⚽ English Premier League Season: 2024/2025

[tokeweed]

Right now all of them would jump at the chance of becoming manager of Manchester United but they will have to wait because Ten Hag managed to hold on to his job 

What are your thoughts on the opening Premier League games of the 2024/25 season? Chelsea vs Manchester City will provide an early test of what Chelsea are capable of doing (or not doing) when they face the Premier League champions.

And come to think of it, United does have options like Zidane, maybe Allegri, Nagelsmann or even Poch...  The question is do they want the job...  Lol.

Not too excited for Chelsea vs Man City tbh.  I mean with Chlesea still struggling and all...  And who is Chelsea's new manager again?  Lol.  But yeah, I'd like to watch West Ham vs Aston Villa.  That should be a decent match up with unpredictable results, tho Aston Villa could be the favorite.

Another fixture I'd like to watch is Brentford vs Crystal Palace.  I'd like to see Brentford's new player acquisition who they splashed the cash for.    They broke the club record for cash spent on an acquisition.  It's weird for a club like them as they follow something like a money ball philosophy in player transfers.

[JollyGood]

That is the beauty of the game, there are a huge number of games between teams that are capable of beating each other therefore both fans and neutrals can select any game they deem to a mouth-watering prospect to be their game of the day. It has the same principle in every league around the world but where it is taken to a new level is in the Premier League because on any given day, most teams at the bottom of the table are probably able to hold their own against the bigger teams.

Brentford vs Crystal Palace is a London derby between smaller clubs but still excites fans of both teams (I am unsure about neutral fans on this one).

Not too excited for Chelsea vs Man City tbh.  I mean with Chlesea still struggling and all...  And who is Chelsea's new manager again?  Lol.  But yeah, I'd like to watch West Ham vs Aston Villa.  That should be a decent match up with unpredictable results, tho Aston Villa could be the favorite.

Another fixture I'd like to watch is Brentford vs Crystal Palace.  I'd like to see Brentford's new player acquisition who they splashed the cash for.    They broke the club record for cash spent on an acquisition.  It's weird for a club like them as they follow something like a money ball philosophy in player transfers.

[Distraction]

It is back! These are the Premier League 2024/25 season opening weekend fixtures:
~snip~

A Chelsea - Manchester City match at the beginning already? Oh boy! 

The one at Stamford Bridge last season was incredible... It was played under rain and it ended by a huge score like 4-4. What a match that was! I hope we see another delightful one this time also. 

Which manager will be the first to be sacked?

When it comes to which manager to get sacked first... It is easier to predict small teams for that. But I'm saying Erik ten Hag also has a chance to get sacked first if we don't see any change.

He is given one more chance for now but it is obvious the team is running out of patience on one hand. If Manchester United don't make a good start I won't be surprised to see him getting sacked before the end of the 1st half of the season.

[mv1986]

~

Not too excited for Chelsea vs Man City tbh.  I mean with Chlesea still struggling and all...  And who is Chelsea's new manager again?  Lol.  But yeah, I'd like to watch West Ham vs Aston Villa.  That should be a decent match up with unpredictable results, tho Aston Villa could be the favorite.

Another fixture I'd like to watch is Brentford vs Crystal Palace.  I'd like to see Brentford's new player acquisition who they splashed the cash for.    They broke the club record for cash spent on an acquisition.  It's weird for a club like them as they follow something like a money ball philosophy in player transfers.

I am actually looking forward to this game Chelsea vs Man City because it will pretty quickly give an idea whether Chelsea is about to go for another horror season. Maybe they can manage to get going with a good start and things change for the better, but hard to believe though. Then again, last season they got started with a draw against Liverpool and it didn't mean much.

I think some of the games that include the promoted teams could also be interesting, like Ipswich Town at home against Liverpool with a new coach. Ipswich Town will be motivated like crazy in their first home game and for Liverpool a big change has happened.

[Obim34]

Right now all of them would jump at the chance of becoming manager of Manchester United but they will have to wait because Ten Hag managed to hold on to his job 

What are your thoughts on the opening Premier League games of the 2024/25 season? Chelsea vs Manchester City will provide an early test of what Chelsea are capable of doing (or not doing) when they face the Premier League champions.

And come to think of it, United does have options like Zidane, maybe Allegri, Nagelsmann or even Poch...  The question is do they want the job...  Lol.

Not too excited for Chelsea vs Man City tbh.  I mean with Chlesea still struggling and all...  And who is Chelsea's new manager again?  Lol.  But yeah, I'd like to watch West Ham vs Aston Villa.  That should be a decent match up with unpredictable results, tho Aston Villa could be the favorite.

