After a lengthy international break dominated by the Manchester City verdict, the Premier League is back on Saturday. Football writer Ed Aarons is online now answering your questions
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1m agoAre referees going to enforce stricter emphasis on grappling, holding, blocks during corner kicks?
8m agoShould Piers Morgan stick his oar in?
17m agoForget the drama, are you looking forward to Palace vs Forest?
25m agoHow will Manchester City be received at away games?
35m agoWhat are the main tactical changes this season?
41m agoIs the greatness of the Premier League a myth?
47m agoWhat are the implications of the Manchester City verdict for seasons prior to 2018?
7h agoWelcome to the conversation
Ed is online now answering your Premier League questions.
shakercoola asks: Ed, do you know if there is any indication yet that referees are getting round to enforcing stricter emphasis on grappling, holding, blocks during corner kicks? Perhaps there is a useful team example to use from last season. Ahem.
Just to clarify new key enforcements on pushing and holding: - Ignoring the ball, focusing solely on the opponent—turning their back to where the set-piece is coming from and making no attempt to play or challenge for the ball “will be penalised”. - Two-Arm Holds - Grappling restricting an attacker’s movement/goalkeeper’s ability to challenge for the ball “will result in a foul”. - Howard Webb told refs to take proactive action immediately rather than offering verbal warnings.
Ed says: There has already been an interesting case involving the team that you may be referring to in your question if my instinct serves me right?! The decision to award Sunderland a penalty against Arsenal last month enraged Mikel Arteta and his reaction was probably an attempt to try and put doubts in the officials’ minds the next time they are confronted with a similar situation. Quite clever really given how many goals Arsenal scored from corners last year… Referees are definitely on the lookout for miscreants at set pieces but actually cracking down on such chaos is not going to be easy without help from the VAR. Time will tell.
papalazaru asks: As a Saints fan, at the lowest point of the spy stuff when the season had turned very dark and bitter, I looked on YouTube, and James Corden was there, adding to the pile on. His righteous indignation about how there was no punishment large enough for us somehow didn’t galvanise me to anger, but instead gave me great comfort. Could the Man City fans who are suffering now be similarly helped by an intervention by him or by Piers Morgan, David Walliams, Simon Cowell or maybe “Prince” Andrew?
Ed says: I think that Piers Morgan is too busy being the world’s biggest sycophant to Cristiano Ronaldo to have time to worry about City and Andrew has other things on his mind as well. James Corden might be the best bet - perhaps a bit of Carpool Karaoke with Liam Gallagher to distract him from his war of words with everyone on X? And as a Saints fan you must be pinching yourself that Tonda Eckert somehow didn’t get banned? Didn’t see that one coming…
AutumnMoon asks: Ooh the hostility, the bitterness, the claims and counter claims about following the rules, about ownership models, about rightful positions in competitions will no doubt produce a febrile, toxic atmosphere at the standout fixture of the week on Sunday.
Are you looking forward to Palace vs Forest?
Ed says: Yes Oliver Glasner’s homecoming should be interesting to say the least! I can still remember being in shock when I saw that he had defected to Nottingham Forest while covering England at the World Cup and woke up the next day thinking it must have been a bad dream… The Austrian couldn’t have done more for Palace in his spell in south London, ending the club’s long wait for a major trophy by winning the FA Cup and then following it up with the Community Shield and Conference League. He was always destined to depart at some stage though given his disagreements with the Palace board over the club’s lack of ambition, although like most people I didn’t think it would be to Forest. I think the reception for him will be mixed with many fans wanting to pay their respects to perhaps Palace’s greatest-ever manager but others are sure to let him know their thoughts on joining the club that many blame for being behind their demotion from the Europa League last season.
Ed says: Yes Oliver Glasner’s homecoming should be interesting to say the least! I can still remember being in shock when I saw that he had defected to Nottingham Forest while covering England at the World Cup and woke up the next day thinking it must have been a bad dream… The Austrian couldn’t have done more for Palace in his spell in south London, ending the club’s long wait for a major trophy by winning the FA Cup and then following it up with the Community Shield and Conference League. He was always destined to depart at some stage though given his disagreements with the Palace board over the club’s lack of ambition, although like most people I didn’t think it would be to Forest.
I think the reception for him will be mixed with many fans wanting to pay their respects to perhaps Palace’s greatest-ever manager but others are sure to let him know their thoughts on joining the club that many blame for being behind their demotion from the Europa League last season.
Hi Ed. What do you expect the reception from fans of all other teams in the PL will be when Man City come to town? I anticipate it will be much more vociferous than expected.
Ed says: Yes and it’s one of the quirks of the fixture list for which we so love football that sees City head to Anfield for their first match since the verdict was announced. I’m sure that the Liverpool supporters have something planned for Sunday afternoon, especially given their close rivalry with them over the past few years. It will be interesting to see how City’s fans respond but they are going to have to get used to being the butt of everyone’s jokes again after so many years of dominance.
trinder19 asks: Ed, great feature. What do you see as the main tactical changes in the Premier League this season? Do you see styles, tactics and approaches diverging more or less across the league?
Ed says: I think it’s a bit early to see any major changes but more generally there has been a bit of a shift away from controlling games by pure possession and a much more direct approach from many teams. Pep Guardiola’s style of play was so influential in the Premier League and beyond but even he went a bit more direct towards the end of his reign at City and lots of other teams have been trying to get the ball forward much earlier. There’s also been even more emphasis on taking greater risks with pressing much higher up the pitch, as Brighton showed with their masterclass against Arsenal before the international break. But the arrival of so many new managers in the summer means that it will be interesting to see how the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City evolve as the weeks go on.
