The best team in the land and all the world

Victory over India has confirmed England’s place as the best test team in world cricket, but how many Englishmen would make a composite ‘World’s Best XI’, chosen from the ten test match nations? By looking in detail at each position, colinhenrys.wordpress.com identifies the candidates.

OPENING BATSMEN

South African captain Graeme Smith

Before this series England and India boasted two of the best opening partnerships in world cricket. In the last five years England’s partnership of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook has contributed nearly 4000 runs, including 11 century stands. India’s Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, despite struggling in England, have scored 2560 in half the amount of innings.

Cook is without doubt the world’s form batsman at the moment and is the leading run scorer this decade to prove that. His spectacular return to form during the Ashes at the turn of this year was one of the biggest reasons for England’s dominance of that series. Strauss meanwhile has also proved himself as a captain, as has another candidate for the opening batsman position – South Africa’s Graeme Smith. Smith averages above fifty since the turn of the century and has continued to impress with his captaincy for South Africa.

Alongside Smith and Cook, Sehwag is the only other opener to have scored more than 1000 runs since the turn of the decade, and very impressively has done so with a strike rate of 87 runs per 100 balls. Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal, chosen by Wisden as the Test Cricketer of the Year in 2010, also boasts an average of above fifty and strike rate above eighty in that period while Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan (ave: 46.00, sr: 77.85) is not far behind.

In all, it is impossible to look beyond Cook for one of the two opening spots leaving the remaining six candidates fighting for one place. Sehwag’s ability to score big runs quickly is a huge asset at the top of any batting order and with the exception of the series against England, which he arrived for injured and woefully short of match practise and finished suffering from illness, he has been amongst the world’s best in recent years. Smith and Strauss have led from the front meanwhile and Dilshan and more particularly Tamim are very much big fish in small ponds. There can however be only one of them in this team and for his captaincy, Graeme Smith joins Cook at the top of the order.

Selection: Alastair Cook (England), Graeme Smith (South Africa)

BATSMEN (No.3 – No.5)

As with above, prior to this series England and India boasted two of the best batting line-ups in the world. For England Jonathon Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell have all now scored double hundreds this summer while for India Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxmanrepresent three of the best batsmen of the last twenty years.

The Wall: Rahul Dravid

Trott is not easy on the eye, in fact he is anything but pleasing to watch. What he is however is a solid number three batsman who like Dravid does not throw his wicket away. Pietersen appears to have finally returned to form after a lean couple of years and Ian Bell is in the form of his life and looks capable of batting in any position. Tendulkar meanwhile may have missed out on his 100th international hundred but no batsman in the world compares to him, and when he finally reaches his milestone it is likely to be a feat that is never repeated. Laxman has often not had the same plaudits as Tendulkar and Dravid but he too is in an integral part of India’s batting line-up.

South Africa also boast an impressive batting line-up, with AB De Villiers averaging above 50 and Hashim Amla also in good form for the Proteas in the last few years. Australia’s middle order is also of the highest calibre boasting “Mr. Cricket” Mike Hussey, alongside former captain Ricky Ponting and his successor Michael Clarke. The latter two were largely disappointing in the Ashes last winter but there is no doubting their ability with the bat. Finally West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul is still amongst the world’s best batsmen and has been a near permanent fixture in the world’s top ten for many years now. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have also continued to impress, particularly the former.

As for the world’s best, this series between England and India has proved that Rahul Dravid is still a class batsman. He is known as ‘The Wall’ for good reason, and England found him as unmovable as many of the world’s best have done in the last twenty years. Ian Bell meanwhile can not stop scoring runs and is finally showing the talent that many knew he has had for years. It shows the quality of his recent form too that he pips De Villiers, Amla and his two England team mates to a place in a World XI at number five. At number four, despite him still not managing to reach his elusive 100th century, nobody in the world has even come close to Sachin Tendulkar in the last twenty years.

Sachin Tendulkar bats while Michael Hussey watches.

When the old guard of Chanderpaul, Ponting, Tendulkar and Dravid retire, Amla and De Villiers will no doubt begin to be treated with the same reverence, but for the time being they must wait.

Selection: Rahul Dravid (India), Sachin Tendulkar (India), Ian Bell (England)

ALL-ROUNDER

Since the retirement of Andrew Flintoff, there is really only one player in the world now in contention for an all-rounder slot. South Africa’s Jacques Kallis is ranked as the number one batsman in the world and continues to pick up wickets as his country’s third seamer too. He has been one of the world’s leading all-rounders for many years, and while he is often overlooked for accolades like this, his contributions to South African cricket in that time have been priceless.

In terms of alternatives, Stuart Broad is fast becoming England’s replacement for Flintoff, but he is not a top-six batsman despite some impressive innings recently. By contrast Shane Watson is becoming a very good batsman but his bowling has let him down at test level while his team mate Mitchell Johnson has been inconsistent at best. The Barmy Army told him in no uncertain terms what they thought of his bowling in Australia, and Perth test aside, they were not wrong.

Dwayne Bravo of West Indies and Shakib-al-Hasan of Bangladesh, another former Wisden Test Cricketer of the Year, also feature in the top ten all-rounders in world cricket but neither can compare to Kallis and are not helped by the desperately poor form of their respective nations.

Kallis is quite simply in a league of his own.

Selection: Jacques Kallis (South Africa)

WICKET KEEPER

Once again England and India provide two of the leading candidates. At least they did until this series. Unfortunately for India MS Dhoni has been hopeless in this series behind the stumps and a few good knocks with the bat are not enough to combat his failures with bat and gloves this season. Matt Prior on the other hand once again proved himself, looking tidy behind the stumps and chipping in with valuable runs at number seven.

Also in contention for a place would be South Africa’s Mark Boucher, but while he is a good batsman and a consistently good wicket keeper he is overshadowed by some of his more illustrious opponents. Brad Haddin has impressed for Australia since replacing Adam Gilchrist and was one of few batsmen to resist England’s bowling for much of the Ashes, while New Zealand’s Brendan McCullum can certainly hit a ball. Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal on the other hand is hopeless and it is a wonder how he continues to find his way into the national squad.

On his day Dhoni is a great batsman, but the pressure of captaincy and wicket-keeping do not seem to be to his liking. Boucher has been a good servant to South Africa but there are keepers out there with better batting records. Haddin is one of those but Prior outperformed him in Australia and has continued to score runs this summer and so takes his place in this line-up.

Selection: Matt Prior (England)

SPIN BOWLER

Not long ago those who chose to compose World XI’s would always face the selection dilemma of whether to go with Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne as their spinner, or whether to pick both. Now that both of those have retired however and India’s Anil Kumble has followed suit, it is not too difficult a decision to pick a spinner for this team.

Graeme Swann bowls at Lord's

Ranked as the world’s number one spin bowler Graeme Swann has taken 91 test wickets since the turn of the century and now has 153 in his test career. Coupled with a more than useful batting average of 23.52, Swann is one of England’s most important players without any doubt.

India’s Harbhajan Singh is another of the world’s best spin bowlers but he looked ineffective in this series and Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis looks to have been worked out by opposition batsman now after he burst onto the scene against India in 2008. In addition South Africa’s Paul Harris, a vital part of their bowling attack, has seen his 24 wickets since the turn of the decade cost more than 50 runs apiece.

New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori is also a vital part of his team’s bowling attack and is certainly capable as a batsman, not however to the same extent that Swann is for England. Shakib-al-Hasan is a star turn for Bangladesh but he too is not in the same league as Swann at the moment.

Selection: Graeme Swann (England)

FAST BOWLERS

England have received widespread praise for bowling well as a unit and arguably have one of the best bowling units in the world now. One team who would beg to differ on that point however is South Africa who currently boast in Dale Steyn the leading bowler in the world. He is South Africa’s answer to James Anderson and his swing bowling has been deadly recently.

