Premier League 2009/2010

Should be an interesting season ahead in the Premier League

Moving into July and we are getting ever closer to the start of the new Premier League season in England…..so who do you think will be crowned Champions in 2010? Well it’s the start of World Cup year and with England almost certain to be in South Africa next year, the countdown is also on to what may prove to be the most eagerly awaited tournament of all time.

But before then, the 2010 Premier League Champions will be crowned and will Manchester United become the first team to ever win four consecutive titles? I think that losing Ronaldo and Tevez will prove a huge blow to Man Utd, getting hold of Owen and Valencia may not adequately fill that gap.

An awful lot is going to rest on the shoulders of Wayne Rooney next season and Dimitar Berbatov is also going to have to show improvement as the new signings may need time to settle in. I think the battle for the title may prove very interesting as Liverpool ran them close last season and will go close again.

I expect Chelsea to continue their resurgent form that they had under Dutchman Guus Hiddink with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm. Even though Chelsea are an aging side, they have fantastic strength in depth. I think that Chelsea struggled last term under Luis Felipe Scolari and it was amazing that they were still in with a shout towards the end when you consider the amount of upheaval that went on within that club during the course of the season.

With Lionel Messi, Kaka and now Christiano Ronaldo all plying their trade in La Liga, question marks are now hovering over our Premier League in relation to if it is still the strongest league in Europe. La Liga now have a serious case when you consider that the three best players in the world and the best team in the world in Barcelona are all present in that league.

But money has spoken this year and speaking of money, what of Manchester City’s chances this coming season? Well the sky blues do seem to be champions in waiting and they have the financial muscle to make that happen. Their team is getting stronger and stronger with each signing and getting Gareth Barry from Aston Villa was a big one for them.

When you consider that they appeared to be offering John Terry a reported £300,000 a week in wages to tempt him from Chelsea then that is a serious indication that Manchester City really do mean business. The next step for them will be to break into the top four. The most vulnerable of the top four at this time are Arsenal. They were in danger of missing out on Champions League football last season until Aston Villa self destructed and let them through the door.

The question is whether Manchester City can do it this season or not, I think that they will push Arsenal close but another factor is Mark Hughes. With every new expensive signing that he acquires then the pressure will increase on him to get them to gel as an effective unit!

He has basically had an easy ride up to now but these signings are now his and that will bring on whole new pressures. So who will be Champions? I think that it will be very close but I do expect Manchester United to be edged out by either Liverpool or Chelsea……my tip for the title……Chelsea….but can Ancelotti adapt enough to the English game…..I think that he will. I also think that the title will go down to the wire and my top six are as follows.

1st Chelsea
2nd Man United
3rd Liverpool
4th Arsenal
5th Everton
6th Man City

Looking forward to what should be a great football and betting season.

By Carl “The Dean” Sampson