How good/bad/terrible was that? Supporters of every Premier League club vent their feelings
Fanfare & Fanguish – Matchweek 36
Arsenal
I was in Paris for the Champions League semi-final, and it was a tough blow. On one hand, there’s real pride; Arsenal played well and reaching this stage marks huge progress, especially considering where the club was just a few years ago. But alongside that pride is a nagging disappointment. It felt like a big opportunity lost. With three games left in the league, the real attention is already shifting to the summer. Arsenal must make smart moves in the transfer market to complete this squad. It feels like we’re close. Declan Rice said you have to use these setbacks to grow stronger, and he’s right. Let’s hope this pain fuels the next step forward. The belief is there. Now it’s about action.
Akhil Vyas
Arsenal Supporters Trust board member
Aston Villa
While the crucial win against Fulham last weekend was relatively uneventful, there has been a fair amount of drama away from first team matters.
The Villa U18s showed the composure often lacking by the senior team in pivotal matches as they secured the FA Youth Cup with a 3-1 win over Manchester City whilst also winning the South Division. Fans also learned that the president of business operations, Chris Heck, is reportedly set to join LIV Golf in the same role at the end of the season. Heck oversaw hikes in ticket pricing including the creation of several premium priced areas at Villa Park whilst also altering the club crest in a somewhat controversial fashion. He remains something of a Marmite figure among fans but match-going supporters will likely be glad to see the back of him.
Armen Mirzoian
Bournemouth
How much history can one club make in a season?
Our highest points total ever, our first ever win at the Emirates, our first ever double over Arsenal, most points amassed in a PL season against the so-called big six, most goals on the road from one player, Kluivert, in any of our PL campaigns, the first hat-trick of penalties in the PL, the first time a cancelled train service for away fans has ever been announced during a PL fixture (sorry, Saints supporters)…the list goes on. It’s already been the best season ever, but could we be on the verge of more history-making headlines? ‘Always advance, never retreat’ is the mantra of the club’s hierarchy so what about a European spot? This season of all seasons, we believe we can do it.
Jeff Hayward
Back of the Net, the AFC Bournemouth Fan’s Podcast
Brentford
Whatever else happens this season, Brentford are guaranteed to finish above Manchester United.
Last week’s tonking of the Red Devils – the seventh time that The Bees have scored four or more league goals in the current campaign – means they can’t be overtaken. It must have been a painful drive back to the Home Counties for the United fans.
That game also saw Brentford become one of just three clubs in Europe’s top five divisions to have three players reach double figures. Kevin Schade, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa now with 10+ goals each and ranking Brentford alongside Bayern Munich and Barcelona.Now, talk is of United looking to sign Mbeumo. Nobody wants to see him leave but if it happens, it will be with warm wishes. Even if it is a move down the table.
Nick Bruzon
Brighton & Hove Albion
As our season draws to a close, it’s becoming more obvious with every week that our fan base is as divided on our manager as they have been, certainly during our time in the Premier League.
I myself have found myself incredibly impatient at times this season, but I think we’ve seen enough to believe that Fabian Hürzeler is the man to take us forward. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on our season and Fabian’s style. Even if the philosophy is not quite as obvious as his predecessor, Roberto De Zerbi, his pragmatic approach to different opponents this season has been impressive. Many may feel it’s a season of missed opportunity, but with more tools available I truly now believe Fabian Hürzeler could again “challenge the establishment” next season.
Joe Sayers
Chelsea
Chelsea secured their place in the UEFA Conference League final with a 1-0 win over Djurgarden.
The Blues will enter their ninth European Final and face a tough looking Real Betis side, coached by Manuel Pellegrini and buoyed by the scintillating form of the revitalised Manchester United flop, Antony. Remember the name Reggie Walsh too, as the 16 year old put on an impressive display on his first team debut. He was born five months after Moscow 2008, let’s hope that is not a negative omen. Elsewhere, fans reacted positively to the news that Moises Caicedo had been crowned the Chelsea player of the season, voted by the fans, and will be hoping he can have another sublime display against Newcastle on Sunday in what could prove to be a defining game for Champions League qualification.
Max Fretwell
Crystal Palace
Cup Final fever continues to grip South London and little subplots are building the sense of drama nicely.
On the sky blue side of the equation, Erling Haaland looks set to be ready for Wembley which is a scary prospect for any team. On the red and blue side, Adam Wharton hobbled off against Nottingham Forest on Monday night and will miss our trip to Spurs today. The mercurial midfielder has been rated at a 90% chance of playing on the 17th May. As Doc Brown aka Ben Bailey Smith said in his Crystal Palace FA Cup Final song ‘OMG (One More Game)’, “What do you know about Adam Wharton? I could write a whole track for him, man’s that important.” Will the 21 year old win the race to appear in his first major final?
