The 2026/27 Football Season

[webpunter]

Sunderland  - probably best they get out of Europe quickly as I dont think they have the depth of squad to fight on two fronts

Thursday european matches somehow can lead to poor Sunday Prem especially if its to some team miles away
& Sat footy goes out the window on these weekends
I cant see them doing a Palace & winning it 

[webpunter]

It will be good signing for Toons if this deal actually happens.
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Deffo

With Rodri & Reijnders gorne this will open up Fernandez joining + Ayyoub Bouaddi
Three middle of the pitch players out converted to two coming in

The saudi & turkish leagues [especially the former] seem to be oiling the merry go round wheels
Freeing things up allowing the dominos to fall 

[toon972]

Praying Arsenal does the back to back by late March 27.    I believe Liverpool, United and Chelsk may have a slow start and find form by GW4.  Don't judge Citeh too early. They have the squad and mentality.

Don't think Villa will make Top 5 and Unai may get the chop or decide it's time to walk to another La Liga team.


Toon fans. Where do you think you'll end.  Mid table or get involved with the relegation fight? 
Sold for €250m and bought 6 players for €180m.  Is there going to be a marquee signing before the close of the window?

i would be happy with 12th again, survive a season with the new and young players and hoping that a years experience together in the premier league will make them kick on next season. It also depends on the experienced players we could sign if we dont get hijacked again.

[Blackpool Rock]

I can do that 🤞
& maybe get a semi on in one of the cups

C'mon Webby you'd get a "Semi" at the tought of Leeds beating Man U     

[webpunter]

C'mon Webby you'd get a "Semi" at the tought of Leeds beating Man U     

When Leeds beat Utd in April @ TTONM i had a celebratory tommy
It was a partial tactical as it had been a week & a massage R&T pending
The 1st time Leeds won there since about 1853 thereabouts

Their scumbag argie bed sheet cunt helped things along with some hair pulling
& Utd had a sinking feeling
Just like sumfink else 

[timsussex]

Rodri       Man City --> Barcelone for $65 million
A bargain for the Spaniards  or a good deal for City ?

He was outstanding in PL (when fit) over the last few seasons and player of the tournament at World cup but he is 30 so only 4 or 5 seasons left 

[Stevelondon]

Rodri       Man City --> Barcelone for $65 million
A bargain for the Spaniards  or a good deal for City ?

He was outstanding in PL (when fit) over the last few seasons and player of the tournament at World cup but he is 30 so only 4 or 5 seasons left

A really good move for Rodri…….. as you say. 30 is no age but of course it is when you are a footballer.

[Blackpool Rock]

Rodri       Man City --> Barcelone for $65 million
A bargain for the Spaniards  or a good deal for City ?

He was outstanding in PL (when fit) over the last few seasons and player of the tournament at World cup but he is 30 so only 4 or 5 seasons left

Bad move for City, as I posted above all the stats indicate he's been the key player for them and their form suffers when he's not on the pitch, surely better to keep him and get another few seasons out of him while he's still on top form rather than try and use that money for a replacement whose likely to be more expensive and inferior 
IMO Rodri is potentially a bigger loss than Pep

[ratedj]

What a difference 12 months makes.

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[john122350]

What a difference 12 months makes.

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Interesting signing, He had bad season with brighton and also currently injured.

[john122350]

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[shed]

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Villa getting decimated like Newcastle

[timsussex]

According to The Times
Liam Delap stripped of Chelsea No 9 shirt and training away from first team

Now which other teams were trying to sign him last year ?  however Chelsea apparently want £50 million even though they signed him for £30 million from Ipswich - I envisage a long time in the reserves

[shed]

What a difference 12 months makes.

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I have it on very good authority that Newcastle had very recently prioritised Baleba and had been in contact with Brighton to show their interest in the player

[shed]

According to The Times
Liam Delap stripped of Chelsea No 9 shirt and training away from first team

Now which other teams were trying to sign him last year ?  however Chelsea apparently want £50 million even though they signed him for £30 million from Ipswich - I envisage a long time in the reserves

I have zero sympathy for Delap. He could have moved to Everton or Newcastle but was a greedy bastard and took the high wages and long term contract over his career. Now he's fucked.

