Like many others here in the US who follow MLS, I also follow European soccer quite closely. So I figured I'd write about some of the leagues over the next few days and share my thoughts. Lets start with the English league.
Chelsea are the defending champions and we've seen some clubs such as Manchester City and Tottenham emerge as challengers for the top 4 spots. It's tough to call as all of the big clubs have some very big question marks. There's no clear cut favorite. I can easily see how someone could predict Chelsea to win it all and then see them come in fourth. So here's my prediction.
Champion: Arsenal. The last few years I didn't really consider these guys to be true challengers. They were just too young and every year it seemed like one or two very important pieces would be leaving. They've been able to keep their squad intact and have one more year of experience. I just think their time has come and this is their year.
Second Place: Manchester City. A full preseason with Mancini will be a big difference between last years team and this years. I know a lot of people will laugh at this but I think they're the real deal. They've made some good improvements on the defensive side of the ball and we all know what they can do up front.
Third Place: Manchester United. I had a hard time picking between United and Chelsea here. I don't see how United's transfers over the summer have made them much better. They picked up Hernandez who will help them out up front but they already had a pretty good offense. It's the midfield and the defense I'd be worried about. I don't see it holding up for an entire year. By the way, I find their new jersey to be pretty ugly. It's the AON I don't like, I just don't like the way it looks. The AIG looked much better as did the Vodafone. Just not a fan of the AON.
Fourth Place: Chelsea. They're old and on the decline. John Terry isn't going to be able to hold that back line together and Ricardo Carvalho is now gone.
Liverpool will become the next Leeds. Yeah, probably not but I'm not even considering them as a threat to the top 4. I honestly thing a finish in the bottom half is highly possible. Tottenham could certainly challenge for a spot in the top 4.
Sunderland could surprise some people as could Wigan. I can't see either challenging for a top 4 spot but I think they'll be battling it out for the Uefa Cup.
Those are some thoughts. I know I didn't provide much analysis but I kind of just wanted to throw some things out there just for the hell of it. I follow other leagues much more closely which I'll cover in much more detail in the coming days.
Oh yeah, there was some Revolution news today. They got rid of Joseph Niouky. Good move. Now bring in a DP. Ok, we know that's not going to happen. I'd write more but I'm sure The House of Soccer will do a great job covering this topic so I'll leave it to them.
-Andrew
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I agree with most of this, but I think Wigan surprising anyone is quite the long shot. While I was thinking this when I read your piece last night, my theory is helped by reading (today) that Charles N'Zogbia is trying to find a new club. It doesn't look good for those boys.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteI think Wigan could have a pretty good year. Martinez is a good manager and I think he'll have this team ready to play. I understand where you're coming from. They don't have the greatest roster but I think they've got some talented players and that they'll get some results. Should be an exciting season!
-Andrew