predictions for the EPL

[Ken Gargett]

with the world cup almost over and transfer season in full swing, any predictions for the top six, in order, for this season's EPL.

as much as i hate the thought of it, i think chelsea will be very very hard to beat. so mine are (and i dearly hope i have one and two the wrong way - but i do think that the gunners are seriously good things to win the flag in one of the next two years),

1. chelski

2. gunners

3. man u

4. man c

5. everton

6. l'pool

and no doubt someone will revive this in 8 months or whenever, to remind us off our foolishness.

[El Presidente]

1. Cheski
2. City
3. Man U
4. Arsenal
5. Liverpool
6. Tottenham

it is a tad early in the transfer window. if Liverpool can find a 30 goal striker then I would move them up. Chlsea look excellent. City have improved at the back/midfield. Fitness of Aguero is key for them. If Yaya Toure to go then they need to do it now and spend the coin. Man U have the most improvement in them. Not sure about what Arsenal are doing enough to bolster their defence to last the distance. Last years top 3 teams put 18 goals past them when the whips started cracking.

Tottenham have an excellent squad. They surely can't be as poor as last year.

[Ken Gargett]

agree early in the transfer season and much could change (messi to the gunners would convince me to put them top). think you are harsh on everton. can't see where spurs would fit in - love that they are inevitably custard when it counts.

man u do have most room, largely because they were such rubbish last year - that brings the issue of a team with a brand new coach which can have its own problems, though he has to do better than moyes, and more importantly, the difficulty off getting the very best players as they are out of champions. that will hurt.

gunners defence is an issue but far less of one than many think, i would argue. they had three shockers (curiously all saturday arvo away games), letting in two 6's and a five. but for me, those games also about general lack of depth and injuries and one of those things that occasionally happen - just ask brazil - thought they shouldn't and certainly not three times in a season.

take out every team's worst three games and we were second in defence, just behind chelski. games where sides conceded only one or no goals - again, second only to chelski and way ahead of man u, man c etc etc. so get that crap out of the game and much more promising.

back four, plus goalie, are all top and proven internationals.

we've lost sagna to your lot, a blow, but look like we have the bloke who kept him out of the french team so hopefully a step up. we need a defensive midfielder (though i suspect wenger won't be able to resist and will grab an attacking one). but at the moment, a serious injury or two from a problem.

[soutso]

1. Chelski - Mourinho factor. His project is ready. He will bore us to a title.

2. Citeh - Good Champs League run will hinder League defence

3. Liverpool Football Club - good squad investment and that's prior to departure of the magnificent biter

4. Scum - Start well then Van Gaal will fallout with somebody, League campaign will fail, but Champs League qualification will occur

5. Gooners - not enough heart in this mob, mentally fragile

6. The Villa - assistant Roy Keane will ensure the fear factor gets this squad to overperform as Spurs fall away...

[CaptainQuintero]

I'd rather Dame Edna coaching my team then have Roy Keane anywhere near it!

[Sver]

I honestly don't watch the EPL that much. But history has taught us that Mourinho in his 2nd year tends to win the title, and he's got the team to do it as well. My bet is on the Special one

[ShortFatHokie]

1. Chelsea

2. Liverpool

3. Everton

4. Man. City

5. Arsenal

6. Tottenham

7. Man. U

[jeremyk]

I think Man U is going to surprise everyone this season with how well the bounce back n the EPL this season. Van Gaal will be great manager of the year and van Persie looks to be back n form which is great!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stillinger]

Silly united fans.

Lot of moves still to go, but if Liverpool add a left back and a few attacking bits they should still be a fair shout for top four.

