Championship Preview Part 1: The Hoops will bounce back

Last season only 14 points separated relegated Peterborough and playoff contenders Leicester, who finished 6th. To put this into context, last year 6th placed Everton finished 17 points ahead of Swansea in 9^th in the Premier League.

I bring you the Championship; the best league in the world.

24 teams will start the season playing for 3 of the most coveted spots in all of football; each one being a place in the Premier League, worth an estimated £100 million through the new and improved TV deal recently agreed. The league is made additionally fascinating by the differences in club stature involved. Yeovil Town are in the second tier of English football for the first time and will come up against former European Champions Nottingham Forest with the results never being completely certain. After all, Norwich and Southampton found themselves in League 1 just a few years ago. So who is going to prosper and succeed in their quest for the Premier League, and who will fall into the doldrums of League 1? It’s almost impossible to call.

In theory QPR should win the league. They have an experienced team full of long time Premier League players, as well as having the funds available to add to their squad should there be a need come January.  Despite releasing high calibre players like Djibril Cisse and Jose Bosingwa their team is littered with internationals and former Premier League winners such as Ji Sung Park and Shaun Wright Phillips. These players should possess the quality to see them through the season, and due to their high wages are in many cases unlikely to leave the club, meaning only a poor attitude could lead to QPR not doing well next season. In Harry Redknapp they have a tremendously experienced manager, able to unite and inspire a team, albeit if his tactics are not flawless. However, as the main issue for QPR may be their attitude and application, he could be the perfect man for the job. Make no mistake, anything but promotion for QPR next season would be deemed as a massive failure.

Reading as well should benefit through retaining the vast majority of their squad from last season’s exploits. They are well placed for an immediate return as last year they didn’t break the bank with new signings so their wage bill will still be relatively low, as the clubs finances will be boosted by the parachute payments of £15 million a year for the next 4 years (unless they are promoted back to the Premier League in that time). Players such as Adam le Fondre and Jimmy Kebe should be prolific in the second tier, with the former notching 12 goals in their 2011/2 Championship campaign.

Nottingham Forest under Billy Davies are likely to be hot on the heels of QPR and Reading, but similarly to the 2006/7 promotion season the Scottish manager enjoyed at Derby County, they will have to settle for a playoff spot. Last season they did occupy a place in the top 6 for 11 weeks in the season, and only dropped down to 7^th and 8^th place in the final 5 games of the season despite a turbulent season where 3 fulltime managers were required after Steve Cotterill, then Alex McLeish were sacked midway through the season. This means that with the right manager the group of players could well finish highly in the league, with Billy Davies having an immediate impact last season with his arrival coinciding with a 10 game unbeaten run.

Bolton Wanderers should also be able to grab a playoff place, which they so nearly attained last year with their 7^th place finish decided by goal difference after a disappointing home draw to Blackpool on the final day of the season. Last year they struggled to adapt to the Championship, with a poor start of just 11 points in 10 games, but had a spirited rally towards the end of the season losing just 3 of their last 17 games. Dougie Freedman should be able to maintain this form with the addition of Jermaine Beckford to his squad although long time servant Kevin Davies has left for Preston. One major concern for them though could be the fitness of Stuart Holden. The talented American international suffered a serious knee injury 2 years ago and potentially may have another career threatening issue. However, the Trotters should still be able to seal a playoff spot with the firepower of former Liverpool forward David N’Gog up front and last season’s top goal scorer, Chris Eagles, playing on the wing.

Leicester City had playoff heartbreak just a few months ago, when Anthony Knockart missed a penalty to claim a place in the final, only for it to be missed along with the rebound leading to a Watford counter attack producing the tie winning goal just 20 seconds later. They will have a chance to right this wrong come May next year as they should enjoy a fruitful campaign. They were almost a permanent fixture in the top 6 last season with brief dalliances in the automatic promotion positions, with David Nugent being crucial to this with his 14 league goals. Despite Jermaine Beckford leaving, the Foxes should still have the fire power to progress well in the league. However, their away form may need to improve as last season they only managed 6 wins on the road out of a possible 23 which included defeats away to the relegated Wolves and Peterborough.

