Friends on Football

Ep. 24 - Setting the Table (Initial Premier League Preview, Off-Season Moves, Promoted Sides Chances, Real Madrid Drama)

• Shaun Boyle • Season 1 • Episode 24

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Brandon and Shaun get together to start their deep dive into the upcoming Premier League season. The guys go through each of the top 8 from a season ago, along with some other teams who disappointed to see what they have been up to this off-season. 

We talk through some transfer activity, coaching changes and expectations heading into a new season that kicks off in a few short weeks. 

We round out the show with some listener questions and some Real Madrid drama. 


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SPEAKER_00

Hello, friends, and welcome to episode 24 of the Friends on Football Podcast, our first episode post-World Cup. I'm one of your co-hosts, Brandon Johnson, and here today, as always, with my main man, Mr. Sean Boyle. Sean, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01

Brandon, I'm doing well. I am glad to be back with you. It's only been a week, but it feels like a stone age since we last spoke, so I'm excited to get into things today. How are you?

SPEAKER_00

I'm good. I'm good. It's it's weird not having three games a day to watch or a semifinal World Cup game to prepare for, but we're back to our bread and butter. We're back to our roots. And today, Sean, I think we're gonna do a little bit of a setting the table, if you will. Just going through the Premier League, but this will not be our prediction and preview episode. This will be more of a hey, here's what's happened. Some new coaches, some new players, players leaving, and just a quick scope of what's going on in the Premier League. So, Sean, I and I do apologize because I feel like I've been off the grid the last week or so. So a lot of these uh transfers and and coaching changes will be news to me. So I'm I'm excited to hear, hear what's going on, hear what you're thinking, and just to talk about what's happening in our uh loved Premier League.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'll do my best to inform you as best as I can. No, no promises, of course, but yeah, I'm glad you prefaced it with that. This is very much a laid back, let's get back into the swing of things type episode. All of our focus has been spent on the World Cup. As much of our listeners, I'm sure you guys have been in the same boat, completely taken over by that. And we're not quite ready to jump into an official hold our feet to the fire type prediction episode. We still got a few weeks before the season actually kicks off. So we're just gonna try to get you all the latest information, kind of level set where we left things last year, and get you ready for the season ahead, just dipping our toes in the water.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that's a great way to put it, Sean. I guess to start, let's just talk the final table. Arsenal, our biggest rival, ends up winning the Premier League last year. But I feel like we have some surprises in that top eight section of teams. Of course, we have Man City, Man United, Liverpool, teams that we'd expect to be there, but Sunderland, Bournemouth, uh, Aston Villa making making appearances in the top eight in Brighton as well to close it out. If you want to just go go through Sean a little bit, team by team, maybe we can start at the top with Arsenal, things they've done in this transfer window this offseason before we see them kick off in just a few weeks here in August.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we'll eventually do deep dives into each of these teams, Brandon, but I think we'll just kind of scratch the surface of what they've been up to, so to speak. If we zoom out and just look at the Premier League as a whole heading into this season, I think it's important to tell the listeners that this league is very much up for grabs. It of course Arsenal are the defending champions and they are the favorites to repeat because it seems like they've got a pretty solid base in place. They're returning everybody that they want to return. They have the same manager, they have a good squad in place. But they were not world beaters last season, and Arsenal's primary focus is going to be to win a European trophy. That's the thing that Arsenal Football Club have not been able to do. They've won the Premier League before, they did it again last season. They're not champions of Europe, and they always get jabbed and poked for lacking that silverware. So I think when push comes to shove towards the end of this season, if they had to prioritize one competition, that would be the Champions League. So that creates an interesting dynamic in the Premier League where all of those teams that you kind of listed below them are a bit in flux. Whether that's a coaching change or a roster overhaul, there's not really a clear title challenger bucking their head and saying, hey, we're coming for it. So that does lead you back to the first problem, which unfortunately for us as Spurs fans is somebody's got to go beat Arsenal. And I'm not sure who's going to rise up and do that, but hopefully throughout the course of the season we see some challengers emerge. To start with Arsenal, Brandon, they haven't been too busy in the window yet, but a lot of the tentacles out there are reporting that they're lurking. They're poking around at Vinicius Jr. from Real Madrid, who's having some contract disputes. But it's important in this business, Brandon. I'll let you speak on this too. We're not going to talk too much about hypothetical transfers because until that guy shows up and puts the shirt on in the world of soccer, nothing is official. This moves crazier than NFL trades, NBA trades. It's unlike anything you've ever seen. There could be reports that a deal is done only for it to be collapsed and hijacked by another team at the last second. I think you would agree with me that we're not going to dive too deep into the transfer rumor mill because it's a wild place.

SPEAKER_00

No, Sean, that is I agree with you. That's 100% the way we should go about it. We'll let our guy Fabricio he'll he'll do all the transfers, all the debunks, and and when it actually happens, uh we will cover it. But we've seen it too many times. Our favorite players coming to Tottenham, and then at the 11th hour, somebody else comes in and swipes them away. So we will not report on in-process transfers. Only confirmed, like you said, the jersey photos, stadium reveal. Those are the only transfers we will be covering.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we deal in fact, not in what if. So yes. So far, Arsenal's business has been just they've brought in in Christos Zolis from Club Bruges. He's a left-winger, and it's a like-for-like replacement for Leandro Trossard, who they sold to Bashiktas in Turkey. But Trosard, good player, but he's in his 30s. This is kind of just influxing some youth at the same position. Probably upgrading a little bit, I would say, at this point in their careers. But really, the key for Arsenal is they're not losing anybody from the title challengers. It's kind of like, hey, we're the best team in the league. If you want to be better than us, come get better and beat us. That's the approach they're taking so far. The one concern I have for them is basically their entire roster played in the World Cup, and it creates a situation where a lot of their key figures have played a lot of minutes leading into this season. William Saliba is dealing with a back injury. He doesn't need surgery, but he could be out five months. That's their best central defender. That's a significant concern for them. Declan Rice and Bukayo Sako were kind of shells of themselves in the World Cup. They couldn't really give it a full go because of their fitness levels. And with the season starting on August 21st, I'm not so sure that they're going to be 100% healthy by then. It's not exactly the longest rest period when you factor in the training camp run-up that they're going to have to go through as well. So that's really the only concern if you're an Arsenal fan right now. I'm hoping personally that all of those guys struggle to get back. Take the Premier League off this season, guys. Put all your eggs in that Champions League basket. Really, you don't need to go back to back as champs. You've seen this, you've done it, you don't need to do it again.

