What we can expect from the 12/13 season

The new season has rocketed off to a blistering start.With all clubs proving to be competitive,

the title race this season seems to have toughened considerably from last year’s.Here’s what

I think we can expect from the following clubs this season.

1) ARSENAL FC

When we came to know that RVP was going to leave Arsenal, we thought it would be a disaster

for the club.What made us think that way was his amazing performance at the club last

year, which overshadowed many of his team mates’s achievements. But now that the season has

started, it looks like the Gooners can safely say that they are still one of the biggest forces

in the EPL. Arsene Wenger certainly knows what he’s doing, and the signings of Podolski, Giroud

and Cazorla have strengthened an already powerful Arsenal side. If they start to give some

attention to Cup Competitions, they can be assured of trophies this season. But I think they’ll

need to restrain from selling Walcott, who is one of the club’s big names.

2) CHELSEA FC

After pulling off the seemingly impossible and winning the Champions League in Germany, the

blues certainly got their much-needed confidence which was lost after their disappointing

league performance. Not to mention that the club’s hero, Didier Drogba, left to join former team

mate Anelka in China. After that followed the departure of Kalou and Bosingwa. But the blues

made all the right moves in getting the Hazard brothers, Marin ,Oscar, Moses and Azpilicueta. But

the excessive amount of money spent caused much worry in the fans’s minds. Many were not

sure about buying a 21 year old who was playing only in the French League. But Eden has proved

his worth and has won 3 consecutive MOTM awards, replacing the ageing players with

youngsters was the right thing to do. Ryan Bertrand has made the starting XI and is pulling off

good performances. But the blues need to restrain from signing Cavani, who is demanding

wages of 150k a week, which is too much. The current side is capable of winning the league and

maybe defending the CL, so in my opinion RDM has to stop the spending spree.

3) MANCHESTER CITY

Winning a match by scoring a goal in stoppage time will make any fan insane. What about

winning the LEAGUE by scoring 2 goals in stoppage time? That’s something which any fan of any

club will be proud to witness in his life. Yes, the current league champions are the most serious

title contenders this season too.

City surprised many by signing only one player,Jack Rodwell. But that was all they needed to do.

With Tevez back into the starting XI,they have been strengthened exponentially. The

Argentinian pair of Tevez and Aguero can hardly fail to deliver. Retaining the title will be their

core intention,and the other clubs will have to put up a hard fight to thwart them. But will they

be eyeing European glory too? The group stage knockout must still remain fresh in their mind,

and maybe this time they’ll pull off a shocker! From a team which satisfied itself with top 10

finishes, City have come a long way.

4) MANCHESTER UNITED

The Red Devils. The most successful English team based on league titles. 19 titles won and with

their current squad,they can add to that. But can they do it this season? The title race will be between

very hard this year. But with their new signings, maybe they can pull this one off. Shinji

Kagawa has been an excellent player,no questions asked. And Van Persie scored an excellent goal

against Fulham the other day. But one has to accept that Kagawa looks like the better signing.

Persie is a good player, no doubt, but at United, he is second to Wayne Rooney. The talisman of

United,Rooney’s presence means a lot to them. But after a nasty injury, it looks like he’ll be

out for a month,or even more. This means that Persie will start the upcoming matches.

But should he? Persie’s an excellent player, but he’s 29 years old, which means that he’ll be

around for 2-3 years max. So, if Ferguson starts Welbeck, won’t that give the lad some

experience and help in his and United’s long-term development?But Ferguson will probably

know best.

Coming to the current season, United are still a formidable force, and they’ll probably be one of

the top title contenders. And they’ll still be hurting from their CL group stage exit, and they’ll

certainly look to better their performance and become Kings of Europe.

5) LIVERPOOL FC

Yes, Liverpool. I beg the readers to not count them out. Yes,they’ve continuously had very dismal

seasons for the past 3-4 seasons. But still, they’re one of the best clubs in the country.

What the scousers needed was a change of philosophy. And the got exactly that in the form

of Brendan Rodgers. He’s an excellent manager, and he’ll be focusing on changing the play of

Liverpool. That will take time. So, I reckon they won’t start this season spectacularly, but

will finish extremely well. Maybe they’ll win some trophies this year too. But the league is still

out of their reach for this season, but,give Rodgers 4-5 years, and he’ll change Liverpool into

champions.

Coming to Liverpool’s 2 notable signings-Joe Allen and Fabio Borini. Both are young, energetic

and excellent players in their own way. Many will be surprised to know that Allen has exceeded

Xavi in terms of passing, but that is the truth. And what’s more, more than 80% of his passes

were forward. The future of Liverpool may be Joe Allen. It will not be an exaggeration to say that

he is one of the best passers in the EPL. And Borini is the perfect forward who times his runs to

perfection,and is an excellent finisher.

We can conclude that Liverpool will be a tough opposition this season.

THE OTHER TEAMS-

Newcastle Utd, with the services of Ba, Cisse and Ben Arfa, are tough opponents.

Tottenham won’t perform as well as last season, due to the departure of Redknapp and Modric.

AVB needs some time to implement his plan and let’s hope Tottenham are more patient than

Chelsea!

Swansea are one of the surprise packages of this year. The team has made an impressive signing in

Michu. Dyer and Routledge provide the wing play. Laudrup will certainly be a good manager

this season.