How will Stoke fare this season following Tony Pulis' Deadline Day deals?

Amongst many people Stoke are thought of as a fairly robust mid-table outfit that on their day can compete with the best sides the Premier League has to offer. In the past however Stoke seems to have lacked a cutting edge to kill teams off when it really counts; exemplified by their narrow defeat in last seasons FA Cup Final against Roberto Mancini's Manchester City. In the semi-final of that competition they managed to crush Bolton 5-0; so they are a side that on their day can perform well. 

Since he arrived at the Brittania Stadium in 2006 Tony Pulis has enabled Stoke to become an established Premier League side. Last season the club were facing an 8th place finish, but the clubs' loss to Wigan on the final day resulted in a 13th place finish in what was a very open Premier League season. 

Transfer deadline day saw some major business, with Premier League clubs spending a total of £458m on recruiting playing personnel. Stoke did some very astute business by bringing in three players that will certainly strengthen the squad. Honduran International Wilson Palacios arrived from Tottenham for a fee of around £6m. With a lot of Premier League experience under his belt coupled with 76 international caps he is a good addition. Harry Redknapp liked to use him as a right-sided midfielder but I predict he will be used as a defensive midfielder; playing a holding role to allow the likes of Dean Whitehead to play slightly higher up the pitch. 

Youtube to Etihad... fair play to Owen Hargreaves, regardless of Manchester divide!

Sir Alex has showed a lot of faith in Hargreaves, but called time on his stay at Man Utd in May 2011.

Listening to @talksportdrive yesterday reminded me how fickle some football fans can be towards Managers, Players and Chairman etc. In this particular case Owen Hargreaves was the focus of discussion from many fans (in particular Man Utd fans). As transfer deadline day ticks down it looks very likely that Owen Hargreaves will join Roberto Mancini's Manchester City side, having ben photographed at the hospital where Man City put players through a medical.

King Kenny needs a centre-back to complete Liverpool's rejuvenation.

On Saturday Liverpool looked in sensational form against Owen Coyle's Bolton side. The massive investment in personnel has attracted some criticism from Liverpool fans and football fans alike. I myself still consider some of the fee's paid for the likes of Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll as slightly heavy, however it looks as though this Liverpool side can certainly contend for a top three spot this season. 

The match against Bolton saw new signings Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam net their first goals for the club, where Martin Skrtel also netted in a 3-1 victory at Anfield. Liverpool fans will have been pleased to see the attacking quality that Kenny Dalglish's side showed during the 90 minutes. Luis Suarez did everything but manage to score in what was a tireless and quality performance from the Uruguayan. 

Before moving on to what I think Liverpool may need to be full-strength, it is worth looking at where Liverpool had particular success against Bolton. New signings Jose Enrique and Stewart Downing were a real attacking force down the left-flank. The pair made a combined total of 103 successful passes, which is shown better in the passing map below. Jose Enrique's willingness to get forward and support Liverpool's attacking play was matched by Steward Downing's willingness to work defensively. The passing map would make it tricky to determine which of the two players was a left-back and which was a left-midfielder!

Manchester 13-3 North London - United and City destroy Arsenal and Tottenham in Super Sunday!

Manchester's two Premier League representatives stepped it up a level this afternoon with two resounding victories. Early on Sunday afternoon Manchester City travelled to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham; and left with 3 points following a crushing 5-1 victory. Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd side welcomed Arsene Wenger's stuttering Arsenal and sent them home with following a mind-blowing 8-2 win!!

Both teams started the day with six points from a possible six; and before kick off at Old Trafford, United will have known that their City rivals had made it nine out of nine with a +9 goal difference, but anything City can do United can do better!

At White Hart Lane Man City included new recruit Samir Nasri in their starting line-up; and what an outstanding debut the Frenchman had in his first match. However good his debut was, he could not take the limelight from Bosnian Striker Edin Dzeko, who struck four of City's five goals! Tottenham, who had little to smile about were utterly outplayed by a dynamic, creative and ruthless City side who were very much on top form. They mustered up 22 attempts at goal over 90 minutes as well as dominating possession; and all this away from home.