SPEAKER_00

It's an interesting point. I know you said that a little tongue-in-cheek at the end there, Sean, but and we'll go we'll get into it with some of these other teams, but if teams don't make a lot of upgrades and there isn't a clear number two, you can almost take that PSG method where you're like, we're gonna win the French League, we'll play our second guys, and then save everybody for the Champions League. And it's I mean it's worked the last two seasons for PSG. So it'd be it'll be interesting to see how Arteta structures the team. And and like you said, with the fitness and coming back from a World Cup, there there literally has not been a break at all for these guys. Right now, they're on that the mandatory FIFA break, so they're missing a little bit of preseason, but it it's still only you're only getting about maybe a month off, if that. The World Cup final was June 19th, or sorry, July 19th, and the first games you said are August 20th, so that's literally a month, and that's that that's insane. So and you're gonna have to obviously have some sort of preseason before just jumping into a Premier League game. So the first few weeks will probably be probably look a little rough for some of these teams that had so many players in the World Cup, and that's just unfortunately a function of how the FIFA windows work. But yeah, if you're Arsenal, I I wonder I wonder how you play this season. Do you go and sign some some bigger names? I know you mentioned Vinicius, I know they're talking to some other guys as well, because you may need a almost like an A and a B team, and you play the A team for the Champions League, and maybe the B team can play maybe more Premier League, FA Cup games of that nature.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and that's certainly what these squads are trying to move towards. These elite-level teams that are playing in European competitions year over year, you kind of have to safeguard yourselves, and you can't just have a starting 11. You basically need two at each position at minimum to get through a season, and rotation is key. Some of the best managers in the world are able to rotate because they have the luxury to do so, but it creates such an advantage towards the end of seasons when you haven't overrun guys and completely put their put them into the ground. That's going to be the thing Arsenal are going to be monitoring to start the year. I think they'll kind of ease into this Premier League season. They do have a lot of squad depth already. I don't think it'll be a huge issue. I do expect them to be around the top of the Premier League. My mom actually had a question for the show. She was rooting against it, but she said, Will Arsenal be good again this year? Yes, they will be good again. Another point of concern for them maybe is some refereeing changes. Arsenal were famous for their abuse in the box during set pieces, specifically corner kicks last year. There's been some changes to the rules where a foul occurred, a foul that occurred before a corner is actually in play, will actually be punished now, it could be carded. That's a big change. So I think that's something else to keep an eye on for Arsenal. They didn't blow teams out of the water last year. So I think everybody who goes in and thinks they had a good summer will feel confident that they could at least lay a glove on Arsenal. And I don't think this is a done deal by any means in the Premier League. As we've seen some years where it's a foregone conclusion that Manchester City will win, this is not that. This is not the same situation. On the note of Manchester City, they finished second last season. They were the closest challenger. They are in a big, big, big state of flux. I wouldn't call it a rebuild. It's a reloading of sorts. They have an incredible, incredible team. They are making big changes to that team, though. They have lost a lot of that old guard, I would call it. They've lost Manuel Akonji, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Natsanake. Those are some key components over the squad for the last four or five years. They've brought in so far Elliot Anderson for 116 million euros from Nottingham Forest. He was one of the standout midfielders in the Premier League last season. He was one of the standout performers for England at the World Cup. That's what Manchester City do. They go out and buy the proven best of the best, and they also sprinkle in grabbing some of the most enticing prospects in the world as well. So they do a really good job of squad building. This time, though, they're not going to be managed by Pep Guardiola. We've talked about it before. They'll be managed by Enzo Moresca, who comes in after leaving Chelsea in the middle of last season. He was a longtime assistant to Pep at Man City. So he's familiar with how it works there. He's familiar with the expectations. He wants to play attacking football. I think the big question for them is they're still kind of moving out and transitioning from this old guard. Rodri's expected to leave. He's entering the last year of his contract. They have the pieces to replace him, but it feels like if you want to mount a title challenge, you would like to have some more certainties in place. And at this point, Manchester City still seems to have a lot of question marks as to what it's going to look like.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks for that, Sean. I do wonder. Manchester City, I feel like in the past, has sort of been like the power five basketball college basketball team where somebody does well at the lower D1 level. Oh, automatically, you're coming to us. We're gonna just develop you and make you even better. I wonder if they keep that model or they turn maybe a little bit more internal and try to develop some of their own guys. I know there's guys in the academy, I know there's guys coming through that that they have, and maybe we don't know the answer. We have to see how how things shake out as the season, as we get closer to the season, but that that buy model doesn't always doesn't always work. I will say it doesn't hurt too much. It is it is the luxury to have where you can drop over a hundred million for an Elliot Anderson who honestly two years ago, not a guy really on many radars, has a couple breakout seasons at Forest, and then all of a sudden, bang, he's he's going to Manchester City and will I would assume likely start if they're gonna pay that much money for him. So it I'm interested in see how they how they structure their team and and how it builds out.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Newcastle fans loved Elliot Anderson, but they were forced to sell because of financial fair play. It was one of those situations where they knew the kind of talent that they had on their hands, but maybe the world didn't know. They were forced to sell forest wisely swoop in for a significant fee. I think it was around 40 million or so, and then they've more than doubled or almost tripled their return a year on. So pretty good job by them. But yeah, that's the interesting thing with Manchester City. I would rather have the money and the war chest that they do and be able to spend and potentially make mistakes. They've got a lot of talent at a lot of positions. They've got some really exciting players to watch, and they do play an exciting brand of football. Erling Holland leads the line for them. If you want a reason to tune in off the back of the World Cup, that's your guy right there. I'm pretty sure everybody unanimously likes him. So that's that's a nice thing for Manchester City. They're a lot more likable, they're they're a lot more likable than Arsenal. They're the lesser of two evils. So I've kind of over the last couple of years, when Arsenal have been around the title charge, I've always been like kind of a secondary Man City fan because they're the only sometimes the only thing we have in between.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, absolutely. That's the that's the correct way to cheer. I I agree with you there, Sean. Now, take me to the other side of Manchester, Manchester United, a club historically that had has been the bigger brother, has been the the the club. People want to go there. Top players have played there. Coming off of a season where they finished third, uh, Bruno Fernandez, an incredible season. You would have never guessed watching him at the World Cup by how poorly poorly he played in. But that's another conversation. Sean, a third place finish. Seems like Amarim has them, has them clicking. What do you what's been going on with Manchester United this offseason?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Michael Carrick took over for Amarim in the middle of last season, back half of last season. There you go. Yes, he Amarim. I listen, hand up. I was a big Amarim guy. I was I thought Reuben Amarim would work. It did not. Michael Carrick comes in and he completely righted the ship. He's a former Manchester United player. He really, really excelled last season. Uh I think it was more being able to string results together than it was them actually being this dominant third place team. But you have to tip your cap. The challenge for Manchester United is they were able to make the jump from 16th place the prior season to third place the year before, or to third place last season. I think the issue is this year is that they have now European football to deal with. They are in the Champions League. One theme that I'm going to repeat to a fault on this show, I'm going to beat the dead horse. That playing midweek in Europe has serious, serious ramifications on your Premier League performance on the weekend. You have seen the last several years, almost without fail, that teams that play in Europe struggle more in their domestic campaigns. It's just a nature of the beast. Like we said, the squad depth needs to be at such an insane level. And then the manager also has to be willing to rotate that squad depth. A lot of times you get a combination of a manager who's unwilling to rotate or doesn't quite trust that second player at some positions, and you get guys who run into the ground. You just don't get that same output twice a week as opposed to teams that are playing once a week. I think that's going to be the biggest hurdle for Manchester United this year. Their squad is not exactly deep either. They need to make some signings. So far, they've brought in Andre Santos from Chelsea, he's a midfielder, and Yuri Tielemans from Aston Villa. Two really good signings. I think the midfield was a huge concern for Manchester United last season. It was not the best midfield to begin with, and they lost Casemiro from it. He is now playing an MLS, which we'll get to. But the two that they've brought in are good players. Santos is a bit more unproven, obviously, than Tielemans is, but I think he's a good signing for now and the future. Tielemans, he's 30 years old, but he's a really high quality player. We saw him absolutely light up the United States in the World Cup. He ran the game for Belgium. He did that a lot at Aston Villa. He's done that almost everywhere he's been. I do worry a little bit about the fit next to Bruno. Neither one are covering a ton of ground in that midfield. Seems that they do a lot of the similar things, but if you have the chance to sign Yuri Tielemans for 30 million euros, that's a chance you take every single time. So that's a good bit of business from them. So far, the departures, they just lost Casemiro and Rasmus Hoyland, who wasn't even with their squad last season. They let him go on loan. I think Manchester United are gonna be a good team, but it's just one of those situations where they need to keep adding to their squad in order to compete on all fronts.

