Innholdsfortegnelse for Season Preview 2021 i FourFourTwo UK

Friday July 2 Switzerland 1-1 Spain (1-3 pens) Belgium 1-2 Italy Saturday July 3 Czech Republic 1-2 Denmark Ukraine 0-4 England STORY OF THE ROUND Spain take the Portuguese route to the semi-finals, drawing for a fourth time in five games before securing a shootout victory over Switzerland (far right), for whom Remo Freuler sees red. Michael Oliver’s decision looks harsh, but inevitably ITV refbot Peter Walton backs him up – if a ref decreed mid-match that the Euros should be cancelled and that football should be banned forever, Walton would probably insist that on balance, it was the right decision. Spain are the tournament’s top scorers at this point yet still look hopeless upfront, not least when Gerard Moreno misses from five yards, then boots the post in a…

Good times never felt so good. After famous victories over Germany and Denmark, the lyrics of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline reverberated around Wembley and all the way home. It felt like the start of something new – not just for this England team, but also the stadium that they call home. Gareth Southgate’s side didn’t triumph at Euro 2020, and football didn’t come home, but something genuinely special happened this summer. In order to appreciate the good times, you also need to remember the bad – and boy, have there been some bad times supporting England. The new Wembley opened in March 2007; my worst moment as a Three Lions fan came only eight months later, when Steve McClaren’s team lost 3-2 to Croatia and failed to qualify for Euro…

When fans return to football grounds this season, it won’t be the first time the sport has reopened its turnstiles to one and all following a tumultuous interruption. In 1946, after the Second World War, fans flocked back to the game in unprecedented numbers, seeking a sliver of familiarity in a world forever changed. Travel restrictions, limits on gatherings and the compulsory carrying of masks – gas, rather than surgical – had become a way of life during the war. All of that could be set aside, even though the scars of conflict remained. After seven long years without league football, supporters were desperate just to pack out their grounds, cheer on their teams and watch the game they loved. The last English Football League game had been played on…

“IF MY CAPTAIN DOES S**T IN A FRIDAY NIGHT GAME, IT RUINS THE WHOLE WEEKEND” It must be the trickiest conflict for modern football fans. A Mo Salah, Harry Kane or Bruno Fernandes finds a gap inside your team’s penalty area: do you scream for defenders to intervene… or secretly hope he scores? Because that opposition hotshot is also your fantasy league captain – double points; perhaps even your Triple Captain. The question is: which team is more important? For such a wildly accessible and increasingly huge game, fantasy football can really mess with your head. It’s not for the game-weak. “You have to be ruthless,” says Rui Marques, who won major fantasy leagues before his move into ‘proper’ football. “I was third at the 2006 World Cup – my…

Why did you join Football for Friendship? What can you tell us about the programme? First of all, it’s a pleasure to be working with such a powerful brand. But it’s not just that – it’s so nice to talk to the kids, telling them a little bit about your history, your profession, what sport means to my life. You deal with children from all parts of the world, with their dreams and projects, and you try to explain what matters in the long run – that you have to be a leader, an example and a reference in what you do, to fight things like racism and inequality. Gazprom are doing that by uniting children from all over the world, and giving them opportunities to share their experiences and…

XI BEST: Lukasz Fabianski, Angel Rangel, Ashley Williams, Marc Guehi, Ben Davies, Leon Britton, Joe Allen, Andre Ayew, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Dan James, Michu. WORST: Jason Jones, Shaun Byrne, David Theobald, Vangelis Moras, David Smith, Brian Cash, Gary Fisken, Damien Lacey, Ryan Casey, Aidan Newhouse, Alvaro Vazquez. PLAYER B: Britton [right] was key for 15 years in all four divisions – a true club legend. W: Newhouse never scored for us and once missed an open goal by kicking a team-mate’s foot as he was shooting. MOMENT B: The final whistle of the 2011 play-off final. I never thought we would even make it into the Championship when I was younger, so reaching the top flight was beyond a dream come true. W: Going 2-1 down to Hull on the final…

There’s a bit of a cliché each year that you need a good start to a new season. Of course it’s always nice – common sense says it’s better, to build confidence. It makes people want to join you; to be part of what you’re building. It isn’t vital, but it’s what everyone is aiming for. You want a good pre-season to get everyone fit without injuries, and then you assess your squad until that first window slams shut. Some teams have proved it wrong though, haven’t they? Just look at Norwich a few years ago, who won one of their first six games and then went on to be magnificent; Bolton didn’t start well last year either, but ended up being brilliant. At Blackpool, we drew first our four…

