Gavan Casey
Who will be in the top 4 come the end of the season?
Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United — in that order.
Who will get relegated?
Sheffield United, Wolves, Everton.
Best and worst signing of the close season?
Best signing: Of Arsenal’s three big-money signings, the one that might just put them over the top is Jurrien Timber. You can ascribe all kinds of psychological factors to their failure to get over the line at the end of last season but ultimately, they only hit the skids when William Saliba went down with a season-ending injury in March (I know, I know: their defensive record even with Saliba post-World Cup wasn’t great — but it was still a hell of a lot better than it later became in his absence). Timber can play right across the backline and, to my mind, he’s an upgrade on literally every defender in Arsenal’s squad who isn’t Saliba or Gabriel; his versatility could be worth an extra handful of points when the proverbial hits the fan.
Worst signing: I’m not convinced that Sandro Tonali, a Milanese man who took a pay-cut to join his boyhood club from Brescia just two summers ago, will have quite the same passion for Newcastle’s ‘project’. An undeniably good player but also one that a now financially stable Milan felt that they could afford to lose. I see a ’2024/25 → Roma (loan)’ in his future.
Who will be this season’s surprise package?
I can see a world in which Victor Lindelof completely transforms his reputation while liberated from the general chaos of having to partner Harry Maguire during the odd run-out for Man United. Equally, I can see Maguire scoring five or six goals for West Ham despite his being demonstrably unable to jump.
In terms of clubs, I think Newcastle might surprise people — again — in challenging for the top four despite their more taxing schedule and the fact that the clubs around them have strengthened on paper.
Which Irish player are you most looking forward to watching?
Evan Ferguson, obviously, and Nathan Collins should put himself back on the upswing at Brentford. But as a Cork man, I’m most looking forward to watching Chiedozie Ogbene giving it an unbelievably diligent lash at the highest level.
Which manager will be the first to leave their club?
I reckon Sheffield United might fling poor Paul Heckingbottom under the bus in the early stages of what is ostensibly a kamikaze return to the Premier League. Otherwise, I’m sorry to say it again but it’s Moyeseh.
What are you most looking forward to this season and what are you dreading?
I’m looking forward to the sweet relief of having Ally McCoist on co-commentary during big games on TNT Sport (formerly BT). McCoist seems to actually… enjoy football?! I love that he appreciates the insane difficulty of what elite professional players are doing, so he’s quite forgiving of errors instead of treating them as personal insults like so many insufferably whiny ex-pros.
I’m again dreading the reality in which I pay a pretty penny for Sky Sports, TNT, Premier Sports and whatever the hell else but I still have to whip out the laptop to watch the game that I’d actually like to watch. The Premier League and its affiliate broadcasters are obsessed with illegal streaming but maybe they should stress more about their legal offerings which, outside of Monday Night Football and the odd Super Sunday, are both antiquated and of an absolutely appalling quality.
Gavin Cooney
Who will be in the top 4 come the end of the season?
Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool.
Who will get relegated?
Wolves, Luton, Sheffield United.
Best and worst signing of the close season?
Best signing: Not a whole lot jumps out. Andre Onana is a necessary upgrade at Manchester United, Jurrien Timber adds badly-needed depth across Arsenal’s back line, Christopher Nkunku will be good for Chelsea when fit, but I’ll go with Josko Gvardiol at Manchester City. We may not see the best of him in the early months of the season, but he is the prototype of modern centre-half: left-footed, comfortable in possession, pacy, comfortable across the back line, and physically imposing. A perfect signing for them.
Worst signing: I don’t really have an opinion on this, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that, at £55 million, Newcastle have overpaid for Sandro Tonali. Fulham must also pray they don’t lose Mitrovic, as otherwise they will turn their lonely eyes to Raul Jimenez.
Who will be this season’s surprise package?
Bournemouth, under new manager Andoni Iraola.
Which Irish player are you most looking forward to watching?
Chiedozie Ogbene making it to the Premier League is a great story, but the answer is Evan Ferguson. Making it to double figures for goals in the Premier League this season should be a realistic ambition if he stays fit.
Which manager will be the first to leave their club?
Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest.
What are you most looking forward to this season and what are you dreading?
Most looking forward to Evan Ferguson’s continuing march towards superstar status.
Dreading the VAR discourse along with the newest depths football punditry’s weird descent into pseudo-fan TV, whereby a club must be represented by a partisan former player whose feelings we are supposed to care about. This hit a new low when the artist formerly known as BT Sport made Man City’s Champions League triumph a drama about the nerves of Joleon Lescott. That felt like a parable for how uninteresting City’s treble win was.
David Sneyd
Who will be in the top 4 come the end of the season?
Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool.
City have lost two crucial figures – their captain Ilkay Gundogan who really came to the fore as they hunted down Arsenal last season and Riyad Mahrez who seemed capable of coming in from the cold when required to make a difference.
Arsenal’s squad has improved on last season yet it still feels as though City, now chasing a fourth title in a row, have an edge. Had they added proven winners over a slog of a season you could hang your hat on them to last the course, but Kai Havertz, for all his ability, is still a bit windy for the long-run while Declan Rice will face a challenge to impose himself every single week in a team that will expect to dominate opponents. He is capable, and his displays for West Ham are the reason he got his big-money move, but whether he can deliver is the next question.
United’s challenge should be to at least appear an interested third horse in the race for as long as possible. They were nine points adrift of Arsenal and 14 behind City last season. They have to close that gap to legitimately point to progress under Erik ten Hag.
Liverpool’s run at the back end of last season shows that Jurgen Klopp had re-established a firm grip but there is still a sense of evolution following the loss of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho – not to mention Roberto Firmino.
Who will get relegated?
Wolves, Fulham and Everton. Well, the top four shout was hardly riveting! Wolves are a mess before the season has even started and Gary O’Neil will have to get a grip of things very quickly.
Second-season syndrome could hit Fulham bad given they finished the last campaign on a downer with eight defeats in their final 13 games. Aleksandr Mitorvic may let leave for Saudi Arabia while their signings – striker Raul Jimenez from Wolves, defender Calvin Bassey from Ajax and 19-year-old midfielder Chris Donnell from Perth Glory have underwhelmed.
As for Everton, they should be a much more cohesive unit now that Sean Dyche has had a pre-season to get a grip of them, but they just haven’t strengthened sufficiently. Ashley Young is a veteran on the ropes and the €15m signing of 19-year-old Youssef Chermiti seems like one for the future at a time when Everton need a game-changer now.
Best and worst signing of the close season?
Best signing: Andre Onana has the potential to completely change the way United play.
Worst signing: Chelsea have only signed seven players so far so until they complete their business it’s hard to say…
Who will be this season’s surprise package?
Luton Town could cause more problems than you imagine with a manager who wants his players to really go after teams. I hope it works.
Which Irish player are you most looking forward to watching?
Evan Ferguson. Have expanded on the new challenge facing him this season in a piece to come on Saturday morning – seamless plug.
Which manager will be the first to leave their club?
David Moyes scaled a peak with West Ham after lifting Europa Conference League and it would be very on-brand for him to go early if the Hammers struggle early on. The impending arrivals of Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse may not come quickly enough to settle in.
What are you most looking forward to this season and what are you dreading?
Most looking forward to getting over to clubs, meeting the Irish involved in various strans of the game and watching the matches. Hint hint, Ed…
Dreading that time of the year between around November and February when Pep Guardiola is head to toe in Dsquared2 gear on the touchline.
Let us know your own predictions below!
