04 Apr 2026 00:14:53
Bold prediction but I think over the next 3 years it will be Arsenal and two of Liverpool, Utd and Villa.
It’s not bitterness at all but I think Man City are going to have some challenges ahead of them. Pep will leave in the 12 months or so. That alone is huge. Haaland looks to be making noises plus the 115 issues. It’s going to be tough.
Spurs are out of the equation for a while.
Chelsea will do what they do, come and go as they change managers and players. At best I think City will land here, at worst they’ll be rebuilding after relegation.
Utd and Liverpool will depend on transfers and mangers, Villa look like a steady ship.
Anyone else got any predictions for the next few years?
04 Apr 2026 09:49:15
There doesn't seem any obvious team that will dominate over the next few years, as we have seen in the past.
Maybe a period of several different clubs all winning the league, which I think is a good thing for everyone.
If you want an outlier, go for Wrexham getting a European place within two years of being promoted.
04 Apr 2026 10:07:25
As much as I hate to say it, Arsenal have a very strong squad, and having been admirably patient sticking with Arteta and the program, now look like they will be around for some time. They also have some excellent young players coming through, including, obviously, Dowman. However, we might have said the same about Liverpool last season, but after spending £400m+ they are a pale imitation.
As far as City is concerned, they will likely avoid any serious penalties. They also have wads of money behind them, so if they choose well, they will remain contenders for the foreseeable future. Villa are over performing for their resources. With decent management, we should become a perennial contender again, but I don't see us ever getting back to becoming serial league winners again.
04 Apr 2026 10:26:24
Given that it's currently set to be the 5th of 6 preseason games planned this summer then I would expect us to play most of the first team squad we have available for at least half the match.
We might be missing some players who played in the latter stages of the World cup if they are given extra time off to recover, but I would expect with it being 10 days before the opening EPL game that we will want to play the majority of the first team and make sure they are up to speed.
Depending on who are manager is they might also want to play their strongest available 11 as they start to try and set their style/tactics into the team.
I'm actually really pleased to see the club make a sensible choice to play their preseason in Europe this summer, rather than going on a money spinning trip to the US or Asia.
From the outside at least it looks like our preseason plans are being focused on our footballing objectives rather than our financial ones.
We don't have a deep squad, and we will probably have to play as much as 50% more games next season. Along with a lot of our squad probably playing at the world cup for at least part of the summer break.
Potentially as many as 17 of our squad could go to the world cup (Mount, Shaw, Yoro, and MdL are the ones where their country has qualified, but for one reason or another they might miss out). Of our first team squad who won't play a part in the world cup we have Sesko, Mbeumo, Dorgu, and Heaven (who could be but has never been called up even for a friendly as of yet).
While players like Cunha, Dalot, Bruno, Maguire, Mainoo, and Martinez are all playing for teams that will likely make the quarter finals at least. With Zirkzee, Lammens, Amad and Mazraoui playing for sides that could also make the latter rounds depending on the draw.
Maybe with it being in the US they could have chosen to have preseason there it could save most of the squad from having to travel back and forth. Yet with it being played across all of North America and Mexico there will potentially be more travelling at the world cup than usual.
I applaud the club for choosing to be practical this summer and have a tour around Europe, both reducing the amount of travelling, and allowing the new manager time to settle in with training at Carrington, while also preparing the players for a season where will be travelling around Europe mid-week. It seems like the club is being run by football men and not accountants for the first time in over a decade. While it's still a long way back to the top, I do feel that we are at least on the right path now.