Barclays Premier League managers believe world champions Spain will be the winners of Euro 2012, with an overwhelming 73 per cent of respondents tipping them to retain their title of European Champions.
The majority (73%) of top-flight bosses expect England to reach the quarter-finals, with the remaining managers predicting that Roy Hodgson’s side will reach the semi-final stages.
Joe Hart (60%) topped the poll as to who will be England’s outstanding player during the Championships, followed by Captain Steven Gerrard (13%).
According to the research by Barclays, title sponsor of the League Managers Association (LMA), nearly half of the managers rate Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (47%) as their dream signing if money were no object, ahead of Robin van Persie (20%) and Barclays Player of the Season, Vincent Kompany (13%).
Barclays Manager of the Season Alan Pardew’s proficiency in the transfer market has been recognised with the research indicating 33 per cent of managers consider Papiss Cisse as the best buy of the season. Cisse’s Newcastle teammate, Demba Ba (20%), was second along with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (20%).
Brendan Rodgers’ resourcefulness at Swansea City was also praised, with over half of the respondents (53%) indicating the Welsh side was the best team last season with the resources they had, with 27 per cent choosing Norwich City after their excellent season under Paul Lambert.
Managers overwhelmingly named Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie (67%) as the outstanding player of the Barclays Premier League season, beating Manchester Citys’s title-winning quartet of David Silva (13%), Vincent Kompany (7%), Joe Hart (7%) and Sergio Aguero (7%).
Van Persie will also be the player to watch in the Barclays Premier League next season, with over half the managers surveyed suggesting that the Dutch striker will make the most impact in the league.
Top-flight bosses have tipped Southampton and Reading (both 40%) to fare best out of the newly-promoted clubs in the Barclays Premier League next season, with Saints striker Ricky Lambert (33%) rated as the player from a lower league team with the most potential to succeed in the top-flight.