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The 2025-2026 Football Thread

Alphazoid said:
Fair point. 22/23. If our attack was even 30% of that we’d be out of sight by now. 2 wins in 6 is unacceptable. The last 2 games we won we played before City. And the rest after them. Jitters.

If we win the league, we would have done so by stumbling over the line. Rather than any form of imperiousness

I still think we’ll do it. Purely because the current City don’t have the ability to go on a 10 game win streak. And Villa don’t have the legs.

It’s funny how City didn’t have this perseverance to challenge LFC last season. And instead quietly fell away. But when Arsenal want to win it the football gods decide to give them some last energy and belief from the brink of extinction. Thanks to LFC at Anfield. Ludicrous.

Needless to say, if we fail to win this season then Arteta and the boys solely have themselves to blame.

The defence has done its job. Conceded the fewest goals and lost only twice. Even contributed goals.

The front 6 however, have been shocking. UCL aside. £180m worth of talent and only 19 EPL goals combined after 26 games. None have reached double figures in the league. Dysfunctional.

Havertz is the only one that has been forward thinking and actively trying to find Gyokeres any time he plays. And of course he’s injured again.

Personally, if City win the league this season I’m genuinely done with top flight football and with Arteta.
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Curious, besides us winning as many games now, before the end of the season, what more do you think Arteta can do?

Surely this is on the boys and their mentality now, no? In addition to players remaining fit

We’re t h i s close…
 
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circatee said:
Curious, besides us winning as many games now, before the end of the season, what more do you think Arteta can do?

Surely this is on the boys and their mentality now, no? In addition to players remaining fit

We’re t h i s close…
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He should allow the attackers to play with more freedom. Instead of obsessing over possession that involves sideways and back passes to the GK.

He should also coach them to move the ball quicker to deal with low blocks as City did for many seasons.

Gyokeres has made so may runs behind but no one passes to him. Instead the man on the ball plays it back…because control and safety first as instructed by the manager which then allows opposing defenders to reset their shape.

Systems are important…but not to the detriment of individual flair/skill.

I still maintain Arteta has over corrected to focus too much on defence/control, after his traumatic experience with the 22/23 season.
 
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Most predictions have this season's league winner accumulating ~84 points, so it's hardly going to be a record year in terms of the points needed to take the title. Of course, if Man City start going on a run that could change.
 
Alphazoid said:
He should allow the attackers to play with more freedom. Instead of obsessing over possession that involves sideways and back passes to the GK.

He should also coach them to move the ball quicker to deal with low blocks as City did for many seasons.

Gyokeres has made so may runs behind but no one passes to him. Instead the man on the ball plays it back…because control and safety first as instructed by the manager which then allows opposing defenders to reset their shape.

Systems are important…but not to the detriment of individual flair/skill.

I still maintain Arteta has over corrected to focus too much on defence/control, after his traumatic experience with the 22/23 season.
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Touché. I do miss the fast paced Wenger ere…
 
Honestly I think Arsenal have both the best first team and the best squad. They may not be set up to feed a striker to enable him to score 25 goals a season, but instead Arteta’s concept and squad distributes goals throughout the team. I think it’ll be very unlikely that they don’t win the league this year, and quite possibly the CL as well.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Most predictions have this season's league winner accumulating ~84 points, so it's hardly going to be a record year in terms of the points needed to take the title. Of course, if Man City start going on a run that could change.
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With 12 games left for Man City, they can get to 89 points if they win all remaining games, and one them is against Arsenal. If Arsenal win all remaining games, bar the Man City game, then they will finish on 90.
 
Annoyed that none of yesterdays FA Cup matches were televised (at least in the US).

I watched a bit of the Grimsby-Wolves match….the pitch was a bog, the ball stopped dead a few times hitting puddles.

daneoni said:
I don't think either team wins all their remaining games though. Especially since they're both still playing 4 competitions.
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I can’t see either team winning out, but it’s possible that neither can afford to lose any matches.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Annoyed that none of yesterdays FA Cup matches were televised (at least in the US).

I watched a bit of the Grimsby-Wolves match….the pitch was a bog, the ball stopped dead a few times hitting puddles.



I can’t see either team winning out, but it’s possible that neither can afford to lose any matches.
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I recall those sort of pitches from my youth. Plus a leather ball that weighed at least twice what they do these days!

But these days despite all the rain (we have had rain every day since December in some parts of the country), the groundsman do a pretty good job.

We played a reserve team. 10 changes in our starting 11. It took the inform Somerville to break the deadlock in extra time. I’d have rather not played the extra time.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
The new football season is upon us.

