History UsefulNotes / EnglishPremierLeague

2023/24 has shaped into the tightest race in recent history, thanks to a resilient Arsenal looking to build on their previous title challenge, a revitalised Spurs under Ange Postecoglu, and a Liverpool side reborn after successfully replacing their entire midfield, while Aston Villa stealthily built a Top 4 challenge of their own. The old rule of thumb is that after 10 games, the table starts to take shape, and at the time of writing, after 29 games and going into April and the run-in, there are three teams within three points of each other at the top: Liverpool on top with 67, Arsenal in second with 65, and City in 3rd on 64. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aston Villa]] managed to keep pace for a while, but following a defeat to dogged pursuers Tottenham, they have fallen nine points back of the leaders, with Spurs having an additional game in hand to pip them for 4th, only to lose to Fulham in the very next outing, squandering their advantage. Manchester United, meanwhile, drifted down into mid-table with Chelsea and managed to be magnificently inconsistent, but put together a belated winning run that (before Fulham derailed it) took them up to 47 and at least nominally into competition for the 4th Champions League spot.

Despite a stumble in December, the Gunners took a short trip to Dubai and have taken no prisoners since returning, outscoring opponents 33-4 in their first eight league matches to open the eyar, tossing Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Burnley, Sheffield United, and even stalwart Newcastle United and fellow challengers Liverpool by the wayside en route to blowing open the title race once more, finally taking back the top spot on goal difference after a character-revealing win against Brentford while their two rivals played each other to a draw, following it up with a goalless draw at the Etihad against City, leaving them two points behind Liverpool with nine games left. They go into April riding a solid wave of momentum, even managing to overcome a stout Porto in the Champions League to book a place in the quarterfinals ([[RunningGag and yet another date with Bayern Munich]]).

The 2023/24 campaign, however, has seen some improvement, as they managed a few desperately-needed wins to hover safely above the drop zone in midtable going into the third break, but then down came the hammer of the FA, handing Everton a 10-point deduction due to breaches in Financial Fair Play. Despite this, Everton seemed to rally at the ruling and fought to claw their way back out of the drop zone immediately. In January they were charged again with another points deduction looming, but a successful appeal on the first deduction reduced the 10-point penalty to 6, seeing them climb up to 15th on 25 points... for now.

With Klopp's exit looming, the Reds have put together an impressive run despite an ''extremely'' controversial defeat to Spurs and a string of niggling injuries, as well as the month and half long absence of the peerless Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations (where he promptly got injured). However, following a complete defeat to Arsenal[[note]]They tallied their lowest xG ''ever'' under Klopp and their only goal was an own goal deflection[[/note]] and a draw against City in Klopp and Pep's final league clash against each other, their grip on the top spot faltered, replaced by Arsenal who hold a tenuous grip on goal difference alone, with their own clash against Pep's machine looming. However, a goalless draw between their rivals and a solid win against Brighton has allowed them to wheel back two points clear of Arsenal and three of City, retaking the lead in Klopp's last dance.

The club itself became Milton Keynes Dons in 2004, moving to Milton Keynes (an occasion that is still very controversial to this day among football supporters, and the vociferous reaction by more or less every fanbase means that the likelihood of any similar American-style franchise moving is probably less than nil), while a SpiritualSuccessor club, AFC Wimbledon, was formed in 2002. Supporters of both clubs insist there is no rivalry between them despite their history, despite matches still being treated as a big deal. In 2006, in exchange for an end to a boycott against them by the Football Supporters' Federation, MK Dons relinquished the Wimbledon FC history and trophies to Wimbledon AFC.

The club itself became Milton Keynes Dons in 2004, moving to Milton Keynes (an occasion that is still very controversial to this day among football supporters, and the vociferous reaction by more or less every fanbase means that the likelihood of any similar American-style franchise moving is probably less than nil), while a SpiritualSuccessor club, AFC Wimbledon, was formed in 2002. Supporters of both clubs insist there is no rivalry between them despite their history, despite matches still being treated as a big deal.

And we come from Wimbledon!]]

The most successful club in English football, having won the League 18 times and the European Cup 6 times, but took until 2020 to win the league in its present form, being runners-up in 2002, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Formerly known as the club most likely to come third in any competition you care to name, and the league's European specialists, with as many European Cup/Champions League wins as the rest put together, with titles in 2005 and 2019, and finals in 2007 and 2018.

2023/24 has shaped into the tightest race in recent history, thanks to a resilient Arsenal looking to build on their previous title challenge, a revitalised Spurs under Ange Postecoglu, and a Liverpool side reborn after successfully replacing their entire midfield, while Aston Villa stealthily built a Top 4 challenge of their own. The old rule of thumb is that after 10 games, the table starts to take shape, and at the time of writing, after 29 games and going into the March International Break, there are three teams within three points of each other at the top: Liverpool on top with 67, Arsenal in second with 65, and City in 3rd on 64. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aston Villa]] managed to keep pace for a while, but following a defeat to dogged pursuers Tottenham, they have fallen nine points back of the leaders, with Spurs having an additional game in hand to pip them for 4th, only to lose to Fulham in the very next outing, squandering their advantage. Manchester United, meanwhile, drifted down into mid-table with Chelsea and managed to be magnificently inconsistent, but put together a belated winning run that (before Fulham derailed it) took them up to 47 and at least nominally into competition for the 4th Champions League spot.