[stillinger]

Oh and it is the offseason so I guess Arsenal supporters can dream again. With that backline I still think they are soft. Look at their performances against the other top 4. Mediocre at best. Sanchez will help, but new league and they better get a good DM in

[Ken Gargett]

1. Chelski - Mourinho factor. His project is ready. He will bore us to a title.

2. Citeh - Good Champs League run will hinder League defence

3. Liverpool Football Club - good squad investment and that's prior to departure of the magnificent biter

4. Scum - Start well then Van Gaal will fallout with somebody, League campaign will fail, but Champs League qualification will occur

5. Gooners - not enough heart in this mob, mentally fragile

6. The Villa - assistant Roy Keane will ensure the fear factor gets this squad to overperform as Spurs fall away...

can i just step in re some of the gunners comments.

with the greatest respect and no offence intended, to say they have no heart is, to me, to put it as nicely as i can, subjective crap.

the last game the side played was the FA cup final where they came from 2 goals down to win, before even extra time needed. not many sides have managed that. how much heart do you want? you don't do that if mentally fragile.

also, the last two years, despite burdened with a heap of injuries, a squad that has none of the depth of the mega-bank clubs and a supposedly bog average striker, in both years, they have been dead and buried yet both times strung together a series of wins at the tough end of the season when needed to get over the line and qualify for champions. screams heart.

not to say that there have not been wobbles but you have to go back to wenger's invincibles for a side not to play a bad game or two over the season.

the team has stuck together - the only bloke they have lost is sagna, who has given great service and now wants one last big bucks contract (come on down, man c) so fair enough. otherwise, all fighting to stay with the club. hardly the same story elsewhere.

look at other teams. l'pool have had their star player desperate to leave for several years, and when he has been there, chompy mcbitey thinks so much of them he has been suspended for about a third of the games for selfish monumental stupidity.

look at city. while i quite like them (i like anyone who beats the scum and chelski), you'd hardly look for heart. dosh might buy great players but it can't buy heart. nasri would be knocking in own goals as fast as possible if there was an extra buck in it. toure, despite being paid a 1/4 mill a WEEK, wants to leave because someone got a bigger birthday cake than he did.

man u has a poor season and the rats on the titanic would envy the players for the way they are jumping ship, or trying to.

i can see an argument that there may have appeared to be a lack of heart a few years ago when the side had younger, less experienced and less physically able players but not now.

[Hugomarink]

Chelsea

Man City

Arsenal

Tottenham

Liverpool

Man U

Everton

[El Presidente]

can i just step in re some of the gunners comments.

with the greatest respect and no offence intended, to say they have no heart is, to me, to put it as nicely as i can, subjective crap.

the last game the side played was the FA cup final where they came from 2 goals down to win, before even extra time needed. not many sides have managed that. how much heart do you want? you don't do that if mentally fragile.

also, the last two years, despite burdened with a heap of injuries, a squad that has none of the depth of the mega-bank clubs and a supposedly bog average striker, in both years, they have been dead and buried yet both times strung together a series of wins at the tough end of the season when needed to get over the line and qualify for champions. screams heart.

not to say that there have not been wobbles but you have to go back to wenger's invincibles for a side not to play a bad game or two over the season.

the team has stuck together - the only bloke they have lost is sagna, who has given great service and now wants one last big bucks contract (come on down, man c) so fair enough. otherwise, all fighting to stay with the club. hardly the same story elsewhere.

look at other teams. l'pool have had their star player desperate to leave for several years, and when he has been there, chompy mcbitey thinks so much of them he has been suspended for about a third of the games for selfish monumental stupidity.

look at city. while i quite like them (i like anyone who beats the scum and chelski), you'd hardly look for heart. dosh might buy great players but it can't buy heart. nasri would be knocking in own goals as fast as possible if there was an extra buck in it. toure, despite being paid a 1/4 mill a WEEK, wants to leave because someone got a bigger birthday cake than he did.

man u has a poor season and the rats on the titanic would envy the players for the way they are jumping ship, or trying to.

i can see an argument that there may have appeared to be a lack of heart a few years ago when the side had younger, less experienced and less physically able players but not now.

I don't think the Gunners have a lack of heart. Simply a lack of depth when combating Champions league at the same time. Liverpool won't have the luxury of an absent Champions league campaign this year. Man U do not have that challenge and hence why I see them going close.

