You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I know this will descend into lots of dull chat about the EPL and mostly Binners moaning about Man U but face facts, league football starts tonight with the most exciting league in the country and then a whole host of matches over the weekend. Personally I'm going to try and get to some more local matches after enjoying an evening at Whitehill Welfares ground where one seating option was a garden bench under an arbour and one row z clearance nearly got stuck up a tree!
Yeah, there maybe should be a separate thread for Man United!
Are you referring to the Scottish Championship as that begins tonight. As for it being the most exciting I’m guessing you’ve never watched Dunfermline?! Had some long afternoons at East End Park last season!
Christ, is it back already?
I'll be keeping an eye on Shrewsbury (checking BBC Sport on Saturday evenings and sighing deeply) after a catastrophic season saw us relegated to L2. I doubt we'll aspire to more than mid table this year.
Still, Bristol Rovers went down too so at least we can continue the Weetabix Derby
I'll also check up on traditional rivals Wrexham (still watching the documentary) though I'm starting to lose interest, as they keep firing the money cannon at everything in sight.
It was great fun at the start - a real-life version of taking your local team to Europe in Championship Manager, plus daydreaming of what you'd do if you won the lottery. And nostalgic, as the Racecourse was just like the shonky old ground the Shrews left in 2008.
But, y'know, I'm sure Wrexham fans won't be too bothered about the money cannon.
MrsDoris is keen to go and see Arsenal ladies this season as they're playing all their home games at the Emirates. We saw the North London derby there in 2023 and it was a really great atmosphere.
It's exciting from the point of view that almost every match is meaningful and you could make a case for at least half of the teams having a realistic chance of promotion. One of the best matches I've seen in recent years was Bonnyrigg Rose v Spartans which had a bit of everything. Only downside was the pie sold out by half time.
Reading, of course will be trying to climb out of the market town league towards the bear pit (Championship). Reading have new owners, which are approved by the EFL - so nothing can go wrong this time.
Though I’ll invariably still be moaning about United, (as I just can’t see things significantly improving), I’ve decided that this season I’m going to go and watch my local team more - Ramsbottom United in the North West Counties Premier Division.
No doubt it’ll be a more rewarding and the pies are better 😁
A United fan supporting their local team? Wait til i tell my mates in Ireland that - they'll explode.
Will Ipswich follow their double promotion with a double relegation?
Anyone find the Isak situation a bit odd? Clearly he wants to go to Liverpool, who surely knew this, who then went and bought Etitike, who Newcastle were after presumably as Isak’s replacement, surely annoying Newcastle and making them less likely to sell Isak with no replacement. They seem very similar players as well?
But, y'know, I'm sure Wrexham fans won't be too bothered about the money cannon.
Correct, although it still feels a bit surreal with players such as Connor Coady coming in. Temp stand behind the goal has now gone as they build out the new Kop so tickets will be even harder to get this season so I won't be seeing as many matches as last season. Southampton away is our first game.
I really feel sorry for Sheff Wed fans, what a mess.
Notts county season ticket holder here, the leagues oldest and most depressing club! Hoping for a league 2 playoff spot but expecting mid table mediocrity of around 12th with nothing to play for from march onwards. The Mcdons are trying to do a Wrexham and chucking millions at promotion, and it’ll probably work
Anyone find the Isak situation a bit odd? Clearly he wants to go to Liverpool, who surely knew this, who then went and bought Etitike, who Newcastle were after presumably as Isak’s replacement, surely annoying Newcastle and making them less likely to sell Isak with no replacement. They seem very similar players as well?
I think losing Diaz is significant. I get the feeling Isak wants to go to a Spanish club that wears white.
From last season's thread, 19th May (page 19)
This is going to sound like sour grapes however I write it, and I'll obviously be proven right or wrong in the end, but.....
He has been immense this season, absolutely made up by what he has done and yet still I'm not 100% convinced. The pundits rave and sure they know their stuff but I wonder if he is potentially a one season purple patch and strikes me as possibly one where if the offer is right then we should accept. We have been very lightweight up front, Isak excepted and while Osula may be an option for the future he has a lot to do, Wilson is spent at this level, and we need reinforcing, which might mean cashing in on Isak for another semi-name first choice and another in reserve. I quite fancied Ferguson at Brighton but he's disappeared from view.
I wish we'd been able to keep Minteh last summer, TBH.
I haven't changed my opinion. Happy that we haven't been forced to sell, after a few years of book balancing, still not sure we aren't going to regret it.
