Should be as a good a season as we've had for a long time.
City will obviously be favourites. Arsenal have bought very well. United will be stronger and look like getting a new keeper but they still haven't bought a striker. Liverpool have addressed their midfield issues and should be much better. Chelsea with Poch and getting rid of a lot of dead wood should be much better. Spurs with Ange and the style of football he plays will look to be better as well. Newcastle i think will have a tough task to juggle CL football and compete for the top 4. I think Howe has done an incredible job but i'd be surprised if they're up there again. Villa have bought very well and will be looking to gatecrash the top 6. Brighton will have to cope with once again selling their best players, and also have to juggle European football, so i think it'll be much tougher for them this season.
Still a long way to go in the transfer window but if pushed now my top 4 prediction would be City, Arsenal, Liverpool, United.
I have to say, the more I've looked at how Ange plays, how he manages/coaches... I'm mildly optimistic.
Getting Maddison in was massive for us. Getting in a half-decent goalkeeper was important (Disclaimer: I know nothing about him but if Buffon says he's top quality, you have to believe him!) Looks like we're after 2 if not 3 CBs. Tapsoba and Van Der Van. Both look big, strong, bloody quick and can pass the ball. Either or Both would be a huge upgrade in the likes of Dier, Sanchez and Davies. Sounds like we're also sniffing around Tosin Adarabioyo. Sounds like its going to be 2 of them 3 along with Lenglet on a free from Barcelona.
A midfield of Bissouma, Bentancur (when he's back end of Sep/beg of Oct) and Maddison looks promising on paper. Presumably now with a fully fit Sonny and Kulusevski, we can't be at bad as last year.
But yet again, I think anything else we do will come down to:
(1) how much Levy prices up the deadwood and whether it shifts (see Dier, Davies, Lloris - presumably on a free, Perisic - again on a free, Sanchez, maybe Sessegnon). (2) whether Levy does sell Kane to the highest bidder.
If we make top 6, I'll be happy. I'd like us to try and win one of the domestic cups rather than treating them with contempt like we tend to do. Just to play on the front foot will be a start in all honesty. It doesn't look like Ange knows anything else but to play that way.
Top 3 will be Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Poch got Chelsea playing well again.
I'm going:
Man City Arsenal Liverpool Chelsea United Spurs, Newcastle and Villa jostling for 6-8th.
Going down: Luton, Sheff United and my outsider, Wolves. They seem to be losing players at an alarming rate right now.
Arsenal finally getting a good season out of Xhaka and then getting £20m for him is good going given most of their fans would have been happy to just let him go last summer.
Not surprised!! He was class last season, so for West Ham to basically come out and put in a bid of just over 1/3 of what they sold Declan Rice was bound to be turned down.
Well, just watched Spurs lose 3-2 to West Ham in pre-season in Australia but thats the best I've seen Spurs play in a long long time. The 3 goals conceded, 2 from set pieces and 1 from a break away after West Ham had been under the cosh for the majority of the game just shows thats Spurs are crying out for new Centre Backs as a matter of urgency. If we play every game as attacking as that, I'll be happy.
They have such an unbalanced squad at the moment - loads of attacking midfielders/wingers, but I think only Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez as far as actual central midfielders go?
Kante, Loftus Cheek, Mount, Kovacic all gone this summer, plus Jorginho in Jan.
They have such an unbalanced squad at the moment - loads of attacking midfielders/wingers, but I think only Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez as far as actual central midfielders go?
Kante, Loftus Cheek, Mount, Kovacic all gone this summer, plus Jorginho in Jan.
Gallagher is being linked with West Ham and Dortmund
They have such an unbalanced squad at the moment - loads of attacking midfielders/wingers, but I think only Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez as far as actual central midfielders go?
Kante, Loftus Cheek, Mount, Kovacic all gone this summer, plus Jorginho in Jan.
Gallagher is being linked with West Ham and Dortmund
and Spurs apparently. Cant see Chelsea dealing with us mind you.
They have such an unbalanced squad at the moment - loads of attacking midfielders/wingers, but I think only Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez as far as actual central midfielders go?
Kante, Loftus Cheek, Mount, Kovacic all gone this summer, plus Jorginho in Jan.
Comments
OMG, can't believe this is going to be a Premier League ground this season!!
City will obviously be favourites.
Arsenal have bought very well.
United will be stronger and look like getting a new keeper but they still haven't bought a striker.
Liverpool have addressed their midfield issues and should be much better.
Chelsea with Poch and getting rid of a lot of dead wood should be much better.
Spurs with Ange and the style of football he plays will look to be better as well.
Newcastle i think will have a tough task to juggle CL football and compete for the top 4. I think Howe has done an incredible job but i'd be surprised if they're up there again.
Villa have bought very well and will be looking to gatecrash the top 6.
Brighton will have to cope with once again selling their best players, and also have to juggle European football, so i think it'll be much tougher for them this season.
Still a long way to go in the transfer window but if pushed now my top 4 prediction would be City, Arsenal, Liverpool, United.
Albeit I think they've got better players now, Eze and Olise for example.
Getting Maddison in was massive for us.
Getting in a half-decent goalkeeper was important (Disclaimer: I know nothing about him but if Buffon says he's top quality, you have to believe him!)
Looks like we're after 2 if not 3 CBs. Tapsoba and Van Der Van. Both look big, strong, bloody quick and can pass the ball. Either or Both would be a huge upgrade in the likes of Dier, Sanchez and Davies. Sounds like we're also sniffing around Tosin Adarabioyo. Sounds like its going to be 2 of them 3 along with Lenglet on a free from Barcelona.
A midfield of Bissouma, Bentancur (when he's back end of Sep/beg of Oct) and Maddison looks promising on paper.
Presumably now with a fully fit Sonny and Kulusevski, we can't be at bad as last year.
But yet again, I think anything else we do will come down to:
(1) how much Levy prices up the deadwood and whether it shifts (see Dier, Davies, Lloris - presumably on a free, Perisic - again on a free, Sanchez, maybe Sessegnon).
(2) whether Levy does sell Kane to the highest bidder.
If we make top 6, I'll be happy. I'd like us to try and win one of the domestic cups rather than treating them with contempt like we tend to do.
Just to play on the front foot will be a start in all honesty. It doesn't look like Ange knows anything else but to play that way.
Top 3 will be Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Poch got Chelsea playing well again.
I'm going:
Man City
Arsenal
Liverpool
Chelsea
United
Spurs, Newcastle and Villa jostling for 6-8th.
Going down: Luton, Sheff United and my outsider, Wolves. They seem to be losing players at an alarming rate right now.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66120275
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66207080
Levy never learns, does he?
Inflation has got ridiculous
I remember when you could buy Rice for £1
Thought I’d better stop it disappearing into page 2!
The 3 goals conceded, 2 from set pieces and 1 from a break away after West Ham had been under the cosh for the majority of the game just shows thats Spurs are crying out for new Centre Backs as a matter of urgency.
If we play every game as attacking as that, I'll be happy.
They have such an unbalanced squad at the moment - loads of attacking midfielders/wingers, but I think only Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez as far as actual central midfielders go?
Kante, Loftus Cheek, Mount, Kovacic all gone this summer, plus Jorginho in Jan.