Premier League 2007/08

[Gunnerman]

It may be a bit early as I am sure more movement in the silly season is still to be played out but what the heck, time to do a quick preview of the upcoming Premier League Season, so here goes......

Arsenal
Nickname – The Gunners
Home – Emirates Stadium 60,432
Manager – Arsene Wenger
Honors – 13 First Division and Premier League Title, 10 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 12 Community Shields, 1 European Cup Winners Cup
Last Season – Premier League 4th
Ins - Bacary Sagna (Auxerre, undisclosed), Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, £2m), Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Havard Nordtveit (FK Haugesund, undisclosed)
Outs - Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough, £2m), Fabrice Muamba (Birmingham, undisclosed), Mart Poom (Watford, free), Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, free), Thierry Henry (Barcelona £16.1m).
Outlook – Should be top 4 again this season as long as the youngsters find their form. Of course the big loss is Henry leaving for Barcelona so replacing his goals is going to be significant. Robin Van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Theo Walcott and newcomer Eduardo da Silva, born in Brazil but now playing internationally for Croatia which makes him the “Croazillian”, will all get their turns to be the team’s scorer. C'MON YOU GUNNERS!!!


Aston Villa
Nickname – The Villans
Home - Villa Park 42,573
Manager – Martin O’Niell
Honors – 7 First Division Titles, 7 FA Cups, 5 League Cups, 1 Charity Shield, 1 European Cup Title, 1 European Super Cup Title
Last Season – Premier League 11th
Ins - Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham, £8.5m), Harry Forrester (Watford, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (West Ham, undisclosed).
Outs - Gavin McCann (Bolton, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Bolton, free), Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls, free), Stephen Henderson (Bristol City, free), Aaron Hughes (Fulham, £1m), Lee Hendrie (released), Steven Davis (Fulham, undisclosed), Chris Sutton (retired).
Outlook – Is this West Ham North? Seems to be with the signings of Reo-Coker and Harewood. John Carew is still here and I have really grown to like that Agbonlahor kid. But I am still surprised to see so little transfer market signings considering this club is owned by the same guy who owns the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Middle of the pack is the best I see for the Villans.

Birmingham City
Nickname – The Blues, Bongo City, Knuckledraggers
Home – St. Andrew’s Stadium 30,009
Manager – Steve Bruce AKA Mr. Potatohead
Honors – 1 League Cup
Last Season – Championship 2nd
Ins - Garry O'Connor (Lokomotiv Moscow, £2.7m), Stuart Parnaby (Middlesbrough, free), Fabrice Muamba (Arsenal, undisclosed), Olivier Kapo (Juventus, £3m), Daniel de Ridder (Celta Vigo, free), Richard Kingston (Antalyaspor, free), Rafael Schmitz (Lille, season-long loan)
Outs - Bruno N'Gotty (Leicester, free), Stephen Clemence (Leicester, £1m)
Outlook – Tough to tell on the knuckledraggers, some new faces since their last romp in the Premier League so I think they will be in the relegation struggle come the end of the season.

Blackburn Rovers
Nickname - Rovers
Home – Ewood Park 31,367
Manager – Mark Hughes
Honors – 3 First Division and Premier League Titles, 6 FA Cups, 1 League Cup, 1 Charity Shield
Last Season – Premier League 10th
Ins - Gunnar Nielsen (BK Frem Copenhagen, undisclosed), Maceo Rigters (NAC Breda, undisclosed).
Outs - Andy Todd (Derby, undisclosed)
Outlook – Tough as nails club and hopefully for them Brad Friedel still plays well in goal. Should challenge for a UEAF Cup spot.

Bolton Wanderers
Nickname – The Trotters
Home – Reebok Stadium 28,273
Manager – Sammy Lee
Honors – 4 FA Cups, 1 Charity Shield
Last Season – Premier League 7th
Ins - Gavin McCann (Aston Villa, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Aston Villa, free), Gerald Cid (Bordeaux, undisclosed), Blerim Dzemaili (FC Zurich, undisclosed), Zoltan Harsanyi (FC Senec, undisclosed), Danny Guthrie (Liverpool, season-long loan), Mikel Alonso (Real Socieded, loan).
Outs - Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea, free), Henrik Pedersen (released), Quinton Fortune (released), David Thompson (released), Cesar Martin (released).
Outlook – The big loss here is of course Big Sam Allardyce the former manager leaving for Tyneside. The loss of Tal Ben Haim will hurt the backline. I can’t see Bolton finishing as high as 7th like they did last season so I’ll say bottom half of the league but avoiding relegation.

