Premiership Season - Sunderland - West Ham United

Guide to the new Premiership Season - Part 4

Part 4 of a preview of the Premiership, looking at each clubs season to come.

Jack Rodwell will be looking to put his dark days behind him at the Stadium of Light

Sunderland
Sunderland pulled off the great escape, at the Stadium of Light, last season, based on some good performances from Borini, Johnson and Wickham.

Borini doesn't look like coming back to Wearside, and they have lost influential midfielder Jack Colback, who added the style alongside Lee Cattermole's substance.

Their main signing of the summer is Jack Rodwell, who will replace Colback. They still look short up front, even if Borini signs, and could be reliant on Adam Johnson's often erratic form for goals.

Prediction - 14th

It looks like being Chico-time somewhere else next season

Swansea
Unlike Sunderland, Swansea have plenty of firepower up front with Baftembi Gomis partnering Wilfried Bony. However, it remains to be seen how they perform under Garry Monk, who hasn't convinced in his short time in charge, just ask Chico Flores.

They managed to finish 12th last season, but have lost key players, such as Michel Vorm, Michu and Jonathan De Guzman.

I think despite the addition of Fabianski and Gomis, as well as Gylfi Sigurdsson returning, they may well struggle, especially tactically, but will have the firepower to stay up.

Prediction - 15th

Can the Argentine succeed where AVB failed?

Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham's summer last season was dominated by Gareth Bale's record sale and the spending of the £85m. 

Most of the signings failed, although Christian Eriksen looked like a bargain at £11m. This season they have so far signed Michel Vorm and Ben Davies from Swansea, a much quieter summer. Mauricio Pochettino could their biggest signing, coming in from Southampton as manager.

They are in a position to build, with a strong base and an improving midfield, if Pochettino can work his magic, they could be a good attacking force also.
However, their biggest concern is up front, Adebayor is recovering from malaria and Soldado struggled last season, but Harry Kane could be the man, as Pochettino is good at coaxing the best from young players.Prediction - 6th

Can Ideye score the goals for the Baggies?

West Bromwich Albion
Whilst I wasn't convinced by Pepe Mel last season, I'm even less convinced by Alan Irvine, who's last club was Sheffield Wednesday when they were in League 1.

He is a former assitant of David Moyes, and may need a fair bit of help from his old boss.

They've brought in Joleon Lescott, Andre Wisdom on loan from Liverpool, Cristian Gamboa of Costa Rica and Brown Ideye for £10m.

Ideye will be key, as will Sessegnon, who has struggled since moving from Sunderland, if they can combine well along with Anichebe, WBA might be alright, but I fear it is a step too far for the manager.

Prediction - 18th

Is this the man behind Sam's masterplan?

West Ham United
Andy Carroll was the big signing last year, only to find himself injured for the majority of the season. Big Sam faced critics on every side for their poor form and style of play, but they managed a credible 13th place.

Whatever you think about Sam Allardyce, he is clearly an astute manager, capable of keeping sides in the Premier League, and pushing for mid-table.

There has been a focus since the end of the last season on changing the style of football, bringing in Teddy Sheringham as attacking coach, and signing Enner Valencia and Mauro Zarate, two creative attacking players.

Whether it works remains to be seen, but Allardyce builds from the back and the addition of Cheikhou Kouyate, should ensure the Hammers are as solid as ever.

I think they will push on from last season.

Prediction - 11th

Final Predicted table:-

Position	Club
1	Chelsea
2	Manchester City
3	Arsenal
4	Manchester United
5	Liverpool
6	Tottenham Hotspur
7	Everton
8	Newcastle
9	Crystal Palace
10	Stoke City
11	West Ham United
12	Southampton
13	QPR
14	Sunderland
15	Swansea
16	Hull City
17	Aston Villa
18	West Bromwich Albion
19	Leicester City
20	Burnley

Let's see how close it is to the real thing at Christmas and the end of the season.

The Premiership Season - Manchester United - Stoke City

Guide to the new Premiership Season - Part 3

Part 3 of a preview of the Premiership, looking at each clubs season to come.

Van Gaal - the new manager, will it be King Louis? or Moyes 2

Manchester United
Manchester United's first season post Sir Alex Ferguson, was a disappointing one. David Moyes was never able to stamp his mark on an ageing squad, and was under pressure from the start with a tough fixture list.

