It could be brilliant, it might end in tears, curiosity alone will drag people to Upton Park.West Ham finished fifth last season, which allowed them the dubious privilege of playing in the Intertoto Cup en route to the Uefa Cup, and the concern must be that starting a season even before a ball is bowled in the Lord's Test will wearily come home to roost in mid-winter. One thing West Ham will not be this season is boring.Combining Neil Ruddock, Paolo Di Canio and Ian Wright with Paulo Wanchope will ensure the opposition will not know what to expect, but whether their team-mates will have a clue either is debatable. Sadly, the fees and wages of today's footballer are too grand even for Elton John, and Watford have had to make the best of free transfers, notably Des Lyttle.Enthusiasm and Taylor's know-how might get them off to a good start, but once the Premiership has had a good look at them and analysed their weaknesses you fear the consequences.Watford managed only 27 goals last time they were in the top division in 1988, and in all probability a similarly frustrating fate awaits them.Prediction: 20thSUMMER TRANSFERSIN: Mark Williams (Chesterfield) free; Des Lyttle (Nottingham Forest) free; Dominic Foley (Wolves) free.OUT: Darren Bazeley (Wolves) free; Tony Daley (Walsall) free; Ronny Rosenthal (released); Stewart Slater (released).SQUAD NUMBERS1 Chamberlain 18 Iroha2 Lyttle 19 Easton3 Kennedy 20 Gudmundsson4 Page 21 Millen5 Palmer 22 Yates6 Robinson 23 Ward7 Ngonge 24 Bonnot8 Hyde 25 Bakalli9 Mooney 26 Perpetuini10 Johnson 27 Panayi11 Wright 28 Pluck12 Smart 29 Johnson13 Day 30 Langston14 Hazan 31 Brooker15 Noel-Williams 32 Williams16 Gibbs 33 Foley17 SmithWEST HAM UNITEDEVEN HOLLYWOOD restricted itself to one "Maverick" at a time, yet Harry Redknapp cannot get enough of them. The spirit will be terrific, yet even with all those pluses it is difficult to envisage anything but a difficult season.Finishing fifth in the First Division is not the ideal preparation for the Premiership, but weaknesses can be repaired if you have the money. Graham Taylor is a brilliant club manager, and no side in the Premiership will be better organised. His relationship with his manager will continue to fascinate.Prediction: 5thSUMMER TRANSFERSIN: Chris Perry (Wimbledon) pounds 4m; Willem Korsten (Vitesse Arnhem) pounds 1.5m.OUT: Rory Allen (Portsmouth) pounds 1m; Andy Sinton (Wolves) free; Roger Nilsen (Grazer AK, Aut) free; Clive Wilson (Cambridge Utd) free; Simon Brown (Colchester) free; Lee Kersey (released); Alan Marriott (released).SQUAD NUMBERS1 Walker 14 Ginola2 Carr 15 Vega3 Taricco 16 Armstrong4 Freund 18 Fox5 Campbell 19 Scales6 Perry 20 Dominguez7 Anderton 21 Young8 Sherwood 22 Nielsen9 Ferdinand 25 Clemence10 Iversen 26 King11 Korsten 33 Gower12 Edinburgh 35 Thelwell13 BaardsenWATFORDOH DEAR.

Last season's 11th place is the least White Hart Lane will expect in the forthcoming season.Even Graham was surprised that Spurs won a trophy in his first season in charge, but their Coca-Cola Cup win means they are in Europe for the first time in eight seasons and, having invested in the excellent Chris Perry, the team's chief weakness, central defence, has been addressed.As ever, further forward much will depend on the fitness of Ferdinand, Anderton, Armstrong etc, but if they could all put in 40 games each this season Spurs would have as talented an attack as any in the Premiership That is without the enigma called David Ginola. His elevation to the England squad suggests he will, but the rest of the team have to get it to the big man first.Prediction: 14thSUMMER TRANSFERSIN: Stefan Schwarz (Valencia) pounds 4m; Carsten Fredgaard (Lyngby, Den) pounds 1.8m; Steve Bould (Arsenal) pounds 500,000; Michael Ingham (Cliftonville) pounds 30,000; Thomas Helmer (Bayern Munich) free.OUT: Michael Bridges (Leeds) pounds 5m; Lee Clarke (Fulham) pounds 3m; Andy Melville (Fulham) free; Martin Scott (Bradford City) free; Matthew Pitts (Carlisle).SQUAD NUMBERS1 Sorensen 15 Fredgaard2 Makin 16 Rae3 Gray 17 Craddock4 Ball 18 Williams5 Bould 19 Thirlwell6 P Butler 20 Schwarz7 Summerbee 21 McCann8 Helmer 22 Wainwright9 Quinn 23 Lumsdon10 Phillips 24 Aiston11 Johnston 25 Maley12 Dichio 26 Proctor13 Marriott 27 T Butler14 HollowayTOTTENHAM HOTSPURIF ANYONE doubts the value of a manager's input they only need to look at Tottenham, who were hopeless under Christian Gross and transformed under George Graham. The bolts are there at the back, the question is whether the attack can even approach their productivity at a higher level than the First Division.Niall Quinn's height and strength will always make him a handful but the