Also, while Steyn is South Africa’s James Anderson, Morne Morkel is their Chris Tremlett or Stuart Broad. The big tall fast bowler has picked up more than fifty wickets since the turn of the decade and alongside Steyn has formed a formidable new ball partnership.

Dale Steyn

Anderson meanwhile has taken 92 in that time and after proving his doubters wrong in Australia is now a fixture of the England attack.  Broad’s resurgence in the series against India has seen him rocket up the world rankings, as have Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan in the last twelve months or so.

Those who watched this series will no doubt be surprised to learn that Ishant Sharma had also impressed prior to his arrival in England, with only Anderson picking up more wickets since the turn of the decade. His new ball partner, Zaheer Khan, was sorely missed by India when his tour of England was cut short by injury too and whether the hosts could have scored so freely had he been involved is open to debate.

Other leading quick bowlers in world cricket include Australia’s Peter Siddle and had it not been for the spot-fixing scandal it is likely that Mohammad Aamer would also have featured in this list. His talent now looks set to go to waste however.

In all it is impossible to look beyond Steyn and Anderson and with those two in as the swing bowlers the third and final bowler ought to be something different. Zaheer Khan’s left-arm swing deserves a mention and if Broad and Tremlett continue their rise up the world rankings they will become two of the world’s best bowlers too. For the time being however, Steyn’s new ball partner Morkel is difficult to look beyond, and not just because he is 6’5”

Selection: Dale Steyn (South Africa), Morne Morkel (South Africa), James Anderson (England)

CONCLUSION

1)      Graeme Smith (c) (South Africa)
2)      Alastair Cook (England)
3)      Rahul Dravid (India)
4)      Sachin Tendulkar (India)
5)      Ian Bell (England)
6)      Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
7)      Matt Prior (England)
8)      Graeme Swann (England)
9)      Morne Morkel (South Africa)
10)  Dale Steyn (South Africa)
11)  James Anderson (England)

In terms of a World XI, it is not as all-encompassing as its name would suggest. Of the ten test match nations only three are represented but then again, those three countries are ranked as the top three in the world. Their poor form in England has cost India and only two of their players are represented here, while England have five players in the line-up and South Africa four.

Although the team does not bat deep it can be argued that with the quality of the batsman on show it should not need to. Dravid, Tendulkar and Kallis are all in the twilight of their careers but for the time being they remain amongst the best in the world.

For the rest of the world, there is much work to do to catch the three leading test match nations and this is reflected by the fact that none of their players feature in this line-up. Some pushed hard for inclusion but for the most part there are very few worthy to break into such pristine company.

[ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT-FREE AND TAKEN FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS]

Premier League Preview 2011/12 (TOT-WOL)

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

As Champions League debuts go, it is fair to say that Tottenham will have been rather pleased with their first venture into the present competition last season. A stunning home win against Inter Milan, coupled with a win and a draw each against FC Twente and Werder Bremen set up a return to the San Siro to play AC Milan. Their win in the first leg in Italy will surely rank as one of the club’s finest ever results, even if their sensational run was comprehensively ended in the next round by Real Madrid.

This season Spurs fans will have to make do with the Europa League after failing to repeat their fourth place finish in 2009/10. Without Champions League football to offer there were suggestions that star players such as Gareth Bale and Luka Modric would leave the club and the latter has been the subject of intense transfer speculation. At the time of writing he is still a Spurs player though, as is Bale and both will be crucial to Tottenham’s challenge for the top four.

If they are to improve on last season however they must do so, for the time being at least, with the same players who finished fifth last year. Just three players have joined the club so far this summer, experienced goalkeeper Brad Friedel, the presence of whom will increase the pressure on blunder-prone ‘keeper Heurelho Gomes, and youngsters Souleymane Coulibaly and Cristian Ceballos have also signed. The latter two look very promising, particularly Coulibaly who scored nine goals in four matches for the Ivory Coast in the recent under-17 World Cup, however they are both signings for the future and not for now.

Now that Spurs’ curtain-raiser against Everton has been postponed as a result of the riots in Tottenham, they do have an extra week to sign a couple more players before their Premier League season begins. Robbie Keane is unlikely to still be at White Hart Lane come the end of the transfer window so they will need at least one more striker to provide back-up and competition for Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe.

Should Modric depart however, Tottenham will struggle to replace him with a player of similar quality. While Bale stole many of the early plaudits, Modric was equally good if not better and by the end of last season was seen as even more valuable to Tottenham than the Welsh international. While there is no shortage of midfielders at White Hart Lane, Modric is largely irreplaceable. Stephen Pienaar’s injury, suffered in their final pre-season match, also leaves them short of another of their better midfielders and Niko Kranjcar will hope that his missed penalty and glaring miss in front of goal in that match are not a sign of things to come.

Tottenham’s star of last season however was not Bale or Modric, but Rafael Van der Vaart. 13 league goals and nine assists saw him heralded as one of the signings of the season. Supporters at White Hart Lane will be desperate for him to repeat such form this year and there is no reason to suggest that he will not better it. The delayed start to Tottenham’s new campaign also allows the Dutchman an extra week to recover from a slight ankle injury that he suffered in pre-season.

At the back Tottenham have a good defensive unit, but one that always looks vulnerable. The signing of Friedel could spell the end of Gomes in goal, who on his day is brilliant but is just too prone to calamitous errors. For the time being it is expected that Gomes will retain the ‘keeper’s spot but the pressure is most certainly on.

In front of the keeper, Ledley King is still a star player but his days are surely numbered with his degenerative knee condition severely limiting his football. Fellow injury-prone defender Jonathan Woodgate has already left, leaving Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong or Younes Kaboul to lead the defence. All three are quality defenders but alongside them Vedran Corluka and Benoit Assou-Ekotto are still very inconsistent. The latter has a lot of admirers but when he is poor Spurs suffer, their shock defeat to Wigan last year being a prime example. Kyle Walker may also feature heavily this year after impressing with Aston Villa on loan last year. At the very least he will put pressure on Corluka and will definitely fancy his chances of breaking into the starting line-up.

Despite the lack of summer investment Tottenham are most certainly good enough to finish in the top four. Losing Luka Modric would be a huge blow however, and Spurs must do all they can to keep him.

WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Sacking Roberto Di Matteo in February seemed a little unfair on the popular Italian manager. Despite being 16th in the table and having endured a run of just win in seven matches, Di Matteo was the reason West Brom had been promoted in the first place and their start to the season hadn’t been a total disaster. That was until Roy Hodgson took charge five days later however, and proved West Brom’s potential by masterminding a late surge up the table and securing a final position of 11th.

Hodgson failed at Liverpool last year, but a job like this West Brom one is right up his street and this is a real chance for the Baggies to finally rid themselves of their reputation for ‘yo-yoing’ between the Premier League and the Championship.

Players like captain Chris Brunt came to the fore last season, and in retaining him for the new season the Baggies have kept hold of one of their star players. Peter Odemwingie was also impressive, and few people had expected 15 goals from him when he came to The Hawthorns. This summer Hodgson has added Shane Long to his attacking options too, and after 23 goals in the Championship last season Long will be keen to prove that he can make the step up to the Premier League.

Where West Brom have an obvious weakness however is in defence. Only Blackpool shipped more goals than them last season as the Baggies conceded 71 times in their 38 league matches. Gareth McAuley and Billy Jones have been recruited from the Championship in a bid to amend this but fans at The Hawthorns will no doubt have wanted more investment in their defence than has been delivered.

By signing Ben Foster on loan as a replacement for Scott Carson, who has left for Turkey, they do have one of the best English goalkeepers in the country but he is only human. If West Brom’s defence is breached as frequently as it was last season he will not be able to keep them all out.

