Well, what a season we endured in 2022. There was an enthralling title race, relegation fights and European battles right until the very end. Today, we will look back at the successes and under performers from last season and see how they look ahead of the new season!
Champions
Manchester City won the title for the third time in a row, making that 5 out of the last 6. This is an incredible achievement in a league which is renowned as the most competitive in world football. This was no easy ride for the blue side of Manchester, they had stiff competition from the young Gunners.
Arsenal led the table for a large majority of the season. They had significant point advantage over city however, as the final stretch came, they could not get over the line. Manchester City meanwhile did what they know best and produced a run that was worthy of winning any title.
Manchester City are clear favourites again this year as they have been for many years now. Last season's treble winners will hope to do one better and potentially doing what no team has ever done before THE QUADRUPLE!!
This will be an incredibly tough ask and they know it won’t be easy, if any team is capable, it would be City! They have kept most of the squad and brought in some experience with Kovacic and very soon maybe fellow Croatian Gvardiol.
Champions League Spots
We could talk about Arsenal's disappointment in not winning the title after leading for so long. However, you can't take away their achievements in gaining top 4. They have made huge steps in comparison to previous years. They finished second last season; they have the youngest squad in the Premier League and one of the youngest Managers in Arteta. Arsenal has a brilliant future ahead of them, if they invest in the correct way and carry on improving the sky is the limit for them this season!
Bringing in Declan Rice will give them a massive boost to their title hopes this season. Could do they really do it? Well, they won’t disappear anytime soon, and they could well be fighting City for a long time!
Manchester United had an excellent season under ETH, especially if you take into consideration how much of a mess Manchester United found themselves in last year.
They had an incredible season, winning the league cup and achieving champions League football next year is a huge step in the right direction.
There was a lot that still needed changing from last season. They were crying out for a world class striker and central Midfielder. They have found two top players in both of those positions; Mason Mount and Hojlund. Both players and young and ready to prove themselves for one of the biggest teams in world football!
The big news this summer was De Gea leaving the Red Devils after serving the club for many years, they have replaced him with Onana who again will hope to cement himself in United History!
The spine of the team seems to be getting better and once it’s perfected, they could become a real force throughout Europe.
Newcastle may have been the biggest surprise of last season. Everybody expected them to improve but not on the scale that they did.
After a huge influx of cash, they are now the richest club in World Football. However, they are not throwing their cash around just yet, they have made steady and sensible signings.
Eddie Howe has been a revelation for the Toons, playing fast attacking football and have one of the best defences in the league.
At Home they were formidable only losing a handful of times, no team will want to go to St James Park this season.
Now Champions League has been confirmed, they can attract some of the best players in Europe. Two being Harvey Barnes and Tonali. Both young players who can go on to achieve amazing things up in north!
Europa League Places
This is no doubting that Liverpool will feel like they underachieved last year. Under Klopp Liverpool had been unbelievable in previous years and achieved an incredible amount of success.
They have almost been a guarantee for Champions League football however, last year they came just short.
On a more positive outlook, they seem to finally click towards the end of the season.
Finally moving Trent Alexander Arnold into the centre created a huge upturn in results and they nearly snuck into the Champions League although they left it too late.
There is huge optimism for the Reds this year as they have reinvested into their midfield, signing Mcallister and Szoboszlai who are proven and young. They may need to add a little more depth in that area as many of their stars have left including captain Jordan Henderson. This new look Liverpool may benefit them as the previous players age finally started to take toll after many years of such high pressing.
Liverpool will look to aim high, and they will be hoping for champions league football once again!
Brighton is the ultimate underdog story of the Premier League; they have done brilliant in previous years avoiding relegation fights and playing excellent possession-based football.
They grew excellent foundations under Graham Potter, and many feared the worse when the English Manager left for Chelsea.
They decided to trust the young Brighton Squad with Italian Manager Roberto De Zerbi who was appointed head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion on 18 September 2022.
He carried on Potters style of play and added a few of his own touches and then created an unbelievably entertaining Brighton side who blown some teams away, not many sides have an easy game against the Seagulls. They will be playing Europa League this Season for the first time in their history, brilliant achievement.
They will hope to progress even further, adding some top talent which was discussed in a last week's blogs! And not selling to many key players, they will be another team to look out for next season!
Nobody has had a bigger mix of a season than Aston Villa, they were a relegation threatened team under Steven Gerrard at the start of the season.
They then decide to appoint Emery in November. Villa would win fifteen of their twenty-five league games under Emery and 49 points from a possible 75 since his appointment during the 2022–23 campaign.
It really makes you think, what can Aston Villa achieve under a full year's management under Emery, only time will tell but if they carry on the same path then they could achieve anything.
Villa similar to Brighton will hope to achieve amazing things and hope to become a force within Europe once again!
Midtable teams
Last season there had been some incredible achievements for certain teams. You have teams who you expected to be around mid table, some of those became reality. As we know it’s a long season and these teams could fly high, or they could be struggling down at the bottom but these teams usually finish in and around the middle of the table.
