ManU, Man City
Yo dog I heard you like money so the Glazers got some more money from Adidas this year to throw in with their money and spend even more money; their
yearly income over the next decade will be around half a billion dollars. Man City isn't that rich, but they've got money on the back of their recent success, and they're not afraid to spend it. Man City does not have the historical brilliance of ManU, but of late they've become quite a team, winning 2 of the last 3 titles, while ManU can still claim 5 of the last 8.
To put things in perspective, though, most English fans would scoff at the idea of grouping ManU and ManCity like that (aside from rivalry talk), as prior to City's FA Cup win in 2011 and subsequent prosperity, they hadn't won shit in 40+ years, cups or leagues.
As of today, though, those are the 2 most recently successful teams and likely to stay competitive for the top for the foreseeable future.
And ManU will be outspending everybody now.
ManU players to watch:
RvP: Brilliant when he's on
Rooney: Not excited about the prospect of van Gaal making RvP captain. Expect him to give everything he's got to prove he's the player so many say, and prove that he has earned the right to, and can successfully lead that team again.
Dutch Transfers: Daley Blind talk started the moment he hooked up with RvP with that unbelievable through ball to a spot in the air 40+ yards away. Before that there was already talk about Martins Indi and de Vrij. There are questions over what van Gaal would want to do with the midfield at ManU, and the answer may well be to bring in his own.
With the specific talks we're hearing, I expect van Gaal to switch the team to a 4-3-3 or even use wingbacks with RvP and Rooney up front and hope to continue to use Blind in a holding midfield role instead of letting him get back to left back. Should be very interesting to watch them build and see who they get.
Man City players to watch:
Joe Hart (GK): Will he be the guy that wins Golden Glove (most shutouts) every season? Or will he be the guy that's been fading for a while, gave up 2 per game in the WC, and got briefly benched last year? They've brought in competition for him, but it's probably not serious competition.
Jesus Navas: Really fun player to watch. He doesn't have the finishing of Robben or even Oscar, let alone the distance shooting of Robben and Sneijder, but he has the speed and ball skills to match anybody out there, and he's really creative from the wing. His being left out of most of Spain's WC looks extremely questionable after Torres, Silva, Villa, Pedro, etc. all accomplished jack shit.
Yaya Toure: The definition of all around player, and not only is he capable of playing every position on the field, but you'll actually find him in just about every position on the field at some point or another in a given game. He's a big strong dude that can body people around and is fantastic defensively, and at the same time has the technical skills to create or follow up and finish. Plus, his name is Yaya.
Pablo Zabaleta: brutal defender that's always entertaining to watch, even when Eden Hazard is breaking his ankles from 5 feet away.
The rest of EPL's big 4: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool
Chelsea is the only team other than ManU or Man City to win a title since Arsenal did it in 2003. They won in 04 and 05, and were the combo breaker in 2009 when ManU won the 3 before and the 1 after that. They have a living legend in goal, and probably the most exciting young attacking mid and winger combos in football with Oscar and Eden Hazard. They also added Cesc Fabregas this year, making them one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the world if Torres plays well.
Chelsea would probably be the most "hipster" of the big 4 in the U.S., as the others all have bigger names here for various reasons.
Players to watch:
Petr Cech: as mentioned, a living legend in goal. Records everywhere, probably the most famous name ever in goalkeeping. He's more likely to shut teams out than not. He's 32, watch him while you still can.
Eden Hazard: is a freak with the ball. He wasn't that great in this world cup, but he absolutely has Messi-like potential. He also creates incredible space and opportunity for...
Oscar: He showed signs of brilliance in this world cup, but they needed him to be truly great... which he can be. At his best he could have changed that Germany game early, he found the opportunities and just couldn't capitalize. He could, potentially, develop into an even better version of Wesley Sneijder. He's not far from it already when he's playing well. Even though he only finished one, he did some shocking things to a fantastic German defense.
Willian: WIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAA AAAANNNNNNNNN
Arsenal: The first thing that needs to be mentioned about Arsenal is that they're theoretically the most successful soccer team ever, although ManU has taken over that position over the last couple of decades. Arsenal remains the only team to have gone an entire season without a loss, when they (obv) won the title in 2003. Unfortunately they haven't had a title since.
