My first ever article on this website (I actually started the website because of this article) was my 2022/23 Premier League Season Preview and at the end of that I predicted the Premier League table for this season. After well over 9 months, it’s time to look back and see how terribly I did!
20th: Fulham
This is certainly not a good start as Fulham ended up finishing 10th with 52 points. The reason I went with Fulham is they’d failed to stay up multiple times when getting promoted from the Championship and I also thought they’d struggle without Fabio Carvalho. What actually happened is they signed Willian, Joao Palhinha stepped up and Aleksandar Mitrovic scored 14 goals (I said he needed at least 15). Fair play to Fulham because they proved me and a lot of people wrong as they went on to have a fantastic season.
19th: Southampton
I’m pretty happy with this prediction as Southampton ended up finishing bottom with just 25 points. I said in my season preview that Southampton have brought in players that can work well in the future. However, I also said that they’ll be in serious trouble if the players aren’t ready/good enough to play in the Premier League yet. I was definetly right as no one really put in the types of performances that Southampton needed besides club captain James Ward-Prowse. Unfortunately for the Saints, only having 1 good player isn’t enough to keep you in the top flight of English football.
18th: Everton
I was close with this one, but Everton managed to stay up on the last day of the season as they finished 17th with 36 points. I said that I thought Frank Lampard was capable of doing well as manager which definetly was incorrect and I also said that Everton won’t improve from where they were last year due to not bringing in any real quality. A part of that was true, but the Toffees did go and bring in Dwight McNeil and Idrissa Gana Gueye which definetly improved the team. However, it was still a bad season for Everton and they can’t keep finding themselves in this position.
17th: Bournemouth
The best thing about this prediction was people I knew said I was mad for saying Bournemouth were going to stay up. This prediction ended up being wrong because they actually finished 15th with 39 points! I put in my preview that Bournemouth only went down in 2020 because of injuries and I stick by that today. Given Bournemouth had a fit squad (for the most part) and the fact that Phillip Billing and Dominic Solanke combined well ended up meaning that the Cherries had a really good season.
16th: Nottingham Forest
This is my first correct prediction as Nottingham Forest finished 16th with 38 points to their name! I said in my preview that if Notts Forest play how they played in the second half of their Championship Promotion campaign they’d be best equipped out of the 3 promoted teams to stay up. Now that was partly wrong as both Fulham and Bournemouth finished above them, but Forest did also stay up so I sort of got it right? Either way, Nottingham Forest have had a really good season.
15th: Brentford
I was completely off with Brentford as they ended up finishing 9th with 59 points. Weirdly enough, I said I thought Brentford would improve in their second year in the Premier League yet I had them to finish lower than they did in the 2021/22 season (they finished 13th). I also said that whilst they don’t have one of the best squads in the league, they are one of the best teams in the league and I think this year fully showed that (especially the second part). Congrats to Brentford on another fantastic season.
14th: Leeds
This certainly wasn’t a great prediction as Leeds ended up getting relegated (19th) with 31 points. I put Leeds in the “Survival Battle” category, but I also thought they’d do well due to the new players they’d brought in as a result of them selling Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips for a combined total of £105 million. I definetly think Tyler Adams played well for them whilst the rest of the players, whilst good at times, weren’t consistent enough. I also really rate/rated Jesse Marsch as a manager so that played a role in where I put them in the table.
13th: Aston Villa
Aston Villa performed much stronger than I anticipated as they ended up finishing 7th with 61 points. I said that they had too much quality to get relegated, but I also didn’t think they were going to be good enough to finish inside the top 10. It’s worth mentioning that Steven Gerrard was Villa’s manager at the start of the year and I’ve never rated him. Congrats to Aston Villa though on a terrific season; I will definetly put you higher next year!
12th: Brighton
Brighton are another team that I was nowhere near with in my prediction as they ended up finishing 6th with 62 points. Interesting, I put Brighton in the conversation for a place in Europe and I even said they could definetly challenge for a spot in the top 7 if they sort out their home form. They had a much better home record this season (9th best compared to 16th), but I do find it interesting that I put them so low given the fact that I also said they could challenge for Europe. That’s exactly what Brighton did in the end and they definetly deserve all the praise in the world.
11th: Crystal Palace
Of course I got Crystal Palace correct (they finished 11th with 45 points)! I said that I thought Crystal Palace could challenge for a spot in the top 10 which didn’t quite happen and I also said I thought Patrick Viera was going to keep getting better which certainly didn’t end up happening. I also said Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi are all good footballers and I think they all proved that again this year. Another solid season for Crystal Palace, but they’ll be aiming for more next year.