There’s normally one outsider in the playoffs by the end of the season; often a team totally out of the blue which can go on to gain promotion such as Ian Holloway’s Blackpool in 2010. Mick McCarthy started managing the Tractor Boys when they were bottom of the league with only one league victory from their opening 13 games. He sparked a mini revival as they finished the league in 14^th position. A job well done for Mick as in the end he only finished 8 points off the playoff spots. He also has a track record of taking teams from the Championship to the Premier League which he did for both Sunderland and Wolves so could work his magic once again.

There are some notably absences from my top 6 predictions; mainly Watford and Wigan. The Hornets certainly have potential to figure at the top of the table at the end of the season, but their demoralising defeat in the playoff final last year and the likely loss of last season’s top goal scorer Matej Vydra will be huge setbacks for them, and will reduce their chances of a success significantly. Wigan are also unlikely to have an especially strong league campaign with the turmoil which will inevitably take place through their relegation and manager Roberto Martinez leaving. The exodus has started with Arouna Kone moving to Everton for £5 million and he will likely to be followed by their other talented players such as Callum McManaman who will be on the radar of Premier League clubs due to his impressive form last year, not to mention the tough Europa League campaign which will kick off in the Autumn.

Summary of predictions:

1. QPR (Champions)

2. Reading (Promoted)

3. Nottingham Forest (Playoffs)

4. Bolton Wanderers (Playoffs)

5. Leicester City (Playoffs)

6. Ipswich Town (Playoffs)

Bundesliga Preview: Can anyone stop Bayern?

Unfortunately the answer is no. Despite last night’s sterling performance by Borussia Dortmund in their 4-2 Super Cup over the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League holders at Westfalenstadion they won’t be able to live with the consistency Bayern will demonstrate throughout the year. They won’t even get close.

Last season Bayern were imperious; strolling to the Bundesliga crown and every other competition on offer, destroying the previously invincible Barcelona in the process. They were merciless in the league, dropping only 11 points all season with their only defeat coming at home to Bayer Leverkusen in October of 2012. This ensured they broke almost every record in the book:

–          Most points in a season (91)

–          Most wins in a season (29)

–          Most clean sheets in a season (21)

–          Highest goal difference in a season (+80)

–          Earliest date to clinch the Bundesliga title (matchday 28)

Above are just a few of the dozens of records they broke, and illustrate my point, they simply are too good to not retain their title.

Worryingly for the other ‘contenders’ (and I use that term loosely) for the Bundesliga title, they are continuing to strengthen. Mario Goetze and Thiago have signed from Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona respectively for a combined fee of just under £50 million adding to the already illustrious midfield containing Robben, Muller, Ribery and Schweinsteiger to name but a few. This is easily the strongest midfield in the division, and its depth is arguably the best in the world with last season’s midfield providing 55% of the Bavarian’s league goals. The introduction of Guardiola as manager will develop a new aspect of their play, as they are likely to adopt the high pressing tactic used so successfully by Barcelona whilst Pep was at the helm. This was the man who in his 4 seasons in charge of the Catalan giants propelled them to 3 league titles, so he clearly has a knack for dominating the domestic scene.

So how do their nearest rivals Dortmund compare against them? Well, not very well actually. Despite having a magnificent squad, capable of beating Bayern in a one off game, as demonstrated by last night’s Super Cup result, they do not possess the depth and abundance of quality which Munich do. Thus ensuring they will not keep up the level of consistency of their rivals in every game of all competitions, demonstrated last season where they were second best in the league by such a considerably margin. They would need to invest heavily if they were to even become close to matching the 1/5 bookies favourites, but unfortunately this is unlikely as they cannot match the spending power of the richer Bavarians, who historically have always been the wealthiest team in all of Germany.

Unfortunately for the league there are no other real challengers, meaning the next group of teams will be aiming to achieve Champions League qualification through finishing in the top 4 of the league. Last season Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke occupied these places, although it was a close run affair with Freiburg and and Eintracht Frankfurt just 4 points behind, finishing in the Europa League positions. Although Leverkusen and Schalke have not made any great inroads in the transfer market, they have managed to keep hold of their key players with the team from the Ruhr keeping hold of much prized German youngster Julian Draxler. Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt also both over achieved last year with it being the latter’s first outing in the Bundesliga since their promotion in the 2011/2 season.

