Premier League Review

Epic title race, classic games, new faces, Klopp's final season, and huge surprises

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And breathe… What a season. The title race down to the final day, an exciting top four race, new signings, young players bursting onto the scene, huge flops, and the most goals in a single year. The Premier league had it all this year. Here is everything from the season condensed into a brief email!

The Title Race

In terms of the title race, the big favorites throughout the season were Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. The three exchanged blows throughout the course of the season. However, in the early going, it was Tottenham who topped the table and were playing very well. We saw a new brand of exiting and aggressive style of football under new boss Ange Postecoglou. There was a general consensus that Tottenham would slip up, which did happen eventually. However they deserve a lot of credit as they held on much longer than many anticipated. One of the turning points for Tottenham was a 4-1 loss to Chelsea in which they played with nine men. This opened the door to Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester city. It was Arsenal who topped the league at Christmas (as they did the year before). They then went on a terrible spree of games following Christmas with shock losses to West Ham and Fulham. These crucial slip ups allowed Liverpool to take command. Liverpool hung in until eventually collapsing (in really every competition accept the League Cup) while Arsenal surged after the new year. And then, of course it was Manchester City. Arsenal were nearly perfect through the second half of the season, but nearly perfect isn’t enough to beat City. The two played each other in the second half of the season but both sides came up empty in a rather boring 0-0 draw. City did what they do best, going on a run of 23 Premier League games unbeaten, not losing once in the league since the beginning of December. It was then ultimately City who snatched the title on the final day through a win at home against West Ham. This means they claim their record fourth consecutive Premier League title.

Breakout stars

This list of course has to begin with Cole Palmer. What an incredible season for the Englishman. Like many I was questioning the transfer from Chelsea. It seemed like another desperation move from them and in reality it may have been. However, now in hindsight, it seems like a great move. Forty million for Palmer looks like a bargain now. He scored 22 goals in the league, even though he wasn’t getting regular minutes until around match week 10. You truly wonder where Chelsea would be without this man. His season was filled with epic moments, most notably a hat trick to complete a comeback against Manchester United and a four goal game against Everton.

Phil Foden belongs on this list as well. While he has always been a star and we knew he was capable of this, this was the season he really broke out. Anytime a player increases their minutes by 11 full matches, adds 11 goal contributions, and wins player of the season. I would say they broke out. Not to mention scoring the Premier League title winning goal. We finally got to see his true potential that had been talked about for so long. He wins his sixth Premier League title at the age of 24.

Ollie Watkins is another player who we knew he had talent and got to see some of it last season. However he largely flew under the radar. This season he exploded adding 11 goal contributions (from last season), finished 4th in the golden boot race, and lead his team to Champions League football. Everyone knows Ollie Watkins’ name now.

Isak had shown glimpses of brilliance last season for Newcastle. However this season he took it to the next level. He more than doubled his goal output, finished third in the golden boot race, and added 12 goal contributions more than last season. Though Newcastle as a team didn’t meet expectations, Isak individually surely exceeded them.

Biggest Flops

Moises Caicedo is an obvious place to start. One of the most expensive signings on record with a fee of 147 million (115 million pounds)! This looks like unbeilable business by Brighton as he has been terrible this season for Chelsea. He played 35 games in the league scoring once and assisting three times. He was never there for the goals but he lacked the magic we saw last season at Brighton. It was rough from the start for the Ecuadorian as he gave up a penalty in his debut, a 3-1 loss to West Ham. It was a season where all of Chelsea (except Cole Palmer) struggled and Caicedo was no exception. When you come with that price tag fans expect big things and he certainly did not deliver.

Speaking of Chelsea I do not know how they got 70 million (55 million pounds) for Mason Mount. He was a decent player for the club having both good and bad runs of form. However this season for United he played 14 times in the league scoring once and assisting zero times. While he was injured for a lot of the season (November to March) he did nothing when he was playing to show he was worth anywhere near the price United paid for him.

Honorable mentions include Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City and Ansu Fati from Brighton. The former went to West Ham mid season on a loan, but played terrible in the opportunities he was given. When he did feature he made huge errors leading to goals and got sent off. The latter, Ansu Fati, was supposed to be destined for greatness and was seen as a future superstar during his days in Barcelona. However he struggled for minutes and to build up good performance this season with Brighton netting twice (with 0 assists) in 19 Premier League matches.

