Hadn't realized that Tottenham has about 300 million to spend on transfers. That explains a lot. They are also tryna get Kroupi. They are legit on paper going to be tough. It will come down to managing and they have that as well. They won't be higher than us and this may be sacrilege but them being strong will probably result in a draw away or even both derbies but they will beat our rivals as well as they used to. They used to be a City bogeyman.
We are, and rightly should be, favourites for next season but as we have seen over the last few years all it takes is 3 key injuries and your season is derailed. And we have 3 key players currently still in the WC playing at 70% or under in Saliba, Rice and Saka. I don't think any EPL season before the season starts could be considered a "walk' with the exception of a few City seasons where they have been cheating. Liverpool were meant to "walk" last season after their title winning squad added $200mil worth of talent and we saw what happened there. I actually expect next season to be super competitive because EVERYONE (bar Newcastle, lol) appears to be strengthening and there are a lot of factors to come into play. I think the uncertainty of squads and player connections/positional play, managers and injuries post WC means that opening 10-12 games of the season is, in my opinion, going to be the most important 10 or so games in recent league history. Any teams that get on a run early will break from the pack and I don't think they get chased down. Just a feeling I have based on nothing. But no guarantee that Spurs continue their good end of last season form, no guarantee City continue being City under Maresca, and no guarantee that Chelsea actually sort their shit out under Alonso.
In an ideal world I would go all out for Olise as a ten and rw and a left sided attacker plus a cm we are fine anywhere else, Kai is a great cf new lw and ten with Saka and madueke rotating with dowman just need a ball player cm
We really only need to buy a starter for one position, LW. Kai and Gyokeres are good enough IF we can get them the ball in dangerous positions. We have the players, we just seem to lack the verve and drive to do it. Too much ticky tacky stuff. We need a striker if Jesus goes. I can't see how he stays but if so, having those 3 isn't the end of the world. Not as good as other forward lines but good enough to get goals. I know who I want as a cheap option to buy. So any huge close to 100 million buy should be for LW, that leaves plenty of money over to strengthen the forward line and central midfield.
I'm very impressed with Spurs this summer. They will be very competitive I am guessing. They may even be king maker by winning or drawing against a challenger when they need a win down the stretch. The midfield is solid, they will only be playing once a week unless they go deep into the domestic cups. A top 6 or 7 wouldn't surprise me at all. Newcastle are losing the heart of their team. Being in Europa will hurt them. I think they will buy smartly this summer. No where near the quality of the players they lost the last 2 seasons but they rarely buy busts. Their scouting is very good. If they are out of the Europa league early it will be a good thing for them. Bournemouth remains the conundrum Will they carry on from their fantastic 2nd half of the season run? Doubt it with a new manager as well as losing a few players.
Mourinho left Benfica for Real Madrid Marco Silva left Fulham for Benfica Arbeloa was the interim at Real Madrid, now going to Fulham the circle of life
At this point in Mourinho's career, he will either do terribly well or bad. No middle ground. My guess is very well. One last hurrah. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in a CL final in the next 2 or 3 years. He's a master at cups and knockout competitions.
United triggering Youri Tielmans release clause for 35m. Doesn't seem great for either club. Aston Villa lose a key player from their midfield after losing Onana to injury and potentially losing Rogers. United replace an aging Casemiro who can't run with a 29yo Tielemans who can't really run either. He's a good player but I question the fit with Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes and Tielmans are smart players .They have football brains, Carrick does as well. I am very worried about Man Utd. I expect both Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham to be more competitive than they were last season.
Garrincha was in the news last week as the first example of FIFA overturning a red card for a player mid-tournament (1962). So it was nice to see this “overlooked” obituary in the Times today. And a nice little history lesson, only some of which I’d heard before … https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/obituaries/garrincha-overlooked.html I understand that NYT/Athletic turned off their paywall for the duration of WC26.
Story is Garnacho will leave Chelsea. I like him, and think he could be a good player for us. Won't happen but I wouldn't be opposed to it. There, I said it.
very randomly, ESPN+ had a Champions League match on yesterday afternoon. Some team from Iceland against some team from Hungary. Decent match, well played actually. Killed some time for me. Gylfi Sigurdsson was playing. Yes, that, Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Its a good buy because he is Prem proven and United need the depth badly with the extra games next season. If United are serious about turning a corner they keep him for 2/3 seasons as depth, will play a lot of EPL/UCL/Cup matches and if they are consistently a top 4 team over the next 3 seasons they will phase him out or flip him for 15m-20m in 2 or 3 years time with someone younger. He isn't a good buy for us/City/Pool but thats a good price for talent and experience for a team like Man U who's biggest issues this season will be depth getting tested. Especially if Bruno gets an injury.
Feel a wee bit bad for Villa and Newcastle. Why? Reminds me of us 10 years ago or so, when we were losing players like van Persie, Sanchez, Adebayor, etc. We weren't seen anywhere near a title. At best an FA cup run. We'd get a player, good player who becomes great and either of the Manchester clubs or Liverpool would snatch him at his best. Some worked out for them some didn't but we needed the player.
Don't know if this was posted elsewhere but I just heard... Kevin Keegan RIP (age 75) He was pretty much the biggest thing in English football when I first started following the sport and going to Arsenal games. Then he popped up again as manager for club & country. He died of cancer, and I must say I was not aware. But I gather it might've been caught late. Someday, not sure in my lifetime, we may conquer that scourge of a disease.
The consensus is that he was the victim of a gang-led honeypot scheme, essentially, and refused to pay the blackmail. Definitely a scumbag but not a predator.
He was a great manager at Newcastle an drhey played nice ball shame they fell off and Ferguson got in his head
Manchester City midfielder Rodri will undergo surgery on a back injury, but a prognosis for his return is unknown.More from @SamLee and @GuillermoRai_ 🔗 https://t.co/0sha5FjBsP pic.twitter.com/7sYRZvFMAE— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) July 22, 2026