United Corner- New Season, New Hopes (August 19th 2019)

United Corner- New Season, New Hopes

At the start of the 2019/20 season it feels like the three of the top four places in the Premier League are going to be taken by Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, but Manchester United fans have to believe there have been enough changes at clubs below those three that can give them the edge to earn their way back into the Champions League.

Like the 2016/17 season, Manchester United have two paths back into the Champions League in front of them and I do think a similar approach should be taken to this season as United had under Jose Mourinho to that season. Simply put United have to make sure both avenues through to the Champions League remain alive going into the final couple of months of the season.

Finding the balance between the Premier League and Europa League won't be easy, but it should not be lost on the fans that two of the last three editions of this competition have been won by English clubs. With a battle expected for a top four spot, Manchester United have to make sure they have every opportunity available to them for a return to the Champions League.

The 4-0 win over Chelsea to open the season will definitely have given the whole squad a shot of belief as well as the fans who were not used to seeing clean sheets at Old Trafford, but no one wants to get too carried away about a single game. On another day Chelsea would have got plenty out of that fixture with the way the game was developing up until Anthony Martial scored Manchester United's second goal, and I think most will know United have to be much improved going forward to find the consistency they will need to move back into the top four.

The top four- there was a time when that was a given for Manchester United and the only concerns at the start of a season would have been regarding a title challenge.

Under the current ownership United couldn't be much further away from the last days of Sir Alex Ferguson and it can't be ignored that their finishing positions in the six seasons since he retired have been 7th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 2nd and 6th.

Let's be honest for a second- Sir Alex was extracting every last bit of magic he had to keep United punching way above their weight during a period when there was apparently 'no value in the market'. David Moyes came in and things began to fall apart pretty quickly as a overachieving squad didn't appreciate the new voice in the dressing room who had removed most links to the Ferguson era in terms of his backroom staff, but the focus should not only be on the manager.

Another big change that summer was the departure of David Gill and the incoming Dick 'Ed Woodward who as proved a disaster as far as the footballing side of the club is concerned. For some unknown reason Woodward has not only considered him a master negotiator, despite the clear evidence to the contrary over the last six years, but he always seems to believe he knows more about football than those he is appointing to manage the club.

David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have all come and gone and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the fourth manager of this club in the six seasons that have been completed since Sir Alex retired. The one overarching feature has been Woodward and most owners would have recognised the problem at the club, but the Glazer family are not like most owners.

Manchester United has long been seen as an investment in which they have spent very little of their own money and been able to take out fortunes to the detriment of the Stadium and the playing staff. Twelve months ago the master tactician Woodward didn't want to invest in the playing squad for Jose Mourinho because he didn't believe there were better defenders on the list given to him than those already at the club.

Yet twelve months later he buys the player that Mourinho had requested? It all points back to finding the cheapest way to get into the top four while a title challenge is clearly not something that the club are going to chase, but more hope that is something that may fall into their laps. Otherwise it makes no sense to not back your manager after he has guided the team to 2nd place in the Premier League, but clearly with a significant gap to the Champions Manchester City at the end of the 2017/18 season.

Too often those who don't have a deeper look talk about the money United have spent under the Glazers, but it is only a tiny fraction of what those people have taken out of the club through their debt management or dividends they feel they are entitled to at the end of the season. This off-season a club that finished over 30 points off the top four invested around 70 million pounds when you include the money that came back into the club and only a fool would believe that is designed to get closer to Liverpool and Manchester City rather than trying to close the gap to those chasing the top four places.

We have seen 'Glazers Out' and 'Woodward Out' trending at times on social media, but the former aren't going anywhere until they receive a huge bid and even then the new owners would likely come from backgrounds that won't impress everybody. And Dick 'Ed Woodward is very secure in his role considering he is making the Glazers money hand over fist and ultimately that is all they really care about rather than the level of performances Manchester United are producing week to week. With that in mind, it does point to a tough road to return to the top of English Football unless there is a touch of luck involved.

