Whale.io 🐳 | ⚽ English Premier League Season: 2025/2026

[tokeweed]

RESULTS:

Manchester City 1-1 Everton   
Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 1-2 Fulham
Newcastle United 3-0 Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton 0-1 West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Manchester United

Liverpool will host Leicester City later this evening in a game they will try to win in order to create a bigger gap at the top of the table especially after Chelsea unexpectedly were beaten at home by Fulham.

Lmao Man United.  I think Amorim is under a lot more pressure just weeks into the job than Guardiola who's had an out of form squad for around 8 matches or so now. 

Yeah..  Pretty sure Txiki already has a couple of prospects for the DM role that could act as a kind of enforcer in the midfield.  Gundogan and Kovacic just won't do.  And what happened to Gundogan since he returned from Barca?  He's not the same guy...

[JollyGood]

These are the games taking place this evening:

Brighton and Hove Albion vs Brentford
Arsenal vs Ipswich Town

On paper, Arsenal have a certain victory but as we saw with Chelsea at home yesterday to Fulham upsets can easily happen. Ipswich Town will try to walk away with at least a point but Arsenal need the win to apply pressure on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table. In the other game Brighton have been playing below their usual level therefore I expect Brentford to win.

In the final game from yesterday, Liverpool came back from a goal down to beat Leicester City 3-1 and are sitting comfortably at the top of the table.

Lmao Man United.  I think Amorim is under a lot more pressure just weeks into the job than Guardiola who's had an out of form squad for around 8 matches or so now.  

Yeah..  Pretty sure Txiki already has a couple of prospects for the DM role that could act as a kind of enforcer in the midfield.  Gundogan and Kovacic just won't do.  And what happened to Gundogan since he returned from Barca?  He's not the same guy...

Gundogan seems older, slower and does not even look as though he is a Premier League player. As for Manchester United, maybe they should have kept faith with van Nistlerooy until the end of this season before asking whether chasing Amorim was viable.

The next games take place on Sunday 29th December 2024:

Leicester City vs Manchester City
Crystal Palace vs Southampton
Everton vs Nottingham Forest
Fulham vs Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United vs Liverpool  

If Manchester City drop points at Leicester City, it will be another painful blow for Guardiola and his team. Van Nistlerooy was an ex-Manchester United player and interim manager therefore nothing would give him more satisfaction than to add more pressure and pile on more misery for Manchester City.

Everton have had a few decent results recently but they are hosting a confident Nottingham Forest team that will move in to second place in the Premier League table if they manage a win. It should be a good game to watch. As for league leaders Liverpool, they will have a tough time at West Ham United but will finish the year on top of the league regardless of the result.

These are the results from the games played yesterday:

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-0 Brentford
Arsenal 1-0 Ipswich Town

[tokeweed]

Gundogan seems older, slower and does not even look as though he is a Premier League player. As for Manchester United, maybe they should have kept faith with van Nistlerooy until the end of this season before asking whether chasing Amorim was viable.

^  I think what United should do now is stick with their current manager now more than ever and let him rebuild the club according to his own management style and how he wants his squad to play.  The club and its fans need to let go of this concept they call the 'United way' because Alex Ferguson ain't coming back.  Gone is the swashbuckling and daring style of play as that style is surely going to be exploited by the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, City and even Aston Villa and Brighton.

The game today is just a lot different from what it was 10 - 15 years ago.  The game has evolved, the players have learned more things and have gotten smarter.

Now if I was the guy who calls the shots at United then I'd not spend anything until the summer transfer window and would start to make advanced talks for deals right now for players to unload during the summer.

[JollyGood]

Unfortunately for managers today, they could have survived a lot longer in their jobs 10-15 years ago. Now it is a social media earthquake in the waiting for managers that are not producing the results. Amorim will need time to develop the team in to his style of play and the fans will back him but this is a big job that requires a partial overhaul of players going out and new players coming in.

There are exceptions to the rule, Guardiola is surviving purely because of his previous success at Manchester City otherwise he would have been sacked by now.

^  I think what United should do now is stick with their current manager now more than ever and let him rebuild the club according to his own management style and how he wants his squad to play.  The club and its fans need to let go of this concept they call the 'United way' because Alex Ferguson ain't coming back.  Gone is the swashbuckling and daring style of play as that style is surely going to be exploited by the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, City and even Aston Villa and Brighton.

The game today is just a lot different from what it was 10 - 15 years ago.  The game has evolved, the players have learned more things and have gotten smarter.

Now if I was the guy who calls the shots at United then I'd not spend anything until the summer transfer window and would start to make advanced talks for deals right now for players to unload during the summer.

