Democrats defy expectations in US midterm elections

US MIDTERM ELECTIONS

⭐2022⭐

PRESIDENT Joe Biden hailed "a good day for democracy" on Wednesday as his Democratic Party outperformed expectations in the US midterm elections.

Far from being swept away by a red wave, the Democrats retained control of the Senate after it was finally confirmed today that incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto  had fended off the challenge from Adam Laxalt in Nevada.

Earlier, in Pennsylvania, Democrat John Fetterman defeated Donald Trump-backed former celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz - and President Biden's party also held onto vulnerable toss-up seat in New Hampshire.

Those results take the Democrats to 50 seats, the same total as in the 2020 election, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast the deciding vote, if required.

And that might not even be required if the Democrats retain the seat in Georgia in the run-off on 6 December.

The Peach State holds run-offs between the top two candidates if no one achieves 50% in the initial vote - and, with Libertarian Chase Oliver on 2.1%, incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Trump-backed challenger Herschel Walker fell short of that threshold.

Elsewhere, in the House of Representatives, in which the Republicans are still expected to gain a narrow majority, this was still not a red wave election for GOP.

Indeed, it was barely a red ripple.

Associated Press has now called the races in 416 of the 435 seats in the House - and,  of those, the Republicans have flipped 17 but also lost four the other way to the Democrats.

Meanwhile, from the eight new seats created by a reapportionment of the chamber following the 2020 census, the GOP has won only four, having previously held five of the eight which were replaced.

As such, the Republicans net gain in the House currently stands at +12.

If that same position is held or bettered, it would be enough for the Republicans to gain a majority - but, by historic standards, it is a fair way short of what had been expected of them in these elections.

After all, the Democrats were defending an extremely narrow advantage, with an unpopular President, and steepling inflation.

And, even in better times, the party of the incumbent President is susceptible to a backlash from the voters in the midterms.

True, the Republicans' control of the House on its own would still be enough to thwart many of President Biden's best-laid plans in the second part of his term.

Furthermore, the GOP will surely collapse the probe into the extraordinary attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 and launch various investigations of their own.

Already, conservatives have promised a hearing into President Biden's son Hunter's business ties - while they also want to look into the Biden administration's immigration policies, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in China.

Without control of the Senate, though, any ridiculous laws proposed by the Republicans can be easily blocked - and, crucially, Democrats will retain the power to approve President Biden's judicial appointments.

Back in the House, a narrow majority would mean leader-elect Kevin McCarthy will have to pick his battles wisely and not rely on any single faction in his party, in case he loses the backing of another.

Of course, by far the noisiest wing within the Republicans is, rather unsurprisingly, the Donald Trump cultists including many who still falsely claim that the former President won the 2020 Presidential Election.

Concerningly, as many as 173 election deniers have won House, Senate and Governor seats, though thankfully their overall numbers remain stymied - for now.

Instead, several candidates backed by Mr Trump had a bad night, performing worse than their party overall - and much of the Republicans' attention has now turned toward the re-elected Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Governor DeSantis is an impressive political operator - and, at the moment, he has turned the infamously marginal Sunshine State into something of a Republican stronghold.

In the two state-wide elections held on Tuesday, Marco Rubio comfortably retained his Senate seat by a 16-point margin - while Governor DeSantis, with a 19% advantage, fared even better himself.

Now, Mr Trump has not exactly been slow to recognise the threat presented by his rival, producing a tirade in which - with typical maturity - he referred to Governor DeSantis as "Ron DeSanctimonious".

Former President Trump is aged 76, will be 78 at the next election in November 2024 - and, at this stage, he is not going to change his attitude for anyone.

But, despite him being backed by a significant and passionate base, many Republicans now cannot envisage any way in which Mr Trump can achieve a victory across the whole of the United States.

Former Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, said: "Almost every one of these Trump-endorsed candidates that you see in competitive states has lost - and it’s a huge loss for Trump."

Meanwhile, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears declared Mr Trump to be a "liability" and added that she would not support him if he decides to run for President again.

On the Democrats' side, there is also an ongoing debate about President Biden's suitability for office beyond 2024, although it is a far quieter and generally more nuanced discussion.

The President turns 80 at the end of next week - and his position was openly questioned during the midterms campaign by in an editorial featured in the renowned Washington Post newspaper.

Despite his advancing years, though, President Biden cannot be anything other than boosted by the results as they stand.

"Our intention is to run again," President Biden said on Wednesday. “That’s been our intention regardless of what the outcome of this election was."

⭐STATE-BY-STATE RESULTS⭐

P		HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DEMOCRATIC 🔵 213 (-9) REPUBLICAN 🔴 222 (+9)	SENATE 🔵 51 (+1) 🔴 49 (-1)	GOVERNOR 🔵 24 (+2) 🔴 26 (-2)
🔴	Alabama [AL]	🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Alaska [AK]	🔵	🔴🔴	🔴
🔵	Arizona [AZ]	🔴🔴🔵🔵🔴🔴🔵🔴🔴	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	Arkansas [AR]	🔴🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔵	California [CA]	🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴 🔵🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴 🔴🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Colorado [CO]	🔵🔵🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Connecticut [CT]	🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Delaware [DE]	🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	Florida [FL]	🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵 🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔵	Georgia [GA]	🔴🔵🔴🔵🔵🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴	🔵🔵	🔴
🔵	Hawaii [HI]	🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	Idaho [ID]	🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔵	Illinois [IL]	🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔴🔴🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	Indiana [IN]	🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Iowa [IA]	🔴🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Kansas [KS]	🔴🔴🔵🔴	🔴🔴	🔵
🔴	Kentucky [KY]	🔴🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔵
🔴	Louisiana [LA]	🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔵
🔵	Maine [ME]	🔵🔵	🔵🔴	🔵
🔵	Maryland [MD]	🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Massachusetts [MA]	🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Michigan [MI]	🔴🔴🔵🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Minnesota [MN]	🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔴🔴	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	Mississippi [MS]	🔴🔵🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Missouri [MO]	🔵🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Montana [MT]	🔴🔴	🔵🔴	🔴
🔴	Nebraska [NE]	🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔵	Nevada [NV]	🔵🔴🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔴
🔵	New Hampshire [NH]	🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔴
🔵	New Jersey [NJ]	🔵🔴🔵🔴🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	New Mexico [NM]	🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	New York [NY]	🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔴🔵 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	North Carolina [NC]	🔵🔵🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵	🔴🔴	🔵
🔴	North Dakota [ND]	🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Ohio [OH]	🔵🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴🔴	🔵🔴	🔴
🔴	Oklahoma [OK]	🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔵	Oregon [OR]	🔵🔴🔵🔵🔴🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Pennsylvania [PA]	🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔵	Rhode Island [RI]	🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	South Carolina [SC]	🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	South Dakota [SD]	🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Tennessee [TN]	🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Texas [TX]	🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴🔵 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔴🔵🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔴	Utah [UT]	🔴🔴🔴🔴	🔴🔴	🔴
🔵	Vermont [VT]	🔵	🔵🔵	🔴
🔵	Virginia [VA]	🔴🔴🔵🔵🔴🔴🔵🔵🔴🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔴
🔵	Washington [WA]	🔵🔵🔵🔴🔴🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵	🔵🔵	🔵
🔴	West Virginia [WV]	🔴🔴	🔵🔴	🔴
🔵	Wisconsin [WI]	🔴🔵🔴🔵🔴🔴🔴🔴	🔵🔴	🔵
🔴	Wyoming [WY]	🔴	🔴🔴	🔴

- P column refers to the party which the state voted for in the 2020 Presidential election
- House seats are ordered by district number

