Change is good, change is different. Ryan Adsett has donned a tin hat to make his official FourFourTwo presenting debut following on from not one, but two Adams! Watch Ryan discuss what is shaping up to be a very different run-in for the Premier League’s European places… Be nice now.
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00:00Hello and welcome to 442. And yeah, okay, I get it. It's very different. I'm not he,
00:09he is not me. Adam's not here. But my name is Ryan and 442 have tasked me with, at least
00:15for now, to try and take over the great work that Adam has done over the years. And I understand
00:20and appreciate this is gonna be very, very different and very difficult, perhaps for
00:23those that are big Adam fans and, you know, 442 fans alike, and he's done exceptional
00:28work, I have to say, the work that he's built on 442 over the last few years, you know,
00:33very, very commendable. And we wish him all the very, very best in what he does now.
00:38I am a football fan much like the rest of us. And I'm not going to try and act like I'm not.
00:42I think Adam made a great, great thing of doing tactics. And I want to try and pick up from where
00:46he left off. And you know, much like how this is a big change, I think change is different
00:51changes now. And I feel like the Premier League has changed quite a lot this season.
00:58So when I say the Premier League has changed a lot this season, I feel like it's a big
01:02conversation as to where we are as a as a Premier League and in football in general,
01:06a lot of people feel like football's falling off a little bit. A lot of people feel like
01:10football maybe is especially in the Premier League this season isn't quite what it was,
01:14you know, a lot of the title race has already been decided pretty much for example, I mean,
01:19Liverpool so far in a drift from everybody else. And then the relegation battle,
01:23pretty much done. I mean, Southampton finishing possibly on record points of nine points,
01:28which is insane. And all three of the newly promoted sides could be going straight back
01:34down for a second year running. And yeah, I get I get there's a big shift. But I feel like there
01:40is one aspect of the Premier League that people maybe haven't spoken about enough. And that is
01:45that race for Europe, the race for Europe is probably as good as it ever has been. Now,
01:50if you can probably hear the seagull in the background, you'll know now that I'm in Brighton
01:54and I'm a bit of a Brighton fan, right, I might as well get it out the way.
01:59Right, I'm sorry, if there's any Palace fans in the comments that are now going to unsubscribe
02:02from 442. I've only I can only apologise. But if you're a Chelsea fan, you probably would have
02:07tried to buy that seagull. Let's talk about that Champions League race because there are a lot of
02:12sides much like Brighton, much like Bournemouth, Newcastle, Villa, sides that realistically
02:17haven't had a sniff of European football in the past. You know, Champions League down on the
02:21south coast would be absolutely immeasurable success. And weirdly enough, in this 442 magazine,
02:27I wrote a little something and I said that I feel like we could finish seventh. And currently,
02:32here we are sat in seventh and I feel like we could be better off. I can agree that expansive
02:38football, maybe the football that we've been seeing, particularly tactically over the last
02:41few years has definitely shifted. I mean, even not just on a European standpoint, but I feel like
02:47from top to bottom in the Premier League, teams aren't really taken that pure football that Pep
02:52Guardiola football that's inspired everybody into play and really as seriously as they used to. I
02:58mean, you see the likes of Nottingham Forest, for example, in that third position, which they
03:02completely deserve, by the way, an absolute hats off credit to them for exactly how they've done
03:06it. But they've found a winning formula and a formula that works so, so well. And that formula,
03:13realistically, is going back a little bit to the old days, you know, pacey wingers, very,
03:18very good attackers, someone like Chris Wood, who could just bang goals in from anywhere inside that
03:2318 yard box. And then of course, you've got such a solid defence, counterattacking football,
03:28and okay, it might not be the most glamorous. As I said, they've got the lowest possession
03:32in the Premier League this season, only about 39%. But when you look at how they've done it,
03:37you can only say fair enough. And weirdly, you see the size that maybe have tried to play
03:43expansive this season and the size that try and bring football into the equation, it really has
03:47just backfired on them. I feel like you've got a big shift happening. And not just on the 442
03:52YouTube channel where the old no, he's I promise you he's not here. Okay, I'm sorry, I'm not going
03:57to bring out Adam. He's not behind there. He is gone. And that's why we are talking about change.
