LIVERPOOL
Liverpool are the team I am most excited about seeing this year and I genuinely hope they do well. I am not a Liverpool fan but I would love to see them get back to their glory days under Carnlough man, Brendan Rodgers. I have lived in Carnlough for the last 4 years & it is amazing to think that a man from this small village is now in charge of one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
Since taking the reigns he has made a few good signings. Fabio Borini and Joe Allen are both players he knows very well from his Swansea days. Borini had a great year in Italy scoring 9 goals in 24 games for Roma. In Serie A that is a respectable record. Especially when you consider it was his first year in the league. In his one season in Italy he done enough to convince Italy manager, Cesare Prandelli, that he was worthy of a spot in Italy’s Euro 2012 squad which is no easy task.
Joe Allen is a player I like. He had a great year at Swansea and every time I watched them live or the highlights he always seemed to be at the centre of everything they done. At 22 the time was right for Allen to make the move to a bigger club.
Liverpool’s hopes this season will depend on who they sell in the coming weeks. It appears players have to be sold to balance the books but they really don’t want to have to sell Daniel Agger. He is a top class centre back but if Liverpool can not find takers for Andy Carroll and Charlie Adam then Agger may be the one who has to move on.
If Agger stays and the team buy into Rodgers style of football then I predict a much improved season for Liverpool.
Key Player : Luis Suarez – Suarez is an excellent footballer and is capable of unlocking any defence in the world. His one weakness, certainly in his time at Liverpool, is his finishing. If Suarez can start finding the back of the net instead of shooting straight at the goalkeeper or hitting the woodwork then he could even figure in the race to be top scorer in the league.
A Player I’d Sign : Nuri Sahin – It looks as though this deal could go through in the next few days and I think he would be a great signing for Liverpool.
Prediction – 4th
MANCHESTER CITY
One thing’s for sure, City will not win the league in as exciting a manner as they did last year. Two injury time goals to win your first league title in 44 years is the stuff Hollywood script writers couldn’t even dream up.
It has been an unusually quiet summer at the Etihad with Jack Rodwell being the only signing to date. Rodwell is a decent player but I think he will struggle to see much game time at City. He is another option in their midfield however and will strengthen the overall quality of the squad.
I do expect Mancini to break in at least one more player before the end of the transfer window.
City have kept everyone from last year and I think it will take something special to stop them defending their title. Last year they were the best team in the league but Manchester United ran them close. I think the reason it was so close was United had a lot more experience in title races and City seemed to be effected by the pressure. Last years title win will have given them confidence and when you have the best team/squad and a lot of confidence it will be very difficult to beat.
Key Man : Yaya Toure – This man was unbelievable in the run in last season. He grabbed goals, created goals and pushed City all the way to the League Championship. City’s main concern this year will be dealing with his absence again during the African Cup of Nations.
A Player I’d Sign : Daniel Agger – My one concern is injuries in the centre of their defence. If Vincent Kompany were to get injured that would leave Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott and Stefan Savic. No combination of those three inspires confidence. If Agger came in Man City would be in a very strong position for a push at the Champions League as well as the league.
Prediction – 1st
MANCHESTER UNITED
Robin Van Persie is the name on everyones lips at the moment after the Dutchman moved from Arsenal to Manchester United. Van Persie had a great season last year. It was by far his best in the Premier League. He was the top scorer in the league last year with 30 goals. There can be no doubt he is a fantastic footballer but my concerns would lie in his injury record. Last year RVP managed to stay clear of injury but in 8 years at Arsenal that was the first time he managed that feat. I think United have overpaid for him. £22-24m for a 29 year old, injury prone striker is a huge gamble. Most strikers will peak round 28. Obviously there are exceptions and because Van Persie has missed so many games in the past he might be able to extend his peak for a few years. Sir Alex Ferguson and United's army of fans will be hoping that is the case but I suspect that a striker who's body struggled to cope with the demands of top flight football in his 20s is hardly likely to improve as he enters his 30s.
