Less than a week remaining till the kick off of the 2012-13 season. After last season's crazy finish, 3 teams gone and 3 new teams arriving, and the new players coming into their new teams it's time to get everyone's predictions and for the back and forth banter to begin. So let's get it started.

Well done Gate...

How about predictions to start the campaign off.

Top 4
Bottom 3
FA Cup winner

Top transfer
Leading scorer

Biggest team improvement

Biggest drop

First gaffer to get the axe

Got to be said... the mood around England right now is very 'meh' towards the football re-starting. The success of the Olympics has really made people second guess why such a vulgar and money dominated league is so popular compared to what we've just seen from so many great Olympians.

Even so...

Top four - Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal

Bottom three - Wigan, Swansea, Norwich

Top transfer - Olivier Giroud

Leading scorer - Papiss Cisse

Biggest team improvement - Liverpool

Biggest drop - Swansea

First gaffer to get the axe - Di Matteo

Top 4 - Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal

Bottom Three - Wigan, Reading, So'ton

Top Transfer - Eden Hazard

Leading Scorer - Aguero

Biggest team improvement - Liverpool

Biggest drop - Spurs (sorry, hawkspur)

First gaffer to get the axe - Di Matteo, and the revolving door at Chelsea continues.

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Let's also do predictions for the various cups:

Premier League champs - Man City(again)

FA cup - Liverpool

League cup - Arsenal

Champion's league - Barcelona

Europa league - Inter

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Top 4 - Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea
Bottom 3 - Reading, Swansea, Wigan


Top transfer - Kagawa
Leading scorer - Wayne Rooney

Biggest team improvement - Liverpool

Biggest drop - Swansea


EPL Champs - Man Utd

FA Cup - Man City

League Cup - Spurs

Champions League - Barcelona

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Man up, stand in line.

Top four - Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea, Spurs

Bottom three - Wigan, Southampton, Norwich

Top transfer - Marko Marin

Leading scorer - Aguero

Biggest team improvement - Liverpool

Biggest drop - Sunderland

First gaffer to get the axe - Di Matteo

Top four - Man City (by a large margin) followed by Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal could finish 2-4 in any order.

Bottom three - Wigan, Swansea, Norwich

Top transfer - Olivier Giroud

Leading scorer - Sergio Aguero

Biggest team improvement - Sunderland

Biggest drop - Swansea

First gaffer to get the axe - Sam Allardyce followed closely by Roberto di Matteo.


Peaches, I reckon that Spurs, Newcastle and Liverpool will fight it out for 5-7. Spurs are the only team I've paid any real attention to this summer so I'll just tell you briefly what my thoughts are 5 days out from kick-off. The noises coming out of training about AVB are positive. Apparently the first thing he did at Chelsea was to identify Lampard as someone he wanted to sell, only to have Abramovich veto any move. AVB, probably foolishly, told Lampard that he didn't fit the system he planned to bring in and therefore should expect a severely reduced role, which didn't go down well with Lampard or many vets. It doesn't appear that he's had any such problems so far at Spurs.

I think Spurs will have a slow start to the season. Redknapp was famous for his 'feckin kick the ball and run around a bit' approach to tactics, letting his players play their natural game rather than practising any sort of Plan B, let alone a Plan A. van der Vaart reckoned in an interview earlier this year (while things were still going well) that Spurs had not practiced a set piece the entire time he'd been at the club. To be perfectly honest, that's exactly what it looked like come game time. It's fair to expect that the players may take some time to get used to Villas-Boas as his practices and expectations are going to be a bit different.

As far as transfers go, it all started well. I'm looking forward to Sigurdsson. I'm hoping that he's be able to learn from vdV and put us in a position to sell van der Vaart at the end of the season. Vertonghen should suit AVB's high-line, ballplaying defenders perfectly, but I suspect he'll have a similar introduction to the Premier League as that of David Luiz, lots of magic interspersed with moments of calamity. I'm gutted we missed out on Oscar. It sounds as though contracts we being drawn up when Chelsea called and there's no way that Spurs going to get him after that, but such is life. I think it's a risky move for the player. I'd put him about 6th on their CM depth chart.