As the competition that those of us of a certain age will remember as the Charity Shield (I have just realised that this competition nowadays - and for the past quarter of a century - goes by the name of the Community Shield) is scheduled to take place this coming week-end, - a date that traditionally marks the opening tie (even if it has become a somewhat ceremonial tie) for the forthcoming football season, - and, moreover, as matches in the Championship have also actually started today - and, furthermore as the various sports pages in the print (and screen) media are busily writing about the forthcoming season - everything from forecasts, prognostications, transfers, including even articles inviting fan opinions about planned team kit changes - it seems that now is an appropriate time to start a thread for the discussion of the football season of 2025-2026.

With that, herewith the 2025-2026 football thread.
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Always sneaks up faster than expected. Feels like the last season just ended and suddenly we’re back to transfers, predictions, and everyone convincing themselves this is the year their club finally gets it right. Good to have the routine back though, weekends feel empty without matches on.
 
liam899 said:
Always sneaks up faster than expected. Feels like the last season just ended and suddenly we’re back to transfers, predictions, and everyone convincing themselves this is the year their club finally gets it right. Good to have the routine back though, weekends feel empty without matches on.
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???? The season is two thirds done.
 
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Thats 3 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss for Arsenal in 8 games

Wolves who had only scored 16 goals all season managed to score 2 more against Arsenal

Doesn't bode well, and momentum seems to be swinging away from them...towards City who are increasingly gaining belief. And would be bouyed by that result

Its looking like the gap will be narrowed to 2pts by the end of this weekend. And City will have a game in hand.
 
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Alphazoid said:
Cool. Wolves deserve it.

We’ve been shocking since the turn of the year

Over to you Pep…again.
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Sal09 said:
We are trying absolutely everything in our power to bottle it.
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Silencio said:
Oh dear, Arsenal. Oh dear.
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daneoni said:
Thats 3 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss for Arsenal in 8 games

Wolves who had only scored 16 goals all season managed to score 2 more against Arsenal

Doesn't bode well, and momentum seems to be swinging away from them...towards City who are increasingly gaining belief. And would be bouyed by that result

Its looking like the gap will be narrowed to 2pts by the end of this weekend. And City will have a game in hand.
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Dear me.

Sigh.

Déjà vu, déjà vu, déjà vu.

Good for Wolves, and dreadful, embarrassing and excruciating for us.

What are the odds on the season ending with us having achieved a fourth consecutive runners up spot? Also rans again? To be candid, at this rate, I can't see us winning the title this season.
 
As a Guardian piece on this debacle (against Wolves) aptly observed, "Arsenal don’t just drop points, they perform theatrical acts of self-sabotage".
 
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A hard fought duel between City and Newcastle, but the Citizens get to celebrate a deserved 2-1 win. Arsenal’s lead at the top now only two points after 26 games played.
 
Shame Villa didn't put up much more of a fight (albeit as predicted). But it looks like the league is set to return to type, and City will win the league.

Perhaps next season, if Arteta is still there. He should start the season wobbly then kick into gear after Christmas.
 
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Forest were all over Liverpool in the first half today, Alisson made several fantastic saves to keep things at 0-0. It was a dull match that should have ended scoreless. The irony is that Liverpool scored the winner in the time added on for a previous VAR check that seemingly denied them the chance to win the game. So if nothing else they showed th right work rate and attitude. That hasn’t changed since last season.

Wirtz was missed today - which in a way is good news, he has finally bedded in and makes Liverpool markedly better. But the decline of Gakpo, MacAllister, Jones, and Salah was evident. They are too easily contained by your run-of-the-mill lower half premier league team’s defensive unit.

Without that attacking verve Liverpool are not the title-winning team they so recently have been. But good players don’t become bad overnight. Salah’s decline is age-related and likely irreversible, but we should expect to see the others improve over their current form.

In spite of everything Liverpool are still well-placed to take advantage of slip-ups by teams above them. But to do that they need to be able to beat lower half teams reliably - which they have not been doing this season. Right now Liverpool feel like merely the sum of their parts.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Forest were all over Liverpool in the first half today, Alisson made several fantastic saves to keep things at 0-0. It was a dull match that should have ended scoreless. The irony is that Liverpool scored the winner in the time added on for a previous VAR check that seemingly denied them the chance to win the game. So if nothing else they showed th right work rate and attitude. That hasn’t changed since last season.

Wirtz was missed today - which in a way is good news, he has finally bedded in and makes Liverpool markedly better. But the decline of Gakpo, MacAllister, Jones, and Salah was evident. They are too easily contained by your run-of-the-mill lower half premier league team’s defensive unit.

Without that attacking verve Liverpool are not the title-winning team they so recently have been. But good players don’t become bad overnight. Salah’s decline is age-related and likely irreversible, but we should expect to see the others improve over their current form.

In spite of everything Liverpool are still well-placed to take advantage of slip-ups by teams above them. But to do that they need to be able to beat lower half teams reliably - which they have not been doing this season. Right now Liverpool feel like merely the sum of their parts.
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I was definitely a Liverpool fan today. Next week not so much!
 
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