probably start the season as back up, he could be a really good player but he never quite lived up to the hype at Werder Bremen where he was dubbed the ‘German Messi’. This is Torres’ time to shine and if the golden boot winner at Euro 2012’s 2 goal haul don’t inspire him I don’t know what will. Chelsea will push the Manchester clubs close, but I just don’t think they have quite enough to win the league.

Prediction: 3rd

C: This has been a big summer of change at Stamford Bridge and it's a real case of 'out with the old, in with the new'. The Champions League win has suddenly rekindled the Abramovich interest (most probably because he's finally seen a bit of a return on his investment) and the big money signings have recommenced. At this stage, it's unclear whether Victor Moses will be added to a list that reads Eden Hazard, Thorgan Hazard, Marko Marin and Oscar, but what is clear is that Chelsea are throwing their weight around in the transfer market once again and as a result expect a much improved season as a whole from the Blues. I think this season will be a more thorough examination of Roberto Di Matteo's credentials for being a manager at a 'top club' (not my words, of course!)  and whilst he could do no wrong riding on the crest of a wave right the way to Munich last season, you can be sure that he will face much greater challenges this season. That said, I fully expect the Chelsea swagger to be in full swing this year and with the old guard gradually fading, it paves the way for the younger, hungrier players to shine this year. I hate to say it, but Oscar, Ramires, Mata, Torres and Hazard strike me as a lethal first choice attacking line up that will cause a lot of problems and I can actually envisage a Chelsea side playing attractive football rather than their classic direct approach with Drogba up front. In short, expect a marked improvement, but I think Chelsea will still fall short of the two Manchester clubs this season.

Prediction: 3rd

Everton 

In
Steven Naismith (Rangers) Free 
Steven Pienaar (Tottenham Hotspur) £4.5m 

Out
Jack Rodwell (Manchester City) £15m

Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls) Undisclosed
Marcus Hahnemann (released)
James McFadden (released)
James Wallace (Tranmere) Undisclosed
Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce) Undisclosed

J: Every year Everton seem to defy logic by finishing in and around the European places on a shoestring budget. This year there’s been a little clear out of sorts with Tim Cahill going after his rapid decline in form over the last year and the Jack Rodwell move really seems to benefit Everton massively since he never really struck me as a stand out performer for them and now they have £15m to reinvest in the team. David Moyes can sign a couple of solid players for that amount and it may be a great thing for their season. Pienaar finished last season on fire and Everton fans must be hoping he brings that form back with him. Steven Naismith seems to have had a really good pre-season so could be one to watch. Now Tony Hibbert is off the mark for career goals who knows what could happen for Everton? I predict a solid season just outside the European places, but with a couple of signings with the Rodwell money they could be looking higher.

Prediction: 8th

C:Surely lightning can't strike three times? Notorious slow starters in the last two seasons, Everton are bidding to stop the stumbling which has ultimately proved costly for a club with European ambitions. However they do appear a lot better equipped going into this season having had the luxury of being able to spend some money in January and in this window. Everton fans must be excited at the prospect of a full season of Pienaar and Jelavic at the club and Steven Naismith looks like a good signing on a free. All this and even Tony Hibbert's even discovered how to score a goal!

It was sad to see the back of Tim Cahill who in my eyes is a Premier League legend but he just hasn't hit the heights of his earlier years in the last season or two. However it was refreshing to see David Moyes stick with the Everton cause when he could so easily have walked away and that continued stability, coupled with some incoming fresh blood since January, has lifted the mood at Goodison Park. The recent sale of Jack Rodwell will undoubtedly generate Moyes some more funds for deals leading up to the close of the transfer window and I'd expect one or two more arrivals. Whilst I don't think they will finish above Liverpool this time around, I reckon they will be able to replicate last season's top 7 finish and enjoy a more consistent campaign.

Prediction: 7th

Fulham

In
Mladen Petric (Hamburg) Free 
Sascha Riether (Cologne) Loan 
Hugo Rodallega (Wigan Athletic) Free 

Out
Dickson Etuhu (Blackburn Rovers) Undisclosed
Bjorn Helge Riise (released)
Andrew Johnson (Queens Park Rangers) Free 
Danny Murphy (Blackburn Rovers) Free 
Marcel Gecov (KAA Gent) Undisclosed

J: Martin Jol is a good manager in my opinion and the Fulham job is a pretty thankless one since they seem to have hit a glass ceiling and there’s no way they’ll really improve on the Roy Hodgson days. Then again it’s a pretty safe bet there won’t be a relegation scrap each year at Craven Cottage so there’s nothing to really moan about for Fulham fans. I like the signing of Petric from Hamburg he had a record of over 1 goal every 3 games for Hamburg in the Bundesliga and could be a really useful replacement for Johnson. Rodallega lost his way last season for Wigan but he has got a lot of potential and on a free he seems pretty risk-free. I thought that letting Danny Murphy go was a strange one but I guess at 35 it allows room for younger players to come through like Frei or Kasami. I think Fulham’s biggest coup this summer is keeping hold of Clint Dempsey and for their sake I hope he stays beyond the transfer deadline. A safe mid-table season beckons again.