If the relegation battle is anywhere near as dramatic as last season’s then we’re in for a treat. Hoffenheim dramatically won away to Dortmund, scoring 2 goals in the last 15 minutes to overturn a one goal deficit; relegating Fortuna Dusseldorf whilst giving them another crack with a relegation play off against Kaiserslautern, which they went onto win. It should be similarly close this year with multiple clubs at risk of the drop, particularly newly promoted Braunschweig. They’re making their first return to the top flight since 1985 but it will probably just be a brief stay with a lack of finances available meaning they will not be able to acquire the quality needed to maintain top flight status. Greuther Furth suffered from this last year as the only spent €1.5 million, resulting in a dismal season for the Kleeblatter where they finished bottom of the league. Hertha Berlin will also struggle, but to a lesser extent as they have already signed 4 players with Bundesliga experience. Augsburg, who only just avoided the drop last year are also likely to go down, without the influential loan signing Ji Dong-Won whose 5 league goals aided their recovery in the second half of the season. Also tipped to struggle are Nurnberg despite their comfortable mid-table finish last season lack any potent goal scorers in their side, and could drop down the league should their defensive form dip.

Summary of Predictions:

1. Bayern Munich (Champions League)

2. Borussia Dortmund (Champions League)

3. Schalke 04 (Champions League)

4. Bayer Leverkusen (Champions League)

5. Hamburg (Europa League)

6. Stuttgart (Europa League)

………………………………………………………….

15. Nurnburg (safe)

16. Hertha Berlin (relegation play off)

17. Augsburg (relegation)

18. Eintracht Braunschweig (relegation)

Match Report: Barclays Asia Trophy Final- Manchester City 1-0 Sunderland

Manchester City were deserving winners over Sunderland, landing them the Barclays Asia Trophy in the process in a scrappy game, devoid of any real fluidity due to the atrocious weather conditions.

City looked comfortable throughout the game and opened the scoring early, in the 9^th minute courtesy of a majestic left footed strike from Edin Dzeko.

City had chances either side of half time, with Dzeko missing the best of these after blazing a penalty well over the bar.

Sunderland rallied late on with a Sebastian Larsson free kick forcing Costel Pantilimon to make a fine save, but ultimately could not break down the solid Sky Blues defence.

Sunderland initially started the better of the two teams, dictating the play early on with Wes Brown going close with a header from a whipped in Larsson free kick, and an off target Adam Johnson effort before Edin Dzeko struck against the run of play. His half volley left Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone with no chance as it crashed in against the post.

The Citizens almost doubled their lead straight from the kick off as sloppy passing from Sunderland immediately gave the ball back to the opposition. Fortunately for the Black Cats City’s poor decision making let them down as the attack came to nothing although the onslaught continued, with a perfect David Silva through ball releasing Negredo, who missed high and wide at the near post.

Sunderland then came back into the game with a deflected Giaccherini shot just missing at the far post whilst intricate passing frequently broke down for the Mackems just outside the opposition box resulting in further frustration.

Right on the stroke of halftime stand in Sunderland right back Craig Gardner almost put through his own net after his attempted clearance from an in swinging David Silva free kick struck the upright, before a big clearance from American forward Jozy Altidore spared his blushes.

At halftime Connor Wickham was brought on for an ineffective Jozy Altidore for Sunderland with El-Hadji Ba replacing Cabral and Irish international goalkeeper Kieren Westwood taking the gloves from Vito Mannone. David Silva made way for debutant Jesus Navas whilst former Arsenal man Samir Nasri replaced James Milner.

There was a low tempo to the opening of the second half, as the conditions deteriorated with both sides struggling to create any clear-cut chances. Further substations were made by both sides with Toure, Clichy and Johnson making way for Fernandinho, Kolarov and Karlsson.

El-Hadji Ba then handled the ball in the area resulting in Anthony Taylor correctly pointing to the spot. However, the resulting penalty taken by Dzeko was horrendous as it was woefully struck high and wide of the target.

Shortly afterwards Sunderland threatened again with Connor Wickham advancing into the penalty area, but a well timed challenge from Kolarov snuffed out any chance for the England under 21 striker.

Chances came and went late on for both teams as the game became more open, with Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson having the last of these, his 20 yard out free kick tested Pantilimon although the Romanian international responded admirably as Manchester City sealed the win, and the title of Barclays Asia Trophy 2013 winners.

