May: Season ends. Players go on holiday. Managers get sacked. The carousel begins.
June 1 - Aug 31: Summer transfer window. 90% of business happens in the last 2 weeks. Deadline day is pure chaos — Sky Sports reporters standing outside training grounds at 11pm waiting for fax machines.
July: Pre-season tours. Premier League clubs fly to the US, Asia, or Australia. Play friendlies in 40°C heat. Fans in Singapore watch Arsenal vs PSG at 3am. It's about money, not fitness.
August: Community Shield (the trophy nobody cares about). Season starts. New signings debut. Hope is at maximum. Reality hasn't set in yet.
Clubs spend months negotiating. Agents play clubs against each other. "Here we go" from Fabrizio Romano means it's done. Until then, it's all rumors. Transfer Twitter is 95% nonsense and 5% Fabrizio Romano.
3 teams go down. 3 come up. The Championship playoff final is worth £170M+ to the winner (Premier League TV money). It's the richest game in football. Promoted clubs spend the summer panic-buying Premier League quality players.