%%[[caption-width-right:175:AFC Wimbledon]]

2023/24 has shaped into the tightest race in recent history, thanks to a resilient Arsenal looking to build on their previous title challenge, a revitalised Spurs under Ange Postecoglu, and a Liverpool side reborn after successfully replacing their entire midfield, while Aston Villa stealthily built a Top 4 challenge of their own. The old rule of thumb is that after 10 games, the table starts to take shape, and at the time of writing, after 28 games and going into the March International Break, there are three teams within ''one'' points of each other at the top: Arsenal and Liverpool on 64, and Manchester City on 63, with Arsenal holding the edge on goal difference. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aston Villa]] managed to keep pace for a while, but following a defeat to dogged pursuers Tottenham, they have fallen nine points back of the leaders, with Spurs having an additional game in hand to pip them for 4th, only to lose to Fulham in the very next outing, squandering their advantage. Manchester United, meanwhile, drifted down into mid-table with Chelsea and managed to be magnificently inconsistent, but put together a belated winning run that (before Fulham derailed it) took them up to 47 and at least nominally into competition for the 4th Champions League spot.

Despite a stumble in December, the Gunners took a short trip to Dubai and have taken no prisoners since returning, outscoring opponents '''33-4''' in just '''''eight''''' matches, tossing Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Burnley, Sheffield United, and even stalwart Newcastle United and fellow challengers Liverpool by the wayside en route to blowing open the title race once more, finally taking back the top spot on goal difference after a character-revealing win against Brentford while their two rivals played each other to a draw. They go into the March break riding momentum high, even managing to overcome a stout Porto in the Champions League to book a place in the quarterfinals ([[RunningGag and yet another date with Bayern Munich]]), but with a match against City looming to close the month out.

The new season began with them qualifying for the competition proper over [[UsefulNotes/ScottishPremierLeague Hibernian]], but despite a slow start in the league, they came roaring back in the second and third run of games to sit in 4th, 9 points back from leaders Arsenal and Liverpool, only two points ahead of Spurs on equal games played, despite Spurs beating them in mid-March (only to lose their next game against Fulham to restore Villa's advantage). They did, however, progress in the Europa Conference League, earning a tie against LOSC Lille in the quarterfinal.

This has allowed them to settle into comfortable midtable mediocrity while also jostling with the likes of Brighton, Liverpool, and Chelsea for a Conference or even Europa League spot. Started off well enough, but fell back to midtable, where they sit at the tail end of February.

Mauricio Pochettino was hired in the summer, and they followed this up with another massive summer spending spree, dropping another €400m on another haul of players[[note]]only slightly mitigated by selling several players to other clubs for about €250m back in total[[/note]], including breaking the British transfer record again. With ''€1 billion'' spent in three windows, it is clear that it is Champions League or bust for Chelsea, and their first few matches saw them faceplant out the gate. While a draw against Liverpool gave them hope, their form has still been extremely shaky with many a dropped point in matches in which they looked the better team, though they managed a big win against Spurs and a heroic 4-4 draw against Manchester City, and a few close victories against Luton, Fulham, and Crystal Palace to see them in 9th, near the end of January. While they have slipped back to 11th, they're still only 4 points behind 7th-placed Brighton and their overall form has improved, including another heroic draw (this time, 1-1) with City, and they even managed a League Cup Final appearance, only to lose out to a Liverpool team that finished the match with 12 senior players in the treatment room and 5 U-20s on the pitch. This led to them being witheringly dubbed "the Blue Billion Pound Bottle-Jobs."

The 2022/23 season was a tale of two halves of the season, with their performance being tepid at best in the first half and languishing in the lower part of the top half of the table, only to come roaring back in the second half, only just missing out on Top 4 at the end. However, after suddenly losing the aging midfield core of captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho (also to Saudi Arabia in Henderson's case, somewhat controversially given his famous support of LGBT rights and Saudia Arabia being... Saudia Arabia, before moving to Ajax 6 months later), and vice-captain James Milner (to Brighton), Liverpool struggled to replace key players in the summer, though they eventually got their men in the end with Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai, Japan captain Wataru Endo, and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, and have returned with a vengeance.

In late January, Klopp announced he will stand down as manager at the end of the season, and the club announced an hour later that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke would leave at the end of the month (significant because the holder of said position typically leads a managerial search). Despite this, they did win at least one trophy to commemorate his exit, a 1-0 League Cup win over Chelsea, finishing the match with 12 senior players in the treatment room and 5 U-20s on the pitch. In the FA Cup, however, they were unsuccessful as Manchester United dumped them out during extra time in the quarterfinals. In Europe, they have Atalanta coming up in the Europa League, and are favorites to go through and continue their push to end Klopp's tenure on a high note.

With Klopp's exit looming, the Reds have put together an impressive run despite an ''extremely'' controversial defeat to Spurs and a string of niggling injuries, as well as the month and half long absence of the peerless Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations (where he promptly got injured). However, following a complete defeat to Arsenal[[note]]They tallied their lowest xG ''ever'' under Klopp and their only goal was an own goal deflection[[/note]] and a draw against City in Klopp and Pep's final league clash against each other, their grip on the top spot has faltered completely, replaced by Arsenal who hold a tenuous grip on goal difference alone, with their own clash against Pep's machine looming.

