My predictions for the forthcoming Premier League Season

1. Manchester United

2. Manchester City

3. Chelsea

4. Arsenal

5. Tottenham Hotspur

6. Liverpool

7. Newcastle United

8. Aston Villa

9. Sunderland

10. Fulham

11. Everton

12. Queen’s Park Rangers

13. Stoke City

14. Norwich City

15. Wigan Athletic

16. Swansea City

17. West Ham United

18. West Bromwich Albion

19. Reading

20. Southampton



It is a mug’s game predicting a season from hundreds of games and millions of varaiables but Robin van Persie joining Manchester United (the destination Arsenal fans least desired) is a game changer. Alongside Wayne Rooney and with Nemanja Vidic returning to stiffen the defence, I can’t see the Premier League trophy going anywhere but Old Trafford. Manchester City will push them close but fall short. Chelsea will come back, whereupon Roman Abramovich will try again to tempt Pep Guardiola to Stamford Bridge. Arsenal are weakened but still have the wherewithal to finish in the top four – don’t bet on a trophy though. I see Andre Villas Boas’ tactics as too maverick and free-wheeling to deliver the necessary consistency. I see Brendan Rogers as bringing great progress to Liverpool – they surely can’t be as profligate as last season. Newcastle United will challenge the top four but though talented, the squad isn’t big enough. Alan Pardew has done as unexpected a job as Gordon Lee in the 1970s in finishing fifth but he won’t be decamping to a more lucrative post in the near future, lending greater stability for the club. Paul Lambert and Martin O’Neill will bring benefits to their clubs, while Fulham will punch above their weight and Everton will slip as penury in not replacing players sold will continue to be counter-balanced by David Moyes. Between 12th and 16th is pretty much Hobson’s Choice, a little shake of the kaleidoscope could see it all rearranged, but I see QPR as picking up under Mark Hughes and Norwich and Swansea suffering more under ‘second season syndrome’. Stoke will be solid but unspectacular and Wigan will again flirt with relegation but produce another Houdini act. ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce will play the percentages and get enough to (just) preserve West Ham in the top flight. West Brom are under Steve Clarke, a born no. 2, with average players; I think they will be this season’s surprise relegated team. Reading and Southampton did well in the Championship but I don’t think they have the players that will keep them up. Teams that finish in the Championship with more than 100 points (as Reading did in 2006) tend to stay up; for those in the eighties bracket, it is more dicey.