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How will they play?

I have always wanted to write a season preview.  The assessment of the ins and outs, predictions of where a side will finish the season and all the other cliches. This is slightly contradictory, as I do not like cliches. Sure, cliches exist only because they are generally true, but I admire and love the new. So, rather than asking, “How will they perform?”, I am going to ask, “How will they play?”

Arsenal –

While much has changed at Arsenal, I cannot believe that the style of play will. Arsene Wenger is one of the most idealistic men in football today. The transfer market is something in which you must turn a profit and your passing should be short and to feet. Crosses should not be aimlessly flung into the box. Balls should not be lumped clear from the back. And English football has been all the better for it. The question is, do they still have the players to play this way? Van Persie has gone. Song looks set to follow. Wilshire is perpetually injured. There may be a large reliance on Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott until new signings bed in. Can the young players handle it? So many questions, but a clear passing philosophy remains in place.

Aston Villa –

The plaudits went to Swansea last year, but Norwich weren’t too far behind. Paul Lambert’s side of last season stayed up while trying to attack. While their game was not based around keeping the ball away from their opponents, it was no aerial bombardment. Where Swansea and Norwich differed was around the opposition box. Norwich took a more physical approach in and around the 18 yard area, capitalising on the muscular approach of Grant Holt. The expectation is that Aston Villa will be much the same. Darren Bent needs to be fit to provide that cutting edge, otherwise Villa could be as blunt as they were last season. Although it is hard to imagine that they will be anywhere near as bad to watch  as they were under McLeish.

Chelsea –

The  Champions League winners. And haven’t they spent like it. Roberto Di Matteo played with a needs must mentality last campaign. Though it was parking the bus that took them to the Champions League the early indications are that it will not be the way this season. In the Community Shield the formation was a 4-2-3-1. The three crammed with creatively minded players and there are more who didn’t even feature. Hazard, Mata, Oscar, Marin and Lampard provide the potential for goals from midfield, even with Lampard starting in a more holding role. If Essien regains his form and fitness of two seasons ago then that is another powerful central midfield presence. It seems that the strength of the side is focused on the centre of the pitch. The squad lacks width and the full backs will be vital to counter the inevitable congestion through the middle. However, this focus has worked for Spain and Barcelona, could it work at Stamford Bridge?

Everton –

It is hard to predict exactly how Everton will play. David Moyes’ sides have had to change aspects of their approach depending on who is available. They have one of the smallest squads in the Premiership and the suggestions are that the fee received from Jack Rodwell will be reinvested on adding more depth. The trio of Osman, Fellaini and Pienaar will be key. Everton are not a big side. The interplay of this trio, combined with the ventures of Baines down the left, with the sharpness of Jelavic will provide the bulk of Evertonian goals. These are clever players who like the ball played to feet, though Fellaini provides threat in the air. He may find himself pushed further forward now Tim Cahill has moved on.

Fulham –

Martin Jol worked hard to improve Fulham as an attacking unit in his first season. While building on the solid foundations left by Roy Hodgson a less direct approach was introduced. Rather than playing into a strong forward (Zamora) and trying to support, the build up became more patient with more of the team involved. Danny Murphy served the club well as play maker and captain, it is not obvious who replaces him as the player who retains the ball. A bigger problem is the impending loss of Clint Dempsey.  That weight of goals will be very difficult to replace.

