Can anyone stop Roman's legions?
Aug 12 2005
By Len Capeling, Daily Post
LEN CAPELING gives his view on the new Premiership campaign...and what Liverpool and Everton fans can expect
LIVERPOOL
"I must be the best manager in Europe, because I won the Champions League." The words of Rafael Benitez? Not a chance.
The self-effacing Spaniard leaves that exercise in hyperbole to the man he removed from European contention last season. Instead, this deep-thinker concentrates on achieving what Gerard Houllier did not so long ago, make Liverpool less fragile away from their spiritual home.
Eleven defeats on opponents' grounds effectively sent Liverpool's Premiership hopes spinning into a ditch and made doubters of us all. That incredible triumph in Istanbul - where Liverpool were worthy winners - changed many minds, especially as it also ensured another title, and a highly-prized one at that. Champions of Liverpool the city.
Barely 12 weeks on, the courtly Benitez spends long hours planning a strategy that will take Liverpool to an unlikely league crown. No-one fancies them, except for the die-hards and perhaps Benitez himself, whose record in recent years is as good as any in Europe.
The only obstacle between him another another fabulous end to the season is defensive dopiness away from Anfield, something that never bothered his team on more foreign fields. Solve these problems and who knows what this side are capable of achieving.
One solution could be to accommodate both Dietmar Hamann and newcomer Momo Sissoko in a central five for away games, with Steven Gerrard on the right, in a mid-field of Gerrard, Hamann, Alonso, Sissoko and Zenden.
With four at the back and, say, Cisse, or eventually Crouch up front, it would give Liverpool a more solid spine, with the likes of Garcia, Morientes, Warnock and Traore available to change things if necessary.
We know Benitez wants another centre-half before the August 31 deadline, which indicates, after the signing of Pepe Reina, that tightening up is still a priority for the coach.
Reservations remain about Liverpool's strikeforce - despite a pre-season glut of goals. Like Chelsea, Benitez favours a single big target man supported by goalscoring midfielders. Hence his coolness over Michael Owen when chairman David Moores and others continue to say "yes please".
Final thought: Benitez surprised us magnificently last time around. Why not an encore, with the Premiership as the glittering prize? Middlesbrough tomorrow will answer a few questions. Hope-fuly with the right answers.
Odds: 16-1 - and a good dark-horse wager - 1--16 for top six finish
EVERTON
The alarming gaps exploited by a savvy Villarreal, plus an impoverished pre-season, have made Goodison fans twitchy. The bookies are keeping the faith, making Everton a prohibitive 9-4 to finish in the top six, which compares starkly with last season's opening odds of 12-1 - rapidly chopped to 3-1.
As the only pundit to predict a gloss finish for Everton - six Guardian sportswriters forecast relegation - I remain confident that Everton will stay in the top half of the table, even if they don't push on from the high ground they captured so resolutely in May.
The Premiership has not improved in quality - the top three apart - so David Moyes's scrappers will stay out of trouble. Their 4-5-1 is uncompromisingly swoon-free, built to repel boarders rather than dazzle beholders. Everton don't have the players for an expansive game, and, aside from Tim Cahill, they lack goals. They finished the season with a negative goal difference compared with Chelsea's +57.
Lack of substantial funds has once again been a source of frustration for the impatient Moyes. The bulk of his major targets went elsewhere as odd valuations and odder wages kept Scott Parker and others away.
Everton remain a tough, generally compact side, possessed of a good work ethic that stems from Moyes's own upbringing. But on the back of a marvellous season, they needed someone to gamble, say, £6m more, to back the manager's vision. Moyes will aim to succeed without that injection of financial ambition, but when your squad is thin, cover for key positions not great, and Plan B means Duncan Ferguson and Duncan Ferguson, you do wonder about the future.
Defensive stability - not shown against Villarreal - remains the watchword, with much depending on Marcus Bent's stamina and Ferguson's aerial threat unless James Beattie become more than a goal-every-five-games striker.
There's too much dross around for Everton to go down, so be of good cheer and prepare to welcome Wayne Rooney - a £20m earner for the club - with open arms. Got that?
Premiership title odds: 150-1 for the title, 25-1 to be relegated
ARSENAL
A month ago, Arsene Wenger spoke of a new approach from his runners-up, built around two world-clbutt recruits in Aleksandr Hleb and Julio Baptista. So what now? Baptista chose Real Madrid plus Spanish citizenship, and making matters even more uncertain, Patrick Vieira departed for Juventus.
