I was delighted for Nicklas Bendtner when I heard the news that he had finally secured a move away from Arsenal on Transfer Deadline Day. I have been a strong admirer of the Danish international for a long time and although he has many more doubters than fans in England, I believe he has all the attributes necessary to still be a top forward in the Premier League.

Bendtner came into the English game six years ago when he signed for Arsenal at the tender age of 17. And after a fairly quiet first season where, like so many Arsenal youngsters, he was restricted to a few appearances in the League Cup, he joined Steve Bruce’s Birmingham City in the Championship on a season-long loan for the 2006/07 season. In that season, the Blues secured promotion to the Premier League with the 6ft 3in Dane playing a pivotal role in the side and scoring 11 goals in 38 games. Amongst speculation that Birmingham would try tempt Arsene Wenger into letting the young striker join them on a permanent basis for their assault on the Premier League the following season, the Frenchman decided that Bendtner had proven himself worthy of a place in Arsenal’s First Team squad and no deal was done.

Even at that point I was concerned that at only 18 years of age, Bendtner needed to spend another season on-loan, perhaps at a more established Premier League club, in order to get used to the demands and pressures of plying his trade in the most competitive league in the world. It transpired that Bendtner only played 945 minutes of league football in a total of 27 games (20 of which were from the bench) during the season following his return to the Gunners. In those 945 minutes (equivalent to 10 full games) he scored 5 goals and, in the eyes of the expectant Arsenal fans and the English media, he was a failure. This failure tag has stuck with him ever since and the weight of the added pressure resulted in him becoming a nervous performer and, regardless of the player’s outward impressions, a player severely lacking in confidence.

In his four seasons at Arsenal he has made 98 appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League but only 50 starts. In those 98 league appearances he scored 22 times. The problem for the 23 year old Dane is that he has never and probably will never fit into the style of football that Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal live by. Their slow build-up and short passing attacking mentality is not suited to the traditional targetman kind of player that Bendtner undoubtedly is. When Bendtner has played, he has been made to play from wide positions rather than centrally and was asked to create goalscoring opportunities rather than being in front of goal to finish them off. Bendtner, like all strikers, needs to be scoring goals in order to play with confidence. If a striker is not given a run of games to find his scoring form then his confidence will suffer and that is the exact situation that Bendtner finds himself in. Unfortunately at a club like Arsenal, where instant results are expected, a striker that fails to produce from day one may not get the chance again for some time (Marouane Chamakh is a prime example). Bendtner’s lack of creative impact on games when coming off the bench coupled with his inability to adapt into Wenger’s attacking philosophy has effectively finished his Arsenal career and left him out in the cold at the Emirates Stadium.

I have said to anyone that will listen for a long time now that if Bendtner was to make a move within the Premier League to a club where expectation levels are a little lower than at Arsenal and where he is given the time to find his scoring touch, he could be a top player. Sunderland fit that bill perfectly and Steve Bruce is a manager who has worked with Bendtner before and will fancy that he can get the best out of him. If the Black Cats opt to play him as their main targetman as most expect, I believe he has the ability to be a real success. In my opinion, he is everything you would want in a traditional centre forward – big and strong, he is good in the air and through his Arsenal education he is stronger technically than most in that mould.

Many will disagree with what I’ve said and hopefully some will agree with parts of it. Either way please share your opinion as without debate, football becomes just a game.

Now that Nicklas Bendtner has finally done what he should have done three years ago, is this the year that he fulfils his potential and cements himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League?

As a long-time admirer of the brand of football that generation after generation of Dutch footballers exhibit, it was of great satisfaction to me that the Netherlands finally reached the coveted top spot in The FIFA World Rankings. The peculiar thing was however, that they did so not only without winning any trophy or championship, but by not playing a game at all. Their elevation to the summit of the rankings came through European and World Champions Spain losing a friendly match with rivals Italy and thus being deducted vital ranking points. This turn of events got me thinking that perhaps FIFA need to reassess the way in which they calculate their World Rankings.

