The 2015-16 English Premier League season kicks off on Saturday, with the opening match of the campaign between Manchester United and Tottenham airing on all four main Sportsnet channels at 7:30 am ET. Sportsnet will also have live coverage of AFC Bournemouth hosting Aston Villa, Leicester City taking on Sunderland, Liverpool vs. Stoke City and Manchester City against West Bromwich Albion.
If that’s not enough for you, tune into European Football Weekly on Sportsnet 590 The FAN every Monday at 11:00 pm ET when Dan Riccio and I wrap up the weekend.
Now that the obligatory promotional stuff is out of the way, here’s my annual season preview with breakdowns on all 20 teams.
TITLE CHASERS
Arsenal: The last three seasons have proven that the Gunners aren’t rummaging through the thrift bin—which has been the previous whipping stick for supporters and pundits alike—in regards to their transfer business. Arsenal isn’t shy to open up their fat wallet and spread the cash on high-priced talent; Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez cost over $100 million combined. However, Arsene Wenger has yet to pull the trigger on a big-name signing this summer, and thus, many critics are refusing to pencil them in as credible title contenders. It’s true, the defensive line continues to look thin and vulnerable, and depth is an ongoing issue with injuries continuing to defy logic year after year. An argument can be made that a top-class striker must also be acquired before the deadline for Arsenal to realistically challenge Chelsea and Manchester City for this year’s crown. Sure, premium assets up top and along the back four would be ideal, but Wenger has already pulled off the steal of the summer window with the acquisition of Petr Cech for a nominal fee from their London rivals. The veteran shot-stopper is pure gold, bringing with him a wealth of experience and much needed confidence. Not since the pony-tailed moustache aficionado David Seaman has donned the number one shirt have the Gunners felt this at ease between the posts. Cech’s mere presence will go a long way in providing the stability and leadership that will reverberate through the squad. Despite being nothing more than a glorified pre-season friendly, Arsenal secured the FA Community Shield at Wembley this past weekend, with Wenger finally breaking his Jose Mourinho jinx through a one-nil win. It was a rather ugly and insignificant victory, but Wenger must be relishing the psychological victory over his counterpart nonetheless.
Chelsea: The reigning champions are geared for stiffer competition this season, but the Blues will nonetheless prove difficult to knock off their perch. Jose Mourinho is defiantly confident for good reason. Chelsea may have yet to peak, meaning we could see even more from them this season. The Champions of England fell way off the mark in Europe last term. That type of failure is simply not good enough for the—obnoxiously entertaining—egotistical self-proclaimed “Special One.” Should Diego Costa continue his trend of battling nagging injuries, Mourinho’s men look to be a little thin up front. Loic Remy is a solid number two striker, but he won’t be able to handle the bulk of the workload in the worst case scenario. That only leaves the on-loan Radamel Falcao, and quite frankly, he has a lot to prove. Many argue the decision to bring the Colombian to Stamford Bridge was a win-win for the club, considering Falcao’s expensive wage packet is meaningless to Chelsea. However, for the player, this may very well be his last shot with a big club, and should Falcao fail to hit double digits in the goal department, he better be ready to take a sizeable pay-cut in his next venture. That being said, the Blues still possess arguably the league’s best core midfielders—Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic providing tremendous balance—with wingers Eden Hazard and Willian’s lightning quick creativity virtually unmatched among their opponents. Not only can they score when they want, Chelsea held the best defensive record in the league last season behind a solid back four and goalkeeper in Thibaut Courtois. Every move is calculated, thus Mourinho even compensated for the sale of Petr Cech, ensuring depth was unaffected in goal with the signing of proven veteran Asmir Begovic.
