ED MILIBAND marked his first speech as the new leader of Labour with an attempt to move his party away from the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown era.
Mr Miliband said he believed that the Iraq war was "wrong", and that he understood why voters were angry about the deregulation of the City and Mr Brown's promise of an end to 'boom and bust'.
The keynote address was Mr Miliband's first major job in his new role since he beat his brother David and three other candidates in the leadership election result on Saturday.
Mr Miliband won with 50.65% of the overall vote as compared to David's share of 49.35% in the final round after the elimination of Diane Abbott, Andy Burnham and Ed Balls.
During the campaign, Mr Miliband - who only entered Parliament in 2005 as MP for Doncaster North - had already positioned himself as the man who represented change.
For instance, he had already stated that he was opposed to the Iraq war in 2003.
By contrast, David Miliband was seen as the Blairite candidate of continuity, likely to keep faith with the New Labour ethos that had brought 13 years of power.
But that period ended in acrimony with policy created on the hoof, almost daily battles between Blairites and Brownites, an obsession with spin, and five million lost votes.
When Peter Mandleson criticised Mr Miliband's 2010 manifesto and put his weight behind frontrunner David, it was perhaps the last thing the older brother needed.
Not that the eventual victor Ed avoided scrutiny too.
Indeed, while the backing of the majority of the unions ultimately ensured his victory, it also led to the right-wing press almost immediately terming him 'Red Ed' for an apparent lurch to the left-wing.
Today, Mr Miliband shrugged off the nickname, stating he would not support "irresponsible strikes" and demanding a "grown up debate" on the state of politics to be held.
But he might be entering into that discourse without defeated brother David who is still yet to confirm whether he will stand in the ballot to enter the Shadow Cabinet.
The ballot closes at 5pm tomorrow evening and the longer it takes for David to make up his mind, the more likely it seems that the elder brother will be leaving frontline politics.
South Shields MP David has been nothing less than gracious since Saturday's defeat but notably disagreed with his younger brother's stance on Iraq, refusing to applaud that bit of the speech.
A snub from former foreign secretary David would be a hard early blow for Mr Miliband but at least the leadership election and conference has his party in an unfamiliar position of strength.
The coverage of the Labour conference has helped the party achieve a poll lead over the Conservatives in the Sun's YouGov daily tracker for the first time since the 'non-election' in the autumn of 2007.
It is also the first time in three years that Labour has polled at 40 percent, well up on the 29 percent they polled in May's general election.
But the lead is likely to be short-lived given the Tories are still just a point behind and will expect to see a similar boost from their conference next week.
The more pertinent aspects of the poll centred on Mr Miliband himself with a plurality of 43% expecting him to do well as Labour leader, against 23% who do not. 34% are undecided.
One-third of those surveyed thought trade unions will have too much influence over him while 29% disagreed and 38% didn't know.
Finally, 42% considered that he had moved the party to the left but only 19% thought that 'Red Ed' moniker was justified.
However, on the point of the 'Red Ed' description, again 51% were undecided - that is hardly a surprise so early into his leadership.
And so, it would seem Labour has actually made a sound choice in electing Mr Miliband ahead of his brother.
To the majority of the electorate, he is a blank canvas and, seemingly, the most convincing candidate with whom to make a clean break.
Being on the opposition benches can be a stifling, depressing existence but the new leader has made a solid, if rather unspectacular, start in his attempts to engage the public and move his party on.
But, having already spent six months of the new Parliament on electing a new leader, now is the time for Labour to provide some effective and, importantly, some united opposition.
That is ultimately the factor on which Ed Miliband will be judged.
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
England end tumultuous summer on top
ENGLAND claimed a highly satisfying win over Pakistan in the fifth One-Day International to complete a clean sweep of series wins this summer.
Eoin Morgan hit an unbeaten century while Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad took three wickets each as England bowled Pakistan out for 135 to win by 121 runs.
Victory at the Rose Bowl gave England a 3-2 series win to add to their 3-1 success against the Pakistanis in Test cricket and the 2-0 win in the Twenty20 series.
But the latter part of this summer has been a torturous affair of rumour and innuendo with Pakistan in the dock over spot-fixing allegations.
The story first came to light in the News of the World on the fourth and final day of the fourth and final Test which England won massively by an innings and 225 runs.
The reports surrounded three of Pakistan players - captain Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and 18-year-old Mohammed Amir - who allegedly agreed to bowl three no-balls to order on the first two days of the Test.
No-balls were indeed bowled at the supposedly pre-determined times by Amir and Asif, and the three players have been provisionally suspended and charged by the sport's governing body, the ICC.
Scotland Yard has also opened an investigation and the players were interviewed by the Metropolitan Police who believe the video evidence to be genuine.
The evidence is now with the Crown Prosecution Service who must decide whether to proceed with the case.
But the incident may not have been isolated. After the third ODI match, the ICC announced it was opening a separate investigation into a suspicious scoring pattern following a tip-off by The Sun.
The ECB confirmed no English players were involved in that investigation either.
However, the squad then became embroiled in the controvery after the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz Butt alleged England had been paid to lose the third ODI.
Butt has presented no evidence for his claim which was strenuously denied by skipper Strauss and the rest of the squad.
Indeed, the England team has now called on Butt to make an unreserved apology or face legal proceedings.
Altogether, the ongoing saga has left a nasty taste in the mouth and made it difficult to enjoy the actual cricket being played.
Even Strauss said the England team had played the last two ODI matches "through gritted teeth".
When it is clear the players are not enjoying the contest, it is more difficult still for supporters which is a shame because, until this controversy, England had enjoyed a fruitful season.
In May, the shortest form of the game landed England their first ever senior ICC World Cup, beating Australia in the Final.
Then, back home, England beat Bangladesh as expected in the opening two Test matches of the summer at Lord's and at Old Trafford, although it was perhaps not as easy as the final score suggests.
At Lord's, Jonathan Trott scored 226 of England's 505 first innings runs while Bangladesh could only respond with 282.
Following on, the Bangladeshis did rather better, scoring 382, mainly down to Tamim Iqbal's particularly impressive 103.
Nevertheless, England knocked off the required runs by tea and Steve Finn won man of the match by taking match figures of 9-187.
The second Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford was rather more straightforward. England again made a decent first innings total of 419, man of the match Ian Bell with 128 and Matt Prior with 93.
This time, Bangladesh collapsed horribly in successive sessions. With rain having affected the early part of the match, the tourists had an outside chance of a draw on 126-1.
But, despite Iqbal's second century of the series, Bangladesh were all out for 216 by the end of an elongated Saturday evening session.
Having just failed to make the follow-on, the Bangladeshi batsmen wearily took the crease again on Sunday morning.
They were bowled out for 123 in 34.1 overs and England had won a match by lunch on the third day when it had looked evenly matched at tea on the second day.
Limited overs cricket would dominate for the next part of the summer as England took on Australia, smarting from their Test series draw with Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
England took advantage of a vulnerable Aussie team to win the first three of five ODIs.
Morgan starred in the first at the Rose Bowl, scoring an unbeaten 103 as England chased down their target of 268 with four wickets and fully four overs to spare.
In the second match in Cardiff, Stuart Broad took four wickets and helped restrict Australia to 239 which England again chased successfully with four wickets and over four overs in hand.
England's third victory at Old Trafford was much tigher. The hosts won the toss and man of the match Swann took 4-37 as Australia scored 212.
Andrew Strauss scored 87 as England scrambled over the line to win by one wicket with five balls left thanks to Tim Bresnan's unbeaten 14 runs.
Despite the third loss confirming a series defeat for the Aussies, the tightness of the match seemed to have swayed in the momentum in their favour.
Indeed, Ricky Ponting's men somewhat saved face with easy victories in the last two matches, by 78 runs and 42 runs at the Oval and Lord's respectively.
England also seemed to lose focus in a second set of ODIs, this time against Bangladesh.
Having won the first match easily enough, England collapsed to 231 in the second ODI in Bristol, five runs short of Bangladesh's total, despite Trott's best attempts as last man out on 94.
It was the first time the Tigers had beaten England in any form of the game and set up an unlikely decider at Trent Bridge two days later.
England responded well to that unexpected setback by thrashing Bangladesh in the third ODI.
Strauss and Trott scored centuries to set a huge total of 347-7, far too much for the tourists who were out for 203 in 45 overs.
Next up was Pakistan but they proved just as fragile as Bangladesh in losing the first two Tests of the series by being bowled out for their lowest score against England twice in successive matches.
Before this summer, that record low stood at 87 but Pakistan were bowled out for 80 in the first Test and 72 in the second Test to rewrite the record books twice.
In the first Test, Morgan and Prior scored a centuries in each innings as England won by 354 runs.
And in the second Test, Strauss and Trott both hit unbeaten half-centuries as England chased down a target of 118 runs with nine wickets to spare.
Remarkably, the third Test was then won by Pakistan as England struggled this time with the bat.
Out-of-form Alastair Cook hit a welcome second innings century but had little help from his team mates as the hosts were bowled out for 222 to set Pakistan 148 to win.
The tourists looked like strolling to their target on 103-2 but lost four wickets for 29 runs in a middle-order wobble before Umar Akmal and Amir kept the series alive.
But, having produced some fighting spirit, Pakistan reverted to type in a fourth Test which will now be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
It should have been remembered for the record eighth-wicket stand in Test history between Trott and man of the match Stuart Broad whose partnership was worth an outstanding 332 runs.
Pakistan had put England in some trouble having won the toss and England were staring down the barrel at 102-7.
But Trott's 184 and Broad's 169 took the match completely away from Pakistan who then compounded their failure to capitalise by being bowled out for 74.
Following on, there was only a little more resistance in the second innings as Pakistan were bowled out for 174 amid a mournful atmosphere at Lord's after the morning's spot-fixing allegations.
It was no surprise that the dispirited tourists were then turned over four times in quick succession by England - twice in the Twenty20s and then in the first two ODIs.
Then, Pakistan showed some fight for only the second time all summer to win back-to-back ODIs and set up today's decider.
Morgan's century and Swann's bowling kept England's excellent recent record going and the squad should travel to Australia to defend the Ashes in good spirits.
As for Pakistan - they will have to face whatever repercussions come their way if the allegations are proven.
Having done their best to spoil the summer, I do not think I will be alone in being glad to see the back of Pakistan, for now at least.
ENGLAND'S SUMMER RESULTS SUMMARY
Npower Test match series vs Bangladesh
England won series 2-0
First Test (Lord's) England 505 & 160-2 bt Bangladesh 282 & 382 by 8 wickets
Second Test (Old Trafford) England 419 bt Bangladesh 216 & 123 by an innings and 80 runs
Natwest ODI series vs Australia
England won series 3-2
22.06 Rose Bowl England 268-6 bt Australia 267-7 by four wickets (24 balls left)
24.06 Sophia Gardens England 243-6 bt Australia 239-7 by four wickets (28 balls)
27.06 Old Trafford England 214-9 bt Australia 212 by one wicket (five balls left)
30.06 The Oval Australia 290-5 bt England 212 by 78 runs
03.07 Lord's Australia 277-7 bt England 235 by 42 runs
Natwest ODI series vs Bangladesh
England won series 2-1
08.07 Trent Bridge England 251-4 bt Bangladesh 250-9 by six wickets (29 balls left)
10.07 Bristol Bangladesh 236-7 bt England 231 bt five runs
12.07 Edgbaston England 347-7 bt Bangladesh 203 by 144 runs
Npower Test match series vs Pakistan
England won series 3-1
First Test (Trent Bridge) England 354 & 262-9dec bt Pakistan 182 & 80 by 354 runs
Second Test (Edgbaston) England 251 & 118-1 bt Pakistan 72 & 296 by nine wickets
Third Test (The Oval) Pakistan 308 & 148-6 bt England 233 & 222 by four wickets
Fourth Test (Lord's) England 446 bt Pakistan 74 & 147 by an innings and 225 runs
Natwest Twenty20 series vs Pakistan
England won series 2-0
05.09 Sophia Gardens England 129-5 bt Pakistan 126-4 by five wickets (17 balls left)
07.09 Sophia Gardens England 90-4 bt Pakistan 89 by six wickets (36 balls left)
Natwest ODI series vs Pakistan
England/Pakistan won series 3-2
10.09 Chester-le-Street England 274-6 bt Pakistan 250-9 by 24 runs
12.09 Headingley England 295-6 bt Pakistan 294-8 by four wickets (three balls left)
17.09 The Oval Pakistan 241 bt England 218 by 23 runs
20.09 Lord's Pakistan 265-7 bt England 227 by 38 runs
22.09 Rose Bowl England 256-6 bt Pakistan 135 by 135 runs
DOMESTIC SEASON
Nottinghamshire won the County Championship for the sixth time in their history in dramatic style, pipping perennial bridesmaids Somerset in the final session of the final day of the season.
It should have been so much easier for Notts who held a handsome lead with a month of the campaign left.
But successive heavy defeats to Durham and Yorkshire, where they were bowled out for 59, threw the title race wide open and Somerset looked set to capitalise.
Notts were then frustrated in the final round of matches against Lancashire with only 28 overs played in the first three days because of persistent rain in Manchester.
In the meantime, Somerset were on top against outgoing champions Durham at Chester-le-Street, collecting maximum batting points and a first innings lead of 140.
But a failure to bowl out Durham quickly on the final day would cost Somerset who were unable to mount a serious attempt at chasing down 181 after the loss of three early wickets.
With Somerset having had to settle for a draw, the title was back in Notts' hands - but only if they could score 400 runs and then take three Lancashire wickets.
Resuming on 89-2, Notts scored quickly but lost regular wickets after the fifth-wicket partnership of 153 by Adam Voges and Samit Patel had been broken up.
When Andre Adams departed on 390-9, Notts still required 10 more runs for a vital batting bonus point.
Ryan Sidebottom and Darren Pattinson held their nerve to reach 400 and Notts had 17 overs left to take three Lancashire wickets for the title.
Notts capped an excellent performance, considering how limited their time on the field had been, by taking just 30 balls to claim the required wickets.
Sidebottom struck first to remove Karl Brown before Adams took the wickets of Mark Chilton and Shiv Chanderpaul in the same over as the rain started to fall again.
It was a cruel blow for Somerset who had been unbeaten in the Championship since April after two defeats in their first two matches.
Somerset had also lost the Friends Provident Twenty20 Final on account of having lost one more wicket than Hampshire after both teams finished their 20 overs on 173.
And, as if to prove such misfortunes come in threes, Somerset lost the Clydesdale Bank 40 over Final at Lord's to Warwickshire by three wickets.
Thus, the men from Taunton remarkably finished runners-up in all three of this season's competitions.
LV County Championship
Champions: Nottinghamshire 214pts, seven wins
Runners-up: Somerset 214pts, six wins
Relegated: Kent 151pts, Essex 126pts
Promoted: Sussex 235pts, Worcestershire 208pts
Wooden spoon: Derbyshire 138pts
Clydesdale Bank 40
Final: Warwickshire 200-7 bt Somerset 199 by three wickets
Semi Finals: Somerset 312-6 bt Essex 217 by 95 runs
Warwickshire 260-6 bt Yorkshire 257-5 by four wickets
Friends Provident Twenty20
Final: Hampshire 173-5 bt Somerset 173-6 on fewer wickets lost
Semi Finals: Hampshire 157-4 bt Essex 156-7 by six wickets
Somerset 182-5 bt Nottinghamshire 117-4 by three runs (D/L)
Eoin Morgan hit an unbeaten century while Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad took three wickets each as England bowled Pakistan out for 135 to win by 121 runs.
Victory at the Rose Bowl gave England a 3-2 series win to add to their 3-1 success against the Pakistanis in Test cricket and the 2-0 win in the Twenty20 series.
But the latter part of this summer has been a torturous affair of rumour and innuendo with Pakistan in the dock over spot-fixing allegations.
The story first came to light in the News of the World on the fourth and final day of the fourth and final Test which England won massively by an innings and 225 runs.
The reports surrounded three of Pakistan players - captain Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and 18-year-old Mohammed Amir - who allegedly agreed to bowl three no-balls to order on the first two days of the Test.
No-balls were indeed bowled at the supposedly pre-determined times by Amir and Asif, and the three players have been provisionally suspended and charged by the sport's governing body, the ICC.
Scotland Yard has also opened an investigation and the players were interviewed by the Metropolitan Police who believe the video evidence to be genuine.
The evidence is now with the Crown Prosecution Service who must decide whether to proceed with the case.
But the incident may not have been isolated. After the third ODI match, the ICC announced it was opening a separate investigation into a suspicious scoring pattern following a tip-off by The Sun.
The ECB confirmed no English players were involved in that investigation either.
However, the squad then became embroiled in the controvery after the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz Butt alleged England had been paid to lose the third ODI.
Butt has presented no evidence for his claim which was strenuously denied by skipper Strauss and the rest of the squad.
Indeed, the England team has now called on Butt to make an unreserved apology or face legal proceedings.
Altogether, the ongoing saga has left a nasty taste in the mouth and made it difficult to enjoy the actual cricket being played.
Even Strauss said the England team had played the last two ODI matches "through gritted teeth".
When it is clear the players are not enjoying the contest, it is more difficult still for supporters which is a shame because, until this controversy, England had enjoyed a fruitful season.
In May, the shortest form of the game landed England their first ever senior ICC World Cup, beating Australia in the Final.
Then, back home, England beat Bangladesh as expected in the opening two Test matches of the summer at Lord's and at Old Trafford, although it was perhaps not as easy as the final score suggests.
At Lord's, Jonathan Trott scored 226 of England's 505 first innings runs while Bangladesh could only respond with 282.
Following on, the Bangladeshis did rather better, scoring 382, mainly down to Tamim Iqbal's particularly impressive 103.
Nevertheless, England knocked off the required runs by tea and Steve Finn won man of the match by taking match figures of 9-187.
The second Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford was rather more straightforward. England again made a decent first innings total of 419, man of the match Ian Bell with 128 and Matt Prior with 93.
This time, Bangladesh collapsed horribly in successive sessions. With rain having affected the early part of the match, the tourists had an outside chance of a draw on 126-1.
But, despite Iqbal's second century of the series, Bangladesh were all out for 216 by the end of an elongated Saturday evening session.
Having just failed to make the follow-on, the Bangladeshi batsmen wearily took the crease again on Sunday morning.
They were bowled out for 123 in 34.1 overs and England had won a match by lunch on the third day when it had looked evenly matched at tea on the second day.
Limited overs cricket would dominate for the next part of the summer as England took on Australia, smarting from their Test series draw with Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
England took advantage of a vulnerable Aussie team to win the first three of five ODIs.
Morgan starred in the first at the Rose Bowl, scoring an unbeaten 103 as England chased down their target of 268 with four wickets and fully four overs to spare.
In the second match in Cardiff, Stuart Broad took four wickets and helped restrict Australia to 239 which England again chased successfully with four wickets and over four overs in hand.
England's third victory at Old Trafford was much tigher. The hosts won the toss and man of the match Swann took 4-37 as Australia scored 212.
Andrew Strauss scored 87 as England scrambled over the line to win by one wicket with five balls left thanks to Tim Bresnan's unbeaten 14 runs.
Despite the third loss confirming a series defeat for the Aussies, the tightness of the match seemed to have swayed in the momentum in their favour.
Indeed, Ricky Ponting's men somewhat saved face with easy victories in the last two matches, by 78 runs and 42 runs at the Oval and Lord's respectively.
England also seemed to lose focus in a second set of ODIs, this time against Bangladesh.
Having won the first match easily enough, England collapsed to 231 in the second ODI in Bristol, five runs short of Bangladesh's total, despite Trott's best attempts as last man out on 94.
It was the first time the Tigers had beaten England in any form of the game and set up an unlikely decider at Trent Bridge two days later.
England responded well to that unexpected setback by thrashing Bangladesh in the third ODI.
Strauss and Trott scored centuries to set a huge total of 347-7, far too much for the tourists who were out for 203 in 45 overs.
Next up was Pakistan but they proved just as fragile as Bangladesh in losing the first two Tests of the series by being bowled out for their lowest score against England twice in successive matches.
Before this summer, that record low stood at 87 but Pakistan were bowled out for 80 in the first Test and 72 in the second Test to rewrite the record books twice.
In the first Test, Morgan and Prior scored a centuries in each innings as England won by 354 runs.
And in the second Test, Strauss and Trott both hit unbeaten half-centuries as England chased down a target of 118 runs with nine wickets to spare.
Remarkably, the third Test was then won by Pakistan as England struggled this time with the bat.
Out-of-form Alastair Cook hit a welcome second innings century but had little help from his team mates as the hosts were bowled out for 222 to set Pakistan 148 to win.
The tourists looked like strolling to their target on 103-2 but lost four wickets for 29 runs in a middle-order wobble before Umar Akmal and Amir kept the series alive.
But, having produced some fighting spirit, Pakistan reverted to type in a fourth Test which will now be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
It should have been remembered for the record eighth-wicket stand in Test history between Trott and man of the match Stuart Broad whose partnership was worth an outstanding 332 runs.
Pakistan had put England in some trouble having won the toss and England were staring down the barrel at 102-7.
But Trott's 184 and Broad's 169 took the match completely away from Pakistan who then compounded their failure to capitalise by being bowled out for 74.
Following on, there was only a little more resistance in the second innings as Pakistan were bowled out for 174 amid a mournful atmosphere at Lord's after the morning's spot-fixing allegations.
