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The 30th edition of the English Premier League came to an end on May 22, 2022, as all 20 teams kicked off for their final league games of the long season. This season has undoubtedly been memorable: we were treated to storylines such as a titanic title race involving two of Europe’s greatest sides, a nervy top four rac decided between two great rivals, and a relegation battle that  had viewers holding their breath until the very last minute. 

Here, I share my biggest takeaways and rank every Premier club's 2021/22 season. This ranking considers only the Premier League season of each club, so domestic and European cup competitions’ success and failures are not taken into account. Teams will be ranked in order of league position, starting from 20th and going up to 1st. 

The tiers are as follows:

Should be Ashamed - You failed to reach expectations; you let your club down; you should be ashamed of this season 

Not good enough  -  Still disappointing, could/should have been better; the season was simply not good enough. 

Meh - Just meh. Nothing remarkable happened; not memorable; didn’t stand out for better or worse, you’re meh. 

Good - good season; strong, you can hold your head high; job well done. 

Legendary - is it a legendary season? Will we remember this season for years to come? Will we tell our children about it? Will we remember this team as one of the greats of soccer history? 

Analysis: 

20th place - 22 points: Norwich City. Should be ashamed.

We start off with Norwich City. Norwich should not be ashamed for simply finishing in the bottom three and being relegated (demoted down to the lower league), because I think everyone except their fans would have picked them to be relegated back in August when the season started. This is because Norwich is a “yo-yo” club, meaning it is their reputation to consistently be relegated from the Premier League, promoted the season after, and then relegated back down again, and so on and so forth. Norwich should be ashamed this season because of their pathetic attempt to stay up. Norwich finished dead last or near the bottom in almost every major metric this season, including goals, goals conceded, shots, shots on target, xG (expected goals), xG against, and many more. They finished dead last with only 22 points, and only 5 wins in 38 games. Yes, it is always going to be an uphill battle for Norwich, since they are not able to spend big like other teams. That being said, they clearly did not spend wisely; their squad is aging and looked hopeless for most of the season. The team not only finished last, but couldn't have done much worse, and thus, they should be ashamed. 

19th place - 23 points: Watford. Should be ashamed.

Watford has to be ashamed as well, for many similar reasons to Norwich (finishing only one point above them this season). The problem I have with Watford is that they had opportunities to do better. They have a decent budget with a decent enough squad, so they shouldn't be finishing with 23 points. I put it down to the way the club is run and the way the club behaves. Watford aggressively continues their philosophy of changing coaches, employing three different coaches this season alone. The chopping and changing of managers clearly has had a negative effect on the psychology of the players, because after a while it seemed as though the players had just stopped caring. I think if Watford hadn’t changed coaches so much they actually would have done much better, but they just have to be ashamed with that season. 

18th place - 35 points: Burnley. Not good enough.

This season was finally the end of the road for Burnley after an impressive six-year survival in the Premier League. In the end, you could just tell that the clock was ticking on a Burnley relegation and this year was finally the year. The squad was not sufficiently strengthened in the summer, as Burnley went more for experience,  registering as the oldest squad in the league. In the end however, I think it was youth and the energy that Burnley was lacking, and this led to them going down. Not good enough for Burnley.  

16th place - 39 points: Everton. Should be ashamed.

Everton are one of the Premier League’s most historic clubs, never being relegated from the Prem and competing in all but four seasons in the first division since 1884. Yes, Everton are a complicated club with poor ownership, but considering the size and history of the club, the showing this season was nothing short of shameful. Everton’s squad boasts international players and they are one of the richer clubs in the country, so to be only four points clear of the drop at the end of the season is absolutely humiliating. Everton finished with 20 points less than last year and were in the bottom 3 with 2 games left, so although I am happy they survived, they’ve got to be ashamed of this. 

15th place - 40 points: Southampton. Meh.

Southampton this season were the definition of meh. I actually thought Southampton had the possibility to have a pretty good season, as they started off quite well under their experienced coach Ralph Hasenhüttl. However, in the second half of the season after they had secured safety from relegation, Southampton looked really terrible and ended up finishing in no-man’s land in 15th. The squad is extremely thin and weak so it is definitely an accomplishment to stay up, but in my opinion if it wasn’t for midfielder James Ward-Prowse, they would have gone down. This summer is a huge one for them as they badly need to bolster the squad for next season, but due to the low expectations on them at the beginning, Southampton find themselves in meh. 

14th place - 45 points: Aston Villa. Not good enough.

