Premier League 2023-24 Season Review – Part Two

Premier League 2023-24 Season Review – Part One featured the clubs which finished from 1st to 6th in the table.

It was quite the weird season for Newcastle United. The Champions League returned to St. James’ Park and the Magpies started brilliantly but the Tonali ban and an injury ravaged squad meant they were never really at full strength at any point in the season. Seventh place might feel disappointing immediately after a top-four finish but given the circumstances, Eddie Howe has done very well indeed.

This is Manchester United Football Club we are talking about! Are they the new banter club of the Premier League? They certainly have been over the past few seasons, and this one has been the worst of the lot. Like Newcastle, their squad has been decimated by injuries which offers some mitigation but there has been little to nothing for which to cheer at Old Trafford unless they manage, by some miracle, to win the FA Cup final against Manchester City.

David Moyes’ second stint at West Ham United is over, and it has been quite the ride. He saved the club from relegation upon his return, stabilized them and led them to two successive top seven finishes, and then won their first major trophy [Europa Conference League] in 43 years. However, his style of play and conservative tactics have never sat well with the Hammers faithful, and the end had been coming for some time.

They should never have sacked Patrick Vieira for Roy Hodgson to begin with but having taken two steps back, Crystal Palace took one huge stride forward with the appointment of Oliver Glasner. Seven wins and three draws from his first thirteen games, and a tenth place finish, bode well for the Eagles next season, if they can keep hold of such talent as Olise, Eze, Wharton, and Guéhi.

Brighton are another club to suffer on account of injuries this season, and yet the fall from sixth to eleventh will hurt. The De Zerbi experiment appears to have gone wrong, and the Italian will seek pastures new in the summer. There is promise aplenty in this squad however, and if the Brighton board get their next appointment right, which they usually do, the Seagulls could easily once more challenge for a top-seven finish.

Andoni Iraola did not get off to the best start but he settled in, and ultimately led Bournemouth to a twelfth-place finish, improving upon the previous season’s 15th. The Cherries have played some excellent, entertaining football, and Dominic Solanke’s return to form has been quite the joy to watch. If their manager isn’t poached during the summer, the club should be well confident of a top-ten finish next season.

Part Three of this review will be published tomorrow, featuring the clubs which finished from 13th to 20th in the table.