Sport on

Ready for more thrills

A brand new season is finally upon us in the Barclays Premier League of England and while last season provided thrills than we have been accustomed to, there are strong indications that the excitement will go even a notch higher this time. The fight for the title promises to be tighter as will the scramble for the top four positions which provide entry into the lucrative Uefa Champions League football.

I have looked at predictions from various football pundits and they all seem to suggest that Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea are the favourites to emerge champions come May, followed by defending champions Manchester City. Where there is massive difference is how they think the rest of the positions in the top four will pan out. The Arsenal are featuring prominently at position three and their traditional position four.

Which team will complete the elite quartet? That is where the opinion is very divided. There are those who think deposed champions Manchester United will make a swift return to the esteemed group owing to the fact that they have a new manager in Dutchman Louis van Gaal who has great pedigree. The other reason is the fact that they will not have the distractions that European football brings,

Obviously, the Red Devils will do far much better than they did last season and their perfect record in preseason gives a lot of hope to United fans who are already in high spirits. It is clear that they suffered a lot as their team about registered all the wrong records under former Everton manager David Moyes. Some of them are already dreaming of a title hilt as soon as this season now that van Gaal is there.

A few people have mentioned my Liverpool to be in the top four, but most commentators feel the Reds will have to settle for position five. These people believe, and I agree, that Brendan Rodgers’ men overachieved in finishing as runners-up last season, They, therefore, cannot see the team repeating that fairytale march, given the departure of top striker Luis Suarez and how other teams have strengthened.

As a Liverpool fan I am happy that the team starts as an underdog once again because it releases the pressure off the players, but my personal view is that Merseyside side is collectively much stronger this time than it was. Rodgers has bought well and addressed most areas that caused concern last season even as they scored for fun. There are also some players who are expected to improve given their age.

I end by congratulating Big Bullets for ending their trophyless run by deservedly winning the Carlsberg on Sunday. For a team that has been used to winning trophies throughout its history, it was quite sad to see them miss out on honours in the last decade or so. The team is also doing well in the league and the good old days could be back. Of course, there will be setbacks along the way as we saw on Thursday.

Related Articles

Back to top button