Soccer

Chelsea deserved favourites to retain Premier League title

(Nick Potts/PA)

A YEAR ago, I started my preview of the Premier League season by scoffing at predictions that the race for the title was the most wide open in a number of seasons.

My argument, which thankfully turned out to be correct, was that only Chelsea and Manchester City were equipped to win the league, and that Arsenal and Man United would fill third and fourth without ever really getting in the shake-up. 

Fast-forward 12 months and I’m now inclined to agree with any assessment that the coming season, which thankfully gets going at Old Trafford at lunchtime today when United host Spurs, is a fairly open race.

I should qualify that statement by pointing out that any one of last season’s top four could feasibly get their hands on the silverware come May, but nobody outside of that elite has any chance of being champions, nor indeed has much chance of breaking into the Champions League places.

Therefore, the one of the most rock-solid bets available before a ball is kicked is the 2/3 offered by Sky Bet about last season’s top four being the leading quartet in any order this time around.

Liverpool shook up the established order two seasons ago by finishing a close-up second to City, but they went backwards in dramatic fashion last term, with the loss of Luis Suarez, injuries to Daniel Sturridge, and a very unsuccessful recruitment policy seeing them fall all the way down to sixth.

Therefore, Brendan Rodgers goes into this season under intense pressure and is the 5/1 favourite to be the first manager to leave his job, with a fiendishly difficult run of early away games contributing to that.

Yet, I think Liverpool will improve this term, with some of their signings looking very shrewd, especially Nathaniel Clyne, James Milner and Christian Benteke, who is a proven Premier League goalscorer.


That said, I don’t think they will step up sufficiently to get into the Champions League mix, with glaring weaknesses at centre-back and goalkeeper not yet addressed, while the losses of Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling will have some impact.

Spurs haven’t done enough business to suggest anything higher than last season’s fifth place is achievable, although with the transfer window open for another three weeks, there is plenty of opportunity to bring in big names.

Therefore, we can focus on the front-runners from last term, when Chelsea were the best team by a considerable distance, and the question is whether any of their rivals have made big enough strides over the summer to catch them up.

Perhaps understandably given their superiority, the Blues have done very little in the transfer market, replacing outgoing reserve keeper Petr Cech with Asmir Begovic and reserve striker Didier Drogba with Radamel Falcao, who has a point to prove after a poor spell at Old Trafford and has had more time to get over his injury woes.

The Stamford Bridge men are a very settled outfit, have the best manager about in Jose Mourinho, the best defence, and have by some distance the best player in the league in Eden Hazard. 


They will be very hard to beat once more and deserve to be the jollies at 7/4 with Ladbrokes.

One thing going against them is that no team has retained the title since United made it three on the bounce in 2009, but Mourinho won’t let anyone rest on their laurels and they will take some stopping.


City finished eight points behind the champions last year, with Arsenal 12 off the pace and United 17 points adrift in fourth.

So can any of them bridge that gap?

On the basis of last season, City would appear to be best-placed to do so, and whatever you think of the fee they paid for Sterling, he could be a star for them and at the very least is an upgrade on Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri.

Fabian Delph is their other major signing, although whether he is that much better than what was already at the Etihad is questionable.

The big minus around last season’s runners-up is the continued uncertainty about the long-term future of Manuel Pellegrini, who despite signing a new two-year deal yesterday, still has the look of a stop-gap before they make a concerted push to get Pep Guardiola next summer.

With the manager’s position looking shaky, it might be hard for him to motivate a largely old squad who are mostly on long-term contracts.

Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany were shadows of their former selves last term and need to find their form quickly if a title challenge is to be made, while a very apparent lack of a decent partner for Kompany at the back is still there.

The Sky Blues are 3/1 with Paddy Power, but I actually see them as the weakest of the top four and couldn’t have them at the price.

Arsenal are next in the betting at 4/1 generally and certainly appear to be inching closer to being a side capable of winning a first league title since 2004.

They won more points than anyone in the second half of last season and also successfully defended the FA Cup, so they should have plenty of momentum, while last week’s Community Shield victory finally saw Arsene Wenger get the better of Jose Mourinho.

Wenger has done one big piece of business over the summer with Cech coming in from Stamford Bridge, and his experience and leadership is bound to tighten the Gunners up.

Yet, there is a school of thought that the success in the second half of last term has papered over the cracks and allowed Wenger to resume his conservative ways when it comes to squad strengthening.


A new holding midfielder and centre-forward are clearly needed at the Emirates, yet Wenger seems content to muddle through with what he has after Francis Coquelin and Theo Walcott impressed in those positions at the tail-end of the last campaign.

That dithering with the chequebook might ultimately see them come up short once more, although one more big signing to go alongside the talents of Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and company could put them in a strong position.

Which leads us on to Louis van Gaal’s Man United, who have been very active on the transfer front and are unlikely to be finished yet.

They needed the most work of the top four clubs, with the Dutchman’s first season at the helm being a largely frustraring one, even if the aim of getting back into the Champions League was achieved.

The stars of a decent second half to the season were actually players who probably weren’t to Van Gaal’s liking initially, with Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini, Chris Smalling, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata coming in from the cold to be important players.

Yet Van Gaal was aware changes were needed and has recruited well with Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger bringing quality and steel to the midfield and Matteo Darmian looking an excellent acquisition at right-back.

Memphis Depay (left), meanwhile, will play along the front three and could be a star, to the extent he could be worth a bet at 8/1 with Paddy Power to be Young Player of the Year. 

There is definitely an air of excitement around Old Trafford, and some pundits have suggested they’re a great bet at 11/2 (Ladbrokes) for the title, although there are still issues to be resolved.

The first of those is the future of David de Gea, who wants to go to Real Madrid and is likely to get his wish. Whoever replaces him won’t be quite as good and might take time to settle behind a defence that still needs a dominant figure at centre-back.

Van Gaal could also do with another striker to help captain Wayne Rooney, even if Pedro comes in from Barcelona.

Those weaknesses are enough to put me off a bet on United at this stage, although I feel they will push Chelsea harder than anyone else.

The Premier League trophy is destined for Stamford Bridge again, so I won’t put anyone off a bet, even at 7/4, while the Chelsea-United straight forecast offers very decent value at 8/1 with Boylesports, as does the 2/1 about United being the top north-west club ahead of City and Liverpool with Bet Victor.

It promises to be another season of thrill and spills, but Mourinho’s men will still be top of the pile next May.

Recommended bets

Chelsea, Premier League winners, 7/4 (Ladbrokes)


Chelsea-Man United straight forecast, 8/1 (Boylesports)


Man United, top north-west club, 2/1 (Bet Victor)


Eden Hazard, PFA Player of the Year, 9/1 (Sky Bet)


Memphis Depay, PFA Young Player of the Year, 8/1 (Paddy Power)