Now it’s time to take a look at the teams who occupied the mid-table and discuss why it’s going to be a particularly interesting summer for them; make the right moves in the off-season and you’re going to advance up the table, make the wrong ones and you’re in a bit of trouble.
Swansea City – 9th
Highlight of the season
Finding a bargain like Michu has to be up there but their general play throughout the season and good transition from Brendan Rodgers to Michael Laudrup is definitely one of the main positives to come from their season; the Capital One cup win was a testament to their hard-work throughout the season too.
Low point of the season
The Capital One cup win hindered them too though as the squad didn’t have enough quality and depth to last through a cup run and a rigorous league campaign; one win in ten to end the season is not the sort of finish Michael Laudrup will have wanted after an otherwise brilliant first season in charge.
Player of the season
Michu was at the centre of all things good about Swansea this season; you have to be elated when a £2m buy scores over 20 goals in his debut season, especially when some of those goals came in important fixtures against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. As always though with foreigners, the second season is the telling one as defences begin to get wise to your way of playing and so on and suddenly chances don’t get taken the way they used to.
What they need to do for next season
Now that they’re in Europe, they definitely need to add some more depth to the squad. Whether or not that means a few key players will have to leave to fund these moves is one thing but the crucial thing to do this off-season is add more depth as injuries and fatigue hindered Swansea throughout this season and they can’t afford that again next season.
West Ham United – 10th
Highlight of the season
A good start and finish to the season showed the league that West Ham are still a side that need to be handled with caution. On their best day they’re a massive problem to any opposition as Manchester United found out towards the end of the season and Chelsea earlier on in the term.
Low point of the season
As always with a squad so thin in such a relentless competition, you’re going to get injuries and slumps in from; unfortunately for West Ham theirs came in the middle of the season and saw them drop from 7th to a lowly 15th as a run of three wins in 14 saw them lose their foothold in the top 10.
Player of the season
Kevin Nolan has to be their standout performer. Sam Allardyce definitely knows how to get the best out of the centre midfielder as Nolan pulled the strings for the Hammers all season and his sharp partnership with Carroll really returned to its former Newcastle glory towards the end of the season.
What they need to do for next season
Having already all-but sealed the permanent transfer of Andy Carroll for next season, West Ham should look to continue down the route of looking for powerful individuals who can really fit into their rotation; as with Swansea, a bigger squad will be required to avoid them suffering the same misfortunes next season. They’ve got the money, they just need to spend it wisely.
Norwich City – 11th
Highlight of the season
After a winless opening seven games, Norwich went on a 10-game unbeaten run that saw them climb to 7th place in the table, the first of only two times that the canaries would break into the top 10 this season.
Low point of the season
Hamstrung by an injury to their first-choice keeper lead to Norwich winning only four of their following 20 games. This landed the Canaries right back in trouble again as it took back-to-back wins in the final two games of the season to save Norwich from another close encounter with relegation.
Player of the season
When they have played well, Robert Snodgrass has been like a man possessed! The midfielder has been one of the few plus points of an otherwise dour season for the team from Carrow Road as he’s put in a fair few dazzling performances to save his team from potential life in the Championship.
What they need to do for next season
Find some way to be consistent, be that buy more players, experiment with the line-up in pre-season or ship off some of the dead wood; something needs to be done because when they’ve been good they’ve shown the quality of a top-eight side but when they’ve been bad they’ve been catastrophic!
Fulham – 12th
Highlight of the season
A great start to the campaign winning their opening game 5-0 against Norwich and losing only three of their following nine games saw them occupying 8th spot after 10 games. Ending the season with a 3-0 win away at Swansea after a turbulent final few games must have felt like a relief for the London side too!
Low point of the season
When you start as well as Fulham did with a squad that thin, the only way is down and boy did they fall; a run of one win in their following 10 games saw the Cottagers slip to 14th and it took everything they had, as well as a bit of good fortune as far as other teams’ results were concerned, to pull themselves away from the drop-zone.
Player of the season
Another one of this season’s great bargains – Dimitar Berbatov. When a guy is playing with confidence it’s a joy to watch and at times last season it was obvious he was at the top of his game. Martin Jol really knows how to get the best out of his old Spurs star and I think without him, Fulham would have been a lot closer to relegation than they ended up.
What they need to do for next season
Sort things out at the back; Mark Schwarzer seems to be moving on as Fulham haven’t renewed his contract and the likes of Riise and Hangeland aren’t getting any younger. You know when you see Berbatov tracking back that the defence is in dire need of help so that has to Martin Jol’s main point of concern.