As another round of internationals hits us footie fans (don't they seem to be coming round sooner and sooner, or is it just me?), it's time to take a quick look at what's been going on over in the Premier League for the last month or so. It's been an interesting month, hasn't it?

The Premier League table now stands 7 games strong, still a long way off from indicating what will happen come May time, but slowly we're getting a picture of the current Premier League big boys and the biggest early flops. And it's probably not much of a surprise to see Chelsea outpacing the rest of the league, as they storm to a four point gap over second placed Manchester City. They've been impressive in almost every game, well-oiled and full of goals. But perhaps they're just too quick off the mark? Can they really keep that impressive up til the end of the season, which is still a long way away? I have a feeling they might struggle come Easter, especially if they pick up some injuries.

As for the other big contenders, Manchester City have come good haven't they? Obviously the money has been pouring in over there over the last year or so, but they've started well, scored goals, and looked strong. It's another question whether or not they've got the winning experience come money time next May, but they have some very talented players on their books, so should be there or thereabouts. Carlos Tevez as skipper I have my doubts about, but I'm not paid billions and zillions so I'll leave it up to Mancini...

Old favourites Arsenal and Manchester United have started reasonably well, with some very nice stuff from Arsenal at times. It's kind of telling though that United, who seem to be notoriously slow these last few seasons at getting into their rythm, are lying in third without setting the world alight. You can be sure that Sir Alex will have his boys firing later on in the season. Wayne Rooney's troubles probably aren't helping much, but Fergie has seen it all before, hasn't he? He'll come good. And if not, off with his head!

At the bottom of the table it's a bit of a surprise to see Liverpool currently lying in 18th place, deep in the dreaded relegation zone. Their boardroom battles seem to be playing a role, although to be honest, I don't see why this should affect top professionals, who should really be going out and giving it their all, whoever their paymaster is. I don't think we'll see Liverpool down there much longer, they should be able to climb up the table fairly rapidly with a couple of good results under their belts.

Surprises of the season so far have to be Blackpool and West Brom, who have struck deep into the Premier League top ten. I'm going to have a wild stab in the dark, but I don't think they'll be there in May. Brave, aren't I?

Prediction time: Chelsea will be champions, followed by Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United, in that order. Going down it has to be the three W's - West Ham, Wolves and Wigan.

Over to you, what do you think will happen come May?

Ah, Wayne Rooney, where do we start with you...

It's possibly been one of the hardest weeks in young Wayne's life, as the media hound him, the public side with his wife Coleen, and even England supporters get on his case during England's crucial away victory in midweek in Switzerland. Despite scoring the opening goal for England, his first goal in open play (for either United or England) since March, he still remained the target of some vicious taunts from the England supporters.

A week filled with countless headlines of Rooney bedding a prostitute while his wife was pregnant is about to to reach its peak though, with Saturday's Premier League lunchtime meetup with Everton. United boss Sir Alex has already hinted that Rooney might be dropped for the match, which, when you look at the fixture and the current media circus surrounding Rooney, makes perfect sense. Wayne did, of course, grow up at Everton, and many over on the blue side of Merseyside still cannot forgive him for leaving for the bright lights of Manchester. That lack of forgiveness would have put Rooney under immense scrutiny, and a probable barrage of non-stop abuse. And despite a tough, street-wise persona, there's only so much a young guy can take, faced by a stadium full of people on your case, with a media pack just waiting for him to crack to keep him in the headlines...

But should we be publically barracking a young man who has simply made a stupid mistake? OK, he is world-famous, earning a Premier League fortune at one of the biggest clubs in the world, but does that give us the automatic right to know every detail of his private life? Should we be taunting him at every opportunity, despite the effects those taunts will have on him and our team (that we are supposed to be be supporting)?

It is a bit of a mess frankly, and could roll on for a long while yet. Who knows, could this be the Premier League's version of a Tiger Woods-like scandal? Will his missus be convinced to stay with him (many would argue that she has only gained any kind of celebrity status because of her relationship with Wayne) or will she chuck him out with the bathwater?

It's all a bit of a shame, as the only people getting harmed by this are the many supporters of Manchester United and England (who probably now have the answer that was vexing them all summer as to the reasons for a very poor World Cup from Wayne Rooney). And, of course, a certain Wayne Rooney, one of England's truly world class footballers. His hero status might be a little tainted this past few days, but is he really the big villain he's made out to be?

There were some impressive results over the weekend in the Premier League, what with Chelsea (for the second week in a row), Arsenal, and even Newcastle, hitting their opposition for six. But perhaps the standout performer from the weekend was the Arsenal starlet Theo Walcott.

