The Best Thing Out of England Since the Stones (Part III)

And alas, we've come to the final installment of our EPL Season Preview...I was going to think of some clever lead in, but I'm afraid after toying around with Madden 08 for a few hours, I just don't have the patience.

So with out further adieu:

1. Liverpool
Main additions: F Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid), MF Yossi Benayoun (West Ham), F Ryan Babel (Ajax), F Andriy Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen)
Main subtractions: F Craig Bellamy (West Ham), MF Luis Garcia (Atletico Madrid)
Breakout star: Ryan Babel - The electric young Dutchman is a star in the making. Holland national team coach Marco Van Basten called the 20-year old the next Thierry Henry. Not bad praise. He doesn't have an overly impressive scoring record (19 goals in 68 games), but he is a top quality striker with loads of skill and will force his way into the lineup, likely at the expense of beanpole Peter Crouch.
American connection: Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett sign the checks.
Outlook: Sure Liverpool hasn't tasted domestic success since 1990, but their form in the Champions League the past three years has been phenomenal and with the addition of the firepower they've brought in, namely Fernando Torres, the balance of power might be shifting to Anfield. Plus, anytime you have Steven Gerrard, the best English player in the world, patrolling the midfield and scoring wondergoals like this, it makes it hard to root against them.

2. Manchester United
Main additions: MF Nani (Sporting Lisbon), MF Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), MF Anderson (Porto), F Carlos Tevez (West Ham)
Main subtractions: F Alan Smith (Newcastle), Kieran Richardson (Sunderland)
Breakout star: Nani - The Portuguese starlet hails from the same system that produced Cristiano Ronaldo and he's looked absolutely scintillating in preseason matches. Expect to see plenty of his cartwheel/flip goal celebrations as he fills in for the aging Ryan Giggs.
American connection: The Glazer family signs the checks, despite utter outrage from the United faithful. After returning the Premiership title back to Old Trafford, I find it ironic that fans like this were probably weeping like little boys when the trophy was raised.
Outlook: You hate to bet against the defending champions, especially after they've improved their squad over the summer. Even with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs aging, ready-made replacements are already on hand, and truth be told, should nudge the veteran duo toward the sidelines, though Giggs is still a terror on the wing. Wayne Rooney's hairline fracture in his foot was not the news United needed out of the gates, but Carlos Tevez will prove well worth the saga it took for him to make the switch from West Ham. United's weakness lies in net with Edwin Van Der Sar. Once one of the world's elite keepers, Van Der Sar is well past his prime and the Red Devils might have to rely on Poland's No. 3 keeper (yikes).

3. Chelsea
Main additions: MF Steve Sidwell (Reading), D Tal Ben Haim (Bolton), F Claudio Pizzaro (Bayern Munich), MF Florent Malouda (Lyon), D Alex (PSV Eindhoven)
Main subtractions: MF Geremi (Newcastle), D Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla)
Breakout star: John Obi Mikel - Every lanky, African defensive midfielder is called the next Patrick Viera. Mikel isn't quite at the level of the Frenchman, but he soon will be. Teaming up with Michael Essien in the middle of the park will make scoring on Chelsea increasingly difficult.
American connection: Over the past two seasons, Jose Mourinho has brought his team of high-priced All-Stars to the States for some fun in the sun (they really love LA). And when they're not losing to the MLS All-Stars, the Blues are led behind the scenes by American chairman Bruce Buck. Buck, an attorney by day, is the only other human to own a share of Chelsea FC besides Roman Abramovich. Buck owns one. Abramovich owns 84 million. "So you're telling me there's a chance..."
Outlook: Always the title contender, Chelsea will be ravaged by the African Nations Cup (Jan. 20-Feb. 10). Most likely to be unavailable to Mourinho will be Michael Essien (Ghana), Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) and John Obi Mikel (Nigeria). Chelsea has the depth now to handle the losses, but they are losing world class players who have been instrumental in the team's successes, namely Drogba and Essien.

