Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
Count it. Year 7 of the Premiership Predictions thread.
Previous 6 years: 2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 Last Year : Code:
My Predicted Table Final Table Difference Overall score this year : 52 - better than last year again (For those who dont remember or can't be bothered reading the previous threads; the Score is your margin of error - add a point for every place you were out for every team, total it up) 2005/2006 score = 62 2006/2007 score = 58 2007/2008 score = 54 Aiming for 50 this year :o (AGAIN) So on to this year. I reserve the right to change any prediction up until the first kick off :o -------------------------------------- 01. Man Utd Manchester United will win the league because they havent signed anyone, and havent lost anyone. They have too much in every position - Van Der Sar is still great and has Kuzcak/Foster for backup, Brown/Neville at right back, the best center half pairing in the league with Ferdinand/Vidic, Evra as the best left back in the league. The midfield has decent rotation - while nani (inconsistency, temperament), anderson (lack of goals), giggs (age), park (ability - no shortage of workrate though), carrick (urgency, invention) all have problems, pretty much any team in the league would take any of them off Man Utd's hands. And this leaves out Hargreaves, probably the best defensive mid in the league due to his ability to actually start an attack when winning the ball, Scholes, still for my money the cleverest and most valuable player in the entire league on his day, and Ronaldo, whose aim is to chase down 50 goals from midfield this season. Even without rumoured signings, Tevez/Rooney/Saha offer £70m worth of striker between them, even if none of them perfectly compliment the others. This is a team that has no holes that needed filling and no big questions about them. Main Man – Cristiano Ronaldo A winger that can score that many goals with his head and win games out of sheer arrogance is worth his weight in sangria. 02. Chelsea Actually for my money Chelsea were the best team in the league last season and would have won the title were it not for some pretty awful refereeing decisions. I never thoughts id be saying that, but since Avram Grant took over, they outperformed Man Utd. Having said that, i dont think theyll win the league this year. Im not sure what Deco actually brings to the the team, or where he'll play - the 'man behind the two strikers' role simply does not exist in english football. Who knows what sort of season we'll see from Drogba, talismanic like a year and a half of his time in england, or pathetic like his first year and last part of the season? The defence of Cech Cole/Terry/Carvahlo/Boswinga with the likes of Alex and Bridge in reserve is the strongest in the league because of the attacking talents of the full backs, but although Ballack looks like the player he was in Germany, there are lots of maybes and questions all around the squad. How motivated is Lampard? What position ideally should Mikel play? How valuable to Chelsea really are Malouda and Anelka - no one can decide. Chelsea were also hit terribly by the poor season Michael Essien had last year - he needs to bounce back. I think their squad depth is tremendous, but as you can name more certain starters in the Man Utd XI each week, Chelsea will take 2nd. Main Man – Michael Ballack Even though hes an abrasive kraut, you cant help but feel sorry for Ballack, after the way he played in the premiership, the champions league, and the European championships, to again walk away with nothing. Showed what a sensational player he is when you put him at the center of a team rather than at the periphery. 03. Arsenal Arsenal still have Wenger, so therefore any overlooking of their credentials is yet again, foolish. I dont buy into the 'this is ramsey walcott and wilkshire's year' argument, because i dont think arsenal are about stand out players and superstars. They will have their weaknesses, and poor moments, and theyll still be subceptible to teams that play a physical style, none of that is going to change. But theyll still have a system and a manager that believes in his players and theyll still play the best football in the league on occasion. They also have the bottle, unlike their closest competitors. There isnt too much point going man for man through the team because on pure skill, players like denilson and toure and rosicky dont match up to the rooneys and gerrards. The main personel issue is that of Adebayor and whether he can match his goal output of last year - unlikely, looking at his form past Christmas. Main Man – Cesc Fabregas Still pulling the strings, and chipped in with a decent number of goals and the most assists in the league last year. Arsenal should enjoy him before he makes the inevitable spaniards return to Barcelona or Real Madrid 04. Liverpool Liverpool have had a terrible off season. For a club that seems to have no money available, they got what they deserved by holding out for stupidly inflated prices for Crouch, Carson, and Alonso when they were punished by hilariously over inflated prices for Keane (20m - worth 12m) and Barry (18m and deal hasnt gone through and may not - real value 9m tops). I dont mean to get on Benitez's back before the season begins either but he has no interest in playing 2 strikers, so why Keane? It looks like the wrong man for the wrong position to me, and while they continue to play 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 if you man mark the (brilliant but overrated, there, i said it) Torres and Gerrard doesnt have a good game, they are null and void as an attacking force. They STILL cant defend corners (agger couldnt win a ball in the air against an under-12s team) and theres too many players with question marks over them. I would put them lower if they hadnt bought their nearest rivals captain and were negotiating with their other closest competitors captain at the same time. Pathetic and unambitious to be honest, im not even going to bother hoping this year unless