Liverpool’s marketing department once coined a phrase that split opinion among fans.

Depending on which side of the fence Liverpool supporters sat, ‘This Means More’ was either an anglicised take on Barcelona’s 'Mes Que Un Club' – "more than a club" – ethos or a cheap strapline to hook in potential customers yearning for a sense of belonging. But for Jurgen Klopp, something really did mean more during his time at Anfield.

As his already depleted charges clung on for dear life against Chelsea’s financial juggernaut in the 2024 Carabao Cup final, the German went for broke. He flooded the Reds’ line-up with players forged almost exclusively in the developmental wing of the club’s AXA Training Centre.

Jarell Quansah, Jayden Danns, James McConnell, Trey Nyoni and Bobby Clark led a charge which culminated in Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time winner. Klopp described it as ‘easily the most special trophy I ever won’; no mean feat considering he already counted a Champions League on an impressive honour roll.

Alan Hansen’s infamous edict that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’ was disproved by his former club as a team of callow youth held their own against one that Gary Neville dubbed ‘blue billion-pound bottle jobs’ and offered a glimmer of hope that the tide could be stemmed, if only slightly. Fast-forward two years since that Wembley triumph and the club’s homegrown core is now facing a genuine existential threat.

Klopp previously spoke of his dream that the Reds could, potentially in the next decade, field 'a team full of Scousers' because they would 'fight like crazy'. Ironically, the player who commanded that soundbite, in July 2020, has delivered a hammer blow to his utopian vision.

Curtis Jones's departure to Inter Milan is set to mark the end of an era for the club's local heartbeat. In each of the past 33 seasons, a homegrown player has made at least one Premier League appearance for their boyhood heroes; a lineage that can also be traced back to the beginning of their 134-year history, with Philip Kelly becoming the first in a long list of what Kopites would later vaunt as ‘a Scouser in our team’. The Toxteth-born midfielder’s Serie A move, a year before his existing contract had been due to expire, risks changing all that.

Little over 12 months since Trent Alexander-Arnold walked away from the club that helped make him one of the world’s finest full-backs, Anfield chiefs were determined to avoid history repeating itself. The finders’ fee which Inter paid, in the region of £30m, is small change in relation to what will be lost by Jones pursuing more regular opportunities away from his roots.

Liverpool’s academy has long been a source of both pride and intrigue. Under the tutelage of Steve Heighway, a fabled winger in the club’s 1970s dominance period, numerous Scousers rose through the ranks to become household names. From Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler to Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, local lads routinely came good on Merseyside at a time when only Manchester United’s Class of 92 had a more prolific output among established Premier League clubs. At a time when local match-goers were already finding their place at Anfield pushed to the margins by increasing ticket costs, they continued to represent the last authentic link between the stands and the pitch.

They also doubled as a reference point for incoming players getting to grips with the unique culture that still exists around the club.

For a time, however, that trail ran cold. Four sides in the club’s history have won the FA Youth Cup but the move from formative to first team proved a difficult gap to bridge for those who followed in Carragher's footsteps. Gerrard’s breakthrough in the immediate afterglow of the 1996 win over a West Ham squad containing fellow future stars Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand proved to be the last to make the grade as a regular figure in the senior setup.

Those capable of stepping up also found themselves caught in the crossfire as a pitched battle between the Kirkby centre of excellence and the Anfield dugout, where Gerard Houllier and Rafael Benitez both attempted to wrest control of the youth policy, raged. Attempts to redress the imbalance by enlisting former Barca youth coaches Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura, who played key roles in Lionel Messi’s rise, to oversee development had little effect on reversing what was already lasting damage. Local players that did go on to make semi-regular outings in that period ultimately played second fiddle to a talent pool which had drawn from far beyond the River Mersey’s enclave, most notably Raheem Sterling.

Through it all, Carragher and Gerrard continued to serve as standard bearers while Jon Flanagan briefly flew the flag after the latter’s departure until Alexander-Arnold – the real 'Scouse Cafu' – stepped up in Klopp’s first full season as the latest local totem. He was followed three years later by Jones, who emerged after being imparted with the former captain’s wisdom during his brief spell as the club’s under-18 manager.

Both players became Liverpool’s first local-born players since Gerrard to make over 200 appearances and made no secret of their respective personal targets to emulate him further by taking full ownership of the armband. Barring a prodigal return, something that is more difficult for Alexander-Arnold after last summer’s fractious exit, neither will realise that aim.

Burning ambition drove the pair’s moves overseas, but they are not the only ones to develop cabin fever within the former Kirkby crop. Although Merseyside-born rather than in Liverpool itself, Quansah and Tyler Morton also pursued transfers abroad with Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon, which have already paid dividends away from fleeting first-team involvements. A debut season in the Bundesliga elevated the Warrington-born defender to a place in England’s World Cup squad this summer while Morton, a holding midfielder, has thrived after being given free rein in Ligue 1. It was a similar story for fellow non-native Caoimhin Kelleher, who made the 'easy' decision of leaving for Brentford after his own path to succeeding Alisson as first-choice goalkeeper was inexplicably blocked by Giorgi Mamardashvili. Fans have continued to track the trio's progress from afar, somewhat wistfully, in hopes that their club's hierarchy will someday realise the error of its ways in sanctioning their sales.

Jones’s immediate replacements at the local vanguard, meanwhile, are conspicuous by their absence. Danns remains the sole survivor in Andoni Iraola’s current squad but has been beset by injury problems over the past 12 months. The striker only made his long-awaited return to action in last week’s tempestuous ‘mini derby’ with Everton U21s at Goodison Park.

A prospective run in the side appears increasingly improbable with record signing Alexander Isak leading the line, Hugo Ekitike’s looming return and a pursuit of more attacking reinforcements such as PSG’s Bradley Barcola expected before the transfer window closes. Iraola is well-versed on the importance of local identity after spending almost his entire playing career at Athletic Club, whose ‘cantera’ policy is notorious for an intake of players that are either of Basque origin or birth. He was forthright about a desire to keep Jones at all costs, using his inaugural address to underline the importance of a local nucleus. But if the Basque head coach gets off to a rocky start, as he did at Bournemouth, opportunities for Danns to stake a claim in and around the first team will be further limited.

At a time when youth development is front and centre for many of their Premier League rivals, Liverpool are in danger of falling away. Reigning champions Arsenal continue to thrive with Hale End graduates Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly while Manchester City have made Phil Foden and Nico O’Reilly focal points in their brave new era under Enzo Maresca. Even Chelsea, the aforementioned billionaire bottlers, count Reece James and Levi Colwill from their Cobham pipeline. United also continue to proudly boast of fielding a homegrown player in every matchday squad since 1937.

Klopp’s tempered his vision of an authentically local team by admitting he would settle in the interim for becoming a club where everyone with ‘a Scouse soul’ wanted to play. That may be all which Liverpool have left to cling with no legitimate successors readily available to assume to the mantle recently vacated by Jones's move to Italy.

A banner displayed at Anfield on last season’s final day in tribute to departing stalwarts Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah asked, ‘When will we see your like again’. The same question can now be posed about the next Scouser to don the famous red shirt.

Leeds United have a golden opportunity to match or even eclipse their best Premier League finish in the modern era this season, and walking away from an expensive loan move is further evidence they are on track to achieve just that.

Mykhaylo Mudryk joining up with Daniel Farke's group at Elland Road never seemed a natural fit, even if the Ukrainian's talent is undeniable. While some may frame it as an inability to get a marquee signing over the line, it is probably more likely a reflection of the security Leeds have, across the board, in 2026.

Last term, the Whites signed Facundo Buonanotte on a second-half-of-the-season loan deal but the Argentine rarely played, never mind delivered. Given Mudryk's history, Farke's reluctance to guarantee game-time and the likely cost of bringing the attacker to Yorkshire, it always felt one that probably wouldn't get done.

Leeds' previous best since returning to the top flight was ninth (2020/21) under Marcelo Bielsa

Through a certain lens, this so-called transfer failure is perhaps the clearest declaration of intent Leeds have made all summer. Unwilling to compromise their long-term wage structure or bend to Chelsea's inflated game-time expectations for an unpredictable player, both sides have politely walked away.

Far from a setback, it is FourFourTwo's opinion that it will prove to be a bullet dodged, and a sign of maturity.

To appreciate how far Leeds have come, one must view this financial prudence through the prism of their volatile past.

Throughout the modern Premier League era, punctuated by emotional promotions in 2020 and 2025, stability has been fleeting, almost mythical at Elland Road.

The famous early 2000s heyday, filled with European nights, ultimately came at a crippling cost, built on borrowing that plunged the club into almost two decades of turmoil. You would have to rewind all the way to the early 1990s under Howard Wilkinson to find an era where Elland Road felt quite this grounded, structured, and secure.

Under the stewardship of 49ers Enterprises, Leeds are in safe, capable hands. The strategy during this transfer window has been surgical rather than superficial. Instead of chasing vanity projects, the board has systematically upgraded the starting lineup by bringing in top-tier talents like James Trafford, Tarik Muharemovic, and Harry Wilson.

Crucially, they have balanced the books through shrewd player trading, sanctioning Pascal Struijk’s move to Brighton without weakening the squad’s underlying foundation.

That sense of calm extends directly onto the pitch, where Farke has embarked on his fourth full season in charge.

Tactical and managerial continuity is a rare commodity in modern football, but Farke’s approach continues to pay dividends. Leeds kicked off their campaign with an away victory at Nottingham Forest last weekend - a venue where Forest lost just seven home games last term and won nine the year before. It could come to be seen as a statement victory that underlines their growing authority away from home. Leeds won only twice on the road last season.

While Leeds enjoy continuity, transition and uncertainty surrounds much of the division. This summer saw nine managerial changes at Premier League clubs, six of which occurred at teams Leeds consider direct positional rivals: Bournemouth, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Ipswich, and Forest.

While other dressing rooms are learning as they go under new leadership, Leeds have a settled, unified core. Key players Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Brenden Aaronson, and Jayden Bogle have all recently committed their long-term futures to the West Yorkshire club.

The underlying metrics further validate this upward trajectory. Since December 1, 2025, Leeds have accumulated nine victories, twelve draws, and just five defeats across twenty-six top-flight matches - the sixth-best record in the entire division over that period. It is no longer a temporary purple patch, rather sustained momentum from a club seemingly functioning with operational alignment.

The broader landscape represents a window of opportunity. With nine Premier League clubs burdened by the physical and mental demands of European competition, Leeds can channel their energy exclusively into domestic affairs. Free from midweek travel, squad rotation headaches, and fixture congestion, a settled Leeds side is perfectly positioned. Rejecting expensive shortcuts like Mudryk proves that Leeds value sustainability over optics, and that discipline is precisely why a top-ten Premier League finish is well within their reach.

While lots of football media write content around ‘what we learned’ from a match, this was a case of ‘what we already know’.

What most Liverpool observers already knew:

1. There’s a huge issue with the midfield

2. Liverpool are far too open on the transition

3. The full backs, especially Jeremie Frimpong, are major concerns

4. Alexander Isak doesn’t look like a Liverpool player

Liverpool’s issues were as clear at St James’ Park as they have been for a year, and in some cases well over a year.

The primary one is the midfield - both the setup and the personnel used.

“We’ve been talking about a defensive midfielder at Liverpool for the last three years,” assessed Daniel Sturridge accurately post-match.

Liverpool have midfield issues

Plenty of others have warned of it, going back to the very start of last season when Arne Slot changed his midfield setup to a ‘2-1’ rather than a ‘1-2’ - removing a more dedicated defensive minded holding midfielder and instead having two players alongside each other in midfield.

It means a completely changed role for Ryan Gravenberch, whose best six months came when he was positioned as more proactive ‘No.6’ in front of the defence in Slot’s first season in charge.

It was also done to accommodate Florian Wirtz as the new No.10 - something that Iraola has doubled down on and stated is where he, too, wants the German to play.

This is despite Wirtz’s best form with both Bayer Leverkusen and Germany being from a position on the left of an attacking three, cutting inside, and all evidence of his struggle centrally for Liverpool. Hooked after an hour at Newcastle, the £116 million signing is a major worry.

“If you actually analyse the midfield, they’re all naturally more attacking players,” Sturridge said on Sky Sports - which is certainly true. Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wirtz are offensive players, or at least want to be, and don’t have the natural defensive mindset of the likes of Fabinho or Rodri.

And it is perhaps Rodri who should be the signpost here to anybody saying that Liverpool supporters obsess over wanting a No.6 - of course they do, they saw firsthand how Fabinho transformed their midfield under Jurgen Klopp, and the whole league has watched how crucial Rodri has been to Manchester City.

The lighthouse was how former Liverpool assistant Pepijn Lijnders nicknamed Fabinho, for his ability to ‘organise the chaos’ and ‘defend forward. “On the defensive side of things, you have to be very alert to help the team,” said Liverpool’s former Brazilian. "I try to control the game.”

Liverpool severely lack a midfielder capable of controlling the game.

Arguably the best option there would be Alexis Mac Allister, whose introduction for the final half an hour saw him play more defensively than Gravenberch.

The Argentine does a similar role for his country, and did well there for a spell under Klopp previously too, even though, again, it’s not his natural game to be more defensive minded.

What Andoni Iraola says

Newcastle’s opening goal in particular showed the issue, with Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, the two midfielders, inside the Newcastle box as the counter-attack began.

It’s something that happened frequently last season, including when Antoine Semenyo charged through the middle in Liverpool’s opening fixture of 2025/26 for Iraola’s Bournemouth.

Now, the Reds’ new head coach needs to find a solution to a problem he previously identified as the opposition manager.

“I think it’s just not personnel,” he said in his post-match press conference at St James’ Park. “We have to adapt as a team to these situations and we have to know that these situations can happen.”

“It is something that we have to correct between a lot of players,” the Spaniard added.

Liverpool's invisible No. 6 search

Liverpool have needed a defensive-minded midfielder since Fabinho departed. That was in 2023, a summer that saw attempts to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia end in failure and eventually Wataru Endo was brought in in a surprise move.

"We need you,” Klopp told the Japan midfielder as they greeted at the training ground for the first time. "We really need you, and your heart, and your legs and your football ability and your football brain. Your desire, we need it.”

Little has changed in the three years since. Liverpool still need a midfielder of those qualities.

Mamadou Sangare, who debuted impressively for Brentford in their win against Tottenham, was reported to be among the players Liverpool were monitoring but didn’t move for this summer - a player who has the attributes and approach towards defending in the middle that fans crave.

Martin Zubimendi was another failed attempt at a signing two years ago, less of a combative defensive midfielder but more of a controlling one - Rodri’s deputy for Spain, it probably wasn’t a bad idea, even if he’s fallen out of favour under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

Adam Wharton is a player who has long looked destined to end up at Anfield, having been tracked since his Blackburn days. He again falls more into the control than combat category, but he’d certainly add something different in Liverpool’s midfield.

But for now, it appears the No. 6 fans wish for won’t be arriving, with recent reports suggesting that internal figures at the club don’t see it as a position that is required to be strengthened. Not many observers would agree.

Liverpool fans must hope Iraola finds a solution, and fast, otherwise it threatens to undermine any progress made in attacking areas this season.

Signing new wingers might help the situation by giving more pace and threat out wide, but it certainly won't solve it.

Liverpool debutant Jeremy Jacquet was thrown into the deep end during Sunday's 2-2 draw against Newcastle United.

The young French centre-back experienced a baptism of fire at St. James' Park, likening the atmosphere on Tyneside to one of European football's most notoriously intimidating arenas.

Jacquet, 21, recently completed his transfer to Anfield following an impressive rise through the ranks in Ligue 1.

Jeremy Jacquet: 'St James' Park is like Marseille's Stade Velodrome'

Handed his Premier League bow in front of 52,000 roaring Geordies, the highly-rated defender found himself thrust into the thick of a fiercely contested battle.

The clash saw Liverpool and Newcastle trade blows, ultimately sharing the spoils after a frantic ninety minutes that ended in a 2-2 draw. While the action on the pitch was at times breathless, it was the relentless noise from the terraces that left a lasting impression on the newcomer.

Speaking to French broadcaster Canal Plus, as quoted by Get French Football News, after the final whistle, Jacquet drew parallels between Newcastle's home and Olympique de Marseille's famous Stade Velodrome.

Across France and the wider European continent, Marseille's home ground is revered and feared in equal measure. It carries a reputation as an ear-splitting cauldron of hostility, where ultras create a visually spectacular and loud environment for visiting teams.

It seems the Geordie faithful managed to replicate that wall of sound on Sunday afternoon, offering the young Frenchman a stark welcome to the English top flight.

“The atmosphere? It wasn't bad. It reminded me a bit of the Velodrome," the young defender confessed. "It's an iconic stadium, fans shouting everywhere. That's why I'm here. I like that."

The newly arrived centre-back claimed to relish the intimidation, taking the St. James' Park decibel levels in his stride, although he was substituted during the second half for the more experienced Ronald Araujo, on loan at Liverpool from Barcelona.

When you hear the term ‘yo-yo club’, the team that springs to mind probably depends on the era that you started watching football.

For me, it’s West Bromwich Albion, who were promoted from the Championship four times and relegated from the Premier League on three occasions between 2002 and 2010.

Ipswich Town are the latest club to slip into a yo-yo existence, where they are too good for one division but seemingly not good enough for the league above, with Gary O’Neil’s side heavily tipped to go straight back down after promotion last term.

The three clubs Ipswich must emulate to shed the yo-yo tag

This is the fifth successive season in which the Tractor Boys have been in a different division, achieving back-to-back promotions to the Premier League in 2022/23 and 2023/24, before relegation in 2025 was followed by promotion.

It took them until November 10 to claim their first win when they were last in the top flight, but they ticked that off straight away this season, beating Sunderland 2-1 in Saturday’s opening game.

You would think that clubs who return to the Premier League at the first time of asking would be more likely to survive, but that’s rarely the case. In fact, 10 of the past 13 teams who gained an immediate return to the top flight went straight back down.

For example, it has happened to Burnley twice in the past four seasons: after dropping out of the Premier League in 2022, promotions in 2023 and 2025 were followed by relegations in 2024 and 2026 respectively.

But the Clarets are also one of just three clubs since 2013 to buck the trend, having been relegated in 2014/15, won the Championship the following campaign and stayed up in 2016/17.

The other two are Newcastle United, in 2017/18, and Fulham, who finally beat the drop in 2022/23 after one-season spells in the Premier League in 2018/19 and 2020/21.

So, what did these clubs get right and how can Ipswich follow their lead? Here are three reasons why the Tractor Boys are better-placed for survival this time around.

A settled defence

For Burnley in 2016/17 and Newcastle the season after, survival was built on an impressive defensive record. The Clarets finished 16th but had the 11th-best defence in the Premier League, while only six teams in 2017/18 conceded fewer goals than the Magpies, who ended the campaign 10th.

If Ipswich are to stay up, they must significantly improve on the 82 goals they conceded during their 2024/25 relegation season - and there are reasons to suggest they can.

After a leaky start to life in the Championship last term, the Tractor Boys kept 11 clean sheets from Boxing Day onwards to end the campaign with the joint second-best defensive record in the division.

Their back four against Sunderland featured three members of last season’s squad: captain Dara O’Shea, centre-back Jacob Greaves and left-back Leif Davis, who were also all part of the relegation campaign. Completing the defence was summer signing Issa Diop, who has spent the past eight years in the Premier League with West Ham United and Fulham.

Burnley’s 2016/17 defence had similar continuity, with three first-choice players - goalkeeper Tom Heaton, Ben Mee and Michael Keane - all relegated with the club two seasons earlier.

The likes of O’Shea, Greaves and Davis will have learnt from their experience two seasons ago, which should help Ipswich tighten up at the back.

Finding the right blend

Ipswich’s longest-serving players could be especially important considering the number of signings the club have made this summer.

The Tractor Boys have spent around £150m on 12 first-team players and could beat Sunderland’s record outlay for a newly-promoted club, of £161m, which was set last season.

Admittedly, Ipswich spent more than £100m two summers ago and still went down, but they can follow the blueprint of Fulham in 2022/23.

The Cottagers made some excellent signings to help them finish 10th, including Bernd Leno, Joao Palhinha and Willian, but the team was built around a spine of existing players such as Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Harrison Reed and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Ipswich’s starting XI against Sunderland featured seven summer additions, with Julio Enciso and opening goalscorer Emersonn impressing, but also four survivors from last season’s squad, while another, Jack Clarke, came off the bench to bag the winner.

While Sunderland showed last season that a complete overhaul of the starting XI can bring success, O’Neil would be well-advised to maintain that blend of familiar figures and fresh faces.

A streaky streak

For Ipswich, the big unknown is in the dugout.

Kieran McKenna led the club from 12th in League One to the Premier League, so it felt like a huge blow when the Northern Irish manager stepped down in June, after delivering a third promotion in four seasons.

However, O’Neil has twice led sides to survival in the Premier League - Bournemouth in 2022/23 and Wolves the following campaign - and the way he did it could benefit the Tractor Boys.

Both clubs had fairly streaky form, with the Cherries taking six points from 13 games mid-season, then 18 from nine matches in March and April. It was the reverse at Wolves, where a run of 22 points from 11 fixtures was followed by five points from 10.

