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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 22/05/2017 00:27:47
| | BARRIESVIEW |
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| | Wasteful Saints ousted by Stoke on final dayREADSOUTHAMPTON |
|| Report: Southampton ready to break transfer record for Gylfi SigurdssonHEREISTHECITY |
|| Southampton 0 Stoke City 1: 'I’m delighted the season is over’STOKESENTINEL |
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LISTEN: Super Sunday podcast after Chelsea’s title celebrations
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All the reaction from the final Nissan Super Sunday of the season as Chelsea celebrated the title at Stamford Bridge.
Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness joined David Jones at the home of the champions to discuss the Blues’ Premier League victory, as they ended their campaign with a 5-1 victory over Sunderland. Emotions were also running high in west London as captain John Terry said goodbye to the club.
Elsewhere on the final day, Manchester City and Liverpool sealed their places in the top four with victories over Watford and Middlesbrough respectively, while Arsenal missed out despite beating Everton 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Harry Kane also sealed the Golden Boot as he netted a hat-trick to take his tally to 29 for the season in a massive 7-1 victory at Hull, while a young Manchester United side beat Crystal Palace 2-0 ahead of their Europa League final on Wednesday.
Listen to the Super Sunday podcast and subscribe to more podcasts via iTunes.
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Your Premier League club’s 2016/17 season review
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As the Premier League season comes to a close, we look back on each club’s campaign and their hopes for the next year.
From champions Chelsea to relegated trio Sunderland, Hull City and Middlesbrough, we’ve got expert opinion on all 20 teams and their efforts in the 2016/17 season.
Click on the links below to read individual season reviews for each team…
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 22/05/2017 05:29:02
| | Onyekuru to decide on future by the end of the monthREADSOUTHAMPTON |
| Stoke loss won’t harm showdown Southampton talks says PuelSHOOTCOUK |
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The best Opta stats and facts from the 2016/17 Premier League season
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The best Opta stats and facts from the 2016/17 Premier League season
From Arsenal to West Ham, we round up the best Opta stats and facts from the 2016/17 Premier League season.
Arsenal finished outside the top four in the Premier League for the first time since 1995-96 (5th under Bruce Rioch).
Arsenal set a new record high of 75 points for the team finishing 5th in the Premier League era.
In fact, both Arsenal and Manchester United have finished outside of the top four of the top-flight for the first time since 1978-79.
Arsenal attempted 36 shots in total in their 2-0 win over Sunderland in May - this is the most that Opta have recorded in a Premier League game by the Gunners since collecting this for the first time in 2003-04.
Arsenal scored 17 headed goals in the Premier League this season; more than any other side.
This was the second consecutive season that Arsenal inflicted the heaviest Premier League defeat on the eventual Premier League champions. In 2015-16 they defeated Leicester City 5-2 away and this season they defeated Chelsea 3-0 at home.
Mesut Ozil created 12 goalscoring chances in Arsenal’s win over Sunderland in May. This is a record by a single player in a Premier League match since Opta began collecting this metric in 2003-04.
Alexis Sanchez scored 15 away goals in the Premier League this season - the most by an Arsenal player in a single league campaign since Ted Drake in 1934-35 (also 15).
The latest goal scored in the Premier League this season was scored by Alexis Sanchez for Arsenal against Burnley on January 22 (97:14).
Eleven different English players have made 20+ Premier League appearances for Bournemouth this season. The last Premier League team to do this were Aston Villa in 2000-01 (also 11 players).
Bournemouth won more penalties (10) than any other Premier League team, scoring seven.
Steve Cook was one of only three outfield players to play every minute of his side’s Premier League season (the others were Cesar Azpilicueta and Ben Gibson).
Burnley lost 19 points from leading positions but won only three points from losing positions.
Tom Heaton made 141 saves in the Premier League season, more than any other player.
Burnley picked up 33 of their 40 points at Turf Moor.
Chelsea have now won the league in each of the last four years that there has been a general election in the UK (2005, 2010, 2015 and 2017).
Chelsea’s point tally of 93 was the second-highest seen in a Premier League season, after Chelsea - 95 points in 2004-05.
Between October and December 2016, Chelsea won 13 consecutive league games for the first time in their history - also equalling the top-flight record in a single season (13 - Arsenal in 2001/02).
Chelsea won home and away against 12 different opponents this season, equalling the Premier League record alongside Chelsea in 2004-05 and Manchester United in 2006-07.
Antonio Conte has won the league title in four successive seasons as a club coach after winning the Serie A title with Juventus in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Conte became the fourth Italian manager to win the English top-flight title after Carlo Ancelotti (2009-10), Roberto Mancini (2011-12) and Claudio Ranieri (2015-16).
The Italian is also the fourth manager to lift the Premier League trophy in his first season in England (Mourinho 2004-05, Ancelotti 2009-10 and Pellegrini 2013/14).
Chelsea (30 wins) have broken the Premier League record for most wins in a season (29, Chelsea in 2004/05 and 2005/06). The Blues are the first to do it in a 38-game English top-flight season.
