Dan

Embarrassing. So not only did England go down there's now a very decent chance we don't go back up.

Yeah in reality there's probably too much committed to it for them to actually do this even though it would make sense - it's also basically sacrificing a years income for them too. This is a real fuckup though. Like I say I think November is a bit late for them to release the game and FIFA / EAFC have it right with the end of September. March is appalling and what happens to FM26? Do they release that in March 2026? That would be a really bad pattern for them to get into, but then March 2025 to November 2025 feels too quick as well. FM25 was being bigged up a few years ago as a gamechanger game. Well they might be right but not quite how they hoped. It's a real shame - you fear it could start to kill it.

March is bloody ridiculous. They should can FM25, release a 2024/25 squad update for FM24 and release the proper thing for FM26 - in September 2026 so they can actually get on a decent timescale rather than November which itself feels a bit late. You could sense this was coming though. They've really fumbled.

Our next three are very big though. They're all winnable. Southampton away, Forest home, Ipswich away. I want 6 minimum because it does turn again for us after that - although I don't think Old Trafford is quite the write off people instinctively think it is. Southampton are rank garbage. Worst team in the league for me. Forest are a strange side, draw specialists and wouldn't be surprised if that was another, but we do raise our game for that fixture at home. Ipswich I've been quite disappointed in as a neutral but quite relieved by as a rival. I thought they would offer a lot more than they have. The Villa performance was exactly what I feared they would offer - but that's a really bad loss at the weekend. I can see them beating us though.

I had Gary O'Neil at 20/1 after their first game because I noticed their form was dire and their fixtures were bad. I think having a hard opening start is always bad as well because it immediately puts you on the back foot even if obviously you do have to play everyone twice anyway. I think it adds pressure onto a game like Brentford for them the weekend just gone that otherwise wouldn't have been there. Their fans I follow do want him out now. I feel similarly to you on Palace. Their start has been pretty awful really all considered especially when you think about how well they finished last season and how they were being tipped as an outsider for Europe. But Palace aren't alien to bad starts and they're hardly ever in serious contention by the time April comes around, so I do expect them to be OK. I've been pretty heavily critical of us, and I'm still nowhere near convinced, but I do believe we can survive. I really don't think our squad is as terrible as people think it is - we have goals in our side. We've created the last chances in the league yet bizarrely are the only team other than Man City & Arsenal to score in every game. Vardy's always going to get goals, Mavididi and Buonanotte look better than people thought they would at this level. Still think Fatawu has a lot to offer too.

Rushed bet and it shows. Though this had paid out in two of our three home games this season so far.

Very big win and much needed. I only caught from about the half hour mark. We weren't convincing but I do think our own fans are being slightly harsh as well and I never thought I'd be the one saying that. I thought bar them hitting the bar they struggled to really break us down and that's nice to see - it's been a long time since we did that at this level. We're not actually in a terrible position now. Our case is helped by the fact Southampton, Ipswich, Palace and Wolves are all somehow still winless but we can do this, genuinely. I'm nowhere near sold on the manager and don't think he's a long term option, but that's the sort of game we need this season.

Leicester v Bournemouth. I'll do Bournemouth half time, draw full time. 14/1.

This new format is garbage. Barely any interest at all in it, riddled with complete mismatches. Once again I think it's football in managed decline.

I do get the creeps about FM25. I'll buy it but I feel it might be the first in a long time where I'll end up going back to an older version.

Had O'Neil at 20/1 after their first game - I think he's probably a loss to a bad side away from it. Their form is appalling and has been since about March. I do wonder if it could be Cooper. If we lose to Bournemouth we're likely in the bottom 3, 3 points from our opening 7 games going into the best run of fixtures of the season. But then this is too logical for us. We had a similar situation in 2022/23 and decided to let the manager nail us for another 6 months before getting rid when it was all pretty hopeless anyway. Cooper does just need to leave. I've never seen a manager have this little fan backing this early on.