An interesting twist on their conventional (or unconventional method depending on your view) might be to award countries a ranking depending on how well their national team performs bearing in mind the size of the pool of players they have to select from (i.e. the population of that country). The current FIFA World Rankings top 10 looks like this…

1^st           Netherlands   ( 1596 points )

2^nd          Spain   ( 1563 points )

3^rd           Germany   ( 1330 points )

4^th           England   ( 1177 points )

5^th           Uruguay   ( 1174 points )

6^th           Brazil   ( 1156 points )

7^th           Italy   ( 1110 points )

8^th           Portugal   ( 1060 points )

9^th           Argentina   ( 1017 points )

10^th         Croatia   ( 1009 points )

If you were to take into consideration the resources that each of these footballing powerhouses has at their disposal, the top 10 would look more like this…

1^st           Uruguay   ( 1174 points ÷ 3.4 million population = 350 points )

2^nd          Croatia   ( 1009 points ÷ 4.3 million = 235 points )

3^rd           Portugal   ( 1060 points ÷ 10.6 million = 100 points )

4^th           Netherlands   ( 1596 points ÷ 16.7 million = 96 points )

5^th           Spain   ( 1563 points ÷ 46.1 million = 34 points )

6^th           Argentina   ( 1017 points ÷ 43.2 million = 24 points )

7^th           England   ( 1177 points ÷ 51.4 million = 23 points )

8^th           Italy   ( 1110 points ÷ 60.6 million = 18 points )

9^th           Germany   ( 1330 points ÷ 81.8 million = 16 points )

10^th         Brazil   ( 1156 points ÷ 190.7 million = 6 points )

In only applying this alternative ranking method to the current top 10 ranked nations in the FIFA World Rankings there isn’t too much of an upset in order. It is interesting to see just how much nations like Uruguay and Croatia are punching above their weight in competing with the other traditionally powerful footballing nations in the upper echelons of world football. When you apply the same ranking calculation to the other nations making up the top 50 of the current FIFA World Rankings there are some much bigger surprises. The alternative rankings system would see the top 10 look more like this…

1^st           Montenegro   ( 875 points ÷ 0.6 million population = 1399 points )

2^nd          Slovenia   ( 816 points ÷ 2.1 million = 397 points )

3^rd           Uruguay   ( 1174 points ÷ 3.4 million = 350 points )

4^th           Croatia   ( 1009 points ÷ 4.3 million = 235 points )

5^th           Jamaica   ( 623 points ÷ 2.7 million = 230 points )

6^th           Norway   ( 943 points ÷ 5.0 million = 190 points )

7^th           Bosnia-Herzegovina   ( 656 points ÷ 3.8 million= 171 points )

8^th           Republic of Ireland   ( 754 points ÷ 4.6 million = 165 points )

9^th           Denmark   ( 841 points ÷ 5.6 million = 151 points )

10^th         Slovakia   ( 806 points ÷ 5.4 million = 148 points )

There are some obvious anomalies in this particular version of the top 10 but it is very interesting to see that both Uruguay and Croatia are still at the top of the list. Just goes to show that these two nations more than anyone else are punching well above their weight on the international scene, and in my opinion, after their recent triumph at the Copa America, perhaps it should be the South American outfit that deserve to sit at the top of FIFA’s elite list at the moment.

Let me know your thoughts…

It’s baffling news to me that Tottenham Hotspur are in talks with Manchester City over a potential loan deal for out-of-favour striker Emmanuel Adebayor. I can’t see any positive for Mancini’s men in allowing a proven goalscorer to join one of their main rivals in the league without recouping a single penny (and if you believe some reports they’ll still be covering a portion of his wages). I understand that Manchester City want to offload the 27 year old Togolese player as he does not figure in Mancini’s plans, but with no clubs showing serious interest from abroad the only wise thing to do is to keep him in the Reserves rather than join another Premier League side. It’s not like City need him off the payroll in order to balance the books.

