Welcome back to EveryManSport’s Premier League Preview, where we’ll give our take on how each Premier League team is shaping up with a week remaining until the start of the season. This is the fourth of five instalments, which will feature Newcastle United, Norwich City, Sheffield United and Southampton.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Two weeks ago, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to write anything here. Having seen Ashley let the best Newcastle manager since Sir Bobby walk, they replaced him with Steve Bruce. Steve Bruce. Not only an ex Sunderland manager, but also a manager who in his last three seasons failed to gain promotion with the most expensive Championship squad ever assembled. A further delve into his resume; people say he’s a steady pair of hands, but the last time he was in the Premier League was in 14-15, when his Hull City side were relegated. The best finish he’s ever had is 10th, which at this point was 9 years ago. Further to Newcastle’s crazy summer was the takeover fiasco. It seemed certain that a new Arab owner was coming to Tyne side to save them, but no. Even when it seemed certain they had escaped no, still it’s Mike Ashley at the helm. All the news came out around the time that season ticket renewals were happening, but yet people still believed it. You have to feel Mike Ashley won again.
However two weeks later it looks somewhat different.
Out of nowhere there is some promise up front. Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon have made way, but suddenly Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maxim have brought a bit of excitement and exuberance to the front line. Joelinton scored just 7 goals last season, but the young Brazilian played far better than that, and can add a lot more than just goals. Similarly, Saint-Maxim is a young star. Having burst onto the scene with a really strong showing at 2017’s Euro U20 championship, he’s backed it up with successive strong seasons for Nice. Suddenly, this could be a bright, exciting young forward line.
The defensive core has been left in good stead by Rafa. Dubravka, Lascelles and Schär are all very good players, whilst Isaac Hayden is a player Bruce has worked with before at Hull. There have been murmurings of more outgoings on deadline day, but it’s important to keep these four together. The full back areas are more uncertain, but with plenty of promise. Jetro Willems has come in, with a new right expected to be added before the deadline. If these two can settle in quickly, the defence could be in a really good place.
In midfield again there are positives, although I’d say it’s too light at the moment. Alongside Hayden young Sean Longstaff was one of the breakout stars of the Premier League last season. His calmness to pass the ball around and control the tempo of a game was vastly impressive for such a young player. Miguel Almiron was another bright spot. Having joined in January he ended the season well and then had an excellent Copa America; another young player the Magpies will hope he can kick on. A very young midfield with lots of potential, but will that be enough this season? I’m not sure.
I think this season rests on Steve Bruce. I’ll be honest he’s a manager I don’t particularly rate, probably in the weakest three in the division. However, the strength in this side is the defensive side of the ball, so it may be a good job for him. I’ve seen Bruce experimenting with three at the back in pre-season. If he can get that right, they could be solid at the back with Almiron, Saint-Maxim and Joelinton offering excitement up front. That being said, with Steve Bruce I can also see that developing into a 5 at the back with a sitting midfielder. In that system I can see Joelinton becoming isolated and Newcastle struggling to score enough goals. Perhaps the hardest team to call this season, it really could go either way.
NORWICH CITY
If you weren’t paying attention Norwich may have been the most surprising Championship winners in many years. If you were paying attention however, you would’ve noticed one man and seen it coming. Stuart Webber. In the last 8 or so years you could argue no one has done more in the Football League than Webber. After recruiting players at Wolves as they smashed League 1 and then reached 7th in their first season back in the Championship, he then masterminded the miracle at Huddersfield Town. With him coming into Carrow Road, we all should’ve expected something special. And I’ll tell you what, if you didn’t watch them last season you may be in for a surprise or two.
Let’s start with the defensive unit. Outside of Anfield, I can’t think of many more exciting full back duos in world football than Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons. Both have exceptional pace and dynamism, providing incredible attacking threat in the opposition third. If they can stand up and be counted defensively in the Premier League, they could be in the England squad come the end of the season. Ben Godfrey is a physical, intelligent, young centre back who will try to bring it out from the back. Still a young player, the immense talent will hopefully step up and step on this season. Christoph Zimmerman is also a solid player and adds some much-needed experience in the defence. I like the back four and hopefully the young unit will grow into itself at the next level up.
