And now, the end is near; and so, we face the final curtain. It was a season that brought an end to Jurgen Klopp, Bayern Munich's dominance, Chelsea's eight-year contracts and Nottingham Forest's patience.
The end of the season is a time for reflection, all right. What have we learned? What's changed in the world of football? Well, it turns out, plenty, as we've challenged our esteemed team at FourFourTwo to cast their minds back across the campaign and choose their highlights, lowlights and just about everything in between.
So who dominated this strange old season? Here's what our writers went with…
The FourFourTwo End-of-Season Awards: Player of the Season
Ryan Dabbs, Staff Writer (@ryandabbs_): Jude Bellingham. It might sound crazy, but it doesn’t seem like enough people are appreciating just how insane it is that a literal 20-year-old has been Real Madrid’s most-important player this season, in his first campaign at the club following a mega-money summer move. To have the temperament to deal with that pressure, and then deliver at arguably the world’s most-judgemental home stadium in the Bernabeu is nothing short of remarkable.
In 39 appearances this term Jude Bellingham has managed 22 goals and 10 assists, helping his side win La Liga and reach a Champions League final, too. To put that into perspective, at the same age Lionel Messi bagged 16 goals and 13 assists, though he failed to lift a trophy at the end of the 2007/08 season. It’s truly been an astounding effort from the Englishman.
James Andrew, Editor (@JamesAndrew_): Last season Arsenal fell away on the final straight and Manchester City went on to win their third title in a row. This season the title could well still end up at The Etihad but if it does then Arsenal will have pushed them all the way and not buckled under pressure.
The difference between this season and last? Declan Rice. The £100m fee has been worth every penny and has improved Arsenal and given them a steely backbone. Regardless of what happens this season, Arsenal will win the Premier League while Rice is at Arsenal.
Chris Flanagan, Senior Staff Writer (@CFlanaganFFT): Harry Kane may have won absolutely nothing, yet again, but it's hard to deny he's had an unbelievable debut season at Bayern Munich. Going into the final game of the campaign, he'd netted 36 goals in 32 league fixtures - in the entire history of the Bundesliga, only Gerd Muller and Robert Lewandowski have ever scored more in a single season. It's earned Kane this year's European Golden Shoe, the first of his career, by an absolute mile - Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland were joint second this week, fully nine goals behind.
Ed McCambridge, Staff Writer (@edmccambridge): Granit Xhaka had his ups and down at Arsenal but has dazzled since joining Bayer Leverkusen last summer. No Bundesliga player covered more ground and no midfielder was more reliable in possession than the Swiss. “He’s like an additional coach on the pitch,” beamed manager Xabi Alonso back in December. “He’s the brain of the team.” Die Werkself’s first Meisterschale (and a possible treble) would have been impossible without the former Gunners skipper.
Mark White, Content Editor (@markwhlte): To avoid going for the same names as everyone else, I’ll go with Viktor Gyokeres. 41 goals in 47 games to fire Sporting to the title. Fair play after such a leftfield move: perhaps the biggest success story to have ever gone from Coventry to Lisbon.
Adam Clery, Head of Video (@AdamClery): I was all prepared to steam-roller in here with my “ACTUALLY LADS, IT’S GRANIT XHAKA!” shout but I see that Ed McCambridge has beaten me to it. So, in the interests of giving you the sort of variety that four four two dot com is built on, let me say… Rodri.
In a season when Kevin De Bruyne has missed over half of Man City’s games, and Erling Haaland has apparently had some of his powers stolen by those aliens from Space Jam, Man City have (probably) still swept (probably) to an (in all probability) indomitable 4th Premier League title (probably). He has held the best side in the world together by sheer force of will at times, and literally doubled his goals tally from last season as the requirements of his team shifted around him. To be blunt, Man City have seldom looked all-conquering since last May, but he alone has made them nigh-on unbeatable.
Adam Monk, Presenter (@_adammonk): There comes a point where you simply have to acknowledge that there’s a Spanish man, playing in the most difficult position on the pitch, who’s now been the best player in that position for 3 years, who’s not lost a game when playing on 72 consecutive occasions. His team also have a 25% win rate when he’s not played… it’s Rodri.
