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2018 was an eventful year in the history of the English Premier League. In May, Manchester City became the first team to scale the ‘100 points peak’. However, the excitement carried over to the next season as well with three teams going toe to toe in a bid to outwit the other.
Liverpool currently lead the pack and are 7 points clear at the end of 2018. The defending champions, Manchester City, for a change, find themselves chasing the game in second. Tottenham are close on their heels a couple of points behind.
Chelsea round off the top four with Arsenal and Manchester United a further five and eight points behind respectively.
The lowest rung on the Premier League ladder is occupied by Huddersfield. Newcomers, Fulham, too find themselves in the relegation zone with last season’s surprise package, Burnley giving them company.
The 2018-19 season has been nothing short of breath-taking with teams breaching seemingly unbreakable barriers. Thus, with the dawn of 2019, it is warranted that we take a closer look at how all the teams have fared over the course of the season.
Through the lens of this article, we would rank each Premier League team, based on their expectations and how they ended up performing.
#20 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield moved up to the Premier League after gaining promotion along with Newcastle and Brighton at the end of the 2016-17 season. The Terriers found the going tough in their first season and eventually stayed up by the skin of their teeth. However, this season, their shortcomings have been magnified and now look the most likely team to go down.
Huddersfield have found goals hard to come by and have mustered a grand total of 12 league goals across 20 games. The Terriers have failed to display any offensive pedigree and when your central defender is your highest scorer, you know something isn’t quite right.
To add to their woes, they haven’t been defensively sound and have let in 35 goals.
Everyone knew Huddersfield would find it extremely difficult to come through their second season in the top-flight unscathed. As it stands now, all those prophecies are very close to coming to fruition.
Rating: 4
#19 Fulham
Fulham entered the Premier League picture after coming through a playoff in May 2018. In order to preserve their status as one of the top-flight’s regulars, they spent enormous amounts of money. Yet, they have failed to inspire completely and find themselves rooted at the bottom of the table.
The Cottagers have shipped in goals quicker than the speed of light and had to dispense off their manager mid-way as well.
After a wretched start, Jokanovic was given the boot with Ranieri taking charge. Though the Italian has brought some sort of stability, they still look a million miles away from where they should be.
The summer was filled with enthusiasm as several new faces arrived at Craven Cottage. Yet, as the season has gone on, the feeling of impending doom has engulfed the club.
Things need to change if they are to stay up. And they need to change quick.
Rating: 3.5
#18 Burnley
Last season, Sean Dyche had moulded Burnley into one of the hardest teams to break down. However, in 2018-19, the Clarets have been anything but solid.
Dyche’s men have conceded an astonishing 41 goals over 20 games, a tally which is just two short of the appalling number of goals Fulham has conceded. Moreover, they have made the net bulge only 19 times, averaging under a goal a game.
Though the Clarets were never the free-scoring type, their ability to keep things tight at the back offset their constraints going forward. Yet, with their defence as rocky as it has ever been, they have enrolled their name for the Premier League’s annual relegation dogfight.
A poor season till now but I expect them to be in the top-flight come August 2020.
Rating: 4
#17 Southampton
Southampton endured a torrid 2017-18 season and just about scraped to safety courtesy a couple of timely victories. Many believed their poor showing to be an aberration yet in 2018-19, the Saints have tried extremely hard to prove it could become the norm.
The team from the South Coast were in absolute shambles at the start of the season and rightly gave Mark Hughes his marching orders. Since the instalment of Ralph Hasenhuttl at the helm, they seemed to have turned a corner but their home defeat to West Ham brought them crashing back to earth.
The Saints boast of a highly talented team and have no business flirting with the relegation zone. Yet, as things stand, they are embroiled in a war of attrition rather than sitting pretty in the top half.
Rating: 4.5
#16 Cardiff City
Many people might be scratching their heads at the rating given to a team languishing in 16th place. However, on closer introspection, one would surely appreciate the work Neil Warnock has put in.
