As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...
ing in football has become an obsession.
The tiki-taka style of Barcelona has now become the basis of managerial philosophies across the leagues and lands of Europe and beyond.
The problem is, few teams have the ability to execute it at the level required to make it effective.
Pep Guardiola took it to another level when he was in charge of the La Liga giants and it has served his Manchester City side well since he took charge in 2016 having won 18 trophies in the following nine years.
And, if the Premier League season had come down to how well teams the ball, unsurprisingly the eight-time champions would have been celebrating a ninth title.
With nearly 90% accuracy, they rarely put a foot - or - wrong.
And yet, in reality, it did not translate to success on the pitch this year.
Whether it was teams finally finding the chinks in the ing-machine armour or the side's misplaced es proving more costly than in previous seasons without key players, City could not take advantage of their dominance with the ball.
And for one of the most acute examples of ability with the ball not translating to on-the-pitch success, we only have to look at Southampton.
The Saints at one point looked set to break Derby County's record for the least amount of points in a Premier League campaign, and yet they were less than 1% behind actual league champions Liverpool when it came to ing accuracy.
While fans could have some appreciation for watching nice football, they might have appreciated some scrappy displays that resulted in hard-fought results and possible safety more.
In contrast, Crystal Palace had the least accurate ing of any team in the league.
And yet, Oliver Glasner's side ultimately finished 12th - just three points off a top-half finish - and won the FA Cup final against the club with the best ing ability of them all.
They are not the only team to have had successful seasons in their own right while being in the bottom six for ing accuracy.
Nottingham Forest were 19th in this table metric, but in reality were fighting for Champions League places.
Bournemouth and Brentford also battled for possible European spots into the final weeks of the season, and even Everton finished the campaign comfortably away from relegation that at one point they looked set to be in a battle to escape.
So what does this tell us? When it comes to winning football matches, ing the ball well is not the be-all and end-all.
*Table data from Opta
Image source, Getty ImagesOne Cherries fan has ed BBC Radio Solent to give his top five Bournemouth players of the 2024-25 season - and he thinks his number one choice may be "controversial".
Do you agree with his picks?
Listen to his selections here on BBC Sounds
Tom Jordan
Fan writer
Image source, Getty ImagesI definitely predict a busy summer transfer window for Bournemouth.
It started early for the Cherries in regards to departures when giants Real Madrid activated Dean Huijsen's release clause. One mightily impressive season from the young centre-back was enough for Madrid to pay out a £50m fee, so does he now need replacing?
In Illia Zabarnyi and Marcos Senesi, Bournemouth have two reliable centre-back options, but with Chris Mepham set to depart, another young centre-half may well be required. I anticipate bids to be made for the promising Nantes defender Nathan Zeze, who has been heavily linked.
Another departure is anticipated imminently, with left-back Milos Kerkez expected to sign for Liverpool.
While Bournemouth did recruit in that position in January by g Julio Soler, another option will almost certainly be needed. I'd therefore be tempted to see if Real Madrid would allow their back-up left-back Fran Garcia to come to the south coast, having previously worked with Andoni Iraola at Rayo Vallecano.
A major conundrum is in between the sticks for the Cherries...
Last season, Kepa Arrizabalaga was impressive, but he was only on a season-long loan from Chelsea. Meanwhile, Neto was out on loan as cover for Arsenal, Mark Travers had a good loan spell with Middlesbrough and hot prospect Alex Paulsen spent the season with Auckland.
It is difficult to know what route the club will take, but I fully expect them to try to secure the services of Kepa on a permanent basis.
I would imagine both Neto and Travers will leave, and in turn that may allow Alex Paulsen to return as the club's number two.
It could be a rollercoaster summer!
Find more from Tom Jordan at Back of the Net, external
BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has given us his insight and opinion every fortnight on your Premier League club throughout this season.
But this week, he's in the hotseat for your questions.
Maybe ask him who should be on your club's radar this summer, or where a rumoured target or new g might fit into the team.
Perhaps see what he thinks about how successful a new recruit might be, who it is vital to keep, or what is needed to make next season a success.
Send in your questions here and we'll put a selection to him
Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesBournemouth have the lowest matchday revenue in the Premier League, with a 11,379 capacity at the Vitality Stadium.
Yet they have recruited shrewdly and the big-money sales of Dominic Solanke and Dean Huijsen during 2024-25 means they could easily part with £100m to bring in new gs.
Brentford are among the best run businesses in the league and their approach of "spotting players that other clubs have not considered, such as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, is likely to pay further dividends as they are attracting attention from clubs with big budgets", said football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
"The Bees have no PSR concerns and could spend up to £200m, but are unlikely to break the bank for the sake of it as this is not the way that owner Matthew Benham conducts affairs at the club."
Meanwhile, another club on the south coast, Brighton, are also in rude health heading into the next transfer window.
