The league season has barely finished but this Thursday the 2023/24 PL fixtures will be announced and then Friday the first of two England Euro 24 qualifiers are to be played. It’s only this time next week the elite players will be able to take a well deserved break. To sign off the 2022/23 season and as it’s GCSE/A Level exam time I have graded each Premier League side.
A+
Manchester City
Treble winners says it all!
Fulham
Many experts predicted a swift return to the Championship but they adapted to the top flight quickly, Mitrovic scored goals, they discovered a gem in Palhinha, rolled over for no one and finished in the top half of the table.
Newcastle United
Qualifying for Europe surely was a aim but with so much of the squad still from Steve Bruce’s era the Champions League should have been out of their reach. Eddie Howe blended grit and panache to see them finish fourth while extracting world class form from Joelinton & Almiron.
Brighton & Hove Albion
They lost their manager early in the campaign, hired a even better one and then tweaked their style. They should have made the FA Cup Final but qualifying for the Europa League countered that disappointment.
A
Arsenal
The season ended with a whimper after leading the league for so long but the goal for the season was Champions League qualification and that was achieved so on reflection it was a great campaign.
B+
Manchester United
Finishing third, winning the league cup and making the FA Cup final is a great season but Uniteds fan base have larger expectations plus when they lost this year it was usually a rout!
Aston Villa
Under Steven Gerrard Villa was heading towards relegation but Unai Emery took over and flipped their season on its head, ending with Europa Conference League qualification.
Brentford
Second season syndrome didn’t strike the Bees, they bettered their debut years league position, best every big six club which included the double over Manchester City.
B
Liverpool
Fifth is not acceptable at Anfield especially when they needed to go on a lengthy winning run to reach that position.
Bournemouth
Written off by their own manager at the beginning of the season, it did not bode well but they beat the drop with games to spare under Gary O’Neill who deserves the freedom of the town now.
Nottingham Forest
The last of the promoted sides to stay up relied on their home form but they did it and deserve all the credit on offer.
C
Tottenham Hotspur
One of the worst teams to watch in the division under Antonio Conte, when they won it was usually due to the individual brilliance of Harry Kane.
West Ham United
The league campaign is a D but they won the Europa Conference League which escalates their grade. Declan Rice established himself as the top young midfielder in the Premier League.
D+
Crystal Palace
The season started with so much optimism but Patrick Vieira decided to suppress his own attacking talent by either not playing them or offering negative tactics. Roy Hodgson turned them round into one of the must see sides by the end of the year.
D
Wolverhampton Wanderers
They stayed up much like Forest thanks to their home form but even those victories were painful to watch.
E
Chelsea
Bottom half finish for the Champions League winners two years ago while spending £585 million is unacceptable, horror show of a season which see them utilise three managers!
F
Everton
They did not learn from the previous seasons close escape from relegation and left it to the last day this year. Poorly run club the only thing they did right was appoint Sean Dyche.
G
The G represents GONE and this is the fate for the three relegated clubs.
Leicester City
The opener day draw with Brentford after being two up was a precursor for the year.
Leeds United
All the good work under Marcelo Bielsa was ruined when the club did not support him in the transfer market after the first season back in the Premier League. Instead they threw cash into Jesse Marschs regime and relegation was inevitable.
Southampton
Arrogance saw the clubs owners think they could stay up while building a young team, those players will be good top flight players but not at St Mary’s.
PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMS OF THE YEAR
Premier League Player Power Rankings
Their was no final day movement as most teams rested their top stars and therefore Martin Odergaard is my inaugural Power Ranking Champion. The Norwegian was the driving force consistently for Arsenal and is now the 21st Century definition of a “Captain Fantastic”:
- Martin Odergaard
- Erling Haaland
- Harry Kane
- Mo Salah
- Marcus Rashford
- Kaoru Mitomo
- Jack Grealish
- Bakary Saka
- Kevin de Bruyne
- Moises Caicedo
Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish once said “There’s two times of year for me. Football season and waiting for the football season”, we are just beginning the waiting stage.
Thank you to everyone who read my previews this season, it’s been a pleasure writing them, have a great summer.
