The J-League is the name of the Japanese football league. This was created in 1993. Its top-flight currently has 18 teams. The Japanese teams are currently dominating Asian continental club football along with their South Korean neighbours. Urawa Red Diamonds are the surrnet Asian Champions.

The league is going to see a few changes over the next few years. The J-League 1 will stay as it is but J-League 2 will expand to at least 18 members. This will further strengthen the Japanese domestic game. The season will also move to align itself with the European football calendar in a bid to attract more foreign players to the division.

After to watching the last few rounds of matches it is quite clear that the J-League is an excellent model of how to set about developing a domestic league. It is something that the Americans and Australians must use as a model when moving their domestic leagues forward over the next few years.

One surprising thing about the J-League is the few foreign players. There are numerous Brazilians, but foreign players rarely take up more than two or three of the places in the starting line-ups. This is not detrimental to footballing standard whatsoever. The fast-flowing football provides many goals. The pace of the conter attacking footballing from some teams such at Kashiwa Reysol is phonomenal. The technical ability on show is possibly the most impressive thing about the J-League. Most teams seem to opt to play football instead of the long ball. This helps create the pace forementioned. Many teams seem to also adopt a policy of shoot-on-sight. This can be embarressing for some players at times, but does provide some excellent goals that would grace any league.

As well as the pace of the football, the league is extremely competitive. Currently only six points seperate the top ten after 20 rounds of matches. This is something the Premier League would be in serious envy of.

One thing very noticeable about the J-League is the passion of the supporters. This is one thing that has followed on since the 2002 World Cup. Currently, the J-League has an average attendence of 21,840. In the next few years this will overtake the same figure produced by Italy's Serie A.

 Things are definitely looking up for Japan's domestic football league.

The new Premier League season starts this weekend. All will be exciting as usual.

The question this year will be in what order will the 'big four' be positioned. Can any team break into the elite group of clubs, that are dominating English football? Looking further down the league; can the newly promoted teams survive in the Premier League?

Looking at the 'big four'. Manchester United have not brought any new bodies in but have not lost anyone significant. They survived the 'Ronaldo saga' and live to fight another day. All in all it has been a quiet summer for Manchester United. Alex Ferguson has said over the last few days that he hopes to sign a centre forward this week.

Prediction - I would expect Man Utd to be in the top two. it may all come down to injuries. Any injuries to key men like Ronaldo, Rooney or Tevez may mean they could struggle to score goals. This was a problem that did arise at times last season. But like earlier mentioned, Ferguson is tracking a striker and this could put an end to any apparent weaknesses in the squad.

Chelsea have spent the most of the 'big four', which was hardly surprising after the disappointment of last season. They are under the charge of ex-Portugal and Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari this season, which could see a dramatic change in tactics. They have made a major acquisition of Deco and Porto's promising full-back Bosingwa. It also seems that they may not stop there. It will be interesting to see how Deco fares in the Premier League this season. He was consistently critisized for his performances last term at Barca. The speed of the game in England may be a little difficult to get used to at his age. There are also several rumours linking AC milan's Kaka and they have already had a near-£20m bid for Real Madrid's robinho rejected.

Prediction - I believe it will be between Manchester United and Chelsea for the title this year. Chelsea will be revitalised after the disappointing end to the season. They will be determined to banish their memories of Moscow, but could this see them focussing on the Champions League instead of the Premier League? That sort of thinking could push the title towards Manchester yet again.

Liverpool have added the nifty goal-scoring of Robbie Keane and a few yougsters. Liverpool have let John Arne Riise go to AS Roma and Xabi Alonso looks like he could be heading for the exit door, so Rafa Benitez can finance a move for Gareth Barry.

Prediction - Third. I think they may leapfrog Arsenal into to third, but no more. Liverpool suffered from problems off the pitch last term, but also did seem content with a top four finish.

