2025-26 Premier League

[IthacaMatt]

Sports Illustrated blames Mikel Arteta for too conservative a game plan against a vulnerable Liverpool. Three defensive midfielders, and no Eze in the starting lineup? Really?

Why Mikel Arteta’s Anfield Approach Saw Liverpool Triumph

Dominik Szoboszlai’s spectacular free kick decided a game defined by Arteta’s inherent weakness as a manager.

www.si.com

 

[OrangeFoo]

Guehi fell through, despite an agreement on price. Not sure what happened there yet.

Generally a great window for Liverpool, but it's going to take a couple months (or more) for these new guys to blend in.

Looks like the CP coach said either Guehi stays or he leaves. Watch Manure fire Amorim and steal the CP coach during this international break.

I do feel for these feeder clubs… they already lost Eze to Arsenal. Even as a Liverpool fan I think having some sort of cap on player acquisition is needed.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looks like the CP coach said either Guehi stays or he leaves. Watch Manure fire Amorim and steal the CP coach during this international break.

I do feel for these feeder clubs… they already lost Eze to Arsenal. Even as a Liverpool fan I think having some sort of cap on player acquisition is needed.

I will say this much, those mid-table teams have SO MANY really good players, compared to 10 or 15 years ago. The 7-10th place teams in England could potentially make the Champions League in any other country.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Nuno gets the ax at Nottingham Forest.
They have replenished well for the next coach.

Nuno Espirito Santo leaves Nottingham Forest, Ange Postecoglou a leading candidate to take over

Nuno had said he was "not so close" anymore to Forest owner Marinakis on August 22

www.nytimes.com

 

[IthacaMatt]

Nuno gets the ax at Nottingham Forest.
They have replenished well for the next coach.

Nuno Espirito Santo leaves Nottingham Forest, Ange Postecoglou a leading candidate to take over

Nuno had said he was "not so close" anymore to Forest owner Marinakis on August 22

www.nytimes.com

And it looks like Ange might be the replacement.

Nottingham Forest sack Nuno Espirito Santo with Ange Postecoglou targeted as replacement

Departure of Portuguese coach due to be confirmed on Tuesday following crisis talks with owner Evangelos Marinakis

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[IthacaMatt]

So far this season, the Prem has gone from 3 goals a game over the last 2 seasons to about 2.4 so far.

Tactics are changing as teams have all gotten pretty good at the press, so offenses are becoming a little more risk averse. and kicking long again.

Fixture congestion has also played a factor in teams being more selective in their pressing. Teams are playing a bit slower, and managers seems to be managing their players' minutes more pro-actively, to keep them healthy.

Why is goalscoring down in the Premier League at the start of this season?

A rate of 2.34 goals per game after four matchweeks is the lowest in any Premier League season in the last decade

www.nytimes.com

 

[IthacaMatt]

Ok, show of hands - who had Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Spurs in the Top 5 before the season began??

 

[IthacaMatt]

Weekend Recap. Week 7 is in the books, and it's 2 weeks for an International Window.

Chelsea beat Liverpool at the death, in the weekend's biggest game. Nice goal by Estevao, the 18 year old Brazilian. Chelsea really needs their offense to step up. Joao Pedro hasn't done anything since Cole Palmer has gone down with a groin injury. He'll be out for 4-6 weeks. The break comes at a good time for Chelsea as pretty much all of their center backs are out injured.

Liverpool is not yet in synch, after 7 games. Mo Salah isn't clicking with his new attacking teammates, and seems out of sorts. Ekitike is playing well for them, and their midfield is pretty solid, but their defense is frail in the middle, and the fullbacks are not just getting it done. They are very open on the counterattack down the flanks. Isak is still settling in, but they don't look great.

Man City is creeping back to who they have been in recent seasons, but of course, Rodri pulled his hamstring, and is out for probably another month. They are not the same team without him.

Just like Spurs are so much better now that they have a quality holding midfielder in Palhinha, the guy they bought from Bayern Munich in the summer.

Haaland is a monster, but where are the goals going to come from if Phil Foden doesn't really get going?

