What Is The UEFA Europa Conference League?

For several years now UEFA have desired a third European competition, one that gives clubs from lower-ranked countries a chance to genuinely compete instead of exiting the Champions League at the qualifying stage every July.

So it was that the UEFA Europa Conference League was formed, a rebranding on an initial intention to call it ‘Europa League 2’.

In early July the first qualifying games took place and next May in Tirana, Albania we will see the inaugural final held for this brand-new tournament.

While UEFA clearly got it right in changing their original name it perhaps helps to view it as a ‘Europa League 2’ to better understand how the competition works and what its mandate is.

That’s because simply put, the Conference League is essentially the Europa League’s little brother, one that mirrors its elder sibling’s format only with – by and large – less illustrious teams involved.

Just like the Europa League, the newly conceived continental competition has three qualifying rounds, a play-off round, group stage, preliminary knock-out round, and finally the last 16.

Also identical to the Europa League, ‘bigger’ clubs enter the fray along the way, having exited another competition.

Fixtures for both tournaments are scheduled for Thursday evenings, with kick-offs at 5.45pm and 8pm UK time. The all-important group stages commence on September 16th with the draw made on August 27th.

How Do You Qualify For The Europa Conference League?

Qualification for the tournament is split into two distinct paths – the Champions Path and Main Path, the latter made up of domestic cup winners and teams that finished high in their respective leagues.

The first qualifying round features only clubs that are eligible from the Main Path and typically these compete in ‘smaller’ national leagues such as Malta, Wales and Estonia.

The winners at this early juncture are then joined by sides who have been eliminated from the Champions League preliminary round along with a further 90 more teams who won their domestic cups last season or did well in their leagues.

Based on their UEFA country coefficients these leagues are ranked higher, in this instance let’s say the Norwegian Eliteserien or the Scottish Premiership.

This pattern continues right up to the post-group stage play-offs that sees eight clubs transferred from the Europa League having come third in their group.

The idea is to incrementally introduce better-known teams along the way, and this explains why the competition doesn’t begin for Tottenham, Roma, Union Berlin and Rennes until the play-off round prior to the group stage.

A cynic may suggest its to spare these big clubs the indignity of travelling to a far-flung country in early July but where the smaller clubs have an advantage is through sheer numbers.

Nations ranked 1-5 in the UEFA coefficient have one representative. For England that is Spurs. Nations ranked 16 or higher have three teams.

All 56 members of UEFA are due to participate though that does depend on how Spanish teams fare in the Champions League and Europa League.

Who Will Play In The UEFA Conference League?

As stated, Spurs, Roma, Union Berlin and Rennes join the action later in the competition and they are undoubtedly the most eminent participants to this point. That is not to say however they are the only household names involved.

Anderlecht can hardly be deemed minnows and they enter at the third qualifying round via the Champions Path.

Crowned Belgian champions a record 34 times and managed by Vincent Kompany the Purple and White have a rich pedigree in European football.

Also at this stage, Rubin Kazan, Trabzonspor and Vitesse enter with each evoking recent memories of continental excellence while the round prior beckons in a veritable who’s who of fine European names that includes Feyenoord, Hajduk Split, Maccabi Haifi, AEK Athens, and Molde.

The Scottish contingent also join in the second qualifying round and on this occasion that is Hibs and Aberdeen who each enjoyed impressive campaigns north of the border last term, trailing only behind the Glasgow duopoly.

Lastly praise is deserving of The New Saints from the Cymru Premier who have progressed so far to the third qualifying round.

This is a competition and structure designed exactly for such wonderful stories to develop and the Oswestry club, whose ground holds just 2000 spectators, are now just a couple of games away from competing in the group stage against a European giant or two.

When Does The Europa Conference League Begin?

The inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League will consist of 141 matches played across 15 game-weeks and featuring sides from 56 countries.

It is, it’s fair to say, a mammoth undertaking and for any successful team participating in the early rounds, will amount to a considerable journey.

It is a journey that began on July 6th for the first phase of qualifying and by August 26th the field will be whittled down to the 32 competing in the eight groups of four.

For one of these, glory ultimately awaits.

UEFA Conference League Predictions

There is always an inherent danger in backing the biggest teams in competitions that won’t be very high on their priority list.