Young Player of the Season
James Andrew: Jude Bellingham. I could easily have gone for him as my player of the season, but while he is still 20 I’ll go for Young Player of the Season. What he has done at Real Madrid has been unbelievable. I don’t think there were many people doubting Bellingham quality before he joined Real, but this is Real Madrid one of, if not the biggest, club in the world and he has gone in there and bossed it. He has scored 22 goals and made 10 assists for Real this season in all competitions and shown maturity beyond his years in the way he handles himself on and off the pitch. If England go and challenge at the Euros this summer then he will have an integral part to play.
Adam Clery: You’d have to do some incredible mental gymnastics to give this to anyone other than Jude Bellingham. He’s arrived at the biggest club in the world, invented an entirely new position for himself, scored something like 140 goals, and is still only 16 years old. I’ll need to double-check some of those numbers but I’m fairly sure they’re right.
He’s also birthed a celebration so iconic that it’s being replicated in every playground and 5-a-side cage across Europe. An achievement not seen since Ravanelli arrived at Middlesbrough in ‘96 and started whipping his top over his head.
Adam Monk: There’d be a Fyre Festival style documentary made about Manchester United’s 23/24 season if it wasn’t for the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo. Given the standard of those around him; it was never going to be too hard to get some games, but to become a mainstay in the side and put his midfield counterparts to shame at the age of 18 is nothing short of remarkable.
Ryan Dabbs: Walking into a side that’s underperforming, disillusioned and has a pretty turbulent atmosphere off the field is difficult for anyone, let alone a teenager who has made just three senior appearances prior to the 2023/24 season. Kobbie Mainoo, though, has managed to deal with everything in his stride and emerge as Manchester United’s best player this season - remarkable considering he didn’t even make his full Premier League debut until November 2023 against Everton in a 3-0 win. While his performances have oftentimes been mesmeric, he somehow managed to best his February Premier League Goal of the Month award for his last-minute winner against Wolves with a screamer against Liverpool in April at Old Trafford.
Chris Flanagan: Florian Wirtz has been highly rated for some time, but this has been the season when he's really come to prominence, as the creative force behind Bayer Leverkusen's frankly ludicrous title-winning campaign. The 21-year-old has scored 18 goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick on the day when Die Werkself sealed the Bundesliga title. There's magic inside those tiny socks of his – watch out for him at the Euros.
Ed McCambridge: Kobbie Mainoo deserves all the praise thrown at him this season but Alejandro Garnacho (also still a teenager) has been the Premier League’s standout youngster, for me. The Argentine is brilliant fun to watch – his overhead kick against Everton merely the tip of the iceberg – and repeatedly rescued a Manchester United side that has resembled a dumpster fire for practically an entire season. He works his nuts off, too. Other United wingers should take note.
Mark White: Undeterred by potentially ruining Ansu Fati and Gavi by giving senior workload to kids too young to remember FIFA Street, Barcelona are now playing fast and loose with the knees of Lamine Yamal. Is it a bad idea to give a literal 16-year-old 45+ games in a season? Almost certainly. I can’t deny that the kid’s unbelievable, though.
Manager of the Season
Adam Monk: A potential unbeaten treble? It can only be Xabi Alonso. If taking over a Bayer Leverkusen side placed 17th in the Bundesliga and finishing 6th with them last season wasn’t impressive enough. Then this has defied all expectations and then some. In addition to that, the inexplicable way he’s instilled the belief in this side to score so many late goals needs to be studied too - the clear winner.
James Andrew: Last season I went for Gary O’Neill of Bournemouth. This season I am going for Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth. In fairness Gary O’Neill of Wolves has had another very good season – but for Iraola, he was new to English football this season, he came without his assistant Inigo Perez due to work permit issues and Bournemouth signed a lot of players in the summer.
And so it was of no surprise that the Cherries struggled at the start of the season. But credit to the Bournemouth board, they kept faith when they had just six points after 10 games. Eventually, things clicked and Iraola’s style came across and they will finish the season with Bouremouth’s highest-ever points tally in the top flight. Ones to watch next season.