Their first season back hasn't gone well, but their expansive playing style and courage has earned them respect from other teams, having given juggernauts Liverpool and Manchester City real scares at home. They currently sit just inside the drop zone after February, only one point behind Everton in 17th, but with an Everton FA charge looming, giving them hope that they may yet stay up.

Have since started off the 2022/23 season brightly enough, with a few early draws, a shock loss to Brentford, a New Years Eve stumble against Everton, a derby defeat to Manchester United dampening form, and their goalless run at Tottenham coming back to bite them, but they fought back, only to follow it up by slipping against Nottingham Forest the very next game. They then went on a(nother) late season surge to snatch 12 games on the bounce and bring Arsenal's title challenge to an end, taking the league in with one week left to play, ''plus'' an FA Cup Final appearance and a Champions League Final appearance, culminating in their historic treble with their victory in both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

2023/24 saw them pick right back up where they left off with a quick jump out front, and despite a slide due to injuries to Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne, they are firmly in the mix, sitting only a single point behind both Liverpool and Arsenal at the top following a draw against the Reds, a Champions League tie against Real Madrid coming up, and with a match against the Gunners next on the agenda.

Despite this, the team continue to be consistently inconsistent, looking like world-beaters one day, only to slump the next, as evidenced by a convincing win over West Ham, followed by grindy wins against Aston Villa and Luton, and then a stunning loss to Fulham, a bright start against Manchester City only to lose it late, and finally a win against Everton with the only goals scored being penalties, leaving them eight points back from 4th, but an FA Cup run to the semifinals, dumping Liverpool out along the way, has been a bright spot.

Unfortunately for them, the 2023/24 season started off poorly until they began to rally in September, now sitting in 9th following February, 15 points back of Top 4 after being dismantled by Arsenal. Unfortunately, their other campaigns have been just as dire, finishing bottom of a Champions League Group of Death, leaving them well adrift of the riches of continental ball yet again.

But in the summer they bid farewell to their captain Declan Rice as he completed a blockbuster nine-figure move to Arsenal, and despite not really cashing in on their new riches, they started off the season extremely well, handily winning their Europa League group. Unfortunately, their campaign began to show signs of shakiness as they started to suffer from injuries, and then they were brutally embarrassed '''6-0''' on their own ground by Arsenal, with Rice scoring a world-class screamer of a goal in the process to add insult to injuries, leaving them stranded in 10th. Despite this, they progressed to the Europa League quarterfinal where they have a tie with German league leaders Bayer Leverkusen on the docket.

A very successful north London club who lifted the crown in 1997/98, 2001/02 and 2003/04 (which was achieved unbeaten). Their ArchEnemy is Tottenham Hotspur, a derby that has led to classic matches in both league and cup competitions. Matches against Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea are also SeriousBusiness to Arsenal's fans.

Stan Kroenke, owner of the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL's]] Los Angeles Rams, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation NBA's]] Denver Nuggets, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL's]] Colorado Avalanche, and UsefulNotes/{{Major League Soccer}}'s Colorado Rapids, holds majority ownership of the club.

They currently hold the record for the longest uninterrupted stay in the Top Division/Premier League (dating all the way back to 1919/20, when they were promoted under ''very'' controversial circumstances following World War I) and were renowned for finishing in the top four with metronomic regularity.

Their intricate, attacking style of play was introduced by Arsène Wenger (and was thus dubbed "Wengerball"), who managed the club for 1,235 games, reaching the 1,000 milestone on 22 March 2014 with Arsenal's fixture at Chelsea ([[TheRival against José Mourinho, no less]]), and after 22 years of management, he stepped down as Arsenal manager following the 2017/18 season's end. During his time, he guided the team to all three of their Premier League titles, as well as a plethora of Cups as well. However, a lack of major trophies (FA Cups notwithstanding) in the latter years of his time with the Gunners made a number of fans impatient with Wenger, who was perceived as being outdated in his approach and taking the club backwards, something backed up by having every other club of the Big Six finish ahead of them in his final year.

After a disappointing end to the 2021/22 campaign, 2022/23 saw them take a giant leap upward, leading the league for the majority of the season before injuries to key players saw them regress and stumble across the finish line in 2nd, but with UCL ball guaranteed, they came out in the summer window looking for blood, and with major acquisitions in the summer, the Gunners have seemingly thrown down the gauntlet and look to catapult themselves even higher than before.

* 5th place: automatic berth to the UEFA Europa League group stages[[note]]from 2024, if England earned the highest or second highest amount of coefficient points - earned across all three UEFA competitions - this will instead be a Champions League spot; it is unclear if the Europa League spot will go to the 6th-placed team[[/note]]

->'''Nickname:''' The Blues\\

Norwich's main rivals, and a successful club under Bobby Robson in the seventies, but their first few years in the Premier League were unimpressive, and they were relegated after a really terrible season in 1994/95. They came back in 2000, and finished fifth that year, only to end up back in the second tier the following year, but a torrid 2018/19 campaign saw them finish dead last with only 28 points out of 46 games, which sent them down into League 1, but they were able to win promotion in 2023 under the management of highly-rated young coach Kieran [=McKenna=].

Started off the 2023/24 season with pretty decent form, having signed Matt Turner from Arsenal, who immediately buoyed them to huge wins against Chelsea and Sheffield United and a handful of draws to sit comfortably midtable going into the third break. A subsequent downturn in form, however, saw Steve Cooper dismissed, with Nuno Espirito Santo, formerly of Wolves and Spurs, taking over. They currently sit 17th at the March break, having survived some thrilling relegation derbies, but also being slapped with a 4 point deduction for FFP breaches. They currently sit three points clear of Luton... for now.

