15th. West Brom
Newcastle were the surprise package two seasons ago when they finished fifth and West Brom were the surprise package of last season when they finished eighth. But I cant see West Brom replicating that performance this season. We often hear about second season syndrome about promoted teams but the same could apply about manager Steve Clarke in his first managerial job. Being such a good defensive coach previously I thought Clarke would be quite a defensive-minded manager but he isn't. We quite often saw him play four attackers at once in Long, Lukaku, Fortune and Odemwingie. They were superb in the opening 19 games but the remaining 19 werent so good with the players maybe having a job done mentality. There is always a worry that mentality might spill over into this season. West Brom have also lost one of their best performers last season in Romelu Lukaku who has returned to Chelsea. Lukaku scored 17 league goals for West Brom last season.
Theyve also let go of Fortune, who was never a frequent starter but always contributed when he played, and it looks like Peter Odemwingie will finally be sold. The Baggies have signed
Nicolas Anelka and
Matej Vydra to try and replace Lukaku and Fortune. Anelka is proven quality but at 34 can surely not be relied on to carry them through a whole season. While Vydra was brilliant for Watford last year but was also very hit and miss. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the Premier League but I can't see him having the same sort of impact Lukaku had. If West Brom dont make a few more signings before the end of the transfer window I think they will be in trouble and could be involved in a relegation scrap. They need to sign a couple of very good players to liven a sluggish squad up. Key player: Shane Long Transfers in so far:
Nicolas Anelka from Juventus on a free transfer.
Matej Vydra from Udinese on loan.
Diego Lugano from Paris-Saint Germain on a free transfer. Possible team to face Southampton in their opening fixture: GK: Foster RB: Jones CB: Olsson CB: McAuley LB: Ridgewell CM: Yacob CM: Mulumbu CM: Brunt RW: Morrison LW: Anelka ST: Long