Premiership preview, table prediction: 6. Everton

Everton 

Everton Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12

Manager: David Moyes

Ground: Goodison Park

Nickname: Toffees

Capacity: 40157

Squad:

Goalkeepers 1 Jan Mucha 24 Tim Howard Defenders 2 Tony Hibbert 3 Joseph Yobo 3 Leighton Baines 5 John Heitinga 6 Phil Jagielka 15 Sylvain Distin 23 Seamus Coleman 25 Shane Duffy 30 Shkodran Mustafi 32 Luke Garbutt 41 Jake Bidwell 44 Aristote Nsiala

Midfielders 7 Diniyar Bilyaletdinov 10 Mikel Arteta 16 James Wallace 17 Tim Cahill 18 Phil Neville 20 Ross Barkley 21 Leon Osman 25 Marouane Fellaini 26 Jack Rodwell 33 Adam Forshaw 36 Araz Abdullayev Femi Orenuga

Forwards 8 Louis Saha 16 Jermaine Beckford 19 Magaye Gueye 24 Yakubu 27 Apostolos Vellios 28 Victor Anichebe 29 Joao Silva 37 Jose Baxter 40 Conor McAleny

Everton had a season of two half’s and after a good second part of the season they ended in 7^th place last season. Manager David Moyes have been at the club since 2002 and is one of the most experienced premiership managers in the league. It has been little of no media coverage of Everton this summer and Moyes have therefore have good time to rally his troops for a strong season this year. One can say that they haven’t strengthened the team, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The players know how Moyes want to play, and Moyes know better than most managers how to get results in the premiership.  Little action on the transfer marked means that the players are confident and secure about their position in the club which gives the manager good time to focus on the football and structure of it rather than complaining players and media focus. I bet Moyes is happy that he isn’t in Wenger or Redknapps position with Fabregas, Nasri and Modric right before the start of a new season.

Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

July 15 vs Bury 4-1 – Yakubu, Gueye (2), Osman

July 20 vs Philadelphia Union 0-1

July 23 vs DC United 3-1 – Anichebe, Bilyaletdinov, Gueye

July 30 vs Birmingham City 2-1 Baines, Saha

August 2 vs Werder Bremen 0-1

August 5th vs Villarreal 0-1

Players in

07/11 Yakubu Ayegbeni FW Leicester City                Back from loan

07/11 Joseph Yobo DF Fenerbahçe                           Back from loan

Players out

06/11 Iain Turner GK Preston North End

Injuries and bans:                           Return date                       situation

Arteta (Mikel)                                20th Aug 2011                 Foot injury

Bilyaletdinov (Diniyar)                    27th Aug 2011                 3 Match Ban

Coleman (Seamus)                         Unknown                         Ankle injury

Most likely starting lineup for Everton next weekend:

24 Tim Howard

3 Leighton Baines      6 Phil Jagielka    15 Sylvain Distin   18 Phil Neville                  

                                              

17 Tim Cahill      26 Jack Rodwell                              

21 Leon Osman                                                                      20 Ross Barkley

8 Louis Saha       19 Magaye Gueye

With the experience of both the manager and then squad, Everton should be looking to qualify for Europe this season. Of course there is still some time left of the transfer window, which could mean that some players may still leave or come in, but at the moment things are looking good for Everton in my opinion. Everton where also “lucky” that the away game to Tottenham was postponed. I say this because it means that on paper they have an “easy” start to the season now. First 4 games are against teams like QPR, Blackburn, Aston Villa and Wigan. These are all games they could win, and should/could give them confidence before going up against Manchester city, Liverpool and Chelsea in the next 3 games. I see Everton finish in a top position this year and my prediction is 6^th place. 

Will I stay or will I go

Luka Modric

That is the what Tottenham star Luka Modric is waiting on at the moment. And one could feel the spurs supporters and Redknapp hold their breath as we approach the start of the season.

The 25-year.old told RTE sport: " I don't want to talk about that, I said before what I think and that's it". " I said a lot of things before and still everythings is the same at the moment. I will see - I'm still waiting".

