1. Chelsea (85 Pts)
2. Manchester United (83 Pts)
3. Manchester City
4. Liverpool
5. Arsenal
6. Tottenham Hotspur
7. Everton
8. Aston Villa
9. Fulham
10. Sunderland
11. Bolton Wanderers
12. Newcastle United
13. Stoke City
14. Wolverhampton Wanderers
15. Birmingham City
16. West Ham United
17. Wigan Athletic
18. Blackburn Rovers
19. West Bromwich Albion
20. Blackpool
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Season explanations for each club, from projected #20 to projected #1:
Blackpool (20th - Relegated): Blackpool is without a doubt considered to be the biggest underdog going into this season. They are rightfully given that tag, as they are also the team with the least amount of talent from top to bottom. If you are one of the many who fell in love with soccer during the World Cup, and are hungry for more quality soccer... do not watch Blackpool. They are really going to struggle against superior competition that they are not used to.
West Bromwich Albion (19th, Relegated): West Brom is widely gaining the reputation of the "yo-yo club" for their new reputation of gaining promotion, and being relegated, and bouncing around between leagues. Unfortunately, for the fans of the "Baggies", it seems as if they are going to continue to live up to their newly acquired nickname. Their roster in which they are bringing with them back to the Premier League is essentially the same as the one they had when they were last in the EPL just two seasons ago, with a few insignificant changes here and there.
Blackburn Rovers (18th, Relegated): Blackburn Rovers are a club in which I have gotten progressively down on over the past year. The Rovers are a club in which is strapped for transfer fees and has gained over $30 million in immediate debt. With the club openly being rumored to be taken over by a number of different owners, it is a shame that they are going to start the season without any major changes. Big Sam Allardyce has a huge task in front of him, as he is going to try to take a team without any big name stars and have them survive and stay afloat another season. They are going to give up A LOT of goals, and I just don't see where their goals are going to come from to earn them any points.
Wigan Athletic (17th): Roberto Martinez and his squad have a long way to go until they can even think about being a top-half side. Wigan is a squad that will continue to be strapped for cash, as they have an owner who is in it for profit, and stands that are never sold out. Until Wigan can get the fan support they need, it is going to be very hard for them to even get an investor who is willing to invest money in the club. If they can hold on to Hugo Rodallega and Charles N'Zogbia, I think they will have enough to avoid the drop.
West Ham United (16th): With the new owners David Sullivan and David Gold taking over the club and just nearly avoiding relegation last season, they will be looking to rebuild and have a strong season. Though the new owners haven't made a large transfer splash yet, they have made some smaller transfer moves in hopes to bring a more exciting, goal scoring team. They have also brought in new manager, Avram Grant, who will be hard pressed to prove himself after he developed a reputation of being an average coach with a great team while at Chelsea.
Birmingham City (15th): With the club having a new owner, and Alex McCleish signing a long term contract to stay as the clubs manager, the team has a lot of promise. But even with a larger kitty of funds offered to McCleish, the club did very little in the transfer market, except for filling up the spots of the players who left the club in the offseason. With the season right around the corner, this team seems to have only one thing in mind... Survival. If the club is able to survive and avoid relegation, and with the new owner willing to spend, they could be a force to be reckoned with down the road. Do not be surprised to see some additions to the club during the January transfer window, especially if the Blues are flirting with the "drop zone".
Wolverhampton Wanderers (14th): Mick McCarthy's men considered their Premier League season last year a success simply because they proved thousands of critics wrong by avoiding relegation. They have made solid transfers for Stephen Fletcher (to replace Sylvain Ebanks-Blake in the lineup), and the experienced Stephen Hunt. I am expecting them to have roughly the same amount of success, as they have not lost any players of significance in the transfer window.
Stoke City (13th): Stoke is a team that plays an extremely unique and exciting style of Soccer. Manager Tony Pulis has really figured out exactly what type of players to bring in, and when and where to play them. This is a team for people who are new to soccer to watch. I mean what other team throughout the world scores 30% of their goals off of massively strong throw in's from midfielder Rory Delap? Besides that, Stoke has a great core of players, including future England international defender Ryan Shawcross. They have strong, powerful defenders and strikers, who won't be bullied or afraid of any other team in the Premiership.
Newcastle United (12th): I have a feeling that most people are going to disagree with me having Newcastle finishing so high up the table in their first year back in the Premiership. But I have to say, in the few games of the championship I did catch, Newcastle absolutely dominated. They have a lot of players who have a lot of experience, a great young striker in Andrew Carroll, some new solid additions (Sol Campbell, Dan Gosling). They are incredibly tough to beat at home too, how many other clubs would draw over 50,000 fans for a home match in the Championship?
Bolton Wanderers (11th): I am a firm believer in Owen Coyle, and love what he has been doing with Bolton. He has brought in a number of great signings (including American Stuart Holden), and is making Bolton fans believers again. Ivan Klasnic, Johan Elmander, and Kevin Davies are all capable goal scorers. Martin Petrov is going to be a great addition from Manchester City, and I believe that South Korean Lee Chung-Yong is going to have his breakout season this year.