A prime example of this concerns Tottenham who should be fancied to reach the group stage and beyond even if memories are still acute of their two-legged Europa League loss to Dinamo Zagreb last season.

This is a different Spurs however, with Nuno Espirito Santo at the helm so perhaps it is a tournament they will take seriously, offering up, as it does, the prospect of silverware and thus ending a trophy drought that has persisted for 13 years.

Even so, will Santo deploy his strongest eleven once the fixtures begin to pile up? Or will youth fare feature as thoughts turn to a top four finish in the Premier League or winning a domestic cup?

The same thinking applies to Roma, coached of course by the man responsible for Tottenham’s surprise European exit last season.

Jose Mourinho is known for respecting every competition but in what is expected to be an open title race in Serie A might that take precedence over a newly created tournament that lacks lustre by comparison?

In the preliminary knockout round prior to the last 16, eight teams who finished third in their Europa League group are parachuted in. This could be a Leicester or a Bayer Leverkusen; a Marseilles or Real Betis.

The eventual winner of this year’s opening Conference League could well be a latecomer to the party.

Undoubtedly the highlight of domestic football across Europe, the Champions League is the competition that every young footballer wants to win.

Only the best of the best can lift Europe’s elite trophy and some of the greatest footballers of all-time have missed out on Champions League glory.

Best Champions League Final Goals:

1. Zinedine Zidane vs Bayer Leverkusen (2002)

2. Dejan Savicevic vs Barcelona (1994)

3. Lars Ricken vs Juventus (1997)

4. David Villa vs Manchester United (2011)

5. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer vs Bayern Munich (1999)

6. Hernan Crespo vs Liverpool (2005)

7. Diego Milito vs Bayern Munich (2010)

8. Gareth Bale vs Liverpool (2018)

9. Steve McManaman vs Valencia (2000)

10. Didier Drogba vs Bayern Munich (2012)

Champions League betting odds will show the usual contenders leading the way but there is usually a surprise or two in the knockout stages. Ajax, for example, reached the semi-finals of the 2018/19 competition.

Without further ado, it’s time to look at the 10 greatest Champions League final goals. If you know a thing or two about European football, you are likely to recognise these fantastic strikes.

These five players may have contributed to their team succumbing to the drop this term but similarly they are far too technically gifted to be plying their trade in the second tier.

It’s only a matter of time before a club swoops to ensure that doesn’t happen. 

James Maddison

Due to the sheer welter of talent set to leave the King Power this summer it is difficult to properly gauge their Championship betting odds. Indeed, so many departures and arrivals are expected, it will be hard to keep up.

Eight players are out of contract while a further nine go into their final year and how many of those will be willing to extend, given the pessimism and uncertainly that has enveloped the club in recent times

Without question, Maddison is the most sellable asset the Foxes have and to avoid losing him for free, it feels inevitable that Leicester will cash in this window.

Newcastle reportedly lead the chase though Arsenal are also long-term admirers of a versatile, impactful playmaker who racked up 19 direct goal involvements in 2022/23. 

For a team that otherwise struggled, that is mightily impressive.   

Harvey Barnes

Barnes too is destined to leave the East Midlands, putting an end to nearly five years of excelling down the Leicester left.

Again it’s Newcastle United who head to queue, though there will surely be no shortage of interested parties in a winger who out-scored Gabby Jesus and Son Heung-min this term.

After long being viewed as one of the most under-appreciated stars in the top-flight, expect the 25-year-old’s profile to rise in the coming months.   

Rodrigo

Eighteen-months ago Leeds did well to fend off serious interest from Barcelona in their Spanish international, a striker who was a club record signing in 2020. 

Now, after hurtling through the relegation trap-door, the Yorkshire giants have no further cards left to play.

Heading into his final contracted year at Elland Road, Rodrigo is a class above second-tier football and even if our Championship predictions tip Leeds to be firmly in the promotion mix, don’t anticipate their brilliant star being a part of it. 

Aged 32, Rodrigo will not want to risk seeing out his career at a lower level, while the club will no doubt be content to relieve themselves of his £100,000 a week wages.

Tyler Adams

In what has been a terrible year for USMNT stars, Adams can at least hold his head high, putting in 3.7 tackles per 90 for Leeds and averaging a 82.4% pass completion rate.

