By Jonny Byrne
TWiB continues its quick look at this years twenty Premiership teams, their opening fixtures and their chances this season. In this part we take a look at this seasons newly promoted teams as well as the remaining others that will want to improve on last years campaign...
After coming back up to the Premier League last season, Newcastle proved that their relegation the previous year was nothing more than an embarrassing blip in their history.Alan Pardew will want to improve on last seasons 12th place finish and with the purchase of West Ham goal scorer Demba Ba as well as murmurs of other transfers in the pipeline, a top half finish may well be possible. Not an easy start for Newcastle, they host Arsenal (H) at St. James' Park on the opening weekend, followed by the first Tyne-Wear Derby of the season, playing Sunderland (A) and then Fulham (H). The Magpies may struggle for points early on.
Norwich are back in the Premier League this season after a six year absence. They will find it hard to stay up if they don't make some signings over the next few weeks and strengthen their squad depth. Paul Lambert will have to push his squad to their limits as he did at the end of last seasons Championship campaign.If they can get stuck in from the off, opening games against Wigan (A) and Stoke (H) could provide some points, but a following game against Chelsea (A) will most likely prove too taxing.
Finally, after years of under performance and controversy, QPR are back in the Premier League where they rightfully belong. Neil Warnock has done wonders with the London outfit and now his future looks secure at the club he must ensure the futures of his current players. The Super-Hoops will be determined to keep hold of star man Adel Taarabt, if they can then they'll be able to attract more talent to West London. With opening games against Bolton (H) and Everton (A) points will be tough to accumulate, but a following game against Wigan (A) could be their best chance of an early win. I believe that of the three clubs promoted this season, QPR should be the ones that can stay afloat.
Tony Pulis can be proud of his progress with Stoke last season. After a rocky start he managed to push his team up the table and despite some inconsistency managed to finish mid-table. Plus Stoke have managed to secure a Europa League Qualifying place, due to reaching the F.A. Cup final. If he can iron out some weaker links in his team over the next few weeks and bring in some fresh blood, Stoke could definitely improve on last year's 13th place finish. The Potter's have expressed their desire to sign Blackpool striker DJ Campbell showing signs that they wish to add to improve and progress as a team. A very difficult opening fixture against Chelsea (H) is followed by easier fixtures against Norwich (A) and West Brom (A), so the potential for 4-6 points is there.
Steve Bruce has made Sunderland an incredibly tricky team to play, and will undoubtedly be working relentlessly to better last season's 10th place finish. If he can keep hold of key players, such as Asamoah Gyan, Bruce could cause a lot of problems for the 'bigger' clubs this season. Sunderland have managed to sign United's Darron Gibson and Birmingham's hotly pursued Seb Larrson. Sunderland's opening fixture is against refreshed Liverpool (A) and it gets tougher for the Black Cats with local rivals Newcastle (H) to play next. Swansea (A) are Sunderland's third game and a chance for them to grab three points.
Play-off winners Swansea are the first ever team to represent Wales in the Premier League. Brendan Rodgers has a near impossible task ahead of him, not only does he go into the top flight as strong favourite to go back down again, but he does so with Wales' club reputation on his shoulders. If he can bring in a few players on loan as he is already trying to do, and keep his squad fit and positive, who knows, maybe he could shock a few critics. My guess is probably not; with Man City (A) to play first, followed by Wigan (H) and then Sunderland (H), Swansea will have to dig down deep from the off to earn points.
It seems that most of the news surrounding Tottenham at the moment is concerning potential departures. Whether Harry Redknapp can keep hold of key player Luka Modric, who fellow Londoner's Chelsea are keen to snatch up, is only one of Spur's issues at the moment. There was talk of Redknapp himself leaving to manage the Blues, but that of course was all rumour. Not making a Europa League place will be a svaing grace for Spurs fans this season, as pointless European games would only hinder there chances of a top four finish. Spurs can make the top four if they can keep a little more composure throughout the season and further strengthen a great squad. Tottenham have a similarly difficult start to their north London rivals Arsenal, with Everton (H), Man Utd (A) and Man City (H) to play in their opening three matches. I 'fear' for Spurs fans that fourth or fifth is the est they can hope for this season. (I'm sure they 'fear' the same for me as an Arsenal fan, and they'd be right)
Roy Hodgson may not a have been the right manager for Liverpool, but you'd be a fool to write him off as a poor manager. When Hodgson replaced Roberto Di Matteo at West Brom in February this year he breathed a new desire to stay in the Premier League for the struggling Baggies. If they can manage to keep stirker Peter Odemwingie scoring at The Hawthornes for another season they may be able to keep faith in their ability to stay up and shake off their 'yo-yo' team status for good. Unfortunately for Hodgon's lads their opening two games are against Man Utd (H) and Chelsea (A) with their third against Stoke (H) so they may have to wait for some points.
If Wigan have one thing to boast, it may be having one of the most loyal managers in the Premier League in Roberto Martinez. Aston Villa tripled their initial offer to coax the Spaniard to the West Midlands, but Martinez refused to leave, an act of loyalty that today's football seems to see less and less of. Unfortunately, Martinez will need more than loyalty to keep Wigan up this season. The Latics are by no means favourites to go down, however the likelihood of them being in another relegation battle seems almost inevitable. There is already talk of Hugo Rodallega leaving the club, but if Martinez can convince him to stay, and strengthen his defence, they may be able to improve on last year. Wigan couldn't have asked for a better start as they play all three newly promoted teams in their first three games. With Norwich (H) first followed by Swansea (A) and the QPR (H), Martinez really should be looking for at least six points to hush their critics.
Wolves were incredibly lucky not to face the chop at the end of last season as they spent the majority of it in the relegation zone. It is no secret that Mick McCarthy has a tough job ahead of him to keep his team afloat. The Wolves boss, has already stated that his star players would not be available for transfer, but realises the likes of Matt Jarvis and Kevin Doyle could leave if a substantial amount was offered for them. Wolves start the season as they finished the last, with a game against Blackburn (A). McCarthy will be hoping to reverse the 3-2 loss from the last match. Their next games are against Fulham (H) and Aston Villa (A) will be tricky to gain points from. It could be a horrible season for Wolves fans.
Already the forthcoming season is beginning to take shape. Over the next few weeks the transfer market will start to become frantic with transfers. TWiB will keep you updated on all the ins and outs of the Summer signings plus there will be more on the upcoming fixtures of this season and our predictions on who's going to finish in the top four and who's going down...
Part 3 Coming Soon...
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