It doesn’t seem like it, but we’re already three weeks into the English Premier League season. For managers, the dreaded first international break carries further significance for the league; the end of the early transfer window. Paul Pogba is finally wearing red (again), there was a goalie controversy in Manchester (again), and Arsene Wenger finally said “%$&@ it” and spent a substantial amount of money (in August!) in what will likely be his last season in charge of the Gunners. The signings are complete so let’s gauge the health of the EPL.
Healthy as an ox
City, United, Chelsea – The underachieving big boys of last year brought in the biggest managerial personalities in the sport to right their respective ships. Pep, Jose, and Antonio are a combined 9-0-0 in their new positions, though none has faced a significant challenge thus far.
Manchester United
United was quiet at the deadline and why not? They added significant pieces in their quest for the EPL title before the season began. Bailly is a young, no non-sense center back who should be able to keep his spot for years to come. Zlatan already leads the league in goals. Mkhitaryan watched Juan Mata start each of the first three EPL games, but Mourihno will likely change that once Mata hits a lull. A 4-2-3-1 with Rooney behind Zlatan and Pogba at the pivot is perfect for this team, who has Martial and Rashford as options for speedy wingers. It pains me to say it, but it’s a shame United is missing out on the Champions League. I expect United to win the league with 92-95 points.
Manchester City
It’s almost impossible to match United’s summer transfer list, but Manchester City came pretty close. Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito, Claudio Bravo, Gabriel Jesus, the list goes on and on. Also in the list of additions are 22 year old John Stones and 20 year old Leroy Sane who were the second and third most expensive signings in England this summer at 55 million and 50 million euros respectively. I’m generally against forking over wheelbarrows full of cash for players who have yet to prove themselves at the senior level, but then again I don’t have sheikh money. These signings along with Aguero, De Bruyne, Sterling, Silva, Fernandihno, Fernando, Delph (you get the idea) give city an embarrassment of riches to throw at any opposition’s defense. The sheer number of skilled attacking options in midfield will allow Pep to tailor different formations around Fernandihno. This team has a ton of depth, but winning the league requires a result against other top teams. With Aguero already suspended for first Manchester derby, it’s hard to see City overtaking United.
Chelsea
The Blues added some defensive depth to their finely aged back four by snatching Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina and giving David Luiz a second stint. Their big business was completed earlier in the summer taking the workhorse N’Golo Kante from the champions and signing an off the bench striker option in Michy Batshuayi. Perhaps more threatening to any Chelsea opposition is the sudden awakening of Eden Hazard from a season long coma. It’s hard not to like Chelsea’s midfield on the defensive side with Kante and Matic and the offensive side with Willian, Oscar, and Hazard. This team, however, is still not built for championships. Chelsea has already needed two late Diego Costa winners against Watford and West Ham in games where on different days, with different referees, Costa would’ve been sent off. The only thing stopping Chelsea from third place this year is Chelsea.
Leicester City
In my opinion Claudio Ranieri has one of the least enviable jobs in Europe this season. What will be the definition of success for Leicester this campaign. A round of 16 exit in the UCL? Another top 4 finish in the league? A domestic cup? Now that they’ve had a taste of success, the players and fans will want more. Ranieri will have to do something this season he didn’t have to last year; balance his squad across multiple competitions taking into account number of games played, time spent traveling, and overall fitness of each player. The team will undoubtedly have more slip-ups this year and it will be up to the Italian manager to maintain focus. Most of Leicester’s summer spending went into adding depth at the striker role in Ahmed Musa and Islam Slimani. Slimani had an impressive 31 goals in all competitions last you for Sporting in Portugal and will provide an example partner for Vardy in the two striker system. They also partially filled the gaping hole left by N’golo Kante by picking up Mendy from Nice. It’s unlikely Leicester will repeat their heroics of last year, but this team will be able to compete with any team in Europe.
Middlesbrough
No, I’m not suggesting Middlesbrough is going to finish in the top 5 or even the top half of the table. But did you know Boro had the best defense in all of professional English football last year? The same defensive core returns plus the additions of Antonio Barragan, Fabio, and Calum Chambers. We’ve already seen that Boro is going to sit back, stay organized and take every opportunity to get the ball forward to Negredo. The deadline acquisition of the speedy winger, Adama Traoré, will be perfect for this counter attacking style. Boro’s goal for the season should be first and foremost a return for the ’17-’18 season and of the three newly promoted squads, they’ve put themselves in the best position.
