Football 2025-26

[pink_triangle]

8 hours ago, dingbat2 said:

I think why the English teams struggle in the knockout stages is mainly because there are at least 4 teams who are streets ahead of our teams, PSG and Real especially but also Barca and Bayern. PSG alone have knocked out 6 English teams in the past 3 years so far (2 this, 3 last year and one the year before) and Real always seem to have the better of Man City. Englands best are just not good enough to beat these at the moment and havent ben for the past 5 years or so. 

 

Saying that our teams have been looking really tired the last few weeks, Liverpool and Arsenal especially this week, I can see Arsenal getting walloped in the final, although I think Atletico will beat them in the SF

How many of the world’s top players would you say are in the EPL at present. You would say Haaland but then I’m struggling. There are loads in the next level and the mid/poorer teams are better, but I think the league still struggles to attract the superstars

 

Also PSG have big advantage with league cancelling games before the champions league.

[dingbat2]

31 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

How many of the world’s top players would you say are in the EPL at present. You would say Haaland but then I’m struggling. There are loads in the next level and the mid/poorer teams are better, but I think the league still struggles to attract the superstars

 

 

But thats what I mean, how many teams outside the likes of PSG, Real, Barca, Munich in Europe can attract the worlds top players, Atletico, Inter, Dortmund maybe but very few others. Enlgland can attract some but most players amnition is to play for Real or Barca, and maybe Bayern. Europes top table is really PSG, Real, Munich and Barca, England's top 3 or 4 are playing catch up to those at the moment. 

 

[kaosmark2]

49 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

How many of the world’s top players would you say are in the EPL at present. You would say Haaland but then I’m struggling. There are loads in the next level and the mid/poorer teams are better, but I think the league still struggles to attract the superstars

 

Also PSG have big advantage with league cancelling games before the champions league.

I do think this is largely a commentary on City's transition and Arsenal not having proven themselves as winners though. I think it's not long ago that you'd say there were several at City, and if Arsenal win the league + CL and some of their players dominate the world cup (for Spain/France as well as England) then there'd be more potential talk of that.

 

Every English team except maybe Arsenal are in transition atm. The peak of Pep vs Klopp and there would have been plenty from both City and Liverpool talked about in this sense. Salah, Rodri, De Bruyne, Mane. And Aguero/David Silva/Yaya before that. Even if players became stars in England I do think there have been them.

[charlierc]

Back in 2018, Villa and Forest played out a 5-5 draw in the Championship, which dived spectacular and pretty wild. So the two of them now facing off in the Europa League semi finals is quite the story indeed. 

 

Braga or Frieburg on the other side feels like a winnable final too. 

[charlierc]

On 15/04/2026 at 23:10, thetime said:

 

Utd haven't needed a squad this season, infact quite the opposite. The players are not playing enough, that was obvious 1st half on Monday night.

 

Where Utd will need a good squad next season, Newcastle won't need one so big if they don't get Europe. So if you can give us Tonali and your Bruno, that would help massively. 🤗

I mean, if we're gonna gut our midfield, we'd at least like a lot of cash for that. Though the mood music is that the likeliest first out is Gordon, which given he has looked like he can't be arsed for much of this year and has quite a poor PL output means it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to cash in when his value is high. 

[charlierc]

12 hours ago, dingbat2 said:

 

But thats what I mean, how many teams outside the likes of PSG, Real, Barca, Munich in Europe can attract the worlds top players, Atletico, Inter, Dortmund maybe but very few others. Enlgland can attract some but most players amnition is to play for Real or Barca, and maybe Bayern. Europes top table is really PSG, Real, Munich and Barca, England's top 3 or 4 are playing catch up to those at the moment. 

 

I think Man City are the closest to that high end stable with Arsenal not that far behind.

 

Real Madrid are in a weird position right now given they are set to have a second trophyless season in a row and where their squad just looks unbalanced - they seem to have a 2003-05 Galacticos vibe of too many attacking stars to fit together. 

 

But equally I think burnout is still a factor. In autumn, Arsenal brushed aside Bayern Munich 3-1 and thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League group stage. As it happens, that pairing could be the two opponents that stand between Arsenal and the trophy but I don't see them being quite as comfortable in beating such a pair. 

[charlierc]

Friend of mine from uni is a massive Coventry City fan and he is pretty stoked to see that they've got back to the PL. As you would be. Only been 25 years since they were last in the top flight and everything, to say nothing of their misadventures like having a dreadful American hedge fund owner before everyone seemed to get one, having to play home games in Northampton and Birmingham, and being in League 2.