As a result West Brom are unlikely to improve on their 11th place just yet even with Hodgson in charge. A finish of 13th or 14th however would still mean a third consecutive season in the top flight for the Baggies, something which has been unprecedented for the ‘boing boing Baggies’ in recent years.

WIGAN ATHLETIC

Roberto Martinez is a likeable manager, even more so after the loyalty he showed to Wigan Athletic in turning down the approaches of Aston Villa. Wigan know that his days as their manager are numbered however, just as their days in the Premier League are.

Survival last season was a fantastic achievement for the Latics as they had looked doomed for much of the year, finding themselves rooted in the bottom three. They conceded ten goals in their first two games, attracted less than 17’000 fans per game on average (about two-thirds of their capacity) and few would have betted against their relegation. Survive they did though thanks to Hugo Rodallega’s goal against Stoke. For them to do so again however seems just as unlikely.

Selling Charles N’Zogbia was necessary to generate some much-needed income at what is one of the significantly poorer clubs in the Premier League. The upshot of the sale however is that Wigan have now lost one of their best players. A lot now rests on Rodallega, their all-time top Premier league goalscorer. He and N’Zogbia shared eighteen goals between them last season out of a terribly low total of 40 in 38 matches.

A leaky defence and a strike-force that do not score goals will lead to only one thing and that is relegation. There has been no investment up front this summer, and in fact there has been very little investment at all. Goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi has been signed on a permanent deal after impressing on loan last season but apart from him the only new face at Wigan is David Jones, the former Man United youngster who played for Wolves last season. Jones proved that he can play in the Premier League but he is unlikely to be the star that Wigan need.

Roberto Martinez deserves much credit for keeping Wigan in the Premier League last season against all the odds but he will not do so again.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Wolves impressed on their return to the top flight even if their physical style of football did not. Last season however they struggled and for large parts of the season looked like they were set for a return to the Championship.

Like Wigan, Mick McCarthy’s side struggled for goals while conceding far too many at the other end. Unlike Wigan they have moved to amend that by signing Roger Johnson from Birmingham. He is reported to have cost the club £7 million but is a very under-rated performer and has impressed over the last two seasons at the heart of Birmingham’s defence. By appointing him as captain, McCarthy has made it quite clear that he will be key to Wolves’ season.

Also arriving this summer has been Jamie O’Hara who impressed on loan last season, and also made a good impression at Portsmouth the season before, while Dorus De Vries, formerly of Swansea, has arrived as back-up to the impressive young Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

The signings of O’Hara and Johnson have not left much room in the transfer kitty for a new striker however, so a lot will depend on former record signing Kevin Doyle and last season’s top scorer Steven Fletcher. Alongside Sylvain Ebanks-Blake all three need to up their goals per game ratio if Wolves are to stay in the Premier League for another season after this one.

Also key will be the fitness of Stephen Hunt, whose wonder goal guaranteed Wolves’ safety on the final day of the season. His presence in the midfield is key, particularly as captain Karl Henry is unlikely to complete a whole season given his disciplinary problems.

Wolves proved two years ago that they are good enough to survive in this league, and just about did so again last season. This time around they will face another battle for survival though, and must overcome Blackburn, Norwich and QPR if they are to avoid the final relegation spot.

Premier League Preview 2011/12 (QPR-SWA)

QUEEN’S PARK RANGERS

Managed by Neil Warnock and owned by a consortium that once included Flavio Briatore, it is fair to say that QPR are not going to win too many fans – just as well considering their stadium has a capacity of less than 18,500. They further damaged their reputation after being found guilty of breaking third party ownership rules when they purchased Alejandro Faurlin too, and in truth were lucky not to be docked points and made to forfeit their Championship title.

Considering the furore that surrounded Carlos Tevez’ similarly controversial transfer to West Ham United, a signing that ultimately consigned then Sheffield United boss Warnock to relegation, it was a foolish thing to do on QPR’s part. Consequently their arrival in the Premier League, the first time they have been in the top flight since 1996, has occurred under a cloud of controversy.

Regardless of the legitimacy of the transfer however, it is worth remembering that the Hoops arrive in the Premier League with big expectations. A Championship title last year has raised hopes that they can survive in the top flight and the signing of players like Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell have added much to Warnock’s squad. Campbell impressed last season with Blackpool and the fact that Bothroyd was called into Fabio Capello’s England squad despite playing in the Championship form Cardiff is proof of his talent. The latter also has a big point to prove in the Premier League after failing to make the grade at Arsenal.

Warnock also received the boost that star player Adel Taraabt’s proposed move to Paris S-G fell through meaning that the Moroccan is, for the time being at least, their player. Alongside Bothroyd, Campbell and young winger Hogan Ephraim, Taraabt forms a very promising looking attacking side. In addition, the signing of Kieron Dyer could prove to be one of the buys of the season. Alternatively, the injury-prone winger could miss most of the campaign with varying pulls, strains, breaks and ligament damage once again.

Behind them Faurlin and the experienced Shaun Derry formed a defensive midfield partnership that proved to be very solid in the Championship but it remains to be seen how they will cope in the Premier League. The same can be said of their defence too; full-backs Bradley Orr and Clint Hill have proved their quality in the lower leagues but will have to make a big step up this season.

At centre-back the signing of Danny Gabbidon adds Premier League experience, but few at former club West Ham were sad to see him leave. Alongside him Kaspars Gorkss is another who has proved he is good enough for the Championship but now needs to prove it in the Premier League. Finally goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has always been a decent ‘keeper but after his relegation from the Premier League with Sheffield United few expected to see him in the Premier League again, particularly after his drugs ban in 2009. Given that he is likely to be kept very busy this year however, it could be the year that he finally makes a name for himself.

In all QPR have a good squad of players but will likely struggle in the Premier League. Despite the enormous wealth of their owners the club itself is not hugely rich and Warnock has had to make do with a lot of bargain buys. As good as some of them appear to be, it remains to be seen how QPR will cope in the land of the big spenders. A relegation battle looks to be on the cards, but like fellow promoted club Norwich a few good results when it matters could be the difference at the end of the season.

STOKE CITY

I wrote before last season that like it or loath it, and most people tend to opt for the latter, Stoke City’s long-ball, physical style of football is certainly effective. Once again that proved itself to be true as the Potters finished 13th in the league and as runners-up in the FA Cup, securing a place in Europe through the latter.

To label Stoke as merely a ‘punt it and hope’ team is not without good reason, but a big part of their success last season was the form of wingers Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington. The presence and form of the two at least proves that Stoke have more than one dimension to their play.

Manager Tony Pulis has been very quiet in the transfer market this summer but the free transfers of Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upson will definitely strengthen Stoke’s defence. Woodgate is without doubt one of the country’s best defenders and Stoke will certainly be hoping that his injury nightmares are finally behind him. Upson had a disappointing season for West Ham but he has been capped for England 21 times for a reason and is definitely a talented defender.

Alongside them club captain Ryan Shawcross has also been tipped for an international call-up and he has put the controversy surrounding his tackle that broke Aaron Ramsay’s leg firmly behind him.

As well as a quiet summer on the transfer front, Stoke have also had a largely disappointing pre-season save for their two victories over Hadjuk Split in the Europa League qualifiers. Nevertheless it is difficult to look beyond them extending their stay in the Premier League once again, despite the number of critics hoping otherwise.

SUNDERLAND

Considering Sunderland have lost wingers Jordan Henderson and Steed Malbranque this summer, this transfer window has been a very good one for Steve Bruce’s side. The signing of Connor Wickham is a big one, and while it was widely expected that he would come to the Premier League it had been expected that he would join a bigger club than Sunderland.