The midfield is no doubt the most exciting area of the side. Emi Buendia is a technically brilliant player with a hint of the South American bite; I expect him to excel in the Premier League. Marco Stiepermann and Mario Vrancic can spray passes around and control a game as well as contributing with goals and assists. Onel Hernandez offers a different skillset, with dynamism, electric pace and a trick or two. Last season they also had the rotational options of Tom Trybull, Kenny Maclean, Alex Tettey, Moritz Leitner and Todd Cantwell, all of whom played games and were valuable pieces of their campaign last year. I really like this midfield and frankly can’t wait to watch it this season. I have faith.
Up front it seems they’ll stick with Teemu Pukki this season. He was sensational last season and I’d even suggest he is maybe the best free signing in English football history. A free signing who played a big part in earning them hundreds of millions of pounds, it really is incredible to think about. I’m not convinced he’ll score goals in the Premier League, but I wasn’t convinced he would in the championship, so what do I know?
They’ve also quietly had a really good summer’s business. The backline has been bolstered, in one of the least talked about, smartest bits of business this summer. Ralf Fährmannfound himself on the bench for Schalke, but now will be starting for the Canaries. A really good player coming into the weakest area of the side, it could be a really shrewd bit of business. Perhaps more importantly they’ve locked up their young stars. Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey and Teemu Pukki among others have been tied down to longer contracts.
Daniel Farke is a lesson in give your managers time. After a tough season and a little bit, very few other clubs would still have had that same manager. Stuart Webber saw fit to give him time and give him time they did, which clearly paid huge dividends. They stuck with their principles and got it right. I see a good season in store for Norwich.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Having made the same case for Stuart Webber, another contender for the most impressive football resume in the last decade of the Football League is Chris Wilder. His record since 2012 is quite sensational:
| SEASON | TEAM | POSITION | POINTS | WIN RATE |
| 12-13 | Oxford Utd | 9 | 65 | 41% |
| 13-14 | Northampton | 21* | – | – |
| 14-15 | Northampton | 12 | 61 | 39% |
| 15-16 | Northampton | 1 | 99 | 63% |
| 16-17 | Sheff Utd | 1 | 100 | 65% |
| 17-18 | Sheff Utd | 10 | 69 | 43% |
| 18-19 | Sheff Utd | 2 | 89 | 56% |
*Having come in with Northampton sitting rock bottom of League 2
What makes it all the more impressive is that his sides have played some scintillating stuff in the process. If you don’t follow the football league closely you may see the rough exterior, the thick Sheffield accent and the videos of his wild celebrations and presume Chris Wilder is your typical, old school manager in the style of a Bruce, Allardyce or Warnock. What you wouldn’t know about Wilder is that really he is a modern, expansive manager who not only plays a three-at-the-back, but revolutionized the Football League with outside centre backs who push on to overlap and create extra overloads in the final third. Check out an excellent piece on this from footballdna.com here https://www.footballdna.co.uk/features/sheffield-united-3-5-2-attacking-overlapping-centre-backs/. I’ve seen some pundits writing the Blades off. That is something you should never, ever do with Chris Wilder.
In terms of personnel I think they’re also slightly underrated. The wing backs and outside centre backs may not be household names, but they were excellent last season. As well as helping sure up one of the soundest defences in England, they provided so much threat in the opposing third last season. Wing backs Stevens and Baldock provided 13 goal contributions, with a further 11 from outside centre backs O’Connell and Basham. Ben Osborn has come in and would add more pace and energy on that left flank, although after the important part Enda Stevens played, especially in the run-in at the end of last season, it would be very harsh to drop him from the starting line-up. In the centre of the back 3 Egan was excellent last season and the added option of Jagielka’s experience could be important. In addition, Dean Henderson was a really good pair of hands and could take this from being a meh defence in the Premier League, to a really good one.
The midfield also has some really talented ball players. Ollie Norwood was excellent in his third straight promotion, finally getting his chance in the Premier League I really hope he does well. John Fleck was also a real threat, getting 10 assists over the course of the campaign. With those two being quite orthodox, I quite like the signing of Ravel Morrison. Everyone knows Ravel has more talent in his little toe than most in their whole bodies, but even now he’s still yet to get his attitude right and put together a consistent run of games. On Radio 5Live recently, Kevin Nolan spoke of a pre-season game at Oxford back in 2012, where he described playing with Morrison as ‘wonderful’. The Oxford manager that day? Chris Wilder. Whose side won by the way; no surprise. Evidently Morrison made an impression, with Wilder letting him go on trial with United 7 years later, and supposedly showing enough commitment to earn a contract. The wildcard signing of the summer could add some dynamism to this midfield if that improved attitude continues over the entirety of the season.
