It’s finally here. The 2024/25 English Premier League starts on Friday night. It cannot come any sooner. The only disappointment, during these early, pre-season matches, has been Erik Ten Hag popping up on social media streams. I was not prepared for that.
I am awfully biased, I support the Arsenal, and have an enormous loyalty to Leeds United; it’s complicated…. My biases include disliking everything about Tottenham Hotspur (I should say that Son Heung-min is probably the nicest person in the Premier League) and Manchester United; holding the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich responsible for opening the floodgates for obscene money to flow into the Premier League – from some of the most odious sources – over the past two decades; the increased ownership of USA billionaires of clubs (only because I fear they will turn the beautiful game into a spectacle with time-outs, commercial breaks, national anthems and other symbols of national pride, dancing girls and Velveeta).
Ten Hag is unbelievably irritating. If you listen to his post-match comments, you would imagine that his team had won the match at a canter. Only Roy Keane would find nothing wrong with Ten Hag’s record of 2023/24. Keane prays to the trinity of Manchester United, Christiano Ronaldo and Brian Clough.
“Under the Dutchman United suffered their lowest league finish in 34 years, ending up in eighth. United finished the season with a goal difference of -1, set a record for goals conceded by an English team in a UEFA Champions League group stage, and conceded more shots than the 2007/08 Derby County team who won a record-low 11 points in a Premier League season…. Out of 96 teams in the “Big Five” leagues in Europe, they finished 95th for shots faced (660), behind only Sheffield United. Their Expected Goals Against (xGA) was 70.1, which in the Premier League was the fifth-worst, behind West Ham United and the bottom three. United also allowed 1,199 touches in their own penalty area, the fourth-most in the division, and allowed the third-most attempted crosses, with 780. (Source)
Now that I have that out of my system… (I will put a fiver on Ten Hag losing his job mid-season) I should say that I know very little about football. So, everything I write in this space should be viewed through that frame. Comment if you will, but be nice.
Arsenal
As for my club in the Premier League, the Arsenal have done reasonably well in the transfer market. The addition of Riccardo Calafiori will give the team options in defence, and give players a rest. Plus he is Italian – Forza Azzurri!.
Arsenal should have bought a number 9. We need better, more consistent, goalscoring. More goals. We need more goals. Gabriel Jesus has not been good enough. If it were not for the goals from the wings (Bukayo Saka – 16 goals; Leandro Trossard – 12); or the midfield (Kai Havertz – 13; Martin Ødegaard – 8; Declan Rice – 7), the Arsenal may have finished lower last season. Two defenders, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhães each scored as many goals as Jesus (4). Sure, Jesus played only 27 matches, the same as Eddie Nketiah, except Eddie scored 5 goals. Lack of an out-and-out goalscorer will be our undoing in the 2024/25 season.
| Player | Appearances | Goals | |
| 1 | Bukayo Saka | 35 | 16 |
| 2 | K Havertz | 37 | 13 |
| 3 | Leandro Trossard | 34 | 12 |
| 4 | Martin Ødegaard | 35 | 8 |
| 5 | Declan Rice | 38 | 7 |
| 6 | Gabriel Martinelli | 35 | 6 |
| 7 | Eddie Nketiah | 27 | 5 |
| 8 | Gabriel Jesus | 27 | 4 |
| 8 | Gabriel Magalhães | 36 | 4 |
| 8 | Ben White | 37 | 4 |
All things considered, Manchester City will be pushed all the way, again, this season. I don’t think they will be a strong as last season. Arsenal have certainly strengthened in defence. Liverpool look as solid as they have for the past four or five years or so. Aston Villa are knocking on the top four door, as are Spurs to be fair (I hate being fair about Spurs) but with less promise. It will be interesting to see if AngeBall can get back the fizzle of early 2023/2024. By the end of the season AngeBall had sliced, diced, chopped, julienned, spiced, stirred, fried, but there really was nothing to serve, mate.
Under current ownership Chel$ki have been like the feller who likes to buy diamonds and gold because, you know, diamonds and gold; except diamonds and gold can increase in value, and I’m not sure any of Chel$ki’s purchases are worth more than for what they were bought. I do suspect Moisés Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk might show up. Raheem Stirling is not a resilient as the pound and …. nothing, I have nothing else on Chel$ki.
I don’t know who will win the league. I would like Arsenal to win it, and Manchester United and Spurs finishing somewhere mid-table, below West Ham and Everton (for the sake of my scouser friends, and NOT because of Sean Dyche). Liverpool will probably finish in third or fourth place, unless Aston Villa force their way into the top four.
Speaking of Dyche … Whatever happened to Alan Pardew, Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce, Ian Holloway. Funny guys. If I didn’t actually like Alan Curbishley I would add him to the Premier League Old Boys Comedy Club.