Posted by: J Drama Euro Cup has been in the headlines everyday for the past 10 days, so I thought it’d be a nice change if we talked EPL for just a bit. With the season only 2 months away we look at the newly promoted sides looking to make an impression in the Premiership as well as survive it.
West Bromwich Albion
Winners of the Coca Cola Championship by a mere 2 points, West Brom are not strangers to the Premiership. They have been in and out of the first division, but their last stint was in the 05/06 campaign when they got relegated after finishing 19th. If any team were to stay in the Premiership next season, I would pip them as the ones to do it. They were the best overall team in the Championship and were led by Kevin Phillips who bagged 22 goals last season. The loss of Zoltan Gera to Fulham could play a major role as he was a solid midfielder for the Baggies in their top flight promotion. On the other hand, Luke Moore joins the club and could make a formidable striking partnership with Phillips. West Brom needs to make a couple more additions during the transfer window in the defensive area to ensure that they play another season in the Premiership.
Stoke City
The last time Stoke smelled the fresh air of the first division was 23 years ago. Now they are back and have a new view of how things are done in the Premiership. Seeing Derby get manhandled almost every game last season might deter some teams from thinking they can stay in the top flight, but I think that Stoke will be out to prove that they can steal valuable points where they shouldn’t. For Stoke it will be a battle of injuries throughout the season and games where they can sneak wins away late. Stoke boss Tony Pulis is putting pen to paper and signing a new contract with the team. He helped mastermind an excellent campaign which saw Stoke return to the Premiership. The Potters will look to make some key additions to the team and hopefully bolster their squad come mid-August.
Hull City
Hull City won the Championship playoffs beating Bristol City 1-0 in the final at Wembley. Dean Windass’s 38th minute strike ended a 104-year drought of top flight football for the Tigers. Now the team will look for more of Windass’s wisdom as they try to beat the odds and stay in the Premiership next season. The 39-year-old is among other experienced players that will try and keep the Tigers afloat. One player who made a major impact this season was on-loan striker Fraizer Campbell from Man Utd. He is at the top of their shopping list this coming season and they look to make his move a permanent one. Hull is the “Derby” of last year as playoff winners, but who knows if they will follow in their footsteps.
These teams will be making the appropriate adjustments, they will be watching film, training hard, and giving every last drop of effort they have to ensure that they will be raking in the millions of extra pounds from playing Premiership football the next 2 years. Hopefully we’ll see at least 1 newly promoted team stay in the Premiership. And who knows maybe we’ll get a team to copy what Reading did in the 06/07 season when they were only a point away from earning a UEFA Cup spot after being promoted just that year.
Who will stay up? Will all 3 teams get relegated? What are your thoughts?
West Bromwich Albion
Winners of the Coca Cola Championship by a mere 2 points, West Brom are not strangers to the Premiership. They have been in and out of the first division, but their last stint was in the 05/06 campaign when they got relegated after finishing 19th. If any team were to stay in the Premiership next season, I would pip them as the ones to do it. They were the best overall team in the Championship and were led by Kevin Phillips who bagged 22 goals last season. The loss of Zoltan Gera to Fulham could play a major role as he was a solid midfielder for the Baggies in their top flight promotion. On the other hand, Luke Moore joins the club and could make a formidable striking partnership with Phillips. West Brom needs to make a couple more additions during the transfer window in the defensive area to ensure that they play another season in the Premiership.
Stoke City
The last time Stoke smelled the fresh air of the first division was 23 years ago. Now they are back and have a new view of how things are done in the Premiership. Seeing Derby get manhandled almost every game last season might deter some teams from thinking they can stay in the top flight, but I think that Stoke will be out to prove that they can steal valuable points where they shouldn’t. For Stoke it will be a battle of injuries throughout the season and games where they can sneak wins away late. Stoke boss Tony Pulis is putting pen to paper and signing a new contract with the team. He helped mastermind an excellent campaign which saw Stoke return to the Premiership. The Potters will look to make some key additions to the team and hopefully bolster their squad come mid-August.
Hull City
Hull City won the Championship playoffs beating Bristol City 1-0 in the final at Wembley. Dean Windass’s 38th minute strike ended a 104-year drought of top flight football for the Tigers. Now the team will look for more of Windass’s wisdom as they try to beat the odds and stay in the Premiership next season. The 39-year-old is among other experienced players that will try and keep the Tigers afloat. One player who made a major impact this season was on-loan striker Fraizer Campbell from Man Utd. He is at the top of their shopping list this coming season and they look to make his move a permanent one. Hull is the “Derby” of last year as playoff winners, but who knows if they will follow in their footsteps.
These teams will be making the appropriate adjustments, they will be watching film, training hard, and giving every last drop of effort they have to ensure that they will be raking in the millions of extra pounds from playing Premiership football the next 2 years. Hopefully we’ll see at least 1 newly promoted team stay in the Premiership. And who knows maybe we’ll get a team to copy what Reading did in the 06/07 season when they were only a point away from earning a UEFA Cup spot after being promoted just that year.
Who will stay up? Will all 3 teams get relegated? What are your thoughts?
