Premier League 08/09 Preview: Part II

Here we go with part two of the preview:

15. BOLTON WANDERERS (v. Stoke City, Aug. 16)
Stadium: Reebok Stadium (Cap.: 28,723)
Manager: Gary Megson

07 / 08 Finish: W 9, D 10, L 19, GD -18, P 37 (16th)

There will be nervous days come May at the Reebok Stadium. Gary Megson and company should brace themselves for another season rooted near the foot of the table. As has been the case with Bolton teams since their arrival in the Premier League, there has been little in the way of transfer funding, meaning the club has needed to find success on the cheap, through the graft of its manager. Unfortunately, Megson has little of this precious commodity on hand, and the squad has been meagerly improved over the summer. He handily kept the team afloat last season, even after losing Nicholas Anelka in January. New signing Johan Elmander may eventually become a promising Premier League player, but his impact won’t be enough this season to justify the price tag, nor keep the Wanderers faithful from pining for the likes of Anelka. Danny Shittu however, is a solid defender from the Championship who has earned the right to prove himself at the top level. Kevin Nolan will once again need to carry Bolton on his back, and the Wanderers should have enough in the tank to avoid the drop, as they did last season, but there will be tense times in the northwest.

IN: Johan Elmander (Toulouse, £10m + Daniel Braaten); Fabrice Muamba (Birmingham, £5.5m); Danny Shittu (Watford, undisclosed); Mustapha Riga (Levante, undisclosed);

OUT: El-Hadji Diouf (Sunderland, £2.5m); Daniel Braaten (Toulouse, swap); Andranik Teymourian (Fulham, free); Ivan Campo (released); Mark Ellis (released); Stelios Giannakopoulos (released); Johann Smith (released); Les Thompson (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Nicholas Anelka 10
Kevin Nolan 5
El-Hadji Diouf 4
Matthew Taylor 3
Kevin Davies 3

14. BLACKBURN ROVERS (at Everton, Aug. 16)
Stadium: Ewood Park (Cap.: 31,367)
Manager: Paul Ince

07 / 08 Finish: W 15, D 13, L 10, GD +2, P 58 (7th)

Paul Ince has a job on his hands. The triumphant former MK Dons manager will quickly learn the cruelty of the top flight this season. Star winger David Bentley is gone, goal keeping saviour Brad Friedel is gone and the glue that seems to have kept Blackburn together, Mark Hughes, is also gone. Ince will need to rebuild bridges with the squad, and learn to cope with a diminished first team. Paul Robinson will play a big part in determining Rovers’ fate this term and has big boots to fill. Friedel was the basis of much of Blackburn’s success over the past few seasons and remains one of the Premier League’s top keepers. Robinson is … Robinson. Ince will have a good strike force this year with Roque Santa Cruz and Benni McCarthy up front (and a useful Jason Roberts on the bench), but play maker Morten Gamst Pedersen will need to find his form of two years ago in order to fill the gap left by Bentley in the midfield. Ince will have to deal with some discontent in the boot room, with the likes of Santa Cruz rumoured to be looking for greener pastures, and this will be the defining theme of his first season at the top. It will be a long season at Ewood Park …

IN: Paul Robinson (Tottenham, £3.5m); Carlos Villanueva (Audax Italiano, season loan); Danny Simpson (Manchester United, season loan); Julio Santa Cruz (Cerro Porteno, undisclosed)

OUT: David Bentley (Tottenham, £15m rising to £17m); Brad Friedel (Aston Villa, £2.5m); Peter Enckelman (Cardiff, free); Rafael De Vita (Livingston, free); Jamie Clarke (Accrington, six month loan); Osahon Eboigne (OH Leuven, season loan); Bruno Berner (released); Stephane Henchoz (released); Zak Jones (released); Darragh Tuffy (released); Francis Zenaba (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Roque Santa Cruz 19
Benni McCarthy 8
David Bentley 6
Morten Gamst Pedersen 4
Matt Derbyshire 3
Jason Roberts 3

13. WIGAN ATHLETIC (at West Ham, Aug. 16)
Stadium: JJB Stadium (Cap.: 25,138)
Manager: Steve Bruce

07 / 08 Finish: W 10, D 10, L 18, GD -17, P 40 (14th)

A competent, if unspectacular side has been quickly built by Steve Bruce at Wigan, relying on a similar formula for success he instilled at, err, Birmingham? Really though, Bruce did efficiently guide the Latics to safety last season and should be a safe bet to do so again, if only because he’s a better manager than some beneath him and because he’ll avoid the upheaval that other teams will surely endure over the course of the season. A healthy strike pairing of Marcus Bent and Emile Heskey will supply goals; Olivier Kapo and Daniel de Ridder, both arriving from Birmingham, will add depth to the midfield while Lee Cattermole should make Gareth Southgate rue the day he agreed to let the holding midfielder move on. Things won’t be easy for Wigan (they could use somebody to pair with Paul Scharner other than Titus Bramble in the heart of defence), but a full season with Bruce at the helm should continue the clubs conversion into a Premier League regular.

