Financial problems you say? What financial problems?
Premier League clubs shelled out a massive £630 million pounds in transfer money during the summer transfer window. England’s top division was expected to be the biggest spenders across Europe this summer after the 71% hike in television money the clubs receive. Premier League clubs will now earn a frightening £3 billion pounds over three years.
Over the past couple of years, the platform for the success of the season ahead was set by how good the clubs performed over the summer transfer window. The signing of Robin van Persie gifted the league title to United last season while the lack of significant activity by Manchester City resulted in a disappointing season.
In this piece will be going over the transfer activity of the teams competing for the top four spots in the Premier League this season. The clubs embroiled in the top four fiasco being Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd and Spurs. I consider Liverpool to be a top four candidates as well and we will be looking at them in more detail in a separate article.
Arsenal:
Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal Chief Executive, promised a big summer for Arsenal but by the eve of the transfer window deadline day the club spent a total of zero pounds in transfer fees after signing free agents Mathieu Flamini and young French forward Yaya Sanogo.
The summer started promisingly with Arsenal chasing Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain before Arsene Wenger decided that the striker was not worth more than 23 million pounds. Napoli would then pounce successfully.
The Gunners readjusted their targets by submitting a 40 million and one pound bid for Liverpool Forward Luis Suarez. The bid resulted in the following response from Liverpool principle owner John Henry:
Arsenal were lead to believe that the bid would trigger the Uruguayan’s release clause – the release clause never existed and Liverpool took a strong stance against strengthening a direct rival. Arsenal’s Suarez chase was well and duly over.
Suddenly, the early promise turned to frustration.
There was light at the end of the transfer window tunnel for Arsenal after completing the signing of German star Mesut Ozil for 42.4 million pounds on deadline day. The former Real Madrid midfielder joins loanee Italian goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano from Serie B side Palermo.
Squad Assessment:
Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczesny, Lukas Fabianski, Emiliano Viviano
Defenders: Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna, Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson
Midfielders: Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Mathieu Flamini, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Frimpong, Gedion Zelalem
Forwards: Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Yaya Sanogo, Nicklas Bedtner, Ju-Yong Park, Ryu Miyaichi, Serge Gnabry
That Arsenal squad screams of imbalance.
Arsenal’s midfield could possibly be the most creative in the league as a whole. Ozil, Cazorla and Wilshere will find that killer through-pass and provide the Gunners with a lot of goal scoring opportunities. The Gunners also look more solid in midfield with Ramsey finally showing some of his promise before his injury a couple of years ago. Mikel Arteta is reliant and Flamini should prove to be an astute signing.
Arsenal have pace and skills on the wings in the shape of Theo Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski.
Wenger though is not as spoiled for choice in defense. Arsenal have a total of three center backs – Arsene Wenger is using Sagna as his make shift center defender. The French manager seems to have lost faith in Vermaelen completely. Carl Jenkinson is an able right back but is still young and prone to the odd mistake.
As good as Arsenal look in midfield, the players usually tasked with the holding role do not possess the most exciting of fitness records. Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini will struggle to play a full season.
Emiliano Viviano will add competition to Szczesny but I doubt he will provide the domineering presence the Arsenal defense needs.
Arsenal are contenders for a top four position but despite that creativity in midfield their season will rely on two players – Koscielny and Giroud. Wenger simply has no adequate replacement for those two. The form of the goalkeeper will also be key to how high the Gunners finish this season.
For Wenger, it seems it will be a case of ensuring that his creative attack can score more than his feeble defense will concede this season.
Chelsea:
Ah yes! The return of the “Special” one…Oh, I meant the “Happy” one of course!
Whatever you want to label him, Jose Mourinho might just be Chelsea’s star signing of the summer transfer window.
On the pitch, The Blues bolstered their first team squad by bringing in Andre Schurrle along with Willian and Samuel Eto’o from troubled Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Marco van Ginkel and Mark Schwarzer concluded the transfer activity at Stamford Bridge this summer. Chelsea will also benefit from the return of loanees Kevin De Bruyne and Michael Essien.
The exit door at the Bridge featured the loaning of Romelu Lukaku to Everton, Victor Moses to Liverpool, Oriol Romeu to Valencia and Marko Marin to Seville. Vitesse Arnhem were the biggest winners from Chelsea’s loan policy after successfully bringing in Piazon, Cuevas and Atsu.
Squad Assessment:
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Mark Schwarzer, Henrique Hilario, Jamal Blackman
Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cezar Azpilicueta, Ryan Bertrand
Midfielders: Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Oscar, John Obi Mikel, Kevin De Bryune, Marco Van Ginkel, Josh McEachran
Forwards: Fernando Torres, Andre Schurrle, Eden Hazard, Demba Ba, Samuel Eto’o
The Special One has a very Special squad.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Blues changed their transfer policy with a focus on signing premium young stars such as Hazard and Oscar – Chelsea continued this trend during the summer transfer window by signing young German international Andre Schurrle and promising Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel.