So, how was your summer? Just a month on from the gut punch finale to England’s joyous Euro 2020, the Premier League is ready to wrestle back the limelight – and there’s plenty to get excited about. Let’s be honest: 2020-21 wasn’t a vintage season. The games came thicker and faster than your nan’s dodgy Sunday custard, while the vast majority were played at empty arenas as fans were forced indoors. It wasn’t without its memorable matches – Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool, anyone? – but we can all be glad it’s gone. Fans are finally back where they belong. We might even get a title race this time – not that Manchester City would mind another procession. Ruben Dias added steel to City’s silk last term, and Pep Guardiola was…

LAST SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP 3rd FA CUP Fourth Round LEAGUE CUP Semi-Finals TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Ivan Toney (33) CAN IVAN TONEY TRANSLATE HIS FORM TO THE TOP FLIGHT? WILL GORE @WillGore Since owner Matthew Benham took over Brentford in 2012, the ‘moneyball’ moniker has stuck with irritating persistence. Stats do play a huge role in the outstanding player trading that’s taken them up two divisions while making a profit on transfers each season, but as co-director of football Rasmus Ankersen told a fans’ podcast recently, identifying talent is often straightforward; the tricky bit is in persuading ambitious players to choose Brentford over bigger clubs. So it was with Ivan Toney. It was no secret that, at Peterborough, Toney was League One’s best striker. Plenty of teams looked at him, including…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 4th FA CUP Runners-up LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Winners TOP SCORERS (ALL COMPS) Tammy Abraham, Timo Werner (12) DO THEY REALLY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE TITLE CONTENDERS? GARRY HAYES @garryhayes From the kings of Europe to Premier League champions – logic tells us such an achievement should happen in reverse order. But then this is Chelsea, where logic is often defied for so many reasons. If Thomas Tuchel follows up Champions League success by lifting the Premier League trophy next May, few will be surprised by the order in which his major moments were delivered. The question, of course, is: can he do it? Standing in his way will be Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City side that Tuchel’s Chelsea beat three…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 9th FA CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP Second Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Patrick Bamford (17) HOW CLOSE IS ELLAND ROAD TO HOSTING EUROPEAN NIGHTS? DANIEL CHAPMAN @MoscowhiteTSB Back in August 2014, former Forest Green Rovers manager Dave Hockaday – clinging desperately to the final few of his 70 days in charge of Leeds United – said it was “inevitable” that maverick chairman Massimo Cellino would take the club into the Champions League, and he wanted to be “a big part of that journey”. Some days, that feels like a lifetime ago. Other times, it feels like yesterday. Every Leeds fan fears waking up to find that Marcelo Bielsa never came to Yorkshire, and it was all a crazy dream. To outsiders, much of the noise…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 1st FA CUP Semi-Finals LEAGUE CUP Winners CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Runners-up TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Ilkay Gundogan (17) WILL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HEARTBREAK KNOCK CITY OFF THEIR STRIDE? STEPHEN TUDOR @SteTudor123 Manchester City’s transformation a quarter of the way through last season was as impressive as it was surprising. In late November, Pep Guardiola’s stuttering side languished in 13th spot, seemingly out of the title reckoning. Even the Catalan’s staunchest admirers began to lose faith, his side a pale imitation of their brilliant former selves. A record-breaking 21 consecutive wins across all competitions dramatically changed that narrative, with Ruben Dias and John Stones forming an imperious centre-back partnership. By the season’s end, City had kept clean sheets in 52 per cent of their fixtures. Upfront, a funky forwardless…

LAST SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP 1st FA CUP Fourth Round LEAGUE CUP First Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Teemu Pukki (26) IS THIS JUST GOING TO BE 2019-20 ALL OVER AGAIN? GABRIEL SUTTON @GabSutton Going to war without a gun rarely yields success, but that was what Norwich City sporting director Stuart Webber said the club had done, when he reflected on 2019-20’s demoralising relegation from the Premier League. A 10-match losing streak to end the season saw Norwich stuck on 21 points, the top flight’s seventh-worst performance since the introduction of three points for a win in 1981. The previous summer, Webber had been keen to avoid pandering to agents and making rash financial commitments with the treasure chest acquired from a Championship title win, opting instead to uphold the model…

