So here's my predictions for the remainder of Premier League clubs:
Manchester United
The legend might be gone but his squad still
remains, which means that David Moyes should have no problem in bringing
the squad together. But the £1mln signing of Uruguayan right-back Guillermo Varela is a strange one; United already have stength in depth in this position, with Rafael, Fabio, Phil
Jones and Johnny Evans. And at left-back there’s Patrice Evra, Alex Büttner,
Fabio and, as a last resort, Anderson. Anyway, besides this, with few changes to the squad, United look on target
for European Qualification, so I predict a 2nd place finish for the
Red Devils with Robin van Persie getting the golden boot. I suspect that Mourinho's greater experience at the top will give Chelsea the edge over Moyes' United this season.
Newcastle United
Alan Pardew’s French Revolution was taking shape in
January: Moussa Sissoko’s one man show against Chelsea, Yoan Gouffran and Hatem
Ben Arfa out wide. But since Joe Kinnear has come back in through the
door, the spending has stopped and signs of discontent have emanated from St James'. Kinnear has not endeared himself to the Newcastle faithful; fumbles in an interview with talkSPORT have highlighted this, where he referred to “Yohan
Kebab” and “Hatem Ben Affri”. With little transfer movement, the Newcastle tactics are unlikely to change. The performances of the team must improve though if they
want to avoid a relegation scrap, which I think they will. The season is unlikely to be extraordinary for the Toon Army, but a solid 16th place finish is possible, avoiding a relegation scrap.
Norwich City
The Premier League’s East Anglian representative has
had two good seasons of mid-table Premier League football. Despite this, there were some nervous times last season. Chris Hughton has spent his money on securing the services of Javier Garrido, Leroy Fer, Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Nathan Redmond (who worked with
Hughton at Birmingham), and Martin Olsson. Though, he lost club captain Grant Holt toWigan. With question marks over the Premier league abilities of his new signings, I don't expect Norwich to perform as solidly as they did last year. I think that they’ll finish 18th and lose
their place in the Premier League.
Southampton
Last season, the team had a shaky start under Nigel Adkins,
but were given a new lease of life when Mauricio Pochettino came through the door, avoiding relegation safely come May. Saints fans will hope that the club's progress since January will carry on into the new season. Pochettino is now
speaking English, is signing players to add to the squad he inherited, and has the
support of the clubs fans and board. So Southampton with Dejan Lovren and
Victor Wanayama look on course for 10th place in my opinion.
Stoke City
Mark Hughes arrives at Stoke with a mission to turn the
team into a footballing side, who play more than just the long-ball. The hallmarks of the Pulis-era are likely to remain though: Ryan
Shotton is a long-throw specialist; Peter Crouch is a target man; and January
signing Jack Butland is now a full-time Stoke player. As with many clubs, Hughes's signings lack Premier League experience: Alex Grant
(Portsmouth); Marc Muniesa (Barcelona); and Erik Pieters (PSV Eindhoven). Hughes himself will be looking to dispel his torrid time at QPR. With new players on board, the transition is underway. Though, I don't predict this transition will be swift; a slow start to the season is likely to leave them 14th
in May, though the City display in the second half of the season should leave them in good stead for 2014-15.
Sunderland
Last season Sunderland's performance got progressively worse, leading to the sacking of Martin O’Neil and his subsequent replacement by Paolo Di Canio. Di Canio has bought in bulk, bringing in nine new players: Emmanuale Giaccherini, Vito Mannone, Jozy Altidore, El Hadji Ba, Cabral, David
Moberg Karlsson, Modibo Diakite, Valentin Roberge and Duncan Whatmore. Though only two
are from English clubs and one (Mannone) from the Premier League. Nevertheless, the squad and new signings have quality, which should see Sunderland finish 11th in the table. Perhaps if Di Canio proves himself managerially, he may become a contender for future vacancies at the 'big' clubs.
Swansea City
Michael Laudrup came into English football and set out
his stall very early. He signed Michu on the cheap, then beat QPR 5-0 and West
Ham 3-0. Swansea were the surprise
side of the last season: winning the Capital One Cup, beating Arsenal at the Emirates, and
giving Liverpool a lesson in Tipi-Taka football at Anfield. This year they have brought in Jordi Amat, Wilfried Bony, Jose Canas, Jonathan De Guzman (Loan),Alejandro Pozuelo, Jonjo Shelvey and Jernade Meade. The Europa
League is an obvious distraction for Swansea; many clubs have tried to compete in both Premier and Europa leagues in the past and failed. Despite that, I think Laudrup
can weave his managerial-magic again, as long as he keeps key players fit
for the whole season. If he does this, the Swans will
finish 8th, with Michu and Wilfried Bony fighting it out a top club goalscorers.
Tottenham Hotspur
“Gareth Bale FC” risk losing their strongest asset as the new season begins. To add to this, Spurs have struggled to bring players in, with the £17mln Paulinho, Chadli and Soldado being the only notable new players at the club. Spurs have failed to attract their other targets though: Christian Benteke has agreed
a stay at Villa Park and Udinese forward Matej Vydra has not made the switch. Bale's future is integral to Tottenham's season. If he stays, the club will be able to challenge the top-four; if not, they may struggle to keep the pace. Either way,a 5th place finish is well within their grasp.
West Bromwich Albion
The loan capture
of Romelu Lukaku defined WBA's 2012-13 season; he scored countless goals for the Baggies and was
their star player. With Lukaku back at Chelsea, Steve Clarke has
brought in Goran Popov (Loan) and Nicolas Anelka. Whether Anelka can reproduce his past goalscoring magic is an open question. I think not and believe that he'll be overshadowd by Shane Long in the goalscoring stakes. With a strong back-bone in thesquad, the Baggies look set for mid-table safety - 12th place.
West Ham United
The Hammers met most people’s expectations last season: a safe mid-table finish. “Big Sam” Allardyce has looked to improve on this, spending money on Goalkeeper Adrian, Defender
Razvan Rat, Midfielder Danny Whitehead and Striker Andy Carroll. Carroll showed in 2012-13 that he fits into the
Allardyce style of play perfectly. With Carroll leading the attack, West Ham look set for 13th in the table. However, the improvement Hammers fans crave is unlikely.
To summarise, here's my predicted Premier League table:
POSITION
|
CLUB
|
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
|
Chelsea
Man Utd
Man City
Arsenal
Tottenham
Everton
Liverpool
Swansea
Fulham
Southampton
Sunderland
West Brom
West Ham
Stoke
Aston Villa
Newcastle
Cardiff
Norwich
Crystal Palace
Hull
|
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