Chelsea used all three substitutes in every Premier League game this season (114 in total) - they are only the second team to do this in a 38-game Premier League season, after Manchester City in 2014-15.
John Terry has now played more Premier League games for Chelsea than any other player (492).
John Terry scored in his 17th different Premier League season. Only Ryan Giggs (21 seasons), Paul Scholes (19 seasons) and Frank Lampard (18 seasons) have scored in more.
Diego Costa scored his 50th Premier League goal in what was his 85th game - the eighth fastest player to reach the milestone in the competition.
Costa became the 16th player to score in every month of a Premier League season, and first since Charlie Austin in 2014/15.
Costa became the third player to score 20+ goals in a Premier League season for Chelsea on two occasions (Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2000-01 & 2001-02 and Didier Drogba in 2006-07 & 2009-10).
Without Costa’s 20 Premier League goals this season, Chelsea would have been 15 points worse off - the Spaniard’s goals were worth more points than any other Premier League player this season.
Eden Hazard scored (16) Premier League goals this season - his best return in a single campaign in the competition.
Cesc Fabregas became the first Spaniard to make 300 appearances in the Premier League.
In May, Cesc Fabregas became the first player to make 10+ assists in six different Premier League seasons. He is also now in second place in the all-time assist charts in the competition behind Ryan Giggs (107 assists).
As well as Fabregas, Wayne Rooney also surpassed the 100-mark for Premier League assists in 2016-17 (101 assists).
Thirteen Premier League players have scored 100 goals before turning 30 but only one has recorded 100 assists before turning 30 - Cesc Fabregas (107).
Cesar Azpilicueta became the fourth outfield player in Premier League history to play every minute of a title-winning season (after Gary Pallister in 1992/93, John Terry in 2014/15 and Wes Morgan in 2015/16).
A Belgian Chelsea player has scored the title-deciding goal in each of the last three Premier League seasons (Batshuayi v West Brom in 2016/17, Hazard v Spurs in 2015/16 and v Palace in 2014/15).
Michy Batshuayi’s title-winning goal for Chelsea at West Bromwich Albion was his first Premier League shot on target since September 24, 2016 and only his third overall in the competition.
Batshuayi’s first 18 Premier League appearances came as a substitute. Only six players in Premier League history can better that tally - Alex Mathie, Sam Vokes, Nile Ranger and Paul Simpson (19), Stuart Wilson (21) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (30).
Crystal Palace became the first team to win on three consecutive Premier League trips to Anfield since Chelsea in October 2005.
Crystal Palace had the third-worst home record (20 points) in the Premier League. Only relegated Middlesbrough and Sunderland picked up fewer points at home.
Everton won 43 points at Goodison Park in the Premier League this season, their most in a top-flight campaign at home since 1989-90 (45).
Romelu Lukaku scored the 300th hat-trick in Premier League history, when he netted four against Bournemouth at Goodison Park in February 2017.
With his brace against Hull City in March, Lukaku became the first Everton player since Gary Lineker in 1985/86 to hit 20 league goals in a season.
Lukaku is also only the fourth player in Premier League history to score 80+ goals in the competition before turning 24 years old (also Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Wayne Rooney).
Lukaku has also scored more goals than any other Everton player in Premier League history (68).
Gareth Barry surpassed 600 Premier League appearances, becoming only the second player to pass this landmark in the competition after Ryan Giggs (632).
Leighton Baines became the first defender to reach 50 Premier League career assists. Peter Crouch scored his 100th Premier League goal in Stoke City’s draw with Everton in February. He was the 26th player to reach this landmark, but the fourth slowest (419 apps).
In suffering a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland in May, Hull City boss Marco Silva lost a home league match as a manager for the first time since March 2014 while manager of Portuguese side Estoril (W34 D7 L1).
Because of their opening day victory against Leicester City, Hull spent one more day on top of the Premier League than Tottenham did in 2016-17.
Hull City became the 26th different team to top the Premier League (on 13th August 2016). In fact, they became the eighth side to be top and bottom of the table within the same Premier League season.
Along with Hull, the only other sides to be top of the Premier League at the end of a day and be relegated in the same season are Charlton Athletic in 1998/99 and Bolton Wanderers in 2011/12.
Hull’s relegation means that 22 of the 25 teams to be bottom of the Premier League at Christmas have ended that season in the relegation zone.
Hull gave away 13 penalties this season, the most of any side in a single Premier League campaign.
Hull won 15 points from losing positions - only Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton won more.
Despite making his last appearance for them in the competition on January 14, 2017, Robert Snodgrass ended the season as Hull City’s top goalscorer (7) and created more goalscoring chances than any other Tigers player (45).
Curtis Davies suffered his fourth relegation from the Premier League (2005-06 with WBA, 2010-11 with Birmingham, 2014-15 and 2016-17 with Hull). Only Nathan Blake and Hermann Hreidarsson (5) have suffered more as a player.
Hull spent a fortnight in the top four - only the eventual top seven spent longer in the Champions League places.
Craig Shakespeare became the first British manager to win each of his first five Premier League games.
