1 Reason to Be Worried for Every Premier League Team Going into 2015/16 Season

We looked at the positives, but now let's switch to the negatives.

Some football fans are natural pessimists, and no matter how well things are going for their clubs they'll always find cause for concern—be it over an upcoming fixture, a potential injury or another factor.

Going into a new season these concerns can be magnified, too, and fans tend to get a little obsessed with whatever they feel is harming their clubs' chances of success.

As we stand on the verge of a new campaign, here's what's worrying Premier League fans right now.

Arsenal: Why Is There No Like-for-Like Cover for Francis Coquelin?

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Of course there are Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, but neither of those two midfield players has the athleticism or defensive awareness of Francis Coquelin.

Given the way the Frenchman so clearly improved Arsenal in the latter half of last season, then there is a real worry among Gunners fans over just what would happen were he to get injured in the coming campaign.

Coquelin is perhaps the most unlikely figure to emerge as a key player for Arsenal in recent years, but there is little doubt that much rests on his shoulders in 2015/16, and the lack of a like-for-like replacement is somewhat puzzling.

Aston Villa: How Do You Replace the Captain and Best Player?

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Fabian Delph has gone to Manchester City and Christian Benteke is close to a move to Liverpool, according to the Independent's Sam Wallace, and what they've left behind at Aston Villa doesn't look all too impressive at the moment.

Losing one key player is bad enough for any team—especially after a season in which they were in serious danger of relegation—but losing two? Tim Sherwood is going to have to impress in the transfer market if Villa are to stay away from the bottom reaches of the Premier League in 2015/16, a season that promises to be a true test of his managerial abilities.

Bournemouth: Can Callum Wilson Score Goals at the Top Level?

As they head into a first-ever Premier League campaign, Bournemouth and manager Eddie Howe look as though they are going to rely largely on the players that served them so well in earning promotion last season—including 20-goal forward Callum Wilson.

The 23-year-old has undoubtedly got the tools to do well in the division, but until he hits the ground running, there will be an element of uncertainty about his first top-flight credentials—a big risk at a time when his club are counting on him.

Chelsea: Can Radamel Falcao Still Cut It?

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If Radamel Falcao's loan move to Chelsea has more to do with his quality as a forward and less to do with Jose Mourinho's relationship with his agent Jorge Mendes, then that's fair enough, but it's safe to say that plenty are pretty skeptical about that.

As a like-for-like replacement for Didier Drogba, there's a good argument for Falcao improving the Premier League champions' squad. But that's without taking into consideration his fairly complete failure at Manchester United last season, when he looked completely unsuited for English football.

It's safe to say that the jury is out on him.

Crystal Palace: Has Alan Pardew Already Taken Them as Far as They Can Go?

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Their stunning finish to the tail end of the 2014/15 season saw Crystal Palace in 10th place in the table, and while that is a remarkable achievement and one that deserves to be respected, it also raises the question—just how much better can it get?

The signing of Yohan Cabaye is of course a wonderful coup for Palace and manager Alan Pardew—the Frenchman's old boss at Newcastle United—but can he really take his new club from mid-table to challenging for Europe?

If anything, the only way is down.

Everton: Will John Stones' Head Be Turned by Chelsea?

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We all know how the modern transfer sagas usually go, with a player becoming the subject of a rejected bid, eventually agitating for a move and ultimately switching to the club who desire him for a vastly inflated fee.

What happens in the case of John Stones—reported here by the Liverpool Echo—remains to be seen, but the Everton centre-back is certainly regarded as a key figure by his club and a player that they don't want to lose.

With a move to the champions on the cards though, it's just not clear whether he feels the same about them.

Leicester City: Was Claudio Ranieri Really the Best Choice?

The reasons for sacking Nigel Pearson are another matter entirely, but Leicester City owners' decision to appoint Claudio Ranieri in his place has certainly been one of the more surprising moves of the summer.

Last seen in the Premier League over 10 years ago, and most recently overseeing a disastrous spell as manager of Greece, the question marks are out in force following the appointment of the 63-year-old Italian, who enters his 16th different coaching role with much to prove.

Liverpool: Has Brendan Rodgers Learned from His Mistakes?

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Many are surprised that Brendan Rodgers survived to enter a fourth season as Liverpool manager, but as things went so spectacularly wrong for the Northern Irishman and Liverpool last season, he will have learned a few things about his players and himself.

The task now is to use that knowledge to ensure that those same failings don't come around again in the new season, with the Liverpool manager needing to be humble enough to understand his methods need tweaking from time to time and knowledgeable enough to learn from his own mistakes. 

Manchester City: How Will Raheem Sterling Handle the Pressure?

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Much of Raheem Sterling's good work for Liverpool seemed to be done when the livewire attacker didn't have a care in the world—but now he'll have plenty.

A £49 million footballer, the most expensive Englishman and a player who will be expected to deliver whatever the opposition each and every week, Sterling will experience new pressures in the coming season as he becomes more than just another player.

He has the ability to rise above that expectation, but can he?

Manchester United: How Long Will It Take the New Signings to Settle?