You just casually dissed an elite club like Chelsea, they had quite a bad performance last season which doesn't mean they will aswell struggle this season to make it to the top. Much is expected from them and I believe they are coming back strong and dominating. One of my expectations from them is to make it to the top of the table not initially winning the Premier league but qualifying for the Champions league which is undoubtedly promising to happen. We believe Maresca can make all these happen, we can't doubt his ability neither inability to perform until fixtures are played.

[JollyGood]

A Chelsea - Manchester City match at the beginning already? Oh boy! 

The one at Stamford Bridge last season was incredible... It was played under rain and it ended by a huge score like 4-4. What a match that was! I hope we see another delightful one this time also. 

That game was brilliant last season at Stamford Bridge. Pochettino and Guardiola were trying their best to get all three points. It was almost end to end football with attack and counterattack all the way. Two late goals (one to give Manchester City a 3-4 lead and then a penalty for Chelsea in time added-on to make it 4-4) made this a memorable game.

I remember when Pochettino came on to the pitch furious with the referee for blowing the full-time whistle because he wanted the game to continue as Chelsea were mounting a counterattack. I cannot recall seeing Pochettino being that angry before.

I am actually looking forward to this game Chelsea vs Man City because it will pretty quickly give an idea whether Chelsea is about to go for another horror season. Maybe they can manage to get going with a good start and things change for the better, but hard to believe though. Then again, last season they got started with a draw against Liverpool and it didn't mean much.

Chelsea need to hit the ground running for the new season otherwise they will suffer. They have a new manager who is unproven and I think they could regret signing him because taking Leicester City from the Championship to the Premier League does not make him a suitable manager for a club such as Chelsea.

I think some of the games that include the promoted teams could also be interesting, like Ipswich Town at home against Liverpool with a new coach. Ipswich Town will be motivated like crazy in their first home game and for Liverpool a big change has happened.

When you think about the Ipswich Town manager being an ex-Manchester United coach, you can understand why he would want to beat Liverpool.

[mv1986]

I am actually looking forward to this game Chelsea vs Man City because it will pretty quickly give an idea whether Chelsea is about to go for another horror season. Maybe they can manage to get going with a good start and things change for the better, but hard to believe though. Then again, last season they got started with a draw against Liverpool and it didn't mean much.

Chelsea need to hit the ground running for the new season otherwise they will suffer. They have a new manager who is unproven and I think they could regret signing him because taking Leicester City from the Championship to the Premier League does not make him a suitable manager for a club such as Chelsea.

I think some of the games that include the promoted teams could also be interesting, like Ipswich Town at home against Liverpool with a new coach. Ipswich Town will be motivated like crazy in their first home game and for Liverpool a big change has happened.

When you think about the Ipswich Town manager being an ex-Manchester United coach, you can understand why he would want to beat Liverpool.

Couldn't agree more about the new Chelsea coach and I see it them same way with Bayern Munich signing Kompany because he took Burnley back into the Premier League. I have said it over an over again: these new coaches have only one shot to get the respect from their team, the bosses and the media, and that is if they win every game. If Chelsea or Bayern don't win the first two games, discussions will immediately be through the roof and that doesn't make it any easier for unproven coaches.

But then again the market for these high profile coaches is drying out. Klopp is gone for now. Mourinho went to Turkey (although he is not high profile anymore in my opinion), Ancelotti might retire in 2026 or take over a national team, Nagelsmann is a national coach, Guardiola might soon choose to end or put on stop his career as a club coach. Tuchel might be the only one, whatever someone might think of him.
So somehow they are forced to do some experiments.

I don't think that Liverpool will land a landslide victory against Ipswich Town. These games against promoted teams in their home stadium on matchday 1 are often times incredibly tough.

[JollyGood]

It is good to read your posts in this thread, where have you been hiding?  

I was surprised when a team such as Bayern Munich opted to sign Kompany as their manager after he just got relegated in his first season as a Premier League manager. More often than not, Bayern make long term decisions and think things through properly. Now we will see Kompany manage Kane in the Bundesliga.

Ipswich Town played very well in the Championship, I will not be surprised if they win that game because they will be looking to take full advantage of Liverpool visiting them with a new manager in a new era. The Klopp era is over and I cannot see a new manager having it easy in the early phase of his appointment, this will be a challenging time for him.

