I will not be surprised if the second half of the table looks exactly the way it is right now, barring Tottenham, who will end up in the Top 6. Here is what the Crystal Ball had to say though.
Newcastle United
Last Year: 12th
Toons In:Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Demba Ba (free), Mehdi Abeid (free), Gabriel Obertan
Toons Out: Kevin Nolan, Wayne Routledge, Kazenga LuaLua (loan), Daniel Leadbitter, Michael Richardson (loan), Ben Tozer (free), Patrick McLaughlin (free), Jose Enrique
Many people expected Newcastle to falter after Andy Carroll signed for the Merseyside giants Liverpool. And when they picked up only 6 points from 7 games from February to March, the Toon Army feared the worst. However, the teams below Newcastle failed to capitalise on their poor form. Galvanised by their 4-1 win against Wolves at home in April, the Saints went on to hold both Manchester United and Chelsea in their final fixtures to finish strong. The picture might have been very different though, had Ben Arfa remained injury free.
Alan Pardew has bought French since his arrival and his latest recruit Gabriel Obertan might turn out to be a stellar signing. He was left frustrated on the bench at Old Trafford and was never really given a run in the first team. His pace and trickery on the wings will be something Newcastle will welcome with Hatim Ben Arfa out injured.
Nile Ranger will also be given more Premier League outings and if he improves on his finishing then Newcastle can be the trouble team for the Top 6 of the Premiership. One thing is for sure though, Kevin Nolan will be missed.
Prediction: 12th
Norwich City Last Year: 2nd in the Championship
Canaries In:James Vaughan, Steve Morison, Bradley Johnson (free), Anthony Pilkington, Ritchie de Laet (loan), Elliott Bennett, Kyle Naughton (loan)
Canaries Out: Jed Steer (loan), Luke Daley (free), Owain Tudur Jones and Jens Berthel Askou, Matt Gill and Sam Habergham (all free)
I haven't seen much of Norwich City last year so I'll keep this brief. Paul Lambert is a Champions League winner with Borrussia Dortmund and his vision was there to see as he guided Norwich back to the Premier League.
His mid-summer signings have been shrewd and well calculated as James Vaughan and Steve Morison come in to lend support to Hoolahan and Holt, who were both a revelation in the Championship last year.
Ritchie de Laet and Kyle Naughton will be hoping to explode on their loans spells here as well and Norwich might fancy their chance of staying up. But they will have to do it all before April 4 of their last 6 fixtures are against Tottenham and Arsenal away while Manchester City and Liverpool at home.
Hopefully for Delia Smith, the Carrow Road outfit won't need to search for a 12th man to help them survive.
Prediction: 18th
Queens Park Rangers
Last Year: Champions of the Championship
Rangers In: DJ Campbell and Kieron Dyer, Danny Gabbidon, Jay Bothroyd, Bruno Perone (all free)
Rangers Out: Mikele Leigertwood, Peter Ramage (loan), Lee Brown, Angelo Balanta (loan), Joe Oastler, Max Ehmer (loan) and Pascal Chimbonda, Gavin Mahon and Georgias Tofas (all free)
Neil Warnock is back in the Premier League and he has brought with him the Queens Park Rangers who end a 15 year wait as they return to the premiership.
Warnock is a character and a manager that the Premier League has missed. He almost managed survival with the Blades a few seasons ago but was undone by the magic of Carlos Tevez's West Ham. Ironic then, that he returns to England's top flight as West Ham falls into the abyss of the Championship.
Warnock has done extremely well for the Hoops over the summer as he bought DJ Campbell from Blackpool while Kieron Dyer, Danny Gabbidon and the nomadic Jay Bothroyd all came in free. But his biggest deal of the summer, so far at least, has been to hang on to last seasons Championship player of the year, Adel Taarabt. The Moroccan guided his team to the Premiership in hist first full season as a Ranger after having a torrid spell as a Tottenham player. He knew what QPR were all about having been there on loan for most of his time as a Tottenham player. He made no secret of his feelings against Tottenham and admiration of Arsenal and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger during his time at White Hart Lane, which did not sit well with Spurs fans.