Prediction: 12th

C: A wind of change is blowing in West London this Summer. Just like at Chelsea, a settled Fulham squad which has seen very little turnover in the past few seasons has seen a relatively busy summer of comings and goings - maybe not in terms of quantity, but there have been significant figures leaving the club since January. Zamora, Johnson and Murphy feel to me like they've been at Fulham for ages but now none of them remain at the Cottage and Jol has replaced them with signings from the continent (and Wigan).

In spite of bringing in Rodallega and Petric (both of which don't really instil me with a lot of confidence) I think they seem light of numbers up front and lack the seniority and know-how that players like Danny Murphy and Zamora brought to the side. Fulham fans will now be hoping that they keep hold of their prized assets Dembele and Dempsey, else they will be in for a real struggle. I think that the Cottagers will be hurt by losing out to Reading on Pavel Pogrebnyak because whilst the goals dried up after a prolific start, his hold up play was widely recognised as a catalyst for Dempsey's goal tally of 17 last year.

It's difficult to see them going down because they are still a relatively strong side and benefit from a settled defence. They are, however, notoriously travel sick and I've tipped them so many times for the drop because I fail to see the quality in their ranks. Yet they always survive, often very comfortably. That and I still think that there are more than three worse teams than them in the league.

Prediction: 14th

Liverpool

In
Fabio Borini (Roma) Undisclosed 

Joe Allen (Swansea) £15m

Out
Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina) Undisclosed
Fabio Aurelio (Gremio) Free
Craig Bellamy (Cardiff City) Free
Stephen Darby (released)
Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce) Undisclosed 
Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys) Undisclosed
Toni Silva (Barnsley) Undisclosed

J: So King Kenny’s gone and Brendan Rodgers is in. The personnel hasn’t really changed and it’s difficult to see how players like Charlie Adam and Jamie Carragher fit in to the manager’s philosophy since he places a lot of emphasis on work effort and pace, especially in defence where Brendan Rodgers likes to play a high line. Releasing last season’s third top goal scorer on a free seems odd as well but I guess Borini is a ready-made replacement for Bellamy. Joe Allen comes in to an already crowded central midfield area to compete with Adam, Henderson, Gerrard, Lucas, Shelvey and Spearing. Though he’ll add a bit of quality on the ball and dynamism though he was very expensive at £15m. Look for Henderson to make an impression this year as on paper he looks to fit in really well with Brendan Rodgers style. It’ll be intriguing to see if Andy Carroll stays and if so how he fits in to the setup. It looks like another year of transition for Liverpool as the players get used to Rodgers tactics and they just need to stick with him. I expect them to finish in a similar position as last year.

Prediction: 7th

C: It's really difficult to predict what Liverpool might achieve this season. Brendan Rodgers has brought in his philosophy on how football should be played and brought in two players who he obviously thinks are quality purveyors of his trademark brand in Borini and Allen. How this style will settle with the rest of the Kop squad is going to be interesting to watch. I personally am not sure that Liverpool have the right players to play the Rodgers way - Charlie Adam, Jay Spearing and Stewart Downing aren't known for their patient build up play and Andy Carroll isn't known for scoring goals from such cute football. So I'm convinced that Rodgers will have to change his lineup and think that several of those named above won't find themselves regulars this season. Some of the old guard have already been shipped out which has paved the way for more Rodgers-esque signings - I'm sure the cheque book hasn't been closed just yet.

Finally, the one to watch this season at Anfield is Raheem Sterling - poached from QPR's youth set up, the kid has shown real promise and looks like he could burst onto the scene as an impact substitute where required next season. Rodgers has an excellent track record of working with youngsters and I think that Sterling might not be the only one to make first team appearances this year as the new boss looks to revitalise a club full of highly average players.

This season is just the start of the project at Anfield but I sense that the club will feel the benefits of the change and those home draws and boos from last season will all be forgotten.

Prediction: 6th

Manchester City

In

Jack Rodwell (Everton) £15m

Out
Wayne Bridge (Brighton & Hove Albion) Loan
Owen Hargreaves (released) 
Vladimir Weiss (Pescara) Undisclosed

J: Man City should have run away with the league in all honestly last year. United’s midfield was terribly weak especially compared to City’s and with all their firepower it would have been ridiculous if they hadn’t won the title. They haven’t really done anything in the market miraculously so far but they have just completed the signing of Jack Rodwell and you get the feeling it is a matter of time until they unload the likes of Santa Cruz and Adebayor to make way for at least one or two more signings. Rodwell could be a good signing for them filling a giant Owen Hargreaves sized hole in their midfield being a box to box midfielder if he stays clear of injury. He seems to have lived off promise of a great career though. I don’t remember ever really seeing him boss a game or setting the world on fire and you get the feeling the deal suits Everton a lot. Can’t see anyone else winning the league though sadly. They didn’t really need to make any signings up front, especially if Dzeko finally finds his shooting boots consistently this season, and if they get a centre back such as Daniel Agger, they won’t have to bring in the always dodgy Savic and an assault on Europe could be in the making.

Prediction: 1st

C: Well I can say I was there. The most dramatic ending to a Premier League season ever saw 'Citeh' claim the Premier League crown for the first time after millions of pounds and millions of years. As a result of last season's success, the owners appear to have decided they are reasonably happy with the embarrassment of talent they have spent the last few years assembling on silly contracts and the spending has been curtailed - just one arrival by the time I finished writing this. This hasn't pleased Mancini who seems concerned by the lack of arrivals in all of the press conferences I have seen him in since the close of last season.