LAST SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP 2nd FA CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP Third Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Ismaila Sarr (13) WILL THEY STICK WITH THEIR BOSS FOR MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES? MIKE PARKIN @RookeryMike One of the hallmarks of the Pozzo family’s Watford era since their 2012 takeover has been a clinical decisiveness when it comes to changing head coaches. This trigger-happy policy continues to garner criticism from those unfamiliar with the inner workings at Vicarage Road, although a more forensic look reveals the seemingly hard-nosed approach is actually very successful. The hiring of incumbent Xisco Munoz in December 2020 provides the perfect case study. Predecessor Vladimir Ivic was removed with the Hornets fifth but in touch at the top of the Championship, his reign still in its infancy. However, the…

What exactly is the key to Championship success? It’s a question many ask but few can answer, given that free-flowing Norwich, star-studded Watford and data-driven Brentford each went up with differing principles last season. Many of the 24 clubs, though, can take inspiration from a Barnsley side that made the 2020-21 play-offs on a low budget, having only survived the previous season by virtue of Wigan’s 12-point deduction. New manager Markus Schopp inherits a clear template at Oakwell, but his predecessor Valerien Ismael – now one of three new managers at newly relegated clubs – must reconstruct a new squad at West Brom. Life might be more straightforward for Marco Silva, who hopes to rebuild his reputation with a Fulham side rich in quality. Clashes with the Cottagers’ former bosses…

THE THREE LIONS DO THEIR 2018 WORLD CUP SEMI-FINAL IN REVERSE – AND THEY DESERVE IT Tuesday July 6 Italy 1-1 Spain (4-2 pens) Wednesday July 7 England 2-1 Denmark (aet) STORY OF THE ROUND Despite a travel ban and the Italian FA getting only 125 tickets, thousands of Azzurri fans descend on Wembley and declare ‘it’s coming Rome’. Spain fans are also well represented. “Many of these fans are from Catford rather than Catalunya,” Steve Wilson reveals. They’re then treated to an enthralling semi-final: Chiesa nets again, before the previously hapless Morata joins Own Goal as Spain’s top scorer on three goals. “Redemption for Morata!” Wilson declares prematurely. The game goes to penalties, Morata steps up, absolutely no one fancies him to score... and he inevitably doesn’t. “The only…

ine times Brentford had been in N the play-offs. Nine times they’d lost. Thomas Frank wasn’t prepared to let it become 10. Tranmere, Huddersfield, Crewe, Stoke, Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea, Yeovil, Middlesbrough, Fulham. All had ended the Bees’ dreams of glory over the past 30 years. Frank had stood disconsolately on the touchline at Wembley for the latter of those nine occasions last August, as manager of a Brentford side denied their first promotion to the Premier League. An automatic spot had been snatched away on the last day of the Championship season, then came defeat to rivals Fulham in the play-off final. “It was like an open wound, it was extremely painful,” the Dane tells FourFourTwo now. “It was a driver for the unbelievable season we had after that.” Nine…

There’s a new European competition featuring a selection of handpicked clubs, set to take the continent by storm... and isn’t the Super League. But while that ill-fated shambles threatened to take something away from the game as we know it, the newly formed Fenix Trophy aims to add a new dimension. The brainchild of Brera Calcio head honcho Alessandro Aleotti, down in Italy’s seventh tier, this tournament is exclusively for non-pro teams and will kick off in September. Eight clubs from seven nations will battle it out for the inaugural trophy. England’s first representatives are FC United of Manchester, founded in 2005 by Manchester United fans irked by the Glazers’ ownership. The Red Rebels were approached to take part due to… well, their heritage. It’s one point in a list…