Arsenal seem to be the most weakened from last season. They have lost the creativeness of Alexander Hleb to Barcelona and the ever-improving Mathieu Flamini to AC Milan. Gilberto Silva has also left for £1m. They have managed to bring in Samir Nasri from Marseille, who has long been a target of Arsene Wenger. Samir Nasri is touted the 'new Zidane' and is definitely one to watch out for next season, but is lack of physical presence may be a stumbling block for him when settling into the English style of football.

Prediction - Fourth. I can't see Arsenal being as strong as last season. The start was the key for them. They did falter off a little in March/April time. The loss of Flamini is big. He was very influential in parts. They don't seem to have replaced him. Gilberto has also left leaving Arsenal a little tame in midfield. Maybe it is time for Abou Diaby to step up to the defensive midfield plate.

As for breaking into the 'big four', it will prove tough and i can't really see it happening. Tottenham have been the big 'mover and shaker' in the league this summer. They have spent vast amounts on Luka Modric and David Bentley. This will reap rewards for them. Modric is often likened to Fabregas in his style of play. His technique is second-to-none. Keeping hold of Berbatov may be the most significant piece of business for them this year though. Expect Gareth Bale to shine also. He had a injury-ravaged campaign last term but was impressive when he played. He appears very mature for his age. Berbatov will love the service from Bentley and Bale, that is for sure. Aston Villa will aslo fancy themselves for fifth place. They have brough in a few good players in Steve Sidwell and Carlos Cueller was very impressive for Rangers in their UEFA cup campaign. That could go part the way to replacing Olaf Mellberg. But yet again Villa have a small squad and any significant injuries to their firepower and they could struggle to create chances.

Other teams that could be hovering around the Europena places are Portsmouth and Manchester City. The famliar strikeforce of Crouch and Defoe will be dangerous against many. But the problems with Man City's push for Europe could be influenced by politics, just like last season. Success for Everton could be determined by what players they bring in before the season starts. Joao Moutinho has been linked with a move to Goodison. He his a class act as proven at Euro 2008. But the chances of this transfer going through seem very slim at the moment.

The surprise package this season could be Sunderland. They have signing quite well. The signings of Diouf and Malbranque will improve their creativeness. But they will have to improve on their away form if they are wanting to charge for the top ten, which they should be doing with the money they are spending. It must be noted though, that the influential Kenwyn Jones will be out injured to around December time. This will be a huge problem for them, as he carried them in some fixtures.

To go down, i predict the three teams that came up. This may sound a little harsh, but the gap between the Championship and the Premier League is ever-widening. West brom may adapt the best but it will still be very difficult for them. They have lost the goals of Kevin Philips also. They did look a little suspect at defending last season. They have tried to eradicate this problem with the signings of Scott Carson and Abdoulaye Meite. Gianni Zuiverloon will also be one to lok out for. Hull City look like they will struggle to score goals. Ask any Derby County supporter, this is not a problem that is helpful at all. Stoke City's aggressive route one football will not suit the Premier League. Some teams may have to battle and scrap at the Britannia but away from home i can't see them being much of a threat. No significant creativeness may see them look to set-pieces for goals, a tactic that rarely works in the top flight.

Other teams that may struggle are Blackburn Rovers. The change of management, with the appointment of the inexperienced Paul Ince and also the loss of David Bentley could see Blackburn in free-fall this season. Bentley was a key man for them last term and hasn't really been replaced. Bolton Wanderers will be floating around the bottom again. They have spent a fair bit of money. In fact over £10m on Johan Elmander, who was abysmal at Euro 2008. Mustapha Riga was a shrewd signing by Gary Megson. He was impressive for Levante last season in La Liga. He was the only good thing in what was a dire season for them. He creative spark and pace should be more than enough to replace the departing Diouf. West Ham United could also struggle. They were quite poor in the closing stages of last season and haven't really added to their squad. Any injury to Dean Ashton and they could looking for a paddle.