As usual, I’m predicting United will win the title. Things have just gotten better with the signing (medical pending) of Robin Van Persie. I can’t wait to see some of the stuff Rooney, RVP, Nani, Kagawa, and a healthy Tom Cleverley put together. I’m curious what will happen with Berbatov now. I like him. Whether it’s in Manchester or elsewhere, I hope he does well. Based on what I saw in the Community Shield, I can’t see Chelsea competing for the title. Chelsea brought in talent, as did Arsenal, but both have now lost some major talent (don’t forget Drogba’s gone). If Torres comes good, I’d put Chelsea down for 3rd. But that remains to be seen. Liverpool should be better, but not good enough for 4th. I have no idea who I think will be relegated. I don’t care for Reading or Swansea, so I won’t shed a tear if they’re gone soon. I’m glad Southampton got promoted.
If there is a God RVP’s knee will explode (again) walking to his car after the contract is signed. Of course there isn’t, so it won’t, but I can dream. Once he declared he wouldn’t re-sign this was inevitable, and at least Arsenal got paid - not a bad return for a 30-year-old with 1.5 good seasons under his belt that could walk after this season.
The good news for Arsenal is that they actually signed some good players to replace him - Podolski and Giroud up front, Cazorla in the midfield. So the goals should still come, just not from one magnificent left foot. Getting Wilshire back at something like his previous form is important.
If they spend the RVP money (and potentially the Song money as well, although I think they might actually miss him more than Robin) on a few more players (a quality DM and a fullback would be handy) they’ll be right there competing this year. I’ll put them down for 3rd or 4th, but with a decent amount of room on the upside.
At least I can enjoy Champion’s League play with the satisfaction of knowing that Spurs are toiling in the Europa league (or whatever the hell non-CL clubs play in). So thanks for that, Chelsea.
Reading - fair enough, but what’s your problem with Swansea? Last season they played some really good stuff, passed the ball well and did it with basically a set of no names. I found them really admirable and can think of no one but Cardiff fans in my circle of friends who would want to see them go down. Just curious, as it’s not, in my experience, a common feeling.
Hopefully this is the year Stoke finally get found out.
ETA: Also, I can’t stand the Allardyce brand of football - I hope West Ham go down too as a result.
Difficult to see beyond Manchester for the title. Red or Blue will be the question.
I also enjoyed watching the Swans last season - plenty of teams I’d rather see relegated (West Ham included, but Stoke at the top of the list).
Oooh, I forgot about Stoke! I’d much rather see them go down than Swansea. Both got what at the time seemed like very important draws against City (from the perspective of a United fan), but only Swansea got that City fan to cry on tv. Beyond that, I don’t actively dislike Swansea, I just have no reason to care for them. I’m not a fan of Allardyce, either, but it just seems right when WHU are in the Premier League scraping by. If I didn’t like Roberto Martinez, I’d probably want Wigan to go down.
So, hopefully down with Reading and Stoke, and then the 3rd will be harder to pick. Norwich without Lambert could struggle. I kind of like them, so hopefully they stay up. I guess West Brom is due for relegation, right? And Birmingham or Wolves to come back up, since that’s how those 3 clubs operate (law of football: 1 of them must be going up or down a division, and usually 2 of them)?
I don’t think the RVP signing will be as wonderful as many United fans think. A 29-year old striker who has had one injury-free season in his career? I’m certainly not picking him or Rooney in my fantasy pool, anyway, since I can’t afford both. (Goal output won’t be as one-sided for each player the way it was last year when they were on separate teams.)
I think the Cazorla signing is the signing of the season, even moreso than Hazard. Kagawa might find himself in an unfamiliar position now that United have picked up RVP. (Will they go with a 4-4-2? Will Rooney be the link-up man? That puts Kagawa back.) Interested to see how Borini does at Liverpool with their new system. Suarez looked very good (albeit against Gomel), so that partnership could bring some great results for Liverpool. No idea how Villas-Boas is going to do at Spurs. I’m wavering between wanting him to do well (take that, Chelsea, etc.) and wanting him to fall flat on his face (mini-Mourinho you’re not). And can the Toons replicate last season’s successes?
I thin City will nick it again. IN fact I see it going much like last year, but wihtout as much drama at the end.
I’ve supported United pretty much since I was born due to my father. I’ll never forget that night in Munich 1999 when we took the treble in the last two minutes, incredible. I think United will win the title this year. I’m so sick of people running about in City shirts just chasing their glory or trying to be a failed Noel Gallagher. Also I guess it’s good to see us get another top class striker but I hate the way football is just completely $$$$$$$$. What happened to pride? Players like Roy Keane, Eric Cantona etc. They represented the club and didn’t ditch to a rival. Also I fear that unless United switch to a 4-3-3 or something of the sort, we will not be able to keep building on Hernandez and Danny Welbeck. They are two great strikers and although they may not be as clinical or experienced as Rooney/RVP, playing another season of top flight football would mature them and create the players we were after. I dunno, I just thought it was unnecessary to sign RVP.
