Countdown to South Africa: Spotlight on Serbia

Serbia are in group D at the World Cup and will play Ghana, Germany and Serbia. This is the Serbian squad which I believe has the best chance of success at the World Cup.

First 11

GK. Vladimir Stojkovic, Club- Wigan, Age at World Cup (AWC) 26.

RB. Branislav Ivanovic, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 26.

CB. Ivica Dragutinovic, Club- Sevilla, (AWC) 34.

CB. Nemanja Vidic, Club- Manchester Untied, (AWC) 28.

LB. Aleksander Lukovic, Club- Udinese, (AWC) 27.

RW. Bosko Jankovic, Club- Genoa, (AWC) 26.

CM. Gojko Kacer, Club- Hertha Berlin, (AWC) 23.

LW. Milos Krasic, Club- CSKA Moscow, (AWC) 25.

CAM. Dejan Stankovic, Club- Inter Milan, (AWC) 31.

ST. Nikola Zigic, Club- Valencia, (AWC) 29.

ST. Marko Pantelic, Club- Ajax, (AWC) 31.

Subs

GK. Vladimir Disljenkovic, Club- FC Metalurh Donetsk (Ukraine), (AWC) 28.

GK. Zeljko Brkic, Club- FK Vojvodina (Serbia), (AWC) 23.

RB. Antonio Rukavina, Club- 1860 Munich, (AWC) 26.

CB. Neven Subotic, Club- Borussia Dortmund, (AWC) 21.

CB. Nenad Tomovic, Club- Genoa, (AWC) 22.

LB. Ivan Obradovic, Club- Real Zaragoza, (AWC) 21.

RM. Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Club- VFB Stuttgart, (AWC) 22.

CM. Nemad Milijas, Club- Wolverhampton, (AWC) 27.

LW. Miralem Sulejmani, Club- Ajax, (AWC) 21.

CAM. Milos Ninkovic, Club- Dynamo Kiev, (AWC) 21.

ST. Danko Lazovic, Club- PSV Eindhoven, (AWC) 27.

ST. Milan Jovanovic, Club- Standard Liege, (AWC) 29.

Agree with my selections?

Have I included someone who doesn't warrant selection?

Have I missed anybody who should be included?

The Coach

Serbian Radomir Antic is the coach of the Serbian national team. Antic is one of only two people to have managed both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid and the only person to managedFC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlectico Madrid, historically the big three clubs in La Liga. This is the first time he's managed a national team.

Serbia' Strengths

Serbia's strength is in defence. In Vidic they have one of the best centre-backs going around at the moment and the rest of their defenders play in the biggest leagues in Europe. The midfielders and strikers also play in various high quality leagues across Europe.

Serbia's Weakness

Serbia's main weakness is in the goalkeeping. First choice Vladimir Stojkovic who formerlyplayed for Sporting Lisbon has moved to Wigan on a six month loan as a backup to Wigan'sfirst choice goalkeeper. Serbia's second and third choice goalkeepers play in Ukraine and Serbia respectively.

Countdown to South Africa: Spotlight on Germany

Germany are in group D, and will face Australia, Serbia and Ghana at the 2010 World Cup.

First 11

GK. Rene Adler, Club- Bayer Leverkusen, Age at World Cup (AWC) 25.

RB. Philipp Lahm, Club- Bayern Munich, (AWC) 26.

CB. Arne Fridrich, Club- Hertha Berlin, (AWC) 31.

CB. Per Mertesacker, Club- Werder Bremen, (AWC) 25.

LB. Marcell Jansen, Club- Hamburg, (AWC) 24.

RM. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Club- Bayern Munich, (AWC) 25.

CM. Michael Ballack, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 33.

LM. Piotr Trochowski, Club- Hamburg, (AWC) 26.

CAM. Mesut Ozil, Club- Werder Bremen, (AWC) 21.

ST. Miroslav Klose, Club- Bayern Munich, (AWC) 32.

ST. Lukas Podolski, Club- Koln, (AWC) 25.

Subs

GK. Tim Wiese, Club- Werder Bremen, (AWC) 28.

GK. Manuel Neuer, Club- Schalke 04, (AWC) 24.