Craig Gardner, David Vaughan and Sebastien Larsson have also joined after proving that they are more than capable of playing in the Premier League, while Wes Brown and John O’Shea were signed out of the blue and come with 10 Premier League titles and nearly 100 international caps between them. Players with the Champions League experience that they have could prove to be invaluable for a team like Sunderland.

Finally the permanent signing of Ahmed Elmohamady was a popular one at the Stadium of Light after he impressed on loan last season while goalkeeper Keiren Westwood looks a great talent and will finally end Sunderland’s reliance on the excellent, but very inury-prone, Craig Gordon. Given that the latter will miss the start of the season through injury it will be no surprise if Westwood has made the goalkeeper’s jersey firmly his own by the time he returns.

Sunderland’s North East rivals Newcastle would do well to look to Sunderland as an example of how to spend big money when it has been recruited. Henderson and star striker Darren Bent have left in the last six months for a combined fee of £34 million, but unlike Newcastle with Andy Carroll’s transfer fee, Sunderland have put the money to good use.

The signings are by no means world beaters, although Brown and O’Shea have CVs to prove otherwise, but for a club of Sunderland’s stature they are very good signings and can easily propel the Black Cats into the top half of the table and yet another finish above their North East rivals.

For Steve Bruce and Sunderland that would represent a job well done.

SWANSEA CITY

That a Welsh team have finally reached the Premier League is of little surprise to most after Cardiff and Swansea’s impressive form in recent years. There was surprise however that it was Swansea who got there first. It is a magnificent achievement for the club and one that has rightly seen manager Brendan Rodgers showered with praise.

However, very little is expected of the Swans now that they are in the top flight. A squad based around young former Premier League players, signings from the lower leagues and the occasional overseas import makes for a good team in the Championship, but in the Premier League it is unlikely to make too many big inroads.

Blackpool’s performances last season will have given them encouragement, and exciting winger Scott Sinclair and new signing Danny Graham, last year’s Championship top goalscorer while at Watford, both look set to announce themselves this year and will be central to any Swansea success. Blackpool did however ultimately go straight back down, and it is a feat that few are betting against Swansea repeating.

Beyond their obvious stars, few players stand out. New signing Wayne Routledge is a good one and Leon Britton, Stephen Dobbie and the excellent named Angel Rangel have all impressed in the Championship. Where Swansea may struggle is in defence. Captain Garry Monk and vice Alan Tate have become synonymous with the club in recent years and alongside Rangel have earned plaudits in the Championship.

The Premier League is a different matter however and will prove to be a big step up for them.

It would be a good story if Swansea are able to survive in the top flight, but sadly it is not an occurrence that looks likely. At least they can rest safe in the knowledge that they beat rivals Cardiff to the Premier League.

Premier League Preview 2011/12 (MAN-NOR)

MANCHESTER CITY

Everybody’s favourite ‘second team’ have been transformed in recent years to the pantomime villains of the league. A bottomless supply of money has seen resentment from some corners, but all the money in the world can only buy you individuals, it can not buy you a team.

City learned that the hard way in the first year or so after the takeover as they struggled to cope with increased expectations and the egos of players such as Robinho. Last season was an encouraging one however as they finally ended their long wait for a trophy by lifting the FA Cup, and also qualified for the Champions League for the first time in its current format.

Nevertheless, the jury is still out on Roberto Mancini and his failings as manager were never more evident than in the Community Shield match against rivals Manchester United on Sunday. His negative, Italian style of football is a source of much criticism from fans, and having found themselves somewhat undeservedly leading 2-0 at half-time, it was criminal to then throw away that advantage.

The substitution of Mario Balotelli for Gareth Barry after United had pulled the score back to 2-2 was a case of locking the stable door after the horse had bolted and it was no surprise that United went on to win the game. They wanted it more than City and you suspect that the same will go for the league this year too.

Nevertheless this is a big season for City. A first foray into Europe’s premier competition will go a long way to cementing their place as a global force, and the signing of Sergio Aguero shows their intent.

While they have been a lot quieter in the transfer market this summer they have bought wisely and can now claim to have, for the most part, two players for each position which has long been Mancini’s aim. They have also rid themselves of several of their weaker reserves. Why any club wished to sign the hapless Jo is a mystery, but City will not be complaining that they are finally rid of the useless striker after just one goal in the 21 league appearances he made for City since joining in 2008.

All three new signings, Aguero, Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic started on the bench on Sunday but Clichy looked good when he came on, and would be expected to start the season at left-back in place of Aleksandar Kolarov.

Aguero too has not been signed to warm the bench and the only issue will be who he plays alongside; Mario Balotelli is an enigma but has failed to live up to his own self-imposed hype and is not a good enough team player while Edin Dzeko disappointed in his first season but showed enough promise to suggest he can be a top Premier League player. How long City can afford to wait for Dzeko to fulfill his promise remains to be seen however.

Finally, despite him having no desire to stay at City, Carlos Tevez remains their player and the longer the transfer window goes on without him departing the more likely it is that he will be at City until Christmas at least. Should he stay, and his heart stays in it, he is crucial for Mancini. Without him they do not look the same team although if he does depart the hope will be that Aguero proves to be a more than adequate replacement.

At the moment Manchester City are not a good enough team to win the league. They are as inconsistent as ever, and Mancini is too naïve to win a Premier League title. However, if they finish any lower than fourth it will be a travesty for City, even with the distraction of a Champions League campaign.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Last season was not one of United’s best yet they still managed to complete the season with just four league defeats and a record 19th title. New signing Javier Hernandez proved to be another masterstroke on Sir Alex Ferguson’s behalf and Wayne Rooney’s long overdue return to form after his disastrous World Cup was crucial as they eventually finished nine points clear of nearest challengers Chelsea and Manchester City.

That they won the league however owes much to the fact that nobody else performed beneath them. Five games into the season and United had already dropped points despite leading at Everton and Fulham and as late as Christmas were still underperforming, with their New Year’s Day win at West Brom particularly fortunate.

Gary Neville’s retirement was overdue, with his best days long gone by the time he hung up his boots, and United have also now bid farewell to Edwin van der Sar and Paul Scholes. Only Ryan Giggs remains of the old guard, but the signings of Ashley Young, David De Gea and Phil Jones are all good replacements. At one point on Sunday their average age on the pitch was just over 22 which is a very ominous stat for any rivals hoping that the Old Trafford glory days were ending.

De Gea’s performance in the Community Shield was shaky to say the least – at fault for Edin Dzeko’s goal and lucky to get away with misjudging a swerving shot from Adam Johnson in the second half that he just managed to beat away. However while he might not be in the Schmeichel/Van der Sar league just yet, he is certainly no Massimo Taibi. It will be interesting to see how many teams try to exploit his perceived weakness against long range shots this season though.

Despite winning the league last year, United would be foolish to enter the new season in the belief that they do not need to improve. Chelsea look set to return to top form this season too and as a result United must improve on last year if they are to secure back-to-back titles. Whether they can will depend on several things – whether Ashley Young can show the form that has earned him a regular place in the England squad (with the early signs from Sunday being good), whether Rio Ferdinand can recapture the form that he has been lacking in recent years (with the early signs from Sunday being bad) and how well De Gea can replace Van der Sar.

To the distate of anyone in the league who is not United, they remain one of the best teams in the country and have been named favourites for the title with good reason. They very rarely finish lower than second in the league and it is highly unlikely that they will this year either. If Chelsea can return to top form then they will fancy their chances of pipping United to the title. If not it is difficult to look beyond a 20th title heading to Old Trafford.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Newcastle United are in a mess; sacking Chris Hughton was a rash, unnecessary decision and, while selling Andy Carroll for £35 million was understandable, to not replace him was unforgivable. Now captain Kevin Nolan has left the club to join West Ham United in the Championship, tenacious but controversial midfielder Joey Barton appears to be on his way out after his outburst on Twitter as does star left-back Jose Enrique and Mike Ashley, public enemy number one in the Toon, still owns the club.

