Premiership winners

dirkey_wynne

Who do you think will win?

Big Nelly

ALready discussed weeks ago!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=173680

Bacchus

ALready discussed weeks ago!

So?? I lot has changed since. The pre-season has given us a look at some of the new players. United have a lot of injures. New players have been signed. Spurs will be without Keane (okay they not exactly contenders).

I reckon Chelsea will do it this year. The have too good a team and a lot of the new faces from last season will be more familiar with each other now. If not them Arsenal or Liverpool. I don't think this will be a good season for United. They have a great strike force but their midfield is getting old (that said should be interesting to see how Ronaldo and Miller get on) and they haven't sorted their defence out, although Ferdinand will be back.

Arsenal are probably going to lose Viera. If that's not bad enough, an injury to Henry and their season will be a disaster.

Livrepool is a tricky one to predict. New manager, some new faces, good performances from Biscan, Diouf shown the door etc. Liverpool have been a great team waiting to happen for the past few seasons. Houllier never achieved their full potential, maybe Benitez can. Two world class strikers with Cisse and the French lad in reserve, great midfield (when used in position), great defence.

As much respect as I have for Houllier and as grateful as I am of what he a achieved with Liverpool, I hope Benitez wins the premiership with the team Houllier built. Just so that he can see that for all his excuses he's had in the past two years, the team he had, could have won if he just played them right.

dirkey_wynne

Bacchus wrote:

I reckon Chelsea will do it this year. The have too good a team and a lot of the new faces from last season will be more familiar with each other now. If not them Arsenal or Liverpool. I don't think this will be a good season for United. They have a great strike force but their midfield is getting old (that said should be interesting to see how Ronaldo and Miller get on) and they haven't sorted their defence out, although Ferdinand will be back.

I can't see Chelsea doing it - we all thought the same last year, but I think they've made too many signings again, and it's been proved time and again that a lot of new players will take time to gel.

I think Utd will be there again, especially with Rio back. The defence was best in England before he started his suspension last year, and it was only after he was gone that the goals started really leaking. Howard proved a good signing, apart from 2 or 3 howlers, and I think after a summers rest he will be a major keeper this year. I also feel the return of Queiroz, who took major plaudits for sorting the defence 2 years ago, could be a decisive factor. I'm also hopeful that the signing of Smith and having Saha there too, means we'll play 4 in the middle this year, with Scholes back alongside Keano in his best position.

Bacchus wrote:

Livrepool is a tricky one to predict. New manager, some new faces, good performances from Biscan, Diouf shown the door etc. Liverpool have been a great team waiting to happen for the past few seasons. Houllier never achieved their full potential, maybe Benitez can. Two world class strikers with Cisse and the French lad in reserve, great midfield (when used in position), great defence.

As much respect as I have for Houllier and as grateful as I am of what he a achieved with Liverpool, I hope Benitez wins the premiership with the team Houllier built. Just so that he can see that for all his excuses he's had in the past two years, the team he had, could have won if he just played them right.

I just can't see Liverpool doing it this year. I don't feel they've added enough class. I think the midfield is very threadbare. Stevie G has a lot of potential but I've yet to see him take massive games by the scruff of the neck regularly - the biggest games against Utd, Arse etc. I don't think there's quite enough creativity in that midfield. Also it's a manager new to the English game, he could well take time to bed in. The defence is also a problem - I know nothing about this Josemi guy, but H & H in the middle lack pace, and unless Kirkland stays injury free Dudek is hardly one to inspire confidence. I think this will be a season of improvement, but I still don't think they'll be in top three come May.

midget lord

do you support united DW?

dirkey_wynne

I do indeed Midget. How about you??

andyman

I can see Man Utd doing it this year.It was the Ferdinand and Magnier sagas which unsettled them last year and with the return of Ferdinand could boost their hopes

Big Ears

by the looks of the poll the only thing we've found out so far is Man United fans wake up earlier.

I think I will be a long time waiting for a United supporter to tell me they wont win the league , but I suppose thats a good thing if you're fans beleive in you .