For all the talent in the squad they have, Aston Villa should not be finishing 14th. Blessed with functional owners who invest in the club, Aston Villa have top players, top facilities, and should be doing a heck of a lot better. They finished four places lower than the season before despite bringing in Brazilian international Philippe Coutinho, among others. Overall they aren’t impressive, they aren’t working hard enough, and it’s really not good enough. 

13th place - 46 points: Brentford. Legendary.

46 points and 13th place might not seem like a legendary season to most, but Brentford’s season absolutely was. Competing in their first ever season in the Premier League, Brentford were number one picks to be relegated at the start of the season. However, Brentford have done everything right this season: they’ve been super smart changing the way they play, and they have reaped the benefits by not just surviving, but comfortably sitting mid-table. One of the major points for Brentford that they really nailed  was finding a way to win games despite being  inferior in talent to basically everyone else in the league. Brentford did a great job of capitalizing on set pieces this season, finishing with the highest xG and scoring 15 goals directly from set pieces. Those 15 goals can be the difference between staying up and going down, and Brentford certainly made the most of their chances where others maybe didn’t. In the end, Brentford’s season was not legendary for the way they played, but it was for their accomplishments of overachieving and making history. They will definitely live in the minds of their fans for years to come. 

12th place - 48 points: Crystal Palace. Good.

Crystal Palace are a team that have been in the Premier League for a long time but often find themselves in the bottom places, fighting against relegation. Crystal Palace have evolved from a team that, a couple of years ago, played a lot more like Brentford did this season—very direct and defensively sound. While those tactics can be effective to keep you from being relegated,in order to push on and become more of a mid-table side, you must evolve and become a more confident playing team. Crystal Palace aren’t completely there yet but this season showed that they are definitely headed in the right direction under French coach Patrick Vieira. They recruited well this season with signings such as Jean-Philippe Mateta and they will need to continue to be smart in the market if they want to continue this forward progress. 

11th place - 49 points: Newcastle. Good.

Newcastle have had a very irregular season in that you need to split it up in two halves to understand it. The first half of the season was absolutely dreadful: They sat bottom of the league until December and didn’t even pick up their first win until matchweek 15. However, after their big ownership change and an investment from Saudi Arabia that led to new manager Eddie Howe being appointed, things dramatically changed. Eddie Howe completed some fantastic signings in January such as Bruno Guimarães from Lyon and English international Kieran Trippier. The second half of the season saw a huge shift in quality of performances and Newcastle really looked like a different team, comfortably rising to 11th place. This was definitely the start of a new era for Newcastle as I think it is likely they could be having a few legendary seasons in the future. 

10th place - 51 points: Wolverhampton Wanderers. Meh.

Wolves started the season off solidly, hanging around in the top half of the table, with help from outstanding new signing goalkeeper José Sá, who finished with the highest save percentage in the league. However the second half of the season was really meh, as they only won one in seven to close out the season, barely sneaking into the top ten. Another thing that solidifies them in "meh" for me is that they weren’t even good to watch. Wolves finished with the second lowest xG and often sat back for the majority of games, as they really relied on their defense to get them wins. Raúl Jiménez expectedly didn’t look as sharp after his injury and new players will definitely be needed this summer. Their squad isn’t as good as it used to be, and it looks like a bit of a refresh is needed. 

9th place - 51 points: Brighton. Good.

It is difficult for Brighton to have a legendary season because they really would have to win a trophy or get into the Europa Conference League, but nonetheless, this was a fantastic season for Brighton. Brighton did great this year with fantastic recruitment, spending very little while also getting quality production from their players. They massively benefited from the 50 million pound transfer of their former player Ben White to Arsenal in the summer, using that money to reinvest in the squad and in other areas of the club. Brighton are a fantastically run club and surely will continue to move up the table as they did this season. 

8th place - 52 points: Leicester City. Meh.

Leicester City started the season off poorly, sitting in the bottom half of the table as they battled with some injuries and poor performances. They did recover well, though:the performances got better later in the season, and eventually they were able to climb back to 8th place. They were impressive in the Europa Conference League going all the way to the semis, but it was clear that the stress and effort of juggling both Premier League and Europa games affected them, and so overall, their Premier League season was a huge meh. 

7th place - 56 points: West Ham. Good.

West Ham have had a very good season. They too juggled Premier League and Europa games for large parts of the season, but were still able to remain extremely competitive. West Ham exceeded many people’s expectations because they were fighting for Champions League places for the majority of the season, just falling off a bit at the end. I think this was a very good season for West Ham, but it will be interesting to see if they can remain competitive again next year. Commentators question where this squad is going, since some players like Aaron Cresswell, Craig Dawson and Michail Antonio are getting older, and whether or not young star Declan Rice will still be there next season. Their future aside, this season was definitely a good one for West Ham. 