[igebotz]

Unfortunately for managers today, they could have survived a lot longer in their jobs 10-15 years ago. Now it is a social media earthquake in the waiting for managers that are not producing the results. Amorim will need time to develop the team in to his style of play and the fans will back him but this is a big job that requires a partial overhaul of players going out and new players coming in.

There are exceptions to the rule, Guardiola is surviving purely because of his previous success at Manchester City otherwise he would have been sacked by now.

The quick success project hasn't worked for them in a long time; they ought to know this by now and trust Amorim to start from scratch; it only takes a few seasons of shame and not playing European football. Chelsea began the process of uploading old players who were no longer wanted two seasons ago, bought a fresh set of players, established one of the biggest scout networks in Europe, sacked four managers in less than 18 months, and are now back in the Top 4.

There are far too many mediocre players on United's payroll, and the majority of them do not even kick the ball but earn a comfortable living each week. Evans, Maguire, and Shaw are part of the problem-- get them off.

[tokeweed]

There are far too many mediocre players on United's payroll, and the majority of them do not even kick the ball but earn a comfortable living each week. Evans, Maguire, and Shaw are part of the problem-- get them off.

Def this!

And yeah, the culture should change...  The clubs should start to give full support towards their managers and actually trust the long term plan of the project.  We can't be letting these players run the show all of the time.  It's just making it look it's not their fault.  There should be times that the players should take the blame so that their current market value would go to fair value imho.  These prices are getting ridiculous.

[JollyGood]

Chelsea have waited a long time to find stability and to that degree whey deserve it. Their fans have suffered watching their demise and now can start to believe they will achieve some success in the coming years as long as they have a manager they can rely on and the players believe in. Maresca seems to have made the players believe in his style of play and everybody at the club is happy. Chelsea made tough decisions along with plenty of mistakes on recruitment but seems to have got it right. Manchester United will have to make tough decisions too otherwise they will fade in to insignificance.

Selling players has to a big part of the Radcliffe plan as he seems to controlling the finance especially the overspending. Maybe selling some players that are underperforming or are prone to injury to make a fresh start elsewhere or remove those players that have a negative impact on the squad is a serious option to remove their influence. They have to start somewhere.

The quick success project hasn't worked for them in a long time; they ought to know this by now and trust Amorim to start from scratch; it only takes a few seasons of shame and not playing European football. Chelsea began the process of uploading old players who were no longer wanted two seasons ago, bought a fresh set of players, established one of the biggest scout networks in Europe, sacked four managers in less than 18 months, and are now back in the Top 4.

There are far too many mediocre players on United's payroll, and the majority of them do not even kick the ball but earn a comfortable living each week. Evans, Maguire, and Shaw are part of the problem-- get them off.

RESULTS:

Leicester City 0-2 Manchester City
Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton
Everton 0-2 Nottingham Forest
Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United 0-5 Liverpool  

Congratulations to Nottingham Forest on another win as they move up to second in the table. I hope they maintain this form until the last game of the season, they deserve it.

Manchester City finally managed a win but the scoreline flatters them because Leicester City made them work hard for the win and had chances to score before going a goal down.

[tokeweed]

^  Wolves on a little two win streak since getting a W against Man United and a draw.    Not bad imho.  But their next match will be against Nottingham Forest and the books are giving Nottingham Forest a decent line at 2.46 because of the Wolves' recent improvement in form.  Dunno...  I think the bookies are giving more credit to the Wolves than they deserve.  Nottingham has been really looking good this season.

Fulham and Bournemouth...  Both good squads with managers that will prolly be leading bigger clubs in the coming years. 

[JollyGood]

These are the games taking place today Monday 30th December 2024:

Aston Villa vs Brighton and Hove Albion
Ipswich Town vs Chelsea
Manchester United vs Newcastle United

I would not be surprised if Newcastle United managed to pick up all three points against Manchester United. After the shock defeat at home to Fulham, I expect Chelsea to win at Ipswich Town. As for Brighton, they have lost momentum therefore Aston Villa should win the game.

Wolves are playing confidently after their new manager took charge but I cannot see how Fulham and Bournemouth will challenge the bigger clubs in the long run. They have had fantastic success this season against bigger clubs but I doubt they will have it continuously season after season.

^  Wolves on a little two win streak since getting a W against Man United and a draw.    Not bad imho.  But their next match will be against Nottingham Forest and the books are giving Nottingham Forest a decent line at 2.46 because of the Wolves' recent improvement in form.  Dunno...  I think the bookies are giving more credit to the Wolves than they deserve.  Nottingham has been really looking good this season.