What’s your favourite memory at Chelsea? Winning trophies, because that’s what top footballers always aim for. Throughout my six years at Chelsea, we were always fighting for big titles – if it wasn’t the Premier League, it was the Champions League or another cup. If I had to pick one game, it’d be the 2011-12 Champions League quarter-final first leg against Benfica, because my goal in Lisbon opened the doors for us to reach the semis. Did Jose Mourinho phone you to convince you to join Chelsea, or was there no need? Actually, Jose came to the Netherlands to watch me play. Initially I didn’t know he was there, which was good – otherwise I would have been under pressure. After the game, he got in touch with my agent,…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 11th FA CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Ollie Watkins (16) IS BUENDIA THE MAN TO DELIVER VILLA EUROPEAN FOOTBALL? MAT KENDRICK @MatKendrick And the Emi goes to... Aston Villa. For the second successive summer, Villa’s scouting team have prised an Emiliano from Arsenal’s clutches, much to the delight of the claret and blue faithful. Snapping up Emiliano Martinez last September and then using the Argentine goalkeeper to help convince compatriot Buendia to choose Villa over the Gunners has sparked some social media argy-bargy between the fanbases. A faux rivalry, which at this time of year only extends to Aston’s finest breathing down Arsenal’s necks atop of The Alphabet Table, now has some added South American spice. The statement signing of…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 17th FA CUP Fifth Round LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Chris Wood (12) WILL THE CLARETS’ TAKEOVER PROPEL THEM TO NEW HEIGHTS? RICHARD JOLLY @RichJolly Sean Dyche called it his most challenging year in management. Though a 17th-place finish hardly sounds spectacular, he had kept Burnley in the Premier League in a season that began with the club in limbo, and in which their biggest buy was Brighton’s sixth-choice central midfielder, Dale Stephens, for £750,000. Funds were limited as the search for a new buyer continued, and even when American consortium ALK Capital completed a £170 million takeover in December, no signings followed in January. But if the concern was that this was a leveraged buyout, loading the club with debt, new chairman…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 10th FA CUP Quarter-Finals LEAGUE CUP Quarter-Finals TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Dominic Calvert-Lewin (21) CAN RAFA HEAL OLD WOUNDS AT GOODISON PARK? RICHARD JOLLY @RichJolly The last time Everton appointed a Champions League-winning former Real Madrid manager, he got a rapturous reception. This time... not so much. Carlo Ancelotti felt like a coup for Everton, and his sudden departure a rejection. That blow hit harder still when his replacement was Rafa Benitez, a man indelibly associated with Liverpool; someone who once described Everton as a “small club”, no less. The Spaniard has clarified those comments, and there was no candidate who united supporters, but the mood at Goodison Park was obvious. “Not welcome,” read one of the more polite banners. “We know where you live,” declared…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 3rd FA CUP Fourth Round LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Quarter-Finals TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Mohamed Salah (31) HOW CAN KLOPP & CO REDISCOVER THEIR MOJO? ANDREW MURRAY @Andy_MurrayFFT It’s tempting to compare Liverpool’s 2020-21 to Icarus flying too close to the sun; a hubristic tale of a squad ending the club’s 30-year title drought and being giddy at their own soaring magnificence. Yet anyone who sat through the harrowing, listless losses to Burnley and Fulham, which bookended a stretch of six straight home defeats, will point to a fragile group of players, bereft of confidence and unable to recall a counter-pressing philosophy that had once been near-automatic. The 4-1 reverse to Manchester City within that dismal run resembled the siege of Troy rather than…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 12th FA CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP Quarter-Finals TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Callum Wilson (12) WILL THE TOON ARMY EVER BE HAPPY AGAIN? RICHARD JOLLY @RichJolly Can 95 per cent of Newcastle fans ever be wrong? Can Mike Ashley ever be right? If the final weeks of the campaign hinted that the answer to each question comes in the affirmative, it doesn’t mean they can be reconciled. There can be lulls in the Tyneside civil war, but this is the kind of conflict where no one ever signs a peace treaty. Rewind a few months and, after March’s dire 3-0 loss against Brighton suggested the Magpies were sleepwalking towards relegation, 19 of every 20 supporters polled thought Steve Bruce should be sacked. One banner called him…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 7th FA CUP Fifth Round LEAGUE CUP Runners-up EUROPA LEAGUE Last 16 TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Harry Kane (33) CAN DANIEL LEVY REBUILD HIS REPUTATION? RICHARD JOLLY @RichJolly It was a rare apology from a man who prefers to stay in the shadows. “I feel we lost sight of some key priorities and what’s truly in our DNA,” Daniel Levy said in his programme notes for Tottenham’s final home game last season. It was an admission that Spurs’ much-mocked European Super League involvement was a mistake. Supporters need no reminding that Wigan have won a trophy more recently, and rebelled at the attempt to cheat their way into the elite permanently. It was also a tacit acknowledgement that hiring Jose Mourinho was a grave error, undoing…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 13th FA CUP Fifth Round LEAGUE CUP Second Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Pedro Neto, Ruben Neves (5) HOW WILL THE BRUNO LAGE ERA LOOK AT MOLINEUX? JAMES FIELDEN @James_Fielden Bruno Lage had been touted in the press long before Nuno Espirito Santo left Wolves, so it was no great surprise to see him announced as the new man at the helm, after his countryman gave Wanderers four largely memorable campaigns. Following promotion as second-tier champions, two seventh-place Premier League finishes and runs to the quarter- and semi-finals of the Europa League and FA Cup respectively, last season was a tough watch. Though many clubs would be happy finishing 13th, the many slow starts and lacklustre performances proved hugely frustrating. The club’s exemplary injury record became…