You would hope the fans will be able to do something about the ownership of the club and the clown that seems to be running the football side, but as I have said above I do feel both are very secure in their positions at the moment. The time came in 2005 when things may have been changed, but it has been too long now and I think we have to accept the way it is.

As a season ticket holder at Old Trafford I am not that impressed by people being critical of those who go to games- my love for United far outweighs my dislike of the Glazers and Woodward and I refuse to let those people force me to do something else with my weekends.

I do want to see United restored to their past glories and at the moment the only thing that can really be done is getting behind Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and hoping he can find the right formula to start turning the club back around.

I am not going to revise history though, I did not think Solskjaer was the right choice. His managerial career to this point has been below average at best and the only real claim he had to being manager was that he was a former player of the club, but Sir Matt Busby, Tommy Doherty and Sir Alex Ferguson didn't have those connections and all managed to turn United around when they came in during difficult periods.

Ultimately you need to be the right manager so I am hoping more than believing in Solskjaer at the moment, although I would love to be very wrong and will stick behind the manager for as long as he is in charge at Old Trafford. The poor run to end last season has to be a concern and I do think the remainder of August and early September will give us a real indication of what Solskjaer can achieve at the club.

Some will say he needs to be given a couple of years to really put his stamp on the squad, but I do feel Solskjaer will only be given that if Manchester United return to the Champions League at the end of this season. Over the next few weeks trips to Wolves, Southampton and West Ham United will be a real test for the manager and the club, especially considering United earned just a single point from those away games last season.

Home games against Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Arsenal round out the next six weeks and United only managed 5 points from those corresponding fixtures last season so we will learn plenty about the management team United have. Last weekend United did beat Chelsea, who earned a point at Old Trafford back in April, so that is a positive start, but I do feel Solskjaer needs to oversee at least 14 points from those six games coming up to make sure Manchester United remain on track for their ambitions to be achieved this season.

Even if United manage less than that, at this stage of the campaign the fans will stick behind the manager and rightly so. No matter our personal feelings about whether a player or manager is right for the club, I do think it is important to back them as United fans as we have done throughout our history.

There are going to be some obvious frustrations at times, but those should be focused on the board and above, even if ultimately the sword will fall on Solskjaer if things don't go as we would like. He might not have been my choice, but Solskjaer is our manager and I hope in nine months time I will regret ever doubting him.

The next few weeks are going to be very important for all United fans as the League settles down and we can really analyse where the team stands. I wasn't as happy as many that Romelu Lukaku was moved on, but we have to respect the fact that Solskjaer did not see a place for the Belgian in the way he wants his team to play and so it was better for both Lukaku and the club that he was sold.

It is a shame that money was not reinvested into a midfield that has lost Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera in recent months and I do think United look light there. There is going to be a sharp focus on the attackers to score enough goals to help United as I do think the midfield is going to struggle in plenty of games, especially when they come up against clever midfields that the likes of Wolves and Leicester City will employ.

Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will help defensively, but Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof are yet to convince and I am not sure Manchester United are going to be vastly improved at the back. On another day Chelsea score two or three goals last week and games in the next few weeks will tell us a lot about where United stand as I have said a few times now.

I am hopeful that a top four place can be earned- I don't think Arsenal have improved significantly from a defensive point of view and Chelsea's loss of Eden Hazard will hurt. Even if the next few weeks don't go as well as I would hope, I think it will be a season long battle for the top four as all those teams chasing those places have some inconsistent moments and I could even include Tottenham Hotspur in that.

It does mean United will have their chances, but much depends on whether they can score enough goals and I would not get carried away by the capitulation Chelsea had last week. I feel United have been left short of numbers when it comes to attacking areas on the pitch and the midfield- there are some very promising youngsters coming through, but I am not sure they can be relied upon to carry the club just yet.

Comparison to the 'Class of '92' feel wide of the mark as those players came in to play alongside established, proven Premier League winners in Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane and Eric Cantona and I am not sure the United current squad has those kind of winning personalities. It will make it harder for young players to make the impact they would want and I also think it would be harsh on them to be asked to fill in the obvious gaps in the squad if they are not suited to those positions.

