Title contenders kickoff the season

The Absa Premier League (PSL) kicks off this Friday with a block buster fixture pitting defending champions Bidvest Wits against title rivals Cape Town City who finished third last term.

This game comes after both sides cut their teeth in the season’s first cup competition the MTN 8 last week. Wits survived an early scare after trailing 2-0 against Golden Arrows before fighting back to take the game to extra time; claiming a 4-3 win on penalties.

Cape Town looked impressive in their game against Polokwane City taking the game 1-0, albeit with an own goal. The only thing you could fault the Capetonians on was with  their inability to finish their chances as they had created many during the game.

With that said, if last week’s fixtures are anything to go by PSL fans should be in for a treat.  Both sides will look to continue a good start to the season, and notably there will be a few interesting sub plots to the encounter in Johannesburg.

Benni McCarthy’s first foray in the PSL throws him into the deep end for his first league match coming up gainst Gavin Hunt. Hunt masterminded a fourth PSL title last season, one with Wits and three with Super Sport United, as well as numerous other cup competition wins and will seek to consolidate his position as one of the league's top coaches.

On the field there will be some interesting individual duels with Wits possessing an arsenal of talent including some experienced PSL campaigners which include Daine Klate, Elias Pelembe and Thulani Hlatshwayo. Wits can also call the experience of former Bafana internationals Steven Pienaar and Dylan Klassen.

City will once again call on their talismanic captain Lebo Manyama for goals and assists. Lyle Lakay and Bafana international Ayanda Patosi will also look to impress in the colors of their new side.

The Decisions at Barca Are Questionable

                    


Much can be said about the recent decisions at FC Barcelona, namely the sale of Brazilian forward Neymar. The world record fee transfer was meant to add to Barca’s kitty as the Catalans seek to rebuild the side after the imbalance and lack of depth of the side was duly exposed in a humbling 2016/17 season. They were hammered in their away legs in Paris and Turin in the  Champion’s League and eventually  lost out on their La Liga crown to Real Madrid.

But going back to that Neymar transfer doesn't anyone else find it ironic that Barcelona sold a key member of their squad to PSG, the same PSG that rejected Barca’s bid for Marco Verrati who was reportedly open to moving to the Nou Camp.  Verrati was Barca's number one target as the side saw him as a viable replacement to the position Xavi left vacant.

Now a question that should be put forward is why didn't Barca arrange a cash plus player trade? Barca would get to kill two birds with one stone: ridding themselves of the stain of controversy of the Neymar transfer and finally filling a position that is integral to the very fabric of the club.

So here Barcelona we are in one of the craziest transfer windows yet and that € 222 million looks rather minuscule and Barca will spend the bulk of that on Phillipe Coutinho as opposed to stocking up the positions that vitally need more personnel such as in the right back position (they also failed to sign Hector Bellerin from Arsenal), a replacement for Neymar and the someone to run the midfield (not Paulinho).

Giroud Makes His Case To Stay

With the arrival of new record signing Alexandre Lacazette for £ 46 million it would seem the writing is on the wall for Olivier Giroud as far as his time as a Gunner is concerned. The Frenchman featured sporadically for Arsenal last with Alexis Sanchez the preferred choice to lead the line.

And the recent signing of Lacazette may look to push him out of the Arsenal, but before that should happen there are few issues to be taken into consideration. Giroud may not be highly rated as a ‘world class’ center forward, but here are three reasons why it would serve to Arsenal’s advantage to keep the French forward.

SUPER SUB
Olivier Giroud has proven to be a great super sub for Arsenal, just last night against Leicester the Frenchman came off the bench to score an 85th minute winner for the Gunners. He did the same last at Old Trafford scoring a 90th minute equalizer against Manchester United. With a knack to score last minute goals players like Giroud are worth their worth in gold, and that knack can turn not only around only a match but  an entire season.

PERFECT PARTNER
Giroud brings a different element to Arsenal with a physical presence, aerial ability and his ability to link up well with his teammates. This would work well if he were to play along with  Lacazette providing knock downs for Arsenal’s new front to score from. This could be seen in last night’s game as Giroud crafted an opportunity to set up Lacazette which was saved by Schmeichel.

STOP GAP FORWARD
A Premier League season is long and hard, so it would be absurd to expect Arsenal’s forward line to be firing on all cylinders for the whole season and there will be a slump in form sometime in the season. This is where Giroud can fit in as a temporary solution for when Lacazette, Welbeck and Sanchez aren't 100 percent. Let's say maybe Giroud can chip with 10-12 goals that would surely help take pressure off his teammates and if Arsenal are fortunate Giroud might even go a tear and give Lacazette a real push for a place in the team.

The Upside To Neymar Transfer

The world record fee transfer for Brazilian superstar Neymar, from Barcelona to PSG, was seen as a significant loss for The Catalans as it saw to the end of the MSN (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) trident. The trio scored a combined 253 goals over recent seasons and have been dubbed as one the most deadly attacking trios in football history.

Looking from that perspective, the Brazilians transfer does seem to be a loss on Barcelona’s part, but also consider the fact that out of those three Neymar contributed a fewer number of goals, with a tally of 95 during the MSN era. Just look back to last season where Neymar scored just 20 goals throughout the the entirety of the season, a small return compared to Suarez’s 41 and the 56 goals scored by Messi. The only stat the Brazilian had bettered compared to his former teammates was in the assists column with 19 throughout last season.