Relegation

Relegation this season was as predictable as it could be with all three promoted teams going down (Luton, Burnley, Sheffield) 18th, 19th, 20th respectively. This doesn’t mean there weren’t surprises. There were twists. Of course the Everton and Nottingham Forrest point deductions added drama to the survival race. Like Bournemouth last year many had Luton in 20th position. However, they fought to the very end and crazily bottling leads against Arsenal and Liverpool could’ve cost them their spot in the Premier League. There were high expectations for Burnley under manager Vincent Company after their incredible season last year in the Championship. However they failed to deliver as the club struggled to adapt to life in the top division. They will try to gain promotion again with a new coach as Kompany heads off to Bayern Munich. For Sheffield it was misery all around as the club finished with 16 points (8 less than 19th Burnley) and recorded a -69 goal difference (31 worse than Burnley). It was a season with few bright spots and a manager sacking. The club look to make changes in the summer as they prepare for next season in the Championship

Golden Boot

Haaland won his second golden boot in as many season in arguably an off-season. He was injured in the middle part, missing much of December and January. The Norwegian blanked in many big games for the Cityzens drawing a lot of criticism. He was even compared to a League Two player by Roy Keane! Palmer finished second, with Isak third, and Foden fourth. Salah finished seventh in the golden boot race as he struggled during the second half of the season as Liverpool collapsed. He finished with 18 league goals, his fewest ever in a Liverpool shirt. This may have been the Egyptians last season in Anfield as Saudi rumors have been circulating since last summer. If it is then he ended an incredible Liverpool tenure on a somewhat sour note.

Biggest Over Perfomers

It was a breakthrough season for Aston Villa. After a strong 7th place finish last year, it seems this season everything clicked under Emery. Ollie Watkins was one of the best strikers in the league, the defense was strong, and Emi Martinez was on fire. After a fourth place finish they will play in the Champions League next year. New signings Diaby, Torres, Zaniolo, Tielemans all showed big promise in year 1.

Biggest Under Perfomers

It was a hugely disappointing season for Manchester United as they finished in 8th, (their worst ever finish in the Premier League Era). An FA cup win to clinch Europa League doesn’t seem to overshadow a largely underwhelming domestic campaign. It was a season that was summed up by losses to Bournemouth, Fulham, and a draw against Burnely. Just when it looked they were finally playing well they laid an egg the following week against an inferior opponent. Mount and Anthony look like massive wastes of money. Despite Hojlund improving in the second half of the season the 70 million dollar man didn’t score in the league until the end of December! Rashford struggled immensely after his huge contract over the summer. The team played numerous defensive pairings and struggled to make one click. Garnacho and Mainoo look promising for the future but poor management and transfer decisions have brought this team down. Regardless of who the manger it is clear that something needs to change in the red side of Manchester this summer.

The 2023/24 campaign was another disappointing one for Chelsea. Although they went on a late run to get into the Conference League they far from delivered on high expectations and the project will continue next season under a new manager following Pochettino’s departure at the end of this season. There were big things expected of this team, considering they spent over $1 billion last year. Caicedo was was one of the biggest flops in the league. Enzo Fernandez did not perform up to his price tag. Mudryk struggled when given opportunities and Nkunku was injured most of the season.

Another under performer was probably Newcastle as there were high aspirations for them after qualifying for the Champions League. However they crashed out in the group stage and did not even move on to the Europa League. They also struggled in the league with some disappointing results including a draw against Luton and a loss to Bournemouth. The Magpies will take a 7th place finish and continue their project and hope for a better outcome next season.

Best Transfers

Tottenham had a good window with signings Pedro Porro, Van de Ven, James Maddison, and Vicario impressing under new boss Postecoglou. Porro and Van de Ven alongside Destiny Udogie brought excitement to a revamped defense. Porro also helped bring an attacking flare from the fullback position that is in demand in the modern game. Maddison combined well with Son and Kulusevski especially early in the season prior to his injury.

Declan Rice cost Arsenal 116 million (100 million pounds) but he certainly lived up to the price tag in his first season with the Gunners. He scored huge goals in performances versus Luton, Chelsea, and Man United. He delivered big performances in big matches. It is goals and performances like Rice delivered this season that can win a Premier League title over a team as dominant as Manchester City. He was a staple in Arsenal’s midfield this season improving both their attack and defense. Declan Rice is a prime example of what teams are looking for when they spend north of a 100 million.