Last week some suggested Mason Greenwood should start on the right of the team- while I agree that is a problem position, asking a 17 year old to play there when he is clearly a centre forward that likes scoring goals is not going to be good for his development.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is going to be judged on all of these decisions though, I just hope he gets them right.

This is a new season though and over the last couple of months the stench of the poor ending to the 2018/19 campaign has been washed off. Like many fans, I do come into this one with renewed optimism despite a sub-par off-season when United did not come close to making the kind of investment they had been suggesting at the end of last season.

I do think Maguire and Wan-Bissaka will improve the team and Daniel James can learn and develop, but the midfield conundrum continues to be on that the club either can't, or refuse to, address. I am hoping Fred can come good after a season becoming accustomed to the League and Scott McTominay can hopefully kick on, but United look short in there as well as failing to address the right side of the attack.

Deep down I feel it is going to be an inconsistent year in front of Manchester United, but I do think the top four is a fairly open battle and I expect United to be there or thereabouts. The Europa League should offer the club a long run in a major European competition and Chelsea proved you can finish in the top four of the Premier League and win that trophy too.

There will be moments of frustration and there will be ups and downs, but that's part of the journey of being a football fan. Manchester United's road to recovery and bridging the gap to two of their biggest rivals is not going to be a short one, and it will be rocky at times, but the hope is that there is finally a plan in place as to how United will get there.

With the Glazer family and Woodward around, I wouldn't count on it and we can only hope Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can help this squad achieve their full potential.

United Corner- A Painful April Ahead (March 31st 2017)

United Corner- A Painful April Ahead

The last time I wrote about Manchester United was in early February and the feeling was that Jose Mourinho had a positive six months and there was potentially an exciting end to the season for the fans to enjoy.

The English League Cup has been picked up, but the season was always going to be defined by whether or not Manchester United could return to the Champions League next season. As I have said before, it doesn't matter whether that was going to come via a top four finish in the Premier League or by winning the Europa League and it does feel good that Manchester United still have two doors available back into the premier competition of European Football.

Manchester United have shown they can still bring in the big names and pay the big prices when they are not in the Champions League, but missing out this season will mean the club have been out of that competition in three of the last four years. That will have a negative impact on how they are being perceived and I think all associated with Manchester United will understand that, especially Jose Mourinho who judges himself by how well his teams can make an impact in the Champions League.

That makes the next two months very important for Mourinho and his team and the successes in all four competitions they have entered this season, especially the three Cup competitions Manchester United have been involved in, means April is going to the busiest month for the club in terms of fixtures since the end of the 1970's.

Nine games from the 1st to the 30th of the month.

And each game is very important to Manchester United, although that is a situation that will be ever changing depending on the results they are able to achieve.


There is a feeling that Mourinho has already accepted that the best avenue for Manchester United to get back into the Champions League is by winning the Europa League and the remaining fixture list can't argue with that. Even the positive results in the weekend prior to the international break isn't likely going to be enough to change Mourinho's mind in that regards.

The list of the Last Eight teams in the Europa League is not exactly one that will intimidate Manchester United although the winner of the Lyon-Besiktas Quarter Final is likely to pose the biggest threat in that competition. With that in mind it is easy to understand why Mourinho will perhaps prioritise that competition, especially with Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea all still to play in the Premier League.

Anderlecht won't be a pushover in the Europa League Quarter Final but that is about as good a draw as United could have wanted in that competition at this stage and certainly looks an 'easier' path to the Champions League than the remaining League fixtures.


We should know a lot more about what Mourinho is thinking over the first week of April when Manchester United play West Brom and Everton at Old Trafford before the trip to Sunderland. If Manchester United can take 9 points from those games, and the teams above them in the race for the top four do drop points at the same time, Jose Mourinho could suddenly see a clear route through to the Champions League places via their Premier League finish.

Anything less than 9 points will likely mean all the eggs are having to be put into the Europa League basket and winning in Stockholm on May 24th.