It is obvious why a club like Tottenham would love to get their hands on Adebayor. His goal record in the Premier League is second to none. In his two and a half seasons spent at North London rivals Arsenal, Adebayor netted 62 times. In his first season at Eastlands he scored 14, and in his loan spell at Real Madrid during the second half of last season he scored 7 goals from only 9 starts. He doesn’t bring as much to a team as a Rooney or a Drogba, but with potentially so many creative players around him in the Spurs side, one thing he can do is put the ball in the net. If Harry Redknapp succeeds in recruiting Adebayor for his side then his goals could prove to be the difference between the White Hart Lane outfit who fell short of the all-important Champions League places last season, and pushing the top two or three in the league come the end of the season.

One theory in determining why Roberto Mancini and the Manchester City owners would be willing to let Adebayor go to Spurs would be that they don’t consider Redknapp’s men to be a threat to their title challenge whether they have Adebayor or not. And I wonder how Tottenham fans must feel about that. The only other theory might be that they believe Adebayor’s disruptive personality will have more of negative impact than positive on the Tottenham squad and will effectively sabotage their challenge from within. If that is the case; it is a very risky manoeuvre as I would back Harry Redknapp to manage any such situation.

Whatever the motivations for Manchester City allowing this deal to take place, the only party set to lose out is themselves – Emmanuel Adebayor will be back playing regular football and Tottenham Hotspur will get the goals they need in order to better their challenge from last season.

Read full story at skysports.com.

It has surprised me that Arsene Wenger has left it until 2 weeks before the end of the Transfer Window to finally let Fabregas leave to join Barcelona, but now that Arsenal’s former captain has completed his move to the Spanish, European and World club champions who should Arsenal bring in to strengthen their squad and continue to compete with the best in the Premier League? The Gunners would not go far wrong by taking a leaf out of Liverpool’s book by investing in English talent. For far too many years Arsenal have lacked the backbone and fight that is needed to challenge week in, week out in the Premier League – The John Terry or Wayne Rooney type of player which are admittedly few and far between. Wenger’s excuse in the past for shopping abroad was the overvaluation of British players and the relative bargains that could be found in the financially weaker European leagues. But with a reported £30million coming in from the sale of Fabregas and possibly a similar amount coming in from Samir Nasri’s potential move to Manchester City, now would be the chance for Wenger to put up the cash to bring in one or two domestic-based players. Of course, a replacement for Fabregas needs to be brought in. In my opinion the one man that would fill that void perfectly is Scott Parker. Last season’s Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year is not quite the departed Spaniard’s equal when it comes to passing, but his commitment, aggression and leadership would be exactly what is needed in the Arsenal midfield. At 30 years old, Wenger would have to change his position on contract lengths for older players, but his experience would be invaluable to the team. The positive effect he’d have on the all round game of fellow midfielders Wilshere, Ramsey and Song would be significant. And with most interest in the player from rival clubs waning in recent weeks, Wenger could probably get the England international for £6m-£8m.

After replacing Fabregas, the next order of business would be to recruit a replacement for Nasri as his transfer to Manchester City looks more and more likely. The best outcome for Wenger from the Nasri transfer would be to get a player plus cash deal. More specifically, the arrival of Nasri for City would leave young winger Adam Johnson pushed further down the pecking order and Wenger could use this to his advantage. Although impressive when given the chance, and now a regular member of the full England National squad, Johnson has failed to make a big impression on Roberto Mancini surrounded by the glittering array of superstars at Eastlands. Despite this, Manchester City probably currently value the Englishman at just over double the £7m price they reportedly paid for him back in January 2010 so if Nasri is valued at £30million then a £15million plus player would be the best outcome for Wenger.

Apart from a midfielder and a creative offensive player, the only other area that Arsenal need to address is in their defensive unit. A few names have been bandied about but one name stands head and shoulders above the other candidate at the moment; Bolton and England Defender Gary Cahill. The 25-year old stopper is reportedly rated at £20million and probably rightly so in today’s market. But Wenger has little option but to meet that valuation if he wants to get a consistent and reliable defender. Too many times Wenger has had his hands burned by trying to get unproven young Centre Backs into the club rather than spend justified cash (Senderos, Djourou, Koscielny to name a few) when players of Vidic (£7million), Agger (£6million) and Hangeland’s quality (£2.5million) come to England under the radar of Arsenal’s impressive global scouting network. The problem is that these players don’t naturally fit into Arsenal’s beautiful game as they are not ball-playing defenders, but as Cahill’s goal at Loftus Road proved, he is more than capable in that part of the game too.

