Football is finally back tomorrow with all 4 English leagues starting up. It’s been a big spending summer, with some fantastic buys and some dodgy dealings, but what will that mean any change in the destination of the major trophies?
Archive for the ‘Premier League’ Category
DigitalFC 2007/2008 Preview
August 10, 2007DigitalFC Premiership Preview
August 10, 2007Despite Liverpool’s big spending, we see the title as another two horse race between Man Utd and Chelsea. Liverpool may push their rivals a little closer this season, but we think it’ll take too long for Benitez’s men to gel.
Tottenham have also spent big this summer, and with Arsenal losing their French superstar, we can see Spurs taking 4th place.
Newcastle look a good bet for the top 6, and we expect Everton to be there or thereabouts too.
Down at the bottom, the promoted three could all find it difficult and we suspect that Roy Keane’s inexperience and questionable signings (Michael Chopra) could lead to Sunderland making a quick return to the Championship.
It’s not all about the promoted three though. Wigan only narrowly avoided relegation last year and we expect Reading’s honeymoon period to be over too.
DigitalFC Premiership Predictions:
Champions: Manchester United
Runners-up: Chelsea
Champions League Places: Liverpool, Tottenham
Relegated: Derby County, Reading, Sunderland
Worst 5 Transfers of the Summer so far…
August 3, 2007Following on from our Top 5 transfers of the summer, here’s our Worst 5:
5. Titus Bramble
Possibly the worst defender in Premiership history? May provide the mistakes to send Wigan down. Could prove to be a very expensive signing for the Latics, even though he cost nothing.
4. Darren Bent
How Darren Bent is worth more than Thierry Henry is beyond us. Bent is a decent striker and will probably do well at Tottenham, but £16.5m is a hell of a lot to pay for him.
3. Craig Bellamy
If you can’t find your feet at Newcastle and Liverpool are you really going to shine at West Ham? £7.5m is a lot of money for a player with a proven attitude problem.
2. Michael Chopra
Congratulations to Cardiff on pulling-off one of the greatest transfer deals ever! How they got £5m for Chopra we will never know. Although a good Championship player, Chopra is untried in the Premiership and we don’t know if he’ll be able to make the step up. He could be a very expensive mistake for Sunderland.
1. Thierry Henry
We can understand Henry moving to Barcelona (where we think he’ll win the La Liga title next season), but what we can’t understand is Arsenal letting him go. Henry is their all-time top goalscorer, and one of the Premiership’s greatest players. He will be sorely missed and may cost Arsenal their place in the top 4.
Top 5 Transfers of the Summer so far…
July 18, 2007With just over 3 weeks to go until the start of the new season, we thought we’d have a think about the transfers that have taken place so far this summer. Here’s our Top 5:
5. Owen Hargreaves
The off-again, on-again transfer has finally gone through. We all know what Owen Hargreaves can do in an England shirt, and we expect him to do even better for Manchester United.
4. Florent Malouda
The Frenchman has signed for Chelsea from Lyon for a fee of around £10m. The pacey frontman will be an excellent acquisition and a good replacement for Arjen Robben should he leave the London club.
3. Ryan Babel
Babel was part of the Dutch Under 21 team that won the European Under 21 tournament this summer. He is a pacey attacking player, and we all know that speed is a great asset in the Premiership.
2. Maceo Rigters
Who? Rigters is a team-mate of Ryan Babel from the Duth Under-21 side. Signing for Blackburn will be a shrewd move by the former MAC Breda star – he should be a regular in the Blackburn starting line-up and will be in the shop window for a possible move to a bigger club in a couple of years. We believe the Dutch Under 21 star will shine in the Premiership.
1. Fernando Torres
Spanish ace Fernando Torres has joined Liverpool in a deal worth around £20m. We believe the powerful ex-Athletico captain will be an excellent acquisition for Rafa Benitez’s side. Can Liverpool break into the top 2 and challenge Man Utd and Chelsea for the title?
No Decision on Blades Arbitration
June 20, 2007We’re still waiting for a decision on Sheffield United’s arbitration appeal against their relegation from the Premier League.
Was their relegation fair? Well, on the pitch the Blades needed 1 point from their last two matches and lost them both. Away from home Neil Warnock’s negative tactics resulted in just 3 wins and 8 goals. However, that doesn’t take away the fact that West Ham’s £5.5m was in our view, very lenient.
We can’t help but think that if a less “trendy”club would have committed the offence that West Ham did, then a points deduction would have been a certainty.
So, what will happen to Sheffield United? We think nothing will. They will not get re-instated into the Premier League and will start next season in the Coca-Cola Championship.