2 weeks ago I was thinking Newcastle didnt have a chance in hell , but with the addition of : Kluivert , Milner, Butt, and possibley either Miguel or Trabelsi Newcastle could be as good as any of the other clubs , providing Woodgate stays fiut for most of the season . (but that seems doubtful)

I am going for Arsenal this year.They have scrapped the dead wood and have brought in some quality youngsters , to go alongside there expierienced pros.
I think Reyes Van Persie , and if Vieira goes Flamini will shine this year , as some of the best players in the league .

gandalf

Well I plugged for Arsenal again, the squad is good enough with or without Vieira. United and now Chelsea have their own problems with players not being available for the start of the season as well. I expect United to be challanging stronger in 2nd with 3rd between Newcastle and Chelsea. Still not sure about Liverpool. I will need to see them in action first.

Hopefully an exciting Premiership this year with some excellent footy. (and of course Arsenal winning everything , well I can dream!)

cournioni

United. I think Arsenal will struggle to find the same form they were on last season and United will be on a different level to them. Chelsea will come second and will not win anything.

Big Ears

PORNAPSTER wrote:

I think Arsenal will struggle to find the same form they were on last season and United will be on a different level to them.

whoa :eek: , thats a Smemmon like comment , and you know what his predictions are like .

why is it , I can only find United fans not praising Arsenals youngsters ? .

Smemmon said in a different thread that Arsenal youngsters wouldnt srike fear into any of there oppenants , maybe you should tell that to the defenders that come up aginst Reyes and Van Persie , and to a lesser extent Aliadiere .

dirkey_wynne

Big Ears wrote:

whoa :eek: , thats a Smemmon like comment , and you know what his predictions are like .

why is it , I can only find United fans not praising Arsenals youngsters ? .

Smemmon said in a different thread that Arsenal youngsters wouldnt srike fear into any of there oppenants , maybe you should tell that to the defenders that come up aginst Reyes and Van Persie , and to a lesser extent Aliadiere .

I agree, though if you're totally honest, how many times have you seen Van Persie play? Reyes I think will have a superb season. I have only seen Van P a few times, so will withhold judgement.

I don't think Arsenal will have as good a season, I think they've proved to get slightly complacent after winning titles. I can't see Henry having as good a season and I definitely can't see them being unbeaten. This allied to the fact that everyone will be gunning for them, leads me to believe they won't win it, but I think they'll be up there till the death. I just think Utd will get the better of them this year.

Now , as a Utd fan this could be totally blind optimism. But what is the pre season without getting all optimistic and having visions of silverware come May!

midget lord

Big Ears wrote:

I think I will be a long time waiting for a United supporter to tell me they wont win the league

Spot on that man.


I think chelsea will do it. A better manager, a much better squad and quite a lot of them have had the year to gel.

If vieira goes i could see maybe pires to go too, fingers crossed. 3rd.

I cant see utd doing it. An aged midfield, and Vannistelrooy. if he gets injured utd are ****ed as im not at convinced by saha or smith. 4th

Id love to say i can see liverpool winning it, but we will need a season under rafa's guidence. however Kewell should be like a new signing next season having undergone the op his ankle he should be able to get a run of games behind him and return to the be one of the top players in the premiership, like we all know he can be. Cisse is also a great addition, but we need a RM, i have my eye on rosicky, i hope rafa does too. 2nd.

Newcastle, schmewcastle. They can have the best strike force in the premiership all they want they will still concede goals all over the shop. 5th again.

Big Ears

dirkey_wynne wrote:

I agree, though if you're totally honest, how many times have you seen Van Persie play? Reyes I think will have a superb season. I have only seen Van P a few times, so will withhold judgement.
.May!

ive seen highlights of him all last season ans seen about 4 or 5 games thats he's actually played in .

and Midget lord Newcastle dont conceade many goal with Woodgate in the team , he is key to Newcastle having any success .

AngelofFire

I can see it coming down to a dogfight between Manutd and Chelsea.

mayordenis

i can see a dogfight between man utd and chelsea aswell . . . . but for 3rd place arsenal 2nd .. Liverpool for the premiership title.

midget lord

mayordenis wrote:

i can see a dogfight between man utd and chelsea aswell . . . . but for 3rd place arsenal 2nd .. Liverpool for the premiership title.

if carlsberg done premiership seasons!


