The Next Big Thing pt. 1

The Premier League tome of 20 years provides endless stories, dripping with emotion, pathos, grandeur and glory. Remarkable teams have been constructed and cities have thrived from footballing success. Aside from the Manchester Uniteds, the Chelseas and Arsenals; underdogs have risen and written their own fairytales - and this draws your attention to the quality and legacy of British football. Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Leicester City, Sheffield Wednesday, Wimbledon, Southampton: All sides who were top 10 clubs; and then fell to the third tier of the relentless pecking order.

This year Blackburn Rovers, once great champions of the battleground, look destined to fall from the echelons of British football. Whilst a tragic fall from prominence, the potential lies for new challengers to evolve into footballing superpowers.

The question is; who is the next big club to succeed in the Premier League?

The Contenders:

      STOKE CITY -----

The most progressing club in the recent premier league past is Stoke City. 10 years ago, Stoke won the 3rd Division play-off final. 4 Years ago, they came second in the Championship. This season, they are 8th in the Premier League, in the Europa League knock-out phase and are developing a squad seasoned with international footballers. There is a real air of excitement in the city that the club has established itself as perennial top flight team with the foundations to become a perennial winning team. Stoke's success is built upon 3 factors: The fans, the club structure and the spirit.

The season ticket holders in the Boothen End of the Britannia Stadium are undoubtedly the noisiest, rowdiest and most passionate fans in the country. Defenders facing a corner, free-kick or Rory Delap throw-in are gladiators in a cacophonic amphitheatre, only the striped tigers they fight are >6ft brutes intent on battering their goalmouth.

Stoke's philosophy to date has been hire terminators, press the opposition constantly, score through sheer brutality. They have been a shining example of how to survive in the premier league in the face of the 'play "like" Barce, go down with some swagger' sides. The interested now watch how Pulis develops the side. The additions of Palacios, Crouch, Woodgate and Upson add pedigree to the side (as well as 71 England caps), without compromising the bite of Shawcross and Huth and the Stanley Matthews-ery of wingers Pennant and Etherington. Now the Potters need attacking full-backs, a play maker midfielder and a clinical marksman to push them even further towards the league's elite.

In keeping with the Coates ownership style, this metamorphosis will be done slowly and to a budget - keeping the club in its comfort zone. If constant success continues, the club will be a prime takeover target for overseas investors and that is what will take Stoke City to the top of the English game.


What the future holds for Stoke City:

1. Potential signings 2012: Full-Backs - Wayne Bridge, Nedum Onuoha Midfielders - Junior Hoilett, Nigel Reo-Coker, Jermaine Jenas Attackers - Yakubu, Victor Moses
2. Fill in the stadium corners - lift the stadium capacity to over 30,000 to fund long term development (3,000 extra seats could increase ticket revenues by £2.5m per year). A dome will have to be installed to stop the noise complaints from neighbours in Wales.
3. An England call-up for Ryan Shawcross.
4. Continual top 10 finishes for the next five years, adding good players until European football is more than a one-off. Then the big money will move in and the bigger name marquee signings.

Manchester's Crux... 2012 takes shape tonight

(Mainly West) London acknowledged its perpetual passage into the knockout phase of the Champions League last night. Despite the vulturous, story-hungry press prodding at Andre Villas Boas's less-than-supreme inauguration to the big time; the likelihood of Chelsea's passage was almost as certain as Arsenal's - prior to their night out in Europe's moochy buddy: Greece. Easy to say in hindsight, but we all thought it last night...if we're honest.

In other games, I found a tasty little bet on the bookings in APOEL Nicosia vs Shakhtar Donetsk. A nothing game with a crazy ref (the same who booked 8 in Stoke's ukranian adventure) offered low odds against < 3 yellow cards, a bet which I took, and cashed after half an hour. I shall certainly be keeping a close eye on Mr. Hategan's match appointments over the rest of the season.

On to the pressing matters for tonight's fixtures - scattered from Ajax to Zagreb; Benfica to Basle; the Mediterranean, to Manchester. There are more destiny-deciding games tonight than there were previously, a brief summary of which is enclosed:

• Group D - Lyon must better an Ajax loss by 8 goals to qualify, otherwise, the group is settled.
• Group C - Manchester United must better Benfica's result to win the group. A draw will see them through second if Benfica win. Basel must beat United to proceed.
• Group B - Inter have won the group. A nice tight battle for second and third ensues tonight as a win in Lille vs Trabzonspor takes second. CSKA Moscow can take second if they beat a weakened Inter team in Milan and the match in France ends a draw.
• Group A - The big one. 1st place Bayern Munich host the taunted bull Manchester City in the game the visitors cannot afford to lose. City still need Napoli to drop points at the group's whipping boys - Villarreal, but the longer that 2nd place stays open, the more frantic the games will become.

All in all, the outcomes of these games don't look too difficult to predict. One side of Manchester will be seeing red following a bitterly disappointing Champions League campaign. The other - preparing for the knock-out phases, but more importantly, how to make up ground in the league over the Christmas period. Is life ever this simple?

The irony is that if results do go as predicted tonight, it will strengthen Manchester City's title chances and damage their rivals. With only Europa League football to play in 2012, Man City will want nothing other than the Premier League Title - anything else will be a hollow badge of honour. By winning the Champions League, Manchester United will have the bragging rights, reminding their neighbours of the Manchester United Legacy, and keeping them 'in their place'. Now all they have to do is beat Barcelona first. Or Real. And Basel.

Tonights Betting Tips:

1.  Manchester City vs Bayern Munich - Both teams to score @ 1.74 - Betfair
2. Inter Milan vs CSKA Moscow - Lay CSKA to win @ 2.72 - Betfair
3. Dinamo Zagreb vs Lyon - Bookings Odds - Lay less than 5 points @ 3.15 - Betfair