SPEAKER_00

Do you think, Sean, there's a and they'll never publicly say this, of course, but do you think there's a method in them maybe throwing in the towel a little bit in the Champions League to focus on the Premier League? Just knowing their lack of depth lack of depth and the challenge of playing, like you said, two two games a week to kind of prioritize the Premier League, where a lot of these powerhouse clubs, the Real Madrid's, the PSGs, focus a lot of their attention the opposite way on the Champions League.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I kind of do agree with your line of thinking, at least. I don't think Manchester United have a chance of winning the Champions League, and I would suggest that they probably won't even be favored to make that deep of a run in the competition. The flip side of that is that Premier League teams are the richest in the world, and inherently they have been better than the teams in the rest of Europe throughout the last few seasons, so naturally they just end up making some deeper runs. It's unlikely to see a Premier League team get left in the group stage or the league phase of the Champions League or Europa League, just because of the wealth of riches that they do have. So they'll play a decent number of games more than some of the other teams that they're going to be competing next to in the Premier League. But I think given the third place finish last season, the momentum that's positive with a former player in charge with Michael Carrick, I think eventually Manchester United will find a way to balance that out. And hopefully, if you're a fan of theirs, they'll continue to add depth to that squad. Because the bones and what you see in the first 11 are pretty good. And I would suggest that they could have a really strong season, but that's just relying on a lot of those guys playing every match and staying fit.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, which is always a challenge, Sean. Flipping to the team that finished in fourth, uh, Yuri Tieleman's former team, Aston Villa. I would say a great finish for them. They're not typically a team that's in this top part of the table. They're gonna be playing Champions League football next year. What's been going on with them this offseason? Bit of a busy offseason for Villa.

SPEAKER_01

Unai Emery is a great manager. He's done wonders at Villa. They have lost some key components. We mentioned Tielemans. They've also lost Morgan Rogers, who has gone to Chelsea, which we'll get to. They brought in 117 million euros for him, so that's a huge amount of money. I think that's a very good business deal for Aston Villa, but it leaves some questions to what it'll look like on the pitch. I expect them to be just fine. I like some of the work that they've done to replace those guys already. They've brought in Drought from Wolves. He's a really good midfielder, Brazilian, does a bit on both ends, can build play, can break up play. I think that's a good signing. They also signed my guy from Switzerland, Brandon, Johan Monzombi. I was singing his praises before the World Cup. He had a really good World Cup until he got injured. Johan Monzombi comes in as kind of the Morgan Rogers replacement. They're able to get him a lot cheaper, but they still paid a handsome fee for him. So they're gonna be relying on those two a lot, I think, this season. With the Tielemans loss, with Amadou Onana suffering an ACL injury in that game against the United States. That's gonna hurt Aston Villa as well. The other bit of business they've done, I can't say I'm a fan of, they've signed Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea. This guy, he was every Manchester United fan when he was there disliked him. Every Chelsea fan when he was there disliked him. It just doesn't seem like somebody you want within your ranks. So that's tough. I'm not so sure I know what I see in that signing. I've never really been blown away by Garnacho. He feels like one of those guys that has the tools but doesn't feel like he's putting them together. And then also you hear the rumors of how kind of tough he is to deal with around the pitch and around the training room. That would be a concern for me. But I do trust Unai Emery. If anybody's gonna get a tune out of him, I would expect Unai to be able to do so. So I think the villains are active in this window. We need to see how they fill out the rest of this roster. But I think right now they're in a comfortable pattern. They'll be competing near these top four, top five places in the Premier League.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, that's good to hear. And it and I do enjoy Sean, I will say that. Changing of the guard a little bit. I feel like that's net Aston Villa hasn't been a club that we've put in this top tier, but it's it's nice to see other teams, and we'll get into some more as we go along here. More teams in this top range. It's not always the same teams that we've seen basically our whole life. So it's it's good to see some fresh blood. One team that is not necessarily fresh blood in the top top regions of the Premier League table is Liverpool. I know they have a new manager, Sean. So let's get into that a little bit, as well as any new players that they have.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and Doni Ireola, the former Bournemouth manager, he takes over at Liverpool, replacing Arnes Lott, who a year earlier was a Premier League champion. One year later gets the sack. That's how fast it moves in this Premier League. So far in the window for Liverpool, this is another one. It's very similar to Manchester City in my mind. It's kind of a changing of the guard. They're keeping some of the bones and those young superstars in place that they've signed the last few seasons, but a lot of those older mainstays at the club are now moving on. For example, Mohammed Salah, one of the biggest departures in Liverpool history, one of Liverpool's best ever players, one of the Premier League's best ever players, honestly. He is moving on. He is available on a free transfer right now. He's negotiating with several clubs. We'll see where he ends up. Andy Robertson is another one from Liverpool. He's very similar to Salah if you talk to Liverpool fans and just kind of a cult hero. He wasn't a Premier League legend like Mohammed Sale was, but Andy Robertson meant a whole hell of a lot to that changing room. He signed with, of course, the Mighty Mighty Tottenham. We love that. And then lastly, Ibrahim Okinate, a starting center back, a mainstay next to Virgil van Dyke at Liverpool. He has signed with Real Madrid. He did not renew his contract at Liverpool. So those are three really significant losses. So far, they haven't done a ton to replace them. A year ago, they signed Jeremy Yakit from Stade Rennes. Really good center back, up and coming French defender. He is the like-for-like replacement for Ibrahim Akinate. It's just a big question mark because he's not done it in the Premier League yet. I don't think they'll have any issues in that regard. I feel pretty comfortable about him. They've also signed Victor Munoz. They stole him from Newcastle, which is a theme that we see time and time again now. Is Newcastle getting close to signing players but never actually doing it? So massive changes at Liverpool. They've been linked with Bradley Barkala from PSG and the French national team. That would be a statement signing. That would be a direct replacement for Mohammed Saleh. That's a statement of intent if they're able to get that one over the line. But it's an interesting wait-and-see approach I'm going to take with them. I believe in Andoni Araola. I think he's a brilliant manager. There's some shades of Jurgen Klopp in there in terms of how he plays and the style in which they go about doing things. They're not exactly the same, but I would trust Areola to figure it out. And I would expect right now Liverpool have a better finish than they did last season, at least at this point. We'll see what they do on the transfer front, but I'm a big believer in Areola.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, Sean, I'm glad you bring up Ariola because we'll go over his former team next, Bournemouth. But Liverpool's always an interesting one. They're always there, they're always in that top top part of the the table. They're playing well when they play international football. But with a new manager, maybe a little bit of a new style, like you said, it'll be interesting to see how they shape out. Because the like you said, the the the table's pretty open. There's definitely room to to move up, to do well. And of course, some of these other teams we mentioned, we will mention, we'd hope to see them move up as well. But Liverpool is in a good spot, I think. Fifth, not bad. You're playing European football. But but let's switch over to Ariola's former team, Bournemouth. Now, Bournemouth finishing sixth for maybe our listeners that aren't as tuned in is is an incredible feat. This is not a team that's typically in the the top top area of the table. They're they're usually fighting for survival mid to lower table, but Bournemouth finishing in sixth, obviously Ariola has a lot to do with it, Sean. How do they sustain that? Can they sustain that? And then the addition of Europa League football as well next year.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I believe this is Bournemouth's first time playing European football in their 127-year history. So a huge feat that Iriola was able to accomplish with that group last season. They replaced Arayola by signing Marco Rosa to be the head coach. He has spent most of his career coaching in Germany. He's been at the Red Bull stops, he was in Salzburg in Austria, he was at Leipzig, he's been at Dortmund. I think Marco Rosa is a fine manager. I think he's good even. But I don't think he's Antonio Rayola. I think Antonio Areola is one of the best young managers in the world. I don't think Marco Rosa's that. Combine that with the fact that they're taking on the challenge of playing in Europe and having to play twice a week with a squad that is not used to or equipped at this point to deal with that. And quite frankly, I'd be shocked to see Bournemouth finish sixth again in the Premier League next season. But with that being said, and we'll talk about that with the clubs that finished sixth, seventh, and eighth last season, with Sunderland and Brighton right behind them. This serves as a tremendous opportunity to win a European trophy. We've seen the Premier League clubs dominate the Europa League the last couple of seasons. I think the Conference League, it's the same way. I think we could see it again this year. I think Bournemouth should be in a position to compete on the Europa League front. I think in the Premier League, I don't think that'll be their main point of focus. I think they'll be fine. They won't be a layup for any team. You won't be like, oh, good, we get to play Bournemouth this week. But just looking at it, I mean, we're still a long way from the season. Just looking at their squad, what they've done so far, they've brought in Alvaro Rodriguez. He's a striker, a nice signing. I think he has the ability to give them goals now, and he's a little bit of a project for the future as well. They have lost Marco Sinesi on a free transfer. He was one of the best center backs in the Premier League last year. Guess where he is? Mighty, mighty Tottenham. That's right. But I think overall, Bournemouth, it's just gonna be tricky. You just want to make sure that you don't completely mail it in in the Premier League. And when we say mail it in, it's not like these teams won't be trying. It's just that the the reality of the situation is you or anyone is not able to compete on several fronts with a limited squad of players. And when you have Bournemouth's resources compared to Manchester City's, it's just a really, really different type of battle. It's an uphill battle. We'll see what they prioritize, but I would be shocked if they finish sixth again next season. It was a record finish for them last year. I think they'll take a step back. It's just going to be how big of a step.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. So maybe you're thinking mid-table but a deep Europa League run would be a solid year for them.

