John Terry: Uber Prick

Just when you thought John Terry couldn’t sink any lower in football fans’ estimations...

With David Luiz out injured, Gary Cahill limping out of the action and Barcelona swarming all over the Chelsea rearguard, the west Londoners desperately needed a performance from their lion-hearted leader. What they got was a cowardly and unnecessary assault, a fully-deserved red card and Jose Boswinga filling in at centre back.

It was the latest in a long line of unsavoury and controversial incidents involving the deposed England captain, but the first which looked likely to cost his team on the pitch: for all the allegations of affairs, profiteering and racism, Terry has seldom abdicated his duties on the pitch.

Thankfully, his teammates rose admirably to the challenge of holding Messi, Xavi and Iniesta at bay. Petr Cech performed heroically, Didier Drogba worked his self into the ground and Frank Lampard worked intelligently with and without the ball. Chelsea’s star performer, however, was the energetic Ramires. The Brazilian played all over the pitch, defended diligently, broke forward whenever the opportunity arose and gave Chelsea hope with a deliciously chipped goal.

Sadly, the little livewire will miss the final thanks to the yellow card he picked up at Camp Nou. The same totting-up procedure will also ensure the absence of Raul Mereiles and Branislav Ivanovic. It’s a disciplinary procedure which UEFA ought to look long and hard at if it wants to ensure the competitions showpiece final parades the best available players, but that aside, it’s John Terry who’s ultimately responsible for the unavailability of those players in Munich.

Barcelona’s possession game is difficult enough to play with when there are eleven players on the pitch. Terry’s needless red card made it even harder, made sure that more tackles needed to be made, made sure that at times desperate challenges led to bookings. If Terry had remained on the pitch would all three of his colleagues have been cautioned? Probably not.

Whilst John Terry refuses to accept responsibility for his own actions (confirming both his cowardice and stupidity in the face of the evidence), Frank Lampard toed the party line in his post-match press conference by publicly supporting his captain and claiming not to have seen the incident. Hopefully behind the scenes he will give Terry the dressing down he deserves and Mereiles, Ramires and Ivanovic will cold-shoulder the man who denied them the opportunity to play in the biggest game of their lives

For English football’s sake it would be wonderful to see Chelsea win the Champions League – if only for the satisfaction of seeing the reprehensible John Terry watching from the sidelines in his suit.

The Inevitable Demise of AVB

You’ve got to wonder what exactly Roman Abramovich expects from his managers. Perhaps Jose Mourinho delivered too much, too soon – since capturing the Premier League title in his first season at Stamford Bridge, the Russian oligarch seems to demand such results every season.

The truth is that Mourinho over-achieved (in much the same way he did at Porto and Inter Milan) before leaving the club barely any better off than they were before his arrival. Mourinho is not a team-builder. He’s a short-termer who blasts his way into a club in a blaze of publicity, creates a siege mentality, draws the absolute best out of his players, spends loads of money and makes excellent tactical decisions.

What he doesn’t do is leave any kind of long-term legacy. Young players are often distrusted, flair players often marginalised. His powerful, pacy teams are not built to last. And when Abramovich tired of the Portuguese manager, he jettisoned him with no real thought as to who might build a team capable of putting together a sustained period of success.

As such, brief spells from Avram Grant, Luis Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti have brought mixed fortunes – occasional league titles, Champions League Final appearances and FA Cup wins. But none have been given long enough to stamp their own authority on the team. None have shaped the squad as they would have liked. All but Hiddink have been sacked at great expense.

Finally, it seemed that the Russian owner had realised the error of his ways. Recognising the need abandon his short-termism he appointed a 33 year old built in Mourinho’s image. A thrusting young upstart from Porto was installed with a brief to break up his Portuguese predecessor’s old team and put together a side which would challenge for titles in the long term.

It simply hasn’t happened. Too many of Mourinho’s men retained too much power at Stamford Bridge for the young manager to make his mark. A cabal of senior players –many of them past their peak – remained undroppable in the eyes of themselves and their chairman. The creaking John Terry, shot Petr Cech and the slowing Ashley Cole are shadows of their former selves but are immune from criticism thanks to the internal politics of West London. Frank Lampard remains a valuable player but has become a sulker and a dissenting voice within the club – he need only look at Manchester United’s old guard to see how to handle being rested occasionally. Instead he has leaked his dissatisfaction to the press like a petulant child.

