Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas head into next season with similar aims and ambitions but in very different positions and under very different amounts of pressure.
Arsene Wenger
Wenger is possibly under the most pressure he’s experienced for the last few years as Arsenal head into the new season.
The recent comments about Arsenal’s superb financial position means Arsenal fans will be expecting some big name signing this summer and a genuine chance of winning every tournament the club is in.
There is also the issue that Arsenal have maintained their position as the most expensive Premier League club to watch with the most expensive season ticket just under the £2,000 mark and the most expensive match day ticket over £100.
We all know the sort of football we can expect from Arsenal and that’s not going to change but it’s relatively impossible to predict the club’s chances of physically winning some silverware this coming season.
The expectation and the pressure is high but Wenger is a very experienced manager in English football and is tactically very astute so if the club makes the right signings, Arsenal could be a good outside bet for the Premier League title.
Wenger is also superb at the mind games, which will probably be out in full force with Jose Mourinho back in the league and Manuel Pellegrini settling in at Manchester City.
Jose Mourinho
We know what Mourinho expects to happen and that’s for Chelsea to win literally everything once the season starts.
He brings that Guarantee of success with him to every club he goes to and his expectation won’t change. He is under a lot of pressure because the expectations of the fans are also now sky high.
Chelsea will be competitive in the transfer market and they will bring in some big names next month, which will mean they head into the new Premier League season as the favourites for the title considering Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
Tactically Mourinho is better than anyone else around. His sides have never played the best football but he doesn’t seem to care as long as it means his teams win, secure points and translate those wins into trophies.
He also seems the best placed to cope with the pressure of having to win trophies at Stamford Bridge because he’s won trophies wherever he’s been; Porto, Chelsea the first time, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
Andre Villas-Boas
AVB will most likely head into the new season angry and determined to set the record straight after Tottenham Hotspur failed to get into the top four and the Champions League last season.
His main transfer business this summer is going to depend on what happens with Gareth Bale because there is no guarantee he will still be a Spurs player by the time the season starts.
If he stays then the top four has to be the minimum expectation going into the new campaign but if he’s sold then expectations could suddenly become very low as the club loses their best player.
Tottenham’s silverware chances come in the domestic competitions because they don’t seem strong enough to fight for the title and they could struggle to compete against more determined sides when it comes to the Europa League.
Tottenham will still play some of the best football in the Premier League next season but if they lose Bale then they won’t get out of as many difficult situations as they did last season.
Who do you think will win the three way London battle?
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