PL 16/17 Predictions Series: West Bromwich Albion

My new series looks at the participants of the latest Premier League season. For previous posts, see below:

Arsenal, Bournemouth, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Everton, Hull City, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Swansea City, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford

Last season
Typically solid if unspectacular from a Tony Pulis team, with the Baggies now casting away the shackles of their 'boing boing' stereotype for a more neatly fitting mid-table mediocrity tag. I'm honestly not sure which one is worse from a fan's perspective!

That being said, there can be no doubt that West Brom were difficult to beat at The Hawthorns, ensuring a safe 14th place finish, despite continuous speculation surrounding the future of Saido Berahino.

Backroom setup
Unsurprisingly, Tony Pulis has been retained as manager, and if his record is anything to go by, that practically guarantees Premier League survival. No other significant changes have been made behind the scenes, meaning that the Baggies can enter into the season in some level of stability.

Pre-season
Unlike many of their closest rivals, West Brom have opted for a fairly challenging run of pre-season matches, starting with a game against French champions Paris Saint Germain. While they may have been on the end of a 2-1 defeat, it was by no means embarrassing, and Pulis will take heart from the performance.

Two 2-1 wins then swiftly followed, over opponents of varying quality. Firstly, a brace from Berahino saw Kidderminster Harriers downed, before a more impressive win over Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem, with Rondon and McManaman on the scoresheet. However, this form could not continue, with a pair of disappointing results over teams in the lower leagues. First came a 0-0 draw with Plymouth, before a 2-1 reverse at Torquay United dented any momentum coming into the season. 

Squad and signings
It's almost business as usual in the Midlands, with the squad largely the same as last year. However, much discussion has been had about the future of young striker Berahino, while the club also released ex-first teamers Stephane Sessegnon, Victor Anichebe and Anders Lindegaard to remove some of the wage strain.

There's not been much action inward either. The Baggies only have the signing of QPR winger Matt Phillips for £5.5m to show for their actions, and in all honesty, they've barely been linked with anyone else for the remainder of the window. Can the team that kept them up last year do the same again this term?

Tactics
It's Tony Pulis, so you know what's coming, and it isn't going to be sparkling football. Expect more long balls to Salomon Rondon's head or chest, as well as physical play in both the centre of midfield and defence to make them a difficult side to beat at home.

Predictions

He'll keep them up. It's just what he does. It's the same team, so I'm going to go with the same placing as last year. With the likes of Southampton, West Ham and Leicester all sparking moves up the table, when will a lower mid-table finish get boring for the Baggies fans, I wonder?

Final position: 14th

Summer Transfer Window Series: 2015 Window Top 10 Reasonably-Priced Stars

To finish off my Summer Transfer Window series, I'm looking at some of the notable activity from this season's movement. In my latest post, I examined the 10 biggest money moves, and what the problems/pitfalls may be. Here, I'm going to take a leaf out to Top Gear's book - no cars, but everyone here was reasonably priced!

These are the transfers that have the potential to change the fortunes of the clubs involved, and for a relatively small outlay.

10. Petr Cech - Chelsea to Arsenal (£10.5m)
This one was tricky, and a close one between Bastian Schweinsteiger's move to Manchester United and Cech's switch to Arsenal. In the end, I went with the veteran goalkeeper, on the grounds that I feel he will play more first-team games than the German, and has the potential to save the Gunners the greater number of points. A position that was dearly required, Wenger moved swiftly to secure the services of Cech, who instantly repaid him with two bad errors in the team's 2-0 opening day defeat to West Ham. However, he is a true professional, and I'm confident that he will be great signing for Arsenal. Fans of the London club will be bemused that he is the only one, however...

9. Matteo Darmian - Torino to Manchester United (£12.5m)
Having broken onto the scene, and into the Italian national side, during his time at Torino, Matteo Darmian was added by Louis van Gaal to add attacking threat and defensive stability to Manchester United's right hand side. For £12.5m, he looks a good buy, with United so far looking fairly assured in their opening few games. He has yet to demonstrate his attacking capabilities to the full, but he has been a hit with the Old Trafford faithful, and will draw confidence from his strong opening form.

8. Salomon Rondon - Zenit St Petersburg to West Bromwich Albion (£12m)
If you'd have asked West Brom fans in July if they felt they could tempt a striker who was scoring goals in the Champions League last season, I'm sure many would have given an answer in the negative. Though relatively unknown on these shores, Salomon Rondon has been a proven goalscorer in Russia, winning numerous titles and accolades with Zenit St Petersburg. Though he is a slight gamble at £12m, Tony Pulis is notoriously good at getting the best out of his squad, and I'm sure it won't be long before we see the Venezuelan's full potential in the Premier League. As his performance against Chelsea proved, he has the potential to put seasoned defenders to the sword, and his power and ability should take West Brom into the safety of mid-table mediocrity, and maybe higher if he can stay injury-free.

