BPL Preview 2008/09

With days to go before a new Premier League season everybody has their own opinion about how the season will pan out and I am no exception.

It’s been relatively quiet in the transfer market till now though with some three weeks till the window closes much can still be done.

Perhaps the biggest story has been the non transfers.

Emmanuel Adebayor, Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard have attracted plenty of headlines over their ‘will they, won’t they move’ in search of bigger pay packets but it now looks like the trio will be staying put.

Arsenal surprised many people last season by not imploding after the departure of striker Thierry Henry but that hasn’t stopped the doomsayers. This time round, Matthieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb have moved on along with Gilberto and Jens Lehmann.

A major weakness for Arsenal last time out was at the back and it appears Wenger has done little to fix that, instead trusting William Gallas to show more maturity this time round. It’s a gamble, a huge gamble and if it goes wrong Arsene may face some awkward questions.

With three players being brought into the squad, Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey and Amaury Bischoff, Arsenal fans will be hoping the club physio has less work to do this time round. Long term injuries to the likes of Robin van Persie, Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo proved pivotal.

Certainly if Manchester United had anything like Arsenal’s run of injuries last season then we would have had different champions. ‘If’ … the biggest word in football.

So far United have made no signings which has had some people scratching their heads. But while everybody loves to dwell on the supposed financial crunch at Arsenal, little is said about Sir Alex Ferguson’s own limitations with United still owing a sizeable sum.

Carlos Tevez finalized his move to Old Trafford and Fergie will be hoping the Argentinean striker goes through the season injury free. With Ronaldo missing the start of the season, options up top are light and you can be sure the cantankerous Wayne Rooney will pick up a suspension or two along the way.

Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes can also expect to play smaller parts as injuries and age take their toll. Giggs had a great season last time those legs don’t get any quicker.

Scholes never had the quickest legs in the business but then when you have his footballing brain you don’t need them. He has recently talked about ending his career in the next couple of seasons and when he does English football will lose one of its finest talents of recent years.

Then we have Liverpool! Robbie Keane at US$40 million can only be a step forward when you consider what went before. Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin.

Keane could gel better with Frenando Torres but whereas coaches like Wenger, Ferguson and Scolari would love to have the Spaniard in their side would they break the bank to sign the Irish striker who has done well at a series of middling sides but done nothing to threaten the best of the best?

When you look at the Liverpool side how many players would you want in your Fantasy XI? Gerrard and Torres for sure but anybody else? Once again Rafael Benetiz’ forays in the transfer market won’t exactly have the Kop drooling at the thought of winning the Premiership for the first time ever. Emmanuel Mendy and Andrea Dossena?

No doubt Rafa is banking on another successful Champions League run to save his job and hope he gets enough dodgy penalties domestically to keep the fans quiet.

Then we have Felipe Scolari returning to club football with an aging Chelsea side. The Blues will remain tough to beat and will continue to bore the socks off anyone who actually bothers to watch their games but how much longer can they rely on lucky deflections from Frank Lampard’s shots?

They have spent US$30.8 million on a 26-year-old full-back which is nice as well as US$16 million on a 31-year-old midfield player. When the Barcelona president Juan Laporta says that Deco was a main reason behind his club’s poor recent form you can bet Chelsea fans must be wondering what is going on.

So, to sum up. For either of the big four to win the Premiership this time round, Arsenal need to defend and not have so many injuries. United need Ronaldo to repeat last season’s form and not have any serious injuries. Liverpool need more quality throughout their squad while Chelsea must hope Scolari’s aging stars have one more full season in them.

For me, it’s a two horse race!