Another entertaining Premier League season drew to a close in May. The obvious 'Winners' for the campaign were the likes of Manchester City and Mohamed Salah, who have featured heavily in my posts this season, so I've gone for some alternative picks below in this end of season review. It's also no surprise to see the three relegated sides in my 'Losers' section.
It's been a good season for...
The Promoted Sides
Newcastle enjoyed their return to the division, finishing 10th in a fine season under Rafa Benitez. The Magpies never looked in danger this season and will be hoping to improve and possibly challenge for a Europa League place next season under their established manager. Newcomers Brighton and Huddersfield both survived, the experienced Chris Hughton guiding the Seagulls to a 15th-placed finish and David Wagner managing 16th in his debut Premier League campaign. The priority for those two next season will be to survive the tricky second season and show the Premier League that they are there to stay.
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Burnley
Sean Dyche was a strong contender to win Manager of the Season and it's easy to see why. Burnley finished 7th and will play Europa League football which is a stunning achievement. Turf Moor is now one of the toughest places to visit in the league, with the Clarets so disciplined and organised both home and away. They finished nine places higher and fourteen points better off than in 2016/17, and should be able to attract some really good players this summer with European football to offer.
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Roy Hodgson
Another Manager of the Season contender, for me. The former England manager took over at Palace after Frank de Boer was sacked after losing his first five games without scoring a single goal. Hodgson rejuvenated the likes of Wilfried Zaha and the Eagles ended up finishing 11th, eleven points clear of relegation. It's hard not to be pleased for Hodsgon, whose reputation took a knock after England's poor exit to Iceland at Euro 2016, his previous job in the game.
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But a bad one for...
The Relegated Sides
It was a surprise to the trio of West Brom, Stoke and Swansea relegated this season. West Brom finished bottom after a poor start under Tony Pulis and a dreadful run under Alan Pardew, before Darren Moore's appointment. He did well, but it was always too little too late to keep the Baggies up and their eight-year stay in the top flight is over. Stoke struggled under Mark Hughes and never really improved under Paul Lambert, finishing 19th and returning to the Championship after ten straight Premier League season. Finally, Swansea left the Premier League after seven seasons after Paul Clement and Carlos Carvahal both failed to pick up consistent results.
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Chelsea
The Blues started the season as Champions, but a 3-2 opening day defeat at home to Burnley set the tempo for the season. There was rumoured unrest between Antonio Conte and both the owners and players at Chelsea which resulted in a 5th-placed finish and a failure to qualify for the Champions League. It could be another tough season for the Stamford Bridge club with a long Europa League campaign likely, and it looks as though they will have to find themselves another manager this summer.
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Experienced British Managers
The reputation of some of Britain's journeymen managers has been tarnished this season. Sam Allardyce took over at Everton but was dismissed at the end of the season and it was the same story for David Moyes at West Ham. Alan Pardew had a shocking spell at West Brom and Paul Lambert was appointed at Stoke but failed to keep them up and subsequently lost his job. It means that more clubs are going to be looking at foreign managers, with Everton reportedly keen on Marco Silva and West Ham already appointing former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini. Some of those mentioned above may have to look at jobs in the Championship next season if they want to remain in the game, like Tony Pulis has done at Middlesbrough.
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As the end of the 2017/18 Premier League season draws to a close find out my 'winners' and 'losers' for April.
It's been a good month for...
Pep Guardiola
Manchester City might have lost the Manchester Derby in April but that defeat merely delayed City's inevitable Premier League triumph by another week. 3-1 away victories at both Everton and Tottenham were enough to secure Guardiola his first Premier League trophy and City rounded off the month with a 5-0 demolition of Swansea at the Etihad and an equally comfortable 4-1 success at West Ham. City have blown the rest of the league away this season and as good as the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and co. have been the credit largely has to go to Pep. He got his style, system and signings spot on and it will take something very special to prevent his side making it back-to-back titles in 2018/19.
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Chelsea
It has been a largely disappointing season for the Blues but a strong April showing means they go into the final month of the campaign with a slim chance of qualifying for the top four, despite it being out of their own hands. It was two wins and a draw out of four for Antonio Conte's team but it should have really been three out of four, Javier Hernandez scoring a late goal for West Ham in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge at the start of the month. Chelsea had previously lost 3-1 at home to Tottenham before making amends with an Olivier Giroud-inspired 3-2 win at Southampton and a 1-0 victory at Swansea. It will be interesting to see if Conte is still in charge at the start of 2018/19, but if they do manage to make the Champions League and win the FA Cup you wouldn't bet against it.
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Darren Moore
West Brom's caretaker manager had an unbelievable month! Filling in following Alan Pardew's departure, Moore is unbeaten and has even lifted the Baggies off the foot of the table at the time of writing. He oversaw a 1-1 home draw with Swansea, an incredible 1-0 win at Manchester United, a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Hawthorns and a 1-0 win at Newcastle in April. Unfortunately for him and his players, those results weren't enough to prevent relegation to the Championship, but he has already collected more points than Pardew managed and looks to have the players on side. If he gets the job permanently we could see West Brom bouncing straight back up to the Premier League next year.
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But a bad one for...
Alan Pardew
As mentioned above, Pardew's sacking has led to a huge upsurge in form at West Brom. The journeyed manager had an awful few months at the Hawthorns, taking just eight points from a possible 54 and effectively leading the Baggiest towards their relegation fate. Pardew was brought in to keep WBA up, and his record will surely put other struggling teams off appointing him in future. Maybe a Championship side will come calling for Pardew but it's been a disaster of a year for him.
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Arsenal
It may be a little harsh to put the Gunners in here this month but they are still the only side in the entire football league without an away point in 2018 after 2-1 defeats at Newcastle and Manchester United. They did win their other three matches in April, at home to Stoke (3-0), Southampton (3-2) and West Ham (4-1), but it wasn't enough to see the club announce the fact that Arsene Wenger will be leaving Arsenal at the end of the season after a 22-year spell. Lots of Arsenal fans were happy with the news but I can now see there being a transitional period at the Emirates and wouldn't be surprised if they endured another tough season in 2018/19. As for Arsene Wenger; he will be greatly missed by the Premier League.
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West Ham
The Hammers are still not mathematically safe after failing to win a single match in April. The month started promisingly in that 1-1 draw at Chelsea, but a 1-1 home draw at Stoke in their next match was then followed by 4-1 drubbings at Arsenal and at home to Manchester City. Admittedly they have played three of the big boys but it was far too easy for Arsenal and City and that is what worries me with West Ham. The new stadium shouldn't be an excuse anymore but it just doesn't intimidate the opposition like Upton Park used to. The Hammers should be fine but it has still been a frustrating campaign for them.
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