English Premier League: 06/07 Season Preview

The Premiership season begins tomorrow. We haven't gone out and covered all 20 teams. Honestly, we couldn't be too bothered about some of them, and we think you probably aren't as well. So without wasting time on what you don't want, here are blurbs on seven of the most exciting teams in England this year, and how they may fare. We've resisted the temptation to predict finishing positions - not only do we hate getting it wrong, we also think it's more fun this way. (And it alienates less readers.) Enjoy the read. But enjoy the weekend more.

CHELSEA
In: Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack, Solomon Kalou, Obi Mikel
Out: Damien Duff, Hernan Crespo, Asier del Horno
Going out: William Gallas

Chelsea have strengthened in personnel but much will depend on how Mourinho sets up his team, especially in midfield. Granted that his options are plenty, if almost limitless, any insistence on squeezing Ballack and Lampard into the same midfield even if it does not work may cost Chelsea valuable points, especially in early season. Discord among the bench-warming central midfielders appears to be the other related concern, but otherwise, the Blues look mouth-watering for a third successive title. If they all still want it bad enough, the Premiership can be theirs for the taking.


LIVERPOOL
In: Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Pennant, Mark Gonzalez
Out: Djibril Cisse, Fernando Morientes, Didi Hamann, Djimi Traore
Coming in: Dirk Kuyt

Much is hoped of Liverpool this term as they continue to perfect the art of playing tight and systematic pressure football. Their season may hinge on the goal-return of Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch. If their partnership clicks, and the goals flow, there is no reason why they shouldn't be title hopefuls. Liverpool are becoming increasingly notorious for being hard to play after they go 1-0 up, but they must also fix their form when playing the mid-table battlers. If they don't slip up there, and if Bellamy's goal-return is handsome, they may be very hard to catch.


MAN UTD
In: Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, Tomasz Kuszczak
Out: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Tim Howard

Man Utd always survive difficulty - it has always been their hallmark. They coped brilliantly last season in spite of losing so many players and now they have added the brains and bite in midfield that was lacking last season. Rooney will have to live without van Nistelrooy, and neither Saha nor Smith are commensurate goal-poachers. But United have some extremely industrious players and this kind of workrate always translates losses into draws, and draws into slim wins. Nonetheless, replacing van Nistelrooy remains the factor that determines whether or not they seriously challenge for the title.


ARSENAL
In: Thomas Rosicky
Out: Sol Campbell, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp
Going out: Ashley Cole, Jose Antonio Reyes

Arsenal are hard to predict, as their form last season showed, they are capable of slipping up in the league if their attention is turned elsewhere. They are very much still a team in transition, and if Cesc Fabregas has fully graduated into Vieira's boots, they may still need to groom replacements for Cole, Reyes, Campbell and Bergkamp. There is muted optimism on young Walcott's promise, and Rosicky should take to the Premiership's pace and physicality with ease. On paper, it's very hard to say that the Gunners are a better side this year, but Arsene Wenger's boys have earned everyone's respect, and still deserve to be feared.


TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
In: Dimitar Berbatov, Didier Zokora
Out: Michael Carrick, Andy Reid

The fifth team in England at press time, Spurs did very well last year, running Arsenal and themselves ragged till the last day, and they will hope to consolidate on that this year by being consistent. But consistency is an elusive winged creature to a team with one eye on the UEFA Cup and another on catching the league's leading pack, and good money is on Spurs hoping best to (a) be ready if any of the big guns slip up, and (b) have a solid season in Europe. The more likely result is that they do well in one and plummet in the other. There are some humungously talented individuals in this squad, but they need to be extremely tight from start to end if they are to stay within touching distance of the 4th spot.


NEWCASTLE UTD
In: Damien Duff
Out: Alan Shearer, Jean-Alain Boumsong

They have money to spend, but no one wants to go there. Newcastle suffer from being hugely well supported but the lack of European football continues to blight any progress in the transfer market - and consequently, on the pitch. Their desperation to sign a big name striker has been well documented, and Glenn Roeder does not look at all capable of pulling off any of the big name heists that have made the rounds. Michael Owen could be out for the whole season. Damien Duff will become a cult hero but all the signs point to Newcastle having a horrible season. It's still fashionable to be a toffee, but life after Shearer won't be sweet.


WEST HAM
In: Carlton Cole, Lee Bowyer, Robert Green

West Ham were remarkable last season as strikers Dean Ashton and Marlon Harewood turned on the style and became the revelations of their season. They have an extremely hardworking squad, and for reference to their passion for big scalps and big occassions, look no further than last year's FA Cup final. They do have quality, but it's all confined to the first eleven. While this should keep them struggling to catch Spurs, you can still expect more excitement from them that two or three midtable teams.