Up front, too, AVB struggled with hangovers from previous regimes. Didier Drogba, undoubtedly Mourinho’s man, was the least of these. He’s a player who always puts in a shift and has performed admirably this season. The manager’s biggest concern has been the £50m Spanish misfit foisted on him by Roman Abramovich. It seems that nobody other than the chairman particularly wanted Fernando Torres at the club – and his stuttering, misfiring, goal-free form has become a problem for AVB which he probably never wanted. Trying to accommodate the chairman’s vanity purchase has meant constantly reshuffling the strike force, forcing Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge onto the peripheries.

Perhaps given time and with less interference from the meddling chairman (increasingly a presence on the training ground in recent weeks) might have given the manager more confidence to shape the team in his own image. Perhaps younger players like David Luiz, Oriel Romeu and Sturridge would have found their places in the team cemented rather than doubted. Perhaps AVB’s tactics might have become established and successful.

Of course, ultimately all managers are judged by their results. And Villas-Boas’ were woeful. But is it really his fault? Was he really allowed to implement his ideas fully? Was he offered the required support from those around him? Did the players ever really play for him? Why wasn't he given some room to make mistakes? We’ll never truly know the answers, but the suspicion is that he was well and truly hung out to dry.

And now Chelsea are back where they began. Only this time they have a weaker team, a more disjointed squad and an owner becoming increasingly impatient and trigger happy. There’s probably only one man who could unite this squad and inspire the fans: and he was house-hunting in London last weekend.

Chelsea vs United: Minute by Minute

Teams:
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Boswinga; Mereiles, Essien, Malouda: Mata, Torres, Sturridge. Subs: Turnbull, Bertrand, Romeu, Hutchinson, Piazzon, Lukaku, Ferreira

Man Utd: De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Young; Rooney, Welbeck. Subs: Amos, Rafael, Park, Berbatov, Hernandez, Pogba, Scholes

Referee: Howard Webb

Prediction: Chelsea 0 Man Utd 2

Preamble:
With the notable exception of John Terry, everyone involved in this fixture will be breathing a sigh of relief that the deposed England captain misses out with a knee injury. For the second consecutive week a Terry/Ferdinand handshake had threatened to overshadow a huge and potentially combustible football fixture. Let’s hope that this week’s Premier League game is better than the damp squib at QPR last weekend where the most interesting things to happen were things which didn’t actually happen: a pointless pre-match pleasantry and a foul on Danny Sturridge.

Almost unbelievably, Chelsea are a point better off than at this stage last season with Juan Mata forging more goalscoring opportunities than anyone else in the top flight this season. With Drogba missing, Torres misfiring and Sturridge in the midst of a drought, Andreas Villas Boas will be desperately hoping someone in his side can capitalise on Mata’s creativity to trouble the shaky Spaniard David De Gea.

United boast the best away record in the league but have been appalling in league fixtures at Stamford Bridge in recent years. They’ll be hoping that the return of their injured troops can spark the beginning of a run which might see them depose their city rivals at the top of the table. Valencia, with nine assists in nine games will relish the opportunity to test Chelsea’s stand-in left back, Boswinga. On the opposite flank, Ashley Young will hope to return to his early-season form after his return from injury.

15:26pm
It’s all over at the Sports Direct Arena (it actually hurts my fingers to type that) where the always entertaining Toon Army prevailed 2-1 against an Aston Villa who were far less turgid than anyone expected. Against his old club, Charles N’Zogbia teed up Robbie Keane for a cracker and Demba Ba scored on his return from the Cup of Nations. But it was the Senegalese debutante, Papisse Demba Cisse, who stole the show with a belter welted into the top corner with his left peg. A superb strike from the Magpies’ new number nine.