Couldn't agree more about the new Chelsea coach and I see it them same way with Bayern Munich signing Kompany because he took Burnley back into the Premier League. I have said it over an over again: these new coaches have only one shot to get the respect from their team, the bosses and the media, and that is if they win every game. If Chelsea or Bayern don't win the first two games, discussions will immediately be through the roof and that doesn't make it any easier for unproven coaches.

But then again the market for these high profile coaches is drying out. Klopp is gone for now. Mourinho went to Turkey (although he is not high profile anymore in my opinion), Ancelotti might retire in 2026 or take over a national team, Nagelsmann is a national coach, Guardiola might soon choose to end or put on stop his career as a club coach. Tuchel might be the only one, whatever someone might think of him.
So somehow they are forced to do some experiments.

I don't think that Liverpool will land a landslide victory against Ipswich Town. These games against promoted teams in their home stadium on matchday 1 are often times incredibly tough.

[mv1986]

It is good to read your posts in this thread, where have you been hiding?  

I was surprised when a team such as Bayern Munich opted to sign Kompany as their manager after he just got relegated in his first season as a Premier League manager. More often than not, Bayern make long term decisions and think things through properly. Now we will see Kompany manage Kane in the Bundesliga.

Ipswich Town played very well in the Championship, I will not be surprised if they win that game because they will be looking to take full advantage of Liverpool visiting them with a new manager in a new era. The Klopp era is over and I cannot see a new manager having it easy in the early phase of his appointment, this will be a challenging time for him.

~

I wouldn't call it hiding, but it seems our ways haven't crossed all that much recently

I think I was mostly active in the other Premier League thread. But I often go through the threads and sort out whether something interesting has been posted. Now this doesn't mean things here aren't interesting, but the comparably lower level of activity here doesn't bump it to the top all the time. So who is hiding here in the midst of threads getting bumped with garbage?

Bayern make long term decisions

Veeeery interesting comment that I got to say a lot about!  Bayern does indeed make long term decisions, but making a decision doesn't mean it's been followed up on. Look at Nagelsmann, 30 million transfer fee to RedBull, long term contract, then two faggots get into control (Kahn and Salihamidzic) and fire him during his Easter break I think it was after he coached the team for 1.5 years. However, they called him the future of international top coaches and therefore are planning to usher in a true era with him. Yeah, 1.5 years. At that point he had just beaten PSG in the Champions League, advanced to the next round in the DFB Pokal and had all chances to win the Bundesliga. THAT is Bayern It has always been like that.

Heynckes wanted to extend his contract when he won the triple in 2013 with record breaking 91 points in the Bundesliga, destroying prime Barcelona 7-0 in the Champions League (Bayern - Barca 4-0, Barca - Bayern 0-3) and as mentioned above winning the DFB Pokal. He had to go because instead they started negotiations with Guardiola. Now I get the point that Guardiola was available and it is a rare option on the table. But other than that, Bayern is very short-lived when it comes to coaches.

But now back to the Premier League: I don't know what it means for English football in general, but the national team is a disaster at the moment. Foden is like a ghost. There are some interesting Premier League teams though, but it is still hard to imagine that they can crack Manchester City in the upcoming season. City is somehow controlling the league. If they need to gear up, they gear up, if they can slow down, they slow down. If they need 10 wins in a row, they win 10 games in a row and every time you can see that Arsenal can't keep up and they lose their nerves at some point. Still though it is the best league in the world and always fun to follow and watch.

[Distraction]

..

But now back to the Premier League: I don't know what it means for English football in general, but the national team is a disaster at the moment. Foden is like a ghost. There are some interesting Premier League teams though, but it is still hard to imagine that they can crack Manchester City in the upcoming season. City is somehow controlling the league. If they need to gear up, they gear up, if they can slow down, they slow down. If they need 10 wins in a row, they win 10 games in a row and every time you can see that Arsenal can't keep up and they lose their nerves at some point. Still though it is the best league in the world and always fun to follow and watch.

I couldn't have agreed with you more mate.    The national team is in horrible condition, all thanks to Southgate! He has been a failure for like 8 years. But no, they just didn't want to replace him anyway. But he is criticized more than ever in Euro 2024 so I guess this is the end for him.

Truthfully I would sack him even if he somehow wins the Euro for England.    This guy promises nothing for the team clearly.

When it comes to Manchester City, they are like a level end boss in the PL. I still have hopes from Arsenal to stop them though, haha.

[JollyGood]

It is good to read your posts in this thread, where have you been hiding?  

