Enjoyed the read. Didn't see Liverpool's first-half today I gather they could have been out of sight by half-time and ought to have been, saw most of the second and Sunderland looked more than comfortable. Despite the signings they've made I can't see them competing.
Be interesting to see how Chelsea get on, I don't think they've significantly bolstered their squad enough. I think Abramovich is more concerned with the CL, he's gone through managers like nobody's business even the ones that have been relatively successful. Paying £50m for Torres when he hadn't displayed any sort of form for a good while was a strange decision for me and for me he is the key for them - I still think Drogba will do a job. Sturridge bagged two at Ibrox the other week but is he going to get regular games and Lukaku from what I have seen of him looks an outstanding talent but again only a young one.
Can only see it being between City and Utd this year. The CS worried me a bit(I know there's a lot of people who won't read into that reading this) - I was long of the opinion, especially after Arsenal away last season, that we weren't offensive enough in the games against our rivals and when we did something about it we won the FA Cup Semi (albeit this change only happened after about 30 minutes of that game when we pushed up a bit and started to take control of the midfield). I know that this paragraph to those who wouldn't worry about this criticism will seem odd to people who could argue, after all, that if Silva had taken his chance at OT in February it could've been a different story but it's just the impression i've had for a while.
On the flip side, we've ended last season on a glorious high, added Aguero, Clichy and Savic - if we can add Nasri I think we will have a real chance as he is a seasoned PL performer who has real quality and the thought of him in our midfield is a mouth watering one.
The bookies have their favourites - speaking objectively Utd have made a good addition in Young - I found it a bit odd as Nani came into form and they have Valencia but it's an addition that bolsters their midfield and gives them options just as Nasri would for us.
There's not a lot wrong with us - we're strong defensively and have some real quality in midfield and going forward. It's just making that transition to being consistent enough to be champions - starting at home to Everton last season quicker, not shipping the penalty at Sunderland away and taking a point or three had Tevez not missed the open goal, the performance at Wolves, going to OT and/or the Emirates and coming away with three points. That's nitpicking a bit and obviously there's room for error but it's just making these improvements and raising the bar that will get us there. It will be interesting to see how we cope with the CL as well.
