Page 37 - Soccer360 Issue 106

League’s Player of the Year to open the scoring on the way to Manchester City’s convincing victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium. Arsenal continued to do their part, toiling against a resilient Everton at the Emirates Stadium, eventually winning 2-1 but knowing that whatever result they achieved, it would not matter if Guardiola’s side were staying ahead in their game.
Most fans on that last day of the season had probably thought that City would end up winning the title again and so it came
to pass. A team that had sat at the top of the league for just one game week since the start of November had won the title yet again. It hadn’t been quite as disappointing for the Gunners as the previous year when they surrendered an eight-point advantage but the season ended in the same way with the players and manager promising the fans that they would return and try again.
For a while, it had seemed as though Liverpool might muscle in on the
private battle between City and Arsenal. When Jürgen Klopp made the shock announcement in January that he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season,
his team were top of the league and it felt as if it might be fate for one of the most charismatic and innovative coaches the English game had seen in quite a while to bow out by lifting the trophy. Unfortunately, for football romantics everywhere, his side would fall away dramatically in March and
April, failing to beat both Manchester teams and even losing just a second Merseyside derby since 2010 to put themselves out of the running. In the end, Klopp would only celebrate winning the EFL Cup in his final season in English football.
There was so little to choose between the three title contenders throughout the first half of the season, with City occasionally dropping points, Arsenal grinding out results, and Klopp’s summer rebuild putting Liverpool in the running. After the turn of the year, the Gunners went up several gears and found a ruthless streak to win 15 of their final 17 games but as the Reds fell away, that still wasn’t enough to overhaul the Guardiola machine as the reigning champions won
the final nine games in customary fashion. Arsenal couldn’t have done too much more to put their name on the trophy - they were just unfortunate to lose out to probably the greatest side English football has ever seen. It seems unfair to Aston Villa that their most impressive season in living memory became something of an afterthought to the main action going on at the top of the league. Unai Emery only arrived as head coach
in November 2022 but he has completely reinvigorated the club and has now led them to a European semi-final and also inspired them to a place in next season’s Champions League. The turnaround has been nothing short of incredible as Villa spent the majority of the campaign in the top four. The goals of
SOCCER360 SUMMER 2024 35
FINANCIAL FARCE
Dan Roberts explores how profit and sustainability breaches led to points deductions and created confusion, allegations of corruption, and an embarrassment for the Premier League.
The race for the Premier League title was exhilarating to follow in 2023-24. However, the battle against relegation was equally captivating, with only Sheffield United doomed well before the end of the campaign. But there has been one factor that blighted the story of the battle against the drop.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest would probably have been scrambling
at the wrong end of the table this season anyway, but both felt wronged after being deducted points after being found guilty of breaking the league’s profitability and sustainability rules.
The Toffees were initially docked 10 points, gained four points back on appeal before losing a further two points following a separate charge. Meanwhile, Forest lost four points to plunge them deeper into the relegation mire and
saw an appeal against the punishment rejected. As well as creating uncertainty and prompting angry fans to accuse
the Premier League of corruption, the saga highlighted how the criteria for sanctioning clubs found to be in breach of the regulations hadn’t been properly thought through. But in the end, both teams still had enough about them to stay up. The two clubs involved feel slighted by the EPL. But, the fact is, they did break the profit and sustainability rules brought in to rid the game of financial mismanagement. The fact that Manchester City’s 115 charges are still
yet to be decided upon only makes the grievances of Everton and Forest even more amplified. A sense of one rule for the top clubs and one for the rest has fostered and created a feeling of distrust that has severely affected what has been an otherwise engaging contest.
The EPL has now announced that it could change its financial fair play rules. But the proposed new way of doing things looks like it will favour
the wealthier clubs even more. That suspicion of being unable - or unwilling - to punish the likes of Manchester City over the clubs lower down the league will only grow and the EPL should probably prepare for more disgruntled protests in the future if they go ahead with their current plans.
‘THE WAY ARSENAL PUSHED MAN CITY ALL THE WAY TO THE FINAL WEEKEND OF THE SEASON ENGROSSED THE FANS AND THE MEDIA ALIKE’
ABOVE:
The Gunners pushed City all the way again
RIGHT:
Cameron Archer of Sheffield tussles with Cristian Romero of Spurs
FACTS
Declan Rice’s 90th-minute winner for Arsenal against Manchester United was the third winning goal United
have conceded in second-half stoppage-time in 2023 – they had only previously lost two Premier League games to 90th-minute goals between 1992 and 2022.