The third in a series of articles previewing each of the twenty Premier League clubs as the Premier League gets set to kick off another season.
Monday it was Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Tuesday - Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Leicester City.
How Newcastle did last season?
Finished 15th with 39 pts and collected $121.4M in prize money.
Newcastle had a solid first half of the season to fall back on and it was just as well. Newcastle got sucked into what amounted to the relegation equivalent of a death spiral and survival was only guaranteed on the last day of the season.
What happens next?
A new manager, new background staff, some new players….but Mike Ashley still owns the club.
The job facing new manager Steve McClaren may seem overwhelming but he has been given funds by Ashley to start a major retrofit of Newcastle.
Joining Newcastle is attacking midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum from PSV and striker Aleksander Mitrovic from Anderlecht. Wijnaldum priced at $24M seems to be a better bet to succeed than the younger and more mercurial Mitrovic who cost $20M.
The acquisition of defender Chancel Mbemba, also from Anderlecht, for $13M has not received the same prominence but he may prove to be a very solid signing.
How Norwich City did last season?
Finished third in the Championship with 86 pts and won the Premier League play-off match against Middlesbrough
Norwich bounced straight back to the Premier League after suffering relegation at the end of the 2014 season. However, before the appointment of manager Alex Neil promotion seemed more of a fantasy than a possibility.
Neil’s arrival engineered a remarkable run that brought 17 wins in 25 matches and eventually a successful run through the play-offs.
What happens next?
It is not clear whether Norwich have completed its transfer business for this window or it is simply a case of keeping the powder dry for the last couple of weeks. The signings so far are solid rather than inspiring and this Norwich squad looks no better equipped to succeed in the Premier League than the one that was relegated 15 months ago.
How Southampton did last season?
Finished 7thwith 60 pts. and collected $128.8M in prize money.
Twelve months ago I wrote this after Southampton sold a myriad first team players while banking around $150M: “But what if it turns out much differently? It is unrealistic to think that Southampton can improve on their 8th place finish in 2013/14 but even with the squad from last season they were extremely unlikely to break that glass ceiling. Nonetheless, what if Southampton manage to comfortably negotiate safe passage this season and produce a huge transfer surplus that goes towards paying down some other debts such as the youth development and training facility? Rather than lacking ambition would this not be considered smart business?”
Southampton finished seventh – a terrific achievement.
What happens next?
The transfer exodus has not been as crazy as last season but Southampton has still sold Nathaniel Clyne to Liverpool and Morgan Schneiderlin to Manchester United. In coming are players that few know much about but based on the impact made by the likes of Tadic, Mane and Pelle last season there is every confidence that the Southampton scouting department will produce another solid crop of newcomers.
However, one concern might be the impact that a run in the Europa League might have on the Saints. Last season included no such distraction but there again perhaps the Europa League offers manager Ronald Koeman the chance to blood the next crop of grads from the Southampton academy.
How Stoke did last season?
Finished 9th with 54 pts and collected $121.4M in prize money.
The Mark Hughes quiet revolution continued at the Britannia Stadium. The style of play continued to evolve but retained a hard-nosed edge at times. A second consecutive 9th place finish but this time with four more points and high mark of 48 goals scored means that Hughes has successfully managed a transition that few thought would be possible without at least a brush with relegation.
What happens next?
Manager Mark Hughes played part of his career with Barcelona and lately he has shown a propensity to recruit players from a similar background.
The recent acquisition of Dutch winger Ibrahim Affelay brings the former Barca contingent at the Britannia Stadium to four.
Another Spanish summer recruit but this one with a Real Madrid pedigree is striker Joselu signed for over $10M from Bundesliga club Hannover 96.
Two regular starters departed – goalkeeper Begovic to Chelsea and the criminally underrated Steven Nzonzi to Sevilla in Spain. Chelsea loanee Marco Van Ginkel is likely to be given a chance to slot into Nzonzi’s position.
How Sunderland did last season?
Finished 16th with 38 pts and collected $109M in prize money.
Last season brought another change of manager and another dramatic escape to safety for Sunderland.
Along the way Sunderland accumulated a record 94 yellow cards in 38 games meaning they most definitely fought their way to Premier League survival.
Chief yellow card protagonist was Lee Cattermole with 14 yellow cards and all were for fouls. Tough to imagine what new highs Cattermole might set if he was as loose with his mouth as he is with his tackles.
What happens next?
Sunderland have had eight nine different managers and two caretaker managers in the last 100 112 months and few, if any, could argue that they did not receive full backing from the club’s owners. Over that time Sunderland has been regular buyers in the transfer market but the ROI has failed to materialize.
More often than not the Stadium of Light has been where careers slip into reverse gear. Last season was a dramatic series of very high highs and some exceedingly low lows. A season of consistent mediocrity might actually constitute progress under Gus Poyet Dick Advocaat.
Tomorrow we wrap up the club previews with a look at Swansea, Tottenham, Watford, West Brom and West Ham.
