Danny

League Positions: 1. Man City 2. Liverpool 3. Arsenal This is the title race for me, but I think City’s late formation change last season will lend to a very strong campaign this season. Assuming Liverpool’s squad stays fit I think they have a frontline that will absolutely batter teams and might even win the league. Arsenal I think will push on from last season but will struggle in the league at some point with the Champions League back, not heavily struggle, but in relation to City. 4. Man Utd 5. Chelsea Realistically this will end up being the race for top 4, I think Europe might be too much for Newcastle to challenge all season in the league. Chelsea will be reborn but I also think a bit soft at times. United I think will probably improve on last season but the Champions League will be demanding with the league too. 6. Newcastle 7. Brighton 8. Tottenham 9. Aston Villa 10. Brentford I think any of these teams can challenge for a Europa League position or Conference. Tottenham might struggle if Kane goes and basing this solely off of one friendly, their defence looked woeful. Brighton and Villa I think will at some point prioritise winning European silverware over league position. Brentford will surprise a lot this season without Toney, I think Mbeumo and Lewis-Potter will have big seasons with Schade and Wissa also chipping in with a lot of support. If we get Brennan Johnson then it’ll only strengthen our hand. Mathias Jensen also looks a man possessed, could be a massive season for him. 11. Burnley 12. Bournemouth 13. West Ham 14. Crystal Palace I think Burnley might do a Fulham tbh and just try and blitz the league with pace and power, full on attack mode. Bournemouth I’m solely going off of the erection that Spanish pundits have for their gaffer, but I did also predict them to stay up last season and think they have more talent than given credit for. For West Ham I think this is the season Moyes goes and his replacement will get a boost out of that squad. Palace I originally thought would go down without Zaha (and Olise) but I think the power of Hodgson, Eze and Selhurst will keep them out of trouble. 15. Fulham 16. Luton 17. Everton 18. Nottingham Forrest 19. Sheffield United 20. Wolves This was a tough pick and in reality it could be anyone. I think Luton stay up, as a club they seem built the right way and that sort of organisation can take you further than you’d think. Plus Kenilworth will be a fortress. At this point I have Fulham staying up but if Mitrovic and Willian go theyre in big trouble. Honestly for Everton this seems the most them they could possibly be, another final day relegation battle that they stay up by the skin of their teeth. If they get a goalscorer they stay up. Forest are running on fumes and his name is Morgan Gibbs-White, I do not rate Cooper and think he’ll get sacked. They’re also in big trouble financially so yeah. Wolves will likely see Lopetegui walk at some point so theyre down too. Feel like Sheffield United relied too heavily on loans and now theyve sold their best player. Top Scorer - Haaland Golden Glove - Pope Most Goals From Outside the Box - kdb Most Assists - kdb Most Red Cards (Player) - Casemiro Most Red Cards (Club) - Forest Most Penalties Conceded (Club) - Sheffield Utd Most Own Goals (Club) - Everton

This is one of those goals where the person who you attribute blame to defines whether or not you can read the very basics of a game of football.

£86m is still below the valuation…those add ons need to be easy to meet

Yeah and with Trent being the cornerstone of that midfield’s creativity, be it from an inverted RB position, they’re going to be a problem. Personally I think they win the league next season, assuming City don’t completely storm it

With Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Bajcetic, Trent (inverted rb), Jones and Thiago there’s a lot of options in that Liverpool midfield. Bit light defensively and someone like Lavia would help tighten that with Bajcetic. Add on top that there will likely be games where Salah, Nunez, Diaz/Jota and Gakpo play together there will be a real competition for places.

The problem with kits like Udinese and Roma is there's a thin line between a good kit and a kit you'd find a Sunday league team wearing.

Yeah I hope he can have a good season. He should have received more minutes last season, especially towards the end of the season, but he suffered a lengthy injury for the time of year it happened and was ruled out for the rest. Only criticism of him this pre-season is he could just be a bit sharper with the ball at his feet, think that shot was the first I’ve seen of him where everything has just clicked. But his running, dribbling and off the ball work has been good. Goal was against the run of play but it also created a new run of play for us lol. Pre-season matches are so up and down

Lewis-Potter denied by the crossbar, what a screamer that would have been. Baptiste with the second rebound

Yeah Adingra looked good, just come back from a loan in Belgium apparently so the Brighton effect is in full flow lol. Was annoying as we controlled both boxes, they had little and we could have scored about 4. But that is pre-season, fitness, quality of play and tactical shifts are more important than results!