Leicester City scored first in 12 different Premier League matches this season - in those games, they won 11 times and drew once (losing none).
Leicester spent two days in the Premier League relegation zone during the season.
Only Chelsea (457 minutes) were in a losing position in Premier League matches for less time than Liverpool (471 mins) this season.
Liverpool were unbeaten in the Premier League against the top seven teams this season (P12 W7 D5 L0) but their record against the other 13 sides was (P26 W15 D5 L6).
Thanks to their 4-0 away win at West Ham United in May, Liverpool won a Premier League match at a 52nd Premier League stadium - more than any other side.
Liverpool had 80.4 per cent possession in their away game at Burnley in August but still lost 2-0. This was the highest possession recorded by a losing side in a Premier League game since 2006-07.
Pep Guardiola equalled Carlo Ancelotti’s record winning start by a manager in their first Premier League season, with the Spaniard winning his first six games with Manchester City.
Guardiola has suffered six league defeats as Manchester City boss this season, his highest tally in a single league season as a manager.
Guardiola suffered his heaviest defeat in league competition as a manager, losing 4-0 at Goodison Park in January.
This is the first-time Guardiola has finished outside the top two in a league season as a manager.
Antonio Conte became the first manager to record a league double over Guardiola in the Spaniard’s coaching career.
Manchester City won their first 10 matches in all competitions this season. This run of wins was just one off the all-time record by a top-flight club; 11 set by Spurs in 1960-61.
City have won more away games this season than they have in any other top-flight campaign (12).
Kevin De Bruyne assisted 18 goals for Manchester City in the Premier League this season - a record by a Man City player in a Premier League campaign.
De Bruyne hit the woodwork nine times this season - the record in the Premier League since Opta began analysing (2006-07) is 10 by Robin van Persie in 2011-12.
Manchester United went on a 25-game unbeaten run in the Premier League between September 2016 and May 2017 - this was their longest-ever unbeaten run within a single top-flight season.
There were 10 draws played out by Manchester United at Old Trafford this season in the Premier League - the joint-most by a team at home in a Premier League season.
This is the first time Jose Mourinho has finished outside the top three in a league season as a manager. 2016/17 also saw him record his lowest points total in a full season (previous lowest was 82 points with Porto in 2003-04, Inter Milan 2009-10 and Chelsea 2013-14).
Mourinho has now managed 250 Premier League games and has the most wins at this stage (158) and six more than Alex Ferguson (152/250).
Manchester United’s win against Chelsea in April means Mourinho has now recorded at least one league victory against each of the 34 Premier League clubs that he’s faced as a manager.
Manchester United became the first team to win 600 Premier League matches (P962 W604 D209 L149).
Manchester United also became the first team to win 2000 points in the Premier League, with victory over Watford in February.
Between December 4, 2016 and March 17, 2017, Manchester United spent 104 consecutive days in sixth place in the Premier League.
Manchester United’s starting XI in their final game of the season at home to Crystal Palace had an average age of just 22 years & 284 days old. This was their youngest in Premier League history and the third-youngest seen overall in the competition.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the only Manchester United player to score 20+ goals in a season since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013 (28).
Following his debut goal at Bournemouth, Ibrahimovic has now scored on his Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Champions League debut.
Ibrahimovic also became the second Manchester United player to score in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Europe and the Community Shield in a season (along with Javier Hernandez, 2010/11).
At 35y 125d old, Ibrahimovic became the oldest ever player to reach 15 goals in a Premier League season.
brahimovic scored the 25,000th goal in Premier League history with his strike away at Swansea City in November.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan became the first Armenian to score in the Premier League and in doing so Armenia became the 96th different nation to see a player score in the competition.
Wayne Rooney became Manchester United’s all-time top goalscorer (now 253 goals) surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 249 goals in all competitions.
Manchester United attempted 38 shots but still didn’t score in their 0-0 home draw with Burnley in October 2016 - the most shots by the Red Devils in a Premier League game since August 2003.
Middlesbrough were 14th in the Premier League on Christmas Day, but have become just the 12th side to be this high in the Premier League table at Christmas and still be relegated that season.
Rudy Gestede ended a Premier League record run of 43 appearances without a win, appearing as a late substitute in Middlesbrough’s 1-0 win over Sunderland.
Middlesbrough won only two points from losing positions - the fewest of any Premier League team this season.
The average age of Southampton’s starting line-up was 26 years and 169 days - the second youngest average of any side (behind Tottenham).
Oriol Romeu made 117 tackles in the Premier League season - third on the list behind Idrissa Gueye and N’Golo Kante. The Southampton player also made the most interceptions of any midfielder.
Southampton finished in the top half of the Premier League table for the fourth consecutive season.
Peter Crouch scored his 50th headed Premier League goal in their final day match against Southampton - the first and only player to reach this landmark.
Stoke spent 56 days in the relegation zone or 19.9 per cent of the Premier League season and were actually bottom of the table for 29 days.
Stoke conceded more goals (56) than in any of their previous eight seasons in the Premier League.
