⚽ English Premier League Season: 2024/2025

[tokeweed]

But as for City losing three Community Shields, dunno...  I don't look into stats like that much as all I know is Man City has the better squad, the better manager and is the better club overall.  Man City losing three times all comes down to variance.  If anything, they're due to win this one.  :-/

But dunno...  We'll see.

My money is on City to win it. How do these guys put it? Third Fourth time's the charm. Like you said, City has the best squad out of both teams and I want to assume that Man Utd will just be the same old Man Utd that Arne Slot with his adjusting Liverpool side thrashed 0-3. Guardiola would really want to win tomorrow's Community shield so it doesn't start to feel like a curse.

Like I said, City to win tomorrow. We'll see. 

But there's another important thing to consider...  Which squad will Guardiola deploy for the Community Shield.    If he deploys most of his B squad and Man United deploys their first 11 guys then there's a chance City loses the match by one goal. 

But we'll see, if Guardiola is gonna deploy Haaland, Grealish, KDB and Silva and that could be enough to get a win. 

Good luck to all your bets.

[JollyGood]

The majority of those speculating on the Charity Shield result will probably agree with you in that they expect Manchester City to win the game however I find it difficult to believe even they are expecting a total rout resulting in a 3-0 or 4-0 win. If that happens, it will mean Manchester City sending out a strong signal to the rest of the Premier League.

While I know that City lost to United at FA cup finals so we saw that it could be possible, I feel like it is not going to be that common and this time around we are going to see City destroying United. I also think that United hasn't gotten that better yet, they are not really all that much better, so this is going to be something that we are not going to see same with FA finals, it is going to be quite different.

We will see City be much more relaxed on this game, they didn't even do that much friendlies and they are fresh right now and I know that it is going to be hard for them to be on shape, but they will do fine. I am expecting a big win, like maybe 3-0 or 4-0 type of game, and it is going to be very bad days for United ahead after that too.

[JollyGood]

FA Charity Shield 2024

Manchester City 1-1 Manchester United

Manchester City won 7-6 on penalties










TRANSFER NEWS

Tottenham
The club have paid £65 million to Bournemouth to sign Dominic Solanke.

Liverpool
Real Sociedad are negotiating to sell Zubimendi and Liverpool have agreed to trigger his €60m release clause.

Brentford have agreed a £27.5m price to buy Carvalho from Liverpool.

[tokeweed]

^  Didn't watch the match but disappointed with the result.  Lol. 

As for those transfers..  Wow everything in the transfer market is still way overpriced eh..?  Solanke is good but for 65m GBP?  Dunno.  We'll see how he performs.

And that's so unlike Brentford to spend that amount of cash for a 21 year old unproven player.  What happened to money ball?

[Distraction]

Manchester City did a big rotation. That's why they struggled more to finish the job in regular time. Besides the season was just beginning of course. It can be really risky to bet on a side in such situation. 

65m pounds is indeed an exaggerated amount. I doubt if Solanke is worth that much. I appreciated his scoring effort last season. But we will see if he can keep it up. He is going to have a bigger pressure on himself now.

Still 0 transfer made by Liverpool... There are memes out on the internet already relating to this topic. I wonder if they think the current squad is strong enough for a PL title. I don't agree with that.

[JollyGood]

When you look at the £36 million price Chelsea sold Gallagher to Atletico Madrid as a comparator, it is clear Solanke is overpriced at £65 million. It was not as though Tottenham were desperate to immediately sign a striker, they have time before the season kicks-off therefore I wonder why they overpaid for him.

He is a good player that could increase his goal per game ratio moving from Bournemouth to Tottenham but as far as I am concerned it was not worth the risk. There are a huge number of better strikers they could have purchased for that amount. He was probably worth £15-£18 million at most.

Wow everything in the transfer market is still way overpriced eh..?  Solanke is good but for 65m GBP?  Dunno.  We'll see how he performs.

[tokeweed]

Manchester City did a big rotation. That's why they struggled more to finish the job in regular time. Besides the season was just beginning of course. It can be really risky to bet on a side in such situation. 

65m pounds is indeed an exaggerated amount. I doubt if Solanke is worth that much. I appreciated his scoring effort last season. But we will see if he can keep it up. He is going to have a bigger pressure on himself now.

Still 0 transfer made by Liverpool... There are memes out on the internet already relating to this topic. I wonder if they think the current squad is strong enough for a PL title. I don't agree with that.

That's typical of Guardiola to tweak his squad and strat too much giving him an unintended result.  Remember the UCL quarter finals against Lyon?  Lolol.

But yeah, for this one I half expected him to deploy a decent squad but not his first 11 as it's just the Community Shield.  Lol.  I guess he doesn't wanna risk any serious injuries with some of his players..?  Dunno, but 1 - 1 against United amd almost losing it sucks.

