With the Premier League season less than a week away, 32 Flags is breaking down the Premier League to give you a snap shot of each team. Today, we’ll be looking at the last 10, alphabetically. That’ll be Newcastle through West Ham United.
Newcastle United
Manager:
Steve McLaren
Most Influential Player:
HULL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Tim Krul of Newcastle United celebrates the opening Newcastle goal by Remy Cabella during the Barclays Premier League match between Hull City and Newcastle United at KC Stadium on January 31, 2015 in Hull, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Tim Krul
Last Season’s Finish:
15th
Predicted Finish:
Relegation survivor
Transfers In:
Georginio Wijnaldum, CAM, for £14.5m from PSV
Aleksandar Mitrović, ST, for £13m from Anderlecht
Chancel Mbemba, CB, for £8.5m from Anderlecht
Transfers Out:
Davide Santon, LB, for £3.26m to Inter Milan
Remie Streete, CB, Free Transfer to Port Vale
Adam Campbell, ST, Free Tansfer to Notts County
Ryan Taylor, RB, Free Transfer to Hull City
Sammy Ameobi, LW, On Loan to Cardiff City
Preview:
Newcastle fans will want to forget the dumpster fire that was the end of last season when John Carver almost dropped them to relegation. Now Carver is gone and the rebuilding begins. The team is bringing in talent and while it won’t automatically bring them back to the top half of the table, they should survive relegation.
Norwich City
Manager:
Alex Neil
Most Influential Player:
Cameron Jerome
Last Season’s Finish:
3rd in Championship
Predicted Finish:
during the pre season friendly match between Cambridge United and Norwich City at the Abbey Stadium on July 17, 2015 in Cambridge, England.
Relegation survivor
Transfers In:
Robbie Brady, LW, for £7m from Hull City
Graham Dorrans, CM, for £3m from West Brom
Youssouf Mulumbu, DM, Free Transfer from West Brom
Jake Kean, GK, Free Transfer from Blackburn Rovers
Andre Wisdom, RB, On Loan from Liverpool
Transfers Out:
Luciano Becchio, CF, Free Transfer to Belgrano
Mark Bunn, GK, Free Transfer to Aston Villa
Remi Matthews, GK, On Loan to Burton Albion
Carlton Morris, ST, On Loan to Hamilton
Preview:
The Championship playoff winners have the luxury of the extra TV money they received to get the players needed to stay in the Premier League. Whether or not they do remains to be seen. With a wide open field for the three relegation spots, this is Norwich’s best opportunity to stay in the Premier League than in previous seasons.
Southampton
Manager:
Ronald Koeman
Most Influential Player:
Graziano Pellè
Last Season’s Finish:
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 27: Graziano Pelle of Southampton reacts during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Queens Park Rangers at St Mary’s Stadium on September 27, 2014 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
7th
Predicted Finish:
Midtable
Transfers In:
Cédric Soares, RB, for £4.7m from Sporting Lisbon
Maarten Stekelenburg, GK, On Loan from Fulham
Steven Caulker, CB, On Loan from QPR
Transfers Out:
Nathaniel Clyne, RB, for £12.5m to Liverpool
Morgan Schneiderlin, DM, for £24.6m to Manchester United
Preview:
Southampton has exceeded expectations last season but now that they’re in Europa League, the team must be able to compensate for the added games. With the set up of this team, unless they make some more moves, Southampton may suffer a similar fate as Everton and be negatively effected by the Europa League.
Stoke City
Manager:
Mark Hughes
Most Influential Player:
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – MAY 09: Charlie Adam of Stoke City celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Britannia Stadium on May 9, 2015 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Charlie Adam
Last Season’s Finish:
9th
Predicted Finish:
Midtable
Transfers In:
Joselu, CF, for £5.75 million
Shay Given, GK, Free Transfer from Aston Villa
Glen Johnson, RB, Free Transfer from Liverpool
Transfers Out:
Asmir Begovic, GK, for £7.73m to Chelsea
Steven N’Zonzi, DM, for £7m to Sevilla
Preview:
This isn’t your older sibling’s Stoke team. Stoke is no longer the “park the bus” struggling to score side and now they have become a more balanced team. Mark Hughes has put a great team together and is making a push for the Europa League. While they may fall short, Stoke is now a solid midtable team.
Sunderland
Manager:
Dick Advocaat
Most Influential Player:
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – AUGUST 24: Jack Rodwell of Sunderland celebrates scoring his goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Manchester United at Stadium of Light on August 24, 2014 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Jack Rodwell
Last Season’s Finish:
16th
Predicted Finish:
Relegation
Transfers In:
Jeremain Lens, LW, for £8m from Dynamo Kyiv
Younès Kaboul, CB, for £3m from Tottenham
Sebastián Coates, CB, for £2m from Liverpool
Adam Matthews, RB, for £2m from Celtic
Transfers Out:
Connor Wickham, ST, for £9m to Crystal Palace
Preview:
Sunderland stayed in the Premier League due to the magic of manager Dick Advocaat. All throughout the season, Advocaat (Mrs. Advocaat’s insistence) maintained he would retire. Then in the middle of the offseason, Advocaat announced he is coming back. But has Advocaat stayed in a year longer than he should have?
