The Premier League got the grand finale it deserved in a season that Arsene Wenger himself has described as the ‘strangest one he has ever known’ in his 15 years in English football. It is back to its unpredictable best and only further underlines the general feeling that England possesses the top League in World Football.
You couldn’t write the script yesterday and why City’s last gasp win has arguably eclipsed Michael Thomas and Arsenal’s title success in 1989, as the most dramatic finish to a league season. We are all left to reflect on a season that has seen the good, bad and the ugly side of football. It is certainly been an exciting Premier League this year without question, given some of the results; however I would find it hard to agree that the quality of the League and teams have improved in any way. The standards of top clubs have dropped dramatically, in the passing years, and we are seeing a changing landscape within the Premier League.
Without wanting to rain on City’s parade, it really hasn’t proved a difficult league to win compared with previous years. Manchester United is a side in real transition and yet they still managed to take City all the way before losing the title to simply goal difference. If we move further down the table then both Arsenal and Tottenham complete the top four places, even though both sides lost nearly over a quarter of their games this season and had major slumps throughout their campaigns. The very fact that both Swansea and Norwich are comfortably in mid-table shows how the Premier League has become an easier gig and any side capable of showing consistency or putting a run of wins together can climb the table very quickly.
One thing this season has done is open club’s eyes and certainly raises a certain amount of optimism among the respective chairman. Football clubs now know that the giant gap that use to exist and the once fabled ‘big four’ no longer exists and there are genuine opportunities for clubs to achieve Champions League football. Aside from that I am sure the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and even Tottenham will be buoyed (given the struggles they have faced this season) by City’s success and will fully believe that with some astute spending in the summer and looking to address the flaws they had within their performance this season that the ability to challenge for a title is well within their reach. The bookies probably won’t look further than City and United next season, but I wouldn’t like to rule out any of the aforementioned sides being in the title mix in the coming year. The Premier League is as open as it has ever been within its 20 years and while the 2011/12 has been City’s year without question, I fully expect, and hope, we witness a far stronger challenge from the also-rans next season.
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With the fixtures for the 2012/13 Premier League season having been announced, the Saints have been given a baptism of fire to their first Premier League campaign for nearly a decade, with a tough opening day fixture at defending champions Manchester City.
Roberto Mancini’s champions host the Saints on August 18th, although this looks certain to be a fixture that is a dead cert to be moved for live television coverage.
The fixture list does not get much easier afterwards either, with a home game against Manchester United being followed by a first trip to the Emirates stadium to face Arsenal.
Sandwiched between the two fixtures against the Manchester clubs is a home game against perennial relegation battlers, Wigan Athletic. This will be the very first league meeting between the two clubs, with the only previous meeting coming in the F.A Cup in 1986, with the Saints beating the then 4th division side 3-0. September is completed by a home game against Aston Villa, and a trip to Merseyside to face Everton.
October only consists of three league matches, and strangely all three fixtures are against London clubs, as Fulham come to St. Marys at the beginning of the month, Spurs visit at the end of the month, and in between there is a trip to fellow new boys West Ham.
November begins with a trip to the Hawthorns to face West Bromwich, and this is followed by Swansea City’s visit to St. Marys where the two clubs meet in the top flight for the first time since 1983. Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road and home games against Newcastle and Norwich complete the month.
December is a packed month with six games although only two are at St. Marys. Reading at home is sandwiched between tricky away trips to Liverpool and then Chelsea, whilst out final home game before Christmas see’s Sunderland make the long trip south. Our Boxing Day match is away to Fulham and this is followed three days later by a visit to the Britannia stadium to face Stoke City for our final match of 2012.
2013 begins with a tough home game against Arsenal on New Year’s Day, and after a break for the third round of the F.A. Cup, away games at Aston Villa and Manchester United bookend a home game against Everton at St. Marys.
February like October consists of only three league matches and opening day opponents Manchester City come to St. Marys in between away trips to Wigan and Newcastle. Whilst March consists of four games with three of those at St. Marys, as Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool and Chelsea arrive in town in that order with our solitary road trip coming at Norwich a week after the visit of QPR.
With most people expecting us to be toiling hard against relegation and an immediate return to the Championship, the run-in during April and May does not seem too bad, as by then we would have met most of the bigger clubs. Of course on the flip side that means that these two months have the potential to include a lot of so-called “six pointers”! April starts with a trip to Reading, and this is followed by a home game against another of the clubs who accompanied us in to the Premier League, West Ham. Swansea City away and a home game against West Bromwich complete the month.
