The Barclays Premier League is, undoubtedly, one of the most competitive leagues in world football. It doesn’t matter whether you are challenging for the ultimate glory or battling to get away from the relegation zone- the pressure in the first tier of English football can get too hot to handle at times.
The 2015-16 season of the Premier League has been, in many ways, like that of a well thought out movie script.
The defending champions lingering at the bottom half of the table for the most of the season, the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City not being able to live up to their fans’ expectations, the unbelievable rise of Leicester City, Aston Villa getting relegated after 28 consecutive seasons in top flight English football and clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham finally proving their worth after quite a while- no one, even in their wildest dreams, couldn’t have imagined a season like this.
Here are the top six English pre-season predictions that went horribly wrong:
1) Chelsea to successfully defend its Premier League title
Jose Mourinho’s men ended the 2014-15 Barclays Premier League season on a high. Propelled by the likes of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Branislav Ivanovic and of course John Terry, the Blues went on to win 26 of their 38 league matches.
Earlier last year, in mid-January, Chelsea, by far, had the best attack in the Premier League and it, very well, lived up to its standard. Not only that, having conceded just 32 goals in the 38 matches that it has played, Chelsea’s defence, too, looked as strong as ever.
The London-based club turned Stamford Bridge into a fortress winning 15 of their 19 home games last season, drawing the remaining four. The club ended the season eight points ahead of the second-placed, Manchester City.
Therefore, it wasn’t really a surprise when the football pundits touted Chelsea to be one of the title contenders before the start of this season along with clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal.
However, the Blues started their 2015-16 Premier League campaign poorly, winning just three of their opening ten matches. On 17 December 2015, the club sacked its legendary manager, Jose Mourinho. Currently, Chelsea are languishing in the 10th spot of the league table with five more matches to go.
2) Leicester City to struggle in the relegation zone
Leicester City had a roller-coaster ride in the 2014-15 season of the Barclays Premier League as the Foxes were near the relegation zone for most of the campaign.
Leicester were at the bottom of the league table for a period of four and a half months starting from late November 2014 until mid-April 2015. However, under Nigel Pearson, the Foxes went on to win seven of their last nine league fixtures to finish 14th.
It was, therefore, a big surprise when the club decided to part ways with Nigel Pearson and announced Claudio Ranieri as their new manager.
Leicester did sign a few decent footballers, namely, Christian Fuchs, Robert Huth and Shinji Okazaki in the summer transfer window, but the Foxes weren't really expected to give the other English clubs a run for their money.
In fact, most of the pundits predicted the club to struggle this season along with the likes of Sunderland, Norwich, and Aston Villa but Ranieri and his team have proved everyone wrong as they seem set to win the title.
3) Manchester United to battle for the title
Louis van Gaal guided the Red Devils to a top four finish in the 2014-15 season of the Barclays Premier League. Manchester United had finished 7th, the previous season under David Moyes.
The Dutch manager had brought in some quality footballers at the start if the 2014-15 season such as Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, and Ander Herrera as things were starting to finally look better for the Manchester-based club.
Despite having had a poor start, the Red Devils quickly regained the lost grounds. Van Gaal’s men remained unbeaten for ten consecutive matches, having won seven of them.
Although United couldn’t quite finish the 2014-15 season as it would have wanted to, the club was being touted as a potential title contender at the start of the following season.
It was a mixed summer transfer window for Manchester United as it witnessed a couple of world-class footballers like Robin van Persie and Angel di Maria leave while promising youngsters like Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial joined the club along with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, and Matteo Darmian.
And although the club started its 2015-16 Barclays Premier League campaign on a high winning its opening couple of matches, it slowly started to fade away from the title race and now could end the season outside the top four.
4) The newly promoted clubs to flounder at the bottom of the league table
AFC Bournemouth, Norwich City, and Watford were the three newly promoted clubs that were set to compete in the 2015-16 season of the Barclays Premier League. And like any other season, the new kids on the block weren’t given much of a chance by the pundits.
In fact, AFC Bournemouth who were competing in the top tier of English football for the first time in the history of the club along with Watford, who virtually had a new setup, including a new manager and a new bunch of players, were predicted to struggle at the bottom of the league table.
Moreover, the previous stint of the Hornets’ new manager, Quique Sánchez Flores in Getafe where he resigned just after seven weeks citing “personal reasons” was also thought to be a major factor that could deny Watford a safe finish.
However, both the clubs have had a pretty decent season in the Barclays Premier League so far. Watford and Bournemouth currently occupy the 12th and the 13th position on the league table after having played 33 and 34 matches respectively.
Norwich, on the other hand, have proved the pundits right to a certain extent as they currently occupy the 17th position in the league table, which is just above the relegation zone.
5) Newcastle United to finish in the mid-table
The Magpies have had a forgettable 2015-16 Barclays Premier League season as they are currently languishing in the relegation zone, two points behind 17th placed Norwich City.
Having said that, the Tyneside club started their pre-season on a high after announcing the former England manager, Steve McClaren as their new manager. Moreover, the club secured a number of very good transfers in the form of Georginio Wjnaldum, Alexander Mitrovic, Chancel Mbemba and Florian Thauvin.
The 25-year-old Dutch international, Wijnaldum was even thought to be one of the best transfers of the season by a number of pundits along with the likes of Dmitri Payet and Memphis Depay.
However, Newcastle failed to live up to the expectations right from day one which eventually led to the sacking of Steve McClaren. Former Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez was appointed as his replacement to guide the club to safety.
With a few positive reults recently, Newcastle United will be hoping to avoid relegation
6) Tottenham Hotspur to finish in the 5th or 6th spot
Mauricio Pochettino's men have had an incredible Premier League season this year. As of now, Spurs are currently placed 2nd in the table, five points behind the league leaders, Leicester with four more matches to go.
Having said that, the Foxes’ last three league games are against Manchester United, Everton, and Chelsea respectively which means Spurs still have an outside chance to clinch the coveted silverware after a long wait of 55 years.
However, the irony is, none of the pundits expected the London-based club to finish even in the top four position of the league table. Although there were a lot of question marks about Harry Kane and whether he could replicate his sensational 2014-15 form this season as well, no one really gave Spurs a chance as a unit.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s side have defied all odds to give themselves a solid chance to win the Barclays Premier League. Spurs have the best defence in the league as of now and have gone on to register 19 wins in the 34 matches that they have played.
Most importantly, the Tottenham players have already proved the pundits incorrect as they are almost on the brink of registering themselves a guaranteed Champions League spot.