4th place - 71 points: Tottenham Hotspurs. Good.

A season of many twists and turns for Spurs, but in the end, an overall good season for them. I think at the beginning of the season, the Spurs saw other teams like Man City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, and understood that they needed to get themselves back into the Champions League in order to attract bigger players and get back to competing for trophies. I think for coach Antonio Conte to be able to accomplish that for them with so little time, especially considering where they were before he was appointed, is really impressive and will really help them going forward. January signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus really helped this team over the line and are shaping up to be great players that will  help Spurs in the coming years. Spurs were able to keep player Harry Kane in the summer, which was huge, and now with Champions League qualification it is more than likely Antonio Conte will stay too. With top scorer Korean Son Heung-min up front and that added money from European Cup play, it looks like Spurs will push on further, and I definitely think things are looking up in North London. 

3rd place - 74 points: Chelsea. Not good enough.

After a big summer with signings like striker Romelu Lukaku for 97 million pounds to add to an already ridiculously good squad, the expectations were understandably high for the reigning European champions at the start of the season. As we saw the season progress, however, this squad was not as strong as we first thought, and injuries to wingbacks Reece James and Ben Chillwell, along with others, severely derailed their season,and they were unable to recover. Considering the amount of money that has been spent by Chelsea, they really should now be challenging for the title on par with clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City, but unfortunately, they were miles off, falling quickly off the pace and finishing a whole 18 points behind Liverpool. Yes, Chelsea did have some complications regarding change of ownership, but that only happened long after they were done challenging, so this season was just not good enough for Chelsea. However, they do still have a ridiculous squad and a top manager in Thomas Tuchel, so hopefully they can challenge the two at the top in the next season. 

2nd place - 92 points: Liverpool. Good. 

Liverpool were by far one of the hardest teams to place in this tier list. The question we really have to ask ourselves are: can this season be legendary for Liverpool, even though they didn’t win the title? My answer is no. Undoubtedly, Liverpool put on one of the best displays over a season I've seen in my lifetime, playing in a fantastic style, and bringing it all the way down to the wire with Manchester City. Liverpool were 14 points behind City at one point in the season, but brought themselves back and treated us with one of the best last days in Premier League history. Liverpool finished with 92 points, which would have won them the League in basically 95% of all other seasons, and they should be proud of how they played. Liverpool also finished their fourth season in the past five unbeaten at their home stadium, a massive testament to their fans and club. Again, other competitions are not being taken into account, but I have to emphasize how Liverpool were this impressive while playing every game possible in a season, making it to the final of every cup competition they played in. However, even with all these amazing highlights they did not finish as winners of the Premier League, and for that reason, this season cannot be legendary. Liverpool are a massive club that have won many titles before, so for me finishing second will never be considered “legendary'' for a club that size, no matter how closely it ended. Only one title in five years is definitely not an accurate representation of the quality of this Liverpool team, though, and I hope they can go all the way again soon. 

1st place - 93 points: Manchester City. Legendary.

Finally, we arrive at the only team that truly matters this season, and those are the winners: Manchester City. The quality of a season for giant clubs like Manchester City are, at the end of the day, determined by winning it all or not, and City got the job done, once again. Winning their fourth title in five years, manager Pep Guardiola has created an unreal squad that will be remembered as one of the most dominant teams in league history. They were once again pushed to the very end by Liverpool and once again showed their nature as they played some truly beautiful football, scoring 99 goals and, most importantly, lifting the trophy at the end. Congratulations Manchester City. 

This has been one of the best Premier League seasons in my lifetime:the storylines were alive until the very end, and we were blessed with amazing goals and fans back into the stadiums. Now as the summer is upon us, we will watch the transfer market closely, as we try to gauge next year’s favorites. Thank you for reading, enjoy the summer!

Almost one month after the 2022 NFL Draft, I have had enough time to reflect on the Patriots selections. The ten picks made by Bill Belichick and the New England front office came as a surprise to numbers of fans, including myself. Although many analysts have given the Patriots poor post-draft rankings, including many C’s and D’s, I have more confidence in this draft class than in any other class since 2000, and you should too. 