Chris Flanagan: Emerse Fae was once voted as Reading's worst ever signing, but he had rather better luck after bizarrely being placed in charge of the Ivory Coast national team midway through this year's Africa Cup of Nations. Replacing French boss Jean-Louis Gasset, who'd just presided over an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea, so nearly putting the hosts out in the group stage, Fae stepped up from assistant to caretaker, then improbably led the team all the way to the trophy. Not bad for two weeks' work…
Mark White: As an Arsenal fan, I’ve thought of Unai Emery as many things in the past. The man who should have built around either Aaron Ramsey or Mesut Ozil but ended up doing neither. The man who played a back five and two DMs at home to Huddersfield. A potential casting choice for Snape in a Spanish Harry Potter reboot. Never before have I considered him this league’s most spectacular tactician – but following his frankly astounding transformation of Aston Villa, I’m starting to wonder what on Earth happened for him in north London.
Adam Clery: Come on, lads. It’s Michel. He’s taken Girona (Girona!!) from a playoff promotion in the Spanish 2nd division to Europe’s top table in the space of only 2 years. And for a while they even looked like credible shouts to upset both Madrid and Barcelona for the title. Impressive, obviously, but even more so when you realise he’s working with the same wage budget that Man United spends on Casemiro alone…
Ed McCambridge: It’s obviously Alonso, but as he’s been said elsewhere, I’ll tip my hat instead to Sebastian Hoeness, who’s had almost as dramatic an impact at Stuttgart. The son of former Bayern Munich striker-turned-president Uli, took charge of Die Schwaben in April 2023, with the club bottom of the Bundesliga. After saving them via the relegation play-offs, he’s guided them to third place this season – securing a first Champions League qualification for over a decade. Were it not for Xabi, there’d be a lot more noise about Hoeness across Europe.
Ryan Dabbs: Achieving back-to-back promotions is always a difficult task, but to do it against the might of recently relegated Leeds United and Southampton is all the more insurmountable. Yet, somehow, Kieran McKenna managed to inspire his Ipswich Town side to do exactly that in the Championship this season, with the nucleus of the squad largely unchanged from their League One promotion last term.
It’s been years in the making for the Northern Irish manager, too. After working under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, he took up the Ipswich job in December 2021. Since then he’s transformed the side, with the Tractor Boys having picked up an astonishing 194 points in the past two seasons. He’s still only 37, too, with the Premier League now calling.
Performance of the Season
Phil Foden 😲#UCL pic.twitter.com/h7cqtJdvGiApril 17, 2024
Ed McCambridge: Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City, Champions League quarter-final first-leg. I was lucky enough to be at this game in a closed-roofed, sweltering and cacophonous Santiago Bernabeu, as two of Europe’s heavyweights traded blows on a night of glorious fun. The goals were magnificent, from Phil Foden’s screamer to Rodrygo’s elegant volley. I left feeling I’d witnessed something special from both sides.
Adam Monk: Aston Villa, December 6 to December 9. Two comprehensive 1-0 wins back-to-back against the two best sides in the league. Unai Emery masterminded both games in such as way that despite the tight scorelines; Villa never looked like losing either. So much so that certain people began to quietly ask the question whether they could challenge for the title, they never did, but Champions League qualification shows that those performances were far from anomalous.
Chris Flanagan: A special mention in this category to clubs who have upset the odds in each of Europe's top five leagues to qualify for next season's Champions League - Aston Villa, Girona, Bologna, Brest and Stuttgart. As for an individual performance, I'll go for Olympiakos' second-leg recovery against Robbie Keane's Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Conference League - after losing the first leg 4-1 on home soil in Piraeus, they won the return leg 6-1, before defeating Fenerbahce and Aston Villa to reach their first ever European final.
Ryan Dabbs: When Mikel Arteta claimed the decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s goal to stand against his Arsenal side in November was a “disgrace”, many expected the Spaniard to be punished by an independent regulatory commission after he was charged by the FA. Somehow, though, Arteta managed to escape any reprimand by suggesting the word had been lost in translation, highlighting the Spanish ‘desgracia’ has connotations of bad luck and misfortune, in a performance any lawyer in a courtroom would be proud of.