04:02But seriously, that whole shift maybe is happening. Maybe next season, we see a little bit
04:07more dynamic, perhaps maybe you see a little bit more, you know, managerial input, perhaps,
04:12I feel like what we're definitely seeing, especially in that European race is emphasis
04:17on a very, very good quality individual players. Chelsea spent a billion pounds,
04:22right there now in the top four. But realistically, I think if you ask other Chelsea fans,
04:27they'll say no, I don't feel like we are playing the best football. You saw that game the other
04:31day against Arsenal. And realistically, you probably could have said they should have deserved
04:35maybe a little bit worse off than what they got. I don't think you see an arsenal plan,
04:39the best football really, they're really relying on their set pieces to carry them through games.
04:43And don't get me wrong, it's a formula that works. It's using your best players
04:48to the best of their abilities. And yes, you say fair enough and credit to doing that.
04:52But I feel like that's where we're at. In the Premier League, you've seen the likes of David
04:56Moyes coming back to Everton. Maybe when you've got so many managers now that like to play
05:01that specific brand of football, that effective brand of football, that results driven based
05:06brand of football, playing expansively isn't going to work against them. As you see,
05:10Brighton against Nottingham Forest, we go up there to the city ground and lose 7-0.
05:157-0, right? And that would be unheard of, probably, especially against not just the Brighton side,
05:20not just against the Forest side. But in general, at that level of the season,
05:24where Forest have just lost 5-0 to Bournemouth the week prior, to then go and win 7-0 in their
05:29next game, you start to think, OK, why is that happening? And when you see Brighton try and play
05:34exactly into the hands of Forest, who know that they can defend and doesn't matter how many times
05:39they have to do it because they're ready for it, that expansive football becomes completely
05:43irrelevant because you can't pass through that. So then when you look at a side like Bournemouth,
05:48like Brighton, like Newcastle, like Villa, when you look at Villa, you have to say well done to
05:53them. Hats off to Unai Emery. He's got it working there. And again, you give a lot of credit to
05:58those individuals again, but you'd probably then say Villa are doing it in the Champions League
06:03as well as the Premier League. That balance, that juggle has probably become one of the most
06:08notable things about these sides getting into that next stage of the Premier League, you know,
06:12where you get that leap from being a mid table side to balancing three games a week as it becomes
06:17emphasised. I remember so many managers going through that. Jurgen Klopp would always talk
06:22about the amount of games that players would have to play. You're now seeing that shift start
06:27to happen a little bit better off, I think for sides like Villa, for sides like Brighton, for
06:32sides like Newcastle, and now obviously Newcastle with Carabao Cup winners, the first trophy for
06:37them in 70 years. You know, these sides now are stronger and better than they ever have been,
06:42particularly when it comes to squad depth. And that squad depth really has to be echoed across
06:47the rest of the Premier League where, you know, when you get towards the bottom end of that
06:50Premier League, the gulf is just too big, you know, and financially those clubs can't compete
06:55with the likes of Brighton now, who are one of the top spenders in the Premier League this season.
07:00Amongst those teams in that top, probably four down to about eighth, all of those sides have
07:05spent around 100 million or more. In Brighton's case, it's closer to 200 million. In Chelsea's
07:10case, it's closer to a billion, as we've said in the past. You know, these sides are very,
07:14very wealthy sides now that can just break the barrier. And you're seeing a big shift in that
07:20top six. Fourth, Chelsea, 49 points. Fifth, City, 48 points. Sixth, Newcastle, 47 points. Seventh,
07:27Brighton, 47 points. Eighth, Fulham at 45 and Villa, 45. Bournemouth, 44. That goes all the
07:36way down to 10th place where potentially any of those sides could effectively be in a European
07:42position by the end of this season. But why is this? Why have we now got the likes of Spurs,
07:47the likes of Manchester United, unable to compete at this sort of level? You see Spurs losing to
07:52Fulham at the weekend. You see United over the course of the season being very, very poor and
07:57nowhere near the levels. And realistically, it comes down to everything off the pitch and being
08:01able to invest this money not only well, but wisely, shrewdly and being able to recruit from
08:07not just one place, not just one area. You know, you're now looking at recruitment across the rest
08:13of the world. I feel like a lot of teams in the last three, four, five years are now trying to do
08:18process. And by process, that means actually doing process. That doesn't just mean sacking a manager
08:25after six months or after three months, because you're not getting the results. And I feel like
08:29for sides that have that ability to be a little bit more patient, a little bit more trusting within
08:34their process are becoming superpowers really in the grand scheme of things. And now you see Villa
08:39in the latter end of the FA Cup and of the Champions League. It's anyone's, it really is anyone's to
08:45start winning serious silverware, serious trophies for clubs that realistically five or six years ago
08:51were completely irrelevant. And it fills me with complete joy personally, because I'm someone that's
08:56not been a supporter of a big club, right? I've not had the joy of watching my team win a trophy
09:02or two or three every single year. And I feel like especially for clubs that have had to go through
09:08that whole process, the whole restructuring of their football club from top to bottom,
09:13are now starting to see the rewards for it. I feel like that's a sign that football is going the right
09:18way and is definitely not dead to address any of the the critics may be out there that want to see
09:24the big clubs at the top. At the same time, though, of course, you want to see a lot more of an open
09:29title race, for example, you don't want to see the sides at the bottom going straight back down again.