15:45pm
United might never get a better opportunity to flex their Mancunian muscles at The Bridge. With Chelsea’s trio of England stalwarts missing through injury and suspension, the Blues actually look weaker than an injury ravaged United - who welcome back Young and Rooney but lose Smalling (who along with Jones, Rafael, Fabio, Anderson et al) seems incapable of putting a run of back-to-back games together).

Expect the Red Devils to pour forward down the flanks in an attempt to expose Chelsea’s out-of-position fullbacks – and their new central defensive partnership of Sideshow Bob and Gary Cahil. Chelsea will aim to outnumber Fergie’s side in the centre of midfield and run the legs of 87 year old Ryan Giggs. Given that one of Chelsea’s central three is Florent Malouda, this could be a tall order.

15:55pm
Alan Smith is anticipating Juan Mata lining up in the hole behind Fernando Torres. It’ll be interesting to see exactly how Chelsea shape up. United like a traditional Fergie 4-4-2 formation.

16:00pm
We’re away with United kicking off and playing from left to right. Both sides give the ball away several times in the first twenty seconds.

1min
Evra is upended on the left corner of the Chelsea eighteen yard box – from the free-kick Rooney gets an early sighter of Cech’s goal. He doesn’t trouble the keeper.

2mins
Is Cech’s scrum-cap a necessity or an affectation?

4mins
Rio Ferdinand is being booed by the Stamford Bridge faithful. Presumably this is because his brother has allegedly been racially abused by a Chelsea player. Imagine the reception he’d get if he was the one accused of the abuse. Cheered to the rafters presumably.

6mins
A couple of corners for Chelsea come to nought – but David De Gea looked all at sea and made an utterly pathetic fist of fisting the ball to safety. He clearly inspires no confidence in his teammates.

8mins
A prone Essien plays Young onside in the box leading to a tangle of legs and a half-hearted penalty appeal. Nothing doing from Webb.

9mins
Mata is definitely more central than I anticipated – some good movement between he and Torres opens up space for Boswinga to have a pop at goal. It’s saved easily.

10mins
United have strong penalty appeals turned down. Welbeck gets goal side of Cahill who brings the striker down in a foul which began outside the box and ended with him tripping Welbeck inside it. Fergie will be apoplectic. Replays show that Webb had a great view of it – and still got it badly wrong.

12mins
Sir Alex is giving the fourth official a Wrigley’s scented mouthful on the touchline. Quite what effect he thinks this might have is unclear but he’s right to be angry.

16mins
It’s scrappy so far but United are the more threatening. Chelsea seem unable to clear their lines properly – constantly playing each other into trouble around their own box and playing simple clearances to the feet of United players. If it carries on like this United will soon break through.

18mins
Rafael gives the ball away cheaply, Torres is dragged to the ground and Chelsea have an opportunity to lump the ball into the danger zone. It’s flat and wasted by Mereiles who really needed to stick it under De Gea’s chin and watch the ensuing carnage.

20mins
Space opens up in front of United’s box but instead of charging into the gap, Torres takes a swipe at goal from 22 yards. He cuts across it and it slides harmlessly wide. It was a shot which betrayed his lack of confidence. I actually feel sorry for him now.

22mins
Interestingly, both sets of central defenders are playing on the opposite sides to where you’d expect them. Luiz and Ferdinand are both patrolling the left half of the pitch – not their normal positions.

24mins
Juan Mata scoops a rugby-league style bomb into the United area which Evans volleys away at full stretch. Chelsea are growing into this now – but neither side has yet created a clear-cut chance with players from both teams coming short to create and thus emptying the eighteen yard boxes.

27mins
Rooney just beat the offside trap after a neat ball from Valencia. He got the ball stuck under his feet when he ought to have been charging for goal. Instead he rolled a ball across Cech’s six yard line for Welbeck only to see Ivanovic clear for a corner (which came to nothing). Poor from Wazza, that.

30mins
Torres is booked for charging into the back of Evans with his extremities stuck out. The Northern Irishman goes down after being poked with a double whammy of knees and elbows. Utterly needless from the Spaniard who’s looking increasingly frustrated with himself.

33mins
Danny Welbeck runs around a lot.

