Premier League 2017-18: Sportsmail hears from a fan at each club on what a dream and nightmare season would be

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Fans at each Premier League club will be giving their views every Monday in Sportsmail’s new football magazine, The Verdict. 

Here, they outline their hopes and fears for the season ahead...

Fans at each Premier League club will be giving their views every Monday to Sportsmail

ARSENAL

Peter Wood (Founder and author at Le Grove and The Arsenal Opinion podcast)

le-grove.co.uk

Who is the greatest player you have seen at your club?

I’m lucky enough to have a treasure trove of special memories associated with some unbelievably magical Arsenal players. However, there can be no doubt about the greatest, Thierry Henry. He became the face of the Premier League, technically gifted, good looking, swashbuckling, and supremely talented. He took ‘impossible’ and fired it into the top corner on the half volley. He was and still is the King.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

I’d love Arsene Wenger to prove the footballing world wrong. He’s gearing up for the new season with six players in the last year of their deals. He’s looked at fifth place and humiliation in the Champions League and decided two players will reverse those fortunes. He’s rolled into the new season on his own gut instinct, electing not to bring in a Director of Football to help him oversee things. If I’m honest, my greatest hope is to be surprised by something positive.

And your biggest fear?

That the realities of football will slap our dated manager in the face. This season, our rivals have generally spent big. Not just that, some of the best managers in the world are entering their second full season. They have total ownership on their squads, the ideas are all their own and there are huge expectations they will deliver. Arsenal could find that life outside the top four become a regular thing if we’re not very, very careful.

Arsenal supporters are hoping Arsene Wenger can return the club to the Champions League

BOURNEMOUTH

Peter Bell (Author, Cherry Chimes)

afcbchimes.blogspot.co.uk

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Myself, and several thousand AFC Bournemouth fans were jumping for joy to get hold of tickets to see George Best play for the club in 1983. He only played five games, but he still had magic in his feet and his skill level was miles ahead of everyone on the pitch. He didn’t score, but he out thought opposition players and had amazing control of the ball.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

I’d like to see the club make an appearance in a cup final with the prospect of European football, which seems crazy! But it could happen now.

And your biggest fear?

Losing Eddie Howe would probably be every AFC Bournemouth fans’ worst fear, but I believe the special relationship that Eddie has with the club will see him stay beyond the opening of the new stadium for the club in 2020.

BRIGHTON

Simon Cox (BrightonFans.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

For anyone my age, Peter Ward was our Messi. A socks-down, heads-up, smiling assassin. But Robbie Reinelt must get a nod too. You know why.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

My only hope is staying up, but if you are giving me a ‘greatest’ hope then I would like to beat Palace home and away.

And your biggest fear?

Albion-wise, no fears. Only belief in our team-spirit, our humble manager, and our shrewd and passionate chairman. Bring it on! It’s the crazy money that scares me.

BURNLEY

Tony Scholes (Editor, UptheClarets.com, @utcdotcom)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Jimmy McIlroy. He’s regarded as our greatest player ever and I always feel privileged to have had the opportunity to see him.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

I don’t think we are going to win the Premier League or qualify for the Champions League but I’m hoping for another good season some distance away from the relegation zone.

And your biggest fear?

To be in a relegation battle and lose it. In our second successive season of top flight football it would be disappointing if it were to be a struggle to stay up.

CHELSEA

Andy Seaby (chelseadaft.org)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Frank Lampard, our record goalscorer. Someone who worked so hard at his talent. To have had the career he did here winning everything says it all. Didier Drogba, John Terry, Peter Osgood and Gianfranco Zola run him a close second.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Greatest hope is that we put up a fight in defence of our title. I would like to see us challenge again with top four as a minimum and to challenge in the later stages of the Champions League.

And your biggest fear?

That our squad is too small, we get hit by injuries and suspensions, results suffer and we fall behind everyone else.

CRYSTAL PALACE

Jay Crame (Founder and Editor, The Eagles Beak)

theeaglesbeak.com

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Notable mentions to Craig Moore, the best centre back I had seen play, and of course the brilliant Attilio Lombardo but I have to go with the natural born goalscorer Ian Wright that made his name at the club.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

That we get off to a good start under Frank de Boer and find enough consistency throughout the season to achieve a top ten finish.