Wenger's undoubted genius means many of us still back him to produce the Premiership's purest footballing side, but a lot of responsibility rests on the silkiness of Cesc Fabregas and Gilberto. I'd feel more confident about Arsenal's chances of Premiership glory were it not the sight of Jens Lehmann waiting to engineer the next accident.
Odds: 3-1 joint second favourites, 1-250 top six
ASTON VILLA
You can get tempting odds on vapid Villa to go down rather than anything else. Deadly Doug Ellis's serious illness hasn't exactly helped an increasingy desperate David O Leary. Lacking goals, the veteran Kevin Phillips is seen as the answer, the question being will Juan Pablo Angel ever fly?
Odds: 400-1 to win the title, 16-1 to fall off the Premiership merry-go-round
BIRMINGHAM CITY
Oustanding player, pity about his management skills. Harsh perhaps, but when will Steve Bruce produce a half-decent side? Last season was a disaster for the Geordie from start to finish.
He turned down Newcastle - so things could have been worse - but then found himself getting absolutely no response from his tiresome team. Beating Everton to Mikael Fors-sell may help address Emile Heskey's bluntness.
Odds: 500-1 but just 4-1 to follow hated neighbours Villa down
BLACKBURN ROVERS
Own up, who called them Blackeye Rovers? The most booked team - and not for comedy nights - last season. Mark Hughes succeeded in turning Souness's softies into raw-meat roughnecks and impressively whipped them out of danger.
They're unlikely to be any more congenial, not with Robbie Savage let loose. Should stay clear of the trapdoor.
Odds: 750-1, and a worrying 7-1 for the drop
BOLTON WANDERERS
Sam Allardyce's departing words as he left Goodison last week were: "We'll batter you!" It was Sam's smiling response to an Everton joker, rather than a general statement of Premiership intent.
As with David Moyes, Sam's found it tough to beg, borrow or steal new players this close season, so the side that finished a creditable sixth last time around may have to suffice. Tough nuts, and given the capture of El Hadji Diouf, there's no reason why they shouldn't be within spitting distance of seventh spot.
Bryan Robson rates Mexico striker Jared Borgetti - a late arrival - as the best signing of the summer.
Odds: 300-1, top six 10-3
CHARLTON ATHLETIC
When Marcus Bent went from Ipswich to Everton, cynics claimed David Moyes had got the wrong Bent. The right one, allegedly, was Darren. Alan Curbishley's main summer signing, he's been bought to address Charlton's chronic lack of goals.
All Curbishley needs now is a magic wand to wave over the second half of the season, when Charlton traditionally fade to black despair. Top 10 finish.
Odds: 750-1 and 6-1 to go down
CHELSEA
Have we time to add a rider to a supposedly one-horse race? Yes, we do. It is this: if Chelsea had prised Andriy Shevchenko away from AC Milan then we certainly would be saying "who's going to be second?".
As it is, the arrival of Michael Essien - still likely - and the arrival of Asier Del Horno and Shaun Wright-Phillips appears to make the champions even more formidable. But can Frank Lamp-ard continue to be the team's leading scorer, and are Didier Drogba and Hernan Crespo capable of becoming 25-a-season men?
On this may rest the eventual out-come, though an injury-free Arjen Robben could prove Chelsea's most potent attacker. Champions again.
Odds: 8-11, with the odds of only a top-six finish a remarkable 1-500
FULHAM
The gloss appears to have gone from Chris Coleman and his side are even now among the favourites for the drop. Selling Andy Cole and Edwin van der Sar may turn out to be the worst business of the summer - weakening a previously undistinguished team. You fear for them.
Odds: 1,000-1 and - gulp!! - 11--4 to go down
MANCHESTER CITY
Stuart Pearce inspired a team dismissed as slackers to within a heartbeat of Europe. After Kevin Keegan's meanderings, it came as blessed relief to the inmates at the theatre of nightmares. Can Pearce do it again?
First, though, they must learn to live without Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Odds: 400-1
MANCHESTER UNITED
Roy Keane is unhappy. Rio Ferdinand asks fans to forgive him his trespbuttes, Wayne Rooney wants to play as second striker to Ruud van Nistelrooy.
