1 Will Jose Mourinho give a single interview in which he fails to mention Chelsea’s “lack” of summer spending? Last season it was the injury list. This year, in his one-man quest to rebrand Chelsea as underdogs. You just know that the Special One is going to make a lot of special mentions of the fact that while Manchester United and Liverpool have spent big on transfers Chelsea have “only” paid £13.5m in fees for Florent Malouda. Just £223m spent on 24 major transfers since he took over: what chance has poor Jose got?

2 Will Roy Keane remain the Zen Manager? People expected fire on the touchline when Keane became a boss, and what we got was ice. Throughout Sunderland’s triumphant promotion season Keane projected cold, focused assurance, barely celebrating as the goals flew in. But he has had an awful summer in terms of failing to attract his top transfer targets and with Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United among Sunderland’s first five opponents, Keane faces a serious early test. His honeymoon period in management is over: how will he react?

3 Can Tottenham make the Big Four a Famous Five? Spurs’ fifth-place finish was the great underappreciated achievement of 2006-7. It was their same position as 2005-6 but came in a campaign in which a young squad, seriously afflicted by injuries, faced no fewer than 59 games, and history was against them: not for 24 years had the club pulled off consecutive top-five finishes. Now, having signed more top young talent in Gareth Bale, Younes Kaboul, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Darren Bent, Martin Jol will be looking to get closer to Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

4 Was Nigel Reo-Coker misunderstood? To many West Ham fans last season Reo-Coker was a symbol of the egotism and underachievement felt to be afflicting the squad before Alan Curbishley’s arrival. To the player himself, this was grossly unfair, the result of being “hung out to dry” by an Upton Park hierarchy keen to deflect blame. Now, with a top manager willing to build a midfield around him at a famous club, there is no excuse for NR-C to underperform.

5 Will Everton be the next to get a new ground? David Moyes continues to build his squad wisely but the construction project Bill Kenwright yearns for is a new stadium in Knowsley. The idea of moving Everton outside the city boundaries of Liverpool is controversial but Kenwright and his board argue that leaving old-fashioned Goodison Park is essential to future prosperity. Fans are currently being balloted. Expect this story to run and run.

6 Fernando Torres: El Niño or El Ninny? Europe’s top clubs have long wanted him, and his transfer fee, the fourth biggest in English history, was that of a special player. But can Torres score the goals Liverpool need if they are to enter the title race? His record (an average of 15 league strikes per season for Atletico Madrid) is inconclusive but he is still only 23.

7 Will Alan Curbishley prove to be a big budget manager? At Charlton, expectations were as low as the annual budget. At West Ham, with £41m and counting spent on players since the Icelandic takeover of the club, the bar is set higher. In an Upton Park dressing room now containing Craig Bellamy, Freddie Ljungberg and Lucas Neill, Curbishley will have to prove that his understated style can prosper amid the big egos.

8 Will Jonathan Woodgate, voted the worst signing of the century by a Spanish newspaper, manage to get through the season without another serious injury? Stranger things have happened, but not many. At 27 it is now or never for the defender, in terms of fulfilling his rich potential. For Middlesbrough, continuing to rebuild under Gareth Southgate and having lost a talisman in striker Mark Viduka, a full season from their hometown hero is key.

9 Can Reading avoid “second season syndrome”? Wigan and West Ham suffered from it last year, Ipswich Town in 2001-2. The precedents are there for Steve Coppell’s side to disappoint following the unexpected impact they made in the top flight last year. Their hope lies in Coppell’s canny management and the lack of egotism in a small squad that is sure to keep working hard and stick to its winning brand of passing, width-orientated, simple football.

10 Will Owen Hargreaves make the difference in Europe for Manchester United? The pursuit of Carlos Tevez, and signings of Nani and Anderson, have underscored Sir Alex Ferguson’s commitment to artistic, attack-focused football. But Ferguson is a pragmatist, too, and realises United have to be less open in the big games, especially those in the Champions League, if his young side are to progress. Hargreaves’s European success with Bayern Munich was a big factor in his purchase and he will be expected to provide both the ballast and bite to a midfield completely overrun by Milan in last season’s European Cup semi-finals.