And your biggest fear?

Injuries to key players and the gamble appointing de Boer not paying off as well as we all hope it will.

Wayne Rooney is gearing up for his first season back at Everton in the Premier League

EVERTON

Joel Parker (Writer, Toffee Analysis)

toffeeanalysis.wordpress.com, @ToffeeAnalysis

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Mikel Arteta. By far Everton’s greatest Premier League player, made every single fan get up from their seat each time he got the ball. A class act.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Koeman to have found the perfect system. We chopped and changed from a number of formations last campaign, I would love to see an Everton team our Dutch commander has built himself.

And your biggest fear?

Not replacing Romelu Lukaku. I think throughout a number of games so far in pre-season we’ve missed his presence. Olivier Giroud/Nicolai Jorgensen would be ideal signings.

HUDDERSFIELD

Harry Greenwood (Editor, Better Than Klopp)

betterthankloppdotcom.wordpress.com, @betterthanklopp

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Aaron Mooy is by far the best player I have seen at my club. He has the ability to control the pace of the game and is so crucial to the team.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Realistically it has to be to avoid relegation. However if we can get off to a good start and surprise a few, mid-table isn’t beyond our reach.

And your biggest fear?

My biggest fear is how the team’s morale will be affected if we lose heavily/consecutively, and how they will react.

LEICESTER

Warwick Kay (LCFCWorld.co.uk)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

I was lucky enough to see the young Gary Lineker break into the team. Although not the most skilful player to grace our pitch, he was such an amazing goal poacher with lightning speed. A joy to watch,

What is your greatest hope for this season?

I’m hoping for a top 10 finish and to go far in the FA Cup.

And your biggest fear?

That it could all go wrong! Facing a relegation battle and Craig Shakespeare being sacked.

LIVERPOOL

Dave Usher (Editor, liverpoolway.co.uk)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

At the risk of committing blasphemy, I’m going to overlook Kenny Dalglish and say Steven Gerrard. He could do everything, he could play anywhere, and time and again he carried his team through on the big occasion.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Improvement on last year which will hopefully result in a serious run at the title. A good run in Europe would be nice too.

And your biggest fear?

Injuries to key players exposing a lack of depth in the squad, particularly in defence.

MANCHESTER CITY

Steven Allweis (viewfromablue.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

David Silva. This is the best City team of my lifetime and Silva is the brilliant genius who makes it tick.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

That all the attacking flair and creative options we have produce thrilling football that delivers titles and trophies. If we click, other teams do not stand a chance.

And your biggest fear?

That we do not quite find the right balance within the side and another injury to Vincent Kompany leaves us vulnerable at the back.

Vincent Kompany's fitness could prove definitive for Manchester City in the Premier League

MANCHESTER UNITED

Sam Peoples (thepeoplesperson.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Cristiano Ronaldo in our double winning 2007-2008 season. Watching Ronaldo glide round the pitch and do things no other players could do with such ease was just an incredible sight.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Winning the Premier League. I think we’ve now got the squad to challenge for it, I just hope everything falls in place and our new signings do what they need to do to fix the problems we had in our team last year.

And your biggest fear?

That big injuries could blight our season. We don’t have that much strength in depth, especially in central midfield, so one or two major injuries and our starting XI wouldn’t be anywhere near strong enough on paper to compete.

NEWCASTLE

Tom Bore (ReadNewcastle.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Alan Shearer. Both Newcastle and the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer and a man who turned down countless opportunities to win silverware elsewhere in favour of making history at his boyhood club.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Ending the trophy drought is the dream. Silverware at St James’ Park is long overdue and would be an incredible way to mark our first season back in the Premier League with Rafa Benitez.

And your biggest fear?

Rafa and Newcastle parting company. The Spaniard is overseeing a significant rebuild on Tyneside, repairing years of damage from youth to the senior teams and losing him now would be unforgivable.

Rafa Benitez led Newcastle back into the Premier League by winning the Championship

SOUTHAMPTON

Aidan Small (FreshSaints.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club, and what made him so special?

Need you ask? Matt Le Tissier: as technically gifted as they come, he’d entertain the fans on a weekly basis, whilst saving our skin in the top flight year on year.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

For Virgil van Dijk to make a return to the starting XI. No amount of money can allow us to replace him, and he’s vital in our push for a European place.

