I haven't been particularly good at sticking to a theme for this blog yet, but I am at least posting more often than once a year. The topic that has taken my interest this month is the start of the football season. We're three weeks in to the budding Premier League season and already the league is being dragged to a screeching halt by international football. I can't think for the life of me why FIFA thinks it's better to interrupt everyone's enjoyment of real football so often during a season when they could just host qualifying groups during each region's off-season. These little morsels of international football between countries who are mostly mis-matched (thanks to a seeding system that should be abolished) do nothing but antagonize clubs and fans.
Another infuriating thing that has come around this week is the transfer deadline. It's another decision made by football's governing bodies that defies logic. Why doesn't the transfer window "slam shut" before the season starts? The way it's done now leaves three weeks for players to be unsettled and teams to be unbalanced or unfinished. Obviously teams can try to get their business done earlier, but how many people do you know that finish their work before the deadline? I suppose it all adds to the soap opera and gives the tabloids a bit more to talk about, plus now deadline day has become a television event on Sky Sports, much like draft day is in America. The last few deadline days have been pretty dull affairs as teams have wised up to getting a settled side together with a full pre-season under their belts and I don't see this one being any different. There are predictions that transfers today will take Premier League spending through the £1 billion, but the money in the game is so ridiculous now that figures like that don't really mean anything... I mean, Aston Villa just signed a Championship player for £15 million!
I promised a Premier League preview in my blog post last month, so here's my thoughts on how things might go:
Man Utd: I think that the combination of Mourinho and big money signings will be enough for Utd to win the league this season. They could probably do with another experienced CB and selling Rooney, but other than those issues the squad looks well balanced and Mourinho's methods will be well suited to the club.
Manchester City: I think they will run Utd close. They have wonderful talent in the first team and some interesting options on the bench. They have waltzed through the early fixtures easily enough, but I don't think that they have enough steel through the spine to make it through the tough Christmas schedule unscathed and their defence still looks rather shaky. I hope they fail because I hate the way they've bought their way to relevance and I can't stand Guardiola or his brand of football.
Chelsea: They look solid, seem to have a very astute manager and looked nailed on for a top four finish to me. I don't think that they have enough to really trouble the top two, particularly with Terry and Cahill still the main options at the back, but they will be too good for the other challengers.
Arsenal: Wenger has finally done something about the glaring holes in his squad and seems to be willing to finally get rid of some dead weight. I just don't think it will be enough to compete with the teams who have done much more impressive business. I was tempted to drop Arsenal out of the tip four, but then I watched the entertaining shambles that was Spurs Vs. Liverpool and I realised that neither of those teams has a hope in hell of consistency this season.Arsenal get the nod by default.
At the bottom, I think tales of Hull's demise were premature. I don't like the look of Bournemouth, Watford or Burnley this season. Sunderland will flirt with relegation (as usual) and West Brom will be right down in the mire, but ultimately the three teams mentioned above will get the chop in May.
Those predictions are not particularly scientific or shocking, but I don't think the league is going to throw up any surprises this year. "What about Leicester?" I hear you ask. Well, they're shite and will be lucky to finish in the top half. Without Kante, they're not the same prospect they were last season.
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