The new Premiership season begins on 9 August 1997 (incidentally National Day in Singapore). For Liverpool Football Club, it will mean a trip to Selhurst Park to face their ultimate bogey team Wimbledon. A few things are certain - new signing Oyvind Leonhardsen will miss facing the team he hailed from last season; he is injured. So is top scorer Robbie Fowler. Yet all around Anfield optimism is high and rife on Liverpool' s chances of landing their first Premier League title. British bookmakers William Hill have installed Liverpool as second favourites at 7-2 behind Manchester United (5-4) to do so.

Manager Roy Evans can look back on a summer of exciting buys and gauge how improved the Reds are from last season. He has splurged 11.5m pounds on new players, more than any other Premiership club save Arsenal. He is reportedly willing to fork out a further 750 000 pounds for the 24-year-old Estonia skipper-cum-centreback Mark Lemsalu, who plays for German Second Division side Mainz and is currently on trial with the Reds. And Liverpool are still linked with the Inter Milan defender Massimo Paganin.

Among the clear-outs from Anfield, the most significant yet widely-anticipated was the departure of the unsettled Stan Collymore to Aston Villa for 7m pounds. As it turned out, after all the rather frenzied attempts to replace Stan the Man, with links to various big-name strikers like Fabrizio Ravanelli, Davor Sukor, Jari Litmanen and Teddy Sheringham, Liverpool signed a proven striker in Borussia Dortmund's 31-year-old Karlheinz Riedle, the 2-goal hero of the Germans' Champions Cup final win over Juventus, for a misery 1.8m pounds, small change compared to Collymore's transfer fee.

It seemed rather surprising, especially before the acquisition of Riedle, that Evans would sell Lee Jones to Tranmere Rovers. That move left him with only two strikers in Fowler and the highly-rated Michael Owen, and deprived Liverpool of the services of a talented forward. Perhaps Lee Jones' departure was personal frustration at being unable to secure a first-team place last season and not part of the manager's tactical moves. It certainly goes against the club's recent player policy, which has favoured younger players. Interestingly, the other major summer buy Paul Ince is 29. Evans may be feeling the need to insert championship experience and resolve into his previously young squad from players who have actually won them.

Liverpool's defence has been left largely intact amid all the transfers, though they are still linked with Paganin and Lemalsu. The issue at hand is pace: Mark Wright is an excellent sweeper but he needs a quick-footed defender alongside him. Young Dominic Matteo is exciting and fast, but is inexperienced and could be inconsistent. Neil Ruddock, for all his strength and aggression and the recent thinning of his girth, is not the quickest while Stig Inge Bjornebye's speciality lies in the quality of his crosses. Phil Babb and Rob Jones are the speedier pair, but both were out of favour last season because of reasons of injury and form; both are rated as unsettled for the new season and could be leaving Anfield around Christmas if their prospects do not improve. The same applies to Steve Harkness, whom I rate more as a utility player. Bjorn Tore Kvarme, signed on a free transfer last season, has excelled at all aspects of defending save maybe skill but he has cracked his shoulder bone and could be out for a month. Jason McAteer is certainly pacy, but he is a natural attacking midfielder and I would prefer him in the right midfield slot. That could pave the way for Rob Jones to move into the right side of defense.

Liverpool's defence was in my view the lynchpin of the team last season but that was because Evans played a 5-3-2 formation with three central defenders. There has been talk of him switching to the more conventional 4-4-2, with McAteer returned to midfield, although Evans appears cautious and is likely to stick with last season's formation, particularly in the away games and for the beginning of the season anyway. The Reds' relatively slow defense could come under heavier fire this season if Evans changes his strategy, but it is to him a necessary gamble in what may be his last chance to win the Premiership.

The pressures taking their toll on the beleaguered manager have stemmed from critics who expound the so-called "lessons" of last season. The traditional Liverpool way, immensely successful in the 1980s, was possession - they controlled possession and therefore controlled the game. They scored the goals, and returned to possession and wrap up the game. The Liverpool philosophy was that if your opponents didn't have the ball, they couldn't hurt you. Being the traditionalists the current management is, Evans and Ronnie Moran have stuck to that line of thought, what with the 5-3-2 strategy.

One problem with that philosophy in practice last season has been that Liverpool have too frequently done its first half without achieving the second. They have defended well and controlled possession but failed to score and win games. That happened at home to Blackburn Rovers, and Liverpool crashed to defeat against Coventry City despite the fury of their attacks and the running of Steve McManaman and McAteer. In fact the loss of home points has been oft cited as the cause of demise of Liverpool's title challenge last season. They lost 21 league points in their former fortress from 6 draws and 3 defeats; any one of those could have thrust Liverpool, at the least, to second in the final League standings and into a second Champions League spot. Instead they finished a very disappointing fourth.

I think after all the criticisms made at David James, for his now infamous howlers, and the defence after the decisive home defeat against Manchester United, the problem lies elsewhere. It does however remain disconcerting that Evans has not provided experienced cover for James - the reserve goalkeepers are Joergen Nielsen and Tony Warner, but the manager may be keeping faith with him.

The problem for me lies in midfield. Liverpool played 3 midfielders last season - John Barnes, McManaman and either Jamie Redknapp and Michael Thomas. For a fair number of games, when Redknapp was injured, Barnes and Thomas played in the same team. Barnes has been frustrated at being criticised for his role in Liverpool's Premiership failure last season but, in all fairness, he was just carrying out his manager's instructions. Which meant holding the ball, controlling the play from the centre of the park. Barnes excelled in that, and he provided Liverpool with much-needed poise and midfield stability in their away games. The problem was Michael Thomas played alongside him, doing very similar defensive work. Regardless of his attacking strengths when he was with Arsenal, Thomas last season played a possession role in midfield, more concerning with not losing the ball than going forward. There has been indications that he would be switched to defence this season. For this reason I do not see Barnes and Thomas playing together in midfield.