INDIVIDUAL SEATS CHANGES
▪️ House of Representatives

🔵 DEMOCRATIC GAINS 7 • AK-01 IL-13 MI-03 NM-02 NC-13 OH-01 WA-03

NEW SEATS 4 • CO-08 NC-14 OR-06 TX-37 | ELIMINATED 3 CA-53 MI-14 PA-18

🔴 REPUBLICAN GAINS 18 • AZ-02 CA-03 CA-13 CA-27 FL-07 FL-13 GA-06 IA-03 NJ-07 NY-03 NY-04 NY-17 NY-19 OR-05 TN-05 TX-15 VA-02 WI-03 

NEW SEATS 4 • FL-28 MT-01 MT-02 TX-38 | ELIMINATED 5 IL-18 MT-AL NY-27 OH-16 WV-03

▪️ Senate

🔵 DEMOCRATIC GAINS 1 • Pennsylvania
🔴 REPUBLICAN GAINS 0

▪️ Governors

🔵 DEMOCRATIC GAINS 3 • Arizona Maryland Massachusetts

🔴 REPUBLICAN GAINS 1 • Nevada

Yet more hard times ahead

LATEST Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired a grim warning in his first speech outside Number 10 Downing Street, stating that the country was in a "profound economic crisis", and there would be “difficult decisions to come".

Mr Sunak - the first ever Asian to hold the highest office in United Kingdom politics - replaced the deposed Liz Truss yesterday after she lasted only 50 days in the role, a record shortest tenure for a PM.

The markets appear to consider Mr Sunak, who previously worked in finance and was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson, to be a safer and more cautious pair of hands than his predecessor Ms Truss.

For, when it became clear on Monday that Mr Sunak was likely to be unopposed, trading in government bonds quickly rallied with the implied interest rate on these bonds dropping sharply.

That is a far cry from the reaction by the markets to plans laid out by Ms Truss and then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in their mini-budget on 23 September.

At first, Ms Truss tried to ride out the storm by defending her strategy - and, when that failed, by sacking Mr Kwarteng on 14 October.

That same day, Ms Truss subsequently gave an extremely unconvincing appearance at a press conference - and she was reportedly little better at presenting her vision in a meeting with her backbench MPs, known as the 1922 Committee.

Jeremy Hunt came in as replacement Chancellor and promptly pulled apart the economic plans launched by Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng.

Meanwhile, Ms Truss - under severe pressure from all sides of the House of Commons at Prime Minister's Questions - declared herself to be "a fighter not a quitter" and committed her government to protecting the Triple Lock on pensions.

The problem with this was that, only a few days earlier, Mr Hunt had not ruled out a review of the Triple Lock policy - and it became evident that Ms Truss was not going to be able to extricate herself fully from her economic ideas.

Just after 1.30pm at 20 October, the 56th Prime Minister bowed to the inevitable.

Humiliatingly, the end of Ms Truss's tenure will be remember for her failure to outlast an iceberg lettuce which had been placed by the Daily Star on a bench alongside a photograph of her. 

The newspaper responded to the resignation with the headline, "Lettuce rejoice", and bookmakers offered odds of 500/1 that the lettuce would become the next PM.

Instead, it was Mr Sunak, and he now appears to have calmed the storm in the financial sector. 

At the same time, though, the Richmond (Yorks) MP has caused an immediate stir in Westminster by conducting a major reshuffle to remove many of the figures involved in the brief Truss administration. 

Mr Hunt remains as the current Chancellor, while James Cleverly - a single person argument against nominative determinism - has retained his position as Foreign Secretary. 

However, Steve Barclay, a non-entity of a former Brexit Secretary, becomes the fourth Health Secretary since July - and Gillian Keegan has been named as the fifth Education Secretary of 2022. 

Most extraordinarily, though, the reshuffle produced the return of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary who replaced Grant Shapps less than a week after she had been forced to resign from the same job.

Only just over a week ago, in a major breach of the ministerial code, Ms Braverman admitted she had been sent an official document from her personal email to a fellow MP.

But Ms Braverman did not leave Ms Truss's Cabinet quietly, penning a scathing resignation letter in which she raised concerns about "the direction of [the] government" and said "key pledges promised to voters" had been broken.

In his speech, Mr Sunak pledged to bring “integrity and accountability” to office of Prime Minister - but, with this appointment, that does not seem to have lasted for long.

Remember too that the new Prime Minister defended Mr Johnson throughout the Partygate scandal - and was even himself given a fixed penalty notice by the Metropolitan Police. 

Fortunately for Mr Sunak, the Conservative Party is currently in such mess that his fine had no bearing at all on him being installed at the head of the UK government. 

Indeed, in the end, it was remarkably straightforward.

On Monday afternoon, Penny Mordaunt withdrew her candidacy despite her supporters earlier that day stating she was closing in on the backing of 100 MPs, as required by the rules to make it to the members' ballot. 

In the previous contest, Ms Mordaunt had attracted as many as 105 MPs' votes - but, this time during a much shorter campaign, she gained far less traction.

Earlier, on Sunday night, former Prime Minister Mr Johnson pulled out of the running despite claiming to have enough support to be considered by the membership. 

The second Conservative leadership contest since July therefore concluded without an opponent to Mr Sunak. 

Still, the 42-year-old does not exactly have much of a mandate in the country at large, securing his position solely on the strength of the confirmed backing of 197 MPs. 

However, Mr Sunak has resisted calls so far from all of the opposition parties to call a General Election. 

This is perhaps unsurprising given the Tories' current standing in the polls which have shown them to be trailing Labour by huge margins. 

Mr Sunak will hope that, by framing himself as a safe pair of hands with the economy, he can make at least a dent in the type of leads not enjoyed by Labour since the early days of Tony Blair.

Undoubtedly mind, current polling showing Labour on more than 50% is a reflection of the temporary withdrawal of support by traditional Conservative voters in the Truss administration - and not necessarily a sudden massive swathe of excitement at the prospect of a government led by Sir Keir Starmer.

In fact, it should be noted that no single party has gained an actual majority (i.e. more than 50%) of the votes cast at a General Election since the Conservatives in 1931. 

Nevertheless, Labour is in its strongest position in years politically - and, with Mr Sunak warning of difficult days ahead economically, an already exhausted UK public is unlikely to take too well to further tax rises and spending cuts. 

Certainly, the narrative now is different to when austerity measures were brought in by David Cameron's coalition government. 

Back then, austerity was successfully framed as a necessary evil to reduce the deficit and bring down government debt - and, even then, the government increased the Personal Tax Allowance from £6,475 in 2010/11 to £10,600 in 2015/16. 

By contrast, with inflation rampant, Mr Sunak is unable to produce a similar boon - and, as such, this next period should remain a favourable time for Labour, politically at least. 

Economically, though, there is already some concern on the Opposition benches. 

Labour - if it wins the next election - is unlikely to find anything other than a difficult situation bequeathed to them, and therefore will find it difficult to do anything too radical. 

Now, Ms Truss's plans were the reckless wet dreams of Brexiteer libertarians living in a unreal world of only sunlit uplands - but, in their own way, the proposals were pretty radical. 

Nevertheless, a plan of cutting taxes and increasing spending at a time of uncomfortably high inflation was always going to bring only one reaction from the financial sector.

Yet, at the same time, is not something of a concern that it was effectively the markets which determined the fate of a Prime Minister? 

After all, it must be queried if, even with a significant electoral mandate from the public, the mere suggestion by a Labour government of a modest attempt of income redistribution and a bit of spending would cause the same sort of financial turmoil. 

Living in a society in which any type of government can only operate within an extremely narrow orthodoxy would demonstrate a clear schism between the concepts of capitalism and democracy. 

