Power Rankings: Week 0

Giblinho has already shared with us his views of where the Premiership is going this season; now I will grace you all with mine. Hopefully I can make this into a weekly segment, though I am making no promises... it's a 38 week season, half of which I will be spending overseas, but I rest assured I will do my best to keep this regular.

Let me start off by defining the term "power rankings" in my own words- these rankings are obviously not a direct representation of where any team is currently placed in the standings. It is more so a combination of current form and potential peak form. These rankings will tell you who the best teams are in the league at any given time. Just because Man United won the title last term does not mean they would have been ranked at #1 come week 38; on the contrary, United were in a slide towards the end of the season, and Liverpool were hot as Cayenne, therefore Liverpool likely would have filled the #1 spot.

Alright alright, enough chit-chat. Let's get to the preseason rankings:

(Please note that these are not necessarily how I think the season table will end, as obviously everything changes all the time. This is a prediction of how well suited each team is right now to winning the title)

1. Chelsea- The Blues occupy this spot mostly by process of elimination, as they are the only title contenders that didn't get substantially weaker. Yuri Zhirkov will certainly improve the aging squad, which I believe still has enough gas left in the tank for a few more years before a serious overhaul is necessary.
2. Liverpool- Losing Alonso surely will have a drastic effect on the Scousers, but let us not forget that Stevie G and Torres are arguably two of the top five players in the world. The defense is as solid as ever (backed by the amazing Reina), and Kuyt will still be there to run his own personal Marathon in every match.
3. Manchester United- Losing Ronaldo and Tevez will inevitably make them a weaker side, but remember that this is not a team that relies on any one or two players; United are littered with talent from top to bottom. True, their current goalkeeping situation is downright frightening, and they are losing the most prolific goalscorer in the past 3 years of English football; but they are still a cut above the 4th ranked squad...
4. Arsenal- The Gooners have basically been a selling club ever since I started following the game in 2006; never have I felt that they were any kind of a threat in the Premiership or in the Champions League. Still, they have a stranglehold on 4th place, and I do not see them relinquishing it this season. As I look over Arsenal's offseason dealings I see big losses, but then I look at their current roster and it still scares me. Fabregas, Van Persie, Arshavin, Walcott, Eduardo... the list goes on. There is so much talent at Arsenal that it kind of suprises me how ineffective they are in terms of winning trophies.
5. Everton- A lot of people are tipping Man City for the 5th (or even 4th) spot, but no, not this guy! Everton were plagued by injury last season and still managed 5th place (though in large part to Villa's epic disaster). With Jagielka, Arteta and the Yak all healthy again, I see Everton pushing Arsenal till the end of the season for the 4th spot. Even if the injury bug returns in the front, Tim Howard and that incredible Everton defense won't let this team fall any lower than 6th.
6. Tottenham Hotspur- I know this is going to shock people (or not, given that I am a Spurs supporter myself) but I honestly think that Spurs have a lot going for them right now: reasonably few comings and goings this offseason will allow the squad to remain mostly intact from last season, the very same squad that took 49 points from 30 games after Redknapp took charge. A strong strikeforce and excellent playmakers (Modric, Lennon) will always keep Spurs as a scoring threat... the question mark seems to be the defense. Woodgate and Dawson are out indefinitely, leaving King (who can only play at most 90 minutes a week), new boy Bassong (highly-rated Cameroonian center and left back), and Corluka (not the greatest CB in the world, much better suited to RB). If the defense can pull it together, then I can see us getting off to a flying start ( dare I hope for another WHL upset of Liverpool, perhaps?) and competing for a European berth.
7. Manchester City- I don't really see City as being as good as advertised. Even taking away the fact that they have overhauled their squad and will need time to gel/figure out everyone's roles, I still don't think they have the talent for a top 4 finish. Tevez and Barry are great, Robinho and Adebayor are great when they want to be, and Steven Ireland certainly has a bright future, but outside of that, where exactly has all of the Sheik's money been going? Santa Cruz, the one-season wonder? Toure? Bellamy, the biggest douche in the universe? de Jong (not Gabriel)? Are these really "Champions League" quality players? City have done a magnificent job of amassing a huge amount of talented players, but they have in my opinion been getting mostly players who are of the "second tier."
