Monday, June 9, 2025

GRADING AND RANKING EVERY PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM FOR 24/25 SEASON

20th: Southampton
20th in the Premier League

Came down almost as quick as they come up and they spent quite a bit of money too. The only redeeming thing is that they did not get the worst points tally that Derby County had years ago.

19th: Manchester United
15th in the Premier League, Europa League runners-up

It's pretty obvious that this season was nothing short of diabolical which is unprecedented for a team that stature. Within the season alone we've seen the sacking of Ten Hag and hiring of Ruben Amorim which saw them go 14th after winning just 3 of their first 9 games. The fact they did not string consecutive wins at all this season, plus they went out on a whimper in the Europa League Final makes them 19th. If I was a united fan, I'd be fuming, but boy I do love to see them all squirm right now.

18th: Leicester
18th in the Premier League

Not a good season for Leicester in their return to the Premier League which sees them go straight back down to the Championship again. They were the best of the demoted ones, and shockingly enough, they did not lose to Tottenham at all this season, winning one and losing one. It's a shame that one of their legends Jamie Vardy has indicated he is done there. 


17th: Ipswich Town
19th in the Premier League

Initially, Ipswich looked like they are tough nut to crack when we only edged them 2-0 on opening day of the season then hold out for 4 impressive draws consecutively, including Aston Villa and Brighton. Later on, it was surprising that they did not even record a single loss to Chelsea at all, even notching a shock 2-0 win against them in Ipswich's home fixture. But from there it all went down hill, recording just a single win in the 2nd half of the season.

16th: Manchester City
3rd in the Premier League, FA Cup runner-up, Qualification for the Champions League

Another team whose early performances cost them everything overall. They were on a huge winless streak of having only 1 win in 12 matches, bowing out the EFL cup early to Tottenham. They really tried and they did put on a strong 2nd half, but the irreparable damage was already done. Also by all rights, they should have won against the underdogs Crystal Palace but the latter really went for it.

15th: Tottenham Hotspur
17th in Premier League, Promotion to the Champions League via Europa League title win.

A comical season to say the least. It's the tale of two parts of the league. In terms of League form, they were absolutely shit, ending up in 17th. But the promotion / qualification straight into the league phase of next season's Champions League of all things via winning the Europa League bumps them off nowhere near the bottom. Ranking maybe still be low, but in terms of who still had the better season than their rivals Arsenal? Tottenham still had an arguably better season. And to be fair there are a few good moments for them besides the Europa league win, which includes beating Man Utd all four times in their encounters in all competitions, dumping Man City early out of the EFL Cup which also begun City's bad spell. *Regardless of the case, Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his post on the 6th June 2025.

14th: Wolverhampton Football Club
16th : in the Premier League

Another team that started very poorly at the start of the season under Gary O'Neill. Only drawing 3 and losing 7 of their first 10 games saw the Wolves staying in the relegation zone for the entire first half of the season and O'Neill eventually released. In the mid of December, it was up to Vitor Pereira to attempt the escape off the drop-zone. Since then, a double over Leicester and Manchester United, getting a 6-game winning streak in the process and wins against Tottenham and Aston Villa ensured their survival.


13th: West Ham United
14th in the Premier League

WHU's campaign was... meh... to say the least, and rather quite disappointing. Lingering most of the time just above the relegation zone was quite alarming. They did finish in 14th however which is not the worst thing in the world. Other moments of the season for them includes doing a double win over Manchester United and a shock away win against Arsenal which greatly halted Arsenal's momentum in their title bid.

12th: Arsenal Football Club
2nd in Premier League, Qualification for the Champions League

The shortcomings of Arsenal Football Club this season are mostly boiled down to the decision making of both Mikel Arteta and the Kroenkes. Most of their attackers all went down to injury throughout the season, yet with two windows to address the problem, they failed to bring in a proper forward or striker. As a result, even though their defence was good, probably the best defense in the league, you can't win games with no goals, which resulted in too many dropped points and also bowing out of the FA Cup within their very first FA Cup game. Martin Odegaard even when back from injury was not fit and at peak performance. However to be fair, they did reach 2 semi finals, the EFL Cup and Champions League, beating Real Madrid and only losing to PSG.

11th: Everton
13th in the Premier League

This was a tale of two halves of Everton, which will explain why I didn't rank them super low. Everton began the season badly with 4 straight defeats. Sean Dyche's turtling park-the-bus football was depriving the team with goals. And by the time the first half ended, Everton could only muster 3 wins out of the possible 19 although to be fair they did nick points vs Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. After Dyche was sacked on the 9th January, David Moyes made his return to salvage Everton's season which largely worked. After losing his first 2 games, Moyes' Everton made a 9 match unbeaten streak, including wins against Tottenham, Brighton and nicking a point off Manchester United, us at LFC, to name a few. With only 4 losses since the re-appointment of Moyes, 8 wins and 5 draws in the remaining 17 league games was enough to finish strong.

10th: Fulham FC
11th in the Premier League

A typically average season for Fulham which can typically see some good moments and patches as well as some pretty wacky moments. Shock doubles against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Brentford largely screwed up the first two teams momentum in a bid for Champions League Football, especially for Forest. Whereas Newcastle had to rely on the modified UEFA rules to have a 5th place PL team just to get in. Their early exits in EFL Cup to Preston North End was a big shock to say the least.

