Premiership Picks: 3rd place

3rd Place: Liverpool

Liverpool have done really well last season. With just 2 defeats and a new record of Premiership points tally for the Anfield outfit, they just fell short last season. They had too many home draws; 7 in total. The inability to defeat teams like Fulham, Stoke, Man City and West Ham proved detrimental to their title hopes. Last season was the best opportunity to win the League and I think they might have missed the boat.

Liverpool have a strong spine to the team with a great defensive partnership of Carragher and Skrtel. Reina is arguably the best keeper among the top 4 teams. (My pick for top keeper in the League would be Shay Given at Man City)

The prospect of Mascherano now remaining at Anfield will be great news for he is probably the most crucial player in the team alongside Carra, Stevei G and Torres.



Alberto Aquilani looks to be a great signing, however how fast he is able to settle into the team will be crucial to the team now that the best passing midfielder, Xabi Alonso, has left.

I am not sure how they will replace him as there is really no one like him. Aquilani is a different kind of player, a player more adapt at pushing forward and scoring goals.

Pool still have the best 2 players in the League in Stevie G and Torres and having them fit for the whole season will be crucial. Torres looks a little too injury prone to last the whole season so again, a lot of pressure will be on Stevie G.

On their day, Pool are able to play great soccer, their great run in the second half of the season when they played great soccer and brushed teams aside are testament to this.

However, it will be hard to see them replicate the double wins over Man Utd and Chelsea and replace the radar like passing of Alonso. I am also not to sure if Rafa have learnt his lessons for I think he will again be tinkering too much, underestimating the lesser likes.

Which is why I think Pool will finish 3rd as I can only see Man Utd and Chelsea providing a consistent challenge throughout the season.

Premiership Picks: Runners up

Runners up: Man Utd

Man Utd have won a hat trick of titles now and will be aiming for a 4th title in a row. No team has done that and they will have the added incentive of setting a new record of 19 domestic titles now that they have equaled Liverpool’s record of 18 titles.

Man Utd will have a great season and will again be hard to beat. They really have a great defense. That was what won them the title last season. Rio and Vidic really are a formidable top partnership and with Anderson and Carrick operating as covers.

The team has a real solid look to it, with Rooney now being deployed in his favorite role up front. I do think Rooney will be crucial to Man Utd. He really needs to up the ante and score more goals now that the team has lost both CR7 and Carlos Tevez. A palyer with great talent and enthusiasm for the game, he is often played out of position by Sir Alex and his scoring record has not be close to what you expect from a top stirker.



Owen could provide good ammunition up front as well. This season, we could see Dimitar Berbatov having a great season and answering his critics. He has all the talent and technical abilities to be a great, however he have often lacked the fighting spirit that a player in a top side requires.

Antonio Valencia will prove to be a good signing on the right side of midfield, although you cannot expect him to provide the goals like CR7 does.

Losing CR7 and Carlos Tevez could prove to be hard to replace. CR7 has so often been the much need spark the team needed when the going gets tough. He almost single handedly won them the title and the Champions League trophy with an amazing 42 goals in 07/08. Last season he chipped in with 25 goals although he was out for the initial parts of the season.

Tevez have often provided crucial goals for the team. His goals at Stoke, Wigan and against Porto were all crucial and great examples of what he can provide.

This season, if the going gets tough, especially in away games, we could see Utd struggling for that bit of spark and touch of magic. I think their midfield does not chip in with enough goals and now added pressure will be on Rooney to provide the goals. Making up for 67 goals in 2 season by CR7 is going to be an almost impossible tall order.



They have not been that great going forward last season, their title triumph was based on a great defense. Eleven 1-0 wins in the League last season is proves evidence of this. Which is why I think they could just fall short this season and finish as runners up.

However, I would not be too surprise if they win it again. Such is the greatness of Man Utd under the great Sir Alex Ferguson.

Premiership Picks: Winners

Winners: Chelsea

I really like the look of Chelsea this season. For me, the season could be the best yet in the Premiership. Last season we saw Liverpool running Man Utd close for the title with Chelsea never really threatening in third.

This season, Chelsea could profit form the fact that Man Utd and Liverpool have both lost crucial 1st team players. Chelsea on the other hand have strengthened with the signing of Yuri Zhirkov. Zhirkov will have a great effect on the team if given the opportunity. I do rate him very highly as I think Russian players are well suited to play in the Premier League and he does possess great qualities as a player.


Joe Cole returning to the team could be like a new signing too after missing most of last season. The real coup for Chelsea is no doubt the appointment of Carlo Anchelotti at the Bridge.