The Stamford Bridge outfit possibly have the best back four in the league and with Mourinho in charge the Blues will certainly be very solid defensively.
In midfield, Chelsea have a good combination of discipline and creativity with the likes of Michael Essien protecting the back four while Lampard, Mata and Oscar can provide the creative spark required. Chelsea’s midfield is almost injury-insured as they possess great depth in the shape of Mikel, van Ginkel and De Bruyne. Mata also looks set to spend a lot of time bench-warming this season.
In Eden Hazard, Chelsea have a player destined to be one of the top three players in the world over the next two seasons. Willian and Schurrle complete an attacking midfield line-up which would spark envy from all clubs in England and Europe.
Perhaps Chelsea’s biggest problem this season would be their attack. Fernando Torres seems unable to score for Chelsea in the Premier League while Demba Ba looks a shadow of the goal-scoring threat he used to be at Newcastle.
Chelsea attempted to rectify their attacking difficulties by unsettling Wayne Rooney but a move could not be completed. Mourinho then opted to sign Samuel Eto’o from Anzhi – a player he knows very well from their time at Inter. No one would doubt the attacking instincts of the ex-Cameroon international but at 32 years of Age Eto’o has the vibe of a signing who would paper over the cracks until Chelsea could sign a long-term forward option perhaps in January or next summer.
Jose Mourinho’s side, in my opinion, will compete for the top two spots come next May. The Blues will seek a title winning season by relying on a water-tight defense while utilizing the creativity and movement of their attacking midfield options to break down their opponents.
Manchester City:
With Roberto Mancini departing before the end of last season, it was always going to be a summer of change at the Etihad Stadium.
The new man at the helm of the Citizens is Chilean Manuel Pellegrini who arrived from Malaga. Pellegrini, who favors possession-based attacking football, identified targets that would be an improvement on the starting eleven at City last season.
In midfield, Man City signed Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk while Jesus Navas was brought in for the right wing position. Within weeks, Navas was reunited with Seville striker Alvaro Negredo who Pellegrini selected as his new number 9. The attacking supply lines were reinforced further by buying Stevan Jovetic who could play anywhere across the forward positions. The summer activity was concluded by the late arrival of Martin Demichelis to add cover at center back.
The outgoings were also plenty at City with high earners Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry, Kolo Toure and Maicon leaving the club. Meanwhile, Scott Sinclair was loaned to West Brom.
Squad Assessment:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Richard Wright, Costel Pantilimon
Defenders: Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Martin Demichilis, Mateja Nastasic, Alexander Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Micah Richards, Pablo Zabaleta
Midfielders: Javi Garcia, Jack Rodwell, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, James Milner, David Dilva, Samir Nasri, Jesus Navas
Forwards: Alvaro Negredo, Eden Dzeko, Kun Aguero, Stevan Jovetic, John Guidetti
Manchester City and Manuel Pellegrini will be looking to compete for the Premier League title this season with the squad assembled at the Etihad Stadium.
The Sky Blues boast a very solid center midfield with Fernandinho and Yaya Toure while David Silva, Jesus Navas, Samir Nasri and Stevan Jovetic will look to break down opposition defenses through their movement between the lines and pristine incisive through passes.
In Dzeko, Aguero and Negredo, Manuel Pellegrini has the best forward line in the league to call on.
Vincent Kompany and Mateja Nastasic formed a good partnership last season in the center of defense but City do not possess an adequate cover for Kompany in the case of injury or suspension.
Joe Hart has also become a liability for a Man City since the turn of the year and his form is crucial if City were to win the title race.
Manchester United:
Oh United!
It was always going to be a difficult summer for United with Sir Alex departing after 27 years in charge but they could have surely made things easier upon themselves.
With David Gill retiring, United had to bring in a new CEO but instead of moving for someone with football experience to ease the load off David Moyes, the club decided to promote former commercial management director Ed Woodward who despite his success in growing the club’s commercial revenue he lacks adequate football experience.
United lost further experience after highly rated first team coach Rene Meulensteen left the club with Moyes favoring the recruitment of his backroom staff at Everton.
David Moyes identified center midfield as the key area which requires improvement and began the summer by chasing Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara. The move failed to materialize with the Spain internation joining Bayern Munich.
Moyes then decided to move for another Barcelona midfielder, this time in the shape of Cesc Fabregas. The Spanish champions refused to consider the sale and United dropped their chase of Fabregas before it became embarrassing for the Red Devils.
The elusive chase for a midfielder continued with United looking more desperate. The club’s target also seemed to lack sense as the deadline day approached. Manchester United became linked with attacking minded midfielders as much as defensive minded ones – Khedira, De Rossi and Ander Herrera were reported targets for Moyes before the club finally signed ex-Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini.
The above targets all have their commendable attributes but they seem to have very different profiles – a sign of desperation for Moyes as the summer went on. Another criticism aimed at United over the signing of Fellaini is that they allowed his release clause to pass which would have saved the club an extra 4 million pounds – this is yet another sign that Fellaini was far from being first choice for the club this summer.
