In the red part of North London, sighs of relief was all around as the running clock of our infamous trophy-less streak finally came to a halt. Our FA Cup triumph was very much overdue to all the fans who have endured some of the worst times in history. It has been traumatising to lose finals, see big players leave, horror injuries and some pretty damn awful displays. The way the final was won reminded us how difficult it was to become top again, but most importantly how this team has progressed over the years. I’m not going to reiterate how our season went after my post in June.
Looking forward to the new season, we've seen some big changes already. Some of the notables are the appointed of Van Gaal as Man Utd manager, smashing of British transfer record by Di Maria, massive loan deal for Falcao, the sale of Luiz Suarez by Liverpool, the return of Cesc Fabregas to England and the effect of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules on Man City and Chelsea. It’s going to be another remarkable season so let’s see what the title contenders have in store for us.
Man City – Well
equipped to retain the title
It will be maintaining status quo for the team from the
Eastlands as they seek to defend the title once again. The £49M ceiling imposed as a result of FFP has given them lesser
flexibility compared to the previous years. The arrival Mangala, Fernando and Sagna were their big signings as they
sought to further improve their defensive lines. With already abundant of talent in offensive options, there was no need to
strengthen further. Negredo’s late
exit was surprising considering the impact he made last season. City’s need to
comply with the FFP also saw them go on an extension
spree as they tied down key players like Aguero, Silva,Yaya Toure and
Kompany. Failing to meet the limits by UEFA could see them face further
sanctions and even the possibility of disqualification from European
competitions. The Citizens are looking strong for a finish in the top 2 with
their fantastic squad in terms of talent
and depth. The picture below just
shows how much they have in the bag (minus Negredo)
Verdict: Poised for a top 2 finish
Key players: David Silva, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero
Chelsea – Big
signings to flourish
The trend shows that teams with the best transfer moves in the summer are usually favourites to win the title. City’s £100M splash at the close of the previous season has again vindicated the theory. This season,
Chelsea are frontrunners for the title as they have spent big and well while they were
too working around their own limits due to FFP. The offloading of Juan Mata, Kevin De Bruyne, David Luiz,
Romelu Lukaku and Fernando Torres
this year has boosted their coffers for big spending. The signing of Fabregas, Diego Costa, Didier Drogba
and the return of Thibaut Courtois
has given this team a huge elevation
and made them main contenders for the
title. Fabregas is proven quality at this level and is the best possible
replacement to Lampard. Costa would
add to Chelsea’s much needed firepower
in front of goal after lacklustre attempts by Torres and Eto’o last
season. Jose’s mind games like the
“Little Horse” could not overcome or distract the mental steel of Pellegrini
last season. Perhaps if he focuses more on what happends on the pitch and improve their consistency against their smaller
rivals, they could very well be the best
challengers to end the 4 year domination of the Manchester giants.
Verdict: My
favourites for the title (Yes I do support Arsenal)
Key players: Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa
Liverpool – Oh no,
not a repeat of the Spurs syndrome?
They were close to
winning it last season. Gerro’s rallying cry and tears was almost the image
which depicted how he finally won it, almost.
There is no doubt Gerro’s unbelievable loyalty towards the Kop makes him
deserving of his first Premier League
title. That night in Istanbul
might be his greatest feat in his career,
but the Premier League is one he has
yearned for a very long time. Ending
his club’s and own wait would be have been special, but the margins in football
today can be cruel.
So Liverpool lost their best player of last season, so
what’s next? Has their £75M been
well spent? To many people like me, we emphasise on the need for a “marquee” signing, a big name that will
instantly bring results to the club. Their spending has been on Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno,
Javi Manquillo (loan), Emre Can, Lazar
Markovic, Rickie Lambert and the most high profile of all, Mario Balotelli. It does look like what
Spurs have done, spreading their windfall on many players. The Reds will argue
they have also bought a lot quality, but are
these players good enough to make them serious title challengers? I think
Brendan Rogers has put himself in a tougher predicament than he should be by
taking a gamble on some of these players. But bringing the Reds back to the top 4 would buy him some time. The backbone of the team would still be Gerrard, Sterling, Sturridge and
especially Coutinho who will be the
driving force behind the team. Even without Suarez, I can still see enough big
game players to give them a solid top 4 finish. It will be interesting how
their commitments in Europe affect
their title chase.
