The 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season has drawn to a close, with Manchester City lifting their fourth successive league title after an epic battle with Arsenal and Liverpool.
But beyond the title race, the season was a rollercoaster for many. Some teams defied expectations and soared above the rest, while others fell short of their ambitions, leaving fans scratching their heads.
Read on as we explore the contrasting fortunes across the league table, dissecting the biggest underachievers and overachievers of the season.
Underachievers
Chelsea
Chelsea limped to a sixth-place finish despite shelling over £400 million in the summer transfer market.
They are heading to the Europa Conference League with nothing to show for all the excessive cheques they have been signing.
The Blues spent most of the season in mid-table, hovering between 10th and 12th.
For a team that has spent more than £1 billion over the past two years, they have been disappointing, consistently underwhelming their supporters.
A PL title looks far away from Stamford Bridge, and the Blues have now gone seven years without winning the league.
With each move, it looks like owners BlueCo and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are keen on sinking the West London club deeper into mediocrity.
Their sporting strategy is bewildering and appears to be leading Chelsea down a path of sabotage.
Manchester United
Erik ten Hag led Manchester United back into the Champions League and secured the League Cup in his first year at the club, but their 2023/24 PL campaign was an absolute catastrophe.
The Red Devils were supposed to be title challengers but finished eighth on the league table, their lowest position in over three decades.
They also finished with a negative goal difference for the first time since that same season.
Interestingly, it could have been worse. The Red Devils are 14th for expected points and leaked shots throughout the season, conceded more than 16 other teams.
There’s no sugar-coating the fact that Ten Hag’s side were porous in the centre and allowed teams access to Andre Onana’s goals far too much.
But it’s hard not to have some sympathy for the Dutchman, considering his defence was plagued with injuries for a considerable chunk of the campaign.
United’s signings didn’t help matters either. They struggled to elevate the team, and the stars already on their books, like Marcus Rashford and Casemiro, regressed at an alarming rate.
However, United dropped the curtain on a high by beating fierce rivals and Premier League champions Manchester City to win their 13th FA Cup title to the delight of fans who purchased Man Utd tickets from seatsnet.com to attend the game.
Ten Hag has now won two titles during his three-year stint at Old Trafford.
While speculation continues to swirl about his future, United would be better off handing him at least one more season with significant backing in the transfer market.
Burnley
Burnley climbed into the PL like a formidable side, clinching promotion with seven games to spare and recording over 100 points while playing the best football in the second division.
They followed it by spending over £100m to bolster their squad for the return to the top flight. However, Vincent Kompany’s side crashed back down to the Championship with a whimper.
The season was a disaster, as most of their signings struggled to live up to the billing. They were not PL-quality signings but additions to fulfil the manager’s philosophical fantasies.
Burnley’s dream turned into a nightmare. Their free-flowing Championship dominance evaporated under the Premier League spotlight.
Expensive flops and a rigid, unsuitable style left them scrambling back to the second tier with their tails tucked between their legs.
Overachievers
AFC Bournemouth
When AFC Bournemouth dismissed Gary O’Neil at the end of last season, many wondered whether the Cherries knew what they were doing.
O’Neil had helped them stave off relegation as they finished five points away from the dreaded drop zone.
However, they dismissed him and brought in Andoni Iraola, much to the anger of the English media.
Many were already clicking their fingers waiting on Iraola’s demise, especially after he opened his reign with seven defeats out of 11 games.
But slowly, the Cherries began to gather momentum. They got their first win of the season on October 28 and then collected 45 points from their next 26 league games. Only the top four teams garnered more points in that run.
Iraola implemented a high-octane and exciting style of play, with striker Dominic Solanke spearheading their season with a career-best 19 league goals.
Bournemouth ended the season in 12th place, finishing with their best-ever point tally in the top flight (48). Iraola earned a PL Manager of the Season nomination for an outstanding job at the Vitality Stadium.
Aston Villa
Unai Emery returned to the shores of England last season and expertly cleaned the mess Steven Gerrard left behind at Aston Villa.
The Villains were slipping into a relegation battle until the Basque manager joined and turned their fortunes around. He pushed the club up the league table into seventh and secured Europa Conference League football.
This season, they defied the odds in outstanding fashion, clinching Champions League football for the first time in over four decades.
Villa stormed to their 15th-consecutive home win after beating Arsenal on December 9, just three days after claiming a massive scalp with a 1-0 over Man City. They were just two points behind leaders Liverpool at the time.
Villa executed Emery’s well-toned offensive football. They played with a signature high line that caught attackers offside more often than any other team in the top flight.
Ollie Watkins delivered the goods in front of goal, bagging 19 goals and 13 assists in 37 appearances.
The race for the final top-four spot with Tottenham Hotspur was incredibly tight. Villa and Spurs took their fight down to the wire, but the Villains pipped the North London side to the coveted Champions League spot.
Everton
In stark contrast to last season, when they had to wait until the final day to ensure PL survival, Everton retained their PL status with a healthy 14-point gap this time around, even though off-the-field issues threatened to derail their campaign.
Crippling financial issues meant the Toffees had a torrid summer transfer window, and the mountain did not get any easier to climb when the PL levelled an eight-point deduction against them for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
There was (and still is) also a cloud of uncertainty stemming from the club’s protracted takeover by Miami-based private investment company 777 Partners.
However, Everton defied all the odds and beat the drop with aplomb. They ended the season with a flurry, winning five of their final nine games (D2, L2).
Much of the credit goes to manager Sean Dyche, who instilled a fighting spirit in the team.
With their backs against the wall, Everton dug deep and channelled the unwavering support of the supporters to defy the doubters and preserve their status as one of the oldest clubs in the top flight.
