Another Premiership season ahead

Here's your tool box and some links as you go over your Premiership Fantasy League team (believe me, there's nothing like sweating over the fitness of Watford's left back, or whether Andy Vander Meyde's dog has been found):

Reed Saxon/Associated Press

Mourinho: The Scruffy One.

First, an injury list.

Next, the odds board (favourite line: Chelsea 1-to-200 to finish in the top four).

The squads. And from That's On Point, a team-by-team preview with a North American perspective -- Parts I, II and III.

Today's headlines. A story and picture of Vander Meyde's dog.

Good general blogs, with links to club-centric blogs: Blog FC and Black & White & Read All Over.

The latest on the WAGS, as welcome as a slouch hat or another head-to-toe Burberry nightmare in the top fashion houses:

Years ago, when Tom Ford was creative director at Gucci, he spotted Victoria Beckham out and about wearing some of his designs. Worried about the negative effect that this could have on the brand, he allegedly called his London PR and demanded to know who was responsible for putting Posh into the outfit.
The PR told him that she had bought the clothes at full price at the Gucci shop. Ford is reported to have screeched: "Well, somebody stop her!"

There you are. Just add Mourinho and serve.

Comments

[Julian]

Whoever put together the Star's preview for the season must be the MOST uninformed member on staff at your paper. Liverpool sliding to 4th!?!?! I guess he/she can't read and hasn't heard that everyone in England except for Mourinho and blinkered United fans think that they are TITLE contenders. Or maybe they are also blind and missed the Community Shield on Sunday when Liverpool showed their title credentials with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Or perhaps they just did no research and despite 'More Benitez changes' they return the second stingiest defence and added players to solve their small weaknesses.

If you are looking for someone that has a clue to write about football (aside from Cathal Kelly) then drop me a line as anyone could do better than the mook who wrote that piece.

[Julian]

The red mist has cleared and I noticed that the Associated Press wrote that tripe so my real beef is with the idiot that decided to run with such a substandard preview instead of getting someone that knows something about football to write a preview.

[cy]

Yes, it was AP, Julian. Not the best source for European sports, I'd agree, but basically your standard preview, at least to these eyes (FYI, the Star's website has a deal to publish only AP copy, so without a preview from the Sports Department, this is it, and 'the idiot' you mentioned really had no choice but to run it -- he's a very good editor, actually, and your vitriol is completely out of order, but I'll let it pass in the name of open bloggery -- or leave it out entirely, which would be a mistake). Sky, BBC and all the English papers have similar previews, and my cursory reading of them reveals assessments of Liverpool's chances that come close if not duplicate this one. Bellamy and Pennant were good signings and they're in the mix to duke it out for second behind Chelski's money-is-no-object mercenary bunch. On paper. 'Everyone in England think they're title contenders'? Ummm. Okay, whatever you say.

[Wil]

So Julian, your problem with the preview that prompts your tirade is that the author's opinion is different from yours? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Absolutely, Liverpool are title contenders. However, finishing fourth is hardly out of the question for them. Regardless, it's just one person's opinion so let it sit at that.

Using the Community Shield as a marker for where teams will wind up in eight months is also ludicrous. These squads are nowhere near full form.

I commend Chris Young's openness for bothering to post your comment. If it had been me, it would have been immediately trashed.

[Julian]

'my cursory reading of them reveals assessments of Liverpool's chances that come close if not duplicate this one.'

Sky's preview has their predicted position as 2nd while extolling the virtues of Rafa Benitez and his movement to plug the gaps in his 82pt squad.

Mark Lawrenson of the BBC says that Liverpool will close the gap on Chelsea from last year (9pts) sounds like he thinks that they are title challengers.

James Lawton of The Independent wrote a great piece about how Mourinho's antics might increasingly be attributed to his fear that Liverpool is even closer to wrestling the Premiership from Chelsea.

Contrast those opinions (a sampling) to the AP piece that suggests that Liverpool will slip to 4th behind a Manchester United team that has lost Ruud van Nistelrooy and STILL has not replaced Roy Keane in the middle and an Arsenal team that are not only closer to diapers than a title but are going to lose their best defender while not having suitable cover. Meanwhile, Liverpool have added Gonzalez, Pennant, and Bellamy to their watertight defence.

You mention that on paper Chelsea are going to walk away with the league. Well as you know, the games aren't played on paper or else Liverpool wouldn't have won the 2005 Champions League or won the Community Shield without Gerrard, Alonso, or Crouch against almost all of Chelsea's First XI. A match that prompted more articles pointing out that Liverpool are legitimate contenders.

As for the vitriol, good on you for publishing it. I was wrong about the AP piece and I can admit it. Chalk it up to a bit of the red mist at seeing one of the most popular leagues of the beautiful game being marginilised by the paper when they have at least one capable football writer.

[Carla]

Julian, if you expect people to be able to parse your unapologetic defence of your very public display of bad manners, try investing in a book of elementary grammar. Punctuation can be your friend!

[Julian]

I don't think that one missing comma and a run-on sentence (the fourth one) will affect the reader's ability to make sense of what I wrote. Many people agree that Liverpool are title contenders.

[Julian]

Wow Wil, it's almost as if I was the first person to blow off a little steam on a message board ;) The bigger problem was that it was such a bad preview for the most closely followed football league in Canada. My response was just one person's opinion too. I doubt Chris or the sports editor or the AP will lose any sleep over it. It'll probably just turn into a 'I got an insane post the other day' kind of story if they even remember it in a couple of days.

Using the Community Shield as a marker is far from ludicrous. As much as Mourinho might have wanted the press to believe that he didn't care about the game he did start what is essentially his first XI.

As well, the game is one week before the season starts. I think that that is more than close enough to the real games to be able to make a judgement on how the team's will start the season.

Last year Arsenal struggled during the Community Shield and started the season with losses to Chelsea, Middlesborough, and West Bromwich Albion in the first 7 games to effectively end their chances at the title. Meanwhile, Chelsea rattled off 9 straight wins. With all of the hype around both last year's and this year's game you cannot underestimate the psychological effects on the participants.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the season's start in 8 hours. Go Reds!

[ouch]

ouch. all that yelling and liverpool barely (and unfairly) pulls off a draw against... who?

[Julian]

Thank God it's a 38 game season. Leave it up to your team to make you look even worse than you already managed on your own!

[cy]

Full marks to you, Julian, for taking it like a man.
Now can we all get down to the usual business of hatin' on Chelski?

[Julian]

Amen!