Started off the 2023/24 season with pretty decent form, having signed Matt Turner from Arsenal, who immediately buoyed them to huge wins against Chelsea and Sheffield United and a handful of draws to sit comfortably midtable going into the third break. A subsequent downturn in form, however, saw Steve Cooper dismissed, with Nuno Espirito Santo, formerly of Wolves and Spurs, taking over. They currently sit 16th at the close of February, 4 points clear of the drop zone, but with an FA charge for financial breaches and a potential points deduction looming.

In late January, Klopp announced he will stand down as manager at the end of the season, and the club announced an hour later that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke would leave at the end of the month (significant because the holder of said position typically leads a managerial search). Despite this, they did win at least one trophy to commemorate his exit, a 1-0 League Cup win over Chelsea, finishing the match with 12 senior players in the treatment room and 5 U-20s on the pitch. In the FA Cup, however, they were unsuccessful as Manchester United dumped them out on penalties in the quarterfinals. In Europe, they have Atalanta coming up in the Europa League, and are favorites to go through and continue their push to end Klopp's tenure on a high note.

In late January, Klopp announced he will stand down as manager at the end of the season, and the club announced an hour later that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke would leave at the end of the month (significant because the holder of said position typically leads a managerial search). Despite this, they did win at least one trophy to commemorate his exit, a 1-0 League Cup win over Chelsea, finishing the match with 12 senior players in the treatment room and 5 U-20s on the pitch. In Europe, they have Atalanta coming up in the Europa League, and are favorites to go through and contiunue their push to end Klopp's tenure on a high note.

Despite this, the team continue to be consistently inconsistent, looking like world-beaters one day, only to slump the next, as evidenced by a convincing win over West Ham, followed by grindy wins against Aston Villa and Luton, and then a stunning loss to Fulham, a bright start against Manchester City only to lose it late, and finally a win against Everton with the only goals scored being penalties, leaving them eight points back from 4th.

Yet another central London club, who were regular fixtures in the top-flight until relegation in 1996. After 15 years of varying fortunes they returned to the Premier League in 2011 with rich new owners, and barely survived the 2011/12 season before things went epically wrong the following season and they were relegated.

They returned for 2014/15 after beating Derby County in the play-offs, but crashed out of the league after a brutal thrashing from Manchester City. Formerly managed by footballing stalwart Harry Redknapp, the club is facing an uncertain future as they have [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/queens-park-rangers/11587937/QPR-may-regret-failing-to-exploit-FFP-loophole.html enough financial debt to potentially prevent them from playing in the English Football League]]. However, they continue playing there, albeit as an unspectacular mid-table side.

!!Watford'' (1999-2000, 2006-07, 2015-2020, 2021-22)

2023/24 has shaped into the tightest race in recent history, thanks to a resilient Arsenal looking to build on their previous title challenge, a revitalised Spurs under Ange Postecoglu, and a Liverpool side reborn after successfully replacing their entire midfield, while Aston Villa stealthily built a Top 4 challenge of their own. The old rule of thumb is that after 10 games, the table starts to take shape, and at the time of writing, after 28 games and going into the March International Break, there are three teams within ''one'' points of each other at the top: Arsenal and Liverpool on 64, and Manchester City on 63, with Arsenal holding the edge on goal difference. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aston Villa]] managed to keep pace for a while, but following a defeat to dogged pursuers Tottenham, they have fallen nine points back of the leaders, with Spurs having an additional game in hand to pip them for 4th. Manchester United, meanwhile, drifted down into mid-table with Chelsea and managed to be magnificently inconsistent, but put together a belated winning run that (before Fulham derailed it) took them up to 47 and at least nominally into competition for the 4th Champions League spot.

The new season began with them qualifying for the competition proper over [[UsefulNotes/ScottishPremierLeague Hibernian]], but despite a slow start in the league, they came roaring back in the second and third run of games to sit in 4th, 9 points back from leaders Arsenal and Liverpool, but with Spurs holding a crucial game in hand behind them after defeating the Villans in their own ground. They did, however, progress in the Europa Conference League, earning a tie against LOSC Lille in the quarterfinal.

Leicester City, a team of so-called castoffs, journeymen, has-beens, and never-weres, overcame 5000-1 odds and won the Premiership.

Talks between their owners SISU and Wasps had broken down before the 2019/20 season, so they had to move out of Ricoh Arena and arrange a groundsharing agreement with Birmingham City while a new stadium gets planned. On the plus side, while the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with each team be allocated points on a Points-Per-Game basis, Coventry finished 1st and achieved promotion to the Championship. Their Championship performance improved over the following seasons, and they made the promotion playoff final in 2022/23, to be played against familiar foe and fellow league climbers Luton Town, but they fell in sudden-death penalties.

Despite a stumble in December, the Gunners took a short trip to Dubai and have taken no prisoners since returning, outscoring opponents '''33-4''' in just '''''eight''''' matches, tossing Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Burnley, Sheffield United, and even stalwart Newcastle United and fellow challengers Liverpool by the wayside en route to blowing open the title race once more, finally taking back the top spot on goal difference after a character-revealing win against Brentford while their two rivals played each other to a draw. They go into the March break riding momentum high, but with a match against City looming to close the month out.

