Outside The Box - Meet The Team

Name – Katie Whittemore

Twitter - @ItsBizNews

Club – Nottingham Forest

Fact – I can tie a cherry stalk into a knot with my tongue. Serious skill.

Pet Hate – Players who have over inflated ego’s and biased FA decisions.

I’ve supported Forest ever since my Uncle took me along to a match V Charlton when I was younger, the passion of the fans, the atmosphere in the stadium, they were my team. Being a Forest fan is never boring and never easy, last season alone had every up and down a club could possibly go through. A pre-season take over by the Al Hasawi family left little time for transfers, however the came thick and fast and we began the season with almost a new squad, a new manager, all with very little preparation. Things were going ok, nothing to shout about (apart from THAT Leeds result) then over Christmas our fortunes changed, we were cursed with Alex Mcleish. Thankfully he saw sense and resigned, cue the return of King Billy, a fantastic run saw us competing on the last day of the season for a play-off place. Seated next to the away Leicester fans it certainly wasn’t a let down (apart from the result). Now as the new season approaches we have a more stable foundation, a pre-season where our team have had a chance to gel and some fantastic signing rumoured. Bring it on!

Name – Will Moorcroft

Twitter - @willtm10

Club – Stoke City

Fact - I was on picked out in the crowd by the TV cameras during the 2011 FA Cup Final, standing up and still cheering despite the fact Stoke were 1-0 down to Man City and it was the 91st minute, so we had no chance!

Pet Hate - people who support a team without decent reason or logic - in other words ‘Glory Hunters’

MY local team is Stoke City - I am a lifelong fan - and over the past 5 seasons I have enjoyed watching us become established in the Premier League. What hasn’t been so enjoyable at times though is the dull nature of ‘Survival Football’ utilised by Tony Pulis, so with all respect to him for what he’s done at Stoke (promotion, FA Cup final, Europa League run), it was perhaps the right decision to bring in a manager to take the club further forward. Step forward Mark Hughes.

Two years ago, how many Stokies would have thought that we would be signing a Dutch international or a Spanish U-21? Well we have now, and while both Erik Pieters and Marc Muniesa are defenders, for me it shows how Hughes wants to add flare and movement to our usual 6” brick wall we called a defence, and how he is looking to improve the team’s style so that we are no longer a hoof-ball, rugby team, but a more tika-taka style team that can hold the ball and play more fluently - reports from the team’s pre-season tour of the USA have been positive in this manner...

With the imminent arrival of a new striker, reported to be either Benfica’s Nelson Oliveira or Hannover’s former Manchester United striker Mame Biram Diouf, Hughes also looks set to try and combat our long-standing problem of not scoring enough goals, and if he can do that, I should hope that a top-half finish is achievable, which would certainly change the mind of the sceptics who called for his sacking the day after he was appointed!

Name – Lee Gormley

Twitter - @LeeGormley

Club – Manchester United

Fact - in 2009 I was at Manchester United’s Carling Cup fixture at Derby and while I was walking through the car park I randomly bumped into a certain Mr Teddy Sheringham whom I had a quick chat with and got a photo!

Pet Hate - ! My biggest pet hate in the football world is the constant playacting by world class players when they get the slightest of knocks. Compared to other sports like Rugby or GAA games, football really isn’t that physical.

Manchester United’s summer transfer activity has been almost obsolete with the fans still waiting on the arrival of a ‘big name’ and especially a player who can play in that key midfield position. Big names such as Thiago Alacantra and Kevin Strootman have been linked with the club over the past few months only for these players to eventually join Bayern Munich and AS Roma respectively. The most recent player to be linked with a move to Old Trafford has been former Arsenal midfielder and current Barcelona playmaker Cesc Fabregas. A move seems to be highly unlikely at the moment meaning the Red Devils are still in possession of that familiar gap in their midfield.

Without a new signing to bolster the midfield position United are still a formidable team of course, having won their 20^th league title last season under the now retired Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson’s fellow countryman David Moyes has since taken over the biggest job in world football and he will begin the title defence against Swansea on Premier League opening day which is the 17^th of August.

The title winning squad which includes Sir Alex Ferguson’s last ever signing as manager, Wilfred Zaha, will be fully expected to be in the hunt for the title next season no matter how much money is spent on new players in this transfer window. Personally I believe the winning mentality is still at the club and always will be there no matter who is in charge. United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all had recent big changes regarding managers and players meaning the upcoming season will be harder to predict than ever. Although I still think Manchester United will go on and regain the Premier League trophy possibly in one of the closest ever finishes to a Premier League season. 

Name – Andrew Dalton

Twitter – @lufcstats

Club – Leeds United

Fact – I was on Live and Kicking back in 2001, doing a football quiz, called Have you got the balls, finished 3 out of 18!

Pet Hate - The way the broadcast Media run football! Gone are the days of 9 games kicking off at 3pm on Saturday! As a Leeds fan I wander why we bring out a fixture list, as by the time the season kicks off at least 5 or 6 games will have been moved!

