Jules breach

Results mean nothing in the pre-season games, but it’s a chance to see how teams gel, says Simon Barnes

Manchester City may have been short-priced odds to win a fifth straight Premier League title last season, but the signs of a fall were there if you knew where to look. That’s according to ex-City wing

“Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises.” The Tempest wasn’t written about the Premier League but, given the play’s central themes of power, revenge, upheaval and a dash of magic, William Shakespea

After 2023-24 was dominated by financial powerhouses, League Two had a more level playing field last season – and it showed. Bradford’s 78 points was the joint-lowest total of any EFL team to win auto

The 2024-25 Championship was a split league. The second tier produced an unprecedented two 100-point campaigns, with Leeds and Burnley pulling clear of play-off finalists Sheffield United and Sunderla

But that sense of respite is temporary. Luton have landed still with Premier League parachute payments, while Cardiff – in the third tier for the first time since 2003 – and Plymouth Argyle are planni