In a manner reminiscent of Phil Jones’ departure from Blackburn, Sunderland sold their England midfielder Jordan Henderson to Liverpool for £20m; unlike Steve Kean at Rovers, however, Steve Bruce has not been shy of spending the revenue. The Black Cats have added no fewer than nine players to their squad, including Manchester United defenders Wes Brown and John O’Shea, Birmingham duo Sebastian Larsson and Craig Gardener and also fought off competition to sign Ipswich’s highly-rated midfielder Connor Wickham. Bruce must hope that the squad gels quickly and easily, but he would surely be disappointed if his side did not improve on last season’s 10th place.
Recent weeks have been another episode in the perennial Newcastle United farce. With Joey Barton threatening to follow Jose Enrique and Kevin Nolan out of St James’ Park, many Toon fans expect a frustrating season ahead. With a relatively impotent strike force of Shola Ameobi and new signing Demba Ba, manager Alan Pardew has been urged by fans to invest more of the £35m received for Andy Carroll in January. Whether or not owner Mike Ashley permits this is a matter of debate, and while Newcastle have added some (Francophone) midfielders – Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Mehdi Abeid and the impressive-looking Yohan Cabaye – to their squad, they still desperately require another striker. It might be a difficult season, but Newcastle should still have too much quality, including Hatem Ben Arfa and new captain Fabricio Coloccini, to return so soon to the second tier.
West Bromwich Albion, who clawed back a three-goal deficit against Newcastle on the last day of last season to leapfrog the Magpies into 11th place, had a season of two halves. After Roberto Di Matteo was sacked as manager in February – following a run of seven defeats in nine matches – Roy Hodgson presided over a rise in fortunes and the table for the Baggies. With Peter Odemwingie on prolific goalscoring form last year – and this season joined up front by record signing Shane Long – Hodgson will be hopeful that he and other key players, including midfielders Somen Tchoyi and Chris Brunt, will be able to build on that mid-table finish. It would be a surprise if they fail to do so.
Stoke City are commonly regarded as one of the least glamourous clubs in the top division, but fans – reputedly among the loudest in the country – will not care. Their three seasons in the Premier League have seen Tony Pulis’ side finish 12th, 11th and 13th, and there is few reasons to believe the Potters cannot engineer another safe mid-table spot this time around. Stoke’s focus last season was on the FA Cup, in which they reached the final before capitulating to Manchester City. Famous for the long throws-in of Rory Delap, Stoke have talent throughout the team, particularly in imposing centre back Robert Huth, winger Matthew Etherington and triggerman Kenwyne Jones. Matthew Upson is a solid signing, too, but Stoke will have to be wary of the potential effects of their Europa League campaign on their domestic fortunes.
Like Stoke, Fulham have already kicked off their Europa League campaign – indeed, they did so before the end of July. Last time out in the Premier League, under Mark Hughes, they were the draw specialists, finishing a satisfactory 8th. The summer, however, has seen Hughes being replaced with former Tottenham manager Martin Jol, and although the new boss is yet to bring any true blockbuster signings to Craven Cottage, he will be hopeful that a team that boasts undoubted defensive talents – including goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and defenders Brede Hangeland, Chris Baird and former Liverpool left back John Arne Riise, who joined this summer from Serie A outfit Roma – will be able to secure another top-half finish. It would be a surprise if the well-regarded Jol were to fail in that task.
For Jol’s former club, the 2011-12 season would have to be a remarkable one to eclipse the adventure of last term. Tottenham Hotspur won their Champions League group in their first outing in Europe’s premier club tournament, and then knocked out AC Milan before finally succumbing to Real Madrid in the quarter finals. The continental adventure might have distracted Spurs, who this season will revert back to the Europa League. With Liverpool’s apparently rising fortunes, Spurs will struggle even to retain last season’s fifth spot. Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, a fantastic shot-stopper but subject to frequent lapses of concentration, may be usurped by the signing of Aston Villa’s Brad Friedel, but this season is likely to be something of a letdown after the heights of the previous two.
The Aston Villa club hierarchy were embroiled in much controversy at the start of the summer, upsetting many of their fans by appointing Alex McLeish as manager – despite not only arriving from archrivals Birmingham City, but also having got them relegated. He has brought in a couple of useful players, however, namely goalkeeper Shay Given and midfielder Charles N’Zogbia. In England striker Darren Bent, they have one of the top forwards in the league, but his task will be made more difficult by the loss of wingers Stewart Downing and Ashley Young to Liverpool and Manchester United respectively. In order to build on last season’s ninth place finish, McLeish will hope that young players such as Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark and Nathan Delfouneso can build on the promise they showed last year.
Everton have had a remarkably quiet off-season. A very satisfactory seventh place finish last time was achieved despite having very few options for the position of striker; indeed, Tim Cahill, with nine goals, was the top league goal-scorer for the Toffees. Despite this lack of strikers, however, Everton have a number of high quality players that were crucial to last season’s relative success, particularly left-back Leighton Baines, centre back (and apparent Arsenal target) Phil Jagielka, the freekick master Mikel Arteta as well as Australian international Cahill. Along with the likes of the Irish youngster Seamus Coleman, Everton can become an established top-half side, even in spite of the vacuum up front.