With the injuries in the squad going into the opening week of April, it will be difficult for Manchester United but I do feel they need to keep both doors open at this time of the season. We saw what happened to Liverpool in the Europa League Final last season when focusing on that competition and a team like Lyon could be very difficult to play under the pressure of a one off game.


The key for the top four is going to be a run of games beginning on Sunday 16th April when Manchester United face Chelsea at Old Trafford. The Premier League games will be Chelsea at home, Burnley, Manchester City away, Swansea City at home, before back to back trips to Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Europa League Quarter Finals come around the Chelsea home game, while the Semi Finals are lined up around the Arsenal game and three days before the Tottenham Hotspur game. That is what makes the balance for Jose Mourinho so tough when it comes to picking his teams in each match, especially as Manchester United will need all the points they can collect in the Premier League if they are going to crack the top four places.

It all begins with the opening three games of the month though and anything less than those three wins I have mentioned might be too much for Manchester United to overcome.


April is going to be a painful month for the players and for the fans but it could be one that sets up a really successful finale for the team. Building momentum with wins early in the month will help Manchester United earn the confidence to take into the really difficult mid-April to mid-May fixtures they are likely to face.

Make no excuses, let's just get this month going with a positive win at Old Trafford on Saturday and look for the road to open up back into the Champions League. Other teams will drop points too and Manchester United have to be in a position to take advantage of that, but I think most will know how good the top four chances in the Premier League are by the time the First Leg of the Europa League Quarter Final is played on Thursday 13th April.

Premier League 2014/15 Preview (August 2014)

Even with the World Cup this summer, it has felt like a long time since the end of the Premier League season and the start of another new season. Maybe that wasn't helped by the fact that Manchester United have so much room to improve from what was a terrible season, the worst they have suffered in twenty-five years.

Whenever United lose a game, I just want the next one to come along as soon as possible to rectify the situation, so it has felt like a three month wait to get things back in order. In that time, Louis Van Gaal has been appointed and come into the club with a new philosophy on the field although the lack of signings has to be a concern considering the gap there is to make up.

Of course, there is the 'benefit' of being out of European competition altogether this season and United can very much replicate Liverpool from last season and certainly get back into the top four. The loss of Luis Suarez will affect Liverpool, as will the addition of Champions League football, and their fans will be hoping Brendan Rodgers can integrate the new signings much better than Andre Villas-Boas did at Tottenham Hotspur last season after they splurged the Gareth Bale money.


There are plenty of intriguing questions that need to be answered over the next nine months both at the top and bottom of the Premier League and below you will see the table that I am predicting at this stage. There is still plenty of time for teams to make signings and improve their chances with the transfer window still a little over two weeks from closing, so this prediction is simply on the shape of the squads as we get set for the first week of the new season.


1. Chelsea: It is certainly not the most out of the box pick for the Premier League title, but Chelsea look to have improved to the point of being able to overturn Manchester City. Apart from a couple of late lapses in concentration last season, Chelsea may have been able to win the Premier League with both Manchester City and Liverpool opening the door in the final weeks of the season.

The recall of Thibaut Courtois from Atletico Madrid and the signing of Diego Costa means Chelsea have two of the main four spine of a team that beat Real Madrid and Barcelona to the La Liga title and also reached the Champions League Final.

Both improve Chelsea and the arrival of Cesc Fabregas looks a great piece of business from Jose Mourinho. I would have loved to have seen the Spaniard walk through the doors of Old Trafford and he should take little time to settle in with his previous experience at Arsenal.

The key may be keeping Costa fit after his injuries towards the end of Atletico's season almost cost them the title and certainly didn't help in the Champions League Final. Having to rely on Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba for long periods would be tough for Chelsea as both are not the same players that were once so effective in the Premier League.


2. Manchester City: On a pure starting XI, I would fancy Manchester City to win the Premier League, but I think their depth of squad is still a concern and Sergio Aguero's injury-proneness would be a concern.

