I Reacting to my Premier League predictions for 21/22
Welcome back to my blog, and today I will be reacting to the Premier League predictions I made back in August, which you can check out right here:https://medium.com/white-grass/predicting-the-2020-21-pl-table-part-2-4fcd2160cdcc. I actually split the article into 2, but for this reaction I will react to both in just one article.Now, let’s see how miserable my predictions are.
20. Newcastle United (Norwich City)
To be fair, I made this prediction well before the Saudi takeover, which means I didn’t foresee Bruce’s sacking and the hiring of Eddie Howe. I’m a massive fan of Howe, and had I known he was going to be hired, I would have ranked the Magpies much higher.
19. Burnley (Watford)
I kind of got this right, with Burnley finishing 18th, one spot higher, and getting relegated. However, I should have realised that Burnley are far better than this excuse of a Watford side. Not much to say about this one.
18.Watford (Burnley)
I overestimated the Hornets for this one. I thought they would hold on till the last day but still get unfortunately relegated, but they finished 19th with a 12 point gap between themselves and Burnley. Watford have been terrible this season, and their football definitely deserves their relegation.
17. Brentford (Leeds United)
Brentford did far better than I thought they would, and rightly so. Their football has been decently entertaining, and kudos to them for finishing higher up the table.
16. Crystal Palace (Everton)
This was a really mindless prediction from me. Palace have been electric the whole season, and the Viera appointment has worked out far better than most would have thought. They still have room to improve, but good job to them for finishing 12th.
15. Southampton (Southampton)
GET IN! A right prediction so early on? What a surprise this was! Southampton have been very average this season, and there’s not much else to say about this 15th place finish.
14th. Norwich City (Aston Villa)
What was I thinking? This was such a terrible prediction that it makes me look like I have mashed potatoes for a brain. Norwich city did what they do best, which is being terrible in the prem, as they finished rock-bottom. Not much of a surprise, though 2021 me would disagree. What a stinker of a prediction.
13th.Brighton (Brentford)
Brighton actually did far better than i expected, finishing top 10 for the first time since their promotion in the PL. Credits to Graham Potter for that, and it really has been a good season for ex-Swansea managers. First, Graham potter secures a 9th place finish for brighton, and then Steve Cooper leads Forest to the PL! Who would have thought…
12th. Wolves (Crystal Palace)
Both Wolves and Bruno Lage did far better than I thought, with the Midlands side securing a top half finish. Their Portugese clique performed well as usual, and Wolves as a whole were pretty decent.
11th. Everton (Newcastle)
This was a pretty OK prediction, though the Toffees did far worse than I foresaw. Can we talk about how well a job Howe did at Newcastle though? I already mentioned that I’m a massive fan of his work, but the job he’s done with the Magpies is phenomenal. Sure, he’s had some good signings to boost his team, but he’s still led a side rock bottom at the end of last year to almost finishing in the top half this year. We can expect big things from his side next season.
10th. West Ham (Wolves)
West Ham continued their fairytale rise as top 4 contenders this season, as they finished a decent 7th, securing Conference League football for next season. The Hammers fans are a bit disappointed, but this could be a blessing in disguise. The Irons did so well in the Europa League this season, getting knocked out in the semis by eventual winners Frankfurt, so you’d definitely think they’d have a decent chance at winning the Conference League next season.
9th.Leeds United (Brighton)
Leeds did far worse, slightly to my delight, but the Premier League lost a genius in the shape of Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentine has yet to be hired by any team, and hopefully he ends up at another doomed Championship side and transforms them. Jesse March, on the other hand, has been pretty bang average, and while he is slightly lucky to still have a job and keep Leeds up, you can’t say that he and the Leeds squad didn’t work their socks off to stay in the Prem.
8th. Aston Villa (Leicester)
Can I just say I am so, so disappointed in this Villa team? They have the best players in terms of talent compared to any 21st century Villa side, and yet they finish 14th. Sure, their torrid form under Dean Smith at the start didn’t help, but you’d have thought that they could have won more games at the end of the season under Gerrard. Gerrard has got two massive signings despite the window not even starting, and he should use them to turn Villa into European contenders next season.
7th. Spurs (West Ham)
To be fair, I made this prediction when Nuno was at the wheel, and thus underestimated their side a bit. However, with the appointment of Conte and the arrivals of Kulusevski and Bentancur, the Lilywhites managed to achieve their goal of CL football for 22/23.
6th. Arsenal (Manchester United)
Oh.My.God. SOOOO close! Arsenal did end up with a Europa League spot, despite having the upper hand in the top 4 battle. So while I was close, Arsenal are still no where close to CL football again!
5th. Leicester City (Arsenal)
Leicester City have been underwhelming this season, and I’m surprised Brendan Rodgers hasn’t been given the boot. Sure, he’s a legend of the club for winning them the FA Cup and helping them gain European football for 2 seasons in a row, but he’s become a bit stale at the King Power stadium. It’s like using the same socks for 3 years, no matter how good it is, it will reek after such prolonged use. Nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers looks set to stay this summer, and should use the window to try and rebuild his team.
4th. Liverpool ( Tottenham)
This top 4 is going to be embarrassing. Liverpool did far better than just 4th, finishing just 1 point behind champions City. Honestly, I just thought that Jurgen Klopp’s ship had run out of steam, and the Klopp era was slowly coming to an end. However, the German mastermind proved us all wrong by leading Liverpool back to the very top, and almost winning the quadruple.
3rd. Chelsea (Chelsea)
Let’s go!!! Finally, another one right! Chelsea were pretty decent this season, but just like I said, the quality of their squad depth came back to bite them. While most stars had a role to play this season, not many of them shone, which eventually led to a sadly trophy-less season for the Blues.
2nd. Man City (Liverpool)
How could I mess this one up? Man City have the best squad by far, and I really should have backed them to win. However, delusional 2021 me decided to go for…
1st. Man Utd (Man City)
oh. my. god. This prediction is probably the worst one out of the whole list, along with that Norwich City one. United have been terrible (by our standards) all season, and there’s not one United fan who didn’t wish for the season to end sooner. This season has been so pathetic that we have to support rivals like Real Madrid and Man City in matches just to ensure Liverpool don’t catch up to our success. Terrible season, and an even worse prediction from me.
That’s all for today, and I hope you enjoyed this reaction as much as I suffered reacting to it (just joking). It was kind of funny to see how bad I am at these predictions, but at the same time I’m happy i got at least 2/20 right and am looking forward to getting more right next season. Check out my reaction to my championship predictions here:https://aakash-rao.medium.com/reacting-to-my-championship-table-prediction-21-22-c82b51e9a682, and till next time, adios!