The new season began with them qualifying for the competition proper over [[UsefulNotes/ScottishPremierLeague Hibernian]], but despite a slow start in the league, they came roaring back in the second and third run of games to sit in 4th, 9 points back from leaders Arsenal and Liverpool, but with Spurs holding a crucial game in hand behind them after defeating the Villans in their own ground.

In late January, Klopp announced he will stand down as manager at the end of the season, and the club announced an hour later that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke would leave at the end of the month (significant because the holder of said position typically leads a managerial search). Despite this, they did win at least one trophy to commemorate his exit, a 1-0 League Cup win over Chelsea, finishing the match with 12 senior players in the treatment room and 5 U-20s on the pitch.

2023/24 saw them pick right back up where they left off with a quick jump out front, and despite a slide due to injuries to Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne, they are firmly in the mix, sitting only a single point behind both Liverpool and Arsenal at the top following a draw against the Reds, and with a match against the Gunners next on the agenda.

But in the summer they bid farewell to their captain Declan Rice as he completed a blockbuster nine-figure move to Arsenal, and despite not really cashing in on their new riches, they started off the season extremely well, handily winning their Europa League group. Unfortunately, their campaign began to show signs of shakiness as they started to suffer from injuries, and then they were brutally embarrassed '''6-0''' on their own ground by Arsenal, with Rice scoring a world-class screamer of a goal in the process to add insult to injuries, leaving them stranded in 10th.

!!Cardiff City (2013-14, 208-19)

2023/24 has shaped into the tightest race in recent history, thanks to a resilient Arsenal looking to build on their previous title challenge, a revitalised Spurs under Ange Postecoglu, and a Liverpool side reborn after successfully replacing their entire midfield, while Aston Villa stealthily built a Top 4 challenge of their own. The old rule of thumb is that after 10 games, the table starts to take shape, and at the time of writing, after 28 games and going into the March International Break, there are three teams within ''one'' points of each other at the top: Arsenal and Liverpool on 64, and Manchester City on 62, with Arsenal holding the edge on goal difference. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aston Villa]] managed to keep pace for a while, but following a defeat to dogged pursuers Tottenham, they have fallen nine points back of the leaders, with Spurs having an additional game in hand to pip them for 4th. Manchester United, meanwhile, drifted down into mid-table with Chelsea and managed to be magnificently inconsistent, but put together a belated winning run that (before Fulham derailed it) took them up to 47 and at least nominally into competition for the 4th Champions League spot.

'''Current Manager:''' Valérien Ismaël\\

2023/24 has shaped into the tightest race in recent history, thanks to a resilient Arsenal looking to build on their previous title challenge, a revitalised Spurs under Ange Postecoglu, and a Liverpool side reborn after successfully replacing their entire midfield, while Aston Villa stealthily built a Top 4 challenge of their own. The old rule of thumb is that after 10 games, the table starts to take shape, and at the time of writing, after 27 games, there are three teams within ''two'' points of each other at the top: Liverpool on 63, Manchester City on 62, Arsenal on 61. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aston Villa]] are on 55 - still within the traditional title-chasing territory, but the top three are so ferociously consistent that no one really expects a sufficient drop off to let Villa in by one of them, let alone all three. Spurs, meanwhile, have fallen behind to 5th on 50, but have a game in hand on everyone else. Manchester United, meanwhile, drifted down into mid-table with Chelsea and managed to be magnificently inconsistent, but put together a belated winning run that (before Fulham derailed it) took them up to 44 and at least nominally into competition for the 4th Champions League spot.

Despite a stumble in December, the Gunners took a short trip to Dubai and have taken no prisoners since returning, outscoring opponents '''25-3''' in just '''''six''''' matches, tossing Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Burnley, and even stalwart Newcastle United and fellow challengers Liverpool by the wayside en route to blowing open the title race once more. While they're still in third, and the predominant narrative is that it's a Liverpool-City slugging match, they're more than keeping pace, with a fearsome goal difference that, in such a tight title race, could prove decisive.

The new season began with them qualifying for the competition proper over [[UsefulNotes/ScottishPremierLeague Hibernian]], but despite a slow start in the league, they came roaring back in the second and third run of games, now sitting in 4th, 8 points back from leaders Liverpool.

The 2022/23 season was a tale of two halves of the season, with their performance being tepid at best in the first half and languishing in the lower part of the top half of the table, only to come roaring back in the second half, only just missing out on Top 4 at the end. However, after suddenly losing the aging midfield core of captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho (also to Saudi Arabia in Henderson's case, somewhat controversially given his famous support of LGBT rights and Saudia Arabia being... Saudia Arabia, before moving to Ajax 6 months later), and vice-captain James Milner (to Brighton), Liverpool struggled to replace key players in the summer, though they eventually got their men in the end with Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai, Japan captain Wataru Endo, and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, and have returned with a vengeance. Despite an ''extremely'' controversial defeat to Spurs and a string of niggling injuries, as well as the month and half long absence of the peerless Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations (where he promptly got injured), they are top by a point, following a complete defeat to Arsenal[[note]]They tallied their lowest xG ''ever'' under Klopp and their only goal was an own goal deflection[[/note]] and Man City winning one of their games in hand, meaning grip on the top spot has slipped significantly - however, thanks to City's own slip up against Chelsea and despite their run of games and lengthy injury list, it remains in their hands... for now.