There are similarities with Newcastle in 2017/18 and Fulham in 2022/23. The Magpies took one point from nine games in late 2017, while four straight wins were followed by four successive defeats in the spring.

Fulham also had runs of four wins and four defeats, while at one point they didn’t draw a single game for three months.

In a relegation fight, it is better to be streaky than to pick up wins here and there, as a bad run can be followed by bursts of points that move you much closer to survival.

Ipswich drew 10 games in 2024/25 but won just four, so if O’Neil still has a streaky streak, the Tractor Boys will pick up more victories and have a better chance of shedding the yo-yo tag.

For some reason, Jon Bon Jovi was in the crowd at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday evening to watch Brentford take on Tottenham.

It would be too easy to reach for a Bon Jovi joke, but the visitors’ desperate defending relied on hope, faith and luck in an opening game that could easily have ended in a 5–0 defeat.

An unmarked Keane Lewis-Potter opened the scoring on 12 minutes, and a Richarlison mistake swiftly led to a second, but the goals were symptoms of a bigger story.

Tottenham at sixes and sevens in Premier League opener

Tottenham made seven changes from their last competitive game; many players had never played together, and midfielder Archie Gray had to fill in at right-back.

The result was a side that looked naïve, under-schooled and unprepared — less like a team than a collection of strangers still learning each other’s names. They also played every bit like an outfit that has finished 17th in the last two seasons.

Mikey Moore, 19, was the clearest example of the problem. Just back from a loan spell in Glasgow, he was almost invisible for the first 35 minutes. He later found himself in front of goal three times and, while he forced a save from goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher each time, still lacks a predator's instinct and remains in an awkward teenager phase. He needs to be shipped back out on loan somewhere that will put more hairs on his chest.

It is the manager who must take responsibility for the strangers he has assembled; this was easily Roberto De Zerbi’s worst performance. Making Gray, 20, Tottenham’s youngest-ever captain was a baffling decision, as was playing both kids on the same wing. Veteran James Maddison, who came on late and made little impact, was part of a squad dinner that De Zerbi organised in Mayfair during last season’s relegation battle. These kinds of team-bonding exercises clearly haven’t worked at Tottenham. A posh dinner can unite a bunch of players over three courses; it cannot make them a team.

The Spurs defence looked like strangers, too. It was at sixes and sevens for Michael Kayode’s third on 49 minutes, and six minutes later only an Igor Thiago penalty miss prevented a fourth. There were brief glimpses of brightness for Tottenham: Mathys Tel’s skill on the ball and Lucas Bergvall’s incessant engine. But individual flashes are not the same as cohesion.

The game will be remembered for some miserable debuts: Jan Paul van Hecke, who couldn’t win a header, and £100m signing Sandro Tonali, who was totally dominated by Mamadou Sangaré.

At full time, Tonali moped off the field with a swapped Brentford shirt over his shoulders, though who knows why he would want a souvenir from such a torrid game.

Tonali's shooting only troubled spectators in the upper stands, who chanted “What a waste of money!” Tottenham desperately need help up front from Manchester City winger Savinho, with a reported £75m initial fee, who, if his move is completed and he is registered in time, could appear against Charlton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. But another new signing would only add to the sense that Tottenham are assembling strangers, not teammates.

The stadium DJ also resisted the urge to play Bon Jovi’s hit “Livin’ on a Prayer,” which describes a struggling couple who keep going only because they believe things can improve. It also describes the malady of being a Tottenham supporter.

As the sun dipped behind the stadium and darkness descended on Hounslow, one of the 1,725 travelling Spurs fans was pictured with his arms stretched wide in the manner of “can things get any worse?”

The tiny ground of O Vao sits just a few yards from the beach in Coruxo, on the west coast of Spain. Not far from the Portuguese border and just outside Vigo, the venue holds only 1,500 people, but was where arguably the most pivotal match of Andoni Iraola's managerial career took place.

In December 2019, Iraola was the manager of Mirandes – appointed not long after they'd been promoted to the Segunda Division. It was his first job as a gaffer in Spain, having been sacked just eight months into a stint with Cypriot club AEK Larnaca.

The early stages at Mirandes weren't all plain sailing, either. The club from Burgos province, close to Iraola's native Basque Country, won just one of their opening 10 league games under the new boss, to sit second bottom of the table. Even Racing Santander, who would eventually finish bottom by a distance, beat them 4-0.

Just when form started to pick up, Mirandes headed west to face Coruxo – of the 80-team third tier, split across four regional divisions in Spain – in the first round of the Copa del Rey. As the game entered stoppage time Coruxo led 4-3, on course for a major upset. Then came a controversial equaliser from the penalty spot – in the angry aftermath, the hosts had two players sent off, and Mirandes triumphed 5-4 in extra-time.

“Total madness,” was how one media outlet described a game that veered to and fro, like it was Liverpool vs Alaves in 2001's UEFA Cup final. “Coruxo deserved to win,” Iraola admitted post-match.

A whirlwind six weeks later, Mirandes had progressed to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for just the second time in their history, defeating La Liga trio Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Villarreal along the way. It was a cup run that alerted many to Iraola's budding managerial talent including the person who would be instrumental in taking him to Anfield this past summer.

Michael Edwards, Liverpool's chief executive of football when Iraola was hired in June, had known about him for a long time. Edwards had tried to lure Iraola to the club once before – as long ago as 2013, when the Basque was a 31-year-old right-back at Athletic Bilbao. Iraola spent almost all of his career at the club, making more than 500 appearances.

Liverpool were pushing for the Premier League title under Brendan Rodgers, midway through the campaign that would end with Steven Gerrard's slip against Chelsea, and considering adding competition to Glen Johnson at full-back. Edwards was then the club's director of technical performance, and had asked scout Julian Ward to contact Iraola's representatives. Ward went to watch him captain Athletic Bilbao to a November win over Malaga, before Liverpool expressed their interest in making a January move.

Iraola was tempted, and thought carefully before opting to sign a new contract at Athletic Bilbao – when Johnson got injured later that season, Jon Flanagan ended up filling in, even earning praise from Cafu. When Iraola informed Liverpool of his decision, unusually he accompanied it with a letter thanking them for their interest – saying he wished to play at Anfield one day, praising the ability of Johnson, and joking that he was surprised they still wanted him after watching the game at Malaga, when he didn't think he'd played that well. Edwards appreciated the letter, and kept an eye on Iraola's progress when he became a manager.

Mirandes understandably didn't go on to win the 2020 Copa del Rey, defeated by the Real Sociedad of Martin Odegaard, Alexander Isak and Mikel Oyarzabal in the semis. The one glaring absence from Iraola's otherwise impressive CV is the lack of a major trophy as either a manager or a player, despite coming astonishingly close several times.

Under Marcelo Bielsa, Iraola was part of the Athletic Bilbao side that reached the Europa League final in 2012, beating Manchester United at Old Trafford on the way. In the Bucharest showpiece though, Atletico Madrid beat them 3-0. “I don't know when an opportunity like this will happen to us again,” Iraola said. Athletic Bilbao haven't made it to a European final since.

Iraola was involved in five finals as a player and lost them all. The other four were all against Barcelona – one in the Spanish Super Cup, and three in the Copa del Rey. By the last, the 2015 Copa del Rey final against Barça's famous MSN front line, Iraola was getting a little fed up – particularly when a showboating Neymar pulled off a rainbow flick to rub in victory late on. “I didn't find it elegant or sporting,” the defender said.

He remained a nearly man at the very highest level. Iraola won seven caps for Spain during an era when they bagged three trophies, but his debut came a month after their Euro 2008 glory, aged 26. He wasn't selected for the triumphant World Cup squad in 2010, and was then ruled out of Euro 2012 through injury, just when it looked as though he might have made the cut.

When he became a manager however, it presented a new opportunity to climb to the pinnacle of the game.

On the face of it, being sacked only eight months into his first job looked like a failure, but the reality was more nuanced. At AEK Larnaca, Iraola made an instant impact, guiding them through three qualifying rounds to reach the Europa League group stage. In the league, they won six of their first eight games, but then didn't triumph in seven, and Iraola was fired.

“He did a fantastic job because we got to the Europa League group stage,” French striker Florian Taulemesse told NC-Network, a Cypriot media platform, also crediting a backroom staff member who has followed Iraola to Anfield. “He had a great strength and conditioning coach with him, Pablo de la Torre – the way he wanted us to play, we had to be in peak condition.

“Iraola was all about the high press, then every time we recovered the ball, he wanted to see vertical passes, not backward passes. He encouraged us to cross the ball from wide areas and shoot at the first opportunity. High press, recover the ball, create openings, shoot – do that again and again; attack, attack! Our wingers were fast, making us dangerous in transition.

“While it was his first experience as a head coach, he wasn't anxious. He was a calm coach who gave us a lot of confidence. But it became difficult mixing domestic football with European competition, because we were a Cypriot club with a small budget. We got a few injuries to key players and didn't have much depth. In Cyprus, three bad results get a manager sacked.”

That wasn't the case at Mirandes, where he recovered from his slow start, steering the club to 11th in the Segunda Division, as well as that Copa del Rey semi-final, before opting to leave the club when his one-year contract ended.

He joined Rayo Vallecano, who had finished just four places above Mirandes but had a history of playing in the top division semi-regularly – albeit often as overperforming minnows, at a stadium that holds less than 15,000. Within 12 months, Iraola took Rayo back to La Liga once more via the play-offs.

The progress didn't end there – they finished 12th in their first year back in La Liga and reached the Copa del Rey semis. Like at Mirandes, it was only the second time Rayo had ever got that far in the competition, having also narrowly avoided an embarrassing first-round exit – this time thanks to a penalty shootout victory at fifth-tier Guijuelo.

Rayo also caught the eye by beating Barcelona home and away – in the following campaign, they took four more points off the Camp Nou side. That made Iraola only the sixth boss in La Liga history to avoid defeat against Barça in any of his first four games facing them as a manager, and the first since Javier Clemente in the early 1980s. Some revenge for all those cup final defeats to Barcelona as a player.

“We weren't going to take the ball away from Barça the whole time, so we had to choose what to cover and direct the pressure towards their creators, and who was going to receive the ball,” Iraola explained after his fourth game against them, a 2-1 home triumph at Vallecas. “We didn't let them have the structure they wanted, and in the transitions we were dangerous.”

Iraola remains unbeaten against Barça today, having left Rayo at the end of his contract that summer, after improving their league position again to 11th. That February, Leeds had been rebuffed in their attempts to hire him, with Rayo unwilling to let him go before the end of his deal. West Ham were also linked, but it was Bournemouth who got their man, having surprisingly fired Gary O'Neil to create an opening for him – a move that had echoes of Southampton's sacking of Nigel Adkins to recruit Mauricio Pochettino in 2013, after the Argentine had impressed at Espanyol.

The end result was similar, too: like Pochettino at St Mary's, Iraola oversaw consistent progress at the Vitality Stadium, even if he got off to another slow start, winning none of his first nine league games. Having finished 15th the season before Iraola's arrival though, Bournemouth improved to 12th, then ninth, and then sixth last term as they qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. Again, he opted to move on when his contract expired.

His destination was unclear at that point – Manchester United and Chelsea were linked, but opted to place their trust in others, with Crystal Palace also waiting in the wings before Liverpool's decision to sack Arne Slot opened the door to Anfield. While Chelsea chose Xabi Alonso ahead of Iraola, the Reds preferred Iraola to Alonso – believing he was a better fit for the heavy metal football they wanted to return to, after such success under Jurgen Klopp.

Iraola is Liverpool's first Spanish boss since Rafa Benitez, although former Reds defender John Arne Riise thinks they're not that similar. “They're very different characters when it comes to how they communicate with players and how they act on the bench,” says the Norwegian, who played under Benitez. “I've watched Iraola on the touchline and he looks more energetic, more involved with his body language.

“Rafa was much more about strict tactics and a bit more cold-faced – I mean nothing bad by that because I had a great relationship with him, but I think players today will have more close, one-on-one conversations with Iraola than we typically had with Rafa.

“I liked the way Iraola's Bournemouth played by attacking with real pace and power, and how quickly they transitioned forward. I also loved the way they really sprinted back to support the team and stay compact the moment they lost the ball. It was similar to what we did during my first few seasons under Rafa, when we were challenging for leagues – quick transitions, powerful forward movement, intense tracking back. That was lacking last season.

“I'd like to see more enthusiasm and energy on the bench to engage with the fans and the players, as well – Arne Slot was very reserved on the touchline. You want that Jurgen Klopp style where he gets the crowd and the players going. It's important for Iraola to show he has that kind of passion.”

If Neymar turns up and starts doing a few rainbow flicks, that would certainly bring out a few emotions for a man who has never won a major trophy, but has now brought his managerial talents to a club where he has a genuine chance of doing just that. This is Iraola's ninth season as a manager – in the previous eight, his club ended in a higher league position than their last campaign. If he can keep doing that at Anfield, success won't be too far away.

Peter Reid knows better than most what it takes to lead Sunderland to the upper reaches of English football.

The former Black Cats boss led Sunderland to back-to-back seventh-place Premier League finishes in 2000 and 2001 - a feat that was not matched until last season.

Like Reid, Regis Le Bris followed up promotion to the top flight with an immediate seventh-place finish, but unlike the case of the former Everton midfielder, this was enough to secure European football, marking Sunderland’s first shot at continental competition since their European Cup Winners’ Cup tilt after their 1973 FA Cup victory.

Reid on Sunderland’s return to Europe

“I was absolutely delighted – to get to Europe is some achievement,” Reid tells FourFourTwo. “It’s a great club and the supporters are unbelievable.

“I went to the Championship play-off final in 2025 – we won, amazing, but I was thinking we’d sort of scraped through and needed to get recruitment right to have any chance of staying up.”

A busy summer followed the Black Cat’s Wembley victory 12 months ago, with more than £200million being spent on new arrivals, as Reid’s hope that the club got their recruitment right came to fruition.


“I have to say, the recruitment last summer was fantastic,” he continues. “Nordi Mukiele was so strong at the back, and Brian Brobbey was so powerful up front – absolutely fearless.”

Perhaps the most important player brought in last summer was a familiar face to seasoned Premier League viewers, in the form of a certain ex-Arsenal midfielder.

“Then there was the class of Granit Xhaka in midfield. Boy, what a signing he was. Just the calmest, most authoritative player you could have found.

“I went to the game against Newcastle [that Sunderland won 1-0], and there was just this feeling inside the stadium that something special was happening.”

Despite last season’s success, several pundits are tipping Sunderland to struggle this season, as they get to grips with balancing domestic and European football.

“You can never tell how a club is going to get on with the balance of Premier League football and Europe,” Reid admits. “Even though we’ve got the basis of a very good side that can compete against most clubs on our day, you need a deep squad.

“But I’m up there often and you can smell success in the air. The future is looking bright.”

As Liverpool’s title defence faltered last season and the team slumped to a fifth-placed finish, many believed that a lack of intensity in their style of play was to blame.

The Reds would finish 25 points behind Premier League champions Arsenal, with Arne Slot paying the price as the club moved to replace him with former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola.

The Spaniard has built his managerial reputation on an intense, relentless style, with former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch believing that Liverpool fans will quickly warm to the new boss.

Crouch on Iraola’s playing style

“The pressing that Andoni Iraola demands of his players is off the charts,” Crouch tells FourFourTwo, before admitting that he would not have enjoyed playing under the former Spain international.

“That wasn’t my game – I used to quite like pretending to close an opponent down, then when he ran past me, I’d have a little rest!”

And while Crouch does not see himself as fitting the modern-day style of pressing from the front, he insists that running was never an issue for him.

“If it was getting on the end of crosses, I’d run for you all day,” he continues. “But this constant running up and down, closing your marker and bending your run, it makes me tired just watching it.”

Crouch, therefore, has enormous respect for players capable of doing both jobs.

“I have huge admiration for players who can do both, though: press and win the ball high up the pitch, and also get in the box and score goals.”

The best Liverpool sides of recent years have been defined by their intense style of play and Crouch believes Iraola will be a hit at Anfield.

“Liverpool fans will take to Iraola’s style,” he adds.

“It’s more direct, more all-action, whereas Arne Slot’s play was more pedestrian.”

Arsenal’s 22-year wait for the Premier League title came to an end last season, sparking wild scenes of celebration in north London.

As thousands fans spilt out into the streets for the title parade, it was a reminder of the link between the club and its fans.

And for former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour, these scenes could provide Mikel Arteta’s squad with the perfect motivation to go again.

Ray Parlour on Arsenal’s motivation to run it back

“They said something like half a million people turned up to the parade,” Parlour tells FourFourTwo. “Which was amazing and just shows you how much that Premier League win meant to everyone.”

The Gunners ended their pre-season preparations with a convincing win over Manchester City in the Community Shield, with Arteta’s men the bookies’ favourites to be celebrating another title success next May.

If any extra motivation was needed, Parlour believes the current squad can utilise memories of the fans’ title celebrations.

“If you ask any of those players who were there, hearing those fans cheering their names, it’s the sort of thing you want to do again,” he continues.

“You’ll be looking around at your team-mates, saying ‘Lads, come on, who enjoyed that?’ I'm sure they all did and they will want to do it again.”

Parlour adds that this buzz will have stayed with the squad all summer and if utilised correctly, can be key in ensuring Arteta’s players maintain their hunger and help them deal with the very different pressure that defending a title brings with it.

“You get back to pre-season on a high,” he adds.

“People talk about money but, ask most players and they’ll tell you, football is all about getting as many medals as you can while you’re still playing.”

If Arsenal can maintain this mentality, then Parlour will be hoping he can join in those celebrations again, come the end of the season.

The post-Pep Guardiola era is underway at Manchester City, after the Spaniard ended his ten-year trophy-laden spell at the Etihad this summer.

As Enzo Maresca gets to work in taking the club into a new phase, former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes one of the first challenges will be to restore the fear factor at the club - something that was slipping under even Guardiola over the past two seasons.

For Hart, this crucial area is separate from tactics and personnel, with City once possessing an aura that immediately put opponents on the back foot. Getting it back, however, will not be easy.

Hart on City’s need to restore the fear factor

“They lost that one-goal lead they had when they lined up at the start of games,” Hart tells FourFourTwo, explaining how opponents felt like they were a goal down even before kick-off.

“There was a point in Pep’s reign that they got 100 points, when they were absolutely phenomenal.”

This sense of inevitability was once one of the defining features of Guardiola’s reign, but with the club’s last title coming in 2024, that psychological edge has faded.

“People aren’t as afraid of them any more, but you earn that over time,” Hart continues. “Hard work, grinding it out, being willing to go through tough moments. You’ve got to earn the right.”

As Hart looks back at last season, he does see reasons for encouragement in the upcoming campaign, not least as the club look to prepare for another key exit in Rodri.

“They didn’t struggle as much when Rodri couldn’t play,” Hart continues.

“And I liked the signings – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Antoine Semenyo, Marc Guehi, and Rayan Cherki was a breath of fresh air.”

The former City No.1 was also impressed by what he saw from the club’s current custodian.

“Ederson was an incredible keeper for Manchester City, but the biggest compliment I can pay to Donnarumma was that he very much made the shirt his own.

“Defenders trusted his angles – they didn’t let players inside, but the full-backs were quite comfortable letting people have shots from an angle.”

As Michael Carrick completes his first pre-season as the permanent Manchester United manager, he will look to build on a promising five-month audition for the job last season.

The former Red Devils midfielder took charge as the club’s interim boss in January following the sacking of Ruben Amorim and would lead his side to a third-place finish, a stark improvement on the previous campaign, when they stumbled to a 15th-place finish, their worst return of the Premier League era.

One attribute that Carrick brought back to Old Trafford since taking over was resilience, with former Red Devils defender Gary Pallister believing that this was a result of Carrick’s set-up in terms of both tactics and personnel.

Gary Pallister on what Carrick got right last season

“He changed the system,” Pallister tells FourFourTwo. “There was a lot of talk about that under Amorim, a lot of negatives towards the five at the back.

“I think sometimes that was maybe a bit of an excuse – whether it’s a five or a four, players should be able to adapt, but Michael brought resilience and freedom into the team.”

This freedom was helped by Carrick ending Amorim’s habit of putting square pegs in round holes.

“He played people in the right position,” Pallister continues. “Luke Shaw was back at left-back, and he gave Bruno Fernandes freedom – at times before he was stuck deeper in midfield, which I don’t think suited him when he’s the most gifted player in the league.

“He just gave people belief.”

Amorim was sacked in January following the club’s 1-1 draw against Leeds United at Elland Road, ending the Portuguese’s turbulent 14-month spell in charge. In Carrick, Pallister believes they have a manager who ‘gets’ the club in a way the now-AC Milan boss never did.

“I don’t know how bad things got under Amorim, but Michael understands what Manchester United is all about,” Pallister continues.

“He grasped that nettle as a player, then he went back in last season and just ignited a spark.

“He made the team more difficult to beat, and the players seemed to be playing for him. Were we always playing unbelievable football?