My first game was when we beat Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road in April 1992, when a certain Frenchman scored what proved to be the goal of the season! I have experienced many ups and down following Leeds, in my lifetime we have reached both the semi finals of the UEFA Cup and the Champions League, suffered 2 relegations in 2004 from the Prem and in 2007 from the Championship, had 3 seasons in League 1, one promotion and 2 play off final defeats! My all time highlight supporting Leeds would be the 3-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League quarter-final 1st leg at Elland Road. My all time low light, would be the play off final defeat to Doncaster in 2008, I really did think we would beat them. I don't think I have ever felt so low after Leeds game! After the season we had had with the -15 points, it felt like the script would have the perfect ending! Also in my time I reckon I have seen over 300 players in 20 years pull on the White Shirt!

Name - Conor Willis

Twitter - @CWillis7

Club - Southampton

Fact: I stuck a toy car wheel up my nose when I was little.

Pet hate - Being out sung at a football match. There's nothing worse than the opposition crowd being louder than you.

Southampton have made a steady start to pre season and have spent two weeks in Spain and Austria for another 6 days. We've signed Dejan Lovren, a towering central defender from Lyon believed to have cost around £8million. He will certainly provide competition between the defenders we already have and should ideally walk straight into the starting eleven. We have also bought in Victor Wanyama, a strong holding midfielder from Celtic. He has put in noticeable performances against the likes of Xavi and Iniesta against Barcelona in the Champions League last year and will fit in nicely next to Schneiderlin who won many plaudits himself last year. 

I believe with another signing or two we can really push on from last seasons 14th place finish and get into the top 10. That has to be the aim this year. We've got the squad to do it, we have the right approach to games to do it and we have to correct attitude and belief to do it so I don't see why we can't!

Name - Joe Williamson

Twitter - @jmwilliamson23

Club -  Leeds united

Fact -  I used to live across the road from Luke Varney

Pet hate - Diving and Football pundits

Leeds United, have had a fairly unspectacular off season in the form of transfers and on the pitch performance, but off the pitch is where the drama has and continues to unfold, where there has been heavy speculation linking Leeds United to a big money link up with energy giants, red bull. In my opinion, the investment from red bull could help make Leeds a force to be reckoned with in the championship, this extra investment could provide the funds for transfers which will make the club a realistic challenger for promotion. If the added funds allow McDermott to bring in the players he wants like his rumoured interest in Adam le Fondre, then Leeds United will obviously benefit from a link up with red bull. If this deal will be of the best interest of the club, and it’s all to do with the level of involvement with red bull and what changes they want for their money, it needs to be looked at seriously.  If it’s just shirt sponsorship, then it’s definitely a positive move for Leeds United.  If they want more like the rumoured stadium name change, then it should be seriously considered if this is the right move, as Leeds United, by changing their name of Elland Road will be selling part of their history and heritage and I think many fans would agree with me that this would not benefit the club.

There has been 3 transfers which are Noel Hunt and Matt Smith on free transfers and Luke Murphy for £1 million. Noel Hunt has been in a promotion winning team with McDermott before at Reading and has experience of scoring goals at this level and on a free transfer it is a worthwhile transfer. Matt Smith is best known for his FA cup exploits of last season with Oldham, but is unproven at championship level.  He is a strong target man and could be seen as a replacement for the departed Luciano Becchio to Norwich last January. Personally, I think Matt Smith will have a good season and surprise a lot of people. The last signing raised a few eyebrows purely because for the first time in a long time the club spent a million pounds on a player. Luke Murphy has a lot of potential and impressed a lot of people at Crewe last year with his performances and it will be interesting to see how he performs at a higher level. My predictions for Leeds this year is 6^th place, just scraping a playoff place. I believe Brian McDermott is a good manager and with a full summer behind him with the squad will get the team playing like he wants them too and similar to the way Reading played when they gained promotion. Keeping hold of players such as Ross McCormack and Sam Byram will be crucial to the clubs promotion challenge.  Leeds need to break their current mould of selling their best players if they are to return to the top flight.

Name – Finn Vijayakar

Twitter – @FinnVijayakar

Club – QPR

Fact – I went to the iconic city V Qpr game, I left a 2-2!

Pet Hate - Football players spitting everywhere. Diving and the lack of teams that play with two out and out strikers.

I have had a season ticket with my dad at QPR since I can remember. The past couple of seasons have been more than frustrating for me, what with QPR signing a load of mercenaries and being relegated from the premier league. QPR are currently favourites to gain promotion to the premier league next season and even though I support QPR, I honestly don't see why, we've sold one of our only players who actually plays for the shirt in Jamie Mackie, to fellow promotion candidates Nottingham Forest and we are likely to have only two fit strikers for our opening game of the season against Sheffield Wednesday. With Remy having a rape charge hanging over his head and Zamora with his dodgy hip, Andy Johnson looks our best bet this season. It is clear Redknapp wants to bring in more players but he has found it difficult so far having lost out on Gary Hooper to Norwich. QPR have made three signings so far this summer in Danny Simpson, Richard Dunne and Karl Henry. Simpson and Henry seem to be solid signings but I am not so sure about Dunne who has looked unfit in pre-season. I hope Harry Redknapp can get in a few more signings and get QPR back to where they belong this season. It's going to be tough but as an Rs fan you have to be prepared for anything! 