It was no surprise that the dispirited tourists were then turned over four times in quick succession by England - twice in the Twenty20s and then in the first two ODIs.
Then, Pakistan showed some fight for only the second time all summer to win back-to-back ODIs and set up today's decider.
Morgan's century and Swann's bowling kept England's excellent recent record going and the squad should travel to Australia to defend the Ashes in good spirits.
As for Pakistan - they will have to face whatever repercussions come their way if the allegations are proven.
Having done their best to spoil the summer, I do not think I will be alone in being glad to see the back of Pakistan, for now at least.
ENGLAND'S SUMMER RESULTS SUMMARY
Npower Test match series vs Bangladesh
England won series 2-0
First Test (Lord's) England 505 & 160-2 bt Bangladesh 282 & 382 by 8 wickets
Second Test (Old Trafford) England 419 bt Bangladesh 216 & 123 by an innings and 80 runs
Natwest ODI series vs Australia
England won series 3-2
22.06 Rose Bowl England 268-6 bt Australia 267-7 by four wickets (24 balls left)
24.06 Sophia Gardens England 243-6 bt Australia 239-7 by four wickets (28 balls)
27.06 Old Trafford England 214-9 bt Australia 212 by one wicket (five balls left)
30.06 The Oval Australia 290-5 bt England 212 by 78 runs
03.07 Lord's Australia 277-7 bt England 235 by 42 runs
Natwest ODI series vs Bangladesh
England won series 2-1
08.07 Trent Bridge England 251-4 bt Bangladesh 250-9 by six wickets (29 balls left)
10.07 Bristol Bangladesh 236-7 bt England 231 bt five runs
12.07 Edgbaston England 347-7 bt Bangladesh 203 by 144 runs
Npower Test match series vs Pakistan
England won series 3-1
First Test (Trent Bridge) England 354 & 262-9dec bt Pakistan 182 & 80 by 354 runs
Second Test (Edgbaston) England 251 & 118-1 bt Pakistan 72 & 296 by nine wickets
Third Test (The Oval) Pakistan 308 & 148-6 bt England 233 & 222 by four wickets
Fourth Test (Lord's) England 446 bt Pakistan 74 & 147 by an innings and 225 runs
Natwest Twenty20 series vs Pakistan
England won series 2-0
05.09 Sophia Gardens England 129-5 bt Pakistan 126-4 by five wickets (17 balls left)
07.09 Sophia Gardens England 90-4 bt Pakistan 89 by six wickets (36 balls left)
Natwest ODI series vs Pakistan
England/Pakistan won series 3-2
10.09 Chester-le-Street England 274-6 bt Pakistan 250-9 by 24 runs
12.09 Headingley England 295-6 bt Pakistan 294-8 by four wickets (three balls left)
17.09 The Oval Pakistan 241 bt England 218 by 23 runs
20.09 Lord's Pakistan 265-7 bt England 227 by 38 runs
22.09 Rose Bowl England 256-6 bt Pakistan 135 by 135 runs
DOMESTIC SEASON
Nottinghamshire won the County Championship for the sixth time in their history in dramatic style, pipping perennial bridesmaids Somerset in the final session of the final day of the season.
It should have been so much easier for Notts who held a handsome lead with a month of the campaign left.
But successive heavy defeats to Durham and Yorkshire, where they were bowled out for 59, threw the title race wide open and Somerset looked set to capitalise.
Notts were then frustrated in the final round of matches against Lancashire with only 28 overs played in the first three days because of persistent rain in Manchester.
In the meantime, Somerset were on top against outgoing champions Durham at Chester-le-Street, collecting maximum batting points and a first innings lead of 140.
But a failure to bowl out Durham quickly on the final day would cost Somerset who were unable to mount a serious attempt at chasing down 181 after the loss of three early wickets.
With Somerset having had to settle for a draw, the title was back in Notts' hands - but only if they could score 400 runs and then take three Lancashire wickets.
Resuming on 89-2, Notts scored quickly but lost regular wickets after the fifth-wicket partnership of 153 by Adam Voges and Samit Patel had been broken up.
When Andre Adams departed on 390-9, Notts still required 10 more runs for a vital batting bonus point.
Ryan Sidebottom and Darren Pattinson held their nerve to reach 400 and Notts had 17 overs left to take three Lancashire wickets for the title.
Notts capped an excellent performance, considering how limited their time on the field had been, by taking just 30 balls to claim the required wickets.
Sidebottom struck first to remove Karl Brown before Adams took the wickets of Mark Chilton and Shiv Chanderpaul in the same over as the rain started to fall again.
It was a cruel blow for Somerset who had been unbeaten in the Championship since April after two defeats in their first two matches.
Somerset had also lost the Friends Provident Twenty20 Final on account of having lost one more wicket than Hampshire after both teams finished their 20 overs on 173.
And, as if to prove such misfortunes come in threes, Somerset lost the Clydesdale Bank 40 over Final at Lord's to Warwickshire by three wickets.
Thus, the men from Taunton remarkably finished runners-up in all three of this season's competitions.
LV County Championship
Champions: Nottinghamshire 214pts, seven wins
Runners-up: Somerset 214pts, six wins
Relegated: Kent 151pts, Essex 126pts
Promoted: Sussex 235pts, Worcestershire 208pts
Wooden spoon: Derbyshire 138pts
Clydesdale Bank 40
Final: Warwickshire 200-7 bt Somerset 199 by three wickets
Semi Finals: Somerset 312-6 bt Essex 217 by 95 runs
Warwickshire 260-6 bt Yorkshire 257-5 by four wickets
Friends Provident Twenty20
Final: Hampshire 173-5 bt Somerset 173-6 on fewer wickets lost
Semi Finals: Hampshire 157-4 bt Essex 156-7 by six wickets
Somerset 182-5 bt Nottinghamshire 117-4 by three runs (D/L)
Monday, 20 September 2010
Lib Dem conference: Clegg confronts his critics but the real pressure is yet to come
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS leader Nick Clegg defended his party's record in government at their historic conference in Liverpool yesterday.
For the first time in more than 60 years, a Liberal party is in government, and Mr Clegg has been at pains to stress that the members of his party should enjoy their taste of power.
But that is easier said than done in a time when the news agenda is set to be dominated by cuts to public services.
And, rather than this being a cause for widespread celebration, many delegates are deeply worried by the party's direction in their coalition with the Conservatives.
Since the election in May, poll figures for the Lib Dems have plummeted as low as 11% with predictions that the rating could be even worse by the time local elections are held next May.
The choice of Liverpool as the venue for the conference probably did not help the mood, either.
To some, it would have acted as a reminder that control of the city council - held by the Lib Dems for 12 years between 1998 and 2010 - was lost back to Labour in May. It seems inevitable that more will follow next year.
Mr Clegg has faced accusations of being too cosy with Prime Minister David Cameron, and of leading the party in a more right-wing direction.
The Lib Dem leader risked losing even more support from the Left after Saturday's interview with The Independent in which he claimed that his party "never were and aren't a receptacle for left-wing dissatisfaction with the Labour party".
This is despite Mr Clegg appealing directly to Labour voters in June 2009 when he said: "Anyone who supported Labour in 1997 because they wanted fairness... turn to the Liberal Democrats. We carry the torch of progress now."
At least Mr Clegg confirmed this week that the agreement with the Tories was for one term only, and that there was no chance of the two parties forming an electoral pact.
But, looking more specifically about the current state of coalition, Lib Dem supporters' worries are not without merit.
The VAT rise to 20% from January, announced in June's emergency budget, and the scrapping of the Building Schools for the Future programme have unsurprisingly caused the most concern.
Both issues were not included in the original coalition manifesto, and Lib Dem ministers' support for both ideas seems to make a mockery of the party's supposed progressive leanings.
Delegates also embarrassed the party leadership by voting overwhelmingly against free schools in a series of motions just before Mr Clegg's keynote speech.
Dismissed as a gimmick before the election by the Lib Dems' children and families minister Sarah Teather, free schools are an idea by the Conservatives to take some schools out of local authority control.
These schools will gain a freedom over their own financial affairs and even over what curriculum to teach but there are fears this will create a two-tier state school system.
The plans had already been passed into law in July and so the Lib Dems' vote at conference serves no real purpose other than to show significant disconcertment on this issue among the party faithful.
At least Mr Clegg can console himself with the fact that his party's supporters only appear to be rebelling on an issue-by-issue basis at the moment.
A poll by YouGov of 566 party members showed 58% approve of the government's record overall, with 23% disapproving.
More pertinently, the same poll showed 78% still support the decision in May to enter into coalition with the Conservatives.
Mr Clegg will be pleased to hear that, particularly as he used part of his speech to emphasise that his decision was the best option in the national interest of providing stable government.
He is also right to point out that if the Lib Dems had decided against the coalition after so many years in opposition, the party would have been derided for being frightened of power.
This has been a difficult conference for Mr Clegg - it is unlikely that he expected anything less - but it was never going to produce a watershed moment.
The Lib Dems have made some impression in government such as the rise in the personal tax allowances and introduction of the pupil premium.
And, of course, the party could yet achieve one of its major aims by changing the electoral system away from the grossly unfair first past the post system.
Indeed, the promise of possible electoral reform is bound to keep the coalition together into next year.
If the referendum fails and poor poll figures transform into actual results, though, the pressure on Mr Clegg will be really cranked up.
In his speech, he urged party members to "hold their nerve" and see out a full term in office through to a 2015 election.
But, after the hectic and historic events back in May, Mr Clegg should know more than any other Lib Dem that a week is still a long time in politics - never mind, five years.
For the first time in more than 60 years, a Liberal party is in government, and Mr Clegg has been at pains to stress that the members of his party should enjoy their taste of power.
But that is easier said than done in a time when the news agenda is set to be dominated by cuts to public services.
And, rather than this being a cause for widespread celebration, many delegates are deeply worried by the party's direction in their coalition with the Conservatives.
Since the election in May, poll figures for the Lib Dems have plummeted as low as 11% with predictions that the rating could be even worse by the time local elections are held next May.
The choice of Liverpool as the venue for the conference probably did not help the mood, either.
To some, it would have acted as a reminder that control of the city council - held by the Lib Dems for 12 years between 1998 and 2010 - was lost back to Labour in May. It seems inevitable that more will follow next year.
Mr Clegg has faced accusations of being too cosy with Prime Minister David Cameron, and of leading the party in a more right-wing direction.
The Lib Dem leader risked losing even more support from the Left after Saturday's interview with The Independent in which he claimed that his party "never were and aren't a receptacle for left-wing dissatisfaction with the Labour party".
This is despite Mr Clegg appealing directly to Labour voters in June 2009 when he said: "Anyone who supported Labour in 1997 because they wanted fairness... turn to the Liberal Democrats. We carry the torch of progress now."
At least Mr Clegg confirmed this week that the agreement with the Tories was for one term only, and that there was no chance of the two parties forming an electoral pact.
But, looking more specifically about the current state of coalition, Lib Dem supporters' worries are not without merit.
The VAT rise to 20% from January, announced in June's emergency budget, and the scrapping of the Building Schools for the Future programme have unsurprisingly caused the most concern.
Both issues were not included in the original coalition manifesto, and Lib Dem ministers' support for both ideas seems to make a mockery of the party's supposed progressive leanings.
Delegates also embarrassed the party leadership by voting overwhelmingly against free schools in a series of motions just before Mr Clegg's keynote speech.
Dismissed as a gimmick before the election by the Lib Dems' children and families minister Sarah Teather, free schools are an idea by the Conservatives to take some schools out of local authority control.
These schools will gain a freedom over their own financial affairs and even over what curriculum to teach but there are fears this will create a two-tier state school system.
The plans had already been passed into law in July and so the Lib Dems' vote at conference serves no real purpose other than to show significant disconcertment on this issue among the party faithful.
At least Mr Clegg can console himself with the fact that his party's supporters only appear to be rebelling on an issue-by-issue basis at the moment.
A poll by YouGov of 566 party members showed 58% approve of the government's record overall, with 23% disapproving.
More pertinently, the same poll showed 78% still support the decision in May to enter into coalition with the Conservatives.
Mr Clegg will be pleased to hear that, particularly as he used part of his speech to emphasise that his decision was the best option in the national interest of providing stable government.
He is also right to point out that if the Lib Dems had decided against the coalition after so many years in opposition, the party would have been derided for being frightened of power.
This has been a difficult conference for Mr Clegg - it is unlikely that he expected anything less - but it was never going to produce a watershed moment.
The Lib Dems have made some impression in government such as the rise in the personal tax allowances and introduction of the pupil premium.
And, of course, the party could yet achieve one of its major aims by changing the electoral system away from the grossly unfair first past the post system.
Indeed, the promise of possible electoral reform is bound to keep the coalition together into next year.
If the referendum fails and poor poll figures transform into actual results, though, the pressure on Mr Clegg will be really cranked up.
In his speech, he urged party members to "hold their nerve" and see out a full term in office through to a 2015 election.
But, after the hectic and historic events back in May, Mr Clegg should know more than any other Lib Dem that a week is still a long time in politics - never mind, five years.
Monday, 13 September 2010
F1 2010: Alonso finds form as it gets even tighter at the top
FERNANDO ALONSO put the team orders controversy behind him by steering Ferrari to a first win at their home circuit in Monza for four years.
Spaniard Alonso finished ahead of Britain's Jenson Button and team-mate Felipe Massa of Brazil in the Italian Grand Prix to complete an excellent week for the Italian team.
Earlier last week, the FIA confirmed they would face no further punishment despite Massa being forced to let Alonso through to win the German Grand Prix earlier this summer.
The governing body agreed with Ferrari's assertion that Alonso had the faster car and that Massa was simply being made aware of this but it upheld the $100000 fine imposed by the race stewards.
In fairness, in the context of the championship chase, Ferrari's decision at Hockenheim was entirely understandable.
Going into that race, Alonso was on 98 points, within two race wins of championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Meanwhile, Massa was just eighth in the standings on 67 points.
But the rather bitter after-taste from the incident came from Ferrari's sheepish insistence that the blatant team order was Massa's choice.
The rather crass apology from Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley to Massa, not to mention the Brazilian's reaction on the podium and in the post-race press conference, certainly suggested otherwise.
More poignantly still, this German Grand Prix was exactly one year on from the day when Massa almost lost his life in the qualifying session for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Of course, it would be foolish to believe that supposedly banned team orders are not endemic throughout the sport.
Perhaps the best way to deal with this far from ideal situation would be for the rule on team orders to be scrapped altogether, the solution seemingly currently favoured by the FIA.
But, regardless of all that, it would be a crying shame if an isolated racing incident was to overshadow what has been yet another phenomenal F1 season.
Alonso's win at Monza puts him third in the Drivers' Championship on 166 points, 21 behind current leader Mark Webber. Fascinatingly, four drivers are within 24 points of the Australian with 25 awarded for a race win.
It is therefore nigh on impossible to predict who will ultimately prevail this year with none of the drivers able to put more than a couple of results together at the moment.
Lewis Hamilton lost the championship lead in Italy after an early retirement, his second in three races - but, in the meantime, he was a clear winner of the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa.
Hamilton is five points behind leader Webber who finds himself looking down on all the others despite having finished only sixth in Italy.
Alonso seems to be the driver in the best current form with two wins and a second place in three of the last four races. But his struggle in the rain and then retirement at Spa could yet prove costly.
Like Alonso, Button also retired in the Belgium after Sebastian Vettel crashed into him before the Frome flyer bounced back with a fine result in Italy.
Unlike Alonso, Button's has his team-mate is ahead of him in the standings.
Being behind is a fate which also befalls Webber's Red Bull team mate Vettel, though goodness knows how that is the the case considering the German has had seven pole positions.
Only once - at the European Grand Prix in Valencia - has Vettel converted a pole into a race win with his only other victory this season coming in Malaysia when Webber was on pole.
It means Vettel has the most work to do and his 15th place finish at Spa, due to his crash into Button and the subsequent drive-through penalty, neatly summed up an error-strewn season.
Indeed, it was Vettel's second penalty in successive races after his failure to stay within 10 car-lengths of the safety car in Hungary.
The punishment in Budapest had been costly for Vettel, demoting him to third place and effectively handing his team-mate Webber the most recent of his four wins - and his current place at the top of the standings.
With five races left, the remainder of the season is spent entirely outside of Europe. First, there are three races in east Asia - in Singapore and in Japan and the first-ever Korean Grand Prix.
Then, the campaign will reach its thrilling climax with races in successive weeks at the start of November in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
After Ferrari's unsurprising dominance in Monza, the remaining tracks are supposed to favour the Red Bulls of Webber and Vettel.
The news would seem to put Webber in an outstanding position to win a maiden world title.
But surely this extraordinary F1 season will not allow it to be as simple as that.
Spaniard Alonso finished ahead of Britain's Jenson Button and team-mate Felipe Massa of Brazil in the Italian Grand Prix to complete an excellent week for the Italian team.
Earlier last week, the FIA confirmed they would face no further punishment despite Massa being forced to let Alonso through to win the German Grand Prix earlier this summer.
The governing body agreed with Ferrari's assertion that Alonso had the faster car and that Massa was simply being made aware of this but it upheld the $100000 fine imposed by the race stewards.
In fairness, in the context of the championship chase, Ferrari's decision at Hockenheim was entirely understandable.
Going into that race, Alonso was on 98 points, within two race wins of championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Meanwhile, Massa was just eighth in the standings on 67 points.
But the rather bitter after-taste from the incident came from Ferrari's sheepish insistence that the blatant team order was Massa's choice.
The rather crass apology from Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley to Massa, not to mention the Brazilian's reaction on the podium and in the post-race press conference, certainly suggested otherwise.
More poignantly still, this German Grand Prix was exactly one year on from the day when Massa almost lost his life in the qualifying session for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Of course, it would be foolish to believe that supposedly banned team orders are not endemic throughout the sport.
Perhaps the best way to deal with this far from ideal situation would be for the rule on team orders to be scrapped altogether, the solution seemingly currently favoured by the FIA.
But, regardless of all that, it would be a crying shame if an isolated racing incident was to overshadow what has been yet another phenomenal F1 season.
Alonso's win at Monza puts him third in the Drivers' Championship on 166 points, 21 behind current leader Mark Webber. Fascinatingly, four drivers are within 24 points of the Australian with 25 awarded for a race win.
It is therefore nigh on impossible to predict who will ultimately prevail this year with none of the drivers able to put more than a couple of results together at the moment.
Lewis Hamilton lost the championship lead in Italy after an early retirement, his second in three races - but, in the meantime, he was a clear winner of the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa.
Hamilton is five points behind leader Webber who finds himself looking down on all the others despite having finished only sixth in Italy.
Alonso seems to be the driver in the best current form with two wins and a second place in three of the last four races. But his struggle in the rain and then retirement at Spa could yet prove costly.
Like Alonso, Button also retired in the Belgium after Sebastian Vettel crashed into him before the Frome flyer bounced back with a fine result in Italy.
Unlike Alonso, Button's has his team-mate is ahead of him in the standings.
Being behind is a fate which also befalls Webber's Red Bull team mate Vettel, though goodness knows how that is the the case considering the German has had seven pole positions.
Only once - at the European Grand Prix in Valencia - has Vettel converted a pole into a race win with his only other victory this season coming in Malaysia when Webber was on pole.
It means Vettel has the most work to do and his 15th place finish at Spa, due to his crash into Button and the subsequent drive-through penalty, neatly summed up an error-strewn season.
Indeed, it was Vettel's second penalty in successive races after his failure to stay within 10 car-lengths of the safety car in Hungary.
The punishment in Budapest had been costly for Vettel, demoting him to third place and effectively handing his team-mate Webber the most recent of his four wins - and his current place at the top of the standings.
With five races left, the remainder of the season is spent entirely outside of Europe. First, there are three races in east Asia - in Singapore and in Japan and the first-ever Korean Grand Prix.
Then, the campaign will reach its thrilling climax with races in successive weeks at the start of November in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
After Ferrari's unsurprising dominance in Monza, the remaining tracks are supposed to favour the Red Bulls of Webber and Vettel.
The news would seem to put Webber in an outstanding position to win a maiden world title.
But surely this extraordinary F1 season will not allow it to be as simple as that.
