Premiership Preview - Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea

Bolton Wanderers
Last Season: 7th

Like the substitute teacher stepping in to oversee a class, Sammy Lee will be following Sam Allardyce’s lesson plan. Bolton’s season is as much about seeing how Lee copes with the pressures of top-flight management than anything else. He has a wise head on top of that small body, and he’ll be looking to build on Allardyce’s good work in order to push towards a European place.

Europe is probably Bolton’s best chance of success this season, and expect them to mount a strong campaign in the UEFA Cup. Lee has learnt from managers such as Allardyce, Gerard Houllier and Sven Goran Eriksson, but despite that, many people believe he has what it takes to succeed.

Players such as Kevin Nolan, Gary Speed and El-Hadji Diouf will be as important to Bolton’s plans as ever, with Lee unlikely to drastically alter the physical approach on the field, or the high-tech one off it, that brought Allardyce so much success over the years.

Central to their plans of course will be Nicolas Anelka, if he stays healthy and happy then Lee could enjoy an impressive start to his managerial career. Rumours persist over Anelka’s departure (don’t they always) and the new manager will have to do his best to ensure that the Frenchman stays at the Reebok.

Bolton won’t face any relegation trouble, and will occupy the top half of the table for the majority of the campaign. As for gaining a European place through the league, that may well be beyond Lee in his first season. The cups could be a different matter though…

Key Man: Jussi Jaaskelainen. Reportedly close to leaving Wanderers in the summer, the Finn is an excellent last line of defence.
One to Watch: Danny Guthrie. Highly thought of by Rafa Benitez at Liverpool, the youngster will try and impress on his year long loan deal.
This Season: Top half, with one or more good cup run.

Chelsea
Last Season: 2nd
The ‘Special One’ loses the trophy that’s been his personal property since he arrived in England, and how does he react? By snapping up everyone he can find on free transfers.

While Tal Ben Haim, Steve Sidwell and Claudio Pizarro have to be considered more as functional signings than frivolous, the purchase of Florent Malouda certainly adds talent to the attacking ranks at Stamford Bridge, which will of course be further swelled if the real Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack replace useless clones we saw last season.

Seeing their title go to Manchester will add even greater desire to Mourinho and his players, and with world class talents like Cech, Terry, Lampard, Essien and Drogba throughout the team, it would be a brave man to bet against Chelsea recapturing their crown this season.

But is the hunger still there? Roman Abramovich desperately wants the Champions League, one suspects Mourinho does too. Another semi-final defeat simply isn’t good enough. So with United and Liverpool both reinforcing their squads, could Chelsea take their eye off the domestic ball?

Injuries to key players at key times cost them last season, and with Drogba, Mikel and Essien all set to be missing for up to a month for the African Nations Cup at the beginning of 2008, the Blues will certainly feel their absence.

There is of course the continuing Mourinho-Abramovich soap opera to consider. The Portuguese was never going to leave this summer, despite what many people thought, but expect the rumblings of discontent to emerge at the first sign of a problem.

Like it or not, they are bound to be there or there-abouts when the trophies are handed out, and with Mourinho in charge, it’s unlikely to be dull.

Key Man: Michael Essien. Shifted into defence due to injuries last season, but a powerful force when restored to central midfield.
One to Watch: Florent Malouda. Already appears to have seen off Robben and Wright-Phillips; Joe Cole and Kalou could be next.

This Season: They’ll miss their Africans in the winter, but if they're still in with a chance when they return they could go all the way again.