"It's embarrassing. It's a disgrace. That's what it is, a disgrace."Mikel Arteta is NOT happy with the decisions that went against Arsenal in their defeat to Newcastle 😠 pic.twitter.com/wRB4F3HdvlNovember 4, 2023
Mark White: There will be players who will score more goals and reach higher heights in games that actually matter – but I haven’t enjoyed 90 minutes from anyone as much as I did Martin Odegaard’s one-man demolition of Chelsea. He covered almost every blade of grass in his free role, orchestrating a second-gear thrashing with the grace of Mesut Ozil, pre-Huel. In the words of Salt-N-Pepa, Whatta Man.
Adam Clery: Jurgen Klopp. I’ll catch some heat (and maybe some hands if I venture to Merseyside) but my word, give that man an Oscar. The constant assertions at the start of the season that Liverpool would be nowhere near challenging for the league, followed by the “[BIG SIGH] ... I have to” video message when a spectacular farewell looked on the cards, I am on my feet applauding.
This isn’t shade, by the way. If I was in two minds about leaving one of the most era-defining slices of club football the English game had ever seen – but was worried about going out on a downer – it’s exactly how I’d have done it. He was always leaving at the end of the season; he’d have just done it in a far saner ‘well, that’s it guys!’ way if Liverpool had been sixth. Turning it into the four-month-long street parade when he had the scent of a quadruple in his nostrils is both narcissistic in the extreme and, also, sorry, legend behavior. Auf Wiedersehen, Pal!
James Andrew: The period between Wednesday, December 6 and Sunday, December 10 2023 - Craven Cottage, London. In the space of five days, Fulham beat both Nottingham Forest and West Ham 5-0. This kind of scoreline was not uncommon a few seasons ago in The Championship, but this is the Premier League and Fulham are usually on the wrong end of them, so this was unexpected but also very enjoyable. Not only were 10 unanswered goals scored, but they were scored by seven different players (Raul Jimenez (three), Alex Iwobi (two), Tom Cairney, Willian, Tosin Adarabioyo, Harry Wilson and Carlos Vinicius)
Disasterclass of the Season
Chris Flanagan: Forest Green Rovers hadn't exactly had a good time of it last season, either - finishing bottom of League One by 17 points, after the mid-season appointment of Duncan Ferguson. Things got even worse this term: Ferguson left before pre-season had even been completed, the club plunged to the bottom of League Two under replacement David Horseman, Troy Deeney was then appointed but sacked within a month, and eventually the campaign ended with relegation from the EFL. That went well.
James Andrew: Copy and paste from last season: VAR. The problem is it is not being used well in the Premier League. Referee chief Howard Webb seems to be apologising a lot for mistakes. But the frustrating thing from the fans point of view is a lot of the mistakes are as a result of human error - the very thing VAR was brought in to eradicate. Let’s hope I have a new answer for 2024/25. [NOTE: James really did copy and paste that from last season].
Adam Monk: Birmingham City. Wayne Rooney. From 6th in the table, to 20th. Sacking John Eustace was unnecessary to say the least, but to have him then keep Blackburn up in your place? That’s the definition of disasterclass. Not to mention the fact Wayne Rooney is now playing Pro Clubs with ‘Angry Ginge’ - it doesn’t get more farcical at board level than that.
Mark White: They were losing the title to Bayer Leverkusen, so Bayern Munich sacked Thomas Tuchel. They probably fancied themselves to hire former midfielder and Leverkusen genius Alonso himself – but found themselves rejected (reportedly) by… ahem, Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann, Ralf Rangnick, Julen Lopetegui and Unai Emery, who all took other jobs. At the time of writing, whispers say they're crawling back to Tommy Tactics. Utterly embarrassing from an international institution. Funny if Tuchel tells them where to go, right?