something (formation? manager? suprise TOP CLASS signing?) materialises Main Man – Steven Gerrard Although liverpool can win without him, its an awful lot easier when hes on. When your midfield contains Mascherano someonee else has to actually pick up the creative slack 05. Aston Villa I think Villa have actually had a really good off season. At celtic i though O'neill was at best average in the transfer market, but at Villa, rightly holding Liverpool to a kings ransom over Barry (the price he wants is double barrys value, but why should villa sell?) and triggering Cuellar's release clause from his rangers contract, has shown his prowess. While 2m is a lot of money for a keeper Friedel's age, money is becoming less and less relevant to the big clubs and having someone to marshall your defence as well as he does could be invaluable. The development of Young and Agbonlahor after good years last year should be fun to watch, and Sidwell can kick start his career in the middle of the field - with or without Barry. A good side that at this rate i would not be suprised to see genuinely challenging Arsenal and Liverpool, but they need to start well. Main Man – Ashley Young Being as the transfer market really went tits up this summer, i shudder to think what someone would pay to tempt him out of Villa. The solid base Villa play with really relies on him to come up with creative and incisive running moves and crosses otherwise their attack can be a bit one dimensional. 06. Tottenham Im not quite buying that its been as good a summer for tottenham fans as theyd have you believe, although on paper it looks like theyve built up a tremendous squad. Modric, Dos Santos, and Bentley make up three members of a very good looking new midfield, and they cut a lot of dead wood and middling players. Hutton/King/Woodgate/Bale is close to the best defence in the league - for the 5 games the entire back line will be fit at the one time. But upfront, with Keane and Defoe gone and Berbatov unsettled or on his way out, a lot relies on Darren Bent to actually justify his ridiculous price tag of a year ago, and cover is non existent. More may come in, but then again they might not. The thing about spurs is that they have the power and the potential to actually even WIN the league, but they wont, because they wont gel, and big players will dissapoint, and they'll have bad spells, and they cant beat chelsea or arsenal. Yes, Ramos looks like a good manager, but this is still a team that finished in the bottom half last year - not all Jols fault. Perhaps a good shout for the UEFA cup but with so many players in their first season in the league or first with Tottenham, this year screams 'transition'. Next year though, they could be a genuine force if Arsenal/Liverpool dont find their chequebooks. Main Man – Jonathan Woodgate You might think it an odd choice, but i think on his day (singular because hes never fit) hes the best defender in england, period. 07. Everton Oh dear. This is the first time in a long time that Everton start the season looking down rather than looking up. The transfer window is nearly over and theyve bought.... no one. My overall impression of the squad is that its very light. They performed poorly when Arteta didnt play well, and when Cahill was injured. I very much like the type of player they have in midfield - the 4 of osman, cahill, arteta, and fernandes or pienaar with neville behind is a good balance of invention and guts - but ive never been a big yakubu fan, i think hes someone whose goals disguise his weaknesses. Selling Andy Johnson, even for a decent 10m seems premature and unneccesary given there isnt anyone to replace the work he does for his team. Worse players than him have had bad seasons and been given second chances, and he shouldnt have been sent to fulham. Defence is big and strong but doesnt have a lot of depth either which will hurt everton when the fixtures pile up. Moyes remains one of the best managers in the league (#3 for me), and the board should back him. Main Man – Mikel Arteta The football he played a few years ago was exceptional, turning everton into the most dangerous set play team in the league. 08. Portsmouth I expect Portsmouth to consolidate on last year's excellent performance in terms of league position. I also expect them to again steadfastly refuse to play any football under any circumstance. I really dont have a lot to say about them lest i fall asleep. The squad is big, muscular, and in your face and doesnt give an inch.... until the front two. Defoe is a striker with real instinct and class but hes also a lightweight... and crouch... is crouch. On his day he is unplayable for the opposition.. on other days, hes unplayable for his manager because hes just so awful. I dont buy that its a good forward pairing at all and with money scarce at Fratton park i would have rather kept Muntari than buy a 7ft white elephant. Main Man – David James Still such an exceptionally classy keeper, expect him to add to his record tally of clean sheets again this year in a defensively minded outfit 09. Man City Im not convinced by Man City, really. Theyve spent big in the last couple of years, but spent poorly too by the looks of it. Jo might prove me wrong, but as a general rule im not too big on players i havent heard of being bought for 18 million pounds. I do think Ben Haim will do a job for them, he wasnt Chelsea quality, but this is his level. A lot of good players remain from the Sven era - Corluka, Garrido, Elano, Petrov - the latter two who showed exceptional form on occasion, but struggled for long parts of the season. Theres enough really good players at the club to write a glowing report about Man City's prospects, but such is the quality of the premier league that i'd back a consistent team against them any day of the week. Big year for some of their players who may be seeking international caps or a bigger move - Richards, Ireland, and Johnson in particular. Main Man – Richard Dunne I thought he was brilliant last year, particularly what he did to Liverpool at Eastlands. City tend to give away a lot of