Football Corner

So we are now less than two weeks away from the kick-off of the 2010/2011 Premier League season and I'm sure, like me, you are all getting very excited.

There are three clubs, in my opinion, who have a real chance of lifting the title come the end of the season. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Many believe Manchester City may challenge for the title this season given the vast amounts of money they have spent over the last few weeks. David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Yaya Toure have all arrived at Eastlands this summer and if you have been keeping up with the sports news of late, you will know that City's spending may not be over just yet.

I personally don't believe they have what it takes to go all the way this season and I think they would be doing well to finish in the top four this time around.

If I had to put my money on any team, I would probably bet on Chelsea to retain their Premier League crown.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, there are a large number of teams who could easily be relegated this season. Blackpool will probably finish rock bottom with West Brom just above them in 19th and then it will be intriguing to see who finishes in the place above them. It really could be any number of six or seven teams who finish 18th but if I had to choose one, I would have to go with Birmingham.

We all love picking our squads for a fantasy soccer game before the season starts and one player I suggest you have in your team this season is Liverpool's Joe Cole. I am convinced he will be a big success at Anfield and I can see him scoring loads of goals this season.

After two months, the transfer window has today slammed shut. What a transfer window, eh?

Obviously the big spenders in the Premier League were Manchester City, spending over £115 million. Mark Hughes was certainly given to freedom to spend money left, right and centre, building almost a fantasy football team in the process.

It seems the majority of football news in Europe has surrounded Real Madrid this summer. The Spanish giants have spent nearly a quarter of a billion pounds on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka. Many football betting experts believe Real may be the team to beat in the Champions League this season and personally, I agree with them.

Elsewhere in the transfer window, Tottenham completed a transfer deadline day deal, bringing Portsmouth midfieder Niko Kranjcar to Fratton Park. Kranjcar became the second Portsmouth player to join Harry Redknapp at Spurs, following the arrival of Peter Crouch earlier this summer.

Many leading figures in the game have questioned whether or not Manchester City can win the Premier League title this season. Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has already dismissed City's chances, however both Harry Redknapp and Martin O'Neill think Mark Hughes' men are contenders.

With the players they have signed over the summer (Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez etc;) you would think that they must be contenders, however it is how they gel together is the main thing. If they lose two or three games on the trot, suddenly pressure begins to mount and the players begin to lose interest, so it is vital Hughes keeps all of his players happy.

So, can City really challenge? I'm still undecided, however one things for sure, I wouldn't be betting against it.

Just to let you know, Football Corner has moved.

Visit the new site now, www.football-corner.org

Also, if I could get everyone who links to Football Corner to please change the URL of the link that would be terrific.

Anyway, look forward to having you all over at the new site.