Premier League 2024/25 season review: A record-breaking campaign

Jonathan Victoria • 05 Jun 2025 Features

Another compelling campaign in the books.

Premier League 2024/25 season review: A record-breaking campaign

The dust has settled on a Premier League season and now it’s time to look back at what was, if we’re being honest, not the most exciting campaign, but definitely one that followed a wild script.

From the great wallopings to unforgettable upsets, we give our plaudits to the biggest winners and key players, and the participation medals to those that didn’t quite live up to expectations in this, our Premier League 2023/24 season review.

Surprises up and down the table

Credit: Liverpool FULL Premier League trophy celebrations! 🏆🔴 (Sky Sports Premier League, YouTube)

Never in my lifetime did I think I’d see Manchester United finish as low down as they did. Sure, they’ve been on the decline in recent years, but this year was surely rock bottom.

And yet, they still managed to put themselves in a position to claim Champions League football for next year. Obviously they fell short, but even maddeningly, Tottenham, who they lost out to, managed to better (or worsen) United's pitiful 15th place finish, ending up just one place above the relegation zone but still with top flight European football for next year.

It’s simply unbelievable.

It’s even crazier when you consider that Spurs will be playing Champions League football and Nottingham Forest won’t be, which is another level of crazy given that many named Forest a candidate for relegation this year. Instead, they hung around towards the top and only dropped off right at the end.

Then you had Crystal Palace, a perpetual mid-table side, claiming their first major trophy in the clubs history after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final. They too will now be appearing in Europe next year - lord knows how they’ll get on.

Many thought Liverpool would drop off after Jurgen Klopp’s departure, but instead his successor Arne Slot has already equaled the German’s Prem achievement in his first season - albeit mainly because City mysteriously dropped off majorly, Arsenal was typical Arsenal and everyone else simply didn’t know how to challenge.

This really was truly the most unpredictable of years.

Misery for many (mostly me)

Credit: The FUNNIEST Premier League moments this season! 🤣 (Sky Sports Premier League, YouTube)

While many fans had their reasons to feel disappointment this year, no one can be more depressed, more saddened, more embarrassed quite frankly about their season than us Southampton fans.

I try to save face by saying we’re not the worst team in history due to us earning more points than Derby, but it was only by a meager point, and in every other statistic that matters and by viewing metrics, we were woefully awful this year.

I don’t think Leicester and Ipswich were that much better though, just better enough. The fact that the same three teams that came up are going straight back down for the second year in a row is a bad showing for the league.

I don’t want to be that guy just because my team is going down, but there is a serious problem in the league that is only going to get worse if nothing changes.

You’ve got teams across the board overspending and being investigated for FFP, only to be given the equivalent of a slap on the wrist as punishment. And we expect these newly promoted teams to keep up when the rest of the league can spend however much they like without serious consequence.

I think we’re all still waiting on the Man City verdict and hopefully, if they do give them a proper punishment that they deserve, it’ll carry on to others who have committed similar offences and bring about some meaningful change.

Awards

Enough with the disappointment, let’s get back to the good of the year (mostly) and give out the Digital TV Premier League end-of-season awards!

Player of the Year & MVP – Mo Salah

In a year when we thought Liverpool would drop off and Salah would simply coast through to the end to see out his contract, the Egyptian megastar rolled back the years and produced one of, if not the best season of his career.

To claim the Golden Boot with 29 goals and top the assists category with 18 at 32 years old is a sensational feat that is more than deserving of the Player of the Year.

He also picks up the MVP award as without his efforts, I doubt Liverpool would’ve been able to achieve their second title.

Goalkeeper of the Year – Matz Sels

For me, Forest’s shot stopper showed out this year and was the most important factor in his side overachieving as much as they did.

Sels at times was simply unbeatable, picking up 13 clean sheets on the way to a joint-Golden Glove award. To do that at 33 years old having not ever shone so brightly before is remarkable.

Coach of the Year – Arne Slot

Stepping into the shoes of the widely popular Klopp was always going to be a big task, and yet Slot brought out brilliance from his Reds side that spurred them on.

The Dutchman utilised all the assets he had and pushed a couple of them into the best in the league conversation - most notably Ryan Gravenburch, a player who once had a lot of potential that seemed to begin stagnating. Slot revitalised him and turned him into a star worthy of a Team of the Year spot.

I don’t think even Liverpool fans expected Slot to be so successful so quickly. While they didn’t achieve their other goals outside of the Prem, they are sure to be a threat once more in Europe for time to come under Arne.

Biggest Surprise – Nottingham Forest & Tottenham

Two sides on different ends of the biggest surprise spectrum.

As noted at various points, Forests major overachievement this year was arguably the feel-good story of the year, even if they did cheat a few years back to get to this point.

On the flip side, Spurs’ dropoff will be studied for years to come. What’s crazy is that despite a 17th place finish, they held a positive goal difference right up until the final game of the year. Whether Ange Postecoglou stays or not, he shall always be remembered for producing the most baffling result for a side in league history.

Most disappointing – Arsenal & Manchester City

I don’t think it's fair to put any of the relegated sides here, while Man United and Spurs have both been disappointing their fans for years already.

Instead, I’m looking towards the top and going back to the point about Liverpool’s challengers not knowing how to compete.

This should’ve been the year Arsenal finally claimed the title, but they seem so happy being the runners-up. Like genuinely, you hear the way their fans talk and they are pleased about finishing second three years in a row and not seeing any silverware for five years.

Then you have Man City, a side who went from winning the treble two seasons ago to losing four consecutive matches for the first time in the Pep Guardiola era. And that was without any major changes. They just fell off.

Game of the Year – Everton 2 - 2 Liverpool

There were a few matches to choose from, but I’ve gone with the final Merseyside derby to be played at Goodison Park as the Game of the Year simply for its finale.

Everton down, final minute of play. The ball is hoofed into the box and who’s there to finish it off? The captain, of course, James Tarkowski, thumping it home and sending the home crowd into hysterics.

You couldn’t write a better script.

Goal of the Season – Omar Marmoush vs Bournemouth