Posted by Antonio Santorelli - 1st Place 4 Trophies on 5th Aug 2015
Premiership 2015/16 - Who's in, Who's Out
This weekend sees the start of the premiership football season. Who will challenge for the Premiership Title? Who will get relegated? Who be lifting the silverware this year? Lets have a look at the teams, have they strengthened their squad?
Arsenal
In
Petr Cech
Out
Carl Jenkinson, Wojciech Szczesny, Abou Diaby, Lukas Podolski, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Brandon Ormond-Ottewill, Ryo Myaichi, Semi Ajayi, Yaya Sanogo, Daniel Crowley, Isaac Hayden, Jon Toral
There is still time for Arsenal to get new players in however this season they have released many of their youngsters on loan to other clubs. With their current squad (with a few returning from injury) can they mount a challenge for the title? Personally i don't think so, Aresnal be challenging for a top 4 as usual but it will be a tough ask this year.
Aston Villa
In
Scott Sinclair, Rudy Gestede, Jordan Veretout, Micah Richards, Jordan Amavi, Idrissa Gueye, Mark Bunn, Jordan Ayew, Jose Angel Crespo
Out
Christian Benteke, Fabian Delph, Shay Given, Darren Bent, Enda Stevens, Andreas Weimann, Matthew Lowton, Graham Burke, Yacouba Sylla, Antonio Luna
Villa have made some strong signings so far. Yes they lost their captain Delph to Man City and Benteke to Liverpool but they have still be savvy with their aquisitions. Their silent player to shine out of all the signing shall be Ex-Lille player Idrissa Gueye. They also manged to sign the experienced Micah Richards that will steady the boat in defence. Villa wont be top 4 contenders but they wont struggle like last year. Top half finish yes, europa league place, big ask.
Bournemouth
In
Tyrone Mings, Lee Tomlin, Max Gradel, Sylvain Distin, Artur Boruc, Adam Federici, Joshua King, Christian Atsu, Filippo Costa
Out
Ian Harte, Josh McQuoid, Darryl Flavahan, Mohamed Coulibaly, Joe Partington, Miles Addison, Ryan Fraser, Brett Pitman, Jayden Stockley
New boys Bournemouth are no doubt the one of the favourites to go straight back down to the Championship. They haven't overspent but brought in players either free or on loan. Notable players that have premiership experience are Distin and Federici. Will their big signing Mings be worth the £8m, well i hope so as I like Bournemouth to put up a fight to stay up as they will struggle to survive.
Chelsea
In
Radamel Falcao, Asmir Begovic, Nathan, Danilo Pantic
Out
Petr Cech, Filipe Luis, Patrick Bamford, Didier Drogba, Marco van Ginkel, Danilo Pantic, Christian Atsu, Josh McEachran, Tomas Kalas, Gael Kakuta, Mario Pasalic, Kenneth Omeruo, Andreas Christensen, Isaiah Brown, Lewis Baker, Jordan Houghton
The Champions from last season have brought in pretty much no-one yet. Only real gamble, as its a massive gamble after his flop at Man Utd, is bringing in Falcao. If anyone can turn Falcao into a Premiership star will be Jose Mourinho. At worst Chelsea will finish 2nd however I can't see anyone catching them even with the departures of Cech and Luis.
Crystal Palace
In
Patrick Bamford, Yohan Cabaye, Connor Wickham, Alex McCarthy
Out
Jack Hunt, Shola Ameobi, Lewis Price, Owen Garvan, Peter Ramage, Stephen Dobbie, Jerome Thomas, Hiram Boateng, Ryan Inniss, Jerome Binnom-Williams
With Alan Pardew turning the spirit of the team around last season I have a good feeling for Palace. Pardew still promising on new players still to bolster the squad can only have a positive impact on the team. Bamford on loan from Chelsea and Connor Wickham from Sunderland has given them a front line to impress and excite. Will they struggle like last season, not a chance. Will they finish top half, definately. Europa League place, outside chance. Palace could be the surprise package of the season who will over deliver on expectations.