Liverpool –

All change at Anfield. While Dalglish was and is soaked in the ‘pass and move’ doctrine, the passing often lacked patience. It was often exciting, but felt rushed and panicked. Something that translated into poor finishing. Many crosses were put into the penalty area, but often when Andy Carroll was off the pitch and often of not sufficiently high quality. Quantity seemed to be the order of the day. Things could not be more different in Brendan Rodgers’ Spanish style. Possession is king. No matter where you are on the pitch, priority number one is to keep the ball. Short passes dominate in this game of triangles and movement. At Liverpool this has long been the tradition. Except, in recent times it hasn’t. Both Houllier and Benitez liked to counter punch. The passing was short and fast, but not patient. The last Liverpool manager who played in this style was Roy Evans. At times the football was fantastic, but the team was criticised for being too soft. The problem being that they were not very good when out of possession. Brendan Rodgers wants the team to win the ball high up the pitch, setting the challenge to win the ball back in 7 seconds (Barcelona try to win it back in 5) during the pre-season games. The hope is that time is given for him to succeed. While the philosophy is exciting, some of the players in the squad are not. If the two can marry up, then big things could be coming to Liverpool. Big, silver things.

Manchester City –

Sometimes it seems like the Manchester City style has been to get a bunch of hugely gifted players and ask them to play. The style appeared to alter at different times last season. The early days of the season saw them play some fantastic, short sharp football. With the movement and interchanges of Silva, Nasri and Aguero taking the breath away. Then, as the months passed and players faded they had to change, with the powerful running of Yaya Toure coming to the fore. Then Yaya went to the African nations and his form faded on his return. In came Tevez to add another player with sharp movement to reignite the push. Now, Mancini has thrown another alternative into the equation by switching to a back three in the Community Shield. The 3-4-3 system relies on two strong runners in the wide areas (Milner and Kolarov) while allowing a forward trio (Aguero, Tevez, Nasri/Silva) to create as there is a solid five man base behind. The system can be rigid or fluid, depending on managerial philosophy and personnel. If Komany is allowed to step up into midfield, Yaya Toure can be released in a very attacking manner. Or De Jong and Barry can sit centrally and double screen the defence. It is tempting to suggest that City have the players and resources to play however they want.

Manchester United –

Van Persie and Rooney. The forward firepower that Manchester United have is immense. The expectation is that Rooney will drop back into a deeper more prompting role, removing the reliance on Paul Scholes to dictate the pattern and pace of play. Tom Cleverley returning from injury will also add to the ability of United to dominate on the possession percentage. Signing Van Persie has not just strengthened the front line, but it has strengthened their midfield. By now we are all familiar with Sir Alex Ferguson’s style of play. Short passing, but don’t be afraid to attack at pace. If it takes 3 passes to score, then that is fine. If it takes 25 passes to score, then that is fine too.

Newcastle United –

In the last campaign Alan Pardew transformed Newcastle United’s football. The game became built around Cabaye, Tiote and Ben Arfa. Players with the ability to pass the ball and cut through defences. Once Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse combined the goals really started to come. Newcastle are another team with a mixed passing approach, but one of few that can really justify it. There are teams with forward lines that do not justify putting crosses in, but Ba and Cisse were a handful in the air. The defence became solid, with Coloccini really looking comfortable in Premiership company. Can they be as good again?

Norwich City –

Chris Hughton is quite a change from Paul Lambert. Hughton’s record does not suggest that Norwich will be playing open and attacking football. At Newcastle and Birmingham his teams were solid, but limited going forward. The season may not be as exciting for Norwich fans, but it might well be steady enough to stay in the top division.

Queens Park Rangers –

Ins and outs and ins and outs. Mark Hughes has bought in a lot of new players. Most of them attack minded. QPR stayed up with a large slice of good fortune. When Hughes arrived the team became more aggressive going forward. A little too aggressive with Cisse scoring three goals but also picking up three red cards in his half dozen games. Hoillet is a good addition to a club bulging with forwards. The defence could be suspect, but Hughes’ teams of the past have had solid foundations.

Reading –

It is very hard to tell how the newly promoted sides will play. In the Championship Reading were mostly on the front foot, occasionally flowing, occasionally bludgeoning. The goals were shared around, with only one player reaching double figures.  Recently newly promoted clubs have opted to stand toe to toe with the established names. Will Reading do likewise?

