Whale.io 🐳 | ⚽ English Premier League Season: 2026/2027

[tokeweed]

Yeah but in the old format, the smaller clubs have a chance to be drawn in a soft group giving them a decent chance to progress in the KO stages.  This new format is just like a regular domestic league which makes the UCL kinda boring imho.

Wasn't the old format formed this way?; two top teams from Pot 1&2 and 2 weaker teams from Pot 3&4 ?

Wdym?  The old format with the groups from Group A to Group H?  Yeah 8 top clubs drew pot 1 and pots 2,3 and 4 were for the rest of the clubs that qualified...  At least that's what I remember.

But still.  The old format was fun.  I think the changes were brought because of viewership rankings on TV?  Those groups that got not so good clubs prolly got less international audiences watching.  But on the other hand, the group of death got all the attention.  Dunno tho...

[igebotz]

But still.  The old format was fun.  I think the changes were brought because of viewership rankings on TV?  Those groups that got not so good clubs prolly got less international audiences watching.  But on the other hand, the group of death got all the attention.  Dunno tho...

Maybe UEFA used the Super league format to end the " Super league" agitation and every drama related to it? It look exactly what the Super league clubs were proposing - more games, more money. I couldn't think of anything else. Lol

[slaman29]

But still.  The old format was fun.  I think the changes were brought because of viewership rankings on TV?  Those groups that got not so good clubs prolly got less international audiences watching.  But on the other hand, the group of death got all the attention.  Dunno tho...

Maybe UEFA used the Super league format to end the " Super league" agitation and every drama related to it? It look exactly what the Super league clubs were proposing - more games, more money. I couldn't think of anything else. Lol

This was the compromise yes, Group Phase does 2 things of Super League. More games for the big teams and increases the chances of big teams progressing.

More games is more money. The bullshit about smaller teams getting a chance is not the real picture

[tokeweed]

But still.  The old format was fun.  I think the changes were brought because of viewership rankings on TV?  Those groups that got not so good clubs prolly got less international audiences watching.  But on the other hand, the group of death got all the attention.  Dunno tho...

Maybe UEFA used the Super league format to end the " Super league" agitation and every drama related to it? It look exactly what the Super league clubs were proposing - more games, more money. I couldn't think of anything else. Lol

Yeah it could be that too.  What happened here is like what they do on sporting events in the States like the NBA or NFL.  Regular season with teams all playing each other and trying to get the best record.  Followed by a 'play off' tourney format after that.

It's a pretty good format but after a lot of years of watching with the old format, it's just a tad too hard to be entertained with the new one.  In time maybe...

[igebotz]

The champions league doesn't excite me like it used to anymore and Chelsea not always qualifying made it easy for me to skip a lot of CL games - the only part I like about the new format is ending Real Madrid dominates; they've been useless in the last 5 seasons or so.
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Real football is back today no more boring weekends - I missed going to the pub with the boys and getting drunk after games..

[tokeweed]

So uuuhh...  Just dropping by.  Any of you guys watching Hull vs Man United rn?    United could still this match but Hull getting a goal in early made me lol fr.  

Anyway, a couple of good matches this weekend.  Liverpool vs Newcastle and a derby, Fulham vs Chelsea.  That's a kind of a tough match for the boys in blue for their first match of the season.

Edit:  LOL 2 - 0!!

[igebotz]

So uuuhh...  Just dropping by.  Any of you guys watching Hull vs Man United rn?    United could still this match but Hull getting a goal in early made me lol fr. 

Anyway, a couple of good matches this weekend.  Liverpool vs Newcastle and a derby, Fulham vs Chelsea.  That's a kind of a tough match for the boys in blue for their first match of the season.

Edit:  LOL 2 - 0!!

Michael Carrick had months of Preseason with this team and they played like they haven't kicked a ball in the past 8 months - a terrible performance against the weakest team in the league. I should never have trusted them, lost a lot on them.

The biggest shock was Totteham losing to a god damn Brentford without scoring a goal after signing everyone on the market.

[JollyGood]

So uuuhh...  Just dropping by.  Any of you guys watching Hull vs Man United rn?    United could still this match but Hull getting a goal in early made me lol fr.  

I did not watch any live match or even the highlights. I will try to watch the Manchester United and Tottenham defeats. I did not see those two teams losing their opening games. If Hull City and Brentford can beat two teams tipped to challenge for a Champions League place, you know it will be a fantastic season ahead.

Michael Carrick had months of Preseason with this team and they played like they haven't kicked a ball in the past 8 months - a terrible performance against the weakest team in the league. I should never have trusted them, lost a lot on them.