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The crucial month of May has three fixtures but two of those are tricky trips to Tottenham and Sunderland, and we finish our first Premier League season in seven years with a home game against Stoke City.
Tottenham are ready to announce that Andre Villas Boas will become the side’s new manager, after signing a new three-year deal with the club according to The Telegraph.
The Portuguese trainer had an ill-fated stint at Chelsea after domestic and European success with Porto in his homeland, but is still thought to be one of he most promising and exciting young coaches in the game.
After intense negotiations over the last fortnight following Harry Redknapp’s dismissal, the ex-Blues manager is said to have impressed the White Hart Lane club’s board with ambitious plans in the transfer market, and will be announced as the new boss on Tuesday.
Straight away Villas Boas is keen to conclude deals for Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen, who are both close to agreeing terms on transfers to north London.
A squad revamp is expected, with the likes of Luka Modric, Rafael van de Vaart and Jermain Defoe all unsure over their futures.
Villas Boas will also recall Steven Caulker, who spent last term on loan at Swansea, into his first-team squad and is also monitoring Brazil international playmaker Oscar.
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Sunderland’s preparations for the new season appear to have hit a wall as the club struggle to attract quality players to justify their lofty ambitions. A new chairman, manager and kit sponsor seemed to signal the beginning of a new era at the Stadium of Light but if their efforts so far this summer are an indication of things to come then mid-table mediocrity may be the most likely outcome. For a team that has only recently shaken off their yo-yo tag to establish themselves as a regular part of the Premier League, such reserved targets are not what the terraces want to hear but given the pitfalls suffered by the red and white part of North East in recent seasons, there are plenty of tough realities to be faced if the club is to move forward.
Curb expectation
Every year Sunderland fans embark on a new Premier League campaign with renewed vigour but every season is deemed a disappointment when the team doesn’t qualify for Europe. While fans have every right to demand the very best from their team, it’s clear to onlookers that the Blacks Cats do not yet have a good enough squad to compete with the top flight’s established European challengers. The appointment of Martin O’Neill as manager has supporters dreaming that he will repeat the success he enjoyed at Aston Villa and while that’s a reasonable target, the reality is the Mackems are still a long way of finishing in the top 6 and envious glares at rivals Newcastle United will make any future respectable league finishes seem like an underachievement.
Don’t focus so much on Newcastle
Many a season at the Stadium of Light has been ruined by a failure to overcome the archenemy and such is the importance placed on the Tyne-Wear derby that managers have often seen their careers in the North East judged on how they fared against the Geordies. Ex manager Steve Bruce even cited his local roots and derby struggles as the main catalyst of his demise but while the Corbridge born former defender struggled against Newcastle, he was given a fair crack of the whip by the majority of fans. Still the comparison between the sides was there for all to see last season and seeing their bitter rivals punch above their weight in the Premier League only heightened fans desperation for improvements on the pitch. Had any other team overachieved as Newcastle did last time out then Sunderland fans would have been less inclined to write off their manager and his new players but such is the hatred between fans that they turned on the management and booed the team. Rightly or wrongly, such impatience cannot be repeated next season for if Martin O’Neill is considered to be their messiah then he must be allowed time to mould his team together. New signings are expected but fans must not expect instant miracles, even if Newcastle fans are gloating because they’re playing in Europe.
Stop buying players from relegated teams
As O’Neill slowly stamps his authority on the team during his first full summer in charge, fans are debating the procrastinatory nature of his transfer dealings and wondering how much money there is to spend and who he’s thinking of spending it on. The usual scenario for Sunderland is they have roughly £20m-£30m to spend but often need 5 or more signings and end up bring in a selection of cheap squad players instead of investing in one or two genuine talents. This has led to them snapping up the star performers from previously relegated sides and while players like Sebastian Larsson, David Vaughan and Craig Gardner all represent excellent value for money, they’re not the quality of player needed to take the club to the next level. This summer has seen Steven Fletcher, Matt Jarvis, Steven N’Zonzi and Martin Olsson linked with the club but these players need to be avoided if they harbour any hopes of moving away from the mid-table pack.
Don’t buy Manchester United cast-offs
Another pitfall of previous Sunderland managers has been to wash Sir Alex Ferguson’s hands of his unwanted Old Trafford talent and with little reward. Currently Phil Bardsley, John O’Shea, Wes Brown, Kieran Richardson and Fraizer Campbell fill the quota more than capably but a brief skim down the history books shows a plethora of ex Red Devils brought in by former bosses Bruce and Roy Keane. The stark reality is that while these players may have seemed like they had decent pedigree and to a certain extent they satisfied the needs of an aspiring club on the rise from the Championship, the fact is they couldn’t make the Manchester United first team and are therefore not good enough if Sunderland want to push on to the next level.