Verdict: At best for 3rd place, at worst 5th.
Key players: Steven
Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge and Philipe Coutinho
Manchester United – King Louis takes over the throne
The United fans were divided over the appointment over LVG, questioning the lack of time given
to David Moyes, who probably had
more sleepless nights than he could ever imagined. He was handpicked by SAF to succeed him but it didn’t take
very long for them to decide it was time to go. Managing arguably the biggest club in the world, Moyes failed to garner the support of
the OT supremos during his reign. Their lowly finish in the league on the back
of a record 11 defeats was deemed a bridge too far to see imaginable success.
I have to say Moyes did improve as the season went but the damage was actually inflicted before it all started. He requested
for Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara and Kroos
during the summer, but none of them materialise. Instead he got Fellaini, a trusted talent but had his worst season in England. He
masterminded the comeback against
Olympiakos but had no favours when drawn against Bayern Munich. It was a 50/50 decision in the end, but some disastrous
home results probably tilted the decision to sack him. The fans even flew a plane
to push for his exit.
Moving forward, LVG is one
of the best there is in the game. His successful tenure in Bayern and the
Holland national team has quickly put him in the spotlight. He carries a very
strong reputation of being no nonsense, get
down to work guy and carries a certain chutzpah
which will be all necessary ingredients to overhaul this damaged battleship. His ability to command authority would be something probably Moyes lacked. The
way he has gone right down to business after the World Cup just shows his
eagerness to deliver. Reportedly given £200M
to spend, he has not held back his ammos, landing Shaw, Herrera, Rojo, Blind and the big hitters Di Maria and Falcao. It sure does show an incredible line up of
attacking options which are sure to torment defences. Goals are going to come
but the big question is whether the defence will hold up. The lack of replacement for Rio Ferdinand and a lack of protection
to the back four might work against them.
At this point of writing, Van Gaal might be having a slow
start, but if you go back to his Bayern days, you’ll know that his best days
are coming.
Verdict – A fight for top 4 finish
Key players – Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria
Arsenal – Still
missing a few jigsaws
To my beloved Arsenal. Summer started brightly as deals were
closed earlier than previous seasons. Alexis, Chambers and Debuchy
in. Joel Campbell was back from a
three year loan. Then, Khedira was linked to Arsenal. Hey, were things finally
starting to look up? From then on, nothing happened. It was almost common
knowledge how we needed to replace Vermaelen,
get another striker and very critically, a defensive
midfielder. But days passed and we could only hope Arsene will surprise us
soon, we waited and waited. By the last days we knew any hopes of a big deal
were gone and we only made a last gasp move for Danny Welbeck from our old foes Man Utd. I am very disappointed,
because there are clearly weaknesses in
this team that needs urgent attention. This
team is no better than last season. When we play Chelsea or Liverpool team
again, I can’t imagine enduring another mauling again. I can’t understand why
we haven’t plugged these holes. If we are still haggling over a few million
pounds, I seriously think the CEO and the rest of his people should be given
the boot. The transfer dealings by
them have been shambolic, weak and disastrous.
These guys have been in business for years, surely they can’t be that ignorant? Would they have bought if Giroud wasn’t injured? We had the whole
summer and plenty of action in Brazil to look for some good players, the
negotiators have not delivered and it’s not going to be long before questions
will be asked about this team which we will fail to answer.
On the bright side, our new signings will add a new dimension to this team. Debuchy is fitting in well, Chambers is impressing while Alexis is adding another wave of excitement to this team. With Walcott, Joel Campbell, Gnabry, Oxlade-Chamberlain all having a point to prove, there will be a lot of pulsating attacking football by us. The fab midfield of Cazorla, Ozil, Ramsey and Wilshere will be key to our team. On the downside, the missing jigsaws will continue to haunt us and again leave us fighting for 4th.
Verdict – A fight for top 4 finish
Key players – Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla
I think by now my predictions are pretty clear. May the best
team win.
1) Chelsea2) Man City
3) Liverpool
4) Arsenal
5) Man Utd
Thanks for reading
~deyao~