I also follow West Ham as a London club because of my mother so I’m happy they are back to top flight football. The sheer passion in that club is astounding. I don’t understand the hate for Swansea? They are a good team and a good club. A guy I went to school with in Ireland recently signed for them during the summer so it will be good to see if he can get any first team football.
Think the trajectories of the two Manchester clubs are quite marked - just a question of how far Utd will fall. With a strikeforce of RVP and the whoremonger you’d have to say not too far - their problems lie elsewhere on the park though. No obvious candidates to step into their position will also help to cushion their fall.
Everton are looking very good by our pre-season standards, as we’ve signed two players for actual money (Pienaar and Naismith). Thought we were really pushing the boat out and getting Kevin Mirralas (v good Belgian player) but he’s being cagey and trying to get a bidding war going with a few other clubs.
Tim Cahill also called it a day to play in the US which is a really good decision for both parties. One of those players who brought a lot but dramatically restricted the shape of the team.
Our squads too thin for bold predictions but I think we’ll be stronger than we’ve been for several years - Liverpool and Spurs are under new, unproven regimes and Newcastle are managed by a buffoon, it’s a great opportunity to get in the mix. Need to break the habit of playing shite before Christmas - that really doesn’t help.
Have a ticket for the ManU game which is on Monday night - should be a good one, hopefully not a dream start for RVP.
Everton are a great team/club, it would be good to see them get into Europe this year. Monday will be a good match!
Surprised none of the Man U fans so far are rooting for QPR to go down after they rolled over to cost us the title last year. And the sooner Joey Barton suffers a career-ending challenge (most likely self-inflicted), the better.
Anyway, on to more positive thoughts, perhaps love is blind but I remain convinced United had a bad season last year and will be much better this time round. On the other hand, now that City have got that “first” title under their belts, the monkey is off their back and they may well just run away with it, without any slip ups (I really mixed the metaphors like a true pundit there, didn’t I?).
Too close to call I think. A lot will depend on whether RVP can maintain his form of last year, I seriously worry that he will not. Some people are saying that they fear another Veron/Forlan type drop-off in performance, but I think that’s unlikely. It’s just unlikely he’ll be as good as he was last term. Can’t blame the man for wanting to move - a player of his calibre is going to want to win trophies, and neither Arsenal nor Holland have given him much chance.
Well, he was on the Holland team that lost in the 2010 World Cup Final on an extra-time goal, so he had a chance. But the basic point is still true, he has increased his chances at silverware.
QPR signed Ji-Sung Park and Fabio Da Silva on loan, so I’d like them to do reasonably well.
MUFC should have signed Fellaini instead of RVP, it turns out.
And Arsenal re-live so many matches from last season while a visitor parks the bus and rides out the handful of chances.
City made it interesting, Spurs got bossed around, and Liverpool looked pretty awful. Only Chelsea of the “title contenders” had an auspicious debut, I’d say.
It’s a long time since I’ve seen one single player dominate a top class side like Fellaini did last night. It was like the School Master joining in a kick-about with the school children. As a Utd fan put it - it felt like Messi was hiding in his hair giving him instructions all game. We conceded possession in the last 20 mins but Distin and Jagielka were rock solid all night. We actually signed the Belgian Mirrales afterall so things are looking more promising than they have done for a while.
Utd have a few problems to my eye. Paul Scholes is totally unable to play both ways any more (understandably so, he’s 38) and shouldn’t be starting difficult games. Cleverly was having to chaperone him full time as he (Scholes) can’t defend. Rooney, God bless him, is a feckless, brass-necked slob who is trousering 200K+ per week and still shows up first game of the season overweight and out of shape. He was the worst player on the pitch by a mile (and I include Nani and Tony Hibbert in that analysis), and the fact he wasn’t hauled off after 60 mins tells me Utd have a serious subservience problem with him.
I don’t care for Pardew much, but he came out with a cracker at the weekend. Saying he told all the players before the game about the Olympic spirit and to play the right way. Then he pushed the linesman over 
United don’t need either of these players in my opinion. Kagawa showed that he is top class and I fear that RVP will hamper the development of both him and Hernandez, two top class players. If anything Utd need to sign a few younger centre backs as Rio is getting old and will need some replacement. I also fear that Vidic has lost his form now after injury but hopefully he can bounce back.
Fellaini played incredible, seriously a top notch player. Paul Scholes is still a great player and certainly has another season in him. Scholes makes his money as a playermaker rather than a defender but yes Cleverely is good and possibly the sorely need replacement for Roy Keane that we’ve needed. Nani played good but needs to stop taking set pieces and crossing the ball. He is a good dribbler and playmaker but he just couldn’t put a decent ball into the box. That Pardew quote was absolute gold BTW.
Well, the good news is Arsenal have yet to concede this season… It looks like it’s gonna take some time for their new attack force to figure out their movements and how to generate chances more reliably.
Why is there a medical exam pending? Is there some question about his health?
I’m not sure if this is serious…
The medical exam was just routine. However, he does have a very, very long history of health issues. RvP had something like 1.5 healthy years at Arsenal - staying on the pitch was always his biggest problem.
I meant is there some health issue that would be resolved by a medical exam?
Maybe this is just my lack of familiarity with English football, but why is there a “routine” medical exam? Is it a euphemism for drug testing?