Id love that den, if only!

Bannor

Man Utd for me

Reasons : Queiroz is back. They also have more depth up front so they don't have to rely on RVN.

Arsenal will have some behind the scenes wrangling whether Vieira stays or not which could prove unsettling for the squad particularly if Dein pushes Wenger too far and the latter announces he's off to La Liga for 2005/6.

Mourinho despite his talks of a small squad is going to have his hands full keeping some egos in check if he decides to rotate the squad. Expect a few unhappy players at Chelsea by Christmas.

Liverpool have a new manager, but not so different a style of play. The defense and attack have been improved, but the midfield is light weight. Cheyrou is out on loan, Diouf is out on his ear and Le Tallec is also going on loan which leaves an abundance of defensive midfielders and a shortage of creative ones. Breaking lesser teams down has been the major problem for Liverpool in recent years and I don't see that changing unless a new midfielder or two arrive.

Newcastle have an impressive front six first team players but the back four has always been their undoing - Woodgate gets injured and it's curtains for the season. If Robson plans to remove Shearer from the first team squad by Christmas as he told Kluivert the squad could disintegrate.

Birmingham are the team I reckon will get close to the top five this season. Izzet in midfield will give them another dimension and if Heskey and Forssel link up they'll do well.

Top 5:
#1 - Man Utd
#2/#3 - Arsenal/Chelsea
#4 - Liverpool
#5 - Newcastle/Birmingham

Dont be at yourself

This season is possibly going to be tightest in the history of the premiership. I'd say Arsenal and Chelsea have the best chance, but Man Utd (a lot depends on if their starting midfield, especially Keane, can keep fit) and Liverpool are also definite contenders, I think. Probably a bit too much to hope for Liverpool to win it in Benitez's first year though. Newcastle have the talent to take points off the above, but I don't think they can sustain form over a whole season, they just don't have the depth in squad.

After that, there's tonnes of teams that have become a lot more competitive. Spurs, Birmingham, Boro, Charlton and Villa will all be in the chasing pack, and one of them could quite possibly nick a Champion's League place.

PHB

Guess

I think Man Utd will win it this year for a multitude of reasons.
First:

Saha and Van Nist up front I think will get to gel this year and will show how good they really are.
Watchign Van Nist in the dutch games I rememebered just how good he was not last season but the year before, and I saw him coming back to himself.

Rio is back, making the defense the best in the premiership I think.

Gary Neville - Rio - Slyvestre - Heinze
With Brown O'Shea Neville all keeping those guys on there toes.
That backup ain't a kiddie team, those guys have got some game

Keane is probably looking at his last full season, and I think he wants it all to finish on a high. He will kill himself this season.
With Scholesy dropping back to midfield to play along side him we have the perfect centre midfield, top class, with offensive and defensive natures from both players.

Ronaldo is really coming along and Giggs is going to be either sold or be forced to play at his best.
Don't forget Miller DD Kleberson chalanging for places

Thats why I think Man Utd will do so well, but they still have to beat Arsenal and Chelsea.

Chelsea won't win for the same reason they didn't win last time.
They aren't a team.
They all know it, they havn't gelled and they won't for a season or two.
Mourinho knows this, thats why he has said he wants to win in two or three years, and I think they can, but not until then.

Arsenal won't win it for a couple of reasons.

I know this will cause people to shout but I still think they are chokers.
I still think they don't preform when the really big pressure is on them.
Vieira is one of the best players I've ever seen, and he is a huge factor in the determination behind Arsenal, just like Keane and Man utd, Chelsea and duffers etc.
In all those teams you see them suffereing without there key player and it looks like they might lose him. If they do they won't win the premiership and won't get anywhere in europe.
If they keep him I still think they've been lucky not to get hit by injuries, and I still think they just don't have the proper cover there.
With the amount of play that they have endured over the last couple of months, and no real break, I think that they will have some seriuos injury problems at one point and I don't think they will deal with them at all.