I've checked the stats and can confirm this is the best week in tipping game history. It's the first time we've ever collectively broken £100 profit and we've done it with absolute comfort as well, largely owing to two very handy wins. I couldn't add to last weeks win - but I still sort of retain that there was good value in the bet I took at 6/1 with Arsenal registering 17 corners and Gabriel himself racking up an xG of 0.49, so a bit unlucky really. Still, at least on the plus side Leicester managed to actually keep the goals out and stop everyone else scoring, eh. Oh wait. Of course we didn't. @RandoEFC rises to 2nd in the table with a second straight win, given a bit of a scare in the unlikeliest of ways as Arsenal nearly didn't win the game, but the corners as stated hit 17 with 6 of those coming in the first half. I have been through @...Dan's bet and was given a dilemma. I've asked about and it does appear some bookies are still settling any Antwerp bet as a void, but I think in these circumstances it's fair to award the win given they have actually been given a 5-0 win anyway. Beerschot's fans pyro'd and got the game called off at 4-0 with 15 left and I've seen this in Belgium before where this seems to default to a 5-0 loss for the club in question. Probably not a bad way of doing it in all honesty. The real clincher here though was Lyon picking up an injury time winner, for his biggest win of the season and the third biggest of the season. The highlight of the week however is @Stan who's bet builder contained so many things that I just simply had to type "Bet Builder" rather than all of the small details. A great pick though, and the biggest single priced odds winner of the season so far. Benfica had an early scare against Gil Vicente but ended up smashing them 5-1. A perfect outcome here, and a game that has contributed to me winning loads of money via acca freeze abuse as well as Benfica landed me one accumulator and Gil Vicente's goal started another. More details on this if anyone is interested. This leaves @CaaC (John) as the only player to play multiple weeks and not yet register a winner. Both selections out again and he's cut quite adrift at the bottom now while 2nd-6th have all become quite bunched together following this week. A decent win from him soon and I think we're in quite sound profit as a collective, which hasn't happened once since playing.

As bad as we are we're better than this dirge.

I think given the 5-0 has actually been awarded - apparently due to Beerschot fans getting the game called off () so I'm giving it even if those wanker bookmakers won't. Table's going to be interesting this week.

I'm giving the win - Antwerp's game has been settled as a 5-0 win for some reason so you're having it. Not run the numbers but reckon that's stuck us into nearly breakeven. Three very decent wins in here in the last week.

I'm extremely torn on this. Antwerp got called off at 4-0 in the 75th minute. Bookies have been settling it as void which is complete bullshit. I'm tempted to give the win, but I don't know if I can, what are we thinking?

They need somebody ruthless enough to sack off most of their squad and I'm talking your likes of Rashford and Shaw here. It is quite incredible how bad their recruitment is though. They seem to turn everything they touch into shit. Ten Hag still being in a job is hilarious. I wouldn't have him here.

I'm under no illusions about our game. Our team is fighting, and a week ago particularly with James Justin's quote on saying that we weren't up for the fight against Everton, that's a step forward. We're also ridiculously efficient in front of goal. We've created the fewest chances in the division and yet have only been outscored by 7 teams - which is absolutely ridiculous even this early. That's where I'll end with the positives. Even with the dodgy refereeing on show - Calafiori should've gone. But we looked dire. With the way that game has played out I think we lose that by 4/5 goals probably 8 times out of 10. It was pretty much everything I expected - we'd be largely hammered but not actually get that humiliated in the result. The fact our goalkeeper was the clear man of the match in a game we let in 4 goals is quite telling. I really think he's got to go if we don't beat Bournemouth - would mean consecutive Premier League seasons where we don't win any of our opening 7 games. An international break going into probably the best run of fixtures of the season. I do not trust Cooper to get the results. He is not getting the most from this team. Poor manager at this level and nothing will change my mind on this. Fully expect us to get an undeserved draw against Bournemouth and prolong the delusion though.

We're going to hear Gary Neville cry about them burning paninis now rather than addressing how awful their manager and recruitment is.

The only two times we've avoided defeat there since the 50s came behind closed doors. Genuinely a contender for the most painful fixture anyone has in football.

There cannot be a fixture in England that is more consistently soul destroying than Leicester going to Arsenal. Never known anything like it.

The Arsenal Leicester selections will all pay out in one go.

My first pick this week is Gabriel anytime tomorrow. Don't usually do goalscorers but think despite the fact he's scored in the last two weeks, which you would think will bring in his price, I think 6/1 is actually quite good. Arsenal will feast on corners tomorrow and I don't think we're savvy enough to handle it at all. I doubt that if you played the game 7 times he'd only score on one occasion.