Premiership 2011 Predictions

Winners:

(Dave) Manchester United. I feel the red side of Manchester will tally up a 20th top division title by the slimmest of margins ahead of their blue city rivals. United's mixture of youth and seniority, fast paced attacking play with a strong defence is the perfect combination to win the league.

(Josh) Manchester United. They have got the know-how and the incessant determination. They’ve strengthened their squad with quality rather than quantity combine that with a fully fit Wayne Rooney and they’ll be even more equipped this year than last. Some may feel Chelsea lost it instead of United winning it last year, but with Chelsea going through somewhat of a transitional year I’m not sure they’ll be able to cope with United’s consistency.

(Owain) Manchester City. I’m going out on a limb here, but I think that Man City are a team in the ascendency surrounded by teams who are stagnating. The millions thrown at the squad in the past few seasons has eased off and a more settled formation and line up has been established. Dzeko’s goal in the Community Shield could be a signal of intent and with the excellent ‘Kun’ Augero leading the front line, this could easily be City’s year.

(Jim) Manchester United. United have a winning mentality, they are calm and don't panic. Will it be closer than last year? Yes. Will it be another championship title at Old Trafford? Most probably, yes.

Champions League:

(Dave) Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool

The strength of the City squad on paper is unbelievable. However, there are problems. Mario Bibotelli is the main one. Chelsea have the experience to get into the Champions League. However a lack of youthful exuberance could seem them struggle, the potential signing of Lukaku is a step in the right direction but more signings are needed. Liverpool ended last season with a flourish, if they can carry this form into this season then they stand a great chance. They’ve been busy in the transfer market so it will be an interesting season for the Merseyside red... as long as Carroll can score.

(Josh) Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham

The nearly men of the title. I think Man City and Chelsea will fight a good fight for the top spot but just come short. Chelsea may need some adapting to the new manager and system, and with Man City I still think they are searching for their true identity. Tottenham with a few more signings before the window shuts will have the quality and the drive to finish in the Top four once again.

(Owain) Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal

Man United (at the time of writing) haven’t dealt with their obvious lack of quality in central midfield and have an uninspiring midfield pairing. Chelsea’s squad is exactly the same as last year and the difficulties in playing Anelka, Drogba and Torres haven’t been resolved either. Arsenal are becoming the Premiership’s nearly men, and I haven’t seen enough investment to convince me otherwise.

(Jim)  Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal

In my opinion the only two teams who can get close to United in winning the league are Chelsea and Manchester City. Chelsea have a new charismatic manager and potentially a great impact sub in the teenage Romelu Lukaku, however, despite the advancement in the development of Josh McEachran and Daniel Sturridge, the squad is predominantly a older one. City are the much more intriguing prospect; despite the wealth, creating a winning team takes a little time. The qualifying place is a tough call. Much will depend on the shape of the Arsenal squad. If Arsene can retain Samir and Cesc for another season, I believe they will grab this place. A strong *yawn* centre-back will cement this position. Otherwise Arsenal will face tough opposition from their North London rivals, and a rejuvenated Liverpool.

Europa League:

(Dave) Tottenham Hotspur. Just edging out Arsenal of 5th place. It’s not a case of Tottenham being better, I think it’s a case of Arsenal not venturing enough into the transfer market. Spurs will perform strongly under Harry Redknapp's guidance once again, where as I feel Arsenal have stagnated somewhat under Wenger.

(Josh) Arsenal. With no trophies for six years, possibly losing key players and the lack of a strengthening to the obviously flawed areas of the team Arsenal are quite clearly on the decline. Culminating in them finally slipping out of the Top four this season to be replaced by their local rivals, shame.

(Owain) Liverpool. They’ve poured bucket loads of cash into rejuvenating their squad and despite over paying have bought some excellent players. Their previously weak left side has been strengthened and they should see off competition for 5th place.