SPEAKER_01

If I was a Bournemouth fan, I'd sign right up for that. Okay. You know, I'd be used to finishing mid-table. That's nothing new. I'd be happy to be in the prom again for a following season, and I would be happy to give it a go in Europe.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. And Sean, now switching to the team that finished in seventh, Sunderland. Similar situation, I would say, to Bournemouth, with having to now balance European football and the Premier League. Sunderland, for those that don't know, were in the third division just within the last five years. So they've had a incredible, incredible ascension to the Premier League. And then not just being in the Premier League, but to be able to stay in the Premier League and then finish high enough to play European football uh next this year coming up. So Sunderland, what are you expecting from them? The Black Some.

SPEAKER_01

Sunderland have a great, yeah. The Sunderland have a great manager. Reggie Labris, his name is, he's been there through that rise for them. And I think he provides a really safe, safe blanket over them. I don't think they'll free fall in the standing. Some people are picking them to go down this year as a potential team in a relegation scrap. And because of Europe, I can't rule it out completely. Again, it's just really difficult to balance both of those things. So far, they haven't really added to the squad either. They signed Tomas Mounier on a free. That would have been a great signing eight years ago. Right now, I think it's a fine signing as a squad player, but it's not an exciting one. They definitely need to add some pieces. The good thing for them is they've been good at retaining players. Their retention level is high. They haven't lost anybody significant from that finish last season. I would expect Sunderland to strike that balance right because I trust the manager. I'm just a big fan of him. Again, another club where I don't see them finishing seventh next season. Spoiler alert. Like I said, if you're playing in Europe, I will be predicting your place to drop just a bit compared to the teams that are not playing in Europe that have strengthened. That's just how I'm going about my approach going into the season. I feel like I've been burned trying to pick teams to balance it really well and compete on all fronts. I don't see Sunderland finishing seventh again, but I do think it's going to be such an exciting year for them because number one, they're great to have in the Premier League. That's a great away day for fans. The atmosphere in their stadium, the stadium of light, is always amazing. It's fun to watch, the Black Cats. And then number two, I think they'll give it a go in Europe as well. So I think that's an exciting time to be a Sunderland fan.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks for that, Sean. It is good to see a team like Sunderland in the Premier League and doing well. Rounding out the top eight. So our last European team, they only playing in the Conference League, which is the third tier of European level international competition, is Brighton. And now, Brighton, to me, Sean, they're always right around here. They've been a very good team the last few years, very tough to play. And I'm interested in hearing what you have to what you think about their possibilities for this season.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Brighton are one of those teams. They're like a perfectly functioning club. So they sign players that are young and relatively unheard of compared to the rest of the league. They do a tremendous job of scouting, they do a tremendous job of developing, and they do a great job at cashing in on these players. They're not hell-bent on keeping them and they're unable to keep them and they know that. So they sign, develop, sell really, really well. That's been their model, that will continue to be their model. I think they're just, it's operational excellence from them. Like you just trust almost like nameless grave faces that they're going to have a new wave each season of a few up-and-coming players that all break out on the Premier League stage. They give Brighton a pretty good mid-table to just slightly above mid-table finish, and it's rinse and repeat for the next season. This year they are the Conference League favorites. That conference league is sponsored by farmers only. Brandon, it is a competition in which Brighton should walk to the championship of because they are by far the richest club in the mix there. I think that'll be their focus, some European glory this season. But I also still think they will find a way to compete on the Premier League front as well. As you mentioned, nobody loves seeing Brighton on the calendar. It's one of those fixtures that you look at and you're like, uh, especially going to there. It's not an easy trip for anybody. I would expect some pretty similar stuff from Brighton over the course of the last few years. They haven't really made too many impact signings yet, other than Luka Vuskovich from Tottenham Hotspur. They paid over 50 million pounds for him. A guy who never really kicked the ball for Spurs, which was interesting. Tottenham signed him from his club in Croatia, Hashduck Split. Because of his age, he was unable to actually play in England at that point. So he was on loan for a couple of seasons and he impressed. He was very good in the Bundesliga last year. And they Brighton said, you know what, we want him. We want to build our back line around him. So they paid a pretty hefty fee for a guy who's not played in the Premier League yet. He's still a teenager. I think he's going to be a good player. But that's an interesting transfer strategy, especially for Brighton. They're not known to go out and make that kind of splashy signing, but it is a young guy that they'll be able to develop. I would be completely fine if, as a Tottenham fan, saying, yeah, 50 million for a guy who's never kicked a ball for us, great business. The fact he's going to Brighton makes me think, oh, he's going to become a world beater. So I'm a bit concerned about that. Fabian Herzler is the manager at Brighton. He's kind of a young, quirky guy. He's very active on social media, kind of always posting what he's doing. It's a little weird, but the youngest manager in Premier League history, so clearly he's doing something right. He has a clue about the game at least. I would say at the very least, Brighton are an interesting squad to watch. They kind of consistently produce world-class talent, even if they're getting them at the younger stages of their career. So I would expect similar things from Brighton once again.

SPEAKER_00

I'm glad you mentioned Herzler, Sean. He's just looked him up. He's 32, which is how old I am, which is wild. He's 32 coaching in the Premier League, and I'm 32 talking about teams in the Premier League. So it's crazy. Yeah, basically. But no, it it's it's a great testament to him to be able to be doing what he's doing at a club like Brain at such a young age, where, like you mentioned, Sean, that model is consistent. Bring guys in, they develop, they sell, and it's hard, it's hard to be a consistently good team if that is your model because you're losing so many players every year. But between Herzler, his front office, his ownership, seems like they're all really on the same page, and you'd expect to see that again moving forward.