And, with tough times ahead on the back of a decade of tough times, perhaps this social contract has already been broken.

THE SUNAK CABINET	Elected	Constituency	Department
Rishi Sunak	2015	Richmond (Yorks)	Prime Minister
Jeremy Hunt	2005	South West Surrey	Chancellor of the Exchequer
James Cleverly	2015	Braintree	Foreign Office
Suella Braverman	2015	Fareham	Home Office
Steve Barclay	2010	North East Cambridgeshire	Health
Gillian Keegan	2017	Chichester	Education
Ben Wallace	2005	Wyre and Preston North	Defence
Mel Stride	2010	Central Devon	Work and Pensions
Dominic Raab	2010	Esher and Walton	Justice | Deputy Prime Minister
Michael Gove	2005	Surrey Heath	Levelling Up, Housing, Communities
Kemi Badenoch	2017	Saffron Walden	International Trade
Grant Shapps	2005	Welwyn Hatfield	Business, Energy, Industrial Strategy
Therese Coffey	2010	Suffolk Coastal	Environment, Food, Rural Affairs
Mark Harper	2005	Forest of Dean	Transport
Chris Heaton-Harris	2010	Daventry	Northern Ireland
Alister Jack	2017	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland
David TC Davies	2005	Monmouth	Wales
Michelle Donelan	2015	Chippenham	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Lord Nicholas True	-	-	Leader of the House of Lords
Penny Mordaunt	2010	Portsmouth North	Leader of the House of Commons
Oliver Dowden	2015	Hertsmere	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Nadhim Zahawi	2010	Stratford-on-Avon	Party Chairman

Reinvigorated England turn the tide

RAPID-FIRE England needed less than half an hour on the final day of the Test summer on Monday to wrap up a chase of 130 and a 2-1 series win over South Africa.

Zak Crawley belied a total lack of confidence to finish 69 not out, smashing a four through the covers to seal a remarkable win in a match which lasted only 146 overs in all.

Coincidentally, the first innings of both teams took up only 36.2 overs, as England - having dismissed South Africa for 118 after Ollie Robinson's 5-49 - failed to bat the tourists out of the match, making just 158 for a lead of 40.

Even by what had gone on previously this summer, this was cricket on steroids - although it was no doubt affected by the match situation.

Indeed, if this Test had started on time, South Africa's second innings would have begun about an hour after tea on day one.

There had been no play possible on the opening day due to heavy and persistent rain in south London - and, that night, Queen Elizabeth II died.

Day two was understandably cancelled - and, amid rumours that the match might be abandoned altogether, the decision to continue came as something of a surprise.

Nevertheless, the third day began with a full house impeccably observing a minute (and more) of silence ahead of the anthems, including an emotional rendition of God Save The King.

And, for these pre-match commemorations alone, it was pretty much unanimously agreed that the tough call to carry on with the show on Saturday had been justified.

Onto the cricket - and the decider had effectively been reduced to a three-day match, although that had been adequate time in the first two Tests at Lord's and Old Trafford for the teams to achieve an innings win each.

So it proved again.

Now, this fine victory at the Oval meant England triumphed in as many as six Tests in a summer for only the second time ever, with Michael Vaughan's vintage winning all seven against New Zealand and the West Indies in 2004.

The Black Caps were England's first victims again this year as a reinvigorated side under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes swept past the 2021 World Test champions with a trio of remarkable chases.

Jonny Bairstow starred as fourth innings targets of 277, 299 and 296 were reached with a ridiculous amount of ease.

Indeed, the chase in the second Test at Trent Bridge, in which Bairstow hit 136 off just 92 balls, produced some of the most ferocious hitting out ever seen in red-ball cricket.

Next came India who returned to these shores for the fifth Test of a series which should have concluded more than nine months previously in September 2021.

Instead, the Indians returned home with a 2-1 lead but one match left to play, citing concerns of playing on with COVID-19 in the camp after a member of their support staff tested positive.

Not that such concern stopped most of the India players from gearing up for the money-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) which started only five days later.

More fool them really, though. In the summer of 2021 in the slowly dying embers of the Joe Root tenure, India had faced a timid England team who had refused a chase of 273 in 70 overs against New Zealand.

However, while England spent most of the rearranged match being outplayed, they fearlessly took on a target of 378 on the evening of day four and the morning of day five.

Alex Lees and Crawley set up the audacious attempt with a century opening stand before Root (142 not out) and Bairstow (114 not out) thumped England to a record fourth innings chase.

And so, from a dreadful record of one win in 17 Tests, the new Stokes and McCullum regime had made it four wins out of four with a quartet of magnificent fourth innings displays.

In the final part of this summer Test trilogy, though, South Africa brought England back down to earth.

Arriving to these shores for bilateral series for the first time since 2017, the Proteas promptly drew the One Day International series, won the T20 International series, and then thrashed England in the first Test.

Their innings win at Lord's came despite the tourists only making 326 from their own effort as England crumbled twice on the first and third days - although  undoubtedly, skipper Dean Elgar had made the best of a good toss.

Elgar had the chance to seal the series in the second match at Old Trafford after guessing correctly again - but, under slate grey Manchester skies, he bizarrely opted to bat.

By lunch, his team had been reduced to 77-5 - and, shortly after tea, they were all out for 151.

Predictably, England also struggled at first, and were reduced to 147-5, before Stokes (103) and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes (113*) both took charge.

England declared on 415-9 - and the fast-bowlers again made light work of South Africa to bowl them out for just 179.

Regrettably then, none of the matches resembled a close contest - yet it is far more regrettable that again South Africa will not play another Test in England for several years.

In fact, according to the 2023-27 Future Tours Programme - announced recently by the International Cricket Council (ICC) - the South Africans will only play the longest form of the game on 28 occasions in total during the next cycle.

Of course, much room in the cricket calendar is now dedicated to the glut of T20 leagues popping up around the world.

In particular, the monstrous IPL has been extended to 74 days between the last week of March and the first week of June, a period in which no meaningful international cricket will be played.

Meanwhile, the English Cricket Board (ECB) - in frustration at their missed opportunity of properly monetising a T20 competition - continues to ram the strange Hundred format down the throat of everyone.

Like the IPL, the Hundred will have its own window in August and likewise the Big Bash in Australia in January.

For the record, other short-form franchise tournaments are: the Pakistan Super League, the Caribbean Premier League, the Lanka Premier League, the Super Smash in New Zealand, the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates, and the CSA T20, a new entrant from South Africa.

Now, in actual fact, proponents of the Test format can relax, or at least the fans of the so-called Big Three can - that is, Australia, England, and India - but, beyond those three countries, the rest of the world is being left behind.

The trio will all play five-match series against each other, a total of 30 matches - and, in the other 143 Tests planned for the cycle, 61 will feature one of them (42.6%).

Still more in peril than Test cricket is the future of the One Day International which threatens to become a forgotten format - despite the Cricket World Cup having been played on this basis since 1975.

England Test skipper Stokes retired from ODIs in July, and he made no secret of the reasoning behind his decision.

"Three formats are just unsustainable for me now... I feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us," he said.

Yet, only just over three years ago, he was part of the team which lifted the World Cup.

Of course, Stokes's decision is understandable from little more than a cursory glance at the calendar.

Next week, England's men begin their winter season with seven T20 Internationals against Pakistan ahead of three T20 matches against Australia.

Then, an international T20 World Cup is set to begin next month in Australia, less than 12 months since the previous tournament - and there is a further edition is scheduled for the summer of 2024.

In the meantime, before this year is out, England face the Aussies in three ODIs before a return to Pakistan for three Tests in December.

