We’re just a couple of days away from big Premier League kick-off and for me the close season has been about staying across all the big stories and knowing enough about the new players coming into the league.
Generally, I’m not a big stats fan and try to only use them sparingly. Of course there are certain times you need a statistic to emphasise a point, like a player’s goalscoring record or a team’s losing streak, but football fans aren’t like, say, cricket fans. I don’t think they pour over the stats of individual players and teams.
If you talk football in a pub then fans don’t quote statistics – they give their opinion based on what they’ve seen and know. But when I do use stats I make sure they’re right because if I’m wrong on TV loads of people will let me know!
Season opener
Let’s look at the prospects of Man Utd and Spurs, the two teams that feature in the first game of the season, live on BT Sport.
I’m tipping Man Utd to win the league this year. They’ve added pace to the team with the signing of Memphis Depay and the defence won’t be as exposed as last year because of the additions of midfielders Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Players who struggled for fitness have come back and playing Wayne Rooney as a central striker can only be a good thing. The squad they have now is big enough to cope with the Champions League and mount a title challenge. I expect them to make at least one more signing before the transfer window closes, but keeping hold of goalkeeper David De Gea is crucial.
With Spurs, it will be interesting to see how Harry Kane gets on this year. Will he suffer from second season syndrome like other English strikers have in the past? Or will he compare favourably to the likes of Michael Owen and Alan Shearer.
It will be tough as defenders now know all about him so it’s a big season ahead for Spurs because if Kane doesn’t score a similar number of goals they will have a problem.
Fletch's tips for the season ahead
Top 4
Man Utd - Champions
Chelsea
Arsenal
Man City
Relegated
Bournemouth
Watford
Norwich
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