35mins
OWN GOAL!!
Some uncertainty in the United box leaves a number of Red Devils flat footed. Evra is turned inside out by Sturridge who cuts the ball back from the byline. It cannons off De Gea, ricochets off Evans and nestles in the net. Dreadful defending from United.

37mins
The game explodes into life as De Gea is forced into a plunging save from a fizzing long-distance drive. At the other end Cech performs similar heroics to thwart Young – and gets enough glove on the ball to stop Rooney tapping in the rebound.

40mins
Chelsea have been scrappy and have had less of the ball but have taken their only chance. United have threatened little, although Welbeck has just drawn a smart stop from Cech. Fergie will be wondering how to adjust his forward line at the interval unless they can pop in an equaliser soon.

44mins
After a sustained spell of United pressure the game has really opened up. It’s end to end and littered with mistakes – great entertainment but not great quality. Moves keep breaking down twenty yards out with players diving into challenges left, right and centre.

45+1mins
Ivanovic is booked for having the fattest arse in football. And then Mata sends Giggs sprawling. One last chance for United to pump the ball forward...

45+2mins
And Cech tips his shot around the base of the post.

Peep!
It’s half time in a game Chelsea will be delighted to leading. It’s been tense and tight, but United have been marginally the better side. It’ll be interesting to hear Red Nev’s thoughts on that penalty non-decision. Whether it was inside the box or out, it was a foul and Cahill ought to have seen red.

Half-Time
Neville and Redknapp think United should have had a penalty for a challenge on Young – but the player fell forward when having his shirt pulled backwards. The player has undermined his own case with a dramatic tumble there. They don’t think it was a penalty for Cahill’s foul on Welbeck but it was a foul. I maintain that the defender ought to have been sent off on his debut.

Peep!
After ensuring his hair looks lustrous, Fernando Torres gets us underway.

WHAT A GOAL!!
From the kick off Chelsea score one of the goals of the season. From the right flank Torres bends it like Beckham to Juan Mata – who spanks an unstoppable volley into the top corner from eight yards out. What a magnificent goal. United look stunned.

47mins
Seen from behind the player, Mata’s goal looks even better – he let the ball drop across his body beautifully before wellying it in. De Gea wasn’t miles away from it but he was never, ever going to save it.

GOAL!!
A disastrous start to the second half as a free kick from the right wing ends up in United’s net via a combination of David Luiz’s shoulder and a flick off Rio Ferdinand’s back.

51mins
United are reeling here. They genuinely have been the better team but have been eviscerated at the start of the second period by a lightning quick start from Chelsea and some awful defending.

52mins
Hernandez comes on for Young and is immediately – and predictably – flagged offside. The Mexican’s troubled Luiz in the past, but salvaging anything from this game seems a forlorn hope for Manchester United.

56mins
Ferguson has a problem here: it’s too early to accept a defeat but too soon to go gung-ho. What will the master do?

PENALTY
Sturridge brings down Evra and Rooney puts the ball on the spot. His record from 12 yards is awful recently.

GOAL!!
He meant that! Rooney almost rips the net out with a piledriver into the top left corner. Game on!!

59mins
United have the bit between their teeth now. Hernandez almost squeaks through a gap before Chelsea break up the other end and Sturridge wafts a shot well wide. He’s having an eventful game, young Sturridge.

60mins
Ivanovic’s sizeable rear nudges Welbeck out of the way after Giggs almost freed the striker with a slide-rule pass down the left wing.

62mins
United make a tactical change – Valencia moves to right back as Paul Scholes enters the fray. It’s Rafael who makes way. United have no genuine width in midfield now and will need to push their fullbacks on – it’s a risky but necessary strategy.

65mins
United are caught on the hop as Luiz splits their defence with a simple through ball. After a flick from a defender’s boot takes the ball away from Torres, Mata steers one at goal which De Gea throws his hat on. It’s end to end stuff now.

67mins
Great interplay from Giggs, Rooney and Hernandez ends with Cech clutching at a scuffed shot from Rooney – who’s pulling the strings now.

PENALTY!!!
Welbeck goes down in another tangle. It’s not a dive but it might not be a foul either. He left a leg hanging and Ivanovic brought him down. A very strange incident.

