It's Going To Be A Big Season For...

ARSENAL - Theo Walcott
A mere 19 he may be, but this is the season when the 'He's only a young lad' excuse will run out for Walcott. He's had two-and-a-half seasons with the Arsenal first-team squad, and if he doesn't deliver on his promise now then questions will be asked about whether he ever will. Showed signs of improvement last term, but there is every chance youngsters such as Carlos Vela and Jack Wilshere may show him up in the coming campaign.


ASTON VILLA - Steve Sidwell
Working on the assumption that Gareth Barry will eventually move to Liverpool, all eyes will be on his replacement. Should Sidwell reproduce the form he showed at Reading then Martin O'Neill may well have a bargain at £5million. However, Villa fans will surely be fearful that a wasted season at Chelsea will have arrested Sidwell's development fatally. A mention too for Curtis Davies, who must repay the faith Martin O'Neill showed by making his loan deal permanent, and at considerable cost.


BLACKBURN ROVERS - Paul Ince
Blackburn chairman John Williams deserves great credit for giving a young, talented manager a chance in the Premier League, but it's a fearful gamble. Having never managed outside League Two, Ince suddenly has to deal with international stars, sizeable egos and most importantly, players who will not neccessarily simply be impressed with his name. On the playing side, this is Paul Robinson's big chance to revive a stalling career.


BOLTON WANDERERS - Johan Elmander
To say eyebrows were raised by Elmander's £11million transfer fee would be something of an understatement. A scoring record of 11 goals in each of his two seasons with Toulouse is unlikely to have rival defences excessively worried, and Elmander will have to improve that rate if he is to adequately replace Nicolas Anelka as Bolton's primary goal threat.


CHELSEA - John Obi Mikel
The fact that Claude Makelele has not been replaced suggests that Mikel is likely to feature heavily this season. Michael Essien will be his main rival for the anchor role, but the Ghanaian's versatility means Mikel will have a heavy workload behind the creative and attacking talents of Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Deco. Makelele was the type of player you noticed more when he wasn't there, and unless Mikel steps up then that will become blindingly obvious over the season.


EVERTON - Leighton Baines
Signed for (briefly) a club record fee last summer, Baines barely featured thanks to a combination of injuries and the excellence of Joleon Lescott at left-back. This term Baines may have a better chance to step up, although it is his bad luck that defence is one of the stronger areas in David Moyes' ricepaper thin squad. There have been rumours of a swap deal involving Stephen Warnock, and if Baines doesn't force his way into the first team then he could find himself out on his ear by January.


FULHAM - Andy Johnson
It's a curious thing that Everton could make a £4.4million profit on Johnson, despite two seasons at Goodison Park where he flattered to deceive for long spells. A fee that could rise to £13million represents a terrific gamble for Roy Hodgson, and there will be plenty of pressure on Johnson to get scoring and quickly in a revamped Fulham side.


HULL CITY - Ian Ashbee
There will be little pressure on the Hull captain, but it's worth mentioning the extraordinary contribution he has made in his six seasons with City. Signed by Jan Molby (seriously) when Hull were a League Two side in 2002, Ashbee was made captain shortly afterwards, and has remained skipper as they climbed the divisions, culminating in their hugely unlikely promotion last season. Nobody outside Hull expects them to stay up, but if they do it will have a lot to do with the likes of Ashbee and Dean Windass.


LIVERPOOL - Xabi Alonso
As with the Aston Villa section of this feature, this is working on the assumption that Barry will be a Liverpool player at some point. If so, it looks increasingly likely that the money will have to come from a source other than the sale of Alonso, meaning the Spaniard will be staying at Anfield. By all accounts he's been superb and looked like a man with something to prove in pre-season, and if he continues like that then Benitez will have plenty to choose from in midfield.


MANCHESTER CITY - Elano
The Brazilian started like a train last season. A brilliant, silky powerhouse of a train. However, his powers began to wane rather as the winter kicked in, showing his excellence all too sporadically over the remainder of the season. That won't be enough for City if they want to push on from last season, and new boy Jo will need the sort of support that Elano was serving up in the early stages last term if he's to thrive.