For sure, the relentless international cricket carousel never stops for long.

	ENGLAND v NEW ZEALAND •   England won the series 3-0
2-6 June	England 141 & 279-5 beat New Zealand 132 & 285 by five wickets • England run-rates: 3.29 & 3.54	Lord's
10-14 June	England 539 & 299-5 beat New Zealand 553 & 284 by five wickets • England run-rates: 4.20 & 5.98	Trent Bridge
23-27 June	England 360 & 296-3 beat New Zealand 329 & 326 by seven wickets • England run-rates: 5.37 & 5.45	Headingley
	ENGLAND v INDIA •   Series drawn 2-2
1-5 July	England 284 & 378-3 beat India 416 & 245 by seven wickets • England run rates: 4.62 & 4.93	Edgbaston
	ENGLAND v SOUTH AFRICA •   England won the series 2-1
17-19 August	South Africa 326 beat England 165 & 149 by an innings and 12 runs • England run-rates: 3.67 & 3.96	Lord's
26-28 August	England 415-9d bt South Africa 151 & 179 by an innings and 85 runs • England run-rate: 3.89	Old Trafford
8-10 September	England 158 & 130-1 beat South Africa 118 & 169 by nine wickets • England run-rates: 4.35 & 5.78	The Oval

That was the week that was

👑

BRITAIN is still officially in mourning today following the death of Queen Elizabeth II at at age of 96 at Balmoral Castle on Thursday.

At 70 years and 214 days, Elizabeth II had the longest reign of any British monarch and the longest recorded of any female head of state in history.

Her death was announced by Buckingham Palace at 18:30 BST on 8 September 2022.

Immediately, upon that announcement, her eldest son - the former Prince Charles who is now King Charles III - was elevated to the throne.

And, yesterday, King Charles III was formally proclaimed as such at St James Palace in London with gun salutes fired in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London.

The night before, on Friday, His Majesty addressed the nation for the first time as King, and referred to his "darling Mama".

In his speech, he said: "As you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you.

"Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May ‘flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.’"

It is undeniable that Queen Elizabeth II lived a remarkable life. Born in 1926, a part of the Greatest Generation, she was a teenager while World War II raged.

Yet, already by then, her destiny had undergone a massive change. In 1936, her father King George VI unexpectedly acceded to the throne following abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII.

Suddenly, the then Princess Elizabeth had become the heir presumptive.

In February 1952, the Queen's father, King George VI, died of coronary thrombosis - and so, at the age of 25, Queen Elizabeth acceded to the throne.

Over a year later, on 2 June 1953 following a seven-month round-the-world tour which encompassed 13 countries and covered more than 40,000 miles, Her Majesty was coronated at Westminster Abbey.

Between her accession and her death, the Queen appointed 15 Prime Ministers, the last of which - Liz Truss - only took office on Tuesday (see below).

Undoubtedly then, the Queen enjoyed a life of privilege. Equally, though, Elizabeth II was clearly committed to her role right to the very end of her life.

As mentioned, it is not a position in life to which she was destined - and yet she performed her many duties with a great deal of decorum and dedication.

Nevertheless, this correspondent certainly would not describe himself as a Royalist.

Instinctively, the curious idea of a monarchy - though providing the background or often more than just the background to almost all of British history - surely would not be the starting point if a society were being built from scratch.

Also, the continued popular reference to the current Royal Family as The Firm is a discomforting mafia-like term - and the Royals themselves have done little to dispel it.

More recently, on this note, the extreme level of protection offered to Prince Andrew against the sex abuse allegations made about him in the United States hardly reflects well upon the Royal Family.

And, as far as the Americans are concerned, Prince Andrew does have a case to answer...

Beyond that, King Charles, while Prince, has not been slow to voice his opinion - and, through letters to ministers, effectively attempted tried to influence policy on matters as widespread as farming, urban planning, architecture, education, and even protecting the Patagonian toothfish.

Now, the King has the right to an opinion obviously - but the whole basis of British democracy is that the monarch does not get involved in any way in the political issues of the day.

The anathema that is the weekly meeting between the monarch and the Prime Minister will continue undoubtedly - and it seems unlikely the King and Ms Truss will merely discuss the weather or how the cricket is going.

Nevertheless, at this stage in history, supporters of a Republic in Britain need to accept the country is simply not going to wake up one day and have revolution.

Right now, there are far more obvious fights for those with left-wing politics to pick. For a start, the cost-of-living crisis thanks to a 12-year-long Conservative government.

Sadly, some of the responses on social media about the death of Queen Elizabeth II have done nothing except harm their cause.

After all, there is no need to indulge in flag-waving mania to respect the death of a great historical figure.

This has been a sad moment for the country. It is a moment which needs stillness, reflection, and mourning.

RIP Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), aged 96. Reign: 6 February 1952 to 8 September 2022.

PRIME MINISTERS IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Winston Churchill	Conservative	1951-1955
Anthony Eden	Conservative	1955-1957
Harold Macmillan	Conservative	1957-1963
Alec Douglas-Home	Conservative	1963-1964
Harold Wilson	Labour	1964-1970 1974-1976
Edward Heath	Conservative	1970-1974
James Callaghan	Labour	1976-1979
Margaret Thatcher	Conservative	1979-1991
John Major	Conservative	1991-1997
Tony Blair	Labour	1997-2007
Gordon Brown	Labour	2007-2010
David Cameron	Conservative	2010-2016
Theresa May	Conservative	2016-2019
Boris Johnson	Conservative	2019-2022
Elizabeth Truss	Conservative	2022-

EARLIER last week, Elizabeth Truss became the third new Conservative Prime Minister in just over six years after defeating Rishi Sunak in a fractious leadership election.

Ms Truss took 81,326 votes (57.4%) against Mr Sunak's tally of 60,399 (42.6%), and therefore became only the third woman to hold the highest office in United Kingdom politics after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

The announcement of Ms Truss as the new leader came as the House of Commons reconvened following its six-week summer recess.

In her victory speech, the 47-year-old said: “We shouldn’t be daunted by the challenges we face, as strong as the storm may be. I know that the British people are stronger.

“Our country was built by people who can get things done. We have huge reserves of talent, of energy, of determination. I am confident that together we can ride out the storm.

“We can rebuild our economy and we can become the modern, brilliant Britain I know we can be.”

Now, of course, the result itself was widely expected - even though Mr Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, had been more popular among the current cohort of Conservative MPs.

By contrast, Ms Truss only just squeaked past Penny Mordaunt in the last of those five votes held in Westminster between 13 July and 20 July.

Perhaps, though, it is easiest to sum up this contest with the conclusion that Mr Sunak's weaknesses were far greater than Ms Truss's strengths.

While Chancellor, Mr Sunak raised the tax burden on the UK to its highest level, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, since the country was still in recovery from the Second World War in the 1950s.

This included an increase in the tax take from some of the poorest workers through a rise in National Insurance rate to 13.25%, a decision which broke a manifesto promise made in 2019.

A subsequent rise in the lower earnings threshold to £12,570, bringing it in line with the Personal Allowance for income tax, has eased the strain a little.

But, in March 2022, the Office for Budget Responsibility published a forecast which stated the UK population would suffer the "biggest fall in living standards on record".

And, just last month, consultancy firm Cornwall Insight warned that typical energy bills could hit £4,266 per year in 2023 - with the government regulator Ofgem also admitting there will be a steep rise.

In short then, Mr Sunak - even accounting for some difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic - had a pretty poor record to defend.

After all, the 42-year-old Richmond (Yorks) MP, among other huge government splurges, authorised the outlay of £37 billion on a test-and-trace system which was not fit for purpose.