Spurs are doing great, considering they are still without 3 of their best attackers - Dominic Solanke, James Madison and Dejean Kulesevski. They are looking like a top 4 team, if their center backs stay healthy.

Arsenal have the best defense in the league, by far. That is their trump card so far in the title race. They are very deep, even if the attack is not purring yet, and Arteta is coaching them a little too cautiously. But they have first place, and look like they might hold on to it for a while.

Bournemouth are still doing great, thanks to Antoine Semenyo who has been the new star to emerge so far this season (6 goals and 3 assists in only 7 games). Senesi and Petrovic are anchoring a very solid defense, too. They're currently 4th, and Andoni Indaola is a fine technical coach. They're going to need goal contributions from other guys, if they wish to remain among the European positions in the table.

Speaking of surprise teams, Crystal Palace has been on a tear, unbeaten in 19 games (!) going back to last year. Everton ended their streak, as Jack Grealish keyed a 2-1 come from behind win for Everton at home, after Daniel Munoz got the opener for Palace. 6th place Palace are a good team to watch, and David Moyes has Everton up to 8th.

Their new home, Hill Dickinson Stadium is a beauty, and Everton have gained points in 4 of their last 5 matches. They need a few more players, but they are a solid team that you don't want to play.

Manchester United beat new boys Sunderland (unbeaten in 4) to keep Ruben Amorin's job safe for a while longer. There is such a big problem in their midfield and with the wingbacks in his 3-4-2-1 that they have to buy 2 or 3 guys in January if they want to stay above mid-table.

Newcastle bounced back from losing late to Arsenal last week with a nice 2-0 win vs. helpless Nottingham Forest. What a mistake they made hiring Ange Postacoglu. I think he will be the first manager fired, probably around Christmas.

Eddie Howe has Newcastle with only the Arsenal loss in their last 5, and is up to mid-table in 11th after a rough start. They seem to be stabilizing, and St. James Park is a really tough place to play.

Newcastle plays Brighton when the Premier League returns for match week 8 in a couple weeks. Brighton had a poor draw with Wolves, a big let-down after coming back late to beat Chelsea 3-1 last week.

Aston Villa are finally coming back to life, and now have 4 straight wins in all competitions following a 2-1 win vs. Burnley, behind a double from Donyell Malen.

West Ham were put to the sword by Arsenal after Nuno Espirito Santo's first game in charge resulted in a draw last week against Everton. I think Nuno is a good enough coach to keep them from the drop and get them up to mid table this year. They have a lot of quality guys in the lineup, and honestly shouldn't be this bad.

Brentford will have to find some goals somewhere. Forest, Burnley and Wolves look like the worst teams this year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Make it to Christmas? What was I smoking?
It's sounding like he might not last until Halloween!

Ange Postecoglu facing talks with the owner after 7 games without a win since taking over. Yikes.

Postecoglou enters talks intent on keeping job at Nottingham Forest

Ange Postecoglou said he was intent on keeping the coach’s job when he holds talks soon with the Nottingham Forest board, adding: ‘You have to be up for the fight and the struggle’

www.theguardian.com

 

[IthacaMatt]

Interesting graphic I saw on who plays who this weekend. Lots of meaningful games at the top and bottom of the table. Who has the weekend's easiest game? Chelsea v. Wolves.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Idryssa Gana Gueye gets sent off for Everton after only 13 minutes - for slapping his own teammate, Michael Keane, across the face for a misplaced pass! LOL

Some Moyes gets his 10 man squad to beat United in Manchester, 1-0, drawing even with Man U in 10th place. More heat for Rubin Amorin, I'm sure.

 

[upperdeck]

Chelsea controlled the game vs Arsenal pretty well for a team that played with 10 for the last 60 min.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Such a tightly bunched group in the Premier League as we enter Week 16 of 38 this weekend.
Arsenal have slipped, and Aston Villa's win over the Gunners places them suddenly in the title race.

Chelsea let slip an opportunity, with a loss and a draw against "bottom half" competition, after a couple great results vs. Barcelona and Arsenal. Young immature, but hopefully learning lessons. A loss at Leeds, a draw against Bournemouth. If you want to challenge for championships, you have to treat ALL your opponents with respect or else they will beat you. Especially in England.