Everton
In
Gerard Deulofeu, Tom Cleverley, David Henen
Out
Sylvain Distin, Luke Garbutt, Chris Long, Francisco Junior, Jonjoe Kenny, Antolin Alcaraz, George Green
Everton struggled last season to improve on theirsuccess of 2 seasons ago. This year I feel they will struggle to get into the top half unless they do better signing. Will the return of Deulofeu be their saving grace, I'm unsure it is. Bottom half finish is my prediction.
Leicester City
In
Robert Huth, Shinji Okazaki, Christian Fuchs, Yohan Benalouane, N’Golo Kante
Out
Ben Hamer, Paul Konchesky, Paul Gallagher, Matthew Upson, Chris Wood, Tom Hopper, Adam Smith, Kieran Kennedy
At one stage Leicester looked as though they were going to be a championship team this year. A late flurry of victories towards the end of the season saw them gettng closer and closer to safety. At the end, they scraped survival. Will they thrive this year, can't see it. Will they finish in the bottom half, yes without a doubt. I would say they be in the relegation battle again this year but not like last season.
Liverpool
In
Christian Benteke, James Milner, Danny Ings, Roberto Firmino, Nathaniel Clyne, Joe Gomez, Adam Bogdan
Out
Raheem Sterling, Glen Johnson, Steven Gerrard, Rickie Lambert, Andre Wisdom, Lloyd Jones, Jordan Williams, Kevin Stewart, Sebastian Coates, Brad Jones, Javi Manquillo, Danny Ward, Sheyi Ojo
So how will the daprture of Gerrard and Sterling effect Liverpool? Quite a bit if you ask me. Have they strengthened their fire power? Most fans will hope so with the signings of Firmino, Ings and Benteke. Milner brings in experience and stability but in no way is he a Steven Gerrard. At best I can see Liverpool obtaining a Europa League place. For them to sneak the 4th place will take all 9 of their new signings (so far) to gel quick and hit the ground running.
Manchester City
In
Raheem Sterling, Patrick Roberts, Fabian Delph, Enes Unal, David Faupala
Out
James Milner, Scott Sinclair, Stevan Jovetic, Micah Richards, John Guidetti, Dedryck Boyata, Seko Fofana, Jordy Hiwula
With Sterling and Delph making the back pages over the summer, will they do the same over the coming season? For City to mount a challenge i believe they need one or two more signings. Even though the fans will want to win the premiership, they will need to be realistic to a top 4 finish. This will hurt but they may not be the creme of Manchester this season.
Manchester United
In
Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Sergio Romero,
Out
Robin van Persie, Nani, Rafael Da Silva, Tom Cleverley, Reece James, Saidy Janko, Ben Amos, Tom Thorpe, Will Keane, Angelo Henriquez, Ben Pearson, Joe Rothwell
Manchester United have been busy this summer by making very good strategic signings. Their front row look like they can score goals everywhere especially that they are planning a 3 man front line this season. Their midfield has been strengthened by solid central players who can be defensive but also score goals on attack. They will be the team to challenge Chelsea this season.
Newcastle United
In
Chancel Mbemba, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Georginio Wijnaldum
Out
Sammy Ameobi, Jonas Gutierrez, Ryan Taylor, Adam Campbell, Remie Streete, Freddie Woodman, Adam Armstrong
Started off strong last year only to horribly stumble as the season went on to narrowly miss being relegated. Will Steve McLaren make a difference this year? Don't think he will with his current squad. Bottom half finish and hopefully won't ne dragged into the relegation battle again.
Norwich City
In
Graham Dorrans, Youssuf Mulumbu, Andre Wisdom, Robbie Brady, Jake Kean
Out
Mark Bunn, Carlton Morris, Cameron McGeehan, Sam Kelly, Remi Matthews
Out of the 3 Championship teams that were promoted, Norwich will have the best chance of staying up. They will still be in the relegation battle and a bottom 6 will be their place this season. Will the ex-baggies players be enough to keep them up?
Southampton
In
Jordy Clasie, Juanmi, Cuco Martina, Cedric Soares, Maarten Stekelenburg, Steven Caulker
Out
Morgan Schneiderlin, Nathaniel Clyne, Artur Boruc, Jos Hooiveld, Cody Cropper, Omar Rowe, Jake Sinclair, Dani Osvaldo, Jack Stephens, Sam Gallagher
Over the past couple of seasons, the Saints have lost key players to their squad. They have had 2 really good over performing seasons. This season, they will be mid table finishers. The will have a mixed bag of results with their current squad as they haven't replaced the out players with the same quality.
