Hey all. I'm not sure how many fans of Premier League teams there are on here, but lets see if we can get some discussion going. Here are some of the main stories going into the upcoming season.
Arsenal: They look likely to hold on to their best couple of players this season, usually the lose their best player during the summer, it has happened more or less every summer for years now (Henry, Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri, Song). With all these talks of money to spend, (Rooney, Higuain rumours?) and United, City and Chelsea all with managerial changes, can Arsenal mount a challenge?
Aston Villa: Looks like Benteke will stay after all. Will he be enough to keep them clear of relegation?
Chelsea: The special one returns! They really need to invest in some talent up front though. Manchester City have already snapped up Negrego and Jovetic, leaving Chelsea with Ba, Torres and Lukaku. I hope Lukaku is given the opportunity to play, he really earned his stripes at West Brom last season. Do they really need Rooney? Talks of swap deals involving Mata are absurd.
Everton: With the stability and incredible talent of Moyes gone, Everton have a lot to do to maintain their consistently high league performances. Rumours of Baines and Fellaini to follow Moyes to United persist.
Liverpool: It's all about Suarez, for now. Arsenal seem interested, but are reportedly offering some £15m short of Liverpool's £55m valuation of him. Liverpool have done a lot of business early in the transfer window (Mignolet, Aspas, Luis Alberto and Toure), if they can keep Suarez, and the new signings have as big an impact as Sturridge and Coutinho did in January, they must be considered challengers for the top 4 spots.
Manchester City: Another managerial change. With Jesus Navas, Negredo and Jovetic in, they certainly have the talent to take the league title back from United. How will Pellegrini's first season go?
Manchester United: All eyes will be on Moyes. He takes on the hardest act to follow in football. His first day on the job was attempting to fix this Rooney situation. Which still looks far from resolved. There seems to be talk of Bale, Fabregas, Lewandowski, Baines and Fellaini in, but nothing has happened yet.
Stoke: Mark Hughes is yet to prove himself as a Premier League calibre manager as far as I'm concerned.
Sunderland: Di Canio has done his business early, like Rodgers at Liverpool. His management style raised eyebrows towards the end of last season, on paper they look to be more than relegation battlers.
Tottenham: Bale's future is obviously the biggest story, but unlike Rooney and Suarez, he is getting on with it, training hard, and has already made an impact on Tottenham's pre-season games.
Which team(s) will you be watching?
Arsenal: They look likely to hold on to their best couple of players this season, usually the lose their best player during the summer, it has happened more or less every summer for years now (Henry, Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri, Song). With all these talks of money to spend, (Rooney, Higuain rumours?) and United, City and Chelsea all with managerial changes, can Arsenal mount a challenge?
Aston Villa: Looks like Benteke will stay after all. Will he be enough to keep them clear of relegation?
Chelsea: The special one returns! They really need to invest in some talent up front though. Manchester City have already snapped up Negrego and Jovetic, leaving Chelsea with Ba, Torres and Lukaku. I hope Lukaku is given the opportunity to play, he really earned his stripes at West Brom last season. Do they really need Rooney? Talks of swap deals involving Mata are absurd.
Everton: With the stability and incredible talent of Moyes gone, Everton have a lot to do to maintain their consistently high league performances. Rumours of Baines and Fellaini to follow Moyes to United persist.
Liverpool: It's all about Suarez, for now. Arsenal seem interested, but are reportedly offering some £15m short of Liverpool's £55m valuation of him. Liverpool have done a lot of business early in the transfer window (Mignolet, Aspas, Luis Alberto and Toure), if they can keep Suarez, and the new signings have as big an impact as Sturridge and Coutinho did in January, they must be considered challengers for the top 4 spots.
Manchester City: Another managerial change. With Jesus Navas, Negredo and Jovetic in, they certainly have the talent to take the league title back from United. How will Pellegrini's first season go?
Manchester United: All eyes will be on Moyes. He takes on the hardest act to follow in football. His first day on the job was attempting to fix this Rooney situation. Which still looks far from resolved. There seems to be talk of Bale, Fabregas, Lewandowski, Baines and Fellaini in, but nothing has happened yet.
Stoke: Mark Hughes is yet to prove himself as a Premier League calibre manager as far as I'm concerned.
Sunderland: Di Canio has done his business early, like Rodgers at Liverpool. His management style raised eyebrows towards the end of last season, on paper they look to be more than relegation battlers.
Tottenham: Bale's future is obviously the biggest story, but unlike Rooney and Suarez, he is getting on with it, training hard, and has already made an impact on Tottenham's pre-season games.
Which team(s) will you be watching?