Harry Redknapp

Even though it seems Modric has clear intentions toward what he wants, both Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and manager Harry Redknapp have repeatedly stated that their star asset will remain at White Harte Lane this season.

My question is how will this effect the player Luka Modric and of course the rest of the Tottenham squad this season?

Bolton Wanderers sign new forward

Tuncay Sanli

Bolton Wanderers sign new forward

The former Stoke Forward Tuncay Sanli announced himself at @tuncaysanli17 that he had passed the medical and signed a contract. This has yet to be confirmed by Bolton. It’s talked about being a season loan from Wolfsburg.

Tuncay needs to get his work permit authorised and will not be permitted to play against QPR in the premiership opening this weekend.

Losing both Elmander and Sturridge from last season, Coyle have been looking to strengthen his attack before the transfer window closes. Bolton has also been heavily linked to Liverpool N’Gog and Manchester City’s Shaun Wright-Philips.

Owen Coyle

Time will tell if Coyle and Bolton will sign one or more strikers before the window closes.

Arsene Wenger had enough!

Arsene Wenger

The Gunners manager wants to resolve the future of Captain Cesc Fabregas and contract rebel Samir Nasri. Both transfers are staling and Wenger wants the players out now to be able to get replacement players in as soon as possible to get the season going.

Samir Nasri

Wenger confirmed to Arsenal Player: "That is completely the truth. We hope it will be sorted out very quickly one way or the other. We will know very quickly." Reportingly Nasri is linked strongly to Man City while Fabregas still wants to join his youth club and champions league winners Barcelona.  

Cesc Fabregas

Wenger has targeted Juan Mata of Valencia and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian ace Jadson to replace Fabregas and Nasri in midfield. He is also interested in strengthening in the defence. With Cahill, and Jagielka looking to be his main targets, Birminghams Scott Dann is also been linked the last week for both Arsenal and Liverpool. 

I guess Wenger and Arsenal will have a hectic few days ahead of them on the transfer marked.

Premiership preview, table prediction: 7. Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12

Manager: Harry Redknapp

Ground: White Hart Lane

Nickname: Spurs

Capacity: 36310

Squad:

·         Goalkeepers 1 Heurelho Gomes 13 Ben Alnwick 23 Carlo Cudicini 24 Brad Friedel 31 David Button ·         Defenders 2 Alan Hutton 4 Younes Kaboul 13 William Gallas 19 Sebastien Bassong 20 Michael Dawson 22 Vedran Corluka 26 Ledley King 28 Kyle Walker 32 Benoit Assou-Ekotto Adam Smith

·         Midfielders 3 Gareth Bale 5 David Bentley 6 Tom Huddlestone 7 Aaron Lennon 8 Jermaine Jenas 12 Wilson Palacios 14 Luka Modric 25 Danny Rose 25 Tom Carroll 29 Jake Livermore 30 Sandro 40 Steven Pienaar 41 John Bostock 43 Ryan Fredericks Cameron Lancaster Dean Parrett

·         Attacking Midfielders 11 Rafael van der Vaart 17 Giovani dos Santos 21 Niko Kranjcar 29 Andros Townsend ·         Forwards 9 Roman Pavlyuchenko 15 Peter Crouch 18 Jermain Defoe 34 Robbie Keane Harry Kane

Tottenham ended at 5^th place last season which meant no champions league for the club. It’s been a lot of negative talk in the media about some of the players wanting to leave for “bigger” clubs. This is not good for any club. Arsenal and Tottenham are both struggling with the same thing. For Tottenham it is Luca Modric who is heavily linked to Chelsea while Real Madrid is lurking in the background for Gareth Bale, as well as Crouch, Pavlychenko, Lennon and Palacios are all linked away from the club. For me it looks like Tottenham is in for a disappointing and frustrating season. When the best players want to leave a club for a “bigger club” it is a big problem for the club. You have seen this earlier in other clubs. If you keep the player, he might complain and lose focus and perform poor. If you let them leave then it signals to the other player at the club that the club is going in the wrong direction and also loses faith in the club.