Sunderland spent 189 days bottom of the Premier League in 2016-17, with 110 of those coming in successive days from February 1st to the end of the season. This means that they spent 67% of the season in last place.
Sunderland have now finished bottom of the Premier League on three occasions (also 2002/03 and 2005/06), a joint-record with Nottingham Forest (1992/93, 1996/97, 1998/99).
Jack Rodwell broke the Premier League record for longest run of games started without winning, going 39 in a row without ending up on the winning side (two for Man City, 37 for Sunderland) before he started Sunderland’s 4-0 away win over Crystal Palace.
Jermain Defoe became the fourth player to score 10+ goals in 10 different Premier League seasons, after Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.
Defoe scored 15 goals for Sunderland as they finished bottom of the Premier League - the only player to score more goals for a bottom of the league team in a Premier League season is Charlie Austin for QPR in 2014-15 (18 goals).
Bob Bradley became the first American to manage a team in the Premier League - of all the teams to have ever played in the Premier League, Swansea City are the closest to the United States of America in terms of distance.
Bradley lasted just 84 days in charge of Swansea City (October 4, 2016 - December 27, 2016) - this was the third shortest reign by a permanent Premier League manager after Rene Meulensteen at Fulham in 2013-14 (75 days) and Les Reed at Charlton in 2006-07 (40 days).
Paul Clement won nine of his 18 Premier League games this season as Swansea City manager, three times the number that Francesco Guidolin, Bob Bradley and Alan Curtis won in their 18 games combined this season in the competition (3).
Swansea City conceded 70 goals in the Premier League this season. Only two teams have conceded more in a 38-game PL season and survived relegation - Wigan in 2009-10 (79) & West Bromwich Albion in 2010-11 (71).
Swansea spend one day in the Premier League top four - one of 10 teams to appear in the Champions League places during the campaign.
Swansea also spent 128 days in the relegation zone or 45.4 per cent of the season.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s tally of 13 assists was the third-most by any Premier League player.
Fernando Llorente’s goals won 13 points for his team. Only Diego Costa’s goals won more.
Tottenham finished above Arsenal in the Premier League for the first time since 1994/95.
Tottenham won (86) points in the Premier League this season; their best-ever return in the competition.
Eleven previous Premier League champions have won the title with a point tally equal to or less than Tottenham’s 86-point tally in 2016-17.
Tottenham’s goal difference of +60 is the highest in Premier League history for a non-title winning side.
Tottenham were the only club in England’s top four tiers to see as many as three players score 20+ goals for them in all competitions this season (Kane, Alli and Son).
There were 30 passes in the build-up to Cristian Eriksen’s 14th minute goal for Spurs vs Hull City on December 14, 2016 - the most passes before a Premier League goal in 2016-17.
Dele Alli was involved in 40 Premier League goals in 63 appearances before he turned 21 in April. Only three English players in the history of the competition have been involved in more before their 21st birthday: Robbie Fowler (76), Michael Owen (73) and Wayne Rooney (66).
21-year-old Alli scored 18 Premier League goals in 2016/17, more than Steven Gerrard (16 in 2008/09) and Paul Scholes ever netted in a single campaign (14 in 2002/03), Christian Eriksen assisted 15 goals for Tottenham in the Premier League this season - a record by a Spurs player in a Premier League campaign.
Harry Kane has scored 17 home league goals this season, the highest number ever recorded by a Spurs player in a single Premier League season.
Kane now has six Premier League hat-tricks for Spurs, twice as many as any other player for the club (Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe both with 3).
Kane is one of only five different players to score three hat-tricks in a Premier League season. The only player to score more than three is Alan Shearer (5) in 1995-96.
Kane and Sergio Aguero became the fourth and fifth player to score 20+ goals in three consecutive Premier League seasons (after Shearer, Henry and van Nistelrooy).
Kane is only the fifth player to score 25+ goals in two successive Premier League seasons (after Fowler, Henry, Shearer and van Persie).
Following 2016-17, Kane still hasn’t scored a Premier League goal in the month of August - this despite playing 10 times (628 mins) overall in the opening month of a season.
Kane is only the fifth player to win the Premier League Golden Boot in consecutive seasons after Alan Shearer (1995-1997), Michael Owen (1998 & 1999, both shared), Thierry Henry (2004-2006) and Robin van Persie (2012 & 2013).
Kane became the sixth player to score a hat-trick in successive Premier League appearances and first since Wayne Rooney in 2011.
Kane (29 goals) scored more than Middlesbrough (27 goals) in the Premier League this season. This is only the fifth time that a club has scored fewer goals than a player or players in a Premier League season.
The average age of the Watford team this season was 29 years and 206 days - the second oldest of any Premier League side.
Troy Deeney scored his 100th league goal for Watford this season, becoming the 5th player to reach this milestone for the club.
Jose Holebas was given 14 yellow cards for Watford in the Premier League this season, equalling the Premier League record for a player in a single PL campaign.
West Brom made the fewest changes to the starting line-up (49) of any Premier League club this season.
The average age of the West Brom team this season was 29 years and 322 days - the oldest of any Premier League side.