The last piece of the jigsaw for the Gunners this season would be to reinvest some of the capital gained from the sales of their current stars in a world class Goalkeeper. I have always said, nobody ever wins anything without a world class keeper. Chelsea have Cech, Manchester United had Edwin Van der Sar for so many successful seasons and the last time Arsenal had a world class keeper was the controversial but undoubtedly talented Jens Lehmann. Whatever criticisms people have of the extrovert German, Arsenal won the league and went unbeaten for the duration of the season in his first year. He also won UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year in the season Arsenal made it to the Champions League Final despite being sent off in the Final. Since his departure, Wenger has used 5 different stoppers (including Lehmann’s cameo reappearance) all with fairly poor results. A top Goalkeeper can save a team up to 10 points a season and if Arsenal had that quality last season they would’ve finished only two points behind Manchester United. At this moment in time, however, it is difficult to say which Goalkeeper would fit that mould for the Gunners. If you would have asked me at the start of the summer, I would have said, hands down, that Shay Given was the man to bring in. In fairness, Wenger should have brought Given in three or four seasons ago, but as he showed in his debut for new club Aston Villa, the Irishman is still up there with the best in the league and at a reported £3.5million, he may prove to be the bargain of the summer. The only other Goalkeeper that might be available is 26 year old Bayer Leverkusen and Germany keeper, Rene Adler. Linked with Manchester United last year as a possible replacement for Van der Sar and valued at around £20million at the time, Adler is entering the last year of his contract at the German club and could be lured away for a modest £15million. Adler is an established International having made 10 appearances for Germany since 2008, but unfortunately finds himself living in the shadow of FC Bayern’s Manuel Neuer in the National Team set-up. But Germany have a strong reputation in producing excellent Goalkeepers and Adler could be the perfect solution to fill the void between the posts at the Emirates Stadium long-term.

Do you agree with us, or do you have your own ideas on who Arsenal should target in order to regain their position as a force in the Premier League and avoid their dangerous slide out of the Champions League places for this season? Or do you think Wenger is still a master of his trade and doesn’t need to bring in any reinforcements, and that Gunners fans should trust him to get the best out of his young group of players? Let us know…

With the new Premier League season less than a week away, we consider which new signings will make the biggest impact for their new club this season. My biggest frustration with the way in which English clubs have conducted their player recruitment in recent seasons is that there seems to be a distinct lack of buying and selling between Premier League clubs. Far too many clubs use their sometimes limited resources to bring in mostly unknown quantities from lesser European leagues and every corner of the footballing world apart from that of their own back yard. I am not naïve enough to think that this is for any other reason than the valuation that English clubs put on their players to avoid losing them to their direct rivals coupled with the financial stability of the majority of the clubs in the league taking away the pressure to cash in on a player to balance the books means that clubs have no other option but to look further afield when bringing in players to strengthen their squads. Perhaps it is the change in this financial stability within the league that has led to a total of fifteen players moving directly between Premier League clubs and a further twenty players recruited from clubs residing in the English League Championship.

We will attempt to highlight the biggest signings this summer and identify the players that have the potential to make the biggest impact for their new club.

Gervinho (Arsenal) – The 24 year old Ivorian international signed from Lille during the summer after helping the French club to not only their first silverware in over 50 years but an unprecedented League and Cup double. Gervinho scored an impressive 15 goals in all competitions last season, building on the consistency of the 2009/10 season when he finished up with 13 in all comps. But Gervinho is much more than a goalscorer. His real strengths lie in his direct approach, using his exceptional dribbling ability to take on defenders and drive towards goal at every opportunity. He is also known for his electric pace and ability to create chances for his teammates. One of the major limitations for Gervinho is his lack of physical presence which may see him struggle to compete with the more robust defenders in the league. But in another predictably quiet summer of recruitment from Arsene Wenger, the addition of Gervinho has the real potential to give Arsenal fans something to smile about this season.

