Everything and anything Premier League...

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Premier League Week One

This weeks results have given us our first piece of the jigsaw as to finding out where the teams will be heading this season.
Man United's win against West Brom shows that perhaps this season Man U will not be up for a slow start to a season.
Arsenal's 0-0 draw away at Newcastle was almost a given, considering last season's 4-4 draw, but Arsenal may have just begun a season of struggle, after finally losing Fabregas and may be about to lose Nasri too. Arsenal need replacements, I'm not sure that Gervinho is the answer at all, but trying to sign Jagielka or Mertersacker is the better route.
Man City romped to a 4-0 win last night, Aguero's performance in the space of half an hour was superb; by scoring 2 and setting up another. It could well have been a bigger scoreline if it weren't for Michel Vorm's impressive debut, barring those 4 goals of course.
Liverpool were tipped for the title by most of their supporters before Saturday, but drawing at home to Sunderland 1-1 (with all due respect to Sunderland, who have built up a good side over the summer) is not a good start and for me it shows that Liverpool will not be good enough to finish in the top 4 this season.
QPR and Swansea both got thrashed, but this isn't the end for them, but if they are both to stay up, some better signings must be made. Norwich had a solid start however, drawing 1-1 away at Wigan, they can take confidence from that result.
In my opinion, I think Blackburn may be relegated this season, and losing at home to Wolves is not a good start at all, Steve Kean may be out of that job by Christmas, so he has to begin to prove himself next week by getting a result away at Aston Villa, who had a promising start to their campaign away at Fulham.
So much to debate. Do you think that this weekend's results will reflect the team's season? Comment below...

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Swansea, Norwich & QPR - Are they good enough to battle and stay up in the Premier League?

Last season, there was no stand-out team that played very poor and deserved to go down. Birmingham and Blackpool were relegated both with 39 points, which is usually enough to stay up. This shows to me that last season there were a lot of good teams in the Premier League, so this season, 17 good teams will pit their wits against Swansea, Norwich and QPR, who all came up from a Championship that last season lacked the really good teams that were looking to bounce into the Premier League. There's a lot of that this season in the Championship, but in the Premier League, perhaps these 3 teams may not be good enough and therefore may end up getting relegated again! Let's have a look at some teams' chances of getting relegated...

Swansea?
Can they? - Bringing in Michel Vorm, a goalkeeper from Utrecht is a very good signing for Swansea, he is Holland's 2nd choice goalie, a fantastic acquisition if you ask me...
Also strengthened through Leroy Lita, Wayne Routledge and record signing Danny Graham, these signings may give hope for Swansea, who could prove me wrong by staying up, and I hope they do...
A good defence too, with Gary Monk signing a new contract recently.
They can't! - Perhaps not the finished article yet to remain in the Prem.

Norwich?
Can they? - Norwich have signed a lot of strikers this summer, adding to the likes of ex-Rushden and Diamonds forward Simeon Jackson, Grant Holt and Chris Martin.
They can't! - But perhaps now the defence is an area that Norwich may need to strengthen to give themselves a good chance of staying up.

QPR?
Can they? - Queen's Park Rangers have made 4 additions of note this summer, but only DJ Campbell costing them money. But Bothroyd, Dyer and Gabidon are all good additions to a squad that may be the strongest of the 3 new sides to come up.
They can't! - If Taarabt  remains at Loftus Road, QPR may stay up, but will he be sussed out by the Premier League defenders in a division that is MUCH more challenging than the Championship?


Bolton? 
Can they? - Clearly have a strong Premier League team, strong signings in the form of Reo-Coker, Pratley, Mears(who sadly broke his leg) and Eagles.
They can't! - Bolton are in real need of a striker after losing Elmander and Sturridge, two big loses, which they haven't replaced! Only an aging Kevin Davies and Ivan Klasnic remain at the Reebok.

Blackburn?
Can they? - Again, same as they Lancashire rivals Bolton, have a very strong team that is more than capable of staying in the top flight.
They can't! - No additions as of yet, with owners that don't seem to remember they own Blackburn Rovers at times and a manager that has no Premier League experience whom shouldn't have been hired in the first place after the sacking of Big Sam, Blackburn seem like a team on the slide after Allardyce's building of Blackburn which turned them into a Premier League side difficult to beat.

Wigan?
Can they? - Wigan have a manager with a growing reputation after this summer's saga with Aston Villa.
They can't! - Yet to replace Charles N'zogbia, Wigan have have lost a player that may have almost single-handedly kept them up last season.

Wolves?
Can they? - signing O'hara this summer is a fine signing for Wolves this summer, who could make a big difference for them this season, McCarthy is building a team that can remain in the Premier League for years to come.
They can't! - only just stayed up last season.

The likes of Newcastle, Stoke, Aston Villa, Fulham, Everton and Sunderland may also be involved with the fight, but may just be too strong to stay up.

Tell me what you think by commenting below and answer the poll at the bottom of the page.



Sunday 7 August 2011

Community Shield Final: Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United - Are Manchester City ready?

Times were looking up for Man City when they lifted the FA Cup, but maybe this defeat could be something of a setback for the sky blues. I am aware that the last goal and winning goal for United was from a last minute Kompany error, but conceding 3 goals and giving away a 2 goal lead to their potential title challengers is not a good start in an attempt to kick start a campaign that many are expecting for a Man City success. The likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and possibly even Tottenham wouldn't be giving away a lead like the one City were holding by the scruff of the neck at half-time.
Turning attentions to Man United, another masterclass of management from Sir Alex has shown through once again, could this be Ferguson's title once more?? With the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal lacking in certain areas, Tottenham falling away from the top pack and Liverpool only just starting their revival, can Chelsea mount a challenge this season, even though they are still yet to sign a quality first-team player this summer, along with an ageing squad? Tell us what you think of the title race this season, by commenting below, and by answering the poll further down the page.
Also, yes, this is my first post, I wish to welcome everybody! My name is Michael, also known as boumavilla, due to the fact that my favourite player is the legendary Wilfred Bouma, once of Aston Villa, my favourite club! I also support Torquay United and I enjoy watching the Eredivisie too!
Hope you will enjoy my blog!