[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-premier-league-gripes-2025-26":82,"category-counts-nav":94,"related-premier-league-gripes-2025-26":105},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":15,"badge":85,"author":86,"excerpt":87,"date":88,"readTime":89,"image":90,"imageAlt":83,"tags":91,"body":92,"_path":93},"Premier League’s Set-Piece Plague and More Season Gripes","premier-league-gripes-2025-26","Opinion","Alex Morgan","From set-piece mayhem to laughable kits and a forgotten video game, the 2025-26 Premier League season infuriated fans.","2026-06-10","2 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002Fa13fcff66aa9f672fa300ddf2cdd012aaf9fdb73\u002F0_0_5000_4000\u002Fmaster\u002F5000.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=cb15d425df271d7adcbeb3f30975ca06",[37],"## Set-Piece Circus\n\nThe 2025-26 Premier League season will be remembered for an avalanche of set-piece goals and the relentless assault of **long throws**. At times, the self-proclaimed best league in the world drowned in a torrent of **guileless ball-flinging** that turned matches into aerial bombardments.\n\nDefensive organization meant little when teams simply launched the ball into the box from every angle. The spectacle suffered.\n\n### The Long Throw Epidemic\n\nRory Delap’s ghost haunted every touchline. More teams than ever adopted the tactic, reducing intricate build-up play to a **game of human pinball**.\n\n- Throw-ins became glorified corners, with entire squads camped in the penalty area\n- Average aerial duels per game spiked, while passing sequences in the final third plummeted\n- Fans groaned as **30-second restarts** killed any rhythm\n\n> “It’s not about finding space anymore. It’s about finding the tallest man and hoping for a bounce.” — the prevailing sentiment among purists\n\n## Fashion Disasters and Digital Flops\n\nOff the pitch, the gripes didn’t stop. Kit designers seemed to compete in a **“who can blind the viewers”** contest, while the league’s official video game became a ghost in the machine.\n\n### Absurd Jerseys\n\nSeveral clubs unleashed designs so hideous they made fluorescent pink look subtle. Third kits in particular veered into **abstract art territory**, with one resembling a melted traffic cone.\n\n- **Three clubs** released shirts that clashed horribly with 3D pitch-side advertising, making players almost invisible on broadcasts\n- A top-six side’s away kit featured a pattern that induced motion sickness among watching fans\n\n### A Video Game Nobody Played\n\nThe official Premier League video game launched to **deafening silence**. Buried under the dominance of EA Sports FC, it failed to crack the top 50 downloads in its debut month.\n\n- **Active player count** reportedly in the triple digits weeks after release\n- Esports integration was non-existent, rendering the £60 price tag a punchline\n\n## The Bigger Picture\n\nThese frustrations point to a league increasingly disconnected from its own myth. When set-piece roulette, eye-searing kits, and a pointless video game define a season, the Premier League’s product stops being football and starts becoming **content without soul**.\n\nThe 2026-27 campaign needs a reset - less circus, more craft.","\u002Farticles\u002Fpremier-league-gripes-2025-26",[95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[106,119,129],{"id":107,"stem":107,"path":108,"title":109,"category":15,"badge":110,"badgeType":111,"author":112,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":114,"date":115,"readTime":89,"image":116,"imageAlt":109,"tags":117,"excerpt":118},"2026-world-cup-mascots-eagle-moose-jaguar","\u002Farticles\u002F2026-world-cup-mascots-eagle-moose-jaguar","Eagle, Moose, Jaguar: Meet the 2026 World Cup Mascots","Feature","category","Samuel Beck","SportPulse Contributor","SB","2026-06-09","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1574629810360-7efbbe195018?auto=format&fit=crop&w=1920&q=80","FIFA World Cup 2026, World Cup","FIFA's 2026 World Cup mascots are an eagle, a moose, and a jaguar—but can you name the mascots of tournaments past?",{"id":120,"stem":120,"path":121,"title":122,"category":15,"badge":85,"badgeType":111,"author":123,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":124,"date":125,"readTime":126,"image":127,"imageAlt":122,"tags":9,"excerpt":128},"sutton-world-cup-2026-opening-group-predictions","\u002Farticles\u002Fsutton-world-cup-2026-opening-group-predictions","Sutton's 2026 World Cup Predictions: Early Shocks Incoming?","Marcus Vine","MV","2026-06-18","1 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fda24\u002Flive\u002F94353bc0-641a-11f1-8546-8f19e4fe30f4.jpg","Chris Sutton delivers his score predictions for the opening group games of the 2026 World Cup, eyeing potential early upsets.",{"id":130,"stem":130,"path":131,"title":132,"category":15,"badge":110,"badgeType":111,"author":133,"authorRole":113,"authorInitials":134,"date":125,"readTime":126,"image":135,"imageAlt":132,"tags":9,"excerpt":136},"world-cup-star-guessing-game-challenge-number-four","\u002Farticles\u002Fworld-cup-star-guessing-game-challenge-number-four","Guess the World Cup Star: Can You Identify Mystery Player No 4?","Marcus Chen","MC","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F83d2\u002Flive\u002Fa1dffd70-630a-11f1-b682-cf91850925ea.jpg","Test your football knowledge with today's World Cup player guessing challenge and see how few attempts you need."]