| WHAT DID THE PAPERS SAY? January 2009 |
| TIME TO DELIVER JAMES CAPRIANI (GI TIMES) Chelsea will once again go into the new campaign as favourites for the D1 championship, despite not winning any silverware since S2. In that time, the West London club have seen Liverpool win the title twice while Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers have also had their hands on the trophy. Chelsea slipped to a disappointing fourth placed finish in S6 and were out of character, losing twice to eventual winners Liverpool and Newcastle United. It's no secret that Martin O'Neill is certainly under pressure. With all the world stars at his disposal and the vast amount of money hes had to spend, its a big suprise that Chelsea have failed to win anything under his stewardship. Its a sure fact that if Chelsea are not victorious in S7, O'Neill will be given his marching orders and the top stars could all be ready to quit the club for pastures new. |
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| Frank Lampard celebrates one of his many strikes for Chelsea. |
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| CHANGE IS GOOD OR IS IT? TONY TIBBLES (GI ECHO) We've seen it all before. A club gets new owners, they back the manager to make drastic changes to the team to reach success and then it all comes tumbling down. The manager gets sacked, players leave and the club goes backwards. Martin Jol has been given the daunting task of turning around the fortunes of Tottenham, who have just suffered an embarassing relegation from D1. Backed by his new African employers, Jol has got rid of star striker Fernando Torres and former skipper Owen Hargreaves in only his first week in charge. Players coming include Wesley Sneijder, Gabriel Heinze and former Arsenal favourite Thierry Henry. Like Martin O'Neill though, Jol should definetly be given time to make things happen at Spurs. They will be expected to gain promotion from D2 this season but even if that don't happen, the club should back the manager. |
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| Martin Jol is spearheading a new revolution at White Hart Lane. |
| GUNNERS WARN RIVALS STEVE LESNAR (GI INDEPENDANT) The clear favourites for the D2 Championship are again Arsenal and their batch of international superstars. The Gunners have been here before, everything looking rosey ahead of the new campaign but then everything turning sour once the season gets underway. Theres no doubt that on paper, Arsenal are arguably the strongest team in the GI, so promotion from D2 is a formaility. Their main rivals for the crown are Manchester United and neighbours Tottenham, then to a lesser extent, Reading or Charlton Athletic. If they can keep hold of all their strong players, like Kaka, Cesc Fabregas, Leo Messi, Adriano, Sergio Aguero and Fabio Cannavaro, then get them playing well together, they won't only gain promotion back to D1, but they'll win the championship in a devastating fashion. |
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| Cesc Fabregas is one of a host of stars at the Emirates Stadium. |
| BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID DARREN BARZINI (GI EXPRESS) Many so-called experts, including myself, are tipping Newcastle United to go one step further this season and actually win the D1 Championship. I had them down as winners before they picked up the signature of Fernando Torres so now I'm feeling even more confident. With the superb David Villa already at the club, the addition of Fernando Torres makes the Magpies look even more dangerous in attack. Wesley Sneijder leaving is a blow, but they have the likes of Xavi and Rafael van der Vaart who must step up the plate and start getting goals from midfield. Another departure was David Silva but I don't expect this to harm United. They've managed to pick up Joaquin in exchange and the pair are very similiar. If anything, Joaquin has been more impressive in the GI, winning the D1 title twice with Liverpool. Its that sort of winning mentality that Newcastle need to start snatching silverware again. |
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| Newcastle have reunited David Villa with international colleague Fernando Torres. |