Battle lines have been drawn

The English Premier League this season, as in the previous years, would be a four-way contest between the behemoths, defending champion Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, writes Kunal Diwan.

The 17th edition of the English Premier League kicks off on August 16 under the usual smog of botched transfer deals and the resultant griping. This year too, the top four behemoths of the erstwhile Premiership — defending champion Manchester United, last year’s runner-up Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool — would have braced themselves up for top-flight battles of the physical and mental kind. The mind-sparring, as is evident from pre-season transfer wrangle s, is already underway.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side has been buzzing with gossip: from being allegedly embroiled in a bitter acquisition tussle for Cristiano Ronaldo with its European rival Real Madrid this whole summer to doubts over Wayne Rooney, who contracted a viral infection on the club’s trip to Nigeria and is too weak to play in the Red Devil’s League opener against Newcastle on August 17, Manchester United has had to keep running at a frenetic pace.

After spending the better part of the summer fuelling conjecture about his now-on-now-off move to Real Madrid, Ronaldo has been ruled out of the first two months of the League as he is recovering from an ankle injury. Further depletions in the form of injuries to Owen Hargreaves, Ben Foster and Park Ji-Sung have not deterred Ferguson from staking claim for another victorious season.

Unperturbed and undaunted by injury scares, Sir Alex says: “At this particular time, we are not in the best position fitness-wise but it doesn’t concern me unduly. There is a great quality in the squad and a great enthusiasm. A lot of them are exhilarated by winning the European Cup last season.”

The second best last year, Chelsea has hired the services of the “Big Phil” Scolari to turn their fortunes around. After the expected sacking of Avram Grant — presumably for failing to deliver the Champions League Trophy in Moscow — the autocratic billionaire, Roman Abramovich, has packed the midfield with names to reckon with. Deco, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard would hope to neutralise the devious intent of their traditional rivals, the Red Devils.

“I didn’t join Chelsea to lose things,” the Sunday Mirror quoted Ballack as saying. “I came here because the Premier League is the strongest in the world and I am playing for one of the strongest teams.”

Arsenal has its own travails. The inability to close deals has left the Gunners floundering even as arch rivals clinched invaluable players. Arsenal lost Belarusian attacker Alexander Hleb to Barcelona for £11.9million. In an acrimonious transfer, Hleb burned all bridges before his departure by criticising manager Arsene Wenger who he described as “selfish”.

With the Gunners also losing Mathieu Flamini to AC Milan, the onus would be on the colts. The transfer of Aaron Ramsey, 17, from Cardiff — he was sneaked into the stables despite stiff competition from Manchester United and Everton — is likely to provide a much-required impetus to Arsenal’s quest for premiership glory.

Liverpool received a shot in the arm in the form of Robbie Keane, who was signed from Tottenham Hotspur for an initial £18million, a fee that was criticised by many. The Reds expect Keane to provide the thrust to mount a genuine challenge on the big guns. In fact, Liverpool’s striking legend Kenny Dalglish has forecast great things for the Dubliner.

“Robbie is one of those players who can come in straight away and hit the ground running. He has played all his career in the Premier League with a one-year spell in Italy, so he doesn’t need to take any time to settle in,” Dalglish said.

The cannons of English club football apart, the League will also provide an opportunity for the minnows looking to claim the coveted four Champions League spots.

Manchester City, and the constantly-improving Everton, Aston Villa and the Spurs may well cause a few ripples with unanticipated upsets. At the bottom of the pile are the teams promoted from Football League Championship — Hull City, Stock City and West Bromwich Albion have their work cut out though expecting them to cause even minor hiccups would be like Paul Gascoigne preaching at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. But stranger things have happened.