Give the lads a chance!
Neutrals peering in on Sunderland’s situation often wonder why supporters demand so much of them given their underwhelming record in recent years. It’s been over a decade since Peter Reid’s side claimed back to back 7th place finishes and the Black Cats have little European pedigree to justify such lofty expectations. This may be true but Mackem fans know the club has a proud history and see their complaints more as constructive criticism then unwarranted condemnation. There are two sets of fans, the group with unrealistic expectations who demand success and the group with a realistic assessment of where the team is but are deemed to lack ambition. These fans needs to find some middle ground and let the team blossom without demanding too much from a side that are clearly worse off on paper than the League’s top teams and will need all the support they can get if their are to progress.
Supporting a so called lesser side is often a hiding to nothing as fans’ aspirations to improve are hampered by the reality of their mid-table predicament. If the Sunderland faithful have learned anything going into next season it should be not to expect success but rather enjoy it, if and when it comes along.
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Should Sunderland fans have more realistic expectations or should they have loftier ambitions ahead of next season?
Let me know your views and opinions by following me on Twitter – Tweet me @Alex_Churcher
Stability is often what the majority of clubs in the top flight aim for before a season begins; very few think that they can’t compete for trophies, hoping for a decent cup run at best, knowing that getting sucked into a relegation battle is a realistic possibility.
However, while this may see quite a number of clubs dampen not only their expectations but ambitions, Swansea this term under new boss Michael Laudrup appear to be adding a new dimension to their play, something which Stoke have seriously struggled with since winning promotion to the top flight back in 2008.
Ever since crashing the top flight party, Tony Pulis has spent upwards of £70m on transfers, with over 30 new players coming into the club during those five summers. During that initial four-year same period, only Manchester City and Chelsea had a higher net spend figure than Stoke City since their promotion and they’ve made just £8.6million from selling players in five years – a truly shocking amount which shows their missteps in the transfer market.
To his credit, Pulis has clearly attempted to bring in players of a better quality, with the likes of Peter Crouch, Jonathan Woodgate and Jermaine Pennant coming into the Britannia during that time, but they’ve had to adapt to a seemingly ingrained style of play rather than the other way around – and what at first may have looked like ambition has given way to desperation and cynicism.
There’s only so far you can go with a long-ball style in the top flight, a glass ceiling as it were, and finishes of 12th (45 points), 11th (47 points), 13th (46 points) and 14th (45 points) clearly point to a club in danger of stagnation. Has Pulis taken them as far as he can?
While the style of football that the club persists with means that they will never win over everyone, it appears on the face of things that they may not be able to crack the top ten, particularly now that the budget has been tightened at the club. Of course, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t play with a style that suits them and enables them to get results, they are well within their rights to do so.
Having recorded just a 62 per cent pass completion record in their opening two games so far this season, plus the fact that they scored just 36 times last term, failing to find the back of the net in 13 separate fixtures, struggling all term to create anything from open play, they no longer look as if they think they can look up the table these days. Unless Pulis begins to compromise his principles, they will continue to not only standstill, but live in danger of going backwards and they’ve not really delivered on the significant investment in the side so far.
By that very same token, though, Swansea last term, with a far more aesthetically-pleasing style of play under Brendan Rodgers, only managed to score 44 times all term, failing to score in 15 games altogether across the entire league campaign. For all of their pretty possession, they lacked a cutting edge at times and any sort of penetration, yet instead of criticism, they were lauded by all and sundry from refusing to play long-ball football to survive, and they finished two points and three league places ahead of the more established Stoke in their first full season in the Premier League.
It seems that just so long as you play attractive football, that any critique is somewhat muted; it has been for Roberto Martinez at Wigan for quite some time. As Pulis would probably try to explain, there’s nothing noble in losing pretty and Stoke are certainly effective at what they do, but the question should be, after four seasons, now five in the league, should they be trying to do more?
Swansea took a risk in appointing legendary player Michael Laudrup this summer to replace Brendan Rodgers, who left the club to take over at Liverpool. It seemed a shrewd appointment by chairman Huw Jenkins, that he was able to attract such a big name, but it was entirely in keeping with the recent traditions at the club of passing football, going back to Paulo Sousa and Roberto Martinez before Rodgers.
