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| De Gea was Man Utd's best player in 2014/15, but will he be around in 2015/16, or is he Madrid bound? |
A year of progress for Manchester United, after 2013/14s 7th place finish, Champions League qualification is a step forward. However, it came at some cost, £150m was spent, much of it unwisely and in the wrong positions. Di Maria had a good start to the season, but faded from sight in 2015, and Luke Shaw has caught the ire of Van Gaal. United made good progression in the year, but will need to strengthen their defence, and risk losing De Gea, their best player in 2014-15 to Real Madrid.
Prediction: 4th Actual: 4th
Player of the Season: David De Gea
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| Janmaat, there's no need to feel down, Janmaat you didn't go down |
Newcastle's season is almost impossible to summarise, it is worth a novel in itself. 4 points from their first 7 games, saw Pardew in trouble and relegation a reality. This swiftly changed with 5 straight wins, Ayoze Perez scoring 3 in 3. But things changed again when Pardew left in the new year. John Carver was appointed Head Coach, and became an object of ridicule, picking up just 13 points from 19 games, relegation form. It almost cost Newcastle and owner Mike Ashley, their prized possession, their Premier League status. Newcastle fans are hoping it is the wake up call Ashley needs to ensure investment occurs on the field.
Prediction: 8th Actual: 15th
Player of the Season: Darryl Janmaat
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| Charlie Austin continued his meteoric rise from non-league bricklayer, to Premier League Striker by scoring 18 goals, which helped lay the foundations for his England call up |
I predicted QPR would have a strong season, but unfortunately for them, it never materialised. Their defence never settled, despite having the experience of Rio Ferdinand and Richard Dunne, and the talent of Stephen Caulker.
Charlie Austin was the undoubted bright light, scoring 18 goals in the league over 40% of QPR's total goals. The season slipped away from QPR, due to lack of a consistent run, they never won back to back games all season, and it ultimately cost them.
Prediction: 13th Actual: 20th
Player of the Season: Charlie Austin
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| Fonte was a key part of Southampton's defence, that was the 2nd best in the division |
Southampton lost key personnel in the aftermath of the previous season, manager Pochettino, left for Tottenham, Lambert, Lallana and Lovren left for Liverpool (lots of Ls), Luke Shaw to United and Calum Chambers to Arsenal. However, they strengthened sensibly, acquisitions such as Ryan Bertrand and Fraser Forster may not have made headlines but added to a strong core of players and were consistent performers. 2 additions played a key part in their early season form, Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic, both faded in the New Year, which is concerning, but it is clear Southampton exceeded everyone's expectations by improving on 2013/14 by moving up one place to 7th.
Prediction: 12th Actual: 7th
Player of the Season: Jose Fonte
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| Steven N'Zonzi was a key part of Stoke's midfield, and their only player to play every Premier League game |
Over their last 7 years in the top flight, Stoke have been consistent performers, never finishing below 14th and they equalled their best performance of 9th this season.
One of their highlights was an away win against Manchester City, with Diouf scoring on the counter. Their goals came from a variety of sources, Diouf was top scorer, but Walters scored 8 (including a hat-trick ), Crouch 8 and Charlie Adam 7. Their position could have been higher, had Bojan not been injured just as he hit his top form.
They saved their best for last, their end of season form was their most impressive run of games culminating in a 6-1 win over Liverpool.
Prediction: 10th Actual: 9th
Player of the Season: Steven N'Zonzi
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