SPEAKER_01

100%. 100%. And now, Brandon, we've gone through the top eight, the teams that will be competing in Europe. We don't want to skip teams altogether, but we will eventually talk about every team in the Premier League. It's just in this episode, we're gonna kind of highlight the bigger clubs that had bad or in some cases terrible seasons last year. We'll go down the list. The 10th place finishers last year were Chelsea. They have made some big changes, as I alluded to. Their manager who started at the helm last season, Enzo Moresca, is now at Manchester City. They have hired Jabi Alonzo to be their new coach. He's pretty good. He was a world-class player. He has been a very, very good manager, in my opinion, so far in his managerial career as well. He did unprecedented things at Bayer Leverkusen and then got the Real Madrid job, where I thought he kind of got unfairly pushed out of that. It was seeming like he was trying to change things at Real Madrid, and Real Madrid said, no, no, no, we do things one way, we want more of the same. They forced him out, but he ends up at Chelsea. Chelsea, for those who don't know, they are owned by a US group who they also own the Dodgers. Todd Boley is the guy who runs it. Their name is Blue Co., and they own several clubs around the world. It's this multi-club ownership model that we're starting to see, which is more and more prevalent in today's game. It's a complete farce, is what it is. It's a joke. We've seen the City Football Group do this, Manchester City. Their owners own several clubs in leagues all around the world. And what it essentially does is it provides sort of like a feeder program into Chelsea. So one of the clubs that they own in the French league is Strasbourg, and a player basically signs with Blue Co., which is the Chelsea ownership group, and then they could kind of see what level they are fit to play at, whether that's Strasbourg, Chelsea, or somewhere else. I think their model allows them to get away with some stuff that previously shouldn't be allowed or wouldn't be allowed. I compare Chelsea now to Ellis Island back in the day in the United States, Brandon. It's like if you were an immigrant coming to the US, you had to stop at Ellis Island and get your papers in order. If you're a player now, if you're a young prospect, you have to stop at Blue Co. You know, you have to get your papers in order, you're gonna get a cup of coffee there, and then you'll find your forever home eventually because it hasn't been at Chelsea. So they finished 10th last season a horribly disappointing season given especially how much they've put into transfers. We mention them signing Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for 117 million. They've also signed Marcos Palestra for 47 million. That's almost 200 million out the window already. They will have lots of outgoings. They've lost Marcucarea to Real Madrid. They've also lost Andre Santos to Manchester United. So they're not scared to sell. They're basically in the player trading business. I'm not so sure that they're in the developing a Premier League champion business. I will say I'm a big fan of Jabbi Alonso. I trust him to get things right. I think he's a really good manager. We're starting to see them highlight and target experience in the window, which is a change of pace from what they've been going after. They've been trying to acquire just the best and the brightest young kids without any real leadership in that group. They are working on signing Danny Wellbeck from Brighton. They're working on signing Jordan Henderson from Brentford. I'm not so sure either player is great at this point in their careers. They're well into their 30s, but they are good people, presences to have in the locker room. So that's a bit of a pivot in their strategy so far. It's something that I think is very necessary. They need to get experience to mentor and also elevate this young group of talent that they do have because they do have a lot of pieces in place. It's just going to be can they get that all right this season? One big advantage for them, no European football. I would not expect to see Chelsea this low on the table again.

SPEAKER_00

I'm glad they're bringing in some veteran experience because I feel like the last four or five years, Sean, every Pacey winger from South America, from these clubs that we've never heard of, they sign them and then they we don't know where they end up. And that's probably part partially because of this blue co system. So they end up playing in France or one of these other clubs. But I do feel like the the pieces are there. They do have the structure, they have the name, they have the talent, the money. And now it's just about putting them all together. And I think the last point you hit on, Sean, I I know you said you're gonna talk about the European football a lot. I I feel like I'll echo you as well. I think it is such a benefit to not have to play European football unless you're gonna actually win in the competition you're in, because you have so much more energy to focus on. You have 90 minutes of football a week, and that's it. You can play your best 11 pretty much every week. For for Chelsea to be able to focus on that this year, I think that's really gonna help them. I'd expect to see them honestly in the top six. I'm there with you.

SPEAKER_01

One of our listener questions, Michael Collins, he he mentioned a few to me, so I appreciate him getting me some questions in. One of them was is there a mid-table team that you think can make a big jump this season? I think the easy answer to that question would be Chelsea, just like you said, that with how much they've invested in that squad playing one game a week, I'd be shocked, frankly, if they don't finish in the top six or seven. So inherently that's a jump. Other teams that are kind of in that mix, I think Nottingham Forest are kind of positioning themselves to have a much stronger season. I would not be surprised at all if they made a big jump. They finished 16th last year. I don't think they'll flirt with relegation at all this season. And that comes with losing Elliott Anderson, which is a huge piece to their puzzle. So I think if I had to pick two teams off the bat without being biased, because obviously the biggest jump in the league will be Spurs, which we'll talk about in a second. But those would be the two I would highlight. Do you have one of those teams that you would agree with, or do you have another mention?

SPEAKER_00

I would have would have said Chelsea for sure first. The other teams in the middle don't really shout a big jump, to me, at least. I I do think Newcastle, they're always a weird team. Sometimes they're hot, sometimes they're cold. They'll probably start the season in like first and then end up back at 12th, where they finish last season. But the other teams in the middle don't really, really excite me. Forest is an interesting one, Sean. I I would say honestly, Nottingham Forest is probably the second team that I cheer for in the Premier League. I would hope to see them higher. I don't know if they'll make a huge jump. I think Chelsea is definitely the safe answer, and then I would go maybe Newcastle as a as a secondary.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'm glad you brought up Newcastle because we'll talk about them next. Brandon, Newcastle have found themselves consistently window after window, in the middle of the transfer whirl. They're in the shop window at all times, it seems like. That would be in addition to already having lost Sandro Tonali for 92.5 million plus add-ons to Tottenham. They've also lost Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for around 80 million, which we talked about that at the time as an insane, insane transfer for Barcelona to make, just a hefty sum of money for Anthony Gordon. But that does mean that Newcastle have a lot of money to play with. That at least is 180 million already on the books, and they're starting to try to sign players to replace them. The problem is getting those deals over the line. They've had one plucked by Liverpool. They have signed Bazumana Triore, who I think is a really exciting piece. He comes from the Bundesliga. He is on the Ivory Coast national team. I think he's a fun winger. He has a lot about him. I would be excited if I was a Newcastle fan for him. This is just going to be a real wait and see as to how they finish out this window. It's going to be a Important for them. I should tell the listeners the window ends at the end of August. So you'll actually see a couple of games take place before teams are finalized. And those teams are only finalized until January 1st. So there's a window every summer, and every winter they run basically when the season ends in the summer until the season starts in the end of August. And then also in the winter, they have the whole Janu month of January to make transfers as well. So those are the two times you're able to improve your squad with outside reinforcements. Newcastle's a team to watch as this window comes to an end. Eddie Howe, the manager, kind of on the hot seat. He is back for another season. I think he's a really good manager, but something's something's off at Newcastle. I don't quite know what it is. It's not a fun time to be a fan there, I can assure you. They're going to be an interesting one for me this season because they don't really belong down in 12th place, but I'm not so sure I see a ton that's inspiring me to think they're going to catapult up this table either.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, they're a very Jekyll and Hyde team, Sean. And when they're at their best on their day, they're tough. They are tough to play and tough to break down, but they have moments where they'll go five, six, seven games in a row and just lose consecutive consecutively and not even look like they care. Hopefully Eddie Howe can steer the ship and correct them. But I I'd honestly expect a mid-table finish, maybe a little higher, maybe ninth. Maybe they sneak into that eighth place conference league spot, but I feel like eight to thirteen is kind of my Newcastle window.

SPEAKER_01

I I think that's fair and how I would assess the situation at this moment as well.

