LAURA WOODS: SPURS WIN THE SUMMER BUT I’M ALREADY CONCERNED FOR CARRICK
SPURS HAD BEST WINDOW… LIVERPOOL MIGHT REGRET THEIRS
I actually think Tottenham might have had the best window in terms of ins and outs: Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Savinho, Andy Robertson – which feels like ages ago – and Jan Paul van Hecke are huge signings.
They’ve spent a lot of money but they’ve also managed to recoup quite a bit of money too. So obviously they’re backing Roberto De Zerbi – who is a brilliant manager anyway – which makes what happened over the opening weekend against Brentford even more bizarre.
But it’s not done yet. I’d also like to see what Savinho brings, he’s a great player.
So Spurs have probably had the best window – closely followed by Arsenal and Chelsea, who have also done really great business.
For Chelsea, Morgan Rogers scored on his debut and settled in there straight away. He’s going to make them really dangerous.
And, obviously, Arsenal with a couple of new additions too. I love Bruno Guimaraes and think he’s going to be excellent. They just looked so solid on day one.
Ezri Konsa is another one I think is sensational and a huge signing; as if Arsenal’s defence couldn’t get any better but, while William Saliba is out, that’s a monster signing.
I think Liverpool might end up regretting not signing more players actually – especially with their midfield not looking quite right.
Spurs to finish top five is 5/2 with BetMGM
ALONSO ALREADY STANDS OUT
Out of all the new managers, Xabi Alonso really impressed me.
I can see what he’s going for and really like the front three of Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, which should be a really strong combination throughout the season.
Obviously conceding two isn’t great, so there’s still some work to be done there, but I do still think they’re going in the right direction and I can imagine Chelsea fans are absolutely delighted with him as he’s such a good manager.
And he’s the type to command respect from them – perhaps that’s what they need a little bit more of at Chelsea.
They’ve had quite a few managers recently, and quite a few ups and downs, but I think he will settle it there.
Rogers is such a huge signing and the board backing him is a great way to start the season off – and with a 3-2 win as well.
An honourable mention for Matthias Jaissle at Newcastle for losing Bruno, for losing Tonali and for still managing to nearly beat Liverpool; like he was literally seconds away from beating Liverpool, which exposed a lot of their weaknesses.
But what a great start for him. It definitely inspired the Geordies up here, I can tell you that… especially the one in my house.
The manager I was most concerned about after gameweek 1 is probably De Zerbi.
Because, on one hand, they’ve had one of the best windows and done the best bit of business in terms of their net spend but, on the other, there’s still a lot of cracks to where I would be reality concerned if I was Spurs fans.
And I know they are because I’ve seen their reaction. It’s only one game, so a lot can change and the window’s not closed yet.
Chelsea to win the Premier League is 6/1 with BetMGM
MAN CITY DON’T LOOK TITLE-READY
Manchester City just continued the trend of why I don’t think they’ll win the title this season with the late win against Bournemouth.
I think they need a little bit more time.
They just don’t look proper yet. And to be trailing for that long, you could see it as a bad thing on one hand but a good thing on the other that they managed to come back and win the game.
Rayan Cherki definitely changed things up but Erling Haaland was very quiet – like when Samson cut his hair.
I’m not saying he’s lost all of his powers though. I actually think he can be quicker with his hair that short!
It’s still early days but I think when you lose Rodri, when you lose Pep Guardiola… there’s definitely going to be a period of transition under a new manager, even if he’s a former coach and everybody knows him.
When he was a coach at City, it was almost like he was one of the boys. He’s in the dressing room with them; he’s kind of on their level and now he’s the manager. So it might take time for the players to listen to him like they did with Pep.
It’s a long season and a lot can change but I just don’t see them winning the title.
Erling Haaland to finish Premier League top scorer is 7/10 with BetMGM
CONCERNED FOR CARRICK
I would also add concern for Michael Carrick as someone I think, maybe, hasn’t been backed enough.