Other stories

We are close to end of an era as this season marked Jurgen Klopp’s final season as Liverpool boss and Pep Guardiola looks set to leave Manchester City following the end of next season. The German coach transformed Liverpool from a reasonably strong English team into a European powerhouse. Jurgen Klopp created a tremendous culture and entertaining attacking football for all to enjoy. Throughout the years he had numerous Premier League classics against Pep that will always be remembered.

Expectations vs Reality

Here is my preseason predictions versus the actual league table. Enjoy!

Versus…

Here are the Premier League end of season awards in full…

Player of the season: Phil Foden

Young player of the season: Cole Palmer

Save of the season: Thomas Kaminski (vs Crystal Palace)

Manager of the season: Pep Guardiola

Clutch performance of the season: Cole Palmer (vs Manchester United)

Goal of the season: Alejandro Garnacho (vs Everton)

Golden Boot: Erling Haaland (27)

Team of the season… In my opinion!

Pickford

Saliba White Gabriel

Son Rodri Odegaard Foden

Palmer

Haaland Watkins

Here are some of the best games from the season ranging from last minute winners to nine men thrillers. A brief description of what made each game so great is below and of course a link to highlights!

Luton vs Arsenal (Match Week 15)

Luton Town lead Arsenal twice in this game, 2-1 and 3-2. However Arsenal pushed and got an epic winner with one of the last kicks of the game via Declan Rice. Unreal.

Tottenham vs Chelsea (Match Week 11)

This was when Tottenham were in full swing leading the Premier League. This marked the begging of the end to their incredible run. In a first half with several goals chalked back and VAR drama galore. Tottenham would go down to 9 men in the second half and play with a high line which made for incredibly entertaining football. Oh and Nicolas Jackson got a hat trick in this game.

Wolves Man United (Match Week 22)

Wolves came back from down 3-1 with 5 minutes to go. Only for Mainoo to score a stunning winner in the 97h minute to make the world aware of him. Superstar.

Man United vs Brentford (Match Week 8)

United trailed this game 1-0 from the 26th minute onward. Only for Scott McTomminay of all people to score 2 goals from nowhere in stoppage time to snatch victory.

Liverpool vs Fulham (Match Week 14)

This game had arguably the best bunch of goals you will ever see in a single game. McAllister, Trent, Endo all delivered unreal strikes. Oh and there were 7 goals among both teams and a Liverpool comeback with goals in the 87th and 88th minute.

Man City vs Newcastle (Match Week 21)

City pushing to catch Liverpool in the league. De Bruyne’s return from injury after a 6 month absence. He would come off the bench in the second half to score a super strike and provide the game winning assist to Oscar Bobb in the waning minutes to complete a City comeback. Truly one of the title defining moments.

Chelsea vs Man City (Match Week 12)

Instant classic. This game was back and forth. A thrilling first half left the sides all square at 2. Chelsea threw it away after Haaland scored right after halftime only for them to level it 20 minutes later. It seemed City had won it after Rodri’s strike in the 86th minute but no. Palmer would level things from the spot in the 5th minute of stoppage of time. Thrilling game.

Arsenal vs Chelsea (Match Week 9)

Things were finally clicking for Chelsea. Palmer and Mudryk scored to give them a comfortable 2-0 lead. That was until Rice’s strike from way out and Trossaard 84th minute leveler.

Man United vs Chelsea (Match Week 31)

A back and forth game defined by moments of error. A game that United lead 3-2 until Cole Palmer delivered a stoppage time double (with the winner coming past the 100th minute) to send Stamford Bridge into a frenzy.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool (Match Week 37)

End to end football for the full 90. Goalkeeper mistakes, VAR drama, and an epic Villa comeback with a double from a super sub to save the game.

Tottenham vs Man City (Match Week 14)

An end to end game filled with goals, 6 to be exact. A game Jack Grealish thought he had won in the 81st minute only for Kulesevski to level things in the 90th minute.

Man United vs Aston Villa (Match Week 19)

It was finished for United. They trailed 2-0 at half time at home. Boos rang as they left the field. But a Garnacho second half goal gave hope. Then a second gave belief. Then Rasmus Hojlund scored his first premier league goal to complete an epic boxing day comeback that will be remembered as an incredible bright spot in a tumultuous season for United.

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