West Bromwich Albion scored a league-high proportion of their goals from set-piece situations this season (48.8%). They also conceded the lowest proportion from set-pieces (21.6 per cent).
Salomon Rondon scored a hat-trick of headers in West Brom’s win over Swansea City at the Hawthorns in December. It was only the second time this had happened in the Premier League, with the first coming via Duncan Ferguson for Everton v Bolton in December 1997.
Dimitri Payet created the most goalscoring chances for West Ham United in the Premier League this season (74), despite playing his final league game for the Hammers on January 2nd 2017.
West Ham and Bournemouth both lost the most points from winning positions this season in the Premier League (22 points).
West Ham took 25 points in home games at London Stadium this season compared to 34 in their final season at Upton Park.
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Story of the Premier League season
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Another memorable Premier League season has come to an end. Recall the highs and lows in our month-by-month review.
In what was being billed as one of the most competitive title battles in Premier League history, it was Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United - all with new managers in their corner - that started with a bang. All three teams racked up a 100 per cent record in August, with Pep Guardiola’s City netting nine goals in sparkling performances against Sunderland, West Ham and Stoke City.
Reigning champions Leicester City began the new campaign with a defeat at newly promoted Hull City, who finished the month in fifth after adding Swansea City to their list of August conquests.
A month that ended with Antoinio Conte’s Chelsea side in eighth place, eight points behind early pacesetters Manchester City who continued their relentless start to the campaign. As Chelsea picked up just one point from their three games, including a humbling 3-0 defeat at Arsenal, Guardiola’s team picked up maximum points to maintain their 100 per cent record. That run of victories involved a muscle-flexing 2-1 win over Manchester United, where Guardiola landed an early season blow on Jose Mourinho.
Down at the bottom, West Ham were struggling to adapt to their new surroundings at the London Stadium as they suffered back-to-back home defeats against Watford and Southampton. Slaven Bilic’s team dropped into the bottom three alongside Sunderland and Stoke - both of whom failed to win any of their opening six games.
It’s staggering to comprehend that Conte was reportedly on the brink of the sack at Chelsea at the beginning of October. His switch to his favoured 3-5-2 formation worked the oracle as his team put together four wins on the spin without conceding a single goal. Mourinho’s United were one of those teams to get rolled over by Conte’s men. Goals from Pedro, Eden Hazard, Gary Cahill and N’Golo Kante meant a miserable return to Stamford Bridge for the United boss, whose team failed to win a game in October.
It was a bad 31 days for Guardiola, too. City’s four-point lead at the top was cut by Arsenal and Liverpool, who moved level after Guardiola’s men dropped points at home to Everton and Southampton. The title race was now living up to its billing with just three points covering the top five teams.
Sunderland continued their winless start to the campaign and sat bottom with just two points from their opening 10 games. Following their promising start, Hull’s form nosedived as Mike Phelan came under pressure. We had our first managerial casualty of the season with Francesco Guidolin being replaced by Bob Bradley at Swansea.
Chelsea were showing the signs of being potential champions after four more straight wins in November. Looking back, a key result in the campaign probably came at Stamford Bridge on November 26 where Conte’s men battled back to beat eventual runners-up Tottenham 2-1. That victory ended Spurs’ unbeaten league run and propelled Chelsea to the top of the division.
Their lead was only a solitary point though following that important success as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all went unbeaten through November.
It was a bad month for both Leicester City and Crystal Palace. Both teams had endured inconsistent starts to the campaign but even the wins dried up during a torrid month in the league. Palace, especially, were showing warning signs defensively having conceded 10 goals in their three games in November.
Sadio Mane scored Liverpool’s last-minute winner at Everton in the Merseyside derby, but perhaps the most significant result came at the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City led Chelsea only to lose 3-1 and shift the title race further in the Blues’ favour.
Despite the busy Christmas period, the top six were in the same order at the end of the month as they had been at the start. However, Chelsea’s six consecutive victories extended their advantage - a 4-2 win over Stoke making it 13 on the bounce in total.
Manchester United enjoyed a good month, picking up five wins and a draw thanks to five goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while there was also a stunning scorpion kick finish from Henrikh Mkhitaryan against Sunderland. But West Ham were the big movers with three wins in a row alleviating the pressure on manager Slaven Bilic.
While Hull were the only team not win a game in December, it was Swansea who slipped to the bottom of the Premier League table with manager Bob Bradley paying the price. Alan Pardew also lost his job and was replaced by former England boss Sam Allardyce.
Tottenham ended Chelsea’s winning run with a 2-0 triumph at White Hart Lane as Mauricio Pochettino’s men moved from fifth to second in January. But the defeat did not harm Chelsea too much as they extended their lead at the top to nine points.
In part that was because of the mistakes of others. Liverpool went winless through January, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring a late equaliser for Manchester United at Old Trafford, while Pep Guardiola’s reign at Manchester City hit a low point when they lost 4-0 at Everton.
Arsenal had a better time of it, Olivier Giroud scoring a scorpion kick of his own against Crystal Palace, until a shock home defeat by Watford at the end of the month. As for Palace, they were on the receiving end of more than one wonder goal - Andy Carroll’s scissor-kick strike for West Ham winning the goal of the month award ahead of Giroud.
