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...
Football games are 90 minutes long. They have been for more than 150 years.
So, what if they weren't? What if only the first 45 minutes mattered?
Some teams like to lead from the front, come out the blocks flying and try and get the job done before half-time.
If that had been the case this season and it all came down to that first half showing, then it would not have been Liverpool lifting the trophy, but in fact Arsenal winning their first league title in over 20 years.
With 20 wins, 13 draws and five defeats, the Gunners were the kings of the first half.
Four points behind them were Manchester City - a team that has for so long been able to control games from start to finish, but during their difficult spell with injuries and results, this was something they seemed to lack.
If the league really came down to this metric, Brentford fans would be planning for a Champions League adventure. While the Bees were fast starters this campaign, being able to back that up across the 90 minutes was their Achilles heel (ranking 14th in the second half).
And what about this year's Premier League champions? Arsenal may have had the number when it came to first halves, but Liverpool well and truly led the way in the second...
While some prefer to get their nose in front, others prefer a half-time reset or back themselves to get the job done later in the game.
One of those teams was Arne Slot's Reds.
They won 24 of their 38 second-halves, drew nine and lost just five. If it was this 45 minutes alone that counted, they would have had 81 points and - just like in the actual season - been runaway winners.
Another club that enjoyed success after half time was Chelsea.
Ranking seventh in the first-half table, the Blues were often in a position where they needed to turn things around or dig out a result in the second 45 and, despite the young age of the team, managed 17 wins in second halves.
A side deserving an honourable mention here is Crystal Palace.
They may have finished 12th in the 2024-25 league table after a underwhelming start, but when it came to getting a result in the second half, with 16 wins,12 draws and 10 defeats, they were up there alongside some of the best in the league.
*Table data from Football365
Manchester City are close to agreeing a deal for AC Milan and Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, in time for the Fifa Club World Cup which starts on 14 June in the United States. (Football Italia), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column
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
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester City target Rayan Ait-Nouri has been described as the "perfect fit" for Pep Guardiola's side by one of his former coaches at Wolves.
Edu Rubio, who worked with Ait-Nouri during the 2022-23 season, said: "His technical competency, his ability and skill in tight areas - keeping the ball close to his feet - give him the opportunity to fit perfectly into Guardiola's possession-based play.
"He can also dribble with speed to get the team up the pitch, driving with the ball, which is probably what Manchester City need right now - players who can break lines.
"Defensively, he has improved his game since his arrival in the Premier League and his one-v-one defending is of a very good standard. He can cope physically and is a very versatile player who can operate in any position down the flank, or by playing as an inverted full-back.
"He needs to improve his decision-making on the ball. He can take one touch too many at times and slow the ball speed down in a possession game that Pep loves. He also needs to work on his end product in attack.
"At a club like City, he will need to get his assist ratio higher, but it is something he can definitely do."
Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesThe cloud hanging over Manchester City is in the shape of 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches.
The outcome could result in a fine, a transfer embargo, a wage cap or a points deduction - although the club remain confident they will be fully exonerated.
"City could spend a further £200m this summer unless there is a negative result to the charges," said football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
"With Kevin de Bruyne's salary coming off payroll in 2025-26 the club have plenty of leeway to invest."
Read more about the early transfer window and what each Premier League club can spend this summer
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 ImagesManchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic has had an operation on an Achilles injury.
The Croatia international, who missed the FA Cup final because of injury, will not travel for the Club World Cup in the United States.
The club said: "Mateo will spend the summer rehabilitating from the operation and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery."
Image source, Getty ImagesWe asked for you to tell us what Manchester City need to do in the summer transfer window.
Here are some of your comments:
Ravi: City need to attack and always play to the front. If they lose the ball then need to get the ball back as soon as possible. They are superb when playing like that. Just need to try to get one or two really fast runners who can cross well, defend well and attack also with quick speed. City play with one person short when Halaand is out of form. So we need to remove/substitute him if he does not score every one or two games.
David: There's a lot of work to tweak the City squad this summer but I think fans will be disappointed by the 'overhaul' that was expected. It seems like Reijnders and Gibbs-White will both get done, and then we really need a pair of full-backs, possibly Wesley from Flamengo and Ait-Nouri. We are crying out for width so Foden and Marmoush can play inside slightly more. I cannot see Cherki happening. He's not needed, he's not a Pep player and we're already blessed with attacking options. Let's fix the ageing midfield and lack of recognisable full-backs first!
Sharif: So many are on about wholesale changes at City over the summer. I realise one or two new players will probably come in, and that's fine, but a big rebuild is unnecessary. We have to look at the reasons for the poor season. Yes, we weren't tactically perfect but more than that was the physical and mental burnout caused by four title wins on the bounce. We'll be more than competitive come August, regardless of any new recruitment. I'm well looking forward to seeing the lads back at their best after a summer off.