Stoke City
In
Glen Johnson, Phillipp Wollscheid, Joselu, Shay Given, Sergio Molina, Marko van Ginkel, Jakob Haugaard, Moha El Ouriachi, Ibrahim Afellay
Out
Asmir Begovic, Steven Nzonzi, Robert Huth, Jamie Ness, Thomas Sorensen, Wilson Palacios, Andy Wilkinson
Can Stoke break into the Europa League places this year? Best chance of doing so as their squad has been strengthened considerably however they will fall short by the end.
Sunderland
In
Jeremain Lens, Younes Kaboul, Adam Matthews, Sebastian Coates
Out
Connor Wickham, El-Hadji Ba, Santiago Vergini, Jordan Pickford
Fortunate to be in the Premiership this year, the Black Cats haven't done much this summer change or strengthen their squad. Have they done enough to stay up, I don't think so. It's going to be a long tough season ahead.
Swansea City
In
Andre Ayew, Franck Tabanou, Eder, Kristoffer Nordfelt, Oliver McBurnie
Out
Jazz Richards, David Cornell, Alan Tate, Gerhard Tremmel, Kenji Gorre
Ever since coming to the Premiership, Swansea have been improving year after year. Not sure if they can improve on last years great performance however they will still finish in the top half of the table. If Ayew is consistantly great all season and their defence hold out, then who knows if they can break into the top 7.
Tottenham Hotspur
In
Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer, Kieran Trippier
Out
Paulinho, Benjamin Stambouli, Etienne Capoue, Younes Kaboul, Vlad Chiriches, Lewis Holtby, Jordan Archer, Cristian Ceballos, Bongani Khumalo, Grant Ward, Alexander McQueen, Cristian Ceballos
With a few days until the start of the season, Spurs have a few more weeks to get one more signing. Are they good enough for a top 4 finish? They will be battling with Liverpool and Arsenal to qualify for Champions League places next season. For this to happen, Harry Kane will need an even greater season than last but they do need to give him support with another quality player.
Watford
In
Etienne Capoue, Valon Behrami, Jose Holebas, Miguel Britos, Jose Jurado, Matej Vydra, Allan Nyom, Sebastian Prodl, Giedrius Arlauskis, Steven Berghuis
Out
Jonathan Bond, Lewis McGugan, Juanfran, Uche Ikpeazu
New Manager and pretty much a new team with 10 signings this summer so far. Have they brought in enough quality to stay up or have they brought in too much to unsettle the current squad? Can the new manager Flores get the team to bond in a short space of time? Unfortunately mu gut is telling me they will be battling Bournemouth to see who will be the 1st side to be relegated.
West Bromwich Albion
In
James McClean, James Chester, Rickie Lambert
Out
Graham Dorrans, Youssuf Mulumbu, Chris Baird, Alex Jones, Kemar Roofe, Jason Davidson, Bradley Garmston, Donervon Daniels, Wesley Atkinson
Avoided relegation with a few games to spare last season but that was down to Pullis turning their fortunes around. Can he carry on improving the team to finish mid table? Im sure Ricki Lambert will be given his opportunities and hopefully he will discover the form that gave him an England call up. Mid table will be best possible result for the Baggies, hopefully no rellegation battle for them this year.
West Ham United
In
Angelo Ogbonna, Dimitri Payet, Carl Jenkinson, Pedro Obiang, Manuel Lanzini, Darren Randolph,
Out
Stewart Downing, Dan Potts, Paul McCallum, Carlton Cole, Guy Demel, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Nene
With Allardyce gone and Bilic in, West Ham have a manager that takes no prisoners from his squad. They will do well this season with 2 very good signings in Ogbonna and Payet. How far can Bilic take them season, top 8 wouldn't be unrealistic. Can they be the outsiders to challenge for 4th place behind Spurs, Liverpool and Arsenal, well they sure are the best of the rest.