EPL title is between Liverpool and Arsenal this time
By Myles Palmer
ARSENAL will continue to win games by one goal for the next few months. If they defend well as a team they could do that right through the season.
Being old-fashioned, I think they need a Vidic or a Samba or a Mertesacker, a giant stopper at the back. Arsene doesn't. One of us is wrong and 34 games from now I'll know if it's me. The return of William Gallas will tighten the defence through October-November-December, if he stays fit.
Ultimately, football isn't about tactics or style or pretty passing or billionaires. It's about players and team spirit and goals. As I said last month, Adebayor and van Persie aren't really good enough. But I reckon Eduardo and Walcott, two players unproven in the Premier League, can score 21goals between them and that might be enough. We shall have to see how those two contribute in the coming months.
LIVERPOOL boss Rafa Benitez has new owners who want trophies.
Although they haven't won the title since Kenny Dalglish was manager in 1990, Rafa now has a big garage full of interchangeable components and he can happily build and rebuild his vehicle twice a week.
In Kuyt, Crouch, Voronin and Torres he has four experienced strikers, and Torres will play all the big games. Rafa already knows which games Torres will play but you wouldn't be cheeky enough to ask him. Even if you did, he wouldn't tell you.
Liverpool don't have Arsenal's passing rhythm but they have more ways of scoring a goal. Sure, they will stutter at times but they'll beat Portsmouth tomorrow and won't lose many games.
EVERTON have goal machines Yakubu and Johnson, plus a talented, youngish back four of Hibbert-Yobo-Lescott-Baines. Tim Howard dislocated a finger playing for the USA against Brazil in Chicago, so German Stefan Wessels might make his debut against Man United at Goodison tomorrow. For Wessels, that's an exciting debut. Paris hero James McFadden is a maverick who cannot play in a method team, so he is Everton's supersub, coming on to score wondergoals. Expect Arteta to pulls the strings and Yakubu to bang in the goals. South African Steven Pienaar, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, will prove himself after Xmas, if not before.
CHELSEA lost at Aston Villa before the international break and main man Drogba is still doubtful with a knee injury sustained in that game. I thought Chelsea would grind Villa down and score a very late goal. But Villa's new defender Zat Knight headed in a corner in 47, then Chelsea threw everything at them but could not equalise, and Agbonlahor scored on the break in 88.
How often do Chelsea lose 2-0? They're unbeaten at Stamford Bridge for 65 games and they play Blackburn on Saturday. Belligerent Mark Hughes will play for a draw. If Chelsea are not good enough to beat Blackburn, they're not good enough to be champions.
MAN CITY have the same board of directors as last season, so the club has changed less than you think.Thaksin is only there on match days. Sven's City are a very defensive 4-5-1 team that has only scored four goals in five Premier League games. Is he really a great club manager? Or has agent Jerome Anderson lumbered him with a few turkeys? Only one of his strikers can play in a 4-5-1 and that's M'penza. However, Richards looks like the next Desailly, while Elano is the brainiest import since Bergkamp.
NEWCASTLE'S Sam Allardyce made his statement of intent when he signed dogs of war Joey Barton and Alan Smith. We can be sure that Michael Owen cares far more about the Three Lions than he does about the Magpies.
BLACKBURN have good players like Gamst, Samba, McCarthy, Bentley, Derbyshire But if they think a team is better than them, they get over-physical. Back in July, I wondered whether Portsmouth would be fifth. Now I wonder whether Everton or Blackburn will be fifth.
MANCHESTER UNITED have spent heavily on the potential of Nani and Anderson. That looked risky at the time and still does. Ronaldo gave them a fantastic season last time but can he do the same again? Carrick was signed to release pace but Saha doesn't play enough games alongside greyhounds Rooney and Ronaldo. For me, Sir Alex bought what he doesn't need. He needed a Torres or a Berbatov or a Yakubu to retain the title.
ASTON VILLA kids Luke Moore and Agbonlahor did the business for Martin O'Neill last season. The older players didn't do enough. Carew has size and pace, Ashley Young has skill and pace, and sometimes Villa make 4-3-3 look like a sensible system. When Young cut inside against Chelsea, and Agbonlahor cruised across into the box, the latter knew Young was going to shoot. But he was smart enough to slow down and wait to see if the shot came across in front of him. When the ball came flying across at shin height, he sidefooted past Cech. Sweet contact, killer goal.