City are right back in it. Phil Foden is making them a bit less reliant on the Viking, which is good, and Cherki is back into the lineup and contributing.

Liverpool are a mess. United seem on the upswing, but the gap between 5th and 12th is literally only 3 points - one win, or one loss. Spurs are on the rocks. Newcastle seem to be improving, but have ground to make up.

Everton has won 4 out of 5 under Moyes to vault up into 7th. Brighton with 2 wins and 2 draws from their last 5 are in 8th, within sight of European football, facing Liverpool next weekend.

Arsenal were looking like a sure thing, just a week or two ago - and now, suddenly, not so much.

This could be a pretty amazing race over the next 6 or 7 weeks, up through the end of January. At the end of January, we will know where everybody stands. We'll be halfway through the campaign. Early round Cup and European competitions will have been sorted into the knock out rounds.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Chelsea controlled the game vs Arsenal pretty well for a team that played with 10 for the last 60 min.

Yeah, that was a pretty good result, one to be proud of.
But then they go lose at Leeds and draw with Bournemouth.

With these young guys playing in the cold rain against tough old men, they haven't been up to the physicality. They are getting more physical and confrontational, but are also a bit on the edge with all the cards they get.

Being a bunch of talented young guys, they can get themselves up for a glamor game, a Barcelona game, a PSG game. But they have to learn to bring a more consistent effort.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Let's take a look at the top half of the table.

Hottest teams: Villa - 15 from 15, City and Everton with 12 from 15, Palace with 10 out of their last 15 available points, and Arsenal and Chelsea both faltering a bit with only 8 points each from the last 15.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looking at the other end of the table, here's what we see, along with their form over the last 5 games.
4th place and a guaranteed Champions League spot is only 4 points ahead of the 12th place team.

And the Mid-Table could be generously described as the 4 points separating 8th place Brighton and 14th place Brentford.

Let's take a look at the top half of the table.

Hottest teams: Villa - 15 from 15, City and Everton with 12 from 15, Palace with 10 out of their last 15 available points, and Arsenal and Chelsea both faltering a bit with only 8 points each from the last 15.

View attachment 257895

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looking at the other end of the table, here's what we see, along with their form over the last 5 games.
4th place and a guaranteed Champions League spot is only 4 points ahead of the 12th place team.

And the Mid-Table could be generously described as the 4 points separating 8th place Brighton and 14th place Brentford.



View attachment 257896

Burnley and Wolves seem doomed for relegation. Wolves simply can't score.

Burnley, West Ham, Forest and Leeds all have similar numbers in terms of goals scored and allowed.

None of them will bridge the gap to the bottom of the midtable, where Fulham, Brentford and Bournemouth all have better defenses and offer more variety in attack.

To the neutral, West Ham has too much talent to see them drop. Forest got rid of Ange Postecoglu and has Sean Dyche, who should see the to safety. They have a lot of good players on their roster, too.

You woud think that Nuno Espirito Santo is a good enough coach to see West Ham survive.

So I would pick Leeds, Burnley and Wolves to go down.

 

[upperdeck]

I don't follow this a ton but betting wise why is Man City +145 and Aston Villa +1800 when they have the same amount of pts and are 3 pts back?

 

[IthacaMatt]

I don't follow this a ton but betting wise why is Man City +145 and Aston Villa +1800 when they have the same amount of pts and are 3 pts back?

It's about bettor belief. City has won the title 6 of the last 8 years, and are quietly coming into form. Villa has a fine first team, but not a lot of depth. It's remarkable that they're doing this well, because Ollie Watkins hasn't been scoring before his double off the bench this weekend.

I think the Villa bet, despite them probably not winning the title, would be a great bet for the potential return, especially maybe with Watkins getting hot in the 2nd half of the season.

 

[ROCcuse]

I thought it was April when I read Maresca out at Chelsea. Thoughts Matt?

 

[OrangeFoo]

I thought it was April when I read Maresca out at Chelsea. Thoughts Matt?

