With the new Premier League season less than a month away, this is how I feel the table will look like at the end of what wil hopefully be a memorable campaign.

Arsenal (4th) - Arsenal can only get off to a better start than they did last season, with them sitting in the relegation zone after half a dozen games. Having lost Nasri and Fabregas last season, and van Persie on the verge of an Emirates exit, many would fear for their Champions Legaue credentials. However, I feel Podolski and Giroud can form a prolific partnership and with Jack Wilshere returning to full fitness, there will be more creativity in the Arsenal midfield.

Aston Villa (16th) - I feel the dissapointment that came with Alex Mcleish will continue into Paul Lmaberts reign at Villa Park. Having lost key players such as Gareth Barry, James Milner and Olof Melberg in recent years, I feel this Villa squad really lacks the quality and experience to succeed in this league. Despite having good young talent, such as Barry Bannan and Nathan Delfouneso, only Darren Bents goals will keep them in the league.

Chelsea (3rd) - After coming through a rough patch under AVB, Chelsea seem to be back to their best and will be right up there next season. Fernando Torres looks like he's getting back to his best and I feel he will challenging for the golden boot. Eden Hazard will be a welcome addition to the squad, although he will have to toughen up match up to the defenders in this league. It will be a three way title challenge, and Chelsea will be right in the thick of it.


Everton (8th) - David Moyes has done a great job during his time at Everton, but I see this season being less successful for the Goodison park faithful. Jelavic's goals will be the most important aspect of their play, and the re-signing of Steven Pienaar when it is put through will give Everton fans some hope. But I feel their defence is still a little brittle, and with rumours surrounding the future of Leighton Baines, I just think they will let in too many goals to sustain a challenge for Europe.

Fulham (12th) -  The end to Fulham's campaign was fairly successful last season, with Pogrebnyak joining from Stuttgart on loan and Clint Dempsey having a very prolific season in front of goal. However, since then, Pogrebnyak has moved on and joined Reading on a permanent basis, and Clint Dempsey has told his club that he wants to join Liverpool. Because of this, they wont be a success in the league this year, as they have also lost Andy Johnson to QPR.

Liverpool (5th) - After a very poor season for Liverpools standards last term, only things can get better surely. The new signings have had a year to settle in and should become more accomplished this year, and the arrival of Brendan Rodgers will excite fans due to his philosophy. If they can keep important players fit, such as Gerrard and Suarez, then they will definitely improve on their 7th place finish from last year.

Manchester City (1st) - The reign of the 'noisy neighbours' is likely to continue in my eyes. There isn't going to be as many signings coming into the Etihad this summer, but the team has a stronger bond after winning the league last season. With Carlos Tevez staying and featuring from the start, the goals will flow more freely this season as he will form a prolific partnership with Aguero. Vincent Kompany will inspire his team to victory again this term.

Manchester United (2nd) - I'm afraid to say that this season there will be more domestic dissapointment for Ferguson and his men. The signing of Kagawa from Dortmund is promising is a very promising one, and Wayne Rooney will be hoping to get his hands on the golden boot. However i feel the riches of neighbours City will out do the red devils for another season.

Newcastle (7th) - Alan Pardew perfromed miracles last season for the toon army, and he'll be looking for more bargain buys this summer. Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba and Papis Cisse all played a vital part in Newcastle impressive season, and they'll be hoping it will continue into this campaign. However, the quality of these players will attract bigger clubs, and so i can't see them staying after this season. Andy Carroll has been linked with a return to his former club, but can they repeat their heroics of last season? Maybe not.

Norwich (11th) - Chris Hughton will have a mixed reception from Norwich fans, as many of them will still be missing Paul Lambert. Grant Holt has shocked many fans by handing in a transfer request, but i dont think he'll be able to find a bigger club then Norwich at his age. They have good all round players, and fans can expect another mid table finish this season.

Queens Park Rangers (10th) - After escaping relegation by the skin of their teeth last season, QPR fans will be hoping for a better return this time round. The signings have come thick and fast, but they seem to be a very talented squad. The villian tag that Joey Barton holds has been a spanner in the works, but with a new captain may come a better league position. With Mark Hughes' philosophy, they will be a tighter unit and still be able to score goals up field.

Reading (18th) - Having come up victorious from the Championship, many things are expected from the champions. The signing of Pavel Pogrebnyak will provide them will goals, and they will be hoping that the experience of Jason Roberts will help stir them away from the relagation zone, but i feel they will be heading straight back down to the second division.

Southampton (19th) - Anothe rone of the promoted sides with great expectations for the coming season. Sadly though, I think they will be going back down at the first attempt due to the lack of premier league experience and defensive qualities on the south coast. Rickie Lambert will be the main goal threat, however he is growing older and maybe one of two seasons will all he will be able to hack at the top level.

