Until the start of the new "Premier" league season is just over a month away, and the past year was truly intriguing. Positions of several clubs on the tournament table changed drastically, club revenues increased even more, and high-level players and coaches arrived. For these and many other reasons, the English championship was once again the most watched in the world, so it is really interesting to remember the 2016-17 season and think about the reasons why some teams did better than others. The most popular Lithuanian football news portal Eurofootball.com will help you with that. First part of the review: London is blue Second part of the review: "Hammers" decline and Guardiola's project Third part of the review: defense equals misery "Swansea City" sold two very important players - captain Ashley Williams and forward Andre Ayew - during the break, so the task of staying in the seventh position for their season in the Premier League didn't seem easy. A bunch of new footballers were acquired for this challenge, with Leroy Fer, Alfie Mawson, Fernando Llorente, and Borja Baston given the most important roles. The latter was the most expensive, but it later turned out that his influence on the team was minimal. The "Swans" started the season with an away victory against "Burnley", which was generally rare for the club. However, other wins had to wait until the end of November, and after eight defeats in the first 12 matches, the Welsh team found themselves at the bottom of the tournament table. Francesco Guidolin was dismissed from his managerial duties in October, but his replacement Bob Bradley also did not perform any miracles. The American was also dismissed on January 3, and the second part of the season turned in a positive direction for "Swansea" with Paul Clement taking over the team. Under his guidance, the "Swans" achieved important victories against "Liverpool" and "Southampton", and the former Bayern Munich member became the best manager of the month in England. By then, the Welsh club had already risen above the relegation zone. However, as spring arrived, they fell back into the pit, managing only one point in six matches and putting themselves in danger again. During this period, the "Swans" only scored two goals, but later their season was saved by Fernando Llorente speaking up. In the crucial stage of the season, the Spaniard scored four goals in five matches, and "Swansea" managed to win all of them. Therefore, ultimately Clement led his team to the 15th position. However, looking ahead to the next season, the gap left in defense by Williams must be filled, as "Swansea" was the second team to concede the most goals. In the 2015-16 season, London's "Tottenham" were just a little away from finishing above their closest rival "Arsenal" in the Premier League after 20 years. However, young Mauricio Pochettino's players finally stumbled and let the "Gunners" fans celebrate St. Totteringham's Day. This made the team's coach strengthen the squad even more with Georges-Kevin N'Koudou, Vincent Janssen, Moussa Sissoko, and Victor Wanyama. The "Spurs" started the season solidly - achieving draws with both Liverpool clubs and winning three points against "Manchester City" at the beginning of October. After those matches, "Tottenham" secured the second position, but then they began to feel the absence of the injured Harry Kane. The team managed to win without him, but in the following three matches, the "Spurs" scored only two goals, and none of the new signings, except Wanyama, lived up to expectations. Playing without Kane resulted in three consecutive draws, and when the injured forward returned, he single-handedly pushed them above "Arsenal". In November, "Tottenham" dropped to fifth place, and after setbacks against "Chelsea" and "Manchester United", the team had to turn their season around if they wanted to fight for the title. This goal was actually achieved - the "Spurs" won six consecutive games and were in second place in January again. Then followed a few draws and a loss to "Liverpool", but Pochettino's team responded with a nine-game winning streak and played really well, with "Chelsea" constantly feeling the breath on their neck. Just like the previous season, Harry Kane was incredibly impressive, scoring 29 goals and providing seven assists, with excellent support from Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli. However, although "Tottenham" finished with 86 points, which would have been enough for a secure triumph in 2016, the "Chelsea" players performed even better. The next season should see the "Spurs" aiming for higher, and they will soon play in a new stadium. However, the future of this team will depend greatly on whether they manage to hold on to their highest-paid leaders and attract higher-caliber reinforcements, as last summer's acquisitions were somewhat lacking. After a successful return to the Premier League, "Watford" needed to stay up again, and for that serious newcomers were acquired: Isaac Success, Younes Kaboul, Roberto Pereyra, Daryl Janmaat, Stefano Okaka, and others. However, a major obstacle was the duo of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, who had not been performing since the end of the previous season. Although the captain was still the most productive in the ranks of the "Hornets", the Nigerian striker even left for China in the winter. The season started off well for the "Watford" team - after draws