Hemingford: City need two full backs, a creative attacking midfielder and a right-sided attacker. The league is ours again if we strengthen well in these areas.
Joseph: I think they need a proper De Bruyne replacement along with real full-backs so they could shift Gvardiol into CB and because Rico Lewis is still developing. To replace Kevin they should really push for Wirtz despite the high price tag and, if looking for a cheaper alternative, they could look at Ryan Cherki. At left-back they could try Cambiaso from Juventus or a young 'wonderkid' in Balde from Barcelona. On the right, I would recommend Nordi Mukiele from PSG (currently on loan at Bayern Leverkusen) as a slightly more experienced player to give Lewis a rest and mentor Rico into a better player than he already is, And lastly, as a different option from Mukiele, they could try Killian Sidillia from Freiburg as a young French right-back who could back up Rico very well.
Thank you for the you submitted on the Premier League club pages.
Our aim is to contain all of the BBC's in-depth coverage of that team in one place, so it is helpful to hear from you - you are who the pages are for after all.
We are going through all your responses and will take suggestions on board for next season.
Mike Minay
BBC Radio Manchester reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has itted he was not happy with how the club's ticketing strategy played out in public.
Throughout the season, ers voiced dissatisfaction at the ticketing strategy and prices, even protesting by delaying taking their seats in the home game against Leicester in April.
Eventually, the club froze season ticket prices and offered multiple options on the expansion of the North Stand.
In the second part of his annual end-of-season review, Khaldoon spoke of the important of "trust" between fans and the club.
"I'm not OK with the way it played out," he said. "I think the management team is working very closely with City Matters, addressing and understanding the issues.
"What I'm sure about, and I hope this message comes out loud and clear, is that relationship of trust between the fans and the club is the foundation of the success and sustainability of this club. We know that, and we appreciate that deeply."
City Matters is a fan-appointed board that works with the club on all er-related issues, providing a bridge between Manchester City and the fanbase.
Khaldoon added: "These conversations with City Matters and our fans will continue, and we will try to find solutions always to address some of the challenges in a way that is fair for everyone.
"Some announcements have been made so far - but there's more to come."
Listen to Total Sport on BBC Radio Manchester every weeknight at 18:00 and listen to every Manchester City game - home and away - live on BBC Radio Manchester.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe transfer window opens on Sunday - albeit for 10 days initially, mainly so sides competing in the Club World Cup can get early business done - before reopening for the rest of the summer on 16 June.
As Manchester City reportedly chase Rayan Cherki, are there certain players you are desperate for Pep Guardiola's side to sign, or an area of the squad that needs improving? Or maybe holding on to a key player is your biggest priority.
And what about sales - who needs to go?
So over to you... what names need bringing in and shipping out?
Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist
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...
A Premier League season can sometimes be a tale of two halves.
Some come flying out of the blocks, while others are more sluggish starters.
The busy Christmas period can be a turning point with the arrival of the January transfer window feeling like a fresh start.
So what might have happened if the league season only start on 1 January?
Well, Pep Guardiola's title-winning machines would have picked up their fifth Premier League trophy in a row.
Playing one game fewer than actual champions Liverpool - who secured the title with four games remaining - they would have finished one point clear of the Reds, not withstanding Arne Slot's side slowdown in form after sealing the title.
City always seem to come good after January, but this time it was not enough to outweigh the torrid time they had from late autumn.
The rest of the top six is not too dissimilar to the final placings, although in this case, Aston Villa would have secured Champions League football and Brighton a Europa League spot in the absence of Chelsea - whose form nose-dived at the very beginning of the year.
And while the new year is a new start for some, it is less so for others.
That was the case for many of those down the bottom of the league.
The relegated trio would still have been relegated and Manchester United and Tottenham would still have ended up in the bottom six. West Ham find themselves one place lower after Wolves picked up form under Vitor Pereira.
So what does this tell us? If you wan to achieve your Premier League ambitions, it is about making sure you are there for nine months and not just from January.
*Table data from Football365
Mike Minay
BBC Radio Manchester reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak says the club "will be back" after a season that ended trophyless for the first time since 2017.
In an interview with the club's own media channels, the first part of his annual end-of-season review looked back on a campaign where the Blues lost their stranglehold on the Premier League title.
"It's a lot of lessons learned," he said. "I can assure you, this club will do everything possible to come back to the standards that we know we all can achieve."
The chairman recognised mistakes were made following their fourth straight title in 2023-24 but promised ers City are already rectifying those as they seek to bounce back in 2025-26.
"This year is another year where I think when I look back, last summer, we probably should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do," Al Mubarak said.