This summer fans have seen little return on the money that they got from the Carroll sale, although Gabriel Obertan looks to have much more talent than he showed in his time with Manchester United and represents a promising buy. Alan Pardew’s side have undergone somewhat of a French revolution this summer with Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux and Mehdi Abeid all arriving from the French Ligue 1 and Demba Ba, the French-born Senegalese striker, has joined after an impressive stint with West Ham at the end of last season.

Despite their troubles the signings that Newcastle have made, particularly Ba and Obertan, are good. Cabaye also looks good on paper, and Marveaux was subject to great interest from Liverpool before he joined Newcastle. Additionally Hatem Ben Arfa is back from the horror injury he suffered last year, although a new, unrelated ankle injury that he suffered in pre-season will rule him out for the first few matches. Also, Cheik Tiote proved his quality as a defensive midfielder last season and has already become a cult hero.

As a result Newcastle look too good on paper to go down. However, Alan Pardew is not the right man to have as manager and while the signings they have made look good, many will feel that they could and probably should have done better given the money that they got from Andy Carroll. Where that money has gone is a mystery and will add to the mounting criticism of Ashley as owner.

If Barton and Enrique depart too, Newcastle will lose two of their best players and a large part of the reason that they survived so comfortably last season. A bottom half finish looms for Newcastle, a position that a club of their stature should not even be considering.

NORWICH CITY

Norwich City’s last season in the Premier League is remembered more for the extraordinary outburst of Delia Smith during the half-time break of a match with Manchester City than the impact that the Canaries made on the league. This year few had expected Norwich to get promoted on their return to the Championship, but it was no more than they had deserved after a string of impressive displays, including the demolition of rivals Ipswich at Carrow Road.

Paul Lambert is a thoroughly likeable manager, and if he continues his attractive, attacking style of football they will definitely pick up points in the Premier League. They ought to beware though as Blackpool found out last season. Once opposition teams worked them out they struggled. History is not on their side either. The last two teams to secure back-to-back promotions to the Premier League – Manchester City and Watford – were relegated immediately.

Captain and double Player of the Season Grant Holt will be central to any hopes Norwich have of defeating the odds and staying in the Premier League. He looked hugely impressive in the Championship last year and he certainly knows where the goal is. With new signing James Vaughan alongside him, providing the latter stays fit, Norwich will be confident of scoring goals. Midfielder Wes Hoolahan also looks a good player providing he carries his Championship form into the Premier League.

Where Norwich might struggle is that very few of their players have Premier League experience, and many of those that do only have limited youth experience, for example Zack Whitbread (Liverpool), Elliot Ward (West Ham) and goalkeeper John Ruddy (Everton). That is not to say that they will not perform at the highest level though, and with a good pre-season behind them too, which included a draw with Villareal and victory against Parma, they will be hopeful of a good campaign.

Loan signings Ritchie de Laet and Kyle Naughton are both highly-promising youngsters and will be looking to prove their Premier League calibre to their parent clubs, while Ruddy is a good, young goalkeeper.

Many are tipping Norwich for an immediate return to the Championship, and with a very inexperienced squad it is easy to see why. It can be looked at both ways however. An inexperienced squad does not mean that it is a bad one. City fans will claim that it is a promising young squad under a promising young manager. There are certainly worse teams in the Premier League this year than Norwich, and a few good results when it matters should be enough to see them avoid relegation.

 

Premier League Preview 2011/12 (CHE-LIV)

CHELSEA

Make no mistake, last season was not a good one for Chelsea. After their double in Carlo Ancelotti’s first year as manager, they did not deserve anything from last season and got nothing as a result. Fernando Torres’ arrival in January was supposed to kick-start a big push towards defending their title but instead it epitomised all that was the wrong with their season. His return of one goal in eighteen competitive matches made him the laughing stock of the league and cost Ancelotti his job.

Given that second place in the league represents under-achievement however shows the undoubted ability that Chelsea have as a team. 22 goals in their first five games of last season is evidence of this and with highly-rated new manager Andres Villas-Boas now at the helm fans at Stamford Bridge will be confident that the Blues can improve on last year and reclaim their title.

An undefeated pre-season has already seen Villas-Boas claim his first trophy – the Barclays Asia Trophy, courtesy of victories against Kitchee and Aston Villa in Hong Kong. Chelsea conceded just one goal throughout the summer, and after a slow start which saw their early performances criticised by some reporters, their victory against Villa in particular pointed to a return to their old ways.

Nevertheless, there are still underlying problems. Fernando Torres has scored just once in pre-season and struggled to make an impact according to the journalists that have followed Chelsea’s preparations. Villas-Boas also seems reluctant to play him and Didier Drogba together, doing so only once in the whole summer. Michael Essien’s injury, once again ruling him out until at least the new year, is also a huge blow for Chelsea and if their pursuit of Luka Modric ends in failure they will be short of a creative midfielder for at least the first few months of the season.

In the transfer market Chelsea have been somewhat subdued. Oriol Romeu, signed from Barcelona, looks to be a great talent, as does Romelu Lukaku who appears set to join the Blues from Anderlecht in the next few days. Alongside Josh McEachran and the returning Danny Sturridge they could well form the future of this club but for the time being only Sturridge has proved himself in the Premier League, and that was out on loan with Bolton.

Chelsea though are undoubtedly a fine side, and Villas-Boas has already proved himself to be a talented young manager during his stint with Porto. For all their off-field problems, John Terry and Ashley Cole remain two of the country’s best defenders on their day and Frank Lampard continues to weigh in with goals and assists from midfield. While last season was a relatively quiet one for Lampard, it was a season in which he struggled with injury.

If Lampard stays fit and if Villas-Boas quickly finds his best attacking combination from Sturridge, Torres, Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea will undoubtedly be challenging for the title again. The only thing that may hold them back in their pursuit of a fourth Premier League title is their lack of a creative midfielder. One marquee signing, specifically Luka Modric, will fill that vacancy but even without one Chelsea will fancy their chances of silverware this season.

EVERTON

Everton are another team in need of big investment if they are to improve on finishes of eighth and seventh in the last two years. Without money however there is very little that they can do and their transfer policy this season has been quite literally ‘Dier’ – the extension of 17-year old Eric’s loan deal from Sporting Lisbon being the only transfer in that they have made.

The problem for the club is that they face somewhat of a dilemma; by retaining Jack Rodwell Everton keep hold of one of their most talented young players but have no money to buy any new players, let him go and it is Wayne Rooney all over again – a player they have worked so hard to nurture leaving to a bigger club as soon as he comes to prominence.

Everton’s problem is not just their lack of players coming in however, it is their consistently slow starts to seasons. They have proved themselves as being more than capable of challenging for the European places but seem to only launch themselves up the table after Christmas. In 2009-10 Everton won just five league matches before the new year, but finished the season with only two defeats in the next five months. Last season they did the same, only four wins before Christmas, only five defeats in five months afterwards.

Sadly for manager David Moyes, the signs are not looking good for Everton amending that odd run this season either. With Mikel Arteta still struggling with injury he looks set to miss at least the first few matches, while there was also concern for Seamus Coleman who got injured in Everton’s final pre-season match against Villareal. It would appear however that Marouane Fellaini has recovered sufficiently from the ankle injury that ruled him out of the end of last season.

Players like Fellaini, Rodwell and Arteta are central to any success Everton hope to achieve, and alongside Tim Cahill, Luis Saha, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines are good enough to propel Everton into Europe. Beyond them however there is very little strength in depth and with many of them subject to transfer rumours, Everton’s paper-thin squad could get even smaller.