“I wouldn’t say we were – it wasn’t always sumptuous, fantastic, breathtaking football, but there was more of a mental toughness about the team. He’s got a great chance to build on things this season.”

After romping to the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first campaign during the 2024/25 season, a £446million summer spending spree had Liverpool fans believing they were well placed to run it back.

Fast forward to the end of the season, and the Reds’ woeful title defence saw them finish in fifth place, 25 points adrift of champions Arsenal, as Slot paid the price by losing his job.

Former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is the new man in charge and he will be hoping that after a season of settling in, the club’s 2025 recruits will make a bigger impact this season.

Owen on Liverpool’s 2025 signings

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen believes that last summer’s new faces can make an impact.

“I’m still excited by those signings,” Owen tells FourFourTwo. “Although they appear to have been disappointing, it’s hard to analyse whether that’s been because of quality, tactics or injuries.”

Liverpool broke the £100million mark twice last summer in their purchases of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, while Hugo Ekitike was a £69million signing and Owen is confident that trio can all prove their quality in a Liverpool shirt.

“I was thrilled when they bought Florian Wirtz, and I was thrilled when they bought Alexander Isak,” he continues. “I didn’t know much about Hugo Ekitike, but he turned out to be probably the best of the three last season.

“Isak missed his pre-season, struggled a bit when he came in – when he was then starting to show a bit, and actually scored a goal or two, he got injured.

“Then Ekitike got a horrific Achilles injury, an absolute nightmare, and I can’t imagine he’s going to be back too long before Christmas. But no-one can say Wirtz is not a great player, or Isak, or Ekitike.


Liverpool’s 2025 defensive recruits arrived on somewhat more modest fees and Owen still believes there are questions to be asked of the likes of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

“I must admit, I thought Milos Kerkez was a very good signing,” he continues. “But now I’m not thinking that, and I don’t know what Jeremie Frimpong is.

“He’s not really a right-back, but he’s good to have in the squad – you can play him as a right-sided attacker, or you can probably get away with him playing at right-back against a lesser team.


“He also picked up a lot of injuries, but in many ways, the positives now are the negatives from last term – the amount of injuries we sustained, and the fact that many of those players will hopefully be available again now. That will be a big boost to the manager. There are still some seriously talented footballers in the squad. It’s just a question of getting them all playing well together.”

“It never happens for people like us, you know.”

So reads the third line of We'll Live And Die In These Towns, by The Enemy. The Coventry band's 2007 single has been the unofficial anthem of the city's football club for several years now.

After 25 years outside of the top flight, Coventry City fans could be forgiven for self-indulgently attributing that one particular line to their plight of recent decades. This season, those fans will sing it to a worldwide Premier League audience for the first time.

Coventry romped to the Championship crown with 95 points and deservedly earned their spot in the top tier once more, under the management of Frank Lampard. Following spells with Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton, blue was the colour for him yet again.

The Sky Blues finished 11 points clear of runners-up Ipswich, scoring 97 goals. They spent 40 of the 46 game weeks in the automatic promotion places and, save for a mid-season wobble, the overwhelming majority of that was in top spot. Keeping the rest of the division at arm's length, without the benefit of parachute payments, is no idle task.

It has been an arduous journey. The club today is unrecognisable from the one that succumbed to relegation from the Premier League in 2001. Back then, they played at Highfield Road and had spent 34 consecutive seasons in the top flight – one of the longest-serving sides at that time, in fact, behind only Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool.

Even the current iteration of Coventry City is much changed from the one that was playing League One football as recently as 2020. It's a team that has evolved, shed its skin, morphed into something else entirely and finally rid itself of the financial deadweight that had, at one stage, dragged them down to the fourth tier.

In recent years, the trajectory has been upward, but plotting a way back from League Two is rare – nigh-on impossible, in fact. They've managed it in eight years, though there have been a handful of false dawns along the way.

The club came agonisingly close to a Premier League return in 2023, only to be defeated on penalties by Luton in the play-off final. In 2025, the decisive blow to their redemption hopes came in the last minute of extra time in their semi-final second leg at Sunderland. In between those campaigns, Coventry came within a hair's breadth of making an FA Cup final appearance, too, but for a tight VAR call denying them when they had seemingly battled back from 3-0 down to lead Manchester United 4-3.

Considering that the club had also spent the latter part of their previous top-flight existence circling the drain year after year, it hasn't been easy being a Coventry fan.

“There are signs up – even on the road signs – saying, ‘We're back',” Gordon Strachan tells FourFourTwo – the last man to manage Coventry in the Premier League was in the city this summer, and saw what the club's return to the big time meant to everyone. He continues: “The community, football-wise, took a battering for 25 years. It's a different world now in Coventry.”

He's not wrong. The Scot understands better than most what plights the club has been through over the past quarter of a century. He also knows what it went through before that. Strachan joined the club under his former Manchester United gaffer, Ron Atkinson, in 1995, and then became player-manager a year later. He hung up his boots in 1997 but stayed in charge for another four years, until four months after Coventry's relegation from the top division.

Strachan's family are still among the club's season ticket holders. While football ended up taking him elsewhere, it's a place that he returns to often.

“The eyes of the world are now on Coventry, which is great, and they're actually talking about the football,” he says. “For 20 years, it was, ‘Who owns the stadium? Who's got the shares in it? Where are we playing? Are we at Northampton or Birmingham? Who is the owner?'”

There were times when fans genuinely pondered whether the slide would ever end. Disputes over rent, administration, points deductions, Sisu, League Two, Mike Ashley, Frasers Group, Sixfields, St Andrew's… finally, though, the Premier League beckons.

"Up there with Jimmy Hill"

We'll Live And Die In These Towns is a song about the realities of post-industrial Britain, urban unemployment, and getting by despite the weight of it all.

Coventry was a hub for the automotive industry and the base of many leading car manufacturers before the turn of the 21st century. Such was the city's industrial might, it was even targeted in a Luftwaffe bombing raid during the Second World War. No longer is it an industrial powerhouse, but there are reminders of its past.

‘Getting by' is what Coventry City have done for much of the last 25 years. While the club's previous owners sustained a loss-making enterprise, supporters did their best to keep the spirit of a well-supported side alive.

“It's been painful for these people, absolutely painful,” Strachan tells us. “But the younger ones, who are 12, 13 – that's the catchment area. Coventry have captured another group of kids now, which they couldn't do for years. “The three main people in this have been Mark Robins, Doug King and Frank Lampard. Frank's had to take them over the line, but between the three of them, that's some group. I think Mark Robins is up there with Jimmy Hill, Noel Cantwell and people like that for the club.” It was Hill who managed Coventry to their last top-flight promotion, in 1967. Cantwell succeeded him and, three years later, led the club to sixth in the First Division – their highest ever finish.

To tell the story of Coventry's return to the top without reverence for Robins would do the experienced manager a great disservice. While Lampard will lead the team in the Premier League, he may never have taken the reins if not for Robins' promotion successes.

The former Manchester United striker brought Coventry back from the brink. He arrived at the club for a second spell as manager in March 2017, when they sat 10 points adrift of safety in League One and doomed for the fourth tier.

Yet they spent only one season in the basement division. Robins' charges confirmed their play-off place with a 0-0 draw at home to Morecambe on the last day of the 2017-18 campaign, then defeated Notts County and Exeter to go up. Promoted alongside Coventry that season were Luton, who, five years later, would beat them at Wembley to reach the Premier League.

The Sky Blues lifted the League One title during 2019-20's Covid-affected campaign, despite being forced to play their home matches at St Andrew's in Birmingham. They were seven points clear of third place with 12 fixtures left to play, having lost just three matches, when the season was cut short and settled on points per game.

Robins almost led the club all the way back to the Premier League, but for that shootout defeat in 2023. When the decision was made 18 months later to replace him with a big-name, big-time Charlie, there was consternation among fans and pundits alike. Robins was EFL royalty. He'd had a transformative effect on a beleaguered club. Lampard, meanwhile, had flattered to deceive in his second Chelsea spell and scraped by with relegation-dodging Everton.

It was a bold call – but one that paid off, to the tune of hundreds of millions.

From Blackburn to Las Vegas

Shortly after Lampard's arrival, Coventry made the mid-season signing of Matt Grimes from Swansea City. At 31, he has made 485 appearances across the EFL's three divisions, but only four in the Premier League, all as a young player for the Swans more than a decade ago.

Given that 383 of the midfielder's EFL outings were in the Championship – and included three failed play-off campaigns – the term ‘glass ceiling' felt appropriate. Grimes freely admits that after two or three years with no concrete transfer interest, coupled with Swansea's hopes of promotion waning over the course of his 10 years with the club, the chance to play in the Premier League seemed to have passed him by.

“I'm getting older,” Grimes tells FFT. “I gave a lot of years to Swansea and I'm very thankful for what they gave me in return, but I felt it was the right time to have a crack somewhere else. And it's turned out as well as it could have done. I thought to myself, ‘If I don't go and Coventry get promoted, I'd be gutted'. But then I thought, on the flip side, ‘If I go to Coventry and Swansea get promoted, I'd be just as devastated'.

“I remember my agent saying, ‘Just have a chat with Frank Lampard.' I was very settled at Swansea – I was very happy. We were like, ‘Let's just have a conversation and see how it goes.' As a midfielder, I don't think there's anyone you would rather play for than one of the greatest English midfielders of all time, if not the greatest. That was huge. It was a massive compliment that he wanted to sign me.

“I'm not sure exactly how many seasons I've played in the Championship – seven or eight, I think – but I've had three play-off campaigns and eventually won the league. The painful moments make the good ones even sweeter.”

After last year's play-off semi-final defeat to Sunderland, the squad rallied, using their near-miss as motivation to start fast in 2025-26. “The message from the gaffer was, ‘We need to start quick,'” Grimes explains. “In my past experiences, when Swansea made it to the play-offs under Steve Cooper, I think we won five of the first six matches. Our form for the rest of the season wasn't great, but you're always just a couple of wins away from where you want to be – top two, top six.”

Coventry went a dozen league games unbeaten, and by the time their first defeat came at Wrexham at the end of October, they were top of the table with a goal difference of +25 – fully 16 goals better than anyone else. In their first dozen games, they'd won 4-0 away at Millwall, 5-0 at Sheffield Wednesday and 5-3 at Derby, while beating Birmingham 3-0 at home and dispatching QPR 7-1.

Forward Brandon Thomas-Asante tells FFT: “The QPR and Sheffield Wednesday matches were pivotal points when we sent out a message and made people respect us more, as well as beating Middlesbrough at home in February.

“Then when things weren't going so great, like in the winter when people were asking, ‘Is this when the wheels fall off?', we had the quiet confidence and humility to grind out a result or turn things around when the hype wasn't there. That was important. Over the past 18 months, we gained those minerals.”

Minerals were needed, as Coventry picked up only two wins from eight in mid-season. By the middle of February, the Sky Blues had also lost back-to-back games away at Norwich and QPR, then drawn 0-0 at home to struggling Oxford.

“If we're having a stinker and I come in screaming and shouting at half-time,” says Grimes, the club captain, “then the lads aren't going to take me seriously, because they know that's not the type of person I am. I think the days where you need to be the loudest, and scream and shout, are gone.”

His approach proved to be the correct one. Coventry picked themselves up, secured a vital 3-1 home triumph over Middlesbrough in their next game and regained top spot from them, as well as momentum. Having led the league for four months, they had been knocked off the summit for all of seven days.

“We dominated at the start, had a wobble, then recovered and won again,” Grimes says. “We won eight out of nine to cement our place at the top. Seasons like that don't happen often. Even now, I don't think it's fully sunk in.”

Coventry secured their long-awaited return to the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn, courtesy of Bobby Thomas' 84th-minute header. They went up with three games to spare.

“It was funny after Bobby scored,” Grimes recalls. “That was probably one of the strangest feelings on the pitch. I was going to the gaffer, ‘Should we go and win it? Should we not? Do we want to go for the title tonight?' There were 7,000 fans there, something daft, which was a testament to them. It was more relief than anything at that point, because we knew it was going to happen. We were glad to get it done.

“The club have been down to League Two, had to groundshare and all of that, so I feel like an imposter talking about it because I haven't endured it the same way the fans have. But to give that back on that night, when we got the club promoted in front of 7,000 away fans, who travelled all the way to Blackburn on a Friday night, was very, very fitting.”

Coventry rounded off a title-winning campaign in style by putting 12 goals past Portsmouth, Wrexham and Watford over their final three league fixtures. Then the squad headed off to Las Vegas for a celebration. “

When teams come down from the Premier League, it's normal that all of the bookmakers have them to be in the top two or top six,” Grimes says. “So to win the league like we did, 11 points ahead of second – I don't think people will realise the magnitude of it until maybe a couple of years down the line.

“It was a season where most of what we touched turned to gold.”

Cosmic Frank?

Patently, Lampard knows how to win football matches. “You can't have too big a long-term plan at a club, because in football, the only thing that really matters is winning,” Strachan explains. “Frank's picked it up and added to it. It's nothing cosmic – it's good players, with a good understanding of what they're doing, doing what they're best at.”

The 69-year-old's view may be a simplified version of what it takes to manage a club, but it served him well for much of his Highfield Road tenure.

“Five years before relegation, we beat everyone – Liverpool away, Manchester United, Arsenal a couple of times, Chelsea three or four times, Aston Villa – so there were a lot of great moments,” he recalls with a smile. “I spent most of my life laughing. I had a great time.”

Lampard will likely say something similar when the time comes for him to hang up his, er, notepad – but that's a long way off for now. His uncle, Harry Redknapp, was a manager until the age of 70, which suggests that 48-year-old Lampard has at least two decades left.

“He has surprised me – I didn't see them going up at the start of the year,” Redknapp says. “I didn't see Coventry in it at all. I thought if they could finish sixth, maybe make the play-offs, it'd be a great season for him.

“He's got to make sure he goes into the Premier League prepared. Are they going to be good enough to stay up? That's the problem. We've seen it so many times: good young managers, who have done an excellent job and know the game quickly watch all their hard work unravel.” All right, Harry, let him enjoy it, will you?

“When results aren't going your way, you have people calling up the radio,” Redknapp continues. “Idiots who don't know what they're talking about come on and say, ‘Well, yeah, we're losing because he's a Championship manager.' What a load of rubbish.”

This year will be a test of Lampard and Coventry's mettle. Before Sunderland and Leeds' sterling efforts in 2025-26, all of the previous six freshly promoted sides had gone straight back down. Grim reality greets aspirational Championship clubs once they're in the promised land.

Redknapp thinks the Sky Blues need six quality players to stay afloat. Grimes is giving nothing away. “For any promoted team, the first goal is to stay up,” he says. “If you stay up, maybe then you can start to think about other things. We don't want to get carried away.”

Asked what stadium he's most looking forward to playing at, Grimes' answer is simple. “It's a cliche answer, but the big stadiums: Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United,” he admits, having grown up in a Liverpool-supporting family. One of those fixtures is first up. Coventry will go to reigning champions Arsenal in the 2026-27 Premier League's curtain-raiser on Friday, August 21.

After progressing from League Two to the top flight in just eight years, it will be quite the baptism of fire, before a first home game against fellow promotees Hull at the Coventry Building Society Arena a week later. The Premier League will require each to be agile, adaptable, cunning and clever. Do either have that in their locker? We'll soon find out. For 25 years, it didn't happen for teams like Coventry City. Finally, though, after a quarter of a century, it has happened. The Sky Blues are back – now, it's all about staying put.

Strachan was speaking to FFT as an ambassador for Coventry Building Society. Visit thecoventry.co.uk for info

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Order the new issue here with postage included – just select ‘'Year of the Boss Issue 395’. Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and save! You’ll get this issue FREE plus the next 13 as part of your subscription…

First a message from our editor, James Andrew:

This season more than any other in recent years, there seem to be a lot of questions in the Premier League. We’ll get answers over the course of the next nine months, but most of those uncertainties centre on the managers.

Ahead of this season kicking off, nine clubs had new bosses, one more than before the 2016-17 campaign. Add in Manchester United and Spurs last term, and 11 have changed manager since January 1.

In the 34 years of the Premier League, the title has been won 26 times by either Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola. For the first time in the league’s history, none of those five are around, so it’s a new era, and every new appointment has carried an element of risk – even at the top with Manchester City and Liverpool.

The stakes are equally high for clubs who finished further down the league last season, aiming to ascend – Bournemouth, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest will also be hoping their new manager gets it right, as will newly promoted Ipswich.

Title-winner Mikel Arteta is the only Premier League gaffer who wasn’t appointed this decade – Arsenal fans will no doubt hope and expect that the Gunners can pick up where they left off, so it will be fascinating to watch how this season of change plays out.

Enjoy the mag,

James

Year of the Boss

There are 11 new Premier League managers since the start of 2026 - nine of them coming in this summer. Defending champion Mikel Arteta will have new faces to beat this season - with Enzo Maresca, Xabi Alonso, Michael Carrick and Andoni Iraola all looking to dethrone him. We run the rule over the new gaffers this season.

Cherries head to Europe

For the first time in their history Bournemouth will compete in Europe. It is some journey for the club and fans as they nearly went out of the Football League less than two decades ago. With new gaffer Marco Rose replacing Andoni Iraola he will lead the club on their first European adventure.

From Lion’s Den to Dragon’s Den

Before Theo Paphitis was known for giving wannabe entrepreneurs a chance to achieve their dreams on BBC’s Dragon’s Den - he was chairman of Millwall. Under Paphitis, Millwall went to the FA Cup final and qualified for Europe, the former owner gives his take on his time at the club.

All around the World

Seasoned football traveller and writer Paul Watson brings some of the weirdest and wonderful stories from the wide world of football, we bring you 20 of the best tales.

Agueroooooooooo!

Manchester City hero Sergio Aguero re-lives that iconic goal that won the first Premier League title at the Etihad and the rest of his glittering career.

The Boy’s a Bit Special

Get the lowdown on Brighton’s big-money teenage signing and the Man City player compared to Raheem Sterling.

The man who has done it all

Player, manager, pundit, commentator, national icon - there is not much Chris Kamara has not done in football. He opens up to FourFourTwo about his career and his battle with speech apraxia.

Around the Grounds

Millwall boss Alex Neil talks about last season’s play-off heartbreak and how guiding the Lions in the Premier League would be his ultimate achievement.

Elsewhere, in our new feature ‘Beyond the Turnstiles’ we take a trip to the Matlock Town and tell you why it should be on your bucket list of grounds to visit.

In the Players Lounge this month…

Steve Coppell on befriending Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, Neal Maupay discusses winding up Arsenal and Clarke Carlisle opens up on being Britain’s brainiest footballer.

The Mixer

Our latest merch round-up features a piece of the World Cup final pitch, Juventus and Brentford’s stunning new change strips and the England team as you have never seen them before.

We spy a 1978-1980 Cardiff’s home shirt in Classic Kit and let you know the best website to keep track of your football ground visits.

Kevin Keegan remembered

Following his death, FourFourTwo re-publish our big interview with King Kev looking back on his career and life on and off the pitch

Upfront

Think you’re a football expert? Prove it by getting 100 per cent in our Ultimate Quiz. Columnist Jules Breach looks ahead to three of the big talking points in the Premier League this season.

Demba Ba selects the games that changed his life and The Script frontman Danny O'Donoghue discuss all things Manchester United.

Karen Carney hails sporting geniuses and an actor in the People I Admire.

Perfect XI

Jan Molby picks his ultimate XI from former teammates made up of Liverpool and Denmark legends.

FIFA have issued a series of sanctions against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and several individual players following disciplinary breaches during the 2026 World Cup, namely the post-match scuffle at the final on July 19.

The AFA have been fined a total of $321,000 (£235k) for breaches involving discriminatory chants and gestures by supporters, non-sporting demonstrations, team misconduct, and failures in match order and security.

FIFA have also ordered Argentina to limit spectator capacity to 50% for their next home match.

Argentina hit with substantial fine over World Cup fracas

A second match capacity limit and $100,000 (£73k) of the fine have been suspended subject to a probationary period, while $100,000 of the total fine must be directed into an anti-discrimination plan.

Individual suspensions have also been handed down to four members of the Argentine squad and staff following altercations at the end of the final. Meanwhile, one Spanish player has been sanctioned.

Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes will serve a 10-match ban and pay a $90,000 (£66k) fine, while defender Nahuel Molina has been hit with a seven-match ban and a $90,000 fine.

Argentina forward Thiago Almada and assistant coach Roberto Ayala were issued one-match and three-match suspensions respectively, with each receiving a $30,000 (£22k) fine.

Spain midfielder Gavi will serve a one-match suspension and has been ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, too.

FIFA have confirmed that all match bans will be served during the respective national teams' upcoming international fixtures this September and October.

All parties have 10 days to request a motivated decision prior to any potential appeal.

It is understood that part of Argentina's sanction relates to the players and supporters' display of a Falklands banner following the team's semi-final victory over England.

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso was pictured with the flag in question, deemed by FIFA as an unsporting demonstration, before it was laid on the turf in front of Argentina fans.

Surviving in the Premier League as a newly promoted club is never easy, but Hull City have decided to approach the challenge like a game of Monopoly - because they don't have any other choice.

