7 Ups & 5 Downs From Premier League 2019/20 Opening Weekend

Downs...

5. A Lack Of New Faces

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One of the very best parts of the new football season is getting to see a slew of big-name signings make their debuts for their new clubs.

Unfortunately for the opening weekend of the 2019/20 season, that wasn’t really the case.

To give an idea of just how many marquee signings were left out of their side’s starting line-ups, none of (big breath) Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe and Dani Ceballos, Leicester’s Dennis Praet, Wolves’ Patrick Cutrone, Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin, West Ham’s Pablo Fornals, Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, Bournemouth’s Harry Wilson, Sheffield United’s Ollie McBurnie, Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez, Crystal Palace’s Gary Cahill, Everton’s Moise Kean and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Brighton’s Neal Maupay and Aaron Mooy, and Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon started for their respective teams.

Granted, some of these players may not have had long to train with their new sides or may be working on their fitness levels, but it was still a disappointment to see so many of this summer’s big-name transfers out of action or only used sparingly.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.