Certainly, that so-called magic money tree seemed to exist for the Conservatives - and their donors - at the most of convenient times.

Then again, Mr Sunak also failed because he ruined his reputation among some die-hard Tory members when he resigned as Chancellor and prompted the series of events which brought down Boris Johnson's premiership.

This was despite Mr Sunak having previously consistently defended Mr Johnson's behaviour - and, moreover, also been given a fixed penalty notice by the Metropolitan Police for a Partygate incident.

Ultimately, though, it was a similar narrative to when Ed Miliband was considered to have figuratively stabbed his brother David in the back by standing in - and then winning - the Labour leadership contest in 2010.

Now, Mr Sunak has learned the hard way that there is only so far that a sharp suit and cheesy smile can take you - whereas Ms Truss, by her own admission, is far more awkward in her presentation.

However, Ms Truss emphasised her working class upbringing in Paisley, Scotland and Roundhay, Leeds - and her self-perception that she succeeded in spite of the state education system rather than because of it.

Of course, the South West Norfolk MP - despite her unashamed efforts to embrace the same style as Mrs Thatcher - has always failed to mention she went to school in the 1980s when her idol was in charge.

Indeed, Ms Truss is a terribly twisted muddle of contradictions.

A former member of the Liberal Democrats as a teenager, Ms Truss declared yesterday: "I [have] campaigned as a Conservative and I will govern as a Conservative."

But, while it is fair enough to consider that a person's politics can change over time, there was certainly a far greater ungainliness in the more recent shift in Ms Truss's position from ardent Remainer to committed Brexiteer.

Furthermore, even during the course of this leadership campaign, there have been moments of baffling inconsistency.

On 2 August, Ms Truss announced a saving to the Treasury of £8.8 billion by pledging to cut the pay of public sector workers in roles outside of London and the south-east of England - then, less than 24 hours later, took the policy off the table.

Similarly, on the energy crisis, Ms Truss firstly appeared to rule out direct cash “handouts” as a way of helping people affected by the cost-of-living crisis - before, a few days later, her supporters again claimed her comments had been misinterpreted.

It brought to mind the quote which is commonly attributed to the comedian Groucho Marx: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others."

For the millions of people feeling the pinch already, though, their situation is no laughing matter - and now is certainly not the time for another Prime Minister who obfuscates on policy and avoids scrutiny.

At the moment, the opinion polls show Labour ahead - and some surveys have produced a lead which would result in the party gaining its first majority in a General Election since 2005.

Then again, Labour has been here before - most recently in 2012 and 2013 when, against the backdrop of the coalition government's policy of austerity, Mr Miliband enjoyed double-digit poll leads over David Cameron.

Of course, the political landscape now is completely different now compared to what it was like a decade ago, on several counts.

Back then, support for the Lib Dems was massively in decline whereas, at present, they are advancing again against the Conservative in seats in the south and south-west of England.

Also, around 10 years ago, Nigel Farage's UK Independence Party were still polling relatively handsomely, regularly at around 15% and sometimes higher.

But, with Brexit done, the vast majority of these votes are already back in the Tories' column.

The good news for Ms Truss is that only a small percentage of the 2019 Conservative vote has switched directly to Labour - and there is certainly no massive swathe of excitement at the prospect of a government led by Sir Keir Starmer.

For now, Mr Starmer remains cautious, and this timidity is neatly demonstrated by the extent of his own energy policy which would prevent the energy price cap rising through this winter - but which provides no long-term strategic vision beyond this.

Instead, a far more significant proportion of the 2019 Conservative supporters has simply withdrawn their vote altogether.

The great unknown is whether this withdrawal of support will persist at the next general election or whether this period marks the return of the "shy Tory" factor.

In 1992 and 2015 elections, the Conservatives pulled off surprise majorities by tapping into this latent source of votes - and perhaps the ranks of the undecided are waiting to see just how Ms Truss will fair inside Number 10.

Undoubtedly, though, the apathy among Conservatives right now is very real, with more than 30,000 members opting not to cast a ballot for either candidate.

As such, Ms Truss was elected on the back of the support of less than 32% of her own MPs in the fifth ballot and less than half (47.1%) of her own party members.

Even without taking into account the miniscule size of the overall electorate in comparison to the country as a whole, it really is not much of a mandate.

CONSERVATIVE PARTY CABINET

	Elected	Constituency	Department
Elizabeth Truss	2010	South West Norfolk	Prime Minister
Kwasi Kwarteng	2010	Spelthorne	Chancellor of the Exchequer
James Cleverly	2015	Braintree	Foreign Office
Suella Braverman	2015	Fareham	Home Office
Therese Coffey	2010	Suffolk Coastal	Health | Deputy Prime Minister
Ben Wallace	2005	Wyre and Preston North	Defence
Kit Malthouse	2015	North West Hampshire	Education
Brandon Lewis	2010	Great Yarmouth	Justice
Nadhim Zahawi	2010	Stratford-on-Avon	Equalities
Simon Clarke	2017	Middlesbrough S and E Cleveland	Housing and Communities
Jacob Rees-Mogg	2010	North East Somerset	Business and Energy
Alok Sharma	2010	Reading West	President of COP26
Kemi Badenoch	2017	Saffron Walden	International Trade
Chloe Smith	2009	Norwich North	Work and Pensions
Ranil Jayawardena	2015	North East Hampshire	Environment, Food, Rural Affairs
Anne-Marie Trevelyan	2015	Berwick-upon-Tweed	Transport
Chris Heaton-Harris	2010	Daventry	Northern Ireland
Alister Jack	2017	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland
Sir Robert Buckland	2010	South Swindon	Wales
Michelle Donelan	2015	Chippenham	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Lord Nicholas True	-	-	Leader of the House of Lords
Penny Mordaunt	2010	Portsmouth North	Leader of the House of Commons
Jake Berry	2010	Rossendale and Darwen	Party Chairman

Premier League preview: Haaland signing sends Man City clear

PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW 2022-23

▪️ ARSENAL @Arsenal

Last season 5th FA Cup Third round League Cup Semi finals

Last major trophy FA Cup 2020

Ownership Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (USA)

Head coach Mikel Arteta (since December 2019)

New signings Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos, Matt Turner, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko

Arsenal have reacted to missing out on Champions League football for a sixth season in a row with a splurge of transfer activity this summer. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko arrive from Manchester City while Fabio Vieira, from Porto, and Marquinhos, from Sao Paolo, freshen up the Gunners' attacking options following the departure of Alexandre Lacazette. Certainly, head coach Mikel Arteta cannot complain at the level of investment which, at £119 million, is the highest in the Premier League. At the same time, though, many Arsenal supporters are questioning if the club is backing the right man. Following three defeats on the spin to start last season, Arsenal were always playing catch-up - but, any time it looked as if they might consolidate a place in the top four, they hit another sticky patch such as the four defeats out of five in March and April. Arteta was regularly indebted to his younger players like Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Sako and Emile Smith Rowe - but a lack of consistency comes naturally with youth and further successive away defeats inside four days in May to Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United confirmed the end for the Gunners' top four hopes. The summer signings should relieve some of the pressure on the young Gunners players - but that pressure now lies firmly on Arteta to deliver. 