[Igebotz]

When you look at the £36 million price Chelsea sold Gallagher to Atletico Madrid as a comparator, it is clear Solanke is overpriced at £65 million. It was not as though Tottenham were desperate to immediately sign a striker, they have time before the season kicks-off therefore I wonder why they overpaid for him.

He is a good player that could increase his goal per game ratio moving from Bournemouth to Tottenham but as far as I am concerned it was not worth the risk. There are a huge number of better strikers they could have purchased for that amount. He was probably worth £15-£18 million at most.

I mentioned in the other thread that Solanke is overvalued; he had fantastic numbers last season, but he has failed at two big clubs (Chelsea and Liverpool); he does not appear to be a top team player; IMHO, he is a 30-35m max player.

 I'm surprised no one has signed Toney yet; I expected him to join a big club this summer, but there has been no news or serious discussion.

[JollyGood]

I mentioned in the other thread that Solanke is overvalued; he had fantastic numbers last season, but he has failed at two big clubs (Chelsea and Liverpool); he does not appear to be a top team player; IMHO, he is a 30-35m max player.

I completely forgot he was ever at Chelsea and Liverpool. Reading through his bio, he was never given a chance in the Chelsea first team even though he was at the club from the age of eight therefore he definitely had the talent. The problem for him was that the Chelsea squad back in 2014-2017 was full of top players that did not want to relinquish their position therefore he could not break through and was sent out on loan (to Vitesse) for one season. When got back to Chelsea after the loan expired, Costa understandably was the first choice striker but he could not dislodge Batshuayi. He moved to Liverpool on a free transfer but during his time across one and half seasons he did not adapt.

The £19 million Bournemouth paid in 2019 seemed astronomical for him as he was not a proven striker but if they got £65 million for him after years of service, then it worked out well for the club but also for the player to go to a bigger club. His record of 199 games 72 goals is very good considering Bournemouth do not have wingers and midfield supplying him with regular goal scoring opportunities.

Tottenham will play in the Europa League therefore Solanke wil experience European football too. If he gets 20 goals across all competitions in his first season, I think the manager and fans will be very pleased.

I'm surprised no one has signed Toney yet; I expected him to join a big club this summer, but there has been no news or serious discussion.

Could it be because of his previous suspension from football because of his gambling problems?

[Igebotz]

I completely forgot he was ever at Chelsea and Liverpool. Reading through his bio, he was never given a chance in the Chelsea first team even though he was at the club from the age of eight therefore he definitely had the talent.

He was impatient, he wasn't ready for top team yet, he needed one or two loan move to be fully ready but he decided not to sign a new deal, rejected contract offer and moved to Liverpool where he had the same inexperienced problem and got sold.

Could it be because of his previous suspension from football because of his gambling problems?

Yes could be, no club want to associate with someone with dubious past. Once a gambler is always a gambler

[nelson4lov]

~Snipped
And that's so unlike Brentford to spend that amount of cash for a 21 year old unproven player.  What happened to money ball?

Who is unproven? Fabio Calvaho? I don't think so. Even while on loan to Hull city last season, he impressed — 9 goals in only 20 appearances. If you compare that with tier 1 premier league strikers like Nicolas Jackson and Darwin Nunez  

Even the USA tour Liverpool had for their just concluded preseason, Calvaho played well and scored in Arsenal + Man Utd games. If Liverpool can ship Coutinho back in the day for one of the highest PL transfer fee, then certainly Brentford is getting a good deal with Calvaho.

[tokeweed]

~Snipped
And that's so unlike Brentford to spend that amount of cash for a 21 year old unproven player.  What happened to money ball?

Who is unproven? Fabio Calvaho? I don't think so. Even while on loan to Hull city last season, he impressed — 9 goals in only 20 appearances. If you compare that with tier 1 premier league strikers like Nicolas Jackson and Darwin Nunez  

Even the USA tour Liverpool had for their just concluded preseason, Calvaho played well and scored in Arsenal + Man Utd games. If Liverpool can ship Coutinho back in the day for one of the highest PL transfer fee, then certainly Brentford is getting a good deal with Calvaho.

Dude...  He's 21 years old.  What does that one season with Hull on loan say about him?  Nothing much.  Lol.  And what I'm saying is for that price tag, it's out of character for Brentford to spend that much for an unproven, young player.  I mean what if he flops?  That money would then would've been better spent elsewhere in hindsight.

But we'll see.  Thomas Frank prolly has something planned for him and will build the squad around him as it did Ivan Toney before...  Who's prolly leaving soon.

Edit:  Typos.

