Premier League thoughts and predictions

Manchester United got off to the ideal start by overturning a 2-0 defecit against arch rivals Man City in the Community Shield at the weekend and I expect those two to contest the fight for the Premier League title along with Chelsea.

United will start the season as favourites. The signings of David De Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young are all typical Ferguson style signings. Proven but still very young. Ideal really considering the likes of Van Der Saar, Scholes & Neville have retired, Giggs is in what will surely be his last season and Rio Ferdinand is rather prone to injuries at the moment. Ashley Young for £16m is going to go from strength to strength I believe. Along with Rooney, Hernandez and Nani along with the possible signing of Wesley Sneijder, you have to believe that they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Arsenal are set to be the seasons big fallers. The imminent loss of Cesc Fabregas will hurt and Nasri could well be on his way as well. If Tottenham hold onto Modric and Liverpool manage to produce some of the form they found under Dalgleish in the 2nd half of last season, the Gunners could fins themselves as low as 6th come May. Even the most loyal fans are starting the think time may just be up for Arsene Wenger.

It'll be interesting to see how QPR, Swansea and Norwich fair after promotion. I expect Wigan to struggle after the loss of a couple of key players and if Mr Ecclestone dips into his pocket throughout August or January, I dont see Rangers going down.

Predictions -

Winner - Manchester United
Runners Up - Chelsea
Champions League - Manchester City
Champions League - Liverpool
Relegation - Wigan Athletic
Relegation - West Bromwich Albion
Relegation - Norwich City

Championship Thoughts and Predictions

Every season this division seems to get stronger. No fewer than 18 of the 24 have competed in the Premier League since its inception in 1992. Quite an impressive figure considering many of the same teams appear to yo-yo between the two. Considering it's the second tier of the English game, the stadia is impressive enough to grace the top flight of any league around the world. The likes of the newly named King Power Stadium, Leicester, Elland Road, Leeds and St Mary's Stadium, Southampton amongst the most eye catching but not forgetting the Riverside, Pride Park, Madejski, KC Stadium, City Ground, The Boleyn or the brand spanking new American Express Stadium!

The Amex Stadium is extremely impressive. It's the much awaited and much needed new home of Brighton & Hove Albion. Having won promotion last season blitzing through some very talented League One opposition in the process you have to look at them as the potential dark horses. A few new players, a very passionate and keen manager in Gus Poyet and a 12th man (namely the fans) should help see them into a top half finish and possibly a play off berth.

Southampton, another newcomer, will be in contention come May. For similar reasons to Brighton. They have a very strong team and a prolific goalscorer in Rickie Lambert. They also ran Manchester United close in the cup last year. And not an understrength United either.

Of the teams that came down from the Prem, both Birmingham and West Ham have enough quality to take the two automatic spots for me. West Ham may have lost a few players and will almost certainly say a fond farewell to the current Footballer of the Year, Scott Parker before the August deadline, but the arrival of Kevin Nolan with numb the pain and help the loss of any goals throughout the team. Birmingham have earnt a fair amount of money from players exiting St Andrews and have bought shrewdly in my opinion with very little money leaving the wallet of the much criticised chairman.

Leicester City will threaten again this campaign. They started coming good under the guidance of Sven Goran Eriksson last season and with the new stadium sponsorship deal together with the arrival of Gelson Fernandes, John Pantsil, Paul Konchesky, Dave Nugent and Michael Johnson on a year long loan from Manchester City, you have to expect them to be a very tough team to beat. A play off spot is almost a guarantee with a real push to challenge the top two expected.

The loss of Charlie Adam will hurt Blackpool and that for me will be the main reason why they wont challenge for a play off place this time out. However, I do expect the likes of Nottingham Forest, Millwall, Leeds United, Cardiff and Reading to be in the tope half and there could be a minimal amount of points seperating a lot of teams come May. Every point will be vital this season for all promotion chasing sides.

Predictions -

Winner - West Ham United
Runners Up - Birmingham City
Play Offs - Leicester City
Play Offs - Reading
Play Offs - Cardiff City
Play Offs - Southampton
Relegation - Doncaster
Relegation - Barnsley
Relegation - Peterborough

League One Thoughts and Predictions

A division full of potential promotion contenders for all kinds of reasons also finds itself pegged as the division of over and under achievers. Very few of the 24 strong line up are content at this level. All clubs have ambition, fans have even higher ambitions but most people involved with a team in League One have a realistic expectation and they tend to know the level that their club belongs at. Only 3 or 4 clubs would fit into the 3rd tier bracket when looking at the teams involved. But as a result we could easily see a number of surprises again once 46 games have been played and the dusts settled.

One of last seasons over achievers was Rochdale. A compact ground with a small but loyal fan base helped propel the side into a top 10 finish in what was the clubs first appearance in any division other than the Fourth tier of the English game. Unfortunately, with no strong signings of note and very little money around the club they could well find themselves standing over a trap door in 9 months time.

Looking at teams expected to challenge for the title, there isn't a stand out favourite.