In late January, Klopp announced he will stand down as manager at the end of the season, and the club announced an hour later that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke would leave at the end of the month (significant because the holder of said position typically leads a managerial search). Despite this, they did win at least one trophy to commemorate his exit, a 1-0 League Cup win over Chelsea, finishing the match with 12 senior players in the treatment room and 5 U-20s on the pitch. It would seem that "Klopp's Kids" aren't done yet. With several high scoring wins as Nunez and Mac Allister hit top form and the likes of Salah and Szoboszlai returned, all eyes turn to Anfield for March's clash of the titans between Liverpool and City, a match that could yet decide the title... %% Mac Allister is a two-word surname.

2023/24 saw them pick right back up where they left off with a quick jump out front, and despite a slide due to injuries to Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne, they are firmly in the mix, sitting a point on either side between them and Arsenal and Liverpool at the top, with matches against both sides on the docket.

Despite this, the team continue to be consistently inconsistent, looking like world-beaters one day, only to slump the next, as evidenced by a convincing win over West Ham, followed by grindy wins against Aston Villa and Luton, and then a stunning loss to Fulham in February.

Summer 2023 saw Kane depart for Bayern Munich shortly before the start of the season, but despite this, Spurs seemingly rallied around Ange and went unbeaten for ten matchweeks before utterly collapsing against Chelsea, having defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by Wolverhampton Wanderers, and suffering another defeat from a winning position against Aston Villa, drawing with City, losing to west Ham, demolishing Newcastle, and surviving Everton, only to slide back even further in February, now chasing Aston Villa for 4th while Arsenal, City, and Liverpool broaden their leads.

Despite the relatively small size of a lot of England's stadia compared to Europe [[note]]There are a few giants in there, though: Manchester United's Old Trafford (76,000); the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ([=61K=]-plus); and two other London grounds, Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and West Ham's London Stadium (60,000), with Liverpool's newly expanded Anfield (54,000 and currently (May 2022) undergoing further expansion work) not too far behind [[/note]] the quality of the English game is extremely high and total club revenue annually (as of 2022) is £4.8 billion![[note]]Which is close to US$6 billion in figures of the time[[/note]] The Premier League's revenue is the fourth highest anywhere in the world, behind the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA - and with its current £5 ''billion'' domestic television licensing deal, as well as its overseas media deals being worth at least as much (its ''U.S.'' deal alone is for roughly £2.1 billion over six years), it's only likely to get richer.

Generally speaking, six teams are expected to dominate (though whether or not they actually do is a different story), known as the "Big Six". These are the six teams that generally find themselves in the top several spots at season's end, barring a slip or two. Despite this, however, the Premier League's midtable sides are more than capable of taking them to task on any given gameday, and several of these teams have been known to cause nightmares for the Big Six[[note]]Such as Crystal Palace, whose 3-goal comeback inside of 10 minutes cost Liverpool the 2013/14 league title[[/note]]. Not only that, but a trite but true dictum is that "there are no easy games in the Premier League" - if one of the top teams slacks off, then even relegation fodder have every chance of beating them. Another reason for this is that the Premier League, like all the British Leagues, has a reputation for being extraordinarily physically intense (according to data breakdowns, while there's technically more distance covered per match in the Italian Serie A, for high intensity activity, the Premier League is in a league of its own), playing at a very fast pace, and the referees being comparatively more lenient on hard physical challenges. All of this helps level the skill gap.

All of this adds up to a heavily-competitive league with teams that are rich and all are seeking to make themselves better by bringing in the best players possible. Teams such as Manchester City and Chelsea were originally known for being mediocre sides, but were taken over by new ownership, who revamped team facilities and finances and led to them taking a place in the Big Six. This allowed them to afford to bring in some of the best foreign talent while also setting up youth facilities to churn out youth prospects to sell or play as well, which only further added to the league's talent pool and competitiveness, and this in turn provided a major boost to the English National Team as well (also thanks to rules in European competitions mandating home-grown player quotas). It's not uncommon to see the English team field 11 players from Premier League sides, when in the past, you would often see players from other countries. And thanks to this talent pool, England are in the midst of a resurgence, making the 2018 World Cup Semifinals and the 2020/21 European Championship Finals, though they lost both.

2023/24 has shaped into the tightest race in recent history, thanks to a resilient Arsenal looking to build on their previous title challenge, a revitalised Spurs under Ange Postecoglu, and a Liverpool side reborn after successfully replacing their entire midfield, while Aston Villa stealthily built a Top 4 challenge of their own. The old rule of thumb is that after 10 games, the table starts to take shape, and at the time of writing, after 26 games, there are three teams within ''two'' points of each other at the top: Liverpool on 60, Manchester City on 59, Arsenal on 58. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Aston Villa]] are on 52, still within the traditional title-chasing territory, while Spurs have fallen behind to 5th on 47. Manchester United, meanwhile, drifted down into mid-table with Chelsea and managed to be magnificently inconsistent, but have put together a belated winning run that takes them up to 44 and into competition for the 4th Champions League spot.

Despite a stumble in December, the Gunners took a short trip to Dubai and have taken no prisoners since returning, outscoring opponents '''25-3''' in just '''''six''''' matches, tossing Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Burnley, and even stalwart Newcastle United and fellow challengers Liverpool by the wayside en route to blowing open the title race once more.

