With the World Cup only just behind us, preseason has begun and the next season of domestic football is nearly upon us. As things stand, there are eight teams looking to compete for a top four finish, with at least three of those teams realistically aiming to win the league. The 2010 / 2011 season is shaping up to become the most competitive yet.
Before I profile a few of the teams in the English League, and later a few in the Champion's League, I have a few questions which I think may well change how future events unfold. Hopefully before the transfer window has closed most of these questions will be answered:
How much will Chelsea push their youth forward?
Last season Carlo Ancelotti (I like to call him The Anchovy) said that this season the squad would include up to five players from the club's youth system. Considering Abramovic spent a huge amount on resources for the youth academy about four years ago, and has since spent even more on bringing the best talent from across the globe to Cobham, this doesn't surprise me. At some stage they were going to come through, he interesting thing will be to see how well they cope and how much responsibility is thrust onto them.
Will Manchester United continue to gamble on a 40 year old?
At the end of last season I took a look at the second placed team's squad and concluded that I would add an additional striker and a goalkeeper, with the goalkeeper being a much higher priority that the striker. During this transfer window Ben Foster has been sold, something I expected, and Javier Hernandes has been brought in. Not the striker I would have expected the club to sign but probably not a bad signing. Still no goalkeeper has been signed, though there has been talk about Hugo Lloris and more recently Igor Ikanfeev. I do think that if United don't sign a keeper they may well be shooting themselves in the foot.
Will Tottenham Hotspurs persist with a 4-4-2?
Last season Harry Redknapp took Spurs to the fourth place spot playing aggressive, attacking and direct football. Truthfully, I am surprised they managed to make fourth playing with the traditional 4-4-2 while coming up against so many teams playing three in central midfield. A high work rate off the wings clearly worked much more effectively than I had anticipated. Now that the club are in the Champion's League there are rumours that they will be looking for a lone striker to hold the ball up with Luis Fabiano being the name most often mentioned. On one hand I can see the merits in this approach but at the same time I can also see the plus side of 'staying true' to the formula that got the club as far as they have come. I also don't know if old Harry would 'settle' for anything less than his preferred 4-4-2.
What will Manchester City's first team look like?
This is a question I'm not even sure Mancini knows the answer to. Thus far City have spent just under 100 million on players, and they don't seem to be slowing down. At the same time they seem to have made some reasonable buys (Kolarov and Boateng for example) but then some other which leave me perplexed (Yaya Toure just doesn't seem to make sense). I don't know who will leave to make way for the new fullbacks or how three defensive midfielders are going to fit into the team.
Do Liverpool stand a chance of making the top four?
This is another question I don't think anyone can actually answer. There are huge qustions marks over Torres and Macherano while Gerrard seems to have committed himself for now. The addition of Joe Cole will have boosted their hopes and bolstered their squad but there are still many problems in the fullback positions as well as central midfield. How Hogson chooses to line the team up will affect the signings, and only once some players come in will a realistic target for the season be able to be set.
Will Arsenal continue to wish they had a 40 year old?
There is no doubt that the biggest problem the Gunners have on the pitch is in the goalkeeping position. And I suspect that Wenger may well have to pay a fair amount to bring someone in, something he appears to hate doing. Once again, Ikanfeev's name is the most mentioned but there is also Arsene's propensity for Frenchmen, and subsequently Lloris. As in United's case, if they don't bring someone in I think they will end up regretting it.
At the beginning of the season I'll take another look at these questions and find out how things have gone, but until then I shall be posting a small overview of a few of the clubs, detailing their squads and how I think they ought to line up. Considering that the transfer window is still open I shall start off with a club who I don't think will be making many more, if any changes to their squad: Manchester United.
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