Welcome to The Briefing, the place each Monday throughout this season The Athletic will focus on three of the largest inquiries to come up from the weekend’s soccer.

This was the weekend when Chelsea’s begin to life underneath Mauricio Pochettino stumbled once more, Tottenham Hotspur pulverised Burnley, Newcastle United slumped to their third defeat in a row and Mohamed Salah briefly grew to become a footballer once more, somewhat than a strolling piece of switch hypothesis.

Here, we are going to ask whether or not that is probably the most pleasurable time to be a Premier League watcher, if Gareth Southgate will throw warning to the wind together with his attacking choices, and fear for the three newly promoted sides…

Are we within the age of enjoyable within the Premier League?

Sometimes you’ll be able to neglect that every one of that is presupposed to be enjoyable.

It doesn’t really feel prefer it a number of the time, notably while you pay as shut consideration to the machinations of soccer as a lot as we do. But then you definitely get a sport that pulls you out of all that and reminds you to strip all of the extraneous stuff away, and simply take pleasure in all of it.

A sport like Arsenal versus Manchester United on Sunday, actually.

United did their finest to play spoilers, notably within the first half, however even they couldn’t assist however contribute to this frantic basketball match in disguise. It was end-to-end, free-flowing, barely unhinged, not very managed a number of the time — all the things a impartial needs to see. There wasn’t a battle or a ‘disgraceful incident’ of some description, however you’ll be able to’t have all the things.

In truth, many of the massive Premier League video games are like that now. Just this season Tottenham versus United, Liverpool vs Newcastle and Chelsea vs Liverpool (properly, the primary half no less than) have all been pretty breathless affairs, giving us neutrals one thing to get giddy over. Only Manchester City vs Newcastle was a little bit of a dud, broadly as a result of City managed it with out an excessive amount of hassle, however even then there was the person efficiency of Phil Foden to marvel over.

It’s been like this for a short time, too. Gone are the times while you puffed your cheeks out on the prospect of one other Chelsea vs Liverpool sport and turned the TV on out of grim obligation, somewhat than excited anticipation.

Maybe it’s acquired one thing to do with the managers. Most of the massive golf equipment now are led by males who prioritise attacking soccer, in a method or one other. Erik ten Hag is probably the exception, however of the groups who will likely be competing for the highest 4, we now have Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta, Ange Postecoglou, Eddie Howe and Mauricio Pochettino. Then simply outdoors that group, there’s Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton and Unai Emery at Aston Villa. Hell, even David Moyes’s West Ham are dancing like no person’s watching this season.

Newcastle have their moments of taking part in like Sean Dyche-era Burnley, however they scored 68 targets final season and their 4 video games up to now this time period have featured 14, so that you’d battle to name them boring.

It’s true elsewhere, too. Only two groups saved a clear sheet this weekend: Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Arguably solely the latter performed ‘defensively’, and even then it labored, with their 1-0 win at Chelsea. The 10 Premier League video games featured 41 targets; it’s not fairly Boxing Day 1961, which noticed 66, nevertheless it’s not dangerous.

Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that this will likely be simply the third season since 2003-04 and the primary since 2011-12 when none of Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Rafa Benitez will likely be in control of a Premier League membership. This is to not say these managers weren’t able to placing on a watchable sport, simply that they prioritised defence and management. The present crop would possibly take pleasure in management too, nevertheless it’s extra attacking and in addition incorporates a dollop of chaos.

This is just not supposed to be a advertising spiel for the Premier League, which wants no assist in bigging itself up. But the soccer itself is, for probably the most half, nice enjoyable, which at a time when a number of tales surrounding the sport aren’t, is extra vital than ever.

Southgate’s choice complications

As a rule, individuals — followers, the media, pundits — take into consideration worldwide soccer in a really completely different approach than worldwide managers.

Our opinions are usually ruled by membership type: if a participant is doing properly domestically they need to do properly internationally, ergo they need to be within the nationwide staff. That’s why there’s all the time a generalised frothing on social media each time the most recent England squad is introduced: “If Southgate can’t see that Player X deserves a place, he should be SACKED”. That kind of factor.