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Young managers make international debuts

Young managers. That seems to be the trend these days. And not just any trend either - the trend in international management. Just look around you. All you need is to have followed football since the early nineties and they're all there, all on display, in their respective dugouts. Some are in trackies and some are in sharp suits but all of them, just ten to fifteen years ago, clashed at the highest level as players in their prime.

At the world cup, we saw Klinnsmann lead Germany down an inspiring run. Marco van Basten was at the helm of the Netherlands. Now, Dunga is at Brazil, Roberto Donadoni is at Italy, Steve Staunton at Ireland, Slaven Bilic at Croatia. It's intriguing to note that Diego Maradonna and Stuart Pearce were in the running to succeed Argentina and England as well. So how are these guys doing? These young men of international management?

The man who was most prolific as a player - Jurgen Klinnsmann - is also the most successful as manager, at least thus far. His injection of young talent into Germany gave everyone much reason to cheer during the World Cup. Marco van Basten, hugely inspiring as a player is now seen as a solid no-nonsense manager with a mind of his own. His perculiar decisions have just been vindicated as Klaas Huntelaar scored a brace in the Netherlands' 4-0 trashing of Ireland. Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been left out, surely knows that he is up against a strong-willed gaffer.

For the rest, it has been a hard working day on the chalk line. The first raft of international matches after Deeutschalnd 06, completed just hours ago, give us a quick peak at how their day in the office has come along.

Dunga and Donadoni patchy matches. Both named squads full of unknowns, the former seemingly to prove a point to his lacklustre stars while the latter to give an extended holiday to his own, much more decorated, pool of first choice players. As a result, both were met with disappointing results. Dunga's Brazil fought to a dull 1-1 draw with bogey team Norway. it turns out that cutting off his nose to spite his face has led wound Dunga up with an unconvincing and shaky start. No one is particularly impressed, not with the football, nor the results. Donadoni's Italy were thumped 2-0 by Croatia, but he has all 23 world cup winners left to call back, and if only by virtue of their glitter, Donadoni is spared of the critics' knives.

Croatia, that of Slaven Bilic, appears to be rejuvinated. Reinspired with new faces, phasing out of old tired ones, and now even sporting the presence of naturalised latino talent in Eduardo Da Silva in attack, the Croats put two past Italy efficiently. Bilic's team selection has been rewarded, as Da Silva, the Brazilian to don the chequered shirt of Croatia, scored the opening goal. And then there's Steve Staunton, who must surely lament his selection choices - left with a disarray bunch of Irish players in the post-Roy Keane era (not that Keane would have played under Staunton anyway!), Staunton's Ireland was massacred 4-0 by the Dutch, which says plenty about the task that lies ahead of him in whipping the Irish into a decent international outfit. And more than just ability, Staunton will need to be at his ruthless best with a pool of players notorious for indiscipline, malaise and underachievement. (Sounds a lot like England, i know, but that's not what i'm talking about.)

Mixed fortunes, so it seems, for all the young managers on the international scene. For those among us who grew up adoring some of these players, it is a strange time, to see them stand neck and neck on the touchline, chatting perhaps about the game or perhaps about some game some ten odd years ago.

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Argentina Apertura Championship: Boca keep pace, River stumble in thriller

We begin covering the Argentine Apertura Division today with results from the Buenos Aires giants. But first, here's how the league is run in Argentina.

The Argentine league is broken up into two competitions each year, the Apertura and Clausura (literally Opening and Closing) championships - each featuring the 20 teams playing only one round (not home and away). Therefore, there are two champions each year in Argentina. Neither the Clausura nor the Apertura is more prestigious, they're just separated that way. You can also think of it as the winter champions in european leagues, except that this one is real. Relegation is done by averaging the results of both championships and this inevitably helps the big guns avoid the drop. Nonetheless, we're frank enough to say that we don't really care about who drops in Argentina. It's the big four or five clubs that we're really interested to watch.

Two games have been played, and Boca Juniors are keeping pace with San Lorenzo and Independiente, all joint leaders. Boca defeated Rosario Central 2-1 away from home with goals from defenders Juan Krupoviesa (pic, above) and Daniel Diaz. All three goals were scored from free kicks and there was some horrendous goalkeeping by the Rosario stopper.

Elsewhere, River Plate lost some ground in a six-goal first-half roller coaster thriller with Newell's Old Boys ending 3-3. Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo (pic, with Ariel Ortega) scored a brace to pull Newell's from behind into a lead before River levelled just after the break.

