2025/26 Premier League & General Football Discussion

  • Thread starter Thread starter Liquid
  • 322 comments
  • 27,627 views
I'm a Wrexham fan and bear no grudges about missing out on the play-offs. Right decision to expel Southampton. Middlesbrough-Hull final, that's how it is.

Not sure how a four point deduction is based on three games though. 1⅓ per game? Can't be for a full blanket charge because they might as well have spied on more if -4 is the punishment.

Anyway; last round of Prem games sees this thread wrapping up soon. I'll start next year's in due course.
 
Liquid
I'm a Wrexham fan and bear no grudges about missing out on the play-offs. Right decision to expel Southampton. Middlesbrough-Hull final, that's how it is.

Not sure how a four point deduction is based on three games though. 1⅓ per game? Can't be for a full blanket charge because they might as well have spied on more if -4 is the punishment.

Anyway; last round of Prem games sees this thread wrapping up soon. I'll start next year's in due course.
Click to expand...
My guess is it's expulsion for one game and 2 points each for the other two?

I think Wrexham have a good chance of going up automatically next year. And staying up. Going up this year via the playoffs might have been too early for them (but obviously we'll never know).

Thanks for keeping these threads going. This one can probably stay open until Arsenal lose on the 30th... ;)
 
Liquid
I'm a Wrexham fan and bear no grudges about missing out on the play-offs. Right decision to expel Southampton. Middlesbrough-Hull final, that's how it is.

Not sure how a four point deduction is based on three games though. 1⅓ per game? Can't be for a full blanket charge because they might as well have spied on more if -4 is the punishment.

Anyway; last round of Prem games sees this thread wrapping up soon. I'll start next year's in due course.
Click to expand...
The original penalty was 6 points, 3 for each league game but they reduced it to 4.
The play-off wasn't a league game so was a separate punishment.

www.bbc.co.uk

Spygate: Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert authorised spying, panel says

Southampton's spying was authorised by head coach Tonda Eckert and was a "contrived and determined plan from the top down to gain a competitive advantage", an independent disciplinary panel says.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

1779447249977.webp
 
Last edited:
Famine
I think that, whatever happens at this point and with a ~£200m windfall coming to the play-off winners, someone who doesn't get promoted is going to sue. Southampton over the punishment, Millwall over the mis-drawn semi-finals, Wrexham over not getting in, Middlesbrough over lack of preparation time for a game they weren't qualified to originally, and Hull also over lack of preparation time for their new opponents.
Click to expand...
They haven't even lost yet, but:

www.bbc.com

Hull City to take legal action if they lose Championship play-off final

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali vows to take legal action over the decision to reinstate Middlesbrough in the play-offs if the Tigers lose at Wembley.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Leave it if we win, sue if we lose. Hmm...

Edit: I guess there'll be no litigation, Hull having found out that the grapes taste alright.
 
Last edited:
Well done to Hull City, it was a tense final and it needed a 95th minute winner from Oli McBurnie to seal a 1-0 win.

Hull might have only finished 6th in the league but it was deserved as they were the only team in the playoffs to win both matches and they only knew of their opponents a few days ago, they are the first 6th placed team to get promoted since Blackpool in 2010.
 
Also worth noting that they were the only non-mononymic side in the playoffs.

Aaaaanyway, this is the possible Championship Playoffs lawsuit tracking post:

Millwall
Southampton
Middlesbrough
Hull City
Wrexham
 
Given that the Wrexham lads immediately stopped training and went out on the lash, I don't think it would've gone so well if we had been given a place at Southampton's expense.
 
Famine
Also worth noting that they were the only non-mononymic side in the playoffs.

Aaaaanyway, this is the possible Championship Playoffs lawsuit tracking post:

Millwall
Southampton
Middlesbrough
Hull City
Wrexham
Click to expand...
First time I read that, I read it as non-moronic :lol:
 
Its the final day of the Premier League season today. Here are the games.

Brighton v Man United
Burnley v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Fulham v Newcastle
Liverpool v Brentford
Man City v Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
Sunderland v Chelsea
Tottenham v Everton
West Ham v Leeds

All games kick off at 4pm and are live on Sky Sports.

There is still quite a bit to be sorted out with only the top three places and the bottom two guaranteed. Its down to Spurs and West Ham to see who will survive, Spurs are two points ahead of West Ham going into their games. There is a big battle for the European spots too which is quite complicated to explain, The top five qualify for the Champions League but if Aston Villa drop below Liverpool into fifth place today then the sixth place team will also get a CL spot, this is because Villa won the Europa League on Wednesday which gives the winners a CL spot the next season, the team currently in sixth is Bournemouth and its a bit mad to think they could actually be in the Champions League next season!