Premier League Preview Part 2: Tigers in for a mauling

The relegation battle; arguably the most interesting facet of the Premier League, with it often being decided on the final day of the season with twists and turns at every step. Forget challenging for the title, forget the Champions League, this is what football is about.

Cardiff City, Hull City and Crystal Palace; the 3 promoted teams, surely the favourites for the drop? Well according to the bookies yes, and I agree with two thirds of this, as I see Hull and Crystal Palace going down but not with Cardiff, accompanied with Mark Hughes’ Stoke instead.

Hull City finished second last season, gaining promotion by the skin of their teeth on the final day of the season thanks to Watford’s failure to secure a win at home to Leeds. Despite this they are still ill equipped to deal with the harsh world of the Premier League and have a real lack of quality in their squad. Recently Steve Bruce has assimilated his squad from some rather poor and ineffective Sunderland players such as Ahmed Elmohamedy who could do a job in the Championship, but are likely to be found out at Premier League level. Scottish goalkeeper Allan Macgregor has been their most expensive signing so far in the window at £1.8 million from Besiktas, but this low investment from the club will worry the supporters. Goals will be an issue for the Tigers as Slovenian international midfielder Robert Koren was their top goal scorer last season with a mere 9 goals whilst any defence with Paul McShane in it is liable to particularly leaky. And then there’s the manager, Steve Bruce. A man much maligned by Sunderland fans for his negative style of play and upon his sacking left Sunderland perilously close to the drop. However, he is experienced at Premier League level and if they get off to a good enough start, replicating their early form in the 2008/9 season they may have a slight chance of survival, not that I can see that happening though.

Crystal Palace were promoted courtesy of their 1-0 play-off final win against Watford in May and similarly to Hull, are not prepared for life in the Premier League. Their squad simply lacks the quality needed to survive, especially as their star player from last year, Wilfred Zaha, has been sold to Manchester United for £15 million. They have only partially reinvested their funds, and their most expensive purchase was Peterborough United’s Dwight Gayle, at £4.5 million a big risk for a player with no Premier League experience. Ian Holloway will be an inspirational figure on the touchline, and will have learned from his experience with Blackpool 2 years ago, but even he will struggle to eek 40 points from this side, who will be reliant on achieving a strong start to their season as their results will inevitably wane as the season progresses, as Holloway’s Blackpool illustrated. It is hard to think of 3 teams who will finish below them, and therefore they will languish at the foot of the table, with themselves and Hull occupying the bottom 2 positions.

Stoke are my third tip for the drop, with Cardiff narrowly avoiding it. They have not yet strengthened their squad, whose weakness was exposed at the latter end of last season as they were almost dragged well and truly into the relegation battle. Goals were a huge problem for them last time around, with only 34 scored in 38 games. Only QPR had a worse record in the division. They did have a fairly strong defensive record, largely due to Asmir Begovic’s impressive form, but if this were to dip this term, the Potters could be in serious trouble. And then there’s the issue of their manager, a certain Mark Hughes. The man who managed to spend £27 million in the summer of 2012 whilst ensuring QPR won none of their opening 12 fixtures, which would raise doubts over any potential signings he may make at the Britannia. However, he did successfully manage Blackburn from 2004-8, achieving  a 7^th place finish in the final season of his tenure. This does leave some hope for Stoke, but I cannot see them prolonging their stay in the Premier League beyond this season, as they have removed the stability Tony Pulis provided them.

Championship winners Cardiff will narrowly avoid the drop due to their superior financial power compared to their rivals in the lower echelons of the league, demonstrated by the £7.5 million signing of the Danish international striker Andreas Cornelius. They are also likely to further add to their squad which already possesses some experienced heads, notably former Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle forward Craig Bellamy. Newcastle too will struggle, as off field shenanigans continue to plague them with the unpopular appointment of Joe Kinnear as director of football. It is hard to see what Mike Ashley is trying to achieve through this appointment as Pardew’s position at the club weakens, with his poor tactics being exposed in a disappointing 2012/3 campaign. No big signings have been made yet which will certainly concern the magpie fans as their woefully thin squad could not cope with last season’s gruelling workload. However, they still do possess small amounts of quality in their squad which should see them past the 40 points barrier.