If given full reign to the 1st team selection and signing of players, he will prosper at Chelsea with Roman Abramovic providing the ammunition financially. A manager that is often highly respected by his players, Anchelotti have a real winning mentality and that fits in well with the team ethic and never-say-die attitude the team already possesses.

Chelsea’s biggest strength will be their togetherness and camaraderie they have as a unit. We have seen Chelsea doing so well even in times of uncertainty, like the previous 2 seasons when they had managerial changes.

Chelsea’s spine will no doubt be Terry, Lampard, Essien and Drogba again. You just feel they might jave been closer to Man Utd last season had Essien been available the whole season. The effect that Essien has on the team is immense.



Chelsea played 4-4-2 in the Community Shield, however they will revert to Anchelotti’s favored 4-2-3-1 when the season starts. That in my opinion is the best fit for the Chelsea team. Drogba seems to play best when upfront alone.

The only blip I can see in Chelsea’s season could be the losing of crucial players for the African Nations Cup in January. They are primed to lose Essien, Mikel, Kalou and Drogba for a month and how they adapt to that will be crucial.

Another weakness could be Petr Cech. Most people may be surprising to read this but he really has not been great since his horrific injury he sustained at Reading a few seasons back. We are seeing constant errors from him and he does not command his area as well now that he seems to have a fear in him when coming for crosses. His performance in the Community Shield wasn’t great and I think he should have stopped both Man Utd goals. He is however still a top shot stopper.

The season ahead looks to be great to the boys from the Bridge. If they do not end up as winners, I see them running the eventual winners really close.

Bruce aims for new highs at Sunderland

Sunderland fans will have lots to look foward to. After just beating the drop after a terrible second half to the previous season, the appointment of Steve Bruce as the new gaffer will be great news for fans at the Stadium of Light.

Roy Keane started so promisingly at Sunderland but was so disappointing towards the end of his reign. Having spent a decent amount of money in his time, he failed to turn Sunderland into a side that can challenge in the top half.

With Newcastle and the Boro in the Championship now, Sunderland can proudly claim to be the top North East side at the moment. The appointment of Steve Bruce is a great coup.

A manager often working on a tight budget, Bruce managed to turn Wigan into a decent side that is hard to beat. We might start to see Wigan's rapid decline now that they have lost Bruce and a host to their top players such as Heskey, Antonio Valencia, Palacios and now Lee Cattermole.

Bruce have been quick to sign up Lee Cattermole for Sunderland, thus signing the player foe a second time after previously signing him at the Riverside.



I do think the signing of Lee Cattermole is good for Sunderland, he will provide the bite in midfield afor a very porous defense. A regular in the England Under 21s, Cattermole needs to refine his game a little and watch his tackles to be a good Premiership player.

The signing of Darren Bent is another good signing. Often too reliant on Kenweyne Jones upfront, the signing of the dangerous Bent could help provide much needed firepower.

The combination of Bent and Jones will be one that will serve Sunderland well. Both are good players at Premiership level, although not top 4 quality.

This season, i could see Sunderland being hard to beat and staking a claim to finish just in the top half of the taable.

A good break for Ben?

Ben Foster, the man who for so long and so patiently waited in the shadows of Edwin Van Der Sar might finally have got his big break at Old Trafford.

The English stopper, who so many had hoped and expects to be the future No 1 for his national team, will no doubt be geared up for the start of the season now that VDS will be out for up to eight weeks following a broken finger suffered in the Audi Cup against Bayern Munchen.

The talented Foster, who I rate really highly, needs to have a great start to the season to maintain his place in the team when VDS recovers. I think Fergie will allow Foster to continue playing in place of VDS if he has a great start, considering the fact that VDS is already 38 and Fergie will want to un-earth his replacement soon. This can be a tricky task when it comes to keepers; just look at the number of keepers who have staked their claims to the number 1 jersey at Man Utd after the retirement o the great Peter Schmeichel.

Mark Bosnich, Fabian Barthez, Roy Caroll and Tim Howard have all failed. Not until the arrival of VDS have the issue been resolved.

Which is why this opportunity is now critical for Foster for he must now perform to his true ability. For so long hailed as a serious candidate as the future England keeper, Foster has all the technical abilities to be great. He however needs to work on his mental side of the game and learn to perform under pressure. He had a great heroic outing in the Carling Cup Final, winning Man Utd the Cup almost single handedly against Spurs. However, his errors in the pre-season friendly in Asia against Malaysia proves he still need to work on his concentration during the game.




Playing behind a settled defense with the likes of Vidic and Ferdinand providing excellent cover means that he may be a spectator for larger periods of the game, especially when Man Utd is dominating the lesser teams. Thus, he needs to be focused and perform well when called into action.

