MANCHESTER CITY F.C.
- 08/09 finish: 10th
- Honors: none
- Manager: Mark Hughes (1 yr)
- Top Scorer: Robinho (14 goals)
- Player of the year: Stephen Ireland (Midfielder)
- Key additions: Carlos Tevez (Man United), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)
- Key Departures: Jo (on loan to everton)
- Points taken against the top 4: 4 (Manchester City 3-0 Arsenal) (Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool)
- Needs: top class defender/leader
- Keys to success in 09/10: No european football, cut down on defensive mistakes, establish a definitive starting 11 and team leader
- Predicted starting 11 and formation:
Shay Given
Richards---Dunne(C)--Onuoha---Bridge
Ireland--Kompany--Barry
Robinho--Adebayor--Tevez
- Strength: Attacking and midfield depth
- Weakness: Defense, mental strength(conceded 13 goals between the 75 and 90 min marks), away form (-14 goal difference)
- Breakout player: Carlos Tevez, when ever he is on the pitch he is a force and will benefit from consistent playing time. May not lead the team in goals but his work ethic should have a positive effect on the whole squad
MANCHESTER UNITED F.C.
- 08/09 finish: 1st
- Honors: EPL champions, FA Community Shield, FIFA club world cup, FA league cup, Champions League and European super cup runners-up
- Manager: Sir Alex Furgusen (23 yrs)
- Top Scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo (18 goals)
- Player of the year: Nemanja Vidic (Defender)
- Player additions: Michael Owen (Newcastle), Antonio Valencia (Wigan), Gabriel Obertan (Bordeaux)
- Player Departures: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Man City
), Fraizer Campbell (Sunderland) - Points taken against the other 4: 11 (Man United 1-1 Chelsea) (Man Utd 3-0 Chelsea) (Man Utd 0-0 Arsenal) (Man Utd 1-0 Man City) (Man Utd 2-0 Man City)
- Needs: Replace Ronaldo's goals, a midfield creater, Ben Foster to show progress
- Keys to success in 09/10: Back 4 remains strong, young players step-up, Michael Owen's ability to stay fit.
- Predicted starting 11 and formation:
Edwin Van Der Sar
Rafael--Ferdinand--Vidic--Evra
Valencia--Anderson--Carrick--Giggs
Berbatov----Rooney
- Strength: Championship Mentality, Strongest back 4/keeper in England(only conceded once every 142 mins), Talented youth players on the bench
- Weakness: lack of midfield creativity, CB's have trouble with speedy strikers
- Breakout player: Rafael, the brazilian is coming off his first full season at united and terrorized defenders with his flair. Should match up well with Valencia. Also look out for Wayne Rooney to shine now that the spotlight is on him
LIVERPOOL F.C.
- 08/09 finish: 2nd
- Honors: none
- Manager: Rafa Benitez (5 yrs)
- Top scorer: Steven Gerrard (16 goals)
- Player of the year: Steven Gerrard (Midfielder)
- Key additions: Glen Johnson (Portsmouth)
- Key departures: Jermaine Pennant (Zaragoza)
- Points taken against the other 4: 18 ( LFC 2-1 MUFC) (LFC 4-1 MUFC) (LFC 1-1 MCFC) (LFC 3-2 MCFC) (LFC 4-4 AFC) (LFC 1-1 AFC) (LFC 2-0 CFC) (LFC 1-0 CFC)
- Needs: more consistent play
- Keys to success in 09/10: Fernando Torres returns to the 07/08 Fernando Torres and remains fit, continue scoring goals (most in epl 08/09 with 77) and continue home form (0 losses in the epl at home), better record against inferior opponents
- Predicted starting 11 and formation
Reina
Johnson--Skrtel--Carragher--Aurelio
Kuyt--Alonso--Mascherano--Riera
Gerrard(C)
Torres
- Strength: Can counter attack like no other(scored 26 goals between 75 and 90 min mark), no selection headaches, Gerrard provides top leadership
- Weakness: inability to beat the bottom teams cost them the title, Reina can be shaky at times, lack of overall squad depth
- Breakout Player: Fernando Torres looks ready to take liverpool to the next level. If he can stay healthy he will win the epl golden boot
CHELSEA F.C.
- 08/09 finish: 3rd
- Honors: FA cup
- Manager: Carlo Ancelloti (month)
- Player of the year: Frank Lampard (Midfielder)
- Key addition: Yuri Zhirkuv (CSKA Moscow), Daniel Sturridge(Man City), Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan)
- Key departure: none
- Points taken against the other 4: 10 (CFC 4-1 AFC) (CFC 1-0 MCFC) (CFC 1-1 MUFC) (CFC 3-1 MCFC)
- Needs: Play maker, depth defensively
- Keys to success in 09/10: Start the season strong, bard starts have cost them the last 2 titles, Deco to be the player he once was, Drogba and Joe Cole to stay fit
- Predicted starting 11 and formation:
Cech
Bosingwa--Carvalho--Terry(C)--Cole
J. Cole--Lampard--Essien--Malouda
Anelka--Drogba
- Strength: Strong leadership, Big strong defense and 2 solid strikers, essien and lampard are 2 of the best midfielders in the world
- Weakness: way too inconsistent, suffer mental breakdowns at times, Cech can lose confidence in a hurry, everyone in the 11 has injury problems.
- Breakout player: Branislav Ivanovic, a player who gives solid performance. made a name for himself in the champions league against liverpool, could step in for carvalho if his injury problems continue
ARSENAL F.C.
- 08/09 finish: 4th
- Honors: none
- Manager: Arsene Wenger (13 yrs)
- Player of the year: Robert Van Persie (Forward)
- Key additions: Thomas Vermaelen (Ajax)
- Key departure: Emmanuel Adebayor (Man City)
- Points taken against other 4: 11 (AFC 2-1 MUFC) (AFC 2-1 CFC) (AFC 2-0 MCFC) (AFC 4-4 LFC) (AFC 0-0 MUFC)
- Needs: defensive depth, holding midfielder
- Keys to success 08/09: Quality play from back, eduardo staying fit, cesc to be a true captain, Theo Walcott being the player he can be
- Predicted starting 11 and formation:
Manuel Almunia
Sagna--Toure--Gallas--Clichy
Walcott--Cesc(C)--Nasri--Arshavin
Van Persie--Eduardo
- Strength: have enough pace and skill to feed the needy, Van Persie is top class, Clichy and Sagna could be the greatest fullback combination in the world
- Weakness: No holding midfield, lack mental toughness(conceded 62% of all goals conceded in the 2nd half), are very young(avg player age 22), tend to get injuries during crucial stretches
- Breakout player: Andrey Arshavin, first full year with Arsenal, showed brilliance while scoring 4 goal against liverpool....in one game!!!
Manchester City, on paper, are a side that can do things. Are they top 4 as we speak? I think not. They lack a key defender and leader. Scoring goals wasn't city's problem....it was conceding them. So until they add defenders its hard to see them jump into the top 4. Everton is the more likely at the moment. City will take time. I say in 2 yrs they will be in the champions league. But for now, the citizens will have to have patients.
GUELINHO
COPA
LIGA
CHAMPIONS
Mes Que un Club
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