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| The big kick-off |
| Aabhas Sharma / New Delhi Aug 09, 2009, 00:19 IST |
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The Barclays Premier League season is back. we assess the chances of the famous Four.
For a football crazy fan, three months of no big matches can be an unbearably long time. The wait is now finally over with the English Premier League kicking-off on August 15. Big names have moved on, new players have come in and one can expect another roller coaster ride till the end of May 2010. The Big Four — Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal — will as usual start as favourites. Nouveau riche Manchester City, Aston Villa and Everton will try their best to upset the apple-cart. Will Manchester United record an unprecedented quartet of titles? Or will Chelsea under a new manager nick the trophy? Or will Liverpool finally break their 19-year hoodoo of not being able to win the title? We give you the low-down on the chances of the Big Four.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Any team losing the best player in the world will start on a weaker footing than the previous season. With Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80 million transfer to Real Madrid, experts believe that United doesn’t have enough fire power to win the title for the fourth year in a row. Add to that Carlos Tevez’s move to cross town rivals Manchester City last month. With the loss of two such big players, on paper at least, United definitely looks weakened. But their manager Sir Alex Ferguson has made shrewd buys and will change the tactical system adopted in the last two seasons.
Michael Owen, second in England’s all-time goal scoring charts, has joined on a free transfer. Ecuadorian winger Luis Antonio Valencia has come in as well and has the daunting task of filling in Ronaldo’s massive boots. A lot will be expected out of Wayne Rooney as well.
Defence-wise though, United looks extremely solid, which is the foundation of any title-winning team. If the likes of Owen, Rooney, and Dimitar Berbatov — who had an underwhelming debut season last year — click, then United has as good a chance as any other team. The squad looks big enough and Ferguson is a past master at breaking up teams and rebuilding them. But a fourth title might just prove a little too difficult this season.
The X Factor: Sir Alex Ferguson. England’s most successful manager will have to weave his magic yet again if United want to defend their title.
CHELSEA
Four managers in five seasons is definitely not a sign of stability. And Chelsea’s biggest challenge would be to keep faith in new manager Carlo Ancelotti. Among the Big Four, they are the only team to have not lost any key players and have made only one signing so far — Russian wing back Yuri Zhirkov. While they might have an ageing squad, one shouldn’t forget that they came third and won the FA Cup despite having three of their first XI players — Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Joe Cole — out for a majority of the season. Ancelotti is a good tactician and has the honours to back his ability. The key to Chelsea’s title charge will be how Ancelotti manages to adapt to the English league. They have the strongest squad in the league.
Their biggest problem, however, is lack of striking options. Apart from Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, they lack a proven goalscorer. Still, they look to be absolute favourites for winning the title. They have the depth in the squad as well as quality all over the pitch.
The X Factor: Michael Essien. If the Ghanian midfielder had been fit last season, Chelsea would have given United a run for its money.
LIVERPOOL
The jury is still out on whether Rafa Benitez is the man to end Liverpool’s 19-year-long drought. Having lost playmaker Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, Liverpool too start on a weak note. Alonso was the man who pulled all the strings in the midfield for the club and will be sorely missed. His replacement, Italian Alberto Aquiliani, is a relatively unknown quantity. Glen Johnson has been drafted in as a right back and should be a useful addition. Their attacking options too seem limited and it’s a mystery why Benitez hasn’t bought any striker to bolster it. Their squad looks weaker in comparison to both Chelsea and United. However, in Fernando Torres, they have a man who is capable of scoring a large number of goals and has an able partner in Steven Gerrard. Liverpool need their two star players to fire all season long if they want to win the title. It might just prove to be a bridge too far for them again this season.
The X Factor: Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Liverpool need to keep these two fit and firing on all cylinders all season long.
ARSENAL
Even before a ball has been kicked many have written off Arsenal’s chances of winning the title. Arsenal lost Emmanuel Adebayor, their leading goal scorer for the last two seasons, and so far haven’t signed any replacement. There is no dearth of attacking talent at manager Arsene Wenger’s disposal but they lack experience. Robin Van Persie, Eduardo, Andrei Arshavin, Nicklaus Bendtner and youngster Carlos Vela have enough ability to fill in for Adebayor. If Wenger wants to mount a serious challenge, he needs to bolster his midfield as it lacks physical presence as well as experience. Former Arsenal man Patrick Vieira might make a shock return and would be a valuable addition even at the age of 33. They have bought Dutch defender Thomas Vermaleen from Ajax to add steel to their defence. They might just surprise everyone with their performance this season. But just like Liverpool, lack of squad depth could cost them.
The X Factor: Andrei Arshavin. The Russian playmaker could prove to be a talismanic signing for Arsenal and big things are expected from him.
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