All this while a fidgety Sir Alex Ferguson awaits a large cheque from Malcolm Glazer so Michael Owen can be tempted. Doesn't sound the happiest of families so near to a season that is likely to define United's and their manager's future.
A great manager, Fergie nonetheless faces an unenviable task in patching up a denuded midfield and convincing the Premership's best striker that it's time he put his troubles behind him.
At their best, United are special, but two seasons of relative failure must not be repeated. Cue Goodison, and a noon pointer to United's hopes of fighting back. Did I mention Wayne Rooney?
Odds: 3-1
MIDDLESBROUGH
Liverpool apart, no side suffered so grievously from injury last season. So seventh place represented high achievement. Will that save Steve McClaren - supposedly England's manager in waiting - from abuse if Boro don't make further progress?
Do bears sit in the woods? McClaren needs to fashion a top-four finish and, with a wealth of strikers to choose from, including new-boy Aiyegbeni Yakubu, they ought to do better than last term, when they managed only a measly 52 goals.
Odds: 250-1 and 5-2 top six
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Forget a quiet life if your name is Graeme Souness. Already he's fallen out with another player - Jermaine Jenas - and taken another early bath in Europe. It was never like this when he ruled the Liverpool midfield.
Now, well, the fans don't like what they're seeing and the bookmakers make the Tartan Tomahawk one of their favourites to lose his job. That hasn't stopped him spending a lot of money during the summer and threatening to spend a heap more. Scott Parker and Emre, both major Everton targets, look shrewd signings, but defensively and offensively - no, not Lee Bowyer - they appear vulnerable.
Alan Shearer will get to his goals record for Newcastle, but how long can the warrior-hero singlehanded keep the Toon afloat? They need a top-five finish, but may lose Souness in finishing, say, 11th.
Odds: 125-1, 7-4 for the top six
PORTSMOUTH
Can Milan Mandaric cease his bane habit of meddling? No, of course he can't, which spells trouble for manager Alain 'Reggie' Perrin, who may do a disappearing trick before the snow is on the ground.
Lauren Robert will help foster good relations among his new team-mates, as he did so splendidly at Newcastle. They will do well to escape.
Odds: 1,250-1 and 2-1 for relegation
SUNDERLAND
Mick McCarthy talks a brilliant game in unmistakeable, God's own country tones. He won't want to be reminded of his last visit to the Premiership with the unlucky Black Cats. Played nine, lost nine, for two, against 19.
The experienced Alan Stubbs will help, but they don't inspire confidence even at this remove. Going straight back to the wilderness, unless the club's famous fans can sing them to survival.
Odds: 1,500-1 and 4-6 for the short goodbye
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Their frenzied friends in the south see Spurs as plausible gatecrashers at the Premiership feast. Martin Jol turned them into the most attractive side outside the top three last time, and he has since pruned some dead wood.
The gifted Michael Carrick has become a real player at last and Wayne Routledge and Edgar Davids should provide even more help for the Tottenham youngsters.
What they don't need is some early sulks from Davids, or the injuries they largely dodged while charming the neutrals among us.
Odds: 125-1 and 6-4 for top six
WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Bryan Robson defied the Christmas curse to keep West Brom in the Premiership. Now he has to play Santa Claus all over again.
Scoring goals will be the Baggies' biggest problem. Their return last term was the lowest in the Premiership. Robson wants Wigan's Nathan Ellington and doesn't want Robert Earnshaw.
One thing's for sure, Liverpool's on-loan keeper Chris Kirkland will get plenty of opportunity to damage something or other. Another great escape... perhaps.
Odds: 1,500-1. Evens to do a Steve McQueen
WEST HAM UNITED
Admit it, we've missed that unlovely chant of Come On You 'Ammers . Not to mention the plaintive sound of I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles . Alan Pardew has previously suffered unhappy times at Upton Park and you can't see it getting much better unless they do a West Brom.
Odds: 1,500-1 for the champion-ship, 4-6 for the Championship
WIGAN ATHLETIC
Don't mention pies or rugby league. But do mention the tremendous backing of multi-millionaire Dave Whelan. Even that hasn't persuaded too many glittering names to throw their lot in with Wigan.
I don't see them surviving despite Paul Jewell's best efforts, unless Stephane Henchoz is still a miracle-worker. A win against Chelsea would send all the right signals.
Odds: 1,500-1 and 1-3 to exit the scene
Odds supplied by Corals