The Tigers have dumped their wallet onto the board, rolling the dice on a number of summer arrivals.

It is an ambitious, high-risk strategy that will either prove to be a masterstroke of recruitment or send them straight back from whence they came, without passing go.

Hull City are playing Premier League Monopoly

To understand why Hull’s hierarchy felt compelled to completely overhaul the dressing room, you have to look back at how they got here.

Statistically speaking, Hull were one of the poorest sides to ever secure promotion from the Championship. Their underlying metrics painted the picture of a team dramatically over-performing their Expected Goals (xG) and points tallies, relying on special individual moments to drag themselves over the line.

Standing still with that exact core in the top flight would have left Sergej Jakirovic woefully ill-equipped. The squad desperately needed surgery, and so the club have opted for a partial reboot.

The profile of incoming talent tells its own story. Hull have raided the market for players of a calibre that could be considered top-end of the Championship like Joe Gelhardt, Luke Herrington, Jack Butland, and Matt Targett.

They've sprinkled Jakirovic's squad with wildcards like Konstantinos Tzolakis and Nobel Mendy - unknown quantities in English football but could come to be considered lower-end Premier League players.

Through no fault of their own, Hull City are betting heavily that second-tier stars can make the step up, while lower-end top-flight names can hit the ground running, simultaneously.

There is a simple reality at play here: if any of these players were the finished article, clubs much higher up the footballing food chain would have snapped them up.

They are only available for a club in Hull's position because the more accomplished sides have question marks about their ceiling, consistency, or physical durability.

No signing encapsulates this approach better than Lucas Gourna-Douath. Once heralded as one of European football’s premier young midfield prodigies, the Frenchman’s career trajectory has stalled in recent seasons.

Taking a gamble on him as a newly-promoted side is the ultimate draw from the 'Chance' deck.

If Gourna-Douath unlocks his potential at the MKM Stadium, Hull might have landed on Mayfair for a bargain price. But if those early career scouting reports were overhyped and he simply isn't cut out for the Premier League, it becomes an expensive flop that leaves their midfield exposed.

What cannot be disputed is the spirit within the camp. Battling through adversity to snatch promotion proved that the squad possesses remarkable togetherness and complete buy-in for their manager.

But in the brutal environment of the top flight, grit and team harmony only act as a temporary 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. Eventually, it's quality, tactics and squad depth that decide your fate.

For Hull City, success this season is straightforward: survival. Achieving that would represent an extraordinary accomplishment given the sheer scale of the squad's transition.

On the flip side, the nightmare scenario is irredeemable. If these gambles crash and burn simultaneously, Hull could potentially threaten Derby County’s infamous 11-point record as the poorest side in Premier League history. Mauled by the Tigers? Mauled by the rest of the league, more like.

Researchers found over 5,500 overtly racist messages directed at members of the Three Lions squad from a sample of 300,000 posts on X during the 2026 World Cup.

The findings show that while racial slurs made up one-to-two per cent of sampled tournament posts, abusive content doubled to between four-and-five per cent on match days.

The volume of racist posts then escalated significantly following England’s semi-final loss to Argentina.

Online racial abuse of England players at World Cup peaked after semi-final defeat

Online hostility was concentrated on specific players and driven by high-profile viral accounts. Jude Bellingham received the highest overall volume of racist posts, while Kobbie Mainoo - who did not play a single minute - and Bukayo Saka experienced the highest proportion of racial abuse relative to total mentions.

Defender Djed Spence was also subjected to anti-Muslim abuse.

Campaigners argue that standard remedies, such as blocking individual accounts or restricting platform access for under-16s, fails to address the core problem: algorithms engineered to maximise platform traffic and advertising revenue prioritise controversy and outrage.

"Our research shows that hate targeting footballers follows a clear and predictable pattern," said Patrik Hermansson, senior researcher at HOPE not hate. "It focuses on specific players and is, to a significant degree, driven by a small number of high-profile actors who benefit from the anger and attention they generate.

"This is not new or unexpected, and platforms should no longer be able to treat it as such."

Taylor Gese from the Future of Tech Institute has accused regulators of failing to enforce existing powers, noting that social media firms do not deploy available safety features because 'outrage drives engagement, and hate sells.'

Ahead of the new domestic season, advocacy groups are urging media regulator Ofcom and the UK government to classify major fixtures as high-risk events and to ensure tech platforms no longer amplify outrage, viral hate and mass harassment.

Nottingham Forest start the Premier League campaign under a new manager – after a season-long relegation battle last time around.

Forest began last season with Nuno Espirito Santo in charge but cycled through Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche before moving away from the drop zone under Vitor Pereira.

This summer, owner Evangelos Marinakis opted to let Pereira go and appoint Oliver Glasner, who won the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League during a highly successful spell at Crystal Palace.

Legend explains why predictions are wrong

Despite that appointment, some bookmakers have tipped Forest for the drop, believing that the constant changes around the club could destabilise them once more.

That prediction has been dismissed by Forest legend Stan Collymore, who thinks they have the ability to finish much higher in the table.

Asked if Glasner’s appointment may be Marinakis’ best decision in recent times, Collymore said: “It could prove to be his most impactful.

“Seeing bookmakers list Forest among the favourites for relegation seems wildly inaccurate based on their squad depth. Unless there’s internal friction between Glasner and the hierarchy, the team operates at an eighth to 10th-place standard.

“Glasner is a proven manager who’s won trophies across Europe. Retaining Morgan Gibbs-White gives them a strong core. Forest have the framework to compete around the European positions rather than lingering near the bottom of the table.”

Gibbs-White was wanted by Spurs last summer, but instead signed a new three-year deal at Forest.

“He is on a strong contract at Forest, and Evangelos Marinakis views him as their cornerstone player,” said Collymore, speaking on behalf of 10bet, who offer online casino and sports betting.

“His performance levels last season were exceptional. Aston Villa evaluated him before opting for Johan Manzambi – viewing Manzambi as a dynamic 20-year-old profile who carried the ball well on the European stage for Freiburg.

“At 26, Gibbs-White is in his prime. Early in his career, scouts might have viewed him as a player whose standard fluctuated between a nine out of 10 and a four out of 10, depending on his defensive work rate.

“However, he addressed those defensive tracking metrics over the course of last season. He has the technical quality to feature for any top six side.”

Leicester City started their League One campaign with a 1-1 draw at Notts County on Saturday – a few days after the club were put up for sale.

The Foxes have been owned by Thai retailers King Power since 2010 – six years later, they’d guided the club from the Championship to a remarkable Premier League title, one of the greatest fairytale stories in football history.

The death of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash at the stadium in 2018 was devastating for everyone involved in the club, though, and Leicester have now been relegated twice in two years under the stewardship of his son Aiyawatt.

Legend insists good times shouldn't be forgotten

The Foxes’ slide down the leagues has led to significant criticism of decisions made at the club in recent times, and that fan pressure has now led to King Power opting to put the club up for sale for £200m.

Former England striker Emile Heskey is a Leicester City legend who began his career at the club and is now head of football development for the club’s women’s sides. He expects that it could take a while for a sale to happen, based on how things have panned out at other clubs when owners have looked to find new buyers.

“I don’t think it will be reasonably soon, I’d say there will be a lot of protracted dealings to try to get that over the line, but I think we can’t take away from what the Thai family have done for us in Leicester, for us in football and us in the Premier League,” he told FourFourTwo.

“Leicester City and the owners made every club around the country believe that they had a chance – that you never know, it might happen.

“It’s gone a little bit sour, but they’ve done a fantastic job up to now. Whoever takes over has a wonderful foundation with training facilities, both men and women, stadium, and a decent squad to now springboard into something different.

“You can only take your hat off to them and thank them for what they’ve done, not only for the club but for the city as well.

“They’ve done some fantastic things at the hospital, children’s charities, they’ve done everything.”

While Heskey acknowledges that things have not gone well for the men’s team on the field in recent times, he’s sure that the owners have always tried their best to deliver success.

“They have, and they’ve done what they believed was right for the club,” he said, speaking in association with Premier League betting site BetWright.

“Yes, it’s gone a little bit sour, it’s gone a little bit left, but you can’t blame them because the reality is that with the financial fair play, they’ve overspent.

“You can’t say they didn’t spend. That’s one of the things that fans say at a lot of clubs – ‘We’re not spending’. But no, they have spent, they’ve overspent, to try to get out of the hole.

“They tried to do it the way that they believed was right – now we’re in a bit of a pickle, and it’s for someone else to probably take it to the next stage.”

Liverpool are set to receive investment from one of the richest people in the world.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the most eye-catching name on the list of new investors coming in to buy a stake in the club.

So what do we know about the deal, how is Bezos involved, and what can Liverpool fans expect to see happen next?

Do Amazon now own Liverpool?

No. Bezos is the founder and main individual shareholder in Amazon, but his involvement in Liverpool is completely separate from that - he is investing his personal wealth through a consortium rather than buying them as an Amazon subsidiary.

The actual situation is that FSG have agreed to sell a 30% in the club to a group calling themselves 1892 Holdings, which is led by British-Indian businessman Amit Bhatia. Bezos is among the investors in 1892 Holdings alongside Eduardo and Elaine Saverin, and the Mittal family.

A £1.65bn deal has been agreed, which values the club at around £5.5bn.

However, the takeover still needs approval by the English game's regulators. No issues are expected in that process, which even in the best-case scenario could take up to three months.

How does the Liverpool board change? Are FSG leaving?

The Guardian report that Bhatia, Elaine Saverin and Bryan Baum are expected to join the club board, with Bezos considered a 'passive investor' who will not take a place on the board.

But FSG will remain 70% owners and the day-to-day running of the club is expected to remain unchanged in the immediate term.

That differs significantly from the situation at, say, Manchester United, where Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS own a similar stake in the club but have taken control of how the club is run, including making changes at senior management level.

FSG insist that this is not an exit strategy for them, and they have prior history for bringing new investors into the fold without ceding control of the club: they sold around 10-11% of FSG (rather than the club directly, as it happening here) to a consortium called RedBird back in 2021.

Do Liverpool have a bigger transfer budget now?

The simplest answer to this is 'no', thanks to the way the Premier League's rules on spending work.

The top flight has switched to something called Squad Cost Ratio from 2026/27, which essentially limits on-pitch spending - player transfer fees and wages - to 85% of football revenue plus net profit on player sales.

Money put in by the owners does not count towards that, and so Liverpool's budget remains unchanged in the immediately term.

However, there are far fewer restrictions on what owners are allowed to fund off the pitch, and that's where the takeover could help if the new part-owners are willing to stump up for it.

FSG have not been shy about investing in infrastructure, most notably their expansion of Anfield from its previous 45,000 capacity to 62,000 over the past decade or so.

Investments like that, when done well, can boost a club's revenues (income) and thus give them more money to play with on the pitch over the longer term.

Will Liverpool get a streaming series, like All Or Nothing?

There's no suggestion they will at the moment...but we wouldn't be surprised.

Amazon Prime's All or Nothing series has previously taken a behind-the-scenes look at Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, and next Manchester United.

Naturally, Bezos having sway with both Amazon and Liverpool could provide an easy connection between the two,

But it would be daft to think Liverpool weren't already the next obvious name on their list, even before Bezos' investment, and we doubt whether Bezo's involvement really changes that.

‘Out of darkness cometh light.’ So read the banners spanning the centre of Molineux’s South Bank before Wolverhampton Wanderers played their Championship opener against Blackburn Rovers.

It’s not a difficult message to comprehend. Wolves suffered an utterly miserable relegation from the Premier League in 2025-26, effectively left to wither by the very people responsible for nourishing them. 2026-27 is new. New promise. New bigwigs. New gaffer.

But the dawn of each new season gives lie to one of football’s great false assumptions. The Wolves supporters converging on Molineux in the scorching Friday evening sunshine resplendent in gold don’t care what division they’re in. At least not tonight.

A dose of Championship reality

Starting from zero offers the cruel extremes of elation or misery. This opening night threatened to end badly for Wolves, who scored first but found themselves behind against a Blackburn team expected to improve under returning manager Tony Mowbray.

The danger posed by established Championship teams to relegated opponents is that they can be sturdy and streetwise. Blackburn were both in the West Midlands in their first game of the season.

2026-27 is a bracing test for Wolves. The bar is high; the expectation that they will return to the Premier League at the first time of asking isn’t universally held but it was overheard frequently on the streets outside the ground without much need to strain the ears.

Relegated teams have certain advantages over other promotion hopefuls but those who drop on the back of disastrous seasons can be difficult to turn around.

The new manager tasked with that job is Cesar Peixoto, a 46-year-old former Porto midfielder who is in his first managerial role outside Portugal and never played a competitive match beyond its borders either.

Peixoto told reporters after their 2-2 draw with Blackburn that Wolves wanted all three points. He wasn’t happy with one but they were perhaps fortunate to even get that. The clock ticked into stoppage time with Rovers in front.

The goals scored by the away team pointed to a vulnerable spot that Wolves can expect opposition managers to target in every Championship fixture until Peixoto resolves it. Understandably, he wasn’t overly concerned after one match.

Yet it was a clear and repeatable blueprint that yielded both Blackburn goals.

Both came from deliveries into the box right under the nose of the goalkeeper and were finished with one touch by a player lurking in what ice hockey lovers would describe as the blue paint.

Sean McLoughlin smartly glanced a header beyond Dan Bentley to draw the visitors level. Andri Gudjohnsen turned in Oladapo Afolayan’s pass across the face to give them the lead. Both were defendable but not defended, good finishes from an attacking perspective but concerning for Wolves.

Wolves were saved by Raul Jimenez’s penalty in stoppage time

‘Out of darkness, cometh light.’

In need of a goal, Peixoto turned to a Molineux favourite. Weeks after playing in a home World Cup, Mexico striker Raul Jimenez played his first Championship match at his other home.

Jimenez, now 35, followed Wolves into the second tier after his contract expired at Fulham. The fans around Molineux know exactly what they’re getting from a striker with 55 Premier League goals to his name, but only half of his Wolves story can be told on paper.

The Mexican hitman supplied a commemorative scarf to every fan on the South Bank. That’s the kind of figure Jimenez is at Wolves. The buzz when he came on was palpable and Peixoto was rewarded for giving the faithful what they wanted.

After replacing highly rated young winger Matheus Mane, Jimenez did what Jimenez does.

He won some flick-ons. He got himself into the box and tried to nick a goal by throwing a leg at anything small, round and rolling he could find. He let his opponents know he was there, naturally, but the first goal of his second spell at Wolves was familiar in another way.

Mowbray and Blackburn disputed the decision to award a stoppage-time penalty for Ryan Alebiosu’s handball, but once the offence had been adjudged to have taken place inside the box, what happened next in front of a sea of Jimenez’s scarves was never in doubt.

It truly didn’t matter in that moment whether Jimenez was scoring in the Premier League or the Championship or League One or anywhere else.

If Matthias Jaissle needed a reminder of the task he has inherited at Newcastle United this season, he got a rather harsh one inside 45 seconds at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Bayer Leverkusen were the prestigious visitors for the first part of a pre-season double-header a week before the new Premier League season. The sides met in the Champions League in December, drawing 2-2 at the BayArena. But the Magpies are on a very different path now, a fact that was made eminently clear from the moment Ibrahim Maza fired past new signing Lukas Hornicek at the Gallowgate End from distance. Newcastle recovered to level before half-time through Malick Thiaw before substitute Victor Boniface scored the winner.

On Sunday, Will Osula scored in another disappointing draw with French side Strasbourg, ending in defeat on penalties. Both games taught Jaissle more about what he was missing than what he had.

Newcastle United had two friendlies over the weekend – with plenty to learn in each

Maza was the difference on the first afternoon, offering Leverkusen the sort of creativity the Magpies have badly lacked for years. Every time he got the ball, he was in space and faxing goal, seemingly knowing where all of his team-mates were.

Although staff has since changed on almost every level, Newcastle tracked the Algerian as a teenager while he was at Hertha Berlin. Eddie Howe was criticised for a lack of ingenuity in his side, and Jaissle has gone on to lose Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes who could have gone some way to providing it.

The German likes to utilise a no.10 in a 4-2-3-1 system; not only was Maza making Leverkusen tick, he was showing what Newcastle were missing. You sense if they were to try and move for him now, he’d cost three or four times what he would a year ago.

After a harrowing summer of change on Tyneside, there is a need not only for three or four experienced players to strengthen particular positions, but signings that excite and prove to the existing squad and fans, that the Saudi-led project is still alive. Five years on from the takeover, the hard reset has left many contemplating the Public Investment Fund’s appetite for it given the changing political landscape in the Middle East.

Judging on pre-season is always a risk because results, by definition, don’t matter. Stretching the first team squad over two games just before the competitive action starts, though, seems somewhat counterintuitive. With both squads made up by benches full of academy players, it was always hard to read what would happen once substitutions were made.

“We needed to split,” Jaissle said on Saturday.

“First of all, because it doesn’t make sense that the the lads play two games in a row. But the most important thing now in the last friendlies that you see everyone over 90 minutes, and there are different approaches.

“Some of them, they could use one more training day, especially the guys who returned later or came back from an injury. So there are many aspects to consider, and again, it has nothing to do with with a starting XI or not.”

Across both days, Jaissle was forced to face reality in a number of different ways. Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, the two forwards hastily signed under Howe to replace Alexander Isak in 2025, are not quite clicking together. Wissa is undoubtedly sharper than he ever has been in a black and white shirt, but that bar was painfully follow. Woltemade still looks like a square peg in a round hole, and although there is goodwill and a desire to make their record signing a success, a nagging sense that club and player should part ways is growing.

Then there is Osula: the most unpredictable striker at the club. Every touch of the ball generates anticipation, with any moment possessing the potential to be stunning and magical or a complete let down. In that sense, he is the perfect poster boy for the era to come at St James’ Park.

Excitement at the unknown is to be commended, because the usual response is fear. Based on both of these games, Newcastle are far from ready. They insist more business will follow before the transfer deadline, with Benfica fullback Amar Dedic likely to be confirmed this week, but that alone won’t be enough.

Someone like Maza would flick a switch and instantly reinvigorate everybody, giving Jaissle a stronger chance of making an impact. As of now, though, with Liverpool and the opening day less than a week away, Newcastle are undercooked and playing catch up. Turning things around will only get harder from here.

For any player, leaving a club after a decade of loyal service is never an easy decision to make.

And for Matt Grimes, who spent 11 years with Swansea City, the decision to part ways in January 2025 was always going to be something of a gamble, given how synonymous he was with the Welsh side.

But fast forward 18 months and Grimes is getting ready for another crack at the Premier League after his decision to join Coventry City paid off handsomely.

Grimes on his decision to join Coventry

“I gave a lot of years to Swansea and I’m very thankful for what they gave me in return,” he tells FourFourTwo. “But I felt like it was the right time to have a crack somewhere else.”

The Sky Blues would pay £4million for the midfielder, who admits that his decision to join Coventry was in part made by the fear of missing out on what could have been.

“It’s turned out as well as it could have done,” he continues. “I thought to myself, ‘If I don’t go and Coventry get promoted, I’d be gutted’.

“But then I thought, on the flip side, ‘If I go to Coventry and Swansea get promoted, I’d be just as devastated’.”

With a decision to make, Grimes mind was made up when he got the chance to talk to Coventry boss Frank Lampard.

“I remember my agent saying ‘Just have a conversation with Frank Lampard’,” he adds. “I was very settled at Swansea, I was very happy, and we were like, ‘Let’s just have a conversation, see how it goes’.

“As a midfielder, I don’t think there’s anyone you’d rather play for than one of, if not the greatest English midfielder of all time. It was huge. It was a massive compliment that he wanted to sign me.

The 31-year-old has spent much of his career chasing promotion to the Premier League and after several agonising near-misses, achieving this goal with Coventry has vindicated his decision to move on from Swansea.

“I’m not sure exactly how many seasons I’ve played in the Championship, I think seven or eight, but I’ve had three play-off campaigns and eventually won the league.

“The painful moments make the good ones even sweeter.”

Manchester United's pursuit of Ibrahim Mbaye has received a boost after Liverpool reportedly cooled their interest in the Paris Saint-Germain wonderkid.

The Red Devils are one of several clubs across the continent to have been linked with the 18-year-old winger, who scored against Michael Carrick's side in a pre-season friendly last weekend.

Mbaye has already made 41 appearances for PSG and found the net for Senegal against France at World Cup 2026, but he could leave this summer in search of more game-time.

Why Liverpool cooled their interest in Ibrahim Mbaye

Mbaye is the latest in a long line of French wonderkids produced by PSG and became the youngest player to start a game for the club when he lined up against Le Havre in August 2024, aged 16 years, six months and 23 days.

His goal against France also made him the youngest African to score at a World Cup, aged 18 years and 143 days, but his path to the first team at club level is blocked by the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola.

Liverpool were one of the clubs hoping to tempt Mbaye away from Paris, but transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano claims that the Reds have pulled out of the race.

The Anfield club are also pursuing PSG team-mate Barcola, but stepped away from the Mbaye deal after learning via talks with his agent Jorge Mendes that a joint transfer could cost €200m (£171m) - with Mbaye reportedly valued between €40-50m (£34-42m).

