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The Guardian's preview of the season to come

Sir Tokyo Sexwale
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Sir Tokyo Sexwale

Sir Tokyo Sexwale

Posted
Posted (edited)

1 - Chelsea

2 - Citeh

3 - A right bunch of c****

4 - Arsenal

5 - Tottingham Jodhpurs

6 - LIVERPOOL

7 - BBBs - no way they'll finish above Villa

8 - Villa (corrected)

9 - Fulham

10 - Notlob

11 - Joke City

12 - Sunderland

13 - Birmingham

14 - West Ham

15 - Blackburn

16 - Newcastle

17 - Wigan

18 - Wolves

19 - WBA

20 - No Real Surprises

 

a***

 

Arsenal's mission is to take the step forward that has eluded them in recent seasons; to win the big games against the biggest teams when it matters the most. To turn all the prettiness and potential into the hard currency of silverware.

 

Wenger needs a new goalkeeper and cover in central defence. Is there anyone out there as good as William Gallas, who he has released? Also gone is Sol Campbell and, for what it's worth, Mikaël Silvestre.

 

The squad does not yet look radically stronger than that which finished last season empty-handed, although Wenger will reason that injuries can surely not strike with the same severity again. He would rather have his existing players fit than any number of new signings but he has to accept that many of his troops are no strangers to the treatment table.

 

It is an important season for Theo Walcott, after his frustrations last time out, and it is an important one, too, for Samir Nasri, who appears on the brink of a major breakthrough. Arsenal regularly offer a similar impression only to disappoint but Wenger believes his painstakingly moulded squad is finally ready to prove the doubters wrong. It will take the Premier League title to do so. Other big guns must be favoured ahead of them.

 

 

Villa

 

If we consider Villa have finished in the top six for the past three seasons, it is worth noting that the only other clubs that can say the same are Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Not bad company to be keeping, even if Villa are hardly rubbing shoulders with the trio.

 

So what is there to stop Villa from finishing sixth again? After all, the defence – which had the fourth-best record in the Premier League and, lest it be forgotten, it would have been up there with the very best but for that 7-1 mauling at Chelsea – remains unchanged, O'Neill has stayed on as manager, despite all the mixed messages of a few months ago, and there are signs that in 20-year-old Marc Albrighton, who has been outstanding during pre-season, Villa have a real talent on their hands. That is the good news.

 

Now for the bad. Milner, who filled Barry's shoes so brilliantly last season, seems certain to leave. Many Villa supporters will feel that £25m-plus for the midfielder is a decent deal, but if Manchester City hold off from coming up with the money until nearer the end of the month, which remains a possibility, where does that leave O'Neill in terms of bringing in replacements? Perhaps more to the point, will O'Neill have all the money to spend?

 

Certainly the Villa manager can ill afford to lose anyone else from his favoured starting XI, in particular Ashley Young, who is a target for Harry Redknapp at Spurs. Young was overshadowed by Milner last season and failed to recapture the form he showed in the previous campaign, but he remains one of Villa's most influential players. That description should also apply to Stewart Downing after Villa paid £12m for him, but the former Middlesbrough winger has showed only flashes of his ability and needs to have a much greater impact this season.

 

Two key areas where Villa also need to improve are up front (they were the lowest scorers in the top eight) and at home (where they picked up fewer points than any other club in the top 10). Signing a prolific striker who is capable of scoring 15 league goals a season – something Villa have not had since Juan Pablo Angel registered 16 in 2004 – would certainly help, although it is likely to need more than one player to change Villa from being an excellent counter-attacking team (only Chelsea and United had better away records last season) to one that is also comfortable when the onus is on them to break opponents down.

Edited by Macca
Sion

Sion

Posted
Posted (edited)

So they've got either us or Spurs in 7th going off that. As you'd assume they've gone with city, chelsea, utd as the other top 5

Edited by Sion
Hassony

Hassony

Posted
Posted

Think Arsenal are more likely to win it than Chelsea at the moment.

 

really?

 

I think Arsenal could very easily finish outside the top four

Benzo-13

Benzo-13

Posted
Posted

really?

