Premier League 08/09 Preview: Part IV

At long last, the final installment of the Premier League preview!

5. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (at Middlesbrough, Aug. 16)
Stadium: White Heart Lane (Cap.: 36,310)
Manager: Juande Ramos

07 / 08 Finish: W 11, D 13, L 14, GD +5, P 46 (11th)

Perhaps the centre of attention in the Premier League this summer, Juande Ramos and Tottenham will this season reap the rewards of the stir they have caused. After stumbling for the first few months of last season, Spurs made steady progress after Maritn Jol was sacked and Ramos was installed as manager, culminating in their League Cup triumph over Chelsea. The team has improved iteself in almost every area of the pitch, and will be one of the treats to watch this term. The additions of David Bentley, Luka Modric and Gio dos Santos will bring verve to the midfield, while Heurelho Gomes will add solidity in net. Players added last season, including Scottish fullback Alan Hutton and Jonathan Woodgate, should continue to flourish. Ramos still may lose Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United, which will surely impact the teams fortunes, but Spurs will remain the best candidate to challenge the dominance of the top four this year, and in years to come.

IN: David Bentley (Blackburn, £15m rising to £17m); Luka Modric (Dinamo Zagreb, £16.8m); Heurelho Gomes (PSV Eindhoven, £8m); Giovani dos Santos (Barcelona, £4.7m rising to £8.6m); John Bostock (Crystal Palace, £700,000 rising to £2.15m); Paul-Jose Mpoku (Standard Liege; undisclosed)

OUT: Robbie Keane (Liverpool, £19m rising to £20.3m); Pascal Chimbonda (Sunderland, £4.9m); Steed Malbranque (Sunderland, £4m); Paul Robinson (Blackburn, £3.5m); Teemu Tainio (Sunderland, £3.5m); Younes Kaboul (Portsmouth, undisclosed); Tommy Forecast (Southampton, undisclosed); Joe Martin (Blackpool, undisclosed); Simon Dawkins (Leyton Orient, six month loan); Anthony Gardner (Hull, six month loan); Jake Livermore (Crewe, six month loan); Leigh Mills (Brentford, season loan); Jamie Davis (released); Radwan Hamed (released); Chris Riley (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Robbie Keane 15
Dimitar Berbatov 15
Darren Bent 6
Jermaine Defoe 4
Jermaine Jenas 4
Steed Malbranque 4

4. ARSENAL (v. West Brom, Aug. 16)
Stadium: Emirates Stadium (Cap.: 60,355)
Manager: Arsne Wenger

07 / 08 Finish: W 24, D 11, L 3, GD +43, P 83 (3rd)

In December of last season, the Premier League was Arsenal's to lose. They lost. It was felt that between their run in the Champions League and the English season proper, their squad was too thin to compete over the 10-month haul. Arsene Wenger has responded by ... signing a teenager (Aaron Ramsey) and a player barely out of his teens (Samir Nasri). Now, I'm not one to question Wengers aptitude when it comes to identifying talent, but to me, it seems the Frenchman is content to fade from contention this season as well. Arsenal have the starting eleven to best any other club in the league, but not over the 50-plus games they will likely play over the course of the season. Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor will continue to terrorize defences, but if and when they break down, watch out. The loss of both Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini will be felt at some point this year. For the sake of the Gunner faithful, I hope that some of the ticket revenues generated by 60,000 fans can manage to purchase some cavalry before some of the teams beneath Arsenal sneak up from behind.

IN: Samir Nasri (Marseille, £12.8m); Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff, £5m); Francis Coquelin (Stade Lavallois, free); Amaury Bischoff (Werder Bremen, undisclosed)

OUT: Alexander Hleb (Barcelona, £11.8m rising to £13.5m); Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos, £1m); Mathieu Flamini (AC Milan, free); Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart, free); Kerrea Gilbert (Leicester, season loan)

Top League Goalscorers:
Emmanuel Adebayor 24
Robin Van Persie 7
Cesc Fabregas 7
Tomas Rosicky 6
Nicklas Bendtner 5

3. LIVERPOOL (at Sunderland, Aug. 16)
Stadium: Anfield (Cap.: 45,522)
Manager: Rafael Benitez

07 / 08 Finish: W 21, D 13, L 4, GD +39, P 76 (4th)

Liverpool start this season hoping they can have a say in ensuring Manchester United don't match their English record of 18 league championships. Easier said than done. Rafa Benitez has made some moves that will help end a title drought that is creeping up on two decades, but it remains to be seen whether he has done enough. Robbie Keane is sure to bring goals to Anfield, both for himself and for last season's top marksman Fernando Torres. Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen bring added depth to a solid back line, which will benefit from the return to fitness of Daniel Agger, who missed most of last season through injury. What is still missing is a true wing player, especially vital as Benitez has grown fond of the 4-2-3-1 formation that demands a pair of skilled wide players. Ryan Babel could fill one half of that role while Keane may get drafted into the other, but a born-and-bred winger is what the Reds truly need. The biggest threat to a championship for the red half of Liverpool may lie in the boardroom however, as the travials of the two American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, won't seem to go away.