chelscum
Nickname – The Blues, scummers
Home – Stamford Bridge 42,055
Manager – Jose Mourihno
Honors – 3 First Division and Premier League Titles, 4 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 3 Community Shields, 2 European Cup Winners Cups, 1 European Super Cup
Last Season – Premier League 2nd, FA Cup and Carling (League) Cup holders
Ins - Florent Malouda (Lyon, undisclosed), Tal Ben Haim (Bolton, free), Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich, free), Steve Sidwell (Reading, free), Danny Philliskirk (Oldham, undisclosed).
Outs - Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla, season-long loan), Yves Makaba-Makalamby (Hibernian, free), Geremi (Newcastle, free).
Outlook – 1st or 2nd for this buncha cunts.

Derby County
Nickname – The Rams
Home – Pride Park 33,597
Manager - Billy Davies
Honors – 2 First Division Titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 Charity Shield
Last Season – Championship 3rd, promoted via playoffs
Ins - Andy Todd (Blackburn, undisclosed), Robert Earnshaw (Norwich City, £3.5m), Tyrone Mears (West Ham, £1m).
Outs - Seth Johnson (released), Paul Peschisolido (Luton, free), Morten Bisgaard (released), Paul Boertien (released), Lee Grant (released), Ryan Smith (Millwall, £150,000).
Outlook – Good bye dear Derby we hardly knew thee.

Everton
Nickname – The Toffees
Home – Goodison Park 40,569
Manager – David Moyes
Honors – 9 First Division Titles, 5 FA Cups, 9 Charity Shields, 1 European Cup Winners Cup
Last Season – Premier League 6th
Ins - Phil Jagielka (Sheffield Utd, £4m)
Outs - Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United, £1m), Richard Wright (West Ham, free), Alessandro Pistone (released).
Outlook – This is Tim Howard’s team! Although only bringing in Jagielka does not fill my with a great deal of confidence for this team. Finishing in the top half will be an accomplishment.

Fulham
Nickname – The Cottagers
Home – Craven Cottage 24,600
Manager – Lawrie Sanchez
Honors
Last Season – Premier League 16th
Ins - Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, £1m), Steven Davis (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Diomansy Kamara (West Brom, £6m), Chris Baird (Southampton, £3.025m), Paul Konchesky (West Ham, £3.25m), David Healy (Leeds, £1.5m).
Outs - Claus Jensen (released), Mark Pembridge (released), Tomasz Radzinski (released), Mark Crossley (released, now at Oldham).
Outlook – New Manager Lawrie Sanchez now has the team for the whole season so that in itself should mean improvement. Although why anyone would waste £3.25m on Konchesky is beyond me. Hopefully Clint Dempsey gets a proper runout this season for the Cottagers.

Liverpool
Nickname – The Reds
Home – Anfield 45,362
Manager – Rafael Benitez
Honors – 18 First Division Titles, 7 FA Cups, 7 League Cups, 15 Community Shields, 5 European Cups, 3 UEFA Cups, 3 UEFA Super Cups
Last Season – Premier League 3rd
Ins - Andrey Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, free), Kristian Nemeth & Andras Simon (both MTK Hungariam, undisclosed), Nikolay Mihaylov (Levski Sofia, undisclosed), Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, undisclosed), Ryan Babel (Ajax, £11.5m).
Outs - Bolo Zenden (Marseille, free), Robbie Fowler (released), Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva, £2.7m), Danny Guthrie (Bolton, season-long loan), Luis Garcia (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Craig Bellamy (West Ham, £7.5m), Djibril Cisse (Marseille, £6m).
Outlook – This team is going to score…..a lot. Fernando Torres is perhaps the best signing that any team has made this summer. If he settles in at Merseyside then the Kop will be singing his name in no time. Top four with a real chance to win their first Premier League crown.

Manchester City
Nickname – The Sky Blues, The Citizens, Citeh
Home - City of Manchester Stadium 47,726
Manager – Sven Goran Eriksson
Honors – 2 First Division Titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 3 Charity Shields, 1 European Cup Winners Cup
Last Season – Premier League 14th
Ins - Geovanni (Cruzeiro, free), Rolando Bianchi (Reggina, £8.8m), Gelson Fernandes (FC Sion, undisclosed).
Outs - Sylvain Distin (Portsmouth, free), Trevor Sinclair (released), Stephen Jordan (Burnley, free), Hatem Trabelsi (released), Joey Barton (Newcastle, £5.8m), Nicky Weaver (Charlton, free).
Outlook – Ex-England manager Sven Yawn Ericksson takes over. Will Citeh be as boring as England? Probably.

