Premier League: Competitive but all too predictable
Manchester City's Kyle Walker lifts the Premier League trophy with team-mates at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
IT’S the end of another Premier League season and despite it being acknowledged as a generally exciting and competitive one, its outcome has been desperately predictable once again.
I say that in the light of looking at my predictions for the season back on August 12, 2023. Little reward was gained, even from the bookies, from guessing the top three correctly. But one should remember that many felt that Arsenal would push on for the title this year after coming so close the previous season, and many presumed Liverpool were done and dusted after a particularly indifferent season in 2022/23. But one bad season does not make a great team bad, so I presumed they would feature but not contest. To be fair, Liverpool stayed in the title push longer than I expected.
Arsenal winning the title was a strong possibility, but after years of watching Pep Guardiola’s men destroy the hopes of Liverpool, I figured they might just like to ruin Mikel Arteta and The Gunners’ dreams as well.
Pep and the gang continued their ridicules run of success, again only managing to lose three time over the term, in another 90 points plus season. And while there are so many wonderful players to admire in their ranks, such as Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, and my favourite City player, Kevin De Bryune, their dominance and the blatant way they have achieved success makes it evermore distasteful too observe, with every passing season.
My relegation predictions were not as accurate. While I did pick Sheffield United and Luton Town to go down, I didn’t get the order right and I also predicted Bournemouth would go down on the back of a horrible year the season before for The Cherries. That they didn’t drop out of the league is of great credit to the efforts of their manager Andoni Iraola.
I felt the exciting play that saw Burnley promoted last season would be enough for them to surprise a number of the top-flight teams but it did not work out that way for Vincent Kompany and company, and they too went straight back down.
The only other team position I got right was Chelsea in sixth, as their early optimism under Mauricio Pochettino was, I felt exaggerated, which may have proved ultimately too costly for Pochettino in the end it seems.
My widest error on the table was probably Man United, who I felt must surely have found a way to at least contend for fourth place. Myself and Erik ten Hag were both wrong in this case, as United finished a miserable eighth place, hoping on today’s FA Cup final to save something from their season.
Disapointments for the season were Brentford, who have slipped from the high standards they set in their early years in the Premier League and may be a struggler come next season. Newcastle also flattered to deceive, with seventh-place finish despite all the hype. But they were hammered by injuries throughout, to be fair.
Surprise packages this year, were the aforementioned Bournemouth, Fulham, and Crystal Palace, with their strong ends to the season removing them comfortably from the hazardous drop zone. While Aston Villa’s Champions League qualification finish in fourth place, came out of nowhere and of great credit to manager Unai Emery.
In summing up the season, the best player of the season has to go to Phil Foden for his value to City and his sheer consistency over the entire season.
The best manager again must go to Villa boss Unai Emery, who has steered the unfashionable Birmingham side back into Europe’s top competition for the first time since 1983.
The best goal is hard to call, such was the quality of strikes across the league, but Man United’s Alejandro Garnacho’s acrobatic bicycle-kick against Everton probably swings it for its sheer spectacular and athletic value.
The Liverpool v Man City 1-1 draw stands out as the best match in a sea of excellent encounters this season. It was a game of extraordinary quality from the sides that have defined the Premier League over the past 10 years. Jurgen Klopp would describe Liverpool’s second-half performance as the best his team had produced against City. A match full of pace, quality and energy, as well as controversy when Liverpool were denied what looked like a clear late penalty when Jeremy Doku planted his foot squarely in Alexis Mac Allister’s chest. The game ended 1-1, but it could have been five-all.
The best new signing goes to Chelsea. Despite signing a multitude of awkward and out of place players to their books in recent years, The Pensioners finally called one right with the arrival of Cole Palmer (one that got away from City). Such an exciting prospect for next season and beyond. We will wait and see, even if Pochettino won’t be there
App?