with "Southampton" and defeats to "Chelsea" and "Arsenal", they beat "West Ham" and "Manchester United". This successful play continued in the fall, and the "Hornets" even climbed to seventh place at one point. However, a poor phase in Walter Mazzarri's squad began in winter when they failed to secure a win between December 10 and January 31, dropping to 14th place during that time. As the winter transfer window came to a close, Ighalo was replaced by M'Baye Niang, and the team's attack revived for a while. An unexpected victory against London's "Arsenal" was achieved, and after defeating "Burnley", things began to improve again. Until the end of April, the "Hornets" continued to play as best they could, and after defeating "Swansea" in the 32nd round, they finished in 10th place. It later turned out that those were the last points for the team - they finished the season tragically, losing all six remaining matches. Not only that, the players again couldn't find form in attack and managed to score only three goals against the second string of "Chelsea". So, Mazzarri's students ultimately ended an extremely turbulent season on the brink of relegation - in 17th place. Evaluating the problems of a team that often fails both in attack and defense is very difficult, as there are simply issues everywhere. Their coach, who left his position amid reports of disagreements with players, likely agrees. Tony Pulis' teams are usually not an easy opponent even for the biggest clubs and successfully compete in the middle of the tournament table. London's "West Bromwich Albion" is no exception. The team sought to improve the 14th place finished marked and acquired Matt Phillips, Nacer Chadli, Allan Nyom, Hal Robson-Kanu, and Jake Livermore for that purpose. All these players immediately gained the coach's trust. In the first eight rounds, the "West Brom" players achieved two wins and four draws, which was a really good result. Until New Year's, they were basically only losing to the strongest clubs, and after completing the first round of the Premier League, Pulis' students firmly stood in ninth place. During the holiday period, they achieved two more consecutive victories and climbed to eighth place, which they held until May. However, the only serious downturn for this team began on April 1, when they drew with "Manchester United". After that, during the remaining eight rounds, "WBA" only managed to secure one point and scored only four goals in total. However, it is interesting that despite the huge competition in the Premier League, "West Brom" still managed to secure the 10th position. This high position for the Midlands club was ensured by a solid performance over more than three-quarters of the season. The team's strength was the lower number of goals conceded compared to their table neighbors, but a lack of quality substitute attackers could have hindered a higher finish. The main players played almost non-stop - they played even at the end of the season, so this form slump could be explained only by significant fatigue. Finally, the relocated London's "West Ham" moved to the Olympic Stadium to compete, where seeing the seventh place achieved the previous year was just the beginning of aiming to break into the elite. Already on the first day of the transfer window, well-known footballers such as Sofiane Feghouli, Manuel Lanzini, and Havard Nordtveit arrived in the team, and in August, the leader of "Swansea", Andre Ayew, and Edimilson Fernandes were acquired. Furthermore, the "Hammers" managed to loan Gokhan Tore, Jonathan Calleri, and Simone Zaza. However, things did not go as planned from the very beginning of the season, and the absence of injured Harry Kane's absence was clearly felt. The London players achieved only one victory in the first seven matches, suffered five defeats, and even found themselves in 18th place. Later, some better spells of play were managed, and by the end of the first round of the Premier League, the "Hammers" secured nine points and moved up to the 11th position. Then, in the winter transfer window, home sickness and ultimatums raised concerns to the team's coach Slaven Bilic, brought forward by Dimitri Payet, and without him, "West Ham" was a completely different team. It is also worth mentioning poorly performing newcomers, as Simone Zaza left London altogether in January. The only player who performed better, Ayew, went to the Africa Cup of Nations at the same time, forcing the club to search for more reinforcements. These were Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass. Unfortunately, after a decent winter, things did not change significantly, and at the beginning of spring, "West Ham" suffered five consecutive losses and entered the crucial stage of the season in the 15th position. This phase was played quite successfully, as Bilić's students finished the year in 11th place. This period should make the Croatian coach happy, as the lower-ranked club bosses would not have forgiven him, especially given the high sums paid for players. The "Hammers" players often suffered injuries and played very insecurely in the defense. This was illustrated perfectly by the significantly higher graph of goals conceded closer to the lower table neighbors, and based on the overall ratio of accurate shots, they would have been left four positions lower. The club must invest in several high-level defenders this summer, not a bunch of second-rate strikers.