2010 Season Results
PODIUMS
Bahrain GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
Australian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
3 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
Malaysian GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Chinese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Spanish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Monaco GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
Turkish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
Canadian GP (Pole: Lewis Hamilton)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
European GP (Valencia) (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
British GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
German GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Hungarian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Belgian GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
Italian GP (Pole: Fernando Alonso)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
REMAINING RACES
Bahrain GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
Australian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
3 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
Malaysian GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Chinese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Spanish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Monaco GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
Turkish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
Canadian GP (Pole: Lewis Hamilton)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
European GP (Valencia) (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
British GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
German GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Hungarian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Belgian GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
Italian GP (Pole: Fernando Alonso)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
REMAINING RACES
Singapore GP (26 September), Japanese GP (10 October), Korean GP (24 October), Brazilian GP (7 November), Abu Dhabi GP (14 November)
STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 187 (4 wins)
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 182 (3 wins)
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 166 (3 wins)
4 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 165 (2 wins)
5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 163 (2 wins)
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 124
7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 112
8 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 108
9 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 46
10 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 45
11 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams-Cosworth 31
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 21
13 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 19
14 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 16
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India-Mercedes 13
16 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7
17 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 6
18 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rossi-Ferrari 3
Seven drivers have yet to score (Heikki Kovalainen (Fin), Karun Chandhok (Ind), Lucas di Grassi (Bra), Jarno Trulli (Ita), Bruno Senna (Bra), Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn), Timo Glock (Ger))
Constructors' Championship
1 Red Bull-Renault 350
2 McLaren-Mercedes 347
3 Ferrari 290
4 Mercedes 158
5 Renault 127
6 Force India-Mercedes 58
7 Williams-Cosworth 47
8 BMW Sauber-Ferrari 27
9 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 10
Three teams have yet to score (Lotus-Cosworth, Hispania-Cosworth, Virgin-Cosworth)
Earlier F1 2010 posts on TheIntrepidReporter
14.07.2010 Angry Webber repels Vettel (after British GP)
19.04.2010 Button takes an early lead (after Chinese GP)
13.03.2010 Team-by-team preview
STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 187 (4 wins)
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 182 (3 wins)
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 166 (3 wins)
4 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 165 (2 wins)
5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 163 (2 wins)
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 124
7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 112
8 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 108
9 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 46
10 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 45
11 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams-Cosworth 31
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 21
13 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 19
14 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 16
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India-Mercedes 13
16 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7
17 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 6
18 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rossi-Ferrari 3
Seven drivers have yet to score (Heikki Kovalainen (Fin), Karun Chandhok (Ind), Lucas di Grassi (Bra), Jarno Trulli (Ita), Bruno Senna (Bra), Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn), Timo Glock (Ger))
Constructors' Championship
1 Red Bull-Renault 350
2 McLaren-Mercedes 347
3 Ferrari 290
4 Mercedes 158
5 Renault 127
6 Force India-Mercedes 58
7 Williams-Cosworth 47
8 BMW Sauber-Ferrari 27
9 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 10
Three teams have yet to score (Lotus-Cosworth, Hispania-Cosworth, Virgin-Cosworth)
Earlier F1 2010 posts on TheIntrepidReporter
14.07.2010 Angry Webber repels Vettel (after British GP)
19.04.2010 Button takes an early lead (after Chinese GP)
13.03.2010 Team-by-team preview
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Higgins banned but cleared of match-fixing
A WHOLE summer of uncertainty for John Higgins ended yesterday after the three-time world champion was cleared of match-fixing by an independent tribunal.
The verdict comes as a big relief not only to Higgins but also to the new chairman of World Snooker, Barry Hearn.
However, like the characters in a Machiavellian play from the 16th century, none of protagonists emerged from this sorry saga with much credit.
Higgins has still been banned for six months - backdated to May when the story broke in the News of the World - having admitted the lesser offences of bringing the game into disrepute by not reporting the illegal approach.
The Scot was also fined £75,000 for his troubles but, after more than four months of this hanging over him, the seemingly irreversible damage to his reputation will undoubtedly hurt him more.
After all, he was only excused of having any part in match-fixing because the tribunal ruled that his manager Pat Mooney was "entirely responsible" for Higgins' presence in the Kiev hotel room where the filming took place.
Mooney is undoubtedly the nastiest piece of work in this episode, and he fully deserved his sanction of a life ban from having any influence in the game.
But Higgins was still on film admitting how easy it would be to throw a frame.
He almost certainly benefited from his previous reputation which has resulted in a lenient approach being adopted towards him.
The tribunal ruled that Higgins "is, by nature, someone who seeks to avoid confrontation or unpleasantness" and there remains an uncomfortable feeling that Mooney may have been a fall guy.
Snooker has just been introduced to a bright new era under Hearn's chairmanship with the introduction of new tournaments and an improved ranking system. The game could ill-afford the scandal to grow any bigger than it already is.
But, regardless of the conspiracy theories, it would seem Hearn's job of reforming the sport is even bigger than he originally thought.
Hearn hardly helped himself by promising the matter would be sorted in "days and weeks" rather than "months and months".
It was surely inevitable that this sort of case would take time and the fact it has dragged on all summer and even into the start of the new season shows a lack of judgement on Hearn's part.
The affair has also been bad news for the Murdoch media empire and the curious way in which they have handled it.
Of course, the News of the World was justified from a public interest angle in publishing the story in the first place if it considered it would stand up to scrutiny.
Indeed, the newspaper reacted to Higgins' ban by claiming victory and stating that the judgement was "a testament to the extraordinary work of our investigations editor Mazher Mahmood".
But the reality is that the publication has earned the wrath of media commentator Roy Greenslade in the Guardian and it has left itself wide open to libel.
Similarly, the News of the World's broadcasting stablemates Sky hardly covered themselves in glory over the issue either, claiming on their website that Higgins had admitted to match-fixing.
Once the story had been vigorously denied by Higgins' spokesperson, it was unsurprisingly hastily pulled.
If nothing else, questions should be asked over why the News of the World stalled on providing the full video evidence to tribunal - and just how much editing had been done?
But, with the allegations of phone hacking by News of the World staff dominating the news agenda, those questions are low on the priority list and look set to remain unanswered.
Unless, of course, Higgins takes the unlikely step of dragging the story back in front of the courts by suing for defamation.
The verdict comes as a big relief not only to Higgins but also to the new chairman of World Snooker, Barry Hearn.
However, like the characters in a Machiavellian play from the 16th century, none of protagonists emerged from this sorry saga with much credit.
Higgins has still been banned for six months - backdated to May when the story broke in the News of the World - having admitted the lesser offences of bringing the game into disrepute by not reporting the illegal approach.
The Scot was also fined £75,000 for his troubles but, after more than four months of this hanging over him, the seemingly irreversible damage to his reputation will undoubtedly hurt him more.
After all, he was only excused of having any part in match-fixing because the tribunal ruled that his manager Pat Mooney was "entirely responsible" for Higgins' presence in the Kiev hotel room where the filming took place.
Mooney is undoubtedly the nastiest piece of work in this episode, and he fully deserved his sanction of a life ban from having any influence in the game.
But Higgins was still on film admitting how easy it would be to throw a frame.
He almost certainly benefited from his previous reputation which has resulted in a lenient approach being adopted towards him.
The tribunal ruled that Higgins "is, by nature, someone who seeks to avoid confrontation or unpleasantness" and there remains an uncomfortable feeling that Mooney may have been a fall guy.
Snooker has just been introduced to a bright new era under Hearn's chairmanship with the introduction of new tournaments and an improved ranking system. The game could ill-afford the scandal to grow any bigger than it already is.
But, regardless of the conspiracy theories, it would seem Hearn's job of reforming the sport is even bigger than he originally thought.
Hearn hardly helped himself by promising the matter would be sorted in "days and weeks" rather than "months and months".
It was surely inevitable that this sort of case would take time and the fact it has dragged on all summer and even into the start of the new season shows a lack of judgement on Hearn's part.
The affair has also been bad news for the Murdoch media empire and the curious way in which they have handled it.
Of course, the News of the World was justified from a public interest angle in publishing the story in the first place if it considered it would stand up to scrutiny.
Indeed, the newspaper reacted to Higgins' ban by claiming victory and stating that the judgement was "a testament to the extraordinary work of our investigations editor Mazher Mahmood".
But the reality is that the publication has earned the wrath of media commentator Roy Greenslade in the Guardian and it has left itself wide open to libel.
Similarly, the News of the World's broadcasting stablemates Sky hardly covered themselves in glory over the issue either, claiming on their website that Higgins had admitted to match-fixing.
Once the story had been vigorously denied by Higgins' spokesperson, it was unsurprisingly hastily pulled.
If nothing else, questions should be asked over why the News of the World stalled on providing the full video evidence to tribunal - and just how much editing had been done?
But, with the allegations of phone hacking by News of the World staff dominating the news agenda, those questions are low on the priority list and look set to remain unanswered.
Unless, of course, Higgins takes the unlikely step of dragging the story back in front of the courts by suing for defamation.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Euro 2012 qualifiers: Rooney repay Capello's faith
WAYNE ROONEY attempted to put the off-field allegations of his infidelity behind him as he opened the scoring in a comfortable 3-1 win for England over Switzerland in Basle.
Manchester United striker Rooney has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this week after stories in the News of the World claimed he cheated on his wife Colleen by paying a prostitute £1,200.
But, despite the rather unsavoury reports, Rooney travelled with the squad and he repaid the faith of Fabio Capello almost immediately.
England scored early on Friday night against Bulgaria and repeated the trick tonight with just nine minutes gone at St Jakob Stadium.
Theo Walcott and Glen Johnson combined to good effect to set up Rooney with a tap-in, though Walcott was injured in the move and had to be replaced by Adam Johnson.
England continued to the press in an excellent first half performance and could have added to their tally with Friday's hero Jermain Defoe failing to convert a succession of chances.
At the start of the second half, there was more of the same from England until a Swiss spell on the hour made Joe Hart look a little nervy and forced a new-look defence into a couple of rash clearances.
But just as the home side started to get the crowd behind them, struggling full-back Stephan Lichsteiner was sent off for crude challenge on James Milner.
England made their one-man advantage work in their favour immediately as Adam Johnson rounded the goalkeeper for his second international goal in a week.
However, the Swiss responded in this extraordinary spell with the goal of the night as Xherdan Shaqiri smashed a shot past Hart to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes left.
Rather than inviting pressure, Capello's men continued to attack with their numerical advantage and dominated the latter part of the match.
It should have been 3-1 and game over when Shaun Wright-Phillips failed once again to justify his selection with a woefully under-hit pass to fellow-substitute Darren Bent who was clean through.
Regardless, Sunderland striker Bent did eventually score his first England goal with a confident finish that finally put the game to bed.
Meanwhile, at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland only just escaped total humiliation after Stephen McManus headed a 97th-minute winner against Liechtenstein.
After a goalless first half, the part-timers had taken a shock lead in the opening minute of the second period through captain Mario Frisk.
Kenny Miller's volley brought Craig Levein's men level with 25 minutes in the new national team coach's first competitive home match.
But the Scots struggled to mount significant pressure to push for 2-1, although Liechtenstein's players were hardly helping Scotland's cause with their cynical timing-wasting tactics.
Eventually the time-wasting was to be Liechtenstein's downfall but McManus's header from a corner should not excuse an absolutely woeful performance.
Incredibly, with Spain not in competitive action, the Scots' three points and Czech Republic's 1-0 home loss to Lithuania puts Scotland at the top of Group I.
Tonight, Levein is a lucky, lucky man.
Wales manager John Toshack has not been so fortunate and has resigned following the awful 1-0 loss in Montenegro on Friday.
Toshack has said he will stay on for the matches in October against Bulgaria and Switzerland if no replacement has been found but otherwise says he will leave immediately.
In the meantime, Montenegro pulled off another amazing result, winning 1-0 away in Sofia against Bulgaria to be level with England on six points in Group G.
Republic of Ireland looked set for an easy win against Andorra after first-half goals from Kevin Kilbane and Kevin Doyle but they also had to survive a scare.
Andorra's Cristian Martinez stunned the crowd at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with a fine goal on half time to make it 2-1.
Nevertheless, the Irish saw off the threat in the second half and Robbie Keane made it 3-1 to put Giovanni Trapatonni's men top of Group B.
But, perhaps the more significant result in that group came in Moscow as Russia were beaten 1-0 by Slovakia.
Elsewhere, Miroslav Klose hit a hat-trick as Germany and Italy both recorded big wins - 6-1 against Azerbaijan and 5-0 over the Faroe Islands respectively.
Sweden also hit six goals, without reply, against hapless San Marino while, also in Group E, Klass-Jan Huntelaar made it five goals in two games for the Dutch in their 2-1 win over Finland.
France ended a run of four straight defeats, including humiliation at home against Belarus in their Euro2012 opener, by beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 away.
It is an impressive result for Laurent Blanc's men as Bosnia, who - like France - were in the World Cup qualifying playoffs, are probably Les Bleus' biggest threat in Group D.
That is because Romania have already proved to be a shadow of their former selves, just like neighbours Bulgaria in England's group.
Having finished fifth in qualifying for World Cup 2010, Romania have opened their campaign with successive draws against Albania and Belarus, and they are already off the pace.
Portugal and Greece are also struggling. Portugal lost 1-0 to leaders Norway in Group H on the back of a 4-4 home draw against Cyprus.
Worse still, they are leaderless after the suspension for six months of Carlos Queiroz for interference in a World Cup anti-doping test.
Like Romania, Euro 2004 champions Greece have opened with two draws - against Georgia on Friday, and in Croatia tonight.
And with that draw, the Croatians have seized the early advantage in Group F.
FULL RESULTS
GROUP A
Austria 2-0 Kazakhstan
Germany 6-1 Azerbaijan
Turkey 3-2 Belgium
GROUP B
FYR Macedonia 2-2 Armenia
Republic of Ireland 3-1 Andorra
Russia 0-1 Slovakia
GROUP C
Italy 5-0 Faroe Islands
Serbia 1-1 Slovenia
GROUP D
Albania 1-0 Luxembourg
Belarus 0-0 Romania
Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-2 France
GROUP E
Hungary 2-1 Moldova
Netherlands 2-1 Finland
Sweden 6-0 San Marino
GROUP F
Croatia 0-0 Greece
Georgia 0-0 Israel
Malta 0-2 Latvia
GROUP G
Bulgaria 0-1 Montenegro
Switzerland 1-3 England
GROUP H
Denmark 1-0 Iceland
Norway 1-0 Portugal
GROUP I
Czech Republic 0-1 Lithuania
Scotland 2-1 Liechtenstein
The next Euro 2012 qualifiers are on Friday 8th October.
Manchester United striker Rooney has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this week after stories in the News of the World claimed he cheated on his wife Colleen by paying a prostitute £1,200.
But, despite the rather unsavoury reports, Rooney travelled with the squad and he repaid the faith of Fabio Capello almost immediately.
England scored early on Friday night against Bulgaria and repeated the trick tonight with just nine minutes gone at St Jakob Stadium.
Theo Walcott and Glen Johnson combined to good effect to set up Rooney with a tap-in, though Walcott was injured in the move and had to be replaced by Adam Johnson.
England continued to the press in an excellent first half performance and could have added to their tally with Friday's hero Jermain Defoe failing to convert a succession of chances.
At the start of the second half, there was more of the same from England until a Swiss spell on the hour made Joe Hart look a little nervy and forced a new-look defence into a couple of rash clearances.
But just as the home side started to get the crowd behind them, struggling full-back Stephan Lichsteiner was sent off for crude challenge on James Milner.
England made their one-man advantage work in their favour immediately as Adam Johnson rounded the goalkeeper for his second international goal in a week.
However, the Swiss responded in this extraordinary spell with the goal of the night as Xherdan Shaqiri smashed a shot past Hart to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes left.
Rather than inviting pressure, Capello's men continued to attack with their numerical advantage and dominated the latter part of the match.
It should have been 3-1 and game over when Shaun Wright-Phillips failed once again to justify his selection with a woefully under-hit pass to fellow-substitute Darren Bent who was clean through.
Regardless, Sunderland striker Bent did eventually score his first England goal with a confident finish that finally put the game to bed.
Meanwhile, at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland only just escaped total humiliation after Stephen McManus headed a 97th-minute winner against Liechtenstein.
After a goalless first half, the part-timers had taken a shock lead in the opening minute of the second period through captain Mario Frisk.
Kenny Miller's volley brought Craig Levein's men level with 25 minutes in the new national team coach's first competitive home match.
But the Scots struggled to mount significant pressure to push for 2-1, although Liechtenstein's players were hardly helping Scotland's cause with their cynical timing-wasting tactics.
Eventually the time-wasting was to be Liechtenstein's downfall but McManus's header from a corner should not excuse an absolutely woeful performance.
Incredibly, with Spain not in competitive action, the Scots' three points and Czech Republic's 1-0 home loss to Lithuania puts Scotland at the top of Group I.
Tonight, Levein is a lucky, lucky man.
Wales manager John Toshack has not been so fortunate and has resigned following the awful 1-0 loss in Montenegro on Friday.
Toshack has said he will stay on for the matches in October against Bulgaria and Switzerland if no replacement has been found but otherwise says he will leave immediately.
In the meantime, Montenegro pulled off another amazing result, winning 1-0 away in Sofia against Bulgaria to be level with England on six points in Group G.
Republic of Ireland looked set for an easy win against Andorra after first-half goals from Kevin Kilbane and Kevin Doyle but they also had to survive a scare.
Andorra's Cristian Martinez stunned the crowd at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with a fine goal on half time to make it 2-1.
Nevertheless, the Irish saw off the threat in the second half and Robbie Keane made it 3-1 to put Giovanni Trapatonni's men top of Group B.
But, perhaps the more significant result in that group came in Moscow as Russia were beaten 1-0 by Slovakia.
Elsewhere, Miroslav Klose hit a hat-trick as Germany and Italy both recorded big wins - 6-1 against Azerbaijan and 5-0 over the Faroe Islands respectively.
Sweden also hit six goals, without reply, against hapless San Marino while, also in Group E, Klass-Jan Huntelaar made it five goals in two games for the Dutch in their 2-1 win over Finland.
France ended a run of four straight defeats, including humiliation at home against Belarus in their Euro2012 opener, by beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 away.
It is an impressive result for Laurent Blanc's men as Bosnia, who - like France - were in the World Cup qualifying playoffs, are probably Les Bleus' biggest threat in Group D.
That is because Romania have already proved to be a shadow of their former selves, just like neighbours Bulgaria in England's group.
Having finished fifth in qualifying for World Cup 2010, Romania have opened their campaign with successive draws against Albania and Belarus, and they are already off the pace.
Portugal and Greece are also struggling. Portugal lost 1-0 to leaders Norway in Group H on the back of a 4-4 home draw against Cyprus.
Worse still, they are leaderless after the suspension for six months of Carlos Queiroz for interference in a World Cup anti-doping test.
Like Romania, Euro 2004 champions Greece have opened with two draws - against Georgia on Friday, and in Croatia tonight.
And with that draw, the Croatians have seized the early advantage in Group F.
FULL RESULTS
GROUP A
Austria 2-0 Kazakhstan
Germany 6-1 Azerbaijan
Turkey 3-2 Belgium
GROUP B
FYR Macedonia 2-2 Armenia
Republic of Ireland 3-1 Andorra
Russia 0-1 Slovakia
GROUP C
Italy 5-0 Faroe Islands
Serbia 1-1 Slovenia
GROUP D
Albania 1-0 Luxembourg
Belarus 0-0 Romania
Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-2 France
GROUP E
Hungary 2-1 Moldova
Netherlands 2-1 Finland
Sweden 6-0 San Marino
GROUP F
Croatia 0-0 Greece
Georgia 0-0 Israel
Malta 0-2 Latvia
GROUP G
Bulgaria 0-1 Montenegro
Switzerland 1-3 England
GROUP H
Denmark 1-0 Iceland
Norway 1-0 Portugal
GROUP I
Czech Republic 0-1 Lithuania
Scotland 2-1 Liechtenstein
The next Euro 2012 qualifiers are on Friday 8th October.
Friday, 3 September 2010
Euro 2012 qualifiers: Defoe destroys Bulgaria
ENGLAND banished their World Cup blues by beating Bulgaria 4-0 in the first set of Euro 2012 qualifiers at Wembley.
Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick and substitute Adam Johnson scored his first international goal in a much improved performance by Fabio Capello's men.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Defoe gave England the lead as early as three minutes into their first match since the humiliating 4-1 loss to Germany in World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Defoe then struck again on 61 minutes before two further goals by Defoe and Johnson in the last ten minutes rather embellished the final score.
In the only bad news of the night, England lost the unfortunate centre-back Michael Dawson to injury after he went down under a challenge early in the second half.
Dawson will miss the trip to Basle as England take on their main group rivals Switzerland on Tuesday night.
Elsewhere, Wales - who are also in England's group - were woeful, losing 1-0 in Montenegro. It is a result which suggests this campaign promises very little for John Toshack's young team.
Scotland also disappointed, managing just a 0-0 draw against Lithuania in Kausnas, in a group which also features World and European champions Spain who beat Lietchtenstein 4-0 away.
The two Irish sides did rather better with both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland winning 1-0 having seen off strong home efforts from Slovenia and Armenia respectively.
The biggest shock of the night came in France who followed up their terrible World Cup with a 1-0 home loss to Belarus albeit with a largely different set of players under new manager Laurent Blanc.
Cheered on to the pitch by 76,395 frenzied flag-waving supporters, the French left the field at full-time to a chorus of boos after conceding an 86th-minute Sergei Kislyak goal.
Italy, who also had a dreadful World Cup, had to come from behind to beat Estonia 2-1. But Portugal threw away leads of 3-2 and 4-3 as Cyprus came back again and again for a remarkable 4-4 draw in Guimaraes.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick as World Cup runners-up Netherlands had the biggest win of the night with a 5-0 away beating of perennial whipping boys San Marino in Group E.
Germany squeezed past Belgium 1-0 in Group A thanks to a Miroslav Klose goal early in the second half.
FULL RESULTS
GROUP A
Turkey take the early lead in the group with a comfortable 3-0 win in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Miroslav Klose scored his 53rd goal for Germany in their 1-0 away win in Belgium.
Kazakhstan 0-3 Turkey
Belgium 0-1 Germany
GROUP B
The three stronger teams in the group - Russia, Republic of Ireland and Slovakia, all enjoyed narrow wins over the minnows Andorra, Armenia and FYR Macedonia respectively.