The biggest shock was Totteham losing to a god damn Brentford without scoring a goal after signing everyone on the market.

Carrick and De Zerbi have zero excuses for the results. Neither team scored and that is a bad reflection when Arsenal scored three in their opening match.

[igebotz]

Carrick and De Zerbi have zero excuses for the results. Neither team scored and that is a bad reflection when Arsenal scored three in their opening match.

There's no excuse for failing to score a goal in your first game; had both 1.5 goals each on my betslips.

If someone had told me that Manutd and Spur would end the week with no goals, I would have asked for a medical check.
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Arsenal team looked refreshed and sharp while other big teams are struggling with post - World Cup fatigue. What are they on?

[Sandra_hakeem]

Carrick and De Zerbi have zero excuses for the results. Neither team scored and that is a bad reflection when Arsenal scored three in their opening match.

There's no excuse for failing to score a goal in your first game; had both 1.5 goals each on my betslips.

If someone had told me that Manutd and Spur would end the week with no goals, I would have asked for a medical check.

There's an old saying--- "you don't write man United off". They made it a little bit contradicting after losing to Hull City, a team that fell off the premier League for years, but recently qualified with almost no merit. It irks me so much everytime the highlight pops up on my daily-match notifications.

Arsenal have tested what it feels like to break the deadlock so I won't be surprised if they finish the season with another EPL trophy.

Arsenal team looked refreshed and sharp while other big teams are struggling with post - World Cup fatigue. What are they on?

I don't know, but definitely not steroids.  

[igebotz]

There's an old saying--- "you don't write man United off". They made it a little bit contradicting after losing to Hull City, a team that fell off the premier League for years, but recently qualified with almost no merit. It irks me so much everytime the highlight pops up on my daily-match notifications.

The "old saying" may have worked when SAF was still around and had all the refs by their balls but since he retired their have been shit and you could easily write them off anytime cause they're one of the worst managed team in the PL in recent times.

I don't know, but definitely not steroids. 

We don't know that.

[tokeweed]

So uuuhh...  Just dropping by.  Any of you guys watching Hull vs Man United rn?    United could still this match but Hull getting a goal in early made me lol fr. 

Anyway, a couple of good matches this weekend.  Liverpool vs Newcastle and a derby, Fulham vs Chelsea.  That's a kind of a tough match for the boys in blue for their first match of the season.

Edit:  LOL 2 - 0!!

Michael Carrick had months of Preseason with this team and they played like they haven't kicked a ball in the past 8 months - a terrible performance against the weakest team in the league. I should never have trusted them, lost a lot on them.

The biggest shock was Totteham losing to a god damn Brentford without scoring a goal after signing everyone on the market.

What's bad for Tottenham is good for me in relation of our bet.    But Aston Villa lost too so I guess we're even for match day 1.

Anyway, Newcastle thought they got the W in the bag but nonono...  Liverpool had to get lucky and get a pen at the final seconds at stoppage time. 

But yeah, excited for the West London derby with Chelsea vs Fulham...  Good luck to you Ige!

[igebotz]

What's bad for Tottenham is good for me in relation of our bet.    But Aston Villa lost too so I guess we're even for match day 1.

Anyway, Newcastle thought they got the W in the bag but nonono...  Liverpool had to get lucky and get a pen at the final seconds at stoppage time. 

But yeah, excited for the West London derby with Chelsea vs Fulham...  Good luck to you Ige!

I enjoyed that Aston Villa dominations too 

English Refs and giving Liverpool 90+  soft penalties and offside goals are a better love story than Titanic. Poor Newcastle United gave everything only for the ref to snatch it away..

Tough derby but Chelsea should snatch a win there..

[Sandra_hakeem]

There's an old saying--- "you don't write man United off". They made it a little bit contradicting after losing to Hull City, a team that fell off the premier League for years, but recently qualified with almost no merit. It irks me so much everytime the highlight pops up on my daily-match notifications.

The "old saying" may have worked when SAF was still around and had all the refs by their balls but since he retired their have been shit and you could easily write them off anytime cause they're one of the worst managed team in the PL in recent times.

Even if Sir Alex Ferguson decided to come and save them from this crisis of inconsistency, I'm afraid he would fail and smear his whole career with the filth from their hard luck. The man made a firm decision to stay retired, but I know he still wants the best for the team. It's high time they hired me to also try my luck maybe? The rest of season will be very interesting from what I have seen so far.

What's bad for Tottenham is good for me in relation of our bet.    But Aston Villa lost too so I guess we're even for match day 1.