RB. Andreas Beck, Club- 1899 Hoffenheim, (AWC) 23.

CB. Serder Tasci, Club- VFB Stuttgart, (AWC) 23.

CB. Christoph Metzelder, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 29.

LB. Heiko Westerman, Club- Schalke 04, (AWC) 26.

CDM. Torsten Frings, Club- Werder Bremen, (AWC) 33.

RM. Roberto Hilbert, Club- VFB Stuttgart, (AWC) 25.

LM. Thomas Hitzlsperger, Club- VFB Stuttgart, (AWC) 28.

CAM. Marko Marin, Club- Werder Bremen, (AWC) 21.

ST. Mario Gomez, Club- Bayern Munich, (AWC) 24.

ST. Patrick Helmes, Club- Bayer Leverkusen, (AWC) 26.

Agree with my selections?

Have I included someone who doesn't warrant selection?

Have I missed anybody who should be included?

The Coach

Joachim Low has the highest winning percentage (68.8) of any German national team coach. This will be Joachim Low's first appearance at a World Cup as a coach however he does have experience as an assistant coach with Germany at the 2006 World Cup. Before his involvement with the German national team Low coached club sides in Germany, Turkey and Austria.

Germany's Strength's

Whilst Germany are strong all across the field and have good depth, they lack the superstar or two most of their rivals for the World Cup will be able to call upon at South Africa in June and July.

Germany's Weakness

Germany's weakness would be their left flank. This is Germany's weakest area in both of terms of quality and depth.

Post on The Roar

I have a post on the Australian sports website The Roar, titled "How other teams can stop the Socceroos".

You can check it out here.

Countdown to South Africa: Spotlight on Paraguay

Paraguay are in group F at the World Cup and will play Italy, New Zealand and Slovakia. This is the Paraguayan squad which I believe has the best chance of success in South Africa.

First 11

GK. Justo Villar, Club- Real Valladoid, Age at World Cup (AWC) 32.

RB. Paulo da Silva, Club- Sunderland, (AWC) 30.

CB. Pedro Benitez, Club- Atletico Mineriro (Brazil), (AWC) 29.

CB. Antolin Alcaraz, Club- Club Brugge, (AWC) 27.

LB. Delio Toledo, Club- Kayserispor (Turkey), (AWC) 33.

RW. Marcelo Etigarribia, Club- Le Mans, (AWC) 22.

CM. Edgar Barreto, Club- Atlanta, (AWC) 25.

CM. Jonathan Santana, Club- Wolfsburg, (AWC) 28.

LW. Aureliano Torres, Club- San Lorenzo (Argentina), (AWC) 27.

ST. Roque Santa Cruz, Club- Manchester City, (AWC) 28.

ST. Nelson Valdez, Club- Borussia Dortmund, (AWC) 26.

Subs

GK. Aldo Bobadilla, Club- Independiente Medellin (Colombia), (AWC) 34.

GK. Diego Barreto, Club- Cerro Porteno (Paraguay), (AWC) 28.

RWB. Eduardo Ledesma, Club- Club Atletico Lanus (Argentina), (AWC) 24.

CB. Julio Cesar Caceres, Club- Boca Juniors, (AWC) 30.

CB. Dario Veron, Club- Pumas (Mexico), (AWC) 30.

LB. Claudio Morel Rodriguez, Club- Boca Juniors, (AWC) 32.

CDM. Nestor Ortigoza, Club- Argentinos Juniors (Argentina), (AWC) 25.

RM. Osvaldo Martinez, Club- C.F. Monterrey (Mexico), (AWC) 24.

CM. Cristian Riveros, Club- Cruz Azul (Mexico), (AWC) 27.

LW. Sergio Aguino, Club- Club Libertad (Paraguay), (AWC) 30.

ST. Oscar Cardozo, Club- Benfica, (AWC) 27.

ST. Fredy Bareiro, Club- Estudiantes Tecos (Mexico), (AWC) 26.

Agree with my selections?

Have I included someone who doesn't warrant selection?

Have I missed anybody who should be included?

