Top tier of the EPL......1st to 8th predictions

Right then, as promised I've set out the teams that I reckon will fill the top eight positions this year.  Same teams as last year, listed in order of the positions they finished last season, with my predo's for this year after each team.....let me know whether you agree.

Chelsea: The Pensioners are another year older and, whilst the two Michaels, Ballack and Essien, sat out the World Cup through injury together with Obi Mikel, the Blues’ contingent who did keep fit are united in returning to the Bridge from a summer of discontent. Terry, Lamps and Cashley all endured a torrid tournament with England, but at least they all arrived home together, which is more than can be said for Messuirs Anelka and Malouda. The Ivorian’s (Drogba and Kalou) and Portugese (Carvallho, Deco and Ferreira) all failed to set the tournament alight, and the same can be said for their other representatives (Ivanovic and Stoch) too.

Carlo Ancellotti may not have enjoyed the same level of support in the transfer market as the EPL’s other mulit-billionaire-backed outfit, but their squad nevertheless remains strong. Brazilian midfielder Ramires has joined the ranks, whilst Carvalho seems to be on his way to Barcelona, and I’m undecided whether Chelsea or Liverpool have done best out of the Cole / Benayoun swap. Either way I’m sure the summer’s transfer dealings won’t have weakened a team who, afterall, are reigning champions, and convincing champions at that.

Remember this is the team that scored 4 or more goals in a dozen EPL matches last season; they scored more from midfield than any other team; they’ve retained last season’s leading EPL scorer and, although their defence showed a few signs of creakiness last season, it would be no surprise if Terry and co. come back more focused than ever, determined to forget the summer and prove their strength all over again.

Prediction: 2nd

Manchester United: The yellow and green army have had a strangely quiet summer. After all the talk last season, no summer bid materialised from the Red Knights. As a result we can expect another 9 months of hostility at The Theatre of Dreams, with Old Trafford doing an impression of what Carrow Road might look like if Norwich City were a massive Premier League club.

Whilst the politics have settled temporarily, team matters have been equally subdued this summer. Rio’s World Cup captaincy dream was unfulfilled, Rooney forgot to pack his shooting boots, and Ferguson opted to acquire no big names. Instead, United picked up young English talent Chris Smalling on a Bosman deal, before concluding one of the most astute transfers of the summer before the World Cup had even begun, snapping up Javier Hernandez. Based on a couple of friendlies and from what I saw in South Africa, I’d say Sir Alex has picked up a real talent in the young Mexican striker. He reminds me a little of a young Michael Owen.....anybody know where he is these days?

Hernandez alone will by no means guarantee United the title this year, but unlike last year United have certainly not weakened their squad and, as ever, expect them to be there or thereabouts come squeaky bum time next Spring.

Prediction: 3rd

Arsenal: Ah, the Anna Kournikova of the Premier League: great to watch but never winning anything. That’s slightly harsh, as I’m sure younger readers will recall the heady days of the late 1990s and early Noughties. In the summer of 2010 however, Arsene Wenger’s transfer dealings have again shown very little intent of returning the Gunners to their not-so-distant glory days. I know he’s bought a couple of young talents from the French top flight, but I don’t see Chamakh and Koscielny as an answer to Rooney and Vidic, do you?

I don’t mean to be unfair to Wenger, but if the money’s there, and apparently some is, why on earth not use it on proven players? At the time of writing Arsenal have three recognised centre backs, having let three experienced defenders leave for free. They have great full-backs and a midfield full of flair, but once again Wenger will be hugely reliant on Van Persie’s fitness and a final season of Fabregas’s brilliance.

On a positive note it’s good to see some English players within Wenger’s latest crop of young pretenders, but we’ve seen year after year now that young talent, for all its prettiness, equals no trophies. I see no change this year.

Prediction: 6th

Tottenham Hotspur: Depending on which day you listen, Spurs could either be championship contenders or struggling to stave off Villa and Everton to remain in the top six......according to ‘Arry at least. I’ve no doubt all of Redknapp’s comments are aimed at getting under the skin of someone or another, but depending on what happens in the next couple of weeks it’s possible to make an argument for either scenario.

For sure, with the deluge of investment continuing at Eastlands, if Spurs don’t add anyone other than Brazilian midfielder Sandro then it’s difficult to see them retaining their hard-fought and well deserved top-four spot.

But everybody knows that Redknapp, the most skilled of wheelers and dealers, will pull a rabbit from a hat somewhere along the line. And whether that rabbit comes in the form of Huntelaar, Fabiano, Ireland or Bellamy, you can expect it will be designed to take the club up a notch rather than quota-filling purposes, which is more than can be said for a number of other clubs’ transfer policies this summer.