GOAL!!
Rooney scores emphatically, thumping the ball to Cech’s left. Even if he’d gone the right way he’d have had no chance. Rooney is rising to the occasion now.

71mins
It’s Chelsea’s turn to be rattled now. Romeu is on to shore things up in midfield. Sturridge was not happy to be the player hooked. Is AVB inviting pressure now? Surely that’s the last thing he should be doing against a rampant United.

73mins
Romeu gives the ball away in midfield and within seconds Hernandez is cutting a shot across Cech and wide. Chelsea are rocking.

75mins
Torres rolls the ball back to Essien who hammers a shot from 25 yards which De Gea punches over the bar. It’s more unconvincing goalkeeping from a shot which was straight at him.

76mins
Torres has no confidence whatsoever. He breaks into the box and after spurning numerous chances to hit the ball at goal he is crowded out. He didn’t need to beat his man there and should have just put his laces through the ball. He seems so scared of missing that he daren’t shoot. Crazy.

79mins
United have Giggs and Welbeck on the wings, Scholes and Carrick in the centre, Hernandez and Rooney up top. Valencia is charging forward at every opportunity too – there’ll be a goal for Chelsea on the break if United don’t nick an equaliser first.

81mins
Sustained pressure from United sees them win a corner and time to draw breath. Danny Welbeck meets it but he’s too far beyond the near post and can’t steer his header at goal.

82mins
Giggs upends Mereiles and Chelsea pause over the freekick, desperate to take the wind out of United’s sails. They manage to keep the ball a while but it’s soon back with United who pour forward.

GOAL!!
CHICHARITO!!!
Valencia charges down the right and swings a lovely ball into the centre. Rooney goes for goal somehow Cech saves. The ball squirts out to Giggs on the left wing. He teases a beautiful cross into the six yard box, Hernandez springs and powers a header at goal which Cech can’t claw out. United won’t be happy to settle for a point.

86mins
For the first time in the history of the Premier League, Martin Tyler is tripping over his words. Mereiles might have equalised there with a better header.

88mins
Rooney is shimmering with menace as United steam forward but it’s Chelsea who break and win a corner. United smuggle it away and head upfield only for Evra to run the ball out of play. Somewhere on the excitement Park came on for Welbeck.

90mins
There’ll be four added minutes and in the first of them Luiz wins a cheap free kick after tumbling theatrically over Scholes’ non-challenge. It’s to the right of the United box and Mata postage stamps it into the top corner. Except he doesn’t – because De Gea pulls off a wonderfully athletic save. Magnificent from the much maligned Spaniard.

92mins
Giggs and Evra combine to win a corner. The United fans are jubilant. Will they see a winner? They ought to have as players throw themselves at Giggs magnificent delivery. There’s a half-arsed penalty appeal as Torres appears to handle, Cech collects a Carrick shot from distance and Hernandez is flagged offside again.

94mins
Gary Cahill lumbers forward and launches a blockbuster which De Gea tips over. And that just about wraps it up. Phew.

Wowsers! How do you sum that up? Chelsea will be distraught to have let that lead slip but they were fortunate to have held it in the first place. United will be annoyed they didn’t win – but they gained a point which seemed entirely unlikely after 48 minutes. Rooney and Mata were magnificent, Cech made some great saves and Giggs rolled back the years. But perhaps the game’s defining moment was De Gea’s miraculous save – could it be the moment that convinces the world he’s got what it takes to be United’s number one?

Premier League Preview

Until the transfer window slams shut it's difficult to guess exactly how the Premier League season will shape up. But ahead of the traditional curtain raiser, the Charity Shield, here's my club-by-club assessment of the upcoming season...

QPR
Adel Taraabt inspired a romp to the Championship title which ought to have Hoops fans salivating at the prospect of Premier League football. Sadly, many are utterly disillusioned with the direction the club is taking under billionaire owners Briatore and Ecclestone. Taraabt’s head appears to have turned, Neil Warnock undermined at every turn and free signings such as the injury prone Kieran Dyer have not inspired confidence. If goals can be wrung out of DJ Campbell then QPR might hang on to top-flight status – but both are tall orders.