In between his weekly stint of fighting the tide at Elland Road, there was also the honour of captaining his country to the knock-outs in Qatar.

A return to Germany looks possible for a holding midfielder who shone at RB Leipzig and is still rated highly there.

James Ward-Prowse

The England international joined Southampton’s academy aged eight and has gone on to make 343 appearances for the Saints, becoming their reliable metronome, as well as carving out a reputation as a free-kick specialist.

Turning 29 this winter, it really feels like the right time for the likeable midfielder to prove himself at a top ten club.

Furthermore, it matters too that Ward-Prowse will not want to jeopardise his England chances, with the Euros next summer.

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“People love to hate Neil Warnock,” Neil Warnock claimed in 2004, forgetting that the British public are not overly fond either whenever someone refers to themselves in the third person.

Two years prior to that, the touchline-prowling, Molotov cocktail in a bad sports coat went much further, claiming, “You would think I was guilty of committing more crimes than Osama Bin Liden.”

If such statements smack of a persecution complex, in this particular instance the former manager of almost every unglamourous club known to man, only reveals that he has commendable self-awareness.

Because back then, people did hate him. Or more accurately, as he says, loved to hate him.

It was enjoyable seeing him pained in defeat, ideally after encountering an unfair refereeing decision or cruel misfortune.

It was entertaining to see him erupt, this petty, argumentative, temperamental, and wholly unreasonable figure, who increasingly down the years has come to resemble a Disney witch.

He made for a great pantomime villain.

Except things change. They always do. And as so often happens, when someone sticks around for long enough, at some juncture they experience a revisiting in how they are perceived. 

Warnock has absolutely stuck around long enough, beginning his lengthy tenure in the dug-out at Gainsborough Trinity in 1980 and remarkably he’s still around today, at Huddersfield, aged 74.

He has presided over 1600 games and counting, and no-one else in English football comes close to matching that.

Across those four decades, the usually box-office and always outspoken boss faithfully wound up opposition supporters and accrued a list of lifelong enemies within the game that runs to several pages, and because of all this it’s hard to identity exactly when we started to warm to his wily ways. 

Perhaps its origins lie all the way back in 2007, when Warnock took charge of a Crystal Palace side in peril and transformed their circumstances by turning to the club’s youth set-up.

No proof was needed of his managerial abilities but here it was all the same, an outstanding feat requiring rare motivational skills and coaching nuance. 

Or maybe it has been a drip-feed effect, from his many media appearances – ranging from punditry to podcasts – that showed the other sides to a previously one-dimensional moaner.

He is, first and foremost, a family man who loves nothing more than to retreat to Cornwall with his kith and kin. And he is funny too. Self-deprecating and funny.

Or perhaps, in a modern-day milieu dominated by cold, clinical footballing scientists his larger-than-life personality has come to be appreciated. He is a throw-back in the best possible sense. A character in the truest sense. 

Whatever the reason, and whenever the reputational rebuild of the man took place, it left us fearful for Warnock when he agreed to take on the Huddersfield gig late last season. 

The Terriers looked doomed to drop, rock-bottom and written off in the Championship betting and beyond all hope. Only of course Neil Warnock revived and revitalised them, not just the team, but the club and town. 

Our EFL Championship tips will likely predict a mid-table spot or better in 2022/24 when hostilities resume in August and what a turn-around that will be in such a short period of time.

That’s assuming however that Warnock is still at the helm. 

With only a couple of months remaining on his existing contract, the irascible pensioner has claimed that he’s erring towards the quiet life now, a retirement that would be richly deserved. Cornwall beckons. 

If that transpires, we’ll miss him, for sure. We’ll be immensely sorry to see him go.

And whoever thought we’d be saying that about one of the great pantomime villains of our time? 

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

Man City vs Inter Prediction

Manchester City are one win away from becoming just the second English club to complete a league, FA Cup and Champions League treble.

Pep Guardiola’s team are sports betting favourites for the Champions League final against Inter this weekend after cruising past Real Madrid in the last four.

City saw off Manchester United in the FA Cup, putting them within touching distance of yet another piece of football history.

Some have prematurely crowned Guardiola’s side as champions of Europe.

Inter have won 11 of 12 in all competitions, including knocking out Milan in the semis, but this team is not considered to be of the same pedigree of Europe’s elite.