Stoke (13th) - The word consistancy comes to mind when thinking of Stoke City. Tony Pulis has installed a great deal of confidence at the club and striker Peter Crouch will be the main threat once again this season. A fairly mid table finish is all Stoke fans can expect this season, with the squad similar to the one that was promoted a few seasons ago.

Sunderland (9th) - Without strikers Gyan and Bendtner goals may be hard to come by this season for Martin O'Niell's men. However, the rest of the squad is very accomplished and with Craig Gardner settling into the North East club, thinks are looking up. Two strikers are needed, but overall it should be a successful campaign.

Swansea (17th) - Brendan Rodger's style of play gained Swansea many fans last season. However, he has moved on now and Michael Laudrup will be hoping to emulate the success. His main aim will be to keep the club in the league, and with loanee Siggurdson now playing for Tottenham, that may be more difficult that expected. I feel they will just survive.

Tottenham (6th) - The departure of Haryy Redknapp has seen AVB appointed head coach. His style of play wasn't effective at Chelsea, and I feel the same will be said at Spurs. Modric is on the verge of leaving and without him, Tottenham will lack the creativity needed to succeed in the league. A dissapointing season looks to be on the cards, despite tying down Adebayor to a permanent deal.

West Brom (15th) - Steve Clark has big shoes to fill after he was appointed successor of new England boss Roy Hodgson. A good overall squad of players has seen the once 'yo-yo club' install a feature of stability, and I feel this will continue into the new season. Odemwingie will need to be on top form to keep them away from trouble.

West Ham (14th) - After suffering the heart ache of relegation two seasons ago, West Ham are back in the big time. They have some vital premier league experience in players like Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan, and this will keep them away from going down once again. Losing goal keeper Rob Green will be a set back, but they should be fairly comfortable this term.

Wigan (20th) - Roberto Martinez looks set to be staying at the DW for another season, but maybe he should have taken the chance to go to a bigger club when he had the chance. Victor Moses will almost certainly move onto bigger things either this summer or in January, and with his departure will leave a lack of goals. Only Connor Salmon and Franco di Santo will be left, and these players are not premier league quality. Sadly, it will be a season to forget for Wigan fans.







Dan

Luka Modric could cause Tottenham to drop out of the top four for years to come. The bright young Croatian who has taken the Premier League by storm in recent years has been the shining star in Tottenham Hotspurs revival from flirting with relagation under Juande Ramos, to reaching the Champions League quater final under Harry Redknapp. Signing from Dinamo Zagreb for £16.5 million weeks before the 2008 European Championships seemed to be a piece of magic from Spurs as Modric performered brilliantly throughout Croatia's campaign and was even named in the team of tournament.
    During his time at Tottenham, he has made 20 assists and scored 18 goals. However, his performances build up so much more upon his stats. He has been the bright spark in a relatively uncreative central midfield, which includes holding players such as Scott Parker and Tom Huddlestone. This ability to be able to pick a pass from nowhere and create a goal from nothing has attracted an awful lot of interest from Europe's top clubs. Last summer, Chelsea made an offer of £22 million which was rejected due to Modric being tied to a 5 year contract. However, Modric was determined to move on. This year he is more than likely to get his wish, after seeing Harry Redknapp parting company with Tottenham last month. Despite Andre Villas-Boas being appointed as head coach, Modric has asked to leave Tottenham and AVB is reluctant to let him go. The main interest has come from Real Madrid and Manchester United, however it is believed that Chelsea may come back in for their previous target. With his imminent departure, Tottenham have to solve their midfield problems after also losing Nico Kranjcar. Joao Moutinho would be the likely replacement as he possesses similar qualities as the outgoing Croatian, and he has also worked under AVB at Porto where the coahc made his name. Although with Redknapp leaving and Modric following him, i can only see an exodus of Spurs' top players such as Bale and van der Vaart. The signing of Gylf Sigurdsson may excite some Tottenham fans, but i can't see him replacing the Croatian sadly. This is how Modric may be Tottenham's downfall....!