Southampton –

Nigel Adkins has proven himself a very bright, calm and versatile manager. Spending a large fee (for a promoted club) on Jay Rodriguez indicates that Southampton will take an attacking approach, as they did on promotion to the Championship. A large proportion of their goals last season came from crosses. The pattern appears to be that squads with players of slightly lesser technical ability tend to lean more towards an approach that uses crosses in the final third, those with better technicians attempt to pass of dribble through. With Rickie Lambert scoring 31 league goals, it will be interesting to see how he takes his chance.

Stoke City –

Stoke have a reputation. How fair that reputation is can be debated. It is true that when they first came up the aerial assault was their weapon. Recently they have been far less reliant on bombing the box with long throw and set plays. Not that they do not use these weapons. As Stoke have established themselves the players have moved from big and strong towards the more sharp and creative. As each season passes, the passing shortens.

Sunderland –

Martin O’Neill likes to counter attack. There seems to be a list of priorities when O’Neill arrives at a team. Organise the defence. Organise the midfield. Work on the set pieces in both boxes. Find some players who can cross. Then look to add creativity. He has very quickly got to the stage where the team needs to add some creativity. In Bendtner he has a player with the physical attributes to thrive on crosses. Mclean and Larsson both posses quality delivery. It all sounds very basic and will take Sunderland to a certain level. As at Aston Villa. Just like at Aston Villa, the problems will arise when looking to step onto the next level.

Swansea –

As big as the question marks over how the promoted sides will play are, there are even bigger ones over Swansea. Few people can genuinely say they have seen a side managed by Michael Laudrup play. The best guesses are that the style will be quite similar to that of Brendan Rodgers. Laudrup spent the bulk of his career in Spain, with Real Madrid and Barcelona, plus spells at Ajax and Juventus. At Barcelona he was a part of the Johan Cruyff dream team. If he was influenced by Cruyff (and many have been) then expect Swansea to look to keep the ball, attempt to interchange positions and play in a fluid style. That being the case, the transition should be quite smooth.

Tottenham Hotspur –

Did any of Chelsea’s success belong to Andre Vila Boas? Vilas Boas was vilified for what some saw as a reckless approach. A high line, split centre backs and full backs pushing on left John Terry exposed. Chelsea fans were not used to seeing their teams looking vulnerable, not in recent times. Tottenham fans however, are more used to it. They appreciate attacking football and accept the risks involved. To a point. Sergio Ramos and Spurs provided some stunning passing  and interplay plus goals aplenty. However, the back line was filled with holes that were not plugged, sending Tottenham towards relegation until Harry Redknapp’s rescue. Vilas Boas is a promising young manager, deserving of a second chance. The style at Porto was that of a mini Barcelona. A path many are now looking to tread. If he can pull it off in a situation where his club is not the biggest in the land remains to be seen.

West Bromwich Albion –

Roy Hodgson left West Brom in rude health. An organised side with just enough potency going forward. Will things be any different under Steve Clarke? It is his first step into management after spending many years as a well respected assistant manager. His reputation is for improving teams defensively. That much we know. What his attacking philosophy will be remains to be seen. One suspects that having spent much time working with Jose Mourinho and recently Kenny Dalglish he will not favour the long ball.

West Ham –

Early signs were that West Ham and Sam Allardyce would be a marriage made in hell. West Ham with conceptions of wonderful passing and movement, Sam Allardyce with conceptions of thumping ball on to the head of a big forward. Neither is quite true, but the ideas of the fans and the ideas of the managers are not in alignment. It was enough to gain promotion. It could be enough to stay in the Premier League. Yet, the feeling is that divorce is inevitable.

Wigan –

Never bet against Wigan. Written off season after season Roberto Martinez always finds a way to get the team together. He does not change his principles in doing so. Martinez kept Wigan up with a change in formation, switching to a back three and wingbacks/defensive wingers. Despite the often poor pitch at home, the team aspires to a short passing style. There is much to be admired about Martinez and Wigan. If we are looking for innovations this season, the DW is somewhere to watch.