They finished third in Serie A, 18 points behind Napoli, and have benefited from a favourable draw in the Champions League.

City, as has been the case for half a decade, are the best team in Europe.

This competition remains the holy grail for the club and Guardiola – they have had near misses, they have lost a final, and they have blown some huge opportunities.

It couldn’t be better set up for them to complete the treble and finally get their hands on football’s greatest club prize. 

Still, it would be foolish for fans or bettors to write this off as a City win.

Inter have kept five clean sheets in their last six Champions League matches, plus have already enjoyed final success this season by beating Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia last month.

Their attack has enough firepower to trouble City when they get the ball, and they are sufficiently organised in defence to frustrate City more than Manchester United were able to.

Where the FA Cup final was a relatively open match after Ilkay Gundogan’s 13-second strike, this should be a tighter 90 minutes. Inter will just be looking to stay in the game early on.

Nerves haven’t been an issue for City over the last few weeks, but this is the biggest match of the lot, and we could see that impact their performance. 

Inter +1.25 at 5/6 is good value, while we also like draw at half-time and City to win in 90 minutes at 13/4.

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Bet on Manchester City at 888Sport

Find the latest Manchester City odds at 888Sport. From outright markets to first goal scorer and game totals, 888Sport have you covered with Manchester City odds.

The latest Manchester City tips can be found on this page throughout the 2022-23 season from upcoming Premier League matches to their high-profile Champions League contests as Pep Guardiola’s team look to have yet another successful campaign.

Manchester City Outright Betting 2022-23

No team dominates outright betting quite like Manchester City. Strong Champions League odds favourites at just 5/2 to lift the trophy, City are also odds on to defend their Premier League crown after they won on a dramatic final day in 2021-22.

Despite seeing Liverpool lift both domestic trophies last season, City are the favourites for both the FA Cup and EFL Cup.

On top of the team being at the summit of outright betting markets, Erling Haaland is the 29/10 favourite for the Premier League Golden Boot, which is bound to attract many bettors.

Naturally, City’s stars are also among the frontrunners to win PFA Player of the Year.

Guardiola has constructed an all-conquering squad at the Etihad Stadium – check back at 888Sport to keep up to speed with the latest Manchester City outright odds throughout the campaign.

The best value on City to win a trophy has to be with the Champions League given their remarkably short price of just 4/7 to lift the Premier League once again. As great as this City team is, that doesn’t represent value with the strength of Liverpool.

Manchester City are going to be at the centre of outright betting discussion throughout the 2022-23 season, but even this City team misses out on silverware occasionally. They have won just three major trophies over the last two seasons.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

The most iconic FA Cup final moments are forever seared in time. From Jim Montgomerie’s double-save in 1973, to Kevin Moran’s sending off in 1985.

From Keith Houchen’s diving header in 1987, to Steven Gerrard’s last-gasp piledriver in 2006.

These are cultural landmarks that define what the world’s oldest footballing competition means to every one of us, as significant as wars and jubilees. 

The following five unforgettable highlights and lowlights deserve to be put in that same canon.   

Willie Young’s Professional Foul

There is a direct lineage from Moran’s red card in 1985, for scything down Peter Reid when the last man, to Arsenal’s Young doing likewise five years earlier and only receiving a booking.

At 17, West Ham’s Paul Allen was the youngest player to ever appear in a FA Cup final and via some clever footwork found himself clean through against the Gunners, a life-defining act of glory in his grasp.

Young though – brutal in appearance and brutal in demeanour – had other ideas, callously tripping the teenager, the ball far beyond his reach. 

So appalled was a watching nation that the incident brought about a change in the rules, with the FA ushering in a directive that a ‘professional foul’ could be punished by instant dismissal.

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Di Matteo’s Howitzer

The duel between Chelsea and Middlesbrough promised to be a continental affair, in an era when this was still a novelty, featuring Juninho and Ravanelli in red, and Zola and Vialli in blue. There’s some goals in that quartet.

It was another Italian who stole the show however, with Roberto Di Matteo firing in a thunderbolt from range just 43 seconds in. 

In hindsight, the earliness of the strike detracts from just how good the goal was, the midfielder picking up possession well into his own half before scurrying forward uncontested.

