EPL Season’s Preview

Despite my best efforts to explore topics beyond football in recent weeks, the allure of the new EPL season is too much for me to resist. A leopard can’t change its spots, eh? I warn you now, not to read further unless you follow football closely because most of it won’t make sense otherwise. But I hope that even if you don’t read the entire post, you would at least have the courtesy of leaving a generic comment like good post, nicely written etc.

Predictions:

Champions

Chelsea: A controversial choice I know, but they have the players to do it. With Lampard and Drogba staying Chelsea have received a massive boost. Bosingwa’s arrival will sure up the problematic right back spot. Scolari is an excellent coach and will get the best out of his Portugese contingent. With Cech in goal and the first choice pairing of Terry and Carlvalho fit simultaneously, the Blues will be miserly at the back. Drogba upfront, followed by a host of goal scoring midfielders will provide the attacking impetus. Ronaldo’s audacious tally of 40 goals was the difference between ManU and Chelsea last season and since I can’t see him matching that Chelsea are my pick for the title.


Runners Up

Man United: Fergie hasn’t made any additions to his squad so far and with inspirational figures Scholes, Giggs and Neville getting close to the end of their careers ManU could have done with some reinforcements. A striker is a priority and while Berbatov and Henry have been mooted, neither seem forthcoming. I don’t expect Ronaldo to be as prolific as last season and in any case the inspirational winger will be sidelined for at least two months. ManU will have another good season, but I expect them to just miss out on the title to Chelsea.

Champions League Places (3rd and 4th place)

Arsenal and Liverpool: In that order. Despite a midfield exodus which has seen a creative midfielder (Hleb), a workaholic (Flamini) and an enforcer (Gilberto) leave the Emirates for pastures anew, Wenger won’t be perturbed. The all too familiar pattern of star players leaving Arsenal and youngsters filling the void is likely to repeat itself. Samir Nasri is a great buy and will fit in perfectly in Wenger’s quick passing system. Expect Fabregas to be brilliant again. Arsenal to finish third, comfortably ahead of Liverpool.

Liverpool have brought in Robbie Keane who is likely to become an Anfield favorite very quickly. If his form for Spurs is anything to go by, the Red scousers can expect 20 goals and 15 assists from the Irishman. However, despite boosting their goal scoring potential, Liverpool still haven’t done anything to strengthen their squad in terms of wingers and full backs. With Kewell and Risse gone the only feasible option on the left is Babel, who doesn’t seem ready to play week-in, week-out yet. Expect Pennant on the right to have another mediocre season and Kuyt and Gerrard being forced out of position to compensate.

Uefa Cup Places (5th to possibly 7th , depending on results of the Cups)

Between Spurs, Villa, Pompey and Everton: Spurs seem most likely to finish fifth. With Berbatov likely to stay, Bent’s explosive pre-season form and the signings of Bentley, dos Santos and Modric, Spurs look well equipped to be the closest challengers to the top 4. Robbie Keane’s astuteness and creativity will be missed but Ramos has spent the money he made off Keane’s sale wisely. Beating Roma 5-0 in the pre-season has made a very definite statement and Spurs will be keen to shrug off the disappointment of underachieving last season. However, it is still a worry that a frail defense might be their undoing if Leadley King continues to have injury problems.

Villa have been spending freely this summer and Martin O’Neil has done well to bolster his squad with proven performers. Luke Young, Nickey Shorey, Steve Sidwell, Carlos Cuellar and Brad Friedel are all value for money signings; and if reports are anything to go by, O’Neill isn’t finished yet. However, keeping their inspirational skipper Barry will be the key. It’ll also be interesting to see how Villa cope with the added pressure of European engagements. Expect young guns Agbonlahore and Ashley Young to sizzle again.

Portsmouth have pulled off something of a coup by bringing Crouch to Fratton Park. The giant striker looks a great partner for the diminutive Defoe and the pair has contributed immensely to the optimism at Pompey. With a solid squad overall Harry Redknapp’s men are likely to be in the top six.

Last year’s fifth place finishers Everton have seen their squad being ravaged by departures and injuries. Moyes so far has struck an impasse in the transfer market and will need to pool all his resources to be competitive. Highly rated academy scholars, Jose Baxter, Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling were the bright spots of a disappointing pre-season and might have important roles to play through the season for the Toffees. The only thing the transfer window has brought so far for Everton is despair and pessimism but the arrival of any of the transfer targets- Moutinho, Vagner Love, Diego Milito, Stephen M’Bia and Alan Smith- will mark a dramatic change in their fortune. However, despite my love for Everton, I can only see them finishing seventh or lower this season.

Dark Horses

Sunderland- Roy Keane has been given good money to spend and has already brought in Teemu Tanio, Steed Malbranque, Pascal Chimbonda and El-Hadji Diouf. It is unlikely that Keane’s spending spree is finished and I expect the Black Cats to finish ahead of some more fancied rivals like Blackburn, West Ham and Newcastle.

Best Buy

Giovanni dos Santos (Tottenham) - For an upfront fee of only about £4.5 million the Mexican playmaker seems an excellent bargain. Already impressive in pre-season expect the talented youngster to take the league by storm. Also, Bentley, Robbie Keane, Luka Modric and Samir Nasri are all likely to be great signings.

Biggest Flop

Johan Elmander (Bolton) – Elmander has come at a fee close to £10 million and his performances at Euro 2008 didn’t indicate anything special. He has been good in the French League the last two seasons but a 10 million price tag might be too much to live upto. Gary Megson might end up looking stupid by signing Elmander and selling Diouf for a fee in the region of £2 million.