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Boasting about their impressive new additions is all well and good for Manchester United, but until we all know if they'll settle or not, there will have to be an element of caution taken with them.

For all of last summer's impressive signings, you could say that only Ander Herrera and Daley Blind proved to be outright success stories in their first campaigns. While Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian and Memphis Depay all look the part, until United fans see them in competitive action they might be inclined to reserve judgement on them.

Newcastle United: Why Haven't There Been More New Signings?

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

At the time of writing, only Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic have been added to the Newcastle United ranks since last season. Given that they needed a win to stay in the Premier League on the final day of the campaign, that is more than a little surprising.

Both are good players and clearly new boss Steve McClaren will be backing himself to revive the fortunes of those already at the club, it's just more than a little surprising that a few new colleagues haven't arrived yet, particularly in defence.

Norwich City: Can Cameron Jerome Really Keep Them Up?

He scored 18 times—including in the playoff final—as Norwich were promoted from the Championship in 2014/15, but Canaries supporters backing Cameron Jerome to keep up that type of form in the Premier League would be wise not to look at his last four seasons in the division.

Tallies of three, four, three and two goals don't make pretty reading for Norwich's premier forward in the Premier League, and he's going to need some goalscoring help if the Canaries are to stay away from relegation trouble.

Southampton: How Much Will They Miss Fraser Forster?

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

The losses of Nathaniel Clyne to Liverpool and Morgan Schneiderlin to Manchester United aren't welcomed at Southampton, but they've survived the sales of key players before and so that won't unduly worry them.

What will be a concern, though, is the absence of England goalkeeper Fraser Forster for what the Daily Express claimed could be the entire season. Maarten Stekelenburg has replaced the injured stopper, but the last time he was in the Premier League he was relegated with Fulham in 2013/14.

Stoke City: Who'll Take over from Steven N'Zonzi in Midfield?

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

The loss of French midfielder Steven N'Zonzi to Sevilla is a major blow to Stoke City and Mark Hughes ahead of the new campaign. The club have yet to bring in a replacement for one of their best performers throughout what was a generally impressive showing last term.

N'Zonzi was a force to be reckoned with in the centre of the field for the Potters, and his absence leaves a huge gap that won't be cheap to fill.

Sunderland: Are There Enough Goals in the Squad?

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Dutch international Jeremain Lens has joined from Dynamo Kiev, but Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat is unlikely to be blown away by the goalscoring options available throughout his squad.

Jermain Defoe is getting older and the likes of Steven Fletcher, Connor Wickham and Danny Graham are all prone to going on long scoreless runs, meaning that the Mackems are perhaps going to have to find goals from elsewhere if they are to avoid another season of relegation worries.

Swansea City: Can They Possibly Keep Improving?

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

The Swansea City story just keeps on adding new, impressive chapters, but much like Crystal Palace under Alan Pardew, is there going to be a feeling that Garry Monk has taken the club as far as he can right now?

Monk will be without the services of Wilfried Bony unlike for the first half of last season. Although he's brought in the Portuguese forward Eder and Ghana midfielder Andre Ayew, those two are going to need patience to adapt, and patience is often unforgiving in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur: Will Harry Kane Be a Marked Man?

This time last year, no one in their right minds would have predicted the impact that Harry Kane was about to have on Tottenham Hotspur and on English football, but now everyone knows what he's all about.

Kane will be the subject of every single opposition team talk from Spurs' opponents from the beginning of the campaign to the end, with plans being devised to keep him quiet and defenders studying his every move in a bid to get one over on him.

He's good enough to come through it still scoring goals, but it promises to be the toughest few months of his career.

Watford: How Will Quique Sanchez Flores Take to British Football?

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Of the 20 Premier League managers who are all lining up at the beginning of the season, the only one without any prior experience of British football (if you include Slaven Bilic's as a player) is the new Watford boss, Quique Sanchez Flores.

How the Spaniard does at Vicarage Road promises to be one of the more fascinating aspects of the campaign, and if he is to do well, then he'll have to adapt to the peculiar demands of the British game—something that plenty have failed to do in the past.

West Bromwich Albion: Is the Squad a Little Too Old?

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A glance down the West Bromwich Albion squad list would reveal the same familiar names, and that has been the case for a while now.

Of course Saido Berahino adds a welcome dash of youth, and new signing James McClean is a bundle of energy. But there is just the slight suspicion that this Baggies squad are a little too long in the tooth in certain areas, particularly in defence where Joleon Lescott, Gareth McAuley and Jonas Olsson—all in their 30s—are expected to be regulars.

West Ham United: Will Upton Park Get a Grand Send Off?

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It's been West Ham United's home for 111 years, and the club will hope that the pressure to ensure they give the Boleyn Ground (more commonly known as Upton Park) the grand send-off that it deserves doesn't become a sideshow to their season.

The Hammers' owners want new boss Slaven Bilic to lead their team into the Olympic Stadium playing an entertaining brand of football that they would describe as "the West Ham way"—something that will need to happen if they aren't to suddenly feel nostalgic for the days when Sam Allardyce kept them comfortably in mid-table.