Okay. The sound of that ticking clock means only one thing, folks: kick-off is now just around the corner. It really isn’t long till Chelsea and Hull get the season under way, so with less than 24 hours to go, it’s cards on the table time…
In a move that could possibly do untold damage to certain reputations, us contributors have bravely decided to volunteer not only our Premiership predictions, but also thrown in some budget FPL choices for you to mull over before 11.30am tomorrow, just in case a little bit of last-minute tinkering is needed all over again.
So without any pressure, here’s how each of us reckon the 2009/10 Premiership season will pan out:
Akers
The Premiership
Top 5 – 1. Man Utd, 2. Liverpool, 3. Chelsea, 4. Arsenal, 5. Man City.
Bottom 4 – 17.Wolves, 18. Portsmouth, 19. Birmingham, 20. Burnley
This year’s Fulham: ie, team to unexpectedly break the Top 8: West Ham
Top Scorer – Fernando Torres
Most Assists – Dimitar Berbatov
Team with Most Clean Sheets – Man Utd
Most Yellow Cards – Wilson Palacios
First Boss to Bite the Bullet – Paul Hart
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer – Frank Lampard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper (4.5 and under) – Paul Robinson
Top Scoring Budget Defender (4.5 and under) – Ryan Shawcross
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder (5.5 and under) – Liam Lawrence
Top Scoring Budget Forward (6.5 and under) – Hugo Rodallega
Andy
The Premiership
Top 5: 1. Liverpool, 2. Chelsea, 3. Arsenal, 4. Man Utd, 5. Spurs
Bottom 4: 17. Burnley, 18. Hull, 19. Birmingham, 20. Portsmouth.
This year’s Fulham: Bolton.
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Most Assists: Andrei Arshavin
Team with Most Clean Sheets: Chelsea
Most Yellow Cards: Wilson Palacios & Lee Cattermole – tied
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Mark Hughes
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer Frank Lampard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Jussi Jaaskelainen
Top Scoring Budget Defender: Ryan Nelsen
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Liam Lawrence
Top Scoring Budget Forward: Nicklas Bendtner
Granville
The Premiership
Top 5: 1. Chelsea, 2. Man Utd, 3. Liverpool, 4. Arsenal, 5. Spurs
Bottom 4: 17. Hull, 18. Birmingham, 19. Wolves, 20. Portsmouth
This year’s Fulham: No-one.
Top Scorer: Jermain Defoe
Most Assists: Wayne Rooney
Most Clean Sheets: Man Utd
Most Yellow Cards: Lee Carsley
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Mark Hughes
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer: Frank Lampard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
Top Scoring Budget Defender: Abdoulaye Faye
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Fernando Guerrero
Top Scoring Budget Forward: Frederic Piquionne
Greek Fan
The Premiership
Top 5: 1. Chelsea, 2. Man, Utd, 3. Arsenal, 4. Liverpool, 5. Man City
Bottom 4: 17. Birmingham, 18. Wolves, 19. Hull, 20. Portsmouth
This year‘s Fulham: Sunderland
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Most Assists: Frank Lampard
Team with Most Clean Sheets: Chelsea
Most Yellow Cards: Wilson Palacios
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Alex McLeish
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer : Steven Gerrard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Paul Robinson
Top Scoring Budget Defender: Graham Alexander
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Liam Lawrence
Top Scoring Budget Forward: Hugo Rodallega
I’m Not Marshall Foch
The Premiership
Top 5: 1. Chelsea, 2. Man Utd, 3. Liverpool, 4. Arsenal , 5. Man City
Bottom 4: 17. Wolves , 18. Birmingham , 19. Burnley, 20. Hull
This year’s Fulham: Blackburn
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Most Assists: Cesc Fabregas
Team with Most Clean Sheets: Chelsea
Most Yellow Cards: Lorik Cana
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Phil Brown
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer: Frank Lampard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Thomas Sorenson
Top Scoring Budget Defender: James Tomkins
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Charles N’Zogbia
Top Scoring Budget Forward: James Beattie
Mark
The Premiership
Top 5: 1. Chelsea, 2. Man United, 3. Liverpool, 4. Arsenal, 5. Man City
Bottom 4: 17. Portsmouth, 18. Hull, 19. Burnley, 20. Birmingham
This year’s Fulham: Sunderland
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Most Assists: Andrei Arshavin
Team with Most Clean Sheets: Chelsea
Most Yellow Cards: Lee Cattermole
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Phil Brown
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer: Frank Lampard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
Top Scoring Budget Defender: Ryan Shawcross
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Liam Lawrence
Top Scoring Budget Forward: Nicklas Bendtner
Sir Paulos
The Premiership
Top 5: 1. Liverpool, 2. Chelsea, 3. Arsenal, 4 Man Utd, 5. Spurs
Bottom 4: 17. Burnley, 18. Wolves, 19. Birmingham, 20. Hull.
This Year’s Fulham: Sunderland
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Most Assists: Andrei Arshavin
Team with Most Clean Sheets: Liverpool
Most Yellow Cards: Marouane Fellaini
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Paul Hart
FPL Top Point Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer: Steven Gerrard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Tomas Sorenson
Top Scoring Budget Defender: Paolo Da Silva
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Charles N’Zogbia
Top Scoring Budget Forward: Nicklas Bendtner
Superior Being
The Premiership
Top 5: 1 Liverpool, 2 Man Utd, 3 Chelsea, 4 Man City, 5 Arsenal
Bottom 4: 17 Hull, 18 Burnley, 19 Stoke, 20 Portsmouth
This year‘s Fulham: Sunderland
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Top Assists: Andrei Arshavin
Team with Most Clean Sheets: Man Utd
Most Yellow Cards: Cesc Fabregas
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Phil Brown
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer: Andrei Arshavin
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Paul Robinson
Top Scoring Budget Defender: Roger Johnson
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Charles N’Zogbia
Top Scoring Budget Forward: Hugo Rodallega
The Wisdom of Crowds
Taking all our predictions into consideration, here’s the average consensus of opinion:
The Premiership
Top 5: 1. Chelsea, 2. Man Utd, 3. Liverpool, 4. Arsenal , 5. Man City
Bottom 4: 17. Burnley , 18. Birmingham , 19. Hull , 20. Portsmouth
This year’s Fulham: Sunderland
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Most Assists: Andrei Arshavin
Team with Most Clean Sheets: Chelsea
Most Yellow Cards: Wilson Palacios
First Boss to Bite the Bullet: Phil Brown
FPL Top Points Scorers
Overall Top Points Scorer: Frank Lampard
Top Scoring Budget Goalkeeper: Paul Robinson
Top Scoring Budget Defender: Ryan Shawcross
Top Scoring Budget Midfielder: Liam Lawrence
Top Scoring Budget Forward: Tied- Hugo Rodellaga, Nicklas Bendtner
So there you have it. Plenty of differing opinions, but a lot of similar views on how the season will turn out, both from a Premiership and Fantasy perspective.
These are only our opinions of course, so if yours differ and you’re prepared to put your money where your mouth is, don’t forget you can support Fantasy Football Scout by registering and betting with our friends at Paddy Power. They’re still giving away £20 when you register and place a £10 sports bet. With that in mind, here’s some likely bets, including a total clean sheet market, created just for us here at Fantasy Football Scout.
Three Relegated Sides
Most Bookings
Most Clean Sheets
Let the season begin then, and make fools of the lot of us…
Good luck to you all.