Premier League improvement table: 1) Liverpool, 13) Arsenal, 15) Man Utd
Only Brentford have suffered a bigger drop in form over the last 12 months than Newcastle United, while nobody has moved further forward than Liverpool.
1) Liverpool (+23)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 44
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 67
A ludicrous improvement from a team that looked like the worst of a tired Jurgen Klopp to a team that could be his finest hour in his final season as Liverpool manager. The midfield has been reinvigorated, the forward line has evolved and the defence has been forcibly modernised by a spate of injuries. For context, the Liverpool of 22/23 was worse than the Manchester United of 23/24.
Their ability to bounce back so fast and so high is one of the reasons why they have been the best Premier League team to support over the last decade.
2) West Ham (+13)
Points after 30 games of 22/23: 31
Points after 30 games of 23/24: 44
Moyes in? The thing with the Moyes In/Moyes Out camps is that they are both entirely justified and completely backed up by the numbers, despite holding diametrically opposing views. You can see why Moyes gets arsey about criticism, but also precisely why he is criticised. Improving so dramatically after the exit of Declan Rice could be filed under ‘some f***ing wizardry’, and yet…
3) Wolves (+13)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 28
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 41
They have already matched last season’s final total and absolutely nobody saw that coming after a summer in which they lost key players Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho. Gary O’Neil has worked some sort of miracle at Molineux, though it’s worth noting that they have overperformed on their xG more than any other club, so there could yet be a reversion to the norm.
4) Aston Villa (+12)
Points after 30 games of 22/23: 47
Points after 30 games of 23/24: 59
They retain the propensity to get occasionally dicked but there is no doubt that the trajectory is very much upwards. Unai Emery topped our latest Premier League manager rankings and remains on course to deliver a return to the Champions League, though his cause would be helped considerably if a fifth place is granted to the Premier League. And it might.
5) Bournemouth (+11)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 27
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 38
First, important to recognise the job O’Neil did in steering Bournemouth away from relegation; they were slap-bang in bother after 29 games last season. But also important to recognise the job Andoni Iraola is doing to give them a very comfortable season with a young, largely inexperienced squad. Coaxing a proper goalscorer back out of Dominic Solanke has been particularly impressive.
6) Tottenham (+6)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 50
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 56
This time last year Antonio Conte was sacked. It’s not that the points total is that much better; it’s all about the vibes, mate.
7) Everton (+4)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 27
Points won after 29 games of 23/24: 31
They’ve undeniably been better (or at least were) but my word, how much further up the table would they be with a decent striker? About sixth.
8) Chelsea (+2)
Points after 28 games of 22/23: 38
Points after 28 games of 23/24: 40
They spent a f*** of a lot of money to be two points better off, but forward motion is forward motion. Remarkably, they have scored 18 more goals. Equally remarkably, they have conceded 20 more goals. It’s probably not what Mauricio Pochettino envisioned.
9) Crystal Palace (level)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 30
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 30
Palace, innit. Ten consecutive seasons of finishing with 40-odd points will likely become 11.
10) Nottingham Forest (-1)
Points after 30 games of 22/23: 27
Points earned after 30 games of 23/24: 26
They are scoring more goals this season (whoop) but losing games 3-2 and 4-2 is not really progress (boo). Nuno Espirito Santo has won three of 13 Premier League games in charge and that’s only just keeping heads above water after the points deduction.
11) Manchester City (-3)
Points after 28 games of 22/23: 67
Points after 28 games of 23/24: 64
Nobody does consistency like Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, though it’s clear that this season’s iteration – shorn of Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan, and too often robbed of Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland – has not been quite so effective, scoring 12 fewer goals in those 29 games. They were toothless v Arsenal on Sunday but five of six Premier League titles is a compelling argument that they could finish this season with another 90-point haul and another trophy.
12) Fulham (-3)
Points after 30 games of 22/23: 42
Points after 30 games of 23/24: 39
Considering the summer exit of Aleksandar Mitrović without a real replacement, you would probably say ‘fair enough’, especially as Fulham have notched some remarkable wins along the way. But will steering clear of any sort of relegation bother be enough to keep Marco Silva suitably committed?
13) Arsenal (-7)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 72
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 65
Illustrating just how dominant Arsenal were in the early parts of last season, this all feels a little counter-intuitive. This 23/24 Arsenal iteration is scoring the same number and conceding fewer goals than the 22/23 nearly men, but those back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Fulham in late December could be mighty costly. As could the 0-0 at Manchester City when they could have been braver.
14) Brighton (-7)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 49
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 42
Nine more goals conceded is pretty stark but Brighton are still on course for a very similar seventh or eighth-placed finish despite selling pretty much the entirety of their first-choice midfield and trying to compete in Europe. Hard to escape the notion that it’s been a disappointing season but that’s the problem with normalising massive over-achievement.
15) Manchester United (-8)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 56
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 48
If somebody asked you who had gone furthest backwards in the last year between Manchester United and Arsenal, you definitely wouldn’t answer ‘about the same’, and yet here we are, with Arsenal somehow still Premier League title contenders and United having what many would term a nightmare season. Injuries offer some mitigation but United quite expensively added to their attacking ranks and yet somehow score fewer goals.
16) Newcastle United (-13)
Points after 29 games of 22/23: 56
Points after 29 games of 23/24: 43
Considering the stick given to Erik ten Hag for a relatively small backwards step, Eddie Howe largely escapes criticism for a disaster of a season in which the best Premier League defence has become distinctly mid-table. Twenty-one goals conceded in 29 games has become 50 conceded in 29. There have been some injuries, and it’s clear their squad was not ready to compete in Europe, but that really is a rotten slump for which Howe really should be more strongly criticised.
17) Brentford (-16)
Points after 28 games of 22/23: 43
Points after 28 games of 23/24: 27
Yes, Ivan Toney. Yes, injuries. But Brentford have thrown away 28 points from winning positions this season, and for that Thomas Frank really must take some of the blame.