Many believe that the top three is nailed on, yet could one side surprise us all?
Early in the transfer window the excitement centres around the potential big money moves, yet as the summer goes on the focus turns to the football and to the age old question “who is going to win the title?” Season previews and predictions are the common thing to do
at this stage of the season and I'm sure you've read many these past few weeks. This one however aims to give a different viewpoint to what most are saying. For many the league is heading to London with the Special One, yet as The
Whitehouse Address, there may be another genuine challenger from London
This summer was supposed to be one of the biggest and best
for the Premier League. A new TV deal meant the already rich clubs would have
even more to play with. Unfortunately for the clubs, managers and fans the
spending and ‘star’ appeal of the signings this summer has been lukewarm at
best.
Players like Falcao, Cavani, Lewandowski, Isco &
Fabregas have all been linked with moves to England yet none have arrived.
Perhaps the biggest arrival of the summer is Jovetic or Schurrle, which
highlights a trend emerging in England’s top league, the inability to attract
world class talent (you can read more on this from this article).
Yes Manchester City have spent £90m on players yet none
really inspires like when they signed Yaya or Aguero. Schurrle is a talented player yet Chelsea have not landed a
‘marquee’ signing which Mourinho would have sought or in fact anything
resembling a Mourinho type player (either in defence, midfield or attack). This may point towards his potential ‘evolution’ as a coach (doubtful) or Abramovich’s
desire for a ‘new’ brand of football (more likely). The truth may be that like I wrote when Mourinho
joined, this was a move of convenience more than desire and it is proving so.
This is why I am surprised people think Chelsea will win the league. This is
nothing like the side Mourinho inherited in 2004 and which he created up to
2007. The defence is vulnerable, the midfield lacks bite and up front there is
very little (Lukaku needs one or two more years to ‘become’ a Drogba). Yes
Chelsea are blessed with a plethora of attacking midfielders and makes them a
joy to watch yet it doesn’t actually help the teams balance or ultimate success. The
fact they won the Europa League highlights where this Chelsea team are. Personally I don’t
see Mourinho turning this ‘Barcelona’ Chelsea side into Premier League winners.
Title contenders reside in Manchester
As for City, well as mentioned they have spent £90m on ‘squad
depth’ as perhaps they believe they have the ‘world class’ spine in place. They are
merely adding pieces to improve their depth. This model makes sense of course
after the disruption of players like Balotelli and Tevez; the new philosophy of the club is
about ‘personality’ and attitude above anything else.
This is why Man City are my favourites to win the league. Personally I believe they are the only side who can be regarded as ‘world class’ and yet this statement is ludicrous when you consider their performances on Europe’s top stage these past few years.
This is why Man City are my favourites to win the league. Personally I believe they are the only side who can be regarded as ‘world class’ and yet this statement is ludicrous when you consider their performances on Europe’s top stage these past few years.
The
culprit there was Mancini who constantly showed up his failings in Europe
(something I warned about some time ago). His tactical ineptitude against the
better teams and coaches was laughable and its little surprise the decision makers
at the Etihad have sought an astute ‘continental’ tactician. Of course Mourinho
was available yet going along the same approach of Mario and Carlos it was
clear that Jose would not suit their new ‘approach’.
Pellegrini will be
expected to do much better in the Champions League (more than possible) and to
win the league (favourites yet not a given). It will be an interesting season
yet I have little doubt that the players and team as a whole will thrive under
Pellegrini and enjoy the freedom of the Mancini burden lifted from their
shoulders.
So who can challenge them? It is amazing to think United
have been written off because of Moyes coming in, the team is unchanged and the
young players are continuing to develop and improve. But…there are doubts over
Moyes ability at this level and with this kind of expectation as well as the
continuing decline of Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra (a problem which was
saved by Mr Van Persie last season) United may struggle against sides with speed and movement this season.
