After somewhat of an unplanned hiatus from groundhopping, this week we decided to visit Southampton for their clash with high-flying Leicester.
Sometimes there comes a game where your just left wondering did that really just happen?
This was one of them.
When me and Harry made the very short trip to St Mary’s Stadium, neither of us could even fathom the concept of a 9-0 home defeat.
Goals from Ayoze Perez (x3), Ben Chilwell, James Maddison, Jamie Vardy (x3) and Youri Tielemans saw Brendan Rodgers’ side leave the South Coast with a record-breaking win that will go down in Premier League folklore.
Atmosphere
Well this was one of the most bizarre yet incredible atmospheres I have ever been a part of.
The Leicester fans travelled in numbers and were in fine voice through out the game.
The St Mary’s faithful began to understandably grow more and more toxic as the first half grew older. However, as the second half kicked off Southampton fans began to make a lot of noise, out-singing the travelling Leicester fans with their own self-deprecating chants as well as some nostalgic chants that would warm the hearts of the more senior members of the Saints’ fanbase.
English football fan culture often comes under scrutiny in comparison to foreign fan culture, however, this was one of those games where everything was so wonderfully typical of the English game.
A goal-fest, torrential rain and a self-deprecating yet partizan atmosphere. You just love to see it.
For me, I am going to give atmosphere a five.
Cost
With both myself and Harry currently studying in Southampton, travel was always to be at a very low cost.
As a result of us living on the doorstep of St Mary’s Stadium, we were fortunate enough to pay absolutely nothing for travel having walked from our new home.
Tickets were priced at £30 for me as I had forgotten to apply the discount code which would lower the prices to £25 like Harry did.
£25 to watch a Premier League game regardless of the entertainment on the pitch is fantastic.
Five out of five.
Entertainment
Well, how could this be anything other than a five?
Nine goals, clear-cut chances at a premium, a penalty, a red card and some horrendous breakdowns within the home end, what more could you ask for?
In spite of the relentless and freezing cold rain, we were distracted by the continuous free-flowing attacking football, as well as the calamitous defending.
Quite simply, the easiest decision we have made since the birth of this blog.
Entertainment, five.
Food
Due to the fact that my frozen hands couldn’t unzip my jacket to grab my wallet, I was unable to consume any food from the stadium so unfortunately I am going to have to leave this section to your imagination.
However, based on Harry’s visit to St Mary’s in August he awarded food a five.
So food will get a five.
Facilities
The stadium itself is your typical Premier League ground. It’s capacity of around 32,000 make for a great atmosphere throughout the match. What also helps the atmosphere and is a reason I especially like the ground is the fact that it is a bowl.
The facilities are also very nice. The ground on the inside and out is just stunning and I will definitely look forward to attending more games there as soon as I can.
For stadium, four out of five.
Man of the match
Well with Leicester City scoring nine, and two players both grabbing hat-tricks it would be silly not to choose an attacker as man of the match.
Or would it be? For me in spite of the overload of attacking excellence, there was one man that I was in constant awe of all night. Wilfried Ndidi, it seemed like every time Southampton had even a glimmer of hope going forward, the Nigerian was relentless in winning the ball back and setting up attacking moves for the visitors.
So what does this mean?
Taking into account all these variables, the visit to Southampton ranks as a 24/25
Meaning that Southampton ranks top of the groundhopping table, and realistically probably will do for the rest of the season.
Tottenham Hotspur have become one of the feel good stories of the last ten years in the Premier League, transitioning from a punchline to a potential powerhouse of English football.
Mauricio Pochettino has taken The Lilywhites from sixth placed finishes to four consecutive top four finishes, a Champions League final, a League Cup final as well as three domestic semi-finals in just five seasons. The outstanding management of Mauricio Pochettino coinciding with the move to a brand new stadium with a capacity of over 62,000 has cemented Spurs’ place as one of the big sides in the country.
However, rewind 18 years and Tottenham Hotspur were an unrecognisable club. A club in significant debt under the stewardship of notorious businessman Alan Sugar, Spurs were a club reminiscent of greater times, consistent mid-table mediocrity was not something to be writing home about for the White Hart Lane faithful, but change was forthcoming.
After two unsuccessful attempts to buy Tottenham Hotspur in 1998 and 2000, ENIC’s Daniel Levy completed the takeover of his boyhood club after growing hostility between fans and hierarchy during the end of Sugar’s tenure made the TV personality’s position untenable.
Daniel Levy starts his reign at White Hart Lane promising progression and funds.
Levy’s first course of action was to appoint Spurs legend and former England manager Glenn Hoddle as first team manager.
Despite good intentions, Spurs began to live up to the reputation of being “Spursy”, with the departure of the infamous Sol Campbell to bitter rivals Arsenal on a free transfer befitting of the club’s then reputation.
After three seasons in the Spurs hot seat, Hoddle was relieved of his duties at White Hart Lane in 2004 after flattering to deceive as the club looked set to embark on a new operating system, with the appointment of Jacques Santini who would work with new sporting director Frank Arnesen who outlined his intentions on building a new look Spurs side with a young talented British core.
New Spurs manager Jacques Santini later brought former Bayern Munich, Coventry and West Brom midfielder Martin Jol to the club as his assistant manager.
The club began their new dawn with the arrivals of a number of exciting British talents, as Andy Reid, Michael Carrick, Michael Dawson and Paul Robinson aligned with the clubs new recruitment policy with added emphasis on homegrown talent.
