World Soccer columnist Henry Winter assesses the entertainment value of this season’s Premier League
This article first appeared in the March 2026 edition of World Soccer Magazine
The Premier League is the most competitive league in the world. It’s just not the most exciting league this season. Caution is more evident given the high stakes. Job insecurity amongst some coaches leads to safety-first tactics. Fatigue is an issue given the workload even with extensive rotation. And when will a winger consistently attack his full-back with a confident dribble and go outside them?
Entertainment, when it does arrive, comes in bursts. It can be seen in sudden link-ups between Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka at Arsenal, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike at Liverpool, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers at Aston Villa, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland at Manchester City or Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United. Bournemouth can often be a joy to watch in transition. Fulham are good value when Harry Wilson is within sight of goal. The creativity of Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee has brought style and substance to Sunderland. Estevao is a trick and treat to behold when allowed out by Chelsea.
But fans deserve to be entertained more. They certainly pay enough.
I’ve covered every Premier League season since its inception in 1992, and the pulse hasn’t quickened as frequently this season as in many previous iterations. Trips down memory lane can prove over-romantic strolls but there is no denying the illuminating beauty of past teams who graced our historic pitches and history books. The Manchester United of Eric Cantona in 1993-94 and treble winners of 1998-99 were special. So was the Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney vintage of 2007-08. They held off Chelsea and Arsenal in a close race. The Arsenal Invincibles of 2003-04 were a charismatic collection of attacking musketeers, midfielders and defenders who loved a challenge in every sense. Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea of 2004-05 were worthy special ones.
The 2018-19 title race between a Manchester City side inspired by Raheem Sterling and the Liverpool of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane was thrilling. City won by a point, 98 to 97, and some of the football was bewitching. City, the previous season, were superb, scoring a record 106 goals with Sergio Aguero unstoppable.
The simply brilliant rivalry between Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Pep Guardiola at City produced some of the most astonishing high-level performances and title races between genuine thoroughbreds. Maybe the current swirl of dissatisfaction is because Klopp and Guardiola raised expectations so high. Even an excellent Arsenal side cannot match those standards.
To assess this current season properly involves putting it into context first: it lacks the majesty of past seasons. It lacks a poster-boy. It lacks charisma. Where are the Cantonas, Agueros, Rooneys and Ronaldos? The two most important players in the Premier League are probably Gabriel and Declan Rice, giving Arsenal their backbone and belief. Exceptional players, but not great entertainers.
The game has become almost over-coached. Long throw-ins have come centre-stage. Arsenal, chasing a first Premier League title since the Invincibles, have been derided for their over-reliance on set-pieces. Their supporters don’t really care about caustic critiques from rivals. They are just desperate to win the league. Grind it out, boys.
Some of the season’s big hopes have not shone. Alexander Isak got injured, Viktor Gyokeres took time to settle in. Eberechi Eze struggles for game time. Injury claims others. The number of players missing through injury touched 100 in early February. Tottenham Hotspur are far less entertaining without James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. Whenever Jack Grealish is absent through injury the fun factor dips at Everton. How many players do you see play with a smile? Few. It’s all about the result.
And fear. Players check their phones on returning to the dressing- room after games to see what fans are saying about them on social media. Mistakes gets hammered, sometimes viciously, leading to players becoming more inhibited the next time they play. Who takes risks in possession nowadays? Wirtz, Fernandes, Cherki, Saka and a few others. Not many.
VAR slows the flow and blocks the adrenalin channels. Technology was meant to end arguments. Instead it has made the sport angrier, the games longer and fuses shorter. The Premier League’s pernickety approach to officiating, going forensic rather than focusing on simply catching the “clear and obvious”, has crowds seething further. Varying degrees of cheating. ranging from time-wasting to tactical fouls and diving, contribute to a winter sport of discontent.
Low blocks frustrate the more creative teams and supporters alike. Fans, individually and collectively. rail against the cost of match-going. changes to kick-off times and a sense of growing detachment with owners at clubs like Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, even mild Fulham. Impatience fills the air at some grounds, and certainly on social media. Managers and players get called out if they don’t quickly show appreciation to fans after a game. Societal tensions also spill into stadiums.
If some of the joy has gone, the jeopardy remains. It is a competitive league. Even the lightweights occasionally take a swing and bloody the nose of the heavyweights.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, who long looked doomed for the drop won 3-0 against West Ham who won 3-0 at Nottingham Forest who won 3-0 at Liverpool. The defending champions won by three goals against Newcastle United who won by three goals against Everton who won 1-0 at Manchester United playing the majority of the game with ten men. On it goes. United won at Arsenal who dream of that first title since 2004. Everyone’s taking points off each other so a low tally is expected for the eventual winners. Mid-table teams have access to huge sums of broadcast money to strengthen their squad and occasionally embarrass the elite.
Yet a glance at European combat shows the Premier League dominating -five of England’s six Champions League representatives finished in the top eight spots. That’s not a reflection on the attractiveness of their football, merely that they are ready for battle from the relentless skirmishing of the Premier League. Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Bodo/Glimt are more watchable. The Premier League is hyped by broadcasters, but go on fans’ forums and a truer verdict is being reached: a decent season, a cut-throat one between teams, but not a classic.
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