ACCRINGTON STANLEY LAST SEASON LEAGUE ONE 11th FA CUP First Round LEAGUE CUP First Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Dion Charles (20) FAN FILE ADAM SCARBOROUGH Last season was great overall. We were in contention for the play-offs before a fixture pile-up cost us. Last season was our highest finish since our Football League return in 2006. The big talking point among the fans is our ground developments, with a new clubhouse being built behind the main stand. Instead of going to the football last season I sorted through a load of old match programmes from our non-league days. Trips to Leigh RMI and Grays Athletic among many. I won’t be happy unless I’m eating a pie with lashings of gravy at our first home match. Our most underrated player…

ALDERSHOT Danny Searle’s side secured a solid mid-table finish last season, and the Shots’ boss has been active in the transfer market as he targets improvement this time out. However, it remains to be seen whether the team’s additions – including Fulham youngster Jayden Harris and Wycombe defender Giles Phillips – will inspire any significant change this season. 16TH ALTRINCHAM The big news out of Altrincham this summer was their decision to delay a move towards a hybrid model of part-time and full-time players – not that it’s stopped boss Phil Parkinson (not that one; more on him later) from adding striker Marcus Dinanga and centre-back Kennedy Digie. A lower-mid-table finish seems likely, but it’d be a solid foundation to build on if the move towards professional football comes next…

This summer, the impossible happened. For a few glorious weeks, Scottish football’s all-consuming tit-for-tat was parked as fans found common ground getting behind their national team at Euro 2020. All was calm... at least until the domestic game’s excitable headline generator cranked back into life. Normality, at last… Celtic have been front and centre of it all, on the back of a nightmare season of self-sabotage. Eddie Howe was meant to lead an extensive rebuild after their 10-in-a-row hopes were obliterated, with influential chief executive Peter Lawwell stepping down and captain Scott Brown following Neil Lennon out the door. Howe’s last-minute change of heart piled on the pressure, though, with the alternative – former Australia boss Ange Postecoglou – a left-field choice. He’s impressed in his early dealings, but make…

STORY OF THE GROUP The Official Euro 96 Nostalgia Tour kicks off with England’s home game against World Cup nemesis Croatia, which just so happens to be their first tournament game at Wembley since Euro 96. This one doesn’t finish all square like England’s opener against Switzerland 25 years ago. Instead, the Three Lions win their opening match of a Euros for the first time ever, leaving supporters with a strange jubilant feeling they’re not used to at this stage of the finals. A BBC poll urges Gareth Southgate to select Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho ahead of Raheem Sterling, but the Manchester City man is England’s hero, bagging his first tournament goal on his 13th appearance. Fittingly, it comes just a quarter of a mile from where he went…

JUNE 28 IS PERHAPS THE GREATEST DAY OF FOOTBALL EVER, AS 14 GOALS ARE SHARED Saturday June 26 Wales 0-4 Denmark Italy 2-1 Austria (aet) Sunday June 27 Netherlands 0-2 Czech Republic Belgium 1-0 Portugal Monday June 28 Croatia 3-5 Spain (aet) France 3-3 Switzerland ( 4-5 pens) Tuesday June 29 Sweden 1-2 Ukraine (aet) STORY OF THE ROUND Twenty-five years since Wales were infamously thumped 7-1 by the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier, they return to the country for a Euro 2020 last 16 clash against Denmark – and it doesn’t go much better. Irritated by their fans being banned from Amsterdam while thousands of Danes are allowed in, Bale & Co are even more annoyed when a 4-0 loss to their impressive opponents is exacerbated by a…