The Coach

Paraguay are coached by Argentinian Gerardo Martino. Paraguay is the first national team Martino has coached, he has previously coached club sides in Paraguay and Argentina. Martino is a hard working coach who studies his opponents in depth and makes sure his Paraguayan players work as a team. However he lacks international experience and can be inflexible. Martino usually adopts a conservative 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2 for Paraguay.

Paraguay's Strengths

Paraguay's strength is in the front third where they have a choice between three strikers playing in some of the best leagues in Europe. The majority of the remaining starting also are currently playing in Europe.

Paraguay's Weakness

Paraguay's main weakness is their depth, with none of the subs currently playing in Europe.

Countdown to South Africa: Spotlight on Spain

Spain qualified for the 2010 World Cup without losing a game. This is the Spanish squad which I believe has the best chance of success in South Africa next year.

First 11

GK. Iker Casillas captain, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 29.

RB. Sergio Remos, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 24.

CB. Raul Albiol, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 24.

CB. Carlos Puyol, Club- Barcelona, (AWC) 32.

LB. Joan Capdevila, Club- Villarreal, (AWC) 32.

RM. Andres Iniesta, Club- Barcelona, (AWC) 26.

CM. Xavi, Club- Barcelona, (AWC) 30.

CM. Csec Fabregas, Club- Arsenal, (AWC) 23.

LM. David Silva, Club- Valencia, (AWC) 24.

ST. Fernando Torres, Club- Liverpool, (AWC) 26.

ST. David Villa, Club- Valencia, (AWC) 28.

Subs

GK. Pepe Reina, Club- Liverpool, (AWC) 27.

GK. Diego Lopez, Club- Villareal, (AWC) 28.

RB. Alvaro Arbeloa, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 27.

CB. Carlos Marchena, Club- Valencia, (AWC) 30.

CB. Gerard Pique, Club- Barcelona, (AWC) 23.

LB. Fernando Navarro, Club- Sevilla, (AWC) 27.

RM. Santi Cazorla, Club- Villarreal, (AWC) 25.

CM. Marcos Senna, Club- Villarreal, (AWC) 33.

CM. Xabi Alonso, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 28.

LW. Diego Capel, Club- Sevilla, (AWC) 22.

ST. Raul, Club, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 32.

ST. Alvaro Negredo, Club- Sevilla, (AWC) 24.

The Coach

Spain are manged by Spaniard Vicente del Bosque. As a manger del Bosque has an unassuming and understated manner. As manger of Real Madrid at the start of this century del Bosque was in charge of the club when it had it's most successful spell since the 1950's and 60's.

Spain's Strengths

In Iker Casillas Spain have arguably the best goalkeeper in the World. Also Fernando Torres and David Villa are widely considered two of the best strikers in the World. Spain are basically strong all across the field.

Spain's Weakness

If Spain were to have a weakness it would be their depth in the striker position, compared to Fernando Torres and David Villa, the veteran Raul and Alvaro Negredo are a drop down in quality.

Style

Spain like to keep possession of the ball with short sharp passing and with the off the ball players make runs into space and or to create space.

FIFA 10 Review

FIFA 10 Game Review.

FIFA 9 is considered the best football game of all time but after playing FIFA 10 for a week it looks like it's improved on it's predecessor. Some of the improvements are in one on one physical contests; in heading battles and dribbling contests, crossing, corners and free kicks. So basically most of the game play has been further improved on last years version. Another thing that has been fixed up are the throw ins, although not a big thing at least they're no longer are annoying negative.

One of the new additions to FIFA 10 is the practice arena where you can practice playing a match as well as practicing the various set pieces. In the practice arena you can also make your own custom set pieces which you can later use in a match. Also there are supposed to have been more then 50 improvements to the Manger Mode. For most of the time I've been playing FIFA 10 in the week since it's come out I've been playing manager mode and other then the assistant coach setting which I'll get to later, the main change in Manger Mode appears just to be the layout and appearance.

In theory the assistant coach setting look liked a good edition to Manger Mode, basically if you had the assistant coach mode on it would select your match day squad using form, quality and fatigue of your players to choice the best players available. I decided to turn the assistant coach mode off after it started choosing full-backs to play at centre-back, midfielders to play in defense and attacking midfielders to play in defensive midfield positions.