Manchester United: No team has taken a bigger step forward than the Red Devils. Louis van Gaal has so far achieved beyond expectations following the David Moyes debacle. No one would have thought United would be in such a positive position one year into their rebuild; supporters of the club would tell you they knew all along but they didn’t—no one did. Champions League football has returned to Old Trafford and the points of weakness in the roster have been addressed. The additions of Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger will solidify the spine immensely, while Memphis Depay could be the league’ s breakout player. Most know little about 25 year-old defender Matteo Darmian, but fans of Torino will attest to the Italian being a solid contributor. Robin van Persie is gone, but he was never really there last season either—same goes for Angel Di Maria who is also staring at the exit door. Wayne Rooney returning to the lead striker position is the right decision, and he has the potential to end with a golden boot award. Should Luke Shaw and Phil Jones shake of the injury bug and stay healthy—and Chris Smalling continue down his path of redemption—this very well could be a tantalizing year for Manchester United and their legions of loyal supporters. The only way it goes south is another year of endless injuries, and/or the rumoured sale of David De Gea, the latter being the most important thing between success and failure.
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EUROPE OR BUST
Liverpool: After coming so close to lifting an ever-elusive 19th domestic title two seasons ago, Liverpool’s sixth place showing last term really took the winds out of their sails. The offloading of Luis Suarez combined with Daniel Sturridge’s losing battle with injury hurt Liverpool, who was unable to outscore their opposition and the shortcomings on defence were duly exposed. This year will be the first without Steven Gerrard following his move to MLS, and as expected Jordan Henderson was awarded the captaincy. Brendan Rodgers did his transfer business early, bringing in James Milner (free), Adam Bogdan (free), Danny Ings (undisclosed), Joe Gomez ($5 million), Nathanial Clyne ($19 million), Roberto Firmino ($45 million) and Christian Benteke ($51 million). Another huge revamp, but this time hopefully the club’s signings won’t grossly underperform—Rodgers’ transfer record at Liverpool is littered with misses so far. Jordan Ibe will have the opportunity to seize the first-team spot vacated by Raheem Sterling after a long drawn out transfer to Manchester City. Equally, Lazar Markovic must show tremendous improvement and compete for a spot in the lineup; the young Serbian looked to be far less than his $27 million price tag. Adam Lallana must be better as well, but most important Dejan Lovren needs to prove his true worth more than anyone. The Croatian defender became the scapegoat for a disastrous Liverpool back-four, effectively losing his starting spot for a large portion of the second half of last season. Notice the theme? Rodgers definitely made mistakes, but the players were largely responsible for the ill-fated campaign. The tide of change is sweeping through the docks along the Mersey, engulfing the club and results will determine if Rodgers remains at Anfield once the tide recedes.
Manchester City: Normally, finishing runners up wouldn’t be such a disaster, though, City barely put up a fight last season and the race was over well before the final matchday. Nevertheless, big names were said to be arriving in an effort to reclaim their domestic crown. Four players of note have been bought, and two are projects who won’t get a crack at the first team for quite a while if ever (Patrick Roberts and Enes Unal). Raheem Sterling was the biggest prize captured, with the youngster looking to put all the drama behind him. Say what you will about Sterling, we all can agree his talent is evident, but it’s up to him to maximize his unwavering potential—or he can simply be the next Shaun Wright-Philips. Fabian Delph was also added, another great English speedster with loads of quality. The departures of Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko put the pressure on Sergio Aguero to stay healthy and maintain his consistency. The January transfer window signing of Wilfried Bony is making more sense now, as the Ivorian will be relied upon to shoulder the load with Aguero. With Yaya Toure looking to be on the decline, one of Fernando and Fernandinho must take the reins. David Silva is the lead anchor and provides the bulk of City’s creativity, but Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri must do more. Unfortunately, Manuel Pellegrini has so far failed in his attempt to land some defensive reinforcements—which should be the club’s main focus—as Vincent Kompany is a shadow of his former dominant self. Eliaquim Mangala has so far proved to be a bust and the less said about third centre-back option Martin Demichelis the better. This team at its current state cannot sustain a war on all fronts and challenge for any title. City fans have now become accustomed to success, but looking around the league, the Blues have done the least among this season’s contenders.