Wolves have been very quiet this summer, but they have kept their star manager and will hope he can bring them success! Palace are in the division once again, there is a good chance we could be writing about this again next year. Even though they have lost key player Zaha; they still have Olise and Eze. Who else better to coach these thriving young stars than the legend himself Roy Hodgson.
Brentford were brilliant last season and have been amazing at home against the top sides. They are on an amazing project and will hope to pursue this project without many complications. They have star striker Toney out until January, but the rest of the squad are still very talented, and they still will hope to bring success for the bees fans this season.
Last season all three promoted teams survived, Fulham had the most impressive season and carried on their form from the championship. This year they will hope for more again, they are looking likely to lose top goal scorer Mitrovic but Fulham should be okay again next season. They will hope to solidify there premier league status for a few more years at least!
Bournemouth looked relegated halfway through the last season, but they eventually stepped up and managed to survive despite their predicted doom and gloom. This year could be the same again with not many incomings however, they have got new manager Andoni Iraola who is a top young manager and will want to prove his self on the big stage.
Last season Forest survived in the last few weeks, to ensure they play in the Premier League next year. This was very important as they spent over 100 million in the summer to try and stay up. They eventually did just that, now they look to do the same again but they have balanced their squad and sold who they didn't need. Forest will hope to build on that home form they so desperately relied on last year but they must improve away from home as they were terrible on the road!
Midtable Disappointments
Will this be the year Spurs finally win a trophy? Well, they need to improve upon last year. Tottenham finished just outside the top 7, with the size of their squad and one of the best strikers in Europe they were expected to finish much higher. Conte who is regarded as one of the best managers of the world could not steady the ship.
Known as the most inconsistent team in the league it was no surprise that they didn’t achieve Europe.
This season could be a very different outlook for Spurs, there is a high possibility that Kane will leave in search of trophies, and they will have new manager Ange Postecoglou who will bring in fresh ideas and release a lot of players who he believes aren't up to standard.
Spurs will hope to steady the ship and bring success to the club that is so heavily desired.
Chelsea have had a miserable season; they were closer to relegation spots than European.
Under Ted Boehly they have grossly overpaid for players on huge deals some of them reaching up to 8 years. Sacking 2 managers in one season and then rehiring former Chelsea legend Lampard, who politely hasn't had a great managerial career so far. This was not a stroke of genius.
Chelsea finished only 10 points off the relegation zone, this has had many different factors but there is a strong belief that Chelsea has a squad that is too big and nearly impossible to manage. They do have hope for the future with many of signings being very young with high potential and who better to manage young talents than Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea will hope to turn a chapter on all that doom and gloom of last season. With a bright young manager and an incredible array of young talents it could be a real project starting! They will hope for a similar path to Arsenal, it takes time but it’s possible!
Everton have had another hugely disappointing season last season. Everton’s fans believe that surviving relegation it's just not good enough for there size of a club. They have never been relegated from the premier league and in that last 2 years they have survived at the very last second.
The toffees should be fighting for Europe not fighting relegation so large-scale changes are needed. These include the right investment and get rid of a lot of high earners who do not play.
Everton have been very badly run for the previous 5 years and the fans have made themselves heard with plenty of protests throughout the year, they want a lot of the board out for a younger generation who has a clear vision.
Some changes have been made through the summer. Not enough but it’s progress, they can visualise the problem and they are trying to eradicate it, but things do take time!
Dyche is a top manager who will want his team to be strong and solid. A comfortable mid table finish would be great for Everton. They can then build upon that for years to come.
Premier League newcomers
Sheffield United and Burnley are once again in the Premier League! Burnley ran away with the league title all while blowing teams away with their amazing style of play. This season they will be a very different side to what we last saw in the premier league. Under Vincent Kompany at the wheel, they played such a high press and score goals for fun, they also love to keep possession. Watching Burnley this season will provide you with almost guaranteed entertainment!
Sheffield United are in the top tier once again. They have been battling for promotion for many years and they have finally achieved what they desired. Now, you would think they would do everything in their power to solidify their Premier League status wouldn’t you? We haven’t seen to many signs of that being the case, no standout signings have been made and a few key players look to be leaving. It could be a long season ahead for the blades.
Finally, the team everybody is buzzing to see next season is little old Luton Town! Being promoted was not on the cards for most punters but they certainly believed in their self! They got close a few years in a row but this time they really made it to the big time.
With their stadium not up to Premier League regulations they could be at risk of not being able to fulfil their first home games. They will hope this isn’t the case as they will want to show off the new signings they have made. Many believe they are building an EFL super team for they’re inevitable relegation next year. But we like to believe miracles can happen, they shocked everybody getting promoted; so why not give us one last shock?
Luton Town in the Premier League doesn’t have a natural ring to it, but it certainly will provide us with some entertainment!
We will provide regular updates on the Premier League through the season. We hope for goals drama and big entertainment!!
