⚽ Premier League 2026/2027 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Halifat]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

[DYOR+BTC]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

Before Maresca took over at Manchester city,  they where among the best teams in England if not in the world also, therefore building something different from the already existing team is never the best option for him now that he is handed over with this great responsibility to continue from where Pep Guardiola stopped or even do more than that.
From my own point of view,  I think the best is to continue from the existing tactical system left in the team instead of bothering himself by making them adapt to another game plan.

[Abu-Naim]

Before Maresca took over at Manchester city,  they where among the best teams in England if not in the world also, therefore building something different from the already existing team is never the best option for him now that he is handed over with this great responsibility to continue from where Pep Guardiola stopped or even do more than that.
From my own point of view,  I think the best is to continue from the existing tactical system left in the team instead of bothering himself by making them adapt to another game plan.

I hope you will agree with me that Rodri I a key player in that squad same as Benardo Silva, all of them has left the team, and apart from them, only these new signings standout as world class players, they are all average players like other players in other teams in the premier league, Pep Guardiola was the reason the team was exceptional because they have started to deform since the last two seasons, but they made some signings which helped them last season, and now some of their main key players in that set up are not more there, what didn’t expect?

Enzo Maresca need to add some players to make the team better again, this squad can’t win premier league for him in my opinion. Although he also need to put more effort because the match against Arsenal exposes him somehow because he lack tactics.

[Umulala-alala]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

No coach will be able to take the place of Pep Guardiola in Man city and what he has achieve with the club no coach will ever achieve it with Man city. It's only few coached that did well in first season with a new club, Maresca shouldn't be shout on if he was unable to put Man city together this season because it will take him some time to build his own team, Man city just lost something precious they will forever miss Pep, it was just like when sir Alex Ferguson left Man united the club begin struggling till now couldn't still win the premier league title since he left that's how the situation of Man city is going to be.

[Nheer]

I'm not making an excuse mate. The same Pep took the carabao cup from you guys when you were all blabbing to win the treble. Like winning the league is understandable, City was terrible last season, it's on them and you won the league fair and square but my point is that in a final like that you know how difficult City has been for you guys so it will take a miracle to win the Community Shield if Pep was in charge.

Slot's case is different, he had a perfect ready made squad but Maresca was handed a team without their 2 key players so there's no way things would be the same. I'm certain even Pep will struggle with this squad. It's a long season mate, let's see what happens. By the way I'm not even a City fan.

I’m not surprised that you’re not a City fan. I have a theory that there aren’t many City fans outside Manchester, there are just a lot more Arsenal haters in the world. Saying Pep would struggle with this squad is laughable, as if the current players aren’t top-tier. Let’s even say they are not, the fact is that there’s been enough time in the transfer window to replace Rodri, and Silva.

It's just the same way you think Arsenal has a lot of fans that every other team has. You can't expect a Chelsea fan to support Arsenal and vise versa. I remember when Chelsea won the Club World Cup a lot of Arsenal fans were pained, not just Arsenal supporters, almost all other teams and their supporters never wanted Chelsea to win it so that's just how it is.

Last season with the same team Pep struggled. He was aware it'll get worse this season and that it's the end of the road for him. The absence of Rodri and De Bruyne affected them. Without any additions made I believe even Pep will struggle with this team, not that they are not top tier but something is still missing. They did replace Rodri, but Anderson will need time to fill that space perfectly.

[Stable090]

Before Maresca took over at Manchester city,  they where among the best teams in England if not in the world also, therefore building something different from the already existing team is never the best option for him now that he is handed over with this great responsibility to continue from where Pep Guardiola stopped or even do more than that.

If Maresca tries to build something different, then he might be making a great mistake which is going to affect him, because it’s just going to take some time before he will be able to stabilize things, so I don’t even expect Maresca to try anything different. He already has quality players, all he has to do is to look for possible ways to make use of those players properly, and any position which is weak and needs improvement, he should get a player that will fit in the position, but trying something different from what Pep Guardiola have built will really affect him. I feel both Pep Guardiola and Maresca are having similar pattern because they both have worked together before.

[ndutndut]

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

Before Maresca took over at Manchester city,  they where among the best teams in England if not in the world also, therefore building something different from the already existing team is never the best option for him now that he is handed over with this great responsibility to continue from where Pep Guardiola stopped or even do more than that.
From my own point of view,  I think the best is to continue from the existing tactical system left in the team instead of bothering himself by making them adapt to another game plan.