PSA

Going into draft night, I had no confidence in the front office to draft a linebacker in the first round. Even though every single mock draft I looked at had the Patriots taking Nakobe Dean or Devin Lloyd, there was no reason to believe them. The linebacker play in 2021 for New England was poor, but the depth at the position is not. Unfortunately (and fortunately), Donta Hightower, one of the best Patriots in the 2010s, won’t be returning after a lackluster season. Behind him are linebackers that were hidden on the IR last year for none of the league to see. These players, including Anfernee Jennings, Cameron McGrone, and Raekwon McMillan are all explosive and fast to the ball, a trait that New England backers have lacked. While many of you may have been disappointed that no linebackers were drafted, there is no reason to be. Linebacker was not a position that needed to be addressed in the draft. 

Round 1

Our new starting guard out of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is my favorite pick because he pisses the entire fanbase off. Seeing casual Patriots fans post a five-paragraph-long rant on Instagram is the highlight of draft night. I only enjoy it because I expect Belichick to make a controversial selection. Very few people had Cole Strange going in the first round, but he wasn’t going to last much longer. If we hadn’t pulled the trigger early, I firmly believe that the 2022 season would be a failure. In the offseason, Belichick traded away a guard who was top five in the league (Shaq Mason) for just a fifth-round pick. After that, an offensive guard had been on my wish list. While my dream wasn’t to pick someone out of an FCS (Football Conference Subdivision) school, it will have to do. At 6’5” and 307 pounds, Strange is laterally agile and has deceiving power that allows him to stun defenders who are both run defending and pass rushing. He may not look big, but he plays double his size and had great success in the southern conference of the FCS. Without a proven guard like Strange, the Patriots’s success in their run-heavy scheme would plummet, and good production from running backs would be an issue. 

Round 2

Bill Belichick did something that he never does: getting what the majority of his fanbase wanted. Former Baylor Bear Tyquan Thornton is a tall, skinny, and twitchy receiver with track-level speed. Over the past five years, us fans have complained about a lack of speed on the offensive side of the ball. With the game getting faster, this was a legit concern after the 2021 season. New England is known to bring in route technicians and possession catchers, but never someone with the burners Thornton has. His 4.28 40-yard dash (fastest WR time) is eye candy to fans who longed for a speedy receiver, myself included. My only issues are Thornton’s history of drops and the fact that he is known to have small hands. He commonly tries to catch the ball with his chest leading to big-time drops down the field. If that concerns the Patriots coaches as well, it may lead to them trying to make him into a slot receiver, something that they have done and failed at many times. I hope whoever is running the offense allows Thornton to achieve his full potential, which is making cornerbacks burnt toast, not catching checkdowns over the middle. 

Round 3

With the departure of J.C. Jackson, the Patriots definitely should have addressed the cornerback issue much earlier in the draft, either by trading up or selecting someone at twenty-one. There were plenty of outside corners available in the first and second round, yet Belichick decided to hold off. However, this may have been a blessing in disguise, as New England ended up with one of the most exciting players in college football. Marcus Jones out of UHouston is quick on his feet and has incredible downfield speed. Despite being undersized at 5’8” and 174 pounds, he can match up well with the majority of receivers. But the real reason that the Patriots drafted Jones was because of his tenacious and fundamental tackling ability. If you haven’t noticed, the Patriots’ tackling in the secondary has been one of the most frustrating things to watch in the past ten years. I have always complained about our cornerbacks not being able to bring the ball carrier to the ground, allowing for three to five extra yards. Jones can hopefully put an end to this, as he is known to attack the ball and gain great leverage on his tackles. Not to mention, Jones also racked up over 2,000 return yards between his four seasons at Houston and Troy. He will be able to contribute right away on special teams, as former all-pro return man Gunner Olszewski signed with the Steelers in the offseason. Jones’s small frame should not scare you; instead, we should be grateful that we ended up with him in the 3rd round. 

Round 4

The Patriots went cornerback again with their first pick of the fourth round. Immediately after the draft, Jack Jones out of Arizona State was quickly overshadowed by the flashy highlight tape of Marcus Jones. Despite not being on Sportscenter for his 100+ yard kickoff returns, Jack Jones is a solid and aggressive football player. Slightly bigger than Marcus at 5’10” and 175 lbs, Jones has the ability to play the outside corner position as well as play in the slot. With quick feet and loose hips, Jack Jones runs effortlessly with receivers, something that the New England secondary couldn’t do, considering that they couldn’t touch Bills backup receiver Isaiah McKenzie (11-125-1) in week 16. Not only can Jones keep pace with receivers, but he has elite skill when high-pointing the ball in the air, which the Patriots defense longs for without J.C. Jackson. While Jones may not have the best school smarts (he was dismissed from USC for bad grades) or even the best knowledge off the field (he was arrested and charged with commercial burglary and felony conspiracy to commit a crime after breaking into a Panda Express in June 2018), his on-field intelligence is impressive, as he makes quick reads—and good ones too. Jack Jones is a name I’m rooting for this year, and he has a good shot to make the 53-man roster. Not to mention, he completes the Jones Trilogy in the secondary (Jack, Jonathan, and Marcus).