One positive for the Toffees is the youth academy at the club which continues to produce Premier League quality players such as Rooney, Rodwell and Coleman. The latest prodigy to emerge is Ross Barkley whom Moyes is reported to have called a ‘future world star’ and who looks set to break into the first team squad this year.

In all a lot depends on whether Everton can perform consistently well over the course of the whole season. If they start as slowly as they have been then they can wave away any hopes of European football next year, but another top-half finish should not be beyond them.

FULHAM

Over the course of the last three seasons Fulham have developed from being perennial relegation candidates to a safe top-half team. Their incredible European run two years ago has greatly improved the reputation of the club and an eighth-place finish last year, albeit just six points clear of Blackburn Rovers in fifteenth, further confirmed their Premier League stability.

The shock departure of manager Mark Hughes after just one season in charge has been compensated for by the appointment of Martin Jol in his place, who many believe was the Fulham hierarchy’s preferred choice anyway. Pre-season preparations have been far from ideal for Jol however, as a place in the Europa League qualifiers courtesy of the Fair Play League saw their campaign start as early as 30 June.

As a result, the new manager has been limited to amount of players he has been able to give playing time to and of his summer buys only Jon Arne Riise has started any of the matches so far. Pajtim Kasami and Marcel Gercov both appear to be good young players however, and both will be looking to push on to earn full international honours with Switzerland and Czech Republic respectively after success at under-21 level.

Despite the less than ideal preparations for the new season Fulham’s Europa League qualifying campaign has been successful however, with four wins and two draws from their six matches. In the process they have conceded just one goal and have earned their place in the play-off round of the competition.

Their defensive record in pre-season is a continuation of the last few years during which goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and the central-defensive pairing of Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes establishing themselves as among the best in the league. Last season only the top three conceded less goals than Fulham, and it is no surprise that once again Schwarzer and Hangeland have found themselves to be the subject of several transfer rumours.

Where Fulham have struggled is at the other end of the pitch, scoring just 49 goals in the league last season and finding themselves drawing nearly half of the matches they played (16/38) as a result. This qualifying campaign has been notable however for the return to form of Andy Johnson up front and Bobby Zamora would appear to be fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered last season. A broken wrist has prompted concerns over his proneness to injury however, and Fulham are believed to be chasing one more striker before August is up.

In Martin Jol Fulham have a top class manager with proven Premier League experience, and a squad that is more than capable of challenging once more for at least a mid-table spot in the league. If they can add another good European campaign to their CV too it will represent yet another good season for Fulham.

LIVERPOOL

Two seasons ago Liverpool were preparing for the new season on the back of a second-place finish in the league with real optimism of finally returning to the top of English football. Then they sold Xabi Alonso and watched as they imploded under the suddenly clueless management of Rafael Benitez and failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Last season’s recruitment of Roy Hodgson was supposed to herald a return to the top four but he too failed, as left with many of Benitez’ foreign flops he struggled. All changed when Hodgson was replaced with Dalglish however.

Striker Fernando Torres departed for far more money than he was really worth and despite having paid the ridiculous price of £35 million for Andy Carroll, Carroll and Luis Suarez in place of Torres was a good investment. A late surge into the top six allowed Anfield supporters to finish the season with the same feeling of optimism they had enjoyed two years ago. A long overdue title is still no nearer, but Liverpool are back.

Additionally by signing Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam, Liverpool have added the creativity to their midfield that they have been so blatantly lacking recently, although the injury to Steven Gerrard is a blow that Dalglish could have done without.

What has been evident from Liverpool’s pre-season however is that defensively they are still not as watertight as they would like to be. They shipped fifteen goals in their first five matches, although a two-nil win against Valencia in their final warm-up is an encouraging result for Liverpool.

If Luis Suarez overcomes the injury that has disrupted his pre-season, and Gerrard recovers quickly Liverpool will once again be a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League and will push Tottenham and Arsenal very hard for a place in the top four.

Premier League Preview 2011/12 (ARS-BOL)

ARSENAL

Towards the end of last season an article appeared in a daily national newspaper claiming that Arsenal were preparing a mass clear out of the second-rate foreign players clogging up the club. In reality however, just one of those expected to leave – Denilson – has actually departed which means that Arsenal are still stocked full of players like Emmanuel Eboue, Niklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia, none of whom are good enough to help the club end their desperate search for silverware.

Even manager Arsene Wenger seems to have finally lost patience and speaking ahead of their final pre-season match with Benfica on Saturday he stated that Eboue and Bendtner may well still be shown the door. Considering Arsenal have once again failed  to spend any real money however, save for the £10.7 million signing of Gervinho, it means that they lack any strength in depth to allow more players to depart.

There is of course still time for them to bring in some players, and Wenger has stated that there is ‘good news’ on the transfer front still to come but why it has taken so long for such deals to be done remains a big question, and it also means that the first taste of football any new signings get with their new team mates will be competitive league matches. Matches against Liverpool and Manchester United within the first month of the season point to somewhat of a baptism of fire.

Another hindrance for the club is that once again the summer has been dominated by Barcelona’s pursuit of Cesc Fabregas which still shows little sign of being resolved. Even if the captain stays he is, according to Wenger, nursing an injury and would therefore join Jack Wilshere on the list of early absentees. Meanwhile Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri and Laurent Koscielny all missed Arsenal’s final friendly with injury.

Arsenal have also seen the departure of exciting full-back Gael Clichy to title rivals Manchester City during the summer, and if new defensive signing Carl Jenkinson’s pre-season own goal in a match against FC Koln is anything to go by fans shouldn’t raise their expectations of the 19-year old too highly. Nasri too has been linked with a move away which would represent a big blow after his impressive form last season, particularly if he moves to City or Man United as has been suggested in the media.

With the exception of Gervinho therefore this is the same Arsenal squad that has failed in previous years. They have still not signed a new goalkeeper (although Wojciech Szczesny in fairness looks far more capable than the hapless Almunia) and the defensive partnership of Koscielny and Squillaci is not exactly Adams-Bould or Adams-Keown.

If Gervinho lives up to expectations and Robin van Persie stays fit then the Gunners do at least have a strike force of real quality, particularly if they manage to retain the services of Samir Nasri too, but unless they make some big investments before the end of the transfer window do not be surprised if this proves to be another trophy-less season at the Emirates Stadium. Additionally, with Tottenham and Liverpool both pushing hard for a place in the top four, Arsenal could face a real struggle to qualify for the Champions League too.

ASTON VILLA

Where Arsenal have failed to clear out their bloated squad, Aston Villa have certainly succeeded with Brad Friedel, Nigel Reo Coker, John Carew, Robert Pires, Moustapha Salifou and youngster Isaiah Osbourne all exiting the club on free transfers. Sadly for new boss Alex McLeish however, they have also bid farewell to Ashley Young and Stewart Downing who have joined Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

While both continue to struggle to command regular starting places at international level, their ability in the Premier League is undoubted and with only Charles N’Zogbia to show in their place so far, Villa may lack the creativity to improve on their desperately disappointing campaign last year. Although they finished a respectable ninth place after suffering the shock departure of manager Martin O’Neill on the eve of the season, the Villains never looked like challenging for a European place and in fact found themselves looking ominously over their shoulders for much of the season.

The appointment this year of Alex McLeish, who took rivals Birmingham down last season, was controversial to say the least and it is hardly surprising that Villa fans protested the decision. A shaky start to the season this year and his position as manager will be under extreme pressure from the off. Despite winning the Carling Cup with Birmingham, he has twice taken them down from the Premier League. While his managerial ability is undoubted, there are still very large question marks over whether he is the right man for the job when the pressure is on.

