Football's New Season: Hope Turns to Despair for United, Spurs, West Ham, and Rangers
Football’s new season is supposed to feel like Christmas morning.
Fresh kit, fresh signings, fresh hope.
But unwrap the paper and sometimes it’s socks again. Holey ones.
Barely a week into the campaign, the mood has already turned sour in pockets of Manchester, north London, east London and Glasgow. The optimism that carried fans through the summer has been smashed in the space of 90 minutes. Or less.
Manchester United: Hope meets Hull
Manchester United supporters had allowed themselves to believe.
Third place under Michael Carrick. A squad that suddenly looked deeper. A run of promoted opponents to start with. It all felt lined up.
“For the first time in years, I'm actually impressed not only by United's line-up, but the substitutes bench as well,” texted United fan Danny to BBC Sport before kick-off at Hull City.
That didn’t last.
Hull, up via the play-offs, outplayed the 13-time Premier League champions and won 2-0. On opening day. In their own division, Hull looked like the established power; United looked like the newly promoted side trying to hang on.
For a fanbase that has lived through a decade of false dawns since Sir Alex Ferguson walked away in 2013, it cut deep. The 2012-13 title under the Scot still stands as their last Premier League crown, and this was supposed to be the first step back towards that level.
Instead, it felt horribly familiar.
“As a Man United fan for 38 years if the last 15 years have taught me anything it is not to be optimistic,” said Alec.
“I laughed when I read how strong people thought our squad depth was. It's as deep as a toddler's swimming pool. Another long season ahead.”
The pain didn’t stop at the final whistle.
While United were losing to the Tigers, announcements at the stadium confirmed two trains back to Manchester had been cancelled. Home fans seized on it instantly, taunting the 2,400 away supporters with chants of: “You should have come in a taxi.”
On and off the pitch, it felt like a long way home.
Tottenham: Money spent, same old story
United fans, at least, have company.
Tottenham arrived at the new season with a different kind of hope. Not just blind faith, but backed by a huge spend. After back-to-back 17th-place finishes, Spurs had thrown money at the problem.
Jan Paul van Hecke came in at centre-back. Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes bolstered midfield. Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi added more proven quality. The bill: £237m and rising, with £100m of that on Tonali alone.
This was supposed to be the reset.
Instead, the neighbours crashed the party.
Brentford tore Spurs apart 3-0 on the opening weekend, a ruthless dismantling that left the new-look side looking anything but new. Van Hecke, Robertson, Senesi and Tonali all started. None could stop the slide.
“Let's face it: Spurs have been through so many false dawns in the Premier League era that the only difference this time was the ludicrous amounts of money they've spent in the summer transfer window,” said Spurs fan Mark.
Richard was even less surprised.
“United losing at Hull was a surprise, but Spurs? Not at all. Two 17th place finishes on the spin! Lots of money spent on bang average players, £85m on a player relegated twice the last two seasons! Not surprised at all.”
The numbers have changed. The league position, so far, has not.
West Ham: From heartbreak to anxiety
West Ham’s pain is fresher.
Relegation last season ended a 14-year stay in the Premier League. It hurt, but it also reset expectations: drop down, regroup, come straight back up.
The summer suggested that was the plan.
Nuno Espirito Santo stayed. The club broke the Championship transfer record to sign Arne Engels. Manor Solomon, Joel Piroe and Divine Mukasa followed. On paper, it looked like a title-chasing squad.
On grass, it has been something else.
Two games in, West Ham have one point. They blew a two-goal lead at Burnley, then lost 2-1 at home to Charlton. The promotion talk that filled June and July has already given way to familiar grumbling.
“Will someone put Nuno out of his misery,” said fan Les. “He got the tactics wrong last season and is doing the same thing again. He should have gone at end of last season playing like this. We deserve nothing.”
From Corfu, Mike sounded just as weary.
“Sat in Corfu, and like a lot of West Ham fans, unsurprised by our start to the season. No no Nuno. You've had 33 games. If you were the guy for Forest and Wolves, fine. But you ain't for us. But enough is enough.”
The Hammers hoped the Championship would be a quick detour. Two matches in, it already looks like a grind.
Rangers: Big spend, bigger backlash
Across the border, the mood at Ibrox is no brighter.
Rangers went big again this summer. Eleven new signings. A new manager in Derek McInnes, lured from Hearts after a memorable season, and with him came his captain, Lawrence Shankland. It was a statement: Celtic would be chased down, Europe would be a stage again.
Reality has bitten hard.
Rangers have already crashed out of the Europa League qualifiers to Jagiellonia Bialystok. They were booed by their own supporters. McInnes, barely in the door, has already had his future questioned.
Domestically, it has not started well either.
Just one point from their opening two Scottish Premiership fixtures against Dundee United and Hibernian has only sharpened the anger.
“Rangers are going nowhere! What has McInnes been training these guys,” asked Bill.
Graeme, a veteran of six decades watching the club, was brutal: “I have been watching Rangers for over 60 years and this is the worst team I have ever seen.”
The echoes of last season are loud. Then, Russell Martin’s side stumbled out of the blocks and never truly recovered. The axe fell in early October.
This time, August is not even over and patience is already fraying at Ibrox.
Every summer, football promises reinvention. New managers, new signings, new dreams. For Manchester United, Tottenham, West Ham and Rangers, the first week has delivered something else entirely.
The question now is simple: was this just an early jolt, or the first sign that another long, unforgiving season has already slipped into gear?