From a full thirty yards out he unleashed a howitzer that flew directly above the keeper’s flailing reach.

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Watson Wins It

Much more should be made of the fact that in 2013 Wigan Athletic won the FA Cup and did so as huge underdogs against Manchester City, scoring the winning goal in the 91st minute. 

That Ben Watson’s last-minute header has merely become an endearing curio in the competition’s back-catalogue instead of being burnished in legend is reflective of how the FA Cup has sadly lost some of its allure and sense of romance in recent times. 

Had this occurred in the Eighties films would be made about it. 

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It’s Only Parlour

For much of 2022/23, Arsenal were favourites in the Premier League winner odds, only to see their challenge slip away.

There was no suggestion of ‘bottling’ however back in 2002, and with the title already sewn up, the Gunners headed to the Millenium Stadium with a double in their sights. In their way was a brilliant Chelsea collective.

Naturally enough, with the final featuring two elite sides, there was little to separate them for the most part, but then in the 70th minute Ray Parlour picked up the ball and was surprised to see opposition defenders stand off him.  

“It’s alright. It’s only Parlour,” Tom Lovejoy said while doing fan commentary, while Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink has subsequently admitted he relaxed when seeing who was lining up to shoot from distance. 

The maligned Arsenal midfielder proceeded to curl an absolute beauty into the top corner.

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Angry Mackems

According to our Premier League predictions, Newcastle are going to be in the running to win silverware next season but back in 1999 trips to Wembley were very much a novelty.

A final against a treble-chasing Manchester United was their best chance to win a trophy for generations. 

Perhaps this explains what prompted Sunderland midfielder – but life-long Magpies supporter – Lee Clark to attend the game wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with ‘SMB’

The S stands for Sad. The M stands for Mackem. The B queries their parentage.

Clark never played for Sunderland again

 

In a matter of hours, this year’s PFA Team of the Year will be announced and though each inclusion will be richly deserved, it will also inevitably be largely populated by world class players, who are surrounded each and every week by other world class players.

Whereas, the alternative line-up below may contain the odd superstar or two, but mainly it’s individuals whose consistent brilliance in 2022/23 raised their team to a whole other level, over and above what was expected of them in the Premier League betting. 

They may not have received official recognition for doing this, but here they are treasured.  

Goalkeeper – David Raya (Brentford)

If the Bees relied heavily on Ivan Toney’s 20 goals this term, then the striker is similarly indebted to his keeper who found him, from distance, on 174 occasions. 

All season long, the Spanish stopper’s distribution has been a big factor in Brentford’s rise, allowing them to go long, well and often. 

No other keeper in the top-flight made more saves than Raya and no other keeper boasted a better save percentage.

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Right-back – Kenny Tete (Fulham) 

According to more than one stat site, Tete was the second best performing right-back in the Premier League and with Kieran Trippier a shoo-in for the PFA nomination, it’s only fair to acclaim the Dutch defender here. 

2.7 tackles per 90 highlights his defensive attributes but there is also a commendable five assists to take into account from a player who bossed right flanks from August to May.

In yet another example of Brighton’s superb recruitment stratagem, Estupinan was snapped up for just £18m last summer after the Seagulls sold Marc Cucurella for considerably more. 

One year on, the big-money buy has flopped at Chelsea while his cheap replacement has shone on the south coast, overlapping with boundless energy but combative when out of possession.

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Centre-back – Fabian Schar (Newcastle) 

No team conceded fewer goals than Eddie Howe’s Newcastle this season and so much of their stinginess derived from a rock-solid partnership made up of Schar and Sven Botman, with Nick Pope mopping up their rare errors. 

The Swiss defender seemed destined to leave English football criminally under-valued.

That has now thankfully changed via his superb displays that has placed him right at the heart of the Magpies’ revolution.

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Centre-back – Ethan Pinnock (Brentford) 

Having incrementally made his way to the top, Pinnock’s journey mirrors Brentford’s and there is something fundamentally important in that. That matters. 

Seven years ago he was playing non-league with Dulwich Hamlet. Four years ago he was clean-sweeping the end-of-season player awards at Barnsley. 

And now the 30-year-old is an instrumental presence as his side secures a top ten Premier League finish.

Always calm and commanding at the back and pretty much unbeatable in the air, Pinnock has greatly impressed from the get-go.