As soon as Cardiff gained promotion in the summer, many believed the Welsh outfit to go straight down to the Championship. Yet, Warnock has squeezed every amount of energy and performance from a squad of limited ability.
Cardiff haven’t been pretty to watch with their play being static at best. Though extravagance has never been their biggest asset, they have been doing what do they perfectly: be hard nuts to crack and eke out the odd goal from somewhere.
With 18 games to go, the Welsh outfit might still find a place in the relegation zone come May but for a team with so many restrictions, they have performed admirably.
Rating: 5.5
#15 Newcastle United
For a while, the club, the fans and the owner have engaged in a power struggle. Mike Ashley, their owner, has spent an eternity trying to find a buyer and his inability to do so has crippled Newcastle financially.
The Magpies had a sub-standard transfer window where they failed to address their deficiencies. Thus, it came as no surprise that they found themselves in the lower echelons of the table.
However, Newcastle has slightly gotten over their initial woes and now sit three points above the drop zone.
Benitez seems to have worked his magic again but if the club can’t support him financially, he might find it hard to keep them in the league for too long.
There are problems aplenty on Tyneside yet so far, they have somehow managed to mask them.
The question now though, is, ‘How long can they keep doing it?’
Rating: 5.5
#14 Crystal Palace
The South London outfit finished with a respectable tally of 44 points last term. However, this season, the task of climbing the ’40-point mountain’ seems much more arduous.
Crystal Palace were not at their best at the start of the season. Till Arsenal came calling at the end of October, they couldn’t buy a goal at Selhurst Park. Since then, though, they have registered crucial victories over West Ham and Burnley.
However, their biggest splash this term was to beat Manchester City at the Etihad. Courtesy these victories, they clawed their way out of the drop zone.
Despite being too reliant on Zaha, they have gotten the job done at times. Their fighting spirit coupled with their relative solidity at the back has ensured that they haven’t become prime relegation candidates.
The season could yet turn sour but so far, it has been acceptable.
Rating: 5
#13 Brighton and Hove Albion
Brighton has continued their form of last season and are now 10 points clear of the drop zone. Despite not boasting of huge names, the Seagulls have made the Amex Stadium a hard place to visit and have managed to create an upset or two.
Brighton has scored 22 league goals in 20 games and has conceded 27 goals. The former aspect distinguishing them from the rest of the relegation pack.
Several teams encounter problems in making the net ripple but Brighton seem to have enough firepower to outscore their counterparts in the bottom half of the table.
The Seagulls haven’t produced anything too extraordinary but they have been quietly efficient. And this efficiency is what will keep them in the league for a second consecutive season.
Rating: 5.5
#12 Bournemouth
Had the ratings been compiled after a quarter of the season, the Cherries would’ve earned themselves as high a rating as any. Eddie Howe’s troops raced off the blocks and were ahead of the likes of Manchester United at one point in time. However, they’ve fallen off that cliff rather swiftly and are now stationed in the bottom half.
Howe has done a decent job since making Bournemouth a Premier League entity. For a club playing in the wilderness at the start of the decade, any Cherries’ fan would’ve bitten your hand off if offered consistent mid-table finishes.
Bournemouth has showcased the qualities required to consistently knock on the door of the top half. Thus, it is just a shame that they couldn’t continue their early-season momentum.
The Cherries are definitely on an upward curve and this could be the season where they firmly start believing that they belong in the Premier League.
Rating: 6
#11 West Ham United
West Ham United moved to the London Stadium a few years back and many believed the switch to be the harbinger of a new era of success for the club. However, years of mediocrity followed and they appointed Manuel Pellegrini in the summer to help discover those glory days.
Several new faces arrived in the summer yet they had a slow start to the season. For a few weeks, they suffered in the bottom three with their new signings failing to hit the ground running.
Yet, as the season has progressed, they have performed better and now sit just a couple of points off 7th placed Wolves.
The Hammers certainly have plenty of quality in their ranks and ought to be putting pressure on the top six or seven but have been unable to do so.
Though they have enjoyed a mini-revival recently, they are a world away from fulfilling their potential.
Rating: 5