On top of that the teams in 7th and 8th will qualify for the Europa and Conference Leagues and teams as far down as 10th are in with a shout of qualifying, Brighton and Chelsea currently sit in 7th and 8th, but Brentford and Sunderland can also take those spots as well. so there is still a lot to play for for most of the teams today.
 
Both Spurs and West Ham won but it means that West Ham are relegated along with Burnley and Wolves.

Bournemouth and Sunderland ended up in the Europa League with Brighton in the Conference League.
 
Famine
They haven't even lost yet, but:

www.bbc.com

Hull City to take legal action if they lose Championship play-off final

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali vows to take legal action over the decision to reinstate Middlesbrough in the play-offs if the Tigers lose at Wembley.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
Click to expand...
Although it's now moot, they did have a point. The judgement against Southampton didn't forfeit their semi-final, they were expelled after completing it. That doesn't default the win to the other team, it just knocks Southampton out, which would have left Hull as the only remaining team in the competition. Why they did punish Southampton with a forfeit of 3-0 instead (which would have achieved the same result, is beyond me.

I don't think any clubs that missed out on the play-offs really have that strong an argument, as they haven't lost income, they've only lost a potential opportunity of income. Add in that the play-offs and the Championship themselves are separate competitions, and a judgement in one isn't an automatic precedent in the other. I predict more messiness to come.
MUSC4EVER
Both Spurs and West Ham won but it means that West Ham are relegated along with Burnley and Wolves.

Bournemouth and Sunderland ended up in the Europa League with Brighton in the Conference League.
Click to expand...
I feel sorry for West Ham, but they were there due to the whole season, not just today. Would have had a chuckle is Spurs went down though.

I did watch the United v Brighton game, United played better than I expected with it being a bit of a dead rubber match for us, but some good play. Onto the summer transfer window now and it looks like Ederson is the most likely first signing, though not done yet.
 
Ha.

It turns out I will be able to watch the Champions League final this evening after all.

I think the decision to not broadcast free to air in the UK is a seriously bad one and UEFA need to step in and ensure that this doesn't happen again. All it will achieve is more people resorting to firesticks and other illegal streams.

The fact that it is on TNT Sports is also galling - I had signed up to it before, but immediately cancelled and demanded a refund after it turned out that their £31 a month service is loaded with adverts - it's an absolute disgrace and I won't be signing up to Discovery+ ever again.

But luckily it is also on HBO Max, which many Sky customers (inc. my Mum) got for free a few months ago :)
 
Last edited:
MUSC4EVER
TNT Sports is not free on HBO Max, you will still need to pay the £31 a month.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's true - however the CL final is free on HBO Max today - nothing else is though.

There's no way on Earth I'll ever pay for TNT Sport again though, so if it turns out it isn't free on HBO Max tonight, it will be Radio 5 Live for me 😅
 
Slot's three biggest issues were:

  • Winning the League first time out, unexpectedly, causing too much expectation too early
  • Injuries to most of the £400m of new players (and one death of an established player)
  • A want-away player not knowing how to shut his mouth. Fingers. Whatever.

Only two managers recorded more wins (42) from the two seasons 24-25 and 25-26 that Slot was in charge: Arteta (46) and Guardiola (44). And since City probably cheated their way there in the first place, one of those is moot. I guess the fact that both also recorded fewer defeats (Arsenal 9, City 15) than Slotpool (16) and more points (144 to 149 for City, 159 for Arsenal) is considered a problem.


It's still amazing to me that Eddie Howe has a job, but I like it. Newcastle went from 20 wins, 66 points, 5th, and Champions League qualification to 14 wins, 49 points, and 12th, but they're calling Slot's season "the biggest fall from grace"...
 
Well...

HBO Max did show the CL Final, which was a bonus, BUT...

...the ******* feed went down during the sodding penalty shoot-out :mad:

I was ready to throw the Sky Box out of the window, but luckily it came back on with only 2 penalties missed.

Speaking of 2 missed penalties, commiserations to Arsenal, but 1 shot on target in the entire game isn't really good enough. PSG were dominant possession-wise, but they were also disappointing, and had to rely on a questionable penalty to get them back in it.

Penalty shoot outs are always crap, and I'm gutted for my Gooner pals - but I'm just glad that the game is finished.
 
Touring Mars
Well...

HBO Max did show the CL Final, which was a bonus, BUT...

...the ******* feed went down during the sodding penalty shoot-out :mad:

I was ready to throw the Sky Box out of the window, but luckily it came back on with only 2 penalties missed.

