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EPL Season Preview : Part Four

Published by Ian John on August 11, 2010

Newcastle United
Manager : Chris Hughton
Players In: Dan Gosling (Everton), James Perch (Nottingham Forest), Sol Campbell (Arsenal)
Players Out: None

Oddly enough, this current crop of battle-hardened young Magpies may well be in better shape to preserve the clubs premier league status long-term than the crop of exorbitantly paid superstars who failed so dismally in that task just two years ago. Owner Mike Ashley seems to have stopped spending silly money and manager Chris Hughton is cutting his cloth accordingly. What results is a much younger, streamlined and perhaps less exciting Newcastle on paper. On the pitch however Hughton’s team have been getting results. They won’t storm the division as King Kev’s Toon Army did in the 90’s but Hughton’s team looks well capable of at least safely avoiding the drop.

+Points: A streamlined squad, more reasonable expectations from a trite fanbase and an owner whose aspirations have returned from the blindingly impossible to the sensibly plausible. The team may be weaker on paper, but the club is much stronger as a whole than last time around and that will stand this young team in good stead this season.

-Points: The quality of players to push Newcastle into contention at the top end of the table just isn’t there at the moment, but Ashley is keen to see Newcastle turn from an expensive car-crash of a team, into a sustainable and viable Premier league force, and achieving this will take time and patience.

Stoke City
Manager : Tony Pulis
Players In: Florent Cuvelier (Portsmouth)
Players Out: Andy Griffin (Reading), Diego Arismendi (Barnsley – loan), Ibrahima Sonko (Portsmouth-Loan), Nathaniel Wedderburn (Northampton Town)

Tony Pulis has worked wonders with his side from the Britannia and once again they seem set to make themselves an uncomfortable presence for many in the Premier League once again. The unfair criticism levelled at Stoke by some, that they are just a physical side who bully opponents into submission and use their one weapon, Rory Delap’s long throw, to bring football down to the level of a battlefield, is somewhat pathetic. Stoke are a good, solid footballing team that utilise their strengths very well in a fair and meaningful context. That some teams cannot cope with this style of play is not Stoke’s fault, more that of the team that cannot cope with them. Long may it continue and I think it will this season , especially if Pulis can attract a couple of talented strikers or a creative player to his stable of willing and hard working professionals.

+Points – You’ll know what you will get from Stoke. They are strong at home, physically strong and a very good team on set pieces. But this also overlooks their tactical acumen and how dangerous they can be on the counter attack.

-Points- Good teams will, at times, expose the defensive weaknesses in the team and this may result in a few uncomfortable days and a goal difference that suffers as a result but they will probably cause enough problems to other teams to retain their top flight status.

Sunderland
Manager: Steve Bruce
Players In: Cristian Riveros (Cruz Azul), Simon Mignolet (Saint Truidense), Ahmed Al-Muhammedi (ENPPI), Titus Bramble (Wigan Athletic), Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes)
Players Out: Roy O’Donovan (Coventry City), Lorik Cana (Galatasaray), Daryl Murphy (Celtic), Nyron Nosworthy (Sheff Utd-loan), Jamie Chandler (Darlington)

Steve Bruce needs to do something with this team and quickly. Sunderland have been waiting for the man with a face like a melting cabbage patch doll to deliver on the promise that the club is on the verge of something big. So far, middle to lower table finishes isn’t what the clubs owners were hoping for, even if it is what Bruce is somewhat famous for during his time with Wigan and Birmingham. They have a talented squad, but a lack of quality defenders, apart from the robust Michael Turner. Anton Ferdinand too often resembles a startled Great Dane and for all his undoubted talent seems to share his brother’s uncanny knack of getting injured and making mistakes at just the wrong time. Sunderland need to use their strong attacking players to push on towards mid table and beyond. The faithful from the Stadium of Light have been waiting a long time to become a genuine Premier League force but as yet they are just tantalisingly short of it.

+Points – They have a talented squad, particularly of attacking players, at the club and in Darren Bent have arguably the most fortunate English striker who narrowly missed out on a World Cup finals place.

-Points – Titus Bramble. Enough said.

Tottenham Hotspur
Manager: Harry Redknapp
Players In: None
Players Out: Sam Cox (Barnet), Lee Butcher (Leyton Orient)

I’ve spent most of this pre-season worrying if Harry Redknapp is ill. A World Cup, a huge squad and seemingly still plenty to spend and yet Spurs are still yet to register their first meaningful signing of the pre-season. This may well be because Harry has realised that the new Premier League squad rules may see one or two big named stars sat in the stands for the first four months of the season and that is hardly likely to be a big temptation for some of the world’s biggest names. It would seem Harry has to sell (or loan out) before bringing in a new face or two and that isn’t going to be easy. Despite that though, Spurs do possess a genuinely talented squad and with the added finance from their Champions League adventure, they should find themselves in contention for a top four place, or better, once again. Of all the teams likely to break the Arsenal/Chelsea/United top three dominance, Harry’s men look the likeliest at present.

+Points: A lack of movement in the market means Harry’s squad will come into the season settled and knowing what is expected of it. Giovani Dos Santos return to form in the World Cup will have reminded all at White Hart Lane just what a talented player he is while players like Tom Huddlestone, Aaron Lennon and Michael Dawson should all continue to develop their skills in the Champions League arena.

-Points: Spurs needed a top quality new face or two to really push themselves into becoming one of the real top four but as yet they have not signed anyone to really raise the roof at White Hart Lane. They’ll be good once again, but I think they will struggle against the very best once again, both at home domestically and in the Champions League.

Image Courtesy of ***Back The Bid London 2018*** on flickr.com

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