Charles N’Zogbia (Aston Villa) – This choice may raise a few eyebrows but there is no doubting that the solid form of N’Zogbia was one of the main reasons why Wigan Athletic successfully avoided the drop last season. In a struggling team that managed only 40 goals (second worst record in the league after Birmingham), the 25 year old French International scored a highly respectable 9 goals from the left flank and probably more importantly added 8 assists to boot. After securing a reported £9.5million move to Aston Villa during the summer, it must trouble Wigan fans as to how they will replace their most influential player. No such worry for Aston Villa fans, who after losing both Ashley Young to Man United and Stewart Downing to Liverpool, probably had similar feelings about who could replace the goals and assists the English duo provided for them in recent seasons. But with the acquisition of N’Zogbia, Villa boss Alex McLeish has a perfectly good replacement for at least one of those players. Downing and Young each scored 7 times last term and recorded 9 and 11 assists respectively. I feel that under McLeish’s guidance, Aston Villa will have a much more solid season than last and if N’Zogbia can excel in a struggling side like Wigan, perhaps the best is yet to come from him when performing with a more talented group of players.

Charlie Adam (Liverpool) – The highly-courted Scot came onto the English football scene when he signed for Ian Holloway’s then struggling Blackpool side in February 2009 (initially on-loan and then signed permanently for £500,000). His impact on the side was evident immediately. He showed impressive form to help steady the Seasiders’ ship and avoid relegation straight back to English football’s third tier, and in the following season continued to improve, scoring 19 goals from midfield on the way to helping Blackpool achieve promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 30 years. Last season’s commanding performances for the Tangerines saw Adam receive praise from all corners of the Premier League and the player looked destined to seal a move to a big club during the January Transfer Window. Unfortunately for the 25 year old, that didn’t materialize due to potential suitors undermining Blackpool’s valuation of their captain, and he battled on in vain to save his club from relegation back to the Championship. He has now realised his dream and has the chance to prove that he is a big club player with his move to Anfield, and as his then manager Ian Holloway was quoted as saying; he has the ability to provide the Reds with a much needed replacement for the long since departed Xabi Alonso.

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – The 23 year old Argentinian International arrived at the Etihad Stadium following a decent showing at the Copa America after scoring 3 goals in 4 games for a widely disappointing Argentina side. He arrives at Manchester City to a quite strange scenario. On one hand he could see himself spearheading the side’s attack and finding himself as their key and perhaps only goal threat. On the other hand he could end up joining forces with one of the most complete strikers in the world, and International teammate, Carlos Tevez. At the current time it is still very much up in the air as to which one of those scenarios will become reality, but either way I’m sure that the man nicknamed “Kun” will be a huge success for City. His goal scoring record speaks for itself. In his time at previous club Atletico Madrid, Aguero kept up a goal ratio of almost a goal every other game. In five seasons he netted 75 times and last season outscored Atletico’s other prolific striker, one Diego Forlan, by 12 goals. He is immensely quick both with and without the ball, and for a relatively small player has the strength of an ox and will take no time whatsoever to adapt to the pace and physicality of the English game. His finishing ability is that of one of the best in the world and it is no wonder that he draws so many comparisons to his Father-in-Law, Diego Maradona. Manchester City fans and football fans in general are in for a treat now that Kun Aguero is on the scene; Tevez or no Tevez.

Ashley Young (Manchester United) – Young had been linked with a move away from Villa Park for a while before this summer’s Transfer Window opened. But few would have expected that his destination would be Old Trafford. Manchester United’s interest in the winger had either been one of the closest kept secrets in football, or Sir Alex had only recently decided the 26 year old Englishman was to be his long-term replacement for the evergreen Ryan Giggs. But Young does fit the bill well. He is not as silky a dribbler as Giggs, but he does possess lightning pace which is equally effective at beating full-backs in the modern game. His crossing is almost on a par with his Welsh counterpart and his ability to score goals as good, if not better. The major difference between the two is that whilst the natural left-footer, Giggs, is a master of the art of taking defenders right back to their own goal line before driving into the box, Young has the tendency to cut onto his preferred right foot in order to put in dangerous balls from the corner of the box. Whether or not this style of play will please Ferguson is yet to be seen but, regardless, the Red Devils have acquired a proven player in this league, approaching his prime and hungry for medals and the chance to prove he can cut it at the very highest level.