Nonetheless, it’s worth remembering that despite doing a great job at Getafe, that Laudrup had failed in his previous two posts at Mallorca and Spartak Moscow, so there was an element of the appointment being something of a gamble for the club at a pivotal point in their history, as they attempted to retain their status as a top flight club this coming campaign.
As often happens when promoted clubs do well, not only did the manager move on but the side lost key midfielder Joe Allen, the metronome at the heart of their midfield to Liverpool also for a £15m fee, with the inevitable vultures at bigger clubs attempting to pick off what they want, with Scott Sinclair close to moving to Manchester City too, to replace Adam Johnson.
However, this has allowed Laudrup a budget to slowly but surely mould the club in his own image and the signings of Michu, Chico, Jonathan De Guzman, Pablo Hernandez and Ki Sung-Yeung mean that the club have a far more well-rounded squad than last term and they appear more prepared for the new season ahead as they bid to battle that most-dreaded of demons, second-season syndrome.
There’s also been a noticeable change in the club’s playing style and a shift away from what the side did so well under Rodgers. Keeping possession is of course at the heart of everything that they are trying to achieve, with Laudrup’s image as a player ensuring as such, but there’s been a willingness to get the ball forward earlier than before and they look a much more penetrative, direct outfit this term.
In their opening game of the season, they completely destroyed an expensively-assembled QPR side 5-0 – it took them well into October to score five league goals last season and whereas last term, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge were told to hug the line and keep their shape, this term they can be found drifting inside and getting inside the full-back in an attempt to influence play – it’s a subtle but deliberate change and they’ve unquestionably evolved as a side.
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The ever-changing demands of the Premier League dictate that in order to compete, that change is needed and this comes not only in terms of fresh faces and new managers on occasion, but a willingness to adapt your style of play to ensure that you don’t become predictable, a trap which Stoke have certainly fallen into in recent times.
Stoke appear to be somewhat trapped within their own image as a long-ball side, entrenched in their own style, incapable of playing anything else; so far Swansea have shown this season that to maintain the initiative and keep an upwards trajectory, that sometimes change is not only good, but required and Tony Pulis could learn a thing or two as he bids to improve upon last season.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that he may need to make a further attacking addition to bolster his squad after failing to see his side score in their first two Premier League games of the season at home to Sunderland and away at Stoke.
Arsenal’s lack of cutting edge in front of goal so far this campaign has highlighted the absence of Robin van Persie, who signed for Manchester United two weeks ago. Following Arsenal’s goalless draw at the Britannia Stadium yesterday, Wenger told the BBC, “We always felt we were dangerous, but we couldn’t finish it off. We have work to do in the final third.”
Wenger is still confident that his side will still score plenty of goals this season despite the departure of van Persie, “I don’t want to take anything away from Robin van Persie, he is an exceptional player, but I still don’t worry we will score goals with the players we have.” Additionally, Wenger said he is still confident new signings Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud will score plenty of goals for Arsenal despite creating any clear cut chances in the draw at Stoke, “we lacked a bit of understanding with the players in the final third. We have many new players and you can see something was missing.”
The Arsenal manager also added that the North London club are likely to be busy in the next few days, “we are active and there could still be action in the transfer market.” Arsenal have been strongly linked with Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila as a like-for-like replacement to Alex Song, who left the Gunners to join Barcelona for £15 million last week.
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England manager Roy Hodgson has confessed that the Three Lions miss injured forward Wayne Rooney, and that the Manchester United man will walk back into the senior side when he is available again.
Rooney suffered a gash on his right leg in a recent Premier League game against Fulham, and as such missed the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.
With the home nation drawing 1-1 with Ukraine in a disappointing showing on Tuesday, Hodgson has admitted that the team will be stronger when Rooney returns to action.
“We’ll get the best out of him because he’s desperate to play for England,’’ Hodgson is quoted as saying in The Telegraph.
“He’s an excellent footballer and quality is permanent. I’ve spoken to him of course. He’s had a nasty injury and we’re hoping he gets over it as soon as possible.
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“The sooner he comes back into our fold the better because we are short of experienced and quality front players in England. We are blessed with quite a few very good midfielders,” the coach admitted.
The tie of the round in the Capital One Cup has got to be at Old Trafford where Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Newcastle United clash in hope of a cup run and some much needed silverware.
United lost out on all of their major trophies last season and so a run in the Capital One Cup may be exactly what they need, whereas Newcastle have won very little over the past few decades and so it is surely about time they lifted some silverware. Expect an extremely competitive fixture.
