Leicestershire

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

Image source, Getty Images

Former Leicester City midfielder Dean Hammond says decisions on the Foxes' future need to be made quickly to provide clarity for fans.

Hammond told BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast: "The hardest thing in football is to make decisions, and I think the quicker you can make them, the better, because it gives everyone a bit of clarity and a bit of understanding and puts everyone at ease because they know what's happening and what's expected.

"Who's going to lead the team next season would be the biggest decision for me, because until it's decided whether Ruud van Nistelrooy stays or a new manager comes in, then I'm not sure how you plan.

"It's so important to have that person in place to start putting forward the direction of the football club for next season.

"The more time you get with the players you're going to work with for the majority of the season, the better time you're going to have to implement your playing style.

"You need to get to know players. You need to build relationship with players. New players need to come in and settle. They need to understand how they're going to play and what is expected.

"Leicester City does not feel like a stable club in this moment, and I wonder, with that in mind, how important this summer overall really is for Leicester City, not just for now and for next season, but for what the club want to achieve in the next maybe five to 10 years."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds here

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The season will hardly be remembered fondly.

Relegation, a record-equalling run of defeats, division between the fans and the club, a change of manager, the departure of a legend and a season-ending profit and sustainability charge.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy replaced Steve Cooper in November and the change did not work. The Dutchman has carried himself extremely well - as you would expect for someone of his experience in the game - but failed to get results.

He lost 19 of his 27 games, winning five - with two of those coming in the last four matches when the Foxes had already been relegated.

Under him Leicester became the first Premier League team to lose eight games in a row without scoring during a run of defeats between February and April, which also equalled the club's record losing streak.

It leaves Van Nistelrooy in a fragile position, with the expectation he will leave while Russell Martin is a leading contender to replace him.

Fans called for the departure of director of football Jon Rudkin, who they view as key in their decline following two relegations in three years yet there seems to be no appetite to change at the top.

Leicester are entering a new era - one post Jamie Vardy - with the striker leaving at the end of his contract next month.

He is the last of the 2016 title winners left and the Foxes must find a new direction in the Championship next season, even as they look to avoid a points deduction.