chances and he'll need to be even more consistently good this year to stem the flow. 10. Blackburn Difficult off season for blackburn who are once again painfully reminded of where they are in the food chain that is the premier league. They couldnt have seen losing the inspirational Friedel coming, a big blow, but i genuinely believe Paul Robinson for 3m is a steal for a keeper whose value seems to have dropped purely on the basis of a pitch bobble and some tabloid inches. Losing Bentley was harsh, even for 15m, and whether Villanueva fills his boots is yet to be seen - youd go with the proven man every time. Still face a battle to hang on to Santa Cruz. Good enough to avoid any danger because of the good work Mark Hughes has done in the past, but less of a frightening side than they used to be. Paul Ince's first year in the premier league as a manager too; you have to suspect inexperience wont help them. Main Man – Roque Santa Cruz If he stays, of course. Blackburn need his goals to keep their points tally ticking along. If he goes, they will need a replacement of his quality - easier said than done. 11. Newcastle Still a nothing side managed by a no hoper whose day has past. Thats sort of a theme with newcastle really - see cacapa, owen, viduka, butt, duff. They arent bad enough to get in any trouble and have some players of genuine quality - Given stands out - but as of yet we've still seen no evidence that theyve learned to defend as a cohesive unit, especially not for 38 games. Again, they are one of those teams that when you look at some of the exciting players - martins, milner etc - you can easily get carried away like i have in the past about their actual ability. With a lack of coaching they could be lower than this, with better coaching they could be higher. Keegan out by Christmas, deluded Bring back robson campaign by geordies by january. Main Man – Stephen Taylor I think hes becoming a very good defender at the hardest place to try and defend in the entire premier league. Can look desperate at times, but who wouldnt in a barcode defence? 12. Sunderland Loathe as i am to put them this high i think theyve spent pretty well - or at least have spent a lot. Like him or hate him, Diouf did a great job at Bolton and since leaving liverpool has turned into a very capable winger. Roy Keane has extended his amazing transfer policy from only irish players to only ex team mates to lots of reserves from the one club, but theres no reason why malbranque (big fish, little pond syndrome) cant do what he did for fulham, and Chimbonda for me is actually an excellent right back too who counts as a decent coup. I cant say they are a side that i rate overly highly, but they have enough about them to fend off some of the crap they have below them. Main Man – Kenwyne Jones Out injured for a while, but the most dider drogba like player since didier drogba adds a multidimensional threat to their attack. 13. West Ham Swiftly becoming the forgotten team, West Ham had the most uneventful season of any team in the league last year. Green Neill/Upson/Ferdinand is four fifths of a good backline, but quality is interspersed only sporadically throughout the rest of the side. The fairest thing you can say is that they put freddie ljunberg out of his misery by retiring him and that Julian Faubert, last years big signing, might actually get to play a game this season before suffering injury. Ashton and Bellamy could yet click as a front pairing. But overall its not an optimistic time to be a hammer i dont think, and with uncertainty over Curbishley, they arent too good to go down. Well, they wouldnt be if the promoted outfits werent so bad. Main Man – Robert Green Should be the England keeper when James hangs up his gloves, and isnt in the squad. Might be unassuming, but hes the best shot stopper in the league by far, im a fan. 14. Middlesborough Routine mid table finish for the premiership's most irrelevant side. To be fair though, southgate deserves credit for some of boro's performances last season when it seemed that for all likelihood they were destined for the championship, especially when believe in him as a manager was not universal. Too many maybes and holes and sort ofs all over the pitch - i think of mido (weight and temperament) alves (weight) in particular. They hold the honour of the premierships ugliest ever center half pairing in Wheater and Huth though (and neither are bad defenders). Could be a few places either way, but not likely to set the world on fire. Main Man – Stewart Downing Ive been a critic because he was pushed into the England set up way too soon. But hes gotten taller and stronger and actually become a really assuming player. I was mightily suprised when he signed a new contract with them, and theyll need him as the one source of inspiration in a mediocre outfit. 15. Fulham From their squad they just about scrape together a decent first team, with the likes of Annti Niemi, Chris Baird, Paul Konchesky, Diomansy Kamara - but scraping is what Fulham do best. I do actually think they play better football than they're often accredited for doing, but you cant avoid the fact they arent a glamorous club. Great for them to keep roy of the rovers himself Jimmy Bullard, a real talisman for them to rally around. Weak defensively but probably have enough to survive yet another year Main Man – Andy Johnson Excellent buy and exactly what they need - a player that will work, and work, and work, and presuming last year isnt the end of his career in his mid twenties, will get you a good 10 or 12 goals too, priceless at this strata in the table 16. Bolton A team full of decent squad players, but no real first teamers that catch the eye, especially since Kevin Nolan's dramatic collapse in form last season. They have decent depth to play at the level they play at, but rely heavily on their very one dimensional football - works on its day, but generally doesnt. Good at dragging teams down to their level and beating them with experience, and this could help them rise a few places, but i think we've seen the end of Bolton in the top half of the table. Chose to splash their 10m on Johan Elmander, red herring transfer of the summer for me. Main Man – Jussi Jaskelleinen Because i think hes a quality keeper, and hes going to be busy this year grinding out useful 0-0 draws. 