Ryan Dabbs: Cristiano Ronaldo might’ve thought fans in Saudi Arabia would be delighted by his presence when he joined Al-Nassr in January 2023, but his fragile ego seems to have taken a battering this season. On multiple occasions the Portuguese star has responded to chants of “Messi, Messi” with disdain, but in February he reached boiling point. After hearing his arch-nemesis’ name, Ronaldo cupped his hand to his ear and then repeatedly moved it in the direction of his pelvic area. The Saudi Arabian FA (SAFF) even opened an investigation into his actions, though he managed to escape punishment. Please, for the sake of Cristiano, don’t chant anyone else’s name but his.
Ed McCambridge: Union Berlin sailed into the season on a sea of optimism, having finished fourth the previous year and qualified for the Champions League. Yet 2023-24 has proved a disastrous campaign, with European nights played in rivals Hertha Berlin’s ground (a shocking, in-house decision) and Bundesliga form so woeful that beloved gaffer Urs Fischer was sacked before Christmas. His replacement, Nenad Bjelica, has now also gone. A relegation play-off now surely looms. Demotion would be a sorry way to end a glorious chapter at the Forsterei.
"I find it unfathomable" 💬@Carra23 and Frank Lampard react to why the audio from VAR's decision to disallow Luis Díaz's goal against Tottenham has not been released 🎧 pic.twitter.com/ZHNZvmBmUvOctober 2, 2023
Adam Clery:
EXT - A FOOTBALL STADIUM IN NORTH LONDON - DAY
Darren England (VAR Official)
And stop. Check complete, check complete. That’s fine, perfect.
Simon Hooper (Referee)
Cheers mate.
Darren
Thank you mate.
Simon
Well done boys, good process.
Mo Abby (VAR Replay Operator)
Wait, wait, wait, wait. The on-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this?
Daniel Cook (Assistant VAR)
Yeah.
Mo
Are you happy with this?
Daniel
Offside, goal, yeah. That’s wrong that, Daz.
Darren
What?
Mo
On-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this image? Yeah, it’s onside. The image that we gave them is onside.
Darren
…oh f**k. They’ve restarted the game. Can’t do anything, can’t do anything.
Daniel
Yeah, they’ve restarted. Yeah.
Darren
I can’t do anything. I can’t do anything. S**t.
-FADE TO BLACK -
*END SCENE*
Prediction for 2024/25
Adam Clery: NONE OF THE ABOVE EVER AGAIN, APPARENTLY (see VAR debacle scene)
James Andrew: Crystal Palace and Bournemouth to challenge for Europe. I’ve praised Andoni Iraola above and I think Bournemouth will continue to push on next season in his second season. And Oliver Glasner has done an excellent job since replacing Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park and with a full pre-season behind him I would expect Palace and Bournemouth to push for the top seven.
Mark White: Chelsea will be really good once every three weeks, with their fans tweeting, “We’re so back” following a 3-0 win in a six-pointer against Ipswich. Gary O’Neil will receive sympathy for an unfair sacking at Wolves, with pundits questioning, “Just what more do they want at Molineux?” Real Madrid striker Ivan Toney tells the world that he’s outgrown his club, Kai Havertz wins the Golden Boot and Ange Postecoglou is sacked from Tottenham after he wins the FA Cup, because the board feels it goes against club culture. Meanwhile, Manchester City will be found not guilty of all 115 charges, Liverpool fans will riot about it on the streets and Nottingham Forest to tweet their disgust at the matter, and be docked 10 points for insubordination.
Ed McCambridge: Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea will all sack their managers, including those appointed this summer.
Chris Flanagan: The last time West Ham let David Moyes go, the club eventually slid into relegation trouble and had to bring him back to rescue things. Given that the Hammers are set for another top-half finish this term, don't be surprised if they actually drop down the table now they've let him go once more. True, the football wasn't great to watch, but be careful what you wish for.
Ryan Dabbs: Jose Mourinho returns to the Premier League with [insert team name - Wolves, West Ham, Newcastle, Chelsea] for an ill-fated last dance in England, pisses off just about every fan of that club with his decisive personality and leaves in a fit of rage.
Adam Monk: Manchester City are cleared of all charges and proceed to continue ruining everyone else’s lives… Oh – Pep will also extend.
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