[Luzin]

I just found out there are about 380 games for the 24/25 season. The match will end in May 2025.  It seems that the schedule will be quite tight because there is still UCL, European Cup, FA Cup, and Carabao.  I think for a team that is not able to provide a rotation of players, it will be difficult to get more than 1 champion. I don't even feel confident that Man City can win the EPL again.

The big EPL teams are just a few who have made quite a lot of transfers, most of them I don't see big moves. Including Newcastle a rich team, they don't seem to buy many players. I only read a lot of transfers from Chelsea, Man United, Big clubs like Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal don't seem to do much to buy new players but the small tim i see many players come in, but not famous players.

Source: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13137622/transfer-news-summer-transfer-window-2024-premier-league-ins-and-outs

[JollyGood]

TRANSFER NEWS

Manchester United
The club have paid £60.1 million to Bayern Munich for a double purchase of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. With add-ons the price will increase but this deal means Manchester United are serious about trying to win the Premier League within two years.

Chelsea
Conor Gallagher has returned to Chelsea after the deal for Atletico Madrid striker Omorodion collapsed. Now Chelsea are trying to buy Felix instead with a lower price they agreed for Omorodion. If there is no deal with Atletico Madrid before the transfer window closes, it look as though Gallager will stay at Chelsea at until the next transfer window opens.

~snip~

Kindly look a the local rules mentioned in the OP and edit your post.

He was impatient, he wasn't ready for top team yet, he needed one or two loan move to be fully ready but he decided not to sign a new deal, rejected contract offer and moved to Liverpool where he had the same inexperienced problem and got sold.

It seems either he thought he was far better than he actually was or there were other problem that were not made public otherwise he should have gone out for another season on loan (probably to a Premier League team) and that would have paved the way for him to try to get in the Chelsea starting eleven. When he failed at Chelsea and Liverpool it would have been difficult to resurrect his career but the £19 Bournemouth paid for him seems a bargain especially when they received £65 million.

Could it be because of his previous suspension from football because of his gambling problems?

Yes could be, no club want to associate with someone with dubious past. Once a gambler is always a gambler

I think Toney had suitors including Arsenal but nothing seems to have been finalised.

[Igebotz]

It seems either he thought he was far better than he actually was or there were other problem that were not made public otherwise he should have gone out for another season on loan (probably to a Premier League team) and that would have paved the way for him to try to get in the Chelsea starting eleven. When he failed at Chelsea and Liverpool it would have been difficult to resurrect his career but the £19 Bournemouth paid for him seems a bargain especially when they received £65 million.

Peer pressure and I guess it's paying off for him, he's being at top level since he left and still looking like the next big thing. Liverpool got about £20m from sell on clause they included in his contract, they were so smart.

I think Toney had suitors including Arsenal but nothing seems to have been finalised.

The Arsenal link stopped months ago, he's more closer to moving to Saudi Arabia than staying in the premier League. Al Ahli are interested but Toney is still asessing other options, I guess he wants to stay in Europe

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Chelsea
Conor Gallagher has returned to Chelsea after the deal for Atletico Madrid striker Omorodion collapsed. Now Chelsea are trying to buy Felix instead with a lower price they agreed for Omorodion. If there is no deal with Atletico Madrid before the transfer window closes, it look as though Gallager will stay at Chelsea at until the next transfer window opens.

I prefer Felix to whoever that dude is because I have never heard of him until I saw the news of Chelsea trying to sign him. He isn't up to the standard of a striker that fits Chelsea. Felix has proven himself in the premier league and as a blue, he didn't flop when he came on loan the first time and I was surprised we didn't fight to keep him but that was all on Pochettino as he didn't want him. Felix can be of help at the right wing since Sterling is becoming inconsistent so he's going to be a good singing.

Omorodion out means Victor Osimhen is going to be the target now and that's what I was expecting to happen. Enzo Maresca early stages is going to be full of trials & errors and we can't keep waiting for the players to understand the manager when we can just get a good striker in Victor Osimhen that all you need to do is get him the ball either on his feet or in the air and he gets you the goals. As for Gallagher, I don't care if he's staying or leaving as I'm cool with any of the decisions.

[JollyGood]

Edit.

Local rules

I just found out there are about 380 games for the 24/25 season. The match will end in May 2025.  It seems that the schedule will be quite tight because there is still UCL, European Cup, FA Cup, and Carabao.  I think for a team that is not able to provide a rotation of players, it will be difficult to get more than 1 champion. I don't even feel confident that Man City can win the EPL again.

If a team has a big enough squad, they will be able to mount a challenge in all competitions. Some play weakened teams in the FA and League/Carabao cup competitions in order to concentrate on the Premier League and any European competition they are involved in otherwise they can suffer from fatigue. Most of the players even in the so-called smaller clubs are paying a fantastic salary to their players therefore they should be up for the challenge.