Whilst all the talk about Manchester United at the moment is focusing on RVP, my opinion is that he isn't even the best piece of business they have done this summer. I'd reserve that honour for Shinji Kagawa. I am very excited about seeing him in the Premier League. He is a very tricky customer and whilst I don't think he is the man to overhaul Manchester City, I do think he is the man who can keep Manchester United ahead of the rest of the chasing pack.
Key Man : Nemanja Vidic - The Serbian will be like a new signing for United this season. He is one of the best centre backs in the world & he is one of those players who not only is top class in his own right but he seems to inspire the players around him.
A Player I'd Sign : Daniele De Rossi - It seems United's rivals, Manchester City are trying to sign the Italian midfielder but if Fergie could find a way to bring him to Old Trafford I think that would be the signing to bring the Premier League trophy back to the red half of Manchester.
Prediction - 2nd
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Newcastle had their best season last year in 8 years. Back then Alan Shearer was banging in 25-30 goals a season and Newcastle were a regular in European competitions. Since then there has been a lot of poor seasons for the Geordies, including a season in the Championship. Newcastle have bounced back fantastically since that and have began to build a very good squad. Players like Yohann Cabaye, Papiss Cisse, Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba are class acts and could grace most teams in the world. I haven't had a lot of time for Alan Pardew in the past but credit were it's due, he has done a great job at Newcastle.
This summer Newcastle have made a few more interesting signings. Vurnon Anita and Roman Amalfitano have came in from Ajax and Stade de Reims. Teenagers Gael Bigirimana and Curtis Good have also came in. I don't know much about them other than Vurnon Anita who is a Dutch international Full-Back/Midfielder. Judging by his quotes he is now very much a Centre Midfielder.
Newcastle have managed to hold onto all their key players with just a few squad players moving on. At the start of the summer the key players were being linked with clubs all over Europe but on the eve of the new season they are all still at St James' Park and I expect Newcastle to have another good season.
Key Man : Papiss Cisse - Cisse signed for Newcastle in January and was an instant success, scoring 13 goals in 14 games. If he can start the new season in the same vein of form he could be in the running for top scorer.
A Player I'd Sign : Mathieu Debuchy - Newcastle have been linked with the Frenchman and I think he would be a great signing for them. I was impressed by him in the Euros, especially his performance against England. Hopefully the deal will go through as he is a player I would like to see in the Premier League.
Prediction - 7th
NORWICH CITY
A huge season lies ahead for Norwich. They go into it without the manager who secured back to back promotions and led them to a safe mid table finish in the Premier League last year. Paul Lambert has moved onto Aston Villa and replacing him in the dugout is former Newcastle and Birmingham manager, Chris Hughton. Hughton has done quite well in his brief managerial career. He won the Championship with Newcastle in 2009/10 and had some good results in his half a season in the Premier League including a 5-1 derby win over Sunderland and a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates. At the time he was being regarded as one of the best young managers in the English leagues, after a few bad weeks, he was sacked. He also led Birmingham to a playoff spot in his season there, eventually losing 3-2 on aggregate to Blackpool. Norwich will be a big job but I think Hughton has enough to make it a success.
Robert Snodgrass, Michael Turner, Jacob Betterfield and Steven Whittaker have been brought in to bolster the squad. Michael Turner has been a decent Premier League defender in his years at Hull and Sunderland and should be a good signing. Steven Whittaker was another player to leave Rangers. The jury is out on him to be honest. He was quite inconsistent in his years at Rangers so I am interested to see how he does in England. Robert Snodgrass is a player I am very sad to see at Norwich. He has been fantastic for Leeds but I can't really blame him for moving on. Leeds have been getting worse and haven't really threatened to get into the Premier League in the last 2 years and Snodgrass is definitely good enough to there. He's 24 now and deserves a chance to compete at this level.
Key Man : Grant Holt - Holt's been a superb player for Norwich in his 3 years at the club. He has 70 goals in 129 appearances and if he can get between 15-20 goals again this year it should be enough to keep Norwich in the top flight.
A Player I'd Sign : Michael Owen - I think Norwich could do with strengthening up front and Michael Owen is available on a free. I'm not sure if wages would be a problem but I think Owen would be a good signing.
Prediction - 15th
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