Despite an impressive and un-Spurs like transfer window, Jacques Santini decided to call it quits just 13 games into his Spurs career. The neglect of talents such as Michael Carrick had led to a somewhat frosty relationship with the n17 faithful as well as a breakdown in personal relationship with technical director Frank Arnesen.
Martin Jol
Martin Jol was handed the task of steering the Spurs ship forward through murky waters.
Things didn’t get easier for Martin Jol, as Frank Arnesen departed the club after flirting with rivals Chelsea for months on end, the clubs eventually settled on a £5 million compensation fee.
Jol guided Spurs to a 9th placed finish during his first season, and set about seeking European Qualification the following season with the additions of Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone amongst others for his first full season in the Spurs hot seat.
The 2005/2006 season was bittersweet for Jol and Tottenham, with his side recording the club’s highest ever league finish during the Premier League era.
Tottenham suffer sickening Champions League blow after food-poisoning incident on eve of West Ham clash.
The club narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day following the lasagna-gate incident which saw Spurs finish below Arsenal.
In spite of the disappointment of the final day, Jol had installed a new found hope at Tottenham; something Spurs had been missing for a very long time. Playing attacking and expansive football whilst nurturing homegrown talent such as Carrick, Defoe, Dawson Huddlestone, Jenas, Keane, Lennon, Robinson etc.
The biggest earmark of the change in the club’s stature was in 2006, when Spurs beat off stiff opposition to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Bayer Leverkusen, who would become an instant hero in North London.
Despite the loss of Michael Carrick to Manchester United at the start of the season, Tottenham enjoyed another great season under new found hero Martin Jol. Finishing 5th in the Premier League again, whilst reaching the quarter finals of the F.A Cup, the League Cup semi-final and the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup where they would controversially fall to Sevilla who were managed by Juande Ramos; a name Spurs fans would become synonymous with in the near future.
New signings Kaboul (left), Bent (middle) and Bale (right) figurehead a new look Spurs.
Martin Jol began the 2007-2008 season with more impressive transfer business securing the services og highly-coveted youngster Gareth Bale as well as the addition of Darren Bent who would add more firepower to the potent Spurs attack of Berbatov, Keane and Defoe.
Despite three and a half seasons in N17, Martin Jol was controversially relieved of his duties after defeat to Getafe, with news of Jol’s dismissal widespread during the game whilst the Dutchman was unaware of his fate.
A sour ending for Jol, but his legacy at Spurs lives on.
Harry Redknapp
After Jol’s dismissal he was replaced by Juande Ramos, despite the sweet moments of a League Cup triumph in 2008, a 5-1 win over Arsenal and the addition of highly-coveted Luka Modric, Ramos’ tenure wasn’t really one to write home about.
Ramos’ first full season started disastrously, losing star players Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane as well as gathering just two points from his opening eight games.
Harry Redknapp was handed with the task of steering the ship ashore after a rocky start to the season.
Redknapp guided his side to a eighth placed finish as well as to a League Cup final, whilst also bringing back fan favourites Jermaine Defoe and Robbie Keane.
However, the 2009-2010 season was the season where Redknapp made his mark on n17, leading the club to an FA Cup semi-final, a League Cup quarter final but most impressively achieving Champions League qualification recording a fourth placed finish (the club’s highest ever Premier League finish.)
Whilst Redknapp’s reputation was somewhat of an old-school 4-4-2, wheeling-dealing manager, the journeyman manager was changing his ways to further develop the reputation of Tottenham.
The deadline-day acquisition of the mercurial Rafael Van der Vaart from Real Madrid was a sign of the times for Spurs. With Champions League qualification sealed after defeating BSC Young Boys in the play-off round, Redknapp had the perfect platform to display his finest assets on.
Redknapp was packing an impressive side, Van der Vaart settled in superbly and was beginning to take English and European Football by storm, Luka Modric was his usual mouth-watering, silky self and between Crouch, Defoe and Pavlyuchenko Spurs were beginning to make a name for themselves alongside Europe’s elite.
However, there was one man that made the Champions League his own playground, a young man named Gareth Bale.
With Spurs 4-0 down to Inter Milan just 35 minutes and down to 10 men on their biggest European test so far, some Spurs fans would be forgiven for thinking that maybe Champions League football was a stretch too far.
However, a stunning second-half display from Gareth Bale breathed new life into The Lilywhites’ Champions League campaign.
A hat-trick at the San Siro and a dominating display on Inter legends Maicon and Zanetti showed Bale and Spurs’ potential.
A glory glory night for the Lilywhites.
The return fixture in the group stage proved to be one of the most iconic nights in the club’s recent European history.
Treble winning Inter Milan rocked up to N17 knowing that a win would all but guarantee top spot in Group A, however a masterclass from Redknapp’s Spurs insured a famous famous nights under the lights of White Hart Lane.
Maicon who was widely considered to be the greatest right back in world football at the time was shown up by Tottenham’s new prodigy Gareth Bale, “Taxi for Maicon” ringed around the Lane as Spurs edged closer to the European glory days that had proved to be so elusive for decades.
Tottenham went on to top Group A and defeated an AC Milan side containing Ibrahimovic, Pirlo, Thiago Silva amongst many other superstar names before being knocked out of the Champions League quarter final.
The 2011-2012 season was another rollercoaster ride for Redknapp’s Spurs, with the club on the fringes of a potential title race for the first time since the 1960’s, injuries alongside off the field problems surrounding Harry Redknapp’s personal life saw the club’s form take a nose-dive towards the end of the season. Spurs finished fourth but due to Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, it meant that the Lilywhites would start the 2012-2013 season in the Europa League instead of the Champions League.