[myothernameis]

I see Celtic won 3-0 tonight against LASK, so hopefully they will qualify for the group stage.  But tonight's game was at home, so come next week, Celtic travel to Austria, and hope they dont mess up, they have a 3-0 lead, so keep it

[timsussex]

I have zero sympathy for Delap. He could have moved to Everton or Newcastle but was a greedy bastard and took the high wages and long term contract over his career. Now he's fucked.

for once I (and I suspect several others) agree with you

question
If he (or anyone else) goes out on loan with an obligation to buy if he plays a number of games (perhaps with wages subsidised by his home club) what if he can't agree a contract with the new club?

[shed]

for once I (and I suspect several others) agree with you

question
If he (or anyone else) goes out on loan with an obligation to buy if he plays a number of games (perhaps with wages subsidised by his home club) what if he can't agree a contract with the new club?

You always agree with me. You're just for some reason reluctant to admit it. 

[daviemac]

Newcastle have completed an agreement to buy the 260 acre Woolsington Hall Estate just south of Newcastle airport for a new state of the art £190m training facility.

They expect to apply for planning permission early next year and have it completed for the 2029/30 season.

As it happens it was purchased by former chairman Sir John Hall in 1994 with the vision of it becoming an Academy facility.

So much for all the speculation that the PIF have lost interest.

[shed]

Seems Lewis Hall is in contract discussions with Newcastle. And they have offered him to be part of the leadership team.

Be interesting if he declines 

[webpunter]

Seems Lewis Hall is in contract discussions with Newcastle. And they have offered him to be part of the leadership team.

Be interesting if he declines 

How's the tent going ?
Stakes in the ground yet ....
Cant wait to see what happens when there is a Manchester monsoon 

[Thephoenix]

How's the tent going ?
Stakes in the ground yet ....
Cant wait to see what happens when there is a Manchester monsoon 

You mean the normal prevailing Manchester weather?  

(Apologies to my pals up The East Lancs.)

[timsussex]

The West Bromwich Albion forward Aune Heggebo has been given a two-match ban for “successful deception of a match official” after scoring a goal with his hand during the 2-1 win against Norwich on Saturday.

[john122350]

Spurs spending big this summer.

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[WARSZAWA16]

Just read today that:
"Three Prime Ministers and 32 Premier League managers have come and gone since Man City first had 115 charges of alleged financial impropriety levelled against them."

[TomTank]

Just read today that:
"Three Prime Ministers and 32 Premier League managers have come and gone since Man City first had 115 charges of alleged financial impropriety levelled against them."

It will go on a lot longer.
Their legal strategy is to delay it so long that it becomes irrelevant if there is ever an outcome.

They must be spending a fortune on lawyers (I think it was reported that they had 32 in-house, and probably loads more external) - I'm not sure any of their cost shows up in city's accounts.

[mr.bluesky]

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It's been revealed, the real reason Harry and the pushy Duchess are returning to England, just waiting for us to return to the Premier league   

[Jumping Jack Flash]

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It's been revealed, the real reason Harry and the pushy Duchess are returning to England, just waiting for us to return to the Premier league   

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Royal Family……..

[Vice Admiral]

Today's Times has eight of its football writers giving their predictions for the new Premier League season:

Who will win the league?
Seven of the eight opt for Arsenal.  Alyson Rudd has Chelsea.

Who will make up the rest of the top four?
The only teams mentioned are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, City and United – apart from by Gary Jacob, whose list includes Spurs (“if they strengthen up top”).

Who will be relegated?
The majority view is that Coventry, Hull and Ipswich will all go straight back down, although Alyson Rudd (!) thinks Coventry will survive.  Among other clubs who might compete for relegation, Fulham are mentioned four times, Palace and Sunderland twice, and Newcastle – Alyson Rudd (!) – once.