Armenia 0-1 Republic of Ireland
Andorra 0-2 Russia
Slovakia 1-0 FYR Macedonia
GROUP C
Estonia almost followed up last month's 2-1 win over the Faroes with a shock result against Italy but the Italians came back to win 2-1. Serbia top the group with a 3-0 away win in Torshavn while Northern Ireland won for the first time in 11 games against World Cup finalists Slovenia.
Estonia 2-1 Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia
Estonia 1-2 Italy
Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland
GROUP D
The two traditional powerhouses in Group D, France and Romania, continue to struggle allowing Bosnia-Herzegovina to take the early lead after their 3-0 win in Luxembourg.
Romania 1-1 Albania
Luxembourg 0-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina
France 0-1 Belarus
GROUP E
Klass-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick as World Cup runners-up Netherlands easily beat San Marino 5-0 in the biggest win of the night in Europe. Sweden look set to challenge after their 2-0 victory over Hungary but Finland lost to Moldova by the same score after Sami Hyypia's early sending off.
Moldova 2-0 Finland
Sweden 2-0 Hungary
San Marino 0-5 Netherlands
GROUP F
Euro 2004 winners Greece could only manage a 1-1 home draw with Georgia as Croatia took an early lead in Group F with a 3-0 win over Latvia. Israel beat Malta 3-1 at home on Thursday night.
Israel 3-1 Malta
Latvia 0-3 Croatia
Greece 1-1 Georgia
GROUP G
Jermain Defoe's hat-trick helped England banish their World Cup blues as Fabio Capello's men strolled to a 4-0 win over Bulgaria. The other home nation in the group, Wales, did not fare so well, going down 1-0 in Montenegro, leading to calls for coach John Toshack to quit.
Montenegro 1-0 Wales
England 4-0 Bulgaira
GROUP H
Norway came from behind to beat neighbours Iceland 2-1 but the main Group H news came from Guimaraes as Portugal failed the shrug off a tenacious challenge from Cyprus who came back from 3-2 and 4-3 down to snatch a draw.
Iceland 1-2 Norway
Portugal 4-4 Cyprus
GROUP I
World and European champions Spain began their defence of the latter title with an easy 4-0 win in Lietchtenstein as Fernando Torres struck twice in Vaduz. But there were no goals in Vilnius as Lithuania and Scotland played out a 0-0 draw which promises little for both teams' campaigns.
Lithuania 0-0 Scotland
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain
Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick and substitute Adam Johnson scored his first international goal in a much improved performance by Fabio Capello's men.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Defoe gave England the lead as early as three minutes into their first match since the humiliating 4-1 loss to Germany in World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Defoe then struck again on 61 minutes before two further goals by Defoe and Johnson in the last ten minutes rather embellished the final score.
In the only bad news of the night, England lost the unfortunate centre-back Michael Dawson to injury after he went down under a challenge early in the second half.
Dawson will miss the trip to Basle as England take on their main group rivals Switzerland on Tuesday night.
Elsewhere, Wales - who are also in England's group - were woeful, losing 1-0 in Montenegro. It is a result which suggests this campaign promises very little for John Toshack's young team.
Scotland also disappointed, managing just a 0-0 draw against Lithuania in Kausnas, in a group which also features World and European champions Spain who beat Lietchtenstein 4-0 away.
The two Irish sides did rather better with both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland winning 1-0 having seen off strong home efforts from Slovenia and Armenia respectively.
The biggest shock of the night came in France who followed up their terrible World Cup with a 1-0 home loss to Belarus albeit with a largely different set of players under new manager Laurent Blanc.
Cheered on to the pitch by 76,395 frenzied flag-waving supporters, the French left the field at full-time to a chorus of boos after conceding an 86th-minute Sergei Kislyak goal.
Italy, who also had a dreadful World Cup, had to come from behind to beat Estonia 2-1. But Portugal threw away leads of 3-2 and 4-3 as Cyprus came back again and again for a remarkable 4-4 draw in Guimaraes.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick as World Cup runners-up Netherlands had the biggest win of the night with a 5-0 away beating of perennial whipping boys San Marino in Group E.
Germany squeezed past Belgium 1-0 in Group A thanks to a Miroslav Klose goal early in the second half.
FULL RESULTS
GROUP A
Turkey take the early lead in the group with a comfortable 3-0 win in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Miroslav Klose scored his 53rd goal for Germany in their 1-0 away win in Belgium.
Kazakhstan 0-3 Turkey
Belgium 0-1 Germany
GROUP B
The three stronger teams in the group - Russia, Republic of Ireland and Slovakia, all enjoyed narrow wins over the minnows Andorra, Armenia and FYR Macedonia respectively.
Armenia 0-1 Republic of Ireland
Andorra 0-2 Russia
Slovakia 1-0 FYR Macedonia
GROUP C
Estonia almost followed up last month's 2-1 win over the Faroes with a shock result against Italy but the Italians came back to win 2-1. Serbia top the group with a 3-0 away win in Torshavn while Northern Ireland won for the first time in 11 games against World Cup finalists Slovenia.
Estonia 2-1 Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia
Estonia 1-2 Italy
Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland
GROUP D
The two traditional powerhouses in Group D, France and Romania, continue to struggle allowing Bosnia-Herzegovina to take the early lead after their 3-0 win in Luxembourg.
Romania 1-1 Albania
Luxembourg 0-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina
France 0-1 Belarus
GROUP E
Klass-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick as World Cup runners-up Netherlands easily beat San Marino 5-0 in the biggest win of the night in Europe. Sweden look set to challenge after their 2-0 victory over Hungary but Finland lost to Moldova by the same score after Sami Hyypia's early sending off.
Moldova 2-0 Finland
Sweden 2-0 Hungary
San Marino 0-5 Netherlands
GROUP F
Euro 2004 winners Greece could only manage a 1-1 home draw with Georgia as Croatia took an early lead in Group F with a 3-0 win over Latvia. Israel beat Malta 3-1 at home on Thursday night.
Israel 3-1 Malta
Latvia 0-3 Croatia
Greece 1-1 Georgia
GROUP G
Jermain Defoe's hat-trick helped England banish their World Cup blues as Fabio Capello's men strolled to a 4-0 win over Bulgaria. The other home nation in the group, Wales, did not fare so well, going down 1-0 in Montenegro, leading to calls for coach John Toshack to quit.
Montenegro 1-0 Wales
England 4-0 Bulgaira
GROUP H
Norway came from behind to beat neighbours Iceland 2-1 but the main Group H news came from Guimaraes as Portugal failed the shrug off a tenacious challenge from Cyprus who came back from 3-2 and 4-3 down to snatch a draw.
Iceland 1-2 Norway
Portugal 4-4 Cyprus
GROUP I
World and European champions Spain began their defence of the latter title with an easy 4-0 win in Lietchtenstein as Fernando Torres struck twice in Vaduz. But there were no goals in Vilnius as Lithuania and Scotland played out a 0-0 draw which promises little for both teams' campaigns.
Lithuania 0-0 Scotland
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Blair book is bad timing for Labour leadership contest
TONY BLAIR became renowned for his sound judgement of political timing while in office.
After all, Mr Blair was the man who was elected Labour leader in 1994 just as the Conservative government were at their most unpopular.
He then won two landslide election victories in 1997 and 2001 before winning a third general election in 2005 despite having controversially led the country into war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At this point, having served two full terms, Mr Blair was meant to hand over the premiership to Gordon Brown but he famously reneged on the deal.
Extracts of Mr Blair's new book The Journey make it clear why he was so wary of Mr Brown taking charge.
By 2005, their relationship had completely broken down. Mr Blair states in the book that Mr Brown was "maddening" to work with, and that the then-Chancellor threatened to stall Mr Blair's precious New Labour reforms.
Indeed, their partnership was in such tatters that Mr Blair had even consulted Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson over the task of getting rid of a 'star' player.
In the end, Mr Blair chose to keep his Chancellor and eventual successor, fearing that sacking him would only accelerate his rise to the top, given the standing he then held within the party.
When Mr Blair did eventually step down in 2007, his timing was spot on again as he avoided the unforeseen global recession which ended up plaguing Mr Brown's three years in charge.
However, today's occasion, the timing of the release of Mr Blair's memoirs leaves a lot to be desired for Labour, overshadowing a vital stage of the party's leadership contest.
Worse still, Mr Blair and his long-time ally Peter Mandleson seem intent on reviving New Labour politics during the contest even though it is now associated more with infighting than anything constructive.
If nothing else, Mr Blair's book simply acts as a reminder as to how divisive government became under New Labour, a major factor in its eventual failure at the polls in May.
And yet, Labour look set to select more of the same with Blairite former foreign secretary David Miliband holding a comfortable lead in all of the polls of the leadership contest.
Despite his words to the contrary, it is hard to see how Mr Miliband is a clean break from the past. At least his brother Ed seems to have accepted New Labour's biggest mistakes such as the removal of the 10p tax band.
But this is the same Ed Miliband who wrote the manifesto for this year's failed general election campaign and that is something he is unlikely to shake off easily.
The other three candidates - Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott - would appear to have little or no chance of succeeding in this contest.
Indeed, backbencher Ms Abbott only ended up on the ballot paper by collecting MPs signatures which would have gone elsewhere but for the need to make the contest appear more inclusive.
The likely election of David Miliband to the leadership is unlikely to distinguish easily this Labour opposition to the New Labour government largely rejected by the public in May.
There remain fears among Labour circles that the party could be in for another long spell of opposition if the Conservatives improve their position at the next election.
Being Labour leader in the coming years could be a thankless task, perhaps even a poisoned chalice.
But then not all party leaders can be as lucky with their timing as Mr Blair.
After all, Mr Blair was the man who was elected Labour leader in 1994 just as the Conservative government were at their most unpopular.
He then won two landslide election victories in 1997 and 2001 before winning a third general election in 2005 despite having controversially led the country into war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At this point, having served two full terms, Mr Blair was meant to hand over the premiership to Gordon Brown but he famously reneged on the deal.
Extracts of Mr Blair's new book The Journey make it clear why he was so wary of Mr Brown taking charge.
By 2005, their relationship had completely broken down. Mr Blair states in the book that Mr Brown was "maddening" to work with, and that the then-Chancellor threatened to stall Mr Blair's precious New Labour reforms.
Indeed, their partnership was in such tatters that Mr Blair had even consulted Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson over the task of getting rid of a 'star' player.
In the end, Mr Blair chose to keep his Chancellor and eventual successor, fearing that sacking him would only accelerate his rise to the top, given the standing he then held within the party.
When Mr Blair did eventually step down in 2007, his timing was spot on again as he avoided the unforeseen global recession which ended up plaguing Mr Brown's three years in charge.
However, today's occasion, the timing of the release of Mr Blair's memoirs leaves a lot to be desired for Labour, overshadowing a vital stage of the party's leadership contest.
Worse still, Mr Blair and his long-time ally Peter Mandleson seem intent on reviving New Labour politics during the contest even though it is now associated more with infighting than anything constructive.
If nothing else, Mr Blair's book simply acts as a reminder as to how divisive government became under New Labour, a major factor in its eventual failure at the polls in May.
And yet, Labour look set to select more of the same with Blairite former foreign secretary David Miliband holding a comfortable lead in all of the polls of the leadership contest.
Despite his words to the contrary, it is hard to see how Mr Miliband is a clean break from the past. At least his brother Ed seems to have accepted New Labour's biggest mistakes such as the removal of the 10p tax band.
But this is the same Ed Miliband who wrote the manifesto for this year's failed general election campaign and that is something he is unlikely to shake off easily.
The other three candidates - Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott - would appear to have little or no chance of succeeding in this contest.
Indeed, backbencher Ms Abbott only ended up on the ballot paper by collecting MPs signatures which would have gone elsewhere but for the need to make the contest appear more inclusive.
The likely election of David Miliband to the leadership is unlikely to distinguish easily this Labour opposition to the New Labour government largely rejected by the public in May.
There remain fears among Labour circles that the party could be in for another long spell of opposition if the Conservatives improve their position at the next election.
Being Labour leader in the coming years could be a thankless task, perhaps even a poisoned chalice.
But then not all party leaders can be as lucky with their timing as Mr Blair.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
The Season 2010/11 - August: Normal service resumed at Stamford Bridge
Premier League
Table
CHELSEA picked up from where they left off last season by winning their first three games, and scoring 14 goals without reply.
Didier Drogba hit the first hat-trick of the Premier League season as the defending champions opened up their campaign with a 6-0 win over newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion.
Carlo Ancelotti's men then followed that with another 6-0 win, away at Wigan Athletic, before a comfortable 2-0 home win against Stoke City.
Already it is clear that the Blues' main challengers will be Manchester United and Arsenal, both on seven points, in second and third place.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men have had two 3-0 home wins against Newcastle United and West Ham United but dropped points away at Fulham after Brede Hangeland's late goal in a 2-2 draw.
The Gunners opened up with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield before strolling to a 6-0 win over Blackpool thanks to Theo Walcott's hat trick. Arsene Wenger's men then earned a hard-fought 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers.
But, outside of the top three, the Premier League has been largely devoid of top quality sides.
Managerless Aston Villa are fourth on six points after home wins over West Ham and Everton. But these victories sandwiched a 6-0 humbling at promoted Newcastle for whom Andy Carroll scored a hat trick.
Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City are in fifth and sixth place on five points after they played out a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Reebok Stadium.
The Trotters conceded early then were reduced to ten men when goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen was sent off for an impudent slap on goalscorer Roger Johnson.
Birmingham made it 2-0 just after half time through Craig Gardner but Kevin Davies and Robbie Blake helped Owen Coyle's men to fight back for a deserved point despite their numerical disadvantage.
Wolves , in seventh, are a third team on five points after an opening day win against Stoke and two 1-1 draws away at Everton and at home against Chris Hughton's Newcastle who lead a group of six clubs with four points on goal difference.
Among those six clubs are Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur whose ideas of a title push already look like fading into the realms of fantasy.
The fourth- and fifth-placed teams met in an opening day 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane which Spurs dominated.
But, after beating Stoke and qualifying for the Champions League against Swiss side Young Boys, Harry Redknapp's men most recently suffered an awful 1-0 home loss to Wigan Athletic.
Meanwhile, City's expensively assembled squad - £126m and counting this summer alone - have failed to score in their opening two away fixtures. Their 0-0 draw with Spurs was followed by a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, either side of a fine 3-0 home win over Liverpool.
The Reds, now under Roy Hodgson, had a tough draw of the fixtures but they failed to beat Arsenal after Pepe Reina's late mistake before being outclassed at City.
Despite the long-awaited Fernando Torres goal, even the 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion was hardly an Anfield classic and another scrappy season looks like it is on the cards.
Indeed, Liverpool fans may have to console themselves that they should at least finish above their Merseyside rivals.
Everton have had another slow start to the season with just one point from three games after 1-0 away defeats to Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa.
In fairness, David Moyes' men probably deserved more from the match against Villa - they had 18 corners and 67% possesion. But this Everton team seem to suffer from a lack of cutting edge up front and currently lie in the bottom three.
Stoke and West Ham are the two teams below the Toffees after both have had a pointless start to the season.
The Potters have lost to Wolves and Chelsea away, and Tottenham at home while West Ham's three defeats have come against Villa, Bolton and Manchester United. Next up for the Hammers - a home match against Chelsea.
Thanks to that win over Spurs, Wigan are outside of the bottom three despite a terrible start which featured that 6-0 loss to Chelsea and a 4-0 home loss to newly promoted Blackpool.
That win for the Seasiders on the opening day is part of a credible opening few games which has also seen Ian Holloway's men draw 2-2 with Fulham in their first home match.
West Brom are also off the mark with a 1-0 home win over Sunderland but, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Baggies lost their other two matches at Chelsea and Liverpool.
The Championship
Table
QUEENS PARK RANGERS scored twice in stoppage time against Derby County to salvage a point and stay top of the Championship.
Neil Warnock's men had won their opening three games but found the going much tougher against the Rams who took a 2-0 lead through Kris Commons and James Bailey.
It looked as if Rangers' early reign at the top was over as the match entered stoppage time.
But a goal in the 92nd minute by Patrick Agyemang and another in the 95th minute by Jamie Mackie completed an amazing comeback and kept QPR above Cardiff City on goal difference.
The Bluebirds landed an extraordinary coup by bringing Craig Bellamy to the Welsh capital on loan after he was frozen out of Manchester City's squad.
In his first game, Bellamy inspired a 4-0 rout of Doncaster Rovers in which Jay Bothroyd scored twice and Bothroyd was on target again as Cardiff won 2-0 at Portmouth to cap their strong start.
Ipswich Town are the third team on 10 points after their 2-0 win over troubled Bristol City.
The Portman Road club enjoyed a brilliant opening day of the season, coming from behind at half time to beat promotion favourites Middlesbrough 3-1 away.
Roy Keane's men then drew with Burnley 1-1 before wins over Crystal Palace and Bristol City have put Town in the sort of position which they never threatened last season.
Surprisingly, Millwall are the closest challengers to this top three of QPR, Cardiff and Ipswich but the Lions typify a fine effort so far from the promoted League One sides.
Millwall are out on their own in fourth place with nine points from four games, the highlight of which was the 4-0 thumping of Hull City who are still without a league away win since February 2009.
The Lions' only defeat so far came at fellow promoted team Leeds United who have recovered well from their opening day defeat to Derby County which was shown on the BBC.
Simon Grayson's men drew their second match at Nottingham Forest but they have won their last two in the league against Millwall and Watford to put themselves in the early top six mix.
Last season's League One champions Norwich City also have seven points despite an opening day defeat thanks to wins against Scunthorpe United and Swansea City, and - similarly - a draw at Forest.
But, while all of the promoted sides have so far enjoyed life in the Championship, only Burnley of the relegated sides have made a bright start, currently in fifth.
The Clarets always looked best prepared from a financial perspective for a push back to the Premier League but there were doubts over how easily Burnley could get a bad relegation out of their system.
Manager Brian Laws has done well to galvanise his team to two home wins over Forest and Leicester City. However, away form remains a concern after just a point was taken in the two matches against Ipswich and Swansea City.
Portsmouth have just a point in total and have traded a position at the bottom of the Premier League to prop up the Championship.
Pompey have scored just a single goal in their four league matches so far, in the 1-1 draw against Reading, while their other three games so far have all ended in defeat.
Leicester City also have just one point from a possible 12 and seem to have suffered a playoff semi final defeat hangover. The Foxes' only point so far has come in the 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough and they currently lie second bottom.
Bristol City are third bottom and perhaps that position is not so much of a surprise after the early season turmoil at Ashton Gate.
Steve Coppell resigned after the Robins went down 3-0 to Millwall on the opening day then lost a 2-0 lead to Southend United in the League Cup.
City then conceded a last minute penalty as Doncaster sneaked a point before there was a thrilling 3-3 draw with Barnsley.
But the 2-0 defeat to Ipswich Town in their latest match leaves the red half of Bristol in danger of a season-long scrap, even with David James between the sticks.
Slow starters Forest are the only other Championship club without a win while Preston North End and Crystal Palace are also averaging less than a point a game.
Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough and Sheffield United - who have replaced Kevin Blackwell with Gary Speed - are the other early season disappointments with just four points apiece.
League One
Table
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY and Peterborough United have made excellent starts in their bid for an immediate bounce back to the Championship.
Wednesday are top League One after a 5-0 thumping of Hartlepool United made it three wins and a draw out of four games for the Owls.
Meanwhile, Peterborough, who suffered a rather dispiriting demotion during the last campaign, have scored goals for fun as they look to make it back into the second tier.
Posh have already recorded two 3-0 wins and also beat Huddersfield 4-2 at home. But, despite those comfortable victories, their goal difference remains at +4 as Posh's only defeat in six league and cup games this season was a horrific 5-1 reverse at newly-promoted Bournemouth.
While Wednesday and Peterborough's appearances at the top come as little surprise, the fact that Carlisle United and Oldham Athletic are still unbeaten after four games has raised some eyebrows.
Certainly, with two wins and two draws, the Cumbrians and the Latics are both already enjoying this campaign more than their last two seasons of midtable mediocrity at best.
But probably the most unlikely of the early contenders is the aforementioned Bournemouth. The Cherries are in fifth place on seven points with a healthy +6 goal difference which owes much to that battering of Posh.
Eddie Howe's Bournemouth are joined on seven points by Huddersfield, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Charlton Athletic who opened with two wins but have taken just a point in the two games since.
The other big favourites Southampton are also somewhat off the pace in 14th place with just four points so far.
But, in fairness, the St Mary's club have a game in hand after postponing a match following the death of owner (and financial saviour) Markus Liebherr.
And, this weekend, the Saints finally looked to have hit top form with a 4-0 win over Bristol Rovers as Ricky Lambert returned to score against his old club.
In the same week as Liebherr died, Exeter City also lost a wonderful club servant as, tragically, striker Adam Stansfield died of cancer aged just 31.
The Grecians postponed their game against Dagenham & Redbridge but have struggled in their other encounters, taking just two points from three matches so far to end the first month of the season in fourth-bottom place.
Tranmere Rovers, Dagenham and Brentford are the three clubs below them with Rovers seemingly have failed to heed last season's struggle against relegation.
Dagenham are still adapting to the step up from League Two but managed their first point and goals against Tranmere while Brentford's only point in four games so far has come against Swindon Town.