17. Wigan Their midfield of Cattermole/Kapo/Koumas/Valencia (the latter of whom im very suprised they hung on to) is actually very good, but the forward line is sketchy (Heskey and Camara) and the defence is just totally unacceptable and not up to Premier League standards. In serious trouble, as usual. Best thing you can say about them is Steve Bruce knows exactly what hes doing at this end of the league table and could yet save them. Main Man – Paul Scharner I still rate him as a quality player who can play anywhere accross the back line or in central midfield, and if they go down, he'll get a move to a mid table outfit. 18. West Brom They actually have a pretty decent defence compared to some of the teams around them, Carson Zuiverloon/Robinson/Meiti/Clement is more than capable. But despite all the 'brilliant football' they supposedly played in the Championship last year, West Brazil's midfield and forward line looks suspiciously awful compared to those even in the bottom half of the premier league table. Then again, Mowbray teams are good to watch. I cant decide whether being good to watch is a good strategy or not though. Main Man – Scott Carson Keepers get more chance to shine at the bottom of the league than anywhere else. This is carsons chance to show liverpool, villa, and the rest that they should have taken a punt on him. 19. Hull City While theyve actually put a bit of effort into finding relative bargains at the club, they start from such a low base that you cant even say they have enough quality to field a competent first team, never mind a squad. Its sheer comedy to see Nick Barmby playing in a premiership team in 2008, but the comedy that is ex-Barcelona superstar geovanni pulling on a Hull city shirt for the first time will make the entire season worthwhile for me. Dean Windass too, what i dont pray for a fight involving him this year. Main Man – George Boateng Can marshall a Premiership quality midfield, unfortunately he wont have one to work with. 20. Stoke City Quite simply they dont have enough quality. They have a team filled with players that have already proved they dont have the ability at this level (diao, griffin, faye, sorenson, delap, lawrence, fuller) and the rest havent shown that they have anything to offer the division through their championship performances. Main Man – Dave Kitson Because hes their record signing and hes actually played well in this league before unlike any of the rest. ------------------------------------- 01. Man Utd _____________ 02. Chelsea 03. Arsenal 04. Liverpool ----------------------- 05. Aston Villa 06. Tottenham 07. Everton ----------------------- 08. Portsmouth 09. Man City 10. Blackburn 11. Newcastle 12. Sunderland 13. West Ham 14. Middlesborough 15. Fulham 16. Bolton 17. Wigan _____________ 18. West Brom 19. Hull City 20. Stoke City --------------------------------------- In the end, i dont think a lot is really going to change this year because of the impossibility of doing transfers now the TV money is just ridiculous. I think thats the main reason for the first time ever im predicting the three to come up to be the three to go right back down, the gap between the two leagues has never been wider. Thankyou for reading, please add your thoughts and predictions! |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
01. Arsenal
_____________ 02. Man Utd 03. Liverpool 04. Chelsea ----------------------- 05. Everton 06. Tottenham 07. Man City ----------------------- 08. Middlesborough 09. Aston Villa 10. Bolton 11. Newcastle 12. Blackburn 13. West Ham 14. Portsmouth 15. Fulham 16. Sunderland 17. Wigan _____________ 18. West Brom 19. Stoke City 20. Hull City |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
footballs are going to hit nets and people are going to be informed about political issues
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Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
lol. a tad of ownage in the above post
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Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
Last season: 3 correct, 7 almost correct (1 either way), difference of 44.
01. Chelsea _____________ 02. Man Utd 03. Liverpool 04. Arsenal ----------------------- 05. Aston Villa 06. Everton 07. Tottenham ----------------------- 08. Portsmouth 09. Man City 10. Newcastle 11. Middlesborough 12. West Ham 13. Fulham 14. Sunderland 15. Blackburn 16. Bolton 17. Wigan _____________ 18. Hull City 19. West Brom 20. Stoke City Man Utd and Chelsea are going to run away with it again. Liverpool won't gell and will fall over before Christmas (again), and Rafa might not even survive this time! Arsenal don't quite have the depth and experience, as with last season. Aston Villa have a nice team coming together, and even if they lose Barry in 'that' saga, they're in for a European place again. Everton have little depth but they're a team, and have basically been together for the last few seasons. That isn't something to be underestimated! Tottenham should finish higher, but I think they're going to struggle with so many changes and (possibly) only Bent as a main striker. No offence to Mark Hughes, but I think that he and his team are going to take a season to settle. Portsmouth will probably come through stronger, Harry has had some time to get together a team and little and large will do well up front. It falls away a bit after that - Newcastle will fail to produce more than flashes of exciting football, Blackburn are in freefall with Hughes having left, Bolton will struggle without Anelka, Fulham will stabilise a bit, Sunderland will probably claw their way up the table a bit(!), and the 3 who came up will (probably) go down. |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
For me its hard to say specific positions at season end, but Ive got a fairly good idea of whos gonna end in what bracket.
