12/21/24
August 06, 2005
EPL 2005-06 preview.: The new season starts next week! Soccernet previews each team's chances. Who can mount a credible challenge to Chelsea? Are Man U good enough for third? Will West Brom survive a second season in the top flight? Will any of the new boys emulate West Brom's feat last season? Soccernet's prediction: Top 3 will be Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool (I'd reverse that ;-) and Bottom 3 will be Fulham, Sunderland, Wigan.
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 10:59 AM - 26 comments
Texan, I just checked your profile to see who you supported (Man U - harrumph). But then I saw this:
My first game at Yankee Stadium, Good Friday 2004 vs. the White Sox. My girlfriend bought space on the electronic board that they show before the 6th inning (I think) that read: "Craig, Welcome to New York. I love you, Gail" 3 months later, I married her.That was too sweet. As for the EPL, I'm going to have to disagree w/ your top rankings (for obvious reasons - go Liverpool!). And I'll also be interested in how Spurs, West Ham and Middlesborough do. Some interesting signings, Spurs with Routledge and Davids; Boro with Yakubu. And of course, there's Arsenal's loss of Vieira.
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:28 AM on August 06, 2005
Arsenal Man U Liverpool Chelsea Newcastle ------
posted by StarFucker at 12:20 PM on August 06, 2005
Fucker, you are too funny. Chelsea 4 and Newcastle 5? Good thing my my coffee was finished before seeing that! Either of Arsenal or Manchester United, particularly the latter, may crumble early on if even one (additional) starter is out injured for an extended period. Hard to argue with the Gunners' striking power as long as Henry has form and Bergkamp can keep up the pace, though I've never cared for Reyes and Pires. ManU needs to show strength in central midfield and get more production from Heinze and whoever claims the other fullback spot; van der Sar was probably a good purchase though I of course prefer to see Timmy out there. If Liverpool gel early they could get into a spirited consistency that was completely lacking last season. Not good that Gonzalez was denied a work permit, Rafa better sign another defender, and Crouch better not turn a few week's hamstring problem into a recurring nightmare though. Zenden and Sissoko can add depth in the middle to see the team through the extra CL matches. I like the odds of the Reds squeezing up to third or even second. For all of Tottenham's purchases and talk of Jol's skills, I don't figure them to end higher than 5th or 6th. A lot, to me, depends on Michael Carrick, improvement across the backline and how well Defoe and Routledge mesh. I like Texan's 12th for Newcastle. They have some quality players and Souness but, unlike some other franchises, internal strife does seem get in the way of their point totals. As for the bottom, the pattern seems to be one of the three new boys to stay up but I don't know enough about any to guess which. Though I expect to develop a rooting interest for one of them as the season goes on, I always do. And I like the name Wigan, it's so English, so maybe them. Chelsea Arsenal Liverpool ManUtd Middlesboro Blackburn (go Brian and Carlos!) Tottenham Everton (won't fall that much) Tottenham Birmingham Charlton Man City Newcastle Aston Villa (could be higher if they get the goals) ... who knows for the rest
posted by billsaysthis at 01:30 PM on August 06, 2005
My totally unobjective picks: 1. Arsenal 2. Chelsea 3. Liverpool 4. Everton 5. ManU 6. Tottenham 7. Charlton 8. Bolton 9. Birmingham 10. Middlesbrough 11. Man City 12. Aston Villa 13. Newcastle 14. Blackburn 15. Fulham 16. West Brom 17. Sunderland --------------------- 18. Portsmouth 19. West Ham 20. Wigan I think everyone is making too much of Vieira's departure (as I've previously said). The best news is a healthy Gilberto, who, along with an injured Edu, as the main difference between Arsenal last year and the invincibles of the year before. Add to that emerging talent at defense (Clichy and Senderos) and the addition of Hleb to the Midfield, I think Arsenal is improved from last year (as long as Lehmann continues to take his meds that is).
posted by trox at 01:48 PM on August 06, 2005
It's a guaranteed top 6 finish for the Blues this year, you just see if I'm not right. Wigan, West Ham and Villa to go down.
posted by Fat Buddha at 01:57 PM on August 06, 2005
I don't do predictions, but if I did I'd predict Liverpoo will struggle to make a European place. One-man teams rarely do well.
posted by squealy at 06:16 PM on August 06, 2005
Trox, you may have a point about Arsenal--a healthy, out of jail van Persie would be a big addition too. Just not clear about Lehman and how well he'll handle the continuing chatter. Looking forward to tomorrow morning's FA Charity Shield as the first test for the top two teams.
posted by billsaysthis at 07:18 PM on August 06, 2005
1. Chelsea (money talks, unfortunately) 2. Man United (how it pains me, but you never rule them out) 3. Arsenal (still rebuilding from the back four through the middle) 4. probably not Liverpool (they are not consistent enough in the league) Everyone else is pretty even, and without lots of money = big squads then injuries will affect weekly performance). The relegation battle will be much more exciting/interesting than the procession at the top.
posted by owlhouse at 07:44 PM on August 06, 2005
Liverpool a one man team? C'mon, Cisse said he'd (hope to) pot 20 this year. We'll see.