That could open the door for United, who are one of several clubs - alongside the likes of Aston Villa, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund - to reportedly make contact with the Champions League holders to enquire about the teenager.

Mbaye could be pushed further towards the exit door if PSG complete a move for Spain's World Cup final hero Ferran Torres, who is said to be closing in on a switch from Barcelona.

The 26-year-old can play across the front line, thereby increasing the competition for places in Luis Enrique's squad, with Spanish newspaper AS reporting that the French champions may consider Mbaye departing on loan as a result.

The teenager would be an excellent addition for United, who are light on wingers heading into the 2026/27 season.

Marcus Rashford has returned to the fold following his loan spell at Barcelona last season, while Amad Diallo has also impressed, but the remaining options available to Carrick include Patrick Dorgu, who joined as a wing-back, and 19-year-old Shea Lacey.

Mbaye showed United what they could be getting with an assured finish in the second minute of last Saturday's friendly in Stockholm, which ended 1-1.

Newcastle United representatives were spotted watching transfer target Amar Dedic on Thursday night as the club look to complete a deal for the Benfica right-back.

The Magpies have reached an agreement for the Bosnia and Herzegovina international, although hurdles remain over a potential transfer.

Dedic played under Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle at Austrian club RB Salzburg between 2021 and 2023, and the Premier League side are keen to bring in the 23-year-old following the departure of Kieran Trippier this summer.

Benfica manager responds to Amar Dedic exit reports

Dedic played 43 games in all competitions for Benfica last season after joining from Marseille in summer 2025, before starting three of Bosnia's four matches at World Cup 2026.

Despite Newcastle's interest, he made his first start of the 2026/27 campaign on Thursday night against Hearts at Tynecastle, in a 1-1 draw which saw the Eagles progress 7-2 on aggregate from their Europa League third qualifying round tie.

Newcastle and Edinburgh are only around 100 miles apart and Magpies officials took the chance to watch Dedic in the flesh, according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo.

The Bosnian played the full 90 minutes and hit the post with a header, with the publication reporting that the Magpies' representatives in the stands were "very attentive" to his performance.

While Dedic has reportedly agreed to join Newcastle, the fee remains a sticking point. It is claimed that the Portuguese giants want €35m (£30.4m) for the defender, whereas the Premier League club don't want to pay more than €30m (£25.6m).

Benfica manager Marco Silva, who moved from Fulham earlier this summer, was asked after the game about the reports surrounding Dedic.

“I care very little about what’s going on behind the scenes, which is normal at this point in the transfer window," he told Portuguese newspaper A Bola.

“We want players and there are other clubs who want players. That’s part of the market and it has zero influence on my decisions.”

Newcastle have made five first-team signings this summer but are yet to bring in a right-back, despite Trippier's departure and Tino Livramento's absence throughout pre-season with a calf injury.

They start the Premier League season at home to Liverpool next Sunday.

Manchester City’s women’s team did the double last season – but there’s no guarantee they’ll have everything their own way again this term.

Andree Jeglertz’s side lifted the FA Cup at the end of May, having won the Women’s Super League earlier that month – their first league trumph for a decade.

It ended Chelsea’s run of six consecutive league titles, with the Blues finishing third behind Arsenal, who won the Champions League in 2025.

New contenders

All of last season’s top three will have serious ambitions of challenging for the major honours this time around, and they could be joined by London City Lionesses.

The Bromley-based club are in only their second season following promotion to the WSL, but have invested heavily in a number of big-name signings under owner Michele Kang.

This summer, Mary Earps, Mapi Leon and Kadidiatou Diani have joined London City Lionesses, as well as two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas – arguably the biggest signing in WSL history.

Asked who she expects to be the strongest women’s team in the country this season, England great Fara Williams admits the answer is not obvious.

“That’s a difficult one,” the TNT Sports pundit tells FFT. “There have been so many signings, so many changes.

“Arsenal have made some real key signings, Manchester City have pretty much kept hold of their same squad – Kerolin has gone to Barcelona, but they’ve brought in Beth Mead.

“London City have heavily invested in big name players, so it’s whether they can mould that together in a season and be real contenders, and we can’t ever rule out Chelsea, with the history of their women’s team.

“I think it will still be those three top teams, and London City could have a real push in trying to change that – especially with City, Chelsea and Arsenal all playing Champions League football as well.”

London City Lionesses finished sixth in their first season in the WSL last term, but Williams thinks they can close the gap quickly after their high-profile signings, particularly Putellas.

“It makes a big difference, the level of the player and how that impacts the rest of the squad.” she said.

“I think it will show quite early in the season for them. I was a part of a Liverpool team that was a brand new team when we ended up becoming back-to-back WSL champions in 2013 and 2014. It definitely can happen with the right group of players.

“With the experience that Arsenal and Chelsea and Manchester City have, it will be hard to break that, but top players have signed, experienced signings. Mary Earps is massive for them in goal.

“I think their intention will be to challenge this season. Last year was about bringing in players of experience to keep them in the league, because teams that come up tend to go back down.

“It was about establishing themselves in the WSL, which they did quite convincingly. Then adding to that, the names that have come in this summer, the experience within that team now.

“There’s no doubt that among them and the owners, they’ll be expecting to be pushing for that title this year.”

"They have to spend the money"

While London City Lionesses have provided an intriguing new storyline to the women’s game in England, it's true that historically, clubs that have made progress by spending large amounts of money haven’t always been widely popular across the country.

Williams, though, says London City Lionesses have no choice but to take that approach if they’re to break into the elite.

“They have to – they have to buy the biggest names in order to create a fanbase, because they’re a new team,” she said.

“They’re not affiliated with a men’s team, they haven’t been established long enough for women's fans to be a part of their fanbase. In the women's game, what tends to happen is that fans follow individual players around.

“What better player to bring in than one of the world's best in Alexia Putellas, and try to bring that fanbase? Draw fans in that want to get a sighting of her live.

“They have to spend the money. In order to compete nowadays, whether it be the men’s or women's game, it’s those who are prepared to put their hands in their pocket and bring in the very best who are the ones who seem to be successful.”

With the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Emirates FA Cup and Women’s FA Cup ALL in one place. There’s levels to this. TNT Sports.

Arsenal are in talks with Galatasaray over a potential move for striker Victor Osimhen, according to reports.

The Premier League champions are keen to upgrade their attacking options during the summer transfer window and have been linked with several stars, including Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr, Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez and Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola.

However, Arsenal are yet to seal a marquee signing in that area, and long-term target Osimhen is back in the picture - but a deal may be more complicated than it appears.

Arsenal eye Victor Osimhen as Gunners duo linked with Galatasaray move

Osimhen has been among the most prolific strikers in Europe over the past few seasons, scoring 32 goals for Galatasaray on loan from Napoli in 2024/25, then adding 22 more last term after joining the Turkish giants in a sensational €75m move.

The Nigeria striker signed a four-year contract with the Istanbul club 12 months ago, but the possibility of a move to the Emirates Stadium this summer has been raised during talks involving two Arsenal players.

According to The Telegraph, talks between the Gunners and Galatasaray over Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri have included discussions over Osimhen potentially moving to North London.

The report adds that the Super Lig club have already bid £38.4m for winger Martinelli and have expressed an interest in 19-year-old attacking midfielder Nwaneri, who was on loan at French club Marseille during the second half of last season.

It is unclear if it was Arsenal or Galatasaray who first mentioned the possibility of Osimhen joining the Gunners, while there is no indication whether the Turkish side would insist on any deal including one or both of Martinelli and Nwaneri going in the other direction.

The Gunners have long held an interest in the 27-year-old but The Telegraph states that he had fallen below Atleti star Alvarez in this summer's list of targets.

However, the report adds that Arsenal have considered switching attention elsewhere due to the Spanish club's £100m-plus valuation of the Argentina striker.

The Gunners have signed four first-team players so far this summer: midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United for £75m, defender Piero Hincapie for £34.5m from Bayer Leverkusen after turning last season's loan into a permanent move, Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis in a £34m deal, and former Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier on a free transfer.

Osimhen would certainly boost their options up front, where manager Mikel Arteta is currently able to call on Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

The 2023 African Footballer of the Year helped Napoli win Serie A in 2022/23 and is a proven goalscorer in the Champions League, finding the net seven times in 10 matches in last season's competition - including bagging the only goal in a 1-0 win over Liverpool.

Leicester City owners King Power have put the club up for sale on the eve of the new EFL season, according to reports.

The Thai retail group bought the East Midlands outfit in 2010, with the Foxes going on to lift the Premier League in 2016 and the FA Cup five years later, as well as playing in the Champions League.

But Leicester have experienced a dramatic decline in recent years, culminating in back-to-back relegations that will see them play in League One this term, starting with an opening-day trip to Notts County on Saturday lunchtime.

Leicester owners want more than £200m for struggling club

King Power were incredibly popular with Foxes fans throughout their first decade of ownership as the club consistently punched above their weight, most notably when they lifted the Premier League as 5,000-1 outsiders in 2016.

But a string of bad decisions led to a shock relegation in 2023, and while they won the Championship at the first attempt under Enzo Maresca the following season, Leicester went down again in 2025 before suffering the dreaded double drop last term, not helped by a six-point deduction for breaching EFL financial rules.

The Foxes are now set to start only their second-ever campaign outside the top two tiers, against a volatile backdrop in which a section of the fanbase have long called for King Power to sell the club.

And the first steps towards a potential sale are now in motion, with US investment bank Citigroup producing an eight-page sales booklet on behalf of the club, which has been seen by BBC Sport.

The brochure, titled 'Project Lineup', values Leicester's physical assets at more than £200m and lists the men's and women's teams, the King Power Stadium, the Foxes' £121m Seagrave training ground and Belgian sister club OH Leuven as all up for sale.

According to BBC Sport, the booklet mentions the 2016 Premier League title, 2021 FA Cup triumph and expected turnover of £97m in the 2026 financial year, but fails to note the club's double relegation and financial troubles.

In the three seasons from 2022/23 to 2024/25 - the most recent campaigns for which the club's accounts have been published - Leicester lost £180.2m combined.

Last season's six-point deduction came as a result of breaching Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules during the 2023/24 campaign, when they were in the Championship. The Foxes were found to have overspent by £20.8m over a three-year period.

King Power founder Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha bought the club in 2010 but died in a helicopter crash outside Leicester's stadium in October 2018, with his son Khun Aiyawatt 'Top' Srivaddhanaprabha taking over as chairman.

The club have had 10 different managers in less than three-and-a-half years, including caretakers, with former Southampton and Rangers boss Russell Martin appointed as head coach this summer.

In just under a fortnight, Crystal Palace will visit the Hill Dickinson Stadium to kick off their 2026/27 Premier League campaign. They'll be a leading centre-half light, without the most successful manager in their history and with a series of new arrivals who are yet to prove themselves in the English game.

Are the Palace hierarchy taking a risk given what we know about England's top division?

Standing still as a Premier League club rarely means anything other than going backwards, particularly when the teams around you recruit aggressively.

Should Crystal Palace fans be worried about the 2026/27 Premier League season?

Oliver Glasner’s departure left a void at Selhurst Park, albeit not for very long with the appointment of Pierre Sage, who masterminded an improbable Ligue 1 title challenge with RC Lens last term.

While Glasner's relationship with sections of the home support was occasionally strained, there is no denying his calibre as a top-tier head coach. Replacing a manager of his proven pedigree is always a difficult undertaking, regardless of how long Palace had to make their decision.

From a squad perspective, FourFourTwo aren't overly enamoured by the business the South London club have done so far.

Take Palace's reshuffling of their wide attacking options, for instance. The swap deal involving Dwight McNeil and Brennan Johnson raises immediate questions about the club's long-term trajectory. Is replacing one inconsistent Premier League winger with another truly improving the squad, or is it an uninspired sideways move?

They are different players, despite playing in similar positions, but neither feels like the transformative force needed to elevate Palace’s attack into the upper half of the table. From the outside, if anything it reflects a safety-first mindset.

The club’s recruitment strategy elsewhere is also of interest. Spending on an unproven youngster from Major League Soccer in Zavier Gozo is entirely reasonable in isolation - it fits Palace’s established, admirable ethos of identifying raw, high-upside talent.

However, an 18-year-old making the leap from North America cannot be framed as a marquee signing tasked with carrying a primary attacking burden in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, the handling of outgoing talent could be deemed short-sighted, highlighted by letting Romain Esse join Club Brugge. While Esse has failed to kick on at Selhurst Park as many had hoped, it was an open secret that his limited minutes stemmed primarily from his relationship with Glasner.

With new management taking the reins, why not offer the gifted youngster a clean slate?

Defensively, the warning signs are even more pronounced after losing Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea.

Replacing him with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oscar Mingueza on free transfers may look thrifty, but it's a risk. Tomiyasu is an intelligent player, but his historic injury record makes relying on him as a week-in-week-out starter a roll of the dice. Mingueza provides versatile depth, but in all likelihood neither truly replicates Lacroix’s impact.

If Palace fail to complete further marquee business before the transfer window closes, this summer could end up being a sharp step backward, especially when considering the strengthening that has gone on at clubs who finished below them last season.

You could hear the groans rising over both sides of the Pennines when the Carabao Cup first round draw paired Preston North End with Huddersfield Town.

Despite being in different divisions for the past two years, both sides were given more than ample opportunity to grow sick of the sight of one another after they were drawn against each other both in the League Cup and the FA Cup in 2022/23.

Deepdale has been far from a happy hunting ground for Huddersfield over the years, either. The Terriers’ 2-1 Championship victory on Boxing Day 2022 – right in the middle of that season of four head-to-head meetings – is the only time they have won there in 21 trips since 1969.

Goodison Park sees men's football again in unlikely circumstances

But a curious change of venue turned the game into a proper novelty. The relaid pitch at Preston was not going to be ready in time to fulfil the fixture, and a change of venue was required.

Huddersfield offered to reverse the fixture and host the game, but were rebuffed. Instead, the game would be held at Goodison Park and potentially become the last competitive men’s game ever to be played at the famous old stadium.

There were plenty of fans of both teams who had never visited Everton before. Huddersfield had made the trip just four times since 1971, Preston just twice since 1961, the last of which was for a League Cup game in 2004. Out of nowhere, what looked like forever being a blank space on the mental stadium checklist could now be fulfilled.

The stadium itself still looks good enough from the outside, and there were still reminders around the place of Everton's rich history, most notably Z Cars getting a run-out half an hour before kick-off and Stuart McCall's presence in the Preston dugout, still rocking the same haircut he's had since 1988.

But the interior tells a different story. Only the lower tiers of the Goodison Road stand and Gwladys Street end, as well as the Park End stand, were open to fans; the Bullens Road stand has been completely covered in tarps bearing the words ‘Welcome to Goodison Park, the home of Everton Women’.

The upper tier of the Goodison Road stand remains in use by the press and assorted club suits from both sides, but many of the seats around the press box have been torn out and taken away. Some of the dismantled still sit in the kind of plastic boxes that supermarkets use to make home deliveries.

The feeling of post-apocalyptic desolation is amplified by liberal use of yellow and black tape to keep members of the media from wandering up to comb through the wreckage and grab a souvenir – which, in hindsight, I wish I had done anyway to take home to my Evertonian brother-in-law.

Perhaps it was only apt, then, that it was Preston and Huddersfield in action on the day. These are two clubs whose histories are marked by fabulous glories in bygone years – England’s first-ever back-to-back title winners against the first side ever to go three in a row, and who faced each other in two FA Cup finals in the 1920s and 30s – but who have have gotten used to decade upon decade of lower-league football.

The whole experience must have been particularly surreal for Huddersfield captain Ryan Ledson, a Scouser who came through the youth ranks at Everton and spent seven happy years at Preston before making the move across the Pennines last summer.

“I don't know Everton for being in the new stadium,” he said at Town’s pre-match press conference. “I only know Everton being Goodison Park. I was a ball boy there. I grew up there from the age of four or five.

“It's going to be a special afternoon for me and on a on a personal level to to be back there, and obviously to play against the club where I spent so many years.

"It's going to be the last time I’m ever going to play there, isn't it? So it’s a moment for for me for my family to to cherish”

That’s not how it turned out for Ledson, unfortunately.

Preston were reduced to ten men after just 21 minutes and went behind to Radinio Balker’s header seven minutes before the break, only to come out much stronger in the second half and grab a 93rd-minute equaliser through new signing Jusef Erabi.

That took the game straight to penalties – and the first man to step up at the Gwladys Street end was Ledson.

Preston keeper Daniel Iversen saved his spot kick, then denied Marcus Harness too. It may come as some amusement to Everton fans that Ledson is, in fact, a Red.

Huddersfield's Sunderland loanee Matty Young kept out Andrew Moran’s effort in response, but former Huddersfield man Delano Burgzorg converted the winning penalty to send Preston through.

All told, the whole experience had a strange, dream-like quality - an imaginary experience football game that actually really happened.

As Coventry City prepare for their first season back in the top flight for a generation, few are under any illusions as to the task facing them over the next nine months.

Boss Frank Lampard delivered promotion in style last season, as the Sky Blues followed up their 2025 play-off semi-final defeat to Sunderland by easing to the Championship title, finishing 11 points clear of the chasing pack.

The former England and Chelsea midfielder now faces an altogether different task now though, as he works to ensure that Coventry do not go one-and-done in the Premier League.

Harry Redknapp on Frank Lampard’s task

Should Lampard need advice of how to approach the coming season, he won’t have to look far, as his uncle Harry Redknapp is one of the most experienced managers of recent times and knows a thing or two about Premier League survival.

But even Redknapp is baulking at the challenge his nephew faces, despite seeing the 48-year-old excel in the dugout last season.

“He’s surprised me,” Redknapp admits to FourFourTwo. "I didn’t see them going up at the start of the year.

“I didn’t see Coventry in it at all. I thought if they could finish sixth, maybe make the play-offs, it’d be a great season for him.”

And if Coventry are to beat the drop this year, Lampard will again have to exceed expectations.

“What he’s got to do is make sure he goes into the new Premier League season prepared,” Redknapp continues. “Are they going to be good enough to stay up? That’s the problem.”

Redknapp is also quick to point out that promising coaches that impress in the second tier can quickly find themselves under immense pressure.

“We’ve seen it so many times before,” he continues. “Good young managers that know the game and have done an excellent job, quickly watch all their hard work unravel.

“When results aren’t going your way, you have people calling up the radio. You get idiots who don’t know what they’re talking about coming on and going, ‘Well, yeah, we’re losing because he's a Championship manager’.

“What a load of rubbish.”

Chelsea have been many things throughout their history but they haven’t once been accused of shyness.

Love them or hate them, Chelsea do things however they want and without apology. The results can be a mixed bag.

They’re the only club outside Manchester with five titles in the Premier League era and more, much more than this, they did it their way. Equally, it’s now 10 seasons since the Blues won the league and that barely tells the story of the intervening years.

Chelsea have invested in expensive potential

Chelsea have veered from basket case to brilliant and back again, winning trophies almost in spite of influential individuals with no business having as much say as they did.

If pendulous progress is The New Chelsea Way, freshly appointed manager Xabi Alonso could be about to oversee a lurch for the better.

They remain under the watchful eye of UEFA and financial regulations demand that a club with no natural restraint finds ways to avoid the need to rein itself in, but their summer transfer business in totality is giving off a whiff of promise.

Even as some of the completed transfers appear surprising on paper, the sum of the parts is surely stronger than what came before. Suddenly, a club that was engulfed in utter bedlam just a few months ago has a team capable of putting things right.

There’s no escaping the financial outlay but Alonso will look around the Chelsea dressing room at Fulham at the start of the season and find proven players who warrant the investment.

Morgan Rogers arrived from Aston Villa for a British record transfer fee of £117 million. He might be a player with a low floor by elite standards but Rogers can and will win matches on his own at the very highest level.

If Rogers was an ostentatious purchase, defender Maxence Lacroix should be a solid bet. Chelsea reportedly paid Crystal Palace more than £52 million for the France centre-back but he’s a known quantity.

The deal to bring in Geovany Quenda was done long before Alonso arrived but Atalanta right-back Marco Palestra, now a senior international with Italy, is another shrewd addition with the better part of 15 years of football ahead of him. 22-year-old Valentin Barco has since followed.

Big brothers

At 26, Lacroix is the oldest by far of Chelsea’s major new signings. At least, he would have been the oldest if it weren’t for a phenomenally Chelsea jerk in the other direction.

Apparently concerned about a lack of experience and leadership, the Blues opted against spending big money to load the temporal middle ground and simply went full-bore at raising the average age with a couple of golden oldies.

There’s nothing clever about acquiring 36-year-old Jordan Henderson and 35-year-old Danny Welbeck beyond having the wherewithal to decide they’re needed.

Henderson offers grit, experience and the authority to demand the highest standards from Chelsea’s younger players. He won’t have expected to be rolling into Stamford Bridge three years after leaving Liverpool but it took a single season at Brentford to convince Alonso of his worth.

Before walking the well-worn path from Brighton & Hove Albion, Welbeck produced the season of his career. He’d never scored more goals in a single Premier League campaign and made more appearances in 2025-26 than ever before.

