Last
season was an historic moment for a team like Leicester City as they won the
Premier League title for the time under Italian coach, Claudio Raineri against
all odds.
As
expected, Leicester will be under immense pressure to defend their title this
coming season as some of the big clubs in the league have signed great coaches
in a bid to restore their lost glory.
Besides,
this summer’s transfer window would definitely create that needed change which
could determine where the title pendulum would swing to because huge money will be
spent, of which it has happened after the signing of Paul Pogba to Manchester United for a world record fee of £100m, Leroy Sane to Manchester City for £37m, Sadio Mane to Liverpool for £34m, Ahmed Musa to Leicester City for £16m, Michy Batshuayi to Chelsea for £33m, N’Golo Kante to Chelsea for £30m, Granit Xhaka to Arsenal for £30m and a few to mention.
With
the arrival of Pep Guardiola to Manchester City, Jose Mourinho to Manchester
United and Antonion Conte to Chelsea, there could be a change of champions this
season.
The
competition will be stiff and fierce as Manchester United have employ the
service of Jose Mourinho, whose experience in England is second to none couple
with the fact that he helped Chelsea win three league title during his reign as
a manager.
Having
replaced Louis Van Gaal after he was sacked, Mourinho’s reputation as a purely
defensive manager is unjust and based largely upon the questionable notion that
attractive football must involve long spells of possession. Even his most
defensive sides, the Champions League-winning Porto team of 2003-04 and the
Chelsea side who recorded back-to-back Premier League titles in the mid-2000s,
were capable of thrillingly direct counterattacking football which produced
wonderful goals, not to mention winning plenty of trophies.
Generally,
Mourinho’s sides play perfectly exciting football throughout the majority of a
season, but in big matches – particularly in Europe, and towards the end of a
campaign – become more cautious. This does not differ significantly from Sir
Alex Ferguson’s approach during the final decade of his tenure at Old Trafford,
when United’s purposeful, high-intensity football would give way to reactive,
counterattacking displays against elite opposition.
It
is not difficult to assemble a Mourinho-style starting XI from United’s current
squad, and it is a surprisingly exciting side – and that’s without considering
the assortment of new signings he has been promised. His off-field approach
will, as ever, court controversy. Tactically, however, Mourinho and United
appear a perfect fit.
Another
challenge will come from Pep Guardiola, who is expected to take the Citizens to
a new level after the departure of former boss, Manuel Pellegrini. Guardiola
faces a major rebuilding job at City after they scraped into fourth place to
secure the final Champions League place by finishing above rivals Manchester
United on goal difference.
The
hope is that Guardiola can now bring the sort of dominance he enjoyed at Bayern
— and previous club Barcelona — to the Etihad. He won six league titles in
his seven years with the two clubs as well as four domestic cups and two
Champions League titles during his time at the Nou Camp.
The
key to the success of all has been pace and special domination. Controlling the
ball and controlling the opposition. Circulating possession at pace, making
opponents work, passing precisely, moving into space, passing again, accurately
and smartly.
More
so, Chelsea’s new coach, Antonion Conte will face the task of overhauling other
coaches in the Premier League as he will be hoping to win the title in his
first season after replacing interim Chelsea coach, Guus Hiddink.
There
are clear similarities between Conte and Jose Mourinho, who enjoyed so much
success in west London but departed under not one cloud but an entire
rainstorm. Both are self-assured, volatile and demanding, while they often use
enemies – whether real or imagined – to try to build a siege mentality and
ferocious team spirit.
Perhaps,
though, this is the perfect time for such a figure to take charge at Stamford
Bridge. After 13 years of silverware and success, Chelsea are currently at
their lowest ebb since Abramovich’s takeover and may now decide to abandon the
hiring-and-firing culture and choose another path – just as they had intended
to do with Mourinho until results forced a change.
Conte,
moreover, has experience of reviving a fallen giant – not that one bad season
makes Chelsea that just yet – with Juventus finishing seventh in 2009/10 and
2010/11 before he led them to three successive league titles, going through one
campaign unbeaten and smashing the 100-point barrier in another.
In
addition, Jurgen Klopp’S omission from the list of the most established coaches
in the Premier League will be incomplete considering the fact that his exploits
in his half season with Liverpool is worth appreciating.
The
former Borussia Dortmund coach, who’s now familiar with the terrain of the
Premier League will also, be gunning for the title if the right players are
signed this transfer summer.
Klopp’s
winning mentality saw the team defeated teams like Manchester City, Chelsea,
Arsenal, Tottenham and Leicester City last season.
