Premier League 2025/26 Thread

[The Year Of The Fox]

I’m finding it difficult to believe this narrative that apparently the majority of fans think Arsenal will win the league this season.

 

They might- but people surely can’t base that opinion on only 11 games, with Man City 4 points behind- traditionally improving in the new year, along with their know how of winning a title.

[Super_horns]

Was Tony Pulis one of those managers all in for VAR at the time and rowing back on it all now ?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3ep2eve820o#commentsI

[AKCJ]

12 hours ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

I’m finding it difficult to believe this narrative that apparently the majority of fans think Arsenal will win the league this season.

 

They might- but people surely can’t base that opinion on only 11 games, with Man City 4 points behind- traditionally improving in the new year, along with their know how of winning a title.

I don't see why they shouldn't be very confident.

 

Their defence and midfield is about as good as it gets and everyone in their team chips in with goals. 

 

They remind me a lot of Mourinho's first Chelsea team where they've managed to build a perfect relationship between individual quality but also a defensive unit that's pretty bloody tough to breach.

 

They've conceded 5 goals in their 17 games this season and have scored 35. They're an extremely formidable side.

 

I would say the only team that'll challenge them is Man City and they're a mile off their best. The Man City that routinely won titles were a lot better than this current team.

[The Year Of The Fox]

44 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

I don't see why they shouldn't be very confident.

 

Their defence and midfield is about as good as it gets and everyone in their team chips in with goals. 

 

They remind me a lot of Mourinho's first Chelsea team where they've managed to build a perfect relationship between individual quality but also a defensive unit that's pretty bloody tough to breach.

 

They've conceded 5 goals in their 17 games this season and have scored 35. They're an extremely formidable side.

 

I would say the only team that'll challenge them is Man City and they're a mile off their best. The Man City that routinely won titles were a lot better than this current team.

For me it’s still far too early to judge either side this season

 

 

It’ll be a crunch game at the end of April I imagine though 

[Torquay Gunner]

13 hours ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

I’m finding it difficult to believe this narrative that apparently the majority of fans think Arsenal will win the league this season.

 

They might- but people surely can’t base that opinion on only 11 games, with Man City 4 points behind- traditionally improving in the new year, along with their know how of winning a title.

I certainly am sceptical, partly because of Arteta’s at times quite poor game management. Against Sunderland in those last ten minutes he should have brought on more fresh legs, when clearly some players looked gassed. Instead he brought on a defender and we had no possession, or out ball and just invited pressure which led to their equaliser. Yes our bench, because of the injuries wasn’t a strong one, but he still had Nwaneri and Miles- Skelly to call upon. Not for the first time(Liverpool game) Arteta’s decision making is called into question.  Of course we have had a tremendous start to the season, but there are so many matches left I won’t believe unless it’s a mathematical certainly!

[The Year Of The Fox]

1 minute ago, Torquay Gunner said:

I certainly am sceptical, partly because of Arteta’s at times quite poor game management. Against Sunderland in those last ten minutes he should have brought on more fresh legs, when clearly some players looked gassed. Instead he brought on a defender and we had no possession, or out ball and just invited pressure which led to their equaliser. Yes our bench, because of the injuries wasn’t a strong one, but he still had Nwaneri and Miles- Skelly to call upon. Not for the first time(Liverpool game) Arteta’s decision making is called into question.  Of course we have had a tremendous start to the season, but there are so many matches left I won’t believe unless it’s a mathematical certainly!

And a lot of the ‘favourites’ tag has been based on your strength in depth.

 

Mate of mines had a bet with me a few weeks ago. I’m glad I had Man City and nothing I’ve seen since has made me wish I’d not had the bet 

[Torquay Gunner]

2 minutes ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

And a lot of the ‘favourites’ tag has been based on your strength in depth.

 

Mate of mines had a bet with me a few weeks ago. I’m glad I had Man City and nothing I’ve seen since has made me wish I’d not had the bet 

So much depends on keeping Harland fit.  The media don’t seem to making much of a big deal of their goal ‘spread’ this season, but to think that no other player has more than one league goal for Man City after 11 games of the season, is quite extraordinary.

[filbertway]

Just now, Torquay Gunner said:

So much depends on keeping Harland fit.  The media don’t seem to making much of a big deal of their goal ‘spread’ this season, but to think that no other player has more than one league goal for Man City after 11 games of the season, is quite extraordinary.

