So Summer 2009 draws ever closer to its end. With the scantily clad girls soon to be packing up their assets as the temperature drops, football has come back to keep us entertained*.
It's been ten days since I last posted, and I still think it is very hard to say who will end up where. The Big 4 have all lost key players or remained stagnant. Teams like Sunderland, Wolves, Birmingham and Man City have all splashed the cash, but again this has served to improve severely deficient squads. Still, one would hope these teams will at least be competitive especially in matches with the big 4.
Aston Villa and Everton are two sides that have made progress and will expect to be there or thereabouts again, but can they face up to improved investment from teams like Sunderland? You'll notice I've mentioned Sunderland a lot, and I think they will do really well this season. They could be this seasons Fulham or West Ham, as far as being a neutrals favourite especially as Steve Bruce had Wigan playing some decent football last season.
Villa are steadily (and stealthily) strengthening, but the fact remains that they need numbers. I'm also curious as to what morale is like at Everton what with the Lescott saga. Also joining the equation is Spurs who surely won't start as badly as they did last season.
The first days fixtures will be interesting. Finally, we'll have an indication of each team's fortunes this season. If you can't be up for opening day, its fairly obvious its gonna be a long hard season. It won't really give us an indication where each team will finish, but a bad performance will raise doubts. I'm especially interested in the three promoted teams.
Stoke v. Burnley- Owen Coyle's Burnley play attractive football, but their squad looks weak by premiership standards. They've been handed an opening day away at Stoke- never an easy place to visit. A loss is not the end of the world as this is one of the harder trips, but they'll want the performance to be decent. Anything that gives them hope. Stoke have retained much of the same team, with Dean Whitehead the big summer signing. Dave Kitson is also back and looking to resurrect his career.
Man Utd. v. Birmingham- Not get destroyed will be Birmingham's mission. Most of Birmingham's strengthening was at the back and Mcleish is generally a defensive manager. United will be playing their first competitive game post-Ronaldo. Nani was impressive in the community shield- can he be the new Ronaldo? How will Rooney react to being the main man now? More questions than answers exist about Man Utd thus far. I'm also interested in seeing how Owen does when he's not playing the Happy Collectivist Farmers Super 11 or whatever it was United played on their Asian tour. There is the chance that he many have found his level.
Wolves v. West Ham- Championship winners Wolves have the easiest tie of the three promoted sides this weekend. Wolves are at home, and should be able to match West Ham. However, I tipped Wolves to do well last time they came up and they promptly made me look like a mug. I feel that they have a squad that's every bit as strong as Reading's from 3 or 4 seasons ago and they've been busy in the transfer market. West Ham have a bit of a striker crisis- a bit of a player crisis really and with Zola's hands being tied financially and I don't expect them to challenge for Europe this season. That said they shouldn't be in any danger. Also, their academy just keeps on churning out players, and just because they haven't made a splash in the market doesn't make them any less dangerous. In fact, the unknown quanitity of some of the young players they will no doubt unleash on the league could see them do better than I think.
Aston Villa vs. Wigan- This match interests me as i'd like to see what Roberto Martinez does with Wigan. They played some good stuff under Bruce and the football and optimism should be even higher now that former player Martinez returns to his old club. Will his signings continue to shine? Will Jason Scotland cut it in the top flight? Villa, are not too changed greatly from last season. Stewart Downing was a big summer signing but is injured till around october so it's likely that Villa won't have to many new faces in this match. Fabian Delph has been highly rated for about 2 years now, so it would be great to see how he does.
Bolton v Sunderland - Another match where I'm interested in how one team plays and not the match itself. Sunderland have been ambitious under Bruce. The signings are certainly less underwhelming than under Keane. Darren Bent should do well here, and signing Cana and Cattermole means the midfield won't be overrun. Bolton's signings indicate more graft than craft. The midfield battle in this game should be brutal.
As an Arsenal fan, the Everton game interests me, but with six players already out for us and both sides also looking towards mid-week European matches, this could be one to forget. We did start our unbeaten season with a win at Everton (and it was the late game too!).
Has it really come to this- Straw Clutching of the highest order. :(
Good luck everyone. Here's hoping we all have an enjoyable season.
*Potential nominee for most contrived (and sexist) intro of the year.
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