Why The 2024/25 Premier League Season Was So Great

Lauren Shiels highlights some of the takeaways from the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.

The curtain has come down on the 2024/25 Premier League campaign; a season like no other. Here are 6 things we enjoyed about the Premier League in 2024/25.

1.     Liverpool Secure The Title

Okay, so this first point is biased – I am a Liverpool fan. BUT you can’t deny that they have been the best team in the league all season. Yes, they finished on 84 points – the lowest tally of a champion since 2015/16 - however winning the league with four matches to go meant Arne Slot heavily rotated his squad picking up just two points. Had they needed to, Liverpool would surely have broken the 90 mark. Those four matches probably indicate to Slot that he doesn’t have amazing depth in terms of quality, which suggests that next year’s title race will be a good one.

But credit to Slot. I for one, didn’t expect him to lift the title in his first season in charge. He had big shoes to fill in Jurgen Klopp, but he’s done well – in particular finding a shining light in Ryan Gravenberch. Who else shone at Anfield? Mo Salah. He was on fire and deservedly scooped practically every individual award possible with 29 goals and 18 assists. There are no words to describe his form this season – it has been off the scale. And I’m sure deep down, any Premier League fan will be happy to see him grace the league for another two seasons – apart from of course when Liverpool play your team.

2.     The Race For European Football

With the title and relegation places seemingly all but confirmed for several months on paper, the race for Europe provided fans with plenty of anticipation as the season wore on. By the end of March, with two months still to play, eight clubs from fourth to eleventh were separated by just eight points. Every week we sat down predicting and analysing the European places on BBC’s Match of the Day.

That race continued to the final day of the season with Manchester City, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest all fighting for the remaining three Champions League places.

It was the first three that secured the most elite European competition next season with Aston Villa missing out on goal difference; we won’t go in to detail about their final game! Villa gained Europa League football whilst Nottingham Forest secured Conference League football.

3.     The Year For The Underdogs

Who doesn’t love a football fairytale. David vs Goliath. This year saw underdog teams gain success in the league and cup competitions. Perhaps more regarded as an underachiever as opposed to an underdog, Newcastle United lifted the Carabao Cup back in March following a 2-1 victory over Liverpool to secure their first major trophy since the Inter-Cities Fair Cup in 1969. A 56-year wait for a trophy.

I don’t think anyone predicted Nottingham Forest to perform so well in the league this season. Whilst they didn’t quite secure Champions League football, a place in Europe’s third club competition is fully deserved and one that the club will be delighted with. That should allow them to keep most of the players that have performed so well for them; only time will tell.

By far the biggest success story of them all is Crystal Palace. A true definition of an underdog beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley in May, and deservedly so. The trophy was their first ever major silverware and I couldn’t be happier for them as they’re set to contest in Europe for the first time in their history.

The FA Cup is littered with stories of unexpected champions and battles against overwhelming odds. Palace will become one of those tales. Seasons like this justify why English football is so great. It demonstrates football can still deliver a surprise and romance even with all the money in the modern era.

4.     The Big Six Break-Up

It’s safe to say, the big six is over. Throughout the noughties and 2010s, the Premier League was almost exclusively dominated by Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. The wealth and prestige of these clubs was near on impossible for the remaining 14 clubs to compete with. That continues no more.

This is partly down to the growing financial power of the remaining clubs like Newcastle United and Aston Villa and the smart tactics and recruitment of middle clubs like Brighton and Bournemouth.

The Premier League’s middle class are now rubbing shoulders with the top six. It’s somewhat happened overnight with the seven of the eight clubs in that band featuring in the Championship within the last decade.

Forest have just shown us that any team can be struggling against relegation one campaign to finding themselves in Europe the next; doubling their points tally in the process.

The quest for Europe has never featured so many non-top six clubs as it has this season. One thing for certain is that these middle teams are strong and well and truly capable of permanently upsetting what had looked like an obligatory top six.

5.     The Return Of The No.9s

For many years it seemed the no.9 was out the door. Managers seemingly believing that striker-less formations was the way going forward with “false-nines” trending; Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino a prime example.

But as Backstreet Boys sing, “oh my god, we’re back again.”

Erling Haaland. Ollie Watkins. Jean-Phillipe Mateta. Liam Delap. Evanilson. Jorgen Strand Larsen. Alexsander Isak. Chris Wood. The list goes on.

All goalscorers. All who hold up the ball. All who are strong in the air. No.9’s are back. Chris Wood was a heroic figure for Nottingham Forest and without his goals, there is no doubt the club wouldn’t be in the position they ended up in.

Only two teams didn’t rely on a no.9; Liverpool and Arsenal. Liverpool can be forgiven with Mo Salah a genuine legend. For Arsenal, it perhaps proves a point that we’ve all been saying for the last season. The one thing Mikel Arteta needs is a traditional striker.

6.     Tottenham and Manchester United Near The Drop Zone

If it wasn’t for the apparent new tradition of newly promoted clubs going straight back down to the Championship like a yo-yo, then the league table would perhaps look a lot different. Manchester United finished 15th with 42 points and Tottenham Hotspur finished in 17th with 38 points. Both are bottom in spirit.

Whilst I feel sorry for both sets of fans, from a neutral perspective it’s enlightening (and funny) to see both teams so close to the drop. In six of the past 28 seasons, at least one of the teams would have faced relegation.

Safe to say, serious open heart surgery is needed at both clubs in the summer. If they stay the same and Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland have a strong summer window, could we possible see a relegation on the cards for United or Spurs? Surely not.