I wouldn't call it hiding, but it seems our ways haven't crossed all that much recently

I think I was mostly active in the other Premier League thread. But I often go through the threads and sort out whether something interesting has been posted. Now this doesn't mean things here aren't interesting, but the comparably lower level of activity here doesn't bump it to the top all the time. So who is hiding here in the midst of threads getting bumped with garbage?

Nevertheless, welcome 

Bayern make long term decisions

Veeeery interesting comment that I got to say a lot about!  Bayern does indeed make long term decisions, but making a decision doesn't mean it's been followed up on. Look at Nagelsmann, 30 million transfer fee to RedBull, long term contract, then two faggots get into control (Kahn and Salihamidzic) and fire him during his Easter break I think it was after he coached the team for 1.5 years. However, they called him the future of international top coaches and therefore are planning to usher in a true era with him. Yeah, 1.5 years. At that point he had just beaten PSG in the Champions League, advanced to the next round in the DFB Pokal and had all chances to win the Bundesliga. THAT is Bayern It has always been like that.

Heynckes wanted to extend his contract when he won the triple in 2013 with record breaking 91 points in the Bundesliga, destroying prime Barcelona 7-0 in the Champions League (Bayern - Barca 4-0, Barca - Bayern 0-3) and as mentioned above winning the DFB Pokal. He had to go because instead they started negotiations with Guardiola. Now I get the point that Guardiola was available and it is a rare option on the table. But other than that, Bayern is very short-lived when it comes to coaches.

Well that was the problem, they recently have not been great at following through on some of their decisions but that indecision is usually seen by most owners and club directors. When Rummenigge was CEO they had stability but after he stepped down things have changed. I think hiring Kompany as manager is a massive mistake.

But now back to the Premier League: I don't know what it means for English football in general, but the national team is a disaster at the moment. Foden is like a ghost. There are some interesting Premier League teams though, but it is still hard to imagine that they can crack Manchester City in the upcoming season. City is somehow controlling the league. If they need to gear up, they gear up, if they can slow down, they slow down. If they need 10 wins in a row, they win 10 games in a row and every time you can see that Arsenal can't keep up and they lose their nerves at some point. Still though it is the best league in the world and always fun to follow and watch.

England have not played well in Euro 24 and that could be partly down to the Premier League players exerting too much mental and physical energy in the league and for that reason they are failing as a unit in the English national team.

I cannot see Manchester City winning the title next season with relative ease because Arsenal will push them all the way. Also, I expect them to lose more games in the early part of the season when they meet tough opponents.

[JollyGood]

Manchester United have signed Joshua Zirkzee for £36.5m from Bologna on a five year contract. At 6ft 4in the Netherlands international is different in build to what we see as a conventional striker but it seems a lot to pay for someone that still needs to prove himself. He has scored 12 goals and managed 7 assists in Serie A last season but does that equate to a large sum?

[Distraction]

Manchester United have signed Joshua Zirkzee for £36.5m from Bologna on a five year contract. At 6ft 4in the Netherlands international is different in build to what we see as a conventional striker but it seems a lot to pay for someone that still needs to prove himself. He has scored 12 goals and managed 7 assists in Serie A last season but does that equate to a large sum?

He has a really good height advantage though. He can be a good target striker just like Hojlund is trying to be.    Zirkzee is 23 years old and Hojlund is 21 now. Manchester United have really young strikers for next season. I'm hopeful about Zirkzee truthfully. I mean he can increase the competition level and help Hojlund play better also.

Manchester United need to be more productive while conceding way less goals than last season. This is their only way of climbing the positions next time.

I appreciate Erik ten Hag's giving a big importance to defender signing. de Ligt is on his way to Manchester United, what do you think about it?

[JollyGood]

What could really benefit Zirkzee far more than anything else is that only is his manager like him is Dutch but that a Dutch and Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy is joining the coaching team. If van is competitive enough as a coach just as he was when playing, both Højlund and Zirkzee will benefit from him.

I am not sure about Manchester United considering signing de Ligt even though he and his club (Bayern Munich) would like to deal to ahead. It seems they are not going to pursue de Ligt after they already agreed to a £50 million deal to sign Leny Yoro from Lille. He is only 18 years old but seems to have a fantastic future ahead of him.

He has a really good height advantage though. He can be a good target striker just like Hojlund is trying to be.    Zirkzee is 23 years old and Hojlund is 21 now. Manchester United have really young strikers for next season. I'm hopeful about Zirkzee truthfully. I mean he can increase the competition level and help Hojlund play better also.

Manchester United need to be more productive while conceding way less goals than last season. This is their only way of climbing the positions next time.

I appreciate Erik ten Hag's giving a big importance to defender signing. de Ligt is on his way to Manchester United, what do you think about it?