The team need to be better defensively
which is why a midfielder to help support the defence is important. And yet Moyes has targeted players like Fabregas, Modric and Ozil, which points towards Moyes belief that
Kagawa isn’t good enough (wrong) and that Rooney has no place in the team
(possible yet he won’t leave). Therefore he is trying to bring in players he
doesn’t need and is failing to address the issue which has been evident at
United since Fletcher was struck ill.
As for Rooney, well it’s a headache which Moyes has tried to
handle yet failed with. Ferguson appeared hell bent on having him out the club
yet when you hear reports that Ferguson was the one who pulled the plug on a
move to PSG this summer then you wonder if he was hoping that Moyes could be
the ‘saviour’ for Rooney. Could it be that Ferguson sacrificed himself to keep
Rooney at the club?
A surprise contender?
What United, like City and Chelsea have lacked is that ‘star’
signing which shows intent and which of course brings world class quality to
the team. It’s no coincidence that the arrivals of Aguero and then Van Persie were so instrumental
in their sides title triumphs these past two seasons. Yet none of the top sides
have made this type of signing. This makes the league appear more open which is
why there may be a darkhorse in the campaign.
Sorry Arsenal fans but your club is not challenging for the
title this season. All I can say is that Arsenal are a ‘nice’ team, that is
all. Continually missing out on players this summer to enhance the team will be their downfall. Yes I love watching Cazorla and think Wilshere and Chamberlain are top class
players, yet the squad and management lack the mentality and determination to
challenge for the title. It will be another season of misery for Arsenal
(Wenger’s last I feel).
In fact the surprise package for a title challenge will be
Spurs. Yes I said it and I stick by it. I’ll admit that when Villas-Boas
arrived at Spurs I was dubious and surprised. His performance at Chelsea wascomical and quite simply he played it all wrong. The question was, had he
learnt his lesson? The answer appears to be yes.
Well it appears that at Spurs he has found the
right club for his style and has the right people around him to make his
managerial career a success. I am impressed with the energy and positivity
which Freund brings as assistant (much better than what Di Matteo brought) in a
similar way which Vitor Pereira brought at Porto.
As well as that there is Franco Baldini as Director of Football and of course the shrewd businessman Daniel
Levy. It appears to be a very well managed and functioning management team.
Which is why since AVB has arrived Spurs the squad and their starting XI has become very
impressive.
An ever improving squad
Last summer Spurs added some top talent in Lloris, Vertonghen, Dembele and Gylfi Sigurdsson. In
January they added Lewis Holtby (a striker then may have produced a 4th place
finish) yet it is this summer where they additions have impressed further.
Paulinho was an excellent piece of business, with perhaps only Luis Gustavo the
other best defensive midfielder available. Add to that the new signing Capoue
from Toulouse, which adds the extra quality and depth in the midfield and
defence. Yet perhaps the best and key addition was Roberto Soldado, who can be
regarded in the top 10 strikers in Europe. Spurs have lacked this type and quality of forward for several years and the purchase of Soldado could propel Spurs into the top four, and perhaps even further.
In the space of 12 months this Spurs
side has gone from good to bordering on excellent. Of course there is the issue
of Bale and what will happen in the coming weeks. If he stays Spurs could be a
genuine title threat and I mean that. All the change above them may affect
those sides whereas Spurs appear stronger after a year under AVB. If they did
lose Bale then the club makes one healthy profit and they could also re-invest
some of that. Or they could see if their new signing Chadli could live up to his
potential, as many believe he has the quality to become a major star.
A year ago I was pessimistic about Spurs future under
Villas-Boas yet this summer I am perhaps over-optimistic. Out of all the top
sides perhaps only Man City have a better ‘balanced’ team than Spurs. For me on paper
Spurs’ XI potentially trumps both United and Chelsea. Yet the issue is their mentality, knowledge of what is takes to compete and having the ability to grind out results, something United and Chelsea have been doing for
many years.
That being said I genuinely think that they have done the
best business out of the top sides this summer (and done early for a change) which gives them the potential to start
strongly. I think they will qualify for the Champions League even without Bale
yet I think if they kept him (and his value will only rise surely) then they
could be a genuine title challenger.
The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address
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