IN: Lee Cattermole (Middlesbrough, £3.5m); Olivier Kapo (Birmingham, £3.5m); Daniel de Ridder (Birmingham, free); Amr Zaki (Zamalek, season loan)

OUT: David Cotterill (Sheffield United, £1.5m); Andreas Granqvist (Gronigen, £795,000); Julius Aghahowa (Kayserispor, free); Salomon Olembe (Kayserispor, free); Josip Skoko (Hajduk Split, free); Peter Moore (released); Russell Saunders (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Marcus Bent 7
Antoine Sibierski 4
Emile Heskey 4
Paul Scharner 4
Antonio Valencia 3
Ryan Taylor 3

12. FULHAM (at Hull City, Aug. 16)
Stadium: Craven Cottage (Cap.: 26,600)
Manager: Roy Hodgson

07 / 08 Finish: W 8, D 12, L 18, GD -22, P 36 (17th)


After performing the Great Escape on the final day of last season, Roy Hodgson got straight to work ensuring a similar scenario won’t play out again this term. The addition of Andy Johnson from Everton should make teams like Middlesbrough and Bolton jealous. Johnson, who was mired on the bench at Goodison for most of last year, will make an instant impact for the Cottagers – who knows, maybe he’ll even make Bobby Zamora look good! Perhaps the most important thing for Fulham this season will be the continued form of captain Danny Murphy, who emerged from a shell under Hodgson. Along with Simon Davies, Clint Dempsey and newcomer Zoltan Gera, the Fulham midfield looks promising. Mark Schwarzer will be a boost in goal as well. Perhaps the biggest plus for Hodgson over the summer has been that he hasn’t had to sell any key players. Fulham at the very least should put on a good show and they’ll certainly find a comfortable place at the lower end of mid-table.

IN: Andrew Johnson (Everton, undisclosed); Bobby Zamora (West Ham United, £5.8m); Fredrik Stoor (Rosenborg, £2m); John Pantsil (West Ham United, £500,000); David Stockdale (Darlington, £350,000 rising to £650,000); Zoltan Gera (WBA, free); Toni Kallio (BSC Young Boys, free); Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough, free); Andranik Teymourian (Bolton, free); Pascal Zuberbuhler (Neuchatel Xamax, free)

OUT: Ricardo Batista (Sporting Lisbon, £120,000); Nathan Ashton (Wycombe, undisclosed); Dejan Stefanovic (Norwich, undisclosed); Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, free); Brian McBride (Toronto FC, free); Bradley Hudson-Odoi (Hereford United, free); Michael Timlin (Swindon, free); Bjorn Runstrom (Odense, free); Tony Warner (Hull City, free); Lee Cook (QPR, season loan); Elliot Omuzusi (Norwich, season loan); Corrin Brooks-Meade (released); Phillippe Christanval (released); Ismael Ehui (released); Simon Elliot (released); Jari Litmanen (released); Ian Pearce (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Clint Dempsey 6
Danny Murphy 5
Simon Davies 5
Diomansy Kamara 5
David Healy 4
Brian McBride 4

11. WEST HAM UNITED (v. Wigan Athletic, Aug. 16)
Stadium: The Boleyn Ground (Cap.: 35,647)
Manager: Alan Curbishley

07 / 08 Finish: W 13, D 10, L 15, GD -8, P 49 (10th)

The Hammers persevere in spite of themselves. That they were able to field a team by mid-season last term was a miracle on its own, so riddle with injuries was the squad. Yet when healthy, West Ham provide a challenge for most teams in the Premier League. Striker Dean Ashton will go hand-in-hand with success at Upton Park this season: in spite of being injured for good chunks of the season, Ashton managed 10 goals. If Craig Bellamy can stay healthy, the pairing could become even more potent. He looks set to build on that tally and should figure in an England team hunting high and low for strikers. Robert Green should continue his unappreciated excellence in goal. The defensive unit of Lucas Neill, George McCartney, Matthew Upson and Anton Ferdinand has been bolstered with the arrival of Swiss international Valon Behrami. In midfield, Alan Curbishley, in a stroke of expensive yet seemingly rare wisdom, relieved the Hammers faithful from having to endure any more of Freddie Ljungberg. Now if only he’ll do the same with Kieron Dyer … West Ham have lofty goals this season, with Curbishley musing about Europe. They should be able to improve on last season’s 49 points, but teams ahead of them have improved enough that their final league position should change little.

IN: Valon Behrami (Lazio, £5m); Balint Bajner (Liberty Oradea, undisclosed); Orn Eyjolfsson (HK Kopavogur, undisclosed); Jan Lastuvka (Shakhtar Donetsk, season loan); Georg Grasser (Grazer AK, undisclosed)

OUT: Bobby Zamora (Fulham, £5.8m); John Pantsil (Fulham, £500,000); Richard Wright (Ipswich, £500,000); Zavon Hines (Chesterfield, season loan); Ben Hunt (Bristol Rovers, free); Christian Dailly (Rangers, free); Lorcan Fitzgerald (released); Lee Hales (released); Nolberto Solano (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Dean Ashton 10
Carlton Cole 5
Lee Bowyer 4
Nolberto Solano 4
Matthew Etherington 3

TOMMORROW: Check out Part III of the Premier League Preview, featuring the 5 - 10 place teams.