MANCHESTER UNITED - Wayne Rooney
There is every chance Wayne Rooney could become the most frustrating player of his generation. He was very, very good in spells last season, but his natural talent says he could do so much more. Alex Ferguson has admitted that this was partly down to the constant switching of Rooney's role in the side, but there will be extra pressure on Rooney, especially in the opening weeks of the season. Cristiano Ronaldo's early absence means that Rooney will have extra responsibility in terms of both goals and creativity, and he'll need to step up. We know he can, but will he?


MIDDLESBROUGH - Afonso Alves
Purchased at great expense in January, Alves initially looked way off the pace, but showed great improvement as the season came to a close. A brace against Manchester United and a hat-trick versus a shambolic City on the final day showed Boro fans what he can do, but he'll be expected to produce that sort of form over the whole season to justify his £12million transfer fee.


NEWCASTLE UNITED - Joey Barton
In the eyes of many, even a Ronaldo-like season will not justify Kevin Keegan and Mike Ashley's decision to give Barton another chance, but he will have to repay his manager's faith with more than exceptional footballing performances. Keegan decided that Barton deserved another opportunity to redeem himself, something that he will be very familiar with, having been given countless chances in the past. He's relapsed every other time, and it's difficult to imagine he is a reformed character now.


PORTSMOUTH - Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe
The success or otherwise of this burgeoning partnership could have far wider implications than simply for Portsmouth's UEFA Cup challenge. For the first half of last season these two were warming the bench, leaving England's striking options decidedly flimsy. Now, they're together and first choice, and the early signs are good. Seven goals in four previous internationals (admittedly against chumps) and a hatful in pre-season bodes well for a pairing that will give Fabio Capello options ahead of the World Cup campaign.


STOKE CITY - Liam Lawrence
Stoke's best player by a street last season has already spent one season in the top flight, and was patently out of his depth then - although he hardly stood out as hopeless in Sunderland's calamitous 2005/6 campaign. If Stoke are to survive this time then they will need goals from the likes of new boy Dave Kitson, but in order to find the net he'll need plenty of quality service from Lawrence in midfield.


SUNDERLAND - Craig Gordon
It's possible that a hefty transfer fee inhibited Gordon's early performances in the Sunderland goal last season, with the Scot often uncertain, and he found himself on the bench after the 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Everton in December. However, he regained his place in the team and produced some more assured displays, and this is his chance to establish himself as one of the top keepers in the Premier League.


TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - Darren Bent
The fact that Bent was the laughing stock of last season is perhaps unfair given that he couldn't do anything about his price tag, but his goals return was simply not good enough. However, this season Bent could make a significant contribution to the cause, and with support and service from Luka Modric, David Bentley, Giovani Dos Santos and possibly Andrei Arshavin, he should score stacks of goals. Who's to say that we won't be describing £16million as a bargain by the time May comes around?


WEST BROMWICH ALBION - Ishmael Miller
At the end of last season, West Brom looked easily the strongest of the three promoted sides. However, they are now weaker than they were in May, especially up front having inexplicably failed to give Kevin Phillips the extra year he wanted. That means Roman Bednar, Luke Moore and Miller will have to perform, and Tony Mowbray will look to the former Manchester City man - a slightly more mobile version of Emile Heskey - to cause Premier League defences some problems.


WEST HAM UNITED - Dean Ashton
Apparently the subject of a ludicrous £15million bid from Spurs, Ashton's first challenge will be to stay fit for the majority of the campaign. If he does, then he should provide West Ham's primary goal threat, especially if Craig Bellamy's hamstrings continue to twang on a regular basis. That's all in theory, and he'll need to put in performances a damn sight better than for long spells last season, when he looked ponderous and unthreatening, although a run of three in the last three will provide encouragement.


WIGAN ATHLETIC - Chris Kirkland
Mercy be, Kirkland seems to have replaced his glass skeleton with a normal, human frame, allowing him to miss a mere one game last season. Having proved he can stay upright, this is the season when Kirkland could make a real challenge for the England keeper shirt, with no obvious replacement for David James.

Nick Miller