Bizarrely, though, I think that this is positive for City and they will be stronger this year as the pressure has been lifted on Mancini and his team. I'm expecting a more attacking, free-flowing and confident City team who will benefit from a Summer relatively free of change (I can't really see Jack Rodwell being anything more than a bench warmer if the first choice midfield are all fit). Aguero, Balotelli, Silva et al will be playing with a distinct swagger that other teams just don't have an answer to and I don't foresee any other outcome than 'Citeh' retaining the crown.

Prediction: 1st

Manchester United 

In
Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund) Undisclosed 
Nick Powell (Crewe) Undisclosed 

Out
Ben Amos (Hull City) Loan
Ritchie De Laet (Leicester City) Undisclosed
Fabio da Silva (Queens Park Rangers) Loan 
Tomasz Kuszczak (Brighton & Hove Albion) Free
Michael Owen (released) 
Park Ji-Sung (Queens Park Rangers) Undisclosed 
Paul Pogba (Juventus) Free 

So I’m a United fan so it’s hard for me to be objective at this point, but I’ll give it a good try. Last year they had a terrible midfield that should not have lost the league by goal difference, if anyone else had been manager they would have been miles off. So this year United have signed 2 midfielders at least which is definitely a good thing. I also think that Tom Cleverley returning from injury is essentially another new signing since he started the season excellently last year then missed the majority of the season, before returning to the Olympic Team GB setup where he looked sharp yet again. I think United will line up with a 4-2-3-1 with Scholes/Cleverley/Carrick filling the 2 and Kagawa/Valencia/Nani/Young occupying the 3 behind Rooney. This is exciting and I think that Kagawa is a terrific signing, he has been excellent for Dortmund for 2 years and loves playing in the hole behind the striker and getting up to support them with assists and goals. I would love to see United sign another striker (RVP please!) and a left back since Evra’s best days are beginning to look past him but I’m not sure that will happen. Either way United are in a good position to run City close again but I still see them coming up short, just.

Prediction: 2nd

Manchester United will go into this campaign still reeling from what happened in the last few weeks of the last campaign. Just how they managed to let that seemingly unassailable advantage slip I will never quite comprehend, and Ferguson will be going all out for revenge this time out. But whilst I, amongst others no doubt, expected wholesale changes this Summer to freshen the side up, only two players have signed on the dotted line so far this Summer. The team still looks as though it depends greatly on a fit and in-form Vidic and Ferdinand partnership (yes, Jonny Evans improved but I still don't think he is up to the standard required), an in-form Nani, Young and Valencia (rarely are all three in-form at once) and Rooney to create something out of nothing (Welbeck and Hernandez show a lot of promise but the former isn't consistent and the latter relies on others to provide the service).

OK, Kagawa and Powell look like good signings but as Ferguson has said himself, it's really time for Carrick to fulfil his potential this year and should he successfully do that, then the United from last year will definitely improve. Catching City will, in my opinion, still be a bridge too far for this United side, but should RVP arrive on the scene and give Rooney a much needed consistent assistant, I might have to revise my prediction. That said, I genuinely believe that whoever finishes above United will win the league.

Prediction: 2nd

Newcastle United

In
Romain Amalfitano (Reims) Free 
Gael Bigirimana (Coventry) Undisclosed 
Curtis Good (Melbourne Heart) Undisclosed 

Out
Leon Best (Blackburn Rovers) £3m
Fraser Forster (Celtic) Undisclosed
Danny Guthrie (Reading) Free 
Peter Lovenkrands (released)
Alan Smith (released)

J: Newcastle surprised me massively last year I thought they would struggle having lost all their big characters like Barton, Nolan and Carroll. But Alan Pardew worked miracles last year and with Demba Ba, and the brilliant Papiss Cisse, Hatem Ben Arfa, Coloccini, Krul, Cabaye and Tiote Newcastle’s biggest achievement this summer will have been keeping hold of those players. Their signings seem very low key but with Newcastle’s scouting system there could be a gem. They are currently still trying to sign Mathieu Debuchy from Lille which I think would be an excellent signing, he looked great at Euro 2012 and that position is arguably one of their weakest. All in all, Newcastle need the Dembas to perform but I think they will so a European challenge is on the cards in my opinion.

Prediction: 6th

C: Newcastle were without doubt last season's biggest surprise package. Who would have thought that Alan Pardew and Mike Ashley running a football club could produce such great results this time two years ago?! I don't like either of them, but credit where credit's due etc etc. Just three signings this summer but the most important thing is that the key players from the squad that finished 5th last year have been kept together. The Geordies will be hoping that the two Demba's will find form again this year and should they do so, they can expect another fine campaign.

I think we will see the best of Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohann Cabaye this season but I do wonder whether they can repeat last season's feat of a top six finish, especially in light of the fact that they will have to finish above the two refreshed Merseyside teams to do so. In my eyes, Newcastle overachieved last season but I still think they will finish in the top 8.