Swansea City: A club record 56 point-haul was toasted by Garry Monk and his Swans at season’s end, only finishing four points shy of Southampton for a Europa League spot. Every small club would like nothing more than to be the new Swansea—a reputation warranted through astute management and financial expenditures. Wilfried Bony was a low-cost acquisition and then sold at a premium. The vacancy up front was filled by Bafetimbi Gomis. Gylfi Sigurdsson made his name at Swansea before leaving for Tottenham and returning one year later. It was if he never left in the first place, the Icelandic international scored seven goals and added 10 assists last term. Jonjo Shelvey is the heart of the team, and looks to be a steal at $7 million paid to Liverpool last summer. But the spotlight is deservedly centred on Korean international Ki-Sung Yeung, as the winger is full of creativity and chipped in eight goals last term. Nathan Dyer and Jefferson Montero also deserve some of the plaudits. Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski proved a point to any nay-sayers about being a legitimate number one, stepping out of the shadows at Arsenal and taking centre stage at Swansea. The team is virtually the same as last season—minus a few minor departures—with the additions of Portuguese forward Eder and Ghanaian midfielder Andre Ayew.
Tottenham: Spurs are not good enough to be mentioned among the elite, thus they will remain a selling club. A mass exodus has ensued at White Hart Lane, with five players exiting over the summer—Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Benjamin Stambouli, Vlad Chiriches and Younes Kaboul. The only addition of note was Toby Alderweireld ($17 million), who looked every bit Premiership calibre on loan at Southampton last season via Atletico Madrid. He will be a bonus to the back line. Despite keeping hold of Hugo Lloris—mainly due to his absence with a broken wrist for the first few months of the new campaign—it’s a tough consolation pill to swallow. However, backup Michel Vorm has been a starter previously at Swansea City. Optimistic Spurs fans will call it a much needed summer clear out, and they may be right. I still believe Mauricio Pochettino is one of the better young managers in football, so I’m curious to see how good Tottenham can truly be this time around.
West Ham United: Upton Park will be treated to a far better product under Slaven Bilic than his predecessor Sam Allardyce. Even when West Ham were hanging with the big boys and battling for a top-four spot early on last season, Hammers supporters were still calling for a change in the dugout. Bilic will win plaudits for his attacking style. Unfortunately, one of last season’s standout performers Enner Valencia will miss 12 weeks at minimum after damaging his fibula. That leaves Diafra Sakho to shoulder the load in attack, because who knows what type of player Andy Carroll will be now that Allardyce is gone—Bilic’s system does not cater to Carroll’s qualities. Despite the under the radar sale of Stewart Downing to Middlesbrough, the additions of midfielder Dimitri Payet ($16 million from St. Etienne), defender Angelo Ogbonna ($12 million from Juventus) and central midfielder Pedro Obiang ($6.5 million from Sampdoria) has provided much needed depth to battle of two fronts should they end up qualifying for the Europa League group stage.
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THE IN-BETWEENERS
AFC Bournemouth: How can you not silently root for the Premiership debutants? The Cherries’ climb to the promise land has been nothing short of inspirational. The accomplishment of top-flight football—the first time in club history—is even more jaw-dropping considering Bournemouth came dangerously close of dropping out of the Football League entirely six years ago. Eddie Howe has pulled off a seismic feat in guiding Bournemouth into the Premiership, securing three promotions with his boyhood club. The real work begins now, though. Obviously, the budget to strengthen the Championship side is quite frugal; yet, Howe has managed to work wonders in the transfer market to provide his team a genuine fighting chance for the gruelling campaign ahead. Most of the additions have come on the free; the permanent signing of goalkeepers Artur Boruc—a key component in the club’s promotion—and Adam Federici from Reading provides solid depth. Equally, the addition of veteran defender Sylvain Distin provides the necessary leadership and experience along the back-four.
Crystal Palace: The Eagles looked done and dusted before Alan Pardew took over at the beginning of the year. After Palace earned three wins and 17 points from their first 20 matches, Pardew came in and turned the tables, securing 31 points from the remaining 18 matches for a club record 10th place finish. The question remains will this situation be similar to what transpired previously at West Ham and most recently on Tymeside for Pardew; the inability to put together consecutive successful seasons. Don’t take his magic touch for granted because apparently it has a quick expiry date. To date, the Eagles have been able to keep hold of their prized asset Yannick Bolasie. Palace was even able to convince Yohan Cabaye to ditch Paris for Croydon, smashing their club transfer record ($15 million). The Frenchman will play alongside Wilfried Zaha and Dwight Gayle; the trio will be menacing for opponents. Pardew also added striker Conor Wickham from Sunderland, who will provide Frazier Campbell with some much needed assistance. Naturally, the prospect of finishing in the top-half is the goal. But success will be measured by staying out of the relegation dogfight and possibly a lengthy cup run.
