Football Between The Lines

Are Arsenal already good enough to win the Premier League, and if they somehow add Julián Alvarez, is the title race basically over before it has properly begun? We also look at Chelsea’s encouraging start, whether they can emerge as genuine contenders, and why their transfer strategy suddenly seems a lot more sensible.

Elsewhere, we get into the growing trend of players downing tools to force transfers, whether keeping the window open after the season starts causes more problems than it solves, and why Premier League clubs are paying enormous fees to buy from each other.

Plus: have modern footballers actually become softer? The surprisingly revealing Pep Guardiola documentary, the end of the Holmesdale Fanatics and what it means for Selhurst Park, Brentford’s impressive evolution, Hull’s flying start, Brennan Johnson, the strange world of podcasting, Morley’s chicken and the increasingly concerning mystery of who knows where Flav lives.

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Flav deals with the fallout from Spurs' nightmare opening weekend against Brentford, while Dan tries to make sense of Palace's problems after defeat at Everton. We ask whether Brentford are one of the best-run clubs in the country, whether Arsenal already have the title sewn up, and just how unpredictable the rest of the league could be.

There's also Isak's return to Newcastle, Aston Villa's problems, Manchester United, the madness of Premier League transfer fees and your questions.

Plus: Szoboszlai's tiny feet, Championship Manager legends, football food and why sometimes a terrible burger is exactly what you want at a game.

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Are Arsenal already perfectly placed to dominate again? What happens to Manchester City after Pep Guardiola and Rodri? And has anyone got the faintest idea what a footballer is actually worth anymore?

There’s also Chelsea’s bizarre shirt sponsor situation, Spurs still refusing to sell the naming rights to their stadium, the growing importance of football finance rules, KSI owning Dagenham & Redbridge, Gary O’Neil somehow turning up at Ipswich, and why football fans now seem ready to sack a manager after approximately 90 minutes.

Plus EFL chat, Wilfried Zaha rumours, Graham Bailey gets another mention and, naturally, we end up talking about sharks.

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We get into the increasingly ridiculous world of transfer rumours, why supporters are being driven mad by endless links and whether the people spreading them should be held to account.

There's also the growing revolt against Gianni Infantino, what happens if football's major governing bodies finally turn on FIFA, Jeff Bezos and a potential £4.5bn valuation of Liverpool, Newcastle's worrying summer, Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil swapping clubs, and whether modern football's financial rules actually work.

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Has the football world finally reached breaking point with Fabrizio Romano? Gareth and Dan explore why the transfer guru's influence is being questioned, from failed "Here We Go" calls to growing criticism over the relationship between journalists, agents and clubs. They also dive into Chelsea's shift away from their youth-first recruitment strategy, Newcastle's uncertain direction, why Victor Osimhen is effectively impossible for Premier League clubs to sign, and what FIFA's latest power grab says about the future of football. Plus, a look at UEFA's financial rules, why they're frustrating clubs like Aston Villa and Newcastle, and whether they're actually protecting the game in the long run.

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