Have we missed anyone? Let us know who you think will take the Premier League by storm this season. Whether it be dominating the top scorers list and challenging for the title or delivering those much needed points to your team down the other end of the table come next May. KU

After the news that Arsenal have rejected yet another bid from Barcelona for their captain and talisman, we want to ask the question of would Cesc Fabregas actually improve Barcelona as a side? And, furthermore, is he the best available option for the £35million asking price?

In the past few seasons the 24 year old Spaniard has emerged as far and away the Gunners’ best and most consistent players and regardless of his age and questionable leadership skills on the pitch, he is the club’s only natural choice as captain. And there can be no question that he has established himself as one of the top players to grace the Premier League in recent seasons. Rumours of FC Barcelona’s desire to take Fabregas back to the club he spent his entire childhood, his spiritual home and in the eyes of the club the place from which he was stolen at the age of 15 years old, first began back in Summer 2007. And having failed to prise the Arsenal star away during that Transfer Window, they have been linked with him each and every summer since without real progress. So apart from the obvious emotional link between the club and the player, why do the best team in the world want Cesc Fabregas so badly?

Barcelona have predominantly played with a 4-3-3 formation in recent seasons under Pep Guardiola, and Frank Rijkaard before that. Their three man midfield has been dominated by the significantly talented duo of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta during that period along with a more defensive midfielder to balance their attacking traits. This defensive role has been fulfilled by a number of players in previous years but the current squad contains two very capable options in Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano. With this wealth of talent available to Guardiola, would Fabregas even be good enough to hold down a first team place. The argument may be that both Xavi and Iniesta are moving towards the twilights of their illustrious careers and Guardiola wants to get a backup player in as cover for times when one of his first choice players inevitably spends more time on the treatment table. But then the question would be how can any manager persuade their board of directors to invest £35million in a squad player?

Let us know your thoughts on Cesc Fabregas. Do you think he is, in fact, the only player that Barcelona should be focusing their summer recruitment on, and the only player currently available that would improve the World and European club champions’ squad? If not, who do you think Barca should bring in to ensure they continue their dominance in every competition this season?

All professional football players should be banned from Twitter, or any other professional athlete that is employed as a representative of a club or association – plain and simple. Football players, in particular though, sign huge contracts and expect hundreds of thousands of pounds in wages, and in return the clubs that offer these terms, to an extent, own that player’s life for the duration of that agreement. I know for a fact that players are contractually restricted from engaging in any kind of activity outside of the club environment where injury is possible. This includes sports like skiing. The obvious reason being that if a player was to go off on a skiing holiday at the end of the season, fall and break a leg or damage his knee, then the club would not be able to use that player for the duration of his injury, but would still have to pay him. So a player is banned from skiing as the outcome of this activity might be counter-productive to the club he is paid to represent. The same is true for Twitter and other social media platforms.

Joey Barton’s outburst on Monday evening was a perfect example of negative effect of social media when combined with professional football players. I had a lot of respect for the way in Barton conducted his self on the pitch last season as he continued his rehabilitation as a football player and a human being. There were more than a number of times that watching the verbal and physical abuse he received week-in, week-out by opposing players and fans looked like a recovering alcoholic being given a line of shots. But every time he got knocked down, he picked himself back up, dusted himself off and got on with his game (much to everyone’s surprise). And I completely disagree with the manner in which the Newcastle United board have handled both his and others at the club’s contract situation in the past couple of months. But upon learning that Newcastle would not be offering him an extension; Barton appeared to accept the decision and reaffirm his commitment to the club until he reluctantly left next summer. Now obviously something has changed in either the mind of Barton, or the minds of those advising him and he has very cleverly used the medium available to him to force the club to kick him out. After the things he said, I don’t think the club had any other choice but to wash their hands of him. Now Newcastle will miss out on a year of service from an influential player and any kind of transfer fee a potential buying club would offer for him if he were to leave before that point.