Chelsea\United are the best Arsenal\Pool 3rd and 4th Villa\Spurs\Pompey\Everton\City\West ham Newcastle\Boro\Sunderland\Fulham\Blackburn Wigan\WBA\Bolton\Hull\Stoke Who ends where out of those groups are fairly bingo in my opinion, but Ive put up what I reckon itll look at at seasons end. Might put in some reasons for my selections later. 01. Man Utd _____________ 02. Chelsea 03. Arsenal 04. Liverpool ----------------------- 05. Tottenham 06. Aston Villa 07. Porsmouth ----------------------- 08. Everton 09. Man City 10. West Ham 11. Newcastle 12. Middlesborough 13. Fulham 14. Sunderland 15. Blackburn 16. Wigan 17. WBA _____________ 18. Bolton 19. Hull City 20. Stoke City I would have preferred to have waited to predict till after the transferwindow closes but I guess thats not possible :( |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
01. Man Utd
_____________ 02. Chelsea 03. Liverpool 04. Everton ----------------------- 05. Arsenal 06. Aston Villa 07. Tottenham ----------------------- 08. Newcastle 09. Man City 10. Portsmouth 11. Blackburn 12. West Ham 13. Middlesborough 14. Bolton 15. Fullham 16. Wigan 17. Sunderland _____________ 18. Hull City 19. West Brom 20. Stoke City |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
1. Liverpool
----------------------- 2. Chelsea 3. United 4. Spurs ----------------------- 5. Arsenal 6. Aston Villa 7. Everton ----------------------- 8. City 9. Portsmouth 10. Blackburn 11. Sunderland 12. Newcastle 13. West Ham 14. Bolton 15. Middlesborough 16. Fulham 17. Wigan ----------------------- 18. WBA 19. Hull 20. Stoke |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
01 Man Utd
----------- 02 Arsenal 03 Chelsea 04 Liverpool ----------- 05 Villa 06 Everton 07 Blackburn ----------- 08 Tottenham 09 Portsmouth 10 West Ham 11 Middlesbrough 12 Man City 13 Newcastle 14 Sunderland 15 Bolton 16 Fulham 17 Hull City ----------- 18 West Brom 19 Wigan 20 Stoke |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
Colt, this isn't Terran, leave it alone!
Why Man City so much higher than Blackburn? and Arsenal so high? are you a Gunner? :s |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
01 Man Utd
----------- 02 Chelsea 03 Arsenal 04 Liverpool ----------- 05 Everton 06 Blackburn 07 Villa ----------- 08 Tottenham 09 Portsmouth 10 Man City 11 Middlesbrough 12 Sunderland 13 Bolton 14 West Ham 15 Wigan 16 Newcastle 17 Hull City ----------- 18 Fulham 19 WBA 20 Stoke Man U: top team, no alternative. Chelsea will be strong, but will miss the title. Arsenal will miss experience on midfield and have a semi-decent defence, but Van Persie/Fabregas/Adebayor/Bentner/Walcott/(Eduardo?) will score enough goals to compensate for those weaknesses. Liverpool will be good, but too reliable on Gerrard/Torres. Everton will lighten up with the resurrection of Andy van der Meyde. (If he won't play, please come back to FC Twente, Andy!) Blackburn, steady and strong but not top notch. Villa will miss their leader. The incubation of the settlement of a new leader will cost them. Man City: buy alot but no team. Middlesbrough will live on the goals Alfonso Alves will start to score this season! Fulham and WBA will go down, together with Stoke ofc. |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
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Jääskeläinen. You... inadequate. |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
Will we see lots of editing and Chelsea being placed as #1 now? ;)
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Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
7 correct (Utd, Chelsea, Pool, Blackburn, West Ham, Bolton, Derby) but 50 out. Ouch.
1 United - Bastards, sheer bastards. With two top players in every position. Winners, again. Unless the king canute finally has a stroke on the touchline. 2 Chelsea - I don't like teams with no formation but this one is too good to fail. mind you, I want to see the day they line up with essien, ballack and mikel: watching a 7-2-1 turn into a 2-2-6 in an instant is a gut-wrenchingly winning formula. 3 Arsenal - I ****ing hate them, but the team that faced West Brom is what football should be. Drop down two if Adebayor gets injured. 4 Liverpool - It doesn't matter who he signs, Benitez can't grind out wins. Huge squad means nobody is settled enough or comitted enough to push for second. 5 Villa - Strong all over, Agbonlahor is shit hot. 6 Spurs - Astonishing first XI. If they sell Berbatov and get less than two world-class strikers in, down 5 places. 7 Everton - No Carsley, no Johnson. I don't rate either, but its an odd side without them unless Moutinho plus one get signed up soon. 8 City - Good side, question marks everywhere. I think Jo will be worth twenty goals by May though. 9 West Ham - They were unlucky with injuries and lucky with results last year. Not too much movement, I reckon. 10 Portsmouth - Well, they haven't got stronger; Arry knows what he's doing but no european qualification, no way. 11 Sunderland - Lovely side. Wildly inconsistent in quality from decent to shite, but Keane will continue to polish turds. Trailed off last season once they were safe; more professionals in the squad should put paid to that. 12 Newcastle - Not a bad side, but can you seriously imagine them on a run of games? No outstanding goal threats unless Owen really turns back the years at club level. 13 Blackburn - Ince is making a mess of it and now has a very, VERY disjointed side. Too many 2-1s to be in the dogfight for too many long periods though. 14 Middlesborough - I always underrate Boro but I can't see what's there to mark them out. Nobody here would be a top 4 squad player, even the ones with a bit about them (Wheater, Alves). 15 Wigan - They can stay up. They might not. I reckon they'll get too many slightly-lucky bottom half wins though. 16 Fulham - They'll survive with any six players out injured - squad depth is good enough for this end, enough quality to get the two or three upsets in a season. 17 Hull - They've signed really well. Well enough? I reckon. 18 West Brom - Half-arsed in the transfer market; as Deffeh said, nobody home after the defence. Going down, surely. 19 Bolton - God, I hate this team and their manager to boot. Can't see a happy ending, not this time. Not enough going on. 20 Stoke - Shit, just shit. Well done to them though. |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
01. Chelsea (I predicted this before the 4-0 result, so that isn't why I've gone with them. I think Man Utd are actually a little overrated, and it's particularly laughable to call them Sir Alex's best ever side, as some have.)
