The Observer - 04.08.2019

Section:OBS 2S PaGe:11 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 17:43 cYanmaGentaYellowbla

• The Observer
  04.08.19 11

Chelsea

Trizia Fiorellino

ChelseaSupportersGroup.net

I’m pretty optimistic – probably more

so than I should be given the transfer

ban. We have an inexperienced

manager – but that manager is Frank

Lampard, and that’s what makes me

optimistic. A man who understands

today’s players, understands the club’s

hierarchy and who played under some

of the best managers in the world.

Key men/weak links All eyes on Pulisic,

given that he’s meant to be Hazard’s

replacement. No pressure then ...

We need to sign Th e damn ban means

we’re stuck with the issues we’ve had

for a few years: up front, at left- and

right-back, and at centre-back, too.

Headline maker I can see Jody Morris

being to Lampard what Rui Faria was to

Mourinho – not that Mourinho couldn’t

get into trouble on his own.

VAR: good or bad? I want to howl at a

referee error, scream at the injustice

of it all, I want to laugh my ass off

when we score an off side goal against

Spurs, guff aw when the ref overlooks

a Liverpool stonewall penalty (as if...).

Th e point is our game is passionate not

despite the fl aws but because of the

fl aws. VAR is nonsense.

Everton

@theesk

theesk.org

Realistically, the fi ght is to break into a

regular European spot but above all else,

Evertonians want silverware : 24 years

without it is far too long, so the cups have

to be a priority for Marco Silva. Recovering

from the disastrous Koeman/Allardyce

eras, Brands and Silva have their work

cut out to reduce the squad while

improving quality – but signing Digne,

Gomes, Gbamin, Bernard and Delph

suggests they are achieving that.

Key men/weak links Besides those

new arrivals, Richarlison is key. Without

a proven scorer – the mythical Everton

No 9 – he’ll be under great pressure.

We need to sign In order: a forward -

Moise Kean sounds close; right-back

cover for Coleman and central defence

cover, given Zouma appears to be

staying at Chelsea.

Headline maker Farhad Moshiri’s

impromptu appearances with his

friend Jim White are good ground for

unscripted comments. Jordan Pickford

can have his moments, too.

VAR: good or bad? Totally against it. Th ere

are already too many long stoppages

disrupting the fl ow of the game.

Besides which, to err is to be human.

Crystal Palace

Chris Waters

PalaceTrust.org.uk

@Clapham_Grand

We’ve sold our second-best player, and

have, so far, only signed a third-choice

keeper. Oh, and made Jordan Ayew’s

move from Swansea permanent. Add

to that the pressure on wages, the

noise surrounding the American part-

owners looking to sell their stake, and

daily speculation on Zaha, and Palace

fans are a little nervous right now.

Key men/weak links We simply must

keep Zaha. Th e return of Sakho and

Tomkins to fi tness will be welcome,

and Max Meyer has had a strong pre-

season. Lack of numbers mean we may

have to use youngsters on the bench.

We need to sign Our striking options –

yet again – look weak. We still need a

quality forward but I doubt we have the

funds. And the lack of right- and left-

backs is a real concern.

Headline maker Th e ownership of the

club will take up some column inches.

VAR: good or bad? Palace will

undoubtedly win a lot more penalties

this season – Luka Milivojevic will

surely be top scorer. But the fear is the

potential lack of joy after scoring, with

the threat of a VAR appeal lurking in the

background ready to cancel it out.

Leicester

Chris Whiting

clippings.me/chriswhiting

@ChrisRWhiting

Given the level of ambition we’ve

shown in the window, it’s hard to feel

anything but optimism right now. Lots

of pundits are tipping us as outsiders

for the top six – it’s a big ask but it’s

defi nitely not impossible. In truth

though, I’d rather see us lift the FA Cup.

Key men/weak links A lot was made of

the Harry Maguire transfer saga, but

him leaving for United hasn’t made my

heart sink like the fl eeting rumours

of Juventus eyeing up Ricardo Pereira.

