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The 2019-20 Premier League season has drawn to a close. The unusually long, 11-month campaign brought a lot of drama, with elation for the champions Liverpool and anguish for the three relegated teams.
Emphatically, the title was wrapped up with seven games to go; such was the dominance exhibited by Jurgen Klopp and his men. As for the remaining Champions League spots, Manchester City qualified comfortably, while the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea had to secure a result on the final day of the Premier League to confirm their participation in next year’s competition.
At the bottom end of the table, Norwich City’s fate had been sealed long ago, while Watford and Bournemouth joined the Canaries in the Championship on the final day.
In this article, we compare the teams’ performances and standings from the previous season of the Premier League and, as a result, the three newly promoted teams – Sheffield United, Aston Villa & Norwich haven’t been taken into consideration.
The Premier League teams whose fortunes changed most dramatically this season (cont'd)
Improved – Southampton
2019-20 Standings - 11th, 52 points; 2018-19 Standings - 16th, 39 points
Tipped for a relegation battle by many at the start of the season, Southampton quashed all such claims by finishing closer to 3rd-placed Manchester United than to the relegation spots.
Despite the 9-0 drubbing at the hands of Leicester early in the season, the boards’ decision to stick with Ralph Hasenhuttl bore dividends as he steered the Saints to a comfortable 11th place finish with 52 points.
To put this into perspective, the Saints finished five places and 13 points better off than their previous Premier League season highlighting the work that has gone on behind the scenes at the Saint Mary’s. The Saints scored more while conceding less and undoubtedly Danny Ings was the star man.
Ings’ 22 goals fired the Saints to crucial victories this term while his improved fitness meant he played more times this season than any other except the 2013/14 campaign.
Declined – West Ham
2019/20 Stanings - 16th, 39 points; 2018/19 Standings - 10th, 52 points
After finishing 10th last season, West Ham signed the likes of Pablo Fornals and Sebastien Haller for hefty sums in a bid to push on towards the European spots this campaign.
Instead, a season of struggle ensued, as David Moyes had to rally his team late on to remain in the division. The Hammers declined six places and 13 points from the 2018/19 campaign, going from an outside bet for European qualification to relegation strugglers.
Their Premier League points tally of 39 was their lowest since they got relegated in 2010/11. The only silver lining was the late form of Michail Antonio, whose 7 goals and 1 assist post lockdown steered West Ham to safety.
The Premier League teams whose fortunes changed most dramatically this season (cont'd)
Improved – Burnley
2019/20 Standings - 10th, 54 points; 2018/19 Standings - 15th, 40 points
A similar story to Southampton, Burnley flirted with relegation last Premier League season but looked a completely different side this time around, finishing 10th with 54 points, a joint club record in the Premier League era.
With 15 wins in the top flight, they also broke their previous win record of 14 – a truly wonderful season for Dyche and his men.
Sean Dyche deserves a lot of credit for the performances this season aided by the brilliance of Nick Pope in goal. The England goalkeeper was just one clean sheet away from becoming the first keeper from a non-top-six side to win the prestigious Golden Glove award in the Premier League.
Notable results include their first-ever win at Old Trafford and a memorable draw at Anfield which denied the Champions a clean sweep at home this season.
Declined – Watford
2019/20 Standings - 19th, 34 points; 2018/19 Standings - 11th, 50 points
Watford’s five-year stay in the Premier League came to an end in 2020, a tumultuous season in which no less than three managers came and went.
The managerial carousel has always been a feature at the Vicarage Road since the Pozzo family took charge of the club in 2012 with the Hornets having had 12 managerial appointments in the family’s eight-year spell.
Watford enjoyed their most successful campaign last year as they finished 11th in the league with 50 points and reached the FA Cup Final. Twelve months on, almost an identical team are heading down to the Championship – a chaotic decline.
Nigel Pearson, who masterminded victories over Manchester United and Liverpool this season, was unceremoniously sacked just two games before the end of the campaign, as Watford needed just a couple of points for survival.
The Premier League teams whose fortunes changed most dramatically this season (cont'd)
Improved – Leicester
2019/20 Standings - 5th, 62 points; 2018/19 Standings - 9th, 52 points
Leicester were in the top four for 325 days, 33 Matchweeks yet somehow managed to finish fifth in the Premier League. Despite the late-season implosion, Leicester City played an attacking brand of football led by the dynamic Jamie Vardy, who went on win the Golden Boot, if that offers any consolation.
The record-breaking transfer of Harry Maguire to Manchester United could have easily derailed Leicester’s campaign, but the Foxes had the sixth-best defensive record in the division. To put the improvement into perspective, Brendan Rodgers’ team climbed four places to fifth this campaign, garnering 10 more points in the process.
At one point in the Premier League season, Leicester won eight in a row, including a 9-0 defeat of Southampton back in October. Had it not been for the crippling injuries towards the end, Rodgers and his men would surely have qualified for the Champions League.
In hindsight, it feels like a huge opportunity lost, but on a whole, it was a great improvement from the previous campaign.
Declined – Everton
2019/20 Standings - 12th, 49 points; 2018/19 Standings - 8th, 54 points
On one end of Merseyside, we witnessed jubilation as Liverpool finally ended their 30-year wait for a league title. On the other hand, neighbours Everton finished 12th, their worst standing since finishing 17th in the 2003/04 Premier League season.
The first half of the campaign saw the club embroiled in a relegation battle and only after the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, the Everton supporters got some of their belief back. Recruitment hasn’t been great in recent years and Ancelotti will be looking to rectify this if he’s to please a demanding set of supporters.
Everton, under Marco Silva, finished 8th last year and were expected to push for the European spots this campaign. But the manner of some of the defeats this Premier League season would have been a worry for the fans, including the 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth on the final day being a case in point.
Overall, Ancelotti will have his task cut out next season if Everton are to qualify for Europe next year.
