2018/19 Premier League Season Review

Sunday saw Manchester City crowned champions for the 4th time. It was a tense title race with Liverpool top for 28 minutes, but City ran out 4-1 victors. Chelsea and Tottenham qualified for Champions League whilst Arsenal (Europa League final depending) and Manchester United were condemned to Europa League. Sadly, Huddersfield, Fulham and Cardiff were relegated. Read below for a club-by-club review.

(This was meant to come out on Sunday but I've had no internet until today)

ARSENAL
Unai Emery has managed to improve Arsenal slightly, but similar frailties that were apparent under Wenger are still present. That's to be expected given Emery had only been in the job for less than a year. The Gunners went on a remarkable 14 match unbeaten run between 25th August to 16th December, eventually losing to Southampton 3-2. It seemed as though Arsenal would secure top 4 in their last 5 games, they only won 1 (D1, L3). Overall, Emery can look at the season positively but still with a lot to improve.

Best Player: Alexandre Lacazette
Top Scorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (22)
Predicted Finish: 3rd
Actual Finish: 5th

BOURNEMOUTH

Bournemouth started the season brilliantly, amassing 20/30 points from the first 10 games. From then on, though, they lacked consistency and only performed sporadically. Eddie Howe plays attractive, progressive football but once again, like previous seasons, Bournemouth have struggled away from home because of this - losing 13/19 away games. If Bournemouth can eradicate their away plight, they may be able to challenge for 7th.

Best Player: Ryan Fraser
Top Scorer: Callum Wilson (14)
Predicted Finish: 15th
Actual Finish: 14th

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION

Brighton seriously struggled to find any sort of form in the second part of the season, winning 3/23 games. Chris Hughton was sacked (with Graham Potter the favourite to succeed him) due to this form, but the entire job he did as manager should not be forgotten. He managed to keep Brighton up twice, as well achieve an unexpected promotion, but results that Hughton got cannot be ignored. Whoever replaces Hughton needs to get the best out of his signings, especially club-record transfer Jahanbakhsh.

Best Player: Lewis Dunk
Top Scorer: Glenn Murray (13)
Predicted Finish: 16th
Actual Finish: 17th

BURNLEY

At the end of the first half of the season, Burnley sat in 18th position, conceding too many goals and not scoring prolifically. They were the complete opposite to the same side of last season who came 7th. Sean Dyche, though, did not panic and Burnley went on an 8 match unbeaten run, lifting them comfortably out of the relegation zone. With Sean Dyche at the club, it doesn't seem like Burnley will be relegated any time soon.

Best Player: Ashley Barnes
Top Scorer: Ashley Barnes (11)
Predicted Finish: 13th
Actual Finish: 15th

CARDIFF CITY

Of the promoted teams, Cardiff were the ones expected to get relegated straight back down. They did, but not without a fight. Their season was completely changed by the death of Emiliano Sala, which destroyed the club. They did, though, record a 2-0 win at Old Trafford on the last day of the season to make it a nice(ish) end to the season. Cardiff's lack of goals was ultimately their downfall.

Best Player: Victor Camarasa
Top Scorer: Victor Camarasa and Bobby Reid (5)
Predicted Finish: 20th
Actual Finish: 18th

CHELSEA

Chelsea's season was extremely odd. Sarri expected it to take months for Chelsea to adapt to his style of play but they seemed to hit the ground running straight away, going 12 matches unbeaten. Losses became more frequent as the season progressed (6-0 to Manchester City and 4-0 at Bournemouth) which seemed to question not only Sarri's tactics but his position at the club. The Blues did manage to secure Champions League football and with the transfer ban almost certain, it seems likely that Sarri will remain at Stamford Bridge for another season.

Best Player: Eden Hazard
Top Scorer: Eden Hazard (16)
Predicted Finish: 5th
Actual Finish: 3rd

CRYSTAL PALACE

Palace always seem to need Wilfired Zaha to perform, otherwise the other 10 players do not. This was apparent this season but there was never any fear of Palace getting relegated, having never been in the relegation zone. The performances of right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka have been delightful and the most memorable moment for them was beating Manchester City 3-2 at The Etihad. If Palace sign Michy Batshuayi for next season, they could easily push for 7th place.