Prediction: 8th

Norwich City

In
Jacob Butterfield (Barnsley) Undisclosed 
Robert Snodgrass (Leeds United) Undisclosed 
Michael Turner (Sunderland) Undisclosed 
Steven Whittaker (Rangers) Free 

Out
Zak Whitbread (released)
Aaron Wilbraham (released)

J: Paul Lambert’s gone and Norwich could struggle as a result. I don’t blame Lambert for going as I don’t think Norwich could emulate last season’s heroics. They were definitely as a sum of all parts rather than made up of individuals. Chris Hughton is a good manager and pretty much performed miracles picking up a depleted Birmingham side and moulding a squad that maintained a run in the Europa League and to the Play-Offs. He was a good choice to replace Lambert, but sadly he isn’t Lambert and Norwich may struggle this year. Grant Holt seems to be staying now which is great news for the Canaries as he is by far and away their best goalscorer. If Steve Morison stays fit and the recruitment of Robert Snodgrass works out then Norwich could be OK. I think Snodgrass will be useful and with Hoolahan partnering him in midfield it could be exciting football at Carrow Road. Michael Turner could be a reliable addition in defence but I’m not sure Norwich can expect anything other than a relegation scrap and I think they might just be OK, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they or Wigan went down.

Prediction: 17th

C: Norwich rightly won several plaudits last season for a fine campaign where a team of what looked like Championship standard players achieved Premier League safety with weeks to spare. But a Summer filled with rumours of an unsettled relationship between players and the board has taken the shine off the post-season celebrations in Norfolk and this together with the ultimately messy departure of Paul Lambert to Aston Villa will have had a big impact on the club's preparations for the new campaign. They do have Chris Hughton at the helm who has performed admirably in the face of adversity at both Newcastle and Birmingham but I do think that Lambert overachieved last season and he knew it - hence why I think he decided to jump ship to a 'bigger club' in Aston Villa.

Maybe I've overestimated the Lambert factor here but for me Norwich massively punched above their weight last season and am not sure Hughton or his signings will be able to maintain the momentum of last season's outstanding campaign. I have no doubt Grant Holt will be a nuisance once more and Snodgrass gives yet more midfield options (Norwich were excellent at keeping the opponents guessing with their line-ups last year with Lambert's rotation policy, particularly in midfield) but the defence is what concerns me - Norwich conceded 66 league goals last season which was the joint most for any team that finished outside of the relegation places. Michael Turner doesn't inspire me with confidence in this respect either and unless a quality signing or two arrives I fear for the Canaries this time around.

Prediction: 19th

Queens Park Rangers

In
Samba Diakite (Nancy) Loan
Fabio da Silva (Manchester United) Loan
Robert Green (West Ham United) Free
Junior Hoilett (Unattached) Free
Andrew Johnson (Fulham) Free
Ryan Nelsen (Tottenham Hotspur) Free 
Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United) Undisclosed 

Out
Patrick Agyemang (released)
Daniel Gabbidon (released)
Fitz Hall (released)
Paddy Kenny (Leeds United) Undisclosed
Daniel Shittu (released)

J: After last season’s last day survival QPR can definitely look forward to an exciting season of mid-table football. Mark Hughes has done quite a bit of astute business and Rangers have signed a number of proven Premiership players. Rob Green, Andy Johnson, and Ryan Nelsen on free transfers are all excellent safe choices. Junior Hoilett’s transfer will go to a tribunal so it won’t actually be a free but he’s still an exciting signing and could link really well with Taarabt. Hopefully Hughes will give up on Wright-Phillips this year in favour of Hoilett and any money paid on a tribunal will be a lot cheaper than what his market value is. Park and Fabio from Man Utd are risk-free signings in my opinion. Park was a brilliant servant but his legs looked to have gone a bit, he is still a marked upgrade on midfielders like Shaun Derry or Joey Barton. Fabio is an excellent prospect and will be hungry to prove himself so should perform well.

Prediction: 9th

C: It's been another pleasing Summer to be a QPR fan (incredibly that's three Summers in a row now!!!) and I have been largely impressed by the ins and outs at the revolving door that is Loftus Road Player's Entrance. Whilst on paper the signings might not look great to an outsider, if you're a QPR fan, you'll know that the likes of Nelsen, Johnson and possibly even Park Ji-Sung haven't been brought in to go straight in to the first eleven, but to provide competition for places. One has to take a holistic view of the Summer's transfer activities for the R's and say that shipping Vine, Cook, Ramage, Hall, Gabbidon and Agyemang from the wage bill and replacing them with free transfer signings of Johnson, Nelsen and Green is good business. We had far too many Championship quality names on our books and the priority was to reduce numbers with players who could actually be utilised as decent backups. Further to those signings already mentioned, the Superhoops have brought in Junior Hoilett, Fabio (on loan) and Samba Diakite. All of which are precisely what the QPR squad needed - young talented players with Premier League experience to freshen up the squad and add some much needed quality. Of those, in my opinion Diakite is the most important signing, who in spite of being on loan at QPR last year seems to have only caught the eye of QPR fans with his glowing central midfield performances (which is great for us, a real gem of a find by Hughes). I've seen several bloggers and message boards tipping QPR for the drop and financial meltdown but this guy, along with Hoilett and the returning Ale Faurlin (injured since January, he will be like a new signing) will make QPR's midfield a lot more composed and dangerous in equal measure in the forthcoming season.

Personally I can't wait to see a full season of the likes of Cisse, Zamora, Diakite, Faurlin and Taarabt (whose performances under Hughes were markedly improved versus those under Warnock in the Premier League). Defensively I still feel we are short of a quality central defender and strongly believe Hughes should focus whatever resources he has left in the transfer market into a top class centre half. That, I firmly believe, is now what remains the difference between us and a top ten finish. Oh, and Barton staying away from the team...

