Let's look back at the predictions for this season for the EPL.
It just doesn't look pretty.
Sure, it wasn't hard to pick Man U finishing in the top 2. What went from there, was a little bit more speculation.
2011-2012 Barclays Premier League Table (per ESPN)* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||||
POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||||
1 | ![]() | Manchester City | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 93 | 29 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 17 | 64 | 89 | |||
2 | ![]() | Manchester United | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 89 | 33 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 52 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 14 | 56 | 89 | |||
3 | ![]() | Arsenal | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 74 | 49 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 35 | 32 | 25 | 70 | |||
4 | ![]() | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 66 | 41 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 69 | |||
5 | ![]() | Newcastle United | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 56 | 51 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 27 | 34 | 5 | 65 | |||
6 | ![]() | Chelsea | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 65 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 64 | |||
7 | ![]() | Everton | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 50 | 40 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 25 | 10 | 56 | |||
8 | ![]() | Liverpool | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 47 | 40 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 23 | 24 | 7 | 52 | |||
9 | ![]() | Fulham | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 48 | 51 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 25 | -3 | 52 | |||
10 | ![]() | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 52 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 30 | -7 | 47 | |||
11 | ![]() | Swansea City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 44 | 51 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 27 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 33 | -7 | 47 | |||
12 | ![]() | Norwich City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 52 | 66 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 36 | -14 | 47 | |||
13 | ![]() | Sunderland | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 45 | 46 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 29 | -1 | 45 | |||
14 | ![]() | Stoke City | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 36 | 53 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 33 | -17 | 45 | |||
15 | ![]() | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 42 | 62 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 35 | -20 | 43 | |||
16 | ![]() | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 37 | 53 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 28 | -16 | 38 | |||
17 | ![]() | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 43 | 66 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 41 | -23 | 37 | |||
18 | ![]() | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 46 | 77 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 23 | 38 | -31 | 36 | |||
19 | ![]() | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 48 | 78 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 26 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 22 | 45 | -30 | 31 | |||
20 | ![]() | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 40 | 82 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 43 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 39 | -42 | 25 |
I think the biggest surprise had to be Newcastle. While we all expected Ashley and Co to fall on their face, they picked up a few stragglers like Cisse and did well for themselves...very well. And this, all after selling Andy Carroll.
On the reverse end, QPR had a lot of promise and despite picking up a surprisingly not arrested Joey Barton, they barely stayed above the drop. Bolton suffered the unfortunate fate of missing the mark and probably would have done better had Holden been healthy for the season. That said, 1 player isn't going to change the team, so it is from our hearts that we congratulate all the newcomers this season that managed to stay up.
Of all the surprises, perhaps the biggest shocker to us was the firing of Villas Boras and the poor consistency of Chelsea. Liverpool's failings not withstanding, Chelsea finishing outside the Top 4 for the first time in years surely will mean a big shake up in the offseason. If they can manage to win the CL this weekend, Di Matteo surely has to be the favorite to stay on as skipper.
Spurs had their usual bad month, albeit this time a little earlier in the season that saw them win 1 of 9 matches... In the end, if they don't go to the CL, expect Modric, Bale and RVV to all leave. It's doubtful that Ade will be back, considering Man City won it all without him, so expect him to be sold to the highest bidder in the offseason.
Villas Boras, Daiglish and McLeish are all canned.
Golden Boot: Van Persie (Arsenal)
- single handedly kept Arsenal in it with his 30 goals. Rooney came in 2nd with 27 and Aguero with 23, was
3rd.
Player to Watch: Tough time arguing against Van Persie, but if I did, I'd say Dempsey. 17 goals this season and
cleared the 50 goal mark in the EPL (a first for a USMNT player). Don't expect him to stick around Fulham
when the big clubs come calling this summer.
After that, we got a lot of the predictions muddled. Honestly, the Professor did well, but even he flubbed a few. Considering how much money wasn't spent during the January transfer and how dominating Man City was, I'm surprised we didn't do better (unless we were just trying to not pick City out of spite). Grade: C-
Winner: The Professor

So what are your thoughts on how this season went?
Notice that Manchester City finished one place above Man Utd and Everton finished one place ahead of Liverpool. You've got to love it when the little brothers both manage to top the big brothers.
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