After narrowly avoiding a jail sentence due to tax evasion, Harry Redknapp openly flirted with the England job but was pipped to the post by then West Brom manager Roy Hodgson.
Unhappy at Redknapp’s public disloyalty to the club following club support through troubled times, the Spurs hierarchy decided to part company with Harry Redknapp.
Mauricio Pochettino
Now for the more obvious name on the list, Mauricio Pochettino.
It’s 2014, two seasons after parting company with Harry Redknapp, Spurs have failed to return to the Champions League and the superstar names of Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart that had all created fantastic memories on Europe’s biggest stage were now all but a distant bittersweet anecdote for the Tottenham faithful.
After replacing Harry Redknapp, former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas had tried but failed to live up to his potential.
Letting a significant points advantage over Arsenal slip meant that Spurs would again be condemned to Europa League football for another year.
Andre Villas-Boas’ over-reliance on superstar Gareth Bale had seen it’s final days, as the Welshman forced through a move to Real Madrid for £85 million.
The “magnificent seven” followed with AVB spending well over £100 million on seven players to replace Bale’s significant contribution to an inconsistent Spurs side.
The “magnificent seven” proved to be nothing more than a cheesy headline, with Roberto Soldado appearing to leave his shooting boots in Spain, whilst the likes of Capoue, Chiriches and Paulinho failing to settle and Chadli, Eriksen and Lamela still proving to be diamonds in the North London mud. AVB was sacked and then things turned from bad to worse under the stewardship of interim coach Tim Sherwood.
Following an impressive spell at Southampton, Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as Spurs manager.
During his first season, Pochettino placed a large emphasis on youth and incorporated the likes of Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason and Harry Kane in the side ahead of senior players.
Tottenham finished fifth and got to a League Cup final where they were narrowly beaten by Chelsea.
However, the 2015-2016 season was the perfect opportunity for Pochettino to display his credentials. With a clear out of Adebayor, Capoue, Chiriches, Kaboul, Lennon, Paulinho Stambouli and Soldado, the Argentine had a blank canvas to work with, free of any reported trouble makers.
Poch built his new look Spurs with the additions of Alderweireld, Son, Trippier amongst others, with Eric Dier now deployed as an auxiliary defensive midfielder, Vertonghen partnered with his international team-mate, Son supporting a revitalised Harry Kane and the emergence of MK Dons loanee Dele Alli, Spurs were ready to do some damage.
The 2015-2016 season ended in third place for Spurs despite challenging surprise champions Leicester City for the majority of the season, despite a “Spursy” end to the season there was fresh optimism and hope scattered around White Hart Lane.
The incorporation of youth and homegrown talent playing an attacking brand of football, all pulling together in the same direction with a brand new state of the art training ground built to go alongside a new 62,000 seater stadium was a sign of how far the club had come, and how far they can go during Pochettino’s tenure and beyond.
In the final season at White Hart Lane, Spurs finished second to Chelsea, collecting 86 points (club record during Premier League era) whilst gathering 53 points at home from a possible 57.
Ever since Pochettino’s arrival on n17, Spurs have made massive strides of progress. Achieving four consecutive top four finishes in Pochettino’s five seasons as well as reaching the Champions League final shows a change in emphasis and a shift in mentality has saw an overnight transformation of the club that is almost recognisable.
It might be easy for fans to beat Spurs with the trophy-less stick, but over the last 10-15 years has there been a club that has made as much natural progression?
Daniel Levy
Now throughout all of the chaos and quality over the last 18 years, there has been one man that has been a constant throughout; Daniel Levy.
Levy has cut a divisive figure during his tenure in North London. The man who is first to the blame during tough times, and the last for praise during the good.
Levy has become the man that fans love to hate, and hate to love.
The dismissal of Martin Jol halfway through a UEFA Cup game, the attempts to relocate Spurs from North London to East London and into the Olympic Stadium instead of rivals West Ham alongside the lack of support for Spurs fans singing the word “yid” has built up somewhat of a frosty relationship with the supporters.
However, Levy and ENIC have cushioned those blows over the years with the emphasis on building sides with a young hungry British core, the appointments of forward-thinking managers, a brand-new state of the art training ground, a stunning new 62,000+ seater stadium that coincides with the club’s future plans to become one of the elite names in world football.
Spurs fans have become frustrated with Levy at times during his reign for his tight-fisted negotiations. There was a common consensus that had Spurs invested during the 2011-2012 season that they could have won the league. A theory that will remain all but a conspiracy for years to come.
However, Levy’s tight-fisted approach has saved Spurs from some definite flops, there was discontent with Levy when the club failed to sign the likes of Morgan Schneiderlein and Saido Berahino, time has proved to be the greatest healer over these sagas, showing that Levy was correctly placed to miss out on these players.
With Levy at the helm, the club has transformed from mid-table mediocrity to a Champions League regular on the fringes of challenging for the most prestigious title in the English football pyramid.
The transition of Spurs from being a punchline to a powerhouse has been more of a long-term project than some will give credit for, with Levy and Enic beginning to dis-spell the myth of Tottenham’s rigid transfer methods alongside the fantastic man-management of Mauricio Pochettino makes for happy reading with Spurs fans.
Whilst some may say that Spurs have missed the boat in terms of winning the major domestic and European honours, the more optimistic football fans would suggest that incredibly, this could just be the start of Tottenham’s bright future.