Best Player: Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Top Scorer: Luka Milivojevic (12)
Predicted Finish: 11th
Actual Finish: 12th

EVERTON

The best way to describe Everton is 'Jekyll and Hyde'. The Toffees languished around mid-table all season with Marco Silva not entirely convincing fans he was the right manager for the club. However, in their last 10 games, Everton only lost 2 (W5, D3) and beat the likes of Chelsea (2-0), Arsenal (1-0) and Manchester United (4-0) comfortably. However, in that run, they also lost to Fulham 2-0. Everton should be the team challenging the Top 6 and their end of season form suggests they may do so next season.

Best Player: Lucas Digne
Top Scorer: Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison (13)
Predicted Finish: 10th
Actual Finish: 8th

FULHAM

Fulham were expected to easily survive relegation, playing their possession-based football that made them great to watch in the Championship. In the Championship, though, Fulham knew to defend. Over £100 million was spent in the summer and very little was gained through those signings. The Cottagers conceded an outrageous 81 goals. With a defence as disastrous as Fulham's, survival never looked likely. Ryan Sessegnon will surely be carted off in the summer as he looks to fulfil his potential.

Best Player: Ryan Babel
Top Scorer: Aleksandar Mitrovic (11)
Predicted Finish: 12th
Actual Finish: 19th

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN

Dreadful. One of, if not, the worst side to ever be in the Premier League. David Wagner, like Hughton, achieved an unexpected promotion and successfully kept them up the first time around, but relegation was alway likely. A club's top league goalscorer cannot have 4 goals and be able to stay up. Coupled with a leaky defence, Huddersfield were doomed from the start. Wagner left on good terms, but his replacement, Jan Siewert, seems to have already lost patience with the squad at Huddersfield. They will not be promoted back next season.

Best Player: No one
Top Scorer: Karlan Grant (4)
Predicted Finish: 19th
Actual Finish: 20th

LEICESTER CITY

With the squad Leicester have, they should be doing better. Claude Puel was never able to get the best out of Jamie Vardy and at Leicester, that will always decide your fate. Brendan Rodgers is a good appointment, given The Foxes young core and his plays that attacking, possession football the fans desire. James Maddison was a great addition as well as Ricardo Pereira. Leicester can definitely challenge for 7th. Their season, though, was tragically underpinned by the death of legendary owner Vichai Svriaddhanaprabha.

Best Player: James Maddison
Top Scorer: Jamie Vardy (18)
Predicted Finish: 7th
Actual Finish: 9th

LIVERPOOL

The Reds can look at this season with a lot of positives. To take Manchester City to the last day, lose by 1 point and get 97 points is testament to the job Jurgen Klopp has done at Anfield. He may not have won anything, but if you think a manager's job should be solely judged on trophies you need your head wobbling. Liverpool only lost 1 game this season, to Manchester City, and drew too many games. They became nervous in February time, drawing 4/6 games, and with their run of 9/9 wins, Liverpool have already got rid of their "bottle job" and look set to challenge again.

Best Player: Virgil van Dijk
Top Scorer: Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane (22)
Predicted Finish: 2nd
Actual Finish: 2nd

MANCHESTER CITY

This Manchester City side is arguably greatest Premier League side ever. 100 points last year, 98 points this year, as long as Pep Guardiola is at City nobody else has a chance of winning the league. City seemed to have lost the league after losing 2-1 to Newcastle but regained control in March and never looked back, winning 14 consecutive matches. Put simply, Manchester City are just too good (don't forget about FFP, though).