Swansea City
The first Welsh club to ply their trade in the Premier League have really got their work cut out. They’ll be hoping that a fearsome home atmosphere intimidates visiting teams, but a lack of quality will surely be there undoing. The Swans play attacking, passing football so may seek inspiration from Blackpool’s exploits last season. But ultimately the Tangerines went down and it seems likely that Swansea will follow a similarly entertaining path back to the Championship.

Norwich
Paul Lambert has done nothing but impress in a managerial career which has seen him work his way through the divisions and Norwich will be hoping they can keep him through to the end of this campaign: it would be no surprise if Lambert’s name were linked with the next Premier League club to dispense with their manager. Astute use of the loan system and Lambert’s tactical nous may see them safe, but relying on the likes of Steve Morison for goals is a brave move.

Wolves
Mick McCarthy has done a great job at Molineux and thoroughly deserved to keep them up last year. He’s an entertainingly honest manager and has quietly added some quality to his squad with Jamie O’Hara and Roger Johnson – players who will add goals from midfield and shore up a decent defence respectively. Kevin Doyle will be fully fit and Steven Fletcher pops up with vital goals – it’d be a surprise to see Wolves go down.

Wigan
Roberto Martinez is an extremely likeable chap and his commitment to attractive attacking football is admirable. But surely this year Wigan are due to return to the football league? A team which survived by the skin of its teeth last year has been shorn of quality with the departures of Charles Nzogbia and Tom Cleverly. It’s vital that the fee received for the Frenchman is well invested but Martinez has not always been convincing in the transfer market. Relegation beckons.

Blackburn
When Indian chicken company Venky’s promised to sign players like Ronaldinho for Rovers their fans were almost prepared to forgive them for sacking Sam Allardyce: a manager who comfortably kept Blackburn afloat. Since then, things have gone badly wrong. The inexperienced Steve Kean has seen the team go backwards under his stewardship and Chris Samba looks likely to leave. It’ll be another season of struggle at Ewood Park – although there will be rejoicing if the club manage to dispense with El Hadji Diouf’s services before the big kick-off.

Bolton
Bolton flattered to deceive last year. Although Owen Coyle’s team played better football than Wanderers fans had seen for some time, the fact remains that their season was decidedly average other than one purple patch of great results. They ended the season very badly and have seen attacking talents like Sturridge, Elmander and Taylor leave the club. With a full pre-season under his belt, however, the fans will be hoping Coyle’s methods will be more firmly ingrained.

Stoke
Tony Pulis is a canny operator who has firmly established little old Stoke as a Premier League force. Their football is not as direct as people seem to suggest – Matty Etherington’s craft and guile supplies as many goals as Rory Delap’s long throws. Jonathan Woodgate will be an excellent signing if he stays fit and fans at the Potteries will be expecting more goals from Kenwyne Jones this time around. Mid-table beckons.

Newcastle
The Toon Army must be the world’s most bewildered fans. Whilst early signings such as Cabaye and Marveaux hinted at a promising 2011/12, internal bickering and strange player sales have seen the wheels fall off at St James. The sale of Andy Carroll seems to have led directly to club captain Kevin Nolan dropping down a division, Jose Enrique looks sure to depart and the Joey Barton saga is becoming farcical. Restoring a sense of order and recruiting a goalscorer are vital – a few bad results could see a mutiny amongst players and fans.

West Brom
Uncle Woy did an amazing job of steadying the ship at Hawthorns and this season looks set to be even better for them. Peter Odemwingie has resisted the overtures of bigger clubs, Ben Foster has replaced calamitous Scott Carson, club favourite Zoltan Gera has returned and Owen Hargreaves may well sign for the Baggies. Although they still lack depth, West Brom’s first team is impressive and organized enough to finish comfortably in mid-table.

Sunderland
Steve Bruce loves a transfer window. Approximately 872 players have taken a spin on the Stadium of Light’s transfer merry-go-round this summer, leaving Bruce with an almost entirely new team. Experienced defenders like O’Shea and Brown will shore up the back four but a new midfield featuring the likes of Larsson and Gardner will need to gel quickly if it’s to supply sufficient ammunition for the impressive Asamoah Gyan. It’ll be another transitional season at Sunderland – how many more will the fans tolerate?