After reaching double figures in back-to-back Premier League seasons – the first and second times in his career – Welbeck is a convincing depth and rotation option for a manager who’d rather run with Joao Pedro and the veteran than wait for a version of Liam Delap that might never blossom.

Why Chelsea’s transfer strategy is going to pay off

By hook or by crook, the Blues have assembled a squad that can stabilise from the root and mount a serious challenge at the top end of the Premier League when they need it most. Missing out on the Champions League again doesn’t bear thinking about.

The ‘can’ has usually been true; in FourFourTwo’s opinion, that they ‘will’ feels more compelling this time around.

Alonso has a team with ability and balance. There’s some depth. There are goals. There’s drive and creativity and match impact. It doesn’t much matter whether Chelsea ever looked beyond one signing to identify the next.

They’ve bounced from one profile to the next in the transfer market but the West Londoners aren’t operating in the dark without a torch. By hiring former Villa set piece architect Austin MacPhee, Chelsea signalled their intent to win in the fine margins.

Alonso has a plan and they’ll be deploying it in what looks like a positive context.

The teams above them last season must all contend with European football this term and Chelsea, one way or another and for the first time in a long time, appear to have married heft to wits in their summer recruitment.

Bill Shankly famously declared that a football club is made up of a holy trinity.

Players, the manager and supporters sat at the heart of the Liverpool godfather's ethos while ‘directors don’t come into it – they are only there to sign the cheques’.

Fenway Sports Group are routinely confronted with that sentiment by the Anfield faithful whenever their 16-year tenure has veered dangerously into avaricious territory.

Liverpool entertaining new investment bid

As Reds’ owners, the Americans have racked up more own goals than Jamie Carragher. From conspiring to create the ill-fated European Super League to an audacious attempt to trademark the word ‘Liverpool’ – and everything in between – John W. Henry and Co. have routinely been forced into embarrassing climbdowns.

FSG’s time at the helm on Merseyside was always set to have a limited shelf life, especially as figureheads Henry and Tom Werner took on a club racked by debt and disarray in October 2010 at the ages of 61 and 60 respectively. Even Mike Gordon, tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations, is now in his seventh decade of life.

The Boston-based investment vehicle is not actively eyeing an exit strategy, but a potential succession plan has emerged amid talks over selling a minority stake to a consortium headed up by the former Queens Park Rangers chairman Amit Bhatia.

It is not the first time they have diluted Liverpool’s power dynamic after Dynasty Equity took up a fractional share in 2023, which was valued between £82m and £164m, but this latest approach offers the owners of the Boston Red Sox a viable long-term out.

Bhatia’s group, which is backed by his father-in-law and steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, has set its sights on a share of 30% in exchange for a £1.35bn investment that would see the club’s valuation rise to £4.5bn – outstripping several Premier League peers.

Several high-profile names are also being courted to add financial gravitas to the bid with Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin both recently approached to join, although neither have indicated any leaning either way.

Irrespective of whether the pair jump aboard, Bhatia’s potential candidacy can act as a force for good; not least as Mittal’s estimated fortune stands at £23.2bn – nearly two-and-a-half times greater than the current valuation of FSG’s overall sporting portfolio.

The 46-year-old is not your average football club investor. Unlike those he seeks to join forces with, there will be no learning curve as he has already experienced the assorted highs and lows of ownership during 18 seasons in Loftus Road’s corridors of power.

In ‘The Four Year Plan’, the documentary which charted QPR’s attempt to return to the Premier League, he is portrayed as a diligent operator who often soothed tensions inflamed by the belligerent majority shareholder Flavio Briatore. While the Italian bore the brunt of fan invective, Bhatia’s willingness to engage – both in and outside of the boardroom setting – earned an invaluable amount of goodwill. Once the cameras stopped rolling, he continued to demonstrate a clear understanding of the values which supporters hold dear in their emotional connection with the club.

Never was that more evident than in his decision to resign as the Hoops’ vice-chairman, just weeks after a first campaign in the top flight since 1995/96 was secured, over plans for a 40% price hike on season tickets. Although he later returned to the hierarchy, it offers an insight of what Kopites can expect should he join their ranks.

FSG have persistently tested the waters over Anfield's entrance fees, most recently at the end of last season when they were met with fresh opposition towards attempts to raise ticket prices for the next three years in line with the rate of inflation. An initial doubling down on the proposal proved to be short-lived but only served to preserve the seeds of mistrust which the club’s core supporters continue to harbour about their overlords.

Bhatia has the potential to ease such tensions with an outward appearance of a fan in the directors’ box. A preference to shun the matchday attire of stuffy suits favoured by his potential new cohorts is matched by embracing the raw emotion of football while he has, on occasion, been guilty of revelling in his surroundings by pressing the flesh at QPR’s training base decked in a full training rigout, complete with his initials.

Liverpool fans could be forgiven for fearing that this potential new minority investor is just another Christian Purslow, whose spell as their CEO went down in infamy, but Bhatia is hardly in the same league as the self-proclaimed ‘Fernando Torres of finance’.

He also has no qualms about running with big names and personalities, as the audacious plays for Bezos and Saverin, as well as tussling with Briatore and fellow F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone during his time in west London both fully attest.

If Bhatia becomes Liverpool’s new figurehead in waiting, supporters could do far worse than having a friend in high places to steer them through the eventual post-FSG era.

Preston North End and Huddersfield Town will kick off in the Carabao Cup First Round on Saturday, August 8 in unique surroundings.

The two Football League clubs meet at Everton’s former ground, Goodison Park, rather than Deepdale.

The venue shift stems from pitch improvement work currently taking place at Preston's home stadium of Deepdale.

Preston North End vs Huddersfield Town at Goodison Park explained

Following a summer renovation, the playing surface at Preston remains unprepared for competitive fixtures, forcing the Lancashire club to source a temporary neutral venue to fulfil their cup commitment.

Preston released an official statement which read: "Preston North End have agreed a deal with Everton to host the club’s first round Carabao Cup tie against Huddersfield Town.

"The tie will be played at 3pm on Saturday 8th August at Goodison Park, the home of Everton Women, formerly the home of the Toffees men's first team up until their move ahead of the 25/26 season.

"The Lilywhites applied to the EFL for permission to play at the alternative venue due to the installation of the new hybrid pitch at Deepdale.

"The pitch will be complete in time for the club’s first home league game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday 22nd August, but to ensure no issues after a significant £1.5m-plus investment, the decision was made to ask permission to play away from PR1 in round one."

Last summer, Everton moved to their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, leaving operational use of Goodison Park to their women's team.

The arrangement grants the 134-year-old stadium another evening of senior men's football before a planned community redevelopment phase gets underway.

KSI's ambitions for Dagenham & Redbridge would amount to one of the most ridiculous ascents English football has ever seen if he is able to pull it off - but the club's chief executive believes there is nothing to be gained from refusing to dream big.

The YouTuber bought a stake in Dagenham & Redbridge in March, which chief exec John Grabowski described as 'transformative' for the club.

They are now set to kick off their season in the sixth-tier National League South away to Dorking Wanderers, and are approaching this campaign with high hopes of beginning a climb up through the English football league.

Dagenham & Redbridge are starting the new season with huge ambitions

KSI's ambitions for a sixth-tier club with a ground holding just over 6,000 fans were met with no shortage of cynicism - but Grabowski believes it's not so unthinkable.

After all, we've already seen Wrexham launch themselves from the National League to the Championship, where they finished just one place outside the play-offs last season and will be looking to go again and reach the top flight in the coming campaign.

Grabowski told FourFourTwo: “Everyone wants to know, ‘Cool, what’s the plan?’”

"It’s naive to think we have too grand a long-term plan, but it would also be foolish not to think long-term given the opportunity.

"We all know that in KSI’s announcement, he said, ‘We’re going to get to the Premier League.’

"The first time I heard that, I sort of went ‘Uhh!’ and did a little gut check, but it’s not my job to tell him that’s not possible.

"He followed it up quite quickly, saying, ‘It might take time, it might take 20 years’, and I think in that context, it is absolutely possible – why not us?

“Phase one is to get out of the National League and back into the Football League, then once we’re in the Football League again, we’ll regroup.

"We’ve got other plans, but I think talking about those other plans before achieving phase one risks us getting out a little over our skis."

KSI is an owner of Dagenham & Redbridge – you can watch Race To The Top on the KSI Originals YouTube Channel

For over a decade, Manchester United treated the transfer window like a global billboard, spending over a billion pounds on individual fame, while the actual football team fell apart.

They bought the clout instead of the profiles, paid the ‘United tax’ without question, and trapped themselves in a toxic cycle of bloated wages and broken dressing rooms. But today, that era is dead.

From walking away from extortionate fees to signing Premier League-proven quality, here is why Manchester United can finally be trusted in the transfer window again.

Manchester United chased the biggest names on Earth – with fees to match

Following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, Man United stopped operating as a football club and started operating honestly as what felt like at times a click farm. The commercial department discovered a lucrative cheat code: sign the biggest names in the world, dominate the digital news cycle, and watch the shirt sales and sponsorship deals soar so that you can then afford the biggest and best players.

And the cycle continues. Di Maria, Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, and the emotional homecoming of Cristiano Ronaldo weren't always tactical additions – they were also brand activations.

In the boardroom, these transfers were triumphs. Pogba's announcement broke the internet (#Pogback). Sanchez playing the piano gathered millions of impressions. But on the pitch, the evidence was damning.

Across 10 years and five permanent managers, United consistently ranked among the highest spenders in Europe with a staggering 1.5 billion paid out on new players post-Fergie, while producing little to shout about on the pitch aside from a couple of trophies, none of which will be standing front and centre alongside the others in the club's illustrious trophy cabinet.

The structural conflict was unavoidable. Managers were handed expensive collections of individuals rather than compatible profiles. Louis van Gaal wanted functional system players; he was given superstars. Jose Mourinho wanted defensive steel; he was given commercial assets and untameable egos. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer built a fluid counterattacking side only to have it disrupted by the arrival of an ageing Ronaldo.

United was zigging when they should have been zagging. The ultimate lesson was painfully obvious: clout produces instant social media numbers, but without a unified tactical blueprint, it guarantees long-term sporting decay.

And nowhere was this more damaging than when they were getting out the chequebook. Because every club in Europe knew United lacked a modern scouting strategy, knew they had the money to spend due to the size and revenue of the club, and knew there was an air of desperation to get back to the top and sign the latest shiny toy, they applied a surcharge on every deal. It was the classic “they saw you coming” you give to your mate when he's paid 19 quid for two pints. The problem was they didn't learn their lesson and stamped up the cash every single time. This was the birth of what was known as the ‘United tax.’

When Ajax demanded £86 million for Antony, a winger who was valued at half of that just a few months earlier, United paid it. When Leicester held out for £80m for Harry Maguire, a fee deemed way too much by Man City, United folded.

United's wage structure was a mess

Worse than the transfer fees, however, was the wage structure. To convince world-class names to join a Europa League-level project, United handed out astronomical long-term contracts.

Alexis Sanchez was on nearly £500,000 a week, and David De Gea became the highest-paid goalkeeper in history. Despite constant rumours of a departure for the Spaniard, this created the sort of financial paralysis that crippled the club for a decade. When a player underperformed, United couldn't sell them. No club in Europe – only pretty much Saudi Arabia – was willing to match the wages of United's benchwarmers. Players like Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek, and Eric Bailly sat on high salaries for years, eroding their market value to zero while soaking up big chunks of the wage budget.

Internally, too, it was a nightmare because when a long-standing player or new signing sees a teammate earning £300,000 a week, wage demands across the entire squad skyrocket. It destroyed the dressing room hierarchy and left the club unable to maneuver in the transfer market without risky moves or suffering big losses.

United's greatest weakness was a total absence of, let's call it, “walking away power.” By overpaying for everything, they built a cage that kept bad players in and modern success out.

And perhaps the most damning of all signings was Jadon Sancho: £73m to sign him, five years of inconsistency coupled with a few loan spells away from the club, hundreds of thousands of pounds per week in wages, and then released on a free at the end of it all.

So, how have INEOS turned things around in the past couple of years since taking over? And why does it feel like an image rebrand as well as a footballing one?

United never lacked a posterboy: they just lacked everything else

In years gone by, it's always seemed like Manchester United's success was defined by an enigmatic posterboy of a leader – a star individual or two backed up by the ones willing to do the dirty work. Cantona, Beckham, Ronaldo, Rooney. They won more titles than we care to recall for United. But that success doesn't happen without Neville, O'Shea, Carrick, Park. That was then though, and this is now.

Bruno Fernandes has been one of the best players in the Premier League for years. But without the squad around him, that isn't reflected in United's team success. Statistically, Bruno's output since arriving in 2020 is staggering. Nobody has created more chances in Europe's top five leagues. But relying on one man to be the primary creator, presser, and emotional anchor created an unhealthy dependency. When Bruno had an off day, Manchester United had an off day.

The strategy during those post-Fergie crisis years didn't change with the times, though. They still bought headliners and prayed they could hide the cracks in the ceiling. Enter Varane, Zlatan, Pogba, Rashford's new contract – Casemiro to an extent, although he did make a better go of it towards the end of his stint at Old Trafford. This hero complex crippled the development of a modern team structure.

Elite sides like Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City don't rely on ‘heroball’. They rely on raising the floor of their squad so that everyone is capable of producing a certain level of quality regularly, whether in the starting XI or on the bench. Every player knows where to stand, where to pass, and where to press when the ball is lost.

Is this mechanical football the best to watch? No. Would we rather watch players enjoy themselves and play with this indescribable joy that can't be taught? Yes. But modern football is modern football, and it's been working for a while now.

Needing a hero also stifles youth integration. Young academy players coming through weren't entering a functional, well-oiled machine that protected them; they were being thrown in at the deep end. That sort of thing has worked in the past. To be fair, nothing typified this more than when Marcus Rashford played out every club's dream scenario: the big club giving the opportunity to a young star, and he hits the ground running and never looks back. What a story. You don't, however, need me to explain why that isn't the greatest of strategies because you just can't rely upon it.

But now the story is different, and the most recent transfer windows are the proof. United are doing three things that have elevated their recruitment strategy and earned plenty of trust back from the supporters.

The critical change in United's fortunes

First, they are targeting Premier League-proven players that make sense from a value-for-money and squad-improving perspective. The additions of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha represent a complete pivot in strategy. Let's face it, going from shopping at Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund to Wolves and Brentford is quite the switch. They aren't vanity signings designed to sell shirts around the world, but high-intensity, ready-made, proven profiles bought to win matches in the Premier League.

Secondly, they've got rid of an astronomical wage bill in favour of something more structured. Gone are the De Gea, Casemiro, Varane, and Sancho days. Now, salaries are reportedly all kept under 200 grand per week. That probably explains why Sandro Tonali wasn't of interest with his 270,000 per week deal that would have blown the bloody doors off that structure immediately. It's also evident in the wages of Mbeumo, Sesko, Cunha, and Tielemans, all between £150 to 180k per week.

And lastly, United have rediscovered the most powerful tool in negotiation: that walking away power we mentioned earlier. When faced with crazy, ransom-style demands for targets like Fernandez from West Ham, United didn't panic or overpay, but calmly walked away. Instead, they secured Youri Tielemans for an incredible £35m release – a move driven by his suitability to United's starting XI and financial sanity behind it all.

You could say that the quiet, pragmatic move lacks the thrill of a 100 million pound marquee signing that a club like Manchester United needs to be seen making to draw in show-stopping talent. But why would they continue to bang their head against the wall if it doesn't work? Tielemans provides immediate control and experience in the midfield, and he also does it without blocking the development runway for the talented Kobbie Mainoo. Mainoo remains the long-term heartbeat of the midfield. The throne is still his for the taking eventually, but for now, he's supported by experienced heads rather than overshadowed or competing with someone the same age who could literally block him for his entire career.

For the first time in over a decade, United aren't buying to solve a PR crisis or win a transfer window. They're buying to assemble a sustainable, modern football team – one that can compete not only at the top of the Premier League, but in European and domestic competitions, too. PSG have proven that ditching the superstars can reap rewards. And whilst they are in a completely different domestic situation to Manchester United, it's not a terrible model to follow. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day.

“You fear for them, you really do”. A well-worn cliché that pundits will use to express their worries for at least one club at the beginning of every Premier League season, often before a ball has even been kicked in earnest.

This year, it looks like my beloved Newcastle United are chief among the sides attracting fretful glances, based on a summer of high-profile outgoings and much lower-profile arrivals, creating a squad littered with uncertainty and inexperience.

What’s more, head coach and certified club legend Eddie Howe walked away with just three weeks to go before the Premier League’s return and, at the time of writing, his successor is yet to have been formally announced.

No more silly notions of challenging for titles - only excitement and potential

Given all of this chaos, it’s easy to see why pundits, fans and casual observers are looking at Newcastle like a giant bin fire that no one’s bothering to pour so much as a glass of water over. Yet, I’m much more excited about this upcoming season than seemingly everyone else.

Firstly, I’m delighted to see Newcastle doing what they should have been doing all along, identifying young, exciting players with potential and bringing them in with development and future profit in mind. It was a method that worked perfectly with Alexander Isak, Sandro Tonali and now Bruno Guimaraes and should never have been abandoned.

Instead, we’re now forced to live with the consequences of last summer’s drastic overspend, which has burdened us with players like Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, who are unlikely to be moved on any time soon, or generate the club any profit at all. All we can do is hope they come good, but there’s little evidence to suggest that’s coming this season. Prove me wrong, lads. Please?

Despite that, we’re now looking at a refreshed squad full of youth and exuberance and, although it’s certainly a risk, a few more arrivals are needed between now and the start of the season. I’m really excited about watching these players grow and create moments to remember in black and white and eventually be disheartened when they leave in big money moves to clubs who are simply better placed to pay what they should be earning.

Sure, losing the likes of Isak, Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon and Tonali has been painful, but only because those players are success stories of a transfer policy that served us extremely well before it was carelessly dropped. I’d much rather be gutted to lose Bazoumana Toure and Aladji Bamba to bigger sides in years to come, than be praying to see the back of them because their moves haven’t worked out. This is how we should have been doing business all along, and I’m pleased to see it make a return.

Something I'm less keen to see back at Newcastle any time soon are the ridiculous suggestions of competing for titles, or challenging among the top clubs in the world by 2030. Granted, those ideas have been pushed into the public conscience by people from within the club, first by Amanda Stavely and then by CEO David Hopkinson, creating a completely false sense of identity that Newcastle fans were stuck with. Not many of us believed those statements were true and, in the long run, they’ve made the club look silly, rather than giving them the appearance of genuine, serious contenders.

By putting these new foundations in place, Newcastle once again have a realistic project to be excited about instead of one that feels like it’s trying to achieve more than it is ever capable of and is subsequently, obviously, doomed to fail. Last season was dispiriting for those very reasons, particularly during the summer, as the Mags tried to lure in huge, expensive and unrealistic targets like Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko, while also trying to balance PSR spreadsheets.

This year is not going to be defined by an inability to spend big on players who probably don’t want to come to Newcastle anyway. Instead, it’s going to be defined by effective recruitment and forward thinking, with players desperate to impress and make a name for themselves at St James’ Park, rather than those who would be instantly eyeing up the next big move.

The recruitment hasn't only been exciting on the pitch either, with new boss Matthias Jaissle potentially the most intriguing arrival of the summer, if the club ever announces it formally. Howe’s project had grown stale and, as much as I love the man for everything he did at Newcastle, he looked depleted and bereft of energy, even after his summer break. It was obvious towards the end of last season that a change was needed and, while it’s come later than I would have liked, I’m pleased he was eventually able to admit that his stepping down was in everyone’s best interests.

Now, instead of dreading another unimaginative and predictable 90 minutes of Howe-ball at the start of the season, in which we only get like-for-like substitutes after the 80th minute, I cannot wait to see how Jaissle sets us up and tinkers with the squad and implements his ideas and philosophies, which are said to be attacking-minded and aggressive according to those who know, and gets the team working together over time.

Obviously, there’s every chance he may not be able to do that, or it may take him a while, but I’m much more optimistic about his chances than I was of Howe ever rediscovering the energy and passion that drove us to our first trophy in decades, that had completely drained from both him and the squad over the last 12 months.

That's not to say it's been a perfect summer. I do sympathise with those concerned about Newcastle’s future, but I cannot help but also be fascinated and positive about how the club has reacted to a year in which the consequences of their mistakes and poor decisions have made life for them and their supporters extremely difficult.

There is work to be done still. A lot of it, in fact. But, free from expectation and unfettered by daft delusions of grandeur, I truly believe this could be the start of a great new period for Newcastle United, rather than simply the end of its most successful one in living memory.

Fighting relegation could not have been further away from Spurs' aspirations this time last year, after winning the Europa League and hiring Thomas Frank.

The harsh reality was that it took victory on the final day to retain their Premier League status, on the back of a torrid 12 months. While the inquest into who is to blame will continue for some time yet, one thing is certain: in 2026-27, there can be no mention of the ‘R' word again.

