I don’t subscribe to the notion that because the FIFA World Cup produced a brand new Champion, the English Premier League would see a departure from the old faces of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.  To my mind, nothing dramatic has happened to the structures of these perennial winners and it is going to be the same old story.

The only change I can envisage is that my favourite team, Manchester United, are most likely to make a flying start for a change and would, true to their familiar tradition, win the Cup with more to spare. I don’t expect a repetition of that nail biting close finish that saw the champions being declared on the last day of the tournament.

United’s youngsters, led by the Mexican prodigy Hernandez are extremely anxious to make an impact as was seen in the Charity Shield match against Chelsea.  Backed by the inimitable veteran Paul Scholes who has refused to grow old, United are my favourites to repeat their all conquering form that saw them winning the treble 11 years ago.

A fellow United supporter has whispered into my ears that the organizers have deliberately pushed the club’s opening match to Monday to avoid the monotony of seeing them on top at that early stage. So as things stand we would have to contend with some unfamiliar faces on top this weekend till the masters’ return to their natural habitat after Monday’s match against returnees Newcastle.

In the absence of United on the opening day, the defending champions Chelsea could give West Bromwich Albion a baptism of fire at Stamford Bridge and shoot to the top. Michael Essien has missed a lot of action because of injury and he would be anxious to recapture his brilliant combative form. Didier Drogba  would also love to defend his  top scorer crown and West Bromwich would have to stand firm especially when  Chelsea are smarting under  the 3-1 defeat to United in the Charity Shield.

The Liverpool v Arsenal encounter is definitely the pick of the day. England skipper Gerrard would have to prove that Benitez was responsible for the team’s woes. If his form in England’s last friendly match against Hungary last Wednesday is anything to go by, then he could give   Arsene Wenger’s teenagers a tough time.  Arsenal are traditional pace setters and they will be difficult to dismiss at the beginning of this marathon contest.

The remaining fixtures all have their peculiar attractions. Tottenham Hotspurs against Manchester City at White Hart Lane for example should be exciting. Tottenham were quite impressive at the closing stages of last season and it would be interesting to see how they would fare against the millionaire club desperately wishing to translate their millions into good cup winning football.

Aston Villa should be able to collect maximum points at home at the expense of West Ham; Everton may get a point at Blackburn; Bolton may drop home points to Fulham and Sunderland must beat Birmingham at home.Wigan Athletic and Blackpool could go either way but Wolves are tipped to beat Stoke at home.

It is quite admirable the way the English league sticks to their calendar. My home country Ghana sometime ago decided to copy the English and boldly pronounced that they were going to tie the Ghana season with the English. The plan failed for obvious reasons. Provisionally, the Ghana season will start in September but it is still being debated whether to have a 20 club league or not.

Indecision and failure to adhere to principles seem to be the bane of Ghana football.  After the fine show at the recent World Cup, it is being debated whether the nation should maintain the foreign coach who directed affairs or recruit a local coach.

It was in the midst of the debate about the coach and hot public discussion about the calibre of players to form the national team that Ghana sent a hurriedly assembled team to face South Africa in a friendly match and lost 1-0 in a lack lustre show.

That is Ghana football for you. The experts are too many for comfort. Cheers everybody and keep loving sports