Warnock's attacking blend of football might brand them the new Blackpool, but I feel QPR might do what the Tangerines couldn't. Survive.
Prediction: 14th
Stoke City
Last Year: 13th
Potters In: Jonathan Woodgate (free)
Potters Out: Abdoulaye Faye (free), Matthew Lund (loan), Carl Dickinson, Andrew Davies (loan), Eidur Gudjohnsen (free)
Tony Pulis has done a fantastic job with the Potters last season as he managed to take them all they way to the FA Cup final at Wembley including a 5-0 thrashing of Bolton in the semi-finals.
This has landed Stoke in the Europa League and if they beat Swiss outfit FC Thun in the playoffs, they will have reached the group stage for the very first time. Stoke's ambitions are matched by their manager who puts out a side to win despite the opposition. Their style of playing hard has made them a fearsome team for all premier league opposition, especially at the Britannia Stadium.
Stoke almost pulled of a coup trying to rope in Carlton Cole from West Ham and had they done that, it would have been tough to imagine them not in the running for Europe again. However, it is in their European status that the problem lies. Stoke might not have it in them to challenge for a European place while playing in Europe. They showed that during the FA Cup run of last year with a 13th place finish after starting the season strong.
Prediction: 13th
Sunderland
Last Year: 10th
Black Cats In: Ahmed Elmohamady, Conor Wickham, Sebastian Larsson (free), Kieran Westwood (free), Ji Dong-won, Craig Gardner, David Vaughan (free), Wes Brown, John O'Shea, Roarie Deacon (free), James McClean
Black Cats Out: Jordan Henderson, Cristian Riveros, Steed Malbranque, Jean Yves Mvoto, Nathan Luscombe, Robbie Weir, Michael Kay, Liam Noble (loan)
It's not hard to imagine how Steve Bruce's Sunderland managed to go from the Top 6 to relegation contenders and finally end up as the club that dissected the league table at No. 10. It was all down to the sale of Darren Bent to Aston Villa. What was strange though, Aston Villa were well below Sunderland at the time. In fact, Sunderland were 3rd and 2nd in the months of December and January (counting the results only for those months) and then 20th and 17th following the sale of Bent in February and March.
But Sunderland finished strong and Steve Bruce has probably stapled a cellphone to his ear with a host of players entering and exiting the club. Jordan Henderson and Steed Malbranque will be missed, but the signings of Ahmed Elmohamady, Conor Wickham alongwith veterans Wes Brown and John O' Shea and Sebastian Larsson and David Vaughan coming in along for free, this new look Sunderland side looks like a force to be reckoned with.
Prediction: 9th
Swansea
Last Year: Championship Play-off Winners
Swans In: Danny Graham, Michel Vorm, Jose Moreira , Wayne Routledge, Leroy Lita, Steven Caulker (loan)
Swans Out: Dorus de Vries, Darren Pratley, Cedric van der Gun, Albert Serran, Gorka Pintado, Kerry Morgan and Jamie Grimes (all free)
Swansea are another club that I didn't get to see that much of since they came from the Championship, but one look at the squad and you know they are going right back.
Being the first Welsh club to grace the Premier League will put immense pressure on them throughout and each and every team playing The Jacks will feel they have a chance at 3 points.
However, the Welsh outfit are no ugly ducklings on the ball. They were known for their slick passing movement in the Championship and the return of Ferrie Bodde alongwith the signing of Wayne Routledge from Newcastle will boost the club. Danny Graham is also a class signing but Brendan Rodgers footballing philosophy will be put to the sword early on as the team play Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea away in their first month of their top flight.