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Midfield – Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle) 

The Brazilian’s 84% pass completion rate is worthy of note even if – though very good – it’s not a figure out of the ordinary. 

But then you acknowledge the adventure in his passing, the risky through-balls, the speculative shifts to out wide.

Guimaraes can play a safe, square pass with the best of them but so much of what he does has a purpose, designed to make something happen. 

And subsequently, almost all that has been good about Newcastle this season has come from the right boot of a special talent.

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Midfield – James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) 

There are not many Saints players who can hold their head up high this summer. Ward-Prowse is the exception to that rule. 

Liberated in a more offensive role halfway through the campaign, the England star retained his usual endeavour and made a real impact for his struggling side, all sadly to no avail. 

An 85% pass completion rate is perhaps to be expected from a player who truly values accuracy and guile. Eight goals from 18 shots on target though is something else entirely.

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Midfield – Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) 

If the rumours are true, and the Portuguese schemer has been overlooked for this year’s PFA Team of the Year, it will be a regrettable omission.

The 28-year-old has accrued a league-high for both key passes and shot-creating actions and all while contributing to United’s cause with 16 direct goal involvements. 

If Casemiro has rightfully been lauded for his box-to-boxing, and Rashford lavished with praise for his goals, Bruno deserves due recognition for having his second-best season at Old Trafford.

He’s been integral and immense.

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Attack – Solly March (Brighton) 

March has statistically been the best player for a team that has got everyone talking this year, admired for their excellence and innovation. 

Reimagined as a right-winger under Roberto De Zerbi, a player who has long been under-appreciated beyond the Amex has transformed into a goal-scoring game-changer, full of energy and ingenuity. 

What’s the betting an England call-up lies in wait when he returns from injury?

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Attack – Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) 

In a season full of revelations at the Emirates no player has stood out more than their young Brazilian, a winger who used to delight for the most part, but would typically follow up a Man of the Match performance with a couple of anonymous outings. 

In 2022/23, greater consistency saw Martinelli torment full-backs on a weekly basis while 15 goals and five assists were invaluable to the Gunners’ title charge.

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Attack – Ivan Toney (Brentford) 

Controversy and a lengthy ban have of course seriously soured Toney’s year but on the pitch it was a vintage one for a striker who throughout his career has found the back of the net with unerring regularity. 

0.61 goals-per-90 is a remarkable return when playing for a club that tends to cede possession. This comes through in his shot-count that is significantly lower than Haaland or Kane’s.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

Winners 

Brighton & Hove Albion

All of the brilliant work done at Brighton was expected to unravel when its chief architect Graham Potter left for Chelsea.

Instead, they appointed a coach in Roberto De Zerbi who may well prove to be generational and the Seagulls have gone up a level further. 

Everyone’s second favourite team took 20 points off the traditional ‘big six’ this term, at times playing them off the park, and their front-foot, precarious, possession-based football has been a joy to behold. 

It will be interesting to see where they land in the Premier League betting ahead of 2023/24 because right now – appropriately for their nickname – the sky’s the limit. 

Jack Grealish 

By his own admission, Grealish initially struggled to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s intricate blueprint and subsequently played it far too safe, relying on Joao Cancelo to overlap and create down the left. 

It didn’t take long for naysayers to label him a £100m flop. 

Now feeling much more at home at the Etihad, the England winger has been transformed this season, living his best life and becoming an integral part of a title-winning side with a treble in their sights.

Nobody in the top-flight retains possession better and Guardiola adores him for that.

Erik ten Hag

It was only a matter of time before a Manchester United manager got things right in the post-Ferguson era. That man is Ten Hag.

Resolving long-standing defensive and midfield issues was his first order of business and Leandro Martinez and Casemiro have been seismic signings, improving the Reds at a stroke.

The Dutchman also deserves credit for the swiftness in which he has successfully implemented his preferred style of play, shrewdly bringing in players already familiar with it.

As important as any of the above, he has ruthlessly dispensed with the whingers and whisperers in the squad, harmonising it as a consequence. 

A third-place finish and potentially two domestic cups suggests the good times are returning for a club long deprived of consistent excellence. 

