EPL Preview: Top 5 Prediction
5. Blackburn
Barring new ownership taking over the club, this will be the season manager Mark Hughes realizes he has taken Blackburn as high in the table as he will be able to. I can't believe Hughes is even still at Blackburn. He's one of the best managers in the Barclay's Premier League and by keeping an already solid squad in tact the supporters will see how that steadiness pays off in the league and in the UEFA Cup. First, David Bentley is becoming one of the best midfielders in the league. His crosses last season were Beckham-esque. Bentley's runs on the counter attacks were eerily reminiscent of the former England captain's. Add tough midfielders like Brett Emerton and Robbie Savage to the mix in addition to Morten Gamst Pederson and Blackburn have one of the best midfields in England. Pederson in particular is one of the most versatile players you will see all season. He can score through the air, outside the box or get the poachers goals when the opportunity arises. No wonder he's been swirling in transfer rumors for the past couple of seasons. Keeping 18 goal scorer Benny McCarthy was a major win for Hughes. McCarthy will be the starter every match but there is significant competition for the other strikers. Matt Derbyshire, Jason Roberts and new signing Roque Santa Cruz will all want to stake claim to pairing with McCarthy. Training sessions ought to be quite intense this season and the depth at that position means a deep UEFA Cup run is a strong possibility. When people reel off the top goalkeepers in the Premiership Brad Friedel routinely gets skipped. Perhaps this is because he is so understated and plays for a club the size of Blackburn. But you can't tell me he isn't as consistent or puts in as many Man of the Match performances as the likes of Petr Cech or Pepe Reina. If he wanted the job, he could be the US National Team #1 and Friedel is possibly the best US player ever. The reason I have Blackburn this high in the table is that the chemistry I saw within the squad at the end of last season will not have been disrupted through players exiting the squad or too much off season tinkering. Blackburn essentially got stronger by not trying to fix too much. I have to believe Hughes knows it might be impossible to keep this group together much longer and now is the time to bust out. A Champions League spot is way too ambitious but they will push the clubs above them.
4. Tottenham Hotspur
If anyone was going to break up the Big Four it was always going to be Spurs. Martin Jol has no excuses left if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season other than he just isn't a good enough manager. Dimitar Berbatov is flat out one of the top 3 players in the Premiership. I'd rate Ronaldo and Drogba above him. In fact, if I were assembling a squad today I'd prefer Berbatov over the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry or Cesc Fabregas. Jol could play Jermaine Defoe, Robbie Keane or newly acquired Darren Bent in some combination with Berbatov at any point during the match. That is a ridiculous amount of trouble for defenses to deal with. Spurs should not get shut out this season. At some point in the match one of those guys will score. And if they can't, play maker Aaron Lennon will do it himself from the midfield. I've never been a believer in Jermaine Jenas. He gets a handful of goals during the season and somehow holds down a spot on the national squad. I much prefer Didier Zokora - he's a more versatile player - and I will be interested to see new signing Kevin Boateng adjusts to life in England. I like Tom Huddlestone and think he'll be great off the bench, but prefer Wayne Routledge. Routledge just keeps popping up in the top flight. I think he'll fit in well at Spurs and become a first team choice eventually for Jol. The defense is where I think the top 4 finish could be lost. Paul Robinson isn't one of the best 3 English 'keepers. Off the top of my head I would take David James, Ben Foster or Scott Carson over him any match. He'll single handedly drop points for Spurs this season, just wait and see. Ledley King is never healthy - a trend that will continue in 2007/08. Michael Dawson is steady but nothing to rave about. Pascal Chimbonda is their best defender and possibly behind Berbatov the most important player at the club. Youngster Gareth Bale will eventually develop into one of the best defenders in the Premiership. This just won't be the season for that emergence. He'll make a lot of mistakes but by the end will begin to show that all the hype attached to him has been deserved. The club has spent money on new players and refrained from serving as a feeder system to the bigger clubs. The end result ought to be a dream season. But this is Spurs I'm talking about...