As Matchday three rolled around, we took our first bite of League Two action this season as me and Harry travelled down to the Jonny-Rocks Stadium to watch Cheltenham Town entertain Carlisle United.
This was a first visit to Cheltenham for me and Harry, and our first experience of the Jonny-Rocks stadium was a positive one as goals from Gavin Reilly and Luke Varney secured a comfortable home win for the Robins.
So… let’s rate our time.
Atmosphere:
The atmosphere was poor for the majority of the game, with a capacity crowd of over 2,600 it was only a handful of maybe 60-70 Cheltenham supporters who let their voices be heard, singing for the entirety of the game. Whilst I admire the passion and effort to generate an atmosphere, the select few who were making noise were let down by the majority of the crowd in attendance.
I am going to give Cheltenham a 1.5/5 for atmosphere.
Cost:
This week non-league teams such as Boreham Wood and Dagenham & Redbridge have come under scrutiny for mouthwatering ticket prices, but Cheltenham have done a great job with ticket prices.
£9 for Under 18 entry is sensibly priced and is a good example to lower league clubs of how to price tickets.
For cost I’m going to give Cheltenham a 4/5.
Entertainment:
When we planned our ground-hopping journey, it’s fair to say Cheltenham vs Carlisle on a Tuesday night was not one of the most glamorous ties we’d anticipated, however this was good entertainment.
Carlisle came out the blocks early and came close to opening the scoring before Cheltenham ultimately did, with the first half becoming an end to end game for the opening half hour.
Entertainment scored well for me but did die down as the game went on, so I’m going to give entertainment a 3/5.
Facilities:
For a League Two stadium, the Jonny Rocks stadium was very impressive (relative to the division). A seated stadium with a clean design as well offering a standing terrace behind the goal which is very close to the pitch.
Cheltenham’s stadium is an impressive ground and is perhaps higher standard than League Two.
It offers that special lower league feeling whilst also teasing fans into a glimpse of the future.
For facilities, I am going to give Cheltenham a 3/5.
Food:
It isn’t often that you have the luxury of a warm bacon and sausage roll in a toasted baguette, and sensibly priced at £3.50. For me Cheltenham get a 4.5/5
This brings the overall score up to 16/25.
Next up for us is a trip to Rodney Parade for Newport County vs West Ham in the league cup.
Yesterday was one of the most important days of my life, following Spurs for the best part of 14 years I’ve grown up on White Hart Lane, the Paxton, the Shelf Side, the Park Lane these were the surroundings that I grew up on and were some of the many things that made me fall in love with football.
After a two years away from Tottenham, playing at Wembley, I made the trip back to N17 for the first time in two seasons to feast my love struck eyes upon the The new White Hart Lane.
My first experience of my new surroundings was a pleasant yet dramatic one. John McGinn’s early opener for newly promoted Aston Villa had me fearing the worse yet a brilliant second-half equaliser from debutant Tanguy Ndombele and a late brace from Harry Kane saw Spurs claim all three points on opening day.
My man of the match could’ve easily gone for Jack Grealish had it not been for his error which led to the winning goal from Kane late on, however my man of the match is an Aston Villa player, Tyrone Mings. At 1-0 down it felt like every time we had the ball it had to be Mings either getting on the end of it or in front of it, a brilliant addition who will be integral to Aston Villa this season who will beat the drop.
Atmosphere:
Opening day of the season is always good for atmosphere, months waiting for a meaningful and competitive game and it was no different pre-game with Spurs fans getting behind the team whilst the few thousand Villa fans were giving a good account of themselves on their return to the Premier League.
However, the home atmosphere tailed off as John McGinn’s early strike left the White Hart Lane faithful stunned.
The home atmosphere picked up in the second half as Pochettino’s side asserted more pressure on Aston Villa, and raised significantly when Spurs were on level terms. For the last 20 minutes of the game, the atmosphere was good but due to the patchy and inconsistent noise during a nervy opening half I will give the atmosphere a 3.5/5.
Cost:
For the Matchday ticket, I had to fork out £45. Whilst this may sound like a lot of money it’s just the standard rate of football tickets in 2019, with some second tier sides charging £30 per game I felt this was just standard rate, so I am going to give cost a 3/5
Entertainment:
Opening day is always a cagey affair, with both sides wanting to get off to a good start and not show too much weakness ahead of a long campaign.
Aston Villa’s early lead made the game a much more entertaining prospect as it forced Tottenham’s hand to become more expressive and attacking which allowed Villa the opportunity for the occasional counter.
Despite being defensively solid for the majority of the game Villa were not afraid to attack Spurs when the opportunity arose, whilst Pochettino’s side also tested Tom Heaton on various occasions.
I saw many chances at each end, some great saves, some great last ditch challenges and four good goals so I am going to give entertainment a 4/5.
Food:
With a new stadium the architecture is often the main factor of the venue (for obvious reasons) yet Spurs offer the longest running single sporting bar in Europe as well as various food stands situated around the ground which are all sensibly priced and opened until 11pm on a Matchday.
The food was sensibly priced at £2.50 and was excellent value for money so I am going to give food a very impressive 4/5.
Facilities:
Wow, what can I say which hasn’t already been said by people before? It really is a truly elite sporting venue and as a Spurs fan I could not be more impressed or more in awe of the stadium. It represents the next step of Tottenham and truly highlights the clubs ever growing status in the footballing world whilst retaining the core values and sheer nostalgia that made White Hart Lane such a special and sentimental place.
