Should Man United and Liverpool battle it out for the title as they did in 2008-9 then these bitter rivals will be striving to be the first team to reach 19 titles.
Last season saw United knock Liverpool off “their f*****g perch” as Sir Alex Ferguson so succinctly put it, to become English football’s most successful club in domestic league football.
Now, United can make it four in a row for the first time ever, while Liverpool can end 20 years without a league championship.
Before the other members of the league’s elite are brought into the picture it must be said that both of last season’s top two have suffered troubled close seasons.
United have lost World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina striker Carlos Tevez. On the face of it, neither have been replaced like for like.
In their place have arrived Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan and, infamously, Michael Owen, none of them big names, apart from the injury plagued Owen.
Either unwilling or unable to spend the £90m banked for Ronaldo, Ferguson claims to have withdrawn from the transfer market in protest at the high prices.
That seems somewhat rich considering the amount he received for just one player.
Rafael Benitez, now Fergusons sworn enemy, has his own worries on transfer business. Having done well to remove Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry from the boardroom and be in control of buying and selling, he has expressed his frustration at their being no funds available.
Glen Johnson arrived for a sizeable sum as did Alberto Aquilani, for £20m of the £30m paid for Xabi Alonso by Real Madrid. Many Liverpool fans would have been happy with snagging Owen for themselves as a back-up for Fernando Torres as once again it seems that the availability and fitness of Gerrard and Torres will be pivotal to Liverpools campaign.
The Mighty reds don’t seem to have the strength in depth when it comes to striking options, unlike Mark Hughes at Manchester City who’s gone mental in the transfer market, buying Adebayor, Tevez and Santa Cruz, all strikers.
In fact the only clubs who’ve gone crazy this summer is Man City and Real Madrid in Spain, the former are backed by billions of pounds worth of Arab oil while Madrid are partly subsidised by the Spanish government.
Before the Arabs arrived in Manchester, Chelsea were the richest club in the world but it seems even Roman Abramhovic has been effected by the global financial crisis and of course Arsenal have been as prudent as ever when it comes to spending.
The new Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti has been able to add just Yuri Zhirkov of note to a highly experienced and still very powerful squad while Arsene Wenger has been flogging off his African stars to Manchester City as youth continues to be favoured at the Emirates, although these youngsters have been developing over the 5 years it’s been since the Gunners last won the league and Wenger is due another surprise success but personally I’m not sure this will come till next season.
Arsene has only added the Belgian centre-back Thomas Vermalen to his squad while many inside the game feel they are crying out for strong central midfielder.
Chelsea may look like old stagers, yet the spending of years gone by leaves them with a tightknit squad who are still hungry for success, especially in the champions league, the Holy Grail for Abrahmovic and something he knows Ancellotti can provide considering his two triumphs with Milan.
It is City who provide the burning question of the pre-season; can their free spending bridge what looked to be the great divide in the Premier League?
A cool £78m says they might just do it. And, despite the failure to tempt John Terry, much of that cash has been spent on capturing players from what look to be their immediate competitors.
Tevez’s arrival at Eastlands has already been used to antagonize United (a giant poster of Tevez which reads, Welcome to Manchester has been placed by the Sky Blues on the outskirts of the city) while Arsenal have received £41m for two African players who may or may not have seen better days while Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry has been prised away.
City also have the advantage of not being involved in any European competition this season and so can focus solely on the league without any distractions.
The same can’t be said for their nearest rivals and Europa league debutants, Everton Spurs and Villa.
Everton may have resisted several City overtures for Joleon Lescott but David Moyes has not been able to add to a squad that last season made the best of threadbare resources. At Tottenham , wheeler-dealer Harry Redknapp may be looking longingly at City’s spending as his own squad looks top-heavy. He posseses a wealth of attacking options yet has an injury-prone backline. That said, his transfer business may not yet be complete.
Aston Villa are the other club that gets mentioned when it comes to breaking the glass ceiling that is the top 4 of the Premier league but personally I can see it remaining the same again.
Martin O’Neil has only added Stewart Downing from relegated Middlesboro but he’s out injured till December and the Villa boss has admitted he needs 5 players to “give them a chance”, a chance of finishing 6th again, I presume. Even Everton, who have finished 5th the last 2 seasons stand almost no chance of barging their way into the champions league qualification promised land. Their limited resources means they’ve
managed to get Brazilian Jo on loan from Man City for another season with no other transfer targets on the horizon. As for Tottenham, well they’re just Tottenham aren’t they?
Enjoy wactching the exciting EPL matches this weekend!
Source: Football Betting Secrets
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