Everton:: Bottom half of the table last season is not what was envisioned this time last year, especially coming off an amazing 2013-14 campaign (fifth). The biggest reason for the regression was Everton’s average form on Merseyside (28 points), compared with the 42 collected in their previous campaign. Unfortunately, Roberto Martinez’s third go at it doesn’t exactly exude an aura of confidence. Everyone around them has restocked and retooled, yet, aside from the permanent acquisition of fan favourite Gerard Deulofeu from Barcelona ($6.5 million) and Tom Cleverley (free) the Toffees haven’t strengthened adequately enough to match their ambitions. Equally, other than the departure of Sylvain Distin (Bournemouth), the squad remains quite similar. European football definitely played a key role in Everton’s poor domestic showing lst season, thus, the upcoming campaign is a second chance for a group of players that underachieved and arguably hung their manager out to dry. The Toffees have no excuses this time; no Europe means their domestic form shouldn’t suffer.
Newcastle United: Manager Steve McLaren has been installed in yet another effort to change the culture of failure and reclaim the form that clinched a place in Europe from three years ago. From an attacking stand point, the Magpies have improved with the additions of midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV) and forward Aleksandar Mitrovic (Anderlecht). The duo can provide some serious firepower to a team that barely averaged over a goal-a-game last season. On the defensive end, Chancel Mbemba is a nice low-cost upgrade and should work out nicely. Newcastle conceded the second-most goals in the league in 2015 (62). Another relegation battle shouldn’t be the case this year, as a new style and fresh approach can’t result in a worse off showing than what was on display last term.
Southampton: The Dutch revolution is in full effect at St. Mary’s. Ronald Koeman defied the critics who expected the Saints to plummet after selling a handful of top stars at a premium price last summer. Quite the opposite, Southampton excelled, securing a birth in the Europa League. Of course, more sales of key players (Morgan Schneiderlin and Nathanial Clyne) inevitably followed their success. However, Koeman quickly reloaded with the captures of Jordie Clasie (PSV) and Cedric Soares (Sporting Lisbon). The only problem standing in Southampton’s way of climbing even further up the mountain is pretty straight forward—Europa League nights on Thursdays. English teams for the most part don’t give the competition priority, especially the bigger sides. Unfortunately, the smaller clubs aren’t built for a two-front battle, and ultimately their domestic form suffers. It’s the ultimate catch 22.
Stoke City: Stokes’ reputation as ankle breakers and long ball specialists is a thing of the past. Mark Hughes is completely redefining the club’s culture with a more progressive passing oriented style of play. It’s no wonder Stoke finished ninth last season, ending on a huge high by thrashing the mighty Liverpool 6-1 at home on the final day of the campaign. Mame Diouf led the way with 11 goals last term, with Charlie Austin and Victor Moses both reviving careers that seemed to be rather stagnate and going nowhere fast. Unfortunately, the latter has returned to Chelsea after his loan deal ended. The return of Bojan Krkic this season—having gone down with a cruciate ligament injury in January—combined with addition of Ibrahim Affelay could be huge. The duo should complement each other nicely. The sale of long-time goalkeeper Asmir Begovic will sting, though, the combination of youngster Jack Butland and newly acquired veteran Shay Given will be able to fill the vacancy. Hughes has put together a solid team that will push each any every opponent to the limit.
SINK OR SWIM
Aston Villa: Tim Sherwood might be the ideal manager for this team; given his ethos of youth development and growth from within—not like he has a choice at Villa Park. Unfortunately, the sale of premium assets is the unavoidable reality for Aston Villa; clubs of this size will always be sellers in the current football climate. Three measly points was enough to see Villa avoid slipping through the trap door last season. Relegation was avoided, though the agony of looming disaster was ever-present for the entire campaign. It’s a feeling in which the club and its supporters are hoping to avoid for a fifth successive season. For that to happen, Sherwood must find a solution to his side’s inability to score, having averaged less than a goal-per-game last term (31 goals in 38 matches). Exactly how this will be possible following the sale of their top marksman (Christian Benteke) and biggest talent (Fabian Delphi) is anyone’s guess—Villa pocketed over $60 million for the pair. The funds were for the most part re-invested—Jordan Ayew being the most notable addition—but the losses outweighs the gains.
