The long wait is over
29th June.
This was the date when top flight competitive football took a break for the Summer and after a long yet exciting season Manchester United had been crowned Premiership Champions on the final day of the season and European Champions in Moscow just two weeks later; the end of June saw the crowning of Spain as victors of Euro 2008.
For many football enthusiasts the next eight weeks will have been hell on Earth, I mean what else can football fans possibly talk about when the season is over right?!
Sarcasm aside, the Summer has brought about many interesting and tantalising talking points for the coming season and this feature will focus on those main talking points.
Firstly, Manchester United. The Red Devils are a club which are infrequently off the back page of the majority of national newspapers but this Summer there has been one issue which has been on the tip of everyone's tongue, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.
This was the date when top flight competitive football took a break for the Summer and after a long yet exciting season Manchester United had been crowned Premiership Champions on the final day of the season and European Champions in Moscow just two weeks later; the end of June saw the crowning of Spain as victors of Euro 2008.
For many football enthusiasts the next eight weeks will have been hell on Earth, I mean what else can football fans possibly talk about when the season is over right?!
Sarcasm aside, the Summer has brought about many interesting and tantalising talking points for the coming season and this feature will focus on those main talking points.
Firstly, Manchester United. The Red Devils are a club which are infrequently off the back page of the majority of national newspapers but this Summer there has been one issue which has been on the tip of everyone's tongue, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Going as far back as the European Championships Ronaldo himself claimed that he was looking for the Old Trafford exit following the end of Portugal's tournament.
Sir Alex Ferguson and the Glazer's had other ideas however claiming that they were not willing to listen to any offers for the winger at any price and that Ferguson himself had been told that the owners would rather keep him in the stands than sell him to Madrid.
The Spanish outfit themselves kept coming back with claims that they had been in contact with the player and that they were close to sealing a deal with the Portuguese international.
Now though this whole saga seems to be coming to an end and the whispers and back page headlines are starting to become few and far between but we would be well advised to remember that there is still 19 days left in this month, that's a lot of time in football and I wouldn't bet against Ronaldo still heading for Madrid by September 1st.
Another player which United have been strongly linked with is that of Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov and as time goes by, more and more rumours are beginning to filter in that his transfer could be soon to go through. Spurs themselves however have been busy rebuilding for the coming season and are looking very healthy going into August 16th.
With the signings of David Bentley, Giovani Dos Santos and Croatian prodigy Luka Modric already in the bag, the Lilywhite's midfield looks like it could well pack a punch this season which is why my money would be going on Tottenham to defy the odds and break into the top four.
Chelsea have been relatively quiet in the market over the Summer with the captures of Bosingwa and Deco the only players to have moved to The Bridge so far, the latter the only signing under Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Unlike previous seasons though I do believe that the Blues have spent the money they have been given by owner Roman Abramovich wisely and on players which they truly needed to buy in order to sure up their squad.
Kaka is still linked to Chelsea but although I would love to see him in the Premiership I don't think that the West Londoners actually need him in their side, another target, Robinho is another matter though.
Although Anelka has been on fire this pre-season, bagging four in one match against AC Milan and Drogba bound to find the net at least 20 times this coming season the presence of the Brazilian would be enough to send shivers down the back of many a defense and if Scolari gets his man I would be betting on Chelsea to reclaim the title this season although this season it really may be more than a three horse race for the title.
Liverpool have been touted as possible title contenders year in year out but every season it seems that Rafael Benitez and his men are more concerned with a good Champions League run, safe in the knowledge that they will be good enough to cruise into at least fourth place.
With the signing of Robbie Keane though Liverpool finally have a strike partnership which could lead them to the title.
Funnily enough though I was probably saying a similar thing about Fernando Torres last season.
Finally we can't have a look at the top contenders going into the coming season without looking at Arsenal's chances.
The only signing Arsene Wenger has made this season which you could possibly look at as forcing his way into the starting line-up is that of Samir Nasri. The midfielder will cause problems for any defense which comes up against him but I highly doubt that he will be enough to close the gap significantly on Chelsea and Manchester United if the the club pick up the number of injuries which blighted their end of season campaign last time out.
Wenger will no doubt be looking at dropping in a number of his youth team players to blend with the experience already in the squad as he has done over the past number of seasons. I personally feel that this side they currently possess will not be enough for them to finish the season as Champions and that Liverpool themselves could leapfrog the Gunners into third. For me, keep your money safely on either Chelsea or United for the title this season and stick some cash on Arsenal for a cup if you must but then, what do I know?
Sir Alex Ferguson and the Glazer's had other ideas however claiming that they were not willing to listen to any offers for the winger at any price and that Ferguson himself had been told that the owners would rather keep him in the stands than sell him to Madrid.
The Spanish outfit themselves kept coming back with claims that they had been in contact with the player and that they were close to sealing a deal with the Portuguese international.
Now though this whole saga seems to be coming to an end and the whispers and back page headlines are starting to become few and far between but we would be well advised to remember that there is still 19 days left in this month, that's a lot of time in football and I wouldn't bet against Ronaldo still heading for Madrid by September 1st.
Another player which United have been strongly linked with is that of Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov and as time goes by, more and more rumours are beginning to filter in that his transfer could be soon to go through. Spurs themselves however have been busy rebuilding for the coming season and are looking very healthy going into August 16th.
With the signings of David Bentley, Giovani Dos Santos and Croatian prodigy Luka Modric already in the bag, the Lilywhite's midfield looks like it could well pack a punch this season which is why my money would be going on Tottenham to defy the odds and break into the top four.
Chelsea have been relatively quiet in the market over the Summer with the captures of Bosingwa and Deco the only players to have moved to The Bridge so far, the latter the only signing under Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Unlike previous seasons though I do believe that the Blues have spent the money they have been given by owner Roman Abramovich wisely and on players which they truly needed to buy in order to sure up their squad.
Kaka is still linked to Chelsea but although I would love to see him in the Premiership I don't think that the West Londoners actually need him in their side, another target, Robinho is another matter though.
Although Anelka has been on fire this pre-season, bagging four in one match against AC Milan and Drogba bound to find the net at least 20 times this coming season the presence of the Brazilian would be enough to send shivers down the back of many a defense and if Scolari gets his man I would be betting on Chelsea to reclaim the title this season although this season it really may be more than a three horse race for the title.
Liverpool have been touted as possible title contenders year in year out but every season it seems that Rafael Benitez and his men are more concerned with a good Champions League run, safe in the knowledge that they will be good enough to cruise into at least fourth place.With the signing of Robbie Keane though Liverpool finally have a strike partnership which could lead them to the title.
Funnily enough though I was probably saying a similar thing about Fernando Torres last season.
Finally we can't have a look at the top contenders going into the coming season without looking at Arsenal's chances.
The only signing Arsene Wenger has made this season which you could possibly look at as forcing his way into the starting line-up is that of Samir Nasri. The midfielder will cause problems for any defense which comes up against him but I highly doubt that he will be enough to close the gap significantly on Chelsea and Manchester United if the the club pick up the number of injuries which blighted their end of season campaign last time out.
Wenger will no doubt be looking at dropping in a number of his youth team players to blend with the experience already in the squad as he has done over the past number of seasons. I personally feel that this side they currently possess will not be enough for them to finish the season as Champions and that Liverpool themselves could leapfrog the Gunners into third. For me, keep your money safely on either Chelsea or United for the title this season and stick some cash on Arsenal for a cup if you must but then, what do I know?
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