Summary of Predictions:

16. Newcastle United

17. Cardiff City

18. Stoke City

19. Crystal Palace

20. Hull City

Premier League Preview Part 1: Chelsea’s year?

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all changed their managers going into this season, hoping to propel themselves to both domestic and European glory, whilst Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool have persisted with their current bosses, in what should be one of the tightest seasons for years.

The bookies can barely split Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs with the Londoners coming out as marginal favourites, which mirrors the way I anticipate the league going. Mourinho has been brought back in after a 6 year absence from the Bridge, following a 1-1 home draw to Rosenberg in front of a sub 25,000 crowd. He possesses the experience and capabilities to win the league, with two league titles already under his belt, and this year possesses a talented squad capable of lifting the trophy in May. Whilst the German international Andre Schurrle may be their only high profile acquisition of the summer, costing a cool £18 million from Bayer Leverkusen, their squad is still littered with world class players such as Juan Mata, Oscar and Edin Hazard, who are capable of unlocking any defence in the world ensuring that there is less of a burden on strikers Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku to find the net. Frank Lampard and Ramires add steel to their midfield although they have never truly replaced Claude Makelele in central defensive midfield, as Mikel has never performed at the same level in his 7 years at the club. Their back line remains relatively strong with them having the third best defensive record in the league last season, with Cole, Terry, Luiz and Ivanovic providing protection to the ever present Cech. However, the joker in the pack for Chelsea is Mourinho; he is the reason they will win the league, quite simply as he is the best manager in the world and will instantly feel at home with some familiar faces in that Chelsea squad.

Manuel Pellegrini, like Jose Mourinho has too made the move from La Liga to the Premier League although this will be a totally new experience for the former Real Madrid and Malaga manager. However, the premier league may not be his primary objective this season, as City aim to improve on their European form which has been disappointing to say the least in the past few years. He has also been tasked with winning 3 trophies in 3 years so will be under constant pressure though so won’t take the Premier League lightly. £85 million has already been spent by the Citizens this summer, signalling their intent to wrestle the league title back from neighbours Manchester United with Negredo and Jovetic purchased to add firepower upfront in order to replace both Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli. These new strikers scored 48 league goals last season between them so should fill the gap comfortably, especially with the backing of experienced midfielders Fernandinho and Jesus Navas. Their defence remains strong from last year; although Joe Hart will aim to improve his consistency which has come under scrutiny due to mistakes made last season, although he is still capable of producing world class saves, as demonstrated at home to Borussia Dortmund last year. They will be stronger than last year, but that will not elevate them to Chelsea’s level although they should claim the bragging rights over local rivals Manchester United.

The red devil’s reign as Premier League champions will likely come to an abrupt end next season as they are likely to finish outside of the top 2 in what will be a tricky season for David Moyes, as he bids to prove himself to the Old Trafford crowd. No major signings have been made yet despite the attempts to nab Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, and question marks have been raised over Wayne Rooney’s future at the club due to the well publicised fractured relationship the former Everton striker has with his new boss. However, United will remain strong as they possess the best striker in the league in Robin Van Persie, so always have a goal threat. Their midfield is typically strong and will be strengthened by the returns of Ashley Young and Shinji Kagawa who were injured for large parts of the previous campaign. Moyes is likely to be content with just winning a trophy this time round with the League and FA Cup being the most likely. He will obviously aim to win the league but the competition is tougher than ever before this year, so a top 3 finish will suffice should United challenge on all fronts.

Arsenal are considered to be relative outsiders for the Premier League crown with them being priced at 11/1 to attain Premier League glory. It is highly unlikely they will win the league as they are simply a few signings short of having a strong enough team. In order to win the league they would need to bolster the spine of their team with a new centre back, centre midfielder and striker, although they are trying to rectify the striking situation by targeting Liverpool’s Luis Suarez. Their main aim this year will be to maintain their top 4 status whilst challenging in the 3 other respective competitions as they desperately seek to end their 8 year trophy drought, which is creating mounting pressure on Wenger as the years go by. Their main challenger will be Spurs who, if they keep hold of star players like Gareth Bale could mount a challenge for 4^th spot, which they were so close to grabbing last year. They are also adding to their squad with the arrival of the exciting Brazilian prospect Paulinho from Corinthians for £17 million. This will lead to an intriguing battle as the season wears on although if Bale were to leave spurs, Arsenal should make the top 4 rather comfortably.