8. Fulham- No big signings for the Cottagers, no big losses. They overachieved a bit last season true enough, but they have the same core to rely on that earned them 7th place and a Europa League campaign. Dempsey, Haangeland, Schwarzer and Andy Johnson all have the potential to be huge once again at Craven Cottage. And can anyone tell me how on earth Danny Murphy is resurrecting his career like this?
9. Aston Villa- Not exactly the hottest team at the end of last season, Villa have lost their two best players (to City and to retirement) and now must reverse their fortunes from the home stretch. The Friedel/Guzan goalkeeping tandom will ensure that a quality 'Murican is between the posts at all times, but can the midfield overcome the loss of Barry, who so often dictated games? And can the backline replace Laursen, the constant rock for the past six seasons?
10. Stoke City- Most people have them sliding down after last year's overacheivement, but I see them doing it once again. The Britannia is no playground, and I am really liking this James Beattie fellow. Throw Delap in there (yes, that was a pun) and you've got a decent, midtable team.
11. West Ham- Getting Luis Jiminez on loan from Inter was something of a coup for the Hammers, but that won't stop them from finishing in the bottom half. West Ham are very uninteresting to me. Hopefully Jonothan Spector gets the RB spot nailed down in East London.
12. Bolton- Totally uninspiring but they always seem to do alright. I wouldn't be surprised in they finished down lower, maybe 16th even, but I can't see them dropping to the Coca-Cola any time soon.
13. Wolves- I know very little about them, but Kevin Doyle will lead the Premiership in scoring this season.
14. Blackburn- Sam Allardyce is the master of making me hate watching soccer, but he will keep them up for sure. This is the last time I will mention a Sam Allardyce team in more than one sentence.
15. Birmingham- I hated them when they were last in the Premiership- they beat Tottenham 4-1 twice in that season. Also they are a bunch of thugs, according to Michael Voltaire Cioce (who is supposedly a write for this blog, though I have never seen any evidence of it). But I think they will have learned from their last voyage into the top flight, and when you couple that with the fact that there are a lot of bad teams in the Premiership, it equals survival.
16. Sunderland- Darren Bent will get his 15 goals (none of them impressive), and the rest of the Tottenham rejects at Sunderland will all perform like, well, rejects, and it will be enough to keep the Black Cats up, but not by much. Sunderland put on quite a display of how not to act in the midst of a relegation battle, which couldn't have been great for team confidence. Plus their captain is from Albania... this does not bode well. Oh, but let's not forget the huge summer signing of Lee Cattermole, I bet that'll really inspire this team up the table... I would like to add that I am loving the CONCACAF representation at Sunderland, I'd love to see them keep that up.
17. Wigan- They continue to find players for dirt cheap and turn them into huge profits (a la Wilson Palacios, Antonio Valencia). But who will be this season's big find? I have no idea, but the potential that it is out there is enough for the Latics to not start the season in my relegation zone. Other than that the team is relatively uninspiring.
18. Portsmouth- The financial collapse at Fratton Park has been well documented. Reports have said that players must be sold simply to fund the operating expenses of the club, and this does not bode well for the southerners at all. Losing nearly all of their talent has meant that unless a takeover happens soon, it will be something of a miracle if this team manages to stay afloat.
19. Hull City- only escaping 20th because they have Jozy Altidore. I see no reason (except a possible Jozy-led revolution) that the Tigers won't continue their Slip'n'Slide down the football totem pole of poor form. They are almost at Derby County levels.
20. Burnley- I know they are a sentimental pick to stay up, especially given their attractive style of play, but let's look at the facts- they finished 5th in the Championship last season and have not strengthened at all. Is that good enough to stay up in the Premiership? I can see it happening, but they are going to have to prove it before they climb out of the cellar on these rankings. I wish them luck, 'cause they're gonna need it.