No matter what happens with the Modric situation Tottenham have more problems if you ask me. First off, look at their goalkeepers.  “Mr I got soap”(Heurelho Gomes), is just not good enough for a top club. Friedel is or was (?) good enough, come on the man is out of date, but of course he is way better then Gomes.

In midfield they got Modric, Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart that is world class players. Problem is that Modric will ether leave or rage and play badly if he doesn’t get to leave for Chelsea. And Van der Vaart is maybe one of the best players in the premiership, but that doesn’t help if he is injuried and plays around 15 matches fully fit for 90 min of football. Which he have been a lot after joining Spurs. That leaves Bale to do it on his own, and he has been unlucky lately as well and had a lot of injuries after getting the award as the player of the year.  So I don’t think he will be at his best until we hit October, and that will be to late for Spurs this season if they want a champions league spot.

Last but not least looking at their forwards, that is their weakest line. I can’t see any player hitting 20 goals this season, maybe Defoe in form. But he has not looked sharpe for a long time now. Looking at the other top teams they all have at least one strike that will hit 20 goals this season.

Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

July 16 vs Kaizer Chiefs 0-1

July 19 vs Orlando Pirates 1-1 – Van der Vaart

July 23 vs Orlando Pirates 3-0 Van der Vaart (2), Defoe

July 26 vs MK Dons 5-3 Pavlyuchenko (2), Kane (2), Krancjar

July 29 vs Leyton Orient 4-1 Crouch (2), Cuthbert (og), Kranjcar

July 30 vs Brighton 3-2 Kaboul, Corluka, Livermore

 August 6 vs Athletic Bilbao 3-2 Crouch, Defoe

Players in

07/11 David Bentley MF Birmingham City

07/11 Giovani Dos Santos FW Racing Santander

07/11 Brad Friedel GK Aston Villa

07/11 Robbie Keane FW West Ham United

07/11 Dean Parrett MF Charlton Athletic

07/11 Andros Townsend MF Millwall FC

07/11 Kyle Walker DF Aston Villa Leavings

Players out

06/11 Bongani Khumalo DF Reading FC

06/11 Kyle Naughton DF Norwich City

06/11 Stipe Pletikosa GK Spartak Moskva

06/11 Jonathan Woodgate DF Stoke City

Injuries:                              Return date       situation

Gallas (William)                  13th Aug 2011 Calf injury

Sandro Ranier                    30th Oct 2011  Knee

King (Ledley)                     13th Aug 2011 Knee injury

Pienaar (Steven)                 24th Sep 2011 Groin Injury i

Van der Vaart (Rafael)         13th Aug 2011 Ankle injury

Most likely starting lineup for Tottenham next weekend:

                                                   24 Brad Friedel

22 Vedran Corluka    19 Sebastien Bassong   20 Michael Dawson  32 Benoit Assou-Ekotto

7 Aaron Lennon         6 Tom Huddlestone       8 Jermaine Jenas    3 Gareth Bale

  

18 Jermain Defoe           9 Roman Pavlyuchenko

Tottenham might get Gallas, King and Van der Vaart from injuries before the season starts, but they will not be 100% match fit. Like I said earlier I see a lot of trouble for Tottenham this season. Harry Redknapp is by far one the best managers in the premiership, and  “happy” Harry might get some players in before the window closes that might help Tottenham some. But for Spurs fans hoping for a champion’s league spot this season, I’m sorry to say it but dream on. There are so many problems just a few days before the season’s starts. For me Tottenham look to face the same problems Liverpool had after failing to qualify for champion league two years ago. Players want to leave and the moral in the squad is not good. And with all these problems they have yet to do anything on the transfer marked so close to season start that it will take time to do something about it now. Sorry all you spurs fans out there, but I don’t think Tottenham will finish higher then 7^th, this season.