4. Arsenal
Main additions: F Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb), D Bacary Sagna (Auxerre)
Main subtractions: F Thierry Henry (Barcelona), MF Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham), F Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough)
Breakout star: Nicklas Bendtner - So you thought I was going to go with the obvious and pick Theo Walcott. Sorry, I'm not sold on the pint-sized Englishmen despite all the hype. At 6-foot-3, Bendnter has exactly what Arsenal is missing, and the Dane is still just 19-years old. He spent last season on loan at Birmingham City and impressed scoring 13 times. City manager Steve Bruce tried desperately to convince Arsene Wenger to sell the forward, but Wenger held firm. Wise move.
American connection: Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke is trying to become the next American tycoon to cash in on the EPL's popularity, btu so far has been held off in his takeover bid. Kroenke currently owns 12 percent of the club.
Outlook: The sky isn't falling depsite the loss of King Henry to Barcelona. Arsene Wenger has done a fantastic job of bringing in top young talent and the team will gel with time and become a title contender again in a year or so. The Gunners will go through some growing pains, but Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie and Denilson provide a strong glimpse of what is to come in the years ahead.

5. Everton
Main additions: D Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United), D Leighton Baines (Wigan), MF Steven Pienaar (Borussia Dortmund)
Main subtractions: F James Beattie (Sheffield United), D Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United)
Breakout star: Manuel Fernandes - Everton are still trying to negotiate the right buyout price with Benfica for Fernandes, who spent last season on loan at Goodison Park. It took the Portugese youngster a little bit of time to adjust to the English game, but at the tail end of last year, Fernandes and Mikel Arteta made a dynamic midfield combo. Fernandes' on the ball skill is almost second to none and he very may well be a world class star in the making. Now comes the tricky part of keeping him at Everton.
American connection: Look no further than between the pipes for the Toffees. American stalwart Tim Howard spent a season on loan from Manchester United in 2005 and quickly endeared himself to the Goodison Park faithful and David Moyes. Everton made Howard's move a permanent one (something I'm sure United fans are still seething over with Van Der Sar bumbling). Team USA's new No. 1 keeper, Howard ranked in the top three in saves last year, joining two other Americans on that list (Blackburn's Brad Friedel and Reading's Marcus Hahnemann). Now if we could only produce 6-foot-3 strikers with blazing speed and cannons for feet (Jozy Altidore, I'm looking in your direction).
Outlook: Two years ago, Everton qualified for European competition, finishing fourth in the table, only to fizzle out in the first round. That disappointment led to an unexplainable free fall down the table and nearly cost David Moyes his job. Everton righted the ship last year and finished sixth. Expect more of the same from the Toffees, who only tweaked their team in the transfer window. The blue side of Liverpool might be one striker away from really given the top four a run for its money.

6. Tottenham
Main additions: F Darren Bent (Charlton), D Gareth Bale (Southampton), MF Kevin Prince-Boateng (Hertha Berlin)
Main subtractions: F Mido (Middlesbrough)
Breakout star: Gareth Bale - When the 18-year old Welsh left back returns healthy from a knock, he will certainly displace Paul Stalteri. Bale is a free kick specialist and scored five times for Southampton last year in the Championship. You don't usually see 115 shots attempted by a fullback, but Bale had the green light, and rightfully so.
American connection: U.S. national team goalie Kasey Keller spent three seasons with Spurs appearing in 51 games. Keller arrived at Tottenham as a backup to Neil Sullivan, but won the starting job and played every minute for Spurs in 2002-03 and 2003-04. After the arrival of England No. 1 Paul Robinson, Keller was sold to German club Borussia Monchengladbach (now that's a mouthful).
Outlook: Loaded with striking options, Martin Jol (or Tony Soprano as he's sometimes called by Tottenham fans) will give opposing defenses fits with the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Bent, Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe. Perhaps he has too many options and will struggle to keep them all happy, but Tottenham's strike force is mighty impressive. With Aaron Lennon making enterprising runs down the right flank and Gareth Bale launching shots from the left, Tottenham once again will be one of the more pleasing teams to watch this year.