English Premier League: The Battle in the Capital

Football enthusiasts around the world would have to concur that this is often the toughest time as a fan. This is merely due to the fact there is no any football action and they have to scavenge for transfer stories and rumours linked to their respective clubs. However, as the clock runs down to the return of the Premier League, a battle is brewing inside London. This is no ordinary feud but a supremacy battle that has existed for a couple of decades now. Who will emerge as the best club in the capital; Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal.

Season 2013-2014 has been deemed perhaps one of the most anticipated of them all. These three adversaries have been known to adore going head to head with each other in a bid to prove who amongst them is indeed the real king of the capital. Chelsea made a bold move by dismissing the services of Rafa Benitez to bring back Jose Mourinho for a second spell at the bridge. The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ is the one who the fans love and cherish.

Upon his return, he said he was going to be ‘The Godfather’ due to the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. The 50-year-old coached Inter for two years after leaving Chelsea in 2007, winning an unprecedented treble in Italy including the Champions League and back-to-back Serie A titles before his unhappy stint at Madrid. His return would as always make a massive impact upon the other teams as well as the title challenge. Mourinho is known for his infamous jedi mind tricks during the season campaign; using cunning verbal wars to intimidate his competitors.

Even though he has the support of owner Roman Abramovich, he has not been as busy in the transfer market as people might have anticipated making only one significant signing; Andre Schuerrle. The 22-year-old German international finally made his €21M move from Bayer Leverkusen after it had failed last season. However, Jose will definitely be looking into more players during the window. The Europa League champions will be aiming to fight off the Mancunians for the title come next season.

Over to the north side of London, two opponents well known for their blood-thirsty derbies are also gearing to go up against each other. Even though they were pipped out of the top 4 by their greatest nemesis after a long successful season, Tottenham have proved that they are not team that are walk overs. Villas-Boas men may be out of the Champions League contention – again, but they are still very much at the core of the title race.

Their main man, Gareth Bale, was linked to a number of heavy weights in Europe among them Real Madrid, and was it was believed that his big summer move was on but the Spanish giants were all talk and no bite. It seems more likely that the Welsh international will still be highly involved at the Spurs come next season.

Just in case you forgot, he was the one who single-handedly orchestrated Spurs’ rise in form. It is quite clear that Andre Villa Boas wants him part of the cast and their main aim is to challenge for the title and at least finish above Arsenal who have repeatedly been the thorn in their side especially in the race to break into that elusive top 4 and qualify for Champions League glory.

Tottenham recently acquired the highly rated Paulinho. The Brazilian made his €20 million move from Corinthians and was soon followed by Nacer Chadli, the Belgian FC Twente winger who had spent the past three years in the Dutch Eredivisie.

With such acquisitions, it is clear that AVB wanted to bolster his squad and get ready for the upcoming campaign. The Spurs have an unquenchable thirst for victory and perhaps this coming season they would want to turn words into action.