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Chasing history Man Utd seeks record fourth English title in a row
LONDON (AP) -- Manchester United is an overwhelming favorite to do something no other team has done before -- win the English league title four years in a row. Champion in seven of the last nine seasons, the Reds are among several clubs who have won four out of five and ties Liverpool for five out of six. But even the great Liverpool teams of the 1970s and '80s never made it four in a row and, in Alex Ferguson's final year as manager, United has a great chance to achieve that mark and eclipse its great northern rival. When the Premier League kicks off August 18-19, once again the leading challengers appear to be Arsenal -- runner up for the past three seasons -- UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup titlist Liverpool plus Leeds and Chelsea. After that, according to the bookmakers, the best bet is Glenn Hoddle's Tottenham at 66/1. Ladbrokes are quoting Manchester United at 8/11 -- that's 11 pounds to win eight. In a bid to catch up with United, which won the title by 10 points last season, Arsenal and Chelsea have been among the busiest in the transfer market. The Gunners hired five players and Chelsea four, including former Arsenal favorite Emmanuel Petit from Barcelona. Ferguson, however, went for quality rather than quantity and spent almost twice as much on just two players -- Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio for 28.1 million pounds (US$39.3 million) and Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven for 19 million (US$26.6 million). Veron must fight for a regular midfield place along with Roy Keane, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt while Van Nistelrooy, who almost joined the Reds a year ago until being sidelined for eight months because of a severe knee injury, has Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as rivals in the front line. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger persuaded the owners to spend 28 million pounds (US$39 million) on striker Francis Jeffers from Everton, Dutch midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst from Glasgow Rangers, England international goalkeeper Richard Wright from Ipswich and Japanese midfielder Junichi Inamoto from Gamba Osaka. Arsenal's most eye-catching move, however, cost nothing. After serving Tottenham for eight seasons, England central defender Sol Campbell stunned its fans by moving down the road to the team they dislike the most. Chelsea, who slipped to a disappointing sixth under Claudio Ranieri, has refreshed its squad by recruiting Petit and Dutch winger Boudewijn Zenden from Barcelona, future England star Frank Lampard Jr. from West Ham and William Gallas from Olympique Marseille and appears capable of a top four finish this time. Ranieri has had something of a clearout too, selling Uruguayan midfielder Gustavo Poyet to Tottenham, fiery captain Dennis Wise to Leicester, French World Cup defender Frank Leboeuf to Marseille and leftback Jon Harley to neighbor Fulham. By contrast, Liverpool and Leeds were pretty quiet in the transfer market. Gerard Houllier, satisfied with the squad that won three titles last season, sold leftback Christian Ziege to Spurs and replaced him with Norwegian international John Arne Riise from French club Monaco. Leeds secured the full-time transfer of Robbie Keane from Inter Milan having had the young Irish international striker on loan for much of last season. Of the main contenders for United's title, Liverpool appears the strongest, especially if its trio of England strikers, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Emile Heskey, stay fit. Finnish forward Jari Litmanen starts an English season for the first time while Czech stars Vladimir Smicer and Patrik Berger plus England international Nicky Barmby are also in a very strong squad of attacking players. Jamie Redknapp had recovered from long-term injury to join a talented midfield which also includes Steven Gerrard, who is expected to be a standout player for England in the next few years. Leeds' fortunes could depend on whether midfielder Lee Bowyer and defender Jonathan Woodgate are acquitted at their October retrial for allegedly taking part in the beating of man in downtown Leeds. A jury was unable to come up with verdicts in the first trial. The Aussie duo of Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell will be joined in attack by England newcomer Alan Smith. Of the remaining 15 clubs, Tottenham at last appears equipped to gain a top six finish even without Campbell. Hoddle, a standout player for Spurs in the 1980s, has recalled striker Teddy Sheringham from Manchester United while his other big name signings are Ziege and Poyet. Newcastle, with Bobby Robson in charge, has hired French forward Laurent Robert from Paris Saint Germain and Welsh striker Craig Bellamy from relegated Coventry but still looks like struggling until former England captain Alan Shearer returns from a long term injury. Neighbor Sunderland looks more likely to gain a top eight place while promoted Fulham, managed by former French star midfielder Jean Tigana and with the money of Harrod's owner Mohamed Al Fayed to spend, is likely to finish in the top half of the standings. As something of an unknown quantity, Tigana's team likely will surprise the other Premier League clubs. It starts with a game against Manchester United at Old Trafford and could well come up with an upset in the opening round of games. Ipswich will do well to emulate its fifth place finish, while Aston Villa, Leicester and Charlton will be around halfway way and Walter Smith's Everton, even with Tomas Radzinski on the strikeforce, likely will flirt with relegation again. Of the other promoted teams, Blackburn, with Graeme Souness in charge, should be strong enough to avoid getting involved in the relegation struggle but Bolton, which regained its top flight spot through the promotion playoffs, is hot favorite to go straight back down. If it does, it could well be joined by Southampton and West Ham. The Saints, despite moving to a new ground at St. Mary's, has lost the coaching skills of Hoddle while West Ham is in a similar situation, having parted company with Harry Redknapp towards the end of last season. The Hammers have bought England international goalkeeper David James from Villa but manager Glenn Roeder has been unable to persuade any other big names to join. Derby County, even with Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli on the lineup, is another team fearing the drop but Middlesbrough, with former Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren in charge, should stay clear of trouble.
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