This is a good point. It's hard to fathon given the quality in their squad that he's so far ahead of the others.

[davieG]

90s Football ·

Follow

 

Cesc Fàbregas on the decline of the true No.10 — and it’s hard to argue with him.

He says modern football has become obsessed with systems, pressing, and structure, leaving little room for the kind of creative genius that defined players like Özil, James Rodríguez, and Zidane.

The days when a No.10 could drift between the lines, dictate the tempo, and decide games with one touch feel like a thing of the past.

Do you think football’s lost its artists? Or is the game just evolving?

#fblifestyle

[The Year Of The Fox]

5 hours ago, Torquay Gunner said:

So much depends on keeping Harland fit.  The media don’t seem to making much of a big deal of their goal ‘spread’ this season, but to think that no other player has more than one league goal for Man City after 11 games of the season, is quite extraordinary.

They can rely on the “World Class” Foden 🤣🤣

[BKLFox]

9 hours ago, davieG said:

90s Football ·

Follow

 

Cesc Fàbregas on the decline of the true No.10 — and it’s hard to argue with him.

He says modern football has become obsessed with systems, pressing, and structure, leaving little room for the kind of creative genius that defined players like Özil, James Rodríguez, and Zidane.

The days when a No.10 could drift between the lines, dictate the tempo, and decide games with one touch feel like a thing of the past.

Do you think football’s lost its artists? Or is the game just evolving?

#fblifestyle

Yep agree with him, safety first and the players move like the counters on the formation board.

 

I guess you could point to 23/24 season Ballon d’Or winner being a defensive midfielder (as good as he is at that) it’s usually the flair players / scorers that get it, to prove there’s a change happening.

 

 

Edited 12 November 2025 by BKLFox

[Dan]

11 hours ago, Torquay Gunner said:

So much depends on keeping Harland fit.  The media don’t seem to making much of a big deal of their goal ‘spread’ this season, but to think that no other player has more than one league goal for Man City after 11 games of the season, is quite extraordinary.

Maxime Esteve has  

[Guest]

10 hours ago, davieG said:

90s Football ·

Follow

 

Cesc Fàbregas on the decline of the true No.10 — and it’s hard to argue with him.

He says modern football has become obsessed with systems, pressing, and structure, leaving little room for the kind of creative genius that defined players like Özil, James Rodríguez, and Zidane.

The days when a No.10 could drift between the lines, dictate the tempo, and decide games with one touch feel like a thing of the past.

Do you think football’s lost its artists? Or is the game just evolving?

#fblifestyle

Suppose it depends what exactly is meant by a "true no.10" but I don't think this is really true at all. The thing that's actually dying out is the sort of player who was really good on the ball but didn't do anything without it, whether they weren't physically up to it, spent the week drinking and smoking or just couldn't really be arsed - teams can't afford to carry players defensively and the average player is so athletic now.

 

You see stuff like this quite often as well as people similarly complaining that nobody is allowed to express themselves or dribble with the ball anymore but there is demonstrably still a lot of room for flair, creative players. 

[Torquay Gunner]

7 hours ago, Dan said:

Maxime Esteve has  

I thought some clever clogs would mention that! 

[filbertway]

11 hours ago, Guest said:

Suppose it depends what exactly is meant by a "true no.10" but I don't think this is really true at all. The thing that's actually dying out is the sort of player who was really good on the ball but didn't do anything without it, whether they weren't physically up to it, spent the week drinking and smoking or just couldn't really be arsed - teams can't afford to carry players defensively and the average player is so athletic now.

 

You see stuff like this quite often as well as people similarly complaining that nobody is allowed to express themselves or dribble with the ball anymore but there is demonstrably still a lot of room for flair, creative players. 

Can you point me in the direction of these please, because the majority of games I watch are dull as shit robotic teams looking to control the ball and if they lose it, everyone runs back to get behind the ball and watch the other team pass the ball around on the half way line 

 

[Guest]

5 hours ago, filbertway said:

Can you point me in the direction of these please, because the majority of games I watch are dull as shit robotic teams looking to control the ball and if they lose it, everyone runs back to get behind the ball and watch the other team pass the ball around on the half way line 

 

Well, I have picked up from your posts over the years one or two hints that you may have one or two very slight reservations about modern football and the way teams play, so I don't hold out much hope of convincing you here. That said, off the top of my head I'm thinking of Yamal, Kvaratskhelia, Vinicius Jr., Pedri, Dembele, Dybala, Doku, Olise, Palmer, Musiala, Mbappe, Saka, Bruno Fernandes, Nico Paz, Vitinha, Nico Williams, Barcola - what are they if not flair and/or creative players? If you're thinking Premier League specifically then I'd add Ndiaye, Eze, Mitoma, Cunha, Maddison, Rogers, Minteh, Estevao, Foden, Neto, Damsgaard. I'll stop now because I don't expect anyone to spend all day reading me listing footballers but hopefully you get the point.