I have been surprised that Foster has chosen to stay at Old Trafford after his largely impressive loan spell at Watford when the team was in the Premier League. For a player who is already 26, he really needs to be playing 1st team soccer or he will soon find himself not being able to fulfill his huge potential.

How much longer can he be in the shadows of VDS and be considered a great prospect. If he fails to oust VDS for the starting role this season, he has to consider leaving Old Trafford to further his career. Foster must really be getting desperate now.

If he has a great season, I am sure he will push David James really hard for the England shirt in South Africa next summer, as I think Fabio Capello does not rate Robert Green and Paul Robinson.

The other highly talented keeper in contention, Joe Hart, will also be hoping to impress at Birmingham City. (He is on loan from Man City)

However, my money is on Foster to have a great start and this could really be a big season for him.

Pool's title hopes gone for Real

Rafa Benitez must be scratching his head in despair now. The man who is often so stubborn and single minded, often so oblivious to all comments by pundits and observant watchers must have a sense of regret that Xabi Alonso has left for Real Madrid.



No doubt he has got the £30 million he wanted Real to pay, I am sure he knows deep inside he has lost a player that can be described as the “engine” of the Liverpool team. No doubt Alonso handed in a transfer request to demand a move to Perez’s project, I am just wondering if Benitez has so infuriated Alonso that now Alonso sees his future with the galaticos.

When Benitez first arrived at Liverpool, Alonso was the player he embarked upon to build the team around. Alonso has been instrumental in the way the team plays, he Really makes a difference when he is on the pitch. His ability to see passes others don’t, his ability to open up the play has been crucial. It is by no exaggeration to say he and Xavi at Barcelona are the best passing midfielders in the game now.

So we have again seen a crucial figure in the English game move across to the La Liga this summer. Alonso could be the “Xavi” type player for the team. If there are doubts that the galaticos will gel as a team, the arrival of Alonso could be the one that quash all doubts. He in my view, could turn out to be the most crucial signing for Fiorentino Perez this summer.

It is sad to see Alonso leave Liverpool, sad in the fact that he was the one that forced the move. It is also sad to see that Benitez’s relationship with Alonso has soured. I am absolutely sure that Benitez lost the trust Alonso had in him as a mentor and manager the previous summer when Benitez so aggressively tried to sign Gareth Barry. At that time, Benitez was willing to sacrifice Alonso to Juventus to bring in Barry. However, Juve wasn’t to be held for ransom by Benitiz’s valuation of the player and both deals did not materialize. That did it for Benitez and Alonso never had the same commitment to Liverpool and Benitez. All Pool fans will know that Alonso was likely to leave once the season ends.



Alonso responded to Benitez’s attempts to replace him with Barry by having one of his best seasons in a Liverpool shirt. Benitez on the other hand responded to Alonso’s desire to move away by almost freezing him out for pre-season friendly games. Alonso was brought on against Espanyol 6 minutes from the end when Pool were already 3 goals down; that seems to be a message by Benitez to Alonso that he’s the gaffer and he is not be messed with.

This summer, Benitez has openly declared his wish for Alonso to stay. That seems a cowardly move and one totally opposite to his stance the previous summer when he wanted to sign Barry and sacrifice Alonso. So at the end of the day, Benitez have not got Barry, the player he so desired to have in his team and now he has lost Alonso as well. To know what kind of man Benitez is, just look at the way he morphed into Barry, calling Barry a mercenary for moving to Man City. You might remember that Barry was indeed very keen to move to Anfield last summer; it was Benitez who was unwilling to match Villa’s selling price that the deal did not go through.

I also have doubts over whether Benitez really wanted to keep Alonso at the club. Many a time when players are linked with a move away from the club, they will be offered new contracts to keep their desires of moving away in check. (The same happened to John Terry at Chelsea) However, there has been no mention of this when it comes to Alonso.

So now Alonso is history at Liverpool. Gone with Alonso might be Liverpool’s title hopes even before the season starts. No doubt Torres and Gerrard are crucial and often described as the heartbeat of Liverpool, the effect of both Alonso and Javier Mascherano cannot be discounted as well.

So often we have seen when Alonso is not on the pitch, Pool have struggled. Having Alonso on the pitch to spray the passes and sitting deep allows Gerrard the freedom to join Torres as a supporting role.

Liverpool had a magnificent chance of winning the League last season, they did the double over Man Utd and Chelsea and accumulated 86 points, in many a season that should be enough to ensure they are the champs. However, Benitez’s often tinkering of the team and probably under-estimation of the smaller teams have seen Pool dropped points against the lesser likes, draws at home against West Ham, Fulham, Stoke just ain’t good enough.