With multiple food stands and bars that are open until 11pm on a Matchday allows fans to have the most enhanced Matchday experience whilst not tapping into the archetypal world of Modern Football.
Taking my spurs hat off for a second, I can honestly say that is a truly elite stadium and represents the strides made by Tottenham.
Facilities undoubtedly gets a 5/5.
Overall I will give the Tottenham Hotspur stadium a 19.5/25 taking it top of the leaderboards.
After one of the most enthralling title races in Premier League history last season, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s rivalry reached staggering new levels with Guardiola recording the second highest points tally in Premier League history (only second to his City side the previous season) to retain the Premier League title for the first time in the club’s history, whilst Liverpool’s title heartbreak was softened by Champions League glory after a 2-0 win over Tottenham.
However, I believe that despite the momentum gained by Liverpool after securing a sixth European triumph that it will not be enough to dethrone Manchester City and here’s why:
Manchester City’s strength in depth was integral to their fourth Premier League title, winning the league despite long term injuries to Benjamin Mendy and Kevin De Bruyne. Liverpool found themselves with somewhat of a lucky injury record last season with Joe Gomez the only notable absentee for the Reds during the season.
Liverpool’s mouth-watering front three of Firmino, Salah and Mane were all relatively injury free last season and were integral to their excellent league form, however should any of the Reds’ starting front-line fall to injury than Klopp simply doesn’t have the depth to adapt in comparison to Manchester City.
With Klopp yet to add any notable first team additions to his side, and losing squad players such as Alberto Moreno and Daniel Sturridge, I fear that competing on all fronts and more specifically over the course of a league season that Liverpool will fade away.
Manchester City also have no fixtures against any of last season’s top six after April 4th (where they face the Reds), whilst Klopp’s side have to face three of last year’s top six in their last six games.
Who will be relegated?
Relegation is never a nice feeling, the damning confirmation of a season of underachievement and failure is a feeling that all football fans have nightmares of, however each year three clubs have to suffer this numb feeling and here are the three clubs I think will fail to beat the drop this year.
Sheffield United – Last April, Chris Wilder fulfilled a lifelong dream by taking his boyhood club up to the Premier League for the first time since The Blades’ last promotion to the top flight back in 2005/2006 season. Wilder who has worked his way up the footballing pyramid all the way from an amateur level will be testing himself against the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and many more next season, however I feel this is a campaign which will end in tears for the Bramall Lane faithful.
I don’t believe that Sheffield United have a squad capable of maintaining Premier League status, the core values and philosophies put in place by Chris Wilder are exactly the sort of attributes needed to stay afloat, however in the Premier League hard work isn’t enough and the only player with proven Premier League quality to join the Blades this summer is an ageing Phil Jagielka who turns 37 this month. Wilder has taken big punts on proven Championship players such as Ben Osborn, Callum Robinson, Luke Freeman and is poised to add Swansea striker Oli McBurnie to their ranks whilst Ravel Morrison remains somewhat of an enigma in English football. I expect Sheffield United to mount a serious title challenge in the second tier next season with the squad they have.
Brighton – Whilst this is a very harsh prediction, Brighton are the second team I think will be condemned to relegation last year. After getting rid of Chris Hughton in the summer and replacing him with Graham Potter, Brighton are a club that could go either way.
The club have played a pragmatic style under Hughton during their Premier League campaign, and are expected to have a play a more open and expansive brand of football under Graham Potter this season, however sides such as Fulham are an example of the risks that could come with playing a too open attacking style, with the Cottagers sacking Slavisa Jokanovic and replacing him with Claudio Ranieri who is renowned for his conservative style of football.
However, Brighton are a team which do not score many goals and their over-reliance on a soon to be 36 year old Glenn Murray means that the club may not necessarily have enough fire power to maintain Premier League status for a third consecutive season.
Brighton will also be looking at Pascal Gross to rekindle his form of 2017-2018 season which helped the Seagulls avoid the drop. Other than Gross and Murray, star quality is hard to come by for The Seagulls with the likes of Andone, Izquerido and Locadia failing to live up to their billing thus far, add to that the loss of Anthony Knockaert and Potter’s side could be slipping closer and closer to the Championship this season.
However, the recent addition of Neil Maupay could be crucial in securing The Seagulls status in the top flight for another year at least.
Norwich City – My final relegation prediction is Norwich City, I am a big fan of Daniel Farke and the way his sides play football, however I think that they will narrowly miss out on survival.
Norwich will be expecting big things from Teemu Pukki who had an incredible debut season in the second division last year. However, a lot of eyes will be put on Pukki who will be targeted by opposition ahead of fixtures against Norwich.
I feel like overall Norwich’s squad is one that could go either way, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did stay in the division but if I had to stick my neck on the line I would say that next season they will be playing Championship football.
Players to watch
With the new Premier League season upon the horizon, the transfer window has become the main talking point for football fans ahead of the new upcoming domestic season.
Whether it’s a £60 million foreign import, a promising youngster on a season long loan or an experienced head coming in on a free transfer there’s plenty of eyes on the new imports into the Premier League, but here are the eleven players I will be keeping a close eye on this campaign and you should too.
Yan Valery – Southampton
As far as full backs go there has been little clubs in the top flight with such success in recent years quite like Southampton, with Luke Shaw, Nathaniel Clyne and more recently Ryan Bertrand just a few names impressing on the South Coast in recent years. And it seems The Saints have another gem on their hands in the form of French academy graduate Yan Valery.