Why don't I have the same respect for the Arsenal youngsters compared to other teams?
Because they can only develop so far in the reserves, and they don't ever get given a chance.
Wenger doesn't rotate to give his players a chance, cept maybe in the league cup.
Then again maybe they'll get no injury problems, but I stil think Man Utd will pip them, simply because I think they will want it more.

smemon

Bannor wrote:

Man Utd for me

Reasons : Queiroz is back.

yeah good point, queiroz himself is like a new signing for utd. he'll have gained a wealth of experience at madrid, hopefully that will give us the edge should we meet them in europe.

fergie was on his own most of last year, walter smith was more of a friend, not really a business type football man.

one thing i cant believe is that after how many years, 14/15?? liverpool still think they can win the league! i remember saying this last year and laughing at fans who think they'll win it. yes they have a decent side and new manager but come on their squad have to rated below chelsea, arsenal and manu.

challenging newcastle and middlesboro and getting 4th spot should be their concern, then take it from there.

Raskolnikov

I'll stick by my prediction of Chelsea, they did well last season but with an even stronger squad and new manager they're going to be very difficult to beat! I feel that Chelsea are going to start next season with two first teams, Utd with one and a half. Also, I don't think Man Utd are as strong at the back or middle as they seem to think they are. Ferdinand and Sylvestre are not consistant, Keane is not the player he used to be and Scholes has been awful for Utd in the latter half of last season and Euro '04. van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo are real class acts though, I expect the latter to have an even better season this time around. I feel Saha isn't proven himself for Utd yet, it wouldn't suprise me if Smith will force him on to the bench.

Raskolnikov

smemon wrote:

one thing i cant believe is that after how many years, 14/15?? liverpool still think they can win the league! i remember saying this last year and laughing at fans who think they'll win it. yes they have a decent side and new manager but come on their squad have to rated below chelsea, arsenal and manu.

challenging newcastle and middlesboro and getting 4th spot should be their concern, then take it from there.

I agree with you there.

They've got one or two quality players (Gerrard, Owen and Kewell) but an awful lot of average/bad ones too (Diouf, Diao, Smicer, Traore, Finnan, Henchoz and on and on!!) while I'm confident Benitez is capable of closing the gap between Liverpool and the top three, it's going to be very hard to catch up, let alone win the league.

At the moment though, I'd consider Birmingham to be nearly on a par with Liverpool. Like Bannor, I think they'll have a good season.

Another team who people have wildly unrealistic expectations are Aston Villa. I heard Doug Ellis saying that with two or three new players that they'll be expecting to challenging the top three!

andyman

I may be a Utd supporter but I have to admit good talent when I see it.The likes of Reyes and Milner will have a good season.

Big Ears

This is probably the hardest Premiership to predict with so many clubs vastly improving they're squads .

I think English clubs will shine in Europe , and I dont mean just one of them winning something , I mean all 4 Champions League sides progressing to the last 16 and 3 of them to the last 8 .(after that im not so sure )

I think the UEFA Cup sides will do well also , id say 3 of them will get passed the group stage , and a bit further .

I cant see an English team winning the Champions League though , as Shelbourne have that rapped up :rolleyes: .

So many new players for teams .........only time will tell .

Jivin Turkey

Raskolnikov wrote:

I agree with you there.

They've got one or two quality players (Gerrard, Owen and Kewell)

Haha, I think you forgot to carry the one.

I think Chelsea will win, but Id say the gap between the top 3 will be less than 8 points. Liverpool 4th by about a further 4 or 5.

gandalf

Naw Jivin I think you'll find Owen + Gerard = 1 Quality Player (sorry couldn't resist).

I agree this is going to be one hell of a tight season and there will be nowhere near the gaps there were between 1st and 2nd and then the rest either.

I expect to see Spurs, Birmingham, Villa, Middlesborough all challaging hard this season.

Newcastle are the wildcard team of the top five. If they can get their defense sorted then they could even go onto to win the Premiership, they have an excellent Manager and some serious firepower, if the defense crumbles they will be lucky to finish fifth.

Big Ears

gandalf wrote:

.
I agree this is going to be one hell of a tight season and there will be nowhere near the gaps there were between 1st and 2nd and then the rest either.

I expect to see Spurs, Birmingham, Villa, Middlesborough all challaging hard this season.