09:34And of course, that shift has to be monitored, all the same as everything else. I'm looking back
09:39on this season preview from way back when the beginning of the season, I think this is actually
09:44just before the season started. And a Bournemouth fan here, shout out to Sam Davis, who said that
09:48they'd finish 11th this season. I mean, I think you're just seeing this big shift and 11,000
09:54seater stadium that's becoming iconic, right? And again, this is perfect for me. This is basically
10:00backing up the point I've always wanted to say, you're seeing a big shift in such small clubs.
10:05And it's brilliant. I mean, when you look back on the fans point of views, you're now seeing
10:10a shift in expectation, a shift in mentality. Realistically, you now want to aim higher.
10:16Okay, do you know what I feel like for my first 442 video, because I've gone over everyone that's
10:20going for this Champions League position, I simply have to do a prediction because we've
10:24talked about the season preview on 442. We might as well do the sort of not mid season,
10:29the just after mid season coming into the business end. That's the that's the buzzword
10:33that everyone loves the business end of the season. As you get to April, May, you're going
10:37to hear it all the time. So the business end of the season predictions, who do we actually think
10:41is going to get into that glorious Champions League spot, which could be, as I said, absolutely
10:47anyone's and tell us in the comments as well, because I'm really, really keen to hear what
10:50everyone thinks. I think you'll get Newcastle fourth. No, no, I don't. I feel like you're
10:58going to get I have to because I feel like city just have too much of a good team to
11:01to write them off. I feel like city will get fourth. I think Newcastle will get fifth.
11:07I think Brighton will get sixth. I think Chelsea will get seventh. And I think the rest could stay
11:14similar. And that's only on the basis for Villa fans that are watching me here, right? I like
11:18your team, right? I come in peace, I promise. But I think genuinely, Villa's priority being on the
11:25Champions League and the running that they've got towards the end of the season. I would quite like
11:29to see them do well in the Champions League, which is why I feel like they could maybe discount
11:34that run in the Premier League. So I'm going to probably discount Villa in that sense on that
11:40basis. And I apologise if that's slightly wrong to Villa fans. If you do feel like that's different,
11:44please correct me in the comments. I'm only a fan as well. Come in peace. But I do think
11:49that you're going to see Newcastle and Brighton competing for that Champions League position.
11:54And that is from a very unbiased standpoint. Chelsea have the potential to fall apart,
11:57I think a little bit. And that's coming from someone that probably wants them to. But again,
12:03I come in peace impartially. And Manchester City, I feel like will be too good to truly write them
12:09off. So that's my predictions. Of course, leave yours in the comments below. I'm very keen to hear
12:14because I feel like there's no true wrong answer at the moment. I don't feel like you could put
12:18those teams in one position and be completely right. And if you are, then fair play. I'll get
12:24you a coffee if you ever come to Brighton. Anyway, that is all for me. I hope you've all enjoyed a
12:28very different styled video. Although we're looking back on some 442 piece, we're talking
12:33a little bit about Adam again, I do truly wish him all the very best with his career. So make
12:38sure you go and give him a follow. My name has been Ryan and I hope to see you again very, very
12:42soon here on 442. And of course, make sure you like, comment, subscribe, and we'll see you very,
12:47very soon for the next one. And goodbye.