Issue 27 - Grim Up There

27 issues deep and the Filter isn’t slowing down — the pressure’s cranking up everywhere. The Carabao Cup gave some managers breathing space, while others saw the walls close in tighter. Everton’s storm rages on, Chelsea’s questions won’t go away, and up next the Premier League throws more fuel on the fire. Issue 27. Go.

Premier League Managers Under Pressure #plmup

⚠️ The sack race never sleeps. A Carabao Cup week can buy breathing space — or suffocate it completely. With Wolves and West Ham clashing, and United humiliated by Grimsby, the pressure dial isn’t just ticking over — it’s snapping towards red.

In the previous issue, I referenced the latest Premier League Managers Under Pressure rankings. A list that looked as follows:

1. Graham Potter - West Ham

2. Ruben Amorim - Manchester United

3. Vitor Pereira - Wolves

I also mentioned this:

As we know 3 got the better of 1 to remove themselves from the list and in doing so, adding even more pressure to that of Graham Potter’s already tense shoulders and who can overlook the misery that 2 oversaw as manager of Manchester United.

Potter still in charge of West Ham as we go into the third Premier League weekend of the season. Ruben Amorim still with the backing of the board as he and his players have to dust themselves off after their sensational penalty shootout defeat to League 2 Grimsby.

More ugly scenes for West Ham in midweek and not just from a footballing perspective either. Jarrod Bowen’s emotions obviously getting the better of him during a fan altercation - at least the England international gets the frustration that others feel.

As a result of that 3-2 loss to Wolves, the former Brighton and Chelsea manager is now the bookies favourite to be the first man to leave his Premier League post and subsequently also be the West Ham manager.

Bursting The Bubble

🎈 The odds tell their own story. Potter’s future measured in days, Amorim’s reputation hanging by a thread, Espirito Santo drifting back into danger. The line between “under pressure” and “out the door” has rarely felt thinner.

Such is the despair that Potter’s odds have become shorter than that of Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest and if you remember, the Portguese coach almost talked himself out of employment a week or so ago.

By the same token Amorim’s odds for departure have shrunk to 2/1 - now the same price as a drifting Espirito Santo but that must surely be a reflection of a flurry of post-Grimsby betting activity.

Remember my Premier League Manager Under Pressure rankings (#plmup) rankings are not a direct indicator of the sack race - Arne Slot could be under huge pressure if Liverpool lost three and not be for the chop, but the start of the season will likely see the two metrics mimic each other.

Two managers on the list before the weekend. How many managers will still be in their current role by the start of next week?

Fixing Scottish Football

🏴 If you thought the pressure was bad in the Premier League… Scotland is already a boiling pot. Rangers humbled, Celtic floundering in Europe, and the Old Firm derby looming like judgement day. Neither Russell Martin nor Brendan Rodgers can afford what comes next.

If Rangers supporters were smiling after Celtic’s Champions League play-off loss to Kairat Almaty, they would have had the smile wiped off their face just 24 hours later. The Ibrox outfit went to Brugge, manager Russell Martin lucky he was allowed to return home.

A miserable showing in the first leg was somehow trumped in the second and with Max Aarons getting himself sent off in just the 8th minute, it looked as if he did so not wanting to play any of the remaining 82.

Rangers down to 10 men and morale incredibly low. Morale absolutely on the floor by the time Club Brugge found themselves 5-0 up at the interval and then a further goal ahead just five minutes after the break.

The blue half of Glasgow already getting off to a disaster of a campaign. Who thought things could get worse after toiling to three successive Scottish Premiership draws? In the words of Mick McCarthy - it can.

Which leads us to Sunday’s first Old Firm derby of the season and if there are managers under pressure in the Premier League, you would have to say the stress levels will be even higher at both Celtic Park and Ibrox.

The Boiling Pot

🔥 The knives are out. Martin looks out of his depth, Rodgers is losing goodwill, and the fans are turning quicker than ever. Glasgow is unforgiving — one bad result in the derby could tip either man into freefall.