Prediction [7th]

▪️ ASTON VILLA @AVFCOfficial

Last season 14th FA Cup Third round League Cup Third round

Last major trophy League Cup 1996

Ownership Nasser Sawiris (EGY) and Wes Edens (USA)

Head coach Steven Gerrard (since November 2021)

New signings Philippe Coutinho, Diego Carlos, Robin Olsen, Boubacar Kamara, Ludwig Augustinsson*

Aston Villa lost exactly half of their Premier League matches last season as early progress following the appointment of Steven Gerrard in November proved to be something of mirage. Gerrard won his first two games in charge of the Villans to lift his side up to 13th - but, in the 25 matches which followed, Villa won eight, drew five and lost 12 to finish in 14th, three places lower than in 2020-21. Home form was particularly poor - there were eight defeats in B6 alone and the Holte End witnessed just two league wins in the whole of the second half of last season. This summer, Diego Carlos - a commanding centre-back - has arrived from Sevilla, Boubacar Kamara will add some steel to the midfield - and, with Philippe Coutinho signing permanently following a successful loan spell since January, there is much to be said for Gerrard's ability to attract top signings to the second city. For the most part, the appeal of working with the 42-year-old no doubt still largely owes itself to his playing days. Nevertheless, Gerrard's record at Rangers looks better with every passing week and he has also stamped his authority on the Villa Park dressing room by deciding to remove the captain's armband from the error-prone Tyrone Mings and hand it instead to John McGinn.

Prediction [8th]

▪️ BOURNEMOUTH @afcbournemouth

Last season 2nd in Championship (promoted) FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Second round

Last major trophy None

Ownership Maxim Demin (RUS)

Head coach Scott Parker (since June 2021)

New signings Ryan Fredericks, Joe Rothwell, Marcus Tavernier

Bournemouth are back, with the foundations of only their second ever promotion to the top flight laid between August and October when the Cherries enjoyed a club record unbeaten start to a season of 15 matches. Thereafter, though, the campaign became a real slog and three matches without scoring in April, including a woeful defeat to West Bromwich Albion, threatened to land Scott Parker's men in the playoffs. Indeed, it took until the penultimate match to seal the deal with a nervy 1-0 win over fellow-promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest - and Premier League teams simply will not allow a team to get away with such profligacy. Dominic Solanke - once a promising prospect at Chelsea - will lead the line but, just like head coach Parker, he is unproven at the top level. Whatever happens, at least, Parker will no doubt appear sharply-dressed on the touchline in a tailored suit. But, with no real head-turning arrivals to the south coast, the smart money will be on Bournemouth to go down.

Prediction [20th]

▪️ BRENTFORD @BrentfordFC

Last season 13th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Quarter finals

Last major trophy None

Ownership Matthew Benham (ENG)

Head coach Thomas Frank (since October 2018)

New signings Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter, Thomas Strakosha, Yehor Yarmolyuk, Ben Mee

Brentford were dropping like a stone when they made the bold decision to bring Christian Eriksen in from the cold, only seven months after the Danish midfielder has suffered a cardiac arrest while playing at Euro 2020+1. True, the Bees had little to lose with that particular roll of the dice - an immediate return to the Championship looked more and more likely as early-season optimism faded in a bleak mid-winter run of 4 points out of 33 between Boxing Day and February. Nevertheless, having sparked a remarkable turnaround in form to secure safety, it feels rather galling that the 30-year-old will now turn out for Manchester United. Instead, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank must head back to the drawing board and attempt to plot a different escape route - but, unfortunately for Frank, his realistic options are extremely limited, perhaps merely just to keeping it tight at the back while hoping Ivan Toney enjoys a purple patch or two in front of goal.

Prediction [19th]

▪️ BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION @OfficialBHAFC

Last season 9th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Fourth round

Last major trophy None

Ownership Tony Bloom (ENG)

Head coach Graham Potter (since May 2019)

New signing Julio Enciso

Brighton & Hove Albion achieved their highest league finish in club history last season as a blinding start and strong finish brought a placing in the top half. The Seagulls took 15 points out of their first 18 and finished by taking 18 points out of their last 24, a run which included a club record top-flight triumph with a stunning 4-0 win over Manchester United. But, in between the autumn and the spring, Graham Potter's outfit reverted to their long-held reputation as draw specialists with eight coming in 10 matches between late-September and early-December. A more worrying sequence of five successive defeats in February and March even threatened to suck Albion into the battle to avoid relegation - so, in other words, Brighton's historic finishing position hardly tells the whole story of their season. As ever, the Seagulls struggled to convert their neat possession into goals - and this campaign promises to be another exercise in frustration.
Prediction [13th]

▪️ CHELSEA @ChelseaFC

Last season 3rd FA Cup Runners-up League Cup Runners-up Champions League Quarter finals

Last major trophy Champions League 2021

Ownership Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital (USA)

Head coach Thomas Tuchel (since January 2021)

New signings Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Carney Chukwuemeka

Chelsea were top of the Premier League on 1 December after beating Watford - but the 3-2 defeat to West Ham United three days later hit the Blues hard, and Thomas Tuchel's team never recovered the sort of consistency required to fight for the Premier League title. Losing both domestic Cup finals on penalties to Liverpool ended up adding to the frustration - but, as the season wore on, the football at Stamford Bridge took a back seat. The brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine led to former owner Roman Abramovich having his assets frozen - and left Chelsea unable even to sell a mug in the club shop. Officially at least, Abramovich has now cleared off and the Blues - now under the control of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital - have been able to operate quite normally this summer. Raheem Sterling has made a shock move from Manchester City for £47.5 million while centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly arrives from Napoli for £33 million as Chelsea seek to retain their place in the top four which they have now held for the last four seasons. Perhaps crucially, though, Tuchel lacks an out-and-out goalscorer - Mason Mount finished top of the charts last time at the club with just 11 in the league, and this is an omission which could easily come back to cost the West London club.

Prediction [5th]

▪️ CRYSTAL PALACE @CPFC

Last season 12th FA Cup Semi finals League Cup Second round

Last major trophy None

Ownership Steve Parish (ENG)

Head coach Patrick Vieira (since July 2021)

New signings Sam Johnstone, Cheick Doucoure, Chris Richards

Crystal Palace have given themselves a platform to build on after a 12th-placed finish and a second visit to Wembley in the FA Cup in six years. Most significantly, the Eagles' attacking presence - which was for so long restricted only to Wilfried Zaha - now extends to an array of talent including Zaha, youth talent Eberechi Eze, and French pair Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta. Patrick Vieira has overseen the transformation as Palace finally tried something new in the Selhurst Park dug-out following a run of managers which - barring five disastrous matches in 2017 under Frank De Boer - reads: Ian Holloway, Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock, Alan Pardew, Sam Allardyce and Roy Hodgson. Frustratingly for Vieira, Palace were prone to too many draws, finishing the season with 15 in all, with 11 of those score draws. The Eagles held a lead at some stage in seven of those 11 matches so the area for improvement is fairly obvious. Any such progress will have to come without the effective Conor Gallagher, though, as he has returned to his parent club Chelsea for 2022-23.

Prediction [11th]

▪️ EVERTON @Everton

Last season 16th FA Cup Quarter finals League Cup Third round

Last major trophy FA Cup 1995

Ownership Farhad Moshiri (IRN)

Head coach Frank Lampard (since January 2022)

New signings James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil, Ruben Vinagre*

Frank Lampard may have kept Everton up in May following the ill-starred tenure of former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez - but the 44-year-old will not be sitting comfortably heading into the new season. In fact, Lampard is currently favourite to be the first Premier League boss to leave their post - and it is not difficult to work out why. The Toffees took just 10 points on the road in 2021-22 - and only four of them came in the nine away matches under Lampard. Effectively, Everton retained their top-flight status for a 69th consecutive season on the back of some strong form at Goodison Park from Richarlison and a bit of graft from youngster Anthony Gordon. Richarlison has now left for Tottenham Hotspur with his replacement Dwight McNeil arriving on the back of a terrible campaign at Burnley. In fairness, the goal-threat provided by Dominic Calvert-Lewin should be enough for Everton to survive as usual - but it also seems likely the cash-strapped Merseyside club will reach the finishing line in the spring with yet another new face in the dugout.

