Sunday, 25 May 2025
Another Premier League campaign in the history books and it was quite the cracker really. Not so much at the top of the table, where Liverpool's march to the title has been something of a foregone conclusion for several months. But elsewhere we had such drama as Tottenham and Manchester United finishing only just outside of relegation, and arguably the most exciting contest for the Champions League qualification places in recent memory. As per tradition, let us sit and digest the season gone by, and ruminate over what is to come.
Arsenal were, once again, the nearly men. A decent season that saw them finish runner up, albeit closer to 7th than 1st and only just managing to steer clear of the tussle for European qualification in these final weeks. For all their hype and effort, the Gunners will once again finish the season trophiless and with Tottenham, miserable league campaign notwithstanding, finally breaking their decades-long silverware duck, that has to sting.
Most of the drama in these final weeks has been in that contest for European qualification, with Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest all competing for three (expanded from two courtesy of the Premier League's impressive European coefficient) spots in the continent's biggest arena. That Villa and Forest missed out on the final day shouldn't detract from just how impressive their season has been, especially on the part of Forest, of whom very little was expected at the start of the season.
Chelsea, inconsistent once again, will nevertheless celebrate a return to the Champions League despite setting a record as the youngest ever squad in the nation's top flight. For all their woes since the Clearlake takeover, there might finally be signs of a plan coming to fruition. But over these past three years, Chelsea have consistently been their own worst enemy. Fans will be waiting on pins and needles to see if they can get through this transfer window unscathed before getting too optimistic for next season.
As for the Premier League team of the season, a few things jump out. First are the number of really quite excellent signings being made by less prominent clubs, most notably Nikola Milenkovic at Nottingham Forest and Milos Kerkez and Bournemouth. Dean Huijsen (also Bournemouth!) could easily have made this list as well. The second is how quickly things can change for certain players, with team of the season places awarded to two midfielders, Moises Caicedo and Sandro Tonali who, this time last year, I would have declared as flop transfers. There's certainly no one saying that now.
But most of all, really, what can you say about Mo Salah? At 32 years of age he might just have had his finest season yet, becoming the first player to win player of the year, top scorer, and top assister, all in the same season. Truly remarkable.
Now let's get to some awards and the team of the season:
The Ephemeric Premier League Awards 2025:
Winners: Liverpool
Relegated: Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Southampton
Player of the Year: Mo Salah (Liverpool)
U-21 Player of the Year: Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth)
Best Goalkeeper: David Raya (Arsenal)
Top Scorer: Mo Salah (Liverpool) (29)
Most Assists: Mo Salah (Liverpool) (18)
Manager of the Year: Arne Slot (Liverpool)
Best signing of the season: Nikola Milenkovic (Nottingham Forest)
Worst signing of the season: Joao Felix (Chelsea)
The Ephemeric Premier League Team of the Season 2025:
So there we have it, another season of Premier League football gone by. We'll see you again next season!
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