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Hmmmmm, not too sure about the start of next season with the top three teams at the moment.

Man Utd..........Ronaldo acting up, injured and looks like he does'nt give two fucks. Carlos Queiroz leaving to manage the Portuguese national team, leave Fergie without a number 2, which he always thrives on working with a decent assistant.

Chelsea.......New manager with new ideas takes time to influence the team with his thinking on how he wants it played. Lamps and The Drog playing The Clash's 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Arsenal......Three key players gone and Eduardo out for the next season at least

As much as I hate to say it, I see Liverpool and Portsmouth as early front runners.

I'd disagree about Portsmouth. Really quite a dreadful side saved more than a few times last year by a veteran keeper playing out of his skin.

Arsenal seem to have lost the plot. But the Mancs will still challenge, with or without Ronaldo. Chelsea are the real enigma.

Disagree about Liverpool... a team that eventually clinched 4th place hasn't really been strengthened, and it seems they need to sell players to get the ones in that they want. Agger and Carragher are excellent defenders, and Pepe Reina is a reliable keeper, but the rest of the defence is weak. If Gerrard is continually played out of position as he was last season, don't expect a serious title challenge this season either.

At Portsmouth, Harry seems to be slowly adding more quality to the side with Crouch now partnering Defoe upfront, and expect him to add a few more before the season starts. Keeping Kranjcar from the clutches of other clubs will be a priority.

Man Utd will be fine without Ronaldo... it may even allow Rooney to shine again instead of doing all the donkey work to make Ronaldo look good. When Queiroz left to manage Real Madrid, United's defence lost it's solidity. When he returned, they became strong again at the back. Will history repeat itself? Vidic and Ferdinand are a great central partnership and Evra is a good left back. The Achilles heel in the defence is on the right, where Neville may now be past it after prettu much a season out injured, and Wes Brown is better in a central position than on the flank.

Wenger will no doubt once again perform miracles with a young squad who will falter right at the end again. Hleb under-performed so won't be missed. Even if he doesn't leave, can Adebayor repeat his scoring feats of last season? Eduardo will be sorely missed. Is Almunia a good enough keeper? Gallas will have to be less stroppy, and Senderos will need to up his game too! While strong in attack, they are definitely weak at the back.

As for Chelsea, if Lampard goes, he'll be missed, but Deco may provide that extra bit of magic that's been missing when we've found it hard to unlock a defence. Mourinho's style was very different from Ranieri's yet we started that first season under him quite well and ended up Champions, so I don't think having a new manager will cause that many problems.

My tip to challenge the top four is Spurs. Juande Ramos had them playing good football once he'd settled in to the job and got rid of some of the wasters. In spite of what the red-tops say, I can see Keane and Berbatov staying and the signings of dos Santos and Modric look good. While they look like they'll be a good creative attacking force, they are nonetheless weak in defence. Alan Hutton and Gareth Bale are attack minded full backs who are OK defensively... the problem comes at the centre of the defence and in goal... Robinson or Cerny... who would you choose?

And City Ace if Hughes can buy 3/4 decent players.

Too early to tell, what with the expected comings & goings; yet, I'll have a go as I'm craving some footy discussion.

My favourites are either Man Utd or Chelsea, again. I'm leaning towards Chelsea just because of squad depth, a more experienced manager, and the fact that not many teams in history win three titles on the trot.

Deco will add more creativity, but Makalele will have to be his bodyguard. Botwinga is a good addition and will provide pace and attacking support. Chelsea want a more attacking style based on more flair and they've purchased a few players, and a manager that can take them along that road. But, Botwinga isn't exactly solid defensively, and Deco doesn't provide as much cover in the middle that Lampard, Makelele, Ballack and Mikel provide. Can Carvalho and Terry cope with a more attacking team that leaves them more vulnerable? To have a more attacking style like Man Utd or Arsenal, you need real pace at the back, so will Scolari give Deco, Cole, Malouda, Botswinga Lampard and Ballack licence to really support the attack in numbers?

Man Utd will have to cope without Ronaldo for the first 3 months, and will lose his pace. They may, though, gain in a better passing game, with more movement, which in turn gives Rooney and Tevez a rest from running their bollocks off when filling in because Ronaldo never tracks back. If they're within 2-3 points of the lead when Ronaldo returns then it may be a hat-trick of titles for the Red half of Manchester. Let's not forget that Nani & Anderson weren't really purchased for last season, and they did really well. If they're more consistent this year then I can't see a midfield in the EPL that will match Man Utd's. Anderson and Carrick really dominated Mascerano & Gerrard last season. then there's the rumour of Berbatov going to United.....need I say more?

Arsenal will again play the most attractive football in the Premiership. I can't really see them breaking into the top two unless they spend between now and the end of the transfer period. Arshavin would suit their play, but can they afford him?

Liverpool look handy. Torres is probably the best striker in Europe right now and the Premiership suits him much better than La Liga. Liverpool just can't raise their game against the other big three....at least in the league. Again, their biggest downfall may be Rafa, who will no doubt draw every game away from home because Gerrard, Torres and Mascherano are sat in the stands, resting before a European tie.

The title will depend on the Man Utd players' hunger, and how much the World Club Championship affects them. What i do know is that Carrick & Wes Brown will finish their careers with a lot more medals than Gerrard & Carragher....heee hee...

Man U will probably have Berbatov (sp) he should be worth a few extra goals, Chelsea still have Drogba and Lampard dont they? and Arsenal seem to have lost the plot , but then again Arsene seems to get the best out of players no one has heard of, top, MU, second Chelsea, third Liverpool. fourth Hull......

Liverpool and Portsmouth challenging for the premiership ... has Ace finally taken leave of his Southern Senses, I cetainlty don't see Man. United OR Arsenal going THAT FAR downhill in one year and surely after the Chelsea crew berating their manager from start to finish and Chelsea still running every team (in europe) pretty close for the majority of major honours they must be looking to IMPROVE this year no matter the personnel.!wink!

It has to be West Bromwich Albion- as they are the greatest team the world will ever see.

Not being picky Bob, but i imagine that Juande would have a hard time picking Cerny over Robinson, especially since Radek is a QPR player !laugh!

Man city and newcastle are both worth looking out for, newcastle at the end of last season were coming good and hughes is a good manager and apparently that new striker they signed, Jo is meant to be a handful. Pompey will fall flat on their faces ths season, or a least i hope so !wicked! !laugh!