Promoted Sides

For only the fourth time in the 21st century, all three promoted clubs stayed up this term but celebrating their survival does a disservice to the manner in which Fulham tore into the top-flight from the off, eventually finishing mid-table, a full eight points clear of their prestigious neighbours Chelsea.

Bournemouth too impressed, recovering from a nine-goal pasting at Anfield and defiantly disproving the football betting that had them tipped to drop all campaign long.  

Lastly, there was Nottingham Forest, a team incapable of winning away, who relied on the tremendous support of the City Ground faithful to see them safe. 

In a world that increasingly sees fans devalued or dismissed that’s something to celebrate as much as their survival.   

Losers

Frank Lampard

It is of course hugely tempting to plump for Chelsea and/or Everton, two clubs who collapsed in on themselves in 2022/23, failing to show even a glimpse of who they are, and what they’re capable of.

The Toffees however live to fight another day while Chelsea could conceivably be back in the top four, challenging for silverware next season.

Instead then, let’s go for the guy who played a big part in each of their nadirs, a manager who very likely won’t get to fight another day in the Premier League anytime soon, for his reputation has been completely scorched. 

Lampard resided over 29 league games this season. He won four of them. 

Neal Maupay 

With so many under-performing sides – Tottenham, anyone? – and big-money flops to choose from this is admittedly a left-field shout, but bear with because the French forward is a thoroughly deserving nominee. 

Bought last summer to essentially provide cover for an injury-prone Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the 26-year-old was given significantly more minutes than he perhaps anticipated, with the England star missing for large chunks of the campaign. 

It fell upon Maupay therefore to score the odd goal or two for the Toffees, a side not exactly over-furnished with attacking talent. 

In over 21 hours of competitive football he ended up notching just the one.  He got booked four times. 

Chelsea Forwards 

Okay, we had to get Chelsea in here somewhere. It was unavoidable. 

This, after all, is a club that has spent the GDP of a mid-sized nation in the past year, adding to an already star-studded squad, yet somehow finished below Crystal Palace and Fulham.

The reasons for their annus horribilis are ten-fold but undoubtedly a roster of misfiring forwards cost them dear.

Between them, Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Joao Felix, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech scored the same number combined as Ivan Toney.  

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Let’s leave the relegated three out of this. They have suffered enough.

Looking elsewhere, we settle on Wolves, who until Christmas had scored the fewest number of goals in the top seven tiers of English football and all told racked up twice as many red cards as any other Premier League club.

To accrue so many exciting Portuguese talents yet entertain so little amounts to a great big lose.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

Given Newcastle’s vast resources, and the fact that Champions League football is coming to St James’ Park next season, it may be tempting to think that big spending will commence in the North-East when the transfer window opens. 

After all, this is a club that now has a platform to break into the elite and remain there, and with the funds to do precisely that surely a statement signing or two can be expected in the summer?

Who knows, maybe a superstar whose securement would make the back pages of every publication on the news-stand.

The reality of their situation, however, is slightly different, with FFP restricting their spending and keeping them in check.

As for the lucrative rewards of playing in the Champions League, they won’t emerge for a season or two yet, certainly not straight away.

So Eddie Howe, after over-achieving on the Magpies’ Premier League odds and guiding his team to a top four finish, went into a series of meetings with the club’s hierarchy this week and was informed of Newcastle’s budget, a figure that is reportedly just north of £100m. 

That isn’t pocket change of course and will allow the club to strengthen a squad that is strong at its core but weak around the edges.

Still though, considering their expansive ambitions – and impatience to become a major player on the continental stage – it will require a good deal of shrewdness to be deployed in the market, a bargain or two picked up if possible.

Thankfully, for Newcastle, Howe was already pertinently aware of these limitations, which is why he attempted to manage expectations from the fans prior to having his budget confirmed.

“We aren’t going to have a bottomless pit,” he said when asked about the forthcoming window.

And by being made aware of this in advance, Howe will have already identified his targets accordingly, with an affordable midfielder topping his priorities.

It surprised many Newcastle fans that a shortfall in this area in terms of numbers wasn’t addressed back in January, with greater creativity needed if only to take the strain off Bruno Guimaraes.

Furthermore, a midfield creative would allow their Brazilian to drop deeper as a number six, a role many believe he will excel at. 

