Been meaning to post here for a while about some transfers, the situation before the league starts pretty much. Waited until now because transfers happen, and 3 days ago RVP was still in Arsenal for example, so things change fast.
I can't describe enough how excited I am for tomorrow, seeing both Arsenal - Sunderland, and afterwards Newcastle - Tottenham. Also seeing both games on Sunday and Man United on Monday.
Anyhow, I thought I would share some of the transfer-situation regarding the BIG clubs. The clubs that will most likely have something to say in the table this year. Some people might have missed transfers, so this way it gets summed up quite nicely. Starting alphabetically:
*ArsenalIn: Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Lukas Podolski (Köln), Santi Cazorla (Malaga)
Out: Robin Van Persie (Man United), Alex Song (Barcelona, not 100% confirmed, but likely), Denilson (Sao Paolo), Joel Campbell (Betis), Manuel Almunia (Watford), Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad), Gavin Hoyte (Dag & Red)
*ChelseaIn: Eden Hazard (Lille), Oscar (Internacional), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Thorgan Hazard (Lens)
Out: Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua) Jacob Mellis (Barnsley), Salomon Kalou (Lille), Jose Bosingwa (Queens Park Rangers), Ulises Davila (Sabadell, loan), Milan Lakovic (Guimaraes, loan), Matej Delac (Guimaraes, loan), Kevin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen, loan), Romalu Lukaku (West Brom, loan)
*LiverpoolIn: Fabio Borini (Roma), Joe Allen (Swansea), Oussama Assaidi (Herenveen), Brendan Rodgers (new manager, Swansea)
Out: Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbache), Fabio Aurelio (Gremio), David Amoo (Preston North End), Stephen Darby (Bradford), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys), Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Craig Bellamy (Cardiff)
*Manchester CityIn: Jack Rodwell (Everton)
Out: Owen Hargreaves, Stuart Taylor, Vladimir Weiss (Pescara), Mohammed Abu (Rayo Vallecano, loan), Wayne Bridge (Brighton)
*Manchester United In: Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), Nick Powell (Crewe), Angelo Hernandez (Universidad)
Out: Fabio (Queens Park Rangers, loan), Tomasz Kuszczak (Brighton), Richie De Laet (Leicester), Matty James (Leicester) Michael Owen, Park Ji-Sung (Queens Park Rangers), Ezekiel Fryers, Paul Pogba (Juventus), Ben Amos (Hull, loan)
*TottenhamIn: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim), Jan Vertonghen (Ajax), André Villas-Boas (new manager, Chelsea)
Out: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev), Ryan Nelsen (Queens Park Rangers), Louis Saha (Sunderland), Ben Alnwick, Oscar Jansson (Shamrock Rovers), Steven Pienaar (Everton), Ledley King (retires), Bongani Khumalo (PAOK, loan), Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Those 6 teams will most likely be the big ones to watch out for. I could have done this for all teams, but I don't think anyone is interested enough, and the post would be even longer.
I'll also predict how I think the table will look after the season:
1. Man United
2. Arsenal
3. Man City
4. Chelsea
5. Liverpool
6. Tottenham
7. Newcastle
8. Everton
9. Fulham
10. Aston Villa
11. Sunderland
12. West Bromwich
13. Norwitch
14. Southampton
15. Swansea
16. Stoke
17. Wigan
18. West Ham
19. Queens Park Rangers
20. Reading
Some comments:I'm really interested in seeing
Arsenal this season. Fantastic additions in Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla (the latter possibly the best transfer in PL this summer), and while RVP is leaving, I don't think he will be as missed as you would expect. Wilshere will also be coming back, he also got the nr10 jersey, and Vermaelen is a new captain.
Man United has done some great transfers. Kagawa and Powell has me very excited. RVP is another deal. I really didn't want Man U to buy him, because the price was high, he is getting older, injuries and no matter what he does, he will still be an Arsenal player in my eyes. Still, a partnership with Rooney might be amazing.
Liverpool and
Tottenham have new managers, who I feel will be good additions to both teams. Both will be interesting to follow, though Spurs needs to buy strikers.
Regarding the parts of the table that aren't related to the very top, I'm very interested in seeing
Aston Villa under Paul Lambert. Last season they were almost relegated due to having a shitty manager, but this new manager plus some new players looks promising. I think they can get a top 10 spot. It will also be interesting to see how
Newcastle will follow up their previous successful season, not that many transfers, but they've kept most of their squad, so it looks good.
I've also taken out my fantasy squad here:
https://puu.sh/WiGV I'm pretty happy with it.
Oh well, that's it for now. But I'm gonna keep coming back with big ass posts, because PL is such a huge interest for me. I try to watch at least 4-5 games per week.