 

I don't think there's any doubt that teams generally play in a more structured way these days and that you're much less likely to see players given the freedom to just do whatever they want wherever they want, which is maybe what people actually mean? I just think it's an exaggeration to say there's no room for creativity, imagination, improvisation or whatever because there clearly is, even within the confines of a comparatively more rigid "system". I do generally have a very low tolerance for this sort of stuff though, "all modern x is rubbish", "they don't make music/films/TV/games like this anymore" chat, so maybe that's colouring my perception.

 

At the risk of repeating myself, what I think is really dying out is the kind of luxury player who would be a complete liability out of possession because if you're in an important game where you're essentially playing with ten whenever you don't have the ball and your opponents aren't, you've got a problem. Maybe if the current trend towards set pieces continues for long enough then we might actually be looking at an existential risk for more technical, creative players but I'm not convinced.

[Stadt]

6 minutes ago, Guest said:

Well, I have picked up from your posts over the years one or two hints that you may have one or two very slight reservations about modern football and the way teams play, so I don't hold out much hope of convincing you here. That said, off the top of my head I'm thinking of Yamal, Kvaratskhelia, Vinicius Jr., Pedri, Dembele, Dybala, Doku, Olise, Palmer, Musiala, Mbappe, Saka, Bruno Fernandes, Nico Paz, Vitinha, Nico Williams, Barcola - what are they if not flair and/or creative players? If you're thinking Premier League specifically then I'd add Ndiaye, Eze, Mitoma, Cunha, Maddison, Rogers, Minteh, Estevao, Foden, Neto, Damsgaard. I'll stop now because I don't expect anyone to spend all day reading me listing footballers but hopefully you get the point.

 

I don't think there's any doubt that teams generally play in a more structured way these days and that you're much less likely to see players given the freedom to just do whatever they want wherever they want, which is maybe what people actually mean? I just think it's an exaggeration to say there's no room for creativity, imagination, improvisation or whatever because there clearly is, even within the confines of a comparatively more rigid "system". I do generally have a very low tolerance for this sort of stuff though, "all modern x is rubbish", "they don't make music/films/TV/games like this anymore" chat, so maybe that's colouring my perception.

 

At the risk of repeating myself, what I think is really dying out is the kind of luxury player who would be a complete liability out of possession because if you're in an important game where you're essentially playing with ten whenever you don't have the ball and your opponents aren't, you've got a problem. Maybe if the current trend towards set pieces continues for long enough then we might actually be looking at an existential risk for more technical, creative players but I'm not convinced.

Football going so aggressively man to man means flair players will become more useful again, you don't want the unit CB following a 5'6 player around the pitch. 4 CBs and set piece exploitation will be a short blanket in Bentiez's parlance with a lack of goals from open play being scored as teams wise up to SPs.

 

Possibly 5-10 years off yet but it's what I think will happen.

[Super_horns]

I don’t know who is on this panel but they do believe Liverpool were hard done by with the disallowed goal .

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-liverpool-van-dijk-goal-36248559.amp

[davieG]

[Wymsey]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

There should be a regulation, as in a price cap, to ensure that customers aren't paying over-the-odds for such services.

[Deeg67]

Football Insider

@footyinsider247

·

10m

Brighton have produced one of the strangest stats you will ever see… 80 wins, 80 draws, 80 losses from their last 240 games. Is this the most symmetrical club in Premier League history?

[spacemunky]

Forest with two quick goals at Anfield.

 

Looks the the second one won't count.

[Fear Of The Fox]

Liverpool are absolutely horrible at the back. They're rubbish and it's Slot's fault. If they don't win this one he's sacked. He turned Liverpool into a Dutch side like Vitesse. 

This should have been 0-2. The whole thing is corrupted, the sport is an absolute joke. 

[JonnyZeroFox]

Half a billion spent for that shit, starting to see slots time take place, over Klopps 

[spacemunky]

I was wondering why they hadn't brought on Isak. Turns out he's been out there this whole time.