The Seagulls have earned £200m in profit over the previous two seasons and could repeat last summer's heavy spend of more than £200m if necessary.
However, chief executive Paul Barber has already indicated they will more likely return to their tried and tested model of bringing in relatively unheard of players from unfamiliar markets.
Brighton's biggest challenge is more likely to be keeping hold of the likes of Joao Pedro, Carlos Baleba and Kaoru Mitoma, who are all attracting iring glances from clubs with bigger budgets.
Read more about the early transfer window and what each Premier League club can spend this summer
Image source, Getty ImagesBBC Sport's chief football news reporter Simon Stone has been taking your questions.
Anonymous asked: With AFC Bournemouth having had such a good season we will obviously be losing a few players. What will really hurt is if we lose Iraola. Is there any gossip around him going anywhere? (The chatter about a move to Tottenham seems to have abated a bit!)
Simon answered: The latest I heard on this was that Iraola is keen to stay and continue the work he has been doing at the Vitality. I guess the problem is last season was really good - but for extended periods, it promised much more, and Bournemouth are in the cycle where after a campaign like they had, they are at risk of being picked off by bigger, richer clubs. Dean Huijsen has gone, everyone expects Milos Kerkez to go and no-one really knows where it will end.
The key, clearly, is for Bournemouth to spend the money wisely. And that is not totally down to Iraola.
Follow the Q&A and the rest of the day's football news here
As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...
Many of us will have been there in school.
It was not always about being the best, but about being better. Not trying to beat the others' scores or times, but about beating your own.
In sport too, it is why personal bests exist. It is a way of measuring your own improvement against what has gone before - we can't all be Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner.
So if the Premier League season was all about how you compared to the campaign before, who would have come out on top?
Well, there is one clear winner.
With 29 points more than they had in 2023-24, Nottingham Forest would have been lifting that trophy.
They may not have finished the season quite as they hoped having spent so much time in the Champions League spots, but having narrowly avoided relegation a year ago, this shows the sheer scale of the improvement this term.
Their nearest challenger on this basis would have been Brentford.
With 56 points, they were three points short of their best ever Premier League tally, but having flirted with relegation last time out, it made for a more enjoyable season this time around.
Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham may have just missed out on European adventures in the real league, but they are also teams who can be happy with the improvements they are showing as now well-established top-flight sides.
And despite the chaotic nature of Chelsea since the new ownership came in, they too can look to steady progress.
At the other end of the scale (or table), it is a very different picture.
Many question whether the traditional 'big six' teams is still relevant, given how others have broken that mould in recent years.
But if the season was based on improvement, four of those six would have been at the bottom.
Tottenham dropped-off in the league nearly as much as Forest improved. Manchester City had a high bar to reach, but a torrid spell proved costly. Manchester United have set multiple unwanted club records, while Arsenal struggled to maintain a real challenge for the title.
They say beware the wounded tiger, and it is hard to see all these sides having the same difficulties next season, but they will not have it all their own way with those teams that are on the up.
*All data from Opta and only teams who were in the league in 2023-24
Image source, Getty ImagesMilos Kerkez has dropped a small hint over his Bournemouth future by telling fans he doesn't "know what will happen" in the next week.
The full-back has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool in recent weeks.
In an Instagram post, he told ers: "38 games, 38 started, we finished the job and broke the record. Thanks to the fans and everyone for . Thanks to the gaffer for trusting me to start all 38 games and special thanks to the one above for keeping me safe and healthy and of course nothing would be possible without my family.
"I don't know what will happen in the next week but Cherries family thank you!"
Liverpool are preparing to make a formal bid for Bournemouth's Hungary left-back Milos Kerkez, 21, who has already agreed to the move and is valued by the Cherries at more than £40m. (GiveMeSport), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for you to tell us what you want Bournemouth to do in the summer transfer window.
Here are some of your comments:
James: We need to hold on to as many of the star players as possible. However, if any indicate a desire to leave, just get the deal done. We mustn't be awkward and run the risk of them running down their contracts and leaving for nothing in a year or two. Who comes in? I think we need a keeper (hopefully Kepa) and then spend money on replacing players in the positions we lose.
Lucas: With Huijsen and Kerkez going, I think we could do with replacements. Zeze from Nantes looks good, and personally I would go for Ait-Nouri from Wolves. Would also love Kepa on a permanent.
Bryn: Tavernier has to go as he is far too inconsistent. Bringing in a Christopher Nkunku or someone being overlooked at a bigger club could be shrewd business for the right fee. I don't see wages being an issue for us from now on.
Andy: Keep Andoni Iraola and sign him on a new contract. The rest will fall into place.
Daniel: Get rid of Daniel Jebbison.
Proctors: I would love to see Quentin Merlin playing for Bournemouth. He has shown a lot in Ligue 1 and would be a great Kerkez replacement.