How much longer does Russell Martin have? That question was being asked before their disaster in Bruges.

How much longer does Brendan Rodgers have? That question is starting to become a bit louder in terms of conversation levels.

Could Martin earn a much-needed breather if he does what seems the unthinkable and gets the better of Celtic? Could it then edge Rodgers further nearer the exit door?

An almost insane question to level when you consider that Celtic are the dominant force in Scotland but its their failure to be any kind of force when against Europe’s elite which is the sore point for fans and board alike.

The fans say ‘sack the board’. The board will take that as ‘sack the manager’ for the simple reason they cannot sack themselves. The board have loosened to the purse strings this week in a bid to appease supporter sentiment but there is a sense the horse has bolted.

Some quarters say that Scottish football is in its worst position for two decades. Others may argue that the ailing collective might of these two may be the best thing to happen to the league in the same period. Depends if you reside in Glasgow or not I suppose.

Ten Quick Tackles

A look at the main talking points as we head into the upcoming Premier League weekend.

Chelsea vs Fulham

Chelsea get us started for the second weekend in a row and they will be keen to pick up from their demolition of West Ham last Friday night. Joao Pedro on the left last weekend but he could soon have competition in the form of Man United’s Alejandro Garnacho.

Chelsea’s opponents Fulham make the short journey across West London having held United last Sunday. Two successive draws suggest that Marco Silva’s men are hard to beat, that same attribiute will stand them in a good stead for Saturday’s local derby.

Tottenham vs Bournemouth

Thomas Frank will look to continue his perfect start to Premier League life at Tottenham on Saturday as Spurs play host to Bournemouth and they do so while still trying to land an attacking player before the end of this summer’s transfer window.

Whether they can tempt Xavi Simons remains to be seen but first they have to deal with a Cherries outfit who won in N17 last season and will be keen to build on their narrow 1-0 win over Wolves last Saturday. This one is far from a foregone conclusion.

Wolves vs Everton

Wolves supporters breathing a sigh of relief after their midweek League Cup win over West Ham and now they must simply use that result as a springboard after successive league defeats at the hands of Manchester City and Bournemouth respectively.

While opponents Everton are back on the road after picking up league and cup wins in their new surroundings. They have certainly settled into life post-Goodison, now they need to find a better performance than their opening weekend defeat at Leeds.

Sunderland vs Brentford

Sunderland back down to planet earth after their title bid was ended in just the second weekend of the season and if they can turn the Stadium of Light into a fortress, then this will be more than half the battle complete when it comes to completing their survival bid.

They play host to Brentford who got themselves off the mark last weekend with the narrowest of home wins over Aston Villa last Saturday. The Bees are in that ‘you do fear for them’ category but those fears could be lessened with another three points.

Manchester United vs Burnley

The week from hell could get even worse if Manchester United are not careful and with so much of the Premier League spotlight being placed on Old Trafford this weekend, many will be praying that the demise of the Red Devils continues at the hands of Burnley.

Burnley make the short journey across Lancashire having got the better of Sunderland a week ago and if there was ever a time to play such an ailing giant, then Scott Parker and his players may never be given a better opportunity to pile on even more misery.

Leeds vs Newcastle

Leeds suffered Carabao Cup embarrasment at the hands of local rivals Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday. Worst still, the Championship outfit had by and large named their u21 side at Hillsborough. Now though, Leeds prepare to welcome Newcastle.

A Newcastle side that has done what many people do when they are feeling frustrated - gone and spent some money. It may not be Yoan Wissa, it may not Jorgen Strand Larsen but it is Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart - a kind of reverse Auf Wiedersehn Pet if you will.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham

Two of the current shortest priced managers to next leave their Premier League post are paired together this weekend as Nottingham Forest and West Ham face off at the City Ground - could this be Graham Potter’s last hurrah as manager of the Hammers?

If it is, he will have had a short working relationship with Mateus Fernandes who is expected to complete a £40m move from Southampton to the London Stadium. The bigger question is whether West Ham can now keep hold of Lucas Paqueta.