1. Independiente P2 Pts 6
2. San Lorenzo P2 Pts 6
3. Boca Juniors P2 Pts 6
4. Estudiantes P2 Pts 6
5. Newell's Old Boys P2 Pts 4
6. River Plate P2 Pts 4

The Argentine league has been notorious of late with their unearthing of young talent. Hot on the heels of Leo Messi making it in Barca is Sergio Aguerro, the 16 year old, who has made his big game transfer to Atletico Madrid. Hot on his heels is River's winger Gonzalo Higuaín, who remains in South America hoping to win something there before he moves to Europe. Our feelers are firmly planted on these young stars so that our readers are always the first to know what's going on in latin football.

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One up for Benitez

And so it starts. With a rare Peter Crouch goal, a typical Riise stormer and Shevchenko doing what he does best.

Signs are that it's not going to be all sunshine and fruit punch for Chelsea this season. Liverpool managed to wrestle victory even with their inspirational, and possibly career-capping captain starting on the bench and the new gawky forward line of Crouch and Bellamy very much involved.

But Ballack limping off with a hip injury could well be a blessing in disguise as many people have expressed their skepticism on Ballack and Lampard's ability to play together on a starting sheet.

And so in the end the two generals of the red and blue camp chose not to shake on it as both a blatant disregard for simple footie decency and a notion to the war that is to start next week for the EPL.

We sit back and chill on our lazy boys, awaiting for the plot to unfold.

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The Curtain Is Raised

Secawan Bola is back! With its new "high-journalism" look and a renewed vigour for all things football, the same lads who led you through the highs and lows of the World Cup are back to guide you through the maze of club competition. Everything from the Premiership all the way to the Copa Libertadores will be covered by our stable of indefatigable editors. And what better place to begin than this Sunday's annual curtain raiser of club football... the Community Shield.

Chelsea v Liverpool. Blue versus red. South versus north. Glamourous city versus industrial port. The powers of new versus the powers of old. John Terry jostling with Steven Gerrard for England's armband. Premiership champions versus FA Cup champions.

Tell someone in the mid 90s that ten years later, the tie to watch every season will be Chelsea v Liverpool and they would have scoffed at you. But the script seems perfectly well-written, and while Ferguson and Wenger's war is turned down to a simmer, it has been Chelsea and Liverpool who have been writing the history that matters. In the Premiership, Chelsea have had much of the upper hand, defeating Liverpool home and away for two seasons now. But in cup competitions, it been all red, beginning with that marginal Luis Garcia goal in the Champions League, followed by the tight draws in Europe last season and culminating in Liverpool's FA cup semi-final success.

But that was last season. Over the summer, much of the landscape has changed for both sides as a raft of players have left, new players brought in, and both sides even sporting swanky new adidas kits. For Chelsea, summers must be fun. The arrivals of Andriy Shevchenko (pic) and Michael Ballack represent what Chelsea is now all about: big players who come ready-made. With Shevchenko, Chelsea genuinely have a 20 goal striker who will go far in relieving the goalscoring duties of Frank Lampard. Jose Mourinho has been shrewd, even with his millions, and above all, has backed up his bucks with a policy of buying players to play, and not to sell shirts.

Up in the Mersey, it's been another hardworking summer for Rafa Benitez, whose new additions include Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Pennant and the belated arrival of Mark Gonzalez (pic). Boasting a side that has genuine pace and width, many Liverpool fans believe that they finally have a team that is close to challenging for the title. Yet, their propensity for starting seasons slowly, and their inability to see off easy opposition, has cost them in the past. Where Chelsea's preseason friendlies have shown some positive signs, Liverpool's have been woeful, and it took a Gonzalez winner two minutes from time to save Liverpool the blushes in their mid-week Champions League qualifier.

Chelsea look like the more settled team, with fewer coming in and going out, and while not everyone there is happy, there is a lot more class in their ranks now. It may be early in the season, but some of that class, which only two months ago was still on display at the World Cup, has to show. As for Liverpool, their relative lack of richess has resulted in perhaps more creative shopping - or compromised, whichever way you see it. Regardless, Liverpool won't be expected to come off the blocks so quickly as the Rafalution incorporates more young Spanish speakers into its fold. Still, all the key cogs from their last two campaigns are very much there, and they are by far an improved side.

If this was a Premiership tie, you'd have to hand it to Chelsea. Quick start. Two-goal margin. Done and dusted before one hour. Their machine-like efficiency makes them anyone's bet to come right out of preseason to beat fellow top opposition. But because it's a cup tie - or a shield tie, however stupid that sounds - you can't leave Liverpool without a shout. They have a very different setup in midfield this year, and though it seems to be taking time to gel, Rafa is an extremely canny man who knows better than anyone how to stop Jose Mourinho.

Having said that, with the kind of quality that Jose has brought to Stamford Bridge, the Community Shield looks like Chelsea's to lose. Lose it they just might. But don't bet too much on that happening.

As for the rest of the season... check back next week for a Premiership season preview! Enjoy the game this Sunday!

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