Terence Ford
Everton
David Moyes continues to experiment with his squad before what is expected to be a busy summer of transfer business on the blue half of Merseyside. However, he has been unable to re-discover the rich run of form Everton enjoyed in the first month after his return to Goodison Park as manager in January. Since Beto’s brief purple patch evaporated in February, scoring goals has been a key weakness for the team but the return to fitness of Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin could be the key to ending the 2024/25 campaign on a high. Out of contract in the summer, the latter is at a crossroads in his career and needs some big performances to earn a new deal, either with the Toffees or elsewhere.
Lyndon Lloyd
Fulham
It’s been frustrating to drop points recently, especially compounded by the teams around us picking them up, as it’s squeaky bum time in the race for that much coveted eighth spot. Negative vibes have been swirling. Fans accuse players of being on the beach and are looking for sweeping changes in the summer. Some suggest Marco Silva has taken the team as far as he can, others that he’ll ditch us for Saudi or somewhere closer to home. But people need to be very careful what they wish for. Even if we miss out on Europe it’s incredible to be in contention and to have come so close. The reality is that we’ve had another successful season with many memorable results under Silva’s stewardship. Long may that continue.
Jack and Loz
Ipswich
If you’d have told Ipswich fans back in August 2024 that Town would be within a few league places of Tottenham and Man Utd come May 2025, they’d have laughed at you. Fast forward to the present day and that is indeed the case but, sadly for Ipswich, their relegation is no laughing matter! Under Kieran McKenna we have produced exciting football and have given better teams a dogged challenge but our level of quality is dwarfed by the mammoths of the Premier League. Part of me looks forward to next season’s more familiar surroundings.
Despite the noise around Championship football and potential departures from the club, the team continues to show a lot of fighting spirit and the mood is certainly a lot more positive than the teams around them. In a season of many losses, it’s a small win.
Tom James
Leicester
Relegated with five games left, wondering what is there left to get excited about this season?
Checking social media every 10 minutes to see if Ruud’s sacking has been announced (unfortunately not) or looking forward to seeing said clown blood some of the exciting young prospects we have coming through (£5m signing Golding getting 1 minute and no touches) or possibly waiting to see an announcement from anyone at the club (even the tea lady) on what the hell the club are going to do to get us out of this mess?
Hell might freeze over before any of the above happen I feel, which leaves us with the hope that Jamie Vardy can get one more goal in the now remaining three games to reach 200 goals.
Chris Forryan
Liverpool
You could see Trent Alexander-Arnold’s exit announcement coming a mile away. Still, you can’t help feeling a little disappointed that our vice-captain ultimately wasn’t swayed by the emotions of a title celebrated in front of fans.
The biggest talking point, continues to revolve around the emotional reactions of Liverpool fans to a perceived betrayal. The failure to understand the city’s refusal to wish its once favoured son a fond farewell is baffling but no less surprising.
It should be remembered that the Liverpool fan’s experience is not the Arsenal nor Manchester United fans’ experiences. It is not the former players’ who have a limited understanding of how the city lives football, and of the dreams invested in Liverpool’s local heroes.
Farrell Keeling
Executive Editor, Rocket Sports Network
Manchester United
Few things surrounding Manchester United make sense anymore. However, memorable European nights under Old Trafford lights is an undying tradition. Ruben’s Reds dispatched Athletic Club with consummate ease, with an aggregate scoreline of 7-1 typifying an unbeaten Europa League campaign. Fittingly, Mason Mount’s cameo lit a spark with a sublime brace matching his unwavering smile at the final whistle. Much like a wounded supporter base, his story is one of anguish, setbacks and frustration. However, like a phoenix from the flames, his rebirth offers a glimmer of hope for the most emphatic of season-ending shows.
Football is a funny old game, and this Manchester United group appears undeterred by their domestic turmoil.
Shaun Connolly
Editor-In-Chief, Theatre of Red
Manchester City
The draw at Southampton yesterday prolongs the race to secure Champions League football next season. Incomprehensible for most City fans in late December, though disappointing how profligate we were. Given the overhaul that’s needed on the squad this summer, having Champions League football to offer was always a critical component of that rebuild strategy. But it doesn’t seem to have affected Florian Wirtz’s decision. Who says he only wants to move to Bayern. It’s been known that Wirtz was City’s #1 summer target. I’m interested to see how City now pivot. Whether they pursue a Xavi Simons), or change strategy completely and go after a top player in a slightly different position (e.g. Rodrygo or Wharton) and rely on the current options at #10 (e.g. Foden/Bobb/Marmoush).
