Football – 2023/24 Season

Premier league kicks off tonight, and the transfer market is heating up.

Kane looks like he is off to munch sausages, and Liverpool have agreed 110 million deal for Caicedo. I think that brings Liverpool right back to being contenders for the PL title, and spurs to possibly slipping into the bottom half.

I think there will probably be a clear top 3 this year, City, Arsenal and Liverpool, with United and Chelsea maybe capable of taking points head to head with the top 3 but not being consistent enough to sustain a title challenge. Newcastle have strengthened, but not perhaps as much as the other teams they want to compete with, they overperformed last year and I suspect will struggle a bit more this year, to consolidate with a top 6 should still be seen as a positive, aston villa may also be in the mix, 4-7 could be a real scramble.

It’s difficult to remember a season starting with so many changes in key personnel at the big clubs.  As a Gooner I am not unhappy with our business but scratch my head at Havertz.  Perhaps my favourite move is the departure of Kane from our annoying neighbours.  Difficult to see us replicating last season’s finish for us and I fear it’ll be Citeh’s name on the trophy when all is done and dusted.

Caicedo for £110Mn !!

It’s all Citeh’s fault for splashing all that cash on Maguire, Pogba, Sancho, Antony, Havertz, Mudryk, Rice, Enzo Fernandez, Lukakukakukaku, Fofana, Kepa, van Dijk etc. etc.

I can’t believe Citeh get so much flack when all this nonsense is going on all around them.

As a Brighton fan, I’m gutted that we’ve lost Caicedo, McAlister and Gomez! 🤷‍♂️

Transfer fees are almost irrelevant IF the player is successful. Liverpool desperately need a holding/defensive midfielder. They are probably thinking it’s the difference between challenging for the title (and getting into the CL next year) or getting 5/6th place and losing tens of millions in prize money etc. If Caicedo moves and helps with the overall objectives then he would have easily paid for the premium he’s likely to cost.

Watford season ticket holder. Low expectations for 1st game comfortably exceeded. Took an early chance to sing we are top of the league – probably the first and last opportunity. Mid table but bucking the trend, predict only 1 manager. Think Pozzo might have run out of money to pay off another with coaching staff.

As a Brighton fan, I’m gutted that we’ve lost Caicedo, McAlister and Gomez!

This happy and is not nice. A few years ago Reading lost Steve Sidwell to Chelsea, our best player, and he sat on the bench all season.

Transfer fees are almost irrelevant IF the player is successful.

They always seem to be relevant when it’s City doing the spending.

This table needs a quick update:

https://www.squawka.com/en/news/premier-league-net-spend-2022-23/

and Liverpool have agreed 110 million deal for Caicedo.

Looks like the Liverpool move might be off now

https://talksport.com/football/1529673/chelsea-hijack-moises-caicedo-liverpool-brighton-transfer/

Think Man U did the best business this summer. Got rid of Maguire & convinced West Ham to pay £30,000,000 for him.

Can’t see anyone but Man City winning this again.

As a Newcastle fan, I would be very happy with top 6 and a decent run in the CL and domestic cups.

Haaland has taken 3 minutes to start his campaign off 😂

Forest fan with second season syndrome incoming, could do with a couple more players in to give us a bit more steel through the spine but we’ll see if they pull anything out of the hat before Sept. Hoping to keep tomorrows 12.30 under 3 nill tbh

Think Man U did the best business this summer. Got rid of Maguire & convinced West Ham to pay £30,000,000 for him.

While this is true, the 80 million we paid for him in the first place is the second worst piece of business in premier league history. The very worst obviously being the 90 million we paid for Pogba a few years after letting him leave on a free

I reckon the best bit of business done so far is Liverpool paying 35 million for Mac Allister. They have then however redeemed the situation by breaking the bank and the transfer record to take Caciedo to Anfield, only to have him go to Chelsea instead 😂

Well I’d argue the amount paid for the Swedish overweight dining sideboard, Tomas Brolin was even worse. It led to the decline of Leeds for the next 20 years.

It’ll be funny if Chelsea sign Caicedo and Lavia and Liverpool are left with neither

I love the Todd Boely solution to spending hundreds of millions on players who couldn’t gel as a team…

Go out and do exactly the same the following season 😂

How they expect to stay within the FFP system, god only knows. They’ll have spent a billion in just over a season

Is Caicedo that good?! Really? I guess circumstances and timing is to blame but I’d rather they went for Bellingham, but Liverpool weren’t prepared to pay such a fee. Maybe he was always destined for Madrid?

Brighton season ticket holder, and yes Caicedo is that good. Is any player worth £100m, I dont know, but he’s a fantastic player that we didn’t want to lose and has 4 years left on his contract so it was always going to take a huge sum of money to get him.

Seems like he doesn’t want to go to Liverpool anyway! Awkward…..