Louis Van Gaal has been appointed, and has a big reputation, and won't be worried about filling Sir Alex's shoes, he will mould the team in his own image.

The rebuilding has already begun, with Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand leaving. However the worry will be that at present they haven't replaced either of them.

They have signed Luke Shaw, to replace the departing Patrice Evra, and Ander Herrera who has been touted as the new Paul Scholes, which is a big pair of boots that have been unfilled for a while.

Prediction - 4th

Pardew and the headbutt

Newcastle United 
A 10th place finish for Newcastle last season doesn't seem that bad for Alan Pardew, but they were 6th after 18 games. They lost 13 of their games in the second half of the season, managing just 5 wins.

The main incident though was Pardew's headbutt on David Meyler, which coincided/caused their freefall, also the loss of Yohann Kebab (Cabaye) was key.

Last season Newcastle were reliant upon Loic Remy, who doesn't look like coming back to St James Park this season. They will therefore be reliant on new signings Emmanuel Riviere and Facundo Ferreyra, but it is unclear how they will adapt to Premiership football. They will be helped by the addition of playmakers Remy Cabella and Siem De Jong, whilst Jack Colback moves across from Wearside.

Prediction - 8th

Harry and Rio together again, like in the beginning

Queens Park Rangers
After being relegated two years ago, despite heavy investment, QPR have bounced back, to return to the Premier League. Harry Redknapp is still at the helm, and it could be his nous that helps keep QPR up.

They have added Rio Ferdinand and Steven Caulker, to provide some defensive stability. Charlie Austin could do with more support up front, as it remains to be seen whether Loic Remy will still be at QPR come the start of the season.

I can see them staying up, as they have a good mix of Premiership experience and youth.

Prediction - 13th

Could he be Southampton's star signing

Southampton
Southampton surpassed expectations last season to such an extent that they have paid the price over the summer. They've seen their manager Mauricio Pochettino leave, along with the core of the side that performed so well last season, Lovren, Lallana, Lambert, and Shaw. Schneiderlin seems set to join them, as has young prospect Callum Chambers.

Immediately, this season looks more difficult, however the appointment of Ronald Koeman looks like being a masterstroke. 

They've signed Dusan Tadic a skillful midfielder, to replace Lallana, and Graziano Pelle from Koeman's old club Feyenoord to replace Lambert. Ryan Betrand is a clever loan signing from Chelsea to replace Luke Shaw.

Many are predicting a tough season, and they face a tough start at Anfield, but they don't face any of the other top 5 clubs until the 30th November, so they will need to take advantage of that.

Jay Rodriguez getting fit is key, as is utilising Vincent Wanyama's strength and replacing Dejan Lovren's solidity.

Prediction - 12th

Mr Bojan-gles

Stoke City
I thought Stoke post Tony Pulis would struggle, but they performed well, finishing 9th in Mark Hughes' first season.

Hughes has built from firm foundations, and 9th place last season was a respectable finish.

The signing of Bojan Krkic could be genius, but the man who broke all kinds of Barcelona youth scoring records, has struggled with the step up to the senior game, in Spain and Italy already. It is likely he will struggle with the physicality of the Premier League.

They will be hoping Arnautovic and Krkic can build up a good partnership. They are a side who are the sum of their parts, rather than outstanding individuals, and that could stand them in good stead.

Prediction - 10th

The Premiership Season - Everton - Manchester City

Guide to the new Premiership Season - Part 2

Part 2 of a preview of the Premiership, looking at each clubs season to come.

I'll have a Martinez, shaken not stirred

Everton

Many felt Everton would struggle last season, without David Moyes, without Fellaini and Baines potentially unsettled, however they ended up improving, finishing in a great 5th place.

Their main business in the summer, has been to sign the players who were on loan last season, Barry and Lukaku. They've also added Besic, and kept Barkley and Baines. Besic looks impressive, with good skill and vision in the middle of the park, he'll be key in releasing the likes of Baines, Coleman and Mirallas out wide.

Jagielka and Stones will be crucial at the back, as will Lukaku up front again. 

Lukaku looked poor in the World Cup and if he's not on form, Everton will struggle. They face a tough start with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd all within their first 6 matches.

Prediction - 7th

Hull City

A season to remember in the FA cup last season, making it to the final. They finished 16th in their first season back in the Premiership, and but for the final distractions would have been further up.