In the 2018/19 campaign, the relegation battle stayed on until late in the season, but thanks to hated rivals Crystal Palace, Brighton survived the season and their PL status continued. They comfortably finished in midtable in the 2021/22 season, and opened the 2022–23 campaign with a shock 2–1 win at Old Trafford, putting new United manager Erik ten Hag firmly on the hot seat, before losing their manager Graham Potter to Chelsea, with his replacement being the Italian Roberto de Zerbi, who picked up right where Potter left off (including beating Potter's Chelsea 4-1 in their meeting), and managed to snag a Europa League spot at the end of the season for the first time in their history. The new season began with a blistering start but fell off toward the midway point, leaving them midtable in January, before picking up again, dragging them up to 7th and the outside of the European places.

Have established themselves as a midtable side who are quite capable of beating the Big Six in their home of Selhurst Park with semi-regularity - except for Liverpool, who after dropping a 3 goal lead in the disaster that arguably cost them the title in 2013/14 have since returned every time with malice aforethought.

2022-23 has seen them catapult themselves into the European spot competition, jostling with the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle. They even made a deep FA Cup run, only to fall against Manchester United after a spectacular implosion which saw two of their players (one for ''pushing the referee'') and their manager dismissed after the Video Assistant Referee spotted a deliberate handball than the on-field referee missed. Their promising season didn't quite pan out in the form of European football, but they finished in a respectable 10th place, falling behind a resurgent Aston Villa and Liverpool and unable to close the gap on Spurs to finish in a Conference League spot.

Known for their lethal front three including any combination of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane (until his 2022 departure to Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, and most recently, Luis Diaz and Darwin 'Captain Chaos' Nunez a.k.a. 'the Red Arrows', and ruthless consistency, thanks to investing in centre-back Virgil Van Dijk, goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defensive midfielder/defender Fabinho (departed to Saudi Arabia in 2023), and their lightning fast creative full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The 2022/23 season was a tale of two halves of the season, with their performance being tepid at best in the first half and languishing in the lower part of the top half of the table, only to come roaring back in the second half, only just missing out on Top 4 at the end. However, after suddenly losing the aging midfield core of captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho (to Saudi Arabia), and vice-captain James Milner (to Brighton), Liverpool struggled to replace key players in the summer, though they eventually got their men in the end with Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai, Japan captain Wataru Endo, and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, and have returned with a vengeance. Despite an ''extremely'' controversial defeat to Spurs and a string of niggling injuries, as well as the month and half long absence of the peerless Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations (where he promptly got injured), they are top by a point, following a complete defeat to Arsenal[[note]]They tallied their lowest xG ''ever'' under Klopp and their only goal was an own goal deflection[[/note]] and Man City winning one of their games in hand, meaning grip on the top spot has slipped significantly - however, thanks to City's own slip up against Chelsea and despite their run of games and lengthy injury list, it remains in their hands... for now.

In late January, Klopp announced he will stand down as manager at the end of the season, and the club announced an hour later that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke would leave at the end of the month (significant because the holder of said position typically leads a managerial search). Despite this, they did win at least one trophy to commemorate his exit, a 1-0 League Cup win over Chelsea, finishing the match with 12 senior players in the treatment room and 5 U-20s on the pitch. It would seem that "Klopp's Kids" aren't done yet. %% Mac Allister is a two-word surname.

Their first season back hasn't gone well, but they currently sit just inside the drop zone after February, only one point behind Everton in 17th, but with an Everton FA charge looming, giving them hope that they may yet stay up.

Have a persistent problem playing against Liverpool, especially at Anfield, the only stadium (until 2020 - when it was devoid of the usual intimidation factor thanks to a lack of fans) they've failed to win at since the Mansour takeover, and in general since 2003.

They have since responded by going on a tear, with a 2-1 win against Liverpool (the score belying how dominant they were), a fortunate victory over Southampton and a convincing 3-1 win against a rejuvenated Arsenal. Despite meeting Manchester City and being thrashed 6-3, their form continued, and going into the new year, they managed to defeat City 2-1 in the reverse fixture, forcing themselves back into the Top 4 race, only to lose momentum against Palace and then suffer defeat against Arsenal. They bounced back, winning several games on the bounce including a Carabao Cup against Newcastle to put them back in the title race, but then they met a vengeful Liverpool, who tore them apart and won '''7-0''', their worst loss in league history. This, followed by a late season wobble and a very late resurgence by Liverpool, means that with three games to go their arch-rivals are just one point behind in a race for Top 4. They were, fortunately for them, able to recover their mojo and secured Champions League ball with a thrashing of Chelsea in Match 37.

The 2013/14 season saw Spurs selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for (at the time) a world record £85.3 million and sacking Andre Villas-Boas after a rocky start. In addition to loathing Arsenal, Spurs also have fierce derbies against West Ham United and Chelsea. They usually play exciting and attractive football, played by a young and talented team (at one point, they had the youngest squad in the division, albeit only by a fraction).

Summer 2023 saw Kane depart for Bayern Munich shortly before the start of the season, but despite this, Spurs seemingly rallied around Ange and went unbeaten for ten matchweeks before utterly collapsing against Chelsea, having defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by Wolverhampton Wanderers, and suffering another defeat from a winning position against Aston Villa, drawing with City, losing to west Ham, demolishing Newcastle, and surviving Everton, only to slide back even further in February, now jostling with Aston Villa for 4th while Arsenal, City, and Liverpool broaden their leads.