Leicester City: The sacking of Nigel Pearson was either another flip-flop from management or made in response to the scandal which concluded Leicester City’s tour of Thailand. Three players—including the gaffer’s son James Pearson—were released following their involvement in a drunken sex romp with a lady of the night that was recorded and leaked to the media. Draw your own conclusion, but Pearson pulled of the greatest escape in league history by guiding the Foxes from the bottom of the table to a respectable 14th-place finish—winning seven of their remaining nine matches. It’s now up to Claudio Ranieri to continue the momentum forward. The Italian is part of a generation that is well passed it at this point, and basically looking for the next big pay day—or payoff—basically resting on past glory and success. The loss of inspirational leader Esteban Cambiasso is a massive one. Notably, they did acquire a few key layers from the Bundesliga that hopefully will pan out to be steals—Shinji Okazaki ($11 million) and Christian Fuchs (free)—not to mention experienced defender Robert Huth from Stoke City.
Norwich City: The Canaries bounced straight back into the top-flight with a playoff final win over Middlesbrough at Wembley. The new lucrative, record setting television revenue generated by the league makes their return to the big show that much more significant. Unfortunately, that money isn’t coming until the end of the season, thus, Norwich City is pretty dead in the water. Robbie Brady was the club’s highest profile signing ($11 million). Youssuf Mulumbo on a free is good business, as is Andre Wisdom on loan from Liverpool. However, the tandem of Gary Hooper and Cameron Jerome will not be lighting up the Premier League like they did in the Championship (32 goals combined). Bradley Johnson (15 goals) and Nathan Redmond (13 assists and six goals) are of good quality, but their second-tier statistics are worth less than a quarter of the total value in the Premiership. Canaries boss Alex Neil is simply out of his depths with an inferior unit compared to the competition.
Sunderland: The ageing Dick Advocaat, who kept the Black Cats from being relegated last season, is part of an old breed of managers resting on past laurels and cashing hefty pay packets with huge buy out clauses. I’m not convinced Advocaat will last the entire season at the Stadium of Light. Remember he declined to return initially before making a U-turn and signing a one-year deal. Sunderland has barely missed dropping out of the top-flight for the last three campaigns; a fourth time might be pushing their luck. Jermain Lens is the only notable addition, joining the league’s second-worst offensive unit of Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell, Jermain Defoe and Steven Fletcher. Dishonourable mention goes to Ricardo Alvarez, Emanuele Giaccherini and Danny Graham. The six-pack combined to score and/or set-up a paltry 31 goals in 38 matches. I’m not sure what’s worse: their toothless attack or their calamitous defending.
Watford: The Pozzo family have finally reached the promise land of English football, three years after buying Watford when they competed in the Championship. The return of Premier League football to Vicarage Road has obviously come with much fanfare, with Hornets supporters having plenty to feel optimistic about this time around—Watford won promotion in 2006 before going straight down. Quique Flores was a huge coup for the club, and the board have backed their new manager by bringing in midfielders Etienne Capoue ($10 million), Jose Manuel Jurado ($9 million) and Valon Behrami ($4 million), and defenders Jose Holebas ($2 million) and Miguel Britos (free). The Hornets are for real and won’t be going down easy. Watford has the ability to surprise; they have a decent collection of players that can achieve more than simply avoiding relegation.
West Bromwich Albion: The Baggies begin the new campaign as the youngest team in the league, with an average age of 22. Manager Tony Pulis has hardly added to his squad, though it’s fair to say subtraction has been also at a minimum. Youssuf Mulumbu and Graham Dorrans have moved to Norwich City, while new recruits James Chester, Rickie Lambert and James McLean have joined for a combined fee of $19 million. West Brom were respectably average under Pulis last season, though he did have an undefeated run in February after taking over the previous month. West Brom ended nine points above relegation last season in 13th spot, but a repeat performance or better is simply unrealistic. The Baggies will be looking over their shoulders all year.