English Refs and giving Liverpool 90+  soft penalties and offside goals are a better love story than Titanic. Poor Newcastle United gave everything only for the ref to snatch it away..

Are you sure??

[tokeweed]

What's bad for Tottenham is good for me in relation of our bet.    But Aston Villa lost too so I guess we're even for match day 1.

Anyway, Newcastle thought they got the W in the bag but nonono...  Liverpool had to get lucky and get a pen at the final seconds at stoppage time. 

But yeah, excited for the West London derby with Chelsea vs Fulham...  Good luck to you Ige!

I enjoyed that Aston Villa dominations too 

English Refs and giving Liverpool 90+  soft penalties and offside goals are a better love story than Titanic. Poor Newcastle United gave everything only for the ref to snatch it away..

Tough derby but Chelsea should snatch a win there..

Chelsea won but it was far from a dominant performance considering that the club they were up against is a midtable club.  If anything Fulham really looked good in that match.

Chelsea on the other hand, were decent, but it almost felt like they were a mad bunch.  Is Alonso known to be a tough task master?   

Excited for match day 2!

[JollyGood]

If someone had told me that Manutd and Spur would end the week with no goals, I would have asked for a medical check.

It was definitely a shock not many would have believed it was possible. In my opinion, I suppose there was more chance of Manchester United dropping points away at Hull City than Tottenham dropping points away at Brentford. At worst, I would have expected a draw but for both teams to lose their opening games is a massive shock.

Arsenal team looked refreshed and sharp while other big teams are struggling with post - World Cup fatigue. What are they on?

Arteta has built a winning mentality at Arsenal. The players believe in his approach in the way they are training and playing. They are playing with a fresh mindset and not only that they believe they will win the Premier League again.

[igebotz]

Are you sure??

Static imges? Please........ Too soft for a 90+ penalty

Chelsea on the other hand, were decent, but it almost felt like they were a mad bunch.  Is Alonso known to be a tough task master?   

Excited for match day 2!

I saw a decent and well managed team but it's too early to hype the team after they almost threw the game away. I'm more worried about match day 2 unless we get a decent gk. 

It was definitely a shock not many would have believed it was possible. In my opinion, I suppose there was more chance of Manchester United dropping points away at Hull City than Tottenham dropping points away at Brentford. At worst, I would have expected a draw but for both teams to lose their opening games is a massive shock.

Totteham may need some time and patience to get those new signings to play together (they have almost a new team), but Manchester United's situation is almost hard to say. It seems more like a psychological issue, but I still feel both will do well this season.

[Sandra_hakeem]

Are you sure??

Static imges? Please........ Too soft for a 90+ penalty

You mean you didn't watch the game??

Chelsea on the other hand, were decent, but it almost felt like they were a mad bunch.  Is Alonso known to be a tough task master?    

Excited for match day 2!

I saw a decent and well managed team but it's too early to hype the team after they almost threw the game away.

Yeah, that surely wasn't supposed to be a win for your team. How their opponent missed both opportunities in the 77th and 83rd minutes that should have sealed a solid 4:3 victory for them is what I'll never understand. I can't upload images because it keeps coming out blurry, so maybe I'll learn how to make them in GIF versions, that way it can make more sense.

[JollyGood]

There were some big surprises in the open weekend of the Premier League.

Arsenal seem to be the strongest team after they beat Coventry City and are definitely favourites to retain the Premier League.

Chelsea managed a difficult win that shows Alonso is the right man for the job. Manchester City won but the manner of the win was not convincing therefore Maresca should not forget his job is not guaranteed unless he emulates Guardiola. As for Tottenham and Manchester United, they lost their respective away games and have to win their next games otherwise the pressure will be on the managers immediately.

Brighton are currently sitting top of the Premier League table after their stunning 4-0 win against Aston Villa.  

[tokeweed]

Chelsea on the other hand, were decent, but it almost felt like they were a mad bunch.  Is Alonso known to be a tough task master?   

Excited for match day 2!

I saw a decent and well managed team but it's too early to hype the team after they almost threw the game away. I'm more worried about match day 2 unless we get a decent gk. 

Did you see how they played?  They were taking those fouls overboard.  Like they were deliberately trying to injure some of the Fulham boys.  But it's a derby.  Their next match could be them playing 'less mad'. 

Anyway, some decent matches next week are Tottenham vs Newcastle, Chelsea vs Brighton and Aston Villa vs Arsenal. 

Anyway, Fulham played pretty decent against Chelsea...  So what does everybody think of the draw no bet for Fulham at 2.06 against Sunderland away?