Micah Richards (Manchester City)
For all Manchester United's quality players and new signings, there is still a potential weakness in the squad. If Gary Neville is injured - and, naturally, that will happen more as he gets older - they have no top class cover. Neither do England - and that could benefit a man plying his trade for Manchester's less illustrious club. There is little doubt that Micah Richards is now seen as England's second-choice right back.
Whether he'll play there for City this season remains to be seen; more than one manager has said he will eventually find himself in the centre of defence. But he will play somewhere - Richards is one of a handful of players from the Pearce era who can be confident that they have a future under Sven. And his contribution will be even more important to his club's ambitions than to his own international aspirations. With Sylvain Distin out of the picture, City's solid defence is in danger of turning shaky. There is no point City finally being able to score goals if they begin conceding by the bucketload. This is the year for Richards to turn from promising kid to quality, consistent performer.
Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United)
Ooh, Edwin, you lucky devil. If Ben Foster wasn't broken, you can bet the Dutchman would have found himself sat on the Manchester United bench at the start of this season, after a number of blunders in the last campaign were followed by some frankly comical goalkeeping on the club's Asian tour. Van Der Sar himself admitted as much, adding: "It is a mistake if you work harder to make up for errors. You have to stick to your routines."
Luckily for Van Der Sar, Foster's injury gives him the chance to do that - otherwise his routine woud be spending 90 minutes sitting behind Sir Alex Ferguson in the luxury boxes that pass for dug-outs at Old Trafford. But as the 36-year-old comes into the last year of his contract, the pressure begins to grow. If Van Der Sar decides to retire next summer, he'll want to go out on a high. If he doesn't plan on pipe and slippers just yet, then a return to his peak form is even more important.
Yakubu (Middlesbrough)
F365 was inundated with letters from angry Middlesbrough fans last week after Sarah Winterburn had the temerity to suggest that they might struggle this season. From a neutral point of view, it's hard to disagree with our Sarah. The loss of Mark Viduka will be a massive blow for Boro. Tuncay Sanli will, even if he is a success, need time to adapt. Jeremie Aliadiere has scored one Premier League goal in the eight years since he turned professional. Middlesbrough's goalscoring hopes rest on one man.
The good news is that that man is arguably the most underrated striker in the country. The bad news is that he failed to hit the target in his last 12 games of last season's campaign. Having grabbed 16 goals before that, it's fair to say Yakubu contributed a fair bit to Boro's season, but, if they manage to fend off his suitors, the Riverside faithful will want more from a man who should certainly be topping 20 goals every year. There's no doubt he has the ability. The same can't be said of some of his teammates - which is why Middlesbrough need Yakubu to get back to his best pronto.
Michael Owen (Newcastle United)
A lot of people will tell you Michal Owen's finished. The injuries have taken their toll, and he hasn't been the same player since he left Liverpool. He's lost his pace. They're wrong. Owen is still a world class goalscorer - the only world class out-and-out goalscorer that England have. He lost a lot of his pace years ago and learnt to live with it, adding a whole new dimension of paoching to his repertoire. His record for Newcastle, even with his injury problems, is a goal every two games. Indeed, he is one of very few strikers who, over the course of his career, has bettered that record; Owen has scored 138 league goals in 226 starts. His record in the cups is even better.
The problem, as everybody knows, is that very few of those games have been played in the last few years. But efforts have been made to change that. Owen returned at the end of last season looking like someone had stuffed American football pads under his shirt, such was the increase in muscle bulk. In Sam Allardyce, he has the best manager the Premier League can offer in terms of keeping players fit - but still, doubts remain. Owen's pre-season has once again been troubled by injury. If he can get fit and stay fit, though, he'll score as many goals as ever. And once he's begun to repay Newcastle's investment, there's a tournament at the end of the season that deserves a full fit and firing Owen to turn up, instead of the ravaged body that appeared at the 2006 World Cup. It's ten years next summer since that goal gave England fans dreams of glory. It's about time Owen did it again.
Sol Campbell (Portsmouth)
Last season, Sol Campbell proved his point on a individual level. The bundle of nerves who was always on the way out of Arsenal after doing a runner halfway through being embarrassed by West Ham was gone. The calm, strong, solid defender was back, and Pompey built one of the meanest defences in the league around him.
But to really prove the point that heading to Fratton Park was a good move - and remember, it's only a year since fans were openly mocking Campbell for making it - Campbell needs to lead his side into Europe this season. If Portsmouth had had a decent set of strikers, they would have managed it last season. Now, after the additions of David Nugent and John Utaka to the squad, they have a real chance to prove that they are firm members of the Premier League's second tier - so long as their defence stays solid. An England recall is too much to hope for, but if Campbell can be a colossus again, the future is bright on the south coast.
Adam Fraser
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