3. Liverpool
I find it quite hard to pick how the remaining three clubs will finish. They have so much talent and such great managers I don't see any single club breaking away this season. The competition from top to bottom will be so intense that no two clubs will pull away either. Instead, we'll see three clubs finish a greater distance from fourth place while at the same time being tighter together than ever before. Have I confused you enough? Which brings me to the European runners-up: Liverpool. Manager Rafa Benitez got his wish for funds granted and he has spent wisely. I don't understand where the Fernando Torres doubters are coming from. He's big, athletic and has the prime years of his career to be under the tutelege of Benitez. Ryan Babel was an interesting signing. I don't know that he is that much better than Dirk Kuyt right now, and I don't know that either player will really distinguish themselves as an automatic starter over the other. However, if used in combination with Torres or Peter Crouch they will experience a great deal of success. Andriy Voronin could be useful off the bench or to give Torres rest in cup matches. The midfield is the class of the league. How do you choose starters out of this group? Steven Gerrard is, well, Steven Gerrard. Phenomenal player who routinely pulls this squad up by the scruff of the neck. He is the definition of a captain. But then you've got Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko and Javier Mascherano. Mascherano could by the end of the season emerge as the best midfielder on the squad behind Gerrard. Sissoko still looks out of control at times. His passes are errant and his tackling can be sloppy. Yossi Benayoun cost a good deal of money but will have to battle a fit Harry Kewell and Mark Gonzalez for minutes. Jermaine Pennant is the best crosser of the ball in the squad but do you start him over the other options on hand? John Arne Riise (a Vein of Form favorite!!!) can play defense but he's most effective when deployed in the midfield and can push forward with that thunder strike serving as one of Liverpool's most dangerous weapons. Hell, some are saying that the Brazilian youngster Lucas could be the best midfield player no one in the league has seen play! Indeed, it will be hard for Benitez not to tinker but he will have to find the correct formula or risk another poor start that kills any chance of winning the league. Pepe Reina remains one of the top 3 goalkeepers in the league. I like him better than Real Madrid's Iker Casillas. The defense will be the best in the league once again at home but will they replicate that form away from Anfield? Steve Finnan is so underrated. I think he could start for any of the top clubs in England. Jamie Carragher will once again be a force. Danny Agger will emerge as the best defender at Liverpool this season. I expect him to be mentioned in the same sentences as John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and William Gallas very soon. The two clubs in front of Liverpool are just a hairline better at this point. Because of the new signings they might be a year away from putting it all together and forming the chemistry a champion must have. However, if everything clicks sooner than expected Liverpool could end their league trophy drought. But if the away form doesn't match the ferociousness at Anfield it will be another early end to the domestic season.
2. Manchester United
I have to give credit to Alex Ferguson for reeling in Chelsea last season. I thought the Premiership trophy would have Chelsea blue ribbons tied to it for the next 8 years. Man United benefited from Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs having a season that stood with any other of their great efforts. But Scholes is already injured and I don't think he was going to repeat that effort anyways. Giggs might be able to play another two seasons in the top flight but age is inevitable and I think he will struggle this season to recapture last year's magic. United invested heavily in the midfield by signing Owen Hargreaves (the best England player at the World Cup in Germany), Nani and Anderson. Nani has been impressive during the pre-season but he hasn't had to go consecutive weeks getting battered and bruised against Premiership defenses. It is way too early to gauge what Anderson's capabilities are. Michael Carrick nearly lived up to his price tag towards the end of last season. Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if he leads the Premiership in scoring on a regular basis from here on out. I can count on one hand players I've seen play that match his skill. Maradona, Zidane...yea he's going to be in that class. Carlos Tevez is going to be unstoppable. He should instantly become their most dangerous scoring threat provided Rooney doesn't improve on what was a really flat year for him. I don't rate Rooney as one of the top 5 or 6 strikers in the league right now. I'd rate Tevez just behind Drogba and Berbatov. Should either of them get injured Ferguson is thin on the bench at that position. Ji-Sung Park and Louis Saha always are injured. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's knees cannot be trusted plus they dumped Alan Smith to Newcastle and Giusseppe Rossi to Villareal. I think the Rossi deal was a bad move. No matter what happens in the Gabriel Heinze saga he'll never play first team football at United again. But I still love their defense. Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand are still world class. However, I think Patrice Evra has done nothing but get stronger since his arrival and Nemanja Vidic might be the best defender in the squad. John O'Shea can look at times like a pub league player and yet he comes on the pitch and tends to have a positive effect on the match. Edwin Van der Sar might not be the starter by seasons end. Ferguson falls out of love with 'keepers fast and Van der Sar is losing his looks. There is enough talent in the starting eleven to allow for games to be killed off at the half and starters can rest for the final half hour of most matches. I'm predicting United to lose the title but they'll never be more than 3-5 points behind the leaders. Matches such as away at Liverpool, Fulham and Everton jump out at me as when the title was won. United seemed to slip up and then they would just flip a switch and turn the match on its head. That just can't happen every season. But then, I'm a Liverpool fan so I can't bring myself to picture United hoisting the trophy again.