Prediction [16th]

▪️ FULHAM @FulhamFC

Last season 1st in Championship (promoted) FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Third round

Last major trophy None

Ownership Shahid Khan (USA)

Head coach Marco Silva (since July 2021)

New signings Joao Palhinha, Andreas Pereira, Kevin Mbabu, Bernd Leno, Manor Solomon*

The yo-yo existence for Fulham continues unabated, with the spring bringing a third promotion from the Championship out of their last three seasons at that level. But, while the promotion campaigns of 2018 and 2020 concluded with success in the playoffs, this time the Cottagers return under Marco Silva on the back of a convincing Championship title win in which they tallied 90 points and scored 106 goals. Indeed, Aleksandar Mitrovic helped himself to 43 of them personally to break a record held since 1993 by Guy Whittingham for the highest scoring English league season in the current 46-match format. Now, in his past forays in the top flight, the Serbian has struggled with his discipline - or, in the case of 2020-21, struggled full-stop - but he arrives in the Premier League this time with more confidence than ever. The departure this summer of attacking foil Fabio Carvalho to Liverpool is disappointing, if understandable - but, even without the Portuguese forward, Fulham still now carry enough threat to score when on top during games, something which was sorely lacking in their most recent survival attempt.

Prediction [14th]

▪️ LEEDS UNITED @LUFC

Last season 14th FA Cup Third round League Cup Fourth round

Last major trophy First Division 1991-92

Ownership Andrea Radrizzani (ITA)

Head coach Jesse Marsch (since February 2022)

New signings Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra, Sonny Perkins

Leeds United should be worried, really worried. Having survived by the skin of their teeth last season on the final day, the Whites have lost two of their better players this summer as Manchester City and Barcelona came sniffing around Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha respectively. Marc Roca - signed from Bayern Munich - covers the loss of Phillips from midfield but Jesse Marsch's men will sorely miss the skill and directness of the talented Brazilian. Following the departure of the enigmatic Argentine Marcelo Bielsa at the end of February, Marsch did pretty well to be fair, taking 15 points from the last 10 games to keep Premier League football in this part of Yorkshire despite a heavy dose of second season syndrome. However, with the squad now still weaker again, the American faces an even tougher survival challenge in his full Premier League campaign.

Prediction [18th]

▪️ LEICESTER CITY @LCFC

Last season 8th FA Cup Fourth Round League Cup Quarter finals Europa League Group stage

Last major trophy FA Cup 2021

Ownership Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (THA)

Head coach Brendan Rodgers (since February 2019)

New signings None

There is a concerned mood around the King Power Stadium ahead of the new season despite the eighth place in May making it five top half finishes out of six since the Foxes' remarkable Premier League title win in 2015-16. The concern is understandable, though - displays throughout last season were far from convincing, particularly from a defensive perspective, as rather neatly demonstrated by the concession of 16 goals from corners alone. The Foxes' set-piece weakness contributed to Brendan Rodgers's men dropping 21 points from winning positions - and, with 34 matches played, Leicester were floundering down in 14th. It was only a late string of good results, in easy fixtures, against Norwich City, Watford and Southampton, which pushed Leicester into the top half - and a lack of as much as a single signing this summer has done nothing to allay the worries in this part of the East Midlands. With Kasper Schmeichel off to Nice, Leicester have spent most of the transfer window warding off interest in members of their team such as Wesley Fofana, Youri Tielemans, and James Maddison. Of those three, the loss of Maddison would serve as an especially critical blow following his efforts towards the back end of last season - and, without his talisman, it would be difficult to see Rodgers avoiding an early exit.

Prediction [12th]

▪️ LIVERPOOL @LFC

Last season 2nd FA Cup Winners League Cup Winners Champions League Runners-up

Last major trophy FA Cup 2022

Ownership Fenway Sports Group (USA)

Head coach Jürgen Klopp (since October 2015)

New signings Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay, Fabio Carvalho

Liverpool drew first blood this season in the glorified friendly that is the Community Shield - but it will not mean much at all if the Reds miss out on the biggest prizes again in 2023. From a possible historic quadruple, the Reds had to settle for success in the two domestic cups only, with both finals decided on penalties after finishing 0-0. Much of the summer break was taken up by the rumour that the prolific Mo Salah was set to move on - and, with Sadio Mane already off to Bayern Munich, Jurgen Klopp will be pleased that contract negotiations with the Egyptian were successful. Even strong teams undergo transformation, of course - and Darwin Nunez has been signed from Benfica for the small matter of £65 million, while January signing Luis Diaz will look to build upon his encouraging start to life at Anfield. At the back, Virgil Van Dijk remains the Reds' most indispensible player - while the full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson will again provide the attacking width. It is a very defined way of playing and extremely effective when done well. However, it can also leave the defence exposed - and fine lines are often the deciding factor in the biggest matches.

Prediction [2nd]

▪️ MANCHESTER CITY @ManCity

Last season Champions FA Cup Semi finals League Cup Fourth round Champions League Semi finals

Last major trophy Premier League 2021-22

Ownership Abu Dhabi United Group (UAE)

Head coach Pep Guardiola (since July 2016)

New signings Erling Haaland, Stefan Ortega, Kalvin Phillips

Much was made last summer of the failure of Manchester City to prise Harry Kane away from Tottenham Hotspur as Pep Guardiola prepared his team for life after Sergio Aguero - then, to add insult to injury, Spurs beat Man City on the opening day. Yet, despite that early setback, the defending champions stormed into a 12-point lead on the back of a run of 43 points out of 45 between November and February. Gradually, though, Liverpool ate into the advantage to the extent that only one point separated the teams heading into the final day. Certainly, it was a nervy run-in - Man City had trailed 2-0 at half time before coming back to draw level against West Ham United in their penultimate match, then fell 2-0 behind again to Aston Villa on the final day. Ilkay Gundogan inspired an amazing five-minute turnaround to make it four Premier League titles in five years at the Etihad Stadium, but the feeling persisted that Guardiola's men would have made life so much easier for themselves if they had signed Kane or another big-name forward. This year, Erling Haaland arrived nice and early - and, despite a difficult debut in the Community Shield at the weekend, the quality of service from Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Premier League player of the season Kevin De Bruyne should help the 22-year-old Norwegian settle in quickly.

Prediction [Champions]

▪️ MANCHESTER UNITED @ManUtd

Last season 6th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Third round Champions League Last 16

Last major trophy Europa League 2017

Ownership Joel Glazer and Avram Glazer (USA)

Head coach Erik ten Hag (since May 2022)

New signings Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Tom Huddlestone

Manchester United finished last season with a meek 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace for a sixth consecutive away league defeat for the first time since March 1981. This was also the first time the Red Devils failed to end a league campaign with a positive goal difference since 1989-90. New manager Erik ten Hag, who led Ajax Amsterdam to the Dutch title in May, has said the job is not a risk to his reputation - and there are already promising signs that the 52-year-old can succeed where the other five permanent or interim managers appointed since the Sir Alex Ferguson era have failed. The Old Trafford faithful seemingly will only settle for the return of the Premier League - and ten Haag's transfer business appears solid. For example, Christian Eriksen showed at Brentford last season that he has lost none of his magic, while 24-year-old Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez could be a rock at the back for years to come. At the same time, though, the Red Devils have now fallen too far behind their city rivals Manchester City and eternal rivals Liverpool to be considered as serious title challengers in 2022-23.