The forwards are where I can see some reasoning in pundits’ doubts. Billy Sharp has scored goals his entire career, but never at this level. One of the most likable guys in football, I hope he does well, but I’m not convinced. New signings Robinson and Mousset will provide plenty of energy and pace, but 3 Premier League goals between them is worrying. Robinson is a player I like though; his 12 goals last season may not be that startling to the naked eye, but when you factor in that he was injured half the season, it’s an impressive return. Newest signing Oli McBurnie has also come in for big money. He’s more of a natural finisher, someone Wilder will expect to score goals, and plenty of them. There’s the four options, maybe even five if you factor in the experienced David McGoldrick. Do I expect any of them to hit 20 goals this season? Absolutely not. But do I think they could as a collective get enough goals to at least keep Sheffield United competitive. A lot of pressure on this group.
There can’t be many better sides to support at the moment. Just three years ago Sheffield united were languishing in League 1, having been expected to be too good for the division they were persistently unable to get out of it. Three years later and they’re back in the Premier League, with a local boy at the helm and one of the most together squads I’ve ever seen – please refer to the scenes in the Bramall Lane bar when they got promoted. I by no means dispute that it could be a struggle for Sheffield United this season, but they should never be ruled out. I have no qualms in saying that they will play some good football and surprise a team or two. On a final note, Sheffield United Football Club, whatever happens, do not let Chris Wilder go. If you’re bottom of the table with 5 points at Christmas I don’t care, stick with the man and he’ll get it right in the end.
SOUTHAMPTON
The Ralph Hasenhüttl experiment seemed to work last season, taking over a team languishing in the bottom 3 and not just staying up fairly comfortably, but playing some decent stuff in the process. On the back of that the owners have got the wallets out, so could this be the season Saints get back to the top half team they had established themselves as a few years ago?
The foundations are certainly in place. The basis of the side that kept them up last year remains. Defensively Gunn is one of the best young keepers in England, whilst Jan Bednarek, Yan Varely and Ryan Bertrand played much better in the second half of the season than in the first. If these four can continue to progress they have the makings of a solid unit. The midfield talent is also there. James Ward-Prowse is a player I have a tricky time with. Over the years I’ve always seen him as a player who failed to live up to his hype, fading in and out of games. However, he seemed to really fit the role Hasenhüttl had him playing, dictating the tempo of the game. There are other good midfielders at the club too. Mario Lemina shone despite an injury-plagued season, with excellent dribbling, control and passing. It saw him garner interest from Man United this summer; if Saints can keep hold of him on deadline day, he could a be star for them. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg is another player I like. He’s been noted for his maturity and football intellect in interviews and you can see that in the way he plays. He had always been okay for Southampton, but I thought he kicked on a level at the back end of last season, and finally started to live up to his sky-high potential. Up front is where the real issue was in the core of the squad. Of the permanent Southampton players, the only one to really excel under Ralph was Redmond, so there was work to be done in the summer…
And work they did. If I went to St Mary’s at the end of last season and told fans their team would be spending £50 million on forwards this summer I imagine they would’ve laughed at me. But alas, one Danny Ings, one Che Adams and one Moussa Djenepo later and that’s the case. Danny Ings performed well if not spectacularly last year, but in this market if he can stay fit £20 million seems decent value. Che Adams was terrific last season for Birmingham and alongside Djenepo, will add pace and dynamism to an otherwise rather stale side. I’m not sure this will be the best strike force in the league, but I think it will be a darn site better than the Shane Long – Charlie Austin partnership it looked like at the start of the summer.
I also want to note that there are players in this squad who may come alive given a breath of fresh air and a new start this season. Elyounoussi, Boufal and Armstrong are all talented players who haven’t quite cut it at Southampton. Who’s to say one or more of them won’t step up and add another element to this new look Saints attack?
An interesting season ahead for Southampton. I can see it going one of two ways, and a lot of that rests on Hasenhüttl. If he can keep this side improving and integrate the new players quickly, I can see them having a solid season and comfortably finishing mid table. If not, they may well slump. Say Danny Ings picks up yet another injury and Adams fails to step up, both of which are events where I would say the chances are somewhere in between possible and probable, then they may just lack the goals you need to succeed in this division, and another relegation scrap could be in store.
If you’ve enjoyed please share on your socials and make sure to stay tuned for parts 5 some time before Saturday 3 o’clock!
Every Man Sport 