Best Player: Raheem Sterling
Top Scorer: Sergio Aguero (21)
Predicted Finish: 1st
Actual Finish: 1st

MANCHESTER UNITED

Many pundits predicted Manchester United to come in the Top 4 this season, and I was laughing at them. It was evident that under Mourinho United would always be dire this season. He was sacked in December, miles away from Top 4 but Solskjaer brought them closer, got the job permanently and since them, United have been horrendous. United have not won in their last 5 games, including embarassing results - 1-1 draw to Huddersfield and 2-0 loss to Cardiff. I don't see United improving dramatically to challenge for Top 4 next season. They could even fall out of the Top 6.

Best Player: Marcus Rashford
Top Scorer: Paul Pogba (13)
Predicted Finish: 6th
Actual Finish: 6th

NEWCASTLE UNITED

The relationship between Rafa Benitez and Mike Ashley seemed at its worst ever so I thought the negative feeling would translate onto the pitch. It did at the start of the season, Newcastle winless in 10, but I underestimated the managerial ability of Rafa Benitez. He never panicked and The Magpies began playing well and winning games. If Newcastle are to stay in the Premier League, they need to keep Benitez at all costs.

Best Player: Martin Dubravka
Top Scorer: Ayoze Perez (11)
Predicted Finish: 18th
Actual Finish: 13th

SOUTHAMPTON

Mark Hughes' managerial career may be over due to the awful job he did at Southampton. He was replaced by Ralph Hasenhuttl who immediately got the players playing better, especially Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse. With the intensity that Hasenhuttl's requires his team to play at, a good pre-season is needed for Southampton to fully aclimatise to his way but after that, The Saints should be nowhere near relegation.

Best Player: Nathan Redmond
Top Scorer: Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse (7)
Predicted Finish: 14th
Actual Finish: 16th

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

At one stage, it seemed as if Tottenham had a slight chance of winning the league. After Tottenham's 

3-1 win over Leicester, their form capitulated. In Spurs' last 12 games, they won just 3 (D2, L7). That is worrying but understandle, given Pochettino's decision to not to sign any players during the transfer windows. Tottenham were at one point 5 points behind 1st place, but ended up finishing 27 points behind Manchester City. They need to strengthen in the summer to stay in the Top 4.

Best Player: Heung-Min Son
Top Scorer: Harry Kane (17)
Predicted Finish: 4th
Actual Finish: 4th

WATFORD

Javi Gracia is owed my deepest apologies. I thought Watford would seriously struggle this season but I was pleasantly surprised. They play good football and Gerard Deulofeu looks to finally be playing up to his potential. The Hornets have an FA Cup final to look forward and that is possibly why their form tailed off towards the end of the season, giving Gracia rested players to keep them fit for the final.

Best Player: Ben Foster
Top Scorer: Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu (9)
Predicted Finish: 17th
Actual Finish: 11th

WEST HAM UNITED

West Ham made some astute signings under Pellegrini in the summer, especially Felipe Anderson from Lazio. The Hammers may have lost their first 4 games of the season but I was never worried about their survival. They had so many good players to be relegated. A natural striker is needed in the summer as, despite Arnautovic being an adequate player, he lacks the instincts a proper number 9 has. Fans may worry, though, as West Ham will have a struggle to keep Declan Rice from leaving.

Best Player: Declan Rice
Top Scorer: Marko Arnautovic (10)
Predicted Finish: 8th
Actual Finish: 10th

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Nuno Espirito Santo has done a magnificent job at Wolves but it shouldn't come as a surprise. The Jorge Mendes connection has enabled Wolves to sign quality players (Neves, Moutinho, Jimenez) so 7th place was definitely possible for them. The most surprising thing for Wolves is that they took more points from the Top 6 than Bottom 6 this season. If Espirito Santo can find a way of gaining more points from lesser sides, Wolves could potentially challenge for the Top 6.

Best Player: Matt Doherty
Top Scorer: Raul Jimenez (13)
Predicted Finish: 9th
Actual Finish: 7th

The Premier League curtain can now be closed! We say goodbye to three teams but can already welcome two - Norwich City and Sheffield United! Just think, there's only 88 days until the 2019-20 seasons starts!