EPL is about to start

Ahhh the season is about to re commence again, my my have i missed my football, i had the NBA to keep me company for awhile but once the playoffs were done, it was a really quiet winter (i'm in the southern hemisphere people) , oh and Lance Armstrong's comeback kept me distracted too.

So what happens in this new season, Do the Mighty Red Devils make history and win an unprecedented fourth straight Title, is this the year Liverpool finally win the championship (HA!) or does Chelsea under the stewardship of Carlo Ancelotti finally regain their championship after three long years?

United have sold Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, and their replacements? Antonio Valencia a player who is highly regarded throughout Europe (Real Madrid wanted to sign Him) with no big game experience and has never really played against or excelled against top level opponents and Michael Owen, who in his prime sent a shiver down some of the the best defences of Europe but clearly his best days are behind him, United retained most of their squad, and they do have other players to step in, Nani will finally get his chance to prove his worth to United and with Tevez gone, Berbatov and youngster Danny Welbeck will get more playing time, Hargreaves return from injury will help stabilize the midfield and the defence looks stronger than ever, with the emergence of Johnny Evans. One Point that has not struck home yet is the fact that Wayne Rooney will finally be playing as a striker again and for those of you who remember, Wayne Rooney was once a feared striker but Ronaldo's emergence coupled with his versatility forced Fergie to push Rooney out wide and into a supporting Position.

Chelsea have pretty much retained the same squad the only notable addition being Russian wing back Yuri Zhirkov and have changed their manager, last season began with Scolari and ended with Hiddink, this season starts with Ancelotti but will it end with him? Ancelotti’s appointment only tells me one thing, Chelsea are more focused and geared towards winning the Champions League, its no secret that Roman Abramovich has coveted the trophy and is willing to invest his billions to get his hands on it.

What about Liverpool?

Liverpool finished a close second last season and seemed to be adding new players to win it this season, but financial realities coupled with ownership issues have stagnated the clubs progress. Liverpool currently without a doubt have the best partnership in the league with Torres and Gerrard and that’s where Liverpool’s title challenge begins and ends, a long term injury or suspension to either one and their season is over, United at any time will have 4 to 5 players who can win a match for them on the pitch, the same goes to Chelsea. Their lack of squad depth was not helped with

sale of Xabi Alonso and Rafa Benitez was forced to lock Mascherano down his only remaining holding midfielder.

I won’t even bother about mentioning Arsenal in this Column as i think Manchester City has a real chance of overtaking them, they have already lost their top Goalscorer in Adebayor, while they still have Van Persie and Eduardo they have too many young players…and before any Arsenal fans start pointing to Manchester United’s Double Winning Squad of 1996 having 5 Rookies in their First team , let me point out that Ferguson had and experienced spine in that team with Peter Schmeichel, Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Roy Keane and Of Course ‘Le King’ Eric Cantona occupying key positions. Another Point I am Convinced of is this is the season Fabregas leave the Gooners for Barcelona.

My prediction for the season? I believe United will win the title this season with Chelsea a close second and followed by Manchester City and Liverpool.