From a wealth of options, it seems like two names are underlined and bolded on Newcastle’s shopping list, those players being Leicester City’s James Maddison – who has long been linked with the club – and RB Leipzig’s brilliant Hungarian, Dominik Szoboszlai.

Does Leicester’s recent relegation make Maddison more attainable?

That’s very likely, and yet it’s Szoboszlai who most appeals by all accounts, the 22-year-old’s £61m release clause and realistic wage demands making him a favourite to sign in the coming weeks. 

Scouts have been watching him on a game-by-game basis while the player recently put up a social media post celebrating Newcastle’s guarantee of Champions League football. 

Where Leicester’s relegation does become a factor concerns another English midfielder entirely, with Harvey Barnes now rumoured to be available.

The future of Allan Saint-Maximin remains up in the air and Howe is a long-time admirer of the industrious left winger who would be an impactful replacement for a fee that wouldn’t break the bank.

Elsewhere, Newcastle’s stingy defence will need adding to and this explains their interest in Ferdi Kalioglu. Not only is the 23-year-old Fenerbahce right-back ready to make the step up, his £20m price-tag amounts to a steal. 

Should the Magpies bring in genuine quality to improve their midfield options, and bolster their back-line too, we can expect their Premier League winner odds to shorten as a consequence. 

This is a club going places and they have every intention of investing heavily to ensure that happens.

For now though, ready-made superstars are off-limits, and they have to shop on the high street just like everyone else, being clever about it.

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Having made their way back to the top-flight after a 30 year absence, no doubt the champagne corks will be popping in Luton for most of this summer.

Just nine years ago, the Hatters languished in the fifth tier of English football, a club that was still recovering from an extended period in administration. A club that very nearly went to the wall.

So before we assess how well, or otherwise, Rob Edwards’ side will apply themselves among the elite there is an obvious and necessary point to make.

For a club that is now exceedingly well run, and for a fan-base who have remained loyal through some very dark and troubling times, Luton’s promotion to the Premier League, via a tense penalty shoot-out at Wembley, should be wholly celebrated. 

It is a feel-good story in a sport that has a scant supply of them. 

Football, however, doesn’t tend to stand still for too long to allow for sentimentality. 

Already, behind the scenes at Kenilworth Road, the wheels will be in motion regarding Luton’s summer transfer strategy that will likely involve mostly loans and bargain buys, despite their windfall.

Existing players meanwhile will be enquiring about improved contracts now they are Premier League stars, while clubs who are higher in the pecking order will surely be taking a close look at 20-goal man Carlton Morris and Luton’s outstanding centre-back Tom Lockyer. 

Moreover, there will be grave deliberations about how a defence made up of players with Aldershot and Nuneaton on their C.V. will cope next season when facing Mo Salah, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane. 

If that sounds overly pessimistic though, thankfully recent history offers a genuine cause for hope. 

Of course, nobody is expecting Luton to feature heavily in the Premier League winner odds for 2023/24, and the age-old cliché will hold true that 17th will ultimately be an amazing final standing.

Yet in latter years, clubs that have come up via the Play-Offs have done slightly better than that, with four of the last six staying up and even staking a claim in mid-table.

Morning, Hatters 👋

We’ve got a party today! 🎉#COYH pic.twitter.com/8OYW6p8Nfx

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 29, 2023

Of the two that immediately returned to the Championship, both times that was Fulham, firstly by essentially purchasing an entirely new squad, then later staying far too faithful to their open, attacking mandate.

The others, as evidenced by Nottingham Forest this term, endured sustained periods of struggle, but eventually prevailed, leaning on togetherness and fortitude. 

And should the Hatters avoid the mistakes Fulham made twice-over, they have every chance in extending this trend. 

They have a defence that was breached only 39 times this season, at a rate of a goal every 106 minutes, and even if admittedly they now face much tougher fare, it highlights how well organised Edwards’ back-line is, a priceless commodity for any promoted side.

They have goals too, in the aforementioned Morris and moreover, they have a clear and defined blueprint that plays to the strengths of their leading men.

Add in a tight ground and vociferous fans and suddenly it feels somewhat unjust that a team who only days ago came up, are already being widely tipped to drop. Indeed, there could be some real value in their Premier League odds for next season. 

Luton, the great survivors can survive. It’s in their DNA and that should not be under-estimated. 

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*