(Jim) Liverpool. They seem to be a club on the up. If ‘Arry can get a proven forward to squiggle on a contract and then lead the line, then Spurs will be strong contenders too.

Relegation:

(Dave) QPR, Swansea, Wolves

There is too much going on behind the scenes at the Loftus Road club to allow the club to flourish. A sneaky feeling is that they will start well, and come Christmas will struggle. Another one of the promoted teams that I think will go straight back down is Swansea. The lack of a proven Premier-League goal scorer will be a big problem. Scott Sinclair has a lot to prove and if he was to leave, would create a big hole at the Welsh club. After struggling last year and not improving the squad, I can only see Wolves in the relegation zone come May. They may not finish bottom, but they will go down.

(Josh) Swansea City, QPR, Wigan Athletic

Swansea and QPR for me are in a similar situation, they both played good football in the Championship and scored plenty of goals. However the Premier League is a different kettle of fish. Their passing game won’t be as successful here and I think they’ll both find goals hard to come by, but not into their own net. Wigan have sold their best player and there is talk of Rodallega being sold as well. Martinez is revered as a good manager and I’m yet to be convinced, they’ll be struggling no doubt about it.

(Owain) Wigan, Swansea, Blackburn

With the loss of their key man, N’Zogbia, Wigan are in trouble, they narrowly escaped last season and this season will probably be too much for them. Swansea haven’t invested enough and have a team that will just falter too much against Premiership opposition. As for Blackburn, their time is finally up, despite their overseas’ owners and ‘investment’ they have a poor manager and mediocre squad who just don’t have it in them to really break away from the rest of the league’s basement teams.

(Jim) Wigan, Swansea, Blackburn

Wigan play attractive football, but the loss of N'Zogbia who was their top goal scorer last season and was perhaps the only player on their team capable of a moment of magic is a massive blow for a club that only just avoided relegation last season. Swansea snuck up through the play-offs with a team that weren't huge goal scorers, or had the tightest defence. The team don't seem to have invested much in the squad and I think the premiership season will prove too long and too tough an undertaking. The last place is trickier but I'm going to have to plump for Blackburn, despite a number of teams who are likely to flirt with this position come the final day. Even though they apparently have cash to spend and a decent core squad, they are only a couple of injuries away from having a stupendously weak squad.

FA Cup Winners:

(Dave) Chelsea. Chelsea, strong squad and lots of experience they will win one cup.

(Josh) Chelsea. They have a new manager eager to get off to a trophy winning start and I see this as their most viable option.

(Owain) Manchester United. They enjoy a cup run do United, and will add to their silverware collection this season.

(Jim) Chelsea. A blend of old and new coupled with a core who know what winning is all about; it’s going o be Chelsea’s year. And also this means that Man City aren’t going to win anything which is nice.

League Cup Winners:

(Dave) Fulham. With Jol’s determination to prove himself again England. He'll do very well with the squad he has.

(Josh) Arsenal. Always a difficult competition to predict as it’s a lottery as to who will take it seriously. For me Arsenal will end their hunt for a trophy this season by winning what they will describe as an “important competition”.

(Owain) Bolton. Total stab in the dark. It was unlikely winners Birmingham last year, why not Bolton? Owen Coyle is a fine manager and as long as no-one else breaks a leg, they have a decent team capable of a cup upset.

(Jim) Sunderland. Stoke are going be mired down in the Europa League; that glistening leviathan of UEFA pointlessness will surely prove too tempting (despite the 94-game run in to the title) for the buoyant Potters. Ultimately they’ll lose to a better Spanish side and their form will dip leaving the Carling Cup to a resurgent Sunderland. Whilst Brucie’s transfer policy does seem to be to gather as many of SAF’s cast-offs as possible, he does seem to be putting a team together capable of clawing their way up the league, and winning this cup.

First Manager to be sacked:

(Dave) Steve Kean. A man with an impossible job at Blackburn, impatient owners and a rubbish squad and stupidly high objectives.