As well as the football with every year the music is getting more important in FIFA. More evidence of this can be found on the front cover of FIFA 10, which has a sticker telling you were you can download an exclusive remix from a band. Unfortunately there are less songs from Australians in FIFA 10 then there has been in past editions.

FIFA 10 rating 9/10.

Countdown to South Africa: Spotlight on England

England are the second European country to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. This is the English squad I believe has the best chance of success in South Africa next year.

First 11

GK. David James, Club- Portsmouth, (AWC) 39.

RB. Glen Johnson, Club- Liverpool, (AWC) 25.

CB. Rio Ferdinand, Club- Manchester Untied, (AWC) 31.

CB. John Terry captain, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 29.

LB. Ashley Cole, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 29.

CM. Michael Carrick, Club- Manchester United, (AWC) 28.

CM. Gareth Barry, Club- Manchester City, (AWC) 29.

CAM. Frank Lampard, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 31.

CAM. Steven Gerrard, Club- Liverpool, (AWC) 30.

ST. Wayne Rooney, Club- Manchester United, (AWC) 24.

ST. Jermain Defoe, Club- Tottenham Hotspur, (AWC) 27.

Subs

GK. Robert Green, Club- West Ham, (AWC) 30.

GK. Paul Robinson, Club- Blackburn, (AWC) 30.

RB. Micah Richards, Club- Manchester City, (AWC) 21.

CB. Joleon Lescott, Club- Manchester City, (AWC) 27.

CB. Jamie Carragher, Club- Liverpool, (AWC) 31.

LB. Wayne Bridge, Club- Manchester City, (AWC) 29.

CM. David Beckham, Club- Los Angles, (AWC) 35.

CM. Scott Parker, Club- West Ham, (AWC) 29.

RW. Aaron Lennon, Club- Tottenham Hotspur, (AWC) 23.

LW. Joe Cole, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 28.

ST. Peter Crouch, Club- Tottenham Hotspur, (AWC) 29.

ST. Michael Owen, Club- Manchester United, (AWC) 30.

The Coach

Coaching England is the first time Italian Fabio Capello has managed an international side.

England's Strengths

England have two of the worlds best centre-backs and two of the worlds best attacking midfielders they also have one of the best strikers in the world in Wayne Rooney.

England's Weakness

England's main weakness is that although they have good goalkeepers they lack a world class goalkeeper. England also have a lack of quality depth in the two fullback positions.

Countdown to South Africa: Spotlight on Ghana

Ghana are the first African (other then hosts South Africa) team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. This is the Ghanaian squad i believe has the best chance of success at the World Cup next year.

First 11

GK. Richard Kingson, Club- Wigan, (AWC) 31.

RB. John Paintsil, Club- Fulham, (AWC) 28.

CB. Isaac Vorsah, Club- Hoffenheim, (AWC) 21.

CB. John Mensah, Club- Sunderland, (AWC) 27.

LB. Hans Sarpei, Club- Bayer Leverkusen, (AWC) 33.

RW. Laryea Kingston, Club- Hearts, (AWC) 29.

CM. Michael Essien, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 27.

CM. Sully Muntari, Club- Inter Milan, (AWC) 25.

LM. Kwadwo Asamoah, Club- Udinese, (AWC) 21.

ST. Assamoah Gyan, Club- Stade Rennes, (AWC) 24.

ST. Prince Tagoe, Club- Hoffenheim, (AWC) 23.

Subs

GK. William Amamoo, Club- FC Telecom Egypt, (AWC) 28.

GK. George Owu, Club- Al Masry (Egypt), (AWC) 27.

RB. Daniel Opare, Club- Real Madrid Castilla, (AWC) 19.

CB. Samuel Inkoom, Club- FC Basel, (AWC) 20.

CB. Eric Addo, Club- Roda JC, (AWC) 31.

LB. Alfred Arthur, Club- FK Jagodina (Serbia), (AWC) 23.

Mid. Nana Akwasi Asare, Club- FC Utrecht, (AWC) 23.

CDM. Moussa Narry, Club- Auxerre, (AWC) 24.

CM. Derek Boateng, Club- Getafe, (AWC) 27.

LW. Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Club- Spartak Moscow, (AWC) 24.

ST. Matthew Amoah, Club- NAC Breda, (AWC) 29.