Won the lottery of the Birmingham season ticket waiting list, so quite excited and hope we can keep pushing on upwards. 🙂
I really feel sorry for Sheff Wed fans, what a mess.
Absolutely, and Morecombe, and cetera. Lot of bell end owners around. 🙁
Headlines you never thought you’d read….
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/scott-mctominay-named-prestigious-ballon-35692170.amp
Fair play to the lad. He’s been awesome since he’s escaped, but I don’t think anyone expected to hear the name of one half of McFred and ballon d’or in the same sentence 😳
Anyone find the Isak situation a bit odd?
Young impressionalbe and very talented footballer has his head turned by agents and other clubs because they offer him £100k/week more than he's currently being paid. There's nothing odd about that, it's perfectly normal. What's odd is that Newcastle have the money to compete with the the likes of Liverpool et al on wages and transfer fees, but aren't allowed to because the top six rigged the rules to prevent them (and other clubs like Villa etc) from doing so.
Anyway looks to me like the Saudis don't want to cave in to financial bullying (for now, they probably will eventually) and use Isak as an example to any other players thinking of breaking their contracts. I hope it's worked out soon as this has the potential to destroy Isak's career and that would be a tragedy.
Will Ipswich follow their double promotion with a double relegation?
As a Norwich fan, I certainly hope so 😀
Won the lottery of the Birmingham season ticket waiting list, so quite excited and hope we can keep pushing on upwards.
All.my Blues mates haven't had a problem.getting and keeping their season tickets over the years....mad there's so many new fans 🤷♂️
dazh - I meant Liverpool's approach seemed a bit odd, in signing Etitike, not from Isak's perspective. What is also odd is PIF backed Al Hilal buying Nunez, paying well over the odds for him, and giving Liverpool a bit more cash to offer them for Isak. I wouldn't blame PSR either - they've been willing to pay the fees, but Mbeumo, Joao Pedro, Ekitike, Delap and even James Traffrod and now Sesko, have turned them down.
Nobody who has watched McTominay play for Scotland for the last couple of years is surprised. Good week for the Scottish teams in Europe.
All.my Blues mates haven't had a problem.getting and keeping their season tickets over the years....mad there's so many new fans 🤷♂️
I think keeping them's fine, but there were about 14000 applications for the remaining 3000 or so STs this year. I don't know what's the most nuts - Blues selling out season tickets, us getting them, or Mrs Pondo actually wanting to watch football! 🙂
Ben Fosters Podcast (Fozcast) had a good episode a couple of weeks ago with Wrexham Director Shaun Harvey explaining how the transfer system works in detail, free agents, signing on fees, moving players on, transfer fees etc etc. Obviously it uses Wrexham as working examples but worth a listen for any footy fan who likes that kind of insight.
@pondoas an Albion ST holder all I can do is look forward to the derbies, and tune out my mates when Blues inevitably start winning stuff 😂
@sc-xc - ah well, nothing's inevitable about sport. If the results were a foregone conclusion, there'd be no point playing the game! 🙂
What is also odd is PIF backed Al Hilal buying Nunez, paying well over the odds for him, and giving Liverpool a bit more cash to offer them for Isak.
Probably stretching it a bit but even if true that to me seems like a perfectly reasonable strategy for PIF to inject some cash into Newcastle to get round the ridiculous PSR rules.
I wouldn't blame PSR either - they've been willing to pay the fees, but Mbeumo, Joao Pedro, Ekitike, Delap and even James Traffrod and now Sesko, have turned them down.
They can pay fees but not the wages. Ultimately if you want to buy top players and compete with top clubs you have to pay top wages. Newcastle's highest earner is Bruno on around 160k a week. It stands to reason that all the players listed above will choose clubs which don't have a problem paying 200k+/week. It's also why Isak (and probably Gordon, Bruno and Tonali in due course) wants to leave. Money is the the bottom line and PSR massively restricts what Newcastle can spend (Villa too).
Birmingham have just been denied a sumptuous goal. Awful over officiating.
Birmingham have just been denied a sumptuous goal. Awful over officiating.
You got the next one - you're top of the league. We are bottom.
Thankfully Spurs look as shit as ever. With the recurring trend of largely ignoring the transfer window and injuries, I'm sure this will be another bumper season. I'm expecting a solid effort from them to achieve relegation.
Blimey, not like us to rescue a point in injury time.
Birmingham have just been denied a sumptuous goal. Awful over officiating.
You got the next one - you're top of the league. We are bottom.
