The established elite in the Premier League were certainly disrupted last season. The emergence of Newcastle United in the top four stunned the big six, while the consistent overperformance of Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford and Aston Villa saw Tottenham Hotspur finish down in eight, and Chelsea in 12th.
For the other four, it is broadly more of the same on the agenda for 2023/24. Certainly for Manchester City, who won a fabulous treble under Pep Guardiola, and their dominance doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. For the other big boys, it’s about getting as close to them as possible, as Arsenal did last term.
Mikel Arteta will have been delighted with his team’s start to the campaign, but they just fell away under the pressures of the title race. Still, having added Jurien Timber, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz to a squad that finished second, they will be hoping to secure their place in the top four once again and perhaps, go one better.
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Manchester United didn’t pull up any trees last term but they did win their first trophy in six seasons and secure Champions League football. Erik Ten Hag finally has the entire squad pulling in the right direction and with a new goalkeeper and a new number nine, another top four finish is surely on the cards.
Liverpool have had a summer of change so far, especially in their midfield. The usual suspects of James Milner, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson could have all departed by the time the season starts and Jurgen Klopp is attempting to oversee a rapid rebuild of his side who finished so strongly last term. It was only enough to secure them fifth as they endured a hangover from the exhaustive quadruple chase, and Liverpool will be desperate to return to the Champions League by this time next year.
Those four are going about their business slightly differently to Tottenham and Chelsea. The London clubs had poor seasons, although that feels slightly unfair to Spurs, who finished 16 points ahead of the Pensioners. Both have had to change their managers this summer, with Ange Postecoglou swapping Glasgow for north London, and their former boss Mauricio Pochettino heading to Chelsea.
And expectations are vastly different across the capital. Postecoglou feels like he will be given time at Spurs, given what we have seen in recent years. They’ve already tried and failed with the likes of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, and Daniel Levy would love a more stable presence in charge of the first team. From what we saw at Celtic, the Australian will give them exactly that.
He’s also walking into a squad that is low on confidence, and a fanbase that doesn’t expect all that much. They’ve tried and failed with explosive big name bosses, so Postecoglou’s calming nature and new footballing approach may refresh the footballing palate of the Spurs faithful. They’ve also made some decent signings so far, with Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski joining on permanent deals, along with James Maddison. Of course, the key will be what happens to Harry Kane, but Spurs have relatively few expectations heading into the new campaign.
A top six finish in hist first season would be a resounding success.
The same can’t be said for Pochettino and Chelsea. That club, which is nothing short of utterly bonkers under the reign of Todd Boehly has lurched from Thomas Tuchel to Frank Lampard via Graham Potter with seemingly no plan in place for the head coach. Now, it’s Pochettino’s turn to get a bizarre squad of players up and running.
He’s made moves to slimline that squad, with several high profile players departing the club this summer. Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek,Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Edouard Mendy have all left for sizable fees while N’Golo Kante and Cesar Azplicueta left at the end of their contracts.
It’s a giant overhaul, but a much-needed one for a bloated squad. Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson have joined to provide more strength up front, and expectations are up in the sky ahead of the new season. Pochettino is one of the finest managers in world football, and Chelsea have one of the most expensive squads. Now it’s time for them to perform on the pitch.
Anything less that a top four finish will mark another failure for Chelsea. Six clubs are desperate to secure Champions League football, and that’s not including the other emerging forces in the Premier League. It should be another spectacular season at the top.
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