2024/2025 Premier League Wrapped

With just a few games left to play, we’re approaching the business end of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign. And while there’s still some jostling left for the European places (and the less glamorous fight for 17th), most of the big storylines have already been written. What a strange & chaotic season it’s been. Let’s not waste any time here are, in my view, the main stories that have defined this season in the English top-flight. 

Champions When Nobody Saw It Coming

Let’s be honest: not a soul outside of Merseyside had Liverpool pegged as title winners this year. Post-Klopp transition, new manager Arne Slot came in with questions around his tactical pedigree and how he’d manage the big personalities in the squad. What followed was a campaign of grit, energy, and, dare I say, old-school Liverpool relentlessness. While the style changed, the essence of Liverpool stayed the same. Mo Salah reminded us all that he’s not finished yet. Key players stayed fit, the defence tightened up, and the Anfield fortress was restored. Not everything was pretty, but they found ways to win. They ground out results when it mattered most. While the likes of Arsenal and City stumbled, the Reds surged. And now they’re champions again. It might not have been vintage Liverpool, but it was effective. Nobody saw it coming. And that’s exactly what makes it brilliant.

Same Script, Same Ending

Arsenal were supposed to take that next step. After pushing City hard last season, the hope (and maybe expectation) was that they’d finally get over the hump. In truth, they never really got going this season. The defence has been top-tier once again and injuries didn’t help their cause, but they remained just close enough. But then came the familiar drop-off. They didn’t collapse in dramatic fashion, but the momentum quietly fizzled out. A draw here, a poor performance there and suddenly Liverpool had pulled away. What stings most is that this was arguably their best chance. City were vulnerable and this was their opportunity to capitalise. Fans will point to injuries being an important factor in them being left behind, but for me, that’s not a good enough excuse. It is just like Patrice Evra said, Arsenal are watching a Netflix show: you’re always waiting for the next season.

The Empire Falters

No one's going to cry for Manchester City, but this has undeniably been their weakest league campaign under Pep. The signs were there early on; sluggish starts, laboured wins, and an overreliance on moments of individual brilliance. Rodri missing essentially all the season didn’t help, nor did an aging squad that started to run out of legs. Defensively, City have looked oddly vulnerable. Even the normally bulletproof Ruben Dias hasn’t been at his best. There’s also been a sense that Pep himself might be tiring, his rotations have been more erratic, his press conferences slightly spikier, his touchline outbursts more frequent. For a club that’s redefined domestic dominance, finishing third (or worse) feels seismic. Of course, City aren’t going anywhere. They’ll spend big in the summer and come back swinging. But for now, the aura of invincibility has faded and that alone is worth noting.

Big Six No More?

We’ve been talking about it for a while, but this might be the season where we can say the traditional “big six” is no more. Newcastle & Aston Villa have continued to disrupt the big powerhouses. We’ve seen Forest now come into the mix for the European places.  Even Brighton have continued to rise, all while some of the traditional powers are in shambles (we’ll get to United and Spurs in a bit). It used to be that the same six teams would rotate the top six places. Not anymore. It shows that the gap is closing between yesteryear’s big guns and the ones that who want a seat at the table. There are now 8–10 clubs with legitimate ambitions of qualifying for Europe. That can only be a good thing, unless you’re one of the former big six, in which case, it’s an identity crisis in real time.

Domestic Duds, European Dreams

Let’s lump these two together because, frankly, they’ve both been massive disappointments. Spurs made a decent start to the season, but it’s been a hard watch as the campaign has progressed. They’ve dropped too many silly points, and any hype has well and truly dissipated. To lose nineteen games already and the season isn’t even finished, that’s shambolic. United? Another joke of a season. Managerial changes have ensued, but things domestically have gotten worse. Any positive results have been due to individual talent bailing them out, but that’s no way to run a football team. And yet, both clubs still have a shot at European silverware. Both are in the Europa League semis and are on course to meet in the final. Winning a continental trophy won’t erase the league failures, but it would offer a silver lining and salvage what have been terrible seasons.

The Yo-Yo Curse Continues

Just as we saw in 2023/2024, all three promoted clubs have suffered an immediate drop back to the Championship. Are we surprised? Not really. Southampton have a real claim to be one of the worst Premier League teams in history, just tragic across the board. Leicester have also been so bad, not showing at any time that they would survive. Whilst Ipswich were the most competitive out of the three, it was always going to be a struggle after back-to-back promotions. It shows that now more than ever, the gap between the Premier League and Championship is getting bigger and bigger. It’s a problem that the Premier League needs to address, as no fan wants to see the same teams chopping and changing between the top-flight and the second division. It’s not as simple as these promoted clubs spending more money to become Premier League ready, there needs to be a balance.

This Week’s Hot Take

We keep hearing that the Premier League is the “best league in the world.” But maybe it’s just the most chaotic. You’ve got dominant teams crumbling, new powers rising, and the old guard flailing in the wind. That’s not a complaint—it’s brilliant entertainment. But maybe we should stop pretending there’s any kind of structure or order to this league. The only rule seems to be expect the unexpected.