Sheffield United and Preston North End will be up there. That's for sure. Both have large average attendances along with tremendous facilities. The playing squads haven't depleted in the way that most do following relegation and as a result they should have enough quality to challenge for the two automatic places. Huddersfield have been going from strength to strength but I expect them to miss out on the automatics again this season, instead settling for a play off berth. The same goes for MK Dons.

Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic are always tipped to be up toward the top but there's a worrying decline running throughout those two clubs and I really hope they both manage to turn things around soon. Both have tremendous stadiums and Sheffield Wednesday still have one of the largest fan bases in the UK. An amazing stat considering they've been absent from the Premier League for more that 10 years now.

Chesterfield are one of the new boys and moving very much in the right direction. The new B2Net stadium has given them a home to be proud of and obviously given the players a real boost. Attendances rose last season by 76% on the previous campaign. The highest marked rise of any team in England by more than 200%. Having visited recently and seen the facilities throughout the stadium up close and personal, I have to say, it's a good place to be right now. A team to watch.

The home of the £100 season ticket! That's right £100 for 23 home league games. Just over £4 per game! This unbelievable offer from Hartlepool United was snapped up within days. If you want to go and watch them this season you'll need to be prepared to stand as every seat is now sold out. A fantastic idea and one that will boost them from relegation candidates to mid-table hopefuls in my opinion.

Predictions:

Winner - Sheffield United
Runners Up - Preston North End
Play Offs - Huddersfield Town
Play Offs - MK Dons
Play Offs - Charlton Athletic
Play Offs - Chesterfield
Relegation - Rochdale
Relegation - Walsall
Relegation - Stevenage
Relegation - Leyton Orient

League Two - Thoughts and predictions

I get the feeling that this could be one of the closest League Two promotion races for many a year.

Swindon will undoubtedly be a force. Di Canio simply wont let his team fail. At this level, with the players he's brought in and the determination of the whole squad to impress the new boss, it's difficult to see how the can fail to get promotion straight back up to League One.

Crawley have had huge amounts of money pumped into them over the last couple of seasons and with work underway on redeveloping at least one side of their stadium already, you have to feel that the money bag owners are in it for the long haul and not just for a 3 month, Sven Goran Eriksson & Sol Campbell signing exposé like Notts County.

My own hopes for Gillingham's promotion back to a slightly more glamarous league took a turn for the worse last week when Adam Birchall (our new 45 goal a season man) injured his cruciate knee ligaments on just his second substitute appearance and will be out for 6 months.. That said, we've made some excellent signings in Whelpdale & Lee from Peterborough and striker Danny Kedwell from AFC Wimbledon. If we're around the play off places by February/March when we hope to have Birchall back I think we could even make automatic promotion.

Speaking of AFC Wimbledon, many are tipping them to have a long hard season with relelgation a very realistic conclusion. I hope this isn't the case come May. I, along with many others, have followed closely the trials and tribulations of the new Wimbledon's rise back into the public eye and I was delighted to see them overcome a very determined Luton Town at the home of Manchster City in the Conference play off final last year. I think they'll finish mid table.

Bradford have massively under achieved over the past 4 seasons and it's a real shame to see a team of their stature with such an impressive stadium languishing around the lower echelons of the Football League. I dont see them challenging for automatic promotion this year but I fancy them to sneak into the play offs along with Shrewsbury and Torquay. The Shrews being the most dangerous of the three.

Southend have signed a large number of players over the summer and with a very talented (although personality lacking) manager, Paul Sturrock, at the helm I think a head of steam could see them storm up the table and clinch either a play off berth or, depending on the consistancy of the other front runners, maybe even a top 3 finish.

But who knows? I read every article, watch every live game and go to as many as I can but I can't guarantee a winner. No one can. And that's why we all love this game.

Predictions

Winner - Swindon Town
Runner Up - Crawley Town
Third Place - Gillingham
Play Offs - Southend United
Play Offs - Bradford City
Play Offs - Shrewsbury Town
Play Offs - Torquay United
Relegation - Macclesfield Town
Relegation - Barnet

Rising ticket prices

An article on the BBC Sport website today compares the cheapest and most expensive ticket prices from all of the 92 football league clubs. As a Gillingham fan I made the conscious decision to stop going to the Priestfield on a regular basis back in 2004 after many many years of frequenting. The latest figures show us as having the most expensive ticket prices in League Two. A fact that wont surprise any fellow Gills followers..

My reasons for lowering my attendance figures however weren't simply down to money. I've always wanted to see a game at all of the 92 grounds so I decided that the time was right to start showing my face at other grounds to see just how much value for money there was at other stadiums. The sad fact of the matter is that there are many stadiums in the championship and even a few in the Premier League that offer cheaper tickets, better football, better facilities and better views. Less money for more quality? That's a no brainer surely?

On one side of the coin it most certainly is. On the other, it's not.

I've read through people's posts saying "just stop going" and "no one forces you to go". These statements are true without a doubt. But our own clubs live deep within our hearts. If you're passionate enough, money doesn't come into it. You'll find a way to pay for your ticket, programme, pie and tea.

It's not a new issue.. It's a very old one simply rearing it's ugly head at a time when we should all be looking forward to a brand new season of the beautiful game.