Premiership Predictions 2010-11

Is this a glimpse of the future? Roberto Mancini pledged to get a Manchester City tattoo if his club wins the title this season. Stranger things have happened. Our predictions forthwith…

Champions: Manchester United.

Never count out Sir Alex Ferguson: That should be the mantra drilled into the head of every football fan. His shrewd yet relatively restrained purchases of Javier Hernandez and Bebe will give Wayne Rooney the support he needs up front. Nani looks to finally come good this year. And the incentive of eclipsing Liverpool’s 18 titles should have the entire club firing on all cylinders. Sceptics beware.

Champions League Spots: Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool (in that order.)

Chelsea no longer have the strongest squad in the league and manager Carlo Ancelotti can thank his fellow Italian Fabio Capello for destroying the confidence of Chelsea‘s English backbone ahead of the new campaign. Chelsea‘s elder statesmen Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka will push them close to the finishing line but in the end they will find it hard to replicate the consistency of previous years as the slog of playing week in week out starts to wear on their battered bodies. Manchester City won’t do nearly as well as everyone thinks as Roberto Mancini struggles to strike a healthy balance on the pitch and in the dressing room. Liverpool will be rejuvenated under Roy Hodgson but it won’t all be Joe Cole‘s doing. Steven Gerrard will return to his best as nightmares of England’s South Africa failure haunt his every kick.

Going Down: Blackpool, West Brom, Wolves.

Last year we made the bold prediction that for the first time in Premier League history, all three promoted teams would be sent back down. We’re not being as brave this time around but we do think two of the three newcomers will fail to make the jump in quality from the Championship to the Premiership. Taking their places on the chopping block will be Blackpool, whose eccentric manager Ian Holloway just revealed Aston Villa reject Marlon Harewood as his star signing… West Brom, who came second in the Championship last year and will finish second bottom of the Premiership this year… and Wolves, who bring former Southampton defender and and interestingly named Jelle Van Damme back to England from Anderlecht. (Unfortunately he’s not Jean-Claude’s brother.)

Golden Boot: Wayne Rooney.

Just like last year, the main contenders for the Golden Boot appear to be Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, and Fernando Torres. Each is capable of bagging 30 in a season, but with Drogba entering his twilight years and Torres bouncing from one injury to the next, Rooney has the edge in this race. The ignominy of his World Cup showing should provide some extra motivation as well.

Player of the Season: Wayne Rooney.

Normal service resumes for Wayne Rooney. Following Ronaldo’s departure, Sir Alex Ferguson began building his side around his trusty attack dog – and the results have been formidable. Rooney racked up impressive numbers last season, and as he approaches his prime he’s only going to get better. But will it be enough to dispel the perception that he can’t cut it on the international stage?

Flop of the Season: David Silva

Manchester City’s “buy-anything-that-moves” policy is bound to have its drawbacks. It’s simply the law of averages. Buy enough £20 million players and at least one is going to fall short of expectations. Last year it was Roque Santa Cruz; this time around we think it will be David Silva. Despite his undoubted talent, the Spanish midfielder will merely reconfirm that old British adage that England ’s rough-and-tumble league is no place for a fancy, sophisticated trickster who can’t do bollocks unless he has at least a half second on the ball.

First manager to go? Chris Hughton.

Roberto Mancini is the bookies favourite but we’ve got our money on Newcastle United‘s nice guy Chris Hughton to beat the Italian to the accolade. Under difficult circumstances Hughton enjoyed tremendous success leading Newcastle to the top of the Championship but it won’t be easy now Newcastle are back in the spotlight. Don’t be surprised to see owner Mike Ashley get itchy feet if Newcastle suffer an early blip.

Will Roberto Mancini's pledge come back to haunt him?