The current Chelsea owners are as trigger happy as Abramovich… but at least Roman brought the goods. The current dudes can’t stick with a strategy longer than 2 seasons. The current player acquisition strategy screams of me being drunk and playing football manager…it is completely incoherent. Cole Palmer is a good player, but not the heart of the team.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Maresca quits Chelsea on New Year's Day (with a game tomorrow)!

My prediction is that Guardiola is going to (1) win the title again and then retire, and (2) Maresca will be hired to replace him.

His much-maligned rotation policy has been necessary be cause young players seem to get hurt more frequently than experienced players, who have more practice at managing their bodies, and feeling injuries coming on before they happen.

I'm sure he feels it's unjust for the Chelsea Board to expect him to try to win the league without a proven number 9 and a proven, mature central defender. We have everything else we need to make a run at the title (except maybe a better left wing, and a little better health from our midfielders).

He was bitch slapped by management about his demands - "Your job is to coach the players, that's all. We decide who to buy and sell."

Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal do not hesitate to buy experienced players to offset the youth, provide them guidance and guile, and try to win a championship when the window presents itself.

I thought it was April when I read Maresca out at Chelsea. Thoughts Matt?

Oh, boy. Don't believe he was fired. He saw that he was top of City's list, and he asked for a couple experienced players in the January window, and was harshly rebuffed.

I'm sure that Maresca doesn't think they are interested in winning a title, as much as they are addicted to buying young players like they are Pokemon cards.

After the loss in Italy to Atalanta in Champions League, I'll bet he got a harsh post-mortem following the game (which they used to do after every game, but that was the last time). I will bet that Maresca probably said, "hey, you're not giving me what we need to win." After they said, "That's not your job."

They don't do that at other top clubs.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Maresca quits Chelsea on New Year's Day (with a game tomorrow)!

My prediction is that Guardiola is going to (1) win the title again and then retire, and (2) Maresca will be hired to replace him.

His much-maligned rotation policy has been necessary be cause young players seem to get hurt more frequently than experienced players, who have more practice at managing their bodies, and feeling injuries coming on before they happen.

I'm sure he feels it's unjust for the Chelsea Board to expect him to try to win the league without a proven number 9 and a proven, mature central defender. We have everything else we need to make a run at the title (except maybe a better left wing, and a little better health from our midfielders).

He was bitch slapped by management about his demands - "Your job is to coach the players, that's all. We decide who to buy and sell."

Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal do not hesitate to buy experienced players to offset the youth, provide them guidance and guile, and try to win a championship when the window presents itself.



Oh, boy. Don't believe he was fired. He saw that he was top of City's list, and he asked for a couple experienced players in the January window, and was harshly rebuffed.

I'm sure that Maresca doesn't think they are interested in winning a title, as much as they are addicted to buying young players like they are Pokemon cards.

After the loss in Italy to Atalanta in Champions League, I'll bet he got a harsh post-mortem following the game (which they used to do after every game, but that was the last time). I will bet that Maresca probably said, "hey, you're not giving me what we need to win." After they said, "That's not your job."

They don't do that at other top clubs.

One more thought on this - Chelsea want to operate like Brighton, or Southhampton, before they went back down - buy young talent and sell them on for a profit.

This is not a Board that is thinking about trophies. They are thinking about profits.

 

[upperdeck]

Wrexham winning kinda a shocker in FA cup. But Crystal losing to a tier 6 team is nuts

 

[IthacaMatt]

January transfer news - Chelsea has signed a French central defender, Jacquiet. Probably misspelled that. Also Sarr, a kid at Strasbourg this year, did great for Senegal in the AFCON Final.

Real Madrid has apparently offered Vinicius Jr. in a swap deal for Enzo Fernandez. Kind of tempting, but also Vini is really toxic.

I almost forgot the other half of the story - Chelsea seem pretty serious about going after Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid (formerly Man City side kick to Haaland).

Add a mature central defender, and damn, that's an upgrade.

Front of

Vini Jr, Alvarez, Neto
Estevao. Cole Palmer
Caicedo. Reece James
Cucurella. Colwill. Chalobah / Fofana
Maignon?