Their owner, Vincent Tan, is a controversial figure for his constant ExecutiveMeddling [[note]]For instance, Tan changed the kit's color from its traditional blue to red, only to change it back in 2015 because of fan protests.[[/note]], [[https://twitter.com/htafc_Elam/status/417014081925947392/photo/1 his jeers toward his own players]] and his lack of knowledge for the game [[note]] [[http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1905776-cardiff-city-vincent-tans-5-most-outrageous-moments/page/3 Case in point]]: he once criticized his team's goalkeeper for ''not scoring enough goals''[[/note]]. However, his decision to sack Malky Mackay has helped vindicate his reputation after details about the former manager's… [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/cardiff-city/11047646/Malky-Mackay-texts-scandal-the-damning-evidence-discovered-by-Cardiff-chairman-Vincent-Tan.html unsavory text messages came to public light]].

A failed spell under ex-Russia boss Lenoid Slutskiy led to Hull needing another boss change, and risking an untenable back to back relegation and financial ruin after a decade of yo-yoing between the top 2 tiers, though Nigel Adkins has stabilised them since and they were able to stay up in the Championship for next season, only to be kicked down after a truly dismal second half of the season in 2020, with just 6 points in 20 games.

Their main rivals used to be Liverpool and Manchester United, the two other traditional footballing superpowers of the North, and some fans still believe this is so, to the derision of Liverpool and United fans alike (it being one of the very few things the two groups actually agree on). Nowadays, their rivals are the two Sheffield clubs, and fans quietly acknowledge that the old days of Champions League football and challenging for the title are long gone.

Unfortunately, a string of bad results saw them slip out of the Top Four, and then in the final game, they let a 2-1 lead against Tottenham slip, sealing them at 5th place for the second year running. Have followed this up by falling back into the midtable in 2021/22 and have started the 2022/23 season in utter shambles, sitting dead bottom with just a single point in 7 games. They since found a way out of the relegation zone, but after months of just hanging in, Brendan Rodgers was sacked following a late collapse against Crystal Palace. Dean Smith, formerly of Villa and Norwich, was subsequently brought in for the remainder of the season, but things did not sufficiently improve and, despite a valiant 2-1 win over West Ham on the final day, it was not enough to prevent them becoming the second former Premier League champions to be relegated after Blackburn Rovers.

In the 2015/16 season, despite a famous victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford, they were relegated despite doing their part in the final days. Came back for the 2019/20 season, but despite a famous 3-2 win over Manchester City and an earnest devotion to their stylish attacking football, they got kicked right back down immediately.

Dominated the Championship the next season, and earned promotion once again by finishing 1st, but followed that up with a season in which they languished in last place, with their relegation confirmed in late April.

In April 2022, after a season of struggle that saw them stuck in the bottom three since October, they became the first ex-Premier League club to be relegated out of the Football League into the National League, the top-flight of the paradoxically named non-league system.

Spent the past few seasons looking almost certain for relegation before rallying under a new manager to finish safely; First Paolo Di Canio came in at the end of the 2012/13 season, where they obtained 8 points from their last 7 games to secure safety. The following season, after the appointment of Gus Poyet in October, they won 4 of their last 6 games to avoid relegation (which had looked near-certain for most of the season. Unfortunately, another bad run in 2014/15 saw Poyet sacked, with Dutchman Dick Advocaat hired on a short-term contract to help the team survive relegation. While he succeeded, becoming much loved by the fans (who clubbed together to get a massive bouquet of flowers for Advocaat's wife when she reversed her decision to make him retire at the end of the 2014/15 season), a poor start to the 2015/16 season led to his parting company with the club and the safest of safe pairs of hands, Sam 'Big Sam' Allardyce, coming in to guide Sunderland to better fortunes, eventually escaping relegation again after beating Everton 3-0.[[note]]That result also meant that both Norwich and bitter rivals Newcastle were relegated instead[[/note]]. During the pre-season, Big Sam left to become England Manager, and so he was replaced by former Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes.

The club itself became Milton Keynes Dons in 2004 (an occasion that is still very controversial to this day among football supporters), while a SpiritualSuccessor club, AFC Wimbledon, was formed in 2002. Supporters of both clubs insist there is no rivalry between them despite their history, despite matches still being treated as a big deal.

They then started the 2022/23 season in torrid form, losing all three matches and sitting bottom alongside Manchester United, and were in the drop zone for much of the season, only securing safety toward season's end. The Hammers fared better in the Conference League and, in June of 2023, became the first British club to win the competition, defeating Serie A side Fiorentina in the final and securing a Europa League place in the process. The achievement sent fans into raptures as they hadn't seen their club win a major trophy since 1980 (The FA Cup) or a major European trophy since 1965 (The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup), though in the summer they bid farewell to their captain Declan Rice as he completed a blockbuster nine-figure move to Arsenal, and despite not really cashing in on their new riches, they started off the season extremely well, handily winning their Europa League group. Unfortunately, their campaign began to show signs of shakiness as they started to suffer from injuries, and then they were brutally embarrassed '''6-0''' on their own ground by Arsenal, with Rice scoring a world-class screamer of a goal in the process to add insult to injuries, leaving them stranded in 10th.