Premier League: This mug got it seriously wrong
Manchester City players celebrate their Premier League title at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Picture: AP Photo/Jon Super
IT’S hard to grasp that the Premier League season has ed on by. It seemed like only yesterday we were wondering whether City would retain the title, or could the quadruple-hunting Liverpool push on once more for the Premier League crown or could Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea upset the top two incumbents?
As is usual at the end of the season, I take a look back at how my predictions fared in the warm-light of our May weather and it frankly leaves me feeling cold.
Well predictions (as they may say) is a mug’s game and apologies to anyone (mug enough) who put money on what I called for the final outcome of the 2022-2023 season.
Let’s get the excuses out of the way early so then.
There was one big elephant in the prediction room and that was the crazy Qatari mid-season World Cup that looked likely in upsetting the applecart. And so it did. But strangely maybe more so for lower clubs than the regular top six.
The season started early to accommodate the mid-term World Cup so maybe it should be no surprise that sides that left a lot on the field the previous season would struggle with the short turnaround of starting an entire new season just a month after the conclusion of the previous season.
And no side left more on the field than Liverpool last season. The Merseyside outfit played every match possible in all competitions domestically and in Europe available to them. While it looked at the time that they would be ready for the next campaign it showed that they were running ragged at the limit of their abilities and the lack of a break and short turnaround was a bridge too far for Klopp and Co.
While this was a clear factor in Liverpool's demise this past season, it also became clear that the well was running dry for many of the players in red and that there were more fundamental problems for some of the veterans at the club that needed addressing but Liverpool and owners FSG were slow to resolve in the transfer market.
Arguably, the sides worst affected by the World Cup hiatus were the relegated sides, Southampton, Leeds United and Leicester City.
For the record I saw them finish 16th , 15th, and eight respectively. I saw the Saints and Leeds just surviving but could not believe that the Premier League champions of 2016 could be dragged into the mire a mere seven years after their greatest days. Even before the World Cup, Leicester were in a relatively good position. But the collapse of their form after Qatar and after the firing of Brendan Rodgers was truly shocking.
For the record I predicted Bournemouth, Fulham, and strangely Brentford, would be taking the drop. My rationale being that the second season up syndrome may affect them hard. But to their credit, they handled it better than well and proved a real thorn in the side of many a title-chasing side.
It takes a special talent to not get a single place right in a 20 team table. But yes folks, I managed it, not even getting a single place right by even sheer luck or happenstance. The closest I got, was putting Wolves in 12th when in fact they finished 13th , Nottingham Forest in 16th when they finished 17th , and of course Man City in second even though they finished as champions.
Arsenal were the surprise package finishing second. I predicted that they were on the up but would end up in fifth. Being in contention for the title was a few years off in my opinion but they showed they have advanced more than expected. Whether that can be maintained into a more normal season next year? We will wait to see.
Ahead of the curve too was Newcastle’s fourth-place finish while Erick ten Hag’s Man United, once disposing of Ronaldo, finished three places above what I saw would be their final position.
The firing of Tuchel and ownership mess at Chelsea affected the pensioners more than anyone could have predicted and they were further away from my predicted finish than any other side, ending up in 12th when I saw them coming in fourth.
Spurs, as it turned out were more ‘Spursy’ than ever, finishing a disappointing eight-place when I saw them coming in the top three. I really should know better.
Sides that outperformed expectations were; Brighton, Aston Villa, Brentford and Newcastle.
Back of the class were; Chelsea, West Ham, Spurs, Liverpool... And my predictions.
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