Prediction: 20th
Tottenham Hotspur
Last Year: 5th
Spurs In: Brad Friedel (free), Soleymane Coulibaly, Cristian Ceballos (free)
Spurs Out: Jamie O'Hara and Bongani Khumalo, Nathan Byrne, Ryan Mason, Kyle Naughton, Stephen Caulker(all loan)
Tottenham had a great 2010-11 season. Finished in 5th place. Debuted in the Champions League and got the better of both Milan giants on a run to the Quarter Finals of Europe's premiere tournament. And saw the emergence of Gareth Bale who seems to be finally delivering on the promise he showed all those years ago when he transferred from Southampton.
Goals from their forwards was a problem after Jermaine Defoe got injured. However Soleymane Coulibaly is a solid signing and one for the future as long as Spurs can give him regular European football once he settles. But the transfer season at White Hart Lane has been about holding on to their assets, mainly Luka Modric who will be key in a push for a return to the Champions League.
Spurs face a tough start to their season with games against both Manchester giants and Liverpool coming in the first month of their new campaign followed swiftly by the North London Derby on the 2nd of October.
However, the rest of the season might not be as tricky.
Prediction: 6th
West Bromwich Albion
Last Year: 11th
Baggies In: Zoltan Gera (free), Ben Foster (loan), and Billy Jones, Gareth McAuley, Marton Fulop (all free).
Baggies Out: Boaz Myhill (loan), Scott Carson, Borja Valero, Chris Wood (loan)
The Baggies are my surprise package for the season and Roy Hodgson to pull of yet another miracle at the Hawthorns an inevitability!
The unflattering flirting with relegation under Roberto Di Matteo was not a good look for a team with such potential.
And Roy Hodgson is the perfect man to get the best out of a team that would otherwise be in mid-table ignonimity.
Peter Odimwinge was a star signing last year and he can only get better with age. In new Zoltan Gera, Hodgson will get a tireless player with undoubted quality and a push for Europe will truly be on the cards. Given Roy's past with a mediocre squad, I wont be surprised when they get there.
Prediction: 7th
Wigan Athletic
Last Year: 16th
Latics In: Dave Jones (free), Ali Al-Habsi, Nouha Dicko
Latics Out: Charles N'Zogbia, Antonio Amaya, Mauro Boselli (loan)
Wigan summer story will have a lot to do with where they end up come May 2012. 2 years back Wigan lost Antonio Valencia and their lack of pace on the wings was evident in his absence. However, Charles N'Zogbia was there and he had a terrific season last year which landed him at Aston Villa, a club that manager Roberto Martinez said no to when approached in the summer.
The club has never had any consistency with their performances since Martinez took over. An opening day thrashing to newcomers Blackpool and the infamous 0-6 scoreline against Chelsea were the low points of 2010-11 but a standout month of May that helped them in their survival was the high point.
And the club will serve up much the same, despite bringing in players with exotic names from around the world. The high point of the summer for Wigan was signing Ali Al-Habsi on a permanent deal which doesn't address their push for the survival in Premier League. Which brings me back to Wigan's summer story and where they will end up. My money says the Championship.
Prediction: 19th
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Last Year: 17th
Wolves In: Jamie O'Hara, Dorus de Vries (free), Roger Johnson
Wolves Out: Greg Halford and Scott Malone, Carl Ikeme, Danny Batth, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (all loan), and Dave Jones, Marcus Hahnemann (both free)
Wolves were among the best teams to watch last season and were very unlucky with some of their results, especially against the big teams. The highlights of course were ending Manchester United's winning streak, defeats handed out to Liverpool at Anfield and Manchester City at the Molineux.
But what was strange was they also managed to lose to the bottom two teams of the league last year.
That pretty much summed up Mick McCarthy's season, but luck I believe will be on their side as they push for survival once more. The second season is always tricky but they have already got through that hurdle and I believe that the Wolves are here to stay in the Premier League.
Prediction: 15th
Time to gaze at the television instead of the Crystal Ball now. May seems a long way away.
Until then, bring in the beers
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