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| What is Anelka looking for at WBA? |
WBA
What is WBA's long
term ambition?
In his rookie manager season, Steve Clarke led West Bromwich
Albion to a promising start but gradually fell off the pace. They were finally 8th
in the league, although being 23 points away from 5th place and 14 behind the 6th.
If they are to consider stepping up to challenge for European football, are
they quite there yet?
Nicholas Anelka is slotted in to replace Romelu Lukaku. No
matter how prolific his career has been, West Brom needs more contribution from
the supporting cast to support the 34 years old striker. Acquiring Uruguay
captain Diego Lugano is the right move to fill the void in the defence, but this
is where their offseason actions stop. It looks as if they are content with the
mid-table ambition this season. Whether this aligns with the expectation of the
fans, players or Steve Clarke himself is yet to be seen.
Swansea City
Where should Michu be
played?
He first impressed as an opportunist behind a no.9, then
showcased his ability as a striker himself. The best-buy of the season will now
be in the spotlight, so as in the opponents' tactics book. Playing off the new
arrival Wilfried Bony would be a wise option as the Spanish would get some
shielding from Bony.
It might create another headache that Michael Laudrup does
not mind having though. Pablo Hernandez will likely be Laudrup's first choice
left midfielder, but he still has Leon Britton, Ki Sung Yeung, Jonathan De
Guzman and Jonjo Shelvey fighting for two spots in central midfield. The
variety of options enables the former Danish playmaker to flex his tactics
according to opponents. It will also be a challenge to Laudrup to show he can
utilise the resources available.
West Ham
Are the players
mentally prepared to challenge for the next level of football?
Sam Allardyce could not charm the supporters with his
football style, but he brought a solid season to Upton Park. Since promotion,
he acquired Jussi Jaaskelainen, Mohamed Diame, Matt Jarvis, Jamie Collins,
loaned Andy Carroll and signed Joe Cole in January. The signings were pivotal
to West Ham and have become the backbone of the team.
This summer, Big Sam continues to strengthen the squad,
acquiring Adrian, Razvan Rat and Andy Carroll to fill the loopholes of the
squad. It will now come down to whether the players believe they are better
than just being the 10th in the league. When backed by home supporters, they
played with passion. When away from home, they lacked focus and confidence. Big
Sam needs to bring the self-belief out of the players and convert this into
consistent results to give West Ham a shot at European football.
Norwich City
Are Gary Hooper and
Wolfswinkel the solutions to the lack of goals?
Norwich was joint-second in the fewest goal scored. They
only grabbed two away victories last season and scored even less than all
relegated teams away from home. More surprisingly, they have decided to sell
their leading goalscorer and captain Grant Holt.
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| Van Wolfswinkel is ready to shine |
In return, they opt for two strikers who proves their
ability to net goals in Scotland and Portugal respectively. Gary Hooper scored
82 times for Celtic in three years, while Ricky van Wolfswinkel netted 45 goals
in 87 games for Sporting Lisbon. Despite the impressive record, Hooper and
Wolfswinkel play quite a different style to the giant Grant Holt. How well will
they fit into Chris Hughton's system?
Fulham
Do they have adequate
depth in midfield to support Berbatov?
Fulham was another team who ran out of steam in the second
half of the season. They tried to build around Dimitar Berbatov, but the
Bulgarian had limited support, being the only Fulham player to have scored
double-digit number of goals.
Berbatov is at his best playing with someone who is always
ready to be on the receiving end of the pass. With Hugo Rodallega and Bryan Ruiz
obviously not this type, responsibility has to be shared by midfielders. Having
lost Emmanuel Frimpong, Urby Emanuelson, Eyong Enoh, Simon Davies and Mahamadou
Diarra, Fulham has only recruited defensive midfielder Derek Boateng and is set
to sign Adel Taarabt, who more prefers to have the ball at his feet. Martin Jol
looks quite short of options to field a competent side to complement Berbatov. Targeting
for Europa League is looking increasingly impossible for Fulham.
Stoke City
Is Mark Hughes the
man for Stoke City?
The Welshman’s
managerial career was far less stellar than his playing career and it is
reasonable to doubt how he could still be a Premier League manager. While
admitting he is implementing a new style of football to his new team, the
biggest problem with Hughes is he never has a definitive style, regardless of
his tenure at Manchester City, Fulham or QPR.
Signing new players galore at City and QPR but not having
satisfactory results either proved he is not a wise spender or his tactics just
do not work. Now operating on a limited budget, how could Hughes overturn the
club’s playing style, and more importantly fortune in the next season?
Addressing the nagging problem of not having a proper left back is step one but
there’s still a long way to go.
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