IN: Robbie Keane (Tottenham, £19m rising to £20.3m); Andrea Dossena (Udinese, £7m); Diego Cavalieri (Palmeiras, £3m ); David Ngog (Paris St-Germain, £1.5m); Nikola Saric (Herfolge, £600,000); Vincent Weijl (AZ Alkmaar, nominal fee); Christopher Buchtmann (Borussia Dortmund, undisclosed); Philipp Degen (Borussia Dortmund, free); Emmanuel Mendy (Murcia Deportivo, free); Zsolt Poloskei (MTK Hungaria, season loan)

OUT: John Arne Riise (Roma, £4m); Scott Carson (WBA, £3.25m); Peter Crouch (Portsmouth, £9m rising to £11m); Danny Guthrie (Newcastle, £2.5m); Anthony Le Tallec (Le Mans, £1.1m); Charlie Barnett (Tranmere, free); Besian Idrizaj (Wacker Innsbruck, free); Harry Kewell (Galatasaray, free); Godwin Antwi (Tranmere, six month loan); Adam Hammill (Blackpool, six month loan); Jack Hobbs (Leicester City, season loan); Robbie Threlfall (Hereford United, season loan); David Martin (Leicester, six month loan); Sebastien Leto (Olympiakos, two year loan)

Top League Goalscorers:
Fernando Torres 24
Steven Gerrard 11
Peter Crouch 5
Andriy Voronin 5
Ryan Babel 4
Yossi Benayoun 4

2. MANCHESTER UNITED (v. Newcastle, Aug. 17)
Stadium: Old Trafford (Cap.: 76,212)
Manager: Alex Ferguson

07 / 08 Finish: W 27, D 6, L 5, GD +58, P 87 (1st)

United's chances to win three league titles in a row rest on one of two things: Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 30-plus league goals again or someone else to pick up the slack. The imminent arrival of Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov remains just a bunch of newspaper fodder, while it remains to be seen whether Ronaldo can recover from ankle surgery and rekindle his other-worldly form of last season. Along with Chelsea, Manchester United have oodles of depth and talent at every position. But their double from last season was secured largely without a traditional centre forward. Berbatov would fill the role, and surely create space for the likes of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez to further increase their goal tallies. Alex Ferguson has chosen not to invest further in the transfer market this summer, pinning his hopes on a squad that failed to win only 11 times (six draws, five losses) in 38 attempts last season. Not the worst bet, but with other clubs continuing to improve, it may turn out to cost the Red Devils come May.

IN: Davide Petrucci (Roma, £200,000)

OUT: Gerard Pique (Barcelona, £4m); Chris Eagles (Burnley, £1.2m); Richie Jones (Hartlepool, free); Michael Lea (Scunthorpe, free); Kieron Lee (Oldham, free); Conor McCormack (Triestina, free); David Williams (Oldham, free); Tom Heaton (Cardiff, season loan); Ferbin Brandy (Swansea, six month loan extension); Danny Simpson (Blackburn, season loan); Michael Barnes (released); Sean Evans (released); Chris Fagan (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Cristiano Ronaldo 31
Carlos Tevez 14
Wayne Rooney 12
Louis Saha 5
Nani 3
Ryan Giggs 3

1. CHELSEA (v. Portsmouth, Aug. 17)
Stadium: Stamford Bridge (Cap.: 42,360)
Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari

07 / 08 Finish: W 25, D 10, L 3, GD +39, P 85 (2nd)

When one of your biggest concerns is whether you can find any playing time for the likes of Joe Cole. things aren't bad. Felipe Scolari's Chelsea squad are dripping with talent, enough that it should bring the championship back to Stamford Bridge this season. The Blues only lost the title by two points last year, and the arrivals of full back Bosingwa and midfielder Deco will only make Chelsea stronger. Yes, they still only have a pair of strikers in Nicholas Anelka and Didier Drogba, but with German Michael Ballack back to his former, all-world self, the problem isn't nearly as glaring. And if it proves a problem, owner Roman Abramovich's pockets are still the deepest around. It will be interesting to see what sort of effect Scolari will have on Chelsea's style this year, which has bordered on drab or outright boring in the past. But really, this shouldn't matter too much in the end, so long as Scolari wins, everyone, including Abramovich himself, will be happy.

IN: Jose Bosingwa (Porto, £16.2m); Deco (Barcelona, £7.9m)

OUT: Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa, £5m); Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart, £4m); Tal Ben Haim (Manchester City, £3m); Claude Makelele (Paris St-Germain, free); Harry Worley (Leicester, free); Ryan Bertrand (Norwich, season loan); Shaun Cummings (MK Dons, one month loan); Slobodan Rajkovic (FC Twente, season loan); Ben Sahar (Portsmouth, season loan); Michael Modubi (Westerloo, season loan); Jeffrey Ntuka (Westerloo, season loan); Emmanuel Sarki (Westerloo, season loan); Jimmy Smith (Sheffield Wednesday, season loan); Hernan Crespo (Inter Milan; season loan); Anthony Grant (released); Adrian Pettigrew (released); James Simmonds (released); Phil Younghusband (released)

Top League Goalscorers:
Frank Lampard 10
Didier Drogba 8
Michael Ballack 7
Saloman Kalou 7
Joe Cole 7