Toni Kroos retiring after the Euros. Surprising that, he was still starting most weeks for Madrid. Suppose it’s bowing out at the top though I guess. Fantastic footballer, that elite era of playmaking CMs is almost over now; Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, Fabregas, Silva and now Kroos. Modric and Iniesta the last two still going. Doubt we’ll ever see a better collective than those all in pretty much one era.
Baffling comment I read online after Marco Reus' farewell after Dortmund's last game about him being a one-club player, when i.) He played for Monchengladbach for three years before joining Dortmund ii.) He played for Rot Weiss Ahlen for two years before that iii.) He isn't retiring, so will either have yet another club on his CV or return to one of the other clubs he was before being a one-club man at Dortmund
Didn’t Liverpool push City close twice before they finally won it? Also City don’t really have anything left to go for. They’ve done the treble and possibly a double this season (becoming the first team to win both league and fa cup consecutively) I can see Arsenal winning it next season where as this season I always thought City would be too strong. The only thing is Arsenal didn’t really suffer any injuries to key players this season and that’s unlikely to happen again next season.
I hope I’m wrong but they’re getting closer. They need a top striker and need to avoid injuries to key players but I worry that City won’t have enough motivation, every Pep has said they’ve achieved everything
It's still too early to call. It will also depend on how much we invest in the squad, improve our bench options whilst also strengthening the first team. But it also will depend on what other teams do. Other clubs aren't just gonna sit there and let us get better without wanting to put up a challenge themselves. There are a few dark horses for next season IMO, with Chelsea being one of them. I also want to see how Liverpool do with Slot in charge. I can't envisage Newcastle being worse than this season. You guys will improve too I'm sure. And I don't think City are exactly going to just sit still and do nothing, they'll always be favourites as long as Pep is there. The problem is every time you exhaust every possible reason why City won't win it (they've already won plenty of leagues, Pep's been there and done it too many times, they may lack motivation etc), they seem to find another gear that pushes them on. Their last league loss was against Aston Villa on 7th December 2023. I know they drew a few matches, but everyone thought they'd surely lose some games eventually in 2024. They never did. And they broke some hoodoos as well along the way. Let's be honest - would anyone be surprised if they won 5 in a row? I don't think anyone would.
You were one win away from taking the title and should be more highly motivated and that small difference could be the factor. For Liverpool it's always very difficult to take over from an icon manager as we have seen at Man U, Arsenal and Liverpool before Klopp. Even Chelsea who have made changing their manager an institution how not found it so easy post Abramovich. Newcastle will need at least another couple of seasons IMO. It took City 3 seasons and they had no restrictions on buying players. I don't think Villa are better than Spurs even now so how they do and we do will depend on how we strengthen. I do believe in Ange (Australians have a winning mentality in all sports) I think we can do something special if he stays for the next couple of seasons at least but if we do manager change we will remain around top 6. Did I mention Man United? I didn't . Whatever happens I really hope it's not City again.
For Villa the step up to the CL will be a huge one and I think their success next season will depend on the real financial situation there and it's implications this summer. There are already plenty of rumours that they will be forced to sell a number of key players despite CL money, and are already being linked with relatively cheap options as replacements (Ross Barkley is apparently close to agreeing a move there).
If Arsenal invest wisely this summer I think they can win it next season. City will still be favourites though. Liverpool will be an unknown quantity, but as Spurf says, the change season after the departure of a long-standing successful coach is seldom straightforward. These will likely be the top three. Villa I think will struggle. They are still a few players short, have financial problems and will have to cope with the CL at least for a month or two. Chelsea have finished the season strongly, but still appear to be a club in crisis so unlikely to have the consistency for a PL campaign. They also have ffp issues to deal with. Newcastle dropped off significantly this year, despite them being loaded with blood money. Difficult to see them being anything other than a top 6 or 7 at best. Man Utd could possibly be the surprise package, but they have a mountain to climb: need a new manager and half a team! Really don't know where we will feature. If the summer outgoings and incomings goes well then a top 3 may be possible, but we could equally struggle as we have since Xmas and could be struggling for a Top 7.
Absolute shower of ****e, I can get back to absolutely despising them again instead of having a faint soft spot for Poch
I just don’t get why they’d hire one of the most renowned project managers only to then part ways after a season, especially as they were showing signs of a Poch team as the season went on. Very odd.
Apparently Chelsea want a younger manager . Poch isn’t even old. And “younger” doesn’t instantly mean “better”. They’re looking at McKenna from Ipswich and allegedly de Zerbi from Brighton as well. May as well rename the club Brighton 2.0.