Looks like Harry has really gone this time. He’ll get his trophies in that noncompetitive league and perfect his diving technique.

Maybe not. He’s failed his medical. Apparently his backs gone after ten years of carrying an entire team

Stolen off Darren Farley on five live yesterday 😂

IGMC

What do we reckon then? Spurs without Kane? Finishing just above the relegation places?

Made me laugh…

it's like watching a rhino that's been tranquilised and woken up in a different national park https://t.co/G4Sym9i4tP

— Horace Goodwill, tonicke purveyor (@eff_hey) August 11, 2023

Hmm don’t underestimate Postecoglou he might drag spuds to mid table obscurity. I reckon Kane will only stay a season like Ian Rush.

Get a season in, win the German league like Bayern do every year, get out of the group stages of the champions league, then off to Saudi

Levy is a clown. This leaves them very little time to buy a replacement.

He’s not as clever at this transfer brinkmanship malarkey as he thinks he is

At least it stopped him going to Man United! And as they had no other option they bought a relatively unproven striker for silly money, albeit with a lot of potential.

He’s not as clever at this transfer brinkmanship malarkey as he thinks he is

Oh, I don’t know. He spent all the Gareth Bale money on an entire field full of donkeys. The only decent one out of the lot of them now plays for us, so thanks for that

2:1 Away, Ill take that as a positive, Elanga’s got some legs!

We make things difficult. 3-0 up and nearly blew it due to a poor sub.

Well I’d argue the amount paid for the Swedish overweight dining sideboard, Tomas Brolin was even worse. It led to the decline of Leeds for the next 20 years.

No it didn’t, we had the late 90’s title challenging, Champions League playing years after that. Seth Johstone and Robbie Fowler were much worse signings at the time and were more to blame for our decline.

Anyway, good to see all the players responsible for our relegation jump ship due to clauses in their contracts or go on strike if they didn’t have one. Could be a long season.

Black and white here and after the way Villa had our pants down last season I’d have taken a draw, I was surprised Tonali started today but that was the best debut I’ve seen for a long time and he will only get better (£110m for Rice/Fernandez makes him look like a bargain). Its going to be a long season ahead and afer the years of not trying under the previous owner any ambition would be a bonus but that was a welcome surprise, up the Toon!!!

Tonali is a huge surprise for being sold, but i loved the way they did it, he was Milan through and through, but sorted himself out and moved to suit everyone, and he’ll give 100%, adding him to Guimaraes last year gives them some more ability in the middle, Barnes looks like a good addition as well, not sure where Livramento will play, not like Trippier is going anywhere, think all Newcastle need to have a good run this year is another defender, maybe a left back as well, it’s a long old season with CL games, so they do need a bit more this year.

I thought Newcastle and villa were going to be battling it out got the minor european qualification spots, but Newcastle looked miles ahead today. I had Isac in my fantasy team until a couple of days ago, only took him out because I thought this was a tricky first fixture.

I said to one of my kids this morning, Isak will get 30 this season. I don’t think people realise just how good he is. His second finish, although a mistake from a  defender, was world class.  didn’t look, just knew the keeper was coming, so lofted it, you don’t train that into players …

long season no doubt. But I’ve loved the absolute silence from pundits on our chances at top 4. We won’t know until we’re playing twice a week, but all of a sudden we have depth and I’m excited….

Next two fixtures will be a much better guide to NUFC.
Great result against villa but all the premiership teams are just shaking down at present.

Seth Johstone and Robbie Fowler were much worse signings at the time and were more to blame for our decline

Didn’t fowler end up playing for Citeh in the premier League while Leeds in the Championship were still paying half his wages?

Whoever was in charge of negotiating contracts at Leeds in that era was entirely to blame

Anyway… didn’t watch the Newcastle game so looking forward to MOTD. It’s going to be an interesting season

Anyone watching the Saint and Greavsie repeats on ITV 4, interview today with newly sacked Ron Atkinson and the new manager Alex Ferguson. Fascinating.
Cannot imagine then kind of interviews would be allowed today in this era of contained media access.

I said to one of my kids this morning, Isak will get 30 this season. I don’t think people realise just how good he is. His second finish, although a mistake from a  defender, was world class.  didn’t look, just knew the keeper was coming, so lofted it, you don’t train that into players …

Isak has grown into the team, started slowly, folk wondering why they spent so big on him, but the more confidence he has, the more he plays well, watching him at the tail end of last year, and yesterday reminded me of Larsson for us, he has the touch and confidence and will score a fair few individual goals with his footwork.

Also, well done Harry Kane, less than 24 hours at Bayern and he’s brought them his trophy luck to them in the german super cup 🤣

<p>Isak was very highly rated before he moved and had some injuries after the move. Should score a lot if he stays fit. </p>