Ahhhh….good old football, our dearest of friends, returns after a short break this weekend. Despite a full fixture list of Championship, League One and Two and lower league football, all Premier League eyes will be on Wembley come Sunday afternoon.
The traditional Community Shield is seen by most people as the start of the Premier League season. Ok, so it is basically a fancified friendly, but unlike the rest of the pre-season fixtures this is one that managers and players are always determined to win.
In recent years the shield has been competed by two out of the big four in the league, hence why there’s so much interest in it – so this year will be slightly different. On paper Portsmouth don’t have a chance against Man Utd – they’re certainly not a top four side. They may have a very competitive side, but their FA Cup run, which got them to Sunday’s fixture, was a tad underwhelming. That is, in all but one of the fixtures – the quarter final win over, yes you guessed it, Man Utd.
Man Utd’s route to the Community Shield is far more impressive reading – having won the Premier League for the tenth time in May, just days before picking up the Champions League title. But it’s not been a particularly pleasant summer for Sir Alex Ferguson, despite what he may say – the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga is surely going to come back and haunt him when the Portuguese star finally returns from injury in a few weeks.
Ronaldo’s absence on Sunday isn’t really a blessing in disguise however, as Fergie finds himself with a squad depleted through injury – Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville are crocked, doubts remain over Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick’s fitness, Nani is suspended, while Anderson is off to the Olympics. Add to that no notable new signings to show off.
Harry Redknapp on the other hand is rubbing his hands in delight at the prospect of his new strike partnership of Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch – the two England men will surely provide a formidable partnership, ala Sunderland’s classic Phillips/Quinn combination a few years ago. The sale of Sulley Muntari may be a blow to the Pompey midfield, but hanging on to Niko Krancjar could prove to be a masterstroke for Redknapp this season.
But let’s not go crazy here – Man Utd play games on the big stage for fun nowadays. Pompey’s two visits to Wembley last term affected their football – they were nervous and not particularly inventive. If they play the same again they will be found out by the Red Devils.
Man Utd could give young striker Frazier Campbell a start on Sunday, after an impressive loan season with Hull last year. Can he replicate his form at the top level? If Redknapp can convince his boys it’s just another friendly though, we could be in for a great season opener. Worth a punt on Pompey for the beautiful game!
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August 8th, 2008
Saturday sees the start of the football season, after a very brief summer interlude. It will take a lot to beat last season’s epic battle for promotion in the Championship, where ten clubs had a realistic chance of making the Premier League as late as April. No-one seemed consistent enough to win the thing but West Brom finally decided to pull their fingers out in the last few games to be crowned champions.
Stoke and Hull joined them in gaining promotion, but those who came close will know the pressure will be on them this season to challenge again and go one better. That could spell bad news for some, most notably Watford who, after a great start to the campaign, basically fell apart, leaving their fans feeling deflated. A number of key players have left this summer (Henderson, Ellington, Stewart, Shittu) and with Jon Harley the only signing of note a promotion challenge seems very doubtful.
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All three clubs relegated from the Premier League will be looking to go straight back up this season, and the bookies seem pretty confident of that fact. Of the three Derby are outsiders, largely due to the wholesale changes being made at the club the past few months. However their team sheet still looks impressive at this level, which includes new striking options in Rob Hulse, Liam Dickinson and Nathan Ellington, experience in Roy Carroll, Robbie Savage and Alan Stubbs, and their wonderkid Giles Barnes, who still remains with the club despite big-money transfer rumours. Paul Jewell’s men could prove to be the best bet on offer.
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Birmingham are the one sure bet – although it’d take a hefty punt to see some profit return. In Alex McLeish they have a proven motivator, and they have an excellent set of players to depend upon. James McFadden should prove to be one of the stars of the Championship this season as long as he’s not tempted away, and in Marcus Bent and Kevin Phillips they should have two names near the top of the goalscoring charts. A shoe-in, as long as they remember to do the work.
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The same should be said for Reading – ok, Dave Kitson’s move to Stoke and Nicky Shorey’s imminent departure are a blow, but looking at the Thames Valley side’s attacking options they should be confident in climbing out of this league. Kevin Doyle is a Premier League player, while Leroy Lita will be looking to earn his place back into the starting line-up after a disappointing 12 months. Second place beckons.
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Crystal Palace have been given unfavourably low odds considering their team sheet. This has got to be down to Neil Warnock – he nearly repeated Iain Dowie’s impressive feat of taking the club from relegation places to promotion in the space of six months, but his side ran out of steam with a few games to go. With star striker Clinton Morrison having left, Warnock will be even more dependant on his very young, but talented, side to perform above their stations. Chairman Simon Jordan’s threat to leave suggests all may not be well down in south London. Probably best to leave them alone.
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Ipswich came from nowhere last season to nearly make the play-offs but couldn’t keep it up until May. Their home form was what got them so close and Jim Magilton will be hoping the addition of Tractor Boys legend Richard Wright and the evergreen Ivan Campo can seal them a place in the play offs come May. If things go right early on, Ipswich coul be a great outside punt for the title.
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QPR have been made joint favourites to win the league this season but that is just barmy. Yes they’ve had a major cash injection, they have the ability to attract European players to London and they have a great, if somewhat flawed, new boss in Iain Dowie, but last season stank of a club getting ahead of themselves. They need a season to put together a decent first team before challenging for honors next season. Saying that, a play off place is certainly achievable this year.
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Elsewhere, Bristol City will have a lot to do to repeat last year’s great run, although in Nicky Maynard they have a bright young player – yet another Premier League-class act from the Dario Gradi school of Crewe? Wolves and Sheff Utd will be there or there abouts again, but their success will rely heavily on the form of their star strikers Sylvain Ebanks-Blake and James Beattie respectively.
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Down the bottom newly promoted Swansea and Nottingham Forest are surprisingly not tipped for the drop by the bookies. Roberto Martinez’ great work at the Welsh side has convinced many that they are more than capable in competing at this level. Colin Calderwood’s Forest side have that weight of history behind them which should kick them into gear having finally made it back into the Championship. Rob Earnshaw’s signing should help too!
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Play off winners Doncaster have a lot to do to prove they can survive at the next level – but the bookies seem to prefer the three B’s for relegation – Burnley, Barnsley and Blackpool. After disappointing seasons each side may be feeling the pressure from the stands, but if their respective managers can drill home that there are no points on the board yet then maybe they can prove a few doubters wrong. Meanwhile, Southampton had a dreadful season last time out and with no major signings look set for another unhappy 9 months which could see them drop out of the league.
August 8th, 2008