The big EPL teams are just a few who have made quite a lot of transfers, most of them I don't see big moves. Including Newcastle a rich team, they don't seem to buy many players. I only read a lot of transfers from Chelsea, Man United, Big clubs like Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal don't seem to do much to buy new players but the small tim i see many players come in, but not famous players.

There is still time, maybe some of the bigger teams you mentioned will make late additions to their squads with surprise announcements.

The Arsenal link stopped months ago, he's more closer to moving to Saudi Arabia than staying in the premier League. Al Ahli are interested but Toney is still asessing other options, I guess he wants to stay in Europe

If Toney moves outside of the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A he will probably never play for England again therefore he will keep that in mind.

Also, the latest reports suggest Chelsea and Manchester United are interested in signing him on loan. It seems this will continue for a little longer until we understand where his career takes him.

I prefer Felix to whoever that dude is because I have never heard of him until I saw the news of Chelsea trying to sign him. He isn't up to the standard of a striker that fits Chelsea. Felix has proven himself in the premier league and as a blue, he didn't flop when he came on loan the first time and I was surprised we didn't fight to keep him but that was all on Pochettino as he didn't want him. Felix can be of help at the right wing since Sterling is becoming inconsistent so he's going to be a good singing.

Felix was not consistent when was loaned in the Premier League before but I think he was the world most expensive player at one point therefore he still has the capability to excelling if he has a good group of players supplying him with goalscoring opportunities. If he is given time at Chelsea, I think Felix could be a regular starter and goalscorer for them.

Omorodion out means Victor Osimhen is going to be the target now and that's what I was expecting to happen. Enzo Maresca early stages is going to be full of trials & errors and we can't keep waiting for the players to understand the manager when we can just get a good striker in Victor Osimhen that all you need to do is get him the ball either on his feet or in the air and he gets you the goals.

The Premier League needs to have players of a high calibre and Osimhen is at near top of the list. Whether at Chelsea or elsewhere, he will bring excitement to any team he plays for. If Chelsea manage to get him before the season starts they will give themselves and their fans hope for the season ahead.

[abhiseshakana]

TRANSFER NEWS

Manchester United
The club have paid £60.1 million to Bayern Munich for a double purchase of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. With add-ons the price will increase but this deal means Manchester United are serious about trying to win the Premier League within two years.

That is definitely good news, not just because Man United is showing good progress and fulfilling every plan that has been determined, but it is also a solution to the many injuries that have hit their defenders, so they can open the season with confidence. To be honest, I really hope that De Ligt and Mazraoui can be part of the opening match against Fulham because that will give Man United a greater chance of winning.

De Ligt and Mazraoui have already joined Man United, now we just have to wait another good news regarding the progress in getting a new defensive midfielder.

[tokeweed]

It seems either he thought he was far better than he actually was or there were other problem that were not made public otherwise he should have gone out for another season on loan (probably to a Premier League team) and that would have paved the way for him to try to get in the Chelsea starting eleven. When he failed at Chelsea and Liverpool it would have been difficult to resurrect his career but the £19 Bournemouth paid for him seems a bargain especially when they received £65 million.

Peer pressure and I guess it's paying off for him, he's being at top level since he left and still looking like the next big thing. Liverpool got about £20m from sell on clause they included in his contract, they were so smart.

I think Toney had suitors including Arsenal but nothing seems to have been finalised.

The Arsenal link stopped months ago, he's more closer to moving to Saudi Arabia than staying in the premier League. Al Ahli are interested but Toney is still asessing other options, I guess he wants to stay in Europe

Ivan Toney to Saudi Arabia..?  Oof.  He's still in his prime.  Pretty sure there are clubs in other leagues in Europe who could use his talents.  But for the 60 GBP price tag Brentford is asking for him, I think that's a bit too much.  I mean he's good but for 60m GBP, pretty sure there are better options.

Anyway, what do you guys think of Man United vs Fulham this weekend?  I feel like Man U loses their first match or ends in a draw. 

[JollyGood]

Reports suggested Toney is around 28 years old therefore has many years ahead of him. If he were to sign a 4 year contract that would keep him at a club until he is around 32 years old, if he were to not walk away on a free transfer at that stage he could be sold a year beforehand for the club to recoup some of the money. Having said that £60 million is too much for him just as £65 million is too much for Solanke.

Ivan Toney to Saudi Arabia..?  Oof.  He's still in his prime.  Pretty sure there are clubs in other leagues in Europe who could use his talents.  But for the 60 GBP price tag Brentford is asking for him, I think that's a bit too much.  I mean he's good but for 60m GBP, pretty sure there are better options.