Finally, Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton will be seeking to challenge for the top 4, although realistically will only manage to grab a Europa League spot providing they are not taken in the domestic cups. Liverpool’s primary objective throughout this summer will be to keep Luis Suarez who they were so heavily reliant last season, as new signing Iago Aspas and January acquisition Daniel Sturridge would be unlikely to provide the same amount of attacking flair and goal threat that the Uruguayan did. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina has been loaned out to Napoli whilst Brendan Rodgers has spent big on Simon Mignolet but the rest of the team remains largely unchanged since last year, which would be a worry for Liverpool fans after their disappointing league performance. Everton have bid David Moyes a fond farewell after over a decade in charge whilst Roberto Martinez aims to prove the doubters wrong, he has immediately signed Arouna Kone for £5 million and Antolin Alcaraz on a free transfer from Wigan. Everton are unlikely to topple their local rivals though as their age old problem of lacking financial backing is likely to cost them dear, as the teams above them, who they crave to be among are all spending copious amounts of money.

Summary of predictions:

1. Chelsea
2. Manchester City
3. Manchester United
4. Arsenal
5. Tottenham Hotspur
6. Liverpool
7. Everton

Sunderland Season Preview: There is some hope…

Paolo Di Canio has certainly reinvigorated Sunderland since his appointment on 31^st March, although there are still many questions to be asked regarding his long term success, as I seek to answer a seemingly impossible question now; how exactly will the Black Cats fare this time around?

Many people, including myself, are in a quandary over this question, with it having the potential to be a tremendous success or an unmitigated disaster, with it all ending in tears for Di Canio. The optimist within me anticipates an exciting year with a comfortable league position; the quality new acquisitions made over the summer such as Giacchrini, Cabral and Altidore ensuring there will be no relegation battle this year for the Black Cats. This would be a more than satisfactory result for many fans, providing good inroads were made into the domestic cup competitions, as these are realistically the only trophies Sunderland will be able to win and the only likely route into Europe with a top 6 finish not on the cards. Throughout the last decade, performances in the cup have been the bane of Sunderland fan’s lives with the only modicum of “success” being the 2004 Semi Final defeat to Millwall with a single Tim Cahill goal downing the hopes and dreams of the Sunderland faithful.

This also seems to be a realistic prospect with Di Canio as manager, due to his positive attitude towards cup competition; exhibited at Swindon where he pulled off an away at Stoke as well as pushing Aston Villa all the way in a hard fought 3-2 defeat in the League Cup. This has been sadly lacking from Sunderland managers in recent years with Steve Bruce in particular, not taking cup competitions seriously enough and infamously starting no strikers when away to Brighton in the second round of the League Cup in 2011. I was there and can confirm it was woeful.

The team itself has changed dramatically since last year. Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet’s departure will be a great loss for the club although Mannone and Westwood should be suitable alternative’s, but are unlikely to make as many match winning performances as the aforementioned Belgian international. In defence the deadwood of Bramble and Kilgallon have been moved on whilst Phil Bardsley is unlikely to feature in Di Canio’s first team plans after his casino antics last season, this has been shown by him not travelling with the first team to the ongoing Barclays Asia Trophy. Valentin Roberge and the experienced Modibo Diakite have been brought in with both players adding steel to the back line, which will also be bolstered by the return of Wes Brown from injury, who put in a man of the match performance against Spurs recently showing how he could again be a valuable asset to the side. However, there is still great concern over who shall play as full backs this season, as despite Colback and Gardner filling into to an acceptable level last year, they, and Gardner especially were found wanting against the more skilful players. As both of these centre midfielders started at full back in the recent friendly against Spurs, there is still a degree of concern about this position.

In midfield, Emanuele Giacchrini, El-Hadji Ba, David Moberg Karlsson and Cabral have all been brought in with the only departure being that of Ahmed Elmohamady being sold to Hull and reunited with former manager Steve Bruce for a modest £2 million. This will add some experience and flair to the midfield which was heavily reliant on Stephane Sessegnon last season for a creative spark, ensuring it was tough to break down poor side’s defences, as the 0-0 draw at home to QPR pitifully demonstrated. However, Giacchrini has infused the most excitement and anticipation into the Sunderland fans, with his background of playing for Italian champions Juventus and recently scoring for Italy against Brazil in the Confederations Cup demonstrating his tremendous quality on the ball. Questions will inevitably be asked whether he can replicate such form in the Premier League due to his lack of size, although only time will tell.