Here are the three key battles that could win or lose the game for their side.
Michael Carrick v Yohan Cabaye
Two of the best passers of the ball in the Premier League, Carrick and Cabaye go about their work quietly and efficiently for their sides and the game could well be decided on which of these two keep possession for their sides the best.
Carrick got on the scoresheet in the Champions League last week and has started the season well alongside Paul Scholes in the United midfield. However the likes of Tom Cleverly and Darren Fletcher seem to be returning from injury at a crucial time for the Red Devils to put pressure on Carrick to impress.
Cabaye hasn’t had his midfield partner Cheick Tiote to back him up this season but he is coping well, pulling the strings to release the pacey Newcastle attack that is as good as any in the league. With a lack of quality central midfielders, Cabaye is a key player and will hope to keep Carrick quiet.
Rafael v Hatem Ben Arfa
Manchester United’s right back has improved greatly over the past 12 months or so but that is mainly in attack. Due to dominating games possession-wise United’s full backs are able to constantly push forward but that may not be the case on Wednesday night as Newcastle’s three pronged attack will need to be constantly looked after.
Ben Arfa has dazzled us over the past year or so with his trickery and pace and going forward, few right backs can deal with him. In partnership with Papiss Cisse and/or Demba Ba, Ben Arfa is able to drift inside and lose his marker so Rafael will have to be alert to track him and let him know he is there. On the other hand Ben Arfa will have to go with Rafael when he steams forward, something Ben Arfa may be lacking in his game, so this battle could definitely shape the outcome of the tie.
Robin van Persie v Steven Taylor
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Last season’s Premier League top goalscorer Van Persie has already bagged goals for United this season and doesn’t look to have lost any of that penalty area instinct that earned him such high praise and a move to United. The loss of Wayne Rooney may well have put pressure on the Dutchman to score more goals and with Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez eager to get a look in, you can see why.
Steven Taylor missed the majority of last season with a serious knee injury but is relishing being back in his beloved Newcastle’s side. Injuries have left the Toon squad a bit bare at times this season but having one of their own playing week in week out can only help the side in the long term. Taylor will be confident of coping with Van Persie, but if United decide to start with two up front, it may be an uphill challenge for the inexperienced Newcastle defence.
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Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has admitted that his side are eager to put forward a bid for the Premier League title.
The north London side finished third last season, but the France international feels that Arsene Wenger’s men can challenge for top spot this term.
“We will keep going and stay confident for the future. I think we have a very interesting role in this championship,” The Daily Mail quote Giroud as saying.
The frontman has taken time to adjust to his new environment after a summer move from Montpellier, but scored against West Ham at the weekend and is starting to feel more confident.
“I expected it to be difficult at first because the Premier League is a level higher and I have had to adapt.
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“It is nice to have scored my first goal, that will give me a lot of confidence for the future. I feel good about this team and I am confident that I will score more goals. Why not a dozen like in my first season at Montpellier?” he concluded.
Chris Hughton chalked up his first Premier League win as Norwich boss after Grant Holt scored the only goal against Arsenal at Carrow Road.
The Canaries had failed to taste a victory in the seven games since Hughton arrived from Birmingham to replace Paul Lambert but finally broke their seasonal duck against the subdued Gunners.
Arsene Wenger knew his side had to take maximum points if they were to remain in contention with the top four but they now find themselves 10 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Jack Wilshere’s return to the squad provided a major a boost ahead of the game as the England midfielder returned from 14-months on the sidelines to take a place on the bench and Wenger resisted the temptation to bring him on as Arsenal struggled to break down a resolute home side.
Norwich started promisingly with Anthony Pilkington sending a warning shot across the bow before Holt capitalised on an error from Vito Mannone to score his third goal in as many games. The 31-year-old was quickest to react and poke the ball home after Mannone had palmed Alexander Tettey’s stinging long-range drive into his path.
Having conceded nine goals in their last two games Hughton sought to tighten his leaky defence and their disciplined display only served to frustrate the Gunners and Wenger as the almost fell further behind after Michael Turned headed Pilkington’s corner just wide. The away side’s best chance fell to Oliver Giroud but he failed to connect properly as attempted to hook the ball over John Ruddy.
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was thrown on just after the hour in an attempt to turn the game in Arsenal’s favour but he lasted just nine minutes before having to go off following a heavy challenge from Sebastien Bassong. Holt then thought he’d wrapped up the points for Norwich but his ambitious chip didn’t have enough on it to beat Mannone.