This season they have the challenge of second season syndrome and the difficulty of managing a Europa League schedule.

They've added Snodgrass and Tom Ince, who should help their attacking. Jake Livermore joins permanently and Andrew Robertson and Harry Maguire add some youth to the Hull defence.

I think they'll struggle with the Europa League schedule, but will be helped by having Long and Jelavic up front with added support from Ince.

Prediction - 16th

Is the future All Brighton for Leicester (apologies)

Leicester City

Championship champions last season, but it's been a while since they've been in the Premier League.

They've got some money behind them and have brought in Leonardo Ulloa from Brighton for £8m, but it might Marc Albrighton, who turns out to be the better signing, if he can produce the form he did on occasion at Aston Villa.

I feel they'll full short, with a lack of firepower. Expect some great shot-stopping from Kasper Schmeichel though.

Prediction - 19th

Adam Lallana has been signed by Brendan Rodgers for around £20m

Liverpool

A fantastic season last year, which almost lead to a first title in 24 years. They end up 3rd, which was still impressive, and guaranteed champions league football.

This season is an altogether different proposition, firstly there is no Luis Suarez, he scored 31 goals in 33 games last season. Secondly, they now have European football to negotiate with their squad.

They've signed a trio of Southampton players, Lallana, Lambert and Lovren, as well as Markovic and Emre Can.

They'll have some great attacking options available, but no real replacement for Suarez, and they will find it difficult to outscore teams, as they did last season.

I think they'll struggle compared to last season.

Prediction - 5th

Stefan Jovetic - has looked good in pre-season

Manchester City

Last season's champions left it late to charge to the top, but were deserved champions.

Expectations this season will be no lower.

Who do you sign for the team that seemingly have everyone they need. Man City have added Bacary Sagna and Wily Caballero, to provide cover at full back and in goal. Fernando comes in in defensive midfield, and Mangala is expected to sign soon to strengthen the centre back position, which was their main weakness.

Negredo will miss the first 3 months of the season, with a broken metatarsal. However, City can rely on Aguero, Dzecko and Jovetic to provide the goals. Jovetic has looked like a new signing in pre-season after an injury hit first season at Man City.

They will contend again with a well-balanced squad.

Prediction - 2nd

The Premiership Season 2014/15 Guide - Arsenal - Crystal Palace

Guide to the New Season

Over the next few posts, I will look at the forthcoming Premiership season 2014/15, on a club by club basis.

Arsenal

Last season promised so much, as Arsenal spent a large part of the season at the top of the league only to lose their way in the big games and drop back to their familiar 4th place. They did however break their trophy drought by winning the FA Cup.

Last year, Arsenal stepped up their game by signing Mezut Ozil, and this season they have spent in the summer as well, by signing Alexis Sanchez. He might provide the additional firepower to help push Arsenal back into the top 3.

Defensive midfield remains an issue, and Vermaelen is a loss for the cover he provides across the back four, Arsenal will need to replace him.

Arsenal have been hit by injury problems over the last few seasons, perhaps due to over-training or the wrong training. It could be that Shad Forsythe, fitness coach for the German national team, will turn out to be their best signing, if he can keep their best players on the pitch.

Prediction - 3rd

Is this Villa's biggest signing?

Aston Villa

Aston Villa had a poor season, they took just 11 points from the last 15 games.

Paul Lambert remains in charge, albeit with a new backroom staff, which includes Roy Keane.

The signings of Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson, don't inspire too much confidence, that Villa will be avoiding a relegation battle this season.

Without a fit Benteke at the start of the season, they could struggle from the start.

Prediction - 17th

Sean Dyche performed wonders getting Burnley promoted, can he do even better and keep them up?

Burnley

Automatic promotion last season, was against the odds, as they faced sides with much bigger budgets and infrastructure.

Steven Reid and Matthew Taylor have come in to add Premiership experience to the squad.

They may lack goals up front if Danny Ings struggles with the step-up.

It's likely to be a long season for Burnley, but I think they'll give it a good go, but fall short at the end.

Prediction - 20th

Diego Costa - keeping fit using horse placenta

Chelsea

Last season they were just 'little horses that needed milk', this season they will expect more than 3rd place.

Chelsea have as always invested, both in young talent, that will be farmed out, indeed at present 11 players are out on loan.

