My Premiership predictions

With the World Cup fading into the memory as England come roaring back with a scintillating 2-1 victory over the mighty Hungary ;-) the new Premiership season is almost upon us.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to share my predictions for how the table will finish. In reverse order:

20) Blackpool: It's great to see Blackpool get their taste of glory and we all love Ian Holloway, but the harsh reality is that his current squad is arguably the weakest ever to reach the Premiership (Derby were just unlucky). Will require a miracle to stay up.

19) West Brom: The ultimate yo-yo club, they've done nothing in the transfer market to suggest they can buck their usual trend this time out.

18) Wigan: Have done wonderfully well to survive this long in the elite considering the size of the club, but their were warning signs last season and I'm not sure their assorted obscure Latin Americans will be enough to save them.

17) Wolves: Hard to see any improvement on last year, but with a battling attitude and Kevin Doyle up front, they should have just about enough to live to fight another day.

16) West Ham: Avram Grant is a very underrated manager, but there's still not enough quality in the Hammers' ranks to enable them to push on, especially with Carlton Cole, Upson & maybe Parker seemingly on their way out. Another undistinguished season awaits.

15) Newcastle: On paper, this side isn't any better than the one that went down in 2009, but the mood is more settled at St.James's Park now under Chris Hughton, which should be enough to ensure survival is relatively comfortable.

14) Bolton: Never ones to please the purists, but improved under Owen Coyle last season and Martin Petrov could introduce some welcome attacking flair. Solid but unspectacular once again.

13) Sunderland: Steve Bruce's team are frustratingly inconsistent and following the questionable decision to sell Kenwyne Jones will be over-reliant on Darren Bent for goals. A top half finish will be demanded but looks unlikely.

12) Stoke: The arrival of the aforementioned Mr Jones for a club record £8 million signals Stoke's ambition, but while the Britannia Stadium is undoubtedly one of the Premiership's most intimidating arenas, Tony Pulis's team still lack the finesse to break down the better teams away from home.

11) Blackburn: Similar to Bolton in that they are unlikely to win many points for artistic merit but have become hard to beat, led by Kiwi World Cup hero Ryan Nelson and boosted by a good crop of youngsters. Nevertheless, hard to see them progressing beyond mid-table respectability.

10) Aston Villa: Three consecutive sixth place finishes may be as good as it gets for Villa. With Martin O'Neill's ill-timed departure, speculation over James Milner and other key players and a chairman keen to run the club frugally, it's hard to see anything other than regression this term.

9) Fulham: Mark Hughes is a proven Premiership manager and he has inherited a strong, settled and increasingly confident group of players from Roy Hodgson. Their European adventure distracted them from the League slightly last season, but expect a top ten showing this time with Bobby Zamora leading the way.

8) Birmingham City: Came on in leaps and bounds last season, and with Ben Foster replacing Joe Hart behind a miserly defence and the addition of the giant Serbian striker Nikolai Zigic to improve their goalscoring threat, they should at least emulate last season's 9th place.

7) Manchester City: Many observers believe a top four finish or even a title push is inevitable, but I just can't see it. Roberto Mancini has assembled a vast, bloated squad of highly paid players, but with the exception of Tevez and Robinho (both of whom can be as disruptive as they are deadly) and David Silva (unproven in England) they lack the world class quality to be found in Chelsea, Man Utd or Arsenal's squads. Deciding on a first choice side and keeping the fringe players happy will be a big enough challenge for Mancini without the added pressure of silverware, and a failure to deliver it will cost him his job - assuming he even makes it as far as next May.

6) Liverpool: After last season's alarming decline and continuing uncertainty over who will own the club, Roy Hodgson's steady hand is just what Liverpool need. Joe Cole will add quality in midfield while Stevie G and Torres remain unstoppable on their day, but the squad still lacks depth, especially in defence where Jamie Carragher is creaking alarmingly. Better than last season, but not much.

5) Spurs: Well capable of equalling or even improving on last year's fourth place, but I fear the excitement and demands of the Champions League may cost them a little this season and see them just miss out on a second consecutive qualification. Still just short of the depth and top, top drawer quality to challenge on two fronts.

4) Everton: But for an injury-plagued first half of the season, Everton would have been in the mix for fourth last season, and with their full squad available and star man Mikael Arteta on a new contract I expect them to be this year's surprise package. Much will depend on Louis Saha staying fit often enough to guarantee goals, as their other striker options are limited.

3) Arsenal: Were in the race for much of last season and should be in the mix again, with the talismanic Fabregas still at the Emirates and Marouane Chamakh adding extra physicality and goals up front. But the suspicion remains that for all their attacking brilliance, their defence and goalkeeper still aren't quite up to the task.

2) Chelsea: Should really have won at a canter last season, but in the end nearly threw the title away to an unremarkable Man Utd side. The return of the superb Essien will add to their energy in midfield, but there's no escaping the fact that their best players are all the wrong side of 30 and probably past their best. With little evidence of top quality young talent ready to share the burden, expect a slight dip although still a strong challenge.

1) Man Utd: There's arguably no outstanding team in the Premiership at the moment, and this certainly isn't a vintage Utd team. Even more than Chelsea, key players like Van Der Sar, Ferdinand, Scholes and Giggs are entering their twilight years, and Utd continue to lack real authority in midfield if the latter two veterans aren't in the team. But with players like Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Valencia and Rooney, plus the arrival of Javier Hernandez to help share the goalscoring burden, Utd have more options than Chelsea and I expect them to improve enough this season to narrowly reclaim their title as the best of a relatively bad bunch of contenders.



So there we have it! Would be good to hear your thoughts.

Regards

The Sage