Manchester United v Swansea City
Luis Van Gaal has had a great start to his reign at Old
Trafford – 6 wins from as many pre season games. There were plenty of goals
scored (18) and only 5 conceded suggesting the new 3-5-2 formation is already
paying off. While victories over the likes of Real Madrid, Valencia and
Liverpool are encouraging the real deal starts Saturday night.
Robin Van Persie will be missing as he was given an extra
break post the World Cup and there haven’t been the flurry of signings as yet
that all assumed would happen. Of the signings that have arrived Anders Herrera
looks like he will improve the centre of the park while Luke Shaw has a
hamstring injury and may miss a month.
The question will be whether or not LVG can get more out
of the rest of the misfiring squad than David Moyes could.
Gary Monk is starting his first season in charge at
Swansea after taking the reigns from Michael Laudrup mid way through the last
campaign.
He’s had a pre season with the squad but he’s also lost a
number of important players, Michel Vorm and Ben Davies have both left for
Spurs, Michu has gone to Napoli for the season on loan and Pablo Hernandez, a
key part of their midfield, has also flown the coop. To balance things out there have been signings with Bernard Gomis
coming in to add goals alongside Wilfred Bony, Gylfi Sigurdsson should add some
creativity while Lukasz Fabianski
fills the gap left by Vorm and most exciting of all is Ecuadorian winger
Jefferson Montero.
The balance of the squad
does look off though with both fullback positions looking light and a backup
centre back a must also. Monks job will surely be keeping them out of a
relegation fight.
Pick – Manchester United 2
Swansea City 0
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
There’s a lot of talk about Arsenal being title
contenders this season with the addition of Alexi Sanchez in particular and
while he’s a great player I don’t know that he’s the player they needed.
With the likes of Rosicky, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain,
Podolski, Ozil and Cazorla you could argue he’s just more of the same. Wenger
really needs cover in defensive midfield, fullback and up front. Screening the
back four his options are Arteta is first choice but getting no younger and is
back up by injury prone Wilshere and Diaby and journeyman Flamini. At fullback,
particularly on the left, Kieran Gibbs is the likely first choice but with the
departure of Vermalen there don’t seem to be any experienced options to cover.
Meanwhile Olivier Giroud must stay fit and find the net on a regular basis as
beyond him it’s relatively untried youngsters in Joel Campbell and Chuba Akpom.
That said the Gunners should start the season with a win
at home to manager less Crystal Palace.
Tony Pulis did a great job at Palace when he replaced Ian
Holloway in October. They’d won just once in the first 11 games and looked
doomed to be relegated but the former Stoke boss got them playing some great
football and picked up some superb results against top sides to eventually
finish well clear of the bottom three.
I was looking forward to see how Pulis would approach his
first full season in charge but with just days to go til kick off he quit the
post following talks with his chairman and has thrown the Eagles future in the
EPL into doubt.
Frazier Campbell (Cardiff), Brede Hangeland (Fulham) and
Martin Kelly (Liverpool) have been brought in but missing out on Steven Caulker
and Gylfi Sigurdsson seems to have been the deciding factor in the manager
leaving.
The spine of last season’s side is intact and if the club
can quickly appoint an astute manager they may well survive but it’s certainly
a bleak backdrop to the trip to the Emirates for the first game of the season.
Pick – Arsenal 4 Crystal Palace 0
Leicester City v Everton
Nigel Pearson’s side won the Championship title
comfortably last season he’s already built on that successful squad.
In have come former England defender Matthew Upson,
Spanish striker Leonardo Ulloa, Mark Albrighton from Aston Villa and a couple
of promising Manchester United youngsters in Jack Barmby (son of Nick) and
Louis Rowley.
Added to the already gifted squad Pearson should be
confident of holding his own amongst 12 of the 19 sides in the division the key
though will be experience. The aforementioned Upson certainly adds that whilst
the likes of Paul Konchesky, Gary Taylor-Fletcher and David Nugent will be able
supporters and keeping them fit and in the side will be important as outside
those players EPL experience is thin on the ground.
Roberto Martinez proved a revelation at Everton last
season. The former Wigan boss had what seemed to be big shoes to fill in
replacing David Moyes but by the end of the campaign he looked very much the
master and not the apprentice.
The Toffees played a more expansive brand of football
with the likes of Ross Barclay, Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku all stand outs
alongside the more seasoned Leighton Baines, Phil Jageilka and Tim Howard.
With Lukaku now in from Chelsea as a full signing and the
reinvigorated Gareth Barry likewise from Manchester City, Martinez side look
stronger now than they did this time last season and they should again push for
the top four and take points from more fancied sides again.
Pick – Leicester City 1 Everton 3
Queens Park Rangers v Hull City
‘Arry’s back. And he’s bought a mate this time, Glenn
Hoddle in as an attacking coach, hopefully he’s bought shrewder business sense
than the last man to take charge of QPR in the Premier League.
Former manager Mark Hughes was guilty of signing a slew
of past it Premier League stars on inflated money and it cost the club dearly.
The signing of Rio Ferdinand may look like more of the same but he is a class
act and no doubt will add experience and leadership the promoted side. The
addition of Steven Caulker from Cardiff alongside him is a great get from
Redknapp too as many were surprised to see Spurs let him leave last season and
his team mate at Cardiff, Jordan Mutch, was one of the finds of last season and
will be needed alongside Joey Barton to provide chances for the returning Loic
Remy and Charlie Austin.
Rangers look a solid unit this time around and look like
they’ll have enough about them to stay up this time around.
Steve Bruce is a year on from where Harry Redknapp
currently is and what a year it was. Not only did Hull retain top flight
status, they also made the FA Cup final for the first time and qualified for
Europe.