Aston Villa
Despite having lost two England widemen, Villa’s can still feel reasonably confident about the attacking areas of their team. Downing and Young might have gone, but they’ve got ready replacements in homegrown Albrighton and big-name signing Nzogbia. With players like that creating chances for Darren Bent, Villa ought to score goals. Fans will be hoping that Alex McLeish can instill some defensive solidity (signing Shay Given was a step in the right direction) but time is not on his side: the fans will turn very quickly on the former Birmingham man.

Fulham
After the bizarre departure of Mark Hughes, Fulham fans will have been delighted with the acquisition of Martin Jol. The amiable Dutchman will not do anything radical at Craven Cottage but has made some shrewd buys in the transfer market – John Arne Riise fills a problem position for them and will contribute much-needed goals. Up front, the returning Dembele and Zamora will prove a handful for anyone and Fulham will be hoping to finish in the European places.

Everton
Nothing has happened at Goodison Park except the sale of James Vaughan. With no money to spend it seems that the best David Moyes can hope for is loan signings and he should probably be looking to bloated squads in Manchester to pick up some quality to complement his solid squad. He’ll also be hoping for improved contributions from Arteta and less injuries for the likes of Fellaini, Saha and Cahill. But whilst others are improving their squads, Everton are standing still (at best).

Liverpool
The biggest question at Anfield is how Kenny Dalglish will combine the midfield talent he now has at his disposal. Stewart Downing brings genuine width, but Liverpool are overstocked with players who gravitate towards the centre. Perhaps Downing and Suarez will play either side of Carroll with the likes of Adam, Gerrard, Lucas, Meireles et al competing for three central berths. Left back remains a problem, so it would be no surprise to see three at the back occasionally. But if Liverpool are to break back into the top four they’ll need to settle on a team and a formation fairly quickly.

Spurs
Having failed to qualify for the Champions League, Spurs have stagnated a little this summer. There has been little recruitment, Luka Modric has had his head turned and they now have a bizarre trio of experienced goalkeepers. The club will need to hope that Defoe, Pavlyuchenko and Crouch better last season’s goal output – with creative midfielders like Bale supplying the crosses it’s inexcusable for the strikers to contribute so little. The top four will be out of their reach again.

Arsenal
Discontent at the Wenger regime has never been more apparent. The manager needs to make some big decisions regarding Fabregas and Nasri – they’re distracted and a distraction. Regardless of their future, Arsenal are well stocked in midfield following the emergence of Wilshere and the return of Ramsay. But as always doubts remain over the defence (which should be bolstered by the return of Vermaelen) and goalkeeper. Striking cover for the brittle Van Persie has arrived in the shape of Gervinho but Arsenal will face a fight to finish fourth.

Man City
Could this be the season City make a genuine title challenge? Mancini has presided over a quiet evolution rather than a revolution this summer, with adjustments to the back four and some low-key departures. The exception to this is obviously Kun Aguero – a wonderful player who would improve any team. Managing some big personalities will be key for Mancini – particularly up front where combustible talents like Balotelli and want-away Tevez will test the manager’s patience. They’ll probably finish second – with or without Tevez.

Chelsea
Another year older, Chelsea are now relying on players the same age as their manager. Lampard, Terry and Drogba are still the most influential players at Stamford Bridge, but Roman Abramovich will be desperately hoping that recent big-money purchases like Torres, Luiz and Ramires can deliver this year. Josh McCechran and Danny Sturridge will also hope to make their mark in what looks likely to be a transitional season – although Chelsea will comfortably finish in the top four.

Manchester United
A team that comfortably won the title has added £50m worth of talent to its squad – although the loss of experienced campaigners like Van Der Sar, Scholes and O’Shea will be felt. The Old Trafford attack has rarely looked stronger – with the problematic left wing addressed by Ashley Young’s signing. And with a young player as back-up in every position the future looks rosy – especially if Tom Cleverly is as good as Sir Alex Ferguson seems to think. If not, the failure to recruit Wesley Sneijder could be costly. But they’ll win the league regardless.