da leao： Bookmakers across the board are already reporting taking huge bets on the likely Premier League Golden Boot winner for the upcoming 2012-13 season and it is Sergio Aguero, whose 23rd goal of last season’s campaign won the Premier League for Manchester City in the most dramatic of fashion, who has been installed as the 8/1 favourite to finish top goalscorer in 2013.
da heads bet： There is little doubt that from the moment he arrived at the Etihad Stadium that Aguero was a very special player. He opened his Premier League account with a brace against Swansea on his debut and had scored eight of his total goals in his first five league games in England.
From then on, he scored regularly in what was almost an injury free season and one in which he was clearly marked down by City boss, Roberto Mancini, as a regular starter in an otherwise flexible selection process. That same situation should apply again this season, which should mean that Argentine will be scoring plenty of goals once again and barring injury problems, should once again be in contention at the top of the goalscorer table throughout the season.
Next in the betting is Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney who finished last season with 27 league goals, three behind Golden Boot winner, Robin Van Persie. Rooney’s 27 goals came from only 34 appearances, suggesting that if he was given an out and out strikers role at Old Trafford, he could well average more than a goal a game.
However, Sir Alex Ferguson recognises the all-round ability of his best player and uses the England international in a variety of roles which often takes him out of the firing line. Nonetheless, his profound ability will undoubtedly see him finding the net equally as regularly and he should not be ruled out of winning the Golden Boot for the first time and is a best price 9/1 to do so in the odds.
Robin Van Persie, whose thirty goals won him the 2011-12 Golden Boot, has expressed his desire to leave The Emirates and the Gunners are prepared to cash in now before he can leave on a free transfer in 12 months’ time.
The Bookmakers have installed Van Persie as a general 10/1 chance to win a second successive Golden Boot but those odds will shorten considerably should he move to another Premier League club. It is understood that Man Utd are in poll position and if that transpires to be true then both Van Persie and United would be threat to all on comers in both the league and Champions League.
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Fernando Torres is also listed as a 10/1 shot but before backing him with your life savings, be sure that his attitude is as good now as it was when he finished last season by scoring in the Champions League final.
As it stands currently, Torres will be heavily relied upon by Chelsea to lead their attack with goals, following Drogba’s departure. As the lead striker at Stamford Bridge, Torres could well begin to justify his £50m price tag during 2012/2013.
The Spanish international only netted six times in the Premier League last season, from 32 appearances, although the majority of those appearances were made as a substitute. If compared to his first season at Liverpool when he found the net 24 times from 33 games, then Torres has been a very poor purchase by Chelsea. However, should he recapture that level of form he showed in that opening season at Anfield, then there will be no stopping him in the race for the Golden Boot this season.
There are many Liverpool supporters who will be keeping the faith with Luis Suarez but he could only find 11 goals last season and was responsible for squandering at least as many again. The Uruguayan international has been welcomed with open arms by Liverpool fans and there is little doubt about his overall ability but to back him with odds of 16/1 to be this season’s Premier League top scorer is a non-starter.
Carlos Tevez is a very interesting contender whose goal scoring exploits for both Manchester United and Manchester City have been well documented, sharing the Golden Boot in 2011 with Dimitar Berbatov. Roberto Mancini seemed in favour of playing the wayward Tevez alongside his Argentine team mate, Sergio Aguero, up front when he finally came back to the fold last season and when playing together, they were both regularly finding the net which is great for the team but sharing goals with Aguero does affect Tevez’s chances, which is why he is double the price of Aguero at 16/1.
Of course, one cannot mention Manchester City and its goal threat without mentioning the enigmatic Mario Balotelli, who without doubt, would back himself to win the Golden boot. However, the unpredictable Italian knows that until his behaviour becomes a little mote conformist then he will not be in a position to guarantee a place in the starting line-up.
That said, Balotelli, was still good enough to score 13 times in 23 games last season and showed signs, particularly when representing his country in the Euro 2012 that maturity is slowly but surely being reached. Given a run in the team, Balotelli would be hard to resist in the Golden Boot competition. He has odds as long as 20/1 with some bookmakers but whilst there are no guarantees he cannot be backed with confidence .
One player that should not be ignored is Papiss Cisse of Newcastle United who was a revelation when he arrived at St James Park from SC Freiburg during the January Transfer window. The Senegal international scored 13 times in 14 games, a ratio that would be almost impossible to maintain throughout the season, however, it is a record that strongly suggests that if Newcastle have an equally as good a season as they had last term, then Cisse is sure to feature amongst the Premier League’s top goalscorers and of all the pkayers, makes the most appeal at 25/1 to finish top of the pile.