Will Slattery

money and lost its soul and everything but uh really striking thing on social media was the number of people i guess it's a uh an encapsulation of what football can mean in at its very best and sport at its best of people sending messages to their deceased parents or grandparents with photos of them together in 2004 like what's happening to their old numbers or something

Yeah, there was some of that as well.

But even just like people posting like a photo of, I saw one guy with him and his grandmother and then he's there and, you know, because they obviously, it was a bond I'm sure back then and she's no longer here and, you know, thinking of you tonight.

But it was, it was really striking just how many of these posts there were.

Like these kind of moments, family members, they're all so intertwined.

You kind of stop and think for all of the cynicism rightfully so you'd have about the, you know, the, the,

gazillionaires running the clubs and the players who are, you know, mercenary at times in nature.

The actual reality for fans, like it's kind of, you know, it's the lifeblood for so many families in a lovely way.

That's kind of a striking aspect to the thing, which you don't often think about too much when we talk about the Premier League.

I was very struck by it.

Just maybe the algorithm knows I'm a sucker for that stuff.

And I get, you look, 22 years changes all families, uh, for obvious reasons, you know?

So it was, it was a really kind of lovely aspect of the evening, very poignant for lots of people.

Um, just before we get to Michael, an assessment of Arsenal as champions is quite an interesting ongoing conversation.

I mean, were they to beat PSG, it probably changes how we see this team a little bit.

Um,

or if they win subsequent leagues and get a certain swagger then you might view the 26 team as like heroically getting over the line and starting something they points tally if I give them a win away to Palace we give them a win no because they might rest everyone so I'm giving them a win so will Palace though 85 points is what they would finish up with which is one more than Liverpool last year albeit Liverpool took the foot off the pedal a touch oh yeah they finished yeah they did the league one with 10 games to go yes

So I guess Arsenal's 85, assuming they win at the weekend.

In 2024, Man City had 91 points.

Year before that, City at 89.