Manchester United
Nickname – The Red Devils
Home - Old Trafford 76,312
Manager – Sir Alex Ferguson
Honors – 16 First Division and Premier League Titles, 11 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 15 Community Shields, 2 European Cups, 1 UEFA Cup Winners Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA World Club Championship
Last Season – Premier League Champions
Ins - Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, undisclosed), Anderson* (FC Porto, undisclosed), Nani* (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed), Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom, undisclosed)
(* Combined transfer fee for Anderson and Nani was £30m)
Outs - Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, undisclosed)
Outlook – Owen Hargraeves is the big new fellow with the Red Devils. I think he will fit in nicely in the midfield and provide United some strength in the center of the park. This team has talent and should be in the top 3 and I give them the early odds on faves as repeat Champions.

Middlesbrough
Nickname - BORO
Home – Riverside Stadium 35,100
Manager – Gareth Southgate
Honors – 1 League Cup
Last Season – Premier League 12th
Ins - Tuncay Sanli (Fenerbahce, free), Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal, £2m), Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid, £7m).
Outs - Mark Viduka (Newcastle, free), Stuart Parnaby (Birmingham, free), Abel Xavier (LA Galaxy, free), Malcolm Christie (released), Danny Graham (released).
Outlook – Another ho hummer in Boro so middle of the pack again.

Newcastle United
Nickname – The Magpies, The Toon
Home – St. James Park 52,387
Honors – 4 First Division Titles, 6 FA Cups, 1 Charity Shield
Manager – Sam Allardyce
Last Season – Premier League 13th
Ins - Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free), Joey Barton (Man City, £5.8m), David Rozehnal (Paris St Germain, £2.9m), Geremi (Chelsea, free).
Outs - Scott Parker (West Ham, £7m), Titus Bramble (Wigan, free), Antoine Sibierski (Wigan, free), Craig Moore (released), Olivier Bernard (released), Alan O'Brien (undisclosed).
Outlook – Big Sam is large and in charge at the Toon. He brings in Joey Barton who is a complete cnut, so that should be interesting. Michael Owen's health will also be a big consideration when trying to figure out where this team will finish. Big Sam will have this team challenging for a UEFA Cup spot and an outside shot at 4th should one of the top four stumble.

Portsmouth
Nickname - Pompey
Home – Fratton Park
Manager – Harry Redknapp
Honors – 2 First Division Titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 Charity Shield
Last Season – Premier League 9th
Ins - David Nugent (Preston, undisclosed), John Utaka (Rennes, undisclosed), Arnold Mvuemba (Rennes, undisclosed), Sulley Muntari (Udinese, £7m), Sylvain Distin (Manchester City, free), Hermann Hreidarsson (Charlton, free), Martin Cranie (Southampton, undisclosed).
Outs - Svetoslav Todorov (Charlton, free), Daryl Fordyce (released).
Outlook – Pompey are going to be good. Not good enough for top 4 but I think they can improve on their 9th place finish of last season. Muntari should provide some flair for the offense and David Nugent should score goals, if David James plays like he did last season this team will win.

Reading
Nickname – The Royals
Home – Madejski Stadium 24,000
Manager – Steve Coppell
Honors -
Last Season – Premier League 8th
Ins - Kalifa Cisse (Boavista, £1m).
Outs - Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free), Greg Halford (Sunderland, £2.5m).
Outlook – How the eff this team finished 8th was a huge surprise. Reading will not sneak up on anyone though this season and as Wigan found out last year it is typically the second season after a club has been promoted that is the tricky one.

Sunderland
Nickname – The Black Cats
Home – The Stadium of Light 49,000
Manager – Roy Keane
Honors – 6 First Division Titles, 2 FA Cups, 1 Charity Shield
Last Season – Championship 1st
Ins - Dickson Etuhu (Norwich, £1.5m), Kieran Richardson (Manchester United, undisclosed), Greg Halford (Reading, £2.5m), Russell Anderson (Aberdeen, £1m), Michael Chopra (Cardiff City, £5m).
Outs - Kenny Cunningham (released), Tommy Miller (released).
Outlook – Relegation battlers all season