Obviously the Modric thing is infuriating. It appears that no other transfers are happening until he's sold and Real Madrid don't appear to be anywhere near Spurs' evaluation. I have mixed feelings on this. I think that if you want to be seen as a top club you have to keep your best players, or at the very least sell them on your own terms. I doubt very much that Spurs have turned down bids of £38m as has been reported. I'm inclined to believe that Madrid haven't gone above £25m + potential add ons. I think that Modric must be sold for a club record fee though, which is £32 for Berbatov. Madrid are used to being able to unsettle players to drive down the price, yet at the same time they have helped set the market by paying £80m for Ronaldo. I don't blame Modric for wanting to go to Madrid, but I don't think Levy should be bullied into selling low. There doesn't appear to be any other market for him and he's contracted until 2016. I can see this getting messy. I don't mind if we keep him. I wouldn't be shocked to see a drop in effort, but what I really don't want to see is Modric going at 23.55 on August 31st.

We are in desperate need of a couple of strikers. Rumours persist about Leandro, which I think is unlikely. I'm guessing Adebayor will come back, but I'd prefer him to be a 2nd choice. Defoe is still here but isn't ideal for a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1. A right winger would be nice, and we really need a goalkeeper who is comfortable on the ball. Assou-Ekotto is without a doubt my favourite footballer, personality wise, but as far as footballing goes he's decent, but he could be upgraded too. We'll need a replacement for Modric if he goes too. It appears that one reason for Levy not caving in to Madrid is that the replacements we have lined up all look like they're going to cost more than £30m (Moutinho, Witsel etc).

I think the squad is decent as it stands, but no real threat to the top 4 as stated above.

That could change if we have a good few weeks on the transfer front. Piecing all the rumours together, my ultimate wish is that we can sign Leandro, Adebayor, Niang, Moutinho and Lloris. Then I think we could have a good season.

Right now I think it's unlikely.

What the hell are the FA up to? Why is there a meaningless friendly 3 days before the season begins? Football really needs to sort its s**t out, beginning with a vote of no confidence in the Football Association. It was fantastic to see a full stadium loudly boo Blatter at the World Cup. Between FIFA and the FA the game hardly stands a chance.

I've not really paid attention to anything apart from the Olympics, cricket and Seahawks recently and this has blown me away that they've agreed to this again.

Edit: I've just noticed that FIFA insist on the games and it's either today or tomorrow. Boo! Send the under 19s.

So...RVP to united, that has to close the gap a bit don't ya think??

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

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Man up, stand in line.

We'll have to see what City do now. I still give City the edge, as they have a better goalkeeper, better back 4 and better midfield, along with a not-too-shabby strikeforce to boot. That, and they now have gotten over the proverbial hump of winning their first league title, the next should be easier.

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What I'm hearing is this deal was mainly done because Wenger pulled Robin aside before the Koln match and told him that he isn't apart of Arsene's plans anymore. At this point I'm skeptical about how much weight is behind this rumor.

Another rumor is that Arsenal might turn around and place an offer for Javier Hernandez.

That first rumor is nonsense. You live on a different planet if you think that's anywhere close to true. The deal was done because RVP wanted away and wasn't going to sign a new contract. That's all.

I doubt that United sell Hernandez at this point. RVP is prone to injuries, and aside from Hernandez, the only other striker on the books not named Rooney is Wellbeck. Most of the top teams keep 4 decent strikers on the books.

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First off, I'm not totally believing the rumor about Hernandez, I'm only pointing out that I have seen some talk about it.

Secondly, the first rumor isn't really a rumor at all it's mostly speculation about what got the deal to happen. We all know under normal circumstances that Wenger wouldn't even begin to think about the possibility of selling a player to Man United.