Newcastle are the wildcard team of the top five. If they can get their defense sorted then they could even go onto to win the Premiership, they have an excellent Manager and some serious firepower, if the defense crumbles they will be lucky to finish fifth.

Thats the exact point if been stressing lately , and to key things in what could be a title challenge are , will we sign Miguel(who I think is quality) or Trabelsi(who I rate even higher) and the second is what our whole season will depend upon the most :..........Woody , possibly the most important defender to any club in Europe at the moment .(much more important to Newcastle than Rio is to United , especially now as United have more cover)

no major trophy since the Fairs Cup , jaysus id cry if they won it !!!
.

smuckers

For the last several years Spurs are always aiming for the top 6 they have to get their eventually surely? Sean Davis is a good signing and can get better.
Michael Brown with a full season under his belt may suprise a few.
Utd filled the gap they had in centre back but Heinze is not the answer IMO. Can anyone see someone like Chris Eagles break through? The boy does have potential. If Arsenal lose Viera then Chelsea have an even greater chance, he is their lynchpin. Cisse will get goals for Pool but they need a centre back.

smuckers

Oh and I can see Chelsea winning it, the squad is in tip top shape, though I remember lots of pundits/papers went for us when we got in Jimmy, he was the answer apparantally and he didn't disappoint but no one could have predicted a player revolt in the dressing room and Colin Hutchinson ( always looking after number one) to spoil the season.

Johnny_the_fox

midget lord wrote:

Newcastle, schmewcastle. They can have the best strike force in the premiership all they want they will still concede goals all over the shop. 5th again.

Newcastle only conceded 14 goals at home last season - the same as arsenal. <join second for the least amount of goals against at home..> With Nicky Butt joining them, it will strengthen the defence area...

as for the league - i think it could be alot closer this year...

my choice: Liverpool

smuckers

I think Butt is a v good signing for them but he is v injury prone. Jenas last season did not perform but he is v young, but Dyer will have to get more goals.
what I can see is Liverpool leading the charge for a month or so like they did one season but then will fade, they will not win it. Owen will have to look after that hamstring of his.

beer enigma

Probably the best season we've seen for years.....I'm a Gunners Man, but my take would be:

Arsenal on form from last year & now with the possibility of Vieira staying

Man U with Ronaldo a year on & most importantly with Queiroz back - I think Utd suffered when McClaren left - Fergie needs a strong right hand man (if only to translate - lol )

Chelsea with the team thay have, gotta be a threat, but I think its too soon to expect them all to gel.....glad Lamps has signed a new deal.

Newcastle - wild card, Kluivert, Butt, Shearer...write them off at your peril.

Still think its gonna be between arsenal & utd, but expect an upset with Chelsea or Newcastle...

smuckers

Glad Frank signed that contract and Gudjohnsen for that matter. How many times will we hear the term gelling this season at Christmas time no doubt? Its been around since The Gullit days after signing Di Matteo Vialli and Lebouef.
It will be interesting to see if Charlton can make that top 6, Rommedhal is a terrific signing.

phenom

As a united fan i obviously want them to win it but I think Arsenal will do it again this year. While United have bought afew more players. Arsenal have basically kept the team they won it with last year. THey bought Van Persie who I can see being a good player. IMO they will do it again.

smuckers

The downside for Arse is Cambell is out for the first 6 weeks.

mr_angry

I have to say, I'm astounded by the amount of people prepared to completely write-off Arsenal as championship contenders! I mean, last season they had one of the greatest seasons ever seen, they retained all their major players over the summer, and potentially added to the squad with some promising young talent. What does it take to make people take you seriously, if not that. I know in football anything can happen, but to write them off at this stage? Madness. Its no better than claiming Liverpool will win the league.

Now, maybe I'm being blinded by the Arsenal scarf waving in my eyes, but I fully expect them to be Championship contenders come May. Man Utd are a bit of an unknown this year. Their success depends on a number of factors, such as the front pairing gelling, the midfield recapturing some of their old form, and Ferdinand's return having the same impact his presence did this time last year, i.e. steadying the ship. I think Queiroz' return is one very positive factor, but will it all be enough? Hmmm. I don't know. They certainly have the potential to be champions, but only time will tell.