Ahh, Theo, where do we start with you? Still only 21, and seemingly around for years, Theo is the victim of his own teenage talent, when he was scarily quick running Championship defences ragged and being constantly tagged as The Next Big Thing. He still is frighteningly fast of course, and when he’s on song, he really is singing. But I think that it’s his lack of consistency which is frustrating many (Arsenal fans, Capello, England fans, Wenger…) and earning him the label of a one trick pony (I think you know what I mean: run fast down the flanks, take on a defender, falls over the ball or a defender’s leg, crowd moans).

Snapped up by Arsenal at the age of 17 from Southampton, he’s been nurtured ever-so-carefully ever since by Arsene Wenger. But injuries have definitely played their part in his stop-start career. Last season was typically off and on and when he needed to perform at the tail end of the season, in order to impress Capello and get a call up for the England World Cup squad, he fell short.

Perhaps being snubbed for the England squad will mean a different Theo Walcott in this season’s Premier League. Maybe he’s also reached an age where he realizes he really must change something. There’s no more room at the inn for steaming down the wing and running into a dead end. Having the summer off, getting fit, having a decent pre-season and now kicking off his campaign with a very well-taken hat-trick might just be the making of a new Theo Walcott.

But can we expect to see more awesome performances like the one against Blackpool this Saturday? Or are we in for yet another inconsistent season, providing more frustration for Arsenal and England fans…?

What do you think? Is Theo Walcott really any good? And are we about to see the dawn of a new Theo…? As an England fan, I really hope so…

So the new Premier League season kicks off today, and to celebrate another much anticipated season we've lined up five things that we think will happen this season. Five things to amaze and delight you, five things that'll have you longing for this new season to get cracking, five things that will surely have your socks rolling up and down, all by themselves...

1. There will be at least one early big name managerial casualty. We're talking one of the Big Boys, as pressure will quickly mount on any team that doesn't get off to the flying start expected by many. We're not sure which Premier League boss will be heading for the chop, but the safe money would have to be on Mancini at Manchester City, if his rebuilt City side fail to get off to anything less than a cracking start. If I had had my football predictions hat on yesterday I would have gone for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. But he apparently put pen to paper on a new deal this morning (or at least it was announced this morning), so the chances of him going would have to be much slimmer now.
2. The surprise team of the season will be... Newcastle. Everybody will be expecting a minimal impact from the Geordies, and this might actually be in their favour. Chris Hughton did a great job to get them back in the Premiership at the first attempt, and with players like Sol Campbell joining them over the summer, they could do well.
3. The clamour for goal-line technology will reach bursting point. There will be a huge match decided by yet another poor refereeing decision, and the calls for goal-line technology will go nuts! Perhaps this will be the season when the FA decide that enough is enough? I expect to see a red-faced, seething Sir Alex to be involved somewhere...
4. The young England players called upon by Capello will shine brightly. The players expected to bring England into the next era will have a great season in the Premier League overall. The Arsenal trio of Walcott, Wilshere and Gibbs will play well when called upon, while Bobby Zamora, Michael Dawson, James Milner, Ashley Young and Adam Johnson will also do well. Will Capello be daring enough to use them in actual Euro 2012 qualifying games, that's the real question...
5. The Premier League's new heroes will be... Hernandez over at Manchester United and Chamakh over at Arsenal. Two strikers brought in over the summer, when given opportunities they will impress. A Rooney-Hernandez partnership could be lethal when in full flow, while the height and skill of Chamakh could finally supply Arsenal with a replacement for Adebayor, especially as Bendtner is out for the first few weeks of the season.

The new Premier League season kicks off in just two weeks time. Oh yesss! Doesn't it seem ridiculous that just a couple of weeks ago we were bathing in World Cup footie, and in two more weeks the English Premiership kicks off yet again?

Not that I'm complaining. It just seems to have been a very short summer, with copious amounts of football to keep us occupied and our minds off boring transfer sagas that usually end up meaning a leading Premiership player being courted by a leading European side (this summer it has of course been Cesc Fabregas being hunted by Barcelona). Transfer rumours that seem to have a lot of life left in them, despite what some might say.

So what will the upcoming Premiership season have in store for us? We'll be posting a preview in the next few days, but the main ingredient I see coming into play is the force of the teams just outside the standard Top Four of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Manchester City look set to be the team to upset the odds this season, as they've gone out and splashed some serious cash over the summer. Without a doubt, their squad on paper now looks like a very strong Premier League Top Four side. It just depends whether or not they have the ability to transfer that potential into reality. A strong start to the season and they could be in with a very serious shout.