It all looks rosy but if I were a Tigers fan I’d be
worried about the Europe bit. Other clubs who have succeeded domestically have
found the addition of a European campaign a stretch to far. Newcastle United
for example achieved qualification for the Europa League at the end of the
2011-12 season with a 7th place finish in the league but the
following season could only manage 16th and it was only a win
against an already relegated QPR on the penultimate weekend of the season that
saw them stay up.
Enough of the doom and gloom though, Bruce has retained
all of his best players and added the promising Tom Ince, Jake Livermore (on a
permanent contract) and Robert Snodgrass all of whom should add goals to his
side. If the Europa League campaign is handled well and injuries are minimal
Hull should have enough to consolidate for another season.
Pick – Queens Park Rangers 2 Hull City 1
West Bromwich Albion v Sunderland
Alan Irvine is in charge at West Brom now following Steve
Clarke’s sacking and his replacement Pepe Mel’s inadequacies last season.
Irvine is formerly David Moyes assistant at Everton he
has his work cut out for him at the Albion. Liam Ridgewell, a defensive
stalwart at the Hawthornes for several years has been let go as have fullback
Billy Jones, experienced utility Steven Reid and Uruguayan centre back Diego
Lugano.
Whilst the pickup of Jolene Lescott and Liverpool
youngster Andre Wisdom offset these loses slight depth is a worry. The other
end of the park is possibly worse! Saido
Berahino was joint top scorer last season (tied with Stephane Sessegnon) with 5
from 32 appearances and the only additional artillery to be brought in is Brown
Ideye from Dynamo Kiev at a cost of 10 million pounds.
That Irvine is odds on to be
firs in the sack race this season says everything and I’ll be surprised if West
Brom aren’t in the bottom three come May next year.
Gus Poyet saved Sunderland from relegation and Paolo Di
Canio last season and now he has his work cut out squeezing enough goals from
this squad to make sure they’re not involved in another relegation scrap.
The additions of Jack Rodwell, Billy Jones and Patrick van Aanholt could offer some
solidity but he’s buying potential rather than the finished product there while
Jordi Gomez is more proven and Costel Pantilimon looks a quality keeper but
what he hasn’t brought in is someone who can put the ball in the net when it
counts.
Steven Fletcher, Connor Wickham and Jozy Altidore will be
the club’s main threats going forward alongside the enigmatic Adam Johnson –
certainly not enough to put the fear of god in opposition defences.
The tactical nous and inspiration in the dressing room of
Poyet looks to be the biggest asset the Black Cast have in what will be another
season of struggle.
Pick – West Bromwich Albion 0 Sunderland 0
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham has had an awful pre-season and not just here in
New Zealand. Andy Carroll is out for 4 months and that leaves Fat Sam’s tactics
in disarray. Getting wingers behind the fullbacks to whip crosses in to a giant
strikers head is so much his number one plan that he continued to start Carlton
Cole after Carroll’s injury. Carlton Cole! A striker so awful that the club
released him on a free at the end of the 2012-13 season then resigned him when
Carroll got injured/they felt sorry for him hanging around the training ground.
For mine Zarate looks like a great player who can score
goals given the chance, though the side will have to set up differently which
maybe out of the realms of possibility with Allardyce in charge. If Cole starts
this game then I almost feel sorry for West Ham fans this season
While they should be tough to score against I can’t see
enough at the other end of the park.
Mauricio Pochettino did wonders with a young Southampton
side last season and his timing of landing the Spurs job could be fortuitous.
Players bought in on the back of Gareth Bale’s sale have all had a season to
bed in and they were all players with a lot of promise this time last season.
The fact that Lewis Holtby has stared every pre-season game after being loaned
to Fulham seems to point to everyone starting with a clean slate under the new
boss.
The balance of the squad still needs work but the
starting 11 looks promising and it’s hard to see Spurs not starting the season
with 3 points.
Pick – West Ham United 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Stoke City v Aston Villa
Mark Hughes hasn’t so much transformed Stoke it is more
of an evolution.
The big hard tackling defence is still there from the
Tony Pulis reign as is the beanpole up front Peter Crouch and the hard running,
hard working Jonathan Walters but there is now more subtlety and guile in a
midfield that was previously more of a minefield.
The addition of Bojan Krkic is a real coup for Hughes,
the former Barcelona next big thing is still only 23 and can play as a winger,
playmaker or genuine number 10 in the Messi mould. That he only cost 3 million
pounds is astounding. Added to that Phil Bardsley will give extra steel at
right back while Steve Sidwell can score goals from midfield. Former Manchester
United striker Mame Biram Diouf,
though never proven in England, was successful at Hannover in Germany and given
he’ll not be solely relied on for goals should be given time to integrate into
the side.
These additions coupled with
players like Peter Odemwingie and Marko
Arnautovic should give The Potters plenty of goals to offset their fortress
like defence.
Roy Keane has been brought into Aston
Villa as assistant to manager Paul Lambert and while his experience and win at
all costs mentality will no doubt help the squad it’s an appointment that’ll
have his boss looking over his shoulder constantly.
The Villans struggled last season,
particularly when Christian Benteke was injured and the additions to the squad
this time around don’t have me believing they’ll have any easier time of it
this time around.
The additions are those of club that
have an owner who wants out as Randy Lerner apparently does. Joe Cole was for
all intents and purposes a failure at West Ham last season, Kieran Richardson
can show quality but he’s very much a journeyman these days and Philippe
Senderos struggles to convince as a Premier League defender.
Mark Albrighton is the only player of
note to leave but this is a squad in desperate need of investment, there are
plenty of young players with talent but not enough quality and experience to
really take then anywhere. 17th will on the wishlist of their fans
this season as things look.
Pick – Stoke City 3 Aston Villa 1
No comments:
Post a Comment