A lot will depend on whether Darren Bent can continue his goalscoring form of the last two seasons, and whether McLeish can bring the best out of Stephen Ireland who has stated his desire to kick-start his Villa career under his new boss. Bent and Ireland on paper were two very impressive signings, but while the former has continued to shine in front of goal, the latter suffered an injury-ravaged first season, fell out with previous manager Gerard Houllier and was widely tipped to leave the club this summer. Ireland however would now appear to be staying put and if he can rediscover the form he showed towards the end of his Manchester City career he could well become one of Villa’s best players. Similarly, after a disappointing start to his Villa Park career last season, Jean Il Makoun will have a point to prove in midfield and is most definitely a far better player than he showed last season.

The signing of N’Zogbia and goalkeeper Shay Given are both good signings with the latter in particular a real bargain buy considering his undoubted quality and both have already impressed in pre-season, with N’Zogbia scoring in his first game and Given earning the plaudits for a typically superlative performance during the Premier League Asia Trophy final against Chelsea.

While investment has been light, particularly given the money recouped for Downing and Young, Aston Villa already have a talented squad. Last season proved however that they also need the right manager, which Houllier proved not to be; whether McLeish will be that manager remains to be seen. Having sampled European football in recent times, Villa fans will have high expectations but they have much work to do if they are to break back into the top six, and could well miss out for a second year running.

BLACKBURN ROVERS

Something very strange is happening at Blackburn Rovers. After the takeover of the club by the Venky’s group, they proceeded to sack Sam Allardyce and replace him with the untried Steve Kean before rumours began to circulate that big moves for Ronaldinho and David Beckham were imminent. Despite it all however, neither player arrived and Rovers only just managed to avoid relegation.

Fans may therefore have expected a busy summer in the transfer market but with just six days to go until the start of the new season, the Ewood Park faithful have only £2.8 million David Goodwillie to welcome to the club. In addition they have lost promising young defender Phil Jones to Manchester United and suffered defeat to Premier League rivals Aston Villa already during this pre-season.

One positive however has been Mauro Formica’s pre-season form after his move from Argentina in January. After a disappointing start to his Blackburn career, Rovers fans will be hoping that he carries his good form into the new season.

Whether he does or not however, Blackburn are in trouble if they don’t recruit more players before the end of August. Kean looks too inexperienced for life in the top flight, and if Rovers’ Indian owners really want a return on their investments they need to spend big, particularly given the money they have recruited on Jones.

Without more investment, Blackburn could well be set for another tough season looking over their shoulder at relegation. Players like Michel Salgado are not getting any younger while David Dunn and Brett Emerton are not the same players that they were at the start of their Rovers’ career.

Dunn has already experienced relegation at Ewood Park, and while there are teams in the league worse than Blackburn this year, a few bad results could well leave Dunn and Rovers facing relegation yet again.

BOLTON WANDERERS

The appointment of Owen Coyle has worked wonders for Bolton Wanderers and they have re-established themselves as at least a mid-table side, if not one who can challenge for European places. Up until the disappointing defeat to Stoke in the FA Cup semi-final, last year had been a good year for Bolton. A disappointing end to the year saw them slip to fourteenth but there had been enough signs to suggest that the success the club enjoyed under Sam Allardyce could soon be repeated.

Wanderers have been strangely subdued during the summer however, and after Danny Sturridge’s loan spell came to an end and Johan Elmander left on a free transfer to Galatasary it is somewhat of a surprise that they have not moved to sign a new striker. Ivan Klasnic and Kevin Davies have had a lot of success in front of goal during pre-season but whether they can carry such form into competitive matches is another matter.

The signings of Chris Eagles and Darren Pratley add creativity to their midfield, but with Pratley untried at Premier League level it is a gamble, particularly given that Swansea deemed him surplus to their requirements for much of the latter half of last season. Eagles however has shown promise under Coyle with Burnley and will counter the blow of losing Korean Chung-Yong Lee, who broke his leg in a pre-season friendly with Newport.

Goals have certainly not been an issue for Bolton during this pre-season, and in recording six wins out of eight matches they scored seventeen goals in the process. Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov appears to still be flourishing, and along with Eagles will be key to Bolton’s creativity this year. The years of long balls and boring, physical football that the Reebok Stadium faithful have had to endure for much of their current Premier League stint seem to finally be over.

Defensively, the fact that Gary Cahill is at the time of writing still a Bolton player and is another positive after a summer of him being linked with a big move to Arsenal and Manchester City. Should Bolton manage to keep him for this season they look solid at the back, and are certainly a physical presence with 6’6” Zat Knight alongside Cahill in central defence.

If Klasnic and Davies can take their pre-season goalscoring form into the new season, and providing Cahill stays, a comfortable top-half finish is surely not beyond them.

Associate nations hung out to dry by the ICC

Cricket’s governing body, the ICC, announced today that the 2015 World Cup will contain no associate nations as they trim the tournament to just ten teams.

Niall O'Brien keeps wicket against Pakistan, but with the associate nations being excluded from the 2015 World Cup, matches such as these could be consigned to Twenty20 only.

Although they will be able to attempt to qualify for the 2019 competition, teams such as Canada, Kenya, Netherlands and Ireland, all of whom have competed in the last two competitions, will not be invited to compete in Australia and New Zealand in four years time.

There have been associate nations in every World Cup since 1996 (and sporadically before then) when UAE, Netherlands and Kenya all made their debuts on the world stage. The latter reached the semi-finals of the competition in 2003 and there have been other success stories such as Ireland reaching the “Super Eight” stage four years ago. On an individual level Canada’s John Davison held the World Cup record for the fastest ever World Cup century, when he reached three figures in just 67 balls against the West Indies in 2003 and last month Kevin O’Brien broke the record for himself when he took just 50 balls to reach his century against England, surpassing Australia’s Matthew Hayden (66 balls, 2007). This year also saw Ryan ten Doeschate score two World Cup hundreds for Netherlands.

It had been hoped that Ireland’s shock win against England, which included a World Cup record for the highest successful run chase (329-7), would encourage the ICC to rethink their decision and include 12 teams in the forthcoming World Cup tournaments instead of the proposed ten. Today’s decision has extinguished any hopes that the associate nations may have had however, and has guaranteed that they will not play in the 50-over World Cup for another eight years.

Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the ICC, has tried to offset the decision by claiming that without the investment of the ICC the associate nations could not have progressed as they have. In addition, while excluding them from the forthcoming 50-over showpiece, all associate nations will be eligible for qualification to the expanded Twenty20 World Cups; a decision which the ICC hopes will compensate the aggrieved countries.

For teams such as Kenya and Canada and, slightly further down the ladder, Afghanistan, this may be so. For Netherlands however, and most notably Ireland, no World Cup is likely to mean a decline in sponsorship and has come just at the time that they were hoping to progress towards joining the elite. Cricket Ireland’s chief executive Warren Deutrom has already complained of the ‘glass ceiling’ that has hindered Ireland’s progression and this latest outcome has been met with similar disdain by Deutrom. He described the decision as ‘nothing short of outrageous’ and described it as ‘an absolute black day for the sport’, sentiments echoed by players such as captain William Porterfield and opening bowler Boyd Rankin.

In the ICC’s favour something did have to be done to the structure of the World Cup. Too many matches had led to a decline in interest. Each of the last three World Cups has lasted six weeks with far too many one-sided matches and dead-rubbers. The underachievement of Canada, dismissed for 36 by Sri Lanka in 2003 and Bermuda, beaten by 257 runs by India in 2007, amongst others have meant that in most cases the group stage of the competition has been successful only in confirming that most, if not all, of the top-eight ranked teams in the world were the best eight teams in the competition.