SPEAKER_00

Sean, our last team. We had to save them for last, obviously because they're favorite, not because they finished in 17th and we were going in chronological order, but Tottenham Hotspur. Sean, I've seen some clips of preseason. Of course, preseason, we look like the best team in the world. I don't want to read too much into it. What are we looking at this year? Am I gonna be happy come May June when the season ends? Am I gonna be frustrated? Am I gonna be stressing that we're gonna get relegated again? Where am I at?

SPEAKER_01

I can assure you that you will not be stressing about relegation. That's a fact. That's an SB guarantee. Now, you want to hear another one? We're not gonna do our preview show as we talked about. This is just setting the table. Yeah, just dancing around a little bit.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, just dipping on Tottenham.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. I will say, put this on the record, Tottenham will have the biggest jump in terms of finishing position from last season to this season. Now you could say that's not even that bold of a take. They finished 17th. They're one of the six richest clubs in the league. Yeah, sure. Fine. If you really peel back the onion, yeah, it's not that hot of a take. I do think that Tottenham have been the most active and the best team in the window thus far. Now, does that win you anything? No, it doesn't win you a single point. But it was required for Tottenham to do a squad reset. It was required for the owners to take accountability and actually put the emphasis back into the football team at a rate and at a level that we have not seen yet. And so far, knock on wood, they have done just that. They've seriously invested in the first team squad, signing bona fide Premier League starters at a cost that we're not used to paying. We've already broken the club record transfer fee twice this window. I expect them to do it a third time on an attacker and potentially a fourth time on another attacker. And so far, everybody that Tottenham's been linked with, basically, that they've they've gotten the deal over the line. So they're operating as a serious team. That doesn't win you any games, but it is encouraging to see as a fan. The other key for them, no European football, and Roberto De Zerbi, who came in to save us from relegation last season. By all accounts, he is a world-class manager. Can he wear on some players and maybe some administrations over time and crash out? Yes, that has been the case at some previous stops. He was one of those coaches at Brighton who was amazing there, but then kind of got fed up that each season they were selling their best players. So he tried a new challenge over at Marseille and League, and a similar situation happened there. They were kind of poor and had to sell some players, and he didn't like that. He left there as well. But when he's in charge, he's a world-class manager. A lot of managers study his tactics in terms of building out from the back and how he structures his teams. I think having him, having the players that we've brought in, we've talked about Andy Robertson, Marcos Sanesi. They've signed Jan Paul Van Heca from Brighton, who played under De Zerby there. They have signed Matthias Fernange from West Ham for 80 million, a statement signing there. We've signed Sandro Tanale from Newcastle, a statement signing there. Even if those are significant sums of money, doesn't matter to me, not my money. I want to see world-class players in the squad. I'm happy we're starting to see that. Tottenham still have a lot of questions that need to be answered, though, primarily in the way of attackers. We're kind of right now running it back with the same attack force that we had last season, and we're still battling some serious injuries in that world. So a lot still to do for Tottenham, but really encouraging window so far.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, you'd love to see it, Sean. You love when fresh blood comes in to the team that can contribute to the team immediately. Look, I'm I'm I'm a guy, I I like to get in the young guy who we can build and develop and help play over a few years, but there is something to be said when you can just plug a guy in from another team and just play him immediately, and you know the quality and talent you're gonna get from day one. The injuries are always gonna be a talking point with this team. They've really, really struggled over the last few years with injuries. But again, one game a week, I think that will help. Yeah. And we'll see how it ends up with the with the forward and and attacking positions because yeah, that could probably use an upgrade. But I your your guarantee of them making the biggest jump, I don't think is crazy. I I obviously I know we're both biased, but 17th to 8th, that's nine nine spots. That's a that's a huge, that's a huge jump in a league of 20 teams.

SPEAKER_01

So don't put a ceiling on it there. I I'm expecting a title challenge, Brandon. That's where I'm at. I I I think we with this league in flux, we're not gonna give away too much, but it's the Tottenham boys making all the noise. Okay, World Cup, Pedro Porro, player of the tournament. I mean, we're we're seeing the Tottenham Boys start to start to percolate a little bit. We did have a question which brings down my mood quite a bit. Another one from Michael Collins just taking the absolute piss out of us. He says, Can Tottenham build on their strong finish and maybe even crack the top 10 this year? An absolute dickhead he is. Their strong finish, referring to them staying up on the last day. Yeah, tough. I'm just gonna I'm just gonna say wait and see, MC. Okay. I'll even go. I I I'm not gonna guarantee yet a better finish than Manchester United, but I want I want that to be out in the ether. And I would just remind him the last time Tottenham and Manchester United went head to head when it really mattered in Bill Bow for European glory. What happened there? Okay. So we're champions of Europe, beat you in the final. Just remember that. Remember your place, food chain.

SPEAKER_00

So respect your elders, Collins.

SPEAKER_01

That's right. It was it's not your daddy's Manchester United, where everybody wants to sign for them. You know, Sandro Tonale, Manchester United were interested in. He said, nah, I'm Tottenham Mate. Matias Fernandez, uh Manchester United were interested in, he said, nah, I'm Spurs. So just remember food chain. There's there's a little bit of a pecking order here. I I do think we we see a much better season from from Spurs, uh, but I I also think it's important to make sure that they finish the window as strong as they started the window.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yes. And Sean, it's it's obviously uh a new new year, new season. Spurs uh, of course, are our team, but we also now, Sean, have three newcomers coming into the league. Three teams coming up from the championship with uh three teams from the Premier League last season going down. What what do you know about these new teams? What are they bringing to the table? What what can we expect from those guys?

SPEAKER_01

I always love the promoted sides, Brandon. Yeah. At least at least when they're new or haven't been in the Premier League in the last few years, that's where it's special. I love seeing it. Let's start with the team who secured qualification last. That's whole city. They are favored to finish in 20th, which is last place, so they're facing an uphill battle. Yeah. In the prior two seasons, not last season, the two before, we saw the three teams that came up went straight back down. Last season we broke that trend. We had Sunderland with a great finish. I don't think Whole City will follow suit. It's very early. We have to see how these squads finalize, but they're back for the first time since 2016-2017. I just don't know that their level is anywhere close to even the other two promoted sides at this point. I think there's a clear pecking order amongst those three. And I think Whole City currently sit in third. Apparently, their owner does want to splash some cash around and give this thing a real go. We'll see what that looks like. But at this point, there haven't been any real encouraging signings that make me want to get on this program and say, hey, whole city are here to stay. We'll see how this squad, again, like I said, we'll see how it comes into form as we get near the start of the season. But right now, if I'm a whole fan, I'm kind of waiting at the edge of my seat for some transfer news because right now they're not currently constructed to survive a Premier League season. At least I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, okay, that's good to know. And for listeners that are newer to this, again, this is not an easy task whatsoever. Teams come up and their roles in the championship financially are different than the roles in the Premier League. So you basically have one summer to adopt and attract players to your club. Of course, your club isn't going to look as attractive to players because you're new to this league. Usually player usually teams can maybe sign one or two guys from a Premier League team that maybe they don't start or get a lot of minutes, or an older guy kind of at the end of his career. So Whole City, it's great to see them back in the Premier League, Sean. When I I feel like when I first started following soccer, Whole City was a Premier League mainstay. So it's great to see them up, but I I'd agree with you. It's it's gonna be very tough for honestly any of these three teams to make their mark and stay up.