Sunday July 11 Italy 1-1 England (3-2 pens) STORY OF THE ROUND Ahead of England’s first final for 55 years, polls suggest that Southgate is now more popular than Churchill. Perhaps eager to live up to that billing, the manager starts chucking war references into his pre-match press conference. “People have tried to invade us - we’ve had the courage to hold that back,” Southgate randomly asserts, stopping short of vowing to fight the Azzurri on the beaches. After 2016 hero Eder delivers the trophy pre-match, the first time anyone has seen or heard from him in exactly five years, Operation Wing-Back looks to be bearing fruit when Kieran Trippier crosses for Luke Shaw to put England in front. Keeping hold of the ball proves trickier: Italy dominate and eventually…

Last October, Macclesfield Town rose from the rubble of bankruptcy to reform as Macclesfield FC – and announced their resurrection with a big-name arrival. From a distance, he appeared every inch the high-profile transfer, with his floppy mop of blond hair, Marbella tan and gleaming white teeth. But something didn’t add up. At almost 46 years old, Robbie Savage had been retired for nearly a decade, setting aside a brief comeback for Stockport Town in 2019. Still, here he was, as Macc’s figurehead for bold new days. Silkmen fans needn’t have worried, though: Savage had been appointed director of football by new owner Rob Smethurst, as they get ready for life in the North West Counties League Premier Division – five tiers below the Football League. “Rob is a good…

I bet you never thought you’d miss the annoying bloke who sits two rows in front so much. He’s probably missed you too, having finished his summer yelling at Gareth Southgate for not getting Jack Grealish on sooner in every Euros game. Oh, the new season is here – only this time, we’ve got more reason than ever to be thankful for it. Whichever club you support at any level, we can all come together in celebration of our returns to stadia across the land. At least until the games begin, that is...…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 8th FA CUP Fourth Round LEAGUE CUP Quarter-Finals EUROPA LEAGUE Semi-Finals TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Alexandre Lacazette (17) ARE ARSENAL’S TOP-FOUR DAYS NOW A THING OF THE PAST? TIM STILLMAN @Stillberto Having finished eighth in successive seasons, Arsenal’s realistic first aim for 2021-22 is simply to break back into the top six. But is that really it? Well... no. Without the distraction of European football for the first time in 26 years, they have an improved chance of cracking the top four again – and shouldn’t be embarrassed about aiming for it. Last season, Mikel Arteta’s side were second in the Premier League form table from Boxing Day onwards, a period encompassing almost two-thirds of the campaign, showing a huge improvement on their abysmal results up…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 16th FA CUP Fifth Round LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Neal Maupay (8) WILL A LACK OF FIREPOWER COST THEM DEARLY THIS TERM? TOM WIGGINS @WiggoWiggo There are few phrases that strike fear into the heart of Graham Potter like ‘expected goals’. Brighton’s inability to finish enough of the myriad opportunities they created last season became something of a running joke on social media, but with relegation a real possibility until early May, it’s unlikely that those in the corridors of power at the Amex found it very funny. The former Swansea and Ostersund boss couldn’t have done much more himself to propel the Seagulls towards their long-term aim of being a top-10 club. Even without his first-choice wing-backs of Tariq Lamptey and…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 14th FA CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP Second Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Wilfried Zaha (11) WHAT KIND OF JOB HAS PATRICK VIEIRA WALKED INTO? GREG LEA @GregLeaFootball Crystal Palace have seldom embraced managerial stability, so this summer’s chaotic hunt for a new boss felt like a return to normality. Nuno Espirito Santo and Lucien Favre both came close to taking the job, before the Eagles eventually appointed former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira in early July. But now comes the hard part. Replicating the achievements of Roy Hodgson, who kept the club comfortably clear of the bottom three throughout his four-year tenure, won’t be easy. Doing so while producing a more expansive form of football will be harder still. That’s what Palace fans crave after four…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 5th FA CUP Winners LEAGUE CUP Third Round EUROPA LEAGUE Last 32 TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Kelechi Iheanacho (19) HAVE THE FOXES BLOWN THEIR BIG TOP-FOUR CHANCE? JOE BREWIN @JoeBrewinFFT So, here we are again. A year on, the same curious paradox afflicts Leicester; one where finishing fifth (again) and winning the first FA Cup in club history is considered suboptimal. Chuck in a rather testing season of Europa League football en route, plus an injury list that sometimes read more like a squad page, and you have a strange conclusion indeed. Yet the facts remain: two years in a row, Brendan Rodgers’ side have had Champions League football in their own hands on the final day, only to let it slip. In reality, though, 2020-21…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 2nd FA CUP Quarter-Finals LEAGUE CUP Semi-Finals CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group Stage EUROPA LEAGUE Runners-up TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Bruno Fernandes (28) WHAT’S PREVENTING UNITED FROM MOUNTING A PROPER CHALLENGE? ANDY MITTEN @AndyMitten For all of the noise around Manchester United’s owners, the club’s identity, Old Trafford’s facilities and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s midfield, there’s a short answer to this question. What’s holding United back? Strength in depth. Solskjaer trusts 14 players, give or take, and plays them as much as possible. Supporters worried when Bruno Fernandes started a League Cup game at Everton in a packed December, yet the Norwegian selected him because he needed – and still needs – a trophy. He has improved the team, while lowering its age profile, and his increasingly consistent side…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 15th FA CUP Semi-Finals LEAGUE CUP Second Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Danny Ings (13) CAN SAINTS REDISCOVER THEIR 2020 GROOVE? MARK WHITE @markwhlte Leicester’s Friday-night romp in Southampton in October 2019 had almost died as a cliché. It was on its way out as a meme, becoming instead a tired commentary constant… until lightning struck twice in February 2021. Manchester United 9 Southampton 0. Eighteen goals conceded and three red cards shown across those two infamous fixtures tell their own sordid stories. Yet the 9-0 checkpoints are more than just bumps in the road for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men: they’re in the very DNA of this side. ‘Intensity’ is the word at St Mary’s, both positively and negatively. In two and a half years, Hasenhuttl has…