Chelsea's problem last year wasn't that their stars didn't gel quickly enough - they got off to a storming start at the beginning of the season. Their problem was that they were only winning games by a single goal most of the time, and when Duff got injured, they lacked the midfield creativity to keep that run going. Now with the addition of Robben I think they have that problem somewhat covered, but now I think they lack a wide man on the right who'll stick to the touchline and commit defenders. Up front I think they're more dangerous, but will it be enough to sustain a title challenge? I don't think so myself. I can see them suffering the same problem again.

Liverpool will be better, but I find it hard to accept that they'll break into the top 3. Birmingham have improved their squad alright, but mostly with the cast-offs of the top 4 clubs (Heskey, Gronjkaer) while the top 4 have moved on to new talent. I don't think they have what it takes to get a Champions League spot. The only hope for themselves and Villa is one of the big 4 having a Liverpool0304-like disaster season and opening the door for them. For some reason, call it intuition, I don't see Newcastle having a good season. I think they're poor defensively, the form of their midfield is unpredictable, and I think Kluivert is a complete money-grabbing waster still living on the reputation of his exploits at Ajax. I really like Newcastle as a club, so I'd love to be proved wrong, but I don't like the looks of what I see on the pitch.

In summary, I find it hard to see past Arsenal and Man Utd in terms of proven title-winning squads. When push comes to shove, I'll go for Arsenal, but probably just because I'm an Arsenal fan.

Pepe LeFrits

Big Ears, what do you reckon is Newcastle's strongest 11 for the upcoming season, assuming no injuries?

Just going through various possibilities on the BBC squad selector; they have plenty of options in midfield but defensively they are extremely short. Kluivert & Shearer front pairing with Bellamy out left at the expense of Robert? Drop Kluivert or Shearer? Dyer on the right instead of Milner with a Butt & Bowyer centre partnership, or Dyer & Butt in the centre? So many possibilities

Without Woodgate the defense looks extremely light though.

Xcom2

I reckon it will be Chelsea.

After winning the title Roman will bugger off back to Russia leaving Chelsea with no way of paying the massive wage bill.

Another Leeds?

G

P.S. Why were Spurs not included in the poll?

Big Ears

GK=Given
RB=Miguel(I hope so )
LB=Bernard(has come on strongly in the last few years)
CB=Woodgate=Legend
CB=O'Brien

midfield is a hard one for me : Dyer , Jenas , Milner , Butt , Robert , Brittain , Bellamy , Bowyer ,and Ambrose when he's fit again .

I think I would have Milner right hand side , Butt as a holding midfielder , Dyer as the attacking centrel midfielder , and between Robert and Bellamy would all depend on Robert's form at the time , he needs to cross the ball more , and if he's not crossing then Bellamy is the better option . Every position has competition with the right-hand side , having a lot of players to pick from .

Kluivert and Shearer up front but if Kluivert is off form ive no problems with Ameobi playing , and Chopra and Bellamy aint bad either .

Bramble is our biggest weakness , and playing him and Andy O'Brien in the same team isnt that great an idea , and to be honest we need another centre back to replace Bramble .

to think Bramble and Caldwell played in the same side last year , shudder .

jesus_thats_gre

Poor Bobby as an awful selection headache in the centre of midfield doesnt he..


1st Arsenal/United
2nd United/Chelsea
3rd Liverpool/Chelsea/United
4th Liverpool/Chelsea/United

Jivin Turkey

I have a feeling Bowyer is going to have a really good season this year. He began to play very well towards the end of last year and I think he will bring it into the new season.

elbow316

My predictions for top 4:

1)Arsenal
2)Chelsea
3)Liverpool
4)Man U

Think its slightly comical that more people think Liverpool will take the title than the side that won it last season and were unbeatable :rolleyes:

jesus_thats_gre

elbow316 wrote:

Think its slightly comical that more people think Liverpool will take the title than the side that won it last season and were unbeatable :rolleyes:

Yeah I think its gas too... Eijits

p.pete

elbow316 wrote:

Think its slightly comical that more people think Liverpool will take the title than the side that won it last season and were unbeatable :rolleyes:

It's basicly statistics (which have been proven to be lies in 73% of cases). Most people didn't vote based on who they think will win but based on who they support. I voted for Liverpool

Take it

Does everyone seem to forget that man u finished third last season failing to win 15 games and finishing 15 points behind an unbeaten arsenal, with rio or Queiroz they still wouldnt have won the premership last season i cant see anyone coming above arsenal this season.