SPEAKER_01

Some some pretty cool, unique orange kits for Whole City too. Orange and black logo. The Tigers. The Tigers. Yeah, not a bad look for them. So at least look, they'll look decent. And it's a changeup because we see a lot of similar jerseys sometimes in the Premier League. So excited to have them in the Premier League. We'll see what the squad looks like come match day one. A team that should be a little bit more optimistic. They were in the Premier League a couple seasons ago. It is Ipswich, the Tractor Boys. They are partially owned, but spiritually led by Ed Sheeran, I would say. They were sponsored by him the last few seasons. They had the mathematics tour, all of his albums kind of across the front of their jerseys. He's at a ton of matches after they got promotion. There's a video of him singing A-Team in the locker room with the lads. It's the stuff you love to see. I'm a big Ed Sheeran guy. It gives me a soft spot for Ipswich Town. I'm excited that they're back in. They're doing some stuff in the market, they're making some moves, kind of tinkering. I'm just not sure if it's the best stuff. Is it is it signings that make me go, oh, that's a statement of intent from Ipswich? No. But it's at least they're they're acknowledging the fact that they need to get better. And I think we're going to continue to see them do everything they can to strengthen the squad before the window closes. I would say I give them the second best odds of staying up of this group, at least at this point.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we love to see Ed Sheeran. We love to see him around the game. I know you mentioned you're a big Ed Sheeran guy. I'm a decently big Ed Sheeran fan as well. I'll see him in Philly in a few weeks here. I see you there. I see you there. Look at that. Look at that. The boys. Friends on football link up at the Ed Sheeran concert. We will be there. This is great boys. Yeah, the tractor boys making all the noise. No, but but in all seriousness, Sean, it's it's cool to see a star like him invest in this team and be around the team and support the team. I feel like so many stars we see just latch onto the Man Cities and Liverpool's and Arsenals of the world. So it's it's great to see him be a fan and but also put his money where his mouth is and sponsor the team and support them. I believe it's like his childhood club, so yeah, it's it's pretty cool that he's been able to grow with the team as well.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, he's born and raised Ipswich. There's some photos of him as a young boy where probably three or four years old, decked out in all Ipswich town gear. So he he's a lifer, and it's I mean, that's gotta be the dream, right? To be a lifelong fan of something and then eventually have such an influence on it. That's gotta be pretty cool. So we'll always be watching Ipswich, we'll be rooting for Ipswich if they're not playing Spurs, I would say. Absolutely. And then lastly, Brandon, the last promoted side, the team that won the championship last season, it is Coventry City. They won the league by 11 points. They are led by Frank Lampard, their manager, the former Chelsea legend. They have Haji Wright, an American. Can I interest you in an American playing in the Premier League? We got another one. Haji Wright enters the ranks. I do think they need to get busy. I think they have the best chance of surviving because they were the best team last season. I think they have a really good group. I think Lampard's done a great job with them. It's just the level needs to improve and go up a notch, and there are certain positions, especially across that back line, that I think they need to strengthen a little bit before this window closes. They have a nice midfield pivot of two really good players that they trust, and that's kind of the engine of their team. We'll see what the rest of the parts look like. I think all of these teams that are promoted, you gotta try to make the most of this opportunity. Splash the cash around, do whatever you can to stay up, just scratch and claw for one season, and then it just gets a little bit easier that next year. There's just a little bit more financial stability when you've been in the league for back-to-back seasons, and then next thing you know, you might be able to build a streak and become a mainstay. So that's the goal for all of them. I'll tell you this, we won't see all three of them survive. I think we'd be shocked if that were the case. But that's not to say that all three will go down either. So let's hope that we don't see all three of these guys go right back down. I think we're all rooting for a couple of them, maybe all of them, to stay up and make an impact on the Premier League this season that maybe we aren't expecting at this point.

SPEAKER_00

So, Sean, if that does happen, I gotta put you on the spot here, and I apologize. But who who's on who's on who's on watch to go down from the Premier League? Because if these guys all stay up, somebody's gotta go down.

SPEAKER_01

You know what, Brandon? I mentioned Nottingham Forest as the club that I thought could make a big jump. They would be the club I'd be rooting for to go down. I I used to agree with you. I used to have a soft spot for Nottingham Forest. I kind of like the logo. It's a cool team. They used to have European glory. Their owner, Maverikanos, Mavrapanos, whatever his name is, that big Greek loser.

SPEAKER_00

Marinakus, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Marinakis, that's right. Marinakis. He's an absolute doucher. He ruined Tottenham summer last year. Just absolutely boned Tottenham. And for that, I hate him forever. He also did my guy Big Ange wrong, brought Big Ange in for a cup of coffee, sacked him immediately. I'm out on Mavronakis. I don't want any part of him. So I do think Nottingham Forest will be much improved. But I I'm rooting for them to go down because I just think that would be very funny. But I don't think they will. If I had to pick Brandon the Club, a couple of clubs to place maybe just a little bit of concern on, I'd like to see Crystal Palace get better quick. They they they just keep selling a lot of good players and not really replacing them. It's an interesting strategy. We'll see how it pays off. I also think Leeds, they survived last season, but that doesn't mean they're gonna survive this season. I think they need to be just, they need to be on full alert. So I would say if I had to pick two right now, I would say probably Crystal Palace and Leeds. And again, if you wanted to really get crazy and pick a team that finished in the top 10 last year that could make a big drop, I would say maybe Brentford. I thought Brentford really outperformed expectations last season. I would expect them not to finish ninth. I would expect them not to finish in the top 12. Do I think they'll fall as far as a relegation spot? No, but crazier things have happened, so maybe that's a team I would just pick out of the lineup and say you could be on alert as well. Wow.

SPEAKER_00

No. I like the prediction. I appreciate you answering the on the spot question there, Sean, because it is great to see the new teams come up, but it's so hard for them to stay. And they need not only skill, but I feel like a little bit of luck, somebody else falling apart to maintain their place in the Premier League. So I I appreciate your answers. Nottingham Forest, my my true love for Nottingham Forest really started with Brendan Johnson. I I did a mystery kit box, and I got a Nottingham Forest kit, and I was like, I don't know anything about these guys. Look them up. I see this guy basically has my name. He also wore 22, which was my number playing. Oh wow. And I was like, I'm locked in with these guys. And then he came to Spurs and I'm like, this is my guy, literally my guy. Um so so I've been locked in with Forest for a few years now, but yeah, they they're an extremely interestingly run club. We'll just we'll just put it that way. I think Mir, you could be the manager for if we wanted it for a couple weeks, and then and then we'll inevitably just get fired, probably on the field after a game. But that's that's how they operate.

SPEAKER_01

And and they're they they have made managerial change for this season. It's Oliver Glasner now, who was at Palace. Yeah, they they pried him off Palace's hands. He won a couple of trophies with Palace. I think it's a great, great haul for Notting Force to get him in. He seems to be quite the dickhead, Oliver Glasner, but he's a winning dickhead. So you take that, you know what I mean? So that's part of why I think Forrest will have a pretty good campaign. I I do I do kind of agree. Notting Force, there's something cool about their logo, the jerseys, where they're located. It there's a bit of lore to it, and I I do agree. I do have a little bit of a soft spot. It's just that damn owner. But I think your guy Brandon Johnson needs to be careful, Brandon, because he could be in a relegation dogfight this year at Palace. He is a Tottenham legend, scored the winner in the Europa League final, but he things could change. He he he fought relegation off at Tottenham, he might have to do it again.