 

I think Arsenal could very easily finish outside the top four

Maybe but they've a pile of players unaffected by the World Cup.

If teams try a leg against the Mancs it could change the leagues dynamic.

I don't think Chelsea will be arsed this season either once tired legs kick in.

We'll finish top four.

Sion

Sion

Posted
Posted

 

If teams try a leg against the Mancs it could change the leagues dynamic.

 

 

Not gonna happen though is it

 

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway set his sights on the team's fixture away at Anfield after fielding an understrength XI at home to Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd.

Benzo-13

Benzo-13

Posted
Posted

Not gonna happen though is it

 

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway set his sights on the team's fixture away at Anfield after fielding an understrength XI at home to Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd.

Fat Sam and Colin's fault that.

McCarthy only carried on their precedent last year.

lfc003

lfc003

Posted
Posted

The squad does not yet look radically stronger than that which finished last season empty-handed, although Wenger will reason that injuries can surely not strike with the same severity again. He would rather have his existing players fit than any number of new signings but he has to accept that many of his troops are no strangers to the treatment table.

 

Arsenal will always have a injury crisis every season!

Hassony

Hassony

Posted
Posted

Arsenal got loads of luck last season.

Still no idea how they beat us at Anfield.

 

they had the same luck that we had the season before (injury time winners...etc)

 

and in the end, they were no better than they were the season before

Sion

Sion

Posted
Posted

Macca has fecked this up, hasn't he? The Villa article says they'll finish 8th, not 6th. Its an average of a few writers as well, so you could get two teams with the same average.

Sir Tokyo Sexwale

Sir Tokyo Sexwale

Posted
  • Author
Posted

:yes: - I rule

 

fixed

 

BirMINGham

 

So, for the moment, let's deal with those that have arrived. Zigic, who comes with a proven track record as well as some very long legs, has the makings of being a good signing. The same goes for Foster, who it is easy to forget only 12 months ago was being tipped to succeed Edwin van der Sar at Old Trafford as well as be the No1 goalkeeper for England at the World Cup. By Foster's own admission, he "dropped a few clangers" last season, but Birmingham seems like a good move to get his career back on track. Valles, meanwhile, has impressed in pre-season but looks to be one for the future.

 

McLeish, however, has made no secret of the need to bring in more players. The Birmingham manager has been quick to point out that, with Christian Benítez departing after his season-long loan expired and Joe Hart returning to Manchester City, Zigic and Foster are replacements, rather than additions to the squad. Although few Birmingham supporters will shed a tear about losing Benítez, whose lack of goals was always going to be a problem, Hart will be missed after an outstanding season at St Andrew's.

 

One of the cornerstones of Birmingham's success last season was their home form, and McLeish will once again look to make St Andrew's an intimidating place for visitors. After defeats to Aston Villa and Bolton in September, Birmingham remained unbeaten at home for the remainder of the campaign and conceded only 13 goals there in total, a remarkable record that owed much to the excellent partnership in central defence between Scott Dann and Roger Johnson but also the work ethic McLeish fostered throughout the side, none of which looks like changing.

 

Blackburn

 

With so many imponderables to consider before the start of the new campaign, it's difficult to predict with anything approaching certainty whether Sam Allardyce's side can emulate last season's excellent 10th place finish. Much can go right or wrong for the Lancashire club in the coming weeks, but the smart money would have to go on them coming up short. In a division awash with mediocrity, they boast a defence and midfield robust enough to suggest they're just one in-form striker away from feet-up-in-March guaranteed safety. But for a notoriously physical side, there is a fragility about them that hints they might also be one busy physio from the drop.

 

 

Today's additions in red

Maldini

Maldini

Posted
Posted

Re. the Blackburn piece, just how does one go about considering an imponderable?

 

with a furrowed brow, while inspecting your warchest.

Bailo

Bailo

Posted
Posted

Haha! Brilliant. I'm looking forward to their Premier League title challenge.

 

I like how one chap comes on and seems really sensible, until he says that Arteta better than anyone else in the Premier League.

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