I support Reading from overseas, so long given up top of the league as an aspiration.
I did only watch 5 mins - it's too early for football. September it should restart.
Felt a bit like Birmingham were robbed tonight - would have been happy with a point beforehand, not so much now. 🙁 Ah well, long way to go and all that. 🙂
As for it being the most exciting I’m guessing you’ve never watched Dunfermline?!
With Neil Lennon in charge they must be in with a good chance of the play offs at least. I think St.Johnstone will win it, Ross County will be there, but maybe 3rd or 4th, not sure who will get the last place, I cant see Arbroath doing the same as Falkirk, Falkirk were a quality team in League one the year before, I didnt see any of that in Arbroath last year, especially when Annan, my Club, put 5 past them in their last league game.
As for Annan, the 15 point deduction for Edinburgh City has cheered up all the Annan fans, things are grim here now, the Club has no money, and is working on a 6 week basis, if things get worse in the 6 weeks, it’s either a call for money from the fans, or Administration. So many lower league Scottish Clubs are in the same situation, crowds are very poor, the SFA dont give them enough money, and , mostly, they have little else to offer to get more money in.
My other local Club is Carlisle, who will win the National League comfortably with Mark Hughes in charge, and money to back him. Their fans are great, tickets sold out for the 320 mile away trip to Woking today, and more season tickets sold this year than last year.
Can’t say I have much sympathy Dazh. I get PSR is a very crude instrument, but if it avoids a club being bankrolled by dubious owners, so be it. City have had to massively increase their revenues and commercial operations to be able to pay the wages they do, I guess Newcastle need to do the same. Actually, there’s a point, when will City’s charges be heard?!
Yeah, Daz! Just look at us! Since the Glazers took over, they’ve massively increased commercial revenues and have thus been able to attract the best players as they can pay the highest wages. A sure fire route to succe…. oh… hang on a minute….
😉
So, this guy who has just signed up with Man Utd. - I hope his performances are out of this world.
Kick in the slats for Wrexham but you’ve got to take your chances at this level.
when will City’s charges be heard?!
I honestly think Citeh’s expensive lawyers will be keeping everyone tied up in legal knots for so many years that they’ll just eventually give up.
That or they’ll find them guilty on all counts but give Everton or Forest another points deduction instead, just through force of habit
What is remarkable Binners is United’s continuing allure. I thought (hoped) players would begin to turn them down due to a preference for champions league football over mid table mediocrity. Money, and their history, talks.
2 loses in a row now. Forced to go on an early ride to catch Reading’s 12:30 loss to Huddersfield and looking woeful.
Terrible start for Norwich, all the pre season excitement already evaporated! Guess things can only get better…hopefully!
What is remarkable Binners is United’s continuing allure
Have you seen the contracts they dish out?
They must basically just ask their agents for a list of demands, then sign it off. Casimero is on £350,000 a week and he barely makes the bench. He only played a handful of games last season because his legs are shot. It’s not exactly a hard life is it?
Terrible start for Norwich, all the pre season excitement already evaporated! Guess things can only get better…hopefully!
Long way to go just yet... 🙂
Terrible start for Norwich, all the pre season excitement already evaporated! Guess things can only get better…hopefully!
Oh dear, how sad, never mind
Crystal palace keeping the wembley win streak going, well done to them again. It is easy for the teams who get there year in and year out to be blase about the charity shield, but I bet it means something to the palace fans.
Yep, and Pep claims it’s a major trophy, so that’s two in a couple of months - after nothing forever!
Love how the little rapists face changes when Mings gets hold of him!!
https://twitter.com/StokeyyG2/status/1954262649899991502
Meanwhile on scouse twitter they're losing it. Kidnappers? 😂
https://twitter.com/PhilColins_O/status/1955169294469283905
It’s not like the scousers to be overly melodramatic?
I wouldn’t mind being kidnapped if it paid that well. 😂
I really feel sorry for Sheff Wed fans, what a mess.
Agreed – barely able to put a first team out, then Chalobah gets a nasty injury in their first game. I'm a Leeds fan (with a good friend who is a Wednesday fan so we usually have a bit of banter), but I do hope that they get out of this mess.
As for NUFC and the Isak debacle – I think there should be a blanket rule on situations like this – something like a 12 month ban from playing for the new team from the day of signing if the player has refused to play for the old team in order to force a transfer.
It’s not like the scousers to be overly melodramatic?
