NEW SEASON

WELCOME BACK ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP

Finally english league has come and we can see attractive match . While many observers will see this weekend's opening round of the English Premier League as a first chance to see new talent, assess off-season progress and enjoy their first taste of top-flight football in several months, for premiership managers and players it's just like any other round, with points being very much - well, the point.

While the rest of us come to terms with seeing former Reading star Steve Sidwell in a Chelsea strip, Spanish young gun Fernando Torres at Merseyside, and Mark Viduka in the black and white of Newcastle United, managers are all too aware that points in round one are as valuable (more so in some cases) as points earned in the final few weeks.

For Manchester United, it's simply a case of picking up where the club left off several months ago. Sir Alex Ferguson has spent around $125 million in the off season and will test his side against Reading at Old Trafford in round one.

With Carlos Tevez, Owen Hargreaves and Nani (among others) bolstering a side already dripping with talent, United seem to have a very good chance of landing back-to-back titles. And the Red Devils have already landed a psychological blow to Chelsea through a dominating performance in the Community Shield.

After a honeymoon season following promotion, Steve Coppell's Reading should be satisfied with anything close to its eighth-placed 2006-2007 finish.

Chelsea opens its account with what would normally be a routine home match against promoted Birmingham City. But the Blues have an injury list as long as many clubs' playing rosters, and Steve Bruce's boys won't have a better chance of taking something away from Stamford Bridge.

John Terry, Didier Drogba, Claude Makelele, Salomon Kalou, Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Wayne Bridge and Paolo Ferreira are non-staters for Chelsea in round one. Jose Mourinho could only field 11 outfield players at training in midweek, with 14 players needing treatment of some sort.

Ashley Cole left training clutching a thigh, and Frank Lampard, of those who did train, has a broken toe. Michael Essien and Lassana Diarra have also been hampered by minor knee complaints, while Claudio Pizarro is still a few weeks away from being match fit.

Birmingham has also had cash to spend in the off season. Stuart Parnaby will add starch to the club's traditional defensive strength, talented former Ajax midfield player Daniel De Ridder has pace and guile aplenty, and a raft of other imports leaves Bruce's side a decent chance of avoiding the drop.

Liverpool, which faces Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa away in a tricky opening match, has recruited heavily and now has six proven finishers and creators, including Torres, Andriy Voronin, Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel. Rafael Benitez has assembled a formidable-looking armada to challenge Manchester United and Chelsea for the title.

Liverpool have started with tortoise-like pace In the past three seasons under Benitez, building just 10 points from their opening seven games in each campaign. The Reds have still finished in the top four each year (except 2004-2005, when finishing fifth and Everton fourth) and with Steven Gerrard moving to the centre of midfield, surely a better start awaits. From there, who knows?

Villa manager Martin O'Neill will be happy if his side can turn just a few of last season's draws into wins. The Villans earned a single point in no less than 17 matches in 2006-2007 (the most of any club, and 10 more than Blackburn, for example) and finished in 11th place.

The form of former West Ham United duo Marlon Harewood and Nigel Reo-Coker will be key, as will the progression of last season's surprise, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and John Carew. With a slightly sharper attack and few more goals, Villa could well emulate former glory days with European football next season. O'Neill certainly knows what it takes to get there.

At Arsenal, enough has been said about the departure of Thierry Henry. Manager Arsene Wenger, himself the subject of ongoing speculation about his future, now has a chance to prove the past two seasons have not been a waste of time.

His players are no longer "kids", although you'd still be hard pressed to name four outfield players over the age of 25, so there really is no excuse. Wenger would never have placed all his eggs in one basket and would have at least contemplated the scenario of life without his France striker.

These "kids" reached the final of the Carling Cup last season, and would have topped a table made up exclusively of the Big Four's results against each other. They've proved they have the talent; now consistency is needed. It's all about converting the chances created by Wenger's fluent attacking style, and in new boy Eduardo da Silva and Robin van Persie, perhaps they have the balance to challenge.

Against a new-look Fulham, which is targeting a top-10 finish and has recently recruited Melbourne Victory defender Adrian Leijer, Arsenal should be too good at home.

Down the road, Tottenham Hotspur has spent megabucks in an effort to overhaul bitter rival Arsenal for a Champions League berth. Ledley King's fragility has been countered with the purchase of Younes Kaboul, while Gareth Bale has joined the mix and Darren Bent finally gets a chance do show what he can do with decent service (he scored as many Premier League goals as Wayne Rooney last season, while playing for Charlton).

Spurs' away clash with Roy Keane's promoted Sunderland is one of the tastiest first-round matches.

The Black Cats could prove to be the Reading of this season, having looked easily the best of the promoted clubs in the final weeks of last year's Championship. And in Keane, they have a man who knows what it takes to succeed.

What seems to distinguish this season from others in recent memory is the fact that so many clubs have no excuses left to offer fans (and shareholders) should another year of European dreams fail to materialise.

Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Everton, Blackburn and Manchester City are just some of the clubs starting the season with renewed confidence. How long that confidence remains in tact, though, is another matter entirely.