Top 4 : Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea, Spurs
Bottom 3 : QPR, West Ham, Wigan
FA Cup Winner : Spurs
Top Transfer : Vertonghen or Sigurdsson
Leading Scorer : Aguerro
Biggest Improvement : Spurs
Biggest Drop : Sunderland or Fulham
First gaffer for the Axe : Hughes purely for the owners having a view they should be higher up the table than the reality of the team strength and position in the league or failing that , Di Matteo for whatever reason Abramovich decides, deserved or not

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I like the cut of your jib. As a Spurs fan I'm really excited to see what Sigurdsson and Vertonghen can contribute. I'm hoping that our best transfer will come in the form of a striker, though. I really can't share your pessimism for Sunderland unless they sell, and don't replace, Sessegnon. I think Everton may have bit of a drop though, as things stand.

Cheers The Prem League club i follow is Spurs and have had some good days out at the Lane; but thats not because I chose Sigurdsson, the guy just seems to ooze class when i've seen him play and I say more than adequate replacement for Modric; Vertonghen, potential to be a great defender in the Prem if he can adjust to the pace, tactics which i feel he will be able to.
Everton, could potentially drop; they're just one of those teams that will never get up in the top 6, probably not get relegated, never really progress, you gotta wonder why Moyes bothers? comfort zone? I have a feeling IF he ever went to Utd as mooted as the replacement for when bacon face retires, he'll be found wanting and shown the door quick!

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1. Manchester City
I really hate putting this team of bastards up here, but they are the defending champions. They've had a really surprisingly quiet summer, aside from the constant will they won't they talk, namely about RvP. The only player they've bought is Jack Rodwell, who for some stupid reason calls this his dream move(I bet if they didn't have the billions of bucks he wouldn't be saying that). Balotelli has apparently spent most of his summer in clubs aside from being Italy's best player at Euro 2012, while Nasri continues to drag his name and reputation through the mud. Honestly nothing has really changed about this club, it's still a bunch of good, yet overpaid, players who let their egos get the best of them. The clubs only significant move came in the form of contract extensions for Roberto Mancini and Vincent Kompany, who happens to be the only City player I respect. The key for this club lies in keeping their ego's in check, namely Balotelli. At one point last season, before their turnaround, they were fighting over who would take a free kick. If the club keeps their mouths shut and focus on playing like what City's rich as hell owners pay them, they can repeat. I doubt that cause in my mind, Balotelli's a ticking time bomb still, I'm still trying to figure out what's going through Tevez's brain(complaining about being treated like a dog 1 minute, and then being all lovey dovey the next), Dzeko has apparently become fed up with being a bench player, and Nasri is still trying to fight with Arsenal fans over justifying his transfer. In reality, I think this club's gonna need another crazy finish to repeat as champions, but they're still the favorites.

2. Arsenal
I know I'm gonna catch a lot of slack for this, but quite frankly this makes sense. Arsenal in my opinion is the most improved team even without RvP in the lineup. Wenger finally spent cash and although he didn't break the bank, he bought quality players. Santi Cazorla is no doubt the biggest signing of Arsenal's offseason, he was arguably one of the top players in Spain and when you look at the difference of Villareal and Malaga's last two seasons (Villareal from 4th to relegated and Malaga from 11th to 4th) he can be very influential. Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud will probably now have to have a baptism by fire with the departure of RvP though Podolski is sounding like he's ready for the challenge. I think the key for Arsenal's season is staying healthy, some of Arsenal's players have had injury concerns and last season at one point Arsenal's defence was stretched tissue paper thin and it showed. If Arsenal can keep it's players healthy and avoid a repeat of the horror start of last season, this finish isn't beyond their reach, and even contending for the title would be plausible.

3. Manchester United
I was really tempted to put Man U #2, but one thing kept me from it, health concerns. Before RvP's transfer I wouldn't have any trouble putting Arsenal #2, but Van Persie does still have that suspect injury record and Vidic is just coming back from his own injury. Man U's defensive issues have been masked by the attcking threat. Man U's only real notable acquisition before Van Persie was Shinji Kagawa, who hasn't been that out there in terms of exposure. That was mainly due to his inclusion on a Borrusia Dortmund team that is extremely well run by Jurgen Klopp, most of the players don't stand out on that squad because they play so well together, like they're 1 team and not 11 individuals. In truth, Man U's key to the season is really the same thing they've been doing, relying on Fergie's leadership. They actually have a better chance of winning the league than Arsenal and appear to be the one to challenge City, but if something goes wrong, such as injuries, 3rd place is definitely a possibilty.