I don't think Maresca wants to change the foundation that Pep Guardiola built because he surely knows the risks are very high since he would have to start from scratch, and of course, go through a long process. From what I see so far Maresca is still using the foundation built by Pep Guardiola and he's just adding some small adjustments to fit the players he has. But for now Maresca hasn't fully succeeded yet because losing Rodri and Silva is a big loss for Man City midfield as these two players are usually the engine of Man City play.

So I still believe Maresca can make Man City compete in the EPL next season even if they fail to win the title, but I predict Man City will still be a team that fills a top four slot. About Man City failure in the Community Shield when playing against Arsenal that's not really a benchmark because in previous seasons Man City also failed in the Community Shield but still managed to win the EPL trophy. For example you can see that in the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons, Man City failed in the Community Shield but still managed to win the EPL trophy. So let's just wait for the 2026/27 season to see if Maresca can do the same thing that Guardiola did a few seasons ago.

[Black Mbaye]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

No coach will be able to take the place of Pep Guardiola in Man city and what he has achieve with the club no coach will ever achieve it with Man city. It's only few coached that did well in first season with a new club, Maresca shouldn't be shout on if he was unable to put Man city together this season because it will take him some time to build his own team, Man city just lost something precious they will forever miss Pep, it was just like when sir Alex Ferguson left Man united the club begin struggling till now couldn't still win the premier league title since he left that's how the situation of Man city is going to be.

We can't know for sure, and therefore we can't say for certain that it will happen. Manchester City still have a very good squad and are still one of the main contenders for the championship. We also know that they are a very high-quality team in the Premier League. Yes, they had a change of manager, but Maresca had been Guardiola's assistant for years, so he's not actually a stranger to the team. He knows the players and should have already prepared the tactics. Of course, there will be an adjustment period, and he will find his rhythm after a while.

[Plutomanian]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Do you think Enzo Maresca will be the reasons why Manchester City lost 3-0 against Arsenal in the community shield final? Well Enzo Maresca is new to the system and he's just trying his possible best to ensure Manchester City starts to win games. We know it's not going to be an easy one but City will thrive next season.  Do you feel less for Manchester City? I wouldn't allow just one result clown my judgement because I still stand in the fact that Manchester City will do well next season.

The departure of these players will affect the club performances especially in big games. First it was Kelvin De Bruyne and Gundogan, now Rodri and Benardo Silva all departs, this is to tell you that Manchester City is passing through some difficult phase and the only way they can become very competitive is building back this club and making them become more optimistic towards winnings.

[Tmoonz]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

Definitely Enzo Maresca will do a good job here in Manchester City, but certainly not this season, he's still got some huge work to do for now, he doesn't understand Pep pattern so he will have to rebrand the pattern of play from the team to his own, and that will take him time to achieve, so deep down I am not really expecting anything from him now, the least I'm expecting from him is making it to the UEFA Champions League next season, but lifting a trophy is a no to me, nothing even the FA cup.

[icebar]

In my opinion, this season has got to be the easiest league title ever for Arsenal. The usual suspects are not in form, the only club capable of posing a real threat to Arsenal is Manchester United unless some dark horse comes along and cause upset like the time Leicester City won the league. With the quality Arsenal has, I’d say they can very well compete for the champions league without feeling pressure, and hopefully win their first under Arteta.

It just sound so funny to hear an Arsenal fan's optimism is back, now the question is why is this the easiest league for Arsenal? I don't know why Arsenal are always in a rush to start an opening but in the end it closed with heartbreak..well this time around the bigger boys are still on their way to play with them..so they should not be in a rush, from what I was understanding, I think that Chelsea have all had patches where they look beatable the last 2 years but it was not a joke to them at all..

So Chelsea are the “bigger boys”? Is it the old players they got on loan that you’re so confident in. Manchester United have a higher chance of winning the title than Chelsea. You better can go through my post history since the preseason games. I never doubted this team. Unfortunately, it’s you crybabies who can’t win trophies that are always trying to tear Arsenal down.

