Premier League: Early Season Thoughts

With the international break almost over (thankfully), I thought I’d give my thoughts on the first 3 game weeks of premier league football as we head into match day 4. We’ll be looking at our featured Agenda FC clubs as well as Spurs and Man City. Let’s get into it!

Chelsea

If I had to pick a Premier League winner right now it would be these guys, I know its early days but they look serious. This shouldn’t be seen as a suprise though given they’re the European champions and have spent almost 350m the past two summers. Last summer they addressed all issues in their squad, or at least thought they did, but with Werner misfiring they needed a striker and have got one in Romelu Lukaku (last season’s Seria A golden boot runner up). He scored in what might have been his first touch against Arsenal in a MOTM display, after watching that game I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. Then they were even more impressive at Anfield, being able to withstand Liverpool ‘with the crowd’ whilst having 10 men. My biggest compliment to them would be that they look incredibly hard to beat, combine that with having a proven goalscorer and you’ve got everything you need to win a league title. They’re the consensus favourites at the moment so If they don’t win the league or retain the Champions League then you gotta look at the season as a failure for them.

Key Player

After discussions with Chelsea fans, I was left with 3 players to choose from, Marcus Alonso, Andreas Christensen and Eduoard Mendy. Christensen gets the edge for me cause of his back to back MOTM displays, call it 3 at the back tax(shout out 3attheback) or whatever you want but you can’t deny his improvements since Tuchel’s arrival. If he and Rudiger keep it up Chelsea will concede very few this year.

Man City

No striker, no problem..for now. These guys are relentless, I’ve never seen a team that refuses to take the foot off the gas like them. They’ll never just leave it at 2-0, they’ll make sure you hold 4 or 5 to them. I think over the course of a 38 game season they can get away without an out an out #9 but in those crucial KO ties in Europe it will catch up on them. Another potential problem could be Pep announcing he’ll leave in 2 years, something like that could play on the minds of the players over the course of the season. Whilst I have Chelsea as current favourites, if you put a gun to my head I might still say City. Their squad is too stacked to ignore, even in their “banter year” they managed 81 points so to write them off would be very silly. Unfortunately for myself and many others, Man City are here to stay. 

Key Player

He was named player of the week for Agenda FC and its hard to argue against, he should have a very good season this year now that he’s more settled to the Premier League, he looks a very good finisher and I could easily see him hitting at least 15 in the league, especially if Pep plays him centrally.

Liverpool

They look steady so far, VVD looks good on his return and Trent has started off much better than last year. They’ll dominate games but I think ultimately they’ll struggle for goals, Mane looks finished and there’s no plan B, I think they’re a Salah injury away from being in serious trouble. Firmino does look better so far but I don’t think he can be relied upon to be a goalscorer. However if the defence remains tight they could get away with 1-0s for a while. I think they’ll be fine this season, but is fine enough? I don’t see any crazy runs of losing at home or anything but fine won’t wont win you the league and that’s what the world expects given the absence of VVD was the reason they didn’t win the league last season apparently, now that he’s back there should be no excuses.

Key Player

He looks very dangerous so far, after a disappointing  year I reckon he’ll be looking to silence the haters(me). The consensus from fans I’ve spoke to is that he’s been their best player so far and I find it hard to disagree, his passes have been exceptional and I’m sure he’ll create plenty of chances this year, it’s just the other end of the pitch that I don’t rate his skills, nevertheless I expect him to keep up the level of performances we’ve seen so far because you can’t deny the talent he possesses.

Man United

We looked great against Leeds and poor since then, Southampton started promising but ended awfully, Wolves had us against the ropes from minute 1, no thanks to Fred. Performances like that won’t do anymore, the standards are now raised, everyone has to up their level now that Ronaldo’s arrived. I’ve cried for a DM for years but now its time for Ole to coach, there’s no excuse, he has to challenge this year. Given what we saw against Wolves, he’s got his work cut out. Personally I don’t see us winning it but I do fancy our chances in Europe (Champions League that is, I’m never going back to Thursday nights again). Varane’s only played once but you can tell the massive difference he’s going to make this year, Sancho doesn’t look fit yet but I’m not worried. With Rashford still to return we’re stacked in the forward positions, we need to be blowing teams outta the water at OT. From what I’ve seen so far I think it’s fair to say 3rd/4th is where we’ll finish but with Ronaldo’s arrival that prediction could change quickly, for me its win win this year, we either win something or Ole goes and we get someone who can, for the first time in a while I’m excited for the season.

Key Player

This guy has to start, simple as. Right, left or central I don’t care, you gotta play him, now that he’s gonna learn from Ronaldo it’s gonna be scary, but not for me. He’s definitely early season favourite for YPOTY and I think he’ll win it in the end. What I love about him is that he’ll always score, I can see him ending the year with 20 league goals, with no distractions this year he’s gonna flourish.

Spurs

The best team in North London. At one point over the summer things were looking terrible for them, no manager wanted to go near them and ‘Football Saint’ Harry Kane looked to be leaving, fast forward to now and they’re top of the league, have a win over City and have done some shrewd transfer business. Nuno has something to prove and so far he’s doing a very good job, he’s sured up the defence and that’s shown with 3 clean sheets in a row. I think they’ll come 5th which would be a very good season for them, I think their top 4 days are over for now but 5th is still a very good finish that’ll give them something to build off.

Key Player

He ended last season a bit underwhelming but seems to have started off this season very well, at his best he’s been a top 3 winger in the league over the years, my criticism of him has always been that I don’t think he could drag Spurs out from the mud but with Kane missing the opener against City he was able to do the job, if he keeps it up I’m sure he’ll get himself into many TOTS’ yet again.

Everton

Who needs Carlo, let’s be real he got them 10^th, I didn’t understand the outrage of him leaving, in Rafa they’ve got a top quality manager who I’m sure they’ll start to love soon. He’ll also give them a chance to actually win something for once given his record in cup competitions, I think he was a great appointment and that’s shown in the past 3 games. They look good going forward and that’s without Hamez, who I do think will find his way back in eventually, at the back they’re a bit shaky though, Michael Keane ain’t it but good thing they’ve got Pickford in nets who’s one of my favourites. As for their deadline day business, I don’t really understand the Rondon deal, given he’s a big man and that’s what they already have with DCL but I’m sure Rafa knows what he’s doing, all in all they should be pushing for a top 6/7 spot this year given their squad and manager.

Key Player

This was a fairly easy choice, he’s looked very good so far with 2 goals, there’s always been a player in there and this could finally be his time. For only 2m Everton don’t have much to lose and maybe the low fee is lifting some pressure off his shoulders, I’ll definitely be watching closely to see how his season goes!

Arsenal

Where do I begin with these guys? Fair enough losing to Chelsea but cmon you have to beat Brentford, and then away to City, nobody expects you to win but at least put up a fight, 18% possession I think it was? Damn. Whatever the process is over there, I ain’t trusting it, if they have any sense they’ll sack Arteta before it’s too late, if not it’s gonna be rough for them. The squad isn’t great but its not THAT bad. It looks like there’s something going on between Auba and Arteta and if that continues they’re doomed cause I don’t see anyone else who’s gonna bag goals for them, anyways, long may it continue!

Key Player

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Thanks for reading!

Let us know what you’ve made of your teams starts to the season so far on our social media pages. We hope to be getting the page going more consistently again with weekly articles and next week I’ll be resuming my PREM GOAT countdown, stay tuned!