Opinion

Tottenham Hotspurs have been improving for quite a while. At a time, their style of football and results against the big teams weren’t doing much to improve their final position on the log, even though they were playing really well. This led to a cross-section of football fans to tag them the unluckiest team in football.

In last couple of days, there have been reports linking Mesut Ozil to Manchester United. This is a strange development, considering the body language and comments from the player and the club since last season. Going by comments from Arsene Wenger and even from Ozil himself, most fans expected that both parties would arrive at an agreement at a point and that the player would sign a new contract eventually, but if recent reports are anything to go by, that may not happen.

Who would have thought Kevin De Bruyne would be this good when Jose Mourinho first brought him to the Premier League five years ago? He certainly didn’t burst on the scene like a certain Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo did years back, he crept up on us.

Jose Mourinho’s career so far has been that of a sojourner in football. Fans of opposition clubs have called him several names; from a managerial nomad to a glory hunter, but however you feel about his managerial map, one can’t deny his managerial record.

AC Milan had one of their busiest transfer windows ever recently. With a £200million+ spending spree that saw them bring in over ten players, the club is announcing to their domestic rivals that they are no longer messing around. The Italian side was one of the biggest clubs in European football just some years back, but a combination of mismanagement and poor decision-making on the part of the board led to years of decline that they are now trying to end.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City didn’t just win their last match, they completely annihilated their opposition. Guardiola ended his first season in charge of the citizens without winning a single trophy, a disappointment considering a number of factors. Heralded as one of the best managers in the world, The Spaniard came to the Premier League with a lot of expectations on him, and he was essentially given a blank cheque by Manchester City to improve a side already considered by many to be the best squad in the league.

Marouane Fellaini moved to Old Trafford in 2013, in a summer that went down as one of the club’s biggest failures in recent times.

Crystal Palace have endured a poor start to the 2017/18 Premier League season and Frank de Boer became the first managerial casualty because of their disappointing results.

Last season was very tough for West Ham United and their manager Slaven Bilic so they will be hoping for an easier ride in the 2017/18 Premier League campaign.

West Bromwich Albion finished in the top half of the Premier League table for only the second time in their history last season. The only other time they have finished higher in the Premier League was back in 2012/13 when they finished in 8th place.

Having won promotion from the Championship in 2014/15, Watford did well to finish 13th in the Premier League in their first season back in English football’s top division.

Last season was another fantastic campaign for Tottenham Hotspur who finished second in the Premier League.

Having won promotion to the Premier League in 2010/11, Swansea City have established themselves as a good Premier League team.

Stoke City found life tough in the Premier League last season and will be aiming to finish higher than the 13th place they achieved in the 2016/17 campaign.

Since winning promotion to the Premier League in the 2011/12 season, Southampton have done very well to establish themselves in the English top-flight.

Having endured a terrible time in the 2015/16 Premier League season, Newcastle United were relegated, despite securing the services of Rafa Benitez.

Manchester United struggled in the Premier League last season and Jose Mourinho will be expected to produce a better challenge at the top of the table this time around.

Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge at Manchester City ended in disappointment and he will be expected to produce a better result come the end of the 2017/18 Premier League campaign.

Having finished 4th in the Premier League last season, Liverpool will return to action for the 2017/18 campaign hoping to move further up the table and challenge for the title.

Last season was always going to be tough for Leicester City.  Having shocked the world by winning the 2015/16 Premier League title, the Foxes were up against it the following season and so it proved with the sacking of Claudio Ranieri.