Six picks later, New England made another unpopular choice by picking South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong. But before you all go on a rant about how our depth at running back is great and we don’t need another, let me list some of Strong’s accomplishments in college:

First Team FCS All-American (2021)

3 Time First Team All-MVFC (2019-2021)

MVFC Freshman of the Year (2018)

Led All of College Football in rushing yards since 2018 (4,525)

7.2 yards per carry over 4 years

Change your mind yet? Iff not, then you should. While the Pats may have great running backs right now, that can change over the course of a year. The RB position is the least durable of them all, so it is never bad to have enough of them. With Damien Harris’s contract year coming up, it is necessary to build for the future. Also, Strong ran the fastest 40 yard dash for his position, clocking in at 4.37 seconds. Another great value pick for New England. 

At pick 137, the Patriots shocked whoever was watching the draft at that point (me) and took Bailey Zappe, the greatest quarterback ever from Western Kentucky. While you may think that isn’t impressive, Zappe led all of college football with 5967 yards and 62 touchdowns. When the pick was announced, I hollered (not exaggerating). Even though Zappe won’t play behind Mac Jones, NE was lacking another QB. After recently trading away future superstar Jarrett Stidham (joke), the pick makes perfect sense: the ancient Brian Hoyer is now more of a QB coach than backup, and Zappe has lots of talent for the job. With great accuracy throwing short, medium, and long balls, Zappe will flourish in New England’s system and hopefully will get opportunities elsewhere later in his career. Who knows, maybe he will come in and replace Mac Jones like Tom Brady replaced Bledsoe. 

Round 6 

Kevin Harris out of South Carolina is a hard-nosed running back who fights for every inch. He also led the SEC in rushing touchdowns in 2020 with fifteen of them. At 5’11” and 221 pounds, Harris is surprisingly elusive and has great lateral quickness. That being said, I was and still am unsure of this pick. While I did say previously that it’s not bad to have a lot of running backs, there were many other options to fill positions in need. One issue that sticks out to me is Harris’s lack of ball-catching skill, which is a key component of New England's system. He dropped seven out of forty-eight catchable passes in his career. And yes, bringing in players to compete at training camp isn’t horrible, but why not bring in a linebacker or another position with little depth? Harris may have been the best player available, but Belichick made a questionable decision.

The Pats went into the depths of college football to nab Sam Roberts, a defensive tackle from Northwest Missouri State University. Personally, I didn’t know that was a real college and I’m assuming you didn’t either. However, Roberts won the defensive player of the year for both division two and three schools. At 6’5” and 292 pounds, he can play down the defensive line whether that is in a 1, 3, or 5 tech (nose tackle, defensive tackle, or end). He has a quick first step and can fill gaps fast. When rushing the passer, Roberts uses power moves to his advantage with an effective rip move. His only outstanding issue is playing too high and getting stood up by linemen. If Roberts can find a lower position of attack, he may be able to translate his game to the NFL. Always trust Belichick in division two; we know what happened last time (Kyle Dugger). 

At pick 210 (round 6) and 245 (round 7), the Patriots took two developmental offensive linemen to fill the roster. Both Chasen Hines (IOL) out of LSU and Andrew Stueber (T) from Michigan are pure power offensive linemen with great strengths in the run game. With limited lateral speed due to their size, both have flaws in pass protection against speed rushers. Stueber could look to move to guard in the NFL to avoid getting beaten on the outside. 6th- and 7th-round picks aren’t usually exciting, but both Hines and Stueber had great success in college, and could possibly be sleeper picks that we look back on in the future. 

Outlook

The 2022 draft class should bring nothing but excitement for us Patriots fans. Yes, some of the picks were a bit strange (pun intended), but many of Bill Belichick’s most unpopular picks panned out well. With ten rookies on the roster along with some undrafted signees, there will be lots of competition in the offseason between the younger guys and the veterans. For the first time in a while, New England took a lot of risks with their first couple of picks. All we can do is hope that they don’t turn out like N’Keal Harry.