Fulham and Bournemouth...  Both good squads with managers that will prolly be leading bigger clubs in the coming years.  

[JollyGood]

RESULTS:

Aston Villa 2-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
Ipswich Town 2-0 Chelsea
Manchester United 0-2 Newcastle United

What has happened to Chelsea? Everything was going well but then they have now got a draw and two defeats in their last three Premier League games. They must be disappointed with their results but if they want to make a push towards Liverpool they have to start winning again.

True to form, Manchester United were outplayed by Newcastle United and deserved the 0-2 score. Amorim is in big trouble as Manchester United are just seven points above the relegation zone.

[tokeweed]

^  Lmao Man United.  The manager should start making a list of the players that should leave and inform the United brass months ahead of the summer transfer window.  The current squad seem to have a losing mindset now and that's not the kind of thing you want at a club like United.  The manager obv needs young amd hungry players.  Amorim should take a page from Arteta's transformation of Arsenal...

Arteta did it a tad quick but methodotical.  It took a couple of summer transfer windows before the become real contenders in the league.

[JollyGood]

Happy New Year  

There is one game taking place today Wednesday 1st January 2025:

Brentford vs Arsenal

This will be an interesting game today. I expect this to be a difficult game for Arsenal, a victory will be difficult therefore a draw seems more likely. If they managed to get all three points it would take them above Nottingham Forest and put them in second place in the Premier League table on 39 points while Liverpool will be leading with 45 points.

As for Amorim and Manchester United, as bad as they were you have to give credit to Newcastle United because they deserved to win the game. You are right about Arteta, he took action when and where it was needed. It was him that took steps to force out Aubameyang after he was having a negative impact on the rest of the squad even though he was their top scorer and main player. After that Arsenal went in to decline in the short term but bounced back to be title contenders.

^  Lmao Man United.  The manager should start making a list of the players that should leave and inform the United brass months ahead of the summer transfer window.  The current squad seem to have a losing mindset now and that's not the kind of thing you want at a club like United.  The manager obv needs young amd hungry players.  Amorim should take a page from Arteta's transformation of Arsenal...

Arteta did it a tad quick but methodotical.  It took a couple of summer transfer windows before the become real contenders in the league.

[tokeweed]

^  Plus like Igebotz said, Amorim should get rid of these old, underperforming but overpaid players like Maguire, Shaw, maybe even Casemiro but def the overpaid bench warmer Rashford.  And I'm pretty sure we'd see more than 50% of the squad be out if we look more into it.

But we'll see if the United brass will totally support their manager rather than take their side with the players.  The former could get them back in form and always fight for top 4, but the latter will continue the cycle they're at rn.

[JollyGood]

RESULT:

Brentford 1-3 Arsenal

Arsenal took a huge step forward in their title ambitions with a win at Brentford. They are now 2nd place behind Liverpool. This is how the current Premier League table stands:





These are the games taking place on Saturday 4th January 2025:

Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United
Aston Villa vs Leicester City
Bournemouth vs Everton
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
Manchester City vs West Ham United
Southampton vs Brentford
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Arsenal

Do you agree with my choices? 

win: Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City,
draw: Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Brighton

[tokeweed]

^  I think draw for Tottenham vs Newcastle United, agree with your Aston Villa, I think Bournemouth is gonna win, Chelsea is gonna win, City vs Westham I feel like is gonna be a draw, Brentford is gonna win and yeah...  Brighton vs Arsenal is prolly gonna be a draw.

Anyway, looking at the table and I'm reminded how good Nottingham Forest has been this season.  They're at third..?  Wtf.  What happened?  I guess it's just one of those things, you know?

[JollyGood]

RESULTS:

Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Newcastle United
Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester City
Bournemouth 1-0 Everton
Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea
Manchester City 4-1 West Ham United
Southampton 0-5 Brentford

The Brighton and Hove Albion vs Arsenal game kicked off around 10 minutes ago.

Things are getting worse for Tottenham, their recent form is atrocious. The same for Chelsea, they have lost a lot of ground in their attempt to win the Premier League or finish as runners-up. Southampton will probably get relegated with a very low points tally when the season comes to an end. Congratulations to Newcastle United and Brentford on their impressive wins.

Manchester City are getting back to winning ways at the expense of West Ham United but are they going to finish in the top four?

Anyway, looking at the table and I'm reminded how good Nottingham Forest has been this season.  They're at third..?  Wtf.  What happened?  I guess it's just one of those things, you know?

Nottingham Forest deserve to be at the top end of the table, they have been playing very well. I hope for they make it to the Champions League with a top four finish.