The 20 year old right back had a breakthrough season last campaign scoring two goals and grabbing one assist for the Saints whilst managing to put up 1.8 tackles per game.
Southampton’s full backs saw their attacking freedom restricted under the leadership of Saints legend Mark Hughes before he was relieved of his duties towards the tail end of 2018, with Ralph Hassenhutl taking the reins at St Mary’s following an impressive spell with German side RedBull Leipzig.
Hassenhutl’s swashbuckling football allowed the likes of Ryan Bertrand and Yan Valery to demonstrate their attacking credentials, with Valery grabbing a winner against Tottenham in March before scoring at Old Trafford the following week.
Valery impressed Hassenhutl during the Austrian’s debut season at St Mary’s, so much so that the former Leipzig manager was willing to allow first team right back Cedric Soares depart to Inter Milan on a six month loan in order to pave the way for Valery’s development.
Southampton’s struggles maintaining their most prized assets have been their major downfall since their return to the top flight back in 2012, and should Valery impress this term, the young French full back could be the next big export from St Mary’s with Chelsea and Tottenham still yet to resolve their issues at right back.
Emi Buendia – Norwich City
It’s fair to say this time last year few people would have tipped Norwich City to be promoted from the Championship as champions following a 14th placed finish under new manager Daniel Farke the previous season. Add to that the big money exports of both James Maddison and Josh Murphy and some Canaries fans may have been forgiven for a lack of expectation ahead of the new season at Carrow Road.
After a standout campaign for Norwich which eventually earned him a Premier League move, James Maddison was identified as a huge loss for Farke’s side after contributing to 26 goals in all competitions during his second season in England’s second tier, add to that the big money loss of Josh Murphy, and some Canaries fans may have been forgiven for a lack of expectation ahead of the new season at Carrow Road.
However, the appointment of Stuart Webber as technical director proved to be a stroke of genius and helped lay the foundations for an excellent season at Carrow Road. Weber helped identify the likes of Emiliano Buendia, Moritz Leitner and Teemu Pukki from foreign shores all for a very low price, moves that would change the Canaries’ fortunes for the better.
Whilst Teemu Pukki stole the headlines with his 30 goals in his debut campaign, one of the most important cogs to “FarkeBall” last term was playmaker Emiliano Buendia.
Buendia registered eight goals and 17 assists in all competitions during his debut season in English football, registering 2.4 key passes per game as well as 1.4 dribbles per game. At 22 years old, Emi Buendia has all the attributes to become an established Premier League player for years to come.
Norwich City have regularly checked in and out of the Premier League for the best part of just under a decade now, failing to secure Premier League status since the 2012-2013 season. With three promotions and two relegations in nine seasons, The Canaries will be looking to become a Premier League regular under Daniel Farke, and if they do achieve that goal expect Emiliano Buendia to be a key component, should Norwich fall down to the Championship once more, Buendia could be set for a big move back to the Premier League.
Tanguy Ndombele – Tottenham Hotspur
Following an 18 month voluntary hiatus from the transfer market, many were shocked when Tottenham Hotspur ended their 517 day drought with the club record signing of highly-rated Lyon and France midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.
Spurs have been over reliant on the likes of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko to pull the strings in midfield following the sale of Mousa Dembele back in January and towards the end of the season central midfield had become more and more of a weak spot for Pochettino’s side.
However, the signing of Tanguy Ndombele marks the dawn of a new era upon the horizon on N17, with Spurs splashing £65 million on Ndombele to earmark the start of their first full season in their new 62,500 seater stadium.
Ndombele has been compared to former Spurs midfielder Mousa Dembele for his elite ball progression, tackles and interceptions. However, the one criticism of the dynamic Dembele was his lack of involvement in the final third of the game with the Belgian averaging 0.6 key passes during his final full season at Spurs, whilst Tanguy Ndombele averaged 1.3 per 90, as well as putting up 1.9 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game both significantly more than Dembele.
After a poor finish to the domestic campaign, Spurs’ newly reformed strength in depth makes them a real force to be reckoned with in the Premier League this campaign with the arrival of Ndombele allowing Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen to play further forward to support the already glistening attack of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min.
Dani Ceballos – Arsenal
After narrowly missing out on Champions League football last season during Unai Emery’s debut campaign at the Emirates, some Arsenal fans may not have been too optimistic about the upcoming window with the club’s transfer budget being quoted at just £45 million.
However, the Gunners have already spent big on Saint-Etienne teenage defender William Saliba as well as securing the services of young Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Martinelli. However, the most impressive piece of business conducted by Emery thus far has been the addition of Real Madrid outcast Dani Ceballos on a season long loan.
Despite the Gunners not having an option to permanently secure the services of Ceballos, the Spanish midfielder has the quality needed in order to regain Champions League status after a three year absence.
Ceballos earned a move to Real Madrid after a fantastic season for Real Betis during the 2016-2017 season, however has struggled to gain minutes in a star-studded squad at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mateo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira had promising campaigns last time out but struggled to provide more creativity and dynamism towards the front-line, however with the temporary addition of Ceballos ball progression and creativity should no longer be a problem for Emery’s side. The Real Madrid man averaged 1.3 dribbles and key passes per game last season.
It’s no surprise that Zinedine Zidane is reluctant to offload Dani Ceballos on a permanent basis, expect Ceballos to become a key man for Arsenal this season.