The strategy left Macca to do most of the running in midfield, and Premiership opponents have learnt to man-mark him. Sheffield Wednesday did that and beat the Reds at the Kop. McManaman is the source of Liverpool's attacks, and if he gets shut out, he cannot create chances for the strikers up front. Last season, when he was marked out of the game, there was no one else to provide the offensive thrust. Too often Liverpool last season have dominated games without creating chances.

Roy Evans' response to this line of criticism has been to revamp the midfield. The bulk of his new signings has been for this third of the pitch. And they are all midfielders with desire to go forward. Paul Ince, signed from Inter Milan for 4.2m pounds, Oyvind Leonhardsen from Wimbledon for 3.5m, and the very promising 20-year-old Danny Murphy from Crewe Alexandria for 3m, are all manifestations of Evans' acknowledgement of his tactical tactical "mistakes" last season. Collymore and Barnes have been oft-criticised for their play last season, but they merely played within a system.

The inclusion of any of Ince, Leonhardsen, Murphy in and the possible return of McAteer to midfield will give Liverpool's midfield a new, promising look. It will be much more attack-oriented. Ince will be the defensive rock of the midfield, but he can go forward as well, as he illustrated in his two acclaimed seasons with Inter Milan. Obviously the first-team line-up is likely to remain competitive, because I feel that Macca, Redknapp and even Barnes still warrant places in the first XI. It is Evans who must find the right combination which would both keep midfield possession and go up front and create.

Robbie Fowler has been a fixture for the past three seasons in one of the striking slots. The problem has always been finding an ideal strike partner for him. Ian Rush was ageing when Fowler first broke into the first team, and Stan Collymore in his two seasons with the club never really played either to his individualistic strengths or within the collective system. Patrik Berger never fulfilled his early promise and reminds me more of an attacking midfielder than a forward. The challenge this season would be to fit either Riedle or Michael Owen alongside Fowler. The former has been heralded as the perfect complement for Fowler with his aerial prowess and strength in the penalty box. I have yet to see Owen play but apparently he is another young precocious predator in the mould of Rush and Fowler. Ironically, with Fowler out injured, Riedle and Owen will probably start off against Wimbleon.

Liverpool's title aspirations will be relative to the strengths and weaknesses of their Premiership rivals as well. The prospects seem good. Champions Manchester United have lost inspirational captain Eric Cantona to retirement and have failed to sign the Brazilian defender Celio Silva. They are also hampered by serious injuries to David May and Oleg Gunnar Solsjkaer. Yet the strength of United has over the past 5 seasons been their ability to improvise and win. It is often very difficult to shut them down, and they keep surprising you with new, young players. They attacked far better than Liverpool did last season despite the woeful form of Andy Cole, because they had better movement from midfield. In fact the ability of David Beckham and Cantona (who played just behind Solsjkaer) to score goals from midfield provided a support for United's goal-scoring that Liverpool's midfield never really gave to Fowler and Collymore last season. Some critics have pointed out that Steve McManaman doesn't score the goals he should have, but for United, Ryan Giggs arguably does the same too. Roy Evans needs to forge a midfield that can put goals away and take the burden off the strikers. This season, Manchester United will be looking to the likes of Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt to provide that crucial lift that has made their midfield the strongest in the Premiership till now. But Alex Ferguson will need to sort out his striking problems, and adjust Teddy Sheringham to his new club.

Kenny Dalglish's Newcastle United appear to have been hard done by the devastating injury suffered by Alan Shearer in a pre-season match. And they have lost Les Ferdinand and David Ginola to Tottenham Hotspur. Just when they looked to be plugging up the holes in their defence - they have signed the Italian defender Pistone, their renowned forward line is in shambles, with Faustino Asprilla the only proven striker left. Without a good strike force, the Magpies are very much subdued as a Premiership title challenge.

Arsenal, as I have mentioned, have outspent Liverpool in the transfer market. The bulk of their 15m pound output has gone to French players and to the Dutch winger Marc Overmars. The difference between the two teams is that while Liverpool have retained the core of their first team amid the new signings (they have actually retained the entire first team so far except for Collymore), Arsenal are in the process of revamping their ageing squad. England midfielders David Platt and Paul Merson have gone to First Division Middlesbrough, and French manager Arsene Wenger is trying to inject style and panache into Arsenal's traditional long-ball game. With the likes of Overmars, Ian Wright and Dennis Berkamp, the Gunners look an impressive outfit, but it could be time before the new colleagues gel together or the Highbury revolution gets completed.

The English game is long renown for its surprises and competitiveness, but it is unlikely thus far that the challenge for the League title will come from another quarter. Spurs still look short on overall depth and quality, especially in defence, despite the acquisition of Ferdinand and Ginola. I feel that Darren Anderton is hard done in a club that has been quite fairly criticised as lacking in ambitions. The same goes for Matt Le Tissiler in Southampton. And it will be disappointing to have the likes of Platt, Merson and Ravanelli play in the English League.

One team I have quite intentionally left out of the championship reckoning is Chelsea. Ruud Gullit's London side has been massively rebuilt with considerable success - first by Glenn Hoddle. The FA Cup holders have strength in both midfield - with Roberto di Matteo and Dennis Wise, and attack - Mark Hughes, Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli. Their defence, to me, remains suspect despite the presence of Frank Lebouf. Sure, Chelsea is a team filled with potential match-winners, but they are as a team still finding their way. In a way, they are like Liverpool, filled with great players but unable to win the matches they should. Chelsea could still grab another trophy this season, but they are still far off from the steel and consistency to lift the Premiership title.