Who will be the top scorer?
Six writers go for Erling Haaland, while the ever-contrarian Alyson Rudd has Igor Thiago and Peter Rutzler has João Pedro.

Which team will be a surprise package?
Leeds get four votes, Brentford two, Palace and Spurs one each.

Which new signing are you most excited to see?
Two players get two votes:  Mamadou Sangaré (Brentford) and Luka Vuskovic (Brighton).

[mr.bluesky]

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Royal Family……..

It could be, they are staying with the ex Prince Andrew 
( besides with Prince William being a Villa fan it would make sense for Harry to support their local rivals just to piss him off  )

[daviemac]

Seems karma strikes again, Isak left got injured now Bruno leaves and gets injured.   

[webpunter]

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It's been revealed, the real reason Harry and the pushy Duchess are returning to England, just waiting for us to return to the Premier league   

So they'll be heading back to the US next May / June 

Could be earlier Easter ish if it looks likely that Cov already heading back down

A tough start Arsenal improving their goal advantage already

Not to worry Leeds got taken apart 5-0 this time last season & managed to stay up 

[mr.bluesky]

So they'll be heading back to the US next May / June 

Could be earlier Easter ish if it looks likely that Cov already heading back down

A tough start Arsenal improving their goal advantage already

Not to worry Leeds got taken apart 5-0 this time last season & managed to stay up

They could be back in the USA by December on that first half showing. 
I will be happy if we escape with just a 2-0 spanking .
Have to say Arsenal are going to take some stopping this season.
But as Frank Lampard has said this one result won't define our season, even the most die hard Coventry fans wouldn't expect anything from this game

[webpunter]

Seems karma strikes again, Isak left got injured now Bruno leaves and gets injured.   

Rio left Leeds for £30mill in 2002 *
It didnt take him long to get banned for 8 months
Looking on Google
A random drug test @ Carrrington he was selected
He supposedly forgot about the test because he was distracted by moving house and left the training ground without giving a sample
The best he could come up with 
Maybe he was still thinking about Marching on Together

* a large amount of money back then [PSR SCR hadn't even been thought up back then]
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In today's money £187m
Top of the list Shearer £223m 

To see the benefit which Utd derived out of the top 25 transfers Utd spent £1.2bn
Building the club when no controls
A real shame that The Glazers came along & concocted the football deal of all time
The put together a loan package to buy the club using the strength of Utd's balance sheet to secure the finance
& the club makes the payments
Me thinks every day before completion they were shitting themselves that someone would figure out what they were doing & get it binned out
Didn't happen 
Couldn't happen to a nicer club oh dear 

The Glazers held 98% of the club enter SirJR £1.6bn or so for 25% valuing the club @ £6bn+
Probably worth more than that now
Whether SirJR put his money in equity or debt he'll still want a return dividends or interest
The same with whoever stumps up for the other 75%
The saudi interest promising no debt is long since gone
Without the £6bn round their neck they'd be virtually unstoppable
Of course it is there & they got stopped by the mighty Grimsby, but only after 12 penalties ...

[webpunter]

They could be back in the USA by December on that first half showing. 
I will be happy if we escape with just a 2-0 spanking .
Have to say Arsenal are going to take some stopping this season.
But as Frank Lampard has said this one result won't define our season, even the most die hard Coventry fans wouldn't expect anything from this game

Yep no expectations the same with BellEnd fans
I was hoping that Leeds could keep the score respectable
55 mins & 4-0 down i was fearing for the worst
As it went into added time i was thinking its looking alright all things considered then Arsenal got a pen & made it 5 

[Iamforreal]

Rio left Leeds for £30mill in 2002 *
It didnt take him long to get banned for 8 months
Looking on Google
A random drug test @ Carrrington he was selected
He supposedly forgot about the test because he was distracted by moving house and left the training ground without giving a sample
The best he could come up with 
Maybe he was still thinking about Marching on Together

* a large amount of money back then [PSR SCR hadn't even been thought up back then]
External Link/Members Only
In today's money £187m
Top of the list Shearer £223m 