Speaking of 2 missed penalties, commiserations to Arsenal, but 1 shot on target in the entire game isn't really good enough. PSG were dominant possession-wise, but they were also disappointing, and had to rely on a questionable penalty to get them back in it.

Penalty shoot outs are always crap, and I'm gutted for my Gooner pals - but I'm just glad that the game is finished.
Click to expand...
It was "free to view" with Virgin, but a poor match to be honest. As a, mostly neutral, observer it was one of those games that neither side deserved to win. Havertz scoring so early just meant Arsenal sitting on 1-0 until PSG got their penalty.
PSG had approx 75% possession but really did VERY little with it. Neither goalkeeper was given enough work to do.

Arsenal were, unsurprisingly, strong in defence and PSG's crosses and corners were ... absolutely... awful - many of them flew straight out for goal kicks.

I didn't feel there was any doubt about the PSG penalty. The player cleverly got between the defender and the ball causing the defender to catch him.

The worst moment of the match by far though... don't let Eze take a penalty at the World Cup. Please! By the time he'd completed his 5 minute comedy routine he'd completely forgotten where the goal was...
At least Gabriel looked like he had conviction when he took his penalty.

Both sides have had great seasons though.
Arsenal will likely just look to improve one or two areas if they can.
And PSG are such a young side they could dominate for years to come. Douè has just won his 2nd Champions League - he's not even 21 years old until next Wednesday!
 
Last edited:
Touring Mars
Well...

HBO Max did show the CL Final, which was a bonus, BUT...

...the ******* feed went down during the sodding penalty shoot-out :mad:

I was ready to throw the Sky Box out of the window, but luckily it came back on with only 2 penalties missed.

Speaking of 2 missed penalties, commiserations to Arsenal, but 1 shot on target in the entire game isn't really good enough. PSG were dominant possession-wise, but they were also disappointing, and had to rely on a questionable penalty to get them back in it.

Penalty shoot outs are always crap, and I'm gutted for my Gooner pals - but I'm just glad that the game is finished.
Click to expand...
I feel like the game was there for the taking if Arsenal were brave enough. PSG did dominate statistically, but they didn't play that well IMO. That is in all probability, largely due to the way Arsenal played, but it could also have been the pressure of trying to win back to back. On balance, PSG deserved it, but it's a shame Arsenal didn't go for it a bit more. In the moments they did push higher they looked dangerous. They just didn't do it enough.
 
So I'm going off to the new season's thread but before I do....
MUSC4EVER
Anyone doing any predictions?

Here is where I think everyone will end up.

1. Liverpool
2. Man City
3. Arsenal
4. Chelsea
5. Spurs
6. Aston Villa
7. Man United
8. Newcastle
9. Brighton
10. Nott Forest
11. Bournemouth
12. Fulham
13. Everton
14. West Ham
15. Palace
16. Brentford
17. Leeds
18. Wolves
19. Sunderland
20. Burnley

Liverpool are many people's favorites for the title but I don't think they are clear favorites, City won't have a 'bad' season like last time and they will have a resurgence and I think they will push Liverpool all the way to the final day. Both Arsenal and Chelsea have been spending big this summer and I can see them getting top four comfortably, Spurs and Villa will fight it out for the last CL spot (if the league gets one)

I've got mixed feelings about Man United's chances, we've had a good summer so far and it seems pretty positive but at the same time the pressure will be on Amorim to deliver and we have Arsenal, City, Chelsea and Liverpool in our first eight games. I think we need to be in and around the top four by Christmas or Amorim will be gone and it could be Sir Gareth in! I'm quietly confident though. Newcastle haven't had the best time of it so far this summer and I think they will just miss out on a European place.

The mid table is what it is but as for the bottom all three promoted sides have gone straight back down in the past two seasons and I think it should stop, Leeds to me are the best placed to stay up and Wolves have been sleepwalking towards relegation for a while now, Brentford are the same.
Click to expand...
Holy cow was this bad or what?!

Probably the only things I predicted right were Wolves and Burnley going down.
 
MUSC4EVER
So I'm going off to the new season's thread but before I do....

Holy cow was this bad or what?!

Probably the only things I predicted right were Wolves and Burnley going down.
Click to expand...
Well, you got Man City right
:lol:
 
True!

To be fair I don't think many people predicted many things that happened. That Liverpool would have a bad season, that Brentford, Bournemouth and Sunderland would finish where they were, that Man United would finish in the top four, that Spurs would nearly get relegated.
 

Latest Posts

Back