LAST SEASON PREMIER LEAGUE 6th FA CUP Fifth Round LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round TOP SCORER (ALL COMPS) Michail Antonio, Tomas Soucek (10) CAN THE HAMMERS HANDLE A FULL EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN? JIM KEARNS @TheHList In the past 10 campaigns, 31 English clubs have qualified for the Europa League via the league – and only nine have improved their final position the following year. Of the non-Super League types, only Southampton and West Ham have managed it, the latter through cunningly getting knocked out before the kids were even back at school. That West Ham likely won’t add to that number this year, however, says more about the impossibly successful nature of their 2020-21 season and less about how they’re likely to fare this time. The squad is surely too thin to…

Welcome to the land of the fallen giants. Eight sets of fans head into this League One campaign having watched their teams in the Premier League before, while a further seven have seen the second tier this century. Expectations will be high almost everywhere, then – but where are they most likely to be met? Finances might look opaque at Portsmouth, who have lost a few faces by force or design, but big-hitting Sunderland and Ipswich now have ownership regimes capable of delivering glory. Charlton and Wigan may not quite share their hopes of the title, but both can finally look up rather than down with their own days of disarray seemingly over. Juggernauts with big finances and fanbases to match make the division highly competitive, but managers can also…

Searching for a shining example to demonstrate the merits of managerial stability? Look no further than League Two. Last season, Ian Evatt led Bolton from the depths of 20th in early February to astonishing automatic promotion – and there’s more. Additional evidence comes from title winners: four of the last five had previously fallen short in the play-offs under the manager who subsequently led them to the top. Three of those just happened to be established legends at their clubs too, in John Coleman (Accrington), Danny Cowley (Lincoln) and Michael Duff (Cheltenham). It may be a good omen for Newport icon Michael Flynn, whose teams have twice been narrowly beaten at Wembley and now hope to bounce back from their latest play-off heartache. Unlike the Welsh outfit, other defeated semi-finalists…

ARSENAL After two third-place finishes, it’s all change this season at Arsenal: 38-year-old Swede Jonas Eidevall has replaced Joe Montemurro after four years in charge, accompanying exciting signings in Mana Iwabuchi and Nikita Parris. Injuries have been the Gunners’ largest obstacle in recent seasons, but moves have been made to bolster the medical staff. With the talismanic Vivianne Miedema set to stay, expect them to be involved in a three-horse race for the title with Manchester City and Chelsea. FFT VERDICT: 2nd KEY PLAYER: Jordan Nobbs ASTON VILLA Villa narrowly escaped relegation last season, but they have refreshed after pilfering new coach Carla Ward from troubled city rivals Birmingham – not to mention one of the country’s best young goalkeeping talents in Hannah Hampton. The West Midlanders will now look…