New Year, New Me
Five for 2025. The Premier League teams who need to start the new year with a bang.
The new year is here, and with it, plenty of resolutions that will almost certainly be broken by the end of January.
Football is the same, and plenty of teams will be hoping the new year brings changes for the better.
Here’s a few of those looking for a turn in fortunes in 2025.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Manchester United won the FA Cup in 2024, but that triumph over Manchester City at Wembley aside, which gave Erik ten Hag a stay of execution, was frankly the only bright mark of a miserable year.
INEOS took over footballing operations at Old Trafford, yet Jim Ratcliffe’s tenure so far has left much to be desired. Not only have INEOS laid off office staff and punished those lowest earners at the club, they have arguably made the footballing side of the team worse.
They backed Ten Hag in the transfer market, only to sack him in October. They chased Dan Ashworth for months, only to sack him well before Christmas. Ruben Amorim is now in place, but has overseen a torrid run of form in December in which United only beat Everton in the Premier League, in which they are 14th heading into 2025.
“Things can only get better”, sang D:Ream in the 1990s. United will hope that’s the case.
MANCHESTER CITY
From one side of Manchester to the other, it has been an unexpectedly dour end to 2024 for Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering, Man City juggernaut.
City beat Leicester City on Sunday to get back to winning form, but that was just their second victory in the space of 14 games in all competitions since the end of October. Their hopes of retaining the Premier League title for a fifth straight year are surely over, and they need to start a rebuild in January.
Without the injured Rodri, City’s aim has to be to secure Champions League qualification — and progress to the last 16 in that competition — but they may need their form to pick up drastically to do so.
EVERTON
Across English football’s top four divisions, only Burton Albion (seven) managed fewer league wins than Everton (eight) in 2024. Three of those victories for the Toffees came in the space of six days in April.
Sean Dyche deserves plenty of credit for doing the job asked of him in extremely difficult circumstances, but with The Friedkin Group now in place at Everton, and 2025 bringing around their long-awaited move to their sparkling new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock, the pressure should be applied to all those at the club who, for too long, have not had anybody to answer to.
The atmosphere around Goodison Park is glum, and much of that falls at the feet of their manager. Recruitment must improve, but Dyche right now isn’t offering solutions. He needs a swift upturn in form to kick off 2025, or TFG might be forced into their first major decision since taking charge.
TOTTENHAM
Ange Postecoglou has seen his popularity among Tottenham supporters drop in recent months, with Spurs starting 2025 in the bottom half.
Since a 4-0 defeat of Man City at the Etihad in mid-November, Spurs have won just once in the Premier League, with that victory coming over lowly Southampton.
Their front-foot approach has been ruthlessly exposed at times, with injuries to key performers like Micky van de Ven not helping, and Postecoglou’s refusal to adapt means they are looking increasingly easy to play against.
There’s still plenty of quality in that squad, though, and once those injured players return to fitness, an uptick should follow. The question is, how far may Spurs be off the pace by the time they have those options to call on?
SOUTHAMPTON
Propping up this list, and the table, are Southampton. They have turned to Ivan Juric, in the wake of his ill-fated spell at Roma, to try and salvage their season, but with just six points and only one win this term, it is surely game over for the Saints.
Forget staying up, Juric might well have his work cut out if Southampton are to clear the record-low of 11 points won by Derby County in the 2007-08 season.
While the relegation battle is shaping up above them, Southampton are almost certainly guaranteed to be back in the Championship next season, barring a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.
any news on Salah staying for Liverpool?