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2015/2016 Premier League predictions; Part 2

By on August 2, 2015

The vacations are over, the preseason tours have all been done and dusted, the kits have been revealed and Arsenal were the first side to lift a piece of silverware this season by claiming the Community Shield at Wembley, the final indication that the season is about to begin. As the games begin, Richard Lewis shares his previews and predictions for the coming Premier League season (Richard’s views don’t necessarily mirror those of Football Every Day). In part one of two, Richard previewed the top end of the table, here. In part two, Richard analyzes the bottom half of the table:
11). Swansea

12). West Ham

13). Newcastle

14). West Brom

15). Bournemouth

16). Sunderland

17). Aston Villa

18). Watford

19). Leicester

20). Norwich

Young Player of the Season: Raheem Sterling
Best bargain buy: Andre Ayew

From the Swans to the Canaries!

Swansea City

Swansea City may have finished eighth last season, but it took an incredible effort from Garry Monk’s men. And Wilfried Bony’s shed load of goals in the first half of the season, before the forward departed for Manchester City, which leaves a slight question mark on who will score double figures for Monk’s men this time around. The Welsh side have managed to hold onto Bafetimbi Gomis and also signed Eder from Braga so far this summer, to make amends.
Swansea are clearly too good to go down, as the saying goes, but they’ll take solace in a comfortable mid-table position, biding their time for a potential European run down the line. The Swans also have the unique habit to slaying giants, beating Manchester United at Old Trafford and winning at the Emirates in a surprise defeat of Arsenal towards the end of last season.
The Welsh club are know for picking up bargain buys and this summer has been no different; with Monk signing Andre Ayew, Franck Tabanou and Eder. Jefferson Monterro and Ki Sung-Yeung will be expected to provide the ammunition for the likes of Gomis and Eder the coming season, and Monk can put down a bold statement by proving he can keep Swansea focused for another season with a good finish in the final standings. Eleventh would perhaps meet expectations but by no means impress considering the stability the club have shown over recent years. Verdict: Eleventh


West Ham United
As if there wasn’t enough pressure taking over the managerial post at a Premier League club already, Slaven Bilic will have the chip on his shoulder that he cannot fail, or else ruin West Ham’s last season Boleyn Ground before moving into the renovated Olympic Stadium; moreover, relegation or a very poor finish would be disastrous having spent so much money on the new stadium. On top of that, Bilic has to deal with the hassle of midweek Europa League fixtures, which Bilic has already experienced the downsides of, upsetting fans by disappointing against minnows in the early stages of their European adventure.

The Hammers start the season with a league fixture with Arsenal — a nice easy start there for Bilic — although they have the bonus of playing competitive Europa League games as early as July, 2nd. Although Bilic has invested wisely over the summer in players such as Dimitri Payet, Angelo Ogbonna and Pedro Obiang, with all things considered a strong mid-table finish would be suitable.

Bilic will need time to integrate his style of football and get the best out of his new additions, time that, of course, he doesn’t have. The Hammers might not even be out of the transfer market yet, and have been recently linked with a move for Queens Park Rangers’ Charlie Austin, who would cost a reported £15 million to sign. Promising left-back Aaron Cresswell was one of the Hammers’ stand out performers for the East London club last season, so he will want to continue his progress under his new Croatian boss and potentially even win an England call up. Fitness and form will decide whether West Ham maintain underwhelming or enthralling final season at Upton Park. Verdict: Twelfth


Newcastle United

Steve McClaren’s job at Newcastle United is simple enough, to stay in the Premier League; most everything else is a cushion bonus. The soap opera that was Newcastle’s 2014/2015 campaign will make any sort of stability a godsend for the club. It’s a simple enough goal, but requires a think tank to solve. McClaren has a poor recent managerial record, but had vital experience and is used to taking stick from supporters and the media.
Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic joined the club for £13 million and the £14.5 million arrival of midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum gives the squad some much-needed quality. Newcastle’s head scout Graham Carr, whose son played Seagull Number One in the recent SpongeBob movie (no joke), has been working hard this summer on identifying targets for the Geordie club. Graham Carr has played a part in nearly as many Magpie deals in the last few years as his son has had guests on his successful chat show. Verdict: Thirteenth


West Bromwich Albion

Rickie Lambert didn’t take long to settle into the stripes of West Brom, as the former Liverpool striker scored a double in a recent friendly just three hours after joining the club. Lambert may be able to add a few more goals to the Midlands side, but losing Saido Berahino could lead to the goals drying up at the Hawthorns. The young striker has been linked with a move away from the club this summer, with Tottenham and Newcastle courting the 21-year-old.
Manager Tony Pulis is known for keeping sides in the Premier League, but seems to lack the squad depth to reach the top half of the table. Pulis has also signed defender James Chester for £8 million from Hull, while James McClean joined for £1.5 million from Wigan. They might not set the world alight, but defensive displays and good home form should be enough to retain too flight status. Verdict: Fourteenth