At Celtic, O'Neill's forwards defended like demons and he wants the same from all Villa's players now. The Irishman is practical, realistic, pragmatic. England's man of the moment is the left-footed Gareth Barry and the spiky Reo-Coker might soon be saying : What about me?
How will this season pan out for the Big Four after 38 games?
What will make the difference? The deepest squad? Results against the Big Four? Results against the Next Six ?A manager who has won the title before? A super-gladiator like Ronaldo or Drogba or Torres? Is September too early to put my balls on the rails? Yes, of course it's too early.
I don't remember writing a preview of the Premiership season in 2005 or 2006 and I now regret boxing myself onto a corner by promising to write one here after September 1, when the transfer window closed. I wish I'd never promised to write this article. We all know that a football season in England is a marathon steeplechase that unfolds jump by jump, and there's many a spill between now and May, and nobody nobody nobody can predict football results.
My guess is that Man United have an Anglo-Latin blend that is now too Latin. And Fergie wants the Champions League more than another title.That's why Man United won't win it.
Will Chelsea win it for the third time in four years? Well, they'll miss Drogba and Essien, their two best players, when the African Cup of Nations starts.
Jose Mourinho cannot be comfortable while new man Avram Grant is sitting next to the owner at matches. After Mourinho said his dressing room door was closed, Abramovich tried to buy Ronaldinho. The Special One forgot that he doesn't own the dressing room door.
For me, Chelski looks too political, too dysfunctional. Arnesen, Grant, Kenyon, Abramovich ? Horrible things could happen there.
That leaves Liverpool and Arsenal and I reckon Rafa might rotate them out of it, partly because, in his heart of hearts, he want another Champions League more than he wants his first title.
So that is where I am with the EPL today. On September 14, I'm writing off the biggest club in the world and also the richest club in the world. I don't reckon Man United or Chelsea will win the league in 2008.
I really think the title is between Liverpool and Arsenal. If Liverpool blow it, Arsenal will be champions.
Sep 14, 2007
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/i...t01returnid=42
By Myles Palmer
ARSENAL will continue to win games by one goal for the next few months. If they defend well as a team they could do that right through the season.
Being old-fashioned, I think they need a Vidic or a Samba or a Mertesacker, a giant stopper at the back. Arsene doesn't. One of us is wrong and 34 games from now I'll know if it's me. The return of William Gallas will tighten the defence through October-November-December, if he stays fit.
Ultimately, football isn't about tactics or style or pretty passing or billionaires. It's about players and team spirit and goals. As I said last month, Adebayor and van Persie aren't really good enough. But I reckon Eduardo and Walcott, two players unproven in the Premier League, can score 21goals between them and that might be enough. We shall have to see how those two contribute in the coming months.
LIVERPOOL boss Rafa Benitez has new owners who want trophies.
Although they haven't won the title since Kenny Dalglish was manager in 1990, Rafa now has a big garage full of interchangeable components and he can happily build and rebuild his vehicle twice a week.
In Kuyt, Crouch, Voronin and Torres he has four experienced strikers, and Torres will play all the big games. Rafa already knows which games Torres will play but you wouldn't be cheeky enough to ask him. Even if you did, he wouldn't tell you.
Liverpool don't have Arsenal's passing rhythm but they have more ways of scoring a goal. Sure, they will stutter at times but they'll beat Portsmouth tomorrow and won't lose many games.
EVERTON have goal machines Yakubu and Johnson, plus a talented, youngish back four of Hibbert-Yobo-Lescott-Baines. Tim Howard dislocated a finger playing for the USA against Brazil in Chicago, so German Stefan Wessels might make his debut against Man United at Goodison tomorrow. For Wessels, that's an exciting debut. Paris hero James McFadden is a maverick who cannot play in a method team, so he is Everton's supersub, coming on to score wondergoals. Expect Arteta to pulls the strings and Yakubu to bang in the goals. South African Steven Pienaar, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, will prove himself after Xmas, if not before.
