Opinion: Why next season's title race could be best ever

So much for all those narrow-minded Anglo-philes who tried to have us believe Euro 2008 would be a washout without the English there.

It's turning out to be a magnificent tournament with some team displays to put England to shame. Think Holland, Portugal, Spain and Germany and you get the picture.

My tips, Spain, are flying with David Villa nudging his transfer value up with every goal he scores. Chelsea will buy him. Trust me.

And talking of the Blues, Scolari is a fantastic appointment for them. But I wouldn't trade Frank '20 goals a season' Lampard for Deco. No chance. Deco might have skills and thrills but at 29 he doesn't represent fresh blood and his goals return is not all that.

What Scolari's appointment does mean, however, is the fact that next season's Premier League title race will be the most fiercely-contested there has ever been.

United will be looking to retain it while Chelsea will be looking to steal it back with some of the most formidable firepower English football has ever seen if they manage to land their transfer targets.

Then you have Arsenal, who now must bring in some superstars to avoid an exodus, what with Flamini already gone and Hleb looking like going.

As for Liverpool, if it wasn't for the in-fighting at borad level, Rafa Benitez would have been out on his ear last season due to the rotation nonsense that cost his side the title. He will need to improve big style with a settled team, and although Gareth Barry dovetails well with Steven Gerrard I would rather see another couple of wingers, another top class striker and a decent centre-half as cover. We even need a decent back-up keeper.

And then you have the pretenders. Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra looked like an idiot when he sacked Sven after their best season for years. But he clearly hasn't bought the club to mess around, and in Mark Hughes has a hungry manager that can make the club a superpower.

If they can get Ronaldinho and turn him into anything like the player they used to be then they too could be big players in the forthcoming season.

Tottenham too, look as though they have come to play. Juande Ramos has brought in some interesting talent but can they cut it in this League? I am still not quite convinced what all the fuss is about Modric. He looked ok the other day for Croatia, but not all that. Giovanni Dos Santos clearly has ability but then again, if he was that good would Barcelona (who know a thing or two about good players) have sold him?

Who do you think will win next season's title? Share your views on our Footy Forums and new Football Spy blog