John Sharples

My hopes for the Premier League season (call me a dreamer etc)… Punish the cheats. Clamp down on diving, exaggerating contact, pretending to be hit in the face when it’s a hand in the chest or routinely claiming for every throw-in or corner when it’s clearly not yours. If called out or punished, the cheats might be shamed into changing their embarrassing ways. VAR behaves itself. Less forensic, more clear and obvious only, please. If it takes two minutes to review, it can’t be clear and obvious. Stick to original intention. Stop the tragedy chanting. Stop fleecing fans. Some clubs really need to treat their fans better, and treat them as the lifeblood of the club, rather than cash cows to be milked. People’s budgets are finite. Clubs love tourists for ticketing and merchandising revenue. But will they be there during a club’s bad times? Alienate/price out traditional support, atmospheres suffer and broadcasters will get concerned. The game is nothing without fans. Better communication between clubs and supports. It’s good to talk – and listen. Some clubs – Arsenal, Brighton, Brentford, Everton etc – do it well. Others, including Chelsea and Manchester United, need to communicate better with their fans, liaise better. Some owners need better advice - talk to staff who know and love the club, talk to supporters, don't rely solely on the advice of bankers miles away. Talking to the right people will save owners some grief. Cole Palmer fit and in form again, running games again with his vision and technique. A joy to watch. Palmer dovetailing with Morgan Rogers and serving Joao Pedro for Chelsea could become one of the themes of the season. Hoping that Rio Ngumoha gets more chances in his best position, off the left for Liverpool. Also looking to see how new signings fare like Johan Manzambi at Aston Villa (and how he develops under the inspirational Unai Emery), Luka Vuskovic at Brighton and Gonzalo Garcia at Fulham, amongst many others. Coventry City fans have the time of their lives. They’ve endured 25 years of hurt that included turmoil, homelessness, even dropping into League Two. Fans never gave up. They deserve this. Of course, plenty of tough challenges lie ahead, starting tonight at the champions. But under a good coach in Frank Lampard and owner in Doug King, Coventry are alive and kicking. Great to see them back. A glimpse of the exciting JJ Gabriel. Now eligible for a Premier League debut for Manchester United as he turns 16 during the season (can’t wear any training kit with betting or change in first-team dressing-room yet). Can’t rush him, he’s still developing, but the huge potential is obvious. Also, more glimpses of the exciting Max Dowman at Arsenal. Ditto: Brian Madjo and George Hemmings at Villa. Remembering absent friends. Newcastle and Liverpool fans will combine at St James’ Park on Sunday to celebrate the life and memory of Kevin Keegan, who gave so much to both clubs, and to the game as a whole. Wor Flags tifos will set the tone for an emotional occasion. Football is a huge force for good in society. Clubs’ and players’ community work needs to be recognised and saluted more. The image of PL clubs and many players is “show me the money” when they also do incredible, life-changing work for so many people, helping them train up to get jobs, improving physical and mental health, tackling discrimination and tackling homelessness. Everton in the Community have 130 staff working full-time on initiatives and up to 200 volunteers. Frank Lampard is a patron of Teenage Cancer Trust. Bruno Fernandes supports a children’s hospice in Didsbury. Dan Burn supports mental health initiatives in the North-east. The list is long. The PL is not simply about greed, but also about doing good. A Premier League team wins the Champions League. Three wins in the last eight seasons is hardly a disastrous return. Real Madrid now PS-G have been immense in that period. But given the number of English clubs involved, and the wealth of the league, improvement is required. A winter break would help (no chance). Prediction: Bayern Munich. Get the New Deal done. It’s getting very old. PL redistribution of some of broadcast wealth makes financial and sporting sense. PL needs a strong EFL. It provides teams (via promotion obv), players (via academies, loans, signings) and coaches (8/20 PL managers coached in EFL) to the top flight. But the New Deal must ensure much of the funds are ring-fenced for academy and infrastructure investment (not wages). Champions to express themselves. Arsenal deservedly won the title last season. They overcame opponents, nerves and the long shadow of history (22 years). The set-piece focus (one third of their PL goals) was understandable. Now with a fully fit Saka, Odegaard more assertive, Bruno G bringing more boldness, Rice unleashed, Arsenal can let rip. Prediction: Arsenal to win title by seven points from Manchester City. Guimaraes to be Footballer of the Year. Finally... hoping that the 115 verdict is finally announced. City vigorously deny all charges. It’s embarrassing for the Premier League it has taken so long. That’s not the league’s fault, the commission takes its time, but the lessons to be learned are: focus on fewer charges; agree a limit on time, not least because otherwise any punishment is distant from when the alleged offences occurred; and ensure some limitation, if possible, on legal expenditure. It’s so wrong that so much has been spent on lawyers – upwards of £150m, some estimates are higher – when that money could have gone into clubs’ community work and academies (although probably into transfers and player wages). Even when the verdict drops, appeals can be made. Anyway, enjoy the season…

Mo Salah is leaving Liverpool but Liverpool will never leave him. He made clear as much in his emotional statement revealing he was moving on this summer. Salah has a bond with Liverpool, the club, the fans, the community and the city, that distance cannot break. Liverpool supporters and their Egyptian King have too many shared memories: some painful like his shoulder injury in the 2018 Champions League final, but many more beautiful like his nerveless early penalty in the 2019 final. Salah's return of 255 goals in 435 games is an immense deposit in the memory bank. He is so much more than a goal machine to Liverpool. Salah entertained, brought hope and joy, and how important are those qualities this season? The Premier League has been a show but not a spectacle. He won with style, often a smile. He scored unforgettable goals. Bursts of pace, changes of direction, dashes of panache and effortless balance defined one particularly special goal in 2021. Salah slalomed in from the right against Manchester City, weaving past Foden and Cancelo, then drifting away from Bernardo Silva as he dived in, finding only thin air. Salah was gone, turning Laporte inside out, before shooting right-footed past Ederson. He left a trail of tangled limbs and scrambled senses in his wake. And these were seriously good players he was running rings around. Salah, at his best, could do that. His style and demeanour, his aura, made him incredibly popular. Raheem Sterling's daughter used to send her father videos of her singing the Salah "running down the wing" song. When Raheem was at City. Salah has been a maestro capable of solo magic and a team player, too. 119 assists highlights that. Along with Mane and Firmino, Salah formed one of the most formidable attacks in Premier League history. He's up amongst Liverpool greats, behind only Dalglish. He’s up amongst Premier League greats, behind only Thierry Henry. Salah is more than a player. He transcends football. He’s a sporting role model, a cultural figure, an inspiring representative of his faith, and great ambassador for his country. Away from the game, Salah lives a simple life, dedicated to his family and his faith, and to his extensive community and humanitarian work. At one PFA event, Salah walked up to collect an award, stopping to talk to a fan in a wheelchair on the way. He walked back the same way to show the award to the fan. He's not only a class act as a footballer but as a human being, too. At 33, Salah leaves with his legacy intact, before the legs slow further, before any tensions arise with Arne Slot again. It’s the right decision at the right time for both parties, as Liverpool save a fortune on a year's wages and Salah leaves with the crowd wanting more. His farewell tour could conjure up more memories, maybe even a trophy. Liverpool will be galvanised by this news, saddened but wanting to send one of their greats off in style. Salah will want to leave on a winning note. He will certainly leave with his ears ringing with acclaim. This means Mo. #LFC