5 Burning Questions for the New Premier League Season
After what has felt like a very short break, the new Premier League season is on the horizon. While fans will have gotten their football fix across the summer with Euro 2024 and soccer at the Olympics, the 2024/25 Premier League season remains the big draw. Local fans of Aston Villa will, of course, be among them, with Wolves fans also looking forward to a successful season ahead.
Yet, there are some interesting themes developing ahead of the opening weekend of fixtures. Below, we look at some of the burning questions for a handful of individual clubs and the Premier League generally:
Will Fixture Fatigue Become the Dominant Narrative?
One of the biggest debates across all football right now is the number of games players are forced to play. It’s gotten so bad that FIFA is being sued by the Premier League and Professional Footballers’ Association, as well as other European clubs. Players have come out to say they are fatigued, becoming more injury-prone, and generally disgruntled with the fixture pile-up. Adding to the complexity of the arguments is the fact that Premier League clubs don’t help themselves by playing friendlies abroad. It’s a mess, but it might come to a boiling point.
Have the Authorities Fixed VAR?
Towards the end of last season, there was a real chance that Premier League clubs would vote to scrap VAR. In the end, they voted to keep it, with some minor changes. Yet, the underlying consensus is that VAR is theoretically positive for the game, but the human interpretations of it are ruining fair competition. From confusion for people live betting on a match to fans disgruntled by bad decisions in the stadium, everyone has come afoul of VAR. Have they done enough to fix it? Or will we see a repeat of the debacle from last season?
Will Villa Join the Elite Permanently?
For now, Aston Villa fans can look at their club as a Champions League team. Last season’s achievements by Unai Emery and his players cannot be understated, and Villa have doubled down on their progress by strengthening the squad this summer. It has shattered the concept of the Big 6, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham lagging behind the Villains. Yet, it will be interesting to see whether Villa can maintain this sojourn with the elite. The demands of simultaneous Premier League and Champions League campaigns may weigh heavy on the squad, leading to the kind of issues with fatigue we mentioned earlier.
How Do Liverpool Cope without Klopp?
Dutchman Arne Slot is tasked with maintaining Liverpool as one of the best teams in the world. Can he pick up from where his predecessor left off? There are parallels between Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool and the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at Manchester United, yet you can argue that Klopp left behind a stronger team than Ferguson. That said, it is always difficult for new managers to take over a big club with huge expectations, and replacing a legend might be an impossible task. All eyes on Slot.
Will Financial Fair Play Begin to Bite?
Whisper it, but some clubs have been notably quiet in the transfer window. There are exceptions, including Villa, but the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City have done subtle transfer business rather than welcome explosive signings. Perhaps they are happy with their personnel, but the shadow of financial fair play rules is looming over the Premier League. Will this weaken the overall product? Probably not, but it might make things more difficult in European competition.
