Ole Ole Ole

It's football season once again. And once again it is the time for predictions, taunts to opposition clubs, and lots of anxiety as to what entertainment and action this season will bring. Some clubs have been very active in the transfer market and some not so much. Here's my take on the so called top 8 clubs at the cream of European Football. All these clubs aspire to win every tournament they enter. But of course not all of them can. Here's what I personally feel about them.

Barcelona: Very active in the transfer market. Alves is a brilliant signing albeit a little overpriced, but hey aren't all signings overpriced these days. Kieta is decent signing, much better overall player than their last year's Yaya Toure signing who was pretty much rubbish. Ronaldinho is gone, which is the best thing to have probably happened to them. Guardiola is in charge, for people who don't know what that means, it's almost like a Keane managing ManUtd or something to that effect. I don't expect them to do much this year but they are building a team. As the Spanish cycle goes, they should be very strong by next season.

Real Madrid: After many days of the failed pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo, they have had an unusually quiet summer. Usually big players in the transfer market, it is their first summer in many a year, when they have made less than 5 transfers. Baptista sold to Roma, was a good deal at 15 million euro. And Van der Waart was a steal from Hamburg. With quite a decent squad, they should take the league pretty easily, but I don't know if they are good enough to be European Champions just yet.

Arsenal: Hleb, Flamini gone. Nasri In. Quiet summer by their standards as well. Arsenal this year are younger than ever before. Only God knows what Wenger is thinking. This squad needs a bit of experience to actually win trophies and not just play beautiful football. I don't see them doing too much this year.

Liverpool: Keane was a brilliant signing. Probably the best striker combination in the premier league, with Torres and Keane, they should be scoring a lot more goals and winning a lot more games. Alonso might leave anytime soon, but they have enough depth in the squad to challenge for the title be it in England or in Europe. I hope they play more on the ground and live up to how they look on paper. Top 3 finish in the league and final 8 in the champions league for sure.

Chelsea: What a squad! Great manager! and a drive to win especially since they were so close last year. Deco and Bosingwa are pretty decent signings and they have only lost the old horse Makelele. With probably Robinho joining their ranks, they are my bet for English champions this season, and to have quite a strong Champions League run as well.

Manchester United: Double Champions, it looks like they will have a tough time defending both those crowns. Extremely quiet in the transfer market, with zero sales or buys (although Berbatov might join soon), they are depleted by injuries in the starting part of the season, will hope for their talisman Ronaldo to be back and take them to the heights they achieved last season. I'd say they will fight it hard with Chelsea for the league, and will have a strong European campaign as well.

AC Milan: I hope Ancelotti knows what he is doing with such a glorious club. Random signings like Ronaldinho and nothing to improve their ageing defence. I predict a disaster season for them, be it in the league or in the UEFA Cup.

Inter Milan: As usual, they make many signings in the summer, and seem to have a squad the size of 2 average sized ones. That precisely is their mistake, they have lots of half-stars and they are just not good enough to make it big in the European stage. They might still end up dominating their league and win it just because there is not enough competition.

Worthy Mentions: Juve have a decent team, but it will take time to get back to the heights they are known for. Roma are very unpredictable and can hope for a strong league finish at most. Munich might enter the European fray if they manage to play some decent football with the nice looking squad that they posses. Atletico and Villareal are very nice teams, but I don't think they will proceed very far in the Champions League but will almost surely finish in the top 4 of La Liga again.

Now, it's time to sit back and enjoy one more season of Topsy turvy, unpredictable and the ever so awesome game called football.