Prediction: 11th

Reading

In
Chris Gunter (Nottingham Forest) Undisclosed 
Danny Guthrie (Newcastle) Free 
Adrian Mariappa (Watford) Undisclosed 
Garath McCleary (Nottingham Forest) Free
Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart) Free
Nicky Shorey (West Bromwich Albion) Undisclosed

Out
Michail Antonio (Sheffield Wednesday) Undisclosed

J: What a job Brian McDermott did in getting Reading back in the Premier League. I think the signing of Pavel Pogrebnyak is decent and he may get a few goals but he’s hardly prolific though he’ll have to be to give Reading any chance of staying up. The likes of Hunt and Le Fondre just don’t seem good enough for the Premier League. Guthrie hardly set the world on fire at Newcastle and Shorey’s best days seem past him. Mariappa could be a good central defender, but Reading’s midfield looks very light and I doubt the likes of Leigertwood, Karacan and McAnuff can really make an impression in the Premier League. Sorry Royals fans but I think you should enjoy your season in the PL because it doesn’t look like it will be more than that. However, Reading have money so don’t rule out a lot of January signings to change all this.

Prediction: 20th

C: Brian McDermott's side were hugely impressive in their march to the Championship title last year and showed what can be achieved with a settled team and momentum in that division. Now McDermott will attempt to steer his side to safety in a sea of quality teams. As a QPR fan I will watch the fortunes of Kaspars Gorkss and Mikele Leigertwood with great interest - two players farmed out of the R's by Neil Warnock, deemed not good enough for the Premier League compared with the likes of Clint Hill and Shaun Derry(!)   

"The Pog" aside, none of the Reading signings this Summer strike me as anything other than top-end to mid-table Championship club signings and I think that the Royals are going to find life tough in the top flight this year with so many other sides possessing genuine Premier League quality. I think this will ultimately prove to be their undoing and McDermott will that he, his ego and his squad out of their depth in the Premier League. They'll make a good fight of it and I predict their home form will be reasonably good, but I just can't see them surviving.

Prediction: 20th

Southampton

In
Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace) Undisclosed
Steven Davis (Rangers) Free 

 Jay Rodriguez (Burnley) Undisclosed
Paulo Gazzaniga (Gillingham) Undisclosed

Out
Dan Harding (Nottingham Forest) Undisclosed

J: Welcome back to the Premier League Southampton, we’ve missed you. I want to start by saying that I really like Nigel Adkins and think he’s done a brilliant job. If anyone can keep this Southampton side in the league it is him. Unfortunately I just don’t think they’ve got enough PL quality through the side. This is a young team and if players like Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Nathaniel Clyne – a really good prospect – can make the step up without fear then I could be proved wrong. I think though that this is a side with too much quality for the Championship but not quite enough for the Premier League and there are too many young players to take the team by the scruff of the neck and grind out enough results to stay up. Rickie Lambert could be their Grant Holt this year but I don’t think it will be enough.

Prediction: 19^th

C: I just can't decide whether this Saints side are good enough to stay up. They looked very impressive for the majority of last season and scored goals for fun but the Premier League is a completely different level to Barnsley and Doncaster. Whilst Rickie Lambert, Billy Sharp and new boy Jay Rodriguez have excellent records in the Football League, they are untried and untested at the highest level and could either be real hits like Grant Holt and Steve Morison or not cut it like Jay Bothroyd, Stephen Dobbie and so many others before them. Whilst I've got no doubt that Adam Lallana is a class act and I am really looking forward to seeing him in the Premier League, I just wonder how the likes of Jack Cork, Danny Fox, Jose Fonte and Guly Do Prado will cope with the step up - names that I remember as being solid Championship players when I have seen them play but never thinking that they would end up anywhere higher in the footballing pyramid. I have similar views on Nigel Adkins, Physio to Premier League manager in less than a decade. A meteoric rise, but I think he'll find this level a whole lot more difficult. I am giving the Saints the benefit of the doubt though and think they can score enough goals to survive. If there's one team I wrong with about the drop though, I wouldn't mind betting it's the Saints and if Wigan's recent transfer activity is anything to go by, it could well be the Latics that stay up at the Saints' expense. I would much prefer for the Saints to remain in the Premier League though - a great club with great support and great history and a lovely ground.

Prediction: 16th

Stoke City

In
Michael Kightly (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Undisclosed
Jamie Ness (Rangers) Free

Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo) Undisclosed

Out
Ryan Brunt (Leyton Orient) Loan
Florent Cuvelier (Walsall) Loan
Andrew Davies (released)
Salif Diao (released)
Ricardo Fuller (released)
Louis Moult (released)
Tom Soares (released)

J: I’ve got a soft spot for Stoke as I like the way they stepped straight into the PL having not been in before and just played the way they wanted to and succeeded doing it. This season’s signings seem to be heralding the start of a new dawn at Stoke. Jamie Ness sounds like he has a lot of potential if he can stay injury free he should be a decent midfielder for them. Michael Kightly could also be excellent if he can avoid injury and these signings hardly seem like those of a hoof-ball team. Kightly had a lot of promise when he was younger and I think he could thrive at Stoke playing with Etherington and Pennant. I think a good striker is the only signing that Stoke are missing now. Kenwyne Jones looks disinterested and other than Crouch they always lack goals. Michael Owen could be an excellent signing if they get him and could herald an exciting season at the Britannia.

