The English Premier League is back again, and not a moment too soon

Boy have I missed it! The World Cup ebbed and flowed, went in and out, up and down, whatever you say - but it just wasn't quite the same as what we have from August until May each season. If you're looking for the best footballing talent in the world, sadly, I feel you have to look largely towards the Premier League - week-in, week-out, it just doesn't get any better.


So, onto 2010/2011, the nineteenth season of the top divison of English football as we know it today. Immediately the rules differ slightly - a squad cap has been imposed on all clubs, allowing a maximum of 25 players over the age of 21 to be chosen for selection in the Premier League. In addition, eight of these players must be "home-grown" i.e. domestically registered to any club for three seasons prior to their 21st birthday.


All very interesting - it may lead to perhaps the emergence of some young talent on the big stage for clubs who struggle for money and whose range will be restricted in the transfer market consequently. Plus it means clubs like greedy-guts on the blue side of Manchester will in all likelihood have to ask players to leave in order to help trim down; contrast that with Liverpool who are currently struggling to get to 25 as it is (that may change however, if transfer funds are injected into the club as a result of a change in ownership).


Now, baring in mind I am a Manchester United supporter, perhaps this season preview will be a tad biased. I'll do my best, but I make no promises.


I’ll start by highlighting Aston Villa, Tottenham and Everton as the outsiders for a top five place - they all have squads that have been built on over the summer and managers whose heads are screwed on the correct way around. Put them down for 6th, 7th and 8th. Fulham should be okay again, and along with Blackburn I reckon they’ll complete the top 10. Who to go down? Well, that’s anyone’s guess, it’s usually two of the promoted clubs that go back where they came from plus one existing Premier League side, and on that basis, it’s West Brom, Blackpool and Wigan for the drop. Newcastle United should squeak back in for 2011/2012, with many of their squad having had previous top-flight experience, which should be enough to see them through. I’m sure that the safety zone of 15th-17th will be extremely hard-fought for, though, as always.


Now let’s take a look at the realistic title contenders, of which I think there are five:


ARSENAL - Last Season: 3rd, 10/11 Prediction: 3rd
At some point every season, the press go ape over Arsenal's style of play; their apparent sexy football so superior in every single way to any other team who have ever played the game. Now that's all very well as we know, but as the last six years have proved, that wins you next to nothing. I don't think this season will be any different. They may smash a few teams before Christmas and look like they might be onto something, then pick up a few injuries or setbacks and slip into dropping lots of points away from home because they don't have the experience to deal with the demands of the title run-in. Wenger's a fantastic manager but that can only get you so far; the players have to stand up for themselves. Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny could prove to be excellent signings, Chamakh in particular is one to watch with van Persie up front. They'll look promising, before slowly fading away. Sound familiar?

CHELSEA - Last Season: Champions, 10/11 Prediction: 2nd
On the face of it they certainly deserved the title last year. I'm not bitter. They were just that little bit better - that's all it takes - and didn't drop points in as many stupid games like United and Arsenal did. Having lost Juliano Belletti, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack, who in particular had a poor season last time around, Carlo Ancelotti has brought in Yossi Benayoun and Ramires who should prove solid if unspectacular replacements. They're in about the same state as last season for me, with the returns of Michael Essien and Jose Bosingwa after injury also a boost. The key to their success may well lie in goal - in the most part, treating Petr Cech with kid gloves. While I don't think he has been exactly the same man since his accident in 2006 (in all honesty, who would be?), he still remains an integral and essential part to Chelsea's backline. Ross Turnbull looked shaky last year in the few first team chances he got, and in pre-season, plus we all know Hilario is prone to the hilarious for all the wrong reasons. Expect Drogba and Lampard to bang in the goals throughout the year, firing them extremely close to two in a row once again.

LIVERPOOL - Last Season: 7th, 10/11 Prediction: 4th
The fact that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres have both committed their (short-term) futures to Liverpool will give fans and players alike a welcome psychological boost ahead of a season that should end in a much better fashion than 2009/2010. The arrival of Roy Hodgson can surely only propel them close to European glory once again and they may be an outside bet for the FA Cup too. There’s no doubt either that Joe Cole is a fantastic signing and he should provide some creativity in tough situations that is evidently much-needed. I feel that Maxi Rodriguez may be one to look out for as well; a summer playing alongside Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Juan Sebastian Veron and Carlos Tevez can have done him no harm whatsoever. Their starting XI looks, on paper, the strongest it has been in possibly the last four or five years, but it’s the squad that wins trophies and this is undoubtedly where Liverpool will fall short again. If Torres, Gerrard, or both, get injured - it’s not looking good to say the least. Having said that, David Ngog can’t get too much worse.