The above  information is not to downplay the Brazilian’s contribution  to Barca’s success, but to illustrate that life will indeed go on for Barcelona and the huge sums of money mean that have they have options to consider as to what direction the club will be taken.

Barcelona could go with the more immediate solution by securing the signatures of long time transfer target Phillipe Coutinho, along with Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele and Monaco’s Thomas Lemar. This would ensure that the Catalans would build a proper squad rather than relying heavily on three players to carry the team.

Barcelona’s reliance on the MSN trident backfired last season as they were hammered 4-1 in the away leg against PSG, and although their recovery was spectacular it couldn't be replicated as Juventus got the better of Barca with a 3-0 win in Turin.

This can be accounted for the lack of strength in last season's squad. Outside of the starting eleven that Barca had last season you could pick only a few players who could make any impact.

Another option that Barcelona can consider would be going back to what made them dominate world football, and that is to go back to grooming their own talent through their La Masia academy. A host of Barca's best came through the ranks of their development programme among those include Lionel Messi, Xavi, Pique, Iniesta just to name a few.

That model produced a team that was well balanced, with an emphasis on winning playing great football. Throughout a succession of years this model proved to be the envy of world football with strength not only in the starting eleven, but also throughout the squad.

This would be a model Barcelona would do well to consider going back to as had worked for them in the past. 

No Better Time Than The Present

Spurs are a team on an upward trajectory performing with consistency in each of the last three seasons. A second place finish accompanied by the renovations to White Hart Lane into a higher capacity stadium, shows that Spurs look to firmly establish themselves amongst the Premier League’s elite.

Furthermore, Spurs finally stepped out the shadow of North London rivals Arsenal finishing above Wenger’s men for the first time in 22 years. Over the past two seasons Mauricio Pochettino’s charges boasted the best defensive record in the league. An impressive feat considering that Spurs didn't have to spend vast amounts of money and they were the league’s youngest side.

They finished the 2016/17 season as the top scorers, yet could not wrestle the title away from London rivals Chelsea. Even more impressively the Lilly Whites were undefeated at home last season, winning 17 of a possible 19 games.

With that there is no better time for Spurs to give the full push for the league title as they find themselves in the same position as rivals Arsenal when they had to rebuild after the ‘Invincibles’ era with the renovations to the Lane. The upside though is that Spurs have created a sustainable business model for their squad by utilizing a good development method through their academy.

With the reputations of star men Harry Kane, Christian Erikssen, Dele Alli, and not to mention as well as Toby Aldeweireld and Jan Vertonghen, on the rise another failed attempt to win the league could mean Premier League rivals or one of Europe’s bigger sides could entice either one of those players to jump ship.

So it goes without saying that third time should be lucky for the Londoners and finally allow them to step out of the shadow that the league's other sides has cast over them.

Liverpool Will Look To Spoil The Party

Jurgen Klopp's men sent out warning shots to the rest of the league as they dismantled German giants Bayern Munich in the preseason tournament, the Audi Cup, 3-0.

Liverpool were in spectacular form as they made the Germans look pedestrian and pressured Bayern with their intensity and pressing football.

Liverpool were exceptionally effective on the break and sent out signs that should have Premier League defences aware with pace at the Reds' disposal with Sadio Mane, Mohammed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge coupled with the intricate passes of playmaker Phillipe Coutinho.

Liverpool have been undefeated in preseason so far, and put in an impressive performance albeit in a preseason friendly. The Reds' Achilles Heel would be their defence as they conceded 42 goals last term, but looked have it  under control as they kept Bayern at bay and opened them at will.

Liverpool look like they will provide a stiff challenge for the opposition and give the rest of the top six a thing or two ponder over. They Reds will have their confidence boosted by the fact they didn't lose against the other top six sides last season. Liverpool did the double over Arsenal and won at least one game leg of each their encounters with rivals, with the exception of their two draws against Manchester United, but hit a snag losing to teams outside the top 8 sides in the league.

Whether they will be the title challengers that was seen on display on Tuesday remains to be seen, but you can guarantee that the Reds will be most likely the league's most entertaining side.

Arsenal season could hinge on Alexis transfer

Since last having won the Premier League title with the legendary 'Invincibles' back in 2004 Arsenal have had very little to celebrate, save for an FA Cup here and there, and along with that their status as title contenders has increasingly faded.

Last season The Gunners finished outside the top four for the first time in 20 years, adding further insult to injury bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspurs finished above them on the table for the first time since 1995.

 

The upcoming season offers Arsenal the chance to redeem themselves by winning the league or at the very least European qualification and that had a significant boost with the signing of Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette.

 

The Gunners have become little more than the proverbial bridesmaids and whenever they're in scintillating form and on top its not likely to last.

Arsenal don't seem to be a certainty to perform at the lofty standards you'd expect as they are what you may term an 'if, but or maybe' team. If they hadn't lost so many quality players to rivals (van Persie, Adebayor, Nasri, Clichy etc.), if they didn't lose players to injury at crucial stages of the season or if they had had a friendlier fixture list they might have won the league a few times.

 

This season will be no different as one of those 'ifs' has been centred around whether Alexis Sanchez stays or leaves the club by the end of the transfer window. And this sits as the most important condition of their season as any other efforts to try to win the league through signing other players would be rendered meaningless if the Chilean leaves.

 

The Chilean is undoubtedly the star man at Arsenal with his versatility and ability to score at create goals he could very well be the difference between going all the way to the championship and Champion's League qualification.