Congrats to LIV.
Congrats to the promoted teams Leeds, Burnley, Sunderland.
Big offseason, starting with CWC, and who will join teams (MCI, CHE) before then?
Then, there are the pre-season money-grab tours. Four teams playing three matches, and there are two matches each in CHI, ATL, NJ.
I assume other teams are also taking money wherever they can.
Not sure what golf has to do with English Premier League… but ok
So, have English bookmakers started giving odds on MUN being relegated after next season?
The new fixtures are out the new fixtures are out!!
No teasing for a week before, no out of country matches (yet).
They have NFL’ed a tradition that the champ plays before the others.
Oh, and some matches will be moved to Sunday due to Euro competition, some will be moved due to FA Cup advancement, some will be moved for unexpected tragedy, some might be moved for TV. I mean, there will be matches on nearly every Sunday, but only the first week has been finalized with dates and times.
Given that City paid a big fine last year for this too, I’m guessing they DNGAF and are willing to be fined for a little gamesmanship
The curse of unexpected success: you have to sell the team in order for them to play in Europa League:
De Bruyne’s long journey to Napoli.
Although Man U may need the money, this sounds like it could have been more expensive in the end because of the distraction factor.
I wonder how much the odds have dropped for CHE in betting, after the CWC win.
It is a different format from a group+knockout. And if the past is data, winning every match in the EPL is nearly a priority. I think the hardest part is knowing when to rest players. And they have to be rested. Rest them against relegation-bound teams, sure, but that sub had better be ready to win as well, else that resting player might have to come off the bench. Meanwhile, real competition in the UCL will occur eight times and each win in THAT competition (plus each advanced round) adds to CWC qualification. Winning UCL guarantees a bid, but otherwise an EPL team has to be in the top eight non-winners AND be in the top two of EPL teams by the end of the 27/28 season. Currently, CHE is not even in the top 20 of Europe and not in the top four EPL teams, per wiki.
Seems that EFL Cup and FA Cup will drop in importance for teams seeking CWC qualification, their making Sophie’s Choices when two important matches are too close together.
Nice tribute to Son.
Yes, yes, EPL greatest, blah blah.
What most people want to know is WHICH players have made the grade, which new players will make the grade?
Since the conclusion is “speed,” writer should hone in on those with last year’s measured speed that is around or above average.
My conclusion would be, “Some are ready most are not.” Actual split? No idea.
So you know the changes to the “rules”:
Good summary for anyone interested in the ownership structure of EPL clubs.
Paywall.
Anywho, starts today, first match of the year, always in a foreign land because have to build the brand, because money is the goal, not a Championship, Nationally televised cuz money,… wait, that’s the NFL.
Foreign-to-us land, at least. LIV-BOU. Nationally televised on USA Network.
Sorry. Can’t find a way to share this Athletic article even though if it is linked to my NYTimes subscription. Too bad because it is the best article ever!
Decent start.
Transfer window ain’t closed yet:
Speed is finally being discovered as the key.
Meanwhile, the LA Times has an article about the EPL needing to watch out for competition. This guy is usually honking up the wrong tree, so I read to see what errors he writes.
Here is one:
But what has really made the Premier League great is its relative balance. Although just seven teams have won a title in the league’s 32 seasons, that qualifies as parity in Europe, where Bayern Munich has won 12 of the last 13 German championships, PSG has won 11 of the last 13 French crowns and just one team not named Real Madrid or Barcelona has won the Spanish league in the last 21 years.
Note that the balance is not rigged by the League itself, unlike most American sports leagues where parity is enforced by salary caps or drafts that give the worst teams the best position.
The balance exists because each team must try each year to be better than three other teams, or else out The Moon Door. AND try to be one of the top 4 or 5 teams to earn even more money. Failing that, one of the top 8 teams to get to lower Euro leagues. Failing that, win one of two knockout competitions.
The EPL and most Euro soccer leagues are not about making sure the owners stay billionaires with a risk-free investment.
The challenge now for the Premier League is staying on top. When the EPL came into being, Serie A and La Liga were widely considered the best leagues in the world, winning a combined six Champions League titles between 1990 and 2000. But financial issues, tactical stagnation and a lack of investment in infrastructure combined to sink Italian soccer while La Liga became so top-heavy, with superclubs Barcelona and Real Madrid choking off all competition, that it became a league of two Goliaths and 18 Davids.
Nothing about who the challengers are. Only noting that Serie A and LaLiga got less competitive due to actions that don’t seem to be happening nor going to happen in the EPL. Oh, maybe two teams, MCI and LIV, start blowing out every other team but each other. Or maybe it’s LIV and ARS, or ARS and CHE, or CHE and AVL,…
EPL doesn’t seem overly worried about signing stars without having any money to do it. Meanwhile NWSL is signing players and I’m not sure where that money is coming from. That is an NASL-type disaster waiting to happen.
Wow, LIV put on a show.
They are clearly missing Alex Arnold’s tenacious D