Villain

Well if your going to put Liverpool in that Poll the least you could have done was include Villa. I mean I don't expect us to to be in the top 3 but we have as much a chance as Liverpool do for 4th!

Liverpool fans are living in a dreamland, IMO they will not be within 10 points of the top 3. :rolleyes:

cruiserweight

irish1 wrote:

Well if your going to put Liverpool in that Poll the least you could have done was include Villa. I mean I don't expect us to to be in the top 3 but we have as much a chance as Liverpool do for 4th!

Liverpool fans are living in a dreamland, IMO they will not be within 10 points of the top 3. :rolleyes:

Phew lucky that that is only an opinion

Most Liverpool fans have a new found confidence because of the change in managment, and feel that the players do to. What was lacking the most in the last two years IMO has been confidence, probably ever since Liverpool were knocked out of the CL by Basel and they have never gotten it back since. But a lethal strikeforce, coupled with a decent midfield and hopefully the defence back to it's mean best can equal a good season.

Liverpool always play well against the other big teams (Chelsea and Utd away lats season for example), but struggle against the so called smaller teams. If that can be rectified who knows? Don't forget Benetiz won La Liga in his first season in charge of Valencia

dirkey_wynne

cruiserweight wrote:

Phew lucky that that is only an opinion

Most Liverpool fans have a new found confidence because of the change in managment, and feel that the players do to. What was lacking the most in the last two years IMO has been confidence, probably ever since Liverpool were knocked out of the CL by Basel and they have never gotten it back since. But a lethal strikeforce, coupled with a decent midfield and hopefully the defence back to it's mean best can equal a good season.

Liverpool always play well against the other big teams (Chelsea and Utd away lats season for example), but struggle against the so called smaller teams. If that can be rectified who knows? Don't forget Benetiz won La Liga in his first season in charge of Valencia

He sure did - but don't forget that that was in a league with which he was familiar. The English league is very different to all others. He also inherited a club which was in a far better state from his predecessors Msrs Ranieri and Cuper. I don't feel Liverpool are in such a good state.

I really don't see how people think Pool have a good midfield. Gerrard and Kewell if he stays injury free are the only two half decent players. Gerrard IMHO is very overrated - he's a good player, but needs to grab games by the balls against the big teams - something he has yet to do. Other than that - all this talk of a renaissance for Murphy/Biscan is just that - talk. Biscan is a joke altogether and Murphy is a midtable player at best.

I too find it funny so many people are not backing Arsenal. I'm going with history and gut when I say it'll be fought between Utd-Arsenal, and I'm going with heart in saying I think Utd will clinch it.

It may be a romantic notion (isn't that what the game is about!) but I still feel it's far too close to call, and the fact that Pool finished above both Chelsea, and more ridiculously the unbeaten champions of Arsenal shows that fans voted for their sides.

Arsenal may not be able to repeat what they did last year, but it will be tough to look further than them and Utd for the title.

Marq

I can see Arsenal doing it again this year. Newcastle as an outside shot if they get a very good start to the season too. I will simply be sitting and praying that Spurs finish top-half, which with Keane out for the first month, could prove difficult yet again.

smemon

Take it wrote:

Does everyone seem to forget that man u finished third last season failing to win 15 games and finishing 15 points behind an unbeaten arsenal, with rio or Queiroz they still wouldnt have won the premership last season i cant see anyone coming above arsenal this season.

arsenal failed to win 12. plus they'll be a whole lot stronger after releasing more players than they've signed: kanu, parlour, keown..... not to mention the possible vieira transfer, their captain.

just look at chelsea, if they hit anywhere near what their capable of they'll crush everyone around them. drogba, kezman, robben, carvalho all added to the likes of terry, duff, mutu, lampard, makelele....

on paper i'd argue chelsea have a better 11 than arsenal now. i cant see chelsea finishing below arsenal, never mind utd.