To see the benefit which Utd derived out of the top 25 transfers Utd spent £1.2bn
Building the club when no controls
A real shame that The Glazers came along & concocted the football deal of all time
The put together a loan package to buy the club using the strength of Utd's balance sheet to secure the finance
& the club makes the payments
Me thinks every day before completion they were shitting themselves that someone would figure out what they were doing & get it binned out
Didn't happen 
Couldn't happen to a nicer club oh dear 

The Glazers held 98% of the club enter SirJR £1.6bn or so for 25% valuing the club @ £6bn+
Probably worth more than that now
Whether SirJR put his money in equity or debt he'll still want a return dividends or interest
The same with whoever stumps up for the other 75%
The saudi interest promising no debt is long since gone
Without the £6bn round their neck they'd be virtually unstoppable
Of course it is there & they got stopped by the mighty Grimsby, but only after 12 penalties ...

Remember that Manchester United make their own money and never been investigated by any wrongdoing.
Same goes for Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs...etc, not so much for the noisy neighbours ...115 charges...Chelsea...etc.
Hopefully the Glazers will sell soon, but I doubt it.

If you compare how much they spent 30 years ago would be fair to say also how much they sold..probably very close.
Also Leeds paid £18M for Ferdinand, impressive.
Anyway let's see how the season goes, had a look at your team and they don't look bad at all, unfortunately 
Thanks for Cantona and Ferdinand  , legends  at Man United obviously 

[shaft10]

Rio left Leeds for £30mill in 2002 *
It didnt take him long to get banned for 8 months
Looking on Google ...
...
Of course it is there & they got stopped by the mighty Grimsby, but only after 12 penalties ...

You replied to a post about ex NUFC players and turned it into war and peace about Man Utd ? 

me thinks you're a closet fan 

[mr.bluesky]

Yep no expectations the same with BellEnd fans
I was hoping that Leeds could keep the score respectable
55 mins & 4-0 down i was fearing for the worst
As it went into added time i was thinking its looking alright all things considered then Arsenal got a pen & made it 5 

I'm just hoping someone gets beaten 4-0 this weekend so we're not propping up the rest of the league when they show the first league table and there's still plenty of games left to beat Derby County's all time low record of 11 points 

[Vice Admiral]

Today's Times has eight of its football writers giving their predictions for the new Premier League season:

Who will win the league?
Seven of the eight opt for Arsenal.  Alyson Rudd has Chelsea.

Who will make up the rest of the top four?
The only teams mentioned are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, City and United – apart from by Gary Jacob, whose list includes Spurs (“if they strengthen up top”).

Who will be relegated?
The majority view is that Coventry, Hull and Ipswich will all go straight back down, although Alyson Rudd (!) thinks Coventry will survive.  Among other clubs who might compete for relegation, Fulham are mentioned four times, Palace and Sunderland twice, and Newcastle – Alyson Rudd (!) – once.

Who will be the top scorer?
Six writers go for Erling Haaland, while the ever-contrarian Alyson Rudd has Igor Thiago and Peter Rutzler has João Pedro.

Which team will be a surprise package?
Leeds get four votes, Brentford two, Palace and Spurs one each.

Which new signing are you most excited to see?
Two players get two votes:  Mamadou Sangaré (Brentford) and Luka Vuskovic (Brighton).

Early days yet, but after last night's match Arsenal are top of the league and Coventry are bottom!

More indicative, perhaps, is that Arsenal had 36 touches inside the opposition box, while Coventry had just 3 ...

[Blackpool Rock]

Early days yet, but after last night's match Arsenal are top of the league and Coventry are bottom!

More indicative, perhaps, is that Arsenal had 36 touches inside the opposition box, while Coventry had just 3 ...