But yeah, really concerning to lose to Hull City. Purely because they’re a newly promoted side who might have had a little bit of a bounce at home on the opening day of the season, but to concede twice from set pieces…
And then Bruno Fernandes said something really odd after the game about repeating the same mistakes as last season, which doesn’t point to a confident or united team behind the scenes. It’s such a demoralising start for the players and the fanbase.
It looked good when he had one competition to worry about but now there’s four how is that going to play into things? Especially when the fixture list starts to get more congested.
That would be a bit of a concern for me if I was a Manchester United fan.
Man Utd to finish top four is 5/4 with BetMGM
DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY WITH ARSENAL YET
It’s so early, I don’t want to get drawn into saying it’s Arsenal’s title to lose, definitely not.
I do think they’re favourites which isn’t the same thing, though.
There’s just so many twists and turns in the Premier League – there was last season as well. Even when you think they’ve tied it up early doors, City came back and Arsenal had to almost win it again.
There’s still loads of possibilities and lots of things that can happen and all of these teams are still bedding in. I don’t think we’re going to get a proper grip on things until Christmas, as it should be.
I’d love to be proved wrong if Arsenal just ran away with it. Obviously I’d be the first to celebrate that.
But I don’t want to be drawn in to saying it’s theirs to lose too early. That said, they do look excellent and very fluid, picking up where they left off from last season.
They all know each other so well and I think all they’ve done is strengthen in the market building on what they already had.
Arsenal to win the Premier League is 10/11 with BetMGM
GRAY CAPTAIN WAS MASSIVE SHOUT
As I said earlier on, Spurs have a lot of reasons to worry.
It’s probably a bit of a hangover from last season but they’ve spent so much money that patience isn’t going to last for very long.
You can say you’re waiting for players to bed in, and obviously Micky van de Ven didn’t play because he’s injured but to be hammered like that on the first day of the season… with a good manager, you’d naturally be expecting a lot more from what you saw.
For me, maybe I’m old-fashioned, but making 20-year-old Archie Gray captain was a lot to be putting on the shoulders of really young captains.
Maybe we’re not seeing something. Maybe he’s brilliant in the dressing room or brilliant in training, but he’s so young. I think he was asked a question about it and he was like “yeah, I’m obviously really honoured to be captain but we got hammered”. There’s work to be done.
I don’t think we should make a big deal of it because when Van de Ven comes back he’ll obviously take over. But yeah, it was a big shout and a lot of pressure to put on a young player like Gray.
I think with young players, just let them be. Let them just be 20 year olds and concentrate on the game rather than giving them too much pressure.
Maybe it signifies there’s not a lot of leaders in that dressing room at the moment, which is even more of a concern.
Spurs to beat Newcastle is 6/5 with BetMGM
AND FINALLY… ITAUMA IS THE BUSINESS!
I actually worked on a few of Moses Itauma’s early fights when he was just coming through and he is the real deal.
He has absolutely everything you want in a fighter – especially in the heavyweight division. He’s so slick, he’s got the footwork, he’s got the power and he’s so young.
That would be an incredible title and it’s something they’ve been talking about, and touting him for, for a really long time: to become the youngest heavyweight world champion since Mike Tyson.
I would not be surprised if he did it.
I remember the early days and we would talk about the fact that he was so quick in the ring – like he would finish his fights so quickly.
In the heavyweight division especially, you really want to go the distance sometimes to learn more about yourself.
But also to make sure you can survive. Because in this division it’s just different and anything can happen. Upsets can happen quite a lot because you get caught with a punch that you’re not expecting.
But I do think he’s intelligent as well. He’s genuinely an all-rounder and could be a proper superstar.
Filip Hrgovic is a very good opponent, he will be a massive test; he’s been around the block, he’s a little bit older and he’s solid.
It’s an incredible fight but I do think Itauma is the business, this kid.