MANCHESTER CITY - Last Season: 5th, 10/11 Prediction: 5th
The Massives. With the transfer market at their finger-tips. And do you know what? They’ll only balls it up. David Silva, Jerome Boateng, Yaya Toure and Aleksandar Kolarov, the most impressive transfer “in” list in the Premier League. And it’s down to Roberto Mancini to fit them in with Richards, Bridge, Zabaleta, Johnson, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Barry, Lescott, Vieira, Tevez, de Jong... you get the picture. There are essentially too many players - the quality is there, undoubtedly. Last year, their home form was usually good but their away fixtures always let them down, a trend you’d expect to see I suppose, with 48,000 lunatics with their heads in the clouds cheering them on at Eastlands. But it’s Mancini’s head on the chopping block if he cannot pull it off. How do you cope with over-paid prima donnas who begin to get restless if they’re not playing every week? I’m sure at some point this season, he’ll find out.

MANCHESTER UNITED - Last Season: 2nd, 10/11 Prediction: Champions
I think Sir Alex has just about got the squad balance right this year, with the youth talent as strong as ever whilst the golden oldies are still going but are in all likelihood about to begin a final farewell. Admittedly it would be better if such things existed as an Owen Hargreaves who could stand up and a Rio Ferdinand who can run quickly without bandages on his body, and sadly I do fear both those things are going to be lacking in 2010/2011. Having said that, Anderson is due to return from injury in early September, Nemanja Vidic has signed a new contract and a hideously expensive Chris Smalling is going to get some lessons from the very best - so it’s not all bad news. Plus there’s a certain Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez in town who, put simply, is a 22 year-old fit Michael Owen who scores goals, on the back of a promising World Cup. And of course there’s everyone’s favourite Bulgarian, Dimitar Berbatov, who I hope manages to shut up the critics for once and bag his first 20-goal season haul for the club. If Wayne Rooney stops smoking and dirtying the streets at 3am, and pisses all over the 19 other Premier League teams instead (and there’s no dropped points to promoted sides), the trophy will be back where it belongs, for the 12th time. But it will certainly be no walk in the park.

Rumblings.

You know what? Life's confusing, right.

There's so much going on in my head now that I cannot even begin to explain. These thoughts range to and from various extremes; for example, important things like family, friends and exams (eeek!) - and then less obscure, unimportant ones, such as working out why England can't bowl out Bangladesh, why Murray can't work out that Berdych doesn't like, and can't cope with, being moved around the court in a rally, and why on earth that man from the cruise ship is through to the semis of a show that supposedly presents the best of British talent.

Anyway.

Why is it, then, that when you try and solve a problem or overcome an issue, you usually make it worse - and why is it, that when you leave things to one side and ignore them and try and move on, they often turn out to be okay anyway? I've asked myself these questions recently and am no closer to finding anything that resembles a solution. There are also people around, close to me, who need to take various steps back and learn just how important those two scenarios and their ouctomes are. In the grand scheme of life, do these things really matter anyway? No.

There does come a time however, when you can care too much. Over-emphasis on anything that is close to your heart usually results in irrational thought processes and consequently rash actions which do yourself no favours at all. Well then, what does it mean to care? How can you express feeling if, in today's society, you end up being ridiculed or simply made to feel worse than at the start, all because you show a caring nature in the first place?

At the end of the day, nearly all of us mean well all the time. Humans, on the whole, are not genuinely bad people. We are all one and the same, and yet are so different. People are wired up in contrasting ways; ways that are not always compatible and that cannot always work in tandem - it's why I think Manchester United are the greatest football club on the planet and the next man says it's Barcelona - I can take that, no problem. My voice is only one of billions.

And anyway, to quote a fictional, old and green wise man, "it matters not".

I don't believe there are answers to such questions. I observe, I think, and I notice the littlest things. Others don't have that ability. But then they're better off in some other way, and such characteristics define us.

Sometimes, life's a vicious circle, and it's just how well you avoid the swinging blade and recover from the times it does hit you, that matters. And each time it does hit, we become wiser for it.

Long time no blog; some snippets!

Sat at home, feeling yuck, just watched Federer/Tsonga and then the McLaren F1 car launch, loving the Button and Hamilton banter already. Glad it doesn't seem to be the Norovirus, however! Just a few musings :)

• The big news of this week of course, is that Andy Murray is through to the Australian Open final against Roger Federer. At this point, the majority of anyone reading this is likely to exclaim, "Go Roger!" or anything along the lines of pro-Fed or anti-Muzza. Consequently, I have to admit I do fall into camp Murray. Shameful I know. Now look, if the title was awarded for being the gentleman of the tournament, most graceful of the tournament, most sporting of the fortnight, or even the prize for "I can keep my mouth shut when I get excited and don't resemble the Mona Lisa", then sure, Federer would win every time. Not only this, but it comes down to the fact the Roger Federer is probably the most naturally gifted tennis player the modern world has ever seen. Federer is Swiss. They are best known for cheese. Murray is British. Now he'll have some remnant of blood contained within him that can also be found within yourselves. However faint, it will be there. My theory is - just get behind him! He's our best hope for any sort of glory for this country in both recent years, and for the foreseeable future. Like I say, Murrary's on and off court demeanour does him few favours; spared by the fact he is bloody good at tennis. And so from me, good luck Andy.