Prediction [4th]

▪️ NEWCASTLE UNITED @NUFC

Last season 11th FA Cup Third round League Cup Second round

Last major trophy UEFA (Fairs) Cup 1969

Ownership Public Investment Fund (KSA)

Head coach Eddie Howe (since November 2021)

New signings Matt Targett, Nick Pope, Sven Botman

Newcastle United made Premier League history last season by becoming the first top division team since Sheffield United in 1990-91 to fail to win any of their first 14 matches and still stay up. Even as late as January, when the Magpies suffered their latest FA Cup embarrassment at home to Cambridge United, hopes of survival looked slim - especially when Joao Pedro towered over Jamaal Lascelles at the Gallowgate End to head in a stoppage-time equaliser for Watford. But January also brought a first transfer window under new Saudi Arabia-backed ownership. Already action had been taken in October to replace the ruinous Steve Bruce with former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe - and near enough a new defence was next to be sorted. Matt Targett's loan from Aston Villa was followed by the signings of Kieran Trippier and Blyth-born Dan Burn - but it was Bruno Guimaraes, a £33.3 million arrival from Lyon, who really got Tyneside buzzing. Howe's refreshed outfit won 12 times in the second half of the season and took 37 points in 18 matches to find a top-half finish only just beyond them. There have been further defensive reinforcements this summer with the permanent signing of Targett and the arrival of Sven Botman, while Nick Pope will provide competition for Martin Dubravka between the sticks. However, there are also concerns about a lack of depth up front and the continued over-reliance on injury-prone Callum Wilson has somewhat tempered expectations on Tyneside.

Prediction [9th]

▪️ NOTTINGHAM FOREST @NFFC

Last season 4th in Championship (promoted) FA Cup Quarter finals League Cup Second round

Last major trophy League Cup 1990

Ownership Evangelos Marinakis (GRE)

Head coach Steve Cooper (since September 2021)

New signings Taiwo Awoniyi, Giulian Biancone, Moussa Niakhate, Omar Richards, Neco Williams, Wayne Hennessey, Brandon Aguilera, Harry Toffolo, Lewis O'Brien, Jesse Lingard, Orel Mangala, Dean Henderson*

A big welcome back to the Premier League for Nottingham Forest who are gearing up for a first season in the top flight in the 21st Century. When Forest were last among the elite, Tony Blair was still Prime Minister and Bill Clinton was US President - and, in the meantime, the twice former European Champions even dropped to the third tier for three seasons between 2005 and 2008. Only last year, another visit to that level looked a distinct possibility with Forest taking just a single point from their first seven games under Chris Hughton. But the arrival of Steve Cooper brought about a massive turnaround as Forest then won 23 and lost only six of the following 39 matches to qualify for the playoffs. All four of the Tricky Trees' previous end-of-season escapades had ended in failure - but Cooper's side defied this record, winning promotion by beating Huddersfield Town at Wembley. Surprisingly, that was the last game for the club for goalkeeper Brice Samba who has moved to Lens in France, while Djed Spence - who was on loan from Middlesbrough - has opted instead to sign for Tottenham Hotspur. Highly-rated keeper Dean Henderson comes in on loan between the sticks and the signing of Jesse Lingard can be considered as something of a coup. The next 10 months will be a struggle at times but, if the City Ground becomes the fortress which it could be, Cooper can defy the odds again.

Prediction [17th]

▪️ SOUTHAMPTON @SouthamptonFC

Last season 15th FA Cup Quarter finals League Cup Fourth round

Last major trophy FA Cup 1976

Ownership Sport Republic (SRB)

Head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl (since December 2018)

New signings Gavin Bazunu, Mateusz Lis, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Romeo Lavia, Joe Aribo, Sekou Mara

For just how much longer are Southampton happy to tread water? The Saints' last five Premier League finishes have been 17th, 16th, a relatively creditable 11th, and then two 15th placings. Certainly, it is a long way off from the successive top seven places under Ronald Koeman in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Additionally, in the meantime, there have also been some humiliating results - the two 9-0s, at home to Leicester City in October 2019 and away to Manchester United in February 2021 - and a 6-0 home defeat to Chelsea last season. As such, it basically feels like Southampton are back to where they constantly were during the 1990s when club legend Matt Le Tissier did enough to save his team from the drop year after year. The equivalent contribution now comes from an arguably even more talented player, James Ward-Prowse - but this over-reliance on a single player is not exactly a sustainable approach.

Prediction [15th]

▪️ TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR @SpursOfficial

Last season 4th FA Cup Fifth round League Cup Semi finals Conference League Group stage

Last major trophy League Cup 2008

Ownership ENIC International Limited (ENG)

Head coach Antonio Conte (since November 2021)

New signings Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet* 

Without ever really threatening actually to win something, Tottenham Hotspur have actually had a pretty good last 52 weeks. Last August, Harry Kane snubbed Manchester City to stay in North London - then, at the start of November, Spurs finally got around to appointing the man who they should have brought in last summer when Antonio Conte's arrival put Nuno Espirito Santo out of his misery. In January, Spurs recruited well, signing Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus and agreeing an 18-month loan for Dejan Kulusevski from the Italian giants - and their influence, along with the goals of Kane and Premier League joint-top scorer Son Heung-min, pushed Conte's men over the line in the race for the fourth Champions League spot. This summer, there have been some more smart signings such as Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic who, despite being past his very best, still has much to offer - and, as such, Spurs head into a campaign in their strongest position for quite a few years. Of course, that does not necessarily mean Tottenham are actually going to win anything - after all, the cup defeats to Chelsea and Middlesbrough were, for rather different reasons, both as Spursy as it gets.

Prediction [3rd]

▪️ WEST HAM UNITED @WestHam

Last season 7th FA Cup Fifth round League Cup Quarter finals

Last major trophy FA Cup 1980

Ownership David Sullivan (WAL), Daniel Kretinsky (CZE) and David Gold (ENG)

Head coach David Moyes (since December 2019)

New signings Nayef Aguerd, Alphonse Areola, Flynn Downes, Gianluca Scamacca

West Ham United secured a second successive season of European football with a seventh-placed finish last season - but it looked as if it could have been so much better for David Moyes's men. Instead, the Hammers won only one of their last seven matches - against Norwich City - and consequently dropped away from the Champions League race into a Europa Conference spot. The Londoners' final chance of a Champions League place came via their run in the Europa League - but their semi final defeat ended badly with Moyes forced to apologise after his full-pelt volley at a ballboy in Frankfurt. But, despite that lack of discipline - and the lack of nerve shown by his team - the Scotsman has had some decent backing in the transfer market. Indeed, the arrivals of defender Nayef Aguerd from Rennes and the highly-rated striker Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuola should ensure the Moyes's men challenge towards the top end of the table again.

Prediction [6th]

▪️ WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS @Wolves

Last season 10th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Third round

Last major trophy League Cup 1980

Ownership Fosun International (CHN)

Head coach Bruno Lage (since June 2021)

New signings Hwang Hee-chan, Nathan Collins

Wolverhampton Wanderers finished last season with as many league defeats (17) as relegated Burnley after taking just eight points out of the last 36 - and so a promising first season for Bruno Lage at Molineux can be considered to have badly petered out. The reason behind it was obvious: a lack of goals. Wolves finished the 38-match league campaign with exactly one-per-game - and, sadly, Mexican striker Raul Jiminez has only shown odd glimpses of his previous form since his comeback from a horrific head injury in November 2020. Hwang Hee-chan produced some promising moments - and the Korean forward has now signed permanently from Red Bull Leipzig. Meanwhile, the retention so far of Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto will have the Old Gold safely in the middle of the pack once again.

Prediction [10th]

*refers to loan signing