With the transfer window closed, rosters set until January and a few games played, it’s time to review the first month of the 2008-2009 Barclays Premier League season.
And what a month it was. To kick things off, Robson de Souza, better known as Robinho, made a shocking decision to move to Manchester City instead of Chelsea. The former Real Madrid player had stated his desire to move to Chelsea many times up until Manchester City made a bid on the last day of the window to snatch him out of Chelsea’s grasp. Coupled with the transfer of Shaun Wright-Phillips and the continued contributions of Elano Blumer and Benjani Mwaruwari, Man City looks to improve on last years ninth-place finish and take home more than the Manchester derby this year. Though Blackburn Rover’s title came 14 years ago, it does not seem impossible for City to change the face of the Premier League, at least for a season.
But it is highly improbable. Manchester United, and their unlimited list of stars, are once again the favorites to win the league. Cristiano Ronaldo looks to add another Player of the Year award to his shelf, along with, perhaps, another Golden Boot. And with new arrival Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur, the Red Devils look to make it another title year in Old Tratford Statford.
Despite the loss of Wright-Philips to Man City and Michael Essien to an injury, Chelsea still has Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Nicolas Anelka, John Terry and Ashley Cole, among others. Terry cannot have forgotten the humiliation he suffered when he lost the UEFA Champions League for Chelsea. Though the psychological effects are no doubt still with him, his play has continued to be excellent, and Chelsea should contend with United all season, perhaps meeting them again in the Champions League.
Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor had a terrific year in 2007-2008, fufilling his potential and scoring 24 goals to establish himself as a legitimate star in the Premier League. His partner in the mid-field, Francesc Fábregas, also established career highs in assists and goals. Unfortunately for Arsenal, in a league where they needed to add players to contend for the title, they failed to hang on to Mathieu Flamini, and his absence will be felt. Signing Mikael Silvestre and Samir Nasri does nothing more than patch an already sunk ship.
Fernando Torres has accomplished one of two dreams in 2008. Earlier this summer, he helped Spain win the Euro Cup for the first time since 1964. Now, Torres, Steven Gerrard and the rest of Liverpool look to win their first title since the 2005. They look ready to contend, and the addition of Robbie Keane should boost an already strong front line. If he can come close to the 15 goals he had last season, Arsenal should look to finish no lower than fifth for the ninth year in a row.
Now, for the rest.
Aston Villa finished strong last year with a sixth-place finish, and spent 45.6 million pounds on James Milner, Brad Friedel and others. Unfortunately, they didn’t add enough to elevate themselves any higher in a league that just keeps getting better. Blackburn did well to hold on to Roque Santa Cruz, but they will miss David Bentley and the lack of a creating midfielder in the center of the field. Everton has been knocking on the door for several years, but besides Ayegbeni Yakubu, they have to count on Louis Saha to stay healthy and provide some goals. Middlesbrough’s consistent inconsistency looks to plague them once again. Newcastle United seems to be a club in disarray after their manager, Kevin Keegan, was sacked. Adding Peter Crouch should add some robot-dancing to the Portsmouth front line, and hopefully a few spectacular headers, but for them the FA Cup Final victory will be the highlight of an otherwise uneventful 2008. Tottenham is reeling, and manager Juande Ramos can only be wondering what has happened after such a promising 2006. West Ham United wants to improve with recently appointed manager Gianfranco Zola, but a top-five finish would be a miracle.
At the bottom of the league, The Bolton Wanderers spent money, but all they can hope for is to avoid relegation as another season is lost. Fulham, Sunderland and Wigan Athletic want once again to skim by and stay in the league. New arrivals West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Hull City hope to avoid relegation and start to establish themselves in the Premier League.
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