Chelsea begin the defense of their Premier League title today at home to new boys West Brom having spent a “mere” £5 million (US$7.8 million) in pre-season.
When Baggies boss Roberto di Matteo was a Chelsea player that was still a sizeable sum of money and there is something grimly amusing about the London club, who have enjoyed success on the back of Russian owner Roman Abramovich’s billions, being outspent in the transfer market.
However, with Yossi Benayoun the lone new arrival at Stamford Bridge, that has certainly been the case with Manchester City spending a colossal £85 million.
City’s spending is likely to continue with the prospect of the likes of James Milner still coming to Eastlands before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Whether spending quite so much money will give City the “instant” success their owners seek remains to be seen in a league where their local rivals Manchester United are still a formidable force.
Chelsea look like an ageing team, but modern training methods are fast forcing a re-evaluation of what older players can do and Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti said: “The players will be better this season because they have one year more experience, like me.”
“I’m not older. I’m more experienced. I am a better manager now. I had more doubt last year when I started,” he said.
Chelsea ended United’s three-year grip on the Premier League trophy last term and in the process denied Sir Alex Ferguson’s team a record 19th English title as the monopoly of the “Big Four” came under threat.
“Things definitely changed last season — it was a different league altogether,” Ferguson said. “The top four found it difficult and dropped points in games they wouldn’t have expected to. That’s an indication of the improvement made by other teams and I think there’ll be a bit of a dogfight for the top four places this season.”
“We all have to be aware of the threats from the likes of [Aston] Villa, Everton, Tottenham and Manchester City,” he said.
City start the season away to Tottenham, who pipped them for fourth spot and a lucrative Champions League place last term, today with World Cup-winning Spain winger David Silva and Yaya Toure, brother of Kolo, among the new arrivals.
Liverpool begin the season at home to Arsenal tomorrow in what could be a pivotal season for both clubs.
Last time out, Liverpool dropped from runners-up to seventh amidst a background of boardroom uncertainty. Doubts over the future ownership of the club remain, but new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has at least managed to keep the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres on board, while Joe Cole has joined from Chelsea.
Arsenal continued to win plaudits for the quality of their soccer, but there were signs of frustration among some Gunners’ supporters last season with the club not having won a major trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal’s long-serving manager, has repeatedly forecast a brilliant future for a largely youthful team. However, at some point the future has to become the present and an optimistic Wenger said: “We finished third last season, so we have two stairs to climb and I am confident we can do it.”
In other opening round matches, Aston Villa will try to put the resignation of former manager Martin O’Neill behind them when they face West Ham, while today also sees Blackburn against Everton, Bolton playing Fulham, newboys Blackpool up against Wigan and Wolves playing Stoke.
Manchester United play promoted Newcastle on Monday.
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
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