11 Is Sam Allardyce the man? Few bosses have the presence and self-confidence required to be the only sheriff in Toon at a club with 50,000 managers and a postwar honours roll shorter than the Joey Barton Little Book of Calm. But Sam Allardyce is one. So was Graeme Souness but, unlike Souness, Allardyce combines old-school authority with modern methodology and a pragmatism reflected in his signings since taking over. Barton, Mark Viduka, David Rozehnal, Geremi and Alan Smith are all talented footballers with a hard edge – exactly what is needed to haul Newcastle United from their torpor of underachievement.

12 Can Derby and Birmingham buck history? Since 2003-4, 60% of the teams relegated from the Premiership have been clubs who won promotion the season before. Birmingham and Derby are the bookies’ favourites to go down this time and both will pin hope on the skills of their managers. Steve Bruce has experienced a relegation season and a season of unexpected achievement in the top flight with Birmingham and should know what the difference was. Billy Davies – should he stay clear of boardroom politics – has the feistiness and sharpness to keep springing surprises with Derby.

13 Can David Healy and Lawrie Sanchez reproduce their Northern Ireland glories with Fulham? “People are always going to ask the question about whether I can only do it at international level until I do it at the top level in club football. That’s what I’m hungry to do,” Healy says. Northern Ireland’s record scorer and most successful recent manager have done it against England, Spain and Sweden so surely they can succeed versus Wigan, Derby and Birmingham. But the Premier League is unforgiving if you get into a bad sequence of results and Healy and Sanchez need good starts to the season.

14 Will Arsenal win anything with kids? Gooners are hoping Arsenal 2007-8 could prove to be like the Manchester United of 1995-6. Then, having sold Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Andriy Kanchelskis, a group of youngsters led by David Beckham swept to glory, leaving Alan Hansen gorging on humble pie. Now, with Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg gone, the stage is clear for Cesc Fabregas and co to achieve. There are bejeweled talents among Arsène Wenger’s kids but two factors count against history being repeated. The Chelsea and United of today are much more formidable than the main rivals, Liverpool and Newcastle, whom United faced in 1995-6. And in 1995-6 United’s youth had Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane and Eric Cantona to back their efforts: where is Arsenal’s ballast?

15 Will “Frank” Shinawatra let Sven do it his way? Thaksin Shinawatra has certainly given Sven-Göran Eriksson his head in the transfer market. The portal through which new signings enter Manchester City has swung open and shut even more often than the door to Sven’s bedroom when “The Austin Powers of Torsby” was at his peak. But Shinawatra built an image in his home country of being associated with business success and he is unlikely to stand for City having mediocre results. Eriksson must make an impact quickly or face an inquest from his employer – or worse.

16 Is there an EU policy on striker surpluses? We’ve had the wine lake and the butter mountain. What about the sea of strikers appearing at Blackburn and Portsmouth? Harry Redknapp already had five international strikers, so this summer he signed two more. Mark Hughes also took his complement of centre-forwards to seven with the purchases of Roque Santa Cruz and Maceo Rigters. Taking Manchester United’s lead, both managers clearly believe goals are the surest route to Premier League success.

17 Will Graham Poll accept retirement gracefully and refrain from self-important judgments upon his former refereeing colleagues? No.

18 Can the deputies step up and become sheriffs? From Brian Kidd to Peter Taylor, football management is strewn with examples of those who were great No 2s but could not make the step up to become No 1s. Chris Hutchings and Sammy Lee face trying to avoid such a fate at Wigan and Bolton, respectively. Hutchings is older and wiser than the young coach who failed to make the step up at Bradford seven years ago. Lee is a hugely admired training ground operative, who commands the respect of players. Paul Jewell and Sam Allardyce left big shoes to fill, however, and history is against Hutchings and Lee.

19 Is Steve McClaren heading for the Alps or for ignominy? Four of England’s five remaining Euro 2008 qualifiers are at home. Win them and McClaren will almost certainly be taking his team to Austria and Switzerland next year. There is no margin for error, however, and victory at Wembley against the stuffy Russians on September 12 will be especially difficult. England’s fate may again come down to the fitness of Michael Owen and David Beckham, both still struggling with injuries.

20 What will Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven-Göran Eriksson talk about over a postmatch glass of wine? AF: “What do you think of the Burgundy?” S-GE: “First sip, good. Second sip, not so good.” AF: “Peter Kenyon was right. You are a towering football sage. You’re Matt Busby for the Ikea generation. I’m going to retire and let you take over.” S-GE: “Really?” AF: “Nah, away wi’ ye, ya barmpot!”