sp*rs
Nickname - Lilywhites
Home – Shite Hart Lane 36,240
Manager – Martin Jol
Honors – 2 First Division Titles, 8 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, 7 Community Shields, 2 UEFA Cups, 1 European Cup Winners Cup
Last Season – Premier League 5th
Ins - Gareth Bale (Southampton, £5m), Adel Taarabt (Lens, undisclosed), Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Bilbao, undisclosed), Darren Bent (Charlton £16.5m), Younes Kaboul (Auxerre, £8m).
Outs - Emil Hallfredsson (Lyn-Oslo, undisclosed), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria, undisclosed), Mark Yeates (Colchester, undisclosed).
Outlook – ugh, yuck and blech. How Robinson is still the England goalkeeper is beyond me. Given that they are still good enough for a UEFA Cup spot but hopefully my dreams will be answered and this rabble gets relegated and soon are seen playing in the lower depths of English Football, hey, one can dream right?

West Ham United
Nickname – The Hammers
Home – Upton Park 35,567
Honors – 3 FA Cups, 1 Charity Shield, 1 European Cup Winners Cup
Manager – Alan Curbishley
Last Season - Premier League 15th
Ins - Scott Parker (Newcastle, £7m), Julien Faubert (Bordeaux, £6.1m), Richard Wright (Everton, free), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, £7.5m).
Outs - Paul Konchesky (Fulham, £3.25m), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, £8.5m), Tyrone Mears (Derby, £1m), Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa, undisclosed).
Outlook – Scott Parker is the key to this year’s version of the Hammers. A very promising young midfield with Charlton under the tuteledge of Alan Curbishley was left out at Chelsea and never really realized his potential at Newcastle. Now back with Curbs we should see him realize that potential. The key though may be if the Hammers can retain Carlos Tevez. If Tevez leaves not even Parker may be able to keep the Hammers up.

Wigan Athletic
Nickname – The Latics
Home – The JJB Stadium 25,138
Manager – Chris Hutchings
Honors -
Last Season – Premier League 17th
Ins - Antoine Sibierski (Newcastle, free), Titus Bramble (Newcastle, free), Mario Melchiot (Rennes, free), Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborg, undisclosed), Carlo Nash (Preston, £300,000), Jason Koumas (West Brom, £5.3m).
Outs - Lee McCulloch (Rangers, £2.25m), Matt Jackson (Watford, free), Arjan de Zeeuw (released), David Unsworth (released).
Outlook – Wigan for the drop.

[BtownJay]

Awesome as usual Gunner! I have printed it out as my very first guide to the EPL this season. I have not gone through it all yet, but I LOVE how it includes the ins and out for all the teams. I'm sure i missed a bunch throughout the silly season.

PLAY UP POMPEY!!!

[Gunnerman]

All in a day's work there Jay! I knew someone would appreciate it.

[BtownJay]

Oh its awesome. New Castle could possibly challange for a top 4 spot? wow. And excellent work on the Dempsey plug!!

So far, the "Jays favorites" depth chart is...

1. Pompey - Probably going to be my fav. forever.
2. Liverpool - as long as they have Crouch and Gerrard.
3. Fulham - please start Dempsey this season.
4. W. Ham - 1st time on my list... thats what happens when you get Bellamy.

[Gunnerman]

Nice list there Jay, although mine is much shorter LOL! ech, Bellamy, I never really rated that drunken sheep shagger that high, but hey to each his own.

[BtownJay]

I just like Bellamy, not saying he's a great player. But he's a big drinker (love that), plays all out hard nosed soccer (from what i've seen). But he didn't get much time with Liverpool, so i'm excited to see him play full time.

But i do really love Van Persie's game, so who knows, if I get to see lots of Arsenal, they could get into my list. They aren't far off.

Bottom of "Jays favorites" depth chart....

20. Chelsea - Duh
19. Bolton - can't stand them
18. Aston Villa - doesn't get any more boring then them
17. Tottenham - they annoyed me.

[NICKinDALLAS]

Gunny, is there any relavance in the colors of each teams name?

[BtownJay]

Originally Posted by NICKinDALLAS

Gunny, is there any relavance in the colors of each teams name?

I'll play Gunner... the colors he made here are the closest to each teams main colors.

[ssigman]

great thread gunny...sorry i haven't been around to add my thoughts on this...your pretty much spot on as usual

[NICKinDALLAS]

Originally Posted by BtownJay

I'll play Gunner... the colors he made here are the closest to each teams main colors.

OK that makes sense. One more thing, do clubs change kits every year? Seems that the few home pages that I've gone to are promoting thier 'new' kits.

[BtownJay]