Paul Clement was the manager of the month as he took Swansea from the bottom of the Premier League table to two points above the drop zone. The new bottom team were Hull who sacked Mike Phelan at the start of the month and replaced him with Marco Silva.
The big news in February was the sacking of Claudio Ranieri. The man who had taken Leicester to their extraordinary title win nine months earlier lost his job with the Foxes just above the drop zone and without a win in 2017. They promptly beat Liverpool 3-1 in their very next game.
At the top of the table, Chelsea’s march continued thanks to a home win over Arsenal as they extended their lead over second spot to 10 points. Spurs continued to chase with Harry Kane’s five goals in two games helping to earn him the player of the month prize, but it was Pep Guardiola who claimed the manager of the month award as a result of Manchester City’s 100-per-cent record in February.
Burnley, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough were all winless throughout the month but it David Moyes’ Sunderland who hit the bottom of the table as Marco Silva’s Hull picked up a much-needed win over Liverpool.
There were minimal changes at the top as Chelsea and Tottenham continued to win. But March proved costly for Arsenal as they lost both of their matches, the first at Liverpool and the second at West Brom, as speculation about Arsene Wenger’s future raged.
Leicester’s revival under Craig Shakespeare continued as they picked up wins either side of their European heroics against Sevilla and it was also a good period for Bournemouth. Eddie Howe was the manager of the month - the highlight being a dramatic win over West Ham.
Hull beat relegation rivals Swansea but still dropped into the bottom three in March, but it was a better month for Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace. They won both of their matches - the win at West Brom featuring a fantastic goal by Andros Townsend - to move clear of the drop zone, while Middlesbrough’s slide saw Aitor Karanka depart.
Tottenham won all six games in April, including a home win over Arsenal, as they unexpectedly rekindled the title race. Chelsea did knock them out of the FA Cup but a surprise home slip up by Antonio Conte’s side against Crystal Palace coupled with a defeat at Manchester United was enough to close the gap at the top to just four points. But Pedro’s opener in Chelsea’s 3-0 win at Everton late in the month still felt like a crucial moment.
Jose Mourinho’s United hauled themselves right back into the race for the top four as they went unbeaten in seven games in April and setting a new club record for a single season of 25 games without defeat. Even so, failures to beat Everton, West Brom and Swansea at home meant they remained outside of the Champions League places.
At the other end of the table, Sunderland’s 10-year stay in the Premier League came to an end as their relegation was confirmed. Middlesbrough’s situation looked little better, but Hull’s three wins in April took them clear of the drop zone ahead of Swansea.
Tottenham’s title challenge all but ended when they were beaten 1-0 at West Ham and Chelsea duly completed the job by defeating West Brom by the same scoreline a week later. That allowed Antonio Conte’s men two games to enjoy at Stamford Bridge as they were able to give John Terry the send off he deserved with the club captain scoring against Watford before taking in the crowd’s adulation in the final-day win over Sunderland.
Spurs still finished the campaign strongly, saying an emotional farewell to White Hart Lane before Harry Kane scored seven in his final two away games to retain the Premier League Golden Boot. The final two Champions League places were sewn up by Manchester City and Liverpool on the last weekend, consigning Arsenal to the Europa League with Arsene Wenger missing out on the top four for the first time in his long reign in charge of the Gunners.
Down at the bottom, Hull’s revival came to an abrupt end with a shock home defeat to already relegated Sunderland and the Tigers joined the Black Cats and Middlesbrough in dropping out of the Premier League. Paul Clement’s Swansea were the escapees as they picked up 13 points from the last five games. It was an astonishing achievement but the season surely belonged to Clement’s former club Chelsea.
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Premier League prize money table - How much your team made this season
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Chelsea won the title ahead of Tottenham in second but that doesn’t mean Spurs were the second biggest earners of the Premier League season.
In fact, in their farewell season at White Hart Lane, Tottenham raked in less than Manchester City - who finished third - and the same as fourth-placed Liverpool.
Arsenal earned less than Manchester United despite finishing ahead of them in fifth.
Sunderland, who finished dead last and look forward to the Championship next season, still raked almost £100m before parachute payments kick in.
So how is the money dished out?
Prize money, as you’d expect, is give according to the final finishing position but doesn’t make up the biggest income for teams.
Chelsea in first get £38m while Sunderland get a paltry £1.9m for finishing last - so where does the rest come in?
TV, of course. Every club gets an even split of the massive TV rights pot from Sky Sports and BT Sport, which equals £84.4m a piece.
They then get an additional minimum of £13.6m plus £940,000 per televised match - which is where the differences kick in.
Here is how the money is split now the season is done and dusted.
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 22/05/2017 06:29:17
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Southampton suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Stoke in what may prove Claude Puel’s final game as manager.
Their club’s hierarchy had revealed plans to review his position at the season’s end, offering him minimal support, and after their latest defeat and inability to score for a fifth straight game at home, may act despite finishing eighth in the Premier League.
