Premier League Season Review 2023/24

Approximately 9 months, and exactly 380 matches later, another thrilling Premier League season has come to a close. For the fourth consecutive year Manchester City have been crowned champions, and nobody can argue that they don’t deserve it. Arsenal pushed them right up to the last matchday of this long season, and had it not been for the right leg of Stefan Ortega Moreno at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 14th, the trophy would almost certainly have been heading to the Emirates for the very first time.

But as it was, Manchester City defeated West Ham and collected the trophy in front of their fans, while Arsenal were left to wonder what might have been but for Heung Min Son’s uncharacteristic miss 4 miles up the road. But that’s football, and Mikel Arteta has the summer to reflect on a campaign that saw his side push his former mentor Pep Guardiola’s team close for the second consecutive season. The message as always: “We go again…”

Liverpool fans said goodbye to Jurgen Klopp after nearly 9 years in the Anfield hotseat – a period that saw the club finally get their hands on the Premier League title, as well as a Champions League, an FA Cup and two EFL Cups. A manager who changed the outlook and culture of both Liverpool FC and to some degree the Premier League, Klopp will never be forgotten by supporters of the domestic game in England. Will we ever see him in a Premier League dugout again? Time will tell… A third place finish perhaps wasn’t the fairytale farewell he deserved, but Liverpool return to the Champions League after missing out last season. Klopp will be replaced by Dutch coach Arne Slot, who has extremely big shoes to fill, and important personnel decisions to make in pre-season.

Joining Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal in the elite European competition next year will be Aston Villa. Less than two years ago, Unai Emery joined the club, sitting in 16th place in the Premier League, having won two of their first eleven matches under Steven Gerrard. To say he’s performed miracles might be overstating things, but the rise of Villa has been extraordinary under his management, and they are back at Europe’s top table for the first time in four decades.

Narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification, but playing with a new energetic and aggressive style, Tottenham Hotspur finished the season in 5th place. Straight-talking Aussie boss Ange Postecoglou has won a lot of fans inside and outside of Spurs during his debut season, and the future looks bright for the club – albeit still in the shadows of their North London rivals.

After a shaky start to his time at Stamford Bridge, Mauricio Pochettino’s first season at Chelsea ended on a high, with 15 points from the last 5 Premier League matches taking the club above Newcastle and Manchester United into 6th place, and qualification for European competition. Whether that’s the Europa League or the Europa Conference depends on the outcome of the FA Cup Final. If Manchester City complete the double over their city rivals then 8th placed finishers United will miss out on Europe, Chelsea will go into the Europa League and 7th placed Newcastle
into the conference. If united win, Newcastle will miss out on another European adventure.

In mid-table, David Moyes’s time at West Ham ended with the club in 9th place, which in all fairness is an excellent outcome for a manager who delivered stability and a European trophy during his second stint at the club, without being truly loved by the Hammers’ support base.

Three points behind West Ham were South London club Crystal Palace, resurgent under the leadership of Austrian boss Oliver Glasner. Palace won 5 of their last 6 games, largely due to the attacking potency of trio Olise, Eze and Mateta. If Palace can hold onto these three, there’s no reason why they won’t be able to push on next season, and establish themselves as a top ten Premier League side.

Robert De Zerbi’s tenure at Brighton ended with a bit of a whimper, with a final day defeat at home against Manchester United. Given that De Zerbi has had to contend with the loss of key players such as Moises Caiceido and Alexis Mac Allister, it’s no great surprise that this season didn’t live up to the last. But he’s left the AmEx faithful with some great memories, including an entertaining European campaign. De Zerbi’s next managerial destination is unknown, and his replacement too is so far a mystery, but the merry-go-round will be spinning in the Premier
League very soon.

Bournemouth achieved their highest Premier League points tally, finishing 12th with 48 points, under the leadership of Spaniard Andoni Iraola, a point ahead of Fulham. Wolves ended the season 14th, with three straight defeats at the end of the campaign.

Everton, albeit with an 8 point deduction, finished 15th, 14 points above the drop zone. It was a season that required Sean Dyche and his players to show fortitude as much as ability, in the face off the off-field trauma at Goodison Park, but 4 wins and a draw in their last 6 games – including Klopp’s last Merseyside derby – saw them home with plenty of breathing space. It would be great for Evertonians to think the future looks brighter following their recent takeover, but news reports would suggest that it’s not going to be completely smooth sailing.

Brentford’s 23/24 campaign is probably one of disappointment for Thomas Frank. The enforced absence of star man Ivan Toney for a large chunk of the season was unhelpful, but they would have hoped for a finish better than 16th. Toney is likely to leave over the summer if a suitable proposal is made to Brentford, so it will require a fair amount of rebuilding to keep the Bees competitive in the top flight next time around.

Another club who faced a points deduction, although only 4, was Nottingham Forest, who ended the season in 17th position – six points clear of the relegation places. Two wins in their last 3 games suggest it was a much easier end to the season than the reality, but Forest will be back to fight another gruelling campaign after the summer break.

Many people predicted it back in August, and it came to pass that the three promoted clubs – Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United – have gone straight back down to the Championship. The writing was on the wall for the Blades a long time ago, conceding 104 goals over the 38 game season. Burnley and Luton were a little more competitive, but the gulf between the top flight and the second tier is clear for all to see. Leicester and Ipswich, plus one of last season’s relegated clubs Leeds and Southampton, will face the survival challenge next year, and attempt to confound the expectation that a stay in the top division is extremely difficult to achieve.

See you in a few weeks!

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