Prediction: 4th

Manchester City: If Sir Alex thought this mob were noisy last year, he’s not going to enjoy the next nine months one bit. The mid-season change of manager didn’t seem to change the destiny of City’s season last year, but perhaps with a summer of stability, and the additions of David Silva, Jerome Boatang, Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure, Man City can go at least a couple of positions better this time around.

I’m not convinced that their defence is the strongest, although I expect Joleon Lescott to have a better season this time, and the acquisition of full-back Aleksander Kolorov from Lazio will also help.

Unfortunately for them, City will need to let a few good players leave this summer, and I expect to see players of the calibre of Bellamy, Ireland, Michael Johnson and Roque Santa Cruz on the move before the window closes at the end of the month, on loan if not permanently. However, the only reason they can allow that quality of player to leave is because City have replaced them with proven Champions League stars, and I don’t expect anything other than automatic qualification for 2011-2012 Champions League will be sufficient for the Eastlands hierarchy this year.  If their new players gel together quickly I just have a fancy they could even go all the way.

Prediction: Champions

Aston Villa: Sadly for Villa fans, their club appears to have become Manchester City’s feeder club. It’s not a done deal yet, but if anything’s more certain than Fabregas moving to Barcelona next Summer, it’s James Milner following Gareth Barry up the M6 to City before the end of the month.  The silver lining is that the hugely talented Stephen Ireland is likely to head in the opposite direction, presumably via the bank where he'll need to deposit his two million quid 'loyalty' bonus from City!

Even more sadly for Villa fans, on the eve of the new season their club has gone from having one of the best manager’s in the EPL, to commencing a search for his successor with no obvious choices coming to mind.

Without doubt Randy Lerner has been one of the better Premier League imports amongst the influx of foreign cash-rich owners, but his relationship with Martin O’Neill seemed to have gone beyond the Honeymoon period and I always thought it'd be interesting to see how much of the money generated from Milner’s departure would be made available for reinvesting in the team. If press speculation is to be believed it seems that the answer was ‘far from all’, and that seems to have been the straw that broke O’Neill’s back.

At the moment Villa’s squad looks a bit light, and Lerner can’t afford to let them drift without an rudder for too long. That said, rumour has it that not all of the players were mourning the departure of O’Neill, and many will be hoping for a fresh start with the new manager. Whoever takes the helm will takeover knowing they have a first XI good enough to compete with the best in the League, and two consecutive top-six finishes goes to prove that the loss of a star player doesn’t necessarily spell the beginning of the end. Despite the loss of O’Neill, I’m not expecting Villa to self implode, although if Bob Bradley arrives as the next head coach then I might just change my mind.....

Prediction: 8th

Liverpool: As someone who was hoping he might have got the England job when Steve McLaren was given the honour, I was delighted for Roy Hodgson to finally land one of the biggest jobs in England’s top flight this summer. Gutted for Fulham, but happy for Roy. And as much as Hodgson deserves his chance, Liverpool desperately need him there to steady the ship and begin to steer it back towards the glory days that Rafa Beneitez’s reign once seemed destined to fulfil on a consistent basis.

Even before the season has begun it seems Hodgson has done all the right things. Firstly Liverpool have increased their English quota, with the acquisitions of Jon-Jo Shelvey and Danny Wilson, but the signing of established England star Joe Cole was a big coup, and persuading Gerrard and Torres to stay has given him Hodgson greater kudos. The re-signing of Aurellio has been greeted with further nods of approval from the Kop faithful, and, with a takeover imminent (finally), who knows which other players Hodgson might recruit to Anfield. Heaven knows his directory of global contacts is as extensive as anybody’s, and I expect Hodgson to slowly but surely bring the glory days back to Liverpool......as long as the new owners gives him sufficient time.

Prediction: 5th

Everton: The perennial slow-starters have managed to retain the midfield trio of Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Stephen Pienaar, as well as keeping hold of Phil Jagielka and the hugely promising Jack Rodwell. No doubt David Moyes would have loved freedom to spend like Roberto Mancini, but he’ll be happy enough to have kept his team together, knowing if his boys can start as well as they tend to finish they should have a genuine crack at the top 6 for the first time for a few seasons.

Similarly to Villa, Everton seem to lack a bit of strength in depth, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Moyes adds a couple of shrewd acquisitions before the end of the month, and as always he’ll get the best out of what he’s got and I don’t expect Everton to be a million miles away from the top 4 if they can have better luck with injuries this season.

Prediction: 7th

So that’s my view of the top 8.....I’ll be assessing all the other teams in a separate blog shortly. Let me know what you think.....