Football Dispatch

Monday Football
04 August 2008
by Jerrad Peters

The return of Premier League football is less than two weeks away. With that in mind, football journalist Jerrad Peters will evaluate each of the 20 clubs in the top flight before the new season kicks-off on August 16th. Clubs will be presented in alphabetical order. On August 15, he will present his final prognostication, ranking each club from places 1 through 20. Email any comments to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Bolton Wanderers
Manager: Gary Megson
Grounds: Reebok Stadium
Championships: 0

Manager’s dilemma
When you subtract Nicolas Anelka and El-Hadji Diouf and the 14 Premier League goals scored between them, Bolton’s top scorer from last season was midfielder Kevin Nolan. He had five goals. Striker Kevin Davies had four. Nobody else had more than two. If the Trotters are to avoid relegation in 2008-09, manager Gary Megson will have to coax more than the 36-goals which his squad amassed last semester. Only Wigan and Derby mustered less offense.

Bread & butter
Bolton conceded less than a goal-per-game at home last season and turned the Reebok into an invariable fortress. They had little choice, since they only won twice on the road. But the scrappy, giant-killing inclinations of the Sam Allardyce years remain intact on Burnden Way. This, after all, is a club which plays such stifling football at the Reebok that commentator Alan Green was banned from the stadium after stating that they played “ugly” football.

Key addition
In acquiring Johan Elmander from Toulouse for 11M-pounds, Megson hopes to have addressed his most pressing need. Capable of playing both in tandem with a striking partner or on the wing, the 27-year-old Sweden international scored 22-goals in two Ligue 1 seasons and has tallied 11-times in 38-appearances for his country. At 6-foot-2, he will be Nolan’s predominant target on set-pieces as well.

Projection
This will not be an enjoyable season for Trotters fans. There simply isn’t enough scoring and creativity to boost the club into safely, let alone the top half of the table. But if Elmander can deliver between 12 to 15 goals and Kevin Davies doubles last year’s output, Bolton should just shade the relegation zone and be back for a 71st campaign in the top-flight.

Probable formation to start the season
Jaaskelainen
Hunt, Cahill, O’Brien, Gardner
McCann, Muamba, Nolan, Taylor
Elmander
Davies

Chelsea
Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolar
Grounds: Stamford Bridge
Championships: 3

Manager’s dilemma
Despite dropping the past two Premier League titles to Manchester United, the Chelsea squad remains the most expensive collection of players in English football. They are a mish-mash of backgrounds, ambitions, and egos. In order to even come close to his anticipated quadruple, manager Luiz Felipe Scolari must cajole them into getting behind his masterplan. His first order of business will be brining Didier Drogba back into the fold. He will also have to keep Frank Lampard away from Jose Mourinho’s grasp and man-manage the likes of Alex, Florent Malouda, John Obi Mikel, Nicolas Anelka, and Shaun Wright-Phillips – none of whom will be likely to see a lot of first-team football. Then there is the lingering presenve of Andriy Shevchenko. On that one, however, his hands are tied.

Bread & butter
When Jose Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004, he cut Chelsea’s goals-against in half and took the club to its first of back-to-back titles. While pundits and opposing fans complained of dull, defensive football, there was no denying that the Blues had uncovered the secret of success. In John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, Scolari has one of the top central-defensive pairings in world football at his disposal. And in Branislav Ivanovic and Alex, a reliable number-two combination will be waiting in reserve. The manager also has no less than five full-backs in the ranks. It will take an injury epidemic of epic proportions to sideline this defensive corps.

Key addition
After Paulo Ferreira, Khalid Boulahrouz, Juliano Belletti, and Michael Essien took their turns on Chelsea’s right-back merry-go-round, the club finally got their man when they signed Jose Boswinga from Porto for 16.3M-pounds. The 25-year-old will bring speed and a superb passing ability to the position. He was named to the Team of the Tournament at EURO 2008 and is a right-sided version of Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.

Projection
Once again, Chelsea will be contending for the title in the final months of the season. Scolari, however, is untested in the rigors of European club football and may end up a victim of his own inexperience. If the squad can remain healthy through the winter, the Blues will push United to the bitter end.

Probable formation to start the season
Cech,
Boswinga, Carvalho, Terry, Cole
Ballack, Essien, Lampard
Cole, Deco
Drogba

Everton
Manager: David Moyes
Grounds: Goodison Park
Championships: 9

Manager’s dilemma
Someone should tell David Moyes that the transfer window has been open for more than a month. The Everton boss has been eerily quiet throughout the closed season. To date, his activity has included only a minor transaction – securing Steven Pienaar from Borussia Dortmund. Pienaar, it should be noted, played 25 Premier League matches for Everton while on loan from the German club last season. Meanwhile, out-of-contract midfielder Lee Carsley was permitted to join Birmingham City while striker Andy Johnson was offloaded to Fulham. If Moyes were to open the new campaign with his current squad, he would be placing the club’s fate in the hands of no more than 15 quality players. Time to get busy.

Bread & butter
In 2007-08, only five Premier League clubs allowed fewer than 40-goals. Not coincidentally, they finished in the top quarter of the table, with the Toffees in fifth. Ahead of the steady goalkeeping of Tim Howard, the central pairing of Joseph Yobo and Phil Jagielka thwarted attack after attack. To kick off the upcoming season, however, expect the physical Jagielka to sit just ahead of the backline as a defensive midfielder. Unless Moyes can add one or two players to the centre of the park, Joleon Lescott will be forced into the centre of defense, with Leighton Baines assuming the left-back position.

Key addition
Steven Pienaar played all of last season in an Everton shirt. But after a final payment of 2M-pounds sealed his move from Dortmund, he will be expected to deliver on the manager’s faith. The 26-year-old has never scored more than five goals in a season and has just four over his past three campaigns combined. He will tandem Jagielka in a defensive role.

Projection
Under Moyes, Everton has consistently challenged for a European place. But unless the 45-year-old Scot can enhance his squad – and fast – the club will lose ground to the likes of Portsmouth and Manchester City. Nevertheless, they won’t fall out of the top half.

Probable formation to start the season
Howard
Neville, Yobo, Lescott, Baines
Jagielka, Pienaar
Cahill, Arteta, Osman
Yakubu

Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.

Jerrad Peters covers football for the Winnipeg Free Press, Soccer Three-Sixty magazine, ESPN Soccernet, and Soccer365.com. His work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.

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