Another side that looks like it has the power to compete is Spurs. Led by Harry "I shoulduv been Ingerlund boss" Rednapp, they had a great season last year and are now poised to strike it big in Europe (although have to get through a potentially tricky qualifying match to make it through to the group stages). They've always been the "nearly" side of London, so perhaps the tide is finally turning.

Elsewhere, Everton don't seem to have the financial clout to compete, though will always perform and fight as a team. I would love to see Newcastle do something big, but they really need a stable season to reinstate themselves back in the Premiership. And Aston Villa have perhaps one of the finest British managers around today in Martin O'Neill, but do they have enough to scare the big boys? I fear not.

Anyway, watch out for our review of the upcoming Premiership season, coming soon. We'll also be blogging our way through the season, with attention on each of the major leagues, plus of course the Champions League. We'll also be following the Hunchers Consensus, just to keep a track of how well the Hunchers community is performing. Don't forget to make your weekly football predictions!

So the Premier League season draws near once again. The excitement is slowly building up, I can feel it already. All the big clubs are in their usual pre-season mode, already in training of course, while trying to close any last-minute deals for players (the season starts in less than a month by the way, so those deals had better be wrapped up pretty sharpish!) to get them integrated into their squads in time for D-day. Transfer rumours abound of course, though deals usually take a bit of work before the i's are dotted and the t's crossed...

But one Premier League club that doesn't seem to be too worried about crossing t's and dotting i's is Manchester City. With more money available than they really know what to do with it, City have already splashed the cash and have built themselves up quite a formidable squad for the coming season. Big name signings include David Silva from Valencia and Yaya Toure from Barcelona, while the latest transfer rumours have them linked with Didier Drogba, Balotelli and Aleksandar Kolarov of Lazio. No question that their shopping spree isn't quite over for the summer...

Look too at who they've brought into their coaching ranks this summer. Former England skipper David Platt and Italian Attilio Lombardo (he of the bald head and who starred for Crystal Palace in the Premier League back in the 90s). The backroom staff is an area often critically overlooked, but could it be that City are building themselves an empire of sorts and are laying down the foundations for seasons to come?

Some might say that all that money being spent will build an empire, but will it build a team? There's no doubting that City possess a very talented squad with world-class individuals, but do they have what it takes to go all the way in the Premier League? Will spending even more money on players like Drogba guarantee them a title? Let's face it, Jack Walker's money gifted Blackburn the Premier League title, and without Roman Abramovich's money Chelsea would still be only the second or third best side in London. So yes, money can buy success.

But will all that flash cash turn Manchester City into a club despised and ridiculed, much in the way that Chelsea were in the early days of Abramovich? Nobody likes having wealth flaunted before them, and perhaps City are leering dangerously in that direction. Especially with players like Adebayor on their books. For a club that was just a few seasons ago languishing in the third tier of English football, they've come a long way: financially, spectacularly so over the last year or so. Not that it's gone to their heads, but that club always yo-yoing between leagues, with seasons always poised to end in either success or tragedy, is no more.

And when I stick my fanciest football predictions hat on for the coming season, I see that Manchester City won't be walking away with the Premier League trophy. They should break up the Old Top Four, but I can't see them quite surpassing Chelsea and Manchester United. At least not this season...

I think a few people still don't quite get the man that is Avram Grant. A mate of mine was talking yesterday about how amazed he was at Avram's rise to fame and fortune over the last 4 or 5 years, and if you look at how he's been transformed into one of the top bosses in the Premier League considering his relative anonymity just 5 years ago, it really is quite astonishing.

Hats off to Roman Abramovich, who first had the balls to put his trust in a man largely unknown outside of Israel. And to put his trust in someone who was going to follow in the footsteps of The Special One AND manage his ever expanding roster of amazing and very expensive football talent (Lampard, Drogba, Ballack, Cole...). If I was ever that loaded with cash, I'm not sure I would have had the same trust, so...either Avram knows how to charm a snakecharmer, or he is just very well connected...

After a season which was just a John Terry slip from landing the Champions League trophy, it did appear that Avram might have had his moment in the sun...but no, there he was again, a year later in the arms of Portsmouth on the sunny south coast. Who he then led to the FA Cup Final and almost brought about an amazing victory over his ex-Chelsea players (again, a crappy penalty was perhaps the turning point...). But to the Portsmouth fans he'd become a hero, and instilled a fighting spirit that was never going to save them from relegation from the Premier League, but was going to restore some lost pride. "Legend" I heard some Portsmouth fans describe him on TV...