Sunderland (10th): Before today, I had Sunderland finishing a few spots lower, but they have continued to make solid moves. Steve Bruce has done wonders at Sunderland, and has made several spot-on transfers. He has brought in Manchester United youngers Danny Welbeck, Ghanaian international John Mensah, Paraguayan playmaker Christian Riveros, and defender Titus Bramble. A lot of their success depends on Darren Bent, and whether or not he can continue his form of the past season.
Fulham (9th): Fulham were a fantastic success last year, especially with their run to the Final of the Europa League. Fulham was a fantastic squad at home last year, but on the road they were absolutely pathetic. They had only ONE win from 19 away games. I think that Mark Hughes is going to be the perfect manager to change the team's mindset and help them pick up more points from their away games. With a healthy Andy Johnson, and bringing in Philippe Senderos to bolster the defense will leave Fulham in the top 10.
Aston Villa (8th): The Villains are coming off of their third straight 6th place finish in the Barclay's Premier League. With their manager of five years, Martin O'Neill shockingly resigning just days before the season, this club seems destined to have a rough 2010/2011 season both in the Premier League and the Europa League. Until they get a new manager in place, who has a long term outlook on helping the club continue to grow, I can't see Aston Villa performing as well as they have over the past 3 season.
Everton (7th): There is a little bit of a bias on this prediction because I fell in love with the club during Landon Donovan's three month loan spell. But David Moyes has always been able to make the best out of what he is given, which is very little funding for new transfers. Tim Howard is easily one of the best keeps in the Premier League, and they have plenty of scoring threats. They have a solid defense, a fantastic midfield, and strikers who can put the ball in the back of the net. I am rooting for them to get to Europe, but I just don't see it with the quality teams in front of them.
Tottenham Hotspur (6th): It is hard not to root for Tottenham, as they finally were able to get back to the Champion's League with their 4th place finish from last season. They have gone an extremely long time without a major trophy, and I feel like they are still just a few players away from seriously contending. It's great to see them do so well and get to the Champion's League, but I think that their involvement in that massive of a competition may cause harm to their Premier League title hopes.
Arsenal (5th): The London based club has an incredible amount of talented players, but the majority of those talented players manager Arsene Wenger has invested in are extremely young. By putting the faith and fortunes of the entire organization on the backs of youngsters, the Gunners seem to always be playing for the future, and not for the current season. With this seemingly being the last year that superstar midfielder Cesc Fabregas spends in London before he moves to La Liga, I think that Wenger and Arsenal's front office have made a huge mistake by not investing in any quality veterans in the off-season. Their all-out attacking style of football and lack of focus on defense hasn't worked for the past few years, and there is no reason for me to believe that it will work this year.
Liverpool (4th): Liverpool missed out on a Champion's League birth after a miserable and frustrating season. Now that Rafa Benitez has left his post as manager, and Roy Hodgson has come in, I can sense that Liverpool is going to be a very rejuvenated club. I am really excited to see newly acquired Joe Cole get a lot of playing time. It's hard not to think about the potential of a midfield consisting of Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, and Dirk Kuyt, and one of the best Strikers in the world, Fernando Torres. It should be an exciting team, and with no need for focus on the Champion's League, Liverpool will be focused on a succesful league season.
Manchester City (3rd): There are many critics who think that Manchester City has an incredible amount of talented players, but that their chemistry alone is not enough to push them over the top. I agree with that, and that is why I don't believe that they are going to win the title just yet. But they have to be a top four side without a doubt, their talent is undeniable. Especially if rumors of Mario Balotelli making the move to the Citizens, they simply will not be denied their spot in the Champion's League.
Manchester United (2nd): I fully expect Manchester United to make a serious push at the title, but they just aren't improved. They are essentially the same 2nd place team from last season, and I don't have any reason to change my mind. Rooney is coming off of a miserable World Cup, and he should fully expect to be booed even more from away fans. I was expected Sir Alex to make some serious changes or transfers this off season, as their key position players just continue to get older and older. Chicharito is a great signing, but I don't think that he will get the minutes over Rooney or Berbatov just quite yet. There will be some Man U fans that disagree, but their is absolutely no way they can talk me into believing that they will be champions.
Chelsea (1st): Chelsea is just like Manchester United, seemingly the same team. They were the champions of the Premier League last year, and I am 100% convinced that they will not be dethroned. They have too much talent from top to bottom, and all of their star players are still in their prime. With Ancelotti at the helm, I am a firm believer that he is going to keep Chelsea's head on straight no matter what off the field distractions occur.
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Feel free to post your thoughts and your tables as well, I am anxious to see what everyone else thinks. I can't wait until Saturday, when the next 10 months their will be real soccer every weekend.
dude. the little pea is going to come off the bench or start when other strikers aren't 100% healthy and own. Chicharito and Kiko Macheda are going to be the future stars of united unless they sign elsewhere in the next seasons
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