Lloyd Scragg
Newcastle United
Hyperbole tends to go into hyperspeed, but Newcastle’s high noon showdown with Chelsea has similar cup final vibes to our recent Wembley altercation with Liverpool. No guarantees of course, but the winner of this one can maybe start looking towards the continent’s more salubrious football destinations. For United this would surely dispel doubts about the retention of Isak, Tonali etc, while opening up the door for additions of a similar pedigree now that PSR concerns have abated. Given the form since Christmas is (whisper it) title challenging stuff, the ability to secure that squad upgrade could be seismic for future ambitions.
With so much riding on it, our fanbase is less than enamoured with the sober discombobulation of such a horrible early kick off. Thanks TV.
Jamie Smith
Senior writer, The Mag (independent Newcastle Fans website)
Nottingham Forest
This is it. Crunch time. Forest’s form has nosedived in recent weeks – and the underlying data is even more concerning than the results. But with three games to go, a local derby of sorts against Leicester today, and the looming possibility of a final-day shootout with Chelsea for Champions League qualification, surely form goes out of the window? It felt like Forest stopped the rot with a professional point against Palace, led by the drive and dynamism of Elliott Anderson, and a similar performance should be enough to beat Leicester to set up a big finish to the season. There’s always a hint of doubt, though, even against one of the worst Premier League sides I can recall. If Jamie Vardy could save his 200-goal party for next week, that would be ideal.
Peter Blackburn
Southampton
Sorry to all associated with Derby County but your record-low points total is safe for another Premier League season, after we shared the spoils with Manchester City yesterday. That result eased this season’s pain somewhat. I’m afraid it does not stop me getting something off my chest. Southampton fans – blaming the wrong people since 1885.
Having turned geezery Brightonian hippy Russell Martin into a folk devil, a chunk of the fanbase has now decided that it is the players. It was all Martin’s fault when he was here, now it’s the owners. Perhaps the real culprits are the hacks the ownership group have running the club for them – who sent us into the toughest league in the world with a squad weaker than the one in the Championship.
Tom Williams
Co-host Pro Revolution Soccer podcast
Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postecoglou was in fine form in the away dressing room after thwarting Bodo Glimt. What we got was essentially an episode of ‘This Is Your Life’, but with Ange playing both the part of Eamonn Andrews and himself, as the Spurs gaffer. Fraser Forster was rather bizarrely name checked in dispatches as were the coaching team that had delivered a frankly eye watering number of Premier League losses, this season. Manchester United are notional favourites for the final in Bilbao, and one has to wonder what might happen when we next face the reinvigorated Crystal Palace, who must eagerly await the Europa League champions in waiting. It’s a prestigious final, but who is truly feeling it? Perhaps Daniel Levy is, as it’s potentially another £10.9 million heading into the coffers.
Harry Hotspur
West Ham
Having played out a painfully uneventful 1-1 draw with a Spurs reserve side ahead of their Europa League semi-final, we now drag ourselves up to Old Trafford to face a Manchester United team fresh from their comprehensive Europa League semi-final victory. These two clubs occupy the two league places directly ahead of seventeenth placed West Ham. Unlike us though, they both have the opportunity to emerge in Bilbao as Europa League champions. Meanwhile, we wave goodbye to some of our ageing squad and it will be sad to see messrs Coufal, Cresswell and Fabianski leave us, knowing that a nondescript 0-0 draw awaits. Let’s face it, all three clubs are in the gutter, yet the other two look at the stars, at least for now.
Andy Payne
Co-chair West Ham FAB and joint secretary of Hammers United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Football clubs are delicate ecosystems. I remember Mick McCarthy telling me about bumping into someone in the corridor at Molineux for the first time, and them saying ‘I’m just the cleaner’. Mick promptly told him he wasn’t just the cleaner and that he was as important as anyone else at the club. After receiving his Manager of the Month for April award (five wins from five, get in there) this week, Vitor Pereira got everyone onto the training pitch to say it was their award as much as his. Chefs, kit men, receptionists, gym staff, players, the lot. Pereira and McCarthy might seem like opposites on the surface, but if you know how to get the individuals in those delicate ecosystems working in harmony, then the good times soon come.
James Bird
Editor-in-chief, Mundial magazine
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