7. Nathaniel Clyne - Southampton to Liverpool (£12.5m)
Given the clamour, and subsequent overpricing, of English players (for more, please see Raheem Sterling, Andy Carroll, Owen Hargreaves, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana), the next two entries are more remarkable. After a strong season with Southampton, which saw the right-back establish himself in the England set-up, Nathaniel Clyne made the move to Merseyside for a surprisingly low fee of £12.5m. Given his age of just 24, Clyne is an outstanding signing, with plenty of time to improve both for club and country, and will certainly be an asset for Liverpool as they push towards the Champions League places once again this term.

6. Fabian Delph - Aston Villa to Manchester City (£8m)
To acquire an England international for under £10m is impressive in this day and age, and when it's someone under 25 and plenty of years ahead of him, it's almost remarkable. Fabian Delph has proven himself to be a future England central midfielder, leading Aston Villa to the FA Cup final last year with his composure and authority. After a confusing on again/off again transfer saga, which saw him posing in an Aston Villa shirt just six days before the announcement of City's move, then rejecting a move, before eventually making the switch to the Blues. Unfortunately, his career at City has started with a series of injuries (cue comparisons to Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair), but I am convinced he will add something to the squad in the long-term.

5. Georginio Wijnaldum - PSV Eindhoven to Newcastle United (£14.5m)
Though an expensive signing, the Dutchman answers a serious question that the Geordies had last year - how can we create more goals? With the failure of Remy Cabella and the exit of Yohan Cabaye, Newcastle have struggled to score enough to drag themselves away from danger, and much of the ire has been directed at Mike Ashley. However, the Sports Direct boss has put his hand in his pocket this year, added some strong creative talent to the Newcastle squad. At the tender age of 24, Wijnaldum has much to offer, and his debut goal against Southampton will have settled the nerves. He has European pedigree, and will certainly help Newcastle get back to were they should be.

4. Florian Thauvin - Olympique Marseille to Newcastle United (£12m)
Alongside Wijnaldum, Newcastle fans can be excited by the arrival of 22 year-old Florian Thauvin. One of the most creative players in Ligue 1 over the last season or so, he demonstrated his credentials in the 4-1 League Cup victory over Northampton, having a hand in all of Newcastle's goals. Ok, that was against a League Two side, but he was inches away from causing a shock at Old Trafford earlier in the season, and I'm sure he'll be terrorising defences up and down the country soon enough.

3. Dimitri Payet - Olympique Marseille to West Ham United (£12m)
It's surprised me that the man who was credited with creating the most chances of any in European football last season made the move to West Ham United, and for such a relatively small fee when compared to the fee generated by the man in second, Kevin De Bruyne. Though he is older, he is just 28, and will be coming into his prime in the coming years. He's already proven his worth at West Ham, creating a number of top quality chances, helping the Hammers win at both Anfield and The Emirates, and his set piece deliveries have defences worried. He looks an excellent signing.

2. Yohan Cabaye - Paris Saint Germain to Crystal Palace (£10m)
There aren't many signings each season that you have to wonder if you've just seen them - but this year we've had two, and it's been difficult to separate them. In the end, I've put Yohan Cabaye's move to Crystal Palace second. When the deal was announced, I thought this was not going to be beaten, with the commanding central midfielder a genius move in the market by Alan Pardew. However, the hair that split the two is the fact that Pardew has had the long-running relationship with Cabaye, having signed the Frenchman for Newcastle a few seasons ago. However, for Palace to attract players of the quality of Cabaye is outstanding, and for £10m is a deal that is more than value for money.

1. Xherdan Shaqiri - Inter Milan to Stoke City (£12m)
However, this one was absolutely out of the blue. Honestly, when Peter Crouch made the suggestion on Twitter back in June that Xherdan Shaqiri was considering a move to the Potteries, I genuinely thought he was joking. The diminutive Swiss has been at some of the world's most prestigious and celebrated clubs, and at just 23, is hardly past his best and looking to hang up his boots. Having struggled in his time at Inter Milan, he chose the move to the Premier League, and has already showed his value, providing an impressive assist from a free kick. He is perfectly built for the English league, and I'm sure will make a great addition to Stoke's more creative squad, now including the likes of Bojan, Afellay and Arnautovic - a far cry from the 'long ball team' of Rory Delap and Ricardo Fuller!

All in all, an impressive showing from some of the mid-table teams in the Premier League, attracting some enormous quality from around the globe. I think this is why the English league is the best in the world, and with the £5bn Sky TV deal to come into effect, teams are only going to have more money to play with in the coming years.