- 1 week ago
From trophies to transfers, managers to matchwinners … This is the story of Every Premier League Club’s Best & Worst Moments in 2025.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00From trophies to transfers, match winners to managers, this is the story of the best and
00:04worst from every single Premier League club in 2025. It's Rice again! Let's kickstart with
00:12Arsenal. Yes, we're doing this alphabetically and no, I'm not putting AFC Bournemouth at the top
00:17because it just doesn't feel right. For Arsenal, the undoubted high moment of this year was Declan
00:22Rice versus Real Madrid. I mean, two of the greatest free kicks the Champions League has
00:27ever seen in the same game as part of a dominant knockout performance. Ridiculous. As well as this,
00:34they've brought some exciting players, been brilliant in the league and are perfectly placed
00:38to push for the title in 2026. So it's been a very good year, right? Well, maybe, but maybe not.
00:45Because for all this insulating football, Arsenal are still without a major trophy in recent times
00:50and in May added yet another second place finish to their record. Mikel Arteta has definitely taken
00:55Arsenal to new heights, not seen since the prime Wenger days. But sooner or later, the club and
01:00its fans need to see this process bear fruit. Next up, Aston Villa. Now, there have been some
01:08great performances this year. I think of the PSG comeback in the Champions League where they
01:12narrowly missed out on knocking out the eventual champions. There's also the performances of Morgan
01:16Rogers that most weeks are worth the ticket price alone. But actually, the best thing they did
01:21was get £64 million to John Duran. They had a real selection headache between him and
01:26Ollie Watkins, which Watkins won most of the time. So they effectively got rid of a headache,
01:31they got rid of a backup striker, and all for over four times worth what they paid for him.
01:35That's good business all round. The worst moment for them, though, was definitely the final day
01:41robbery at Old Trafford, which saw them miss out on a second successive season of Champions League
01:46football. I mean, you work hard all season to get yourselves in a position to share the stage
01:50with football's elite, then a poor refereeing decision on the final day takes it all away.
01:56That's not ideal.
01:57Semeno!
01:59Now on to Bournemouth, and firstly, we have Antoine Semeno, because the guy is just magic on the ball.
02:05In fact, I made a video about what makes him so good that you can watch right here,
02:09and pretty much everything he touches turns to gold. He was their joint top scorer in all competitions
02:13and helped the Cherries to their best ever Premier League finish in ninth. All of which wouldn't have
02:18been possible without manager Andoni Irreola as well. They're just a good and exciting team to
02:23watch on the south coast. However, the worst part for them this year was being totally ripped apart
02:29in the summer transfer window. You could argue that Irreola has still managed to keep them going
02:33after this, but losing Kerkhez, Zabani, Hoyssen, not being able to re-sign Kepa, all in the same window
02:39is pretty bad. Like, I know teams have to sell eventually, and there was also big money on the
02:44table for Dango Watara too. But from a business perspective, even though they've done well,
02:49football fans want to see their team progress, and losing so many good players is a pain in the arse.
02:55And to be honest, with the likelