It’s been a long anxious wait, but it was worth every second. The English Premier League has hit town again. Every fan can once again blow the dust of their jerseys and hit soccer joints. Like in every season that passed, this new season offers an acute doze of drama that fans will probably not be ready for. Last season’s champions, Chelsea found themselves on the back heel of a terrible preseason tour, without a single win. And yet, most pundits believe that they remain firm favourites to retain the title. This is despite the fact that Chelsea haven’t yet made any significant additions to their squad, which means that they might have to rely on a good but thin squad to repeat their heroics. Their new comer, Radamel Falcao – an expensive flop at Manchester United last season – will have to repay Jose Mourinho’s faith in him by finding his scoring boots again. More importantly, Chelsea will have to ensure that their talisman, Diego Costa is free of injury, which is unlikely, considering that he is already injured even before the season kicks off. But besides all these challenges, Chelsea still have The Special One, Jose Mourinho and he alone can sometimes play the role of collecting points from his touchline antics and bunters against fellow coaches. The dark horse – Manchester United – have had a very busy transfer window – and going by their preseason tour in the USA, not all is bad. They managed to beat Barcelona imposingly, while their new players have showed glimpses of what they are capable of offering the Old Trafford faithful. According to most observers, United have not done enough business in the transfer market, with claims that the Red Devils need to buy a top striker to help captain Wayne Rooney with the burden of getting the goals and a defender if they are to be considered genuine contenders. But this is simply a raw argument. Manchester United hasn’t had a so-called perfect squad in as far back as I can remember, yet they always competed. Besides that, they have constantly relied on their academy for products. That is simply the DNA they can’t afford to ignore. More money spent on new players will mean less playing time for academy products like James Wilson, Paddy Mcnair, Adnan Januzaz and Tyler Blackett. For United to thrive again – and not just for one season – they should always consider the quality from their academy. As for this season, today’s opener against Tottenham Hotspurs at Old Trafford will offer us pretty little hint about their capability to chase for the title. Surprisingly, going by what I have read in the media, Arsenal have emerged as a firm favourite to dethrone Chelsea this season! I don’t know what really changed so much to give Arsenal fans a lot of hope, but to me, they still have a couple more seasons before they can be considered favourites for major honors. The signing of Petr Cech was excellent business on the part of Arsene Wenger, but there is so much hype on it. Arsenal are still as thin squad-wise as it was last season, if not thinner – and the mighty Cech is not the answer to the club’s mid season slumber. To me, they are a clear top four team, but need a world class striker and defenders to be a top club once again. Manchester City have a lot to prove this season too. They have an aging but impressive squad - and despite going trophy-less last season, they have offered manager Manuel Pellegrini a new contract this week hence dampening any suggestions that Pep Guardiola was waiting in the wings to replace the Chilean. This might sound like good news for Pellegrini, but it also should serve as a forewarning. Another strophy-less season won’t stop his Arab employers from shredding that contract to pieces. Lastly, despite being among the biggest spenders again, Liverpool remains an outside bet to win the league title. They will utmost end in fourth place, and that will depend highly on the performances of man City, Tottenham and Arsenal. mugishaivan@yahoo.com