They've added Fabregas, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis, to a team that is solid at the back with Terry and Cahill in front of either Courtois or Cech, and with an array of attacking midfielders including Oscar, Schurrle, Salah, Hazard and Willian.

They will be there or thereabouts this season.

I don't think Costa will be that good this season, but they have goals elsewhere in the team that should make up for it.

Prediction - 1st

Tony Pulis - hats off to him, great season last year, can he follow up?

Crystal Palace

They had never stayed up in the Premiership before, and were in trouble when Pulis took over, but he solidified the team, and they had some great form in 2014 to end in 11th place.

Scott Dann and Frazier Campbell should be good signings, Hangeland maybe past his best, but he fits the bill for Pulis, who likes to have big imposing centre backs, a la Shawcross and Huth.

Palace should be safe this season, and I'd expect Pulis to build on what he did last year. They'll be steady at the back and attack at pace, and Frazier Campbell fits that style perfectly, if he links well with Puncheon and Bolasie, they could be a potent combination.

Prediction - 9th

Return of the blog - Fantasy Football - updated

Return of the Blog

So it has been a long time since I've blogged about, well anything.

I thought I'd give it a go returning with a blog to coincide with the new football season.

I intend to blog in the coming week about each of the 20 clubs making up the Premier League and how they might fare this season.

However for this first blog back, my focus will be Fantasy Football, and although there is more than one variety of fantasy football, my focus is on the Premier League Fantasy Football although some of the prinicples and players will apply to other leagues.

Fantasy Picks

When you think about picking your fantasy team, the main misconception is to as many players from all the top teams as possible.

Goalkeepers

Taking goalkeepers as a case in point. Keepers get a point for every 3 saves they make and -1 for every 2 goals conceded, so often Keepers from mid-table sides that face a lot of shots, outperform keepers from the top 4/5 teams.

Indeed of the top 7 keepers, only Cech and Szczesny represented teams in the top 4. 3 were from teams outside the top 6, Julian Speroni (Crystal Palace); Asmir Begovic (Stoke) and Vito Mannone (Sunderland).

However, it is not always clear from last years points, as to who the best keeper to pick is.

Take West Ham for instance, they changed keepers halfway through the season, the combined points from their keepers was 171 a better combined total than any other team of keepers.

Lastly, as Speroni showed at Crystal Palace, don't discount the newcomers. Of this years keepers Schmeichel at Leicester and Green at QPR, represent the best value. At £4.5m each even if they only warm the bench of your team, they are both likely to score points. Schmeichel is a very good shot stopper, so will make a lot of saves, and Green has a lot of Premiership experience.

Defenders

Defenders are key in any team, the dream is a goalscoring and assisting defender, who also keeps clean sheets. Unfortunately, these players are rare and very expensive.

Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman of Everton fit this bill last season, keeping 13 and 15 clean sheets, as well as scoring and assisting. However, this season you'll pay the price for picking them, £7m each.

So where are the value deals? It is harder to get value with defenders than with keepers. If you look at the top 10 points scoring defenders last season, with the exception of Jose Fonte at Southampton, they all played for clubs in the top 5.

Managers who favour a defence style help, so Tony Pulis at Crystal Palace, usually sets out Palace with a staunch defence, and they try to score on the counter-attack. Hangeland has come in from Fulham, and along with Scott Dann and Joel Ward, is valued at £5m, one of those would be worth having.

Lastly, for defenders don't always pick the best defender in a teams defence. Bonus points more often than not go to strikers and midfielders, whilst clean sheet points are the same for all the defenders as long as they play 60+ minutes. The only difficulty with this is making sure they play, Mathieu Debuchy at Arsenal is half a million cheaper than Koscielny and Mertesacker, but will like play the same amount of games and likes to push on, so will hopefully get some assists.

Midfield

Midfielders and Strikers are the most important players in the team, they are the big points scorers. Yaya Toure was the top scoring player in the fantasy premier league last year with 241 points, Gerrard and Hazard were 2nd and 3rd top scorers, so it demonstrates how important a midfielder can be.

It is worth noting Gerrard scored 13 last season of which 10 were penalties, this figure is likely to fall with the absence of Luis Suarez.

Midfield is less about value, and more about accommodating as many of the big points scorers as possible.

Some of the key midfielders, maybe those who missed periods of last season and so ended up with less points. Mata missed the first period of the season, as he was surplus to Mourinho's requirements. Walcott, Wilshere, Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain all missed parts of the season for Arsenal with injury, but remember you can always transfer injured players out.