Ange was fortunate in that he understood a market that was on a par with the SPFL. It’ll be difficult to replicate that at Spurs. Not to say he can’t, but this is a massive jump. Plus having to spend close to £100m in one transfer window to replace a gaping hole rarely works out, too much change at once, too much focus on players who have potential and little substance. Look at how Spurs spent the Bale money and Liverpool spent the Suarez money. It’ll be difficult for Spurs to reinvest that money imo, again not to say they cant do it successfully, but that situation does become a bit of a poisoned chalice.

Looks like Bayern are going to leave England with one of the Premier League’s best players and Harry Kane

Hollywoodbet really helps ruin some of our kits but Stake take it to a new level. It takes up a crazy amount of the top

I think Arsenal will be as good as they were last season and will deal with the Champions League fairly well. I think their squad has youth and development on their side in which a lot of players should be able to step up to the demands of what will be expected for most of them. Timber is a great addition and gives them competition, flexibility and genuine quality in a defence that lacks it past the starting 4. Havertz I think is also a great signing which means they don't need to rely on someone like Fabio Vieira as much. Rice will give them defensive protection and will probably be better at that than Partey, but I'm not sold on his passing. Great number 6's are creators as well as defenders, players like Busquets or Rodri for example. I've not seen that in Rice yet. Not to say he can't achieve that, there's also every chance that playing for Southgate and Moyes means he's asked mostly to keep it simple and direct. But with the way Arsenal play and pin teams back they will need a number 6 that can unlock defences too. With the team below I'd say that the midfield still looks a bit light, especially with the chance of losing Partey. But then if they played with a back 3 instead then that midfield doesn't need to be much stronger defensively, but I do think Tomiyasu is a bit of a liability and Kiwior massively unproven. But let's see with him. Martinelli Gabriel Saka Trossard Nketiah Havertz Smith-Rowe Balogun Nelson Havertz Rice Odegaard Jorginho Partey Vieira Zinchenko Gabriel Saliba White Tierney Kiwior Timber Tomiyasu Ramsdale

Is £70m worth Spurs not using Kane this season to get them back into the Champions League? Not really.

Prices out local fans from the area, fans that can afford it will largely be living in Essex/Hertfordshire

Interesting, I feel like you have such a attacking unit away from Eze, Zaha and Olise that it'd be pretty mental to purposely manage any of them in a way that wasn't personally conducive to getting the best results from them. Great managers know which players to look after and which players to agitate. It's interesting where you're at now because the playing staff must know they hold so much power over any potential future managers. Roy has the keys to the city as it were, so they couldn't oust him if they wanted to, but if a new manager came in, with your lack of investment and focus being on squeeze what you can out of what you have, what you have has to fully buy in to any new manager you may sign. I'll be honest Vieira didn't massively excite me, it was cool to see how his teams would play and maybe if he could step up from previous jobs but his managerial career up until he took over you lot was fairly average. If he did take over a team in the Premier League I'm not sure he does a great job with them.

Obviously we (outsiders) all slagged the decision off at the time, and it did reek of a lack of long-term thinking, especially when you have gone back to Hodgson now, but what has come out in the wash since that lean towards his sacking being the correct decision?

I think he’s need a few tournaments minimum at U21 level to impress for the job, not just to show competency at international level but because most of the squad will have been managed by him in some capacity if he were to take over. Not sure the likes of Kane, Sterling etc would give him the benefit of the doubt in the way they did Southgate.

Got to say Carsley has this u21 team firing, not sure I’ve ever seen an England u21 play football this good and also look solid/a unit. Southgate won’t be around forever and this crop of players will be the next to step up. Thoughts?

I think one thing that Gareth loves is defensive solidity, so if we can find a way to have Rice, Trent and Stones all holding at various points then he’ll definitely try. Would make us difficult to break down and with Trent’s delivery great on the counter. Pickford Walker - Stones - Colwill Trent - Bellingham - Rice - Chilwell Saka - Kane - Foden Maybe something like that where Stones can drive forward, Rice can sit back, Trent can invert into a central position, Chilwell burst on and Bellingham push on too.

Maybe so yeah, I’ve not been keeping up with things that much, just saw a video of grown men booing and hissing other grown men lol

Just seen footage of the MCC members booing and hissing at the Aussies, enough to make you want Australia to win the Ashes instead

Saw Jamie T at Finsbury Park last night, he was great, deserves the success that he’s got. Lots of support acts but two stood out for me, Hak Baker is class. Similar to Jamie T but an eastend geezer with caribbean roots that come through his music. Was great on stage, an easy personality to like and his music’s class too. Second act was Idles, not for me at all. If you like their music then they are great live, but personally couldn’t wait for their set to be over.

we are absolutely shagging the aussies atm. not bad for a pub game

light jog here, quick jump around there. It’s a big sport in Australia because the heat has got to your pale heads, but over here we just let poshos and people from yorkshire pretend its a proper sport less Neville’s and Hubert’s at the Darts too