ST. Ransford Osei, Club- FC Twente, (AWC) 19.

The Coach

Ghana are coached by Serbian Milovan Rajevac, previously he has coached Serbian clubs Red Star Belgrade, FK Vojvodina and FK Borac Cacak.

Ghana's Strengths

Ghana's strength is in the centre of midfield with Essien and Muntari playing with two of the best clubs in European football. The rest of the starting 11 also play at good quality clubs across Europe. Although the subs for Ghana aren't playing at the same quality of clubs as the first 11, the majority are playing at clubs in the the top division of their respective leagues across Europe.

Ghana's Weakness

Ghana's main problem is in the goalkeeping department with there currently only being one Ghanaian goalkeeper playing in Europe, Richard Kingson and he is currently in a battle trying to recognised as Wigan's second choice goalkeeper.

Countdown to South Africa: Spotlight on Brazil

Brazil are the first South American team to qualify for 2010 World Cup. This is the Brazilian squad I believe has the best chance of winning the World Cup in South Africa next June and July.

First 11

GK. Julio Cesar, Club- Inter Milan, (AWC) 3o.

RB. Maicon, Club- Inter Milan, (AWC) 28.

CB. Juan, Club- Roma, (AWC) 31.

CB. Lucio, Club- Inter Milan, (AWC) 32.

LB. Maxwell, Club- Barcelona, (AWC) 28.

CDM. Feilipe Melo, Club- Juventus, (AWC) 26.

CDM. Ze Roberto, Club- Hamburg, (AWC) 35.

CAM. Kaka, Club- Real Madrid, (AWC) 28.

CAM. Diego, Club- Juventus, (AWC) 25.

ST. Luis Fabiano, Club- Sevilla, (AWC) 29.

ST. Robinho, Club- Manchester City, (AWC) 26.

Subs

GK. Heurelho Gomes, Club- Tottenham Hotspur, (AWC) 29.

GK. Doni, Club- Roma, (AWC) 30.

RB. Dani Alves, Club- Barcelona, (AWC) 27.

CB. Alex, Club- Chelsea, (AWC) 27.

CB. Thiago Silva, Club- AC Milan, (AWC) 25.

LWB. Filipe, Club- Deportivo Le Coruna, (AWC) 24.

CDM. Gilberto Silva, Club- Panathinaikos, (AWC) 33.

RW. Rodrigo Taddei, Club- Roma, (AWC) 30.

LW. Ronaldinho, Club- AC Milan, (AWC) 30.

CAM. Julio Baptista, Club- Roma, (AWC) 28.

ST. Nilmar, Club- Villarreal, (AWC) 25.

ST. Alexandre Pato, Club- AC Milan, (AWC) 20.

The Coach

Inexperienced Brazilian Dunga is the Brazil coach, coaching the Brazilian national team is Dunga's first experience of coaching at the professional level. Under Dunga Brazil play more conservatively then they have in the past and have become very dangerous on the counter attack.

Brazil's strengths.

In Julio Cesar Brazil have one of arguably the best half a dozen goalkeepers in the world at the moment. Maicon and Daniel Alves are two of the best right backs in the world unfortunately Brazil can only play one at a time. Lucio and Kaka are amongst the best players in the world in their respective positions.

Brazil's weakness

For a side expecting to in the World Cup Brazil have a few problem areas, at left-back no player has yet emerged to adequately replace retired great Cafu, theirs a worrying lack of quality or depth for the centre of midfield position and a lack of depth for the striking positions.

World Cup 2010 Squad changes.

With the European transfer window closing last week and Brazil and Ghana having just qualified for the World Cup. I've updated the information and or made adjustments to the squads of the six countries that had already qualified for South Africa 2010. The changes can be seen by clicking on World Cup 2010 under Labels.

An A-league based socceroos squad.

So far from the two games Australia has played in Asian Cup qualifying using a A-league based squad only one point has been gained. In the last Asian Cup qualifier Australia played against Kuwait the starting 11 were Craig Moore, Archie Thompson, Matt Mckay, Paul Reid, Matt Simon, Rodrigo Vargas, Eugene Galekovic, Tom Pondeljak, Matt Thompson, Anthony Zullo and Daniel Mullen.

