They're on the ball (Premier League 2000 - 2001)

Member Name: nathaninnit

Product:	Premier League 2000 - 2001
Date:	07/09/07 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More money invested than ever before

Disadvantages: If you didn't like it before you won't like it now

Just incase you haven't heard, it is August and the football season has kicked off once again, and whether you are a fan or not the journey from August to May is going to be a long road, either because of the ups and downs of your teams season or because you can't find anything else to watch on the television besides Match Of The Day. With a new season comes updated coverage, new signings, and quite frankly everything is that little bit different so that it is going to take a while getting used to. What is different this season? Well read on to get my up to the minute analysis of the season thus far.

Sky Sports have gone for a new look this year in terms of the way they display their sports coverage, and I'm sure it is no coincidence that it coincided with the beginning of the 2007/08 season. Now if you watch Sky Sports News you will see a new layout with new colours, and quite frankly thus far the channel seems to have lost its chatty comical nature and seems to be trying too hard to be like the traditional Sky News. They forget that they are reporting on things that are supposed to be fun, not the latest child kidnapping story. The new music for the channel could even be suited to that of the bongs of the Ten O'Clock news, and I will not understand why they got rid of their familiar, friendly tune. During games Sky now display the score at the bottom of the screen, and using up much less space it does look a lot nicer on the screen and the whole updated layout means you don't really miss a thing when they are trying to give you the latest stats. With that out of the way, lets get to the point most people care about - the football.

After the opening weekend, Newcastle lead the table, but as my dad will rightfully bring up he remembers a day when they wouldn't bother even making the table until a few weeks in, because it really doesn't mean anything right now. That's not to say Newcastle aren't going to accomplish anything this season, and under the new management of Sam Allardyce they are looking to be a good side. Below is my team by team guide to how I expect them to fair this season, and considering I take my fantasy football very seriously lets hope I am right!

ARSENAL - I do have a good feeling about this squad as it is growing up, and I don't think the goalscoring power of Henry leaving should make too much of a difference. The one thing that really does bug me about the team is Lehmann in goal, who knows who followed last season loves collecting a few yellow cards. On the opening weekend his huge error nearly led to a 1-0 loss to Fulham, although Arsenal managed to come back and win 2-1. That's the sort of victory I expect from them this season, as opposed to last season where they couldn't get the goals when they really needed them.

ASTON VILLA - Fancied them to do a bit better against Liverpool at the weekend, and I'm sure the likes of Young will be big for them this season. Not sure how much I fancy one of their big summer signings in Reo-Coker, who I've always thought was a bit crap at England U21 level and at West Ham, let alone moving to a new club.

BIRMINGHAM CITY - Not a follower of the Championship, so I don't know all that much about them from last season, although in their opening Premiership match they did leave a good account of themselves only losing to Chelsea 3-2. I do not expect them to stay up though, and will more than likely be getting relegated. Impressed they have Djourou on loan from Arsenal.

BLACKBURN ROVERS - Pushing and pushing to be a big side once again, and they are a fixture not to be scoffed at. Bentley will more than likely be as huge for them as ever, and Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich is looking to leave a mark on the Premiership after pushing them to a 2-1 victory at the weekend on his debut.

BOLTON WANDERS - This side is really going to feel the pain of losing Sam Allardyce, and whether you like him or not you can't deny the way he brought success to Bolton. The 3-1 loss to Newcastle was just the sign of things to come, and even a quality striker like Anelka is going to find it hard to keep them in the top half of the table.

CHELSEA - Did not fancy them to win the Premiership this season until Man Utd's disappointing opening, and it is only going to be a two horse race again. They may not have spent as much as usual, but their signings such as Malouda are looking to be among some of the best they have ever made. Will be interesting to see if Drogba repeats the success of last season, and if anything impressive can come of Ballack and Shevchenko in their second season.

DERBY COUNTY - Once again, I don't know much about this side except I believe they were one goal specialists in the Championship last season. Could be another cert to go down, but a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth at the weekend makes it look like they will put up a fight.