1. Chelsea
The only thing I see slowing this club down is the African Cup of Nations. Losing the likes of Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou for possibly a month must have Jose Mourinho terrified. Drogba is the best striker in the league and Essien is one of the most versatile players in the world. Essien could basically start at any position for Chelsea and be the best option. This is why Andriy Shevchenko has to have huge season. His nightmare debut season in England should be behind him and he will look to regain the form that made him the world's best striker in the past. Claudio Pizarro and Steve Sidwell could become the steals of the close season. A healthy Joe Cole means that Mourinho will have one of the most creative players in England to terrify defenses again. Add Florent Malouda to the mix with a resurgent Shaun Wright-Phillips and Chelsea might become not boring! Ashley Cole looks like a shell of his former self. I'd take Wayne Bridge as the starter any day of the week over Cole. Chelsea need John Terry and Petr Cech to be healthy the entire season. Everyone saw how gaping that defense looked without them last season. Richardo Carvalho essentially carried the defense on his own during that spell. I think Michael Ballack might be done at Chelsea. The ankle surgery debacle is going to be the end of him. Chelsea have spent the past couple seasons spending like crazy and they won right away. However, that spending spree was designed to bring in world class players that would grow as a squad together and sustain that success over several seasons. The last campaign beat Mourinho to hell. The off the pitch drama was ridiculous. Which is why the club announcing Roman Abromavich making good with the manager was a brilliant move - the press can now focus on the pitch. The footballing empire Chelsea have dreams of building is still likely to happen. Pressure will be on the club to conquer Europe and reclaim the Premiership. They have the depth, experience and now the motivation to do both. Repeating as champion is one of the most difficult things to do in any sport. Well, Chelsea are not trying to repeat this season so the pressure is off in that regard. Top to bottom the Premiership is more competitive than it has ever been so matches that used to be an easy 3 points will now be 90 minute fights. But I feel like Chelsea are going to be welcoming that fight. Those first two titles were so easy. Now they have scars to show. Which will should only build chemistry and resilience. Maybe bruised and battered is how Mourinho wanted them after all that glory placed them on a pedestal. The slightest wobble and Manchester United or Liverpool will smell blood and pounce. The difference is that Manchester United and Liverpool seem almost desperate to win the title now. Chelsea just seem to believe it is theirs for the taking.
Barring new ownership taking over the club, this will be the season manager Mark Hughes realizes he has taken Blackburn as high in the table as he will be able to. I can't believe Hughes is even still at Blackburn. He's one of the best managers in the Barclay's Premier League and by keeping an already solid squad in tact the supporters will see how that steadiness pays off in the league and in the UEFA Cup. First, David Bentley is becoming one of the best midfielders in the league. His crosses last season were Beckham-esque. Bentley's runs on the counter attacks were eerily reminiscent of the former England captain's. Add tough midfielders like Brett Emerton and Robbie Savage to the mix in addition to Morten Gamst Pederson and Blackburn have one of the best midfields in England. Pederson in particular is one of the most versatile players you will see all season. He can score through the air, outside the box or get the poachers goals when the opportunity arises. No wonder he's been swirling in transfer rumors for the past couple of seasons. Keeping 18 goal scorer Benny McCarthy was a major win for Hughes. McCarthy will be the starter every match but there is significant competition for the other strikers. Matt Derbyshire, Jason Roberts and new signing Roque Santa Cruz will all want to stake claim to pairing with McCarthy. Training sessions ought to be quite intense this season and the depth at that position means a deep UEFA Cup run is a strong possibility. When people reel off the top goalkeepers in the Premiership Brad Friedel routinely gets skipped. Perhaps this is because he is so understated and plays for a club the size of Blackburn. But you can't tell me he isn't as consistent or puts in as many Man of the Match performances as the likes of Petr Cech or Pepe Reina. If he wanted the job, he could be the US National Team #1 and Friedel is possibly the best US player ever. The reason I have Blackburn this high in the table is that the chemistry I saw within the squad at the end of last season will not have been disrupted through players exiting the squad or too much off season tinkering. Blackburn essentially got stronger by not trying to fix too much. I have to believe Hughes knows it might be impossible to keep this group together much longer and now is the time to bust out. A Champions League spot is way too ambitious but they will push the clubs above them.