Dan

The arrival of Brendan Rodgers at Anfield will excite many Liverpool fans after seeing his Swansea team play a certain type of football which resembles the very successful Barcelona team of today. He led his side to their highest league finish in the clubs history, as they ended up in 11th place, beating Liverpool 1-0 at home on the last game of the season. However this appointment may reignite memories of Roy Hodgsons time in charge of the Reds. He was successful at Fulham, and Liverpool believed his great experience would be enough to create a new era at Anfield. Sadly, Hodgson was sacked after just six months in charge. Liverpool fans will be hoping for the complete opposite from their new man. It will be up to Rodgers to try to get the best out of Kenny Dalglish's signings, who have come under a vast amount of criticism for their lack of contribution considering the high fees paid. Stewart Downing has not performed anywhere near the level he can achieve this season, and his stats are ones that any winger would be embarrassed about. He made 28 appearances in the Premeir League, scoring zero goals, and creating zero assists. Quite some distance from the 15 assists his father had predicted him to get for Andy Carroll alone before the campaign started. Andy Carroll has also come under fire from critics after his massive 35 million pound switch from Newcastle. In 26 league appearances, he scored 6 goals, and only grabbed 11 goals overall in the season. He has showed signs of improvement during the later stages of the campaign, especially in cup competitions and for England at the Euros, but he needs to be hitting 20 goals a season at least to repay his price tag. However Kenny did get it right with the signing of Luis Suarez in football terms. Since his arrival in January, he has scored 21 goals, including a vital equaliser in the win against Everton in the FA Cup semi final. There have been very noticable issues though. Luis was banned for 12 games after allegedly racially abusing Patrice Evra, an offence which he still denies today.

With a new manager comes a new philosophy and new signings. Brendan's first target was to raid his old club and snatch Gylfi Sigurdsson before he could sign a permanent deal with Swansea. An 8 million pound offer was accepted by parent club Hoffenhiem, only for Tottenham to swoop in offering higher wages, causing the Icelandic international to sway towards a move to Spurs. This deal is still in the balance, and it is believed he will make his mind up today (1.7.2012). Another player who it seems the Reds have missed out on is Kuban Krasnodar striker Lacina Traore. the 6 ft 8 inch Ivorain forward, dubbed 'the new Adebayor' has moved to big spending Russian side Anzhi. Traore would have fitted in well at Liverpool, but there would have been doubts if he had the ability to hack it in the English game. As it seems Liverpool will miss out of Sigurdsson, there are reports they are in the market for Bolton midfielder Mark Davies. As a Liverpool fan myself, i find it laughable that a club with such great history and credentials would consider a payer who hasnt even broken into Bolton permanently, especially after they have just been relagated. I would have hoped that Brendan would attempt to sign bigger players, so that the club could once again challenge for the title, but buying players like this would only hinder our credentials. Adding Davies to the squad would only develop the idea that Liverpool have gone from having one of the best midfields in the world (Gerrard, Mascherano and Alonso) to have one struggling to stay in the top haf of the table (Spearing, Shelvey and of course, Davies).


However, there have been some names involved in speculation who could get the fans excited. Firstly is the rumour that 21 year old Uruguayan midfielder Gaston Ramirez could be swapping Bologne for Liverpool in a 20 million pound switch. The midfielder, who signed a proffesional contract with the Italian team in 2010, has made 44 appearances for his team this season, scored 8 goals and created 4 assists in a fairly mediocre side. At 21 years of age he has the potential to be one of the best, and joining fellow Uruguayans Suarez and Coates will do wonders for him settling in the English game. Another player who i personally would welcome to Anfield is Juan Vargas. The Peruvian winger is very impressive at creating assists and would add some experience to a fairly young side. Lst season he gained 7 assists after only starting 18 games, and would provide competition for wingers Stewart Downing, Craig Bellamy and Jordan Henderson.



As well as bringing in new players, Liverpool can welcome back Joe Cole from his impressive loan spell at Lille. He helped the French side finish third and left a lasting impression on the fans and the manager, who said "we will remember him very fondly as a player but also as a man". Cole's arrival will add competition to the midfield and it also may be a deciding factor on whether Alberto Aquilani will stay at Anfield next season. The Italian has been out on loan for the past two seasons to Fiorentina and AC Milan, but it seems Milan don't want to make his move permanent and it may leave him with no option but to play his football in England. The former Roma playmaker may recieve a frosty reception should he decide to stay, but if he contributes with performances we know he is capable of, then the fans should be won over sonner rather than later. Liverpool's player of the season, who has been linked with Manchester City, has played down talk of a move to the champions. The Slovenia international who endured his best season in a Liverpool shirt, cooled talk of a 22 million pound switch to the Etihad, saying that he is "very excited about the new season". Liverpool will be hoping from more of the same from Pepe Reina, who this week has come under speculation linking him with a move to AC Milan. The fee believed to be offered by AC is in the region of 22 million pounds and may see the Spanish number two opt for a new challenge as he gets older. The Reds have already lined up a replacement in Hugo Lloris, which makes this rumour seem more believable. But fans would be devastated to see their number 25 leave the Kop.


Fans will be hoping for a better season than last, and a good start to the project that John W Henry has entrusted to be led by Brendan Rodgers.



Dan.