The feeling among fans is that it surely can't get any worse than finishing 17th twice in succession (Mick McCarthy meme notwithstanding), so there are reasons for optimism.

Surely it is only up from here for Spurs?

Fortunately, Spurs' finances were still in good shape having avoided the drop, and they moved quickly to add players to their squad. Marcos Senesi is among the top flight's best centre-backs and Jan Paul van Hecke a reliable partner for him, while Andy Robertson will maintain standards.

Midfielder Mateus Fernandes then arrived from West Ham for £85m, a club record fee quickly eclipsed when a deal was agreed to bring in Sandro Tonali for £100m. Roberto De Zerbi can now shape a new squad. The miracles that the Italian boss worked in turning around Spurs' season cannot be underestimated, and the time he'll get on the training pitch should set up Spurs to climb into the top half, at least – ideally before a very spicy May schedule.

The Coach

If Roberto De Zerbi's first few months are anything to go by, this season could be far more entertaining for Spurs fans (in a good way). Galvanising an underperforming team was an impressive opening act, and even his combustible nature is preferable to drab pragmatism.

Key Player

Before injury ended his season in January, Mohammed Kudus was providing the sort of game-changing moments his side needed, and subsequently missed. Was he consistent? No, but the Ghanaian is brilliant in 1v1 situations and can benefit from De Zerbi's style of play.

Last Season's Results

PREMIER LEAGUE: 17th

FA CUP: Third Round

LEAGUE CUP: Fourth Round

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Last 16

Top Scorer

Richarlison bagged 12 goals in all competitions for his Spurs side last season.

Lessons From Last Year

Build a squad big enough to deal with injuries and a busy schedule. Not having European football this season is arguably no bad thing for Spurs, who have faced an injury crisis like no other over the past two years. But with that comes the expectation of a deep cup run, where midweek changes cannot reduce the overall quality of the XI.

Most Likely To...

Continue their tradition of taking points from Manchester City while struggling to get anything from the North London Derby. They've picked up just one point from their last eight Premier League matches against Arsenal – they must do better, if only to make their rivals' title charge a bit more difficult.

Least Likely To...

Consistently sell out their stadium. The relationship between the club and the fans has been damaged – a few signings won't fix that. The away support is fantastic, but convincing fans to buy the league's second-most expensive season ticket – after three wins there – is a big ask. At least tourists love it…

View From The Stands

Words by: TOM HAYWARD

Last season was utterly embarrassing, pathetic, cowardly – take your pick.

This season will be different because Roberto De Zerbi has earned the right to a very strong summer, by saving us from financial and reputational ruin with a mid-table Championship squad to pick from. Can he now build on what he cultivated in two months?

Our key player will be James Maddison. I hope he can return to his best level. We badly missed his quality and character.

Look out for young striker Will Lankshear. He had a decent season on loan in the Championship, and there's an opening for a homegrown hitman to make a hero of himself…

The opposition player I'd love here is Morgan Rogers – absolute class.

I won't be happy unless we sign three or four attackers. The quality and availability of last term's forward options might have been our worst in the Premier League era.

Fans think our owners are incompetent, at best.

A social media account to follow is Change For Tottenham (CFT), AKA @ChangeForSpurs, which is a fan group dedicated to holding owners ENIC to account for the first time.

The ground I'm least looking forward to visiting is the Emirates. No league wins there in 16 years is unacceptable.

Our biggest grudge match will be against anyone and everyone who wanted us to go down last season – so they're all on our list.

We'll finish 8th.

Fixtures

AUGUST

22 Brentford (A)

29 Newcastle (H)

SEPTEMBER

5 Nott'm Forest (A)

12 Everton (H)

19 Aston Villa (H)

OCTOBER

10 Man United (A)

17 Coventry (H)

24 Chelsea (A)

31 Crystal Palace (H)

NOVEMBER

7 Leeds (A)

21 Ipswich (H)

28 Sunderland (A)

DECEMBER

2 Fulham (H)

5 Arsenal (H)

12 Hull City (A)

19 Liverpool (A)

26 Bournemouth (H)

30 Brighton (H)

JANUARY

2 Man City (A)

6 Fulham (A)

16 Leeds (H)

23 Crystal Palace (A)

30 Sunderland (H)

FEBRUARY

6 Ipswich (A)

10 Man City (H)

20 Brighton (A)

27 Liverpool (H)

MARCH

3 Bournemouth (A)

13 Nott'm Forest (H)

20 Everton (A)

APRIL

10 Brentford (H)

17 Newcastle (A)

24 Hull City (H)

MAY

1 Arsenal (A)

8 Chelsea (H)

15 Coventry (A)

23 Man United (H)

30 Aston Villa (A)

Title Odds

Tottenham Hotspur to win the Premier League title odds: 50/1

FFT Verdict

FourFourTwo verdict: Tottenham Hotspur to finish 8th.

The improvement in performances following De Zerbi's late arrival was remarkable, so imagine what he can do with a pre-season and better, fitter players at his disposal. That's the theory, anyway…

This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.

Given the extraordinary feats of Regis Le Bris' plucky side over the past year, Sunderland's outlook going into this season is wildly different to last.

Ahead of 2025-26, everyone expected an inexperienced Black Cats side to be battling for survival after their Championship play-off triumph.

Instead, they produced one of the stories of the season, finishing seventh and immediately qualifying for the Europa League.

Can Regis Le Bris' men shock the world once more?

Le Bris blended the core that took Sunderland up with a series of ambitious signings, including Nordi Mukiele from PSG and Brian Brobbey from Ajax.

Granit Xhaka was arguably the Premier League's signing of the season, rocking up 12 months after a near-flawless campaign at Bayer Leverkusen to bring leadership and composure to the newly promoted side. Two more core additions, Noah Sadiki and Omar Alderete, were less heralded but no less impressive.

The Stadium of Light quickly became one of the league's most difficult away trips. Sunderland's own travels brought them wins over Chelsea, Everton and, most satisfyingly, neighbours Newcastle. Now comes the even trickier part. Sunderland are a surprise package no more.

The squad must balance domestic commitments with Thursday nights in Europe. We've seen how that schedule can cause growing clubs to crumble. Fans will rightly love every trip, but the club must keep its feet on the ground.

The Coach

Sunderland's appointment of Regis Le Bris in June 2024 appeared strange, given that he'd just been relegated from Ligue 1 with Lorient. It was a masterstroke: the ex-defender trusted youth to take the Black Cats back to the promised land, then to even greater heights.

Key Player

Enzo Le Fee's arrival in January 2025 caught the attention – six months after joining Roma for around £20m, he was moving on loan to the Championship. The midfielder quickly helped Sunderland to win promotion, then signed permanently and impressed again in the top tier.

Last Season's Results

PREMIER LEAGUE: 7th

FA CUP: Fifth Round

LEAGUE CUP: Second Round

Top Scorer

Brian Brobbey bagged seven goals in all competitions last season for Sunderland.

All seven came in the Premier League, and he added an assist to that haul in 31 appearances.

Lessons From Last Year

The kids are all right. Sunderland had the youngest average starting XI in their promotion campaign, then the second youngest (after Chelsea) in the Premier League.

That couldn't stop them dazzling, and Le Bris deserves huge credit for giving youngsters opportunities to play. Robin Roefs, Chemsdine Talbi, Chris Rigg, Habib Diarra and Eliezer Mayenda all found regular game time while under the age of 23. They rarely looked out of place.

Most Likely To...

Come out on top in the Tyne-Wear derby. For all of last term's heroics, beating Newcastle home and away was the sweetest achievement of all. Brobbey's late St James' Park winner to complete the double in March is a moment that travelling supporters will never forget – nor let their rivals forget.

Least Likely To...

Pay attention to the doubters. Few neutrals expected Sunderland to survive, let alone finish in the top seven. They became only the fifth newly promoted club to qualify for Europe through league position.

View From The Stands

Words by: MICHAEL POTTS @MichaelPotts_

Last season was a fairy tale. We were meant to go down without a trace, not end up in Europe for the first time in 53 years. There's a buzz around the place – the city is on a high and you can feel it.

This season will be different because last season was almost a free hit – now we've set the bar ridiculously high.

The big talking point is if we're prepared for the Thursday-Sunday routine. A reminder: we “weren't prepared for the Premier League” 12 months ago.

Our key player will be Enzo Le Fee. With goals, assists and graft, too, he's probably the most gifted footballer I've ever seen play in red and white. I'm enjoying him while I can.

Look out for 21-year-old midfielder Noah Sadiki, who joined us last year. The reason we're going back to the Moon is to find some ground he hasn't covered yet.

The opposition player who grinds my gears is Joelinton. He's the softest hard man you'll ever see on a football pitch.

Fans think our owner is the best thing to happen to our club in decades.

The one change I'd make at our club is to expand the Stadium of Light. We sell it out every week – people can't get season tickets – so it's time to go above 50,000.

I won't be happy unless we reach the Europa League knockouts. I'd accept a weaker league campaign to make the most of our shot.

We'll finish 12th, after a run to the Europa League final. Dare to dream, eh?

Fixtures

AUGUST

22 Ipswich (A)

29 Fulham (H)

SEPTEMBER

5 Brentford (A)

12 Arsenal (H)

19 Man City (A)

OCTOBER

10 Brighton (H)

17 Bournemouth (A)

24 Leeds (H)

31 Coventry (A)

NOVEMBER

7 Chelsea (H)

21 Aston Villa (A)

28 Tottenham (H)

DECEMBER

2 Liverpool (A)

5 Newcastle (A)

12 Nott'm Forest (H)

19 Crystal Palace (H)

26 Everton (A)

30 Man United (A)

JANUARY

2 Hull City (H)

6 Liverpool (H)

16 Chelsea (A)

23 Coventry (H)

30 Tottenham (A)

FEBRUARY

6 Aston Villa (H)

10 Hull City (A)

20 Everton (H)

27 Crystal Palace (A)

MARCH

3 Man United (H)

13 Brentford (H)

20 Arsenal (A)

APRIL

10 Ipswich (H)

17 Fulham (A)

24 Nott'm Forest (A)

MAY

1 Newcastle (H)

8 Brighton (A)

15 Bournemouth (H)

23 Leeds (A)

30 Man City (H)

Title Odds

Sunderland to win the Premier League title odds: 500/1

FFT Verdict

FourFourTwo verdict: Sunderland to finish 17th.

A leap from 12th to 7th in the final two games was a reward for bold transfers, even if xG tables (sorry) had them 18th. Pfft! Enjoy Europe and trust that the squad has the strength – if not depth – to survive.

This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.

Nottingham Forest went into the 2025-26 season on a high, having finished seventh the year before and qualified for Europe for the first time in 29 years. It didn't take long for things to unravel.

Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked just three games into the season, and what followed was a comedy of errors.

Another two permanent managers came and went (Ange Postecoglou lasted eight matches, Sean Dyche 25 matches) as Forest battled relegation. Survival was eventually sealed by gaffer number four, Vitor Pereira, courtesy of an impressive fightback in the spring.

Oliver Glasner must steady the Nottingham Forest ship and get the club back into Europe and trophy contention

The recipe for success under the (second) former Wolves manager was based around unshackling Morgan Gibbs-White. Forest's talisman bagged nine goals in 10 league games under Pereira and deserved as much credit as anyone for the club's strong finish. Far more admirable was Forest's European form, as Brian Clough's old club rolled back the years.

Beating the likes of Porto (twice) and Fenerbahce, they reached the Europa League semi-finals, where they ultimately lost to Aston Villa. The sparkling form of Igor Jesus was crucial to that progress. Supporting Evangelos Marinakis' Forest is never dull, though, with Pereira sacked this summer, and replaced by Oliver Glasner. Most fans would settle for managerial continuity and a mid-table finish in 2026-27. It's hard to feel certain of either of those outcomes.

The Coach

Oliver Glasner held talks with Milan this summer after opting to call time on two-and-a-half years with Crystal Palace, so his decision to join Forest, who finished one place below the Eagles, was a surprise. How things go could depend on his relationship with the owner.

Key Player (and Top Scorer)

Morgan Gibbs-White, 26, is so central to Forest – creative, relentless in the press and increasingly deadly, scoring 15 league goals – that his World Cup squad omission bordered on a shock.

The Englishman bagged 18 goals in all competitions for his side, the most from any individual at the club. Forest supporters will be praying he avoids more horrific facial injuries this term.

Last Season's Results

PREMIER LEAGUE: 16th

FA CUP: Third Round

LEAGUE CUP: Third Round

EUROPA LEAGUE: Semi-final

Lessons From Last Year

Consistency is key. For the second year running, and despite having several different managers, Forest largely used the same back five in the Premier League as long as they were available: keeper Matz Sels behind Ola Aina, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic and Neco Williams.

That quintet, screened by Elliot Anderson and Ibrahim Sangare, were crucial to the Tricky Trees conceding fewer goals than Liverpool and Bournemouth, and just one more than third-placed Manchester United.

While it was a season to forget in front of goal, Forest had the joint eighth-best defence and that's ultimately what kept them in the division.

Most Likely To...

Rotate elsewhere. Only relegated West Ham (32) used more players than Forest (31) last term.

Least Likely To...

Bask in mid-table serenity. In the club's four seasons back in the top flight, they've finished 16th, 17th, 7th and 16th. So, expect Forest to either push for Europe or be mired in a battle for survival.

View From The Stands

Words by: LEE CLARKE @redsidetrentpod

Last season was certainly memorable. The first club to have four managers in a Premier League season also reached the Europa League semi-finals, while finishing 16th. Turbulent.

The big talking point is whether we can actually keep one manager for the whole season.

Our key player will be Morgan Gibbs-White. We have to keep him. He got 18 goals and seven assists in the league and Europe last year. We can't replace him and Elliot Anderson in the same summer.

The active player I'd love to have back is Anthony Elanga.

The opposition player I'd love here is Jarrod Bowen. It's unrealistic, due to his elite quality, but he'd be an amazing fit for our system.

The opposition player who grinds my gears is Bruno Fernandes. The bloke is like a petulant kid who has been told he can't have the last Rolo!

Fans think our owner is determined, passionate and a little crazy – but his heart is in the right place.

The pantomime villain will be Sean Dyche, if any top flight side is mental enough to take him on. If not, it'll be Frank Lampard due to his Derby links.

The best thing about matchdays at our ground is The Nav. It's a brilliant boozer with top-notch beer, a football quiz and a barbecue on site.

A social media account to follow is @wt_analysis – he recently got himself a job in football, based on his brilliant data on all things Nottingham Forest.

We'll finish in the top 10.

Fixtures

AUGUST

22 Leeds (H)

29 Liverpool (A)

SEPTEMBER

5 Tottenham (H)

12 Aston Villa (A)

19 Coventry (H)

OCTOBER

10 Crystal Palace (A)

17 Arsenal (H)

24 Ipswich (A)

31 Brentford (A)

NOVEMBER

7 Man City (H)

21 Bournemouth (A)

28 Chelsea (H)

DECEMBER

2 Hull City (A)

5 Brighton (H)

12 Sunderland (A)

19 Everton (H)

26 Man United (A)

30 Newcastle (A)

JANUARY

2 Fulham (H)

6 Hull City (H)

16 Man City (A)

23 Bournemouth (H)

30 Chelsea (A)

FEBRUARY

6 Brentford (H)

10 Fulham (A)

20 Man United (H)

27 Everton (A)

MARCH

3 Newcastle (H)

13 Tottenham (A)

20 Aston Villa (H)

APRIL

10 Leeds (A)

17 Liverpool (H)

24 Sunderland (H)

MAY

1 Brighton (A)

8 Crystal Palace (H)

15 Arsenal (A)

23 Ipswich (H)

30 Coventry (A)

Title Odds

Nottingham Forest to win the Premier League title odds: 500/1

FFT Verdict

FourFourTwo verdict: Nottingham Forest to finish 18th.

It could be the latter, particularly after the departure of Anderson. Glasner's arrival does give them more hope, though – if Pereira had started the season, we feared for a repeat of Wolves' slide.

This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.

Evertonians could be forgiven for sensing a potential déjà vu this summer.

As the one-year anniversary of Everton’s official move to Hill Dickinson Stadium rapidly approaches, there is an increasingly unnerving mood by the banks of the River Mersey.

Relocating to Bramley-Moore Dock was supposed to serve as a springboard for the Toffees’ renaissance; ending decades in the doldrums that were punctuated by a now 31-year drought since major silverware last winged its way towards a royal blue jersey. Instead, this grand old club is in danger of finding itself in the Last Chance Saloon.

Moyes Mark II

When David Moyes returned to Everton, some 19 months ago, the hope was that he could finish what was started in a credible 11-and-a-half-year spell. Securing Premier League safety, while also giving Goodison Park a more fitting send-off than had appeared likely during Sean Dyche’s reign, hinted at a sign of things to come.

The Scot’s first full season back at the helm was a mixed one, although a purple patch in the final months offered Everton hopes of an outside shot at European qualification. Briefly, they also had designs on sneaking into the fifth Champions League position. But a last-gasp Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool put the brakes on all continental dreams as they proceeded to take just two points from a potential 18 in the final six games, allowing several clubs of smaller stature and resources to leapfrog them.

Plans for a stronger follow-up campaign are already on the back foot ahead of an opening Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace, who have reaped tangible success from leaning into bold ambitions rather than shying away from them. It’s hardly uncharted territory, especially given Moyes’s longstanding moniker of ‘Dithering Dave’, yet the dream of a promising new era could be over before it has even begun.

Just shy of a decade ago, Everton’s erstwhile owner Farhad Moshiri cautioned that they had only a limited window to disrupt the Premier League’s top six order and insisted to supporters that he did not want the club to become ‘a museum’ of English football. The British-Iranian billionaire succeeded in avoiding a house of memories but replaced it with a circus as dysfunction reigned on and off the pitch throughout his premiership.

Moshiri’s scattergun approach to recruitment left the club lumbered with a highly imbalanced squad that increasingly resembled Frankenstein’s Monster with every new managerial appointment. Such was the chaotic nature of Everton’s transfer business that Dyche recently described his three full windows at the helm as ‘a s*** show’. It is difficult to escape the feeling that history may be about to repeat itself, with two of their opening three summer arrivals having already played for the club on loan last season in Merlin Rohl and Tyrique George, signed for a combined £36m.

The German midfielder’s summer return saw him tasked with plugging the right-back position in three pre-season friendlies as the search for Seamus Coleman’s long-term replacement is no nearer to fruition. An unedifying send-off for the club captain should have served as a belated wake-up call after failing to address the shortfall left by his persistent injury problems in the final years. Since his return, Moyes has put a new twist on an old classic with central defender Jake O’Brien filling the position in a move that mirrored his previous deployment of Joleon Lescott. Nathan Patterson, now the sole established right-back, has been persona non grata since being on the receiving end of a ‘playful slap’ from Dyche at a mid-season training camp over two years ago.

Everton’s issues, however, run deeper than defensive dearth as they face the task of replacing several other underfilled positions following Idrissa Gueye’s departure, four years after returning as a panacea to the holding midfield position he originally vacated in 2019. The Senegalese’s exit has been exacerbated by James Garner’s likely absence against Palace as he recovers from surgery on a groin issue diagnosed early in pre-season. Another alternative, Hayden Hackney, last season’s Championship Player of the Year, must contend with getting up to speed while adjusting to new surroundings.

Doubts over Iliman Ndiaye’s future have grown after recent speculation linking him with a move to Al-Hilal. The player who scored both the last-ever goal in a men’s game at Goodison and the first at Hill Dickinson Stadium has already made no secret of a desire to test himself in the Champions League, something which is currently out of Everton’s potential reach. Numerous unsuccessful attempts to tie Ndiaye down beyond his current summer 2029 contract expiry only serve to heighten fears that he will not be staying the course. A potential £70m fee would ordinarily arm Everton with considerable funds to rebuild, but in an increasingly inflated market, it would not stretch as far as the hierarchy, now headed up by The Friedkin Group, anticipate. It would also come at the cost of losing their most potent attacking source.

The Americans, who also own AS Roma, have been catching heat from sections of the fanbase for their lack of hands-on involvement and visibility. Nearly two years since taking the reins, head honcho Dan Friedkin is yet to grace an Everton match – home or away – with his presence; delegating assorted family members to fleetingly check on his investment. Some fans suspect their absentee overlord lacks an appetite to micromanage matters on the banks of the River Mersey in the same way he and son Ryan fixate on events in the seven hills of Rome. A ham-fisted declaration by CEO Angus Kinnear in his end-of-season programme notes of being ‘happily dissatisfied’ with the club’s current state of play did little to allay suspicions that the Friedkins are happy with maintaining the status quo of merely staying in the English top flight.

A reticence to address Moyes’s long-term future, with the former West Ham boss now in the final 12 months of the contract originally signed in January 2025, also suggests that the owners’ focus remains on keeping things ticking over. Noises around a potential extension, floated at the height of Everton’s late-season surge, have become highly subdued at a time when supporters are clamouring for a semblance of a long-term plan. As the only Premier League club without a director of football, the hunt for new faces is now dictated by a collegiate approach in which the 63-year-old is heavily involved despite a lack of certainty on whether he will be overseeing matters in the medium term.

