2011/2012 Season - How we line up!

[brasil_spur]

Okay so there's a lot of negativity on this board, and include myself in some of that. However with the premier league season about to kick off this weekend i thought i'd take a look at where we are compared with the other teams directly around us. I'm only looking at last seasons top 6.

Manchester United: Having so far bought in De Gea, Young and Jones they have made some sensible additions to their squad with only Scholes being their notable loss from last season. If they seal the deal with Sneijder then they must be very confident going into the new season.
Prediction: Title Contenders

Chelsea: There's something odd going on at Stamford Bridge in my opinion. They should be going all out this summer to re-vitalise the squad and you would think that Villas-Boas would want to stamp his mark on the team. I think unless they bring in a couple of quality players in the next 3 weeks they will struggle a bit this season. A lot hinges on V-B and Torres hitting form this season.
Prediction: 3rd

Manchester City: A world class forward and a top premier league LB is pretty much what City needed this summer and they have got those. Goes to show that money buys success and i see them over taking Chelsea this season and giving Utd a run for their money.
Prediction: Title Contenders

Arsenal: They've lost their LB, loaned out one midfielder, medium term injury to another and two more are on the verge of leaving the club. They could well be loosing Arshavin, and the only forward player they've brought in is Gervinho. As it stands they will struggle and i can only see them buying new players in enough quantity and quality if they sell Fabregas and Nasri this window. They looked troubled at times last season and the pressure will be on this, they have the potential to slip out of the top 4 and potentially implode somewhat if not careful.
Prediction: Top 6

Liverpool: They've been spending money but i'm not convinced they've got much value from it. Downing is an okay player and may suit they're new style. Adam did well when he was the main man but there are doubts as to how he will fair as a squad player. They've not addressed their defense and i think they're success up front will depend a lot on Carrol living up to his price tag.
Prediction: Top 6

Spurs: We've not strengthened the squad at all in my opinion so far and as it stands top 6 is the best we can achieve. However we do have strong depth in the squad and will be less focused on Europe this time round which will play into our favour in the league. We've kept key players which is important and Diarra would be a decent upgrade on Palacios but we urgently need a striker, if not two, if we want to challenge for a Top 4 spot this season. The good news is that currently we're on a par with Liverpool and Arsenal for those 3 remaining places.
Prediction: Top 6

 

[Legacy]

I think even without a striker, Spurs and Arsenal are stronger than Liverpool. It'll be between the two teams to contest for 4th place.

I think Man Utd will win the league again, with Man City as runners up. Although, if City lose Tevez, I still think they have the capability to struggle and a lot will depend on Aguero adapting instantly to England. He wouldn't be the first South American to have a rough time getting used to football and life in this country. Even Tevez didn't pull up too many trees in his first season.

Chelsea is a tough one to predict because a lot of people are placing Mourinho level expectations on Villas-Boas, solely based on the fact they both had success with Porto. Mourinho had the confidence and the ego to deal with the expectations and he spent the money necessary to develop a title winning side.

I don't know much about AVB's character, but he's a very young age for a manager, and he's going to be under a level of scrutiny that will probably shock him at first.

Arsenal and Spurs are both in a position where they can either go toe to toe with Chelsea, and possibly City, for the top 3 spots, or they can limp across the finish line in 5th place. Spurs are a Diarra, winger and two forwards away from having one of the strongest squads in the league. If Levy manages to pull off those four signings, I'd be hopeful of seeing us as title challengers.

Just one striker signing will see us significantly stronger, until the new striker gets injured, fatigued or hits poor form. Then we'll be stuck hoping one of our current strikers can perform for a few games.

Arsenal, like us, are a couple of signings away from competing at the top. Although, that all changes if Fabregas and Nasri end up leaving. It really will be interesting to see how our squads look once the window closes. Could be the first time in my lifetime that I'd actually expect us to finish above them.

Liverpool are showing that top level money doesn't always get you top level players. They've bought some good players that will pad out a thin squad, but they really haven't significantly improved their first team in a way that'll be a threat to any of the other teams.

I think once they hit a bit of rough form and the Dalglish euphoria wears off, they'll slump to 6th.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Spurs: [/B]We've not strengthened the squad at all in my opinion so far and as it stands top 6 is the best we can achieve. However we do have strong depth in the squad and will be less focused on Europe this time round which will play into our favour in the league. We've kept key players which is important and Diarra would be a decent upgrade on Palacios but we urgently need a striker, if not two, if we want to challenge for a Top 4 spot this season. The good news is that currently we're on a par with Liverpool and Arsenal for those 3 remaining places.
Prediction: Top 6

Interesting, I think our squad is better than last seasons. Rose and Walker are like 2 new signings in our squad adding depth and different options from full back positions. Friedel is a decent keeper and hopefully he will provide competition to Gomes and push him onto better things. Sandro only started playing regularly around February and so should play more this season. Even Coulibaly adds something exciting to the squad, he could be a wildcard for us this season.

If we are able to add a top class striker we will have a far better squad and we really weren't that far away last year except we ran out of steam.

 

[brasil_spur]

Interesting, I think our squad is better than last seasons. Rose and Walker are like 2 new signings in our squad adding depth and different options from full back positions. Friedel is a decent keeper and hopefully he will provide competition to Gomes and push him onto better things. Sandro only started playing regularly around February and so should play more this season. Even Coulibaly adds something exciting to the squad, he could be a wildcard for us this season.

If we are able to add a top class striker we will have a far better squad and we really weren't that far away last year except we ran out of steam.

I agree our squad is better than last seasons, but so is Liverpool. I think we can make 4th with a quality striker brought in. But if we keep our current striker force it will be a close run battle for 4th, 5th and 6th between us, Liverpool and Arsenal.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Interesting, I think our squad is better than last seasons. Rose and Walker are like 2 new signings in our squad adding depth and different options from full back positions. Friedel is a decent keeper and hopefully he will provide competition to Gomes and push him onto better things. Sandro only started playing regularly around February and so should play more this season. Even Coulibaly adds something exciting to the squad, he could be a wildcard for us this season.

If we are able to add a top class striker we will have a far better squad and we really weren't that far away last year except we ran out of steam.

If we keep Modric then I think our squad is stronger, in as much as all the following players will be a season more experienced and established than last year:

Bale, Dawson, Kaboul, Walker, Rose, Sandro, Lennon etc.

I think there was fatigue last year that I would like to think will not be as severely felt this year because of the inevitable squad rotation for Europa League. So I agree that we're arguably stronger.

I also think that with the exposure some of the kids will get there could easily be a few surprise packages this year as well - the likes of Kane, Townsend, Parrett, Livermore etc. could well end up knocking on the first team door sooner than would have otherwise been the case.

What's upsetting is just how much stronger we'd be with even just one top quality striker on board.

If we bought Diarra (I question how close we are, the press certainly don't agree with the ITKs) and one or two strikers (any of Adebayor, Llorente, Hulk, Rossi etc. would all do just fine IMO) then I think we'd be right up there.

I'm just not convinced any of those deals will actually happen

 

[ethanedwards]

I agree our squad is better than last seasons, but so is Liverpool. I think we can make 4th with a quality striker brought in. But if we keep our current striker force it will be a close run battle for 4th, 5th and 6th between us, Liverpool and Arsenal.

A lot is going to hinge on the ability of the coaching staff and management, to maximise the potential of a talented squad.
No excuses.

 

[dav3j]

I think this is a pretty reasonably assessment. Though an awful lot hinges on who the scum lose / we gain this window.