Can Yaya Toure really produce as much from midfield as he did last season? Can a defence integrating new faces provide the platform for success? These are two questions that may decide whether Manchester City can win the title for a second year in succession, but they have shown nerves down the stretch last season and I think they may find Chelsea a little too capable of winning games at key times to overcome.


3. Arsenal: After snapping their run without a trophy, Arsenal will have a new found belief in their ability to win trophies and that could make them a dangerous team through this Premier League season. The signing of Alexis Sanchez gives them another world class operator to pair with Mesut Ozil and I can see Arsenal improving once Theo Walcott returns.

If they can stay fit, Arsenal may be the surprise team of the season, although the issues remain in defensive areas and whether they are good enough against the very best.

However, Liverpool showed last season that being able to win the matches against the 'weaker' teams with consistency will provide the platform for a title challenge and this Arsenal teams looks capable of beating most teams in this Premier League. There is a small part of me that believes Arsenal are good enough to surprise the two teams I have placed above them, but I have settled for them here simply because of the lack of depth in key areas in defence and defensive midfield that may cost them in a long thirty-eight game season.

Also, in the history of the Premier League since it's inception, no team has won the title when they have finished outside the top three the previous season and that is another factor going against the Gunners.


4. Manchester United: The additions of Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera were supposed to be backed up by others, but it looks like Louis Van Gaal will be going into the season with a similar squad to last season. The losses of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic means Van Gaal has opted for a different formation to get the best out of his squad, although United do look short at the back.

I'd be more than a little surprised if there are no more additions to the squad before September swings around, but even the current squad may be good enough to get back into the top four.

Van Gaal will give the team a different confidence going into matches compared with how David Moyes approached things and the team have looked happier in pre-season. It's tough for teams to bounce from seventh all the way up into the top four, but Liverpool proved that playing one game a week is possible to do just that and I think that will help this United squad prepare fully for the Premier League and see them get back into the elite of Europe after a one year absence.


5. Liverpool: On the same path as above, I think the additional games of the Champions League was always going to give Brendan Rodgers a few more issues to negotiate and that was before they lost Luis Suarez to Barcelona.

It is a huge blow to the squad and I have not been convinced with the arrivals in the Uruguayan's place- they look over reliant on Daniel Sturridge up front and losing him for a prolonged period would give Liverpool a lot of problems in my opinion.

The extra games that come with Europe will sap energy and not allow Liverpool to focus on Premier League matters alone and I do believe they have missed their best chance to win the Premier League title that they will have in the foreseeable future. Getting back into the top four would be an achievement for the club, but it may prove to be a step too far for Liverpool this season.


6. Tottenham Hotspur: There are some major issues in defence that need resolving, but Mauricio Pochettino arrives at the club with the ability to get the best out of his squad of players and I think there is certainly some talent in the squad.

If Pochettino can get the best out of the likes of Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado, Spurs may be able to get a little closer to the top four, although the defensive problems means they are unlikely to prevent dropping a position this season.

I do think they will play much more attractive football this season than they were producing under Andre Villas-Boas, but I also think Spurs won't be as naive as they were when they played for Tim Sherwood. That balance may help the club get back into Europe, but they are still a season away from tackling a top four berth unless there are more arrivals before the transfer window closes.


7. Everton: There were a lot of plaudits for Roberto Martinez and his performances as manager of Everton in his first season here at Goodison Park and he deserved most of it.

The side were close to a top four berth and the signing of Romelu Lukaku for £28 million suggests the board are firmly behind the Spaniard and his belief that Everton are a top four club in the making. My issues are that the defence is a year older and doesn't have a lot of depth behind Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin despite how well John Stones did last season.

I also believe Everton surprised teams last season and their squad is going to be pushed to the limit with the Europa League to negotiate as well as the Premier League. It will be interesting to see how Martinez gets the balance right between the competitions and they may just slip a little this time around.


8. Newcastle United: Alan Pardew is not the choice of the fans at St James' Park and his Newcastle United team were very inconsistent a year ago, but I can see them finishing with another top half position in the League table.