The second is that Arsenal ownership is... different. It's not exactly publicly traded, but there are shares and it's run by a board of directors. However, recently they've been basically letting someone (the guy that owns the rams, among many others) buy it all. Currently he has like 65% and one other guy has about 30; just a few years ago nobody had more than about 20.
Despite having serious cash reserves, Arsenal is known to field a young team, and not spend a lot of money on big name scorers, even selling them off when they develop their own (see: RvP). They're infamously defensive minded, and they tend to feature holding midfielders that advance very deliberately and don't push up into the wing nearly as much as the teams that stack their front line and throw in attacking midfielders right behind them. They'd rather just let a good attacking midfielder play as a forward and bring in even bigger bodies behind them (again, see: RvP).
Arsenal players to watch:
Jack Wilshere: One of the youngest players ever to mage the English national team, is in kind of a weird spot at this club. He's probably a true center midfielder, best playing box to box and creating, while occasionally finishing when the opportunity arises. But, Arsenal uses him mostly as a wing now... and the national team likes to use him as a holding mid lol. In the end, what you get from him is a pretty exciting player that even as a winger will tend towards at least as many assists as goals. Also he got suspended for flipping off the crowd last year lol.
Per Mertesacker: Big badass german central defender. Named Mertesacker. Nuff said.
Mesut Ozil: Don't think I need to say much here after his world cup. Everything on this team goes through him, and he's the reason Wilshere isn't needed in a position he'd be fantastic in. He's definitely one of the best players in the world at the moment, and between him and Per this is a pretty exciting team for fans of Germany.
Alexis Sanchez: Arsenal has suddenly broken their own rule this offseason, and spent a decent amount on a threat up front. He doesn't make them one of the holy wtfness front lines, but he changes the offensive dynamic significantly. In him they have speed, and particularly runs to the flag, that they haven't had in years. Not to mention, he's a pretty damn exciting finisher... who they'll probably sell for twice what they paid in 3 years.
Liverpool... has not lived up to its reputation as of late, but remains one of the most popular teams in the world. Their most recent major success was when they won the League Cup (English club team tourney) in 2003, then went on to win the UEFA champs league and the super cup for 04-05. They haven't won the EPL since it was just called the First Division, in 89. However, they have been runners up twice recently, in 2008 and again last year. They're in a very interesting position right now, having been runners up but also having sold their best player... for an exorbitant amount of money. They also have some pretty serious young potential waiting in the wings in Samed Yesil and the newly acquired Emre Can (who may even be a difference maker immediately). Look for them to be spending the shit out of all that cash over the coming weeks. Also, Liverpool started the sponsor names on soccer jersey shit, just fyi.
Liverpool players to watch:
Rickie Lambert: Started with Liverpool's youth program, but was released when he was 15. He has made his way through the top 4 leagues in England, Starting in the "3rd' (fourth highest) division, being sold first up, then down, then back up a couple times, before landing in Southampton in the 2nd highest league after they'd been relegated from premier league. After just missing the playoffs largely on his back his first year, they won the playoff to be promoted back into premier league after his second. He played 2 years there in the premier league, and with an obvious fade after scoring 15, then 13 goals, (he was scoring 30+ in the next division) he comes to Liverpool at 32 hoping to live out his lifelong dream and be a creative and effective, though not the most talented or exciting, finisher. He's already making a name for himself, having shown up to camp early and working his ass off as soon as he got there.
Philippe Coutinho: One of the best passers in the world today. A true playmaker in midfield, his being left out of the Brazilian world cup was questioned from the start, and attacked pretty harshly starting as soon as they played a game. It's really amazing sometimes the openings he sees, it's as if he's watching on an overhead cam while everybody else has to play in first person.
Jose Enrique: One of the most exciting wingbacks in the world. If you're the type of person that noticed how much of a presence Dirk Kuyt had for the Netherlands, you're in for a treat here. Where Kuyt was a forward playing wingback, this is the perfect natural role for Enrique. On a lot of really good teams, you would expect that everything goes through Coutinho, but that's not the case here. Enrique is just as creative and completely changes the dynamic of defending against a player like Coutinho. The goals can come from a serious variety of places on this team, and these 2 are a huge reason why.