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Liverpool chases Man United

By ROBERT MILLWARD -- AP Soccer Writer

LONDON (AP) English soccer's biggest prize easily could remain in American hands.

After Malcolm Glazer's Manchester United wrested the Premier League title away from Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich last season, Liverpool's Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. have opened their wallets in an attempt to bring the trophy down the road to Anfield this season.

Hicks and Gillett, who own baseball and hockey franchises, bought control of Liverpool last season. They gave manager Rafa Benitez the funds to make 16 new player signings following a third-place finished in the EPL and a loss to AC Milan in the European Champions League final.

Benitez has brought in Spain's Fernando Torres, the Netherlands' Ryan Babel and Ukraine's Andriy Voronin to join an attack that already features Dutch star Dirk Kuyt and 6-foot-7 Englishman Peter Crouch.

Liverpool, which won the Champions League in 2005, is determined to win the English league for the first time since 1990 - before the Premier League began.

"The squad has improved, the manager has been backed with good money and he's spent it well, and now it's time for the players to deliver," Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said. "The Premier League, that's the one. That's our main priority."

Glazer, who owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will be out to stop Liverpool and has given Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson millions to spend to strengthen an already impressive lineup.

United acquired England midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich, added Portuguese forward Nani and Brazilian Anderson, then negotiated a complex deal to get Argentina forward Carlos Tevez from West Ham.

"The top four have all done a bit of buying and added to their squad," Ferguson said. "Chelsea have a big, strong squad, so you don't expect much change there, and both Arsenal and Liverpool were over 20 points behind us last season. They won't want to be 20 points behind us again."

Chelsea, the biggest spender since Abramovich bought the club three years ago, has been comparatively modest in the transfer market. But the Blues did bring in Claudio Pizarro from Bayern Munich, Florent Malouda from Lyon and Tal Ben Haim from Bolton.

"Our rivals have strengthened, but so have we," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "I don't think it's going to be who spends the most money who wins the league. That has never been the case. It's always been who has the fighting spirit, togetherness and which of the big players had the better season.

"Cristiano Ronaldo had a good season last year and was the main reason United won the league. This year, we need two or three important players in attack to come up with the goods and that's what we'll be trying to do."

Arsenal, a possible takeover target of American businessman Stan Kroenke, acquired Brazilian-born Croatian forward Eduardo da Silva after reluctantly selling Thierry Henry to Barcelona.

If the transfer dealings are a guide, Liverpool and Manchester United appear to have the most ambition among the traditional four big contenders, suggesting their rival American owners will be fighting it out for the title next May.

But they are not the only big spenders.

The clubs in the world's richest soccer league now have even more cash to spend thanks to a huge hike in TV revenue, attracting more overseas investment. There could even be a strong and long overdue challenge from Manchester City, now owned by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and managed by former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Tottenham has come close to breaking into the top four the past two seasons and would love to do so this season at the expense of London rival Arsenal, which has finished fourth twice in a row.

Tottenham's Martin Jol is well respected as a pragmatic coach who values talented players. He has added England's Darren Bent to a strike force that includes Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Jermaine Defoe, and signed rising German star Kevin-Prince Boateng from Hertha Berlin.

Everton finished sixth last season without showing any sign of reaching the elite. Fans of Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa, controlled by Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner, will demand that the team capture at least a UEFA Cup spot by finishing among the top six or seven.

Newcastle is probably the most enigmatic club.

With more than 50,000 boisterous fans at every home game, it's hard to explain why the Magpies haven't won the league title since 1927 or any trophy since the European Fairs Cup (now UEFA Cup) in 1969. Sam Allardyce, the tough-talking former Bolton coach, is the new manager and has made many changes to the squad.

Newcastle was 13th last season, but figures to have English forward Michael Owen back on a regular basis after his recovery from a knee injury sustained at last year's World Cup.

Of the three promoted clubs, Roy Keane's Sunderland looks to have the best chance of making an impact. The former Manchester United captain led the Wearsiders to promotion in his first season as a manager. He'll now come up against Ferguson, his former boss at United.

Birmingham City's Steve Bruce will be chasing little more than 17th place, which means staying in the EPL. Derby County, promoted through the playoffs, is almost certain to struggle.

Reading will do well to repeat last season's eighth-place finish, while Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Blackburn likely will stay in the middle of the pack.

Bolton, without Allardyce's firm control, could slide down toward relegation trouble and fight for safety with Fulham, Wigan, Birmingham and Derby.