Well boys and girls, the new season is right around the corner. Opening week is Aug 8.
Norwich, Bournemouth and Watford promoted. Bournemouth sports a stadium that seats 11,700, which is about 7000 LESS than Loftus Road. God, I would LOVE to attend a game there. You could literally hear the players yelling at each other.
I think City had the best transfer period thus far. Man U really filled their midfield well but didn't help their main issue which is defense, yet no one is talking about the lack of backline help. Now, of course, getting Schneiderlein and Schweinstiger in mid will help to some extent. Chelsea ended up doing not much after all, but the addition of Falcao could be good or bad depending on his taking of 2nd fiddle to Costa. Of course, Costa will be hurt for 1/2 the season (or suspended) so it'll probably work out just fine. For all the rumors and hand-wringing, there really weren't too many major moves this year. Granted there is some time left. Sterling was probably the biggest so far and I think City made a mistake. I think many teams did really well to fill needs without breaking the bank (expect ManU) that will improve their play, at least on paper. Back to ManU. They are officially worse than the Yankees at this point. How many times will it take for them to learn you can't add and subtract ad nauseum without affecting the team's play on the field negatively? Add to that they have a recent history of signing guys who are on the downslope of their career and you have a boatload of money spent for not equivalent returns.
Best jerseys? I'll go with Everton's Away kit. Second is Tot's away kit. They look soooo good in person compared to looking at a picture on the internet. I buy a soccer jersey every year. Mostly to be the 40 year old guy who shouldn't be wearing a jersey. I love jerseys. I'm going long sleeve this year. That Everton one will look suh-weet once it comes out. I have a feeling I'll need to preorder that one as it'll sell out immediately world-wide.
I'm not into picking winners. Obviously Chelsea, Arsenal and City should be the favorites. I'd go with City, myself. But Man U could field a contender. I think Tot may surprise. I think Everton will do better than last year. I think Aston Villa will probably surprise due to coaching but losing Delph really hurt them. If that loss hurt them, then Benteke's loss really hurts them. But guess what, despite that, I think this time proves the whole addition by subtraction thing. That brings us to Liverpool, my official darkhorse. They really weren't too far away last year. I love the loss of Sterling and it was time to move on from Stevie G. They missed on Mertens but have Sturridge back healthy and that is worth 2 or 3 wins alone. Balotelli is still there which is probably worth 2 losses alone. Lol. I love the Milner addition. I love Ibe's development. It's do or die time for Henderson. I think he's overhyped. We'll see very quickly if he can replace Gerrard. Love their defense anchored by Skrtel. Finally we come to Coutinho, who I think is a sleeping giant ready to explode, and considering he's already considered one of the best in the EPL, that's saying something.
Can't wait to watch Bournemouth. Can't wait for the first of many "fan boycotts" in Newcastle because they are probably going to suck again. But really excited to watch what Mitrovic can do. Excited to see Brady get completely underutilized in Hull again.
So many things to watch this year!
Here's to a great season for all. And to all a Chelsea repeat!
Norwich, Bournemouth and Watford promoted. Bournemouth sports a stadium that seats 11,700, which is about 7000 LESS than Loftus Road. God, I would LOVE to attend a game there. You could literally hear the players yelling at each other.
I think City had the best transfer period thus far. Man U really filled their midfield well but didn't help their main issue which is defense, yet no one is talking about the lack of backline help. Now, of course, getting Schneiderlein and Schweinstiger in mid will help to some extent. Chelsea ended up doing not much after all, but the addition of Falcao could be good or bad depending on his taking of 2nd fiddle to Costa. Of course, Costa will be hurt for 1/2 the season (or suspended) so it'll probably work out just fine. For all the rumors and hand-wringing, there really weren't too many major moves this year. Granted there is some time left. Sterling was probably the biggest so far and I think City made a mistake. I think many teams did really well to fill needs without breaking the bank (expect ManU) that will improve their play, at least on paper. Back to ManU. They are officially worse than the Yankees at this point. How many times will it take for them to learn you can't add and subtract ad nauseum without affecting the team's play on the field negatively? Add to that they have a recent history of signing guys who are on the downslope of their career and you have a boatload of money spent for not equivalent returns.
Best jerseys? I'll go with Everton's Away kit. Second is Tot's away kit. They look soooo good in person compared to looking at a picture on the internet. I buy a soccer jersey every year. Mostly to be the 40 year old guy who shouldn't be wearing a jersey. I love jerseys. I'm going long sleeve this year. That Everton one will look suh-weet once it comes out. I have a feeling I'll need to preorder that one as it'll sell out immediately world-wide.
I'm not into picking winners. Obviously Chelsea, Arsenal and City should be the favorites. I'd go with City, myself. But Man U could field a contender. I think Tot may surprise. I think Everton will do better than last year. I think Aston Villa will probably surprise due to coaching but losing Delph really hurt them. If that loss hurt them, then Benteke's loss really hurts them. But guess what, despite that, I think this time proves the whole addition by subtraction thing. That brings us to Liverpool, my official darkhorse. They really weren't too far away last year. I love the loss of Sterling and it was time to move on from Stevie G. They missed on Mertens but have Sturridge back healthy and that is worth 2 or 3 wins alone. Balotelli is still there which is probably worth 2 losses alone. Lol. I love the Milner addition. I love Ibe's development. It's do or die time for Henderson. I think he's overhyped. We'll see very quickly if he can replace Gerrard. Love their defense anchored by Skrtel. Finally we come to Coutinho, who I think is a sleeping giant ready to explode, and considering he's already considered one of the best in the EPL, that's saying something.
Can't wait to watch Bournemouth. Can't wait for the first of many "fan boycotts" in Newcastle because they are probably going to suck again. But really excited to watch what Mitrovic can do. Excited to see Brady get completely underutilized in Hull again.
So many things to watch this year!
Here's to a great season for all. And to all a Chelsea repeat!
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