After a double header of Bath and Bristol City on the opening weekend, we started the new game-week with a trip to Huish Park to visit Harry’s beloved Yeovil Town in their first home game since their relegation from the football league last season.
Me and Harry hail from two contrasting ends of the footballing spectrum, whilst I’m preparing myself for a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium this Saturday, my eyes were opened to the sight of Huish Park for the first time beforehand.
My first experience of Yeovil Town was a fortunate one, as The Glovers sealed a first home win since March as Courtney Duffus’ early strike gave the Glovers all three points over fellow promotion hopefuls Eastleigh.
Atmosphere:
After being condemned to a third relegation in just six seasons, the latest demotion would have been the most cutting for the Huish Park faithful as they drop into non-league.
It would not be surprising to see a decrease in attendance, yet last night over 2,800 supporters turned out to see Yeovil secure their first three points of their National League season.
The atmosphere before kick off and during the first 15 minutes was very loud and impressive however the noise died down as the first half grew older and didn’t pick up to the same level until around the 70th minute mark.
As Eastleigh began to throw more men forward and assert more pressure on Yeovil’s backline, the Huish park faithful grew in voices and got behind their team during the nervy closing stages of the game.
The atmosphere was impressive for the numbers in the ground but was very patchy in stages, for me I will rank this as a 3.5/5.
Cost:
The tickets came to a total cost of £10 each, and with a lift down from Harry’s dad our travel and matchday experience came to just £10.
Whilst this price could be found at some football league clubs, it has become the standard rate for a game at this level due to the inflation of ticket prices.
For me I will give Cost a 3/5.
Entertainment:
This was your classic early season promotion six-pointer, both teams not giving not too much away and adopting a somewhat pragmatic style of play.
The early goal allowed Yeovil to sit back and not take many risks, and with Eastleigh failing to create many clear goal scoring opportunities, action at either end of the pitch was few and far between.
The final 20 minutes of the half consisted of many nearly moments from an Eastleigh perspective and squeaky bum time for The Glovers.
For me due to the way the match played out I am going to give entertainment a 2.5/5.
Facilities:
As we travel to more and more football grounds, it becomes evidently clear that each division has contrasting facilities (obviously).
Huish Park is your archetypal League Two ground, the majority of the capacity is standing and is a compressed small ground.
However, I was a fan of Huish Park whilst it may not be the most glamorous nor biggest stadium it serves a purpose for the level its at. It’s the type of ground where locals can come down to the terraces and create atmosphere by bashing the back walls of the stand to get the team going.
For this I will give facilities a 2.5/5
Food:
Now, Harry isn’t the most optimistic fan of Yeovil Town and this trip came with many precautions from him and most notably the food. Whilst I took his precautions with a pinch of salt I have to say I should’ve listened when he said about the food.
Whilst being priced at £2.20 the sausage roll would seem like a bargain, it left me with a sour taste in my mouth (quite literally) and in spite of a good trip down to Huish Park,
I must say that the food scores a measly 2/5 for me.
Overall Yeovil scored a total of 13.5 points, putting them tied with Bath City, to see the leaderboard in all its glory you can find it by clicking the link here
Man of the match: In a game void of any real clear outstanding quality, it was hard to look past new Yeovil striker Rhys Murphy as man of the match.
Murphy was poached from Chelmsford City where he had netted 28 times last season, and whilst it was his striking partner Courtney Duffus who will steal the headlines with his winner, Murphy was the best player on the pitch for me.
He held the ball up very well as well as defending from the front, his creativity and passing was very good and just needed a goal to cap off an excellent home debut.
Next up is a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for the first time on Saturday for me, whilst Harry ventures up to Fratton Park.
After three mind-numbing months without football, the football season got back underway today with everyone from non-league to EFL kicking off their season hoping for a season of glory whilst others will inevitably be condemned to a season of disappointment.
Today we started our football season at Twerton Park for Bath City’s opening game against recently relegated Braintree Town in the National League South.
After missing out on promotion with a play off semi-final defeat last season, The Romans kicked off their campaign in style as two excellent goals from Bath’s Tom Smith and Ross Stearn made it a perfect start for Jerry Gill’s side.
Atmosphere:
After 94 days since Bath City last took to the fields of Twerton Park for a league fixture, the atmosphere was expected to be quite lively ahead of the new season. However throughout the game, the atmosphere was somewhat patchy.
With the attendance standing at just 786 people there was simply not enough numbers to generate an electric atmosphere, there were certain segregation’s of the Bath support willing to urge their team on and let their voices be heard, yet were slightly inconsistent with their support.
For me I would give Bath City a 2.5/5 for atmosphere.
Cost:
With Bath City being situated in the sixth tier of English football, an opening day game was never likely to be too costly and with tickets prices at £7 for under 18’s/students this game was sensibly priced for a day of football.
A train ticket from our native city of Bristol to Bath alongside the match day ticket saw our spending come to just £9.70 before we’d even seen a ball kicked.
This represented excellent value for money, as alternative options shortlisted this weekend would have saw our travel and match day ticket rise to potentially £35.
I would give Bath City a 4/5 for cost.
Entertainment:
Ahead of the opening weekend of the season Bath was perhaps not the most glamorous option to explore in comparison to a number of potential EFL destinations, however Twerton Park did not disappoint.
After a cagey first half of nick and tuck, clear cut chances were few and far between. The highlight of the half was a speculative effort from inside the Braintree half rattling Ryan Clarke’s crossbar, just inches away from one of the goals of the season just minutes into the new season.
