By Myles Palmer
The season starts tomorrow.
Have Arsenal ever been in better shape than they are right now?
A powerful squad of skilful athletes,a manager that the players like and respect, exciting new challenges in prospect, stadium packed every week – if ever a club looked capable of retaining the title, Arsenal do right now.
LEEDS may be the early season pace-setters if their 3-0 demolition of Manchester City means anything.
BLACKBURN play good football, even if their back four is mediocre.
NEWCASTLE at last have their matchwinner Kieron Dyer scoring the goals that win matches.
When fit and playing central midfield (not wide!), Dyer can win games.
We cannot say yet how good Cheyrou and Diao will be for LIVERPOOL.
Where Bobby Robson has creative midfielders, Houllier has big tough half-backs
I like Diouf because he is so brave.He makes things happen. I love players with bottle.
How Diouf fits in, where he fits in, when he will start scoring regularly, I don’t know.
New club,new opponents, new language-it will take him a while to start performing with real authority.
But Diouf is a far better footballer than Heskey and he can add variation to Liverpool’s one-dimensional,negative style.
I think the kid is a good ‘un.Have a funny feeling he will be playing for Real Madrid in three years time.
Diouf will have to improve a lot, and score regularly, and survive fame and big money, but I think he might do all of those things.
Liverpool are NOT fun to watch, but Diouf is. We’ll see what happens.
Liverpool should beat Aston Villa tomorrow.
Doug Ellis is not the kind of chairman who deserves a successful team and Graham Taylor certainly isn’t the kind of manager who can build one. Merson and Boateng have gone, and Alpay will be next.
BIRMINGHAM can make news if they get lucky at Highbury.
And if they forget that in their first game last season Arsenal went to Middlesbrough and won 4-0.
Could Arsenal beat Birmingham 4-0 tomorrow?
I don’t know. Nobody does. But I doubt it. 2-0 would be fine.
Some papers say CLINTON MORRISON is playing, others say he is injured.
Morrison is an agile,fearless goalscorer who can keep Birmingham up if he comes good in the Premiership.
Not many Nationwide strikers make it in the Prem, except by coming up with their clubs, like Stan Collymore and Kevin Phillips……
It’s too hot tonight to write any more.
It’s Thierry Henry’s birthday today – and also my birthday.
This morning I walked round the corner to buy the papers and talked to John,my gambling greengrocer.
“It’s my birthday today. How old d’you think I am?”
He grinned and said,”Is it the big Hawaii-Five-Oh?”
17th August 2002.