Newcastle United won 7 of their 19 away games which is good enough form to move them up the League table from their 10th place finish last season as long as they can improve at home where they lost 8 of 19 games.

Much depends on whether the new signings can blend with the current squad and I do almost have them here by default of them being better than the majority of the teams in the League, at least on paper. One of my best friends is a Newcastle fan so he might be a lot more pessimistic than I am, but I see the Magpies being the best of the rest in a League where the top seven look head and shoulders above the rest.


9. Stoke City: This is another team where I have almost had to end up with them here simply because I can't find any of the teams below them as being capable of finishing above Stoke City. That should be the method no matter where you place a team, but some teams are higher/lower based on potential pressure against them and new faces either in the manager's office or on the field.

Stoke City seem to be very settled with Mark Hughes getting the best out of the squad from last season. Adding in the likes of Bojan from Barcelona may give them a spark of creativity to finish in the top half again at the exact same position of last season.


10. Sunderland: Gus Poyet produced a wonderful finish for Sunderland last season and I think they can ride that momentum to the point of finishing way up the table this time around. Losing Fabio Borini back to Liverpool is a concern, although they could revive that transfer if Liverpool bring in more players to push the Italian down the order.

Signing Jordi Gomez gives them more creativity and Poyet clearly had the team listening to what he wanted as shown by their draw at Manchester City and win at Chelsea towards the end of last season.

That belief can see Sunderland finishing much clearer of relegation this season and perhaps even challenge Newcastle United for the 'best team in the North East' title. It wouldn't surprise me to see Sunderland sign a couple more players before the transfer window closes, but they can ride the momentum of last season to finish in the top half of the Premier League.


11. West Ham United: Andy Carroll is injured again, Sam Allardyce is seemingly always sitting on a warm seat and the fans are demanding much more from West Ham United this season. The board know the importance of avoiding a relegation with the move to the Olympic Stadium fast approaching so I believe they will stick with Allardyce who can help the Hammers push on up the table.

They are expected to be more attacking this season and I do think the signing of Enner Valencia will pay off for the manager after his performances at the World Cup. He looks to have the pace and power that should suit the Premier League and I believe this is a solid squad that can avoid the relegation battle as long as they can steer clear of the injuries that hurt the squad last season.

I really think Allardyce is a little disrespected as a manager as he usually does what is says on the tin- the manager will keep West Ham in the Premier League and perhaps finish far higher than the fans believe possible.


12. Southampton: Losing players of the calibre of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert will have a negative effect on Southampton, as well as the new voice they will be hearing in the dressing room.

I have picked Southampton here because they still have enough quality in the team to beat those I have listed below them, but that also depends on keeping Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez as losing those players may be too much to overcome.

They also need Graziano Pelle to settle in immediately and provide the goals to keep the Saints afloat, but this may be a team to keep an eye on if they make a poor start to the season. Thankfully for the fans, there are teams in this Division that look really short of quality and I think Ronald Koeman will get enough out of the squad to prevent a really dramatic fall down the table.


13. Swansea: My initial thought about Swansea was that they were going to struggle this season after losing more key pieces of their squad in Michel Vorm, Ben Davies and Michu. However, Michu was oft-injured last season and Vorm has been replaced by Lukasz Fabianski who is a former Arsenal Number 1.

The biggest benefit for Swansea may be the fact they have kept Wilfried Bony to this point and that has me placing them a little higher in the table than I originally intended. If they lose Bony before the transfer window closes, Swansea may struggle for the goals to keep them in the Premier League, particularly as they are not as good defensively these days.

Last season the Europa League played havoc with a smaller squad and being out of that competition should help them get into a similar position as last season. Again though, I will reiterate that losing someone like Bony may see them slip into another relegation fight that they experienced last season.


14. Leicester City: It has been tough for Nigel Pearson to add to the squad in the manner he would have liked this summer, but Leicester City have been preparing for life in the Premier League for a couple of years now.

