Premier League Preview 2014 -15 - Can Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool Top Man City?

Article by Robert Wake

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When it comes to picking the winner of what will again be a highly competitive Premier League campaign, there are various factors to consider. Squad depth, experience, and leaders both on and off the pitch. For me, only two teams tick all the boxes – Manchester City and Chelsea, and for me these two will contest the title. City are defending Champions, and no one can dispute the quality and depth of their squad, and there are few obvious weaknesses. Yaya Toure’s birthday spat appears to have been forgotten, and he remains the most complete midfielder in the country. Ellaquim Mangala has been brought in to add stability to a back four that also features Pablo Zabaleta and Captain Vincent Kompany. If Sergio Aguero can spend less time on the treatment table, then City will take again some stopping. Chelsea look best equipped to push Manuel Pellegrini’s charges all the way. Despite the lack of a prolific scorer last season, Chelsea still finished third, and reached the semi-final of the Champions League. Now Jose Mourinho has been able to add Diego Costa to hopefully convert the chances made by The Blues fluid midfield, which has been further enhanced by the astute signing of Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas already has significant Premier League experience with Arsenal, and the early indications are that he could be the shrewdest signing of the summer. Chelsea are traditionally tight at the back, and have added La Liga winners Filipe Luis and Thibaut Courtois to an already impressive unit. I will be very surprised if Chelsea finish outside the top two, and perhaps unsurprisingly are my tips to win it.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool will contest the remaining two Champions League places, with possibly Liverpool just missing out. The loss of Luis Suarez is massive for Brendan Rodgers side. Though Liverpool have re-invested the fee received for Suarez, it is almost impossible to replace a truly world class striker. Goals win matches, and put simply, Liverpool will win fewer matches without Suarez. Liverpool will also have to contend with the extra matches that Champions League qualification brings, and I think consequently they will struggle to match last season’s second place finish. Arsenal have made some good signings. Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers will ably compensate for the loss of Bacary Sagna, and Alexis Sanchez will be a threat either through the middle or out wide, and will compliment the attacking talents of Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsay and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. I still feel The Gunners lack an on field General, and they need to address the issues that saw them crumble on visits to Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea last year. Those are the matches that define where titles end up, and Arsenal need to show greater steel and tactical awareness in the big games to be considered genuine title contenders. Manchester United seem certain to improve on last season’s seventh place finish under the guidance of Louis Van Gaal. The Dutchman has an impressive CV, but United may take time to fully implement his ideology, and playing a back three is certainly a risk. The Red Devils desperately need at least one quality central defender to replace the departed Nemanja Vidic. Johnny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones could be found wanting against top opposition. In United’s favour is that they won’t have the distraction of European football, which certainly contributed to Liverpool’s title assault last season, and in Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie they have a front three arguably as good as any in the league.

Everton have splashed £28m on Romelu Lukaku and will always be tough opponents, especially at Goodison Park, but lack the depth or consistency to be considered serious contenders for a top four finish. Tottenham have been surprisingly quiet in the transfer market to date, but Pochettino got plenty out of Southampton last season, and if Spurs can take his ideas on board then they should finish in the top seven, and could be a good bet for one of the domestic cups.

There is normally one team that causes a surprise each season, last season it was Southampton, and the previous season it was Swansea. This season, I feel it will be either Stoke City or Hull City. Mark Hughes has gradually improved The Potters’ squad, guiding them to a highly creditable ninth place last season. Hughes may have pulled off a real coup in tempting Bojan Krkic to The Britannia Stadium. The former Barcelona forward has been in impressive form during pre-season, and should help Stoke to another top half finish. Hull have been steadily improving under Steve Bruce who has added Tom Ince and Robert Snodgrass to last season’s FA Cup Finalists, as well as securing Jake Livermore on a permanent deal. Newcastle have brought in a lot of players during the summer and Remy Cabella, Siem De Jong and Daryl Janmaat should add quality to the Geordie’s squad and it will be interesting to see how they gel as a unit. Alan Pardew will be under pressure to produce results on Tyneside under the ever watchful eye of Mike Ashley. Another manager under pressure even before a ball is kicked is Sam Allardyce at West Ham. The signing of Enner Valencia is a gamble, which if it work could see The Hammers break into the top half, but if not, Big Sam could be looking for another job before Christmas. Before Tony Pulis’ untimely departure from Selhurst Park, I would have fancied Crystal Palace to be comfortably mid table, but his loss could have massive implications for The Eagles. Much will depend on who replaces him, but I still think Palace have enough to keep away from the bottom six. The two surprise packages of the last two seasons, Southampton and Swansea should also avoid a relegation struggle, but may fail to improve on their recent finishes.

It is hard to see any of the promoted clubs finishing above the bottom six, and I expect at least one of them to be relegated. Burnley are the bookies favourites to go back down. The Clarets have in Sean Dyche a manager, who has worked wonders on limited resources, but the Premiership is an unforgiving school for learners and despite the promise of Danny Ings and Kieran Trippier, it is hard to see Burnley’s stay being longer than one season. Leicester City could surprise a few. Nigel Pearson has instilled an excellent team spirit into The Foxes which will be tested with opening fixtures against Everton, Chelsea and Arsenal. Leo Ulloa has been signed from Brighton, and he will compete with David Nugent to lead a Foxes attack that will be supplied by Danny Drinkwater and Anthony Knockhaert. Queens Park Rangers have an experienced manager in Harry Redknapp, and an owner prepared to back him in the market. That combination should give Rangers a better than even chance of beating the drop. Their chances would improve further if they can hang on to Loic Remy who seems likely to move on before the end of the transfer window. Charlie Austin scored plenty in The Championship last season, and Steven Caulker and Jordon Mutch look decent signings. My other three for the bottom six are Sunderland, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion. Villa struggled last season, and it is hard to see their summer signings significantly improving their fortunes. Villa needs to hang on to Ron Vlaar and hope Christian Benteke returns from injury as soon as possible. Sunderland looked nailed on to go down last season, before producing a late rally to finish 14th. The Black Cats still look a little short of goals, and there remains uncertainty over the future of Conor Wickham. Gus Poyet is trying to sign Fabio Borini on a permanent deal, but with the exception of Jack Rodwell the squad remains similar in quality to the one that struggled for much of last season. I think West Brom are going to have a tough season. The appointment of Alan Irvine is a risky one. The Baggies have been in freefall since sacking Steve Clarke, and I feel this season will end in relegation for them. Defensively, Irvine has added Joleon Lescott and Andre Wisdom, but has lost Billy Jones on a free to Sunderland. Up front Brown Ideye has been added, but is unproven in The Premiership, and overall the squad just appears to lack the necessary quality.

To summarise, I am going to take Chelsea to pip Manchester City to the title with Arsenal and Manchester United filling the Champions League positions. At the bottom I’m predicting a short stay for Burnley who will be joined by West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland, with Leicester City just avoiding the drop. First manager to be sacked will be between Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce. Enjoy the season.

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