PREVIEW
PREMIER LEAGUE 2012/13 PREVIEW
Very few would have been prepared for the drama experienced on the final day of last season. The Premier League is often championed for the excitement and theatre that it offers us on a regular basis, but even by its own standards, what happened at the Etihad Stadium on May 13th still needs verifying every now and again in my own mind.
After the money spent and players acquired, Manchester City managed to secure the title at the last moment, leaning over the Premier League cliff and snatching one handle of the trophy before it was once again swallowed up by the United/Chelsea ocean that has swelled these shores for so long in recent memory. They nearly blew it. After leading for much of the season they spluttered. A three-nil defeat away to Arsenal in the first week of April was the nail in the coffin supposedly. Mario Balotelli was sent off, surely to be offloaded in the summer, and the red half of Manchester was never going to surrender such a lead. It all looks very different now.
Mario Balotelli had an excellent Euro 2012, his barnstorming brace against
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the much-favoured Germans being a particular highlight in a tournament that included his usual brashness, brilliance and arrogance. He will return brimming with confidence, even more than is usual. And as for United, well should they fail in attempting to bring the title back to Old Trafford, alarm bells will ring, quietly mind, but ring none the less.
We’ve been here before. Chelsea under Jose Mourinho were the bankrolled billionaires, who won back-to-back Premier League titles in ‘05 and ’06, and all that happened was Sir Alex Ferguson and his side came back stronger. Nothing will please the Scot more than them repeating the trick against his sides biggest rivals – as much as United have battled against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, no one could argue what the biggest games of next season will be.
And so what of those three? The two Manchester clubs will be the favourites for the title, for the three aforementioned clubs, plus Tottenham, there are two Champions League places up for grabs. Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs will all talk of mounting serious
title claims, although not many outside those clubs themselves will agree too much. Arsenal have already added real quality to their squad in Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podlski and the excellent Santi Carzola, and may look to add more. The elephant no longer in the room, however, is Robin van Persie, who made his move to Old Trafford.
Talismanic captains have left Arsenal - Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas all believing greater success lay elsewhere - and Arsenal have failed to win a trophy since. The response for an Arsenal prediction seems as default as it has been for a while now. That said, they have bought established quality for the first time in years.
Chelsea have given Roberto di Matteo a two-year contract off the back of his stabilisation-job-come-European-glory last season. Clearly a lack of invention and creativity was highlighted as the reason for a poor domestic season. Sheer resolve got Chelsea through the latter stages and over the line in the Champions League but it somewhat masked the fact that this side is in great need of invigoration. Cue the slight profiles of a trio of attacking
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