Swindon were playoff contenders last season but suffered a slow start then - and the County Ground regulars have had to deal with the same situation in this campaign with just two points from four matches so far.
Meanwhile, Rochdale have begun their first season outside the basement division in 37 years in solid enough fashion with five points from their first four matches to sit currently 12th.
League Two
Table
TORQUAY UNITED maintained the only 100 percent record in the Football League as their 2-1 away win at Port Vale made it 12 points out of 12.
The Gulls won their first three games against Northampton Town, Lincoln City and Bradford City without conceding a goal, and went 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes against Vale.
It was 2-1 by half time but United withstood the Vale comeback to stay top, just above unbeaten Shrewsbury Town who moved second with a 4-0 away thrashing of Stockport County.
Like the Shrews, third-placed Rotherham United also have 10 points. The Millers look set for another promotion push especially if they can keep hold of hot shot Adam Le Fondre who hit four in their extraordinary 6-4 win over Cheltenham Town.
Chesterfield are unbeaten on eight points in fourth place after two home wins and two away draws.
Port Vale are in fifth on seven points - that defeat to Torquay was their first in the league this season - and, despite shipping six at Rotherham, Cheltenham are in a much improved sixth-place so far this season.
Accrington Stanley are unbeaten in seventh with a win and three 0-0 draws from their first four games. Indeed, Stanley are yet to concede in the league this season and they pushed Newcastle all the way in a 3-2 loss in the League Cup second round.
Wycombe Wanderers and Aldershot Town are also unbeaten with six points from four games in a division that has featured too many stalemates so far this season.
Oxford United, returning to the Football League, are another team to have had three 0-0 draws already - and, with their other match ending in defeat, the Us have just three points from their first four games.
Last season's Blue Square Premier champions Stevenage have done marginally better. The Boro have taken five points so far, recording their first (and, so far, only) ever league win against struggling Stockport County.
Troubled Stockport were rock-bottom last season as they were relegated from League One and matters are little better in this lower division.
The Hatters have just two points so far and they are only spared bottom place this time by Barnet who look set for another season of battling against the odds.
The Bees also have just two points and suffered the ignominy of a 7-0 defeat away to mid-table Crewe Alexandra.
Barnet and Stockport are joined at the bottom on two points by Macclesfield Town and, surprisingly, Morecambe who were in the playoff last season.
Former Premier League side Bradford City is another club who will have expected to be higher even at this stage.
The Bantams have taken just three points from four games, although it should be noted that Peter Taylor's men have already played away against the current top two.
Table
CHELSEA picked up from where they left off last season by winning their first three games, and scoring 14 goals without reply.
Didier Drogba hit the first hat-trick of the Premier League season as the defending champions opened up their campaign with a 6-0 win over newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion.
Carlo Ancelotti's men then followed that with another 6-0 win, away at Wigan Athletic, before a comfortable 2-0 home win against Stoke City.
Already it is clear that the Blues' main challengers will be Manchester United and Arsenal, both on seven points, in second and third place.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men have had two 3-0 home wins against Newcastle United and West Ham United but dropped points away at Fulham after Brede Hangeland's late goal in a 2-2 draw.
The Gunners opened up with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield before strolling to a 6-0 win over Blackpool thanks to Theo Walcott's hat trick. Arsene Wenger's men then earned a hard-fought 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers.
But, outside of the top three, the Premier League has been largely devoid of top quality sides.
Managerless Aston Villa are fourth on six points after home wins over West Ham and Everton. But these victories sandwiched a 6-0 humbling at promoted Newcastle for whom Andy Carroll scored a hat trick.
Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City are in fifth and sixth place on five points after they played out a dramatic 2-2 draw at the Reebok Stadium.
The Trotters conceded early then were reduced to ten men when goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen was sent off for an impudent slap on goalscorer Roger Johnson.
Birmingham made it 2-0 just after half time through Craig Gardner but Kevin Davies and Robbie Blake helped Owen Coyle's men to fight back for a deserved point despite their numerical disadvantage.
Wolves , in seventh, are a third team on five points after an opening day win against Stoke and two 1-1 draws away at Everton and at home against Chris Hughton's Newcastle who lead a group of six clubs with four points on goal difference.
Among those six clubs are Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur whose ideas of a title push already look like fading into the realms of fantasy.
The fourth- and fifth-placed teams met in an opening day 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane which Spurs dominated.
But, after beating Stoke and qualifying for the Champions League against Swiss side Young Boys, Harry Redknapp's men most recently suffered an awful 1-0 home loss to Wigan Athletic.
Meanwhile, City's expensively assembled squad - £126m and counting this summer alone - have failed to score in their opening two away fixtures. Their 0-0 draw with Spurs was followed by a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, either side of a fine 3-0 home win over Liverpool.
The Reds, now under Roy Hodgson, had a tough draw of the fixtures but they failed to beat Arsenal after Pepe Reina's late mistake before being outclassed at City.
Despite the long-awaited Fernando Torres goal, even the 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion was hardly an Anfield classic and another scrappy season looks like it is on the cards.
Indeed, Liverpool fans may have to console themselves that they should at least finish above their Merseyside rivals.
Everton have had another slow start to the season with just one point from three games after 1-0 away defeats to Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa.
In fairness, David Moyes' men probably deserved more from the match against Villa - they had 18 corners and 67% possesion. But this Everton team seem to suffer from a lack of cutting edge up front and currently lie in the bottom three.
Stoke and West Ham are the two teams below the Toffees after both have had a pointless start to the season.
The Potters have lost to Wolves and Chelsea away, and Tottenham at home while West Ham's three defeats have come against Villa, Bolton and Manchester United. Next up for the Hammers - a home match against Chelsea.
Thanks to that win over Spurs, Wigan are outside of the bottom three despite a terrible start which featured that 6-0 loss to Chelsea and a 4-0 home loss to newly promoted Blackpool.
That win for the Seasiders on the opening day is part of a credible opening few games which has also seen Ian Holloway's men draw 2-2 with Fulham in their first home match.
West Brom are also off the mark with a 1-0 home win over Sunderland but, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Baggies lost their other two matches at Chelsea and Liverpool.
The Championship
Table
QUEENS PARK RANGERS scored twice in stoppage time against Derby County to salvage a point and stay top of the Championship.
Neil Warnock's men had won their opening three games but found the going much tougher against the Rams who took a 2-0 lead through Kris Commons and James Bailey.
It looked as if Rangers' early reign at the top was over as the match entered stoppage time.
But a goal in the 92nd minute by Patrick Agyemang and another in the 95th minute by Jamie Mackie completed an amazing comeback and kept QPR above Cardiff City on goal difference.
The Bluebirds landed an extraordinary coup by bringing Craig Bellamy to the Welsh capital on loan after he was frozen out of Manchester City's squad.
In his first game, Bellamy inspired a 4-0 rout of Doncaster Rovers in which Jay Bothroyd scored twice and Bothroyd was on target again as Cardiff won 2-0 at Portmouth to cap their strong start.
Ipswich Town are the third team on 10 points after their 2-0 win over troubled Bristol City.
The Portman Road club enjoyed a brilliant opening day of the season, coming from behind at half time to beat promotion favourites Middlesbrough 3-1 away.
Roy Keane's men then drew with Burnley 1-1 before wins over Crystal Palace and Bristol City have put Town in the sort of position which they never threatened last season.
Surprisingly, Millwall are the closest challengers to this top three of QPR, Cardiff and Ipswich but the Lions typify a fine effort so far from the promoted League One sides.
Millwall are out on their own in fourth place with nine points from four games, the highlight of which was the 4-0 thumping of Hull City who are still without a league away win since February 2009.
The Lions' only defeat so far came at fellow promoted team Leeds United who have recovered well from their opening day defeat to Derby County which was shown on the BBC.
Simon Grayson's men drew their second match at Nottingham Forest but they have won their last two in the league against Millwall and Watford to put themselves in the early top six mix.
Last season's League One champions Norwich City also have seven points despite an opening day defeat thanks to wins against Scunthorpe United and Swansea City, and - similarly - a draw at Forest.
But, while all of the promoted sides have so far enjoyed life in the Championship, only Burnley of the relegated sides have made a bright start, currently in fifth.
The Clarets always looked best prepared from a financial perspective for a push back to the Premier League but there were doubts over how easily Burnley could get a bad relegation out of their system.
Manager Brian Laws has done well to galvanise his team to two home wins over Forest and Leicester City. However, away form remains a concern after just a point was taken in the two matches against Ipswich and Swansea City.
Portsmouth have just a point in total and have traded a position at the bottom of the Premier League to prop up the Championship.
Pompey have scored just a single goal in their four league matches so far, in the 1-1 draw against Reading, while their other three games so far have all ended in defeat.
Leicester City also have just one point from a possible 12 and seem to have suffered a playoff semi final defeat hangover. The Foxes' only point so far has come in the 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough and they currently lie second bottom.
Bristol City are third bottom and perhaps that position is not so much of a surprise after the early season turmoil at Ashton Gate.
Steve Coppell resigned after the Robins went down 3-0 to Millwall on the opening day then lost a 2-0 lead to Southend United in the League Cup.
City then conceded a last minute penalty as Doncaster sneaked a point before there was a thrilling 3-3 draw with Barnsley.
But the 2-0 defeat to Ipswich Town in their latest match leaves the red half of Bristol in danger of a season-long scrap, even with David James between the sticks.
Slow starters Forest are the only other Championship club without a win while Preston North End and Crystal Palace are also averaging less than a point a game.
Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough and Sheffield United - who have replaced Kevin Blackwell with Gary Speed - are the other early season disappointments with just four points apiece.
League One
Table
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY and Peterborough United have made excellent starts in their bid for an immediate bounce back to the Championship.
Wednesday are top League One after a 5-0 thumping of Hartlepool United made it three wins and a draw out of four games for the Owls.
Meanwhile, Peterborough, who suffered a rather dispiriting demotion during the last campaign, have scored goals for fun as they look to make it back into the second tier.
Posh have already recorded two 3-0 wins and also beat Huddersfield 4-2 at home. But, despite those comfortable victories, their goal difference remains at +4 as Posh's only defeat in six league and cup games this season was a horrific 5-1 reverse at newly-promoted Bournemouth.
While Wednesday and Peterborough's appearances at the top come as little surprise, the fact that Carlisle United and Oldham Athletic are still unbeaten after four games has raised some eyebrows.
Certainly, with two wins and two draws, the Cumbrians and the Latics are both already enjoying this campaign more than their last two seasons of midtable mediocrity at best.
But probably the most unlikely of the early contenders is the aforementioned Bournemouth. The Cherries are in fifth place on seven points with a healthy +6 goal difference which owes much to that battering of Posh.
Eddie Howe's Bournemouth are joined on seven points by Huddersfield, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Charlton Athletic who opened with two wins but have taken just a point in the two games since.
The other big favourites Southampton are also somewhat off the pace in 14th place with just four points so far.
But, in fairness, the St Mary's club have a game in hand after postponing a match following the death of owner (and financial saviour) Markus Liebherr.
And, this weekend, the Saints finally looked to have hit top form with a 4-0 win over Bristol Rovers as Ricky Lambert returned to score against his old club.
In the same week as Liebherr died, Exeter City also lost a wonderful club servant as, tragically, striker Adam Stansfield died of cancer aged just 31.
The Grecians postponed their game against Dagenham & Redbridge but have struggled in their other encounters, taking just two points from three matches so far to end the first month of the season in fourth-bottom place.
Tranmere Rovers, Dagenham and Brentford are the three clubs below them with Rovers seemingly have failed to heed last season's struggle against relegation.
Dagenham are still adapting to the step up from League Two but managed their first point and goals against Tranmere while Brentford's only point in four games so far has come against Swindon Town.
Swindon were playoff contenders last season but suffered a slow start then - and the County Ground regulars have had to deal with the same situation in this campaign with just two points from four matches so far.
Meanwhile, Rochdale have begun their first season outside the basement division in 37 years in solid enough fashion with five points from their first four matches to sit currently 12th.
League Two
Table
TORQUAY UNITED maintained the only 100 percent record in the Football League as their 2-1 away win at Port Vale made it 12 points out of 12.
The Gulls won their first three games against Northampton Town, Lincoln City and Bradford City without conceding a goal, and went 2-0 up in the first 20 minutes against Vale.
It was 2-1 by half time but United withstood the Vale comeback to stay top, just above unbeaten Shrewsbury Town who moved second with a 4-0 away thrashing of Stockport County.
Like the Shrews, third-placed Rotherham United also have 10 points. The Millers look set for another promotion push especially if they can keep hold of hot shot Adam Le Fondre who hit four in their extraordinary 6-4 win over Cheltenham Town.
Chesterfield are unbeaten on eight points in fourth place after two home wins and two away draws.
Port Vale are in fifth on seven points - that defeat to Torquay was their first in the league this season - and, despite shipping six at Rotherham, Cheltenham are in a much improved sixth-place so far this season.
Accrington Stanley are unbeaten in seventh with a win and three 0-0 draws from their first four games. Indeed, Stanley are yet to concede in the league this season and they pushed Newcastle all the way in a 3-2 loss in the League Cup second round.
Wycombe Wanderers and Aldershot Town are also unbeaten with six points from four games in a division that has featured too many stalemates so far this season.
Oxford United, returning to the Football League, are another team to have had three 0-0 draws already - and, with their other match ending in defeat, the Us have just three points from their first four games.
Last season's Blue Square Premier champions Stevenage have done marginally better. The Boro have taken five points so far, recording their first (and, so far, only) ever league win against struggling Stockport County.
Troubled Stockport were rock-bottom last season as they were relegated from League One and matters are little better in this lower division.
The Hatters have just two points so far and they are only spared bottom place this time by Barnet who look set for another season of battling against the odds.
The Bees also have just two points and suffered the ignominy of a 7-0 defeat away to mid-table Crewe Alexandra.
Barnet and Stockport are joined at the bottom on two points by Macclesfield Town and, surprisingly, Morecambe who were in the playoff last season.
Former Premier League side Bradford City is another club who will have expected to be higher even at this stage.
The Bantams have taken just three points from four games, although it should be noted that Peter Taylor's men have already played away against the current top two.
Thursday, 12 August 2010
The Premier League 2010/2011 - The Guide
ARSENAL
The Gunners - Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Road, Islington, London, N5 1BU. Capacity 60,361
Last season: 3rd, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup Quarter finals, Champions League Quarter finals
Last major trophy: FA Cup 2005
Manager: Arsene Wenger (since October 1996)
Players In: Marouane Chamakh, Laurent Koscielny, Kyle Ebecillo, Phil Roberts
Players Out: Eduardo, Luke Ayling, Sol Campbell, Fran Merida, Philippe Senderos, Alie Sesay, Sam Byles, James Dunn, Kerrera Gilbert, William Gallas, Rhema Obed, Mikael Silvestre
Out on loan: Kyle Bartley, Pedro Botelho, Francis Coquelin, Sanchez Watt, Luke Freeman
Pre-season form: The Gunners began their pre-season with a 4-0 win at Barnet before further comfortable wins on their annual tour of Austria against Sturm Graz (3-0) and Neusiedl 1919 (4-0). Wenger's men then won the Emirates Cup at home after a 1-1 draw over AC Milan and a 3-2 win over Celtic before completing their summer programme with an extraordinary 6-5 win in Poland against Legia Warsaw.
Prediction: 4th
Arsenal enter the season aiming to end a trophy drought which has extended to five seasons after another blank in the last campaign. But, despite their last trophy being the FA Cup in 2005, manager Arsene Wenger remains committed to the club and it would seem that he is not about to give up his principles in pursuit of silverware. Youthful exuberence remains the order of the day but, at the highest level, Arsenal remain too reliant on the fitness of Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin up front and too easy to play against at the back as demonstrated last season when Wigan recovered from 2-0 down to win 3-2. On a more positive note, Cesc Fabregas pulled the strings in midfield wonderfully but a question hangs over his commitment after further overtures from Barcelona this summer.
ASTON VILLA
The Villains - Villa Park, Trinity Road, Birmingham, B6 6HE. Capacity 42,789
Last season: 6th, FA Cup Semi finals, League Cup Runners-up, Europa League Playoff round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1996
Manager: Kevin MacDonald (caretaker since August 2010)
Players In: None
Players Out: Nicky Shorey, David Bevan, Jack Dyer, Stephen O'Halloran, Marlon Harewood, Wilfred Bouma, Andy Marshall
Pre-season form: Villa had a mixed pre-season as early wins at Peterborough United (3-2) and Walsall (2-1) sandwiched a 2-1 loss in Ireland to Bohemians. Villa then took part in the Guadiana Trophy in Portugal, beating Feyenoord 3-1 but losing heavily to Benfica (1-4). Pre-season was completed with a 0-0 draw in a home match against Valencia.
Prediction: 9th
Aston Villa's season took a massive hit just days before the start as Martin O'Neill announced his shock resignation after four years in charge. O'Neill has rarely seemed comfortable with his position at Villa Park and has signed constant rolling one-year contracts but his departure still stunned the claret-and-blue half of the second city. It completed a miserable summer for Villa fans who face a horrible feeling of deja vu as Manchester City pursue their best midfielder. Last season, Gareth Barry made the move to Eastlands and James Milner looks certain to follow. The arrival of Stephen Ireland as part of the deal would soften the blow but he would be the only incoming transfer of a troubled summer. Perhaps American owner Randy Lerner's reluctance to throw any more money O'Neill's way was the reason for the Ulsterman's departure. But O'Neill has little grounds for complaint having wasted a ridiculous amount on the likes of Nicky Shorey and Steve Sidwell. Whatever the case is, the timing of O'Neill's decision has put Villa on the back foot at the start of the season. Fortunately for them, there is still enough quality in the squad to ensure a respectable placing.
BIRMINGHAM CITY
The Blues - St Andrew's, St Andrew's Road, Birmingham, B9 4NH. Capacity 30,079
Last season: 9th, FA Cup Quarter finals, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1963
Manager: Alex McLeish (since November 2007)
Players In: Ben Foster, Nikola Zigic, Enric Valles
Players Out: Christian Benitez, Lee Carsley, Gary McSheffrey, Franck Queudrue, Artur Krysiak, Gregory Vignal, Jared Wilson, Jacob Rowe, Shaun Timmins
Out on loan: Jake Jervis, Robin Shroot, Colin Doyle
Pre-season form: Clearly as a result of Hong Kong businessman Carsten Yeung's ownership, Birmingham began their preparations by touring China. The tour went well with consecutive wins over a Hong Kong XI (3-2), Beijing Guoan (1-0) and Liaoning Whowin (2-0). Back in England, Birmingham beat Derby County 2-1 and MK Dons 3-2 before a 1-0 loss to Real Mallorca in their only home match.
Prediction: 12th
The longest unbeaten run in the Premier League last season did not belong to Chelsea or Manchester United, or even Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester City. No, last season's most consecutive Premier League matches without defeat was achieved by Birmingham City who hauled themselves away from the bottom into contention for the Europa League by winning seven matches and drawing five either side of Christmas with Lee Bowyer, in particular, enjoying a purple patch. The Blues lost just twice at home in the league all the way through 2009-10 although, painfully, one of those defeats was early in the season to Aston Villa who went on to achieve a 'double' at Villa Park. Manager Alex McLeish deserves much credit for making Birmingham so difficult to beat - indeed, every single one of Birmingham's 13 Premier League wins last season were by a single goal. These are exciting times at St Andrew's but, as the Blues playing within such tight margins, the fates suggest that it will be difficult for them to maintain a top-half position.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Rovers - Ewood Park, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 4JF. Capacity 31,154
Last season: 10th, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup Semi finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 2002
Manager: Sam Allardyce (since December 2008)
Players In: Hugo Fernandez, Mame Biram Diouf
Players Out: Michael Hall, Andrew Howarth, Marcus Marshall, Steven Reid, Jordan Bowen, Josh Swann
Pre-season form: Rovers had the busiest friendly programme of all the Premier League teams, playing no fewer than nine matches - and so it is perhaps no surprise that not all of them were a success. A 0-0 draw with Austrians Sturm Graz was followed by a 2-0 win over non-league Fleetwood Town before poor defeats without scoring at Preston North End (0-3) and Huddersfield Town (0-1). Rovers' struggles continued on their tour of Australia as they were beaten 2-1 in consecutive matches by Rangers and AEK Athens in the Sydney Festival of Football. Rovers restored pride with a 2-1 win over the hosts before a trip to Scotland garnered a 1-1 draw against Hearts and a 2-1 win over Celtic.
Prediction: 8th
In his first full season in charge, Sam Allardyce restored Blackburn Rovers' reputation as a solid mid-table team with a 10th-place finish. This was seen as a respectable recovery, coming a year after flirting with relegation during the seven-month dalliance with Paul Ince. Indeed, Rovers fans had a highly enjoyable season - they did the double over relegated local rivals Burnley, reached the semi final of the League Cup and remained unbeaten at home against the 'Big Four'. Allardyce was also restoring his own reputation after a torturous eight-month spell at Newcastle, and the aim must now be the push on into the top half - though just sorting out the away form would be a start. Rovers won just once outside Lancashire last season (at West Ham) with two of their three away wins coming at Bolton Wanderers and Burnley.