Premiership preview, table prediction: 8. Fulham

Fulham

Fulham Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12

Manager: Martin Jol

Ground: Craven Cottage

Nickname: The Cottagers

Capacity: 25350

Squad:

Goalkeepers 1 Mark Schwarzer 22 Csaba Somogyi 38 Neil Etheridge ·         Defenders 2 Stephen Kelly 3 Carlos Salcido 5 Brede Hangeland 6 Chris Baird 7 John Arne Riise 14 Philippe Senderos 18 Aaron Hughes 28 Matthew Briggs 32 Rafik Halliche 36 Keanu Marsh-Brown 40 Alex Smith Dan Burn

·         Midfielders 4 Steve Sidwell 10 Pajtim Kasami 13 Danny Murphy 15 Marcel Gecov 16 Damien Duff 17 Bjorn Helge Riise 20 Dickson Etuhu 21 Kerim Frei 23 Clint Dempsey 29 Simon Davies 34 Tom Donegan

·         Forwards 8 Andrew Johnson 24 Lauri Dalla Valle 25 Bobby Zamora 30 Moussa Dembele 33 Danny Hoesen 42 Marcello Trotta Cauley Woodrow

Fulham ended last season with a respectable 8^th position after a bad start to the season. After Mark Hughes decided to leave Fulham they appointed Martin Jol, which I believe was a good choice for Fulham. He is an experienced manager who can take Fulham in the direction they want to go. Jol haven’t done much with the Fulham team from last season, and he only big signing is Norwegian international John Arne Riise. But that is an excellent signing for Fulham. Riise will bring them a lot of experience and a more attacking sort of defender then what they already got at the club. The question is if the Fulham supporters have forgiven Riise after picking Liverpool over Fulham some years ago now?

Fulham have sold a lot of players with premier league experience, like Greening, Gera and Pantsil, so I guess Jol will be looking to sign a couple of players before the transfer window closes.

Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

June 30 vs NSI Runavik (Europa League qualifying) 3-0 – Duff, Murphy, A. Johnson

 July 7 vs NSI Runavik (Europa League qualifying) 0-0

July 9 vs AFC Wimbledon 0-2

July 14 vs Crusaders (Europa League qualifying)3-1 – Briggs, Zamora, Murphy

July 16 vs Stevenage 0-1

July 21 vs Crusaders (Europa League qualifying) 4-0 – Johnson, Duff, Zamora, Sidwell

July 28 vs RNK Split (Europa League qualifying) 0-0

August 4 vs RNK Split (Europa League qualifying) RNK Split 2-0

Players in

07/11 Pajtim Kasami MF US Palermo

07/11 Kerim Frei MF Fulham FC (R)

07/11 Marcel Gecov MF Slovan Liberec

07/11 John Arne Riise DF AS Roma

07/11 Alex Smith DF Fulham FC (R)

07/11 Csaba Somogyi GK Rákospalotai EAC

Players out

07/11 David Stockdale GK Ipswich Town

07/11 Jonathan Greening MF Nottingham Forest

06/11 Zoltan Gera FW West Bromwich Albion

06/11 Eiður Guðjohnsen FW AEK Athen

06/11 Danny Hoesen MF Fortuna Sittard

06/11 Gaël Kakuta FW Chelsea FC

06/11 John Paintsil DF Leicester City

06/11 Pascal Zuberbühler GK BSC Young Boys

Injuries:                              Return date       situation

Davies (Simon)                 27th Aug 2011   Ankle injury

Riise (Bjorn Helge)          13th Aug 2011   Knee injury

Most likely starting lineup for Fulham next weekend:

1 Mark Schwarzer

18 Aaron Hughes  14 Philippe Senderos   5 Brede Hangeland   7 John Arne Riise

20 Dickson Etuhu     13 Danny Murphy          

23 Clint Dempsey                                                                      16 Damien Duff

 

                                     25 Bobby Zamora         8 Andrew Johnson

Fulham have been playing European League qualification for weeks now and should be in good shape for the start of the season this weekend. With a good manager like Martin Jol and an experienced squad they should be fighting for European League spot this season. I think they will finish around 8^th place at the end of this season.