Prediction: 10th

C: Not a great deal of change at the Britannia this Summer - some of the long-serving players (Fuller and Diao) have moved on to pastures new but by and large the nucleus of the team built over the past few seasons by Pulis remains the same. This season the Clayheads will be hoping for a bigger return from Peter Crouch, Kenwyne Jones and Cameron Jerome and to get more out of Wilson Palacios, but other than that I can't see them being any different to their usual overly-direct selves.

The biggest weakness Stoke have is that they are so one-dimensional. Whilst they have tried to develop a plan B through Pennant, Etherington and to a lesser extent Walters, it has not really materialised and Newcastle and QPR amongst others showed how to negate the Stoke system last year. For me, this is the season that Stoke will get found out and will have to come up with something different.  Although I'm not bold enough to tip them for the drop (I still think there is plenty of quality in the ranks which will see them through), I do think this season the Potters will find their most difficult in the top flight since they returned to this level.

Prediction: 13th

Sunderland

In
Carlos Cuellar (Aston Villa) Free

Out
Jordan Cook (released)
Craig Gordon (released) 
Asamoah Gyan (Al-Ain) Undisclosed
George McCartney (West Ham United) Free
Michael Turner (Norwich City) Undisclosed

J: Sunderland have got Martin O’Neill which is probably a really good thing because they wouldn’t do very well with many other managers in my opinion. They’ve lost their joint top scorer last season Nicklas Bendtner and Gyan has left for good now which means they are very light up front. Connor Wickham didn’t show enough last season to be able to lead the line on his own this season in my opinion and Ji Dong Won hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. It could come down to whether Fraizer Campbell will be OK after he gets a pre-season behind him and Stephan Sessegnon will be a key player again. They’ve replaced losing a CB in Michael Turner with Carlos Cuellar so it’s a fairly solid transfer. They need to make more signings but I’m sure they will as MO’N has said the exact same thing. They finished the season fairly well and this is James McLean’s season. Mid-table will be a decent season for them.

Prediction: 11th

C: Martin O'Neill will have his side well prepared and disciplined in preparation for this season. In recent Summers Sunderland have turned over a hell of a lot of average players and paid out a high amount for them, but this Summer has been quiet for a change, which I can only read as being positive for the club and a clear signal that they are heading in the right direction at last under the guidance of a quality manager. Once again I think the key players will be Stephane Sessegnon, Seb Larsson, James McClean and (if he stays fit) Fraizer Campbell and O'Neill will be looking to get the very best out of these players plus the likes of David Vaughan, Craig Gardner, Wes Brown and John O'Shea. I also don't think that Cuellar will be the only arrival on Wearside this Summer so I await the late deals on deadline day up there with anticipation. The Steven Fletcher rumours won't go away and he could be exactly what they need (albeit not at the prices being quoted!). As things stand though, they come across as a quality striker short of a top eight finish, so I predict they'll finish ninth!

Prediction: 9th

Swansea City

In
Jose Manuel Flores (Genoa) £2m 
Jonathan De Guzman (Villarreal) Loan

Michu (Rayo Vallecano) £2m 

Out

Joe Allen (Liverpool) £15m

J: Losing Brendan Rodgers is obviously a massive blow, but then again it did seem that teams had started to figure out the Swans-elona tactics by the end of the season and I thought they might fall prey to ‘second season syndrome’ this year, but they might manage to avoid that if Michael Laudrup can bring something new to the table and be successful as well. Michu got 15 goals last season for Rayo Vallecano who aren’t exactly a high flying La Liga team so he could be an excellent replacement for Sigurdsson if he fits in to the Premier League style quickly. Jonathan De Guzman could be a good foil for Scott Sinclair as well and he’s only  on loan so it seems a fairly risk free signing. He must have some talent as he was trained in Feyenoord’s youth system which also produced Robin Van Persie and he signed for Villarreal at a time they were a Champions League team. Flores sounds like a decent defender and if Swansea can keep hold of their key players, losing Joe Allen might not be too bad. £15m is a very decent price for him and can allow Swansea to strengthen even more as well if they want to. I think they’ll be OK as they have enough quality in the team, and they look set to sign Itay Shechter on loan from Kaiserslautern who could be a decent replacement for Danny Graham. That was an area Swansea seemed pretty light last season as Luke Moore and Leroy Lita failed to make substitute impressions.

Prediction: 16^th

C: Swansea are the team which seem to have been cherry picked by the big boys this Summer and I feel for their fans because they have seen some big losses this Summer: At the start of pre-seeason it looked like Brendan Rodgers would be building on a fantastic first season in the Premier League and bringing in the vastly impressive Gylfi Sigurdsson on a permanent deal. In stark contrast though, as we approach the big kick-off the Swans have a new manager at the helm in Michael Laudrup, no Gylfi and no Joe Allen (one of the vital components in their free-passing midfield). The Swans have shown they are more than capable of replacing players and managers that have moved on to bigger clubs (and Wigan) so part of me expects them to surprise me yet again this year.

However, shaky on the road and showed signs of being sussed out at home towards the end of last season, I'm fearing the worst for the Swans this season and they are one of my surprise candidates for the relegation battle this year. Again though, I think there are three worse teams in the league than them and predict the Jacks will stay up... just.