Brighton vs Manchester City

Brighton made up for their woeful showing as Everton’s housewarming guests last Sunday with a midweek win over Oxford in the Carabao Cup. Six of the best for Fabian Hurzeler’s men on Wednesday, now the Seagulls will have to be at their very best at The Amex.

The reason for this is the visit of Manchester City and after succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham last Sunday. A win on the coast followed by a keen eye on events at Anfield just hours later may already change the landscape of this season’s title race.

Liverpool vs Arsenal

They say that a meeting in third week of the season rarely defines the destiny of the Premier League title but with Liverpool and Arsenal facing off on Merseyside this Sunday, the stakes, even at this early stage of the campaign could be far higher than expected.

Liverpool have shown deficiencies at the back while Arsenal have been tighter at the back than ever before. The Gunners may be their most confident for quite some time but that could also be turned into a humbling for the same reason. Keep Sunday afternoon free.

Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace

Aston Villa lacking spark at the start of this season and they have the dreadful Sunday 7pm kickoff time for Sunday’s visit of Crystal Palace - talk about having to play after the main event has already packed up its drumkit and moved on to the next town.

Villa have picked up one point from the first six, opponents Palace have collected one more. The Eagles are also lacking creative flair now that Eberechi Eze has moved on but they can now at least celebrate qualification to the Europa Conference League proper.

Now that we’ve looked at the weekend’s storylines, let’s see if AI can do any better than me at predicting the outcomes…

Predictive Power

Four out of 10 correct last week via my AI-led prediction model. A hit rate of 40% and a season average of 35%. 

Let’s see what it has forecast over the next few days:

The Filter Five

Five items, no less for your shopping basket.

Bamford Booted Out

Maybe not quite as dramatic an exit but Patrick Bamford has had his contract paid up at Leeds. The forward was told in the summer that he was never going to be part of Daniel Farke’s plans for the season and this seems like a logical move for both parties.

At 31, his Premier League days are arguably now behind him for good and when you consider his fitness issues you do wonder what job Bamford could do for a Championship side with promotion hopes. Knowing Wrexham, they will have him signed by next week.

Champions League Draw

The Champions League 2025/26 league phase draw has been made. Liverpool face Real and Atletico Madrid at home. Spurs play holders PSG. Newcastle the same along with a clash with Barcelona.

All blockbuster fixtures but its hard to get excited about the draw when its this psuedo league phase. What does the draw actually mean for each team relative to each other. Yes its date for the calendar but better to wait for the league table to begin to take shape.

Earlier Final Time

Staying on the topic of the Champions League, UEFA have announced that this season’s final in Budapest will kick off at the earlier time of 17:00 and although there is some pushback, I quite like the idea.

Why? Because I always seem to be out when the Champions League final is on. This way, you can ge the final wrapped up 19:00 BST and still go out for the evening. Thanks UEFA, I don’t give you much credit but credit where credit is due.

Chelsea Conveyor Belt

I referenced above that Chelsea are set to get their hands of Alejandro Garnacho and the move for the Argentine is set to have a knock-on conclusion for at least one player. Christopher Nkunku’s time at Stamford Bridge set to come to an end as a consequence.

The former RB Leipzig forward has never really hit it off at Stamford Bridge but then again so many other red-hot strikers have entered the career graveyard. A move to AC Milan is on the cards as Chelsea’s business model actually seems to be working quite well now.

Fantasy Stuff

FPL deadline is 11:00am Saturday (UK time) - is it wildcard time?

Football Live Scores

Admin

Right, that’s the end of issue 27 as word continues to spread around the football world.

If you liked issue 27, tell a friend and forward it on. If you didn’t like issue 27 don’t.

We’ve crossed 50 subs. Now it’s time to push for 100. If you enjoyed this, forward it to a football friend and help grow the squad.

Send your thoughts in, not only of the newsletter but of the game itself. It’s all about building a community you see.

[email protected]

Issue 28 will be out on Tuesday September 2nd

Thanks for reading

Dan