They had near misses when it came to promotion and Leicester should be very confident after winning the Championship last season. Pearson has made some interesting signings and I believe the squad are aware of what each other have to offer and can do enough to steer clear of the bottom three.

They do have investment funds, but I think Pearson is still looking to improve the squad and I can see more signings coming in over the next two weeks. They will likely play the loan market too and the Foxes can survive their first season back in the top flight.


15. Queens Park Rangers: Harry Redknapp is very capable of getting the best out of a squad at this level, but he will have to dig deep into his knowledge as Queens Park Rangers return to the top flight. The signing of Rio Ferdinand gives them experience, but there does look to be a lack of pace at the back and the question will be whether Charlie Austin can score enough goals at the higher level to keep QPR above water.

There is Premier League experience in the squad, but the key will be to make a better start than the last time they played at this level- they were behind the black ball by Christmas and even the arrival couldn't prevent QPR from being relegated.

Loftus Road form will be very important, but I think this Rangers team can find enough quality performances on their travels to just about maintain their place in the top flight.


16. Aston Villa: If there is one team that looks in huge danger, it would be Aston Villa on first glance- they are a team that has had little investment with an owner looking to sell the club, the manager is under pressure before a ball has been kicked and the best player is out with an injury.

Christian Benteke can't come back quick enough and there could be a real problem if the players annoy Roy Keane to the extent that there is disharmony in the squad.

I am not surprised that so many have tipped Aston Villa for relegation, but I think they can just about survive as long as they don't suffer huge injury problems. Joe Cole, Gabby Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann can fill in for Benteke until the Belgian returns and I do think he will give Villa enough goals to just about see off relegation for another season.


17. Hull City: Second season syndrome may be a huge concern for Hull City this season after a very successful last campaign. Survival was the key, but Hull had the bonus of an FA Cup run to the Final which means they do have to negotiate the Europa League, another hindrance on this year's survival battle.

Those extra games and travelling may put Hull City in a dangerous place in the Premier League and their form over the second half of last season was the third worst in the Premier League.

However, I think Bruce has made some good signings in Tom Ince and Robert Snodgrass that can help create more goals which may prove to be the difference when May comes around.

The defence can be very effective and the quality from Ince, Snodgrass, Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone may be enough to provide Nikica Jelavic the ammunition to keep the Tigers in the top flight.


18. Crystal Palace: Another manager that may not get the plaudits of those that love watching free-flowing football, but is very capable at this level is Tony Pulis.

He produced a wonderful performance to help Crystal Palace out of the relegation woods last season and I think he will make Palace difficult to beat again this year. That will help Palace avoid another relegation battle earlier this time around and Pulis can maintain his record as never suffered a relegation as a manager.

I expect Palace will be able to produce enough wins at Selhurst Park against those teams around them to finish comfortably clear of the bottom three.

EDIT: I had Crystal Palace in a much higher position prior to Thursday's stunning news that Tony Pulis has left the club- depending on the next appointment, Palace may be rife for a relegation battle and may not survive the drop this season.


19. West Brom: A team that was fortunate that the likes of Norwich City, Fulham and Cardiff City had such poor ends to last season was West Brom and I am not sure they have the quality to avoid the drop this season.

They have an inexperienced manager at the helm and the squad is going to need Brown Ideye to fit into the Premier League immediately if the Baggies are to find the goals to stay in the top flight.

West Brom just about found form last season to avoid relegation, but their last five games remind me of the Norwich City fixture list from last season and I think they are going to be in big trouble if they go into those games needing points to survive.


20. Burnley: Every where I have looked, Burnley look to be the big favourites to finish bottom of the Premier League, but Sean Dyche already exceeded expectations once by bringing Burnley into the top flight.

Avoiding the drop would be a remarkable achievement for the manager considering the lack of investment being made this summer, but this is a team that will work hard for one another and believe they can beat anyone at Turf Moor.

Making up the difference in quality from the Championship to the Premier League over thirty-eight games is incredibly tough though and this could be another one season stay in the top flight for Burnley as happened in the 2009/10 season.