SPEAKER_00

Yep, yeah. No, it's it's interesting. Sean, just to a couple more segments before we close out here. Give me some other transfers that have happened maybe in the Premier League, but also around Europe. I know this is a more Premier League focused episode, but there have been some big things going on in some of the other domestic leagues.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think one of the big ones that's coming about this week is John Stones, who I mentioned left Manchester City. He's signing at Inter Milan. I think that's a good signing for Inter, the champions of Italy. They look to repeat again. I think they're favored to do so, and it's because they're able to make prudent signings like that one. I think John Stones, when he's fit, he's still a tremendous player. So even though he's getting on a bit in age, really good player, a player city we're willing to let go of because of those injury concerns and just the fact that they're able to replace him with a lot younger models. But it's a good signing for a club like Inter. The biggest news in the Transfer World Brandon is Jan Diamante. I said we don't deal in hypotheticals, but it does seem very likely that he will be joining Real Madrid. And I mean, he was our guy at the World Cup. The story about how he plays for his sister, who tragically passed away. It was all great to see for the Ivory Coast this summer. I'm interested in that signing, Yan Diamante playing for Jose Mourinho. That's interesting stuff. Absolute absolute scenes theater as we predicted. I don't know how it'll work out. I think he'll be good there, but what I am worried about then is what happens with Vinitius Jr., who has yet to sign that contract extension at Real Madrid. Also plays on the wing. They couldn't play opposite sides, but then you have Rodrigo in the mix when he's fit as well. You have Kylian Mbappe, who's not an actual fit with Vinicius Jr., because they both kind of want to play the same spot. That Vinicius Jr. saga is what I'm keeping my eye on the most, I think, because that probably has the biggest domino effect in European football this season. Do you would you be terrified if he ended up at Arsenal?

SPEAKER_00

Would not like it as a Vinetius fan. Oh, that needs to be. If he ends up at Arsenal, they just become even more hated. I mean, you know, biases take those out. Yeah, that they're flying at that point. If they play him on one side and Sacco on the other side, but yeah, I I don't want to see that. But you're right, like he's got to go somewhere, and he's the caliber of player who will start a domino of transfers. He he can pick his team and he will be in that team. I think Real Madrid might be the only team maybe he's not in the starter starting lineup for. So yeah, it's interesting.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's weird when there's a player of that caliber that moves because the pool of teams that can afford his contract or that can make a transfer of that size is very few. There's only two to three, four clubs in the entire world that can do that. Arsenal are unfortunately one of them as champions of the Premier League. Financially, they're in a pretty good spot, a powerful position. The big thing for me, Brandon, the all the money is in the Premier League, that's what we're seeing, is there's not a ton of other high, high level transfer news to report because a lot of the action seems to be coming from the richest clubs in the world, which all currently reside in England.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's it's definitely shaped that way and And I think it makes sense, Sean. We talk about some of the academies the Dortmund Academy, La Mesia, Barcelona's Academy. So these other countries, their top teams have been maybe a little bit more of, hey, let's build our guys rather than just buy them. And then you have teams like Bayern Munich who are so dominant, and then they can bring in whoever they want because they do have the money, but they play in a league where honestly it doesn't even matter. They're gonna win the league. But you know, you do your SB guarantees, this is a Brandon guarantee. Bayern Munich will win the Bundesliga again.

SPEAKER_01

That's yeah, it's that's big of you. It's really big prediction there. Yeah, they've only not won it one year in the last 13, I believe, and that was with Jabby Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen pulling off the shocking run. So I think you're pretty safe in that prediction. Brandon, I have another listener question to round out the show, and I'm gonna toss it your way first. This is from Jeremy Good. Ah Jeremy The Worm. Uh his question is let's say you're going to your first Premier League game in December. What would you what would you do to prepare? And what things should you do at the game beforehand?

SPEAKER_03

Oof.

SPEAKER_01

Follow-up question: What mementos should you buy at the game besides a scarf? Good question, Jeremy. Good question.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, Jared, I appreciate you. That's a that's a true reporter right there. He asked that one like a like the reporter he is. Jar, I would say, first of all, you gotta be ready for the weather. It's probably gonna be cold, so dress accordingly. I would say, Sean, Sean, you like to use this phrase, but get amongst it. I went to Tottenham uh last December, and we got to the stadium three, four hours before the match just to walk around the ground, just to see the vendors, talk to the people, just feel just just be in the atmosphere. And I think Jarrett, that's what you gotta do. You gotta get in the atmosphere, you gotta be in there. And then at the game, Mementos, that's that's an interesting one. Definitely a scarf. That would be the the one I would really push. I don't know how much what would do you know which team he's gonna go see.

SPEAKER_01

Uh Brandon, I kind of buried the lead there. He he is going to his first Premier League game, but he is going with me. So we are going we are going to a Tottenham match. Yes. After Christmas, we have plans to go to London for the week, and I believe our plan right now is to hit at least one Tottenham game. So sweet. I I was going to recommend the same things you were, though. You I was saying get amongst to get on the high road, take the two seven sisters, walk in, hit the pubs along the way. A scarf, though, I that is a good question. What else besides a scarf? I feel like a scarf is just the easy, easy answer. I'm a bit of a scarf clapper myself, as you can see. Yeah. So I don't know what else there is to. Ed Jair, if you want to go all in and pledge your fandom, a kit won't hurt.

SPEAKER_00

That's true. Yeah, a kit, a kit wouldn't kill him.

SPEAKER_01

A kit would definitely not kill him. Might be able to buy another player. You buy enough kits, Jeremy. We want money in the club here. I will say the VH gate either. Buy it from the club shop. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00

No, no, he can go to the team store. They got they got deals there. I got it. I got a couple steals last year. They do. But that team store, tell him he needs to uh budget in like two, three hours and probably two, three hundred dollars because that store is huge. He can get anything he wants in that place. Um also the power of the pound. It outweighs the dollar quite a bit. Power of the pound. Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

No, have it have a day, Jar. Honestly, get amongst it. Hit the pub, Sean. You're you're right. Take the tube. Don't know Ubers, none of that fancy stuff. Get amongst the people. And I know Jared, he's got he's got elevated taste. He'll want to take the Uber Black and have it drop off right at the gate. No, no, no, Jar. Jar, I'm sorry. I love you. You're my boy, but you you gotta you gotta do this one as the regular people do it. And and you really just feel the energy around it. Do you know which which uh match you guys are gonna go see?

SPEAKER_01

We're we're debating they play twice that week. They play on Boxing Day, which is I think we're gonna get over there for that, but it's also tough because that our flight we're planning tentatively to leave on Christmas night and get in on Boxing Day, so it would be kind of a same-day affair. But the plan would be Boxing Day against Bournemouth, and then if not, the Wednesday, December 30th is at home against Brighton. So two chances I will try to be at both games. Yeah, just because I mean that's where I need to be. But both great options, Jeremy, and you're lucky, Jerry. You have a fearless leader like like me, a seasoned vet at these games, been to two, and and I would love to make my third and fourth appearances with you.

SPEAKER_00

And and and get him on a tour, Sean. Get it, get him to the tour the day before the game if you can, Tuesday or something, if if you don't end up going to both games, because the tour's cool. Get to go in the dressing rooms and and and do that whole thing, step on the pitch a little bit. So we gotta convert him. I know he he's dancing around the Premier League following soccer, he does his thing, but he's got we gotta get him to dive in.

SPEAKER_01

That's a good way to wrap up the show, I think. Encourage everybody to hey, you might have heard something in here you like about a team. There might be something you read online or saw during the World Cup that attracted you to a team. Find a team and get yourself involved a little bit in the Premier League ahead of this season. We're going to keep ramping up the preview coverage. We'll get more and more in depth as we get closer. This was, I think, a good job by both of us here to just kind of set the table, get everybody back in the mood, back in the swing of things after a long World Cup summer.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, Sean, you're you're totally right. It's going back to our roots and and more to come on this. We'll we'll give you some hints on hey, if you're this kind of person, maybe this team works for you, or that, or this. So we'll we'll get into that. We'll do previews, we'll make some bold predictions like we always do. We thank you for the questions, keep them coming. We love to break it up, we love to answer what you guys want to hear about. So we appreciate the questions tonight, and we we want some more. Listeners, like, subscribe, tell a friend to tell a friend, and until next time, take care.

Contributor

Brandon Johnson

Host
Contributor

Shaun Boyle

Host