posted by gspm at 11:22 AM on August 07, 2005
btw, more previews: List of individual team season guides from Soccernet. "Chelsea are best, so where are the rest?" from the Guardian.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:25 PM on August 07, 2005
From the Grauniad article: "3 Liverpool - If they can stop depending on Gerrard". I rest my case.
posted by squealy at 04:21 AM on August 08, 2005
Liverpool don't depend on Gerard, there are stats somewhere, I know not where, but I have read of them dozens of times, which show that Liverpool win more often without him than with him.
posted by Fat Buddha at 04:44 AM on August 08, 2005
Have you seen them pre-season though? Utterly different team when he's been on the pitch. I expect Liverpool to finish 4th or 5th, just below the big three. I'm having a sneaky predict for Spurs to finish in the top 5 too. Top 5: 1. Chelsea 2. Man Utd 3. Arsenal 4/5 Liverpool/Spuds. After that it's anyone's guess.
posted by squealy at 06:19 AM on August 08, 2005
Well, I genuinely think we have a great chance of finishing 6th but I agree with you about Spurs; Jol is a breath of fresh air and I expect Spurs to be an extremely dangerous side going forward. 1 Chelsea 2 Arsenal 3 Manchester Buccaneers 4 Spurs 5 Liverpool 6 Blues
posted by Fat Buddha at 08:07 AM on August 08, 2005
Texan, I just checked your profile to see who you supported (Man U - harrumph). It's all George Best's fault!!! When I was a kid in Dallas (Richardson, actually) I used to hang out at a soccer store called Mr Soccer. You have to remember this was well before all the news-feeds and the multi-multi-media we have today. I had only been playing soccer a couple of years at the time and the Englishman who owned the store would get in English papers 2 or 3 weeks late...and I would bury my nose in those things and read for hours on end...he would have to kick me out when it was time to close the shop. Anyway...I became fascinated with this player named George Best. To read about him was like reading the tale of a magician...even Pele' (humbly) said he was the best player in the world! And...he was about the coolest looking motherf*cker I had ever seen...like Joe Namath-cool. I didn't know much at all about his team, Manchester United. I just knew if Georgie played for them, I wanted them to do well. If I remember correctly they struggled a lot in those days...Liverpool and Leeds were the big shots. Anyway...the shop owner sold these 11 x 17 posters and I bought 2 from him, one of George Best and one of the 1970 WC winners, Brazil. I have the Brazil poster here at my house and the George Best poster hangs in my favorite pub in Houston...Georgie's on loan, as it were. So...there's the story of how I became a United fan. I know I'm despised for it...it's the same as being a Cowboys fan...you just take it on the chin and deal with it.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 12:50 PM on August 08, 2005
Nice timing with the Glazer takeover there. Now you can say you support your local team. ;-)
posted by squealy at 03:15 PM on August 08, 2005
btw, thanks for the reminder about Davids.
posted by garfield at 03:26 PM on August 08, 2005
Buddha, that reminds of another outside-the-US thing you never see here: two teams in the same league with the same nickname. Anybody watch the Charity Shield yesterday? Drogba's goals were both, um, above-average efforts and very different from each other. Think Wenger hasn't called the Board already to get money for an actual goalkeeper?
posted by billsaysthis at 03:56 PM on August 08, 2005
bill, the difference is that my Blues have always been the Blues, not true of Chelsea, The Pensioners, nor Everton, The Toffees. Mind you no one outside the West Midlands has a clue who I am talking about half the time.
posted by Fat Buddha at 04:34 PM on August 09, 2005
LOL. Hey, any of you believe what's happening with Michael Owen? That nobody in the EPL seems willing to cough up for a national team starter? I'm not saying I think LFC should come across with the cabbage Real wants but still.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:48 PM on August 09, 2005
FC Dallas will take lil' Mikey, billy! Looks like we need another striker if we're going to hold of your 'Quakes!
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 09:00 AM on August 10, 2005
Michael Owen has gone to FC Dallas for US$1 million, salary of US$10K a week, citing an opportunity for first-team play on a world stage. That, and a weekly bucket of ribs.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:43 PM on August 10, 2005
Ribs!?!? The suits at Pizza Hut will not be happy.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 03:06 PM on August 10, 2005
Anyone with an interest in following games when they can't see them on TV might be interested in this site that will be providing live commentary on select English Premier League games throughout the season
posted by sfjohno at 06:21 PM on August 10, 2005
Pizza Hut and KFC are corporate siblings and KFC has something they call ribs, right?
posted by billsaysthis at 04:08 PM on August 11, 2005
Here's my objective-as-I-can-be picks: 1. Chelsea 2. Man United 3. Arsenal 4. Tottenham 5. Liverpool 6. Everton 7. Charlton 8. Bolton 9. Middlesbrough 10. Birmingham 11. Man City 12. Newcastle 13. Aston Villa 14. Blackburn 15. West Ham 16. West Brom 17. Fulham --------------------- 18. Portsmouth 19. Sunderland 20. Wigan I wonder what the over/under is for how many weeks Newcastle will sit below 10th?