Suffering From Chronic Headaches
Arsenal
It’s truly remarkable in a year where Arsenal bit the bullet and spent over a hundred million euros on a handful of summer signings that they managed to remain miles behind. Don’t get me wrong, I think Granit Xhaka is one of the best summer signings of the premier league. However the season opener against Liverpool clearly highlighted the need for defensive improvements. Mustafi is a decent start towards improvement, but against top competition this team is going to leak goals. Fans should hope to see a 4-4-2 with Xhaka alongside Ozil in the midfielder, Ox and Walcott out wide, and Sanchez and Deportivo signing Lucas up front. Arsenal will at least be entertaining to watch, but I feel the results are going to get worse before they get better. I see this being the first time since 1998 Arsenal does not return to the Champions League.
Tottenham
This is shaping up to be an important year for the young Argentinian manager and the summer, like most of the teams diagnosed with chronic headaches, was a poor start. Vincent Janssen is a particularly confusing signing because it changes Harry Kane’s positioning. Evidenced by his performances for Tottenham and the English national team, Kane prefers to be a central striker. Pochettino has tried starting Kane in the deeper role behind Janssen where he was largely ineffective and subbing Janssen alongside Kane. In the latter case, the two were unable to form an understanding of each other. The deadline day acquisition of Moussa Sissoko, an improvement to Eric Dier, is the only signing Spurs fans can truly be excited about. The biggest news from Tottenham’s summer was the UCL group stage draw. Tottenham was fortunate enough to be a favorite in their group, despite beginning the draw in pot 3. If I’m Pochettino and I see a group containing Monaco, CSKA, and Leverkeusen, I go all in on the Champions League. Pochettino cannot afford to make selection mistakes in the UCL. While this group is very winnable, it’s also very wide open. A realistic season goal for Spurs should be the round of 8.
Liverpool
The Klopp effect is really starting to wear off in Merseyside. Already the first three games bear a striking similarity to last season’s. Liverpool plays some dazzling football against stronger competition, but are too inconsistent against weaker squads. Fans should be excited about Sadio Mané but should be less excited about whatever is happening between Daniel Sturridge and Jurgen Klopp. Ragnar Klavan (not a Game of Thrones character) and Joel Matip add height in the center of the backline, but neither has any Premier League experience. The lack of a competent left back creates an obvious attacking point for opposition, but switching to a back three would leave Liverpool too exposed when running a high press. Defense was always going to be an issue for the Reds (who allowed 1.32 goals/game last season), and more needs to be done in January for any chance at European football.
Everton
Everton is fresh off of an English football coup. All of their new arrivals come from teams in England’s first or second tier of football. The problem with their signings is that last season’s woes have not been addressed. Everton allowed a reprehensible 1.5 goals/game, and the only defensive signing this summer saw 22 year old John Stones replaced with 31 year old Ashley Williams. On the other end Enner Valencia provides a no cost striking alternative to Lukaku and team record signing Yannick Bolaise will add pace on the left side. Scoring goals won’t matter if the defense can’t prevent opposition from scoring. Everton averaged 1.55 goals/game; meaning scoring was not an issue last year, either. Ronald Koeman doesn’t have much to work with in terms of defense options and this has all the makings of a frustrating season for toffee fans. Koeman should take the domestic cups seriously for any shot at a positive takeaway.
Swansea City
Somehow in a year where the combined expenditures of the Premier League was over a billion euros, Swansea City managed to come out of the summer in the black. The Swans lost their main man Andre Ayew and longtime captain Ashley Williams, but kept key core players in the midfield in Gylfi Siggurdson and Wayne Routledge. At 6 million euros, Fernando Llorente was a steal from Sevilla and it will be interesting to see if Francesco Guidolin switches to a two striker system to accommodate Llorente’s compatriot, Borja Baston. The biggest reason Swansea fits this diagnosis is their results always seem to be due to a lack of effort, not personnel. Last year Swansea took points from City, United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. In the same year they only managed to take a single point from Bournemouth and Sunderland. I’m probably in a minority, but I think Swansea has the pieces to compete for a Europa league spot. They just need to play like it.
Stay Tuned For…
They Should Probably Get That Checked Out…
Hull, Stoke, Southampton, West Ham, Palace
We Need a Doctor Over Here!
West Brom, Sunderland, Watford, Burnley, Bournemouth