Season Preview 2009/10

The start of the Premier League season is just around the corner and it’s time to predict who will finish where in the table.

Champions: Man United
With the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, I think it’s going to be very hard for United to claim a fourth straight Premier League title. However, United have signed Antonio Valencia who has impressed in pre-season. The loss of Carlos Tevez was overcome by the signing of Michael Owen which, I think, is the buy of the summer. A fit Michael Owen can give you 20 goals a season. An unfit Michael Owen can still give you around 15 – which is about what Tevez gave United last season. I think Owen and Valencia have settled in nicely in the United squad, and we will see a different Berbatov and Rooney this season. While the loss of Nani and Van der Sar may be felt at the start of the season, I still believe that United can pick up the pace later on in the season to get the points that they need. My prediction is that United will claim an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title.
 
2nd: Chelsea
Chelsea have been able to hold on to their stars who were on the brink of leaving, like Deco and Carvalho. On top of that, they have added in Yuri Zhirkov from CSKA Moscow. Didier Drogba has signed a new deal and is raring to go. The rest of the squad more or less remains the same, which is important. Ancelotti is a very accomplished manager and I expect Chelsea to give United a strong challenge and finish one place better than last season – 2nd.

3rd: Liverpool
About a week ago, I would have predicted Liverpool to finish in 2nd place. However, losing Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid is a major blow. Rafa Benetiz has brought in Alberto Aquilani from Roma to replace Alonso but he will need time to adapt to the English game. While the addition of an overpriced Glen Johnson has improved Liverpool, I still feel that they lack the cutting edge needed to convert those draws into wins. If Gerrard and Torres give Liverpool an injury-free season, Liverpool will still put up a challenge, however, only to 3rd place.

4th: Arsenal
Arsenal have, again, failed to make any major signings. They have lost two of their most influential players, Adebayor and Kolo Toure. While Toure has been replaced with Thomas Vermaelen, Adebyaor still needs replacing. Arsenal need a center forward who can finish. Even with the arrival of Vermaelen, I think that Arsenal are still a center back short and if they don’t make the necessary arrangements soon, it will be a tough ride to 4th place for them. The good thing for Arsenal is that their two main opponents for 4th place, Everton and Aston Villa, have failed to bring in the required players.

5th: Everton
Everton were brilliant last season when they reached the FA Cup Final and finished 5th. However, they have failed to make any major signings, except for Jo, this summer. I think that Everton are a couple players short and now, the departure of Lescott seems very likely. On the other hand, Aston Villa will suffer from the loss of Barry to Man City. They have brought in Downing, but he is out till December. I think that because of Villa's lack of quality signings, they will not be able to challenge Everton for 5th place. However, Everton's own case for 5th place lies in Lescott's fate. If Lescott stays, Everton have a big chance of finishing 5th or even upset Arsenal in the so-called 'Big Four'.

I expect the rest of the Top Ten to be filled in by Villa, Man City, Spurs, West Ham, and Sunderland.

Relegation: Portsmouth, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic
Portsmouth have sold or released about half their squad. Key players Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch have moved on to Liverpool and Tottenham, respectively, while others such as Lauren have been released. Sean Davis has gone on to Bolton, with Djimi Traore going to Monaco. Pompey have brought in experienced players such as Mokoena and Steve Finnan but this won't be enough for them. I expect them to be relegated.
Stoke enjoyed a very successful first season in top-flight football. However, Tony Pulis' men will see a tougher season this time around. Their only signing this summer has been Dean Whitehead and I think that's insufficient. Other clubs will have learned by now on how to break down Stoke's defenses and how to deal with their long throws. Stoke's future doesn't look bright.
For the last relegation spot, I think the contenders are Wigan, Wolves, and Hull City. Wolves have made a lot of signings but the important thing is that they've signed players that have already played Premier League football and have done well at that. Marcus Hahnemann will make sure he defends his goal to the very best of his ability and Kevin Doyle will always give you goals. I expect Wolves to be safe.
After watching Hull's final 22 games last season (in which they won just once) I feared for their safety in the forthcoming season. However, Phil Brown is a very talented manager and I'm sure he'll be up for this big task. Also, his summer signings such as Stephen Hunt have greatly improved the squad. Other than that, Hull are in talks with Real Madrid to sign their £12m rated striker Alvaro Negredo which only shows their intent and ambition.
Wigan, like Pompey, have sold their key players Antonia Valencia and Lee Cattermole and they haven't done enough to replace them. I feel that they will suffer greatly due to this and have a big chance of going down.