The 2016-17 English Premier League is still over a month away but the football transfer madness is already underway with Zlatan signing for Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United being the biggest one so far. The new managers are also rolling in as Antonio Conte recently held his first press conference as Chelsea boss, following Mourinho and Guardiola’s pressers. All these development have thrown up a lot of questions.
Let’s take a look at a few burning questions which are right in front of the fans before the start of the season.
Who will win the Guardiola vs. Mourinho war:
It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Pep Guardiola vs. Jose Mourinho, Manchester United vs. Manchester City. The premier league preseason has barely begun but the battle lines have already been drawn. United have gone all guns blazing in the transfer market and have recruited Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Eric Bailey so far.
City aren’t far behind either with Guardiola adding the German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Spanish winger Nolito to the squad. Further, additions are expected in the coming weeks for both teams. With both manager ready to spend heavily in the transfer window one can expect a blockbuster of a contest between the two sides for the Premier League Trophy.
Mourinho has already indicated that he isn’t going to change his aggressive attitude or cut down on his brash press talks. All of which points to a forthcoming heated war of words between the two managers. It is going to be interesting to see whose tactical superiority comes up on top.
Will Antonio Conte be able to lead a Chelsea revival:
Last season was a disaster for Chelsea in every possible way. On-field performances was below par and the off-field controversies have dented the creditability of the team even more. Antonio Conte arrives in Chelsea with a herculean task ahead of him.
Not only he has to revive Chelsea‘s status as title contenders but also bring along togetherness and unity among the squad which was sorely lacking last season.
Conte has a reputation of building a strong team. His success with Juventus is an indication that he is more than capable of transforming Chelsea‘s stumbling fortunes around. But, the big question can he do it in a league which is far more physical and fast-paced in comparison to Serie A and where almost every other team is capable of challenging for the title.
Will Leicester City be able to hold on to their success:
Leicester City‘s title triumph in the 2015-16 season is nothing short of a fairy tale. It was remarkable in every possible way considering a squad made up of no real superstars trumped over all others. Claudio Ranieri‘s dream of winning a championship medal was finally fulfilled.
But, now comes the difficult part of maintaining the success achieved last season. Clubs all over the world are eyeing for some of Leicester‘s top performers. It would be very interesting to see how Ranieri manages to hold on to his stars and transform this success story into something more than a one-off instance.
The fact that Leicester City would also be competing in the Champions’ league for the very first time. It would be a new challenge altogether for a club which not used to playing the elite teams of Europe on a regular basis.
Will Arsenal be able to win their first title since 2004:
The one question which never ceases to grow old. It has been over a decade since an Arsenal team lifted a premier league trophy. In between 2004 and now, a lot has happened.
United have won the league a few more times, Sir Alex has retired from management, Manchester City are developing as a new European powerhouse and surprisingly Leicester City managed to win their first ever Championship.
Arsene Wenger has done almost everything in his power to get the title back to Arsenal but it’s just not happening for him. Last season was their best chance to win it and they threw it away.
With Guardiola, Mourinho, Conte, and Klopp all in the premier league for the 2016-17 season it seems like a fairly impossible job for Arsene Wenger to mastermind a title success for the Gunners. But, still, the beautiful game has thrown surprises in the past so we may have to wait for some time before getting the answer for a fairly familiar question.
Will the FA step-up for the development of English Players:
England‘s horrible showing at the Euro16 should give the FA some indication that the development of English players is just not happening in the Premier League. The Premier league may be the world‘s richest and popular league but when it comes to the development of English players it is just not the place.
This is very much evident in teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City where the number of English players making their respective first team is really low. The number of English players starting last season was mere 35%.
The FA has been in talks with Premier league clubs about issuing a limit on the number of foreign players in the squad so that the local English talent can be given a chance to develop.
Will they be able to take some action in this direction, so that the Premier League can actually benefit English football rather than being a money spinner?