BLACKPOOL
The Seasiders - Bloomfield Road, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 6JJ. Capacity 17,625
Last season: 6th (promoted from Championship via playoffs), FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1953
Manager: Ian Holloway (since May 2009)
Players In: Dekel Keinan, Craig Cathcart, Elliot Grandin, Ludovic Sylvestre, Marlon Harewood, Malaury Martin
Players Out: Al Bangura, Hameur Bouazza, Ben Burgess, Daniel Nardiello, Joe Martin, Danny Mitchley, Stephen McPhee
Pre-season form: Much like everything else that seems to have happened this summer, the Seasiders' friendly form began well on a tour of the South West before petering out. A 2-0 win over Tiverton Town was followed by further victories over Accrington Stanley (2-1) and Havant & Waterlooville (3-2) as Blackpool lifted the Joma South West Challenge cup. However, results then took a turn for the worst with three consecutive defeats - away at Crewe Alexandra (0-1), Bristol City (also 0-1) and at home against Hibernian (1-2).
Prediction: 20th
The gulf between the Premier League and the Championship means it is customary to predict that the playoff winners face immediate relegation but Blackpool's preparations for the new season will have done little to defy the critics. Since their big day out at Wembley and that 3-2 win over Cardiff, the Seasiders have struggled to attract many players to Bloomfield Road. Chairman Karl Oyston even offered to leave the club if it was thought their wage structure was too harsh. By contrast, manager Ian Holloway released a statement confirming that he was staying despite the transfer problems, and he has been rewarded with a flurry of recent activity including the arrival of Marlon Harewood up front. But, while the likes of Hull City, Wigan Athletic and Bradford City all stayed up in their first season against the odds, the men in tangerine are an even weaker squad. 'Pool fans will have to brace themselves for a real tough nine months ahead - simply avoiding embarrassment with some decent home form is the first aim.
BOLTON WANDERERS
The Trotters - Reebok Stadium, Burnden Way, Lostock, Bolton, BL6 6JW. Capacity 28,101 Last season: 14th, FA Cup 5th round, League Cup 4th round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1958
Manager: Owen Coyle (since January 2010)
Players In: Marco Alonso, Robbie Blake, Ivan Klasnic, Martin Petrov
Players Out: Zoltan Harsanyi, Nicky Hunt, Ricardo Vaz Te
Out on loan: Ali Al-Habsi
Pre-season form: Bolton Wanderers warmed up for the season with a successful trip to North America, recording wins over Charlotte Eagles (3-0) and Charlestone Battery (2-0) before a 1-1 draw against FC Toronto which the Trotters won on penalties. Bolton struggled to match those results back home with a 1-1 draw at Rochdale, a 3-0 loss to Oldham Athletic and a 0-0 stalemate at Falkirk. But Coyle's men ended the summer on a positive note with two 2-0 wins - away at St Johnstone and at home against Osasuna.
Prediction: 14th
Owen Coyle could declare last season's mission as successful after he kept Bolton Wanderers up having taken over them when they were in the bottom three. The next phase of the plan is always rather more difficult and, oddly, it almost feels as if the Trotters are having to re-establish themselves in the elite despite them celebrating a 10th consecutive seasons of top-flight football. That is their longest run since the mid-1960s, and it means Bolton have the unwelcome record for being the club with the most seasons in the top flight without a single league championship. Back to the present and the signing of Martin Petrov is a clever piece of business. Indeed, Coyle's men should endure a less stressful season but it seems unlikely that the Trotters will race up the league with what is ostensibly much the same squad as last year.
CHELSEA
The Blues - Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London, SW6 1HS. Capacity 42,449
Last season: Champions, FA Cup Winners, League Cup Quarter finals, Champions League Last 16
Last major trophy: Premier League 2009-10 and FA Cup 2010
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti (since June 2009)
Players In: Ramires, Yossi Benayoun, Matej Delac, Tomas Kalac
Players Out: Miroslav Stoch, Scott Sinclair, Deco, Michael Ballack, Juliano Belletti, Joe Cole, Jeffrey Ntuka, Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi, Liam Bridcutt
Out on loan: Tomas Kalac, Ryan Bertrand, Rhys Taylor, Ben Gordon, Danny Philliskirk
Pre-season form: Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in their first pre-season match but that win at Selhurst Park proved to be the last of a troubled summer on the field for the Blues. A 3-1 loss to Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands was followed sharply by two more defeats, both 2-1, in Germany against Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg. A 3-1 lost to Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley prompted Carlo Ancelotti to admit his team were not yet at their peak.
Prediction: 2nd
Rarely has a league title win been as emphatic as Chelsea's 2009-10 season. The Blues were simply imperious at Stamford Bridge, scoring seven goals three times and then beating Wigan Athletic 8-0 on the final day to seal a fourth league championship. Vitally, Carlo Ancelotti's men also did the double over Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool and yet, despite all the wins and the much greater goal power, Chelsea just could not shake United from their tail. That is more a credit to Sir Alex Ferguson's men than a criticism of Chelsea but, with United currently level-pegging with Liverpool on 18 championship wins, they will no doubt take advantage of any slip-ups at Stamford Bridge in what is set to be another fascinating title chase.
EVERTON
The Toffees - Goodison Park, Goodison Road, Liverpool, L4 4EL. Capacity 40,157
Last season: 8th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 4th round, Europa League Last 32
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1995
Manager: David Moyes (since March 2002)
Players In: Magaye Gueye, Joao Silva, Jermaine Beckford, Jan Mucha
Players Out: Lukas Jutkiewicz, John Ruddy, Dan Gosling, Anton Peterlin, Carlo Nash
Pre-season form: Everton travelled Down Under for a three match series in Australia, all of which were won. The Toffees beat Sydney FC 1-0, Melbourne Heart 2-0 and Brisbane Roar 2-1 to complete a successful tour. The goals flowed even more back in England with comfortable wins at Preston North End (3-0) and Norwich City (4-2) before a 2-0 home win over their Chilean namesakes Everton de Vina. The Premier League Everton completed their pre-season programme with a 2-0 loss against Steve McClaren's Wolfsburg in Germany.
Prediction: 6th
Everton hit the form of a Champions League contender in the second half of last season but the Toffees had come unstuck with so many injuries in the first part of the campaign that the damage had already been done. In the end, David Moyes' men fell just short of a Europa League spot but the lack of extra midweek matches will surely aid a season-long pursuit of the top clubs in the current campaign. With the return to full fitness of midfielders Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill and Russian Diniyar Bilayetdinov, Everton have no excuses for a poor start this time and there should be no shortage of support for the strikers. But a reliance on the fitness of Louis Saha up front remains a concern and perhaps explains the gamble on Jermaine Beckford. And, while there are few concerns with the defence and midfield, goals from the strikers will be the difference between Everton mounting a genuine assault on the top four or spending a frustrating season just outside of it.
FULHAM
The Cottagers - Craven Cottage, Stevenage Road, London, SW6 6HH. Capacity 25,700
Last season: 12th, FA Cup Quarter finals, League Cup 3rd round, Europa League Runners-up
Last major trophy: None
Manager: Mark Hughes (since July 2010)
Players In: Jonathan Greening, Philippe Senderos
Players Out: Chris Smalling, Chris Buchtmann, Wayne Brown, Erik Nevland, Elliot Omozusi, Stefan Payne, Luca Moscatiello, Gyan Osei King, Michael Uwesu, Andranik Teymourian
Pre-season form: Fulham started and finished their pre-seasons with two big wins - hammering Brentford 5-0 away and Werder Bremen 5-1 at home. In between, there was a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth before a tour of Sweden also ended in two draws - against Halmstads (2-2) and Malmo (0-0). Fulham were also the guests for the testimonial match of Portsmouth's Linvoy Primus which Pompey won 1-0.
Prediction: 11th
New manager Mark Hughes has set Fulham the target of a top-half finish in his first season. In many ways, the Cottagers were victims of their own success in losing Roy Hodgson who guided them to eighth place in 2008-09 and the Europa Cup Final last season. Perhaps seeking one last try in the big time, Hodgson left for Liverpool, and Fulham were in a state of flux. The search for a new manager did not start well when first choice Martin Jol opted to stay at Ajax but within a week Hughes was appointed. Defender Chris Smalling has moved to Manchester United for £10m but there were few changes to a squad which should find Hughes' aim within its reach especially if Bobby Zamora retains his confidence in front of goal.
LIVERPOOL
The Reds - Anfield, Anfield Road, Liverpool, L4 0TH. Capacity 45,276
Last season: 7th, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup 4th round, Champions League Group stage, Europa League Semi finals
Last major trophy: FA Cup 2006
Manager: Roy Hodgson (since July 2010)
Players In: Christian Poulsen, Danny Wilson, Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic
Players Out: Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera, Mikel San Jose, James Ellison, David Martin, Ray Putterill, Robbie Threlfall, Francisco Manuel Duran, Christopher Oldfield
Out on loan: Philipp Degen
Pre-season form: Liverpool saved their best form for the matches which counted, winning 2-0 home and away in the Champions League qualifier against Slovenians Rabotnicki Skopje for a 4-0 aggregate win. In their non-competitive games, the Reds were unimposing to say the least, failing to score in a 0-0 draw with Grasshopper Zurich and in the 1-0 defeats to German sides Kaiserslautern and Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Prediction: 5th
The signs of another revolution hang in the air at Anfield after Roy Hodgson displaced Rafa Benitez in a dramatic summer on Merseyside. But, while most revolutions begin with a raft sweeping changes, Hodgson has had to rely on the status quo being maintained before making any impression. The decisions of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay have at least given Hodgson a base from which to work. Joe Cole is also a canny signing from Chelsea on a free transfer but the Reds still have far too much dead wood in their squad and they remain as reliant as ever on the fitness of Gerrard and Torres. Off the field concerns about the club's ownership continue to cast a shadow upon matters on it. Only when this is resolved will Hodgson be able to prove his worth though he will surely improve on last season's record which included 19 defeats in all competitions, 11 in the league.
MANCHESTER CITY
The Blues - City of Manchester Stadium, SportCity, Manchester, M11 3FF. Capacity 47,405 Last season: 5th, FA Cup 5th round, League Cup Semi finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 1976
Manager: Roberto Mancini (since December 2009)
Players In: Yaya Toure, David Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov, Jerome Boateng, Alex Henshall, Albert Rusnak
Players Out: Javier Garrido, Valeri Bojinov, Robert Mak, Paul Marshall, Filip Mentel, Andrew Mitchell, Martin Petrov, Jack Redshaw, Tobias Johansen, Karl Moore, Benjani Mwaruwari, Sylvinho
Out on loan: Nedum Onuoha, Ryan McGivern, Gunnar Nielsen, David Ball, Kieran Trippier, Andrew Tutte, Adam Clayton
Pre-season form: City were one of several teams to choose to go to North America in the off-season but, in terms of results, the tour could hardly be put down as a success. After an early 3-0 win over Portland Timbers, City then lost both their matches in the New York Football Challenge to Sporting Lisbon (0-2) and the hosts New York Red Bulls (1-2). There followed a 1-1 draw with Mexican side Club America before a 3-0 loss to European champions Internazionale. Things were little better in Germany where City fell to a 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund before a relieving 2-0 home win over Valencia.
Prediction: 3rd
Throwing enough money at something in a free-market will usually pay dividends eventually - or at least Manchester City hope this will be the case having splurged almost another £80m already this summer. That amount does not even include the reported £30m which will be spent on bringing bit-part England player James Milner to Eastlands. The Milner signing, assuming it goes ahead, is a clear example of the unfathomable approach to the transfer market by City. Instead of chasing yet another attacking midfielder, Roberto Mancini could do with signing some defensive cover as this was easily City's weakest area last season with 45 league goals conceded. Of course, Yaya Toure's £28m transfer from Barcelona will offer some protection in front of the defence but the backline itself still needs some work. However, it is not as if City have not got the money to sort this out and, as long as they do, Mancini's men should improve on last season's galling, Champions League-missing 5th place.
MANCHESTER UNITED
The Red Devils - Old Trafford, Sir Matt Busby Way, Manchester, M16 0RA. Capacity 75,797
Last season: 2nd, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup Winners, Champions League Quarter finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 2010
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson (since November 1986)
Players In: Chris Smalling, Bebe, Javier Hernandez, Marnick Vermijl
Players Out: Ben Foster, Craig Cathcart, Zoran Tosic, David Gray, Tom Heaton, Ron-Robert Zieler, Fabian Brandy, Sam Hewson, Scott Moffatt
Out on loan: Mame Biram Diouf, Daniel Drinkwater, Matthew James, James Chester, Josh King, Cameron Stewart
Pre-season form: United were another of the clubs to head to North America but the Red Devils had a generally more successful time on the pitch than their City neighbours. A 3-1 win over Celtic in Toronto was followed by a 1-0 win against Philadelphia Union. There was room for a shock 2-1 defeat against Kansas City Wizards but United responded by beating a MLS All-Stars team 5-2. Another defeat, this time 3-2, came against Mexicans Guadalaraja in a match played as part of the Javier Hernandez deal before Sir Alex Ferguson's men returned to British shores to open up the Aviva Stadium at Landsdowne Road in Dublin with a 7-1 thrashing of a League of Ireland team. Finally, United collected the 2010-11 season's first piece of domestic silverware with a comfortable 3-1 win over Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley.
Prediction: Champions
When Sir Alex Ferguson took over Manchester United almost 24 years ago, the club had not won the league championship for 18 years. Indeed, in that time, the Red Devils had even made a brief visit to the old Second Division and they stood on a total of seven championships. Their total was dwarfed by Liverpool's achievement of 18 titles. And, although it took Ferguson six years to win his first crown, his stated aim has always been to overhaul the Reds' record. Now, having built and re-built a series of teams, the Red Devils and the Reds are level on 18-a-piece, just as they were at the start of last season when Chelsea proved too strong. But, this season, the signing of Javier Hernandez has added more fizz to the attack while the likes of Nani and Anderson are another year older and wiser. With Liverpool still in transition, United seem unlikely to pass up the chance to take a 19-18 lead sooner rather than later.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
The Magpies - St James Park, Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4ST. Capacity 52,387
Last season: 1st (promoted from the Championship), FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: UEFA (Fairs) Cup 1969
Manager: Chris Hughton (since June 2009)
Players In: James Perch, Sol Campbell, Dan Gosling
Players Out: Jonny Godsmark, Max Johnson, Michael McCrudden, Nicky Butt, Frank Danquah, Darren Lough, Wesley Ngo-Baheng, Callum Morris, Fabrice Pancrate
Pre-season form: Newcastle's patchy summer form began well enough with a 3-0 win at Carlisle United but that win in Cumbria was followed by a 2-1 defeat Norwich City on the following weekend. Two draws then followed - the first was an entertaining 2-2 at home to PSV on the first anniversary of the death of Sir Bobby Robson. The second match was a 0-0 stalemate in Spain against Deportivo La Coruna, although Newcastle beat their hosts 5-3 on penalties to take home the Teresa Herrara Cup, a trophy which makes up for its lack of importance with its actual size. A 2-1 defeat in Glasgow in Rangers left Newcastle with a record of won one, drawn two, lost two in their five games.
Prediction: 16th
Newcastle United are back after a one-season absence but Chris Hughton's men look unlikely to take the top-flight by storm with this worryingly thin squad. Despite a runaway Championship title success, United are lightweight up front and there is a huge burden on new No9 striker Andy Carroll to provide a consistent source goals to ensure survival as no one else looks capable. A slow central midfield and an error-prone defence also point to this being a long season at St James Park but there are reasons to be cheerful. Hughton seems to have engendered the best team spirit in years as Newcastle recovered from a humiliating 6-1 pre-season loss at Leyton Orient last season to remain unbeaten at home and win the league with six games to spare. Wingers Wayne Routledge and Jonas Gutierrez will give the Magpies chances on the break, while Newcastle's traditional problem position of centre-back might just be solved by a Sol Campbell-Fabricio Coloccini partnership. Indeed, that pairing could be the difference between survival and another painful relegation - the United defence will have to grind out some narrow results for Newcastle to have any chance.
STOKE CITY
The Potters - Britannia Stadium, Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4EG. Capacity 27,740
Last season: 11th, FA Cup Quarter finals, League Cup 4th round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1972
Manager: Tony Pulis (since June 2006)
Players In: Kenwyne Jones, Florent Cuvelier, Carlo Nash
Players Out: Andy Griffin, Rod McDonald, Steve Simonsen, Nathaniel Wedderburn, Amdy Faye
Out on loan: Diego Arismendi, Ibrahima Sonko, Louis Moult
Pre-season form: Stoke City began the summer with a 1-0 loss to Turkish team Bursaspor, played while they were at their training camp in Austria. A return to England resulted in some success with a 2-1 win over Nantwich Town and a 0-0 draw with Notts County as the Potters fielded two separate teams on the same day. A 6-0 win over Newcastle Town was followed by a 1-0 defeat against Derby County but Stoke did rather better against another Championship team, Burnley, winning 2-1. A busy schedule was completed with a 2-1 win over Bristol Rovers and a 0-0 draw at Wrexham.
Prediction: 10th
Stoke City never looked in danger of falling foul to so-called second season syndrome as they easily secured a third successive season of top-flight football. Indeed, the Potters spent much of the back end of last season threatening a first top-half finish since 1980-81 and that now has to be a genuine aim of a team good enough to avoid the relegation scrap. The pairing of Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross at the back remains Stoke's main strength and they are effective enough to nullify City's distinct lack of goals. Stoke only scored 34 times in 38 league matches last season with just 10 on the road, the lowest of any team in the Premier League last season. But, thanks to the defence, the Potters still managed four away wins and there were also three 0-0s and four 1-1s in seven draws on the road. James Beattie may have now left for Rangers but a few goals from Ricardo Fuller and new signing Kenwyne Jones would go a long way to ensure a seemingly continuous improvement from Stoke.
SUNDERLAND
The Black Cats - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, SR5 1SU. Capacity 48,707
Last season: 13th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 4th round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1973
Manager: Steve Bruce (since June 2009)
Players In: Marcos Angeleri, Simon Mignolet, Titus Bramble, John Mensah, Cristian Riveros, Ahmed Al-Muhammadi, Nedum Onuoha
Players Out: Kenwyne Jones, Lorik Cana, Daryl Murphy, Marton Fulop, Conor Hourihane, Jamie Chandler, Roy O'Donovan
Out on loan: Oumare Tounkara, Jean Yves M'voto, Nyron Nosworthy, Michael Liddle
Pre-season form: Sunderland started off their summer with a 1-0 win at Darlington before a trip to Portugal brought mixed results. First, they drew 1-1 with League One team Brighton & Hove Albion before a 4-2 beating of Hull City as Fraizer Campbell hit all four Sunderland goals. The Black Cats were brought back down to earth by a 2-0 loss to Benfica. Then, to complete an inconsisent set of results, a 2-1 win against Leicester City was followed by a 3-1 defeat in Germany to Hoffenheim.
Prediction: 13th
Sunderland's record signing Darren Bent was worth his weight in goals after he scored 24 times in the league in his first season at the Stadium of Light. Without the £10m man, the Black Cats would have struggled badly - indeed they still managed to go almost four months without a league win between November and March. But a good start to the season and a decent end ensured Sunderland would finish in lower mid-table and they recorded more than 40 points for only the third time in nine Premier League seasons. Bent scored exactly half of the club's league goals last term but, with Danny Welbeck now signed from Manchester United, this is far from the Wearsiders' most pressing problem. The defence remains suspect and it is hard to see how the unnerving presence of Titus Bramble will greatly improve it. Meanwhile, Craig Gordon broke his arm in pre-season training and Martin Fulop has signed for Ipswich leaving Bruce scrambling for an experienced goalkeeper. All in all, it could be another frustrating season for the Black Cats' fans.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Spurs - White Hart Lane, Bill Nicholson Way, 748 High Road, Tottenham, London, N17 0AP. Capacity 36,230
Last season: 4th, FA Cup Semi finals, League Cup Quarter finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 2008
Manager: Harry Redknapp (since October 2008)
Players In: Sandro Raniere
Players Out: Adel Taarabt, Lee Butcher, Sam Cox, Dorian Dervite, Jimmy Walker
Out on loan: John Bostock, David Button, Oscar Jansson
Pre-season form: Harry Redknapp bemoaned a pre-season schedule which saw Spurs play in Bournemouth, the United States, Portugal and at home twice. Spurs beat Bournemouth 4-0 before jetting off to the USA where they drew 0-0 with San Jose Earthquakes. In the New York Football Challenge which followed, Spurs did rather better than Manchester City in their two matches, beating the hosts New York Red Bulls 2-1 and drawing 2-2 with Sporting Lisbon. Redknapp's men were brought crashing back to earth with a 4-1 home defeat against Villarreal before there were two wins, away against Benfica (1-0) and at home to Fiorentina (3-2).
