I am going to start off Leicester City's preview of the new season with one important hope for all of their fans. My hope is that the club's Thai owners let the team and importantly their manager Nigel Pearson have a good crack at competing in the Premier League without interfering too much.
Leicester have done well to continue to compete at the top of the Championship and finally gain promotion but it can be so easy for owners to get unrealistically carried away and place demands which are too high for the players and management. This was evident in the case of Cardiff City who showed the door to their manager, Malky Mackay, half way through last season despite being sixteenth in the league - they would go on to finish bottom.
What happened between Mackay and owner Vincent Tan may never be truly known but if he had trusted the manager who got the club promoted they may now be preparing for another season in the Premier League. I hope that Leicester learn from Cardiff's mistakes as they are a club with a similar profile and one which I believe has the potential to do well this season if the positive vibe around the club is continued.
The decision to bring Nigel Pearson back to the club was a great one as he was a favourite of the fans in his first spell and that continued to be the case on his return. Pearson followed on from the tenure of Sven Goran Eriksson who didn't do badly as manager but was perhaps too high profile for the club at the time who despite having big ambitions needed someone who was down to earth, realistic but above all able to keep everyone united and this was the attitude that helped get Leicester promotion.
A player who exemplified Leicester last season was David Nugent who scored 20 goals in the Championship. After his time at Portsmouth he might have thought his best days were behind him but hard work has brought him the chance to play top flight Football once more and try and help Leicester stay up.
The big question is can David Nugent have the same impact he has had in the Championship at Premier League level?
This question can also be asked of Jamie Vardy who has made a meteoric rise from Northern Premier League to the Premier League in just four years. The concern for Leicester fans will be whether their strike force will be a big enough threat to score goals on a regular basis at this level and whilst only time will tell, it is a legitimate concern for an area of the team which is likely to be crucial to their prospects this season.
Looking right throughout the team there is generally a lack of Premier League experience - there are many promising players who have caught the eye such as Anthony Knockaert, Matty James and even keeper Kasper Schmeichel whilst likely signing Leonardo Ulloa will add to that category but none of them have experienced the top flight and the hope will surely be that they are all hungry and ready to rise the challenge. The signings of Matthew Upson and Marc Alrbighton show the need to bring in as much experience as possible as it will be a learning curve throughout the season. This will also be a learning experience for the manager who has only had a small taste of the Premier League in the past.
What Leicester can be sure of is a strong vocal support at their stadium and their home form is likely to be pivotal to their survival prospects and I think it is possible that we may see a number of the top teams struggle when they visit. If the owners are sensible, the players step up to the challenge and Leicester become hard to beat at the King Power Stadium then I think a relatively comfortable season could be in store but all of that is a 'if.'
2014-15 Prediction: 14th.