[kaosmark2]

On 17/04/2026 at 06:49, charlierc said:

I mean, if we're gonna gut our midfield, we'd at least like a lot of cash for that. Though the mood music is that the likeliest first out is Gordon, which given he has looked like he can't be arsed for much of this year and has quite a poor PL output means it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to cash in when his value is high. 

I dunno if the mood about Gordon is just he's the one with the latest rumours. Given Tino's not signed a new contract and there's long-standing interest from City I think that's the more certain sale. I think we're losing 2-3 big names, and I'd guess Livramento + one of Gordon/Tonali, and maybe 1 other. Just not Bruno and Hall please!

 

I actually think Gordon's had a better season than Tonali. He's certainly been better in the PL since the turn of the year. It has looked more like Gordon's bad games have been a "cba" while Tonali's bad games have still been doing the running but misplacing passes, but I guess we'll see.

[charlierc]

5 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

I dunno if the mood about Gordon is just he's the one with the latest rumours. Given Tino's not signed a new contract and there's long-standing interest from City I think that's the more certain sale. I think we're losing 2-3 big names, and I'd guess Livramento + one of Gordon/Tonali, and maybe 1 other. Just not Bruno and Hall please!

 

I actually think Gordon's had a better season than Tonali. He's certainly been better in the PL since the turn of the year. It has looked more like Gordon's bad games have been a "cba" while Tonali's bad games have still been doing the running but misplacing passes, but I guess we'll see.

Tbf I wrote this before Gordon was left out the team for the Bournemouth match today, with some claiming it was a convenient injury or just flat out saying they didn't believe he was injured. 

 

Four defeats in a row now... It's really not looking good. Again, I don't want to jump up and down and demand Howe out but really, this is heading for a break up. 

[thetime]

Massive result for utd that. Didn't deserve to win, but the points most important.

 

How Amorim didn't play Mainoo is crazy, links everything in midfield. 

Edited April 18 by thetime

[kaosmark2]

7 hours ago, charlierc said:

Tbf I wrote this before Gordon was left out the team for the Bournemouth match today, with some claiming it was a convenient injury or just flat out saying they didn't believe he was injured. 

 

Four defeats in a row now... It's really not looking good. Again, I don't want to jump up and down and demand Howe out but really, this is heading for a break up. 

I think it's sad it's going to end like this. Next match Arsenal which, while I think they've looked pretty awful, should still be comfortable for them.

 

Howe's post-match press conferences have been so much worse lately as well. They've had excuses, and he just looks tired and out of ideas. I would much much prefer for him and the CEO to have a conversation and agree that this isn't sustainable, than for him to limp through the summer and then get sacked early next year.

 

I'd still prefer he stays over a bunch of idiotic suggestions, but I like to think we'd be an appealing job for a lot of managers.

[kaosmark2]

2 hours ago, thetime said:

Massive result for utd that. Didn't deserve to win, but the points most important.

 

How Amorim didn't play Mainoo is crazy, links everything in midfield. 

Chelsea didn't deserve to win either mind you, they didn't create enough during their 40 minutes of dominance, and their midfield lost all control once Caicedo dropped back into defence.

 

Amorim's system wasn't about midfield links, it was about fast transitions and movement. One DM and a sitting playmaker, to move the ball swiftly to wing backs and a front 3. While I think the 4-2-3-1 looks more natural for the squad and easier in the PL, I think Amorim would probably still have had your lot in top 5 right now with the Chelsea/Liverpool meltdowns. One of the few Man U managers in recent years to leave the squad in a better place than when he took the job as well.

[charlierc]

10 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

I think it's sad it's going to end like this. Next match Arsenal which, while I think they've looked pretty awful, should still be comfortable for them.

 

Howe's post-match press conferences have been so much worse lately as well. They've had excuses, and he just looks tired and out of ideas. I would much much prefer for him and the CEO to have a conversation and agree that this isn't sustainable, than for him to limp through the summer and then get sacked early next year.

 

I'd still prefer he stays over a bunch of idiotic suggestions, but I like to think we'd be an appealing job for a lot of managers.

Yeah some of his comments recently have been eyebrow-raising. One that really got memed on the NUFC Reddit was a comment about errors at Palace being "uncharacteristic again", which is difficult to hide behind given our defence has been making so many errors this season. But there was also a line yesterday about how "we only play with one striker", hinting at just a real lack of flexibility to at least try something new given the squad built last summer doesn't seem to suit the 4-3-3 press-press-press style. Others jumped on a lengthy pause when asked about whether the players still care. I don't tend to put too much on the post-match conferences, but yeah, there have been a lot of strange comments recently that seemingly betray that he knows this isn't working.

