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...

It is the table no-one wants to be top of.

While some fans will feel pretty comfortable when their team goes in front, for others, it is just the start of what could prove to be an emotional rollercoaster.

The fans who had to suffer the disappointment of wondering 'what might have been' most were those of Tottenham.

If the Premier League season had come down to which side lost the most points from winning positions then Spurs would have been top of the pile.

There were 22 occasions in which Ange Postecoglou's team were in front, but they went on to win only half of those, with four ending in draws and seven in defeat.

While 'Ange-ball' provides entertainment, as shown in the Europa League final, if the Spurs boss had adapted on a few more occasions, they might have found themselves celebrating a more successful league campaign than one that left them a place above the relegation zone.

For Fulham fans, it was hard to know whether they were coming or going.

While they were one of the 'comeback kings' having picked up 21 points from losing positions, they also dropped 28 points from winning ones.

Rather than consistent inconsistency, boss Marco Silva will be hoping for less of a rollercoaster next campaign if they want to achieve their European dream.

There were not a lot occasions in which relegated Southampton and Ipswich were in front, but when they were, they struggled to see them through. The 28 and 27 points lost respectively could have been the difference-makers in the fight to stay up.

At the other end of the scale, Newcastle ers could often sit comfortably in the knowledge that when they went in front, they were unlikely to see any other result at the end.

In fact, of the 23 games in which they were in a winning position, they drew twice and lost just once - a confidence they will hope to take into the Champions League next season too.

Much was said of Chelsea's questionable defensive abilities and the maturity of such a young side. But despite this, they too were a team regularly able to see out a game they were leading - winning 20 of the 26 such occasions.

Two perhaps more surprising additions at this end of the table are relegated Leicester City and a Manchester United side who set unwanted club records for the season.

While there were not many occasions when the two sides were in a leading position - 10 for Leicester and 16 for United - between them they lost just three times and dropped only 10 and 11 points restrictively.

Some solace for ers in otherwise underwhelming campaigns.

*Table data from Football365

Delap picks Chelsea - what next for Man Utd?published at 08:33 5 June

08:33 5 June

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

As ever with these situations, Manchester United can draw a positive out of a negative.

They felt earlier last week it was coming towards the end game in their pursuit of Delap, and it was between them and Chelsea. Now they know they have lost out.

The positive is, with the decision made, they can move on. That is in stark contrast to 2022, when then manager Erik ten Hag delayed for months in a fruitless attempt to sign Frenkie de Jong and United ended up panicking at the end of the transfer window and spent £150m on Casemiro and Antony.

But that does not answer the pertinent question: who now?

Delap fitted their template of an improving, hungry young player, with scope to reach a high standard - at a set fee.

Rasmus Hojlund - who is four days younger than Delap - fitted the same criteria, apart from the last one. And it has not worked out.

Nothing I have seen on their post-season trip to Asia makes me feel United have the answer to their goalscoring issues within the club. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

The 'safe' but expensive options are Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta. But Mateta is 27 and Mbeumo will be at the Africa Cup of Nations for a month with Cameroon.

After that, it is a risk.

Former United striker Danny Welbeck scored 10 goals in the Premier League at the age of 34. Is there any merit in bringing him back and taking some of the pressure off Hojlund - or has Ruben Amorim concluded the 22-year-old Denmark international will never be good enough?

If so, it is back to Europe to sign another promising forward with no guarantee it will work.

Gossip: Villa show Sancho interestpublished at 07:46 5 June

07:46 5 June

Aston Villa have become the latest club to show an interest in g England winger Jadon Sancho, 25, from Manchester United following his loan at Chelsea. (Teamtalk, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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