Won't be long before they've started a national 'Free Isak' campaign with a charity pop concert and local MPs tabling legislation in parliament. 😀
something like a 12 month ban from playing for the new team from the day of signing if the player has refused to play for the old team in order to force a transfer.
Aye. Looks like the toon are up for digging in though. There's more at stake than just his own ambitions. 110M (or whatever fee the scousers are willing to pay) is a lot of money but not to PIF. There's obviously a PSR issue and not cashing in will impact player recruitment in the next couple of years but then if they give in* here what's to stop other top clubs cherrypicking Bruno, Tonali, Gordon, Botman et al. I think ultimimately it's about a club's long term ambition, and Newcastle clearly don't see themselves as a feeder club for the top 6.
*They probably will sell in the end of course, but only on their terms and once they have replacements in place. In the end the message to other players will be, 'yes you can leave for bigger clubs, but only if managed the right way and in the best interest of the club'. Isak and his agent have clearly not understood that.
When he scored that second goal against Liverpool in the League Cup final I thought he'd written himself into Newcastle folklore for ever. How to go hero to zero in less than 6 months.
The people getting rich on this will be his agent and any decent tattoo artists in the north east that can do cover up work.
How to go hero to zero in less than 6 months.
Aye. It won’t happen but it’s quite amazing that many people would gladly see him sit out the remaining 3 years of his contract training after hours on his own.
All he’s got to keep him out of wasting the next 6-12 months training on his own is Liverpool’s willingness to match the toon’s asking price. If I were him I wouldn’t be staking my entire career on that.
Isaks form tailed off after the Carabao Cup final and personally I said he was carrying an injury, he'd obviously just decided it wasn't worth putting the effort in any more. As for Liverpool, Arne Slot won the league last season with a team that had been built by Jurgen Klopp, Chiesa being their only signing last summer and he hardly started all year. Having spent a lot on his own transfers this summer and lost their first game of the season I'd say this is the time to judge whether he's as good a coach as he was touted as last season, they looked anything but defensively sound last against Palace
he'd obviously just decided it wasn't worth putting the effort in any more
There's a lot of silly rumours flying around but one of the more interesting ones I've read is that after the CC final he downed tools as he didn't want them to qualify for the CL as it would make it easier for him to leave. Apparently Calum Wilson challenged Howe on why he continued picking him and that caused friction which resulted in Wilson leaving in the summer. No idea obviously if this is true but I remember the games after the CC final and Isak was completely anonymous and clearly not interested. Amazing they qualified for the CL in the end when they were pretty much playing with 10 men for the last 10 games of the season.
Anyway, whether he is here or not the home match with Liverpool next weekend will be a spicy one.
Anyway, whether he is here or not the home match with Liverpool next weekend will be a spicy one.
It's always a spicy one but Isak will definitely not be in either squad either way, if he does end up at Liverpool I can't see it being until after that game. At the same time I don't see the Saudi's taking this refusal to train/play lying down, he could easily end up fined or sent to train with the under 21s (or both) like Ryan Frazer was a couple of years ago. Only Newcastle could win their first trophy in 70 years, qualify for the champions league and follow it up with the transfer window we've had this summer.
Personally I reckon Chelsea could be in with a shot at the premier league this season
You think you’ve got problems?
I see Garnacho is now doing the same and saying he’ll refuse to play if he doesn’t get a move to Chelsea.
Good luck with that lad and don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out!
The difference is that Isak spent the last season terrorising defences and banging them in for fun, not putting everything into Row Z and falling over a lot.
United have valued him at 70 million, presumably from just thinking of a number
We’ve now got 3 players - Garnacho, Sancho and Antony - training on their own, with insane price tags which nobody will pay. So it now looks like they’ll just sit it out, pick up their huge salaries for doing nothing, then leave on a free. I can’t see Hojland getting a game either and (somewhat unsurprisingly) nobody wants him and Casemiro is refusing to leave unless his 350,000 a week salary is matched, like that’s ever going to happen
So United are stuck with writing off combined transfer fees of over quarter of a billion and saddled with a weekly salary bill of over a million quid a week for players who are clearly never going to put on a United shirt ever again
I’m really confident for this season. I eagerly await watching us get absolutely tonked by Arsenal on Sunday
Actually like the signings United have made - completely new forward line to fit Amorim’s system. Not sure about Bruno deeper in midfield though. Top half finish is definitely attainable.
We’ve now got 3 players - Garnacho, Sancho and Antony - training on their own
They should enter some local 5-a-side tournaments to keep fit.