Bournemouth

In tribute to the late, great entertainer Cilla Black, this prediction may come as a bit of a Surprise Surprise to many, but Bournemouth may outperform expectations. Mostly because they expected to drop straight back down to the Championship, and nothing much better. The club would be happy with a seventeenth place finish this season, but could potentially even reach the heady heights a couple places higher than that. The South Coast club may feel like they are going on a Blind Date, with the top flight an unknown, but the tale of how they reached there is still romantic, with their journey from Football League basement club to Premier League scrapers. Eddie Howe could prove his potential as a young manager if he does manage to keep the Cherries up, with the cherry on the top of cake the reward of the seaside club playing their trade in the top tier for another season.
It will be a tough campaign and they can expect some heavy beatings, however, they could gain one or two scalps along the way, especially at home when forward Callum Wilson is firing. A few more signings will be required before the transfer window closes for a much better chance of survival, but they could be the best team out of the three promoted sides with their attractive style of play and young players on show. The long slog to survival is not impossible, just really difficult. Verdict: Fifteenth

Sunderland

Black Cats usually bring bad luck, but Sunderland had a bit of luck last season in staying up. They drew too many games over the course of the campaign. Before turning their form around, the club will need to find the back of the net more often, first. Jermain Defoe was brought in from Toronto to rectify this issue, but he is not as prolific in front of goal as he was in a Tottenham shirt. Defoe may score more freely with a pre-season behind him in a Sunderland shirt, although some reliance will also full on the shoulders of new boy and similar first name Jeremain Lens. The Dutch winger shot through a lens recently to give his new club a 1-0 friendly victory over German side Hannover. Dick Advocaat was convinced to remain a Black Advocaat by the Sunderland supporters, who put off retirement for another year to carry on managing in England.

Another season of struggle is set to happen again, but survival might be back on the menu. Sunderland will want to keep their form in the derby with Newcastle going; local bagging rights being almost as important as retaining their top flight status for another year. More additions should still come through the doors at the Stadium of Light before the window closes at the end of the summer, which will give them an added boast for the crucial “six pointers,” while striker Connor Wickham looks set to depart for Crystal Palace. Verdict: Sixteenth

Aston Villa

Aston Villa stayed up last season and indeed looked promising. That is, until they lost Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph, takeover talks broke down and Shay Given and Ron Vlaar have also departed the club this summer. The FA Cup finalists are likely to look very different in their starting line-up in the 2015/2016, which might work for them in case one of their new French signings fills the gap that Benteke left, or not.

Players take time to settle and even with money spent, owner Randy Lerner still wants to sell, leaving uncertainty over the long term future of the potential prospects of the claret and blues. Villa have signed Jordan Ayew, the brother of one of Swansea’s new stars. Ayew flourished on his pre-season debut, as the Villains drew 3-3 with Championship club Nottingham Forest, but none of Villa’s new signings come with a name par that of Benteke. A season of struggle could be on the cards and staying up is the first target for Sherwood. Snapping up striker Rudy Gestede from Blackburn was quite a coup for the Midlanders, with Sherwood describing the deal as a bargain, but not much else will come easy or cheap for the club this season. Verdict: Seventeenth

Watford

How many managers will Watford go through this season? Four or possibly five? Those figures may seem like a lot, but not for the Hornets’ Italian owners. The Pozzo family will have no trouble with letting managers go if they don’t live up to expectations, with Quique Flores the latest manager to take the reigns in Hertfordshire.

The former Atletico Madrid boss has already made ten signings this summer, but still suffered a recent 1-0 defeat to UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla. Their mascot, Harry the Hornet, may have to savor moments of cheer this season, with the relegation right a priority. Troy Deeney will need to fire in the goals to give the club a chance of safety, although some of their signings do look decent and the owners could insert fresh life into the club with another dip into the funds again if they’re struggling come January, especially after a nightmare fixture list over the holidays. Verdict: Eighteenth
Leicester City

Leicester managed to pull off a great relegation escape last time season, but on only so many occasions can they push their luck to the limit. Living in the edge proved to much to bear for the club, so out went Nigel Pearson.

Their new boss has come from Greece, which might bring bad fortune with it, but Claudio Ranieri arrives with a poor recent record in the management business anyway. He failed in his first task of trying to talk Esteban Cambiasso into sticking around at the King Power Stadium, and the signings have hardly been flowing in since he walked through the doors in replacement. Former striker Gary Lineker called Ranieri an “uninspiring choice” as manager of the Foxes. A season of struggle lies ahead, with the difficult task of maintaining the form they finished wity last season. N’Golo Kante has been a name rumored to be heading for Leicester in the coming days, but can they bring in the right players to keep them up for another season? The future looks murky. Verdict: Nineteenth

Norwich City

Promoted Championship squads usually have to invest heavily in their lineups to stay up; however, also have to balance their spending with the threat of relegation and a financial meltdown. There is a trade off: financially mismanage, and relegation would mean taking on a financial crisis, but be too passive and relegation is almost guaranteed. Norwich bounced straight back up from relegation in the 2013/2014 season and this summer, Norwich seem to be to passive in their spending again, under Alex Neil. Goalkeeper Jake Kean, Youssouf Mulumbu, Graham Dorrans, Robbie Brady and Andre Wisdom roundup Norwich’s summer spending so far, but the list lacks a marquee name. It will be a long haul and a fight for the Canaries not to drown at the bottom of the table. Defeats will come thick and fast, but maintaining a decent record at Carrow Road remains their best chance of staying up. Every game counts, and a win or draw against Crystal Palace in their first game of the season would be worth just as much in points than confidence, too. Nathan Redmond and Cameron Jerome seem most likely to score a few goals for the Norfolk-based club. Verdict: Twentieth

Photo credit: cfcunofficial, via Flickr

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.