Will the restocked Gunners have enough firepower? Can Liverpool parlay its cup magic into league supremacy? All Premier League questions should be referred to Manchester United, which is aiming for a fourth straight title.
FAVORITES
Sir Alex’s farewell
1. MANCHESTER UNITED. In the final season of Manager Alex Ferguson’s reign, perhaps the burden of winning for him a second Champions League will distract his players and derail the Premiership Express. Maybe so. But few would bet on it. United is still a class above its Premier League rivals.
2. ARSENAL. Last season’s runner-up in the League and FA Cup has reloaded to make up the 10-point gap that separated it from United. Richard Wright, Sol Campbell, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Francis Jeffers and Junichi Inamoto have been added to strengthen the Gunners at all points.
3. LIVERPOOL. Three trophies – League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup – in three months is an impressive haul and sets up the Reds for a strong run. Michael Owen’s 25 goals in all competitions last season included both of Liverpool’s goals in the FA Cup final.
4. LEEDS UNITED. They are no longer Manager David O’Leary’s young lads, and this is the season the Leeds players must win something. Reaching the semifinals of the Champions League last spring was tempered by a shocking 3-2 loss at Tranmere early in the League Cup and a home loss to Liverpool in the FA Cup. Adding Irish striker Robbie Keane gave Leeds an attacking lineup rivaled only by Manchester United’s.
5. CHELSEA. A revamped midfield with newcomers Emmanuel Petit and Frank Lampard might push the Blues into the upper tier if top Premiership scorer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (23 goals) can once again produce the goods.
TRANSFERS
Another spending spree
If the rich truly get richer, it should be another season awash in cash for Manchester United.
It bought just two major players but spent $66 million for Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.
Van Nistelrooy takes the place of Teddy Sheringham, who returned to Spurs on a free transfer after scoring 46 goals in four seasons for United.
Veron joins a star-studded midfield and should make a relatively smooth transition to English play because of his vision, skill and toughness.
Arsenal paid $35 million to bolster its squad, yet the most important move may prove to be the free transfer of towering England international defender Sol Campbell from Spurs. He had been wooed by several foreign powers.
Chelsea forked out $45 million to bring Emmanuel Petit, Boudewijn Zenden and Frank Lampard to Stamford Bridge.
Premier League fans will again see the massive Dane, Peter Schmeichel, in goal. He joined Aston Villa on a free transfer from Sporting Lisbon two seasons after leaving United. Villa also snapped up Moroccan midfielder Mustapha Hadji from relegated Coventry.
A fascinating array of forwards arrived or changed clubs.
Derby drafted the crafty Italian Fabrizio Ravanelli, and Blackburn grabbed Corrado Grabbi, a younger poacher of the same vintage.
Arsenal took the young and inconsistent Francis Jeffers from Everton, which bargained for months before landing Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski from Anderlecht.
At $6.4 million, Radzinski’s deal is the second-most expensive purchase of a CONCACAF player. United paid Villa $20 million for Trinidadian Dwight Yorke in 1998.
MLS cast-off Shaun Bartlett joined Charlton on a permanent transfer after scoring seven goals for the Addicks last season on loan from FC Zurich.
AMERICANS
Tough times ahead?
How’s it looking for the U.S. contingent in the Premier League?
With the exception of Brad Friedel at Blackburn, not so good.
Eddie Lewis and Marcus Hahnemann are mired in the shadows of promoted Fulham, which signed Dutch international goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar to push Hahnemann further down the depth chart.
Lewis has seen little playing time since former French international Jean Tigana took over managerial duties last season and expects to change clubs soon.
Fulham paid MLS about $2 million for Lewis in March 2000. He’s played only 21 games for the Cottagers.
Joe-Max Moore is scrapping for minutes with Everton. Manager Walter Smith used him in midfield in several preseason games. Perhaps his best game last season came when he played just behind strikers Kevin Campbell and Duncan Ferguson in a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.
Moore failed to score in 25 league and cup matches last season. His contract with Everton expires next summer.
“I’ve always thought of myself as an attacking midfielder, a player who comes a little bit later,” Moore said. “I like to be around the ball quite a bit. Over the past couple of years, I’ve primarily played as a forward.”
Friedel is solidly entrenched as Blackburn’s starter. He conceded only 18 goals in 28 league games as Blackburn earned promotion last spring.
Friedel will do well to have those kind of numbers this year.
Blackburn is back in the top flight after a two-year stay in the First Division.
by Soccer America Senior Editor Ridge Mahoney