Does make me laugh though the hysteria of the scousers because Newcastle are supposedly holding Isak hostage. Much like Garnacho et al if a club can match the home club’s valuation they can leave with good grace, otherwise if they refuse to play they can train on their own and watch their careers rot away.
Elite footballers are only elite if they’re playing elite football. All these idiot players on strike don’t seem to realise that.*
*or maybe they don’t care and are happy to sit out a couple of years in return for a few million quid then spend the rest of their playing days at a mid-table or lower division club? Seems to me like a peculiar ambition given the fuss they make about moving.
Spurs tonight showed that when it comes to being Spursey no one comes close.
The current bottom 3 might be a good bet for relegation. (Wolves, Burnley & West Ham). I wonder if there has been a season where the day 1 bottom clubs are all present at the end?
Wolves haven’t looked too bad at some points. Citeh have put a marker down though. Once again it looks like they’ve bought well, with their new recruits looking like they’ve hit the ground running.
Let’s see how our new signings do tomorrow. A bloody tough opening match. We’ve now (in theory) got some firepower up front, but it’s the same pedestrian midfield that has to get the ball up to them in the first place and the same shonky defence that conceded so many last season
*sigh*
I just hope we don’t start the season with an absolute shoeing!
Maybe City have bought well this summer but their january window was poor (Vitor Reis out on loan, the Uzbek lad disappeared too and Nico Gonzalez pretty underwhelming). Still £400m spent since January……they should be better. Hard to say after the first game, especially v Wolves who have lost their best players. Could be a long season for them.
I think the odds on Graham Porter being the first sacking have decreased somewhat!
Well, we lost, obviously, but at least it looks like we now have an attack. It’s been a good while since any opposition keeper has had enough to do to get man of the match at Old Trafford. Last season they might as well have brought a deck chair and a good book
Cunha and Mbeumo both looked good. If we carry on like this, we can maybe dare to dream of mid-table obscurity
As a Gooner I was more concerned for the outcome than I expected as Utd had a bit more fight in them than has been the case recently. You’ll play worse and win games this season. Scrappy affair which told me little about our prospects except (i) Zubimendi looks like a player born to play holding midfield and (ii) we seemed to have slightly weaned ourselves off “give it Saka” as the only option.
Hump it long to Gyokeres seems to be an option now as well - not a criticism, as you say, give it to Saka is pretty predictable. Interested to see how he fares.
I think binners might have a better blood pressure reading this season. I thought Utd deserved a point. Cunha had some fantastic touches, I hope he stays fit, he's great to watch as a neutral.
Oh Alexander what are you doing? I fear he's about to get a very hard lesson in the realities of messing around people who have a trillion dollars in the bank and aren't massively prone to rolling over to irrelevant egotistical footballers. No one will win from this.
https://twitter.com/LukeEdwardsTele/status/1957892101246763420
if only there was a cup for generating gossip!
https://twitter.com/nufc2everything/status/1957899371434958883?s=46&t=LtLH_brmYFWrcPalxgEeWA
You do wonder if Liverpool will be put off by some of his antics and given Ekitike looks very promising, sign a cheaper forward instead?
Do PIF care about Newcastle as much though - given lack of progress in appointing a chief exec and director of football? I think they’re more bothered about their own league and golf.
I think they’re more bothered about their own league and golf.
That’s my point. They might not care too much how this affects the toon’s season and future recruitment, but they will want to set a precedent for any other upstart players in their sporting empire. The Saudi owners of Newcastle don’t seem the types who will accept being held to ransom.
And reading toon forums and comments from mates in the toon there’s a lot of fans who would be quite happy to see him sit out the rest of his contract in the reserves even if it means losing out on £100M+.
Just watched MOTD and City are following on from last season on producing more elephants dung.
Great wasn’t it after all the hyperbole of beating Wolves away. Give Pep another £400m!
Arsenal looked pretty good yesterday and thats without Eze. It was ome day for their 15 year old Max Dowman. I can't imagine what that must feel like at that age. Bonkers!
Russell Martin might be enjoying the bank holiday back in Southampton if he loses again today.
Draw So his jacket remains on the peg, poor result next week could see things get rough for either old firm manager
Coat is definitely on a shoogly peg but looks like some of the players are also happy to get it down for him. I think his girlfriend could probably get more of a rise out of the players. Two more bad results/performances and he'll be gone.
Spoke to a couple of West Ham mates at the weekend who see their team in a death spiral (already). About a year a ago they also didn't want Moyes as he was too old and out of touch with the latest tactics.
Toon 😂
That was absolutely nuts!