CHELSEA lost at Aston Villa before the international break and main man Drogba is still doubtful with a knee injury sustained in that game. I thought Chelsea would grind Villa down and score a very late goal. But Villa's new defender Zat Knight headed in a corner in 47, then Chelsea threw everything at them but could not equalise, and Agbonlahor scored on the break in 88.
How often do Chelsea lose 2-0? They're unbeaten at Stamford Bridge for 65 games and they play Blackburn on Saturday. Belligerent Mark Hughes will play for a draw. If Chelsea are not good enough to beat Blackburn, they're not good enough to be champions.
MAN CITY have the same board of directors as last season, so the club has changed less than you think.Thaksin is only there on match days. Sven's City are a very defensive 4-5-1 team that has only scored four goals in five Premier League games. Is he really a great club manager? Or has agent Jerome Anderson lumbered him with a few turkeys? Only one of his strikers can play in a 4-5-1 and that's M'penza. However, Richards looks like the next Desailly, while Elano is the brainiest import since Bergkamp.
NEWCASTLE'S Sam Allardyce made his statement of intent when he signed dogs of war Joey Barton and Alan Smith. We can be sure that Michael Owen cares far more about the Three Lions than he does about the Magpies.
BLACKBURN have good players like Gamst, Samba, McCarthy, Bentley, Derbyshire But if they think a team is better than them, they get over-physical. Back in July, I wondered whether Portsmouth would be fifth. Now I wonder whether Everton or Blackburn will be fifth.
MANCHESTER UNITED have spent heavily on the potential of Nani and Anderson. That looked risky at the time and still does. Ronaldo gave them a fantastic season last time but can he do the same again? Carrick was signed to release pace but Saha doesn't play enough games alongside greyhounds Rooney and Ronaldo. For me, Sir Alex bought what he doesn't need. He needed a Torres or a Berbatov or a Yakubu to retain the title.
ASTON VILLA kids Luke Moore and Agbonlahor did the business for Martin O'Neill last season. The older players didn't do enough. Carew has size and pace, Ashley Young has skill and pace, and sometimes Villa make 4-3-3 look like a sensible system. When Young cut inside against Chelsea, and Agbonlahor cruised across into the box, the latter knew Young was going to shoot. But he was smart enough to slow down and wait to see if the shot came across in front of him. When the ball came flying across at shin height, he sidefooted past Cech. Sweet contact, killer goal.
At Celtic, O'Neill's forwards defended like demons and he wants the same from all Villa's players now. The Irishman is practical, realistic, pragmatic. England's man of the moment is the left-footed Gareth Barry and the spiky Reo-Coker might soon be saying : What about me?
How will this season pan out for the Big Four after 38 games?
What will make the difference? The deepest squad? Results against the Big Four? Results against the Next Six ?A manager who has won the title before? A super-gladiator like Ronaldo or Drogba or Torres? Is September too early to put my balls on the rails? Yes, of course it's too early.
I don't remember writing a preview of the Premiership season in 2005 or 2006 and I now regret boxing myself onto a corner by promising to write one here after September 1, when the transfer window closed. I wish I'd never promised to write this article. We all know that a football season in England is a marathon steeplechase that unfolds jump by jump, and there's many a spill between now and May, and nobody nobody nobody can predict football results.
My guess is that Man United have an Anglo-Latin blend that is now too Latin. And Fergie wants the Champions League more than another title.That's why Man United won't win it.
Will Chelsea win it for the third time in four years? Well, they'll miss Drogba and Essien, their two best players, when the African Cup of Nations starts.
Jose Mourinho cannot be comfortable while new man Avram Grant is sitting next to the owner at matches. After Mourinho said his dressing room door was closed, Abramovich tried to buy Ronaldinho. The Special One forgot that he doesn't own the dressing room door.
For me, Chelski looks too political, too dysfunctional. Arnesen, Grant, Kenyon, Abramovich ? Horrible things could happen there.
That leaves Liverpool and Arsenal and I reckon Rafa might rotate them out of it, partly because, in his heart of hearts, he want another Champions League more than he wants his first title.
So that is where I am with the EPL today. On September 14, I'm writing off the biggest club in the world and also the richest club in the world. I don't reckon Man United or Chelsea will win the league in 2008.
I really think the title is between Liverpool and Arsenal. If Liverpool blow it, Arsenal will be champions.
Sep 14, 2007
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/i...t01returnid=42
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