_____________ 02. Man Utd 03. Arsenal 04. Liverpool ----------------------- 05. Aston Villa 06. Tottenham 07. West Ham ----------------------- 08. Newcastle 09. Everton 10. Sunderland 11. Portsmouth 12. Fulham 13. Blackburn 14. Man City 15. Wigan 16. Middlesborough 17. West Brom _____________ 18. Bolton 19. Hull City 20. Stoke City |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
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(if my first one was better I'm going to delete this post, obviously). |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
7 correct, 46 out overall last year
1 Chelsea 2 Man Utd 3 Arsenal 4 Liverpool 5 Villa 6 Everton 7 Spurs 8 Portsmouth 9 Newcastle 10 Man City 11Middlesborough 12 Blackburn 13 West Ham 14 Bolton 15 Sunderland 16 Wigan 17 Fulham 18 West Brom 19 Hull 20 Stoke |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
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Overall score this year: 52 - beating last year's appalling 66. The aim is to break 50 this year. Very acceptable predictions last year. Chelsea nearly won the title despite having no manager from October, Spurs went off the rails and Newcastle went absolutely mental. I still despise the sacking of Allardyce. Pompey couldn't score but grinded their way into the top half of the table. Sammy Lee was even more incompetent than expected and Chris Hutchings was sacked early enough by Whelan for Bruce to rescue them. 1st - Chelsea - this is a very difficult choice but I think Scolari will provide a certain something that was lacking last season. Chelsea have bought well and there's no African Cup of Nations to cripple them this year. They still depend on the full-backs to provide width and it will be up to Scolari to revitalise the career of Cashley 'I'm the biggest **** in the whole wide world' Cole. Goals will come from a midfield of Lampard, Ballack and Deco but a lot will still depend on the fitness of Didier Drogba, a striker who can score a goal every two games but missed much of last season. 2nd - Man Utd - a team that I underrate at my peril. Last year I said that "...unless their entire team puts in superlative performances again, the Chelsea engine will just take it on points. The club doesn't lack in self-confidence, but I'm just not feeling the victory this season. United were a little lucky last season in winning certain fixtures and that won't necessarily happen this season." Ronaldo put in enough superlative performances for everyone last season and United nicked a lot of 1-0s. Yes, it can be done all over again this season but unless they sign a 20 goal a season striker then I'm not sure they'll beat Chelsea to the title. 3rd - Arsenal - this is the sensible place for me to predict us to finish. I feel very nervous going into this season, mainly because I know that Wenger is still to buy and I have no idea who that person will be. Last year I was cheerleading for Quaresma - well, we've bought Nasri and he looks to have a fair bit of ability. The new need is for a player to replace Flamini and partner Fabregas, and the list of requirements for this position is as long as my arm. Nevertheless, Arsenal have a first XI that is the equal of any team in the country's. Almunia is a solid keeper who makes very few mistakes. We have the best pair of full-backs in the country in Clichy and Sagna. Gallas and Toure are excellent defenders although I feel that we're missing a towering defensive enforcer to play against teams who both use the long ball and have a domineering striker to control it. See Drogba, who always does well against us, and Crouch, who sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. In midfield we have the best central midfielder in the country (Fabregas) and a good partner for him who is admittedly yet to be named. Without one we are weak in the middle and will struggle to make 3rd, although a Champions League spot will never be in question. Neither Diaby nor Denilson kicked on last season while Ramsey, at the age of 17, is too green for the Premier League. Give him a year though, looks to have great potential. On the flanks Nasri and Walcott should be the starters, the former of which looks good (on the evidence of one game). Rosicky is a non-factor, he'll never stay fit. As for Walcott, he's a form and confidence player right now and needs a long run in the first team for both his sake and ours. As for our alternative on the right flank: Quote:
A team of Almunia; Sagna, Gallas, Toure, Clichy; Walcott, Fabregas, [Someone], Nasri; Adebayor, Van Persie is as good as any other team in the league. We don’t have any proven depth beyond this team but if we can keep it together we can win the league. 4th – Liverpool – another season, another 4th-placed finish. Until Liverpool buy some wide players they will never challenge for the title. Yes, Torres will score goals but he did that last season anyway. What has really changed with Liverpool? They remain incapable of contesting ‘Big 4’ matches and until they start winning those (which they’ve never even looked like doing under Rafa) then they have no chance of even making the top 2. 5th – Everton – everyone is saying that Villa will finish 5th but I’m not sure that they’re able to grind out games in the way that Everton can. Everton have Yakubu, a one-man battering ram who can win a grubby winter slugfest with one power move through the opposition defence. Carew won’t do that for Villa and that’s why I’m putting Everton above them. 6th – Aston Villa – it should be obvious that I see this as a very close contest between Everton and Villa for 5th place. O’Neill has got Villa playing a system that they are comfortable in, using each player’s talents in the right way and providing outlets to score goals no matter what the situation. The biggest question is over the defence which looks very inexperienced even if competent on paper. Cuellar is highly touted but he’ll probably just be another Boumsong. 