Increasing hostility from the club’s supporters will also add further pressure on the Frenchman’s position, whose team lost after a second-half header from Peter Crouch that took Stoke to 13th.
Crouch capitalised on Stoke’s switch to a four-man defence in the second half after Mark Hughes initially set his side up in a 3-4-3.
Geoff Cameron moved from centre-half to right-back after the break and surged down the flank to the byline on 60 minutes to tee the ball up to Crouch at the back-post for the striker to nod in for the 50th Premier League header of his career - more than any other player has managed.
Watch highlights of Stoke’s win at Southampton on the Premier League’s final day in the above video…
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Highlights from Stoke’s 1-0 win at Southampton in the Premier League.
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 22/05/2017 07:29:30
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Puel urges perspective as Saints review his position
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Claude Puel insists Saints will look at the season as a whole rather than just the final few games as they plan the way ahead.
Puel clearly wants to fight for his job, despite the tide of popular opinion turning against him at St Mary’s.
Five games on the spin without a goal at home has heaped the pressure on him, but Puel is urging the 53 game season to be seen as a whole.
READ: Saints boss Claude Puel’s fate will be decided by an end of season review, says Ralph Krueger >>>
He said: “When I make a debrief it’s not a debrief about one game but a debrief about the season.
“The good things, the difficult things and all this. It’s a balance all season and to see where we can improve all the times and this is the most important.
“I am proud of my players and squad to keep always a good attitude and spirit always with this competition.
“It was the first time they played every three days, sometimes every two days, and it is difficult to combat this.
“It was the same thing with Manchester United and Jose Mourinho to play Thursday and again on Sunday because two days is not enough recovery.
“It was a good challenge for the team, the squad, my staff also, and now we want to come back to try and to find European games for the season after.”
Also challenging for Puel has been losing his two best players for half the season in the shape of Virgil van Dijk and Charlie Austin, who finished top scorer despite being missing from December.
“It’s a difficult season for the staff but it’s a difficult season for the squad,” he reflected.
“We lost important players for the team like Virgil or our top scorer with Charlie.
“Every time we find a solution and to see Maya Yoshida and Stephens at this level is fantastic. To see Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse as international players is a good thing. Many good things.
“All my players improve at this level this season. This is the most important.
“In the final, I repeat, we finish eighth on the table in a difficult championship with the big teams in the first places and also the EFL Cup final is a positive thing.”
When quizzed about his future, Puel replied: “It’s not a question for me. I make my job and my players give their best every time and I think it was the truth because they were fantastic this season and often without a good reward.
“They deserved in many games a win but without the good reward it’s always difficult to keep to work and this attitude is fantastic and good for the future.
“After the EFL Cup final it was very hard for the squad and for the staff because we deserved it. It was a fantastic journey with fantastic games and clean sheets against all Premier League teams and in the final we deserved other things.
“To come back in the Premier League and finish eighth on the table is a good thing and positive.”
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THE VERDICT: Sorry end for Puel?
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If this was to be Claude Puel’s swansong, then what a sad way to bow out.
Fitting, some will say, and in the context of recent home matches it would be hard to argue.
A lack of goals at St Mary’s has morphed from an aliment to an epidemic.
To finish the campaign without a single goal in five consecutive St Mary’s matches, a total of 455 minutes, has been as bad as it sounds.
And to lose the last match against a Stoke team who for most of the game looked to be there for the taking was doubly disappointing.
It seemed in this one last game that it didn’t matter what Saints did, there was no way the ball was going to hit the back of the Stoke net, and it duly didn’t.
Once more Puel was looking on from his technical area wondering just what he had to do to get a bit of luck.
Well, goals from elsewhere did the job, as Saints still ended the season in eighth, giving Puel at least something to point to, as well, of course as the EFL Cup final, as justification as to why he should continue in his job.
But it is looking tough for him. To lose either the players or the fans is a brutal blow, and one that is hard to recover from.
As the supporters started to chant ‘you don’t what you’re doing’ at Puel after one of his booed substitutions - now par for the course – it seemed certain at least one of those boxes was ticked.
It would require a show of strength from Les Reed to keep Puel for the long term now, as he discussed doing as recently as January.
It seems Saints can’t live with their managers and can’t live without them.
While Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman were branded turncoats, Puel could be set to suffer the opposite fate, that despite finishing eighth and a trip to Wembley in a gruelling 53 game season.
That it ended with such a whimper was depressing, and the sort of performance that could cost Puel dearly.
Stoke started as they didn’t seem desperate to go on with a shot on target after just 19 seconds.
Mame Biram Diouf tested Fraser Forster with a drive from a tight angle that the big keeper blocked at his near post after Stoke had closed down Jack Stephens’ attempted ball forward from the kick-off.
After that the majority of the first half belonged to Saints.
They seemed more effective with Charlie Austin restored to the team, but once again the problem was turning possession into chances, and goals, with so much of their neat play in front of a Stoke team content to sit deep and run the clock down from early on.
James Ward-Prowse’s inswinging free kick found Jack Stephens at the far post, but he sliced his shot in the wrong direction.