And your biggest fear?

That we allow ourselves to flirt with relegation after standing so still in the market. We’ve made no additions to the to the goal-shy squad that Claude Puel left behind.

STOKE

Martin Smith (The Oatcake Fanzine)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Undoubtedly Sir Stanley Matthews. Every single Stoke supporter is brought up knowing about Stan and he is revered by every generation of supporters. He is a symbol of everything which is good about football and he is a son of Stoke-on-Trent. We’re very proud that football’s first knight was one of us!

What is your greatest hope for this season?

That we can genuinely push through to what for us would be the magical next level — challenging for a top-eight spot and qualifying for Europe.

And your biggest fear?

That our struggles in the transfer market fail to address the shortcomings which have blighted us for the past 18 months and that we see Stoke sucked into a relegation battle for the first time in a decade.

SWANSEA

Declan Terry (ReadSwansea.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Leon Britton. He’s been a key figure in the squad for an impressive 15 years now and has been a massive influence in Swansea’s success from League Two to the Premier League. He’s improved at every level and even now at 34, he can still put a shift in like he’s 24.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

I’d be delighted with a comfortable mid-table finish, whilst also going back to ‘The Swansea Way’ of playing. We seemed to have lost our identity in the last few years with numerous managerial sackings and changes in styles of play, but hopefully it’ll be a lot more steady under Paul Clement.

And your biggest fear?

Relegation. We came so close to the drop last season and it was absolutely terrifying. We must learn from last term’s mistakes if we’re avoid another farcical campaign like the last, but with transfer business on hold due to the current Gylfi Sigurdsson saga, it’s hard to judge if we actually have. Only time will tell.

TOTTENHAM

Barnaby Slater (The Football Republic)

YouTube.com/TheFootballRep

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Paul Gascoigne. His instinctive brilliance, strength on the ball, ability to thread a slide rule pass and set piece brilliance dominated my life as a youngster as I spent hours and hours in the back garden trying to recreate his numerous fantastic goals.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

That Spurs can go one better than last season and win the Premier League. Playing at Wembley makes it harder, as does the fact we don’t swim in the same financial waters as our rivals, but Mauricio Pochettino seems to revel in being the underdog and with everyone expecting us to fail, maybe he can get us to the promised land.

And your biggest fear?

That we have a bad start, the press get on our backs for not having made any signings and for the ‘Wembley hoodoo’ and our season never recovers, causing us to finish seventh behind the usual suspects and even, dare I say it, them lot down the road. Can’t see it happening though. Pochettino is just too good for that.

Harry Kane and his Tottenham team-mates play their home games at Wembley this season

WATFORD

David Anderson (Editor, Golden Pages Fanzine)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Almen Abdi gets my vote, his vision and passing were always too great for the Championship. Sadly I’m too young to remember the golden era of the 1980s.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Comfortably surviving in the Premier League would suffice, but hopefully with a good cup run to keep us fans excited during the final weeks of the season.

And your biggest fear?

We’re clearly building a squad for the future, so relegation is the big fear as we would see many of our exciting young prospects leave.

WEST BROM

Alex Newton (Editor, ReadWestBrom.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Even though he was only on loan Romelu Lukaku was unbelievably good. You could tell he was going to be a star, especially after the hat-trick against Manchester United.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

Europe is probably out of touching distance for us. A good cup run and a trip to Wembley in the FA Cup would be nice.

What is your biggest fear for this season?

The threat of relegation will always be there. If we don’t start well in a favourable first six games, I fear for us.

WEST HAM

Michael Oliver (Founder, ReadWestHam.com)

Who is the greatest player you have ever seen at your club?

Dimitri Payet stands alone as the most exciting player I’ve seen. A true match winner, he could do things I’ve never seen West Ham players do and he gave us the belief that we could win any game.

What is your greatest hope for this season?

West Ham have made some sensible signings this summer that give me faith that we can once again push for a European place. Javier Hernandez is the best forward we’ve had in some time.

And your biggest fear?

Injuries, as always. In years past, we have suffered crippling injuries to key players and if it happens again we really will have a threadbare squad struggling to get by.