SA fans buoyish over EPL clubs’ fortunes

Agree title prospects are good… but consistency the key

CAN CHELSEA win back-toback English Premier League titles? That’s the question on the minds of millions of soccer fans as the 2017/18 English Premier League kicked off last night. Here are the views of a few passionate Premier League fans:

Vivian Casaletti – Chelsea “Winning back- to- back titles is always a difficult task. We haven’t strengthened our team enough to compete for the championship and for the Champions League… however (manager) Antonio Conte has brought a great new energy, spirit, understanding of the game and passion into the team.

“… Considering we haven’t changed the squad much, this is still a title-winning team and with a few reinforcements, we’ll be title challengers again this season.”

Oliver King – Tottenham Hotspur

“People say we bottled the title last season, but we were never even top of the league at any stage. This will be the most challenging season yet under (coach) Mauricio Pochettino’s reign, what with playing our home games at Wembley, and how our ‘rivals’ are spending huge amounts on transfers to strengthen their squads.” Nathan Venter – Manchester City “City will definitely offer the most entertainment, given the new players and the formation used in pre-season. I hope that with the mammoth investment in defence we’ll be less porous, but I fear we’re a bit thin in defensive midfield and central defence. Selling Fernando was a bit short-sighted as he offered some cover to Fernandinho and Yaya Toure. I also believe we could struggle with consistency considering the age of the starting line-up. City should be top this season, with Chelsea and Man United offering the greatest competition to the title.” Brett Rogers – Liverpool “This season will be really tricky. Without a new central defender, we’ve got big problems. There are too many high profile games we need to play.

"The defence was extremely weak last year and it’s not looking any better now. I worry our spectacular attack won’t be able to outscore our defensive frailties. I’m hoping we can finish in the top three.”

Simon West – Arsenal “We have no doubts we can win the league, the Europa and the FA Cup. There are, however, huge concerns about the League Cup due to the squad we put out… the whole (Arsene) Wenger in/out debate was unsettling plus we played poorly against the other top five teams that does our cause no good. This season, we hope to do better.”

Jeetesh Ravjee – Manchester United

“All the teams have great quality and have strengthened. United have brought in some new faces but I don’t think that they will win the Premier League. (Coach) Jose Mourinho has shaped the club in a positive direction. He has a winning mentality which he is instilling into the players.”

PICTURE: EPA Defending champions Chelsea have bought new players, but have lost key ones as well.