• The first of the 2010 car launches happened on Thursday in Maranello, Ferrari territory. With a striking new design, what's now known as the F10 has a Red Bull-esque front wing and a much wider body designed to incorporate the enormous fuel tanks necessary for the 2010 season. Felipe Massa, who is assuming the position of number one driver, and new capture Fernando Alonso managed to put on an entirely united front for their prestiged launch party. Wonder how long that will last. Also, Luca di Montezemolo revealed this week that had his proposal of three cars per team been accepted for the new season, then Michael Schumacher certainly would not be driving a Mercedes. The prospect of Alonso, Massa and Schumacher at the same team would certainly have any F1 fan, myself included, watering whole-heartedly at the mouth.

• Big, big game this weekend in the Premier League. Fergie calls it the game of the season so far, and he's probably not too far off with that assumption. Arsenal vs United, who won't try and watch it? Rio Ferdinand's ban is justified, he cannot complain too much (God knows what he was thinking) but with Vidic's return you'd have thought we wouldn't have too many problems at the back. The Gooners have their fair share of injury trouble now as well, Vermaelen, Eduardo, Diaby and van Persie should all be missing. And an in-form Wayne Rooney should have some fun against a slightly creaky Sol Campbell - that could well have a large say in the outcome of the match. They must approach with caution though, and I am apprehensive somewhat. You can't write Arsenal off under any circumstances, much like United!

• Finally, as a last side-note, I'm pretty sure that Owen Hargreaves's knee(s) must have exploded. Just that it's been quite a long three weeks, you see. Again.

Manchester United vs Leeds United

Quite frankly that was rather embarrassing. Three shots on target the whole match. Three losses in the last three weeks. Here's mine, and a fellow Internet user's, take on it.

Kuszczak - 6 - Why doesn't he yell at his defenders when they're being complete idiots? He just sits there and takes it. van der Sar would most likely have personally strangled Brown's head off. Should've done way way better on the goal.

Fabio - 6 - To be honest, he's a liability defensively, but he was better on the ball than any of our midfielders, and by quite some distance too. Needs to learn to cross and the idea is you put the ball in the box away from anyone not wearing your colour.
Brown - 4 - Had the right idea, it was just having a clue to go with it. If you asked him to get a glass of water, he'd probably find a glass, find the kitchen sink, then somehow drown himself.
Evans - 5 - Distribution; first, learn what it even means, then, attempt to be less rubbish at it. Better than Brown however, and better at coping with a pacy centre forward who backs into you.
Neville - 6 - Terrible for about half hour, then stopped relying on Brown and Obertan who may as well have not been on the same team. Livelier in the second half.

Welbeck - 5 - Not a winger, not left footed. For the billionth time. Didn't work before, and is most likely related to the whole not actually being a left footed winger thing.
Gibson - 6 - Still showed glimpses of the promise gone before; perhaps should've been subbed instead of Anderson but this is probably due to the fact he actually threatens the goal when he shoots.
Anderson - 6 Great decision to take him off at a time when he was single handedly trying to be our midfield, and replace him with someone who isn't a midfielder. Needs to keep on at that shooting practice.
Obertan - 5 - Today looked like a slightly confused spoon, and needs to actually pay attention to the game more; got in the way of Gary Neville, don't even remember him attempting a cross. And he's a winger.

Rooney - 7 - Very good. Not Peter Crouch, so not too many more long balls that you expect him to win. The best attacking outlet we have, shame no-one else really stood up.
Berbatov - 6 - He's a centre forward, how about we play him as one from time to time? Silky touches and was pretty much pivotal to anything half-decent-to-good that we did the whole match. Only had one sight of goal. Looked like he could've strangled a couple of other players at times.

SUBS:
Giggs - 6 - Good when he was in the middle. The art of standing somewhere to receive the ball, and then passing it forwards to someone wearing the same colour shirt as you. A concept too confusing for either Anderson or Gibson to even comprehend today.
Valencia - 7 - It was slightly embarrassing because all he did was show how rubbish Leeds actually were, and how useless we must be to not be beating them.
Owen - 5 - It's like he only has one foot, and his left leg just drifts around the pitch with him to help him stay upright. Missed the ball from ten yards out with a clear sight at goal. Should've buried it.

Team selection was questionable in my opinion, but I'm not Sir Alex Ferguson, he has his reasons so I won't go into that. Man City on Wednesday. Fingers crossed!