Yannick Bolasie at Crystal Palace played very well without scoring, but could be a player, who if he gets a goal could go on a scoring run.

Ashley Young has apparently been in scintillating form for Man Utd in pre-season, so could be worth a shout at £5.5m.

Of the newcomers, Joey Barton is likely to take set-pieces for QPR, so will accumulate goals and assists, but possible red and yellow cards also.

A few eyes will be on the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas, and Anders Herrera the big signings at the top clubs. However, it is worth paying attention to the signings for teams lower down, the likes of Dusan Tadic at Southampton, and Carbella and De Jong at Newcastle, who will be their playmakers.

Strikers

Last, but certainly not least, are the strikers.

For these you definitely need to follow the form. Strikers thrive on confidence, some strikers can't stop scoring, and then as soon as they stop can't score again. Think Michael Ricketts  (12 goals 01/02), Marcus Stewart (19 goals 00/01), Marlon Harewood (14 goals in 05/06), Andy Carroll, Benjani, Roque Santa Cruz, Benni McCarty, even Michu to some extent. The point is don't back players just because they played well last year, but also to transfer in the players who start to get on a roll.

Some players who represent good value, Giroud was great value for Arsenal last season as he was guaranteed to play nearly every week, with the arrival of Sanchez, he maybe less of a cert, but still good value.

With Benteke and Kozac out Villa will be reliant on Weimann and Agbonlahor, both £5.5m, either worth having on the bench.

From the Championship, Ings (Burnley) and Austin (QPR) both at £6m, both scored plenty of goals in the Championship, although it remains to be seen if they can achieve similar feats in the Premier League. David Nugent at Leicester is cheaper, but less likely to hit the heights of the other 2.

I'm not convinced by Diego Costa at Chelsea and at £10.5m seems over-priced. Frazier Campbell at Palace is only £5.5m and has a lot of Premier League experience. Lukaku had a very good season last season and in 2012/13, but looked poor at the World Cup.

Long and Jelavic at Hull could prove to be good signings, but if Hull get through the Europa qualifiers, they face a heavy fixture list with a small squad, so I would avoid.

Jovetic has been in good form for Man City, after injuries in his first season, and if he starts, would be well worth having, especially if Aguero continues to be injury-prone.

Rooney and Van Persie are obvious choices at United.

Sides outside the top 4 don't rotate as much and so are likely to play more and score more points, so look out for the following:-

(Not this Pele)

Graziano Pelle at Southampton, represents their only real strike choice and has followed manager Koeman, he could prove useful.

Spurs have few striking options Soldao, Adebayor and Kane, Kane could prove good value, especially if Adebayor goes walkies, as he likes to do, especially around the African Cup of Nations.

Sunderland have a lot of strikers on paper Fletcher and Wickham, could prove a good strike force, Wickham was a key component behind them staying up.

Lastly, Zarate at West Ham could prove a good signing at £6.5m, he looked classy when he played at Birmingham City in 2008.

Well i've named most of the premier league, so you can't blame me if you fail!

All the best for the new fantasy football season.


General Rules

• Follow the Form - If a striker gets his confidence back, he may suddenly go on a scoring run, e.g. Christian Benteke went 12 games without scoring, managed a tap in against Arsenal and scored in the next 2 games.

• Follow the fixtures - Gone are the days when every team plays one game a week for 38 weeks. Postponements, European fixtures, Cup matches, all mean there will be times this season when a club plays in the league more than once in a week or not at all. Check the fixtures and bring in players who are playing more in that week. 
• Also check who teams are playing, some of the top teams get a run against lower sides, and it's worth having those players in for those times. For instance last season Arsenal were keeping clean sheets, but had a spell against the top 4 sides, that involved conceding  and then transferring out Arsenal defenders, when they play their title rivals.

• Follow the fitness - Have a quick check of BBC Sport the day before the games to see who is injured and how long for. Also, players who are out for 6 weeks or longer, usually take time to adjust to playing again, so are worth transferring out, don't expect them to pick up where they left off.

• Follow the transfers - The season maybe starting but that doesn't mean all the transfer business is done, key players are still being signed. I expect Man United to bring at least one more defender and Micah Richards could well move to a club lower down the league (especially after his penalty!), so could represent good value.