Many don't know that Manchester United is considered more than Chelsea when we talk of lifting the trophy next season, the Chelsea i know did have a very poor performance last season and will continue with such performance this season even of they will do better,  that doesn't mean they will win the league tournament next season because they don't have the players needed to become the champions of England.
As for Manchester United, I am confident that the quality players they have can help them secure that trophy confidently without obstruction.

Most of the time, fans consider their favorite team as the biggest contender. Every team wants the best player of the season to be in their team. But for various reasons, a club cannot take all the good players. Therefore, it cannot be declared a trophy winner just by looking at the presence of the players in the team. It is natural that a team can easily perform well if it has good and experienced players. But a player will not perform the same way for the entire season. Due to any kind of injury, most of the time they may have to rest. Then the balance of the team will be lost, and the smaller teams will be able to defeat them easily. Currently, United is stronger than Chelsea on paper. But Chelsea also has a squad of good players. They just have to be consistent. How can Chelsea give a good competition to Manchester United if they can be consistent?

[Mr Reporter]

In my opinion, this season has got to be the easiest league title ever for Arsenal. The usual suspects are not in form, the only club capable of posing a real threat to Arsenal is Manchester United unless some dark horse comes along and cause upset like the time Leicester City won the league. With the quality Arsenal has, I’d say they can very well compete for the champions league without feeling pressure, and hopefully win their first under Arteta.

It just sound so funny to hear an Arsenal fan's optimism is back, now the question is why is this the easiest league for Arsenal? I don't know why Arsenal are always in a rush to start an opening but in the end it closed with heartbreak..well this time around the bigger boys are still on their way to play with them..so they should not be in a rush, from what I was understanding, I think that Chelsea have all had patches where they look beatable the last 2 years but it was not a joke to them at all..

So Chelsea are the “bigger boys”? Is it the old players they got on loan that you’re so confident in. Manchester United have a higher chance of winning the title than Chelsea. You better can go through my post history since the preseason games. I never doubted this team. Unfortunately, it’s you crybabies who can’t win trophies that are always trying to tear Arsenal down.

Lmao 🤣 ahh can you please chill out remember we are just talking about football no need to throw few lines of punches at me or each other’s…everyone knows that Chelsea are the bigger boys right now and lot of younger players and some experts are still there…well to you it feels like Chelsea is trying to pick up the leftover pace or trying to get back on there feet’s…but to me i don’t see them that way…

[GiftedMAN]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

Definitely Enzo Maresca will do a good job here in Manchester City, but certainly not this season, he's still got some huge work to do for now, he doesn't understand Pep pattern so he will have to rebrand the pattern of play from the team to his own, and that will take him time to achieve, so deep down I am not really expecting anything from him now, the least I'm expecting from him is making it to the UEFA Champions League next season, but lifting a trophy is a no to me, nothing even the FA cup.

Enzo Maresca will find things difficult at Manchester City if they do not replace the players that has left Manchester City. This season we don't really know what to expect from Manchester City because after watching their game play against Arsenal and how they couldn't score a goal I can say they will need to be ready to accept any result they get if they do not sign good replacements for their players. I will assume that Manchester City will develop another better pattern for the new season and until they do that no one should rule them off from being the favourite to win the league but if nothing is done in the team then we will be seeing a team that will be greatly affected.

[B-BossMan]

Rodri left, Benardo Silva also left; these are important players Guardiola used to win matches, and without them, it usually doesn’t be easy for Pep, he used to struggle to win matches without them, and now they have left permanently; Maresca will need to rebuild his team before he can have a very good team he can rely on.

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

The Maresca  plans may be different not copying from the Gadiola's strategy, but you know each of them knows what's going to be okay for them, but trying to changes thier patterns of playing to someone else where may bring alots of problems. What some Coaches need is ability to select or signs players that can bring the development to the team. That's why I like Manchester City, even if they sell off thier key players, they don't still play poorly, that's why I do like trams that don't depends on only one players, because if the player left the team,they find it difficult to understand themselves within a short period. I trust Maresca on his great strategy, which I know he will definitely do something if the teams gives him a clear support.

[JiiBs]

That's why I like Manchester City, even if they sell off thier key players, they don't still play poorly, that's why I do like trams that don't depends on only one players, because if the player left the team,they find it difficult to understand themselves within a short period. I trust Maresca on his great strategy, which I know he will definitely do something if the teams gives him a clear support.

You think so?

