He never learns, does he? John Nic risks all with his pre-season predictions...
This is the time of year when your predictions all seem like good bets. You know your stuff right? All your accumulated knowledge of the game is applied to predicting the winners and losers in the new season. It all seems quite obvious, doesn't it? Piece of pish, eh?
However, if we have learned anything at all over the years - and I know we haven't really - it's that football will always make fools of us. And so for people like me who are writing their predictions in the full glare of tens of thousands of readers, its a fraught time. It is rather inevitable that you end up looking like a total smegger. Hindsight always being perfect, I too cannot believe some of the utter bollocks I have predicted in the past. This does not, however, prevent me from doing it again of course because this year, this year I am certain I am right, just like all the other years. No, but this year's different. Again.
That being said, there are a couple of major variables in the up and coming Premiership season which will dictate whether it is a Chelsea stroll again. The first is Man United's strikers. If they can rediscover how to score, then last year;s inadequacies will be effortlessly overcome and they can easily challenge for the title. The second is Liverpool. Liverpool for me are this season's dark horses.
I'm not actually sure what a dark horse really is. Surely a light horse would be quite hard to spot in the dark and a dark horse easy to spot in the light. Anyway, whatever these dusky equines are, I think Liverpool are one of them.
Although the CL qualifiers haven't been a top flight test of their quality, they have most certainly been a test of their bottle. And its a test they've risen to easily. Winning away from home in eastern Europe always sounds like a tricky task. And you know, I think Liverpool's CL win last season has almost been underplayed as an achievement.
But it was truly awesome.
In a way, the almost surreal manner in which they won it, has overshadowed the season-long achievement. The CL is the Holy Grail to Fergie and Wenger but Rafa won it at the first time of asking , now that's some bloody testament to him and his powers of organisation and motivation.
And yet still no-one fancies Liverpool this year. They're still a few players short. Are the strikers world class? The defence lack depth - all these doubts are expressed. But this was all said last year and they won the very competition that Wenger has never won despite having a better squad of players and which Man United have won the same amount of times despite trying every season for more than a decade.
I think too many are in danger of underestimating Benitez and I reckon he rather likes that. It takes some pressure off to think that they're fighting for fourth before a ball is kicked. He seems a deep and inscrutable man and is hard to read. I've liked the way he's stood his ground over not taking Owen back. A less determined man with less vision would not have been so firm.
Pre-season evidence has shown they're not likely to be short of goals if everyone stays fit. With Crouch and Morientes they have two excellent headers of the ball who can win the ball in the air and with Cisse they have a shoot-on-sight-whippet albeit one with bizarre hair choices.
I must say, Crouch looks far too thin to me. Worryingly, he's starting to get that 'big head' look that anorexic people get. I know he's an extraordinary physical specimen but if you compare how he looked 6 months ago to now, he appears much thinner. His legs seems very thin and snappable too, so clearly there are likely to be injury problems along the way but that'll be the case for their rivals too of course.
Looking at their squad up against Man U, Arsenal Chelsea then there should be no way they can compete. But that's what we all said about them last year in the CL. Even Gerrard said they couldn't win that.
Yes, they were 37 points behind Chelsea last year and that is faintly ludicrous - so ludicrous that it could well be a freaky blip by all concerned.
Now, I'm not sure they can win the league this year but I consider it far from improbable if they remain major injury free.
Chelsea's strength in depth is incredible and that's why I've still tipped them to win it this year and I know Man United could cream a lot of sides this year with their front five running amok. Maybe I'm just hoping that its a four-way scrap this year and maybe in a few months' time you'll all be writing to say John Nic is a feckin' moron, look what he predicted, as Liverpool lie mid-table having already lost 10 times but now is not the time for the faint hearted.
Liverpool have proved they can fight the odds and win the biggest competition in European football, now is the time for them to prove they can do it in the Premiership as well. So that's why I've predicted them to narrowly finish above both Man United and Arsenal.
If this turns out to be the worst prediction of the year I shall of course be changing my name to Mr Ploppy and moving to Upper Volta.
Mr J runs designs rock n roll lifestyle t-shirt and runs www.djtees.com like a spy in the house of love