Name – Nathan Spafford

Twitter - @Nathanspafford

Club – Manchester United

Fact – I once walked right into Micah Richards with a crate of WKD’s on the concourse at Manchester Arena.

Pet Hate – When fans are so hypocritical about everything for example when their own player dives its acceptable.

Hi guys, my name is Nathan Spafford, 21 years of age and I live in the glorious football loaded Manchester and am a United fan through and through. I haven't always been a football fan though, my Grandad got me into it when I was pretty young (against the will of my parents) and I am now a die-hard football fan. My love for this beautiful game grows larger by the year and hopefully this year, joining this fantastic project, will be the first step into a career in football. I do have interest in other sports however, formula one being my other love. So yeah, that's about it for now. Hopefully I can bring you some of my rather interesting insight and point of views of the world football, and maybe a bit of humour too. Cheers guys!

Name - Chris

Twitter - @chrish5244

Club - Sheffield Wednesday

Fact - I once served H from Steps some trainers when I used to work in a menswear shop. I know, I could have saved the world from Steps there and then.

Pet hate - The disconnection between players/clubs and the supporters. This may be inevitable as the game has become more of a "product" with all it's riches but I feel the fans are often disregarded especially by some of the top clubs.    

Virtually impossible to try and second guess the Championship. It's often said it's the tightest and toughest league and

I wouldn't argue with that. Owls fans will be hoping for a play-off place again this season but so will most other championship sides! As we saw from last season, relegation contenders can become promotion contenders with 2 or 3 wins. This season is a big one for Dave Jones at Wednesday, make or break. The style of football will continue to be scrutinised and with the signing of 6ft 6 striker Atdhe Nuhiu from Rapid Vienna it would seem there will be a few more long ball's this season. How much the fans will like this will obviously depend on whether we are winning games or not! With yet another take over rumour now being reported things are far from certain at Hillsborough but as owls fans know this is the norm!

Name - Daniel Feliciano

Twitter - @dmf180593
Club - Manchester United
Fact - I know the squad number of every Premier League first team player off the top of my head, happy to be tested on it too! (Based on 12/13 season, prior to new signings)
Pet Hate - When fans use the logic "he scored more goals, he's better!"
Brought up in London, I've supported Manchester United my entire life thanks to my dad.  He took me to watch matches all the time, and I remember going to Highbury with him and having to sit in the Arsenal stand and watch United get beaten 3-0, while I sat in the stand and cried (aged about 7). I remember being allowed to stay up late in 1999 to watch *that* final, watching my dad cry with joy when the final whistle blew. I love Manchester United.

This season is a big year for us. With Sir Alex going and us winning the league by 11pts  last year it does makes you wonder what Moyes will do with the squad. He's need to be seen to be trying to make his own stamp on the squad, however do you meddle with a squad that won the league so comfortably? The answer should be yes. Despite winning the league, there were obvious weaknesses in the side. Central midfield is an issue, regardless of recent success. We need a midfielder alongside Carrick who can help to control the game but is used to the physicality of the Premier League. Fabregas/Fellaini would be my choice, as they both fit the bill. If Rooney goes, we don't necessarily need a striker, but another winger certainly wouldn't go amiss.

I still expect Manchester United to win the league this season, although it will be a much more tightly contested affair. I also think Moyes will bring the FA Cup back to Old Trafford, but I do think we'll struggle in Europe this year.

Name – Haydn Gleed

Twitter – @haydngleed

Club – Cardiff City

Fact – When I was living in Glasgow, for a time I worked in the ticket office at Ibrox, home of Glasgow Rangers. I met many of the players as they would come in and get their complimentary tickets, and I’ll be honest, the majority of them weren’t particularly pleasant.

Pet Hate – Diving or trying to con the referee to gain an advantage. In my mind, and I’m not sure if I used to watch football through innocent kids blinkers, but it seems this is only something that has come into the game since the Premier League has started in 1992.

On the 24^th June I went to Forest Green to watch our first pre-season game, and I have to say I came away both excited and concerned. Excited because I think our midfield, although not top 4 quality, will stack up to the majority of the Premier League. Peter Whittingham and Kimbo could be surprise packages as the men to pull the strings in midfield. Jordan Mutch and Don Cowie will be our battering rams in the middle, and on the wings we have pace and trickery in Craig Noone and Craig Conway also experience and no how from Craig Bellamy and Tommy Smith. I’m also excited by the potential, and the key word is potential of Nicky Maynard or Frazer Campbell playing with our new HUGE striker Andreas Cornelius.

My only concern is our defence. I love Mark Hudson and Ben Turner, but they are not the fastest defenders you’ll ever see, and in the Premiership they will be found out. We need a younger, stable defender, who will be able to mask the lack of pace of our central defenders. As I write this, there is well over a month before the end of the transfer window, so I’m not panicking at the moment, but if the 1^st September comes around and all we have bought is midfielders and strikers, I will be very concerned! The fact the final score against Forest Green was a 4-3 win says it all. Magnificent on attack, unstable in defence.