Same, stronger or weaker compare to last season: rate the Premiership teams

[pc4th]

For example, is Man Utd team this season stronger, weaker or same as last year team Man Utd team?

My rating (these teams compare to the same team last year):

Man Utd: weaker
Liverpool: same (weaker if lose Alonso)
Chelsea: same (stronger if the new coach is as good as Hiddink)
Arsenal: weaker
Everton: same
Villa: weaker
Man City: stronger
Spurs: stronger (the second half of last season, Spurs was doing very well...now duplicate that for the whole season this year)

p.s. Hiddink would be a great coach for Man City if Hughes is not up to task.

[TFoAV]

Makes sense that you put all the teams that are going to be in the top half of the table for most of the season.

Man Utd: Weaker (losing CR7, no matter if you love him or hate him, is a big loss for them.)
Liverpool: Same (They didn't make many loud moves. But this could be the year that they could finally have a breakthrough and win the EPL. They could definitely do it in a year where Man U could be down, Wenger's pinching pennies, but Chelsea could make a run as well. It'll be between Liverpool and Chelsea, IMO.)
Chelsea: Stronger (Depends on the new manager, plus their reserves are stronger and deeper. Chelsea are looking really good this pre-season.)
Arsenal: Weaker (Didn't really make any moves to make them stronger, and naturally they're probably going to be the weeakest of the Big 4 (or 5, depends on City's performance this year) as a result of this.)
Everton: Same
Villa: Weaker (Villa had some big losses, and MON's running out of time to get some moves done. Downing can't be their only signing, if so then they're gonna stumble out of the gate. :()
Man City: Stronger (We'll see what their shopping spree gets them. Their defense is still questionable, but man, are they gonna be an interesting side to watch this year. They honestly may have bought themselves into Top 4.)
Spurs: Stronger (If they can translate their late season success into success in the upcoming season, they could make some noise as well. We'll see.)

Should be an interesting season for the usual suspects. I'm honestly hoping that a middle-of-the-road side makes a run...but this is the EPL. :/

[0-Point]

Good one - dunno, think it's wide open - Losing CR and Tevez not good for manu, but Valencia is a shrewd signing he can play 'hole' may surprise a few people. Losing Alonso and Mascherano not good for 'Pool. Chelsea have stood still. Arsenal, lord knows.
City and Spurs look to have the best attack.

[glennaldo_sf]

Liverpool: same (weaker if lose Alonso)


It would be interesting to see if the Gerrard punch up situation has an affect on them... if so, they could be weakened.

[Red Bird]

Man U would seem weaker without Ronaldo but you never know-- Valencia is an under-rated signing (worth his full fee) and the rest of the team may just club together and produce. Valencia will provide chances for others more than Ronaldo. Berbatov will now have settled and Anderson adjusted to Premier League football.

Liverpool's weakness stems from Alonso's loss if only because the new guy will take time to adjust. I also think there will be some tactical changes which will take time to filter through.

I think Chelsea is the relatively stongest team of the last season's top 4 and ought to be odds-on favourites for the title. A settled squad and hopefully some patience [with the manager] from the owner.

Arsenal is getting a lot of players back from injuury and may add another couple, it seems, so will be stronger. Arshavin has had pre-season, too. That young "Jack the Lad" will be eased into selection, too.

Everton will definitely be stronger with Yakubu coming back, and also for having Jo again for the season.

Aston Villa lost Barry and Laursen and don't seem to have replaced them so arguably weaker.

I think Fulham has quietly been strengthening-- he's a canny one that Hodgson.

Redknapp seems to be strengthening Spurs, too. Bassong and Crouch are fine signings.

And Hull City also [and finally] seems to be strengthening ;)

[Harry Boulton]

Suggesting that United are a weaker team without Ronaldo might just be concentrating on the wrong criteria.

With Ronaldo gone maybe there's an opportunity to actually play more as a team, rather than as a group of talented individuals all trying to get the best out of one individual. I think we'll see more of Rooney this term, and Berbatov. Valencia is a more selfless player and maybe his more conventional wing play night see the best out of our attackers. Certainly Owen will benefit from his style of wide play. And, I've got to be honest, now that Ronaldo is gone I'm hoping to see more from Carrick. More aggressive offensively. He can no longer turn to Ronaldo when the dead lock needs breaking.

Liverpool: The same. Alonso has gone and has been replaced by Aquilani. Aquilani is a great player but he;s injury prone and will need time to settle. Johnson represents a marginal improvement, albeit an expensive one, in comparison to Arbeloa. I personally don't think Arbeloa needed replacing and maybe the money would have been better spentm on cover for Torres. Kuyt, Veronyn and Ngog do not represent world class goal threats. However, this shortfall may be irrelavant if Gerrard and Torres hit the ground running.

Chelsea: The same / stronger. The addition of Zhirkov is a good one, but the loss of Hiddink is a big blow. Ancelotti has pedigree but he may need time to find a formation and style. However, if rumour is to be believed then there could still be a big signing on the way for the rent boys. If that is so, it could all change very quickly. Pato has been rumoured.