Prediction: 17th

Tottenham Hotspur

In
Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim) Undisclosed 
Jan Vertonghen (Ajax) Undisclosed 

Out
Ben Alnwick (Barnsley) Free
Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow) Undisclosed
Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev) Undisclosed 
Ryan Nelsen (Queens Park Rangers) Free 
Steven Pienaar (Everton) £4.5m 
Louis Saha (released)

J: So ‘Arry’s gone and AVB is in. Spurs have kept hold of Modric at the time of writing but haven’t really made many signings. I think AVB might actually be a good match for Spurs, and you don’t win a treble with Porto, including the Uefa Cup unless you have a lot of managerial talent. He tried to do too much too quickly at Chelsea and upset the power balance there but he seems to be doing OK at Spurs at the moment. The signing of Sigurdsson was a bit of a coup nicking him from Liverpool and Swansea was a very decent bit of business and if Modric does go, Sigurdsson seems to be a ready-made replacement with a bit more goal scoring prowess about him as well. Jan Vertonghen is a very good signing in my opinion and fills a Ledley King sized hole in Spurs’ defence. He is a solid player and will boss their defence. At the time of writing Spurs only have one striker on their books – Jermain Defoe - and they need to do some business as soon as possible to bring more in. Adebayor would be a great start as proved last year, and they need at least one other striker as well if they are to avoid the burn out that happened last year again. I can’t see Tottenham matching last year’s dizzying heights but they will definitely be in the hunt for 4^th place.

Prediction: 5th

C: I do wonder how AVB will get on in his second Premier League assignment. There will be a lot of pressure on the young manager to prove himself at Tottenham after a disappointing spell in charge at Chelsea and this time he will be competing with far more finite resources. Indeed the only signings made by Spurs this Summer so far are two names that were linked with Spurs under 'Arry. I find it really intriguing that the Adebayor deal looks to be dead in the water and from the outside it looks as though Tottenham lack the firepower to improve on last season's campaign where they were pipped to 3rd on the last day. Whilst I am a huge fan of Gylfi Sigurdsson (I think he has a fantastic shot on him and is excellent in dead ball situations), I do not think he is the answer to Spurs fans' prayers and a new striker is an absolute must. Add to this the Modric saga and Spurs certainly will have their work cut out if they are to challenge for the Champions League places next season. I can't really pass judgment on Jan Vertonghen as I know nothing about him, but Tottenham needed a new defender after Ledley King and Ryan Nelsen's departures so he seems looks like common sense. 5th place for me this year.

Prediction: 5th

West Bromwich Albion

In
Ben Foster (Birmingham City) Undisclosed 
Yassine El Ghanassy (AA Gent) Loan 

Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) Loan
Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen) Free 
Claudio Yacob (Racing Club de Avellaneda) Free 

Out
Keith Andrews (released)
Marton Fulop (released)
Paul Scharner (released)
Nicky Shorey (released)
Somen Tchoyi (released)

J: The big question surrounding West Brom’s season to me seems to be whether Steve Clarke will be equipped to be a manager on his own right or not. If he proves successful then I see no reason why West Brom can’t have a relatively good season and enjoy more mid-table mediocrity. He’s already used his Chelsea connections to get Lukaku on loan, which I think could be a really good signing as he has got such a massive physical presence he seems made for the Premier League and could trouble a lot of defences this year. Getting Ben Foster on a permanent deal is solid business and there is no down side in my opinion. Markus Rosenberg seems to be a relatively sound buy on a free with 9 league goals for Racing Santander in 2010/11 and 10 for Werder Bremen last year he seems to be consistently decent and may pitch in with a few goals. But the signing of 2 strikers seems to be a strange one at a club with Odemwingie and Long already on the books up front. I think Rosenberg will be a back up and the question may be whether Odemwingie is staying or not. Lukaku provides a different option to his smaller Nigerian and Irish colleagues so will he be a replacement or an alternative option? Some solid Premier League performers have left and the other 2 signings seem relatively unproven and a bit more risky. But they should be alright for a mid-table finish, and who knows Yacob or El Ghanassy could be a diamond unearthed.

Prediction: 15th

C: Steve Clarke is trying his hand at Premier League club management rather than assistance for the first time and his task is to follow in the footsteps of Roy Hodgson at West Brom, which doesn't look easy. I think the Throstles have a team fairly light of star players but that work well together and they have done well to gain the services of Ben Foster on a permanent basis. He, along with Olsson, Mulumbu and Long, formed a very solid spine of a team which looks as though it will remain intact going in to this new campaign.

After Foster's arrival, a further handful of players have been drafted in, chiefly attacking players from abroad so I don't know a lot about them and can't really predict how they will adapt to the Premier League, but Romelu Lukaku looks an astute signing by Steve Clarke and I expect the options in attack now at Clarke's disposal will ensure a comfortable season once more for the Baggies.