4. Tottenham Hotspur
If anyone was going to break up the Big Four it was always going to be Spurs. Martin Jol has no excuses left if they fail to qualify for the Champions League this season other than he just isn't a good enough manager. Dimitar Berbatov is flat out one of the top 3 players in the Premiership. I'd rate Ronaldo and Drogba above him. In fact, if I were assembling a squad today I'd prefer Berbatov over the likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry or Cesc Fabregas. Jol could play Jermaine Defoe, Robbie Keane or newly acquired Darren Bent in some combination with Berbatov at any point during the match. That is a ridiculous amount of trouble for defenses to deal with. Spurs should not get shut out this season. At some point in the match one of those guys will score. And if they can't, play maker Aaron Lennon will do it himself from the midfield. I've never been a believer in Jermaine Jenas. He gets a handful of goals during the season and somehow holds down a spot on the national squad. I much prefer Didier Zokora - he's a more versatile player - and I will be interested to see new signing Kevin Boateng adjusts to life in England. I like Tom Huddlestone and think he'll be great off the bench, but prefer Wayne Routledge. Routledge just keeps popping up in the top flight. I think he'll fit in well at Spurs and become a first team choice eventually for Jol. The defense is where I think the top 4 finish could be lost. Paul Robinson isn't one of the best 3 English 'keepers. Off the top of my head I would take David James, Ben Foster or Scott Carson over him any match. He'll single handedly drop points for Spurs this season, just wait and see. Ledley King is never healthy - a trend that will continue in 2007/08. Michael Dawson is steady but nothing to rave about. Pascal Chimbonda is their best defender and possibly behind Berbatov the most important player at the club. Youngster Gareth Bale will eventually develop into one of the best defenders in the Premiership. This just won't be the season for that emergence. He'll make a lot of mistakes but by the end will begin to show that all the hype attached to him has been deserved. The club has spent money on new players and refrained from serving as a feeder system to the bigger clubs. The end result ought to be a dream season. But this is Spurs I'm talking about...
3. Liverpool
I find it quite hard to pick how the remaining three clubs will finish. They have so much talent and such great managers I don't see any single club breaking away this season. The competition from top to bottom will be so intense that no two clubs will pull away either. Instead, we'll see three clubs finish a greater distance from fourth place while at the same time being tighter together than ever before. Have I confused you enough? Which brings me to the European runners-up: Liverpool. Manager Rafa Benitez got his wish for funds granted and he has spent wisely. I don't understand where the Fernando Torres doubters are coming from. He's big, athletic and has the prime years of his career to be under the tutelege of Benitez. Ryan Babel was an interesting signing. I don't know that he is that much better than Dirk Kuyt right now, and I don't know that either player will really distinguish themselves as an automatic starter over the other. However, if used in combination with Torres or Peter Crouch they will experience a great deal of success. Andriy Voronin could be useful off the bench or to give Torres rest in cup matches. The midfield is the class of the league. How do you choose starters out of this group? Steven Gerrard is, well, Steven Gerrard. Phenomenal player who routinely pulls this squad up by the scruff of the neck. He is the definition of a captain. But then you've got Xabi Alonso, Momo Sissoko and Javier Mascherano. Mascherano could by the end of the season emerge as the best midfielder on the squad behind Gerrard. Sissoko still looks out of control at times. His passes are errant and his tackling can be sloppy. Yossi Benayoun cost a good deal of money but will have to battle a fit Harry Kewell and Mark Gonzalez for minutes. Jermaine Pennant is the best crosser of the ball in the squad but do you start him over the other options on hand? John Arne Riise (a Vein of Form favorite!!!) can play defense but he's most effective when deployed in the midfield and can push forward with that thunder strike serving as one of Liverpool's most dangerous weapons. Hell, some are saying that the Brazilian youngster Lucas could be the best midfield player no one in the league has seen play! Indeed, it will be hard for Benitez not to tinker but he will have to find the correct formula or risk another poor start that kills any chance of winning the league. Pepe Reina remains one of the top 3 goalkeepers in the league. I like him better than Real Madrid's Iker Casillas. The defense will be the best in the league once again at home but will they replicate that form away from Anfield? Steve Finnan is so underrated. I think he could start for any of the top clubs in England. Jamie Carragher will once again be a force. Danny Agger will emerge as the best defender at Liverpool this season. I expect him to be mentioned in the same sentences as John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and William Gallas very soon. The two clubs in front of Liverpool are just a hairline better at this point. Because of the new signings they might be a year away from putting it all together and forming the chemistry a champion must have. However, if everything clicks sooner than expected Liverpool could end their league trophy drought. But if the away form doesn't match the ferociousness at Anfield it will be another early end to the domestic season.