However during this A-league preseason various clubs have signed regular socceroos, semi regular socceroos and fringe socceroos and if you were to now chose a socceroos starting 11 just from A-league players it would look quite different.

GK Eugene Galekovic would keep his position as the starting goalkeeper.

RB Daniel Mullen would keep his position at right back.

CB Craig Moore would keep his position at centre back.

CB Chris Coyne. Semi regular socceroo has returned to the A-league after spending most of his career in the lower leagues of English football.

LB Shane Stefanutto. Although he has only the two appearances for the socceroos, he has been involved in many more socceroos squads over the years.

CDM Jacob Burns. Fringe socceroo has come back to the A-league after spending the last three seasons playing in Romania.

RM Mile Sterjovski although playing as a striker for Perth, Sterjovski has spent long periods of his playing as a right-midfielder.

LM Michael Zullo would keep his position at left midfield.

CAM Jason Culina has already shown his quality in the A-league with his precise passing and intelligent movement.

FOW Joel Porter although yet to score in the A-league for the Gold Coast, Porter has linked well with Jason Culina at Gold Coast.

FOW John Aloisi. After scoring only two goals in the all of last season Aloisi has already equaled that mark this season after only three games.

Team selections of the Victory

Although coaches know more about football then the typical fan, they don't always make the right decisions. As Melbourne Victory's starting 11 was named on the big screen at Etihad stadium last Saturday night, as the talk from Victory's training during the week had suggested Ernie Merrick had named Matthew Kemp the right back to play at center back and Nick Ward the attacking midfielder to play at right back. After the seeing the Victory's team lineup to face the Brisbane Roar a lot of Melbourne fans were fearing this was another case of a coach making the wrong decision in this case in regards to team selection. By half time Melbourne's fans fears had come to fruition with the score 3-1 in the Brisbane Roar's favour.

With all three of Brisbane's goals coming from Melbourne's right hand side of defence most of the blame had to be attributed to Ernie Merrick's team selections of starting Kemp and Ward out of position. Another factor which you would of thought prevented Kemp being played used in the middle of defence, is that Melbourne play with a narrow midfield and rely on their full backs to provide the width. Since Kemp come to the club he has been the best full back at providing width for the Victory. In the first half Ward did an admirable job of providing the width but didn't appear to know how to prevent his flank from being exposed when ever he pushed up. When in the second half Ward was subbed off and Kemp was moved to his usual right back position Melbourne played much better and didn't concede another goal. Although to be fair Billy Celeski coming off the bench for Melbourne and Brisbane being forced to substitute Danny Tiatto off just before half time also contributed to Melbourne's better second half showing and Brisbane's inability to influence the game as much as in the second half as they had in the first.

The match against Brisbane wasn't the first time this season that the Melbourne fans believed Ernie Merrick had made a mistake in team selection. In the first match of the season against the Central Coast also at Etihad stadium Ernie picked two defensive midfielders in Grant Brebner and Leigh Broxham, especially against the Central Coast who appeared to be one of weaker teams for the 09/10 season and were known for their defensive game especially when playing away from home. After 15 minutes of the match Melbourne were two goals down and having two defensive midfielders on the pitch didn't help in the Victory's push for a goal to get back in the game.

So after two rounds of the season Melbourne Victory has already been hampered by two cases of poor team selection by it's coach. Hopefully this won't be the case for the North Queensland Fury match this week and the signs during the week have been positive in this regard. Early in the week the talk from training was that Ernie Merrick had realised it was best to play actual centre backs in the centre back position and that centre back Steven Pace was being prepared for the Fury match. Then yesterday the news got even better regarding the Victory and centre backs when it was announced center back Adrian Leijer had rejoined the club after spending the last two seasons in Fulhams reserves. This move will permanently solve Melbourne's center backs problems for this season. Finally Celeski is now able to start matches and this should see either Broxam or Brebner or even both starting matches on the bench from now on.

EPL 09/10 season predications Part 2

With less then a day until the new EPL season here's the second part of my predication's...

Pushing for Europe

West Ham. This will be Gianfranco Zola's first full season in charge of West Ham after he was brought in to replace Alan Curbishley last season. If West Ham suffer less injuries then the previous season, with their attractive style of play they should just finish in the the top half of the table.

