Striking the Right Balance: Torres, Adebayor, or Berbatov

After a summer of exciting transfer activity (and equally engrossing inactivity—see Adebayor) two of the "Big Four" have new strikers to bed in.

Manchester United have the delightful problem of who to play alongside Dimitar Berbatov, whilst Liverpool are waiting excitedly to see sparks fly after putting Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres together.

Meanwhile Arsenal and Chelsea have settled for the same striking options as last season. But as Spurs fans will no doubt agree, change isn't necessarily a good thing.

Manchester United

Alex Ferguson, could be in danger of nicking the "Tinkerman" title away from former Chelsea boss Ranieri, after shuffling his double winning team.

Not content with winning the Premier and Champions Leagues, Ferguson might be sorely criticised if his finely tuned engine splutters too much after the introduction of some Bulgarian grease.

On paper the combination of Berbatov and Rooney looks world-class, blending Berbatov's clever brain, link play, and aerial threat with Rooney's pace, strong running, and marksmanship.

Unfortunately Berbatov can be dynamite one game, whilst disappearing in the next. Rooney in contrast doesn't often have an off day, but doesn't score as much as his talent deserves, his temperament can also be suspect.

Chelsea

Last year’s runners-up in the Premiership and Europe made no additions to their striking options over the summer, despite coveting Brazilian whiz-kid Robinho.

Barring injuries, the pairing of Anelka and Drogba looks as potent as any, with Chelsea fans enjoying Drogba's coming of age in the last two seasons.

Anelka's form has been more transient, but his pace and running with the ball would appear to be the perfect compliment to the powerful, combatative style, and aerial presence of the big Ivorian.

The pair haven't gelled as yet and due to injuries haven't play that much together since Anelka's arrival from Bolton, but if they do they could fire Chelsea back to the top.

Potential problems could be that Anelka is often viewed as not being a team player and hasn't been that prolific in recent seasons, whilst Drogba's commitment has been called into question recently.

Arsenal

After initial speculation that they might fall away from the "Big Four" turned to near certainty of winning the title by February, the Gunners' title charge fell apart spectacularly last season.

The dramatic crash was blamed on everything from a lack of squad depth to inexperience—even William Gallas' captaincy was offered up as the cause.

What is certain is that injuries to an in-form Van Persie, then to an equally impressive Eduardo, blunted their attacking threat.

This season an even younger and thinner squad will be spearheaded by the same pairing of Van Persie and Adebayor. Once again a partnership that works well on paper.

The Dutchman is a skillful, tricky wandering striker with an eye for goal. The Togolese forward, by contrast, is more of a target man with pace, strength, and (based on last season’s tally) excellent finishing when in the mood.

The minuses are that Van Persie's body has been as brittle as an osteoporosis patient. Adebayor's occasional lack of concentration and poor positional play, has seen him waste more opportunities than the Spurs’ first team are likely to see all season.

Liverpool

Keane's surprising move to Liverpool teamedup two great players and should, Reds fans hope, lead them onto great things. So why isn't it working?

Keane has a great record in the Premiership, regularly racking up goals and assists—especially in his excellent partnership with Berbatov.

Torres has been sensational since arriving in the Premier League, taking to the English game like a fat guy in a pie shop.

Keane is one of the most committed and hard working strikers in the league, now playing alongside probably the most natural goalscorer in the Premiership (Owen fans might argue with that one).

Keane is clever and a great team man, working hard for his partner. Torres seems to have the ability to score from anywhere, with head or feet and has great strength, pace and positional play.

It's hard to find fault with the Spaniard, who wasn’t the most prolific scorer whilst in Spain, but he had a terrific first season in England. Keane on the other hand has struggled to adjust to the Liverpool style, and perhaps misses his telepathic understanding with Berbatov.

This Liverpool duo might take a while to develop but watch out when it does.

All in all it's a pretty close call. Supplemented by the irrepressible Ronaldo, it's difficult to overlook Manchester United, but just maybe the Scouser's impressive start is just the confidence boost they need.

And just a bit of Torres magic.