Up front, perhaps where the most change was needed after the embarrassing reliance on Steven Fletcher was demonstrated throughout last season; Di Canio has partially addressed the issue. Jozy Altidore has been brought in from AZ Alkmaar to share the goal scoring burden with the currently injured Fletcher whilst Danny Graham has been loaned out to Hull after his dismal showing at the back end of last season. Connor Wickham will provide suitable back up, if he remains injury free whilst Ji Dong-Won’s fruitful loan to Augsburg of the Bundesliga last season has ended, although with only a year left on his contract there have been question marks over his future at the club. Thus the strike force probably needs strengthening, with one more signing probably being enough as the fitness record of the current players is not overly promising although if the rest of the team supplies more goals, especially the midfield, then this may not be such a big issue after all.

Summary of predictions:

Premier League- 11^th

League Cup- Semi Finalists

FA Cup- Quarter Finalists

 

Post season apathy? With Di Canio in charge? Not a chance.

Despite Paolo Di Canio leading a resurgence at the twilight of Sunderland’s 2012/3 campaign, resulting in survival; the long, arduous, and tormenting days of O’Neill’s monotonous football in the 12 month’s prior had taken their toll; apathy had crept in.

From August to March, there was an air of inevitability about the result and performance a Sunderland fan was going to witness. A turgid and unpalatable one at best; minimal attacks and totally void of any excitement. The occasional glimmers of hope such as the back to back wins over Southampton and Manchester City either side of Christmas were merely false dawns, as they were followed by abject displays highlighting the sickening reality to the supporters; relegation was a distinct possibility.

No enjoyment was to be had; the distinct lack of any game plan was evident by the demoralising away defeats to both the abysmal QPR, and equally hopeless Reading, resulting in confidence plunging to an all time low. These defeats were thankfully some of the final nails in the coffin for O’Neill’s desperately poor spell in charge, which produced only 7 league wins in the last 365 days of his tenure. Since the FA Cup quarter final replay defeat to Everton, in a gutless performance, things had taken a turn for the worse. The brief 3 month honeymoon period involving memorable last minute wins over Blackburn and Manchester City was over. However, Paolo Di Canio took the helm and guided us to safety, with a 0-3 demolition of Newcastle and a long awaited win over Everton in there to boot; which beggars the question: why the post season apathy?

Well it’s actually a pretty simple answer; there was still the cold reality that we had finished 17^th in the league, whilst playing atrocious football despite having made big money moves for long time targets of ours such as Adam Johnson, whilst crashing out of both domestic cup competitions at home to lower league opposition (to the aforementioned Bolton, and Middlesbrough respectively). The failure of Martin O’Neill was also a bitter pill to swallow; because he for so long had been the Sunderland fan’s first choice to take over, due to his support for the club as a child. The fans believed we would go on towards bigger and better things with him, potentially emulating his 3 consecutive sixth place finishes he had at Aston Villa and their 2011 run to the League Cup final, but none of this was to materialise at the Stadium of Light, where he appeared to lose his Midas touch as the great man motivator.

As the summer has progressed, Di Canio and his mini revolution had rekindled a sense of belief and excitement surrounding Sunderland, with the introduction of stellar signings such as Juventus and Italy star Emanuele Giaccherini and the American international striker, Jozy Altidore. Through the public demeanour Di Canio presents to the fans, it is evident that there is renewed energy amongst the players and the staff, which passes down towards the supporters. At last, after years of mediocrity at best, there is the tantalising prospect of things starting to change. Evidence of this can be seen through the training camp subjugated on the players, where plying their trade in the gruelling 35 degree Verona heat was designed to enhance their fitness levels for the upcoming season. All the hard work was first evident just a day ago, with the impressive 3-1 win over Spurs despite the biblical weather conditions hampering the fluid and attacking style of play advocated by Di Canio.

Despite it only being a friendly, it sparked a sense of joy within me, and relief that things might be on the up this season, potentially an overreaction on my part, but a clear sign that the apathy developed under Martin O’Neill was most certainly gone.