10th: Wolves
I was a bit too optimistic with Wolverhampton Wanderers this season as they ended up finishing 13th with 41 points. I actually said that as long as Wolves find consistency and Raul Jimenez gets to his best, Wolves would qualify for Europe. Wolves once again mastered the consistency of being inconsistent whilst Raul Jimenez didn’t score a single league goal in the 22/23 season so I was completely wrong. Wolves need to have a much better season next year, but I’m not so sure they will.
9th: West Ham
This was another prediction that I made that wasn’t great as West Ham ended up finishing 14th with 40 points. I fully expected West Ham to be in the fight for a place in Europe, but I did also say they could be slightly hindered by playing in the Europa Conference League. This was sort of true, but to be honest, I don’t think this was a bad prediction, I just think the Hammers underperformed. They will hope to do better next year, but their season could well include Europa League nights.
8th: Manchester United
I was clearly off with this one as Manchester United ended up finishing 5th with 75 points. I said I thought Eric Ten Hag is a good manager which has proven to be true, but I think the main reason I had United so low is because I rated other teams more and I also expected United to struggle in their first season under Ten Hag before they picked it up in the second. That obviously wasn’t the case as United had a really good league campaign and could well do the domestic cup double which would be a very impressive feat.
7th: Leicester
Oh Boy! Leicester ended up having the complete opposite season to what I expected as they ended up getting relegated (18th) with just 34 points. I said that I expected Leicester to be challenging for Europe again because even though they had a poor season the year prior, they still managed to finish 8th. I think it’s fair to say that that was a pretty great season in comparison to this one. I’m still not sure whether this was a terrible prediction or if the Foxes were just terrible.
6th: Newcastle
I went higher than anyone in my family when it came to predicting Newcastle this season, but I ended up being to low as they ended up finishing 4th with 71 points. I said in my season preview that Eddie Howe is a super manager and the signings of Nick Pope, Sven Botman and Matt Targett were going to really help them out defensively. It’s fair to say that Eddie Howe has once again proven just how good of a manager he is whilst Newcastle had the joint-best defensive record in the league this season so the signings definetly payed off. W ell done Newcastle, you deserve to be in the Champions League next season.
5th: Chelsea
Another great prediction by yours truly as Chelsea ended up finishing 12th with just 44 points to their name. I actually labelled Chelsea as one of the four clubs that could win the Premier League this season as long as they didn’t suffer with injuries and I also thought they’d do well due to the centre back partnership of Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly. Both Silva and Koulibaly ended up missing quite a few games for the Blues and that definetly cost Chelsea this season. It’s fairly obvious that they have to do better next season.
4th: Arsenal
I expected Arsenal to be stronger this season, but I didn’t predict for them to do as well as they did as they ended up finishing 2nd with 84 points. I said back in August that the Gunners have really good young attacking options and that definetly proved to be true as Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka all scored over 10 goals in the league this season. I also said the future is bright for Arsenal and I still very much believe that.
3rd: Tottenham
The season didn’t go as I expected for Tottenham as they ended up finishing 8th with 60 points. I very much believed that Tottenham could challenge for the title mainly down to the fact that they had Antonio Conte as manager and he’s a proven winner. Even though Conte is a terrific manager, even he wasn’t capable of turning this club around. I also said I expected Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son to be fighting for the Golden Boot again and whilst Kane scored 30 goals, Son only managed 10. Spurs have to take advantage of the fact that they aren’t in Europe next season because otherwise, they are in serious trouble of losing their status as a “top 6 club”.
2nd: Manchester City
I once again failed to predict Manchester City to win the Premier League as they ended up Champions with 89 points. I said in my season preview that if Erling Haaland is anywhere near the quality of Sergio Aguero, the rest of the league should be worried. That proved to be correct as Haaland scored 36 goals in the league this season and I also was correct with saying Julian Alvarez would be a useful tool for Manchester City to use. I was also correct about Kalvin Phillips not coming in and replacing Rodri so I was pretty spot on with this club besides saying they were going to win the league. Let’s see if I learn my lesson next year!
1st: Liverpool
I expected Liverpool to become Premier League Champions in 2023, but that definetly didn’t happen as they finished 5th with just 67 points. I said Liverpool could easily win the league with 90 plus points and that definetly didn’t happen and I also said Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota would all be near the top of the goal scoring charts come the end of the season. I was completely wrong with this one and it’s fair to say that Darwin Nunez didn’t perform on the level of previous South American strikers that have played at Anfield. Liverpool will be hoping for a much stronger campaign next time out.
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