Player of the Season

Michael Essien (Chelsea) - Since I’m picking Chelsea to win ,I expect a Chelsea player to be the player of the season. Jose Bosingwa’s arrival will ensure that Essien doesn’t have to fill in as a right back. The influential Ghanaian is likely to be a constant in his preferred midfield role, following the departure of Makelele and his drive and energy might be what leads Chelsea to glory.

I’m sure the usual suspects- Lampard, Gerrard, Fabregas and Ronaldo, will also be right up there when the honors are distributed.

Young Player of the Season

Theo Walcott (Arsenal) – Being a die-hard Evertonian I can be insanely optimistic and say that 16 year old Jose Baxter will burst on to the scene and be the next Rooney, but if I’m being objective I’ll pick Walcott. Hleb’s departure will translate into more first team opportunities for the Arsenal youngster and I expect him to weigh in with his share of performances on the wing and through the middle.

Top Scorer

Fernando Torres (Liverpool) - With Robbie Keane by his side El Nino would be the favorite to retain his Golden Boot, but expect him to be pushed by Drogba and Adebayor.

Tata Nano: Innovation for Progress?

Delhi’s Success Story

I generally blog about anecdotal incidents or sports but I’ve decided to write on something more serious this time. To set the tone for the post, I’ve been really impressed with the development of public transport in Delhi over the last few years. The Metro, a bus fleet running on CNG and the introduction of modern low floor buses (which will completely replace the existing pack by 2010) has given the Clean Delhi Green Delhi campaign a necessary impetus from the government. Over the last five years Delhi has actually become cleaner and greener; the road congestion has eased up significantly (though there is still a long way to go) and the air is breathable again. So why has Delhi shown signs of improvement when every other metro in India has continued its fall into the ceaseless abyss of degradation? The answer is simple: if the public transport system of a city is good enough, people use their own vehicles less and less. This means less traffic, less pollution and more money for the government to reinvest in public transport. Let me prove my point, India has very few cars per person in comparison to London, yet the latter has cleaner air because people use the public transports much more than their cars.

Subsidizing

So at a time when the government should be following the Delhi model earnestly all over India, The Left in West Bengal decided to offer enormous subsidies, starting with ridiculously cheap land in Singur, to one of India’s most influential business families for building the Nano. Subsidies mean lesser money for the government to improve public transport. The reason I keep harping about public transport like a broken record is because cars in India take up more than 75% of road space and move less than 20% people. A comprehensive study hasn’t been conducted on the corresponding emission ratio but it is well known that the particulate matter released per person carried by cars is way higher than public transports.

The Tata Nano

When the Nano was under development the rumor mill suggested a car without a roof, a body of plastic and curtains for doors! People at the launch Expos actually tapped on the Nano to make sure that is was made of metal :) . To give credit where it’s due, the Tatas have given us a real vehicle, not a matchbox with a motor, which meets all quality standards of small passenger cars. The final design stands at 1,322 pounds, has a 623cc engine housed in the rear (which gives extra leg room), an advertised fuel economy of almost 21Kms/Liter (to put things in context that is almost as much as Ajit’s 2 year old Karizma), a top speed of 105 Kmph, a fuel tank that holds about 14.75 Liters and meets Euro IV emission standards. Its exterior is 8% smaller and its interior is 21% roomier than the Maruti 800. To sum up, the Nano is a car that takes up least space, has the lowest emissions and the highest fuel economy. Wait a minute… how come I’ve gotten so pro-Nano all of a sudden, did the Tatas get wind of my blog and bribe me to change my opinion. Sorry, got caught up in a day dream, the Nano is undoubtedly a miracle of engineering but India is just not ready for it! Read on…

The Problem

The Tatas address the problems related to the Nano by suggesting that if Nanos were to replace all of its more polluting counterparts on Indian roads, the traffic congestion would ease up and the air quality would improve. Despite skirting the issue with trademark business acumen the Tatas won’t even be able to convince air-borne bacteria that there are no problems whatsoever. True, if every other private vehicle in India was replaced with a Nano this would indeed be the case but a Nano won’t just replace it would add a torrent of cars to Indian roads.

Middle class household incomes in India start at roughly $6000 per annum and so the affordability of the Nano is likely to create millions of new drivers. According to the Mumbai based credit rating agency Crisil, 8 million Indians currently own cars and 18 million Indians have the means to buy one. Once the Nano is launched it will increase the potential pool of new drivers 65% from 18 million to 30 million. People who could never dream of buying a car will now start saving every rupee for the Nano, those who could earlier afford one will now be able to buy 2, entrepreneurs will invest in fleets… to the common man this might be a dream come true, to them the Nano means independence, enhanced social status and greater mobility. But as a substantial fraction of Indians rejoice at the thought of owning a Nano, those with more foresight are treading with extreme caution. Nobel Prize winner R.K Pachauri has already admitted to having nightmares about the Nano. The fact of the matter is that low emission isn’t the same as no emission. "The car itself is fuel efficient, but the city (Bangalore) is already at emergency levels in terms of air and noise pollution," says Leo Saldanha, director of the Bangalore-based Environmental Support Group. The situation across other Indian cities is not much better and a deluge of Nanos will choke the last remaining packets of green space. Pollution isn’t the only major problem. Indian roads at the moment are simply not ready to sustain the Nano. Imagine going to Godowlia in the evening after Nanos hit Banaras. It’s not that we can build too many more roads to help ease the congestion. 20% of Delhi is already covered in roads and with the ever increasing population there’s hardly any space left.

Nano Isn’t the only Car to Worry About!

The imminent launch of the Nano has sprung several of Tata Motors’ rivals into action. Hyundai has already announced plans for a $3,700 car. Renault-Nissan has teamed up with Bajaj to put 400,000 of its own ultra-low-cost cars on the road by 2011. General Motors is rumored to be working on a Nano-killer with China's Wuling Automotive.

For me the Nano is a very clear presage of catastrophe a decade hence!