7th – Portsmouth – the attack improves but the defence gets weaker. Campbell is a year older and a little slower while Kaboul didn’t acquit himself especially well at Spurs. However, the midfield remains both strong and creative with Diarra, Diop and Krancjar all good players. Up front the team is a hell of a lot stronger with Defoe and Crouch a promising combination. The squad depth isn’t great in the offensive areas but Redknapp knows what he’s doing. Pompey will sneak into Europe because both cup competitions will be won by the Big 4. 8th – Tottenham – an interesting summer for them. Lots of spending but quite a few sales as well to finance that spending. In fact, I believe that the cumulative effect of their summer transfers is to make them weaker not stronger. Last season my criticism of them was that their midfield was puny and couldn’t win any tough battles – there was no anchorman to release the midfield talents going forward. They’ve spent on the midfield heavily but who have they bought – Modric (5’8”), Dos Santos (5’8”) and Bentley (5’9”). All of them are lightweights. To name a few other Spurs midfielders, Jenas (5’11” and useless against competent teams), Zokora (5’11” and hugely overrated by Spurs fans) and Aaron Lennon (5’5”). In fact, the only useful midfielder in physical games in Tom Huddlestone (6’3”) who I rate very highly – Ramos made him lose a couple of stones and his form skyrocketed in the second half of last season. But here’s the clincher – he won’t make the first team when everyone’s fit. That midfield is going to be Modric – Jenas – Dos Santos – Bentley. How does that work? You can kick the shit out of that midfield, if they get more than two points against Portsmouth I’ll be amazed. Up front Keane, Spurs’ most valuable striker, has been sold. Bad move, he was a tremendous foil for Berbatov and could score every type of goal. The ‘foil for Berbatov’ skill, however, isn’t going to matter anyway since he should be off to Man United. Darren Bent? Don’t make me laugh. The concept of him as a lone striker should deeply concern any sane Tottenham fans. The first-choice defence is a good one (Hutton – King – Woodgate – Bale) but since the four of them have no chance of ever playing together it really doesn’t help. Gunter’s probably ok as backup for Bale while Gilberto can replace Hutton, but Dawson is a terrible central defender and I have no idea who would play alongside him if both King and Woodgate were out. Thank goodness there’s no chance of that happening... 9th – Manchester City – I thought that I had Man City all figured out. When making my predictions last season I had never heard of any of their players, I had no idea how Sven would play them and I didn’t know whether or not they’d be any good. Well, we answered all of those questions as the season went on...but now Sven’s left, the owner’s got no money and Hughes is apoplectic with rage at how ****ed up the club is. There was a big hole at striker (and Bojinov’s new injury is incredibly cruel), leaving only Jo may be good, may not. No idea. Benjani is still around, of course. Hughes will have to play two up front though, otherwise City just won’t score any goals now that everyone’s got used to Elano. 10th – Sunderland – Gordon; Chimbonda, Ferdinand, Nosworthy, Bardsley; Malbranque, Tainio, Reid, Richardson; Diouf, Healy. Anton Ferdinand is a widely-predicted guess, in case he doesn’t sign. This is a top 10 team under Keane’s management, considering how they performed last season. Moreover, there’ll be yet more signings in January – it almost goes without saying. Out all of my predictions this is my biggest punt, but I think they’ll make the top 10. 11th – Blackburn Rovers – I’m not sure that they’ve got stronger – in fact, I think they’ve weakened with the sale of Bentley. Paul Robinson is not as good a keeper as Brad Friedel either – in fact he’s much much worse. He also can’t come close to Friedel in marshalling/inspiring a defence, so they’ll be weaker in that area as well. I think that Santa Cruz and McCarthy will both stay at the club, and with Derbyshire as backup they should be pretty strong in the striker department. Everyone expects them to buy with the money generated from the sale of Bentley and if they buy the right players (e.g. a winger to partner Pederson) then they’ll do just fine. I do believe that it’s Everton/Villa/Portsmouth/Spurs and then the rest, though. 12th – Newcastle United – what a club. Honestly. What a club. There’s no team that quite ****s things up for itself so often and so hilariously like Newcastle United. Sacking Allardyce, appointing Keegan, the entire Joey ****ing Barton situation, for gods sake WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!!!!!!!! Football-wise, Coloccini is fantastic, Milner is productive and Newcastle have the strikers to score goals. Jonás Gutiérrez has started the season well and Guthrie is a good signing. But I’m putting them 11th because someone will go wrong. I don’t know what, I don’t know when, but they won’t make the top 10. 