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Ahead of the big kick off we look at the runners and riders in the Premiership
Spurs - last season Champions
It will be a very tough ask for Tim Brown’s men to defend their crown after snatching it at Leicester on the final day. The team has not changed much at all, and with the others around improving it will be interesting to see if the added pressure weighs heavy.
Liverpool - 2nd
Liverpool lost out at the last minute but had an FA cup to show for their efforts last season and manager Graeme Edwards has gone out to strengthen again. Courtois, Tomori, Llorente and Rugani come in to bolster the defence, Bentancur and Kudus add quality to midfield but will they miss Marcus Rashford?
Man City - 3rd
Last season was not great for City but they still made 3rd, and you can only think that will be improved on this year. The big signing was Am Onana who came in with Phil Foden departing, it would take a brave man to bet against them this time around
Arsenal - 4th
Arsenal will be looking to challenge again, and have made some shrewd signings with some still be announced according to sources close to the club. Biggest of all is that man Rashford who will be looking to fire the Gunners to victory
Man Utd - 5th
At times unplayable, at others a car crash. Steve Outten spent the season a frustrated bystander as his side capitulated at times just when they needed to put a shift in. Calafiori comes in as another world class defender and the main issue seems to be which players are surplus to requirement now. The squad looks packed with quality and they will surely be contenders.
Chelsea - 6th
Steve Talbot will be going for the title this season after a year of building and he will have been pleased by how close the Blues came to the top last season. Once again some top quality players have arrived at the Bridge, with Leao, Gordon and Doku the most notable and this will be another contender
Leeds - 7th
Leeds lead the pack for most of last season until the rebuild under Tim Davey started as he reduced the age of his squad. This has continued in the close season and they could start with as many as 7 under-21 players in the line up. The ability of the rejuvenated Maik Taylor in goal to keep out Premiership strikers will surely be tested and they will be unlikely to be challenging at the top this season
Southampton - 8th
Saints have a wealth of quality players and have added Phil Foden and French striker Thuram to the ranks - if anything they might be left a little bit short defensively but they will look to out score their opponents and improve on last years position
Blackburn - 9th
Rovers are reeling after the departure of manager Tony Ayre to Juventus but will look to consolidate last years finish and have a team of golden oldies who if they all click will surprise a few teams
Aston Villa - 10th
Villa look like they have done some good business in the break, bringing in Geertruida, Valverde and Sanches and Keith Drummond will be looking to push them on
Newcastle - 11th
The Geordies looked like they had it in them to beat anyone but just couldn’t string a run of results together and had trouble off the field when the manager didn’t make it to the game but they will be hoping all of that is behind them as they look to make the great club challenge again. It’ll be Dad’s Army at St.James’s Park this year though with only a handful of players under 30 as they buck the current trend to go younger
Barnsley - 12th
The fans are mourning Ant Harris’s departure to Bayern after a respectable 12th place finish, but Dan Thompson has come in to take up the challenge. Once again they will be heavily reliant on their star man Mitoma up front and Maximiano in the sticks who pulled up heroics last season
Leicester - 13th
Leicester equipped themselves very well in the Premiership and keep their squad in tact with a couple of tweaks - it will be tougher next time round but manager Darren Lear will be looking to cement their status in the top flight.
Crystal Palace - 14th
All has been very quiet at Selhurst Park in the close season, with long serving manager Lee Clark absent for long periods - and as the fans begged for fresh faces to help compete at this level, the announcement came that Clark was retiring with immediate effect. A club legend and someone who has kept this club up in the Premiership without the greatest squad, the fans were sorry to see him go. Then out of the ether arrived a legendary FFO manager, Rob Brunton to take over his boyhood club. Brunton may well be an inspired appointment and don’t be surprised to see Palace start to build something special with this man at the helm following his historic successes with Bristol Rovers and Stoke City
Cardiff - 15th
One of the promoted clubs last time, Cardiff managed to stay up and looked really solid at times. The Cardiff City Stadium was a bit of a fortress and manager Matt Rose will rely on his tactical nouse to keep them there again
West Ham - 16th
Another of the claret and blues to massively underachieve last year, Todd Fortune will be hoping to get back up into European qualification positions this year. Alisson arrives from Leeds to steady the ship at the back
Burnley - 17th
Last season was not one for the faint hearted at Turf Moor as they narrowly escaped relegation and with a wealth of talent at their disposal just never got going. They may well be challenging at the other end this eason if Simon Hill can get his men performing again so expect better this time around.
Promoted clubs:
Bristol City (champions)
As with any promoted club it will be a tough ask for the Robins to stay up and newly appointed caretaker Emlyn Brennan has brought a few fresh faces to help with the challenge.
Sheffield United (runners-up)
The Blades are back in the big time with Dave Thacker as caretaker bringing them up behind Bristol City. Thacker has managed to reduce the age of the squad but will they have enough to stay up?
Wolves (Play-offs)
Ray Wallace got the Golds back into the Premiership through the playoffs and they have some decent quality through the squad. Expect them to be the best of the promoted sides with some quality youngsters coming though
So; my predicted table - please reply with your version and we’ll see how we get on!!!
- Man City
- Chelsea
- Man Utd
- Arsenal
- Liverpool
- Spurs
- Southampton
- Burnley
- Crystal Palace
- Blackburn
- West Ham
- Leeds United
- Wolves
- Aston Villa
- Newcastle
- Cardiff
- Leicester
- Bristol City
- Barnsley
- Sheffield United
Just purely guessing and for fun please don’t take any offence!
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