Showing posts with label West Brom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Brom. Show all posts
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
Premier League preview
Saturday 16th April, all kick-offs 3pm
Blackpool v Wigan, Bloomfield Road
By all accounts, Blackpool have been entertaining this season, and games involving the Tangerines have featured the highest average number of goals in the Premier League. Ian Holloway was unhappy with the referee’s performance in their last outing against Arsenal in a game that once again demonstrated that Blackpool have what it takes to survive. Wigan look in more dire straits, although a win here would put them above their hosts. I cannot see that happening, though, and despite something of an uptick in fortunes recently, the Latics have not won away in the league since Boxing Day. Prediction: Blackpool by 1
Everton v Blackburn, Goodison Park
A difficult start to the season for Everton has been put firmly behind them, and they have an outside chance of finishing ahead of their Merseyside rivals Liverpool. They put in a clinical first-half performance last time out at Wolves, and they should beat a Blackburn side that is still not safe. Rovers look as gritty as ever, and will push Everton hard, but the hosts will have too much class. Prediction: Everton by 2
West Brom v Chelsea, The Hawthorns
Roy Hodgson appears to have settled down at the Albion after his torrid spell at Liverpool. The Baggies are certainly better off for having him; they have not lost under his management, securing impressive points against Arsenal and at Stoke, and beating Hodgson’s previous club and, last weekend, Sunderland away. They are all but safe. Chelsea had any realistic chance of a trophy this season shattered by their Champions League defeat to Manchester United this week, and morale is bound to be low at Stamford Bridge, particularly with rumours emerging about Carlo Ancelotti’s future at the club. An interesting aside to whenever Chelsea play is whether Fernando Torres will finally break his duck and score for the Blues – see: http://www.hasfernandotorresscoredforchelsea.com/. Prediction: Score draw
West Ham v Aston Villa, Upton Park
The battle of the claret-and-blues might well be the (Premier League) game of the day. West Ham have had fluctuating fortunes over the course of the season. For the first half, they struggled at the foot of the league, with perhaps only their two good cup runs saving Avram Grant’s job. They have not won since a 3-0 triumph over Stoke on 5th March. Villa scored a priceless win on Sunday against Newcastle, although were not overly impressive, and fans are far from 100 per cent behind manager Gerard Houllier. They have talent in every department, but Upton Park is not an easy place to pick up maximum points. Prediction: Score draw
Birmingham v Sunderland, St Andrews
Birmingham are yet another club looking nervously over their shoulders in the closest relegation battle in years. St Andrews is another relative fortress at the wrong end of the table, and Sunderland are almost the ideal team to come up against for the Blues, with the Black Cats themselves in a dreadful run of form. Since the beginning of February, Steve Bruce’s men have scored seven goals and picked up just one point – at the Emirates – out of a possible 24. They probably have enough points to avoid being sucked into a relegation fight, but this fixture should give the hosts a vital three points. Prediction: Birmingham by 1
Blackpool v Wigan, Bloomfield Road
By all accounts, Blackpool have been entertaining this season, and games involving the Tangerines have featured the highest average number of goals in the Premier League. Ian Holloway was unhappy with the referee’s performance in their last outing against Arsenal in a game that once again demonstrated that Blackpool have what it takes to survive. Wigan look in more dire straits, although a win here would put them above their hosts. I cannot see that happening, though, and despite something of an uptick in fortunes recently, the Latics have not won away in the league since Boxing Day. Prediction: Blackpool by 1
Everton v Blackburn, Goodison Park
A difficult start to the season for Everton has been put firmly behind them, and they have an outside chance of finishing ahead of their Merseyside rivals Liverpool. They put in a clinical first-half performance last time out at Wolves, and they should beat a Blackburn side that is still not safe. Rovers look as gritty as ever, and will push Everton hard, but the hosts will have too much class. Prediction: Everton by 2
West Brom v Chelsea, The Hawthorns
Roy Hodgson appears to have settled down at the Albion after his torrid spell at Liverpool. The Baggies are certainly better off for having him; they have not lost under his management, securing impressive points against Arsenal and at Stoke, and beating Hodgson’s previous club and, last weekend, Sunderland away. They are all but safe. Chelsea had any realistic chance of a trophy this season shattered by their Champions League defeat to Manchester United this week, and morale is bound to be low at Stamford Bridge, particularly with rumours emerging about Carlo Ancelotti’s future at the club. An interesting aside to whenever Chelsea play is whether Fernando Torres will finally break his duck and score for the Blues – see: http://www.hasfernandotorresscoredforchelsea.com/. Prediction: Score draw
West Ham v Aston Villa, Upton Park
The battle of the claret-and-blues might well be the (Premier League) game of the day. West Ham have had fluctuating fortunes over the course of the season. For the first half, they struggled at the foot of the league, with perhaps only their two good cup runs saving Avram Grant’s job. They have not won since a 3-0 triumph over Stoke on 5th March. Villa scored a priceless win on Sunday against Newcastle, although were not overly impressive, and fans are far from 100 per cent behind manager Gerard Houllier. They have talent in every department, but Upton Park is not an easy place to pick up maximum points. Prediction: Score draw
Birmingham v Sunderland, St Andrews
Birmingham are yet another club looking nervously over their shoulders in the closest relegation battle in years. St Andrews is another relative fortress at the wrong end of the table, and Sunderland are almost the ideal team to come up against for the Blues, with the Black Cats themselves in a dreadful run of form. Since the beginning of February, Steve Bruce’s men have scored seven goals and picked up just one point – at the Emirates – out of a possible 24. They probably have enough points to avoid being sucked into a relegation fight, but this fixture should give the hosts a vital three points. Prediction: Birmingham by 1
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