 

I do think its getting more and more plausible that he'll be leaving in the summer, which is a shame in a way. I was sympathetic to a commenter I saw elsewhere saying managers are essentially not allowed an off season anymore, but equally, the body of evidence is ultimately that Howe is just not doing well enough to remedy this mess and with a big squad rebuild coming this summer, the question has to be there on whether you throw big cash at a rebuild to meet his specifications or not want to be in a situation like Man Utd with ten Hag a few years ago where they gave him lots of money only to sack him a few weeks later and have a new manager with a tactical philosophy totally unsuited to the squad he inherited. Although saying that we've had the same boss for 5 years and somehow only signed players last summer that don't suit his preferred style so... pfft.

[thetime]

55 minutes ago, charlierc said:

Yeah some I saw elsewhere saying managers are essentially not allowed an off season anymore, but equally, the

 

 

 

Its a difficult one and modern football is a bit nuts to me. Managers sacked very quickly nowadays. My personal gripe is how quickly fans boo there teams off the field. I noticed Arsenal fans did it when they lost last week, even though they were 9 points clear at the time. I get the hysteria on social media and some fan sites, that has now transferred to stadiums. 

 

Would be harsh on Eddie Howe, league finishes of 4th, 7th and 5th and a cup. Bad recruitment has stuffed him up, which it boils down to. 70m for Woltemade is on utd levels of massively over paying for an average player. 

 

League is so tight this year, couple of extra wins Newcastle would be fighting for top 6. Fine margins and all that. 

 

 

[kaosmark2]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

Yeah some of his comments recently have been eyebrow-raising. One that really got memed on the NUFC Reddit was a comment about errors at Palace being "uncharacteristic again", which is difficult to hide behind given our defence has been making so many errors this season. But there was also a line yesterday about how "we only play with one striker", hinting at just a real lack of flexibility to at least try something new given the squad built last summer doesn't seem to suit the 4-3-3 press-press-press style. Others jumped on a lengthy pause when asked about whether the players still care. I don't tend to put too much on the post-match conferences, but yeah, there have been a lot of strange comments recently that seemingly betray that he knows this isn't working.

 

I do think its getting more and more plausible that he'll be leaving in the summer, which is a shame in a way. I was sympathetic to a commenter I saw elsewhere saying managers are essentially not allowed an off season anymore, but equally, the body of evidence is ultimately that Howe is just not doing well enough to remedy this mess and with a big squad rebuild coming this summer, the question has to be there on whether you throw big cash at a rebuild to meet his specifications or not want to be in a situation like Man Utd with ten Hag a few years ago where they gave him lots of money only to sack him a few weeks later and have a new manager with a tactical philosophy totally unsuited to the squad he inherited. Although saying that we've had the same boss for 5 years and somehow only signed players last summer that don't suit his preferred style so... pfft.

I think if we were finishing the season with a storm up the table to qualify for Europa it'd be much easier to defend the problems. The excuse/reason of no breaks all season doesn't really track now we're out of the other competitions, and there actually was something to play for. The "uncharacteristic again" bothered me, and one a while ago about how Gordon won't be picked on the RW "because he doesn't like it there". The striker comment yesterday didn't help, but it just feels like there isn't a solution coming.

 

It's also worth highlighting that Howe had these same problems in this last 18m at Bournemouth, defence started collapsing, late goals conceded, and it felt like he ran out of ideas. It's the endlessly losing 2-1 while scoring the first goal more often, and having neither the ability to score a 2nd and finish teams off, or control the game and hold the lead (I realise yesterday we conceded first). I'd also have a bit more sympathy if it weren't Howe and his nephew having led the recruitment last summer. I still think Elanga and Woltemade have a lot of quality to them, we just need to play to their strengths. The ball from Elanga to play Osula in was great, but it's still only flashes.

 

There's also going to be huge manager churn this summer, between the world cup, half the mid-table Prem clubs, a bunch of big clubs, all hiring. I think we should be an attractive job for a good manager, but I can't think anyone would hold out for us. Even ignoring a mid-season firing, I think this summer is a better time to change than next summer, so if there's not a belief that Howe is the right man for 2+ years, it's probably better to part ways now than start a rebuild then panic and shift gear.

[kaosmark2]

36 minutes ago, thetime said:

My personal gripe is how quickly fans boo there teams off the field. I noticed Arsenal fans did it when they lost last week, even though they were 9 points clear at the time. I get the hysteria on social media and some fan sites, that has now transferred to stadiums. 