9th: Brighton and Hove Albion
8th in the Premier League

One of those teams that had a slight dropoff since their very successful season 2 years ago. But they still proved competent to be formidable opponents in their own right. It started out promising with wins over Everton and Manchester United, while also nicking points off Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. The number of draws did make them suffer because, a few if turned to wins would have granted them European football. Still, a double against the two Topsy-turveys Manchester United and Tottenham and a double over Bournemouth gave them a decent-ish enough finish. Shame, could have been a more successful campaign for them but it is what it is.

8th: Bournemouth
9th in the Premier League

The start of the season was tough for Bournemouth AFC with difficult matches in a row including Forest and Newcastle but did manage to nick points from these two games. Surprisingly had quite a strong mid-season where it seemed that they are good candidates to get European football before a dropoff occurred. Like Brighton and Hove Albion, not getting European football was a bummer. However, their defense really improved thanks to the efforts of Loaned-in Keeper, Kepa. A very rare double over Arsenal was probably the biggest shock of the season and Bournemouth were the only team to achieve this feat.

7th: Brentford FC
10th in the Premier League

Again a team that has improved and impressed significantly from their disappointing finish in 16th last season. Although they have a very average first half of the season, they had a very strong second half of the season, under the guidance of Thomas Frank. They notched a comeback point against Man City, later even going on a 6 match unbeaten run, holding against Chelsea and Arsenal in the process plus wins against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, finishing with a respectable 56 points.

6th: Aston Villa
6th in the Premier League, UEFA Europa League Qualification

If not for the final day shenanigans, Aston Villa could have obtained that last Champions League Qualification spot for next season. Still a good campaign, especially during the second half where they put up a strong performance. They also notched up some famous wins, including one vs Ligue 1 Reigning champions PSG though losing on aggregate, and a win vs this year's re-crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. Bit of a bummer for them though.

5th: Chelsea
4th in Premier League, UEFA Conference League winners, Qualification for Champions League by league position

One of the sides whose manager felt they weren't in for a title challenge. Yet they done pretty okay. Maresca's Chelsea had a decently good start before there was a slight falloff. Still did manage to get a trophy in a process. Yes, it is the lowest tiered European Trophy, but it's still a trophy and it's great morale for the club. Moreover, they improved their position from 6th last season, to 4th, which qualifies them for the Champions League next season based on league position, instead of the Europa League after which is the promotion for winning the Conference league. Good season for Chelsea. In a way, the season is not over yet, the Club World Cup beckons for them.

4th: Crystal Palace
11th in Premier League, Qualification for Europa League via FA Cup title winner.

Honestly I am still buzzing for them ever since they won the FA Cup. Even though their mid table finish looks kinda meh, that 1-0 win alone vs Man City was enough for me to rank them to the top 5. Could have been 2-0 in fact, if not for the intervention from the VAR. In context, this is Crystal Palace's first ever major trophy in their history. Eze, Mateta, Guehi all enjoying their time and proving they can handle this level. Overall, excellent season for Crystal Palace and looking forward to their Europa League campaign in 25/26. Happy for their coach Glasner and happy for all of em'! For the first time, we will see them in the FA Community Shield and they will face us in LFC. As always won't count the Comm shield as a trophy but it is gonna be a very good warm up match once the season kicks off.

3rd: Newcastle
5th in Premier League, EFL Cup winners, Qualification to the Champions League

They have been very consistent throughout their last 2 seasons and have been proving themselves as an upcoming super team that can go head-to-head with almost anyone here. Beating us in the EFL Cup by right qualifies them to the Conference League. However, the way the UEFA co-efficient works at the end of the day, the Premier League obtained a 5th spot (plus another because of Tottenham) for qualification to the Champions League. So Newcastle clinched that last spot, only just.

2nd: Liverpool
Premier League title Winners, EFL Cup runner-up, Qualification for the Champions League.

When Slot was first appointed in the club, not one pundit ever expected LFC to come anywhere close to the top of the table. But Slot simply just breezed through the league and blown aside teams in the UCL league stages as well. That also includes very comfortable wins against 2 reigning champions; a 2-0 win Real Madrid (La Liga) and a thumping 4-0 of Bundesliga Champions Bayer Leverkusen, only losing out unfortunately to PSG to penalties. The fact that PSG had an easier time after us and winning the UEFA Champions league means we are undisputedly the best team to go toe-to-toe with them next season. The FA Cup was a disgrace though, bowing out so early to 2nd tier relegation battlers Plymouth of all people, like what the fuck bro! It was also bad that we didn't turn up for the EFL Cup final, giving Newcastle their first trophy in a very long while.

1st: Nottingham Forest
7th in Premier League, Qualified for UEFA Europa Conference League

Honestly a huge surprise that gave everyone in the league, including Liverpool a run for their money. Most pundits, if not all, predicted a relegation for the Nottingham Forest. However, Manager Nuno Espirito Santo proved them wrong and managed to guide them to European Qualification for next season all without spending much money. They did have a slight blip at the closing stages of the league, but can't doubt that their performance in the 1st half of the season was strong. Would be a team to keep an eye on next season, especially when they are involved in the Conference League.

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