Prediction: 7th
After years and years of trying, Tottenham Hotspur finally reached the promised land of the top four. The 2009-10 season was Spurs' first appearance in the top four since 1989-90 and, provided they overcome Young Boys Berne in the qualifier, they will contest the European Cup for the first time since 1961-62. These are exciting times to be a Tottenham fan and Harry Redknapp has developed a stylish side capable of tearing apart opponents at will. Spurs even seemed to have overcome a mental block after beating Arsenal and Chelsea for the first time in years in consecutive matches at the back end of the season. Then, they went on to beat Manchester City in what was effectively a playoff for fourth place. But City have splashed the cash again this summer and Liverpool will surely not play as badly again. With so many matches for an admittedly impressive squad, Spurs may find that staying in the top four was even harder than getting there in the first place.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
The Baggies - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, B71 4LF. Capacity 26,484
Last season: 2nd (promoted from the Championship), FA Cup 5th round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1968
Manager: Roberto di Matteo (since June 2009)
Players In: Nicky Shorey, Boaz Myhill, Gabriel Tamas, Pablo Ibanez, Stephen Reid
Players Out: Jonathan Greening, Joss Labadie, Filipe Texeira, Robert Koren, Andwele Slory
Out on loan: Luke Daniels, Marcus Haber, Borja Valero
Pre-season form: There was no clear pattern from West Brom's pre-season results with three wins, two draws and two defeats from seven matches. The Baggies kicked off with two wins, 3-0 at Kidderminster Harriers and 2-1 in Holland against VVV Venlo. Then, two 1-0 defeats to Crewe Alexandra and Doncaster Rovers sandwiched a win by the same score over Bristol Rovers. Finally, there were two 1-1 draws - away at Coventry City and at home against Osasuna.
Prediction: 18th
West Bromwich Albion boinged back into the Premier League with a fourth promotion in nine years. The Baggies are the very definition of a yo-yo club and, without further investment in the quality of the squad, that trend looks set to continue. At least manager Roberto di Matteo retained the services of the impressive Graham Dorrans after interest from West Ham United. But di Matteo has not seemed to realise that it is usually a lack of goals from the strikers which lets down the Baggies again and again as none of the summer signings looks to have rectified this. West Brom were regarded as playing too prettily to survive in their last attempt under Tony Mowbray. However, di Matteo has instilled an uncompromising attitude in his players which allowed them to see off the challenge of Nottingham Forest for the second automatic spot last season. But, ultimately, a failure to find more goals will mean the Baggies are fighting yet another losing battle for top flight survival.
WEST HAM UNITED
The Hammers - Boleyn Ground, Green Street, Upton Park, London, E13 9AZ. Capacity 35,303 Last season: 17th, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1980
Manager: Avram Grant (since June 2010)
Players In: Pablo Barrera, Winston Reid, Frederic Piquionne, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Tal Ben Haim
Players Out: Bondz N'Gala, Josh Payne, Guillermo Franco, Ilan Out on loan: Matt Fry
Pre-season form: West Ham went through their summer matches unbeaten, starting with a 2-1 win over Peterborough United. This was followed by a tour of Germany which featured a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach and a 1-0 win over Greek side Panathinaikos. Back in England, the wins kept coming with successes against MK Dons (2-0) and Ipswich Town (1-0) before a 1-1 draw with Southend United. The Hammers finished their summer programme with another draw, 0-0 at home against Deportivo La Coruna - though, like Newcastle, they also beat the Spaniards 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out.
Prediction: 15th
Gianfranco Zola inevitably paid the price for West Ham United's woeful 2009-10 season in which they stayed up only because of the sheer awfulness of the bottom three. The Hammers earned just 35 points during the last campaign which was played out against the backdrop of an estimated £90m of debt. The money problems remain but former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss Avram Grant seems a more able candidate to deal with the situation. Indeed, after his troubleshooting at Pompey, this should seem to him like a walk in the park. Over the summer, Grant has brought Frederic Piquionne with him from Fratton Park but the striker's inconsistency is bound to annoy the Boleyn Ground regulars. Instead, Grant - who perhaps deserves a little luck after last season - will hope Carlton Cole retains his fitness this year.
WIGAN ATHLETIC
The Latics - DW Stadium, Loire Drive, Robin Park, Wigan, WN5 0UH. Capacity 25,133
Last season: 16th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 2nd round
Last major trophy: None
Manager: Roberto Martinez (since June 2009)
Players In: Mauro Boselli, Ronnie Stam, James McArthur, Antolin Alcaraz, Ali Al-Habsi
Players Out: Titus Bramble, Tomasz Cywka, Tomasz Kupisz, Mario Melchiot, Rachid Bouaouzan, Olivier Kapo, Richard Kingson, Nicolas Meace, Paul Scharner
Out on loan: Antonio Amaya, Jason Koumas, Jonathan Routledge
Pre-season form: Wigan began their preparations in Sweden with a 3-2 win over Ostersunds FK before returning to Lancashire for a 1-1 draw at Oldham Athletic. This was followed by further trips to Slovenia, where Wigan beat hosts Rudar Velenje 4-1, and Turkey where a 0-0 draw with Genclerbirligi was played out. The Latics' only home match of pre-season finished 3-1 to Real Zaragoza but then Martinez's men won their final friendly of the summer at Dundee United by the same score.
Prediction: 19th
Wigan Athletic begin a remarkable sixth consecutive Premier League campaign but there are real fears that run will end with relegation next May. A worrying 79 goals ended in the Wigan Athletic net last season, including 17 in two visits to London as the Latics lost 9-1 to Tottenham Hotspur and 8-0 to Chelsea. A repeat of that performance will give Roberto Martinez's men no chance to survive as the bottom three are unlikely to be as weak this time around. The loss of Titus Bramble to Sunderland hardly helps the situation at the back although the Latics are still capable of pulling off extraordinary results with the likes of Hugo Rodellega up front. But Charles N'Zogbia looks set to be next out of the door and he is an attacking talent which Martinez can ill-afford to lose if he is to cover up the horribly leaky defence.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Wolves - Molineux, Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, WV1 4QR. Capacity 29,195
Last season: 15th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1980
Manager: Mick McCarthy (since July 2006)
Players In: Stephen Fletcher, Stephen Hunt, Steven Mouyokolo, Jelle van Damme, Adlene Guedioura, Geoffrey Mujangi Bia
Players Out: Andrew Surman, Chris Iwelumo, Jason Shackell, Kyle Bennett, Daniel Jones, George Friend, Mark Little
Out on loan: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Sam Vokes
Pre-season form: Wolves began their summer preparations with three successive wins - 3-0 against Bohemians in Ireland, 4-0 at Walsall and 2-1 in Belgium against RSC Charleroi. After returning from the trip, McCarthy's men fell out of form, losing two consecutive games to Championship clubs - Reading (1-2) and Leeds United (1-3). A 2-0 away win against Hearts was indeed heartening, as was a 2-1 win over Real Zaragoza at the only summer match at Molineux.
Prediction: 17th
Manager Mick McCarthy opted for a pragmatic approach to survival last season - and it worked. This season, Wolverhampton Wanderers will contest consecutive campaigns of top flight football for the first time since 1981-82. McCarthy fell foul of the Premier League rules when he sent a supposedly weakened team to Old Trafford in December. Wolves lost 3-0 to Manchester United and, rather ridiculously, were fined as the Premier League set a dangerous precedent of interfering with team selection. The decision riled McCarthy but he could feel vindicated after Wolves then beat Burnley in the next match to set up a second half of the season in which the Old Gold comfortably reached safety. However, Wolves still only managed a point per game and they scored just 32 goals all season in the league. McCarthy hopes the £6.5m signing of Steven Fletcher from Burnley will ease Kevin Doyle's workload but another goal drought could lead to a tougher dogfight this term.
The Gunners - Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Road, Islington, London, N5 1BU. Capacity 60,361
Last season: 3rd, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup Quarter finals, Champions League Quarter finals
Last major trophy: FA Cup 2005
Manager: Arsene Wenger (since October 1996)
Players In: Marouane Chamakh, Laurent Koscielny, Kyle Ebecillo, Phil Roberts
Players Out: Eduardo, Luke Ayling, Sol Campbell, Fran Merida, Philippe Senderos, Alie Sesay, Sam Byles, James Dunn, Kerrera Gilbert, William Gallas, Rhema Obed, Mikael Silvestre
Out on loan: Kyle Bartley, Pedro Botelho, Francis Coquelin, Sanchez Watt, Luke Freeman
Pre-season form: The Gunners began their pre-season with a 4-0 win at Barnet before further comfortable wins on their annual tour of Austria against Sturm Graz (3-0) and Neusiedl 1919 (4-0). Wenger's men then won the Emirates Cup at home after a 1-1 draw over AC Milan and a 3-2 win over Celtic before completing their summer programme with an extraordinary 6-5 win in Poland against Legia Warsaw.
Prediction: 4th
Arsenal enter the season aiming to end a trophy drought which has extended to five seasons after another blank in the last campaign. But, despite their last trophy being the FA Cup in 2005, manager Arsene Wenger remains committed to the club and it would seem that he is not about to give up his principles in pursuit of silverware. Youthful exuberence remains the order of the day but, at the highest level, Arsenal remain too reliant on the fitness of Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin up front and too easy to play against at the back as demonstrated last season when Wigan recovered from 2-0 down to win 3-2. On a more positive note, Cesc Fabregas pulled the strings in midfield wonderfully but a question hangs over his commitment after further overtures from Barcelona this summer.
ASTON VILLA
The Villains - Villa Park, Trinity Road, Birmingham, B6 6HE. Capacity 42,789
Last season: 6th, FA Cup Semi finals, League Cup Runners-up, Europa League Playoff round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1996
Manager: Kevin MacDonald (caretaker since August 2010)
Players In: None
Players Out: Nicky Shorey, David Bevan, Jack Dyer, Stephen O'Halloran, Marlon Harewood, Wilfred Bouma, Andy Marshall
Pre-season form: Villa had a mixed pre-season as early wins at Peterborough United (3-2) and Walsall (2-1) sandwiched a 2-1 loss in Ireland to Bohemians. Villa then took part in the Guadiana Trophy in Portugal, beating Feyenoord 3-1 but losing heavily to Benfica (1-4). Pre-season was completed with a 0-0 draw in a home match against Valencia.
Prediction: 9th
Aston Villa's season took a massive hit just days before the start as Martin O'Neill announced his shock resignation after four years in charge. O'Neill has rarely seemed comfortable with his position at Villa Park and has signed constant rolling one-year contracts but his departure still stunned the claret-and-blue half of the second city. It completed a miserable summer for Villa fans who face a horrible feeling of deja vu as Manchester City pursue their best midfielder. Last season, Gareth Barry made the move to Eastlands and James Milner looks certain to follow. The arrival of Stephen Ireland as part of the deal would soften the blow but he would be the only incoming transfer of a troubled summer. Perhaps American owner Randy Lerner's reluctance to throw any more money O'Neill's way was the reason for the Ulsterman's departure. But O'Neill has little grounds for complaint having wasted a ridiculous amount on the likes of Nicky Shorey and Steve Sidwell. Whatever the case is, the timing of O'Neill's decision has put Villa on the back foot at the start of the season. Fortunately for them, there is still enough quality in the squad to ensure a respectable placing.
BIRMINGHAM CITY
The Blues - St Andrew's, St Andrew's Road, Birmingham, B9 4NH. Capacity 30,079
Last season: 9th, FA Cup Quarter finals, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1963
Manager: Alex McLeish (since November 2007)
Players In: Ben Foster, Nikola Zigic, Enric Valles
Players Out: Christian Benitez, Lee Carsley, Gary McSheffrey, Franck Queudrue, Artur Krysiak, Gregory Vignal, Jared Wilson, Jacob Rowe, Shaun Timmins
Out on loan: Jake Jervis, Robin Shroot, Colin Doyle
Pre-season form: Clearly as a result of Hong Kong businessman Carsten Yeung's ownership, Birmingham began their preparations by touring China. The tour went well with consecutive wins over a Hong Kong XI (3-2), Beijing Guoan (1-0) and Liaoning Whowin (2-0). Back in England, Birmingham beat Derby County 2-1 and MK Dons 3-2 before a 1-0 loss to Real Mallorca in their only home match.
Prediction: 12th
The longest unbeaten run in the Premier League last season did not belong to Chelsea or Manchester United, or even Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester City. No, last season's most consecutive Premier League matches without defeat was achieved by Birmingham City who hauled themselves away from the bottom into contention for the Europa League by winning seven matches and drawing five either side of Christmas with Lee Bowyer, in particular, enjoying a purple patch. The Blues lost just twice at home in the league all the way through 2009-10 although, painfully, one of those defeats was early in the season to Aston Villa who went on to achieve a 'double' at Villa Park. Manager Alex McLeish deserves much credit for making Birmingham so difficult to beat - indeed, every single one of Birmingham's 13 Premier League wins last season were by a single goal. These are exciting times at St Andrew's but, as the Blues playing within such tight margins, the fates suggest that it will be difficult for them to maintain a top-half position.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Rovers - Ewood Park, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 4JF. Capacity 31,154
Last season: 10th, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup Semi finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 2002
Manager: Sam Allardyce (since December 2008)
Players In: Hugo Fernandez, Mame Biram Diouf
Players Out: Michael Hall, Andrew Howarth, Marcus Marshall, Steven Reid, Jordan Bowen, Josh Swann
Pre-season form: Rovers had the busiest friendly programme of all the Premier League teams, playing no fewer than nine matches - and so it is perhaps no surprise that not all of them were a success. A 0-0 draw with Austrians Sturm Graz was followed by a 2-0 win over non-league Fleetwood Town before poor defeats without scoring at Preston North End (0-3) and Huddersfield Town (0-1). Rovers' struggles continued on their tour of Australia as they were beaten 2-1 in consecutive matches by Rangers and AEK Athens in the Sydney Festival of Football. Rovers restored pride with a 2-1 win over the hosts before a trip to Scotland garnered a 1-1 draw against Hearts and a 2-1 win over Celtic.
Prediction: 8th
In his first full season in charge, Sam Allardyce restored Blackburn Rovers' reputation as a solid mid-table team with a 10th-place finish. This was seen as a respectable recovery, coming a year after flirting with relegation during the seven-month dalliance with Paul Ince. Indeed, Rovers fans had a highly enjoyable season - they did the double over relegated local rivals Burnley, reached the semi final of the League Cup and remained unbeaten at home against the 'Big Four'. Allardyce was also restoring his own reputation after a torturous eight-month spell at Newcastle, and the aim must now be the push on into the top half - though just sorting out the away form would be a start. Rovers won just once outside Lancashire last season (at West Ham) with two of their three away wins coming at Bolton Wanderers and Burnley.
BLACKPOOL
The Seasiders - Bloomfield Road, Seasiders Way, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 6JJ. Capacity 17,625
Last season: 6th (promoted from Championship via playoffs), FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1953
Manager: Ian Holloway (since May 2009)
Players In: Dekel Keinan, Craig Cathcart, Elliot Grandin, Ludovic Sylvestre, Marlon Harewood, Malaury Martin
Players Out: Al Bangura, Hameur Bouazza, Ben Burgess, Daniel Nardiello, Joe Martin, Danny Mitchley, Stephen McPhee
Pre-season form: Much like everything else that seems to have happened this summer, the Seasiders' friendly form began well on a tour of the South West before petering out. A 2-0 win over Tiverton Town was followed by further victories over Accrington Stanley (2-1) and Havant & Waterlooville (3-2) as Blackpool lifted the Joma South West Challenge cup. However, results then took a turn for the worst with three consecutive defeats - away at Crewe Alexandra (0-1), Bristol City (also 0-1) and at home against Hibernian (1-2).
Prediction: 20th
The gulf between the Premier League and the Championship means it is customary to predict that the playoff winners face immediate relegation but Blackpool's preparations for the new season will have done little to defy the critics. Since their big day out at Wembley and that 3-2 win over Cardiff, the Seasiders have struggled to attract many players to Bloomfield Road. Chairman Karl Oyston even offered to leave the club if it was thought their wage structure was too harsh. By contrast, manager Ian Holloway released a statement confirming that he was staying despite the transfer problems, and he has been rewarded with a flurry of recent activity including the arrival of Marlon Harewood up front. But, while the likes of Hull City, Wigan Athletic and Bradford City all stayed up in their first season against the odds, the men in tangerine are an even weaker squad. 'Pool fans will have to brace themselves for a real tough nine months ahead - simply avoiding embarrassment with some decent home form is the first aim.
BOLTON WANDERERS
The Trotters - Reebok Stadium, Burnden Way, Lostock, Bolton, BL6 6JW. Capacity 28,101 Last season: 14th, FA Cup 5th round, League Cup 4th round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1958
Manager: Owen Coyle (since January 2010)
Players In: Marco Alonso, Robbie Blake, Ivan Klasnic, Martin Petrov
Players Out: Zoltan Harsanyi, Nicky Hunt, Ricardo Vaz Te
Out on loan: Ali Al-Habsi
Pre-season form: Bolton Wanderers warmed up for the season with a successful trip to North America, recording wins over Charlotte Eagles (3-0) and Charlestone Battery (2-0) before a 1-1 draw against FC Toronto which the Trotters won on penalties. Bolton struggled to match those results back home with a 1-1 draw at Rochdale, a 3-0 loss to Oldham Athletic and a 0-0 stalemate at Falkirk. But Coyle's men ended the summer on a positive note with two 2-0 wins - away at St Johnstone and at home against Osasuna.
Prediction: 14th
Owen Coyle could declare last season's mission as successful after he kept Bolton Wanderers up having taken over them when they were in the bottom three. The next phase of the plan is always rather more difficult and, oddly, it almost feels as if the Trotters are having to re-establish themselves in the elite despite them celebrating a 10th consecutive seasons of top-flight football. That is their longest run since the mid-1960s, and it means Bolton have the unwelcome record for being the club with the most seasons in the top flight without a single league championship. Back to the present and the signing of Martin Petrov is a clever piece of business. Indeed, Coyle's men should endure a less stressful season but it seems unlikely that the Trotters will race up the league with what is ostensibly much the same squad as last year.
CHELSEA
The Blues - Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London, SW6 1HS. Capacity 42,449
Last season: Champions, FA Cup Winners, League Cup Quarter finals, Champions League Last 16
Last major trophy: Premier League 2009-10 and FA Cup 2010
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti (since June 2009)
Players In: Ramires, Yossi Benayoun, Matej Delac, Tomas Kalac
Players Out: Miroslav Stoch, Scott Sinclair, Deco, Michael Ballack, Juliano Belletti, Joe Cole, Jeffrey Ntuka, Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi, Liam Bridcutt
Out on loan: Tomas Kalac, Ryan Bertrand, Rhys Taylor, Ben Gordon, Danny Philliskirk
Pre-season form: Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in their first pre-season match but that win at Selhurst Park proved to be the last of a troubled summer on the field for the Blues. A 3-1 loss to Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands was followed sharply by two more defeats, both 2-1, in Germany against Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburg. A 3-1 lost to Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley prompted Carlo Ancelotti to admit his team were not yet at their peak.
Prediction: 2nd
Rarely has a league title win been as emphatic as Chelsea's 2009-10 season. The Blues were simply imperious at Stamford Bridge, scoring seven goals three times and then beating Wigan Athletic 8-0 on the final day to seal a fourth league championship. Vitally, Carlo Ancelotti's men also did the double over Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool and yet, despite all the wins and the much greater goal power, Chelsea just could not shake United from their tail. That is more a credit to Sir Alex Ferguson's men than a criticism of Chelsea but, with United currently level-pegging with Liverpool on 18 championship wins, they will no doubt take advantage of any slip-ups at Stamford Bridge in what is set to be another fascinating title chase.
EVERTON
The Toffees - Goodison Park, Goodison Road, Liverpool, L4 4EL. Capacity 40,157
Last season: 8th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 4th round, Europa League Last 32
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1995
Manager: David Moyes (since March 2002)
Players In: Magaye Gueye, Joao Silva, Jermaine Beckford, Jan Mucha
Players Out: Lukas Jutkiewicz, John Ruddy, Dan Gosling, Anton Peterlin, Carlo Nash
Pre-season form: Everton travelled Down Under for a three match series in Australia, all of which were won. The Toffees beat Sydney FC 1-0, Melbourne Heart 2-0 and Brisbane Roar 2-1 to complete a successful tour. The goals flowed even more back in England with comfortable wins at Preston North End (3-0) and Norwich City (4-2) before a 2-0 home win over their Chilean namesakes Everton de Vina. The Premier League Everton completed their pre-season programme with a 2-0 loss against Steve McClaren's Wolfsburg in Germany.
Prediction: 6th
Everton hit the form of a Champions League contender in the second half of last season but the Toffees had come unstuck with so many injuries in the first part of the campaign that the damage had already been done. In the end, David Moyes' men fell just short of a Europa League spot but the lack of extra midweek matches will surely aid a season-long pursuit of the top clubs in the current campaign. With the return to full fitness of midfielders Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill and Russian Diniyar Bilayetdinov, Everton have no excuses for a poor start this time and there should be no shortage of support for the strikers. But a reliance on the fitness of Louis Saha up front remains a concern and perhaps explains the gamble on Jermaine Beckford. And, while there are few concerns with the defence and midfield, goals from the strikers will be the difference between Everton mounting a genuine assault on the top four or spending a frustrating season just outside of it.
FULHAM
The Cottagers - Craven Cottage, Stevenage Road, London, SW6 6HH. Capacity 25,700
Last season: 12th, FA Cup Quarter finals, League Cup 3rd round, Europa League Runners-up
Last major trophy: None
Manager: Mark Hughes (since July 2010)
Players In: Jonathan Greening, Philippe Senderos
Players Out: Chris Smalling, Chris Buchtmann, Wayne Brown, Erik Nevland, Elliot Omozusi, Stefan Payne, Luca Moscatiello, Gyan Osei King, Michael Uwesu, Andranik Teymourian
Pre-season form: Fulham started and finished their pre-seasons with two big wins - hammering Brentford 5-0 away and Werder Bremen 5-1 at home. In between, there was a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth before a tour of Sweden also ended in two draws - against Halmstads (2-2) and Malmo (0-0). Fulham were also the guests for the testimonial match of Portsmouth's Linvoy Primus which Pompey won 1-0.