I do think this is worse in London stadia. Also booing ex-players who didn't leave in a tantrum. I don't think Mount did anything wrong or force a move to Man U yet he got booed yesterday? Similarly Kudus got booed when Spurs played at West Ham. Probably a thing around fan entitlement, internet culture leaking into grounds, and ticket prices driving families out of the stands and bringing in richer, more entitled fans.

[charlierc]

2 hours ago, thetime said:

 

Its a difficult one and modern football is a bit nuts to me. Managers sacked very quickly nowadays. My personal gripe is how quickly fans boo there teams off the field. I noticed Arsenal fans did it when they lost last week, even though they were 9 points clear at the time. I get the hysteria on social media and some fan sites, that has now transferred to stadiums. 

 

Would be harsh on Eddie Howe, league finishes of 4th, 7th and 5th and a cup. Bad recruitment has stuffed him up, which it boils down to. 70m for Woltemade is on utd levels of massively over paying for an average player. 

 

League is so tight this year, couple of extra wins Newcastle would be fighting for top 6. Fine margins and all that. 

 

 

I think it's absolutely sure that fans boo a lot more than they used to, though even then, it's been about a decade or so of that. And sure, I agree that there comes a point where you have to ask if endlessly sacking the manager is the solution. Watford have hit the wall imo and I don't think their approach of changing manager at the first sign of trouble is working anymore, meanwhile I noted League 2 Barrow have sacked 3 managers already this year on their way to being in prime danger of dropping to National League, which doesn't feel healthy.

 

I agree it would be harsh given we did overachieve in the previous 3 seasons with the league's 8th/9th highest wage bill on average, but there's that sense of wondering if Howe has hit the ceiling. He himself has said he felt he should've quit Bournemouth a year earlier than he did, with Cherries fans pointing out his last season there was kinda like what we're having (albeit without the European hassle). I like Woltemade tbf but it feels like Howe wants a different kind of striker and not to want to adapt to NW's qualities, which are very different to what you'd think a striker of his physical build would be like. £55million on Wissa has unquestionably been a failure.

[charlierc]

2 hours ago, kaosmark2 said:

I think if we were finishing the season with a storm up the table to qualify for Europa it'd be much easier to defend the problems. The excuse/reason of no breaks all season doesn't really track now we're out of the other competitions, and there actually was something to play for. The "uncharacteristic again" bothered me, and one a while ago about how Gordon won't be picked on the RW "because he doesn't like it there". The striker comment yesterday didn't help, but it just feels like there isn't a solution coming.

 

It's also worth highlighting that Howe had these same problems in this last 18m at Bournemouth, defence started collapsing, late goals conceded, and it felt like he ran out of ideas. It's the endlessly losing 2-1 while scoring the first goal more often, and having neither the ability to score a 2nd and finish teams off, or control the game and hold the lead (I realise yesterday we conceded first). I'd also have a bit more sympathy if it weren't Howe and his nephew having led the recruitment last summer. I still think Elanga and Woltemade have a lot of quality to them, we just need to play to their strengths. The ball from Elanga to play Osula in was great, but it's still only flashes.

 

There's also going to be huge manager churn this summer, between the world cup, half the mid-table Prem clubs, a bunch of big clubs, all hiring. I think we should be an attractive job for a good manager, but I can't think anyone would hold out for us. Even ignoring a mid-season firing, I think this summer is a better time to change than next summer, so if there's not a belief that Howe is the right man for 2+ years, it's probably better to part ways now than start a rebuild then panic and shift gear.

It's kinda one of two things with who we signed last year. Either we signed players thinking we could adapt into something that plays to their strengths or that these players can be moulded into ones that can fit Howe's system. Neither has really worked out tbh. Elanga has been an awkward fit for most of the year, although tbf scoring twice in the Nou Camp and some generally better performances since Christmas mean I don't think he's a total lost cause (although I gather yesterday he was terrible). It just feels like we signed square pegs for the round holes and Howe decided just to revert to the 4-3-3 pressing style rather than try to wing something together, which ultimately hasn't worked. I thought tbf that around Christmas, we did try something different in a few games with Woltemade & Wissa playing together in a 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 hybrid but that seemed to be abandoned pretty quickly.

 

It's fine margins with these things, sure. It's noted we've let 25 points slip from winning positions, which is indefensible and such is the closeness of the league that we'd above Chelsea and at the front of the European chasing queue with less than half of that. I'd forgotten the line about Gordon not playing wide right, which was puzzling at the time, not least as I'm pretty sure Gordon was signed to play wide right. It feels like we have time to at least consider trying something else but it feels like we're too late for that now. Well unless we have a surprise back 5 at Arsenal next week.