Southgate thinks extra of England as a self-contained entity: when you do properly for him, it doesn’t matter massively when you’re doing badly on your membership. It was primarily why he didn’t decide gamers like Raheem Sterling for the upcoming video games in opposition to Ukraine and Scotland: England scored 11 targets in two video games the final time they performed, so why make massive adjustments?

All that stated, he’s acquired just a few very fascinating choices to make on this worldwide break. James Maddison is within the type of his life in midfield for an excellent, attacking Tottenham aspect: Southgate has picked him in two of England’s final three video games, however off the left alongside Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka, somewhat than within the superior function he’s been excelling in up to now.

Then there’s Jude Bellingham, who has 5 targets from 4 video games and has been successful video games on his personal for Real Madrid, mainly taking part in as a No 10. Throw in Kane, Saka and Marcus Rashford, who to 1 extent or one other have all began the season very properly, and there’s a plethora of good attacking choices out there to Southgate.

He’s typically a fairly pragmatic supervisor, prioritising solidity in defence. And given his report with England, he would possibly properly be proper.

But true pragmatism is definitely simply making one of the best of the sources out there. This is a second when England not solely have all these terrific attackers, however all of them are taking part in close to the highest of their type. It could be great if Southgate took the handbrake off just a bit bit.

Is it trying bleak for the three promoted groups?

Sheffield United picked up their first level of the season on Saturday. And it wasn’t simply their first level: it was the primary level gained by any of the three promoted golf equipment, with Luton and Burnley having misplaced their first three video games, as did the Blades.

The final time not one of the three promoted golf equipment gained any of their first three video games was in 2004-05, when Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace collected six factors between them, all attracts. The solely different time was in 1993-94, when Newcastle, West Ham and Swindon Town solely managed two attracts. Never earlier than within the 31 earlier Premier League seasons have the promoted trio did not get a single level from their first three video games.

In different phrases: for the collected promoted golf equipment, that is the worst opening to a season within the historical past of the Premier League.

The flaws in all three are comparatively clear. Luton’s squad is mainly a superb assortment of Championship gamers, simply within the mistaken division. Sheffield United offered their two finest gamers and didn’t substitute them till the season had began. Burnley seem like they’re attempting to do precisely what they did to get promoted, with solely barely higher gamers however in opposition to significantly better opposition, which isn’t working up to now. They should discover a approach of successful that doesn’t contain dominating possession, pronto.

This is to not write all of them off already: it’s far too early for that. Sheffield United confirmed some promise in opposition to Everton. Luton may be extraordinarily awkward and can most likely decide up just a few factors just by being a ache within the arse to face. Burnley might develop into it, and have been given an especially difficult begin to the season — Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham — even when they had been all at house.

But the one season in Premier League historical past when all three promoted groups have gone straight again down was 1997-98. You worry that 2023-24 has an opportunity of being the second.

Coming up

• Thought the switch window was over? Think once more! English golf equipment nonetheless have the prospect to dump their undesirable gamers to Belgium (window closes on September 6), Greece (September 11), Turkey (September 15) and some different European nations. Happy deadwood week!
• The different massive one is, after all, Saudi Arabia, whose golf equipment are permitted to recruit new gamers till September 7. The massive persevering with hearsay is after all whether or not Al Ittihad will succeed of their very persistent makes an attempt to recruit Salah, however there will likely be others too, little doubt.
• England are in motion: they are going to face Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland on Saturday in a Euro 2024 qualifier, then a pleasant at Hampden Park in opposition to Scotland subsequent Tuesday, September 12.
• The decide of the opposite internationals sees France face the Republic of Ireland, an especially spicy native affair between Turkey and Armenia, Luciano Spalletti takes cost of his first Italy sport as they face North Macedonia, the aspect who prevented them from qualifying for the World Cup, and subsequent week Germany will face France in a pleasant.