"We didn't do that and that ended up costing us this year. We already started that rebuild of this team in January.
"Normally we like to do our business in the summer and only in case of emergency, a special need that comes up, do we actually go and do business in January. That's been our MO at least for the past seven or eight years.
"But this January we had to act."
Pep Guardiola signed a new deal in the first half of the season before their form unravelled but Al Mubarak used one word to describe his relationship with the City manager: "trust".
"We have trust, and it goes both ways, I think," Al Mubarak said. "He trusts us. He trusts me. He trusts the organisation. He trusts the club and we trust him.
"And that trust is what, in the good times, allows you to keep winning and in the tough times that's where that trust really shows up.
"It was not easy for him professionally. It was not easy for him personally."
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak believes Kevin De Bruyne will go down as their greatest ever player.
Speaking in his annual in-house interview, he said: "What Kevin has given to this club, in my view, he is the greatest player to play for this club. I think his accomplishments speak for themselves. The number of Premier Leagues, the Champions League, FA Cups, Community Shields, Carabao Cups.
"It's an unbelievable tally, the highest of any player that's ever played for this club. His personal achievements, twice PFA Player of the Year. He's been a captain. He's been a leader. He's been a teammate. He's been everything you'd hope from your most important player.
"His influence on everyone, from the academy to the communities of fans, not just this club but football all over the world, is unquestionable. So, Kevin, he really transcends this team and I'm so proud of what he's accomplished.
"It's one of the best decisions we ever took. The day we took the decision to invest in Kevin and bring him from Wolfsburg. I some people thought we overpaid. Yes, yes, it's one of the best memes out there, huh?."
Image source, Getty ImagesOur chief football writer Phil McNulty has been taking your questions.
Tom asked: Who could be Pep Guardiola's new number two? Could it be Ilkay Gundogan?
Phil answered: Well he knows Ilkay Gundogan well enough, but with the departures of long-time ally Juanma Lillo, as well as Carlos Vicens and Inigo Dominguez, it is clear that Pep Guardiola is looking for fresh voices and new ideas after a relatively disappointing season.
I suspect he will be scouring worldwide - and do not forget the City Football Group will be well aware of what coaches fit in with Guardiola's philosophy, as well as who he feels he can work with.
There will be plenty wanting to work for him. Look what it has done for Mikel Arteta at Arsenal and Enzo Maresca at Chelsea.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe BBC's Ask Me Anything team have done all of the research ahead of the announcement detailing next season's Premier League matches.
The fixtures for the 2025-26 season will be released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday, 18 June 2025 and the release will include the weekly schedule of all 380 matches.
The season will begin with a single fixture played on Friday, 15 August 2025 and conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all matches will be played at 16:00 BST. There will be 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five midweek rounds.
The exact date and time at which individual matches are played during each weekend will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season, based on TV selections made by broadcasters.
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester City's Premier League 2 winning captain Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has kept his options open for next season as he wants to "play first-team football".
Simpson-Pusey, 19, led City to a record fourth title in the competition and also became the first defender to claim the PL2 player of the season award.
City's injury crisis allowed Simpson-Pusey to break into the first team this season, making six appearances in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Now he feels he has completed his business at academy level, saying: "I feel like I've done what I've needed to do with the under-21s. I just want to play first team football."
Asked if it would be at another club, Simpson-Pusey told BBC Sport: "I guess we'll see [what happens]. That's not on my mind yet. I'm definitely ready.
"I've not spoken to anyone about it. I'm sure some people will feel the same, especially after winning the league."
City's elite development squad coach Ben Wilkinson told the Manchester Evening News:, external "He has had a great season. Who knows what is next but he probably wants to leave U21 football.
"The fact he can leave it having lifted the Youth Cup at the end of last year and the PL2 trophy this year means he can be really proud of his academy journey."
Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesUnfortunately for Manchester City, this season will be ed for the wrong reasons after a somewhat miserable campaign.
Pep Guardiola's men relinquished their four-year hold on the Premier League trophy, were knocked out of the Champions League early on and were stunned in the FA Cup final by Crystal Palace.
Ballon d'Or winner Rodri suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out from September until the penultimate game of the season, and his absence in the middle of the park severely derailed City's campaign.
Since coming back from his own injury troubles, Erling Haaland has not looked himself while the likes of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish have struggled for form.
City also bid an emotional farewell to midfield maestro Kevin de Bruyne, who leaves after a trophy-laden decade at the club.
Being at his send-off was a real 'I was there' moment and it was special to see how much he meant to the club and the ers.
At least City ended their season with some cheer on Sunday though, as victory at Fulham was enough to secure a place at Europe's top table next term.
Beyond that, it has been a season to forget for City and Guardiola.