[igebotz]

^  Plus like Igebotz said, Amorim should get rid of these old, underperforming but overpaid players like Maguire, Shaw, maybe even Casemiro but def the overpaid bench warmer Rashford.  And I'm pretty sure we'd see more than 50% of the squad be out if we look more into it.

But we'll see if the United brass will totally support their manager rather than take their side with the players.  The former could get them back in form and always fight for top 4, but the latter will continue the cycle they're at rn.

Manchester United legend Evra is requesting the manger to remove Bruno as the captain and give it back to Maguire to lead the club - this is shocking and sickening at the same time. Maguire should be somewhere playing in a mid-table team or somewhere in Saudi if the club are serious about regaining old days.

Nottingham Forest deserve to be at the top end of the table, they have been playing very well. I hope for they make it to the Champions League with a top four finish.

Europa or Conference league maybe but no chance they're making it to the CL or keeping their position for long..

[JollyGood]

Manchester United legend Evra is requesting the manger to remove Bruno as the captain and give it back to Maguire to lead the club - this is shocking and sickening at the same time. Maguire should be somewhere playing in a mid-table team or somewhere in Saudi if the club are serious about regaining old days.

I heard about Amorim wanting Maguire to stay, I was not sure of the source therefore went to the Manchester United website. The club have triggered a one-year extension on his contract and that means Maguire will be at the club at least until June 2026. Amorim clearly likes what Maguire brings to the squad overall rather than just his performances on the pitch.

Evra is just one of many players that were successful under Ferguson in that dominant era of football, I do not know the background to his words or why he said them but Amorim will bring in the required changes over a period time. Slot was fortunate things worked out for him on day one and Liverpool will probably go on to win the Premier League but it played out in a different way for Amorim, he is finding it much tougher.

Nottingham Forest deserve to be at the top end of the table, they have been playing very well. I hope for they make it to the Champions League with a top four finish.

Europa or Conference league maybe but no chance they're making it to the CL or keeping their position for long..

They have impressed for most of the season because they have played beyond their scope considering their budget. It would be a fairytale for Nottingham Forest if they managed a top six/seven finish and qualify for playing in Europe next season. It is good when a smaller club manages upset the balance at the top of table and they give the richer bigger clubs something to think about.


RESULT:

Fulham 2-2 Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town have found some form recently, they are trying climb out and stay out of the relegation zone. Fulham had home advantage and were favourites to win thanks to their recent form and could have climbed to 8th place in the Premier League table but congratulations to Ipswich Town for finding their own form. They are one point away from being out of the relegation zone.

There game at Anfield is taking place now, the score is currently 0-0 between Liverpool and Manchester United. I expect Liverpool to win the game 3-0.

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[igebotz]

I heard about Amorim wanting Maguire to stay, I was not sure of the source therefore went to the Manchester United website. The club have triggered a one-year extension on his contract and that means Maguire will be at the club at least until June 2026. Amorim clearly likes what Maguire brings to the squad overall rather than just his performances on the pitch.

He performed extremely well tonight, but now I understand why Amorim wants him in the first team: it's time to finally redeem himself and try to reclaim the supporters' hearts. How the fuck did he miss that last-minute chance?

Interesting derby; I didn't expect Manchester United to be this good; they were clearly the better team today, and Liverpool were quite fortunate to go home with a point.

[JollyGood]

RESULT:

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester United

Dalot played an unbelievable game, he destroyed Alexander-Arnold. Bruno Fernandes won the player of the match award.

Overall, Manchester United should have won the game. Liverpool could have won it towards the end but Onana saved them including the soft header by van Dijk. Right at the end, Maguire should have scored but other than that he also had an excellent game. Manchester United played like they were defending champions and if they play like that every game they will be back in contention of a Europa League spot for next season.

The Martinez goal was brilliant considering he is a defender,what a strike to beat the goalkeeper. The Gapko equaliser was brilliant because of the control and strike. I saw parts of it therefore caught the highlights and was not disappointed.

He performed extremely well tonight, but now I understand why Amorim wants him in the first team: it's time to finally redeem himself and try to reclaim the supporters' hearts. How the fuck did he miss that last-minute chance?

Interesting derby; I didn't expect Manchester United to be this good; they were clearly the better team today, and Liverpool were quite fortunate to go home with a point.

Not only Maguire but generally the team played very well. They refused to bow to Liverpool and in the end Manchester United ended the game on a high with an attack that should have ended with Maguire scoring. I was surprised he missed that goal but his overall play was solid. Those defenders (Martinez, Maguire and of course Dalot moved up to left wing for this game) played excellent when defending and also when pushing to attack.