For the first time in many years there is a genuine three-horse race for the Barclays Premier League title, made all the more fascinating by the fact that all of the three clubs are being led by new managers. We all know what we're going to get with Jose Mourinho, as he begins his second spell in charge of Chelsea, and Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City brings his obvious talent. The biggest job however is obviously that of David Moyes, who takes on the unenviable task of picking up where Sir Alex Ferguson left off.
Moyes has already found himself under pressure following a less than impressive set of pre-season results, and of course having to deal with the Wayne Rooney transfer saga. It sounds silly, but this past Sunday's Community Shield was close to must-win for the former Everton boss. Talk amongst the Old Trafford fans has been about a lack of new signings, but it was Robin van Persie's double at Wembley against Wigan which proved that the champions aren't too bad a team without newcomers. I feel though that without another midfielder, possibly a replacement for Rooney, and of course Sir Alex in the dugout, United may fall short of title no.21.
Few were surprised when Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge after a turbulent couple of years at Real Madrid. If he has the same effect as his first season the last time, Chelsea are going to be very tough to beat. For me, that Blues team of 2004-05 is the best in Premier League history - and I include the Arsenal invincibles in that, for the record - but I'm not too sure the spine of this team is as strong. John Terry and Frank Lampard, loyal servants of the club and the manager, aren't the players they were, and there are doubts as to how much he fancies David Luiz and Juan Mata. The personnel at the Bridge are more used to playing with more attacking prowess than Mourinho's teams are known for. Mourinho has the same problem as a long list of predecessors in the job, which is to get the best out of Fernando Torres, who must know that time is running out unless he can finally produce a 20+ goal season.
For all the talk about Moyes, Mourinho and the other transfer sagas, Manchester City have gone about their business very quietly, amazingly quietly really. They have no doubt been the busiest of the big three in the transfer market, and not only have they added in quantity, they have added in unquestionable quality in the shape of Alvaro Negredo, Stevan Jovetic, Jesus Navas and Fernandinho. Too many of their key names underperformed last season - in fact only Pablo Zabaleta had a better season than in their championship year of 2011-12 - but if the likes of Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, and maybe most crucially Joe Hart, get back to their best, they are going to be a force. As well as those, Pellegrini will likely use Edin Dzeko in a more leading role, which I am excited about. For me, he is possibly the most under-rated striker in the league. I may be in the minority, but I am predicting City to win the league back from their neighbours come May.
Come back later this week for Part 2 when I look at who will be in the relegation battle.
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