Pereira was without doubt our best

player last season – a stalwart in

defence and attack. As for weaknesses:

we’re still light up front. Vardy has been

carrying the burden alone.

We need to sign A winger. Albrighton’s

unrelenting eff ort levels can produce

only so much, and the likes of Gray and

Ghezzal have routinely failed to deliver.

Wilfried Zaha would be a major boost –

but I won’t hold my breath.

Headline maker It’s Jamie Vardy’s

world, and we’re all just living in it

VAR: good or bad? On paper it’s a good

concept, but it hasn’t had a positive

impact in other tournaments. I’m feeling

quite pessimistic about it, frankly.

Liverpool

Steph Jones

Observer reader

We’ll do well. Hopefully one place higher

than last time. Th e fans are still basking

in the glory of Madrid, and rightly so: we

have to be optimistic, don’t we?

Key men/weak links Th e main men last

season will be the main men again. It

helps to have the best keeper, central

defender, left-back and strike force in

Europe. Rhian Brewster is the obvious

contender to break through after a year

out injured. It’ll be interesting to see how

he’ s managed.

We need to sign Some back-up,

particularly if players such as Mignolet

and Lovren go. We’d also benefi t from

a creative midfi elder. Keïta showed in

glimpses what he can do but injury

stumped his progress. Eriksen would lift

the pressure. And another striker could

help. Origi is a deity but reinforcement

from the bench is never a bad thing.

Headline maker Th e boss, though maybe

not so much for profanities this time

around. Until we win the league, that is.

VAR: good or bad? Hate it. It’s bad for

obvious reasons: killing spontaneity,

halting play, making the game about

business full stop. Yes, the right decision

prevails but it does mostly anyway.

Predictions

We will fi nish: 3rd; Top four: 1. Man City;

2. Tottenham; 3. Chelsea; 4. Liverpool
   Bottom three: 18. Newcastle; 19. Brighton;


3. Aston Villa
   First manager sacked: Steve Bruce

Predictions

We will fi nish: 4th – if we sign a proven

scorer; Top four: 1. Man City; 2. Spurs; 3.

Arsenal; 4. Everton. Bottom three: 18.

Liverpool; 19. Sheffi eld United; 20. Brighton

First manager sacked: Roy Hodgson

Predictions

We will fi nish: 14th; Top four: 1. Man City;

2. Liverpool; 3. Tottenham; 4. Chelsea
   Bottom three: 18. Brighton;


3. Newcastle; 20. Norwich
   First manager sacked: Steve Bruce

Predictions

We will fi nish: 7th; Top four: 1. Man City;

2. Liverpool; 3. Tottenham; 4. Arsenal
   Bottom three: 18. Burnley; 19. Brighton;


3. Sheffi eld United
   First manager sacked: Manuel Pellegrini

Predictions

We will fi nish: 1st; Top four: 1. Liverpool;

2. Man City; 3. Tottenham; 4. Arsenal
   Bottom three: 18. Brighton;


3. Sheffi eld United; 20. Norwich
   First manager sacked: Dean Smith

89

Only Jadon Sancho

attempted (195)

and completed

(113) more dribbles

for Borussia

Dortmund in

the Bundesliga

last season than

Christian Pulisic

(89 attempted,

42 completed).

Christian

Pulisic

Chelsea

40

Sepp van den

Berg won 40 of

his 68 contested

duels in the Dutch

Eredivisie

last season

(58.8%), the

highest ratio

of any PEC

Zwolle player.

Sepp van

den Berg

Liverpool

103

Rodri – City’s

£62.8m record

signing from

Atlético Madrid –

made more

tackles than any

other midfi elder

in La Liga last

season.

Rodri

Man City

3.9

Since the start of

2016-17, Ceballos

won more fouls per

90 minutes in La

Liga than any other

midfi elder to have

played at least

1,000 minutes (3.9

fouls won per 90).

Dani Ceballos

Arsenal

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