However, the associate nations are never likely to improve if they are not regularly exposed to a high level of cricket, a point proved by the recent plights of Kenya and Bangladesh. As stated above, Kenya reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2003. However, in the two years after that they played just five one day internationals and off-field problems such as player strikes led to the dissolving of the national cricket board. In the two World Cups since then they have won just one game – against Canada in 2007. Anybody who saw Lasith Malinga’s hat trick against them could see how woefully underprepared they were for the top level. Indeed, while not recognised as a batsman, the fact that number 10 batsman Shem Ngoche was dismissed by all three balls that he faced is reflective of the team’s failings.

Bangladesh meanwhile qualified for the “Super Eight” stage in 2007 beating both South Africa and India on their way to a seventh place finish overall. Since then they have played regular test, ODI and Twenty20 series against the full-member nations. They whitewashed an under strength West Indies team in 2009 and beat New Zealand four-nil in a one day international series the following year. Shakib-al-Hasan and Tamim Iqbal have both been named Test Player of the Year by The Wisden Cricketer and although they exited the World Cup at the first stage this year, being bowled out for under 100 twice, they beat England for the second time in less than twelve months. They are now level with West Indies in the world ODI rankings and could well break into the top-eight by the end of the year.

Quite simply teams can not expect to progress if they are not playing regular, competitive matches against the best teams.

Ireland have similarly made good progress in the ICC rankings and will have hoped to begin challenging the top-eight within the next eighteen months. However, the lack of test match cricket has already cost them Eoin Morgan, perhaps the best player they have produced in recent years. With no World Cup for at least eight years the chances of them retaining their latest young star, George Dockrell, look decidedly slim too. Ryan ten Doeschate meanwhile will be 38 come 2019. Even if Netherlands qualified for that World Cup there is no guaranteeing that he will be around to play; few would blame him if he were to turn instead to his country of birth, South Africa, should they come calling.

After so much investment by both the ICC and Cricket Ireland, and with the progress made by the Dutch, including their famous triumph over England in the 2009 World Twenty20 at Lord’s, the worst thing that cricket’s governing body can do right now is just let it go to waste. Their latest decision however looks set to do exactly that. Zimbabwe have done nothing since their reintroduction to world cricket to indicate that they are more deserving of a guaranteed World Cup spot than teams such as Ireland. At the very least there needs to be a qualification process available to the associate nations. While there will be one for the 2019 World Cup that could well come too late. By that point the associate nations could well have gone over half a decade without playing against the leading countries in ODIs. After more than ten years of progression, world cricket will be back to square one and the game will be none the better for it.

[PHOTO - Wikimedia Commons]

Blog on hiatus

Sadly commitments to my degree, my football team and Newcastle University’s student media have made it near-impossible to find time to maintain this blog. However I hope to be back under way in April in time for the business end of the football season and the start of the English county cricket season.

Four-some Chelsea Kicking Opposition While They Are Down

Chelsea celebrate their title win last year, and have started their defence with a 100% winning record

Chelsea’s 100% start to the season continued with a 4-0 victory over Premier League newcomers Blackpool, and while the game never reached the heights of the Blues 6-0 victories over West Brom and Wigan, it was nevertheless another big message to their title rivals.

Although nothing more than what has expected of them when the fixtures were announced, Chelsea’s near-perfect start to the season has proved that they will not be surrendering their title easily. It is not just that they are winning, but the manner in which they are doing so.

Arsenal and Manchester City have dropped points at the Stadium of Light courtesy of Darren Bent’s last-minute goals which have given Sunderland a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 win respectively. Manchester United, meanwhile, could only draw with Fulham and Everton despite leading against both, and Tottenham’s defeat to Wigan already looks to be hurting them in the race for the European places.

Chelsea on the other hand have demolished their weaker opponents and amassed a massive 22 goals in just five matches. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have given the rest of the Premier League a lesson in kicking their opposition while they’re down.

While his fellow country man Roberto Mancini has been deploying very negative formations for Manchester City’s away games, resulting in them dropping five points on their travels already, Ancelotti has put his faith in his side’s attacking prowess, and so he should with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka up front, and Florent Malouda in top form.

The difference between Chelsea and the chasing pack has been exactly that, and as a result their nearest contenders are all playing catch-up already. There will be tougher challenges ahead, starting with Manchester City next Saturday, but they have given themselves the perfect platform from which to rise to against their tougher opposition.

Chelsea lost twice to City last year, and will need to perform at their very best to avoid another defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium, but on their current form it is hard to imagine them performing at any lower a level.

Nearly Men of the West Country

Saturday saw the English county cricket season draw to a close, with Warwickshire being crowned as one-day champions, after victory in the CB40 final at Lord’s. Their three-wicket victory over Somerset crowned a relatively successful last week of the season for the Bears, after Ian Bell’s return from injury helped to avoid relegation from the County Championship’s top tier, before the England star hammered a 95-ball 104 to give his team victory at Lord’s.

For the Cidermen however, defeat to Warwickshire crowned an extraordinary season, during which they were by far the most successful team in the country, and yet don’t have a single trophy to show for their efforts. Having already finished as runners-up in the Twenty20 Cup for the second season in a row, they then saw their hopes of a first ever Championship win dashed on the final day of the season before Bell’s century confined them to a treble of second-placed finishes.

It wasn’t just the fact that they had finished second that will have left Somerset fans agonising though, but how close they came to victory in each competition. At Lord’s they were relatively comfortably beaten, after a dramatic batting collapse in the face of some fantastic spin bowling by Imran Tahir, and then Bell’s hundred put the result beyond doubt.

In the Twenty20 cup however, the Sabres came much closer. Looking well set against Hampshire, they were hampered by a nasty eye injury sustained by West Indian Kieron Pollard. The competition’s joint-leading wicket taker, and one of the hardest-hitting Twenty20 batsmen in the world, was putting the finishing touches to a fine Somerset batting effort with some lusty hitting when he was hit above the grill on his helmet by a Dominic Cork bouncer.

With his eye swelling up to the extent that it had closed, Pollard was led from the pitch dazed and frustrated and was unable to bowl in Hampshire’s innings. His presence was clearly missed too, and while nothing should be taken away from Hampshire’s performance, the fact that the two innings were tied on 167, only for the Hawks to win by virtue of having lost one less wicket, seemed incredibly harsh on Somerset.

The final day of the Championship was just as cruel to Somerset too. After leading the way for much of the final round of fixtures, and with Yorkshire collapsing to defeat against Kent, the west-country county were left frustrated by a titanic innings from Durham’s Michael Di Venuto, which restricted Somerset to a draw at Chester-le-Street.

Marcus Trescothick’s team could then only watch as title rivals Nottinghamshire scraped maximum batting points at Lancashire after an unbroken last-wicket partnership edged them to 400-9 declared in their first innings. That left Notts needing one more point to draw level with Somerset at the top of table, and with one more win to their name, it would give Nottinghamshire the title.

Chris Read’s side duly took the necessary three Lancashire wickets, and secured the Championship in dramatic fashion. What made it all the more harsh for Somerset was that, while they had indeed won fewer games than Notts, they had also lost considerably less. Just one more point gained from their many drawn matches would have been enough to have lifted the trophy.

What is crucial now for Somerset is that they bounce back from this disappointment next season. With Marcus Trescothick leading the county from the front, with his run tally for the season surpassed only by team-mate James Hildreth, the Cidermen have a captain of the highest quality. Hildreth’s batting talent is sure to attract an England call-up soon, but in the mean time he remains a fine player for his county and fellow young batsmen Nick Compton and Jos Buttler look set for bright futures in the game too.

With a rising clamour for a franchise system to be implemented in the English game, which would spell the end for smaller counties like Somerset, their performances this year have made a mockery of these suggestions made by so-called experts, but as one saying states, nobody ever remembers the runners-up. Somerset must surely be amongst the favourites for trophies next year, whatever format is chosen for the season, and it is imperative that they deliver on their promise before players such as Hildreth are lost to international duty, and the inevitable retirement of experienced campaigners such as Trescothick happens.