Southampton
Can the Saints avoid
the Sophomore blue?
By looking at the record, one could reach a peculiar
conclusion that surviving in the second season after promotion is harder than
retaining the Premier League title. Reading and Birmingham sprang a surprise in
2006 and 2009 respectively, but could not stay in the top tier in the following
season. The ambitious QPR armed the team with luxurious assets in past two
years, though still could not escape from relegation last season.
Mauricio Pochettino took over Southampton mid-season and
shocked the world with a high-pressing playing style, which even Champions Manchester United almost
failed to cope with at Old
Trafford. With their tactics now being well-studied, Pochettino will need to
pull something out of his bag to lead Southampton overcome the tougher second
year in Premier League.
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| Lambert is confident of his approach at Villa |
Aston Villa
Is the toughest time of revolution
over yet?
They were torn apart by Chelsea and endured a difficult
Christmas period, but this did not prevent Paul Lambert from continuing to
field young players. With the growing confidence of the youngsters, Lambert's
persistence was rewarded as Aston Villa has successfully avoided relegation.
This offseason, Lambert continues to inject youth elements
into the team, as none of the five notable purchases are over 23 years old. Captain Ron Vlaar is a decent leader,
though declaring his intention to leave Villa last season if relegated would
not earn him much respect. Besides,
Ciaran Clark, Matt Lowton, Nathan Baker and Andres Weimann all had a breakthrough
season, but could they cope with
complacency?
The revolution at Villa Park has started brightly, but there
is more work yet to be done to solidify their steps in this long-term rebuild
project.
Newcastle
Can they prevent
having a roller-coaster season again?
When Demba Ba left for Chelsea, Papiss Cisse and Shola
Ameobi did little to ease the transition and Newcastle was left flirting with
the relegation zone. Loic Remy is joining to strengthen the frontline but
adding forwards is not the only thing Alan Pardew and Joe Kinnear should be
doing. They also have to reinforce their defence, as well as holding on to Yohan
Cabaye, who could leave for Old Trafford as they have been failing to pursuit
Cesc Fabregas.
Good news is that captain Fabricio Coloccini is staying and Hatem
Ben Arfa has recovered from injury. They have a team good enough to push for a
Europa spot, but if they cannot settle the internal turbulence, do not be
surprised to see them finish at the bottom half of the table once again.
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| He needs to get his players at his back |
Sunderland
Will Paolo Di Canio be a positive influence going
to be a positive/negative influence?
Emotional as a player, now animated and energetic as a
manager; and ruthless. His training
regime and man management style is hardly a surprise given his passion for the
sport over the years. Yet it is exactly this fine line between his passion and
ruthlessness that will determine the fate of Sunderland.
Having defeated
soundly Newcastle last season at St James Park, the red and white stripes have
a good momentum pushing them to be the better team of Tyne and Wear. Di Canio
has wasted no time turning Sunderland into the team in his mind and he is
showing no desire to stop adding a 10th, 11th or even 12th
signing of the summer window. How strong mentally the new signings are to bear
Di Canio’s approach to the game is highly vital in determining the fortune of
Sunderland. If John O’Shea and Wes Brown – who both worked under perhaps one of
the harshest managers in the game ever, Sir Alex – could help diffuse the
Italian's intention across, the former Swindon manager could well be a positive
influence to the Black Cats.
Cardiff City
Have they got the
defence of Premier League standard?
Looking at the frontline consisting of Craig Bellamy, Fraizer Campbell, Tommy Smith and talented
Korean Kim Bo-Kyung, Cardiff City appears to be competent in the Premier League.
However, it is dubious whether their lineup at the back is strong enough to
sustain their defensive performance last season.
Unlike Hull City, they do not have defenders with much Premier League experience before
acquiring young Steven Caulker from Tottenham, who was not a natural first
choice at White Hart Lane last season either. After all, defence is about
working as a unit and complementing each other. With their back four working
together since 2011, their team spirit may help them overcome the tough hurdles
ahead.
Hull City
Do they have enough quality
to survive from relegation?
Solidifying the defence usually tops the priority list of
promoted teams. Hull City is
following this direction as they bought Steve Harper, Curtis Davies and Maynor
Figueroa this summer. Together with Paul McShane, Liam Rosenior and Abdoulaye
Faye, there vast Premier League
experience in their defence.
The worries, though, will be on the other end of the pitch.
They put their hopes on Danny Graham, but the midfield led by Robert Koren can
hardly be rated as creative, although David Meyler and former Red Devil Robbie
Brady could be the X-factors to Hull's attack. With a goal difference of only
+9 in Championship last season, the Tigers will take Southampton and West Ham
as encouraging examples and strive to stay in Premier League by believing in
their own style of football. And hope
Steve Bruce – the master of promotions – could learn a thing or two from his
previous unsuccessful Premier League management.
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| Making fun of themselves last time around, can they have the last laugh this time? |
Crystal Palace
Where do they go now without
Zaha?
Wilfried Zaha only on average scored once in ten games for
Crystal Palace, but undoubtedly he has been instrumental to their attack. It is
impossible to keep a big fish
in a small pond. Ian Holloway
did not sanction his move to Manchester United, but got him back on loan for
the remainder of the season. Zaha was again pivotal in the Championship playoff
final, winning the penalty that Kevin Phillips converted to bring them back in the Premier League.
If Glenn Murray can maintain the form of previous season,
Holloway would have less to worry. Having re-signed Kevin Phillips, signing
Dwight Gayle from Peterborough and picking up former West Brom winger Jerome
Thomas do not seem adequate to fill the void left by Zaha. As it stands, it is
highly probable to be a year the Eagles find themselves struggling.
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