Ed says: I think it’s a bit early to see any major changes but more generally there has been a bit of a shift away from controlling games by pure possession and a much more direct approach from many teams. Pep Guardiola’s style of play was so influential in the Premier League and beyond but even he went a bit more direct towards the end of his reign at City and lots of other teams have been trying to get the ball forward much earlier.
There’s also been even more emphasis on taking greater risks with pressing much higher up the pitch, as Brighton showed with their masterclass against Arsenal before the international break. But the arrival of so many new managers in the summer means that it will be interesting to see how the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City evolve as the weeks go on.
chymist asks: When will the myth that the Premier League is ‘the best league in the world’ be finally put to rest?
Ed says: There were only five Premier League players shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or this year and that is an indication that most of the biggest stars in world football still play overseas. While English clubs have been dominating European competitions over the past few years with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace all reaching finals last year, I think the attraction of playing for the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and these days Paris Saint-Germain outweighs the benefits of playing in the Premier League for many of the very best. But there is no doubting that the overall level is far higher in England than anywhere else given the financial might of the Premier League that allows clubs to bring in and develop better players. You just have to look at results at the start of this season to see that anyone can beat almost anyone at the moment and that makes it a much better competition.
Ed says: There were only five Premier League players shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or this year and that is an indication that most of the biggest stars in world football still play overseas. While English clubs have been dominating European competitions over the past few years with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace all reaching finals last year, I think the attraction of playing for the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and these days Paris Saint-Germain outweighs the benefits of playing in the Premier League for many of the very best.
But there is no doubting that the overall level is far higher in England than anywhere else given the financial might of the Premier League that allows clubs to bring in and develop better players. You just have to look at results at the start of this season to see that anyone can beat almost anyone at the moment and that makes it a much better competition.
Battiston asks: How likely is it, in your view, that there will be further charges in the Man City case relating to the period from 2018-2026? Is there the appetite for it from within football for one thing and is there a case to be made that the successes of the latter period are a direct result of the cheating from the period already covered?
stooze asks: What are your thoughts on 2018 to the present day if City’s guilty verdict is upheld? It seems to me that when City entered the 2018/19 season, they did so on the back of all the seasons that went before - indeed 14/15 of the same major players from 2017/18 were there in 18/19, even 21/22 (I highlight those years as a Liverpool man, but any after 2018 are valid) - so I just wondered if you foresee an eventual punishment that includes stuff after 2018?
Seems to me that it would be impossible to ignore/accept, if all the years that went before were built on ‘sham’ financial foundations. Any thoughts?
Ed says: Hello everyone and it’s an interesting place to start… It’s hard to argue against the premise that City’s success since 2018 was not built on the period for which they have been found guilty of so many charges, because it obviously had an enormous impact on their ability to sign new players given the increased revenue that generated. Would they have been able to sign Erling Haaland in 2022 from Borussia Dortmund without it, for example? But the question of whether they could face more charges in future due to what some have called the “snowball effect” would of course depend on whether there is any evidence of any new breaches of the financial regulations in that period. And there is a strong possibility that the Premier League could revisit some of those figures given that City have been found guilty of so many charges between 2009 and 2018 As for whether there is an appetite for City to be investigated for the later period as well, I think that there is. Several clubs have already indicated that they would like retrospective punishments that could include them being stripped of their titles, with some arguing that the credibility of the Premier League would be lost if City were allowed to keep the eight major trophies they won between 2009 and 2018.
Ed says: Hello everyone and it’s an interesting place to start… It’s hard to argue against the premise that City’s success since 2018 was not built on the period for which they have been found guilty of so many charges, because it obviously had an enormous impact on their ability to sign new players given the increased revenue that generated. Would they have been able to sign Erling Haaland in 2022 from Borussia Dortmund without it, for example?
But the question of whether they could face more charges in future due to what some have called the “snowball effect” would of course depend on whether there is any evidence of any new breaches of the financial regulations in that period. And there is a strong possibility that the Premier League could revisit some of those figures given that City have been found guilty of so many charges between 2009 and 2018
As for whether there is an appetite for City to be investigated for the later period as well, I think that there is. Several clubs have already indicated that they would like retrospective punishments that could include them being stripped of their titles, with some arguing that the credibility of the Premier League would be lost if City were allowed to keep the eight major trophies they won between 2009 and 2018.
It’s been an incredibly busy few weeks for our football reporters, but there’s only so much you can write about England’s 2-0 win in Prague …
Football writer Ed Aarons will be online at 3pm BST to answer any questions about the return of the Premier League. As well as what is likely to be a drama-filled visit to Anfield for Manchester City, Arsenal will be hoping to make up ground on City at the top of the table, while Manchester United and Spurs are hoping to kickstart their seasons.
Here are all this weekend’s games. Sign in or sign up to ask Ed a question.
Saturday (all times BST) 12:30 Arsenal v Leeds 15:00 Aston Villa v Brentford 15:00 Chelsea v AFC Bournemouth 15:00 Ipswich v Fulham 15:00 Sunderland v Brighton 17:30 Man Utd v SpursSunday 14:00 Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest 14:00 Hull v Everton 16:30 Liverpool v Man City
Monday 20:00 Coventry v Newcastle