The whips start cracking in January. I don't see much more than a blanket covering the top 5-7 come January 2015, It is here however where the squad depth and team harmony counts. You do need 2 players of world class (or close) in each position to challenge for the EPL title. Chelsea have it. City have it. Man U are going to be close to having it (subject to transfers), Not sure about the rest at this stage. Yet it is early.

New coach for Man U shouldn't be an issue. Pellegrini did it in his first year taking a talented but shambolic squad, adding 4 players and voila...tough but done EPL title. "Moneybags" City by the way are two EPL titles, an FA cup and a carling Cup in 3 years. Good return for a debt free club that has also managed to find the time to invest a couple of hundred million pounds in training facilities, academy, regeneration of the local area.

As for Sagna he is no guaranteed week in week out starter. He was also a free transfer. When you get to that age I suspect playing 2-3 games in 4 (all competitions) would extend your playing life a few years. Good luck to him.

As a Man City Fan for 25 years I thank God that Liverpool rejected Abu D money. The club is debt free and set up to challenge for years to come. Financial losses for the club have halved each year since the takeover. FFP won't bother them from next year.

What I like about City, Arsenal, Liverpool is their free flowing game. They want to score. They want to play attractive football week in and week out. Sometimes it doesn't work.

I see your point about taking the 3 biggest losses out and the gunners are in the mix. It doesn't work that way (in fairness as you pointed out). The three losses are less about Sat afternoons away and more about squad depth. Those three losses were in effect double points as they were against the contenders. Defence is part of that depth. City had a leaky defence (but still finished 2n'd or 3rd in that category this year). You need to score 95 goals in the EPL and let in roughly no more than 40-45 to win it. I can see why Wenger is after strikers. He has to find 20 goals a season but that is only part of the mix. Unless I am mistaken almost 40% of the goals scored against the gunners came from the top 4 sides last year.

Great competition. Looking forward to this year!

[CaptainQuintero]

Arsenal players coming in this Summer supposedly

Sanchez

Sammy K from Real

Remy from QPR

Possibly a goalie and centre back too, things are going to get exciting! 4 Germany WC winners in the team, top stuff!

[Ken Gargett]

can i add something more re those who have selected the glorious gunners to finish outside the top four.

in the last two decades, there has been one consistent in the EPL. that the gunners make top four. they have not missed in the last 20 years. no other side comes close to that. they may not always win the thing but they inevitably make the top four.

no guarantee that will happen but if you play the moneyball odds, then there is an extremely high possibility they'll be there again.

but consider this - if you still think they'll dip out of the top four, then either they have to play worse than the last few years or some other sides have to play much better.

personally, i think that if we look at a few factors, the gunners will be a much better team. they have had a heap of serious injuries last few seasons. the law of averages says that surely they will not be so unlucky again. but who knowss. they have added the desperately needed striker, sanchez, and a very good one at that. they look like they have replaced sagna with dubuchy so no loss there. and strong reports they will add sami khediri. and a few others. maybe remy.

plus something no one is touching on is that ozil will be in his second year at arsenal. i think that the extra year will see him play a much increased role. and he is a serious talent.

also, no other EPL side will get as much of a boost of confidence from the world cup as the gunners, with 3, perhaps 4, members of the german squad. small thing, possibly, but it all helps.

so i believe that the gunners will be significantly better. probably not quite enough to get home though i think they will be very close. so if you see them outside the top four, a few sides are really going to have to crank it up.

[pbibby]

I'm picking my Gunners. Like Ken said, the top 4 is as inevitable as anything can be. I'm hoping with the addition of Sanchez it is enough to put them at the top. Although more than likely they will lead going into the new year and finish third.....

[sheppsea]

Still a long way to go in the transfer window, but my predictions at the moment are:

1. Chelsea

2. Man City

3. Man Utd

4. Arsenal

5. Liverpool

6. Tottenham

I agree Chelsea are going to take some beating this season, especially as Mourinho has found everything he looks for in a striker, Man City will be up there again and I think Man Utd will get back into the Champions League. Arsenal always finish fourth and I worry about Liverpool this year - last season was their chance and I'm not sure they will have another one this time around. I've put Tottenham as sixth, but it could just as easily be Everton :-)