Did you find the last day of the Premier League season to be boring? Though it’s unlikely that the final two or three games of a 380-game season will decide anything, it’s still possible. Anticipating drama from the season’s very last day would be akin to anticipating a picture finish at every marathon.
Teams with varying finances and salary bills are unlikely to be well balanced over the course of nine lengthy months since a league campaign is an endurance event rather than a sprint. However, it is pseudo-intellectual nonsense to claim that a title race never happened merely because it is over.
On the last day, the word “inevitable” was frequently used, and it was quite likely that City would defeat West Ham, which they did. City appeared to be in the best position to win the league at the start of the season, and they did.
You may argue that this makes it uninteresting, and many people do, but in doing so, they are missing all of the developments that have taken place. To suggest that Wimbledon 2008 was uninteresting is like to stating that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, the top two seeds, made it to the championship match.
There has been discussion about City’s dominance—four league titles and six in seven years—posing a challenge to the Premier League’s ability to sell its product, as it becomes less compelling when the same team wins again. There have been suggestions that Pep Guardiola has made the league more like France or Germany, where the winners are known before a single kick is made.
Even though it infuriated the Blues, former Premier League chief Richard Scudamore said in 2018 that the league wanted a championship fight rather than City winning the league with 100 points each year. With the exception of the year Liverpool won it handily, they have had one ever since.
With the season’s math, this was the fourth time in the last ten years that the league has gone to the final day – not a terrible percentage – and City has been involved in all four. In three of those, they overcame substantial deficits to take the lead on the last day, and in two of those, they fell down in the last game before mounting an incredible comeback to win.
This year, the Premier League is the only Big 5 league to have completed the entire season; La Liga is the only league with five final day finishes. What are the thoughts of people in Germany, Spain, Italy, and France if people in England are bored? Although not everyone likes City’s style of play, they finish the season as the division’s top scorers with 96 goals (2.53 average) and 24 points gained back from losing places; only Spurs and Liverpool have scored more. These turnarounds accounted for approximately 26% of City’s total points, while for Arsenal it was only 11% (11/89).
The Premier League allegations against City continue to be a difficult position for both parties, casting doubt on the competition’s credibility and casting a shadow over everything. It will be regarded as detrimental to business until it is resolved (and, sadly, most likely after).
However, it seems like City and the Premier League are supporting one another in the interim. With the highest number of goals in the division, the highest percentage of games with five goals or more (22%) and stadiums filled to 98.7%, the Premier League declared this to be the tightest title race in its history. Additionally, there were the most number of games (10) with a TV audience of three million or more in the UK.
The Premier League and City will both be hoping that the upcoming season is as dull as the current one. Additionally, those who choose not to watch it because they believe they already know how it will end are free to occupy their time with other activities.
However, it isn’t always how sports operate, which is why people still adore them to such an extent.