(Josh) Neil Warnock. Ever since he took over at Loftus road there have been many a rumour that he’s set to be relieved of his duties and I think this year it’ll finally come to fruition. QPR will be struggling and the impatient money men at the club will be quick on the trigger.

(Owain) Alex McCleish. It’s got to be tough when you arrive at a club and fans are already calling for you to be sacked! Alex McCleish needs results fast otherwise he faces the boot.

(Jim) Alan Pardew. I'm going to go out on a limb here. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, where do you turn? Mike Ashley’s pie-stuffed belly and his bizarre backroom decisions, and rebel without a clue Joey Barton make this man’s job very tricky indeed.

Top Goalscorer:

(Dave) Wayne Rooney. Tough, very tough. I'll take a punt at Wayne Rooney, a great striker in a great team.

(Josh) Wayne Rooney. He had a torrid season last year, but then again so did quite a few strikers. After a summer of rest, recuperation and hair transplants I see Rooney being back on form and leading the pack on the goal scoring charts.

(Owain) Wayne Rooney. I’d love to break from the trend here, but a summer of rest should enable Rooney to recapture the form that made him so deadly.

(Jim) Fernando Torres. An obvious choice might be Wayne Rooney. However, I'm not going to follow the crowd. Season 2011-12 is going to be the year Fernando Torres rediscovers form after a summer break.

Overachievers:

(Dave) Norwich & Wigan. Avoiding relegation will be a big over-achievement for both, more so for Norwich.

(Josh) Norwich City. On paper they may have a technically mediocre squad, but mentally I think they will be very strong. Last year they won games by grinding out results and winning the games at the death. Couple this with the continually impressive Paul Lambert at the helm and I think they will spring a few surprises this season.

(Owain) QPR. A lot of people are predicting a tough time for Rangers, however since signing Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell and so far hanging onto Taarabt QPR have a front line who can cause real problems, avoiding relegation will be enough to give them the mantle of overachievers.

(Jim) Norwich City. In that they will start strong and avoid being drawn into the relegation dog-fight for the entire season, finally finishing in a very respectable 14th. (He’s a Norwich fan. Ed.)

Underachievers:

(Dave) Arsenal & Newcastle. Arsenal missing out on silverware and not qualifying for Europe will be a big disappointment for the team and their fans. Newcastle will generally struggle, they will be deep in a relegation battle and will need to keep Ben Arfa as fit as possible.

(Josh) Aston Villa. The Villains had a season of disappointment last year under Houllier, and I don’t expect that to change under Alex McLeish. With more 1st XI players leaving than being signed the squad looks thin on the ground for the arduous season that awaits. The players they’ve bought in have been quality but they need more.

(Owain) Tottenham Hotspur. After last year’s heroics in the Champions League, a 6th place finish will be massively disappointing to Spurs fans this year, but without a top class striker, they are always going to struggle. The Europa League will be seen as an unnecessary distraction too.

(Jim) Newcastle United. Surely in that I don't think either will win the league, perhaps both Man City and Chelsea, but probably Newcastle United; they'll avoid relegation, but only just.

Champions League Winners:

(Dave) Real Madrid. Possibly, maybe, or Manchester United.

(Josh) Real Madrid. It’s a well-known fact that no-one has ever retained the Champions league trophy. With Mourinho’s Champions League experience and another summer of development undertaken at the Bernabeu I think this will be the competition where they will topple Barcelona.

(Owain) Barcelona. They say dedication’s what you need if you want to be a record breaker. It probably helps to have Xavi, Messi and Iniesta too. This year will see the first team to retain the Champions League trophy.

(Jim) Barcelona. They just look a little too good and have too many players capable of magic to be ruled out of winning this one. While I think La Liga will be a tighter affair than previous years, indeed there are some who think it could be Real’s year, Barcelona surely can’t be ruled out of the prestigious European competition.