the first league
It hasn't been a great year for the Brand Premier League, the supposed best league in the world, where almost everyone is perpetually angry or miserable. Who is happy? Manchester City, of course. Villa, of course. But in other places? Liverpool are furious about kick-off times. Wolves are furious with VAR. Forest is angry about that too, but also about the PSR-induced points deduction. Everton sees their points deduction and presents them with an acquisition saga that has continued without resolution. Sheffield United have had such a dismal season that they may never want to be promoted again. And so it goes, all infused with a sense of dissatisfaction, as clubs look for direction (Chelsea, Manchester United) or bang their heads against the glass ceiling and wonder what the point of it all is (Brighton, Bournemouth, Fulham ). And everyone is paying more (soon to be even further) for a reduced spectacle, dulled by the fearsome hand of the VAR.
Speaking of which, at governance level, things have been even more regrettable: the current dispute with the EFL over a financial deal, opposition to the football regulator, the removal of FA Cup replays… in all the time, the first division He was inclined to favor a few over the majority. That is, of course, the whole idea. It's not that the mask has fallen (let's be honest, what mask?) and this season at times we've felt like we're approaching a tipping point, the moment when naked greed becomes a bit also a lot.
Important caveats apply here. The gap between the Championship and the top flight feels increasingly wider and the injection of money needed just to compete is increasingly ridiculous. For the most part, it's not the fault of Burnley, Sheffield United or Luton. But still, it is the first time since 1997-98 that all three promoted teams have been relegated immediately and, more than that, it has never been in doubt.
Coming in on the back of a 101-point title win and with their sights set on mid-table safety, Burnley quickly slid into the relegation zone and never emerged again. Sheffield United sold their best players, hit rock bottom in mid-September and stayed there, except for a couple of weeks in the dizzying heights of 18th place, when Everton's points deduction took effect. The Blades amassed a Premier League record 104 goals conceded – the worst defensive record in the English top flight since Ipswich in 1963-64.
Luton perhaps deserve to sit separately from their yo-yoing peers (at least at times they threatened to buck expectations), but they were still in the bottom three for two-thirds of the season. In truth, Everton and Forest should be grateful: they couldn't have picked a better season to win back their points.
Chelsea's summer spree
There was much jubilation at Stamford Bridge in August when, in the space of a few days, Chelsea beat Liverpool to the signings of Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia for a total outlay of around £160 million. But it hasn't gone as planned. Lavia, from Southampton, has played just 32 minutes of Premier League football due to injury, while Caicedo has struggled to rediscover the form that made him such a popular property at Brighton (aside from a stunning goal in the last day). Declan Rice cost Arsenal less than the £115m Chelsea paid for the Ecuadorian. Real Madrid paid less for Jude Bellingham. It could still come in handy, but instant impact wasn't too much to ask for. Perhaps he and Chelsea just need a break from the onslaught of injuries and current squad overload that has thrown Mauricio Pochettino's side into a state of flux: 48 players have featured in Premier League matchday squads of Chelsea at some point this season.
VAR and PGMOL
“That's wrong, Daz…” Is there anything else I need to say?
Erik ten Hag and Manchester United
United have undoubtedly regressed in Ten Hag's second season in charge: eighth is their lowest finish since coming 13th in 1989-90, their 14 league defeats their most since that modern nadir. They won the FA Cup that year and there is still time for United to do the same this season. But the lowest moments remain in the memory: the home defeats to Brighton and Crystal Palace in September, the chaotic days in west London when stoppage-time goals at Brentford and Chelsea turned six points into one, the defeat 4-0 at Palace, their entire Champions League campaign…
after newsletter promotion
Off the field, change is in the air. Jim Ratcliffe arrived with his £30bn fortune and cheered everyone up by demanding cleaner desks, fewer emails and a huge taxpayer donation for a shiny new stadium. All signs point to the new broom sweeping Ten Hag from the manager's office this summer. This is the sixth time in the 11 seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson's reign that the club has finished outside the top four and perhaps it says something about their declining fortunes that Ten Hag have survived as long as they have. Speaking of which…
The managerial merry-go-round
It's been a bad year for fans of the hire-and-fire culture. Only three Premier League managers have faced sacking this season, after a record 13 in 2022-23, and only one of them paid off. Paul Heckingbottom was the first to leave in early December, his reward for guiding Sheffield United to promotion in 2022-23. Chris Wilder's 0.46 points per game wasn't a huge improvement over Heckingbottom's 0.36. Sheffield United came last.
Steve Cooper was dropped by Nottingham Forest a couple of weeks after Heckingbottom's departure, with Forest in 17th place, just one point clear of the relegation zone. Once again, the move was not a triumph, Nuno Espírito Santo increased the gap, but the club remained abandoned in 17th place (Cooper's PPG this season was 0.82, Nuno's 1.05).
Roy Hodgson's departure in February was the last mid-season departure, with his replacement Oliver Glasner the only new man to bring significant improvement. Even then there is a temptation to suggest that Palace's improvement is due, at least in part, to the availability of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze. Six of Glasner's seven wins came in games in which both were on the field at the same time, a rare occurrence this season. But either way, clubs have generally put their faith in stability over the excitement of the new.