Arsenal: Weaker. But then we say the same thing every season and still the incompetance of the chasing pack allows them back into the CL again. Adebayor has been their top scorer for the last two seasons running and Toure has been their most consistant defender (not that thats much to shout about) and both have gone to City. They still have no holding midfield player, and upfront they're going to be even more reliant on the injury prone talents of RVP and Eduardo. Factor in Rosicky's injuries for the last 18 months and Nasri's injury and they look to be on the ropes. Only time will tell but I'd plump for weaker. People ay Wenger is performing miracles with his current squad - I think it's hitting it's natural level. It is marginally better than those below it, but not strong enough to challenge.

Everton: Stronger, if only for the returning Yakubu. Now they have a proper striker they might stand a chance of getting that top 4 spot ahead of Arsenal, depending on how well City start.


Villa: The same. Barry gone, Delph in. Whilst the loss of Gaz-Baz seems huge, Delph is a more dynamic, forcefull player. Albeit, one without EPL experience. Heskey now has a pre-season with his team mates and Young and Agbonlahor have another season under their belts. The loss of Laursen is a big one but he barely played due to injury anyway. They maybe struggle to match last seasons start though.


Man City: Stronger, with a capital "S". Infinitely better squad they had last year, can they gel quickly though? They have a hige list of strikers to choose from, and in midfield and defence they look strong too. And you get the impression that they've not finished yet, as well.


Spurs: Stronger. Redknapp has added Crouch to an already burgeoning forward line-up that includes Robbie Keane, Jermaine Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko. Darren Bent has departed, but I doubt he'll be missed. They still need a centre half with some robustness because King and Woodgate are as strong as a pack of cards when it comes to actually staying fit. If Modric can continue where he left off last term they have a genuinely creative and skillful player.

Portsmouth. Stronger? Weaker? The same? No. They are an entirely new category. They're f*cked. No money, no manager, ownership not entirely assured, and to make things worse they've signed Frederic Piquionne. A striker so bad there's a youtube video dedicated to his "skills", rather than his skills. Campbell has left removing any defensive stability they had (which wasn't much), I expect Distin and James to move at some point too. 10-1 to go down. I'll be going to the bookies tonight and putting a tenner on.

*edited a million times for spelling mistakes. Meh.

[ovalball]

With Ronaldo gone maybe there's an opportunity to actually play more as a team, rather than as a group of talented individuals all trying to get the best out of one individual.

I think that is a distinct possibility. It will be fun to see how the "team" evolves.

Man City: Stronger, with a capital "S". Infinitely better squad they had last year, can they gel quickly though? They have a hige list of strikers to choose from, and in midfield and defence they look strong too. And you get the impression that they've not finished yet, as well.

This one really intrigues me. Just because City has a bunch of all-stars, doesn't mean they can play together and produce. This team could gel and explode into the top 4 or simply fall apart in a mass of conflicting personalities and "needs". Hughes has his work cut out for him. I don't envy him a bit.

[Marienburg]

Manchester United: Slightly weaker

Still has a great defense and goalie, but that midfield is not very impressive anymore. I worry some about where the goals will come from. Ronaldo scores, assists and draws markers to him and I think Rooney/Berbatov will find it harder to score without Ronaldo constantly worrying every team. I expect a lot of 1-0 wins from them.

Chelsea: Slightly stronger

Ancelotti will be an improvement over Scolari, not over Hiddink but on the whole that is better than last year. It is the same team and with their main competition a bit weakened around them I think Chelsea has to be the favorite this season.

Liverpool: Slightly weaker

Not much different here. I think the loss of Alonso outweighs the Johnson signing by a bit and then the issues with Mascherano. It is said every year and will be said many times this season "Is this finally Liverpool's year?"

Arsenal: Weaker

Wenger has a crazy belief in his youngsters but I don't. It is a squad full of injury prone players who lack a physical presence. The same thing will happen every season with every team bodying up the Gunners and sending their frail bodies into injuries for weeks and months at a time. Are Rosicky, Nasri, Persie, Eduardo, Fabregas all great players? Yes, but what are the chances of them all being on the pitch at the same time. Slim. The loss of Adebayor and Toure is big and still no defensive midfielder. This band of weaklings needs a midfield general who can be an enforcer and I have no idea why Wenger didn't make this his #1 objective in the transfer season. If this team plays excellent and has few injuries then the best case scenario is probably a 3rd place finish. Not saying it will happen but this looks like the best year I can remember for the Big 4 to get broken up and Arsenal is on the chopping block.

Manchester City: Stronger

Same thing you hear everywhere: thats a ton of great signings but can Mark Hughes keep it together and can they play well as a unit. This will be the most exciting team to watch this season and I'm pumped for it. I'm not a City fan but I have a huge desire to see the Big 4 broken up and the best chance is City.

[Harry Boulton]

This one really intrigues me. Just because City has a bunch of all-stars, doesn't mean they can play together and produce. This team could gel and explode into the top 4 or simply fall apart in a mass of conflicting personalities and "needs". Hughes has his work cut out for him. I don't envy him a bit.


I agree, but we have no idea how anyone is going to fair this year until we're a good couple of months into the season so we have to make assumptions based on how they've recruited, who they've recruited and how we think they'll fit together.

All of this is conjecture anyway. Educated guesses, estimates, call it what you like. On paper at least City are stronger so until the season begins I'm going to go with the assumption that they'll be better than last year.