I still recall a game without Rodri having to control their game at the mid field and what a disaster it turned out to be. It was a fixture against Arsenal if I can recall correctly from 2 seasons ago.
It’s good to note that they’ve got a very stable team and a good bench too but, Rodri was particularly helpful to the team and Maresca isn’t Pep.

He would be coming with a different style of play and try to get these players acquainted to his strategy and we already see how that worked out for the against Arsenal over the weekend. That tells you what to expect from these guys but, I suppose we can’t really tell till the season starts.

[Jegileman]

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

Maresca should be able to bring out the best in Manchester City at least, he has really done well with managing top teams in the past, he should be able to do something here also. Manchester City is not a weak team or doesn’t has the desired players needed for them to win a trophy, it is just left for him to be able to integrate this teams together which I’m sure he will. Pep Guardiola has really left a very good record at Manchester City, Maresca would either capitalize on that and become better or bring his own strategy that surpasses that of Pep. All eyes on them as the season draws closer to begin.

[iBaba]

I’m not surprised that you’re not a City fan. I have a theory that there aren’t many City fans outside Manchester, there are just a lot more Arsenal haters in the world. Saying Pep would struggle with this squad is laughable, as if the current players aren’t top-tier. Let’s even say they are not, the fact is that there’s been enough time in the transfer window to replace Rodri, and Silva.

The hates and criticism towards arsenal is normal I mean you don't expect fans that aren't gunners to be happy that arsenal is doing much more better than their teams so it is a normal reaction that they are exhibition toward arsenal. So don't take them seriously because they can't do any harm to arsenal.

Manchester city wouldn't make the mistake of allowing rodri to leave the club if they had not find a suitable replacements. Let's assume that they are still searching for their replacement, there are many brilliant players out there that are better than rodri and Silva. So it is left for maresca to figure out what he wants as a replacement for Silva and rodri.

Actually, this could be a good opportunity for arsenal, even if city brings in replacement for Rodri and Silva it will take time for those players to understand city style of play, but still they might bring in experienced players who knows?

Arsenal that period to their advantage and build a good gap early in the season and their focus should be on getting the results and build confidence. At the end of the day fans can argue all they want but the table will tell us everything. If arsenal can start strongly while some teams are still adjusting, that could make make a good difference when the season gets serious

[asriloni]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cly9l92kj6po

Jeff Bezos consortium bought closer to the 40% Liverpool stake from FSG. The deal is ranged between 6b - 8b valuation. It's hard for FSG not to accept it because how big ROI they got from this deal. I guess his consortium may also able to own the majorty of stake, then take the control from FSG.

It sounds like we're gonna have so many american consortium or businesmann to make their intervention in EPL. So EPL is gonna be the place for billionaires doing their business.

I'm wondering opinion from Liverpudlians, do you like this? Liverpool FC will become Amazon FC soon. It most probably Bezos consortium may be spending billions to build the club in the future. 

[giammangiato]

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

It's not just a matter of losing important players, but the very team play setup that is different.
Basically Manchester City have a good team, certainly improvable but of good quality. By changing the style of play and strategy you don't always get along well right away, it could yield results in the long run, it certainly doesn't look very promising now.

[Bigjoe33]

Maresca have to build is own team different from Pep guardiola's own, they are not playing the same pattern so definitely he have to make it on his own way so that he can be able to achieve the kind of result you want. For very long time now Manchester City have been losing some good players, but despite that they always bounce back, which I expected that to happen under the leadership of Maresca. Maresca is a great manager that can bring out the best in him with Manchester City so let's see how is performance will look like.

It's not just a matter of losing important players, but the very team play setup that is different.
Basically Manchester City have a good team, certainly improvable but of good quality. By changing the style of play and strategy you don't always get along well right away, it could yield results in the long run, it certainly doesn't look very promising now.

There was no way we were going to see a superb performance from city this beggining of the season, no way. It's a new manager and it's gonna be a new beggining for them. New play pattern, new tactics, new spirit, new ideas. Like you said, it's not gonna be promising for them right now, and that's what I expected. There game against Arsenal at Cardiff was just a confirmation of what we expected to see.

Pep kept a standard, and Maresca will need to work harder, build a team play so that they can try to up there game and pursue some better way to achieve something great. But for now, he is only discoveries things. He really needs time to figure it out.