United’s chase for a left back was another strange one for me. Patrice Evra is one of the best left backs in the league – yes, he is not getting younger but still has a couple of seasons to go. Fabio and Buttner are adequate covers for this season. So spending in the excess of 15 million for Coentrao or Leighton Baines as cover would have been bizarre.
Moyes might consider that keeping Rooney was his biggest achievement of this transfer window but he certainly did the minimal to aid this accomplishment. During United’s summer preseason tour, the Scot stated: “Overall, my thought on Wayne is, if for any reasons we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we'll need him”.
Nicely played David!
Squad Assessment:
Goalkeepers: David De Gea, Anders Lindengaard, Ben Amos
Defenders: Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Fabio, Alex Buttner, Rafael, Guillermo Varela
Midfielders: Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher, Marouane Fellaini, Shinji Kagawa, Ashley Young, Nani, Antonio Valencia, Adnan Januzaj
Forwards: Wayne Rooney, Chicharito, Danny Welbeck, Robin van Persie, Federico Macheda, Wilfried Zaha
In spite of the lack of transfer activity, United still possess one of the better squads in the Premier League.
De Gea is fulfilling his reputation as one of the best young keepers in the world while the experienced back four will prove to be a strong base for United through the season. Manchester United also possess enough defenders in reserves in the case of an injury crisis.
Moyes also possesses good options in midfield with Fellaini now joining the likes of Anderson, Carrick and Cleverley. Carrick was key for United over the last two seasons and will be very important over the next 9 months as well.
With Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck Manchester United have enough fire power to see out most opponents.
What United do lack though is skills and dribbling capabilities on the flanks and between the lines – a key component to the club’s success under Sir Alex. Yes, Shinji Kagawa is still in the ranks and yes Welbeck and Rooney can cover for those positions but the club does not possess a Ronaldo type player who could turn the game around coming in from the wings.
David Moyes has a challenge on his hands and he needs to adapt to the requirements of his new job immediately. United are a club who seek three points on every outing – a draw is not an acceptable result. The United manager favors a 4-4-1-1 formation and he certainly possesses the players to deploy that formation successfully – he needs to make sure that this formation does not cost United points in the shape of a high amount of draws.
I honestly can’t see United finish higher than third and with Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool strengthening this summer Moyes will need to adjust quickly. Overall, I predict an ulcer-inducing season for Manchester United supporters this season.
Tottenham:
Revolution at the Lane!
Andre Villas Boas is shaping his Spurs in his own image and the insane fee paid by Real Madrid for Gareth Bale provided the young Portuguese coach the finances needed for a spending spree which covered almost all positions across the pitch.
Out went William Gallas, Steven Caulker, Clint Dempsey, Tom Huddlestone, Scott Parker, David Bentley and Gareth Bale.
In return, the White Hart Lane club signed Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen in midfield while Roberto Soldado & Erik Lamela were brought in for the attacking positions.Vlad Chiriches came in to bolster the defensive ranks.
Spurs’ most important signing of the summer might probably be Franco Baldini who assisted Villas-Boas into one of the best transfer periods by any club in recent memory.
Squad Assessment:
Goalkeepers: Heurelho Gomes, Brad Friedel, Hugo Lloris
Defenders: Younes Kaboul, Jan Vertonghen, Vlad Chiriches, Michael Dawson, Kyle Walker, Kyle Naughton, Danny Rose, Ezekiel Fryers
Midfielders: Aaron Lennon, Paulinho, Erik Lamela, Lewis Holtby, Etienne Capoue, Andros Townsend, Moussa Dembele, Nacer Chadli, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Christian Eriksen, Sandro
Forwards: Roberto Soldado, Emmanuel Adebayor, Jermain Defoe
That Spurs squad looks mouthwatering doesn’t it!
AVB has assembled a very strong starting eleven with enough backup in case of injuries and with options coming off the bench.
Spurs possibly have the strongest midfield in the Premier League – Paulinho, Sandro and Capoue are a big physical presence in center midfield while Eriksen, Dembele and Holtby would provide the creative spark.
Tottenham also seem to have a plethora of options on the wings with Lennon, Townsend, Chadli and the exciting Lamela.
AVB is expected to rely on a lone striker in attack with Soldado as the starting option and Defoe as his immediate backup.
While Kyle Walker and Danny Rose could be error-prone on occasions, Spurs still possess solid center defensive options lead by Jan Vertonghen and Michael Dawson while Lloris has proven to be one of the best keepers in the league last season.
Tottenham’s final position in the table this season will rely on the time it will take for the new players to gel together. Considering that this Spurs side will probably hit form after Christmas, collecting points while the team is still adjusting becomes crucial in order to guarantee a top four position come the end of the season.
To Conclude...
Chelsea and Manchester City have the best squads and should eventually lead a two-horse race towards the Premier League trophy. Top four main-stays Manchester United and Arsenal are under serious pressure with Tottenham and Liverpool strengthening well over the course of the summer transfer window.
Unpredictable season ahead!
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