SOUTHAMPTON. Last season Southampton could claim to be the top team on the south coast by dint of having a goal difference of minus 5 against Bournemouth minus 12. They will need to do much better this time around. Head Coach Mauricio Pellegrino was himself an international centre-back. By coincidence this is going to be a vital position for the side especially if they lose Virgil van Dijk.
Whether or not he stays may rely on a case of “who blinks first”. Liverpool, Chelsea and Man. City all have their eye on the situation only time will tell who the winner is. They will have a first class pair of strikers up front in Charlie Austin and Manolo Gabbiadini. If they get the service they require then the team could surprise even themselves. The only newcomer of any note is Mario Lemina from Juventus. The £18 million transfer fee could prove to be a bargain. They definitely need his ability in mid-field. A top half of the table seems to be their likely destination.
SWANSEA. Have they cut there own throats? With Gilfi Sigurdsson waiving goodbye they must be praying for the very pacey Tammy Abraham to get on the target regularly. Coach Paul Clement has an excellent C.V. but may find himself wondering what he’s let himself in for. He saved them from the drop last season but he must be chewing his finger nails already. With very little spent up to now, they will need to use the cheque from Everton to buy a couple of class players. And quickly. Relegation beckons I’m afraid.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS. Champions-in-waiting? I doubt it. They have a number of young players who may be lacking in experience, I’m surprised that Harry Kane has been successful for so long. It can’t be too long before he’s tamed by the hard tackling defenders. I’ve seen it happen to too many big names in the past. The midfield may find their service to the established front-men cut off by more established teams and that could bring about a little irritation from the likes of Deli Ali. Playing their home games at Wembley may also prove to be a millstone for some of the less established players.
I can’t believe that coach Pochettino is happy without any editions to his squad. They’ve lost Kyle Walker and will find him hard to replace. Last season they were around the top four positions for most of the season. I have a feeling that they may not be so lucky this time. A top four finish? It’s in the stars.
WATFORD. The present owners have had 9 managers in the five years. Will Marco Silva last longer than any of the nine? He did a good job at Hull just failing to save them from the drop. Will he do better here?The team will need to do much better than last season for him to stay. Their away form was dire. 12 points in total. That is something which must be improved upon. The manager has a good eye for a player who can do a job for him. Andre Gray, bought from Burnley knows where the goal is and along with Troy Deeney could give the team a reasonable strike force. Others coming in include Evertons’ Tom Cleverley and Nat Chalobah from Chelsea. I It’s debatable whether the owners will be happy to maintain Premier League status. I doubt if they can look forward to more than 15th place.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION. The Baggies could well be one of a handful of sides who could be fighting for an eighth to tenth position. This would be a feather in Tony Pulis’ cap. He built a more than able defence mechanism to deal with set pieces etc. Which only let him down when they managed just TWO points from their last seven games. Managing to finish in tenth place. Jay Rodriguez from Southampton is their only notable signing. If the attack performs as it can and the defence keeps it tight they could well repeat last seasons tenth place. Anything better would be a happy surprise.
WEST HAM UNITED. Unfortunately the Hammers have become an enigma over the past couple of seasons. They more often than not flatter to deceive. Ontheir day they play very watchable football but on other days they can be deplorable. When he first arrived Slavan Bilic seemed to have added a bit of steel to the side but it hasn’t lasted very long. Last season their goal difference was MINUS 17. They hope that the arrival of Javier Hernandez will go a long way to changing that. Another plus is the acquisition albeit on loan of England keeper Joe Hart. He must surely give the defenders some comfort. They have also signed Marko Arnautovic from Stoke. I feel it could be good money after bad. Let’s wait and see. If they pull their socks up they could better last seasons eleventh place but I don’t think it will be by much.
As always I’d advise punters to hold their fire until at least EIGHT games have been played.
Also DO keep a good record of your bets. In as much detail as possible.
