Who is in it and who will get it this season?

Chelsea - I think you will say they are a given after last season's title win and I know it may seem hard to believe but I do believe that trimming their squad down hasn't affected them as much as I thought it would. I don't think they will miss Ballack at all and I think Essien back is a bonus for them. Getting rid of sicknote Cole and replacing him with Benayoun puts them stronger in my books. Although losing Carvalho has weakened them at their back but Terry-Ivanovic-Alex-Mancianne doesn't look too shabby as a unit. The two PlayStation scorelines to start the season would have given them a boost.

Manchester United - United have added Hernandez, Smalling and Oliver Twist into the squad and while United fans would say that the team was just one wrongly awarded goal away from a title win and adding cover for Rio and Rooney would have strengthened the team but Fulham away showed that with Rooney and Rio out, we look quite fragile at the back and toothless up front. Of course Hernandez looks a prospect for Mexico and will need time to bed into the squad but with Rio suffering niggling injuries from time to time, Scholes, Giggs, VDS and Neville one season away from retirement, it would not be inaccurate to say that United are one Rooney injury away from being out of the title race and history shows that he will have an annual one month out with an injury every other season. Call me knee-jerk but Hargreaves is not a squad member in my books.

Manchester City - When I look at their squad, words fail me. They could literally put out three teams that would be in the Premier League. And to think that Jo (their 100th choice striker was once a record signing for them)!. I have no idea how Mancini intends to use his squad or how he will keep them happy but I don't think that will be an issue to City at all. As seen with the Ireland and Bellamy fiasco, if good players are not happy, they can be loaned out to other clubs, traded for transfer targets or just sent home. I think Mancini can and will be able to keep his 25 happy and while I have my reservations as to whether new signings can make an immediate impact but I think regardless of the players' motivation, I think out of the 10,000 players they have, I have little doubts that at least 16 of them will be motivated enough to bring one of the top 4 places home.

Arsenal - They may have won 6-0 against Blackpool but after two games, I've not been convinced. I wouldn't trust Almunia's hands with a baby and apart from Fabregas and sicknote van Persie, I honestly don't see any quality at all in the team. Walcott's hat-trick compounded my belief that he's a tier below Arsenal's level. He'd do right well for a Top 10 BPL team but nothing more for me. Wilshere, I think will be good enough but I still have reservations as to if he will be ready this season for Arsenal.

Spurs - I think Spurs made an excellent signing with Gallas. He is right what they needed. Some Champions League experience and quality at the back for them and you know with King and Woodgate in their squad, he will have games! Gareth Bale from the tail end of last season has carried his remarkable form this season and personally I quite fancy a midfield of Bale-Modric-Huddlestone-Lennon but I really do think that Redknapp needs to pick Pavlychenko more regularly.

Liverpool - They are lucky that Aston Villa and Everton are having an absolute garbage start to the season and while Liverpool have yet been able to capitalize on, losing Mascherano will be a big blow to them. N'gog is still not good enough IMHO and if your season season depends on Lucas in midfield and Torres up front (Ronaldo MK II), I wouldn't have much hopes at all. I'll agree that having Arsenal and Manchester City as your first two fixtures aren't the easiest but even against lesser sides, I still don't see Liverpool being able to irk out results on a weekly basis.

Aston Villa - Martin O Neill may have done well with Villa but really, I think he has had his mini Rafa-esque signings as well which have placed them in a place where they are and where he is.

My predictions:
1. Chelsea
2. United
3. City
4. Spurs
5. Arsenal
6. Birmingham
7. Liverpool
8. Everton

Thoughts?

This post has been edited by kobe8byrant: Aug 24 2010, 07:41 PM

I chose Birmingham for the same reason you chose Blackburn. Gut feeling. I like Foster and McLeish seems a genuinely hardworking manager whom I'd like to see succeed. And Foster playing well for Birmingham would show United fans that their new keeper would need to be given time.

I'm sure if we pray hard enough, 18th is a possibility.

The thing I am or I will be curious about is how Spurs will handle European football. We remember how Aston Villa's season was derailed by progressing far into the UEFA Cup and how elimination in that competition drained them for the remainder of the season. While Spurs have genuine depth, it would still be interesting to see how they cope with CL.

Welcome to the Champions League football, win a European game, lose the following league game.