2. Manchester United
I have to give credit to Alex Ferguson for reeling in Chelsea last season. I thought the Premiership trophy would have Chelsea blue ribbons tied to it for the next 8 years. Man United benefited from Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs having a season that stood with any other of their great efforts. But Scholes is already injured and I don't think he was going to repeat that effort anyways. Giggs might be able to play another two seasons in the top flight but age is inevitable and I think he will struggle this season to recapture last year's magic. United invested heavily in the midfield by signing Owen Hargreaves (the best England player at the World Cup in Germany), Nani and Anderson. Nani has been impressive during the pre-season but he hasn't had to go consecutive weeks getting battered and bruised against Premiership defenses. It is way too early to gauge what Anderson's capabilities are. Michael Carrick nearly lived up to his price tag towards the end of last season. Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if he leads the Premiership in scoring on a regular basis from here on out. I can count on one hand players I've seen play that match his skill. Maradona, Zidane...yea he's going to be in that class. Carlos Tevez is going to be unstoppable. He should instantly become their most dangerous scoring threat provided Rooney doesn't improve on what was a really flat year for him. I don't rate Rooney as one of the top 5 or 6 strikers in the league right now. I'd rate Tevez just behind Drogba and Berbatov. Should either of them get injured Ferguson is thin on the bench at that position. Ji-Sung Park and Louis Saha always are injured. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's knees cannot be trusted plus they dumped Alan Smith to Newcastle and Giusseppe Rossi to Villareal. I think the Rossi deal was a bad move. No matter what happens in the Gabriel Heinze saga he'll never play first team football at United again. But I still love their defense. Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand are still world class. However, I think Patrice Evra has done nothing but get stronger since his arrival and Nemanja Vidic might be the best defender in the squad. John O'Shea can look at times like a pub league player and yet he comes on the pitch and tends to have a positive effect on the match. Edwin Van der Sar might not be the starter by seasons end. Ferguson falls out of love with 'keepers fast and Van der Sar is losing his looks. There is enough talent in the starting eleven to allow for games to be killed off at the half and starters can rest for the final half hour of most matches. I'm predicting United to lose the title but they'll never be more than 3-5 points behind the leaders. Matches such as away at Liverpool, Fulham and Everton jump out at me as when the title was won. United seemed to slip up and then they would just flip a switch and turn the match on its head. That just can't happen every season. But then, I'm a Liverpool fan so I can't bring myself to picture United hoisting the trophy again.
1. Chelsea
The only thing I see slowing this club down is the African Cup of Nations. Losing the likes of Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou for possibly a month must have Jose Mourinho terrified. Drogba is the best striker in the league and Essien is one of the most versatile players in the world. Essien could basically start at any position for Chelsea and be the best option. This is why Andriy Shevchenko has to have huge season. His nightmare debut season in England should be behind him and he will look to regain the form that made him the world's best striker in the past. Claudio Pizarro and Steve Sidwell could become the steals of the close season. A healthy Joe Cole means that Mourinho will have one of the most creative players in England to terrify defenses again. Add Florent Malouda to the mix with a resurgent Shaun Wright-Phillips and Chelsea might become not boring! Ashley Cole looks like a shell of his former self. I'd take Wayne Bridge as the starter any day of the week over Cole. Chelsea need John Terry and Petr Cech to be healthy the entire season. Everyone saw how gaping that defense looked without them last season. Richardo Carvalho essentially carried the defense on his own during that spell. I think Michael Ballack might be done at Chelsea. The ankle surgery debacle is going to be the end of him. Chelsea have spent the past couple seasons spending like crazy and they won right away. However, that spending spree was designed to bring in world class players that would grow as a squad together and sustain that success over several seasons. The last campaign beat Mourinho to hell. The off the pitch drama was ridiculous. Which is why the club announcing Roman Abromavich making good with the manager was a brilliant move - the press can now focus on the pitch. The footballing empire Chelsea have dreams of building is still likely to happen. Pressure will be on the club to conquer Europe and reclaim the Premiership. They have the depth, experience and now the motivation to do both. Repeating as champion is one of the most difficult things to do in any sport. Well, Chelsea are not trying to repeat this season so the pressure is off in that regard. Top to bottom the Premiership is more competitive than it has ever been so matches that used to be an easy 3 points will now be 90 minute fights. But I feel like Chelsea are going to be welcoming that fight. Those first two titles were so easy. Now they have scars to show. Which will should only build chemistry and resilience. Maybe bruised and battered is how Mourinho wanted them after all that glory placed them on a pedestal. The slightest wobble and Manchester United or Liverpool will smell blood and pounce. The difference is that Manchester United and Liverpool seem almost desperate to win the title now. Chelsea just seem to believe it is theirs for the taking.
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