 

With regard to the summer, I think the club has said there'll be an end of season review to think about whether Howe has shown enough to justify carrying on. I do have concerns about the manager market in a way tbf because the World Cup is a hell of a distraction for some huge names, and indeed some huge names could be poached by nations who underperform over at FIFA's Fyre Festival. So it'll be a bit of a choppy water. I can see why, if they could, the club would want to avoid having to dip into that market, but Howe needs to show a lot more to keep around. Either that or it may well be that, after such a chaotic year, maybe we do just reach the point where Howe decides he needs a break. I guess in a few weeks time we'll find out.

[thetime]

32 minutes ago, charlierc said:

 Wissa has unquestionably been a failure.

 

Why do you think that is? The injury? Was a sure fire thing to be a success i thought.

 

Elanga is pretty much a one trick point, does well when lots of space and open field with his pace. Suits mid to lower prem teams with counter attacking football. 

 

Woltemade not seen anything from him that screams 65m-70m. 

 

I do think the wage bill isn't an accurate reflection for Newcastle. Look at Chelsea, only 5th highest wage bill but will crash over 2 billion on transfers this summer in 4 years. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19 by thetime

[charlierc]

3 hours ago, thetime said:

 

Why do you think that is? The injury? Was a sure fire thing to be a success i thought.

 

Elanga is pretty much a one trick point, does well when lots of space and open field with his pace. Suits mid to lower prem teams with counter attacking football. 

 

Woltemade not seen anything from him that screams 65m-70m. 

 

I do think the wage bill isn't an accurate reflection for Newcastle. Look at Chelsea, only 5th highest wage bill but will crash over 2 billion on transfers this summer in 4 years. 

 

We overpaid for Wissa but yeah, I think the injury disrupted his preparation for how we do things and the combination of the disrupted pre-season then the injury and then not getting the minutes means he now just looks like he's actually 3rd or 4th choice. Shame but it is what it is.

 

Woltemade plays as the main starting striker for the German national team and started well for us, so there's some kind of player there, but he seems better suited to something different to what we're using him for. Consensus from the Germans is that he plays better with people around him rather than an isolated fellow making something out of nothing, which is kind of what we want him to be. Playing him as a CM is absolutely not working as an experiment.

 

Tbf I think both fees were inflated by events - Wissa because Brentford knew we had the Isak money to burn and had a great season last year, Woltemade because he'd signed a new contract at Stuttgart and had been great at the U21 Euros last summer.

 

I'm not sure if it means a new striker is required in the summer tbf. We'll certainly need quite a few - Pope looks past it and I don't think Ramsdale's loan is being made permanent so a new keeper, Trippier is off so a new RB, Schar may be off so a new CB, new winger as Elanga isn't working out, Murphy is ageing and Gordon is potentially going. I guess we'll see what happens.

 

Chelsea just feel like a truly weird club to get a handle on tbh. I fail to see exactly how a system with 5/6 sporting directors is working and they seem to have magpie-like tendencies for players. Their model feels unsustainable with how much cash they're throwing at it all.

[charlierc]

I'm not going to say Man City are definitely going to overtake Arsenal and win the league now, but the path to them doing that looks a whole lot clearer.

 

In Arsenal's defence, I think they actually did play well - they had 2/3 decent chances as well as the goal. Plus you never know in these kind of high pressure scenarios where someone blinks. But it feels as though the psychological momentum is with Man City now.

[thetime]

8 minutes ago, charlierc said:

I'm not going to say Man City are definitely going to overtake Arsenal and win the league now, but the path to them doing that looks a whole lot clearer.

 

In Arsenal's defence, I think they actually did play well - they had 2/3 decent chances as well as the goal. Plus you never know in these kind of high pressure scenarios where someone blinks. But it feels as though the psychological momentum is with Man City now.

 

Arsenal have arguably the easier run in. With maybe only West Ham having much to play for. 

 

Palace last game, who may have the conference final few days later. Then again City could have villa, just coming off the europa cup final.

[Skip997]

Beginning to feel like Liverpool may sneak into CL qualification. 
 

Not sure how I feel about this 

[thetime]

1 minute ago, Skip997 said:

Beginning to feel like Liverpool may sneak into CL qualification. 
 

Not sure how I feel about this 

 

On the bright side, keeps your manager in a job. 😎😎

[charlierc]

1 hour ago, Skip997 said:

Beginning to feel like Liverpool may sneak into CL qualification. 
 

Not sure how I feel about this 

I don't think there's any other way to analyse it tbh. Chelsea were the team I thought would be the closest challengers but they are totally out of form and I'm not sure any of the cluster below is consistent enough to swipe it from you now.