The Coventry keeper had 3 touches all night, picking the ball out of the net 

[webpunter]

You replied to a post about ex NUFC players and turned it into war and peace about Man Utd ? 

me thinks you're a closet fan

Just made an observation
Its difficult not to admire Utd when Fergie at the helm
Various reasons for me perhaps the most noticeable him dealing with players who thought they were bertie big bollocks
Golden Balls & Stam spring to mind, gorne

[ulstersubbie]

But as Frank Lampard has said this one result won't define our season, even the most die hard Coventry fans wouldn't expect anything from this game

A tough opener MrB, as you say getting anything from that game would have been a bonus. Disappointed with my Jags last night, a 1-1 draw with Inverness and they equalised in the ninetieth minute. Long season ahead for both our teams, onwards and upwards.

[webpunter]

Remember that Manchester United make their own money and never been investigated by any wrongdoing.
Same goes for Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs...etc, not so much for the noisy neighbours ...115 charges...Chelsea...etc.
Hopefully the Glazers will sell soon, but I doubt it.

If you compare how much they spent 30 years ago would be fair to say also how much they sold..probably very close.
Also Leeds paid £18M for Ferdinand, impressive.
Anyway let's see how the season goes, had a look at your team and they don't look bad at all, unfortunately 
Thanks for Cantona and Ferdinand  , legends  at Man United obviously 

Some good points made  & indeed Leeds on the list which i overlooked ooops
It figures that building the clubs prior to any form of financial regulation provided a solid base to go forward
The fiddlers are the noisy neighbours [the Prem League incredibly quiet on what they are or rather aren't doing about them  ] & Chelsea
Chelsea were on the brink of going under before Abramovich pumped in billions buying them titles & subsequent to The Special Operation its been one fiddle after another [edit:  & prior fines issued]

Leeds appear to have made some good signings
I dont see Leeds getting four points from Utd this season, i'll take a point
A quality penalty by Fernandes in Dublin 
Pleased Leeds got beat on pens as it highlighted how shite the reserve GK is & the need for a solid back up with Darlow now @ Utd & Meslier @ Arsenal

The table from 1st January makes for good reading for both teams i'll take the same as last season fingers crossed up a place or two establishing a buffer earlier rather than late on
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Its easy to put in which dates you want & see what the table looks like
A shame that Spurs managed to accrue some unexpected points from the last few matches 
If Utd can have a good end to the transfer window the prospects could be good
For this season trying to figure out which order the teams will finish 2nd to 7th or however many european places there are is a tricky one which makes for interesting viewing

Cantona was sold for just over £1m     To split up him & Donkey Lee Chapman it was the latter who should have departed

[mr.bluesky]

A tough opener MrB, as you say getting anything from that game would have been a bonus. Disappointed with my Jags last night, a 1-1 draw with Inverness and they equalised in the ninetieth minute. Long season ahead for both our teams, onwards and upwards.

As they say ulstersubbie, the season is a marathon not a sprint. I'm sure there is going to be a lot of twists and turns for both our teams over the next few months. I think my sky blues will have more catching up to do than your Jags though.

[shed]

You replied to a post about ex NUFC players and turned it into war and peace about Man Utd ? 

me thinks you're a closet fan

He's just a prize deluded tosser who has a mental problem. 

[mr.bluesky]

The Coventry keeper had 3 touches all night, picking the ball out of the net 

That could be the pattern of our season  but we lost by the same amount as Man City did and their squad probably cost 20 times more than ours 
If Arsenal keep up that standard throughout the season they will piss the Premier league this season

[TomTank]

He's just a prize deluded tosser who has a mental problem. 

It's hilarious how the vile bitterness of an ABU can change history in their heads - I can't even make sense of what he posted.

[Iamforreal]

2-0 for Hull, reality check for Man United, I do hope regardless of what happens today that they are going to buy some defenders next.

[daviemac]

It's quite apt that Newcastle's first premier league game after Kevin Keegan's passing is against Liverpool, a hero for both sides.

[Blackpool Rock]

2-0 for Hull, reality check for Man United, I do hope regardless of what happens today that they are going to buy some defenders next.

Unexpected to say the least however as many of us have previously posted for the sides expected to struggle they're probably better off playing the top sides early in the season before the form really kicks in, anyway for now i'll just enjoy 



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