The deadlock was broken minutes into the second half, as on loan midfielder Tom Smith made it a debut to remember with a fine volley from inside the box to open the scoring at Twerton Park.
Half time substitute Ross Stearn then doubled the lead with a stunning effort from the edge of the box to seal an opening day win for Jerry Gill’s side.
Chances may have been hard to come by, but the quality of both goals made up for the lack of action and made it an enjoyable experience.
For this I’m going to give Bath a 3/5.
Facilities:
Twerton Park is a throwback to grounds of yesteryear, with the majority of the ground standing it is not your archetypal modern football stadium.
However, expectations can not be raised to an unrealistic level for a game in the sixth tier of English football.
The lack of seating in the stands allowed for the Bath fans to display flags and banners to help add their own touch of sentiment towards the stadium that they call home every other Saturday.
For that, I will give the overall facilities a 2/5.
Food:
Now for the decider, food. Twerton Park was somewhat unorthodox in allowing a food van inside the stadium, situated between the home dugout and corner flag. In fairness, the food can more than warrants its place inside the ground, with hot food priced at £3.20 the food more than warranted it’s price tag with the overall standard of food somewhat higher than then price displayed.
For that I will give it a 4/5.
Man of the Match:
There was a number of impressive candidates to pick up the man of the match award at Twerton Park, but for me it would be hard to look past debutant Tom Smith.
Smith was often found doing the dog-work in midfield, breaking up play whilst also being integral to counter attacks, a fantastic volleyed goal was a testament to the Cheltenham loanee’s debut in front of the Bath faithful.
So what does this mean?
Bath City jump straight to the top of our leaderboard automatically as our first trip scoring 15.5 marks out of a total 25.
Scoring an average of 3.1.
Whilst there is somewhat of a stigma around non-league football from fans of elite clubs in England, I would thoroughly recommend watching your local non-league side when you can as it gives a different perspective to the modern day money-mad heights of the Premier League.
Calling all football fans, if you are a football purist hooked on any piece of content related to the beautiful game then you’ve found the website for you.
For the love of the game is a fan made football blog designed for other passionate and addicted football fans. On this site you will be able to follow our groundhopping journey as we plan to travel up and down the lengths and breadths of the country exploring the best and worst football stadia whilst documenting our journey. You will also be able to engage in unique content such as our Alphabet Scorers challenge, as well as our controversial opinions segment and of course blog posts around the beautiful game.
If you love football then you’ll love this website, and you’ll love our journey around the country visiting each stadium.
We are two university students looking to broaden our footballing horizons by visiting as many football grounds within English football as possible, ranging from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League all the way down to the grit of Non-League.
So it is only right you get to know us:
” This year I want to go further. Be in the ground. In the crowd. Listening to every chant, smelling every pie and most of all, watching more brilliant football. “
First up is me, Harry Clark. I am 18 years old and for 13 of those years I have followed my football team Yeovil Town. There have been ups and downs with Yeovil, unfortunately they’ve all been down for the last half a decade. I played a lot of football when I was younger and when I eventually found out I wasn’t the next Edgar Davids (the glasses) I turned to watching and writing about the game more.
I must have watched over 300 matches at Huish Park alone and yet it still doesn’t tire me making the hour and a half trip down every other week. However this will come to an end this season as I embark on groundhopping, whilst studying at Southampton Solent University.
I have visited all but two of the 92 Football League grounds after a trip around the grounds in 2017 for charity. This year I want to go further. Be in the ground. In the crowd. Listening to every chant, smelling every pie and most of all, watching more brilliant football.
Football is the greatest sport in the world, with some of the best athletes and I want to say to people when I’m old and grey: ‘Harry Kane?, yeah I watched him bag a hattrick against Villa once, what a player he was!’ You can find me on Twitter @HarryClark_. I mainly tweet depressing stuff about Yeovil or optimistic stuff about Tottenham, never the other way around.
“That is the beauty of the game, the ecstasy that comes into our lives so unexpectedly before leaving without a calling card.”
Then there is me Luke, I am a purist looking to get my footballing kick at any given minute of the day. Being a Tottenham fan from Bristol I am no stranger to a long gruelling journey to watch football, having made the 2 hours 45 minute trip up to North London frequently for around 13/14 seasons.
After being baptised into a Tottenham-mad family from almost my first breath, I have experienced the agonising lows and the spine-tingling highs of Tottenham Hotspur. From the silky skills of Luka Modric, the killer-instincts of Harry Kane, the poppadom hands of Heurelho Gomes or the throwing of the shirt from Hossam Ghaly, I wouldn’t change it for a thing.
For me football is about the sounds of the seats clunking as an attack builds, the overpriced and undercooked foods, the sharing of pure passion and emotion with strangers who in spite of ethnicity, wealth or religious beliefs share the same interest and are able to express these feelings for maybe 20 seconds a weekend as the ball crosses that white line, only in football these emotions are normalized and acceptable within our society.
But that is the beauty of the game, the ecstasy that comes into our lives so unexpectedly before leaving without a calling card.
I am a romanticist who watches his football through rose-tinted glasses, whilst some may call me delusional, clueless and many other obscenities, I’d label myself an optimist, but then again everyone has opinions…and you know what they say opinions are like.
If you have enjoyed reading this and would like to keep up to date with all of our content then you can follow our twitter account @4TLOTG where we will be revealing all of our upcoming trips, offering some questionable football opinions and uploading all of the latest content from this website.
For the love of the game 