Premiership Preview - Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur

Sunderland
Last Season: 1st in Championship (Promoted)

Sunderland, or ‘Roy Keane’s Sunderland’ to give them their full name, are promoted to the Premiership for the fourth time. The last two times they’ve been in the big league they’ve been woeful, and Niall Quinn will hope that the money given to the manager this year will ensure that they’ll at least make life difficult for their opponents. But has Keane spent that money wisely?

A staggering £9m has been spent on Craig Gordon, a Scottish goalkeeper (insert your own joke here) while Peter Ridsdale, usually the man being ripped off, got to see someone else pay over the odds for once as Michael Chopra left Cardiff for a hefty £5m. The move allows Ridsdale to finally understand the phrase ‘laughing all the way to the bank.’

Chopra, formerly of Newcastle, will be expected to score the goals to keep Sunderland up, but his lack of top flight experience, coupled with that of David Connolly, Stern John and Daryl Murphy could persuade Keane to look to bring in another striker, with Spurs man Mido mentioned as a possible target.

It was in midfield that Sunderland excelled last season. The tireless Dean Whitehead impressed as did Carlos Edwards, who finally gets to display his talents in the Premiership following spells in the lower leagues with Wrexham and Luton.

Kieran Richardson, now out of his comfort zone at Manchester United, will need to show just why he’s been in the England squad these past couple of years, as it’s a mystery to the rest of us. At £5.5m he could be seen as a gamble, but he did well in his loan spell at West Brom a couple of years ago, and will be expected to be one of the star performers at the Stadium of Light.

The Mackems have an ambition to become an established Premiership club, but if they try to run before they can walk they could find themselves in deep trouble.

Key Man: Michael Chopra. He’s been signed to score the goals to keep Sunderland up, but is he up to it?
One to Watch: Carlos Edwards. He’s looked destined for the Premiership from the moment he first pulled on a Wrexham shirt, now can he take his chance?
This Season: The spotlight will be on Keane rather than his players, of course, and he’s got a tough job on to keep the Mackems up.

Tottenham Hotspur
Last Season: 5th

So what if Spurs paid more for Darren Bent than Barcelona paid for Thierry Henry? Bent is young, hungry and desperate to win trophies, all things that Henry isn’t, and the former Charlton man has joined a club very much on the up.

Gone are the days when Tottenham fans’ biggest worry going into a new season was whether they’d finish tenth or eleventh; now it’s all about Europe.

Only some dodgy lasagne separated them from the Champions League places in 2005/06, and with last year’s equally impressive campaign behind them, expect them to seriously trouble the top four this season.

Of the established ‘Big Four,’ is easy to see that near neighbours Arsenal look the most vulnerable. The Gunners are a club in transition, on and off the field, while Tottenham are experiencing a renaissance.

Martin Jol has established a squad of talented young English players like Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Dawson, Jermain Defoe and Bent, and mixed them with quality foreign players like Dimitar Berbatov, Steed Malbranque and new signing Younes Kaboul. While if any football fan says they don’t enjoy watching Robbie Keane play then they’re lying.

With a bit of luck Tottenham could have won the UEFA Cup last season, and it is Europe that offers them another route to success this time around.

They are still prone to inconsistency, a flaw that ensures that any talk of the title should be ignored, but if they can get it right in a cup competition they have a great chance to win some overdue silverware.

It might be a bit early to start talking about a ‘Big Five,’ but if Tottenham continue to play the entertaining, winning football we’ve seen, then Arsenal have got to watch their backs.

Key Man: Robbie Keane. Jol simply has to find a place for the Irishman in his team, possibly playing in behind two strikers.
One to Watch: Gareth Bale. Everyone wanted him, Spurs got him, and he’ll want to make the left back spot his own.

This Season: If they play to their potential and improve at the back, then gatecrashing the top four is a real possibility.