Fulham. Had their best ever season last season by finishing seventh. Fulham have not lost any of their important players however they also haven't made any big signings. This will make it hard for Fulham to match the previous seasons effort.

Aston Villa. For most of last season looked like they were going to break into the top four but faded late to miss out. Will likely slide down the table this season and possibly miss out on Europa league qualification after losing important players from their spine such as midfielder Gareth Barry and center-back Martin Laursen.

Europa League qualifications

Tottenham Hotspur. After being brought in last season to save Tottenham from relegation last season, Harry Rednapp will hope to push Tottenham up the table with a whole season in charge. With a couple of useful additions in Peter Crouch and Sebastien Bassong Tottenham should qualify for Europe.

Everton. Although Everton haven't made any big signings they haven't lost any of their quality players. Everton should once again be able to finish in a Europa League place.

Manchester City. Manchester City have spent big in the transfer window to try to push their way into the top four. They should push Arsenal all the way for fourth position but the lack of quality and depth of defenders should see them fall just short.

Top four

Arsenal. Should be able to do just enough to remain in the top four even those they lost striker Emmanuel Adebayor and centre back Kolo Toure to their main rivals for the final champions league position. Arsenal's lack of a top class centre or centre defensive midfielder should prevent them from making a genuine claim for the title this season.

Manchester Untied. During the transfer window Manchester have lost Ronaldo to Real Madrid and fan favourite Carlos Tevez to local rivals Manchester City. As replacements Manchester Untied have brought in Antonio Valencia who although good is not in the same class as Ronaldo and injury prone Michael Owen for Tevez. This should see Manchester slip down to third position.

Liverpool. With Ronaldo going to Real Madrid, Liverpool now have arguably the two best players in the EPL in Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres and Liverpool will be hoping they can play together more then 14 times this season. However this will still probably not be enough for Liverpool to win the league.

Chelsea. Have not lost any important players in the off season and look to have the most quality and best depth for their squad of any club in the EPL this season. Chelsea's only worry will be about how quickly new Italian manger Carlo Ancelotti can adjust to the EPL.

EPL 09/10 season predications Part 1

With just over a week to go to the new English Premier League season here are my predication's for where the teams will finish, starting with the...

Relegation candidates

Burnley. Newly promoted Burnley, have not signed enough players of premier league quality in the transfer window to stop themselves getting relegated after just one season in the top division.

Wolverhampton. Another promoted team the wolves, like Burnley look to have a lack of players of premier league quality in their squad to avoid the club from suffering automatic relegation.

Portsmouth. Since their victory in 2008 FA Cup a lot of quality players have left pompey, tall striker Peter Crouch is just the latest with not many new players being brought in to replace them. This coupled with a small squad should see Portsmouth relegated.

Clubs that will just escape the drop.

Hull. Just survived the drop last season and should do just enough to survive the drop once again. New signing young gun USA striker Jozy Altidore should help them be more clinical in front of goal this season.

Wigan. In the last six months Wigan have lost important players Wilson Palacios and Antonio Valencia and it's doubtful if the players brought in to replace them are of the same quality. Young up and coming manager Roberto Martinez will have a difficult first season in charge of Wigan.

Birmingham City, are the third of the promoted teams. Compared to the other promoted teams Birmingham have a bit more quality across the field and have made a couple of quality signings. Birmingham should enjoy a successful first season back in the EPL and avoid automatic relegation.

Mid table mediocrity.

Stoke City. Stoke surprised many by staying in the top flight last season and shouldn't suffer any second season blues. Stoke have been able to keep their squad together and should have a mid table finish.

Bolton. During the pre season Bolton have been able to make some useful signings with out losing any important players. This should enable Bolton to have a comfortable season finishing mid table.

Blackburn. After having a poor season last season, experienced premier league manager Sam Allardyce has made some useful additions to the squad. This should see Blackburn finish the season in mid table mediocrity.

Sunderland. Sunderland have a new manager in Steve Bruce, and strengthened all areas of their squads with some handy signings. However even with the new additions Sunderland will probably struggle to finish in the top half of the table.