But I’m not sure which manager or more importantly chairman in their right mind would want Joey Barton at their club now. It looks like he had us all fooled that he’d changed his ways…

Read the full story at skysports.com.

The last team that we will look at as potential title challengers for the Premier League 2011/12 is the seemingly forgotten men of Liverpool Football Club. Last season saw the Reds of Manchester finally realize their manager’s biggest ambition to replace the Reds of Liverpool as the most successful club in England when they won their decisive 19^th title. How Liverpool will react to this dethroning will be very interesting to see.

Liverpool’s fortunes in the years since the Premier League began in 1992/93 have been mixed at best. Although they are the biggest team still to win the Premier League title, they have had strong success in other competitions including 2 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, a UEFA Cup and their fifth Champions League title. So the recent past have by no means been a disaster for the Reds, but the majority of the Kop faithful would probably trade all those trophies (apart from perhaps the Champions League) for one Premier League trophy and in Kenny Dalglish they believe they have the man capable of delivering that trophy. Since King Kenny took over as caretaker on 8^th January last season following Roy Hodgson’s dismissal, Liverpool steadied their ship and finished the second half of the season with 12 wins from their final 23 games. The 2011/12 season will be the Scotsman’s first full season of his second stint in charge and if he can build on the foundations he put in place last season then Liverpool can make things interesting at the summit of the Premier League.

With Liverpool spending their second successive season outside of Europe’s elite, Dalglish’s policy on bringing in predominantly young British talent in the form of Henderson, Downing, Adam (and Carroll back in January) means that although British players traditional tendencies to favour a more physical and simplified style of football is not suited to European competition, these players will be far better equipped to compete in conditions and against opposition that the foreign players that Liverpool have relied on in recent seasons were able to. However, there still remains a significant question mark over the defensive unit at Anfield. If we look more closely at the problems in that area, it was suggested by many that the evergreen Jamie Carragher was well past his best over two years ago. And I feel it’s more a case of Liverpool not finding a good enough replacement, than Carragher’s own Indian Summer of his career that sees him remain in the Starting XI. In Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, Liverpool have two proven defenders capable of playing in most teams in the Premier League but the fact that neither can stay off the treatment table long enough to put a run of games, let alone start alongside each other in a red jersey. The Anfield outfit do however have a number of good young defenders that impressed when given the chance last season. It remains to be seen whether they have the quality to make a starting place their own when all are fit.

Luis Suarez’s performances at the recent Copa America in Argentina saw him receive the Player of the Tournament award and worldwide praise. It’s certain that Liverpool made a real coup when they brought the Uruguayan to the club from Ajax during last season’s January Transfer Window and after his showing at the this summer’s tournament there is bound to be more than a few envious looks from top clubs around Europe at the latest Liverpool number 7. If Suarez can continue his rich vein of form into the new Premier League season, and if he and Andy Carroll can combine as Dalglish hopes, then the Reds will have a forward partnership that will strike fear into the hearts of even the most gifted of Premier League defences.

Verdict: Dalglish’s men will be out to prove a point this season after losing their crown as England’s most successful club, and after missing out on Champions League football for successive seasons, the club is in a much better position to challenge than previous seasons. They will come close; it will be interesting to see just how close.

Preciction: 3rd

In the spirit of fairness, it is now time to consider the Premier League title credentials of Arsenal. That’s right, you remember Arsenal, don’t you. They won a couple of trophies a few years ago and are still lingering around the top of the table each year without really threatening to do anything more than take fourth place and have a stroll out in the Champions League year after year. The reality of the situation for the Gunners and their fans this season is not whether or not they can challenge for the title, but whether or not they can stay in that elite top four group and secure their continuing presence in the Champions League.