Despite a 5-1 victory, Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and James Milner were among unused substitutes on the day; demonstrating City's resounding strength in depth. With so much money spent on players it seems that City's team is finally reaching its full potential. Roberto Mancini's Midfield and Attacking options are just as good as their City counterparts. With three goals conceded in three games, you could say the defending has not been at its best, but that is a very minor blemish on what has been a superb start to their 2011/12 Premier League campaign. 

Samir Nasri enjoyed a brilliant individual and team debut for Man City. Photo: Guardian

Hands off! Arsenal fail in bid for Gary Cahill

It is public knowledge that Arsenal have not been shrouded in good luck as of late. The problems at the Emirates continue to cause unrest amongst Gunners fans; another example of this being Arsene Wenger's failed attempt to sign Bolton's Gary Cahill. 

The departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas have recouped around £60m for Arsene Wenger to allegedly be able to 'spend' on players. We all know that this has not happened the way he would have planned. 

Gary Cahill has passed 100 appearances for Bolton, but will leave the club for the right price.

Gary Cahill has now entered the last year of his contract with Bolton, meaning if no deal is put in place this year, he is likely to be able to leave on a free transfer next year (providing he does not sign a new contract). Having made 113 appearances for the club he seems to be more than settled at the Reebok stadium. 

Premier League Teams fair well in Champions League draw

England's representatives in the Champions League have learned their fate for the forthcoming UEFA Champions League. 

Man City face the toughest test of the four English teams, with Bayern Munich, Villareal and Napoli making up Group A. 

Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City did however manage to avoid European giants Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Bayern Munich. 

The draw in full...

Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Manchester City, Napoli

Group B: Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor

Group C: Manchester United, Benfica, Basel, Otelul Galati

Group D: Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb

Group E: Chelsea, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk

Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund

Group G: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg, APOEL Nicosia

Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, BATE Borisov, Viktoria Plzen

What do you make of the draw? Who do you fancy to win the Champions League 2011/12? Comment below!

DH

dh Premier League

dhpremiership changes its name to dh Premier League!

The new blog banner!

The change is to enable others to find the blog easier through search engines and blog databases. Content will remain the same, only the domain name has changed!

DH

Tom Cleverley gives Man Utd midfield consistency in place of Paul Scholes.

Tom Cleverley's performance on Monday night against Tottenham at Old Trafford will have reassured Man Utd fans that all is not lost following Paul Scholes' retirement. When Sir Alex Ferguson identified Cleverley as a potential homegrown replacement for the outgoing Scholes many fans looked forward to seeing him in first team action. 

Cleverley has now started both of Man Utd's opening fixtures; impressing in both. It is for this reason that he is the focus of this weeks' Tactical Analysis article on dhpremiership. When looking at Cleveryleys' passing map for his first two Premier League starts, it is clear to see what he does well.

Theo Walcott v Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Searching around it didn't take too long to find an able video that compares the talents of Theo Walcott against Arsenal's latest multi-million pound recruit from Southampton. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has cost Arsenal a reported £15m in total; a quite remarkable spend on a 17 year old who has yet to play at the highest level in professional Football. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has become Arsene Wenger's latest young recruit. Photo: Telegraph.

Premier League and The Riots...

The Riots happening around the Country have cast doubt over this weekend's Premier League fixtures. If the Premier League cannot guarantee the safety of fans around the country fixtures are likely to be cancelled.

The Riots in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and other cities in England have left Premier League fixtures in doubt. 

Jamie Jackon (The Guardian) writes about the implications of the potential decision here: Premier League may delay decision over riots until Friday.

dhpremiership is back for 2011/12...

ARSENAL ASTON VILLA BLACKBURN ROVERS BOLTON WANDERERS CHELSEA EVERTON FULHAM LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER CITY MANCHESTER UNITED

NEWCASTLE UNITED NORWICH CITY QUEENS PARK RANGERS STOKE CITY SUNDERLAND SWANSEA CITY TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR WEST BROMWICH ALBION WIGAN ATHLETIC WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

dhpremiership returns for the 2011/12 Premier League Season, what can you look forward to!?