Prediction: 12th

West Ham United

In
James Collins (Aston Villa) Undisclosed 
Mohamed Diame (Wigan Athletic) Free 
Alou Diarra (Olympique Marseille) Undisclosed 
Stephen Henderson (Portsmouth) Undisclosed
Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers) Free 
George McCartney (Sunderland) Free 
Modibo Maiga (FC Sochaux-Montbeliard) Undisclosed 
Raphael Spiegel (Grasshopper Club Zurich) Undisclosed 

Out
Pablo Barrera (Cruz Azul) Undisclosed
Robert Green (Queens Park Rangers) Free 
Ravel Morrison (Birmingham City) Loan
Frank Nouble (released)
Freddie Sears (Colchester) Free

J: It’s Sam Allardyce back in the Premier League. Welcome back route one football, Stoke have given it a valiant go but no-one can beat Big Sam’s tactical nous and ego. This West Ham team look very similar to Bolton circa 2003 and I guess you stick to what you know. Alou Diarra is built like a brick s***house to sit right in front of the defence and be an immovable force, James Collins is the exact no-nonsense centre back that Big Sam loves (this seems like a really good signing to me – a perfect match), and Diame is an energetic box-to-box midfielder who would have moved to a big club surely if he just had some quality with his final product. I like the look of West Ham to stay up at least. Big Sam knows the division and like him or loath him he knows how to keep a team up. I think he’ll do it again. Only question seems to be who will play up front for West Ham and will they do well. There are a lot of proven Championship strikers who need to make the step up in this team. Maiga was also wanted by Newcastle so if their scouting system saw talent there then he could be a very decent signing.

Prediction: 14th

C: The Hammers returned to the top flight at the very first attempt, which is no mean feat at all and they deserve a lot of praise for that. Big Sam has restored fans confidence, even if it isn't by playing football "the West Ham way", and the team has shown its capability for grinding out results when required. Kevin Nolan and James Tomkins were outstanding last season and Hammers fans will be hoping they bring that form with them into the Premier League this year.

On the transfer front, Robert Green didn't sign a new deal and has been replaced by 65-year old keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen (as Big Sam will tell you, keepers peak when they are older). Then there is the return of two old faces: James Collins is back three years after he swapped claret and blue for claret and blue (Aston Villa) and George McCartney has signed on a free after two loan spells (I must admit, I thought he was a permanent West Ham employee already).

Up front it is difficult to predict whether Modibo Maiga will be a Premier League hit (see all my previous comments about players from the French league) but Carlton Cole, Nicky Maynard, Sam Baldock, Vaz Te and Piquionne don't have me quaking in my boots. Whilst my crystal ball doesn't seem to suggest the Hammers will have the ball in the opposition's net very often, Diarra and Diame in midfield are solid signings and the physical nature of the team will make them difficult to break down. Consequently, I think this side will be a lot tougher to beat than the West Ham that went down and I believe that the Hammers will survive this season.

Prediction: 15th

Wigan Athletic

In
Fraser Fyvie (Aberdeen) Undisclosed 
Ivan Ramis (Real Mallorca) Undisclosed

Ryo Miyaichi (Arsenal) Loan
Arouna Kone (Levante) Undisclosed

Out
Mohamed Diame (West Ham United) Free 
Steve Gohouri (released)
Chris Kirkland (released)
Hugo Rodallega (released)

J: Every year it seems that the Wigan players must get together and have a bit of a giggle and decide ‘Hey, when shall we start playing this year? March? Yeah, that’ll annoy everyone who thinks we’re down and rubbish’. The team was brilliant at the end of last year and if they play that way again this season they should be comfortably mid-table. But that would be boring. They’ve lost Diame and Rodallega two of their best players on paper and haven’t seemed to replace them at all. Every year Wigan just seem to lack a goalscorer. Last year Franco Di Santo and Jordi Gomez were joint top scorer for them with 5. They’ve lost Rodallega and haven’t brought in a replacement, unless you consider getting Mauro Boselli back from a loan spell away as a replacement which I really don’t. I don’t see where the goals can come from for them this season, and if I were Roberto Martinez I’d be trying to sign a striker desperately before this season starts. If they don’t I can’t see Wigan staying up, then again I’ll probably have egg on my face just like every year when it comes to Wigan. It really was a toss up between them and Norwich for the last relegation place in my opinion so I won’t be surprised if they finish the other way round.

Prediction: 18th

C: How do they do it? Yet again the Great Escape DVD is on sale at the DW Stadium as Martinez has yet again worked heroics to keep little old Wigan in the Premier League. They find form at the right time and seem to turn into world beaters around February each year. However this Summer they are faced with the loss of three of their key players: Rodallega, Diame and Moses (well it looks like it anyway). That leaves Franco De-flecto (I think he can only truly credit himself with two of his league goals from last season), penalty specialist Ben Watson, Argentine flop Mauro Boselli, the 'prolific' Conor Sammon and patchy form of Shaun Maloney to come up with the goods to keep the Latics up.

The acquisition of Ryo Miyaichi is a shrewd one but suggests to me that Moses is on his way and I think the burden that will be placed on Miyaichi is too much for an inexperienced young player who had limited impact (granted it was in a struggling team) last season - whilst Miyaichi has proved himself as a capable creator of goals, his career scoring record thus far makes less impressive reading, especially when compared with that of Moses.

I've said it every year, but if (as predicted) Moses departs and no further reinforcements other than Miyaichi are brought in, I think this will finally be the year we see Wigan drop a division. Ali Al-Habsi can only be Harry Houdini so many times in his life!

Last minute edition: they've signed a striker that scored 17 goals in La Liga last year. Prediction revised, but they're still going down. They've got to be. Surely.

Prediction: 18th