In brief, Arsenal have been mediocre for a few seasons now and with Wenger’s insistent reluctance to go into the transfer market and bring in world class players once more this summer, the team from North London simply are not good enough to challenge the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea et al. The ongoing rumours surrounding captain Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri and is highly disruptive to Wenger’s preparation and if one or either of those players were to leave for pastures new, then Arsenal would almost certainly be doomed to another trophy-less season.

The amount of strengthening in nearly every area of the pitch that Arsenal need to undergo as well as a reassessment of their tactics and style of play means even the most optimistic of Gooners could not even conceive that Arsenal will be champions this season.

Verdict: The longer the Cesc Fabregas saga is drawn out for, the more detrimental it will be to Arsenal’s season. Even if Fabregas stays, the squad is simply not good enough to challenge and Wenger is too stuck in his ways to alter their predictable game plan. Europa League football in 2012/13.

Prediction: 5th

Next Up: Liverpool…

With the “Big 2” clubs in the Premier League dealt with, we turn our attention to the chasing pack, so to speak, and assess whether or not they can be considered serious challengers for this season’s Premier League title. The first of clubs in this bracket to scrutinize is Middle-Eastern powered monster that is Manchester City.

In the relatively short time in which Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan has been controlling the club, Manchester City have done what a lot of doubters thought money alone was not able to do. After an unstable first 18 months under the guidance of a thoroughly unsuitable candidate for the task in Mark Hughes that saw the Citizens display some erratic performances that ranged from the absolute sublime to the downright ridiculous, Manchester City had achieved a 10^th place finish and were coasting into mid-table mediocrity when the Sheikh’s axe fell and Hughes was replaced by the highly-rated Roberto Mancini. Since the Italian took charge at the now Etihad Stadium, he has implemented a style of football that saw City steadily improve to finish 5^th in the 2009/10 season. And after some rather more functional summer recruitment than the previous marquee signings that had gone before, including Yaya Toure, David Silva and James Milner, Mancini’s men continued to improve throughout last season and achieved what had surely been the first priority of the new regime, third spot and Champions League football for this season. That along with winning the FA Cup for the first time since 1969 proves that the blue half of Manchester is definitely on the up and up.

The problems that Mancini now faces in pushing on to the next level of challenging for the Premier League title hinge on a couple of factors. The first is exemplified by the recent actions of the juvenile Mario Balotelli. With the size of Manchester City’s current first team squad coupled with the caliber of the players being left on the bench week in, week out with one or two troublesome characters thrown into the mix means that Mancini’s man-management skills will be pushed to their limits this season. Unless he can get some of them out on loan before the transfer window shuts, he could have his team’s season sabotaged by restless and frustrated superstars who want a game – and want to let everyone know about it. The second major problem the Italian faces this season is that, now that he has lead his team to the promised land of the Champions League, unless he can take the competition by storm at the first attempt, will the owners be satisfied at an apparent stand-still in progress and will he find himself looking over his shoulder for a potential replacement.

One area that has to be taken into consideration when assessing Manchester City’s credentials as challengers for this season’s Premier League title is the “Carlos Tevez Factor”. It is obviously no secret that the industrious Argentine wants away from the Etihad Stadium and if someone can match Manchester City’s valuation of the player and prize Tevez away, can his newly recruited compatriot fill the void? Perhaps a more fitting question would be can anyone? There is no question that Sergio Aguero is quality striker, and with a record of 75 goals in 175 games in all competitions for Atletico Madrid he would score plenty of goals in any team. But can he (or anyone) bring the same work-rate, commitment and team ethic that a focused Carlos Tevez provides for his team? The answer, in short, is that Tevez is one of a kind in world football today and any other striker coming into the side long term would mean a complete restructuring of strategy and approach that would more than likely set Roberto Mancini and his 18 months of progress back a huge step and result in Manchester City finding themselves unequipped to seriously challenge for this season’s title.

Verdict: As long as Mancini continues to be given the time and space he needs to do the job and his side can adapt quickly to life after Carlos Tevez, which will be no easy task, 2011/12 could be the season that the Sheikh gets his hands on the silverware he set out for 2 years ago.

Prediction: 1st

Next Up: Arsenal…