EVERTON - Made one of the best defensive signings of the summer with Baines from Wigan, although sadly their defending record at home this season is already ruined from being perfect after Everton only managed a 2-1 victory. Would expect another top season from Arteta and Johnson. Really coming along, and looking like they should be a top 5 side.

FULHAM - I think some people would laugh at the idea of bringing a Northern Ireland striker to the Premiership on the grounds of him being a top scorer in Euro 2008 qualifiers, although it worked as he scored for them on his debut Premiership game. Relegation shouldn't worry them too much this season.

LIVERPOOL - After having a great season defensively last year, they now have to perform by scoring goals with the likes of probably the biggest Premiership signing over the summer - Torres. Gerrard proved he still is their star player though in the 2-1 victory at Villa Park.

MANCHESTER CITY - Probably the biggest shock win of the opening weekend, as after Man City were falling apart at the end of last season they came back with new ownership and Sven as manager to beat a new look West Ham 2-0. Don't expect miracles from them this season though.

MANCHESTER UNITED - As I mentioned earlier, it is between them and Chelsea to win the title this year, and with new signings such as Hargreaves, Nani and Tevez you would expect them to not have any problems. Then again, didn't everyone expect that of Chelsea last season? A 0-0 draw with Reading in the opening game and Rooney being sidelined for 2 months just goes to show anything can hapen.

MIDDLESBROUGH - Gareth Southgate is driving this team into the ground, losing the quality strikers like Viduka and possibly Yakubu soon, and then just replacing them with Premiership reject strikers such as Aliadiare and Mido, if the transfer goes through according to plan. It's hard to see anything good about this side, and should get relegated if they keep up performing the way they do. Probably won't get relegated though, and that would be a good season for them in this state.

NEWCASTLE UNITED - With Viduka, Alan Smith and Owen I think everyone was beginning to forget about Martins, but in the opening game Martins reminded everyone who he was by scoring two goals. Barton is just one of the many new exciting reasons why you should want to watch this side this season, and will finish top 10.

PORTSMOUTH - One of the players I was most excited about seeing come to the Premiership was Nugent, and I'm glad he found a way with Portsmouth. They are a strange side, but Harry Redknapp seems to have found something that works, and don't expect to hear a bad word said about them on Sky with Jamie Redknapp as a regular pundit.

READING - After overachieving last season I would not be at all surprised to see them go down this season, and it's a shame that they have lost the likes of Sidwell to Chelsea and possibly losing Lita soon. The 0-0 draw with Man Utd gave some hope, but I think people are giving this side too much credit at the moment.

SUNDERLAND - Fully expected to see them get some points out of the game against Spurs, but the three points was an added bonus. Should stay up and be a side to watch, and have interesting players such as Richardson and Yorke to pay attention to.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - If Baines isn't the defensive signing of the summer, then Gareth Bale certainly is, and I hope Spurs can sort out their defenders so that Bale doesn't regret his choice of club. There should be no reason for them not to keep a lot of cleansheets, and Bent should be hitting them in at the other end of the pitch. Will not rival top 4 though.

WEST HAM UNITED - Must be so diappointing to be a West Ham fan after coming back from last season with a 2-0 defeat in the first game. A lot of potentially great signings, and I do expect them to bounce back and finish well clear of the relegation zone.

WIGAN ATHLETIC - Right now they don't really have anything going for them, and don't look like a Premiership side. This could make them the whipping boys of the Premiership if they don't act fast, and looking likely to have a tougher season than ever before.

So that is my early opinion on how the season is going, and I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into some midweek fixtures with the big Spurs/Everton game tonight. Over the course of the season expect to see me update this, because it's just as likely as how you'll hear "You couldn't write a story as good as this," ten times and of course you'll also get to hear Andy Gray thinking he knows everything on colour commentary. Definitly going to be interesting though!

Summary: Promises to be as exciting as ever.