4. Chelsea
While Chelsea did make the biggest transfer in acquiring Eden Hazard. But at the same time, they lost quite possibly their best player in Didier Drogba. Fernando Torres had a good finish to last year and Euro 2012 was probably the best he's been since he signed with Chelsea, but he's still wildly inconsistant. Aside from that, who else could they use as a striker? Another thing is that impatient owner, I think if a manager makes it through a whole year with Chelsea should get an award. More importantly, how long can Roberto Di Matteo rely on that defense that was the main reason for their Champions League title. If their new players adjust quickly and Torres continues his Euro 2012 form, I think they can challenge for the title. But on the flip side, Hazard cannot keep make bonehead moves like the failed backheel and if Torres falls back into his "take open shots into the upper deck" form this might be another failed EPL season.

5. Tottenham Hotspur
No true striker, that's all I'm seeing when I look at Spurs. Last year they had loanees Louis Saha and Emmanuel Adabayor but both have returned to their parent clubs, with Spurs still attempting to secure Adabayor on a permanent move. Couple that with Modric's pending departure and Spurs are sitting in no man's land. The signing of Jan Vertonghen may have improved the defense somewhat, but it will do nothing to help if the offense isn't improved on. Last year I was thinking they were a player or two short of a true title challenge, this year if Modric does leave, and he seems to be getting more frustrated with Levy's stubbornness with the move, they could be 1 or 2 players short of a Top 4 finish at the very least.

6. Newcastle United
The surprise team of last year who I believe has some staying power, namely due to Cisse and Ba. If those two can be in form at the same time they could be in major contention for Top 4 and maybe even a title challenge(that all depends on if they make any more moves).

7. Liverpool
They haven't really done much. Really, all Liverpool's done this offseason is be linked with numerous players. Joe Allen and Fabio Borini are the only done deals and that in my mind is only good enough to push them past Merseyside rivals Everton. If they get more deals done they could push further up the ladder.

Relegation
18. West Bromwich Albion
This is a really close one, I was stuck between West Brom, Villa, QPR and Southampton, but I think the departure of Roy Hodgson will be too tough to handle for them.

19. Norwich City
Unfortunately the second season syndrome hits Norwich the hardest. Sadly this club is fairly exciting.

20. Wigan
This club will run out of rabbits to pull out of their hat. This club should have been relegated last year but somehow survived, but luck doesn't last forever.


FA Cup - Arsenal
Capital One Cup - Newcastle United


Top Transfer- Santi Cazorla (Was a shining star in the other 18 teams of La Liga)
Golden Boot- Sergio Aguero (The only player who truely deserves what he's paid on City)

Biggest Team Improvement- Arsenal

Biggest Team Drop- West Brom (10th to 18th, just one more spot than Norwich)
First Manager Sacked- Roberto Di Matteo (When was the last time a Chelsea manager made it through a full season?)

I waited to see when and if the RvP deal would be completed before I finished this. RvP to Man United got my brain thinking about the predictions I was contemplating and it became extremely tough to put Arsenal ahead of Man U, but I couldn't bring myself not to do it. Van Persie's suspect injury record was the main selling point to keep Man U 3rd. If he stays healthy for the majority of the season, then they'd definitely could finish above Arsenal, hell I'd even say they'd be in prime contention to win the league. The fact of the matter is that Man U struggled at points last season when they normally wouldn't. As for Chelsea, it could have been really easy to put them Top 3, but they bought players they wanted, not players they needed. Spurs, it's about the deals they haven't done. Newcastle, can they keep up. Liverpool, it's practically been all talk from them this summer they've been a part of more rumors than facts.

lol. Oh jesus christ im going to jump out a window.

INCORRECT

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