Reacting to my Premier League predictions 22/23
Welcome back to my blog and today I will be ‘reacting’ to my predictions for the Premier league, which I made last year. Hopefully I can get more than two right, given my disasterclass of a prediction last time. Ready? Let’s get into it.
20. Brentford (Actual team: Southampton)
Sigh*. We start off the reaction with a stinker of a prediction. I remember thinking while I was writing this article that this Brentford prediction could go terribly wrong, and it did. They were fantastic! Now I am unsure whether Second Season Syndrome is a genuine phenomenon anymore. Yes, their form was patchy at times, but overall, I feel Thomas Frank & Co. did pretty well to secure a top-half finish. Well done, and congratulations to the Bees fans.
19. Southampton (Leeds United)
NOOOOOOOOO. One cruel, ruthless place off! Southampton were as rubbish as I predicted them to be, but they had to finish last! I was so close to getting this right. I was utterly convinced Leeds AND Southampton would go down, but the media hype over Leeds’ signings got to me! This impacted my predictions massively as many teams got bumped a position down or up to fit Leeds in! Nevertheless,everything I said about the Saints was exactly true. They recruited in January to boost their skin-tight squad, but by then it was too late! Hopefully a devastating relegation can wake up the apparently dormant Saints’ owners to invest a bit to ensure an immediate return to the Premier League.
18. Fulham (Leicester)
Oh my. Fulham were fantastic this season, until their end-of-season car crash against Manchester United led them to peter off. They will definitely challenge for Europe next year, as long as Marco Silva remains in charge.
17. Nottingham Forest (Everton)
I’m in for a rough time today, as I’ve almost got two predictions right, but I forgot to account for the fact that Everton will remain Everton. Nottingham Forest finished one place above 17th (much to my dismay), but did well to survive when everyone was utterly convinced Bournemouth and them would go down. Their recruitment was haphazard to an extent, but it paid off as some true gems emerged from all the chaos. Aurier, Gibbs-White, and weirdly, Keylor Navas have all come good to keep Forest up. Well played, Forest for trusting Steve Cooper too!
16. Bournemouth (Nottingham Forest)
YESSSS!!! While I got this prediction off by one spot, I am surely the only neutral writer/pundit on Planet Earth to back Bournemouth to stay up? EVERYONE thought they didn’t have it in them, but some smart January signings like Outtara and Vina, grit and some terrific management from Gary O’Neil have kept the plucky Cherries up. Proud of myself for this one!
15. Crystal Palace (Bournemouth)
Crystal Palace did better than I expected finishing 11th. I thought this season would be a bit different for them, and it surprisingly was, as they got to finish 11th, one point above a floundering Chelsea. Roy Hodgson has done a magnificent job stopping the rot at Selhurst Park, and they should have another tidy season next year.
14. Everton (West Ham)
I had too much respect for Everton and Frank Lampard. I thought that surely a club their size and a manager of his pedigree could do better, and I was proven totally wrong. Everton have emerged as the circus club of the PL alongside the constantly bullied Tottenham Hotspur, and have once again finished 17th. What a mess!
13. Wolves (Wolves)
GET IN!!!! Finally, one prediction right! I was completely spot on about Wolves, as they finished 13th under Lopetegui after looking dangerously close to relegation. There is an air of uncertainty hanging over the club, however, as many impactful changes seem to be taking place this summer at Wolves. That is a topic for another day, however, and I shall take this prediction with open hands and a sigh of relief.
12. Leeds (Chelsea)
I’m not even going to talk about this. Rubbish team, rubbish prediction and overall an embarrassment that I will no longer like to dwell on. NEXT!
11. Leicester City (Palace)
Once again, I had all the ingredients but no guts to stick the Foxes further down the list. I KNEW that Leicester needed a rebuild, I KNEW their squad was lacking and I KNEW that Rodgers would be sacked. And yet, despite all the signs, I put them at 11th. How unfortunate.
10. Brighton (Fulham)
I predicted a top half finish for Brighton, but I couldn’t bring myself to stick them higher up. I should have, but didn’t expect Brighton to actually benefit from a managerial change this season. What a job RDZ and his squad have done. Brighton ooze class and will thrive as a PL club for years to come. What a season for the Seagulls, you are now officially my second favourite team in England!
9. West Ham United (Brentford)
Once again, I saw all the signs but couldn’t bring myself to bring them down any further. West Ham have had a turbulent season, but surprisingly stuck with Moyes and look where that led them; to a Conference League trophy. Football is so weird.
8. Newcastle United (Tottenham)
What have I done here ? This is really confusing for me, as I was telling anyone who would listen that Newcastle would be the PL’s dark horses this season and would get European football. Yet I’ve placed them in 8th. This is one prediction where i can’t really explain what I was thinking because I clearly haven’t thought this through.
7th. Aston Villa (Aston Villa)
BANG ON!!! Wow, what a prediction from me. I knew that Villa were too good not to get European football, and I’ve creepily foreseen Villa finishing 7th! Their squad was simply too well built not to reap rewards, and Unai Emery has done a fantastic job here.
6. Arsenal (Brighton)
I think I prefer not to speak. For if I speak , I will be in big trouble.
5. Tottenham( Liverpool)
I genuinely thought the Tottenham project wouldn’t collapse. What an idiot I was. I thought they would fall off a bit, recover this summer with more signings to patch up their squad and do bits next season. Clearly, they will not be doing that. (Under Conte at least)
4. Manchester United (Newcastle United)
I was one place off, and not too mad because we still got Champions League football. Ten Hag has done the impossible by winning a trophy and getting top 4 in one season without our season imploding despite multiple embarassing defeats. What a manager. Hopefully, with some solid recruitment we can win something meaningful next season!
3. Chelsea ( Manchester United)
HAHAHAHA! Sorry, that’s just the sound of every football fan for the past year when they see a Chelsea result. Honestly, what an embarrassment CFC have been this season. From all the sackings to the money spent to the flops to the complete circus they’ve been, this season has been entertaining for us and devastating for Chelsea fans when it comes to the “biggest club in London”
2. Manchester City (Arsenal)
What. An. Idiot. I tried to go for something different, clearly didn’t work. I did foresee Haaland hitting it off in the PL (the only person who didn’t see it coming was Rory Jennings) and yet I couldn’t connect the dots and say they would win three in a row. Honestly I should stop doing these.
- Liverpool (Manchester City)
The less said about this the better. Liverpool were utter trash the first half of the season, and rallied under Klopp during the second half, but it still wasn’t enough to finish 4th. Quite shocking from the Reds, and I expected much better from the team who won the “we scored 7 goals against Manchester United” trophy.
So that’s it from me for now, I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I cherished writing it. Do let me know what else articles you want to see from me (such as top 10 moments/signings for the season, or each PL team’s player of the season) and I will try and get them done. Till next time, adios!