13th – West Ham United – West Ham have two teams. One plays on the grassy pitch outside, the other sits at home recovering from injuries. They have a lovely squad on paper despite some silly spending in the early days of the Icelandic consortium (Ljungberg). How about this first XI: Green; Neill, Upson, Gabbidon (assuming Ferdinand leaves), McCartney; Faubert, Parker, Noble, Dyer; Ashton, Bellamy. If they were all together and on form then this team would be a UEFA Cup-standard team. But West Ham isn’t a lucky club at the moment – perhaps it’s karma, although I’ve never been a West Ham hater unlike the drooling masses (or so it seems). Oh well. West Ham just won’t make it into the top half of the season this year since half of their first eleven won’t be fit – in particular Dyer and Bellamy. 14th – Fulham – so Al Fayed has finally decided to break out his chequebook. I wonder how Chris Coleman feels looking back on his time at Fulham, running a tight ship with no money coming from the owner, and comparing that to the amount of cash thrown around by Sanchez and Hodgson. Presuming that Bullard stays fit this team is good enough to stay up, although I’m still not a believer in Andy Johnson. There’s not much in the way of squad depth, unsurprisingly, but if the team can hold itself together then they’ll do just fine. There is pretty much a line between West Ham and Fulham – the former of the two will be fine, the latter will just be trying to steer clear of relegation. 15th – Middlesborough – I would love to see them relegated but the other clubs are so weak that I don’t really have much choice. I don’t think Southgate is a particularly great manager, but he has a good chairman who won’t sack him unless they spend some serious time in the relegation zone. That defence really does concern me though: a new young goalkeeper replacing the experienced Schwartzer, no leader of the young defence, no-one with tremendous potency up front. If Downing gets injured they really are ****ed with no credible strikers to speak of. 16th – Wigan Athletic – choosing between Bolton and Wigan here is pretty much an impossibility, the two teams are practically identical. But if Emile Heskey can stay fit they will always have a chance of scoring goals. He can bully defenders with his size and that will win them games. I don’t see them turning over top 10 clubs at all this season, but they’ve got enough to beat the clubs in the bottom 10. Not too dissimilar to Middlesborough, actually. Wigan also have some creative players in their midfield (Palacios, De Ridder) and if they can each contribute in five games a season then Wigan will stay up. 17th – Bolton Wanderers – nothing especially qualifies Bolton to stay up other than that they have a squad that is more experienced, in particular in the Premier League, than the players at WBA/Stoke/Hull. They will grind out enough points to stay up, it won’t be pretty and no-one will enjoy it but this is where they’ll finish. The relegation battle won’t go to the last day of the season though, I think there’s going to be a fair-sized gap between 17th and 18th place. 18th – West Bromwich Albion – West Brom were crippled as soon as Kevin Phillips left the club. He was their top scorer last season with 22 league goals in 35 games, an excellent record, but he’s not been replaced and that means relegation. I think I’d be incredibly despondent if I was a West Brom fan – no real chance of staying up yet so much better than their main Championship rivals. I realise that the Chairman tried to get new investors in but you have to ask the question – why did he fail? If Derby County could get in new owners last season I’m sure that there must have been some interest floating around. I would genuinely like to predict that they would stay up, but they’re attempting to play football this year and we saw what happened to Birmingham City last year when they tried that. 19th – Stoke City – one of those teams that simply hoofs it long, which works in the Championship but not in the Premier League. With that style they won’t get anywhere. Seem to have recruited a fair few Premier League cast-offs but none of them are good enough to win games by themselves. Dave Kitson is a solid player, for example, but he thrives on supply from midfield (like he did at Reading under Sidwell). Most of his goals will probably be from Rory Delap’s long throws....the stuff of legend. 20th – Hull City – even fewer reinforcements than Stoke. No chance of staying up, I can’t even see anyone in their squad who might make a name for themselves. Barmby maybe? Always had a lot of time for him. But everyone knows they’re going down, like Derby last year they don’t even intend to make a fight of it. Final Table Code:
1. Chelsea |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
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Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
1. man utd
2. chelsea 3. arsenal 4. liverpool 5. tottenham hotspurs 6. aston villa 7. portsmouth 8. everton 9. man city 10. newcastle 11. blackburn 12. sunderland 13. west ham 14. middlesborough 15. fulham 16. bolton 17. west brom 18. wigan 19. hull 20. stoke as predicted pre-season. man utd over chelsea because chelsea will drop points to width, no doubt. spurs won't end 5th but here's hoping anyway :( |
Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
i have a wild suspicion that my predictions tomorrow would like quite different to the ones i posted pre season. re-start!
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Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
I think Man City will end up a little higher than everyone expected...
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Re: Premiership Predictions 2008/2009
And Newcastle will get relegated! \o/
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