The Premier League: a festival of the frenetic
The curtains open on the new Premier League season to reveal a scene smothered with money. Some of the best-known coaches are operating in the centre of it, at clubs with the most supporters in the world and the deepest pockets. The result is a spectacle that becomes more frenetic with each passing season, and increasingly exciting for the on-looking fans.
Premier League: where chaos and order clash
The Premier League is where the coaches’ desire for order clashes with the fans’ penchant for chaos; where the importance of process has been lost, with the option to twist favoured over the option to stick. It is a league that is found out when its teams cross the English Channel to face European opposition, yet it will continue to be the most watched on the planet.
The England Under 20 team won the World Cup this summer, but you can be sure that none of those players will be regular starters in the Premier League. While the Football Association attempts to defend its internationals with a wooden sword, the Premier League, a steamroller, trundles on. It is a league of contrasts.
City favourites, Chelsea will adjust
Manchester City are not just the favourites on account of how much they have spent, but also because they will put together passages of play that, with the talent they have available, will be difficult to stop. Tottenham have been the most consistent team over the last two years, and will have to manage with what they already have (they have not made any signings).
It seems that Arsene Wenger is in last-chance saloon, while Chelsea can’t just play one match per week anymore. It is a pleasure to see Rafa Benítez back in the Premier League, but Mourinho will find it tough to lift Manchester United from sixth place to champions, despite the heavy investment.
All of that will feed dozens of newspaper back pages with controversy. And, keeping in mind the vast expenditure, great matches and huge disappointments are to come.