*Note: I wrote this Friday night before the season started and it's been sitting in my queue. Whoops.
Premier League is just around the corner, and as someone who admittedly has not been following the league full-heartedly for very long, I am very excited for NBC's coverage of every game. In recent past, I had been forced to follow by keep track of scores aaaaand by playing FIFA.
(That's how I came to like Tottenham few years back. The Dempsey signing made them my full-fledged team over Fulham aaaand now he's gone... But hey, I'm hooked now, Come on You Spurs!)
Yeah sure I haven't been a "Spurs fan" for long, I've always liked the team, especially when they had Robbie Keane. This is neither here nor there, the point is I've been following long enough to blog a predictions blog and now I'm all in because of NBC.
So here we go! Barclay's Premier League Predictions from your beloved Bearded Blogger
I'll start in reverse order for the Europe spots:
5th place: Everton.
Going with a surpriser, but this is 100% contingent that they maintain Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines. If they lose either, that's enough to drop them. The Toffees finished 6th last season, but with a new manager will they be able to get that Europa spot? I'm going bold and saying yes. Tim Howard is a stalwart between the pipes and will lead them to European Competition.
4th place: Tottenham Hotspurs.
Tottenham finished 4th two years ago but missed out on champions cup because Chelsea won the whole tournament. Last year the team set a record for points, but finished 1 point behind arch rival Arsenal and missed champions cup again. This season, Andre Villas-Boas and the Spurs are poised to qualify for Champions Cup. Spurs have opened up the checkbooks to make this possible (and to try to keep superstar Gareth Bale at White Heart Lane.) The biggest is the 26 million pound striker Roberto Soldado from Valencia. Spurs needed desperately a true striker to score with Bale last year, now they have it. The other additions make this a Champions Cup squad and will qualify this season.
3rd Place: Manchester City.
New management for Man City this year, but it won't cause them to drop much this year with the talent this team has. After struggling for years, the big-spending policy of late has finally paid off for Man City and they now have a cohesive squad that's even won a premier league title. The addition of Negredo gives Man City another scoring option and the new management should mean a fresh start for striker Edin Dzeko, who fell out of favor under Roberto Mancini. Dzeko is a stud and should be their number one scoring option. Expect big things.
2nd Place: Manchester United.
The other Manchester club... Actually that's Man City. The main Manchester club is coming off another premier league title. Number 10000 it seems like. They had the leagues golden boot winner in Robin Van Persie and the whole squad is back. But is Rooney going to stick around? I think he will, but it won't be enough to repeat. Why? Well... becaaaauuusee...
1st Place: Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho is back at Stamford Bridge, the last manager to actually last more than a season since the new ownership took over ten years ago. He enjoyed much success his first stint and is poised to continue where he left off. Lampard appeared out the door until Mourinho was announced. The players love him and he is a brilliant manager. Juan Matta and Eden Hazard are two of the best midfielders in the premiership and new additions like Kevin De Bruyne make Chelsea my prediction for the title. Mostly the return of Mourino though...
You may have noticed... No Liverpool, No Arsenal...
I predict these two major clubs will miss European play, unless one of them wins the domestic cup. Liverpool because I think their garbage and Suarez is a cancer, although at least they try to improve their team...
Unlike Arsenal. I have Arsenal in 6th. Why? They have the same team that finished 4th...
They'll drop because Tottenham is better this season and because I think more and more people involved with the team are becoming disgruntled with the nonspending philosophy of Wegner and the ownership group... Wegner's time is up at Arsenal. He's losing his grip on the team and the fan base.
I encourage you all to enjoy some of the "beautiful game" on NBC this year! You'll get hooked... or some good sleep. Both are good though...
Gareth Bale please stay I need you in my life..........
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