Ratings Of How Prepared The Top 6 EPL Sides Are For This Season

By Azeez Said 

We are a week away from the beginning of the EPL season and I am so excited about what this season promises to bring with it. Though a lot of things have happened during the break,Suarez is gone and we have Alexis Sanchez,Moyes is gone and we have Louis Van Gaal,Lampard is not in Chelsea again but Fabregas is back (though now in blue), even Howard Webb and Giggs have retired. All that has happened during the summer has only increased my appetite of wanting to see the season start quickly so I decided to also wet your appetite by going through the top 6 side to see which side is ready. 

MANCHESTER CITY 

The reigning champions of England are still the team to beat. They have now won 2 league titles in 3 years and are now stamping their authority on the English game after the influx of money from their oil rich owners. Manuel Pellegrini has kept the core of the team in Hart, Kompany, Yaya Toure,Silva & Aguero and has let fringe players go. 

SAGNA

He has done some smart business in the summer also, bringing in Sagna for free,Fernando from Porto & Caballero from Malaga. But for the past two seasons now, it has been clear that Man City have struggled whenever their captain - Vincent Kompany has been out. The likes of Dimechels & Nastasic have tried but failed to impress during his absence so a more reliable defender is needed. 

Mangala who is rumored to be very close to joining them would fit the bill perfectly. So they seem ready to defend their title. 

Rating:4/5 

LIVERPOOL 

Now Suarez is gone,how will they fare this season? This is the question that would be on most football lover lips concerning Liverpool for the season. They have done well until now by investing all the money they have gotten from his sale on the team. They have brought in seven players in total with more still expected to come in. 

EMRE CAN

The problem with signing so much during the close season is that you never know when they will hit the ground running. And as we saw with Tottenham last season,even Arsenal who were yet to spend a penny in the transfer market defeated them after spending over €100m on players following Bale's departure. 

They have brought in Emre Can who is seen as Gerrard's long-term successor, Lovren to tighten the defence,Lambert to have a plan B to their attack and they also did something different from Tottenham of last season by bringing in 3 players from inside the league but it is yet to be seen how long it takes their new singings to hit the ground running. 

Rating: 2.5/5

CHELSEA 

Though bringing in just 4 players this summer, Chelsea have done fantastically well among any other club in the transfer window till date this summer. 

They have kept the core of the team, let go of fringe and some ageing players and have brought in quality signing where needed. 

DIEGO COSTA, FABREGAS AND FELIPE LUIS

The likes of Lampard and Ashley Cole,who have been great servants for the team have been released after they were told they were no longer needed. Felipe Luis and Cesc Fabregas have been brought in to replace both players.Chelsea have been wise to not sanction another loan move for Courtois and bring him back to provide competition for Petr Cech and their problem position has been resolved by bringing in Diego Costa. Though it still baffles me as to why they let Lukaku go. A front 3 of Lukaku,Costa & Drogba, that would have been mouth watering.

Whether they would win their first EPL title since 2010 and Mourinho would win his first title in 3 years this season is yet to be seen. Fingers crossed. 

Ratings: 4.5/5 

ARSENAL 

Following their FA Cup triumph, Arsenal have now broken the mental barrier between them and winning trophies and can continue in the same fashion with a win over Manchester City in the FA Community Shield. 

Wenger have since gone on to strengthen the squad in the transfer market after claiming that the club can now financially compete with the other top teams. He has corrected last season's flaw by bringing in Alexis Sanchez to lift the goal scoring burden from Giroud's shoulder and youngsters, Sanogo and World Cup star - Campbell are waiting in the wings to be called upon. 

OSPINA

A new competitor has been gotten for Szcesny after the departure of Fabianski to Swansea in Colombia's Ospina. A rightful replacement has been brought in for club servant Sagna and the versatile English youngster Calum Chambers to provide cover for the defence. 

Though everybody has their opinion on how many players Arsenal still needs to bring in to become "real competitors" but a defensive minded midfielder who would allow the plethora of attacking players Arsenal has got, more freedom. This should be top of their list of most - wanted as they were occasionally exposed in the big matches last season due to no presence of steel in midfield which exposed their defenders. 

William Carvalho not Sami Khedira should be gotten cos Arsenal have got lots of Khediras in the team. Whether Wenger gets any of them, stick with his old guards - Flamini and Arteta or maybe he his ready to develop Chambers or Wilshere in that position, only time will tell. 

Ratings: 3/5

TOTTENHAM After bringing in so many players last summer, Spurs have been understandably quiet in the transfer market. Not that they already have a perfect team, far from it, but some of their signings last season were out for so long and now that they are back, they look like new signings. The likes of Lamela and Capoue comes to mind quickly with both set to play a major part for Spurs this season. You can say whatever you like about the sacking of Tim Sherwood, someone who claims to have been Tottenham's best coach (statistics back him up though), but the signing of Mauricio Pochetino from Southampton was a great move in all senses. Pochetino's major challenge would be to fix Tottenham's leaky defence that conceded 51 goals (the highest of the top 8 teams) in the League last season and get the best out of his attack so as to score more goals (scored the least of the top 7 teams last season).  ERIC DIER They have brought in Dier to provide cover at the heart of the defence but they still need a more experienced head there and bringing in Vorm from Swansea to serve as a more capable backup to Lloris seem their best signing yet. One more striker would also do them no harm. This is the time for last season's signings to prove their worth cos they have one season in the league and must be accustomed to how it is played by now. Can Lamela prove his worth this season? Only God knows. Ratings: 2/5 MANCHESTER UNITED At the moment, you can't talk about United without talking about new coach, Loius Van Gaal. He has come in after a wonderful showing at the World Cup with Netherlands and has commanded respect from the players, staffs, and even the owners. He is different from his predecessor, Moyes (I feel sorry for the man), he is a known winner and the winning mentality at Old Trafford could just back. He has come in and changed the system to his tried and tested 3-5-2 formation which earned him a 3rd placed finish with Netherlands in Brazil. With wing backs playing a major part in this formation, he has brought in Shaw, he still has Valencia and even rekindling Young's waning career. Mata has been given a more central position to play in, Rooney pushed further forward (though can be allowed to roam) and you would be forgiven to think everything is going on well for the Red Devils. I wouldn't have guessed that Manchester United's problem position will nit have been sorted out by now as LVG doesn't seem contented with the signing of Ander Herera only in the central midfield role and with failed pursuit of the likes of Vidal, Fabregas, Strootman and co, they might have to make do with what they have got for now which gives Cleverley the chance to stake a claim. After departure of leading figures in their defence, they are still light at the back and need more cover. The loss of Vidic, Ferdinard and Evra has left their dressing room short of leaders and who takes over from them is yet to be seen. Ratings: 2.5/5 With my ratings, you can be allowed to think that it might be a two - horse race between Chelsea and Manchester City for the EPL title this season with Arsenal providing them with a challenge till the end but I have always argued that football ain't mathematics and you can just sit tight and wait for the dramas to unfold cos there is going to be lots of them this season. Do you agree with my ratings? Drop your thoughts in the comment box below.