crucial thing will be whether Kevin Phillips can continue to prey on the carnage. Their great plus is the Stadium of Light, which proved a Prokofiev-inspired near impregnable fortress.Only nine goals were conceded at home last season and that defence has been reinforced with the purchase of Thomas Helmer and Steve Bould. Better luck with injuries and a good start would make a pleasant change.Prediction: 15thSUMMER TRANSFERSIN: Bruno Leal (Sporting Lisbon) free; Dean Richards (Wolves) free; Milen Petkov (CSKA Sofia, Bul) free; Marco Almeida (Sporting Lisbon) one year loan.OUT: Phil Warner (Brentford); Mark Paul (Hull City) free; Michael Stensgaard (FC Copenhagen) free; Steve Jenkins (Brentford) free; Steve Basham (Preston) tribunal; Ken Monkou (released).SQUAD NUMBERS1 Jones 18 Bridge2 Dodd 19 Rodrigues3 Beresford 20 Bevan4 Marsden 21 Williams5 Lundekvam 22 D Hughes6 Richards 23 Hiley7 Le Tissier 24 Colleter8 Oakley 25 Monk9 M Hughes 26 Marshall10 Ostenstad 27 Hirst11 Howells 28 Gibbens12 Dryden 29 Almeida13 Moss 30 Kachloul14 Ripley 31 Bradley15 Benali 33 Collins16 Beattie 34 Sims17 PaharsSUNDERLANDLAST MAY Sunderland's prospects seemed rosier but even without Lee Clarke, Andy Melville and Michael Bridges they look the most likely of the promoted teams to survive in the Premiership. Thankfully, the points gained at The Dell were just enough.Dean Richards, a free transfer from Wolves, will bring much needed stability in defence and, the club having spent precisely nothing this summer, there is probably money in reserve.

Dave Jones seems unconvinced by Le God but given his less-than-secure position probably will not risk the fans' wrath by dropping him.After a bright 1997-98 it was a mystery why Southampton struggled last season, and if they had performed as lamentably at home as they did away they would have been relegated before the crocuses rose even on the balmy South Coast. A cup is within their scope.Prediction: 13thSUMMER TRANSFERSIN: Gilles De Bilde (PSV Eindhoven) pounds 3m; Gerald Sibon (Ajax) pounds 2m; Simon Donnelly (Celtic) free; Phil O'Donnell (Celtic) free.OUT: Krystof Kotylo (Nuneaton) free; Matt Clarke (Bradford) free; Guy Whittingham (Portsmouth) free; Dejan Stefanovic (Perugia) free.SQUAD NUMBERS1 Pressman 18 Donnelly2 Atherton 19 Newsome3 Hinchcliffe 20 Humphreys4 Jonk 21 Briscoe5 Thome 22 Haslam6 Walker 23 De Bilde7 Sonner 24 McKeever8 Carbone 25 Oakes9 Sibon 28 Srnicek10 Booth 30 Geary11 O'Donnell 31 Agogo12 Cresswell 32 Morrison14 Rudi 33 Quinn15 Scott 34 Higgins16 Alexandersson17 Nolan 35 HolmesSOUTHAMPTONIT IS something a Saints fan might not wish to dwell on but the man who extracted most from Matt Le Tissier is currently the manager of Portsmouth. For a club who suffered the antics of another Italian, Paolo Di Canio, with some dignity, they deserve better.The departures from Hillsborough this summer have been minimal, so a squad which was good enough to beat Manchester United 3-1 in November has been strengthened by forwards Gilles de Bilde and Gerald Sibon, but the performances of two Bosman-freed Scots from Celtic, Phil O'Donnell and Simon Donnelly, will be just as interesting.Injuries and bedding-in time made it difficult to properly judge Danny Wilson's work, although he will not expect to be fighting off relegation like he was last season. If he does well, there will be implications for England.Prediction: 6thSUMMER TRANSFERSIN: Kieron Dyer (Ipswich) pounds 6.5m; Marcelino Elena (Real Mallorca, Sp) pounds 5m; Alain Goma (Paris St-Germain) pounds 4.7m; Franck Dumas (Monaco) pounds 500,000.OUT: Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool) pounds 8m; George Georgiadis (PAOK Salonika, Gr) pounds 500,000; Philippe Albert (Charleroi, Bel) pounds 600,000; David Terrier (Nice, FR) free; Paul Barrett (Wrexham) free; Peter Keen (Carlisle) free; Stuart Pearce (West Ham) free.SQUAD NUMBERS1 Given 16 Charvet2 Barton 17 Glass3 Marcelino 18 Hughes4 Domi 19 McClen5 Goma 20 Ferguson6 Howey 21 Serrant7 Dyer 23 Perez8 Dumas 24 Brady9 Shearer 25 Kerr10 Maric 26 Coppinger11 Speed 27 Beharall12 Griffin 28 Robinson13 Harper 34 Dabizas14 Ketsbaia 40 Andersson15 SolanoSHEFFIELD WEDWEDNESDAY RARELY became the sum of their parts last season and when they did Benito Carbone was usually at the heart of it, so it is a shame to witness his disaffection. That latter role might be important because the Newcastle rearguard looked leaderless even in King Kevin's time.Further forward there will be an extended opportunity to see Duncan Ferguson and Alan Shearer in tandem, but initially the most interesting question will be how well Kieron Dyer fills the gifted boots of Hamann.