Barclays Premier League : The Countdown

Football~

Okay, football fever starts in less than a week, sorry girlfriends, but the boyfriends are gonna be a little bit more busier now. Haha! Okay I'm just kidding. So anyways, its less than a week. Manchester United and Arsenal fans, prepare yourselves for the worse. Liverpool and Chelsea fans, sit back and relax.

Manchester United
I might be making crazy predictions but from the way how Man United played on Sunday, they are gonna need at least one more player come January or at least Hargreaves back. Losing Cristiano Ronaldo was bad enough, Tevez as well is as if they are giving up their title. What bothers me is Sir Alex's decision to not use the part of the 80 mil from Ronaldo's departure to get Tevez. He got Owen instead and if he actually makes it 25 games this season, the Devils can count themselves lucky.

Nani and Evans are not going to cut it. Foster needs an iPod everytime he plays a game and he can hardly get a grip on the ball. Without Van der Sar, Man United are in serious trouble. On the bright side, Sunday proved that Rooney could still play even without the charismatic Portuguese winger. Rooney pulled the strings and made scoring goals looked easy with the sweet finish in the dying minutes. Park Ji-Sung, Dimi Berbatov and Michael Carrick will have serious roles in this season's title defense. Rio and Vidic should save Foster the blushes.

Chelsea
The Blue army might actually have a shot at the title this season after missing out last season and finishing behind the Red half of Merseyside. Managers play important roles and Carlo Ancelotti will definitely be a very important figure for the London side this season. I cannot see why they cannot mount a serious challenge for the title. With Cech, Carvalho and Terry at the back, I cannot see how they can leak goals. Didier Drogba and Anelka looks as sharp as ever and will definitely get double figures in the scoring charts this season. The likes of Essien and Ballack will also propel the side into a title contender position.

However, Lamps is looking a bit blunt on Sunday so this might worry the Blues army. Ashley Cole is rubbish as usual. Quaresma will not shine for them and if either Anelka and Drogba gets injured Ancelotti will have problems finding a good cover for them. Sheva and Pizzaro is not going to cut it and Kalou is only good as a 75th minute substitute. Who will be the key man for the Chelsea side this season? I believe Florent Malouda will play a lot more under Ancelotti and I obviously cant wait to watch Zhirkov play. Pavlyuchenko scored 15 goals for Spurs last season, Arshavin scored a bundle for the Gunners so how bad can this Russian be?

Liverpool
The KOP's wait for a title is finally over as this season will definitely be a season to remember. Rafa Benitez has pulled the right strings for the past few seasons and this season looks the brightest. If it wasn't for injuries, they would have secured the title last season. Clearly luck was not on their side. Fernando Torres will be the man to lead the Reds to their first title after so long without doubt. If anyone is gonna do it, Torres will be the man. Gerrard will of course be as consistent as ever with his crosses, passes and crunching tackles. Key players for the KOP this season will be Torres, Kuyt, Mascherano and Gerrard. With the likes of Babel sitting in the bench, that shows the quality this side has. Babel certainly has the ability to come into the game and change the game drastically.

Problems? The only downfall in the team is when it comes to the defense. Carragher is getting old and Agger and Skrtel can be rather unreliable sometimes. Buying Glen Johnson can only do very little to help ease the pain. Rafa will need to sign a good center half by January if they still want the title. Manchester United has Vidic and Ferdinand, Chelsea has Terry and Carvalho so who dooes Liverpool have?No one. Thats who. Sylvain Distin is currently under Rafa's radar and I personally thinks the Frenchman could be the answer to their defensive woes. Experienced and strong, exactly what they need.

Arsenal
Things started to look bad for the North Londoners as early as last season when Fabregas started having 2nd thoughts of playing his trade in England and started dreaming for La Liga. Adebayor leaving isn't exactly a bad thing as I rate Eduardo and even Vela higher than the Togo douchebag. However losing Toure has got to be the biggest blow Arsene Wenger have to take ever since the departure of Hentry and Vieira. The only bright side I could see is that they have Arshavin. The Russian is no doubt one of the best in the world right now. His two goals against Aletico Madrid a week ago proves this quality. He is fearless and his positive attitude will take him to places and hopefully, the Champions League final because they can just forget about the BPL title, its impossible.

Having to read the news that Jack Wilshere will be one of the key figures to Arsenal's season just recently sums it up for the Gunners. A 17 year old? That shows the expectations shown for the Londoners. If they can hold to their 4th spot, they should be happy. 3rd place would be like winning the world cup because I could predict that at the end of this season, the point gap between 3rd place and 4th place would be at least a good 10 points. Thomas Vermaelen is not a proven center half so this is a 50/50 for them at the back line. Gallas is rubbish. Arshavin, Eduardo, Fabregas and Van Persie will play important roles for the team this season. IF, Rosicky can stay off the injury list and get at least 20 games, Arsenal will have a shot at 3rd place.

So what do I see at the end of the season?
Liverpool - Torres to win BPL Player of the Year
Manchester United - Consistency will be a problem but experience counts
Chelsea - Drogba to rebel in mid season and Ancelotti saves his job by winning UCL
Arsenal - Arsene continues to piss Gunner fans off by investing on youth

cyen/tristan