Prediction: 11th
New manager Mark Hughes has set Fulham the target of a top-half finish in his first season. In many ways, the Cottagers were victims of their own success in losing Roy Hodgson who guided them to eighth place in 2008-09 and the Europa Cup Final last season. Perhaps seeking one last try in the big time, Hodgson left for Liverpool, and Fulham were in a state of flux. The search for a new manager did not start well when first choice Martin Jol opted to stay at Ajax but within a week Hughes was appointed. Defender Chris Smalling has moved to Manchester United for £10m but there were few changes to a squad which should find Hughes' aim within its reach especially if Bobby Zamora retains his confidence in front of goal.
LIVERPOOL
The Reds - Anfield, Anfield Road, Liverpool, L4 0TH. Capacity 45,276
Last season: 7th, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup 4th round, Champions League Group stage, Europa League Semi finals
Last major trophy: FA Cup 2006
Manager: Roy Hodgson (since July 2010)
Players In: Christian Poulsen, Danny Wilson, Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic
Players Out: Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera, Mikel San Jose, James Ellison, David Martin, Ray Putterill, Robbie Threlfall, Francisco Manuel Duran, Christopher Oldfield
Out on loan: Philipp Degen
Pre-season form: Liverpool saved their best form for the matches which counted, winning 2-0 home and away in the Champions League qualifier against Slovenians Rabotnicki Skopje for a 4-0 aggregate win. In their non-competitive games, the Reds were unimposing to say the least, failing to score in a 0-0 draw with Grasshopper Zurich and in the 1-0 defeats to German sides Kaiserslautern and Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Prediction: 5th
The signs of another revolution hang in the air at Anfield after Roy Hodgson displaced Rafa Benitez in a dramatic summer on Merseyside. But, while most revolutions begin with a raft sweeping changes, Hodgson has had to rely on the status quo being maintained before making any impression. The decisions of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay have at least given Hodgson a base from which to work. Joe Cole is also a canny signing from Chelsea on a free transfer but the Reds still have far too much dead wood in their squad and they remain as reliant as ever on the fitness of Gerrard and Torres. Off the field concerns about the club's ownership continue to cast a shadow upon matters on it. Only when this is resolved will Hodgson be able to prove his worth though he will surely improve on last season's record which included 19 defeats in all competitions, 11 in the league.
MANCHESTER CITY
The Blues - City of Manchester Stadium, SportCity, Manchester, M11 3FF. Capacity 47,405 Last season: 5th, FA Cup 5th round, League Cup Semi finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 1976
Manager: Roberto Mancini (since December 2009)
Players In: Yaya Toure, David Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov, Jerome Boateng, Alex Henshall, Albert Rusnak
Players Out: Javier Garrido, Valeri Bojinov, Robert Mak, Paul Marshall, Filip Mentel, Andrew Mitchell, Martin Petrov, Jack Redshaw, Tobias Johansen, Karl Moore, Benjani Mwaruwari, Sylvinho
Out on loan: Nedum Onuoha, Ryan McGivern, Gunnar Nielsen, David Ball, Kieran Trippier, Andrew Tutte, Adam Clayton
Pre-season form: City were one of several teams to choose to go to North America in the off-season but, in terms of results, the tour could hardly be put down as a success. After an early 3-0 win over Portland Timbers, City then lost both their matches in the New York Football Challenge to Sporting Lisbon (0-2) and the hosts New York Red Bulls (1-2). There followed a 1-1 draw with Mexican side Club America before a 3-0 loss to European champions Internazionale. Things were little better in Germany where City fell to a 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund before a relieving 2-0 home win over Valencia.
Prediction: 3rd
Throwing enough money at something in a free-market will usually pay dividends eventually - or at least Manchester City hope this will be the case having splurged almost another £80m already this summer. That amount does not even include the reported £30m which will be spent on bringing bit-part England player James Milner to Eastlands. The Milner signing, assuming it goes ahead, is a clear example of the unfathomable approach to the transfer market by City. Instead of chasing yet another attacking midfielder, Roberto Mancini could do with signing some defensive cover as this was easily City's weakest area last season with 45 league goals conceded. Of course, Yaya Toure's £28m transfer from Barcelona will offer some protection in front of the defence but the backline itself still needs some work. However, it is not as if City have not got the money to sort this out and, as long as they do, Mancini's men should improve on last season's galling, Champions League-missing 5th place.
MANCHESTER UNITED
The Red Devils - Old Trafford, Sir Matt Busby Way, Manchester, M16 0RA. Capacity 75,797
Last season: 2nd, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup Winners, Champions League Quarter finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 2010
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson (since November 1986)
Players In: Chris Smalling, Bebe, Javier Hernandez, Marnick Vermijl
Players Out: Ben Foster, Craig Cathcart, Zoran Tosic, David Gray, Tom Heaton, Ron-Robert Zieler, Fabian Brandy, Sam Hewson, Scott Moffatt
Out on loan: Mame Biram Diouf, Daniel Drinkwater, Matthew James, James Chester, Josh King, Cameron Stewart
Pre-season form: United were another of the clubs to head to North America but the Red Devils had a generally more successful time on the pitch than their City neighbours. A 3-1 win over Celtic in Toronto was followed by a 1-0 win against Philadelphia Union. There was room for a shock 2-1 defeat against Kansas City Wizards but United responded by beating a MLS All-Stars team 5-2. Another defeat, this time 3-2, came against Mexicans Guadalaraja in a match played as part of the Javier Hernandez deal before Sir Alex Ferguson's men returned to British shores to open up the Aviva Stadium at Landsdowne Road in Dublin with a 7-1 thrashing of a League of Ireland team. Finally, United collected the 2010-11 season's first piece of domestic silverware with a comfortable 3-1 win over Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley.
Prediction: Champions
When Sir Alex Ferguson took over Manchester United almost 24 years ago, the club had not won the league championship for 18 years. Indeed, in that time, the Red Devils had even made a brief visit to the old Second Division and they stood on a total of seven championships. Their total was dwarfed by Liverpool's achievement of 18 titles. And, although it took Ferguson six years to win his first crown, his stated aim has always been to overhaul the Reds' record. Now, having built and re-built a series of teams, the Red Devils and the Reds are level on 18-a-piece, just as they were at the start of last season when Chelsea proved too strong. But, this season, the signing of Javier Hernandez has added more fizz to the attack while the likes of Nani and Anderson are another year older and wiser. With Liverpool still in transition, United seem unlikely to pass up the chance to take a 19-18 lead sooner rather than later.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
The Magpies - St James Park, Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4ST. Capacity 52,387
Last season: 1st (promoted from the Championship), FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: UEFA (Fairs) Cup 1969
Manager: Chris Hughton (since June 2009)
Players In: James Perch, Sol Campbell, Dan Gosling
Players Out: Jonny Godsmark, Max Johnson, Michael McCrudden, Nicky Butt, Frank Danquah, Darren Lough, Wesley Ngo-Baheng, Callum Morris, Fabrice Pancrate
Pre-season form: Newcastle's patchy summer form began well enough with a 3-0 win at Carlisle United but that win in Cumbria was followed by a 2-1 defeat Norwich City on the following weekend. Two draws then followed - the first was an entertaining 2-2 at home to PSV on the first anniversary of the death of Sir Bobby Robson. The second match was a 0-0 stalemate in Spain against Deportivo La Coruna, although Newcastle beat their hosts 5-3 on penalties to take home the Teresa Herrara Cup, a trophy which makes up for its lack of importance with its actual size. A 2-1 defeat in Glasgow in Rangers left Newcastle with a record of won one, drawn two, lost two in their five games.
Prediction: 16th
Newcastle United are back after a one-season absence but Chris Hughton's men look unlikely to take the top-flight by storm with this worryingly thin squad. Despite a runaway Championship title success, United are lightweight up front and there is a huge burden on new No9 striker Andy Carroll to provide a consistent source goals to ensure survival as no one else looks capable. A slow central midfield and an error-prone defence also point to this being a long season at St James Park but there are reasons to be cheerful. Hughton seems to have engendered the best team spirit in years as Newcastle recovered from a humiliating 6-1 pre-season loss at Leyton Orient last season to remain unbeaten at home and win the league with six games to spare. Wingers Wayne Routledge and Jonas Gutierrez will give the Magpies chances on the break, while Newcastle's traditional problem position of centre-back might just be solved by a Sol Campbell-Fabricio Coloccini partnership. Indeed, that pairing could be the difference between survival and another painful relegation - the United defence will have to grind out some narrow results for Newcastle to have any chance.
STOKE CITY
The Potters - Britannia Stadium, Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4EG. Capacity 27,740
Last season: 11th, FA Cup Quarter finals, League Cup 4th round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1972
Manager: Tony Pulis (since June 2006)
Players In: Kenwyne Jones, Florent Cuvelier, Carlo Nash
Players Out: Andy Griffin, Rod McDonald, Steve Simonsen, Nathaniel Wedderburn, Amdy Faye
Out on loan: Diego Arismendi, Ibrahima Sonko, Louis Moult
Pre-season form: Stoke City began the summer with a 1-0 loss to Turkish team Bursaspor, played while they were at their training camp in Austria. A return to England resulted in some success with a 2-1 win over Nantwich Town and a 0-0 draw with Notts County as the Potters fielded two separate teams on the same day. A 6-0 win over Newcastle Town was followed by a 1-0 defeat against Derby County but Stoke did rather better against another Championship team, Burnley, winning 2-1. A busy schedule was completed with a 2-1 win over Bristol Rovers and a 0-0 draw at Wrexham.
Prediction: 10th
Stoke City never looked in danger of falling foul to so-called second season syndrome as they easily secured a third successive season of top-flight football. Indeed, the Potters spent much of the back end of last season threatening a first top-half finish since 1980-81 and that now has to be a genuine aim of a team good enough to avoid the relegation scrap. The pairing of Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross at the back remains Stoke's main strength and they are effective enough to nullify City's distinct lack of goals. Stoke only scored 34 times in 38 league matches last season with just 10 on the road, the lowest of any team in the Premier League last season. But, thanks to the defence, the Potters still managed four away wins and there were also three 0-0s and four 1-1s in seven draws on the road. James Beattie may have now left for Rangers but a few goals from Ricardo Fuller and new signing Kenwyne Jones would go a long way to ensure a seemingly continuous improvement from Stoke.
SUNDERLAND
The Black Cats - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, SR5 1SU. Capacity 48,707
Last season: 13th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 4th round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1973
Manager: Steve Bruce (since June 2009)
Players In: Marcos Angeleri, Simon Mignolet, Titus Bramble, John Mensah, Cristian Riveros, Ahmed Al-Muhammadi, Nedum Onuoha
Players Out: Kenwyne Jones, Lorik Cana, Daryl Murphy, Marton Fulop, Conor Hourihane, Jamie Chandler, Roy O'Donovan
Out on loan: Oumare Tounkara, Jean Yves M'voto, Nyron Nosworthy, Michael Liddle
Pre-season form: Sunderland started off their summer with a 1-0 win at Darlington before a trip to Portugal brought mixed results. First, they drew 1-1 with League One team Brighton & Hove Albion before a 4-2 beating of Hull City as Fraizer Campbell hit all four Sunderland goals. The Black Cats were brought back down to earth by a 2-0 loss to Benfica. Then, to complete an inconsisent set of results, a 2-1 win against Leicester City was followed by a 3-1 defeat in Germany to Hoffenheim.
Prediction: 13th
Sunderland's record signing Darren Bent was worth his weight in goals after he scored 24 times in the league in his first season at the Stadium of Light. Without the £10m man, the Black Cats would have struggled badly - indeed they still managed to go almost four months without a league win between November and March. But a good start to the season and a decent end ensured Sunderland would finish in lower mid-table and they recorded more than 40 points for only the third time in nine Premier League seasons. Bent scored exactly half of the club's league goals last term but, with Danny Welbeck now signed from Manchester United, this is far from the Wearsiders' most pressing problem. The defence remains suspect and it is hard to see how the unnerving presence of Titus Bramble will greatly improve it. Meanwhile, Craig Gordon broke his arm in pre-season training and Martin Fulop has signed for Ipswich leaving Bruce scrambling for an experienced goalkeeper. All in all, it could be another frustrating season for the Black Cats' fans.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Spurs - White Hart Lane, Bill Nicholson Way, 748 High Road, Tottenham, London, N17 0AP. Capacity 36,230
Last season: 4th, FA Cup Semi finals, League Cup Quarter finals
Last major trophy: League Cup 2008
Manager: Harry Redknapp (since October 2008)
Players In: Sandro Raniere
Players Out: Adel Taarabt, Lee Butcher, Sam Cox, Dorian Dervite, Jimmy Walker
Out on loan: John Bostock, David Button, Oscar Jansson
Pre-season form: Harry Redknapp bemoaned a pre-season schedule which saw Spurs play in Bournemouth, the United States, Portugal and at home twice. Spurs beat Bournemouth 4-0 before jetting off to the USA where they drew 0-0 with San Jose Earthquakes. In the New York Football Challenge which followed, Spurs did rather better than Manchester City in their two matches, beating the hosts New York Red Bulls 2-1 and drawing 2-2 with Sporting Lisbon. Redknapp's men were brought crashing back to earth with a 4-1 home defeat against Villarreal before there were two wins, away against Benfica (1-0) and at home to Fiorentina (3-2).
Prediction: 7th
After years and years of trying, Tottenham Hotspur finally reached the promised land of the top four. The 2009-10 season was Spurs' first appearance in the top four since 1989-90 and, provided they overcome Young Boys Berne in the qualifier, they will contest the European Cup for the first time since 1961-62. These are exciting times to be a Tottenham fan and Harry Redknapp has developed a stylish side capable of tearing apart opponents at will. Spurs even seemed to have overcome a mental block after beating Arsenal and Chelsea for the first time in years in consecutive matches at the back end of the season. Then, they went on to beat Manchester City in what was effectively a playoff for fourth place. But City have splashed the cash again this summer and Liverpool will surely not play as badly again. With so many matches for an admittedly impressive squad, Spurs may find that staying in the top four was even harder than getting there in the first place.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
The Baggies - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, B71 4LF. Capacity 26,484
Last season: 2nd (promoted from the Championship), FA Cup 5th round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1968
Manager: Roberto di Matteo (since June 2009)
Players In: Nicky Shorey, Boaz Myhill, Gabriel Tamas, Pablo Ibanez, Stephen Reid
Players Out: Jonathan Greening, Joss Labadie, Filipe Texeira, Robert Koren, Andwele Slory
Out on loan: Luke Daniels, Marcus Haber, Borja Valero
Pre-season form: There was no clear pattern from West Brom's pre-season results with three wins, two draws and two defeats from seven matches. The Baggies kicked off with two wins, 3-0 at Kidderminster Harriers and 2-1 in Holland against VVV Venlo. Then, two 1-0 defeats to Crewe Alexandra and Doncaster Rovers sandwiched a win by the same score over Bristol Rovers. Finally, there were two 1-1 draws - away at Coventry City and at home against Osasuna.
Prediction: 18th
West Bromwich Albion boinged back into the Premier League with a fourth promotion in nine years. The Baggies are the very definition of a yo-yo club and, without further investment in the quality of the squad, that trend looks set to continue. At least manager Roberto di Matteo retained the services of the impressive Graham Dorrans after interest from West Ham United. But di Matteo has not seemed to realise that it is usually a lack of goals from the strikers which lets down the Baggies again and again as none of the summer signings looks to have rectified this. West Brom were regarded as playing too prettily to survive in their last attempt under Tony Mowbray. However, di Matteo has instilled an uncompromising attitude in his players which allowed them to see off the challenge of Nottingham Forest for the second automatic spot last season. But, ultimately, a failure to find more goals will mean the Baggies are fighting yet another losing battle for top flight survival.
WEST HAM UNITED
The Hammers - Boleyn Ground, Green Street, Upton Park, London, E13 9AZ. Capacity 35,303 Last season: 17th, FA Cup 3rd round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: FA Cup 1980
Manager: Avram Grant (since June 2010)
Players In: Pablo Barrera, Winston Reid, Frederic Piquionne, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Tal Ben Haim
Players Out: Bondz N'Gala, Josh Payne, Guillermo Franco, Ilan Out on loan: Matt Fry
Pre-season form: West Ham went through their summer matches unbeaten, starting with a 2-1 win over Peterborough United. This was followed by a tour of Germany which featured a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach and a 1-0 win over Greek side Panathinaikos. Back in England, the wins kept coming with successes against MK Dons (2-0) and Ipswich Town (1-0) before a 1-1 draw with Southend United. The Hammers finished their summer programme with another draw, 0-0 at home against Deportivo La Coruna - though, like Newcastle, they also beat the Spaniards 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out.
Prediction: 15th
Gianfranco Zola inevitably paid the price for West Ham United's woeful 2009-10 season in which they stayed up only because of the sheer awfulness of the bottom three. The Hammers earned just 35 points during the last campaign which was played out against the backdrop of an estimated £90m of debt. The money problems remain but former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss Avram Grant seems a more able candidate to deal with the situation. Indeed, after his troubleshooting at Pompey, this should seem to him like a walk in the park. Over the summer, Grant has brought Frederic Piquionne with him from Fratton Park but the striker's inconsistency is bound to annoy the Boleyn Ground regulars. Instead, Grant - who perhaps deserves a little luck after last season - will hope Carlton Cole retains his fitness this year.
WIGAN ATHLETIC
The Latics - DW Stadium, Loire Drive, Robin Park, Wigan, WN5 0UH. Capacity 25,133
Last season: 16th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 2nd round
Last major trophy: None
Manager: Roberto Martinez (since June 2009)
Players In: Mauro Boselli, Ronnie Stam, James McArthur, Antolin Alcaraz, Ali Al-Habsi
Players Out: Titus Bramble, Tomasz Cywka, Tomasz Kupisz, Mario Melchiot, Rachid Bouaouzan, Olivier Kapo, Richard Kingson, Nicolas Meace, Paul Scharner
Out on loan: Antonio Amaya, Jason Koumas, Jonathan Routledge
Pre-season form: Wigan began their preparations in Sweden with a 3-2 win over Ostersunds FK before returning to Lancashire for a 1-1 draw at Oldham Athletic. This was followed by further trips to Slovenia, where Wigan beat hosts Rudar Velenje 4-1, and Turkey where a 0-0 draw with Genclerbirligi was played out. The Latics' only home match of pre-season finished 3-1 to Real Zaragoza but then Martinez's men won their final friendly of the summer at Dundee United by the same score.
Prediction: 19th
Wigan Athletic begin a remarkable sixth consecutive Premier League campaign but there are real fears that run will end with relegation next May. A worrying 79 goals ended in the Wigan Athletic net last season, including 17 in two visits to London as the Latics lost 9-1 to Tottenham Hotspur and 8-0 to Chelsea. A repeat of that performance will give Roberto Martinez's men no chance to survive as the bottom three are unlikely to be as weak this time around. The loss of Titus Bramble to Sunderland hardly helps the situation at the back although the Latics are still capable of pulling off extraordinary results with the likes of Hugo Rodellega up front. But Charles N'Zogbia looks set to be next out of the door and he is an attacking talent which Martinez can ill-afford to lose if he is to cover up the horribly leaky defence.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Wolves - Molineux, Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, WV1 4QR. Capacity 29,195
Last season: 15th, FA Cup 4th round, League Cup 3rd round
Last major trophy: League Cup 1980
Manager: Mick McCarthy (since July 2006)
Players In: Stephen Fletcher, Stephen Hunt, Steven Mouyokolo, Jelle van Damme, Adlene Guedioura, Geoffrey Mujangi Bia
Players Out: Andrew Surman, Chris Iwelumo, Jason Shackell, Kyle Bennett, Daniel Jones, George Friend, Mark Little
Out on loan: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Sam Vokes
Pre-season form: Wolves began their summer preparations with three successive wins - 3-0 against Bohemians in Ireland, 4-0 at Walsall and 2-1 in Belgium against RSC Charleroi. After returning from the trip, McCarthy's men fell out of form, losing two consecutive games to Championship clubs - Reading (1-2) and Leeds United (1-3). A 2-0 away win against Hearts was indeed heartening, as was a 2-1 win over Real Zaragoza at the only summer match at Molineux.
Prediction: 17th
Manager Mick McCarthy opted for a pragmatic approach to survival last season - and it worked. This season, Wolverhampton Wanderers will contest consecutive campaigns of top flight football for the first time since 1981-82. McCarthy fell foul of the Premier League rules when he sent a supposedly weakened team to Old Trafford in December. Wolves lost 3-0 to Manchester United and, rather ridiculously, were fined as the Premier League set a dangerous precedent of interfering with team selection. The decision riled McCarthy but he could feel vindicated after Wolves then beat Burnley in the next match to set up a second half of the season in which the Old Gold comfortably reached safety. However, Wolves still only managed a point per game and they scored just 32 goals all season in the league. McCarthy hopes the £6.5m signing of Steven Fletcher from Burnley will ease Kevin Doyle's workload but another goal drought could lead to a tougher dogfight this term.
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