So now Avram Grant is off to West Ham. In much the same setup as he had at Portsmouth, he will need to instill some pride and passion while on a very tight budget. Will he be able to do it? I think he might just surprise some people again this season. OK, West Ham won't be gunning for the title, but they could certainly challenge the Top Ten...and after the season the Hammers have just had, some of their fans will be very happy to have their own "Legend" come next summer.

With the transfer rumours merry-go-round kicking off big-time, it looks like our favorite big spenders are about to splash the cash. Yep, Manchester City, with their sugar-daddy sheikhs behind them, were probably expected to go a little crazy with their cash this summer, especially after almost striking it big in the Premier League this past season, and news this morning looks set to confirm all suspicions. "Almost" obviously isn't going to be enough for ambitious owners wanting the fame and fortune of a trophy winning side, so cash will certainly be forthcoming to, er, well, Mancini for the moment...

The news from UEFA this morning, that all clubs wanting to play in the Champions League must break even financially by 2012 if they want to take part in European competitions such as the Champions League and Europa Cup, may just mean that we see one last year of excessive spending (and an abundance of even more juicy transfer rumours!) by some of the bigger clubs like City and Chelsea. But we think it's a good thing, Michel Platini's new financial platform, and a lot of clubs will have to adjust their philosophy to the following: you cannot spend more money than you generate. Quite alien to some of these sugar daddies I'm sure, but if it makes for a more level playing field we're for it.

In the meantime of course, City are probably warning up their cheque books for a big session this summer. Transfer rumours are already hotting up, with City being linked to some of the biggest talent in football. It looks like Real Madrid stars Fernando Gago and Gonzalo Higuain, two players who were more than just bit-part players last season, could be in talks with City, while another hot target is Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko (though City will be in a dog-fight with Spurs over his signature). Other big names could follow, of course, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a star or two from the upcoming World Cup on Man City's books for the coming season...

Manchester City to go big-time this coming season? Possible title contenders? Me thinks it will be down to who they sign over the summer. So, keep your eyes out for those transfer rumours!

Before I get too carried away, hats off to Jose Mourinho who proved he's the man of the moment by adding the Champions League to his impressive resume. It wasn't pretty, but I'm guessing there's many a footie fan out there who'd be more than happy to have The Special One at the helm of their club. It looks like Real Madrid is his summer destination, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him weave his magic there too in the coming season or two.

But that just about wraps up the season, doesn't it. Now we've got about three weeks of World Cup warmups...and a heck of a lot of transfer rumours! They're starting to fly in thick and fast and even if most are mere fiction or rumour, they'll keep us entertained. Here's a round up of some of the latest football rumours:

• Yossi Benayoun is heading to Chelsea. Or Roma. Or Dynamo Moscow. What do you think?
• Thierry Henry will be joining West Ham.
• Chelsea are after Torres.
• Steven Gerrard is off to Real Madrid or Arsenal.
• Schweinsteiger is heading for the Premier League.
• Fabregas will be joining Barcelona in the coming days

We'll be following most of these transfer rumours and working out which ones are just leading us down the garden path, and which ones are spot on. You can also help us out - if you hear of anything juicy and exciting we'd love to know. We'll put your thoughts on the blog or on a new section (we haven't decided yet) and then get everybody to vote on the latest transfer rumours, be they fiction or fact.

Go get rumour mongering! 

Whatever you think about Chelsea, they have certainly been the side to beat this season in the Premier League. They might not play as sexily as Manchester United or Arsenal, but they have that ruthless efficiency that true champions possess. Yesterday's victory over Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final at Wembley grabbed them the elusive Double. When you take into account they are only the seventh side to grab the Double - and this in Ancelotti's first season - it makes this season's haul even more impressive.

So our hats are tipped very firmly in the direction of Stamford Bridge this morning, they fully deserve their success.

And with rumours of strengthening the team gathering pace (Torres has apparently been targeted, as suggested by the rumour-mongering press in the UK) this summer could see Chelsea turn into the ultimate footballing machine. Just imagine a line-up next season of Torres and Drogba. If I was a central defender I think I'd pull a sickie on match day...

By the way, if you're looking to keep track of some of the latest football transfer rumours over the long, hot summer, check out the forum, where some of the latest, hottest transfer rumours are being posted. Fully verified, of course! :-)