Team Focus: Premier League Preview Part 2 - Cardiff City and Chelsea
Cardiff City
Cardiff City return to the top flight this season after a hiatus of more than half a century, having finished the last campaign as winners of the Championship by some distance. Manager Malky Mackay will be fully aware of the fact that last season's achievements will be meaningless once August 17th rolls around, having seen 2012 champions Reading make a meek and immediate exit from the Premier League this term. Lack of or poorly judged investment were much of Reading's downfall and Mackay will be keen to avoid the same mistakes.
Millions have already been spent this summer, though it remains to be seen how some of the Bluebirds' signings will fare at the club. The arrival of Steven Caulker for £8m from Tottenham broke the club's transfer record that they had previously set by signing Andreas Cornelius from FC Copenhagen for £7.5m earlier in the summer. The former, still only 21 years of age, is still a youngster and by no means the finished product, but he has already earned 2 years worth of Premier League experience and a full international call up.
Likely to play at the back alongside captain Mark Hudson, Caulker will provide a level head amongst plenty of players that are without game time in England's top flight. He has 43 starts at this level to his name, though while often viewed as a lump who is good for winning headers, he instead will add composure on the ball and good passing ability, having enjoyed a pass success rate of 89.7% last season.
John Brayford will also play in the back four having recently joined from Derby County. Known more for his attacking exploits than his defensive soundness, Brayford will add another dimension to Cardiff's potent attack that scored 72 goals last term, the third most in the Championship.
Though they managed to score frequently, interestingly, the goalscoring burden was spread throughout the Cardiff squad, with no single player scoring more than 8 league goals (forward Heidar Helguson and midfielders Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson all reached this mark). 20-year old Cornelius has been brought in to shoulder that burden after an impressive debut season in professional football in which he netted 18 goals in 34 appearances. Whether or not he can make the step up and perform in the top flight of English football is the big question, and much of their chances will depend on just that.
Last season: 1st in Championship
New signings (at time of writing): Steven Caulker (Tottenham), Simon Moore (Brentford), John Brayford (Derby), Andreas Cornelius (FC Copenhagen)
Predicted Finish (average of authors): 18th
The return of José Mourinho to Stamford Bridge has filled Chelsea fans with the excitement of a giddy child on Christmas Eve. Blues supporters remember the silverware Mourinho brought to West London rather than the acrimonious circumstances surrounding his departure, and the period since he left is not always remembered for the glorious Champions and Europa League campaigns but rather a lack of stability and continuity.
Whether 'The Special One' can bring success and the Premier League title back to the Bridge remains to be seen but fans certainly believe he can, regardless of a rather understated transfer window for Chelsea in the Roman Abramovich era. The only significant arrival - that of André Schürrle for nearly £20m - was certainly a statement of intent; the youngster was amongst the top 10 Bundesliga players last season with an average rating of 7.62; but arguably Chelsea did not need another player of his ilk and it will be interesting to see how much game time he actually earns. With Juan Mata, Oscar, Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and Kevin De Bruyne also vying for spots behind a lone frontman, Mourinho has creative talent in abundance so a lack of signings shouldn't be too troubling, even if they do miss out on Wayne Rooney, their only remaining target.
After returning from a successful loan period at West Brom last season, Romelu Lukaku will be hoping to make an impact on the first team at Chelsea and provide where Fernando Torres and Demba Ba failed last season. A combined total of 10 Premier League goals in 50 Chelsea appearances from £57m worth of strikers leaves a hell of a lot to be desired, and with the Belgian 20-year old having netted 17 times for the Baggies, expectations will - possibly unfairly - be high. Goals came from all over the pitch last season, however - only champions Manchester United had more goalscorers (20) than the Blues (15) - and Mourinho will most certainly be capable of continuing Chelsea's attack-minded and goal-filled play with the players he has at his disposal.
At Real Madrid he built a deadly counter-attacking side - they scored more goals on the break than any other side in Europe's top 5 leagues (11) - and the presence of the likes of pacy players such as Lukaku, Hazard, Ramires and Schürrle make the chances of Mourinho implementing such a system all the more likely upon his return to London. Chelsea were not much of a counter-attacking threat last season (3 such goals) and with that added element to their game on top of having players such as Mata, able to pick a pass that few others would see when teams sit back and defend, the Blues will be a strong outfit in the upcoming campaign.
The Premier League title has evaded them since 2010 and many believe the homecoming of Mourinho will be sufficient to fire them back to glory this season. Positive results in pre-season against tough opposition indicate that the players are gelling and the mood in the Chelsea camp is a confident one. Optimism is high and it would be a real surprise if the Blues didn't build on recent success and challenge on multiple fronts this season.
Last Season: 3rd
New Signings (at time of writing): André Schürrle (Bayer Leverkusen), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse Arnhem), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham)
Possible Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Luiz, Ramires; Oscar, Mata, Hazard; Lukaku
Predicted Finish (average of authors): 2nd