Saints were undoubtedly more threatening when they worked the wide areas, with Ryan Bertrand’s marauding runs forward from left back causing problems.
His low cross into the six yard box was met by the sliding Austin at the near post but he couldn’t direct on target before a late flurry in the closing stages of the half.
Saints were grateful for Cedric Soares retreating to head off the line to clear from Diouf before Nathan Redmond got unlucky, robbing the hesitant Jack Butland of the ball outside the area before trying a lobbed shot from 35 yards that dipped onto the top of the bar.
Things went from frustrating to worse on the hour mark as Peter Crouch grabbed what proved to be the winning goal, his looping header finding Forster unable to react.
The St Mary’s atmosphere started to turn toxic as Puel rung the changes, all booed, the manager’s abilities abused and a chant of ‘if anyone scores, we’re on the pitch’ just about summing it all up.
Saints finished the season with a rally but just couldn’t get a goal.
Oriol Romeu’s cutback from the left by-line saw Butland produced two inspired saves to keep out first Steven Davis and then Ward-Prowse.
You knew there was no chance of a goal ten minutes from time when Manolo Gabbiadini got in behind, Butland slipped and the striker still fired into his legs.
Butland saved from Sofiane Boufal, Gabbiadini and Romeu in a forlorn last stand for Saints.
St Mary’s was virtually empty by the time the players emerged for their lap of appreciation.
Puel received a mixture of applause and boos, often at the same time from the same people, or so it seemed.
For the fans it most certainly looks as though ‘not good enough’ is the message. The league finish will not paper over the cracks. It’s over to the board now to see if they agree.
Other than failing to make it out of the group stages of the Europa League, Puel hit the targets he was set. Not emphatically it has to be said in terms of the top flight, but he hit them nonetheless.
If there is to be a final nail, it will be the style of football, the lack of enjoyment, and, most importantly, goals at St Mary’s – just 17 all season.
The most damning indictment is the relief and delight that this season has finally came to an end. Nobody wants more of it.
What a sorry way to finish.
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ORIOL Romeu has defended Claude Puel, insisting the under pressure St Mary’s chief has not had it easy.
The Spaniard has also urged Saints to take the positives from the campaign – despite the negativity that surrounded the final day defeat to Stoke City.
In a long season which also included a Europa League campaign, Puel took Saints to the EFL Cup final and an eighth place finish in the Premier League.
But the Frenchman looks likely to depart, with many supporters dissatisfied with the team’s style of play.
“It’s been hard because of all the competitions we’ve played in,” Romeu said. “We went to the cup final and it wasn’t easy because of the amount games we had.
“He [Puel] tried to give minutes to everyone in the team and that was good for everyone. Everyone has played a part this season.
“There were difficult moments and it’s not been easy for him as well as everyone, but looking at what we’ve done it’s been positive.”
Saints finished the season with just one win in eight games, having failed to score in their final five home games of the campaign.
“At the moment we don’t feel happy because wanted to finish with a win that would have been deserving of that eighth place,” explained the newly-crowned Daily Echo Player of the Season, Romeu.
“But now we’ve only finished there because of other teams making a mistake.
“But, overall, and maybe in one, two or three weeks we’ll look at it and say that eighth is an important place in this league.
“Apart from the big teams, it’s only Everton in front of us in this league. It was good, we had some good moments and some bad but we need to look on the positive side.
“Personally, I’ve enjoyed a lot this year and I think the team has had some amazing days too.
“That’s what we need to focus on and make sure next season we are more clinical in front of goal and we don’t drop silly points against teams that we feel are better than.”
Former Saints man Peter Crouch scored the winning goal at St Mary’s as the hosts finished the season with defeat to the Potters.
“The first half was a bit sloppy,” Romeu added. “The tempo wasn’t high enough and from both teams it was a bit odd.
“The pitch was very dry and it was difficult to keep running and moving quickly.
“In the second half we did better and played forward and went through the channels and had more chances.
“But, again, the lack of composure in front of the goal or sometimes that bit of luck also plays a part in the game and we haven’t had that.
“It hasn’t fallen to us and we have to accept that we are not good enough in front of goal.”
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Take the 2016/17 Premier League end of season season quiz
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The 2016/17 Premier League season is over, but how much do you remember about the last 10 months of rollercoaster action?
Chelsea emerged victorious after snapping up their fifth Premier League title with two games to spare, while Tottenham finished runners-up and Manchester City and Liverpool won the race for a Champions League spot ahead of Arsenal.
At the other end of the table, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hull City were relegated to the Sky Bet Championship with Swansea and Crystal Palace surviving the drop.
There were also thrilling games, shock managerial departures - most notably Claudio Ranieri from Leicester - and a fond farewell to White Hart Lane, while John Terry waved an emotional farewell to Chelsea.
We’ve picked out 20 questions based on the 2016/17 Premier League season but how many can you get right? Take the quiz below…
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Watch a round-up of the final day’s action in the Premier League, as Chelsea lifted the league title and the final Champions League spot was decided.
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