[JollyGood]

Here are some of the latest news and rumours:



Newcastle United are making it clear they want their manager Eddie Howe to stay but he is being heavily linked with the England manager job.


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Arsenal want to sign Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna but Chelsea and Juventus are trying to sign him too. It has been reported Bologna and Arsenal have agreed terms but an official announcement has not been made.


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It has been reported Chelsea and Napoli are negotiating a £30 million deal to sell Romelu Lukaku. Clearly Chelsea do not want Lukaku back after sending him out on loan to Inter Milan and Roma. Now it seems Napoli want him therefore Chelsea might be able to recoup some of the £100 million they paid to buy him from Inter Milan.

[Distraction]

I am not sure about Manchester United considering signing de Ligt even though he and his club (Bayern Munich) would like to deal to ahead. It seems they are not going to pursue de Ligt after they already agreed to a £50 million deal to sign Leny Yoro from Lille. He is only 18 years old but seems to have a fantastic future ahead of him.

Yeah, it is a really huge deal considering he is still very young. But we can see it as a good investment for their future. Normally Manchester United is known by spending a lot of money on players, much more than their worth. There have been so many times in which those transfers didn't turn out to be beneficial also.

But now things look different. They look like they know what they are doing. I hope they continue the same. There is no meaning in splurging on average players in the end.    Maybe Jim Ratcliffe would handle the team better.

[JollyGood]

I agree it does seem to be the case their focus is based on highly rated and experienced youth rather than much older yet experienced players. Now that someone sensible such as Radcliffe is overseeing the footballing decisions at Manchester United, I think we will never see them make more 30+ year old signings that cost £50+ million on players again and offer ridiculously high weekly pay in the way they did with Casemiro.

Yeah, it is a really huge deal considering he is still very young. But we can see it as a good investment for their future. Normally Manchester United is known by spending a lot of money on players, much more than their worth. There have been so many times in which those transfers didn't turn out to be beneficial also.

But now things look different. They look like they know what they are doing. I hope they continue the same. There is no meaning in splurging on average players in the end.    Maybe Jim Ratcliffe would handle the team better.

[tokeweed]

It has been reported Chelsea and Napoli are negotiating a £30 million deal to sell Romelu Lukaku. Clearly Chelsea do not want Lukaku back after sending him out on loan to Inter Milan and Roma. Now it seems Napoli want him therefore Chelsea might be able to recoup some of the £100 million they paid to buy him from Inter Milan.

Ah yeah...  Lukaku.  Lol.  He was a signing made by Andre Villas Boas back in the day and he was groomed to be Drogba's replacement.  But it wasn't to be so.  I think it would've been better for him if he first went to Germany or Italy  rather than plucking him away from Belgium and straight to the EPL.  He was so young back then and was given misplaced expectations.

Lukaku plays well but only against defenders he can bully which he could at Italy.  In the EPL, not so much.

[Distraction]

I agree it does seem to be the case their focus is based on highly rated and experienced youth rather than much older yet experienced players. Now that someone sensible such as Radcliffe is overseeing the footballing decisions at Manchester United, I think we will never see them make more 30+ year old signings that cost £50+ million on players again and offer ridiculously high weekly pay in the way they did with Casemiro.

It is good that you mentioned Casemiro.    Most probably they are looking for a replacement for him. Because names like Ugarte and Zubimendi are on their agenda lately. Both of them would consolidate the squad a lot. Any of them would cost around 60-70m euros I guess.    But I would say they should go for one of them anyway.

When it comes to Lukaku... His situation has turned into a long-winded story. Conte wants to see him but it possible only if Osimhen leaves. If this doesn't happen I wonder where Chelsea will send him as he has no future there.

[JollyGood]

Lukaku plays well but only against defenders he can bully which he could at Italy.  In the EPL, not so much.

He had that one excellent season in Italy and based on that the Chelsea owners went against the wishes of then manager Tuchel and bought him for a ridiculous amount of money. They were thinking he was going to bring Chelsea immediate success but Tuchel found he could not play the way he wanted therefore his time was short at Stamford Bridge. He had so much potential at West Brom, it is hard to work out where it wrong for Lukaku.

When it comes to Lukaku... His situation has turned into a long-winded story. Conte wants to see him but it possible only if Osimhen leaves. If this doesn't happen I wonder where Chelsea will send him as he has no future there.

What cannot be denied is Conte somehow manages to bring the best out of Lukaku. Clearly, they have a connection that works well for them and they would probably want that to continue.