Ending a vicious cycle of relegation dalliances was only half the battle for Everton. If they fall short on fixing basic issues this summer, the last real chance to restore one of English football’s sleeping giants to former glory risks falling by the wayside.

A new era is underway at Anfield again. After Arne Slot's two-year reign was ended following a miserable campaign with 19 defeats in all competitions, Andoni Iraola has been charged with reinstalling the attacking identity demanded by Reds fans.

Iraola's Bournemouth certainly displayed that quality. The Basque manager delivered an aggressive, progressive style, utilising quick, direct wingers, a high defensive line and pressing in attack.

Did somebody say “Jurgen Klopp”? Kopites are hoping for Klopp-like football, having grown frustrated by Slot's slow build-up and passive play. Iraola's message to Liverpool fans upon arrival was upbeat, capturing the imagination: “I can only say I want to become one of you; to earn the right to belong.” That's been enough to restore optimism after a difficult year.

It's the dawn of a new era at Liverpool, and Andoni Iraola must restore a lost hope

However, they will be a different proposition with the departures of Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate – a key trio not just on the pitch, but around the club.

New leaders need to step up, because nine players from the title-winning squad of a little over a year ago have already left.

Nobody expects a title challenge in Iraola's maiden season, but a return to more attractive football and clear signs of an identity will be needed, and fast.

The lack of a trophy on his managerial CV, or experience coaching in European competition, are both concerns.

The Coach

Andoni Iraola is only the 22nd Liverpool manager in 134 years, which shows that it was no easy decision to part ways with Slot so soon. But Iraola offers the exciting football that fans missed, while his Basque roots mean he can understand the city's outsider mentality.

Key Player

Virgil van Dijk is 35 now, yet he played every league minute in 2025-26, then went to the World Cup. With Giovanni Leoni (19) and inexperienced new signing Jeremy Jacquet (21) alongside him, and Ibrahima Konate gone, the Dutchman's experience will be vital.

Last Season's Results

PREMIER LEAGUE: 5th

FA CUP: Quarter-final

LEAGUE CUP: Fourth Round

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Quarter-final

Top Scorer

Hugo Ekitike was Liverpool's top goalscorer last year, with 17 strikes in all competitions.

That figure is a stark drop-off from the 30-40 goal campaigns produced by Salah from 2017-2024.

Ekitike is sidelined with injury until likely 2027, and whoever the Reds' top scorer is this year will surely have to produce a haul that exceeds that of the Frenchman in 2025-26.

Lessons From Last Year

There are many: using the squad better, getting the most of Florian Wirtz in a settled role, fewer ready excuses such as an inability to defend long throws and set pieces.

Arguably, the biggest lesson Iraola can take from Slot's reign is using the power of Anfield. Liverpool made slow starts too often under the Dutchman, reflected in their conceding first in 14 league games last season.

They lacked attacking impetus, which sapped the energy of the crowd, and the two couldn't thrive off each other. “For me,” says Iraola, “football is about emotions – about passion.” Those inside Anfield would agree.

Most Likely To...

Be involved in a 5-4 thriller. Think Klopp's first campaign, when the German's glasses were lost in the celebrations at Norwich. Iraola's first year could be as entertaining.

Least Likely To...

Shut up shop defending set pieces. Liverpool (20) and Bournemouth (18) had the worst record for goals against from dead-ball situations in the Premier League last season.

View From The Stands

Words by: JACK LUSBY @LusbyJack

Last season was deeply overshadowed by an unbelievable tragedy. Diogo Jota's death had a lasting impact on not only his team-mates, but the coach and his staff.

The big talking point is the decision to sack Arne Slot. Even with the serious mitigating factors, it was necessary – his decline had begun with the side's shocking display in the 2025 Carabao Cup Final.

This season will be different because Andoni Iraola has breathed new life into the support.

I won't be happy unless proper, attacking football returns to Anfield. You'd be surprised how many struggled to sit through Liverpool games last year.

Our key player will be Virgil van Dijk. World class. Look out for 19-year-old centre-back Giovanni Leoni. After nine months out, it's easy to forget his immense talent. He tore his ACL on debut and was still man of the match.

Fans think our owners are OK. FSG get plenty wrong but they usually rectify it eventually.

The departing player I'm saddest about is Andy Robertson or Mo Salah. Both should still be at the club – and would be, had things changed sooner.

A social media account to follow is the academy (@LFCAcademyX). There's a wealth of talent coming through or being signed.

Our biggest grudge match will be against Arsenal. They're the most unlikeable champions in a long, long time. Those games will be attacking football vs anti-football.

We'll finish 3rd.

Fixtures

AUGUST

23 Newcastle (A)

29 Nott'm Forest (H)

SEPTEMBER

5 Ipswich (A)

12 Fulham (H)

19 Bournemouth (A)

OCTOBER

10 Man City (H)

17 Brentford (A)

24 Brighton (H)

31 Arsenal (H)

NOVEMBER

7 Crystal Palace (A)

21 Man United (H)

28 Everton (A)

DECEMBER

2 Sunderland (H)

5 Chelsea (A)

12 Leeds (H)

19 Tottenham (H)

26 Hull City (A)

30 Aston Villa (A)

JANUARY

2 Coventry (H)

6 Sunderland (A)

16 Crystal Palace (H)

23 Man United (A)

30 Everton (H)

FEBRUARY

6 Arsenal (A)

10 Coventry (A)

20 Hull City (H)

27 Tottenham (A)

MARCH

3 Aston Villa (H)

13 Ipswich (H)

20 Fulham (A)

APRIL

10 Newcastle (H)

17 Nott'm Forest (A)

24 Leeds (A)

MAY

1 Chelsea (H)

8 Man City (A)

15 Brentford (H)

23 Brighton (A)

30 Bournemouth (H)

Title Odds

Liverpool to win the Premier League title odds: 11/2

FFT Verdict

FourFourTwo verdict: Liverpool to finish 3rd.

Life without Salah could benefit the collective, if handled correctly. Iraola's methods suit most of the Reds' squad, fitness depending, although bungeeing back to the title is likely too much to ask.

This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.

Leeds are in a good place. That isn't something you could have written in many FourFourTwo Season Previews over the course of this century.

Elland Road's redevelopment is at the shovels-in-ground stage. The team consolidated their place in the top flight. And, this summer, the club tied 25-year-old captain and talisman Ethan Ampadu to a new, long-term contract.

As with every recently promoted side in the modern Premier League era, the objective is the same in season two: stay up. In a ruthless division, second-season syndrome can kill teams who start to have ideas above their station.

Will Leeds suffer second-season syndrome, or secure continued Premier League football once more?

The last time Leeds were in this build on the success of their first season back in the big time, which set in motion a slide back into the Championship. It can't be allowed to happen again. Minority partners then, 49ers Enterprises are now in full control, with deep pockets that are deepened further still by commercial partnerships with the likes of Red Bull.

Transfer market savvy remains key, however. Noah Okafor, Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, in particular, were all resounding successes in last summer's squad reshape, with an emphasis placed on physicality. In order to maintain the momentum built in the second half of 2025-26, Leeds will need to execute their squad-building goals efficiently once again.

The Coach

Plenty feared that Daniel Farke couldn't keep a team in the Premier League, having twice failed to do so with Norwich, but – helped by a fuller budget and a defiant Elland Road – he proved his doubters wrong. He has now challenged the club to match his ambition to push on.

Key Player

The most important cog in the Leeds machine is 63-cap Wales international Ethan Ampadu. Leading by example and ready to fly into a tackle at any time, he is just what Leeds fans want in a captain, not least for his cone-headed promotion party antics. He's one of them.

Last Season's Results

PREMIER LEAGUE: 14th

FA CUP: Semi-final

LEAGUE CUP: Second Round

Top Scorer

Dominic Calvert-Lewin bagged a respectable 15 goals in all competitions for the Whites last season.

At one stage, the (very narrow) possibility of him breaking Jamie Vardy's consecutive games-with-a-goal streak was even being discussed.

Lessons From Last Year

If it's not working, change it up. With Leeds losing 2-0 at half-time at Manchester City in November, Farke shifted to a back three – a system he hadn't used in his first two seasons at the club.

They got back to 2-2 before conceding in injury time but, more importantly, this heralded a tactical setup that made Leeds harder to beat.

Across the 30 matches in all competitions that followed Farke's epiphany, Leeds lost only six times. They pulled away from relegation, and the manager's willingness to change tack won over doubters. Keeping key players fit was vital as other teams' form forced Leeds to finish strongly. And so they did.

When they travelled to West Ham on the final day, clear of relegation, Farke's charges were unbeaten in eight. His pragmatism had paid off.

Most Likely To...

Have the best-smelling manager in the Premier League.

Least Likely To...

Shoot from range: Calvert-Lewin, who took 13 of his 14 goals from between the posts, inside the box.

View From The Stands

Words by: JOE MEWIS @joemewis

Last season was defined by the half-time switch at Manchester City, when Daniel Farke was staring down the barrel. A superb second half of the season was his reward for leaving behind what had been a rigid tactical approach.

This season will be different because the top half is our goal now.

Our key player will be Ethan Ampadu, for his tenacity and leadership.

The active player I'd love to have back is Raphinha, now that James Milner has finally called it a day.

The opposition player I'd love here is James Trafford. One of England's best goalkeepers has been wasted sat on the bench at Man City.

Look out for additional scrutiny on the academy pipeline. For the first time, Leeds didn't award Young Player of the Year due to a lack of candidates. The hierarchy were vindicated in signing experienced players, but reigniting the historically superb youth setup, producing players ready for the first team, needs to happen.

The one change I'd make at our club would be our dire modern-day record at Wembley. Even a goal would be nice.

The ground I'm least looking forward to visiting is the Emirates. Arsenal were the only side to truly have our number last season.

The fans' opinion of the gaffer is at an all-time high. A win at Old Trafford and first FA Cup semi-final in a generation were the icing on the cake of a stress-free climax.

We'll finish 11th.

Fixtures

AUGUST

22 Nott'm Forest (A)

29 Brentford (H)

SEPTEMBER

5 Brighton (A)

12 Newcastle (H)

19 Crystal Palace (H)

OCTOBER

10 Arsenal (A)

17 Man United (H)

24 Sunderland (A)

31 Bournemouth (A)

NOVEMBER

7 Tottenham (H)

21 Chelsea (A)

28 Coventry (H)

DECEMBER

2 Man City (A)

5 Ipswich (H)

12 Liverpool (A)

19 Fulham (H)

26 Aston Villa (A)

30 Hull City (A)

JANUARY

2 Everton (H)

6 Man City (H)

16 Tottenham (A)

23 Chelsea (H)

30 Coventry (A)

FEBRUARY

6 Bournemouth (H)

10 Everton (A)

20 Aston Villa (H)

27 Fulham (A)

MARCH

3 Hull City (H)

13 Brighton (H)

20 Newcastle (A)

APRIL

10 Nott'm Forest (H)

17 Brentford (A)

24 Liverpool (H)

MAY

1 Ipswich (A)

8 Arsenal (H)

15 Man United (A)

23 Sunderland (H)

30 Crystal Palace (A)

Title Odds

Leeds United to win the Premier League title odds: 500/1

FFT Verdict

FourFourTwo verdict: Leeds to finish 14th.

Leeds' top-seven form following Farke's tactical switch-up hints that they can look up rather than down. New boy Harry Wilson could add goals – they've also needed to address the goalkeeping situation.

This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.

Hull City's 2025-26 campaign saw one of the most impressive promotions in Championship history – but it was also one of the most fortuitous.

Finishing sixth and winning the play-offs was an unbelievable accomplishment. Hull had needed to climb out of the relegation zone on the final day of the previous campaign, then had to work under a summer embargo that restricted them to loans and free transfers.

They found an attacking gem in each market, in Joe Gelhardt and Oli McBurnie respectively. Existing squad members found a new level. The Tigers became a dangerous team under boss Sergej Jakirovic – new to the club and new to English football – and won games through their ability to ruthlessly cut open opponents in isolated moments. But there's no escaping that they had some luck on their way up.

Hull City's return to the Premier League borders on the miraculous, but an even greater feat will be required to stay up - Hull City 2026-27 season preview

To win promotion despite conceding the joint-fourth-most goals in the division is one thing, to do it with easily the second-worst underlying defensive numbers is unheard of. As such, the existing template doesn't look sufficient for Premier League survival.

So, while fans are hugely excited about returning to the big time, they are also realistic about the challenges ahead. Hull can pay fees to sign players now, but they'll need to add wisely. Still, everybody said that about Sunderland, and they survived. Jakirovic has proved a fast learner – could another shock be in store?

The Coach

Sergej Jakirovic almost always delivers, from handling weighty expectations at Dinamo Zagreb to saving Kayserispor from a perilous situation. The Premier League is a different beast, but the Bosnian did adapt and adopt a less risky setup during last season to upset the odds.

Key Player (and Top Scorer)

Hull played a dangerous game of waiting on Las Palmas to be relegated in 2024-25, hoping it would enable them to sign Oli McBurnie.

They did, and the 30-year-old became Hull's focal point. His 19 goals in all competitions were the most from any Hull City player last season, and included the play-off final winner.

The Scot's hold-up play will be pivotal as his side adapt to the physicality of the English top-flight.

Last Season's Results

CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th

FA CUP: Fourth Round

LEAGUE CUP: First Round

PLAY-OFF: Winners

Lessons From Last Year

While several players contributed significantly in attack, defensively Ivor Pandur, John Egan and Regan Slater kept everything together. Pandur made the most saves in the Championship, although he's since joined Rangers.

Egan and Slater will remain key, having held down the defence and midfield almost single-handedly at the times when Charlie Hughes and Matt Crooks weren't available.

Most Likely To...

“F**k them up, get into them!” – Hull averaged the most tackles per game in the Championship (17.8), with 14 players making more than two per 90 minute. Sharing their ground with rugby side Hull FC, their aggressive style could work in their favour on a rugged terrain.

Least Likely To...

Fret the stats. Hull looked ropey in many metrics last year and were lectured by nerds like us on their performances' unsustainability, only to prove them totally wrong. Nobody gives them a chance this season – that resultant siege mentality can be their superpower.

View From The Stands

Words by: RICKY SKELTON @hullcitylive

Last season was a huge surprise. We were under transfer restrictions, had a manager new to English football and had avoided relegation on final day in the previous season, but we put together a team on frees and loans who had a huge amount of heart and no little quality.

Our key player will be Oli McBurnie. From the moment he walked in last summer, he raised standards and performed superbly. He epitomises the squad's spirit and it's crucial we don't lose that.

This season will be different because we've not had to deal with the killjoy that is VAR before.

The opposition player who grinds my gears is Gabriel Magalhaes, the big baby. He can give it but not take it.

The opposition player I'd love here is Rio Ngumoha. This kid is incredible. He's only 17, so if Liverpool want him to get a season of Premier League football under his belt, Hull City have looked after some of their great prospects in recent years.

Our biggest grudge match will be against Leeds. It will be our first top-flight meeting – in our previous five seasons in the Premier League, Leeds were normally in League One or something.

The fans' opinion of the gaffer is that Sergej Jakirovic is a legend. He arrived last summer with no experience in England, nor any leading European league, and has proven to be extremely competent, both tactically and with his man-management.

We'll finish 17th.

Fixtures

AUGUST

22 Man United (H)

29 Coventry (A)

SEPTEMBER

5 Aston Villa (H)

12 Chelsea (A)

19 Newcastle (A)

OCTOBER

10 Everton (H)

17 Fulham (A)

24 Brentford (H)

31 Ipswich (H)

NOVEMBER

7 Arsenal (A)

21 Brighton (H)

28 Crystal Palace (A)

DECEMBER

2 Nott'm Forest (H)

5 Bournemouth (A)

12 Tottenham (H)

19 Man City (A)

26 Liverpool (H)

30 Leeds (H)

JANUARY

2 Sunderland (A)

6 Nott'm Forest (A)

16 Arsenal (H)

23 Ipswich (A)

30 Crystal Palace (H)

FEBRUARY

6 Brighton (A)

10 Sunderland (H)

20 Liverpool (A)

27 Man City (H)

MARCH

3 Leeds (A)

13 Aston Villa (A)

20 Chelsea (H)

APRIL

10 Man United (A)

17 Coventry (H)

24 Tottenham (A)

MAY

1 Bournemouth (H)

8 Everton (A)

15 Fulham (H)

23 Brentford (A)

30 Newcastle (H)

Title Odds

Hull City to win the Premier League title odds: 500/1

FFT Verdict

FourFourTwo verdict: Hull City to finish 20th.

The squad is weak for the level and owner Acun Ilicali is ambitious but not mega-rich by Premier League standards. Even if last season's poor performance data is noisy, improving enough will be difficult.

This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.

Compared with their promotion in 2024, Ipswich return to the Premier League stronger in some ways, but weaker in others.

Pound-for-pound, the Tractor Boys should be a closer match for this level. They've got a stronger squad on paper, as well as the banked revenue that increases their spending capacity. However, in terms of cohesion and synergy, Ipswich are less of a sure bet.

Town come up off the back of a lower base performance level in the Championship than they did two years ago, with fewer established partnerships across the park. Most importantly, they no longer have one of the most exciting young British managers around, in Kieran McKenna.

Ipswich return to the Premier League as quickly as they fell from it; this time, can they survive the drop?

The 40-year-old is taking a break from football to spend time with his family, and leaves a legacy that puts him just one rung below Sirs Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson in the pantheon of great Ipswich managers.

Gary O'Neil comes in fresh from a decent short-term job at Strasbourg, having previously delivered Premier League survival with Bournemouth and Wolves.

Much of Ipswich's rise has been attributed to McKenna's work, with the improved structure at the club given secondary praise. Is that structure strong enough to ensure this bright era can outlast a great manager?

Can 2026-27 be a continuation of a pre-existing era, rather than the start of a new one? We're about to find out.

The Coach

A promotion winner as a player with rivals Norwich in 2015, Gary O'Neil follows Marcelino Nunez in switching farms. He has shown much promise in his coaching career to date, but hopes Portman Road might be the first place at which he can build something of substance.

Key Player

Dara O'Shea was ever-present and instrumental in Ipswich's reliability in 2025-26. A smart defender, he grew as a leader and, at 27, will be desperate to put Premier League survival on his CV following relegation with three different clubs. Fourth time's the charm, Dara…

Last Season's Results

CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd

FA CUP: Fourth Round

LEAGUE CUP: First Round

Top Scorer

Jack Clarke bagged 16 in all competitions for his side last season, but will that translate into Premier League goalscoring proficiency?

Lessons From Last Year

Systems are more important than individuals. Ipswich had supremely gifted footballers, but collectively didn't play quite as well as they did with a squad built in League One.

Take Sindre Walle Egeli. Though he outscored Erling Haaland at youth level in Norway, he is yet to shine since Ipswich bought him at 19 for a Championship-record fee.

Because Jaden Philogene or Jack Clarke claim the creative freedom on the left, the right-sider must offer positional discipline and industry. Kasey McAteer and Wes Burns fit the bill better than Egeli.

The individualism of Philogene or Clarke also meant the No.10 had to drop into midfield. Marcelino Nunez does that brilliantly.

And so, Town's vast array of second strikers couldn't show their own qualities. O'Neil must decide who gets free rein, and who is providing balance.

Most Likely To...

Get Ed Sheeran singing The A Team in the dressing room if they survive.

Least Likely To...

Get Ed Sheeran singing Bad Habits in the dressing room if they don't.

View From The Stands

Words by: PHILIP HAM @twtduk

Last season was slow at first, with some ups and downs to follow, but ultimately fantastic.

This season will be different because Town should be better set up for survival now, with new infrastructure, additions to the recruitment team and a squad that's more attuned to this level.

Our key player will be Azor Matusiwa, our midfield linchpin.

The active player I'd love to have back is Tyrone Mings, to bring experience to the squad.

The best thing about matchdays at our ground is the fanzone on the practice pitch behind the West Stand – a great place for fans to warm up before the game.

The one change I'd make at our club would be a new Cobbold Stand, as the current structure is over 50 years old. That's the next big project.

The ground I'm least looking forward to visiting is St James' Park. Newcastle is a long way from Ipswich and we've not won there since 1984.

A social media account to follow is Call Me Ted (@callmeteditfc), who commissioned posters for all of our Premier League games the last time we were here, and continue to produce interesting football-based art.

The fans' opinion of the gaffer is underwhelmed. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the fans' preferred option. While following McKenna is an almost impossible job, O'Neil needs a good start to allay concerns.

We'll finish... who knows? We'd be happy with 17th.

Fixtures

AUGUST

22 Sunderland (H)

29 Man United (A)

SEPTEMBER

5 Liverpool (H)

12 Crystal Palace (A)

19 Everton (A)

OCTOBER

10 Fulham (H)

17 Man City (A)

24 Nott'm Forest (H)

31 Hull City (A)

NOVEMBER

7 Bournemouth (H)

21 Tottenham (A)

28 Aston Villa (H)

DECEMBER

2 Coventry (A)

5 Leeds (A)

12 Newcastle (H)

19 Brighton (A)

26 Brentford (H)

30 Chelsea (H)