Football Season's False Dawn: United, Spurs, West Ham, and Rangers Struggle

Football’s new season always starts the same way. Like kids staring at wrapped presents, fans talk themselves into believing this is the year everything changes.

Then the paper comes off.

For supporters of Manchester United, Tottenham, West Ham and Rangers, that hopeful glow has already been replaced by a familiar knot in the stomach. The season is days old. The doubts feel years old.

United’s revival talk meets Hull reality

Manchester United arrived at Hull City with the swagger of a club that thought it had finally turned a corner.

Third place under Michael Carrick. A summer rebuilt around Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. Two newly promoted sides in the opening fixtures. It looked, on paper, like the ideal runway for a statement start.

One fan, Danny, messaged BBC Sport before kick-off: “For the first time in years, I'm actually impressed not only by United's line-up, but the substitutes bench as well.”

Ninety minutes later, that optimism lay scattered around the MKM Stadium.

Hull, promoted via the play-offs, beat them 2-0 and looked every inch the established Premier League outfit. United, 13-time champions, looked anything but.

“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 misery didn’t stop at the final whistle. News filtered through in the away end that two trains back to Manchester had been cancelled. Home fans seized on it, chanting “You should have come in a taxi” at the 2,400 travelling supporters who had just watched their big hopes shrink inside one bruising afternoon.

United’s revival was supposed to start here. Instead, it felt like another rerun.

Spurs spend big, crumble fast

If United’s setback jarred, Tottenham’s felt grimly on-brand to some of their own fans.

Back-to-back 17th-place finishes had dragged Spurs into survival mode. This summer was meant to be the reset. They poured £237m – and counting – into the squad. Jan Paul van Hecke at the back, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes in midfield, marquee money flung at a squad that had flirted too long with disaster.

They even dropped Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Van Hecke and £100m Tonali straight into the XI on opening weekend.

Brentford tore them apart 3-0.

“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 fan Mark.

Another supporter, Richard, wasn’t remotely shocked. “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.”

Spurs dared to dream. Brentford reminded them that you can’t buy your way out of bad habits in a single window.

West Ham’s promotion push stalls at the gate

West Ham’s pain runs deeper. Their 14-year stay in the Premier League ended last season, and the Championship was supposed to be a short detour, not a new home.

The club acted like it. Nuno Espirito Santo stayed on, and the board backed him heavily. Arne Engels arrived for a Championship record fee. Manor Solomon, Joel Piroe and Divine Mukasa followed. On paper, it looked like a squad built not just for promotion, but for a title tilt.

Two games in, the mood has already darkened.

West Ham took a two-goal lead at Burnley and threw it away. One point. Then came Charlton to the London Stadium and left with a 2-1 win. One point from two. The promotion talk has been replaced by something far more familiar: anger.

“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.”

Mike, watching from Corfu, sounded resigned. “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 thought they were building a juggernaut. Right now, it looks like they’ve rebuilt the same fragile side in a different division.

Rangers’ reset already under fire

Across the border, Rangers approached the new campaign with similar talk of renewal.

The Ibrox club spent aggressively again, bringing in 11 new players. Derek McInnes arrived from Hearts on the back of a memorable season and brought captain Lawrence Shankland with him, a move that felt like a statement of intent.

The early signs have been anything but.

Rangers crashed out of the Europa League in the qualifiers to Jagiellonia Bialystok, were booed by their own fans and have already seen McInnes’ future questioned before the domestic season has properly settled.

In the Scottish Premiership, they have just one point from games against Dundee United and Hibernian. The mood is mutinous.

“Rangers are going nowhere! What has McInnes been training these guys,” asked Bill. Graeme, a veteran of six decades following the club, went even harder: “I have been watching Rangers for over 60 years and this is the worst team I have ever seen.”

Last season, Rangers stumbled out of the blocks under Russell Martin and never really recovered. He was sacked in early October. The calendar hasn’t even reached September and patience at Ibrox already feels threadbare.

Across Manchester, north London, east London and Glasgow, the pattern is the same: big money, big words, brutal reality.

The season has barely begun, yet for four restless fanbases the question is already gnawing away: is this just another false dawn, or the painful start to something that finally changes?