Most observers will agree that it will be hard to do the double over Man Utd and Chelsea 2 seasons on the trot. So, to win the League, Benitez must have his focus fully on the League and not tinker against the smaller likes. Had he not learn the when the smaller teams play against the big 4 teams, they often up the efforts they put in and make themselves hard to beat?

The desire in Pool’s camp and the pressure on them to win the title must be huge. Now that Man Utd have matched their record of 18 league titles, they must be quaking now, fearing that Man Utd will go on and win the 19th. That will see Liverpool being dispelled into the shadows of English football. They will have no claims to be the greatest English team in history anymore. Worse still if Man Utd managed to do it with a former Pool great, Michal Owen providing the crucial goals.

Alonso’s departure might mean more responsibility on Gerrad’s shoulders now. I suspect that Benitez might use the money and sign another striker that the team so much needs. However, playing a second striker along or just behind Torres is bad news for Gerrad, whose best position is just behind the single front man as he proved last season. Gerrad needs players like Alonso and Masch sitting behind him, thus allowing him the freedom to bomb forward. With him in that position and in full flight, the team was in devastating form in the second half of the season, scoring for fun against the likes of Real Madrid, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Man Utd.

Gerrad have so often had to be the one to rescue Liverpool, such as his heroics against AC Milan in the Champions League Final in 2005 and against West Ham in the FA Cup Final in 2006. However, not until last season when he was in the sort of second striker position have we seen his really prosper, with the responsibility to carry the team single handedly off his shoulder. He was just great to watch in a very fluent team. That is the effect of team play. A good example of how a brilliant player can prosper in a team working in tune to his style of play. I really do not wish to see Gerrard being forced to drop deeper due to Alonso’s departure.



I may sound so negative, however my heads tells me that Alonso’s departure might really rock the team and disrupt the pattern of play the team is now so accustomed to. We shall see by Christmas if this is true and if Liverpool are to seriously challenge for the title.

Bobby Robson: The Passing of a Proper Legend

Sadly on the 31st July 2009, the world of soccer lost a great legend. Often described as the "Godfather" of soccer in England and Europe, Sir Bobby Robson lost his fight against cancer and departed all of us.



I absolutely fell in love with soccer during the 1990 World Cup and being brought up in Singapore and being an avid follower of the old English Division 1 (that was just about the only league televised on Tele those days), it is no surprise that i was an England supporter during the World Cup. This was the period i absolutely am riveted by the talents of Robson and his 2 biggest stars in the team; Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne and Gary Lineker.

In 1992, i became a fan of FC Barcelona after watching their European Cup Final win against Sampdoria. I was absolutely delighted when Robson took charge of Barca in 1996, thus seeing probably my fave manager at the time at my fave club. When Barca won thee 1997 European Cup Winners Cup with a young Ronaldo's penalty against PSG, i was again delighted.

I remember Bobby Robson jumping off his bench and holding his head in pure disbelief after Ronaldo scored a wonder solo goal against Compestela in the La Liga that season. That incident showed the great passion this man had for soccer. That season, Ronaldo was the top scorer in the whole of Europe.



During his Newcastle days, he manged to establish the club as a top 4 club, playing hte kind of soccer the Newcastle fans always demanded. Finishing 4th in 2001/02 and then 3rd the following season. Such an achievement with a Newcastle team that does not have a strong squad shows what a good manager he is.

During his time at his beloved Newcastle, we have seen him successfully managed the fiery likes of Kieron Dyer and Craig Bellamy. Til now, i do think that was the best period in Bellamy's stop start career. It is no surprise that Newcastle declined so drastically after Robson was sacked by Freddy Sheperd in 2005. This was certainly a very sad day for Bobby, who had so much affection for the club since he was a boy.

In his career, he has managed and got the best out of the likes of Romario, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Luis Enrique (who he often describes as the most complete and hard working footballer). He is often described by many as a father figure. Gazza openly proclaims Sir Bobby as his second dad.

I once heard on radio a caller recalling an encounter that goes like this; he had parked his car and when opening his car door he accidentally hit the door of the car next to his, out came a man form the next car and it was Sir Booby, Sir Bobby said " no worries mate, i still have 3 more doors on my car". Such a the magnitude of the man to a complete stranger.

Although i was not old enough to witness it, i do think his achievement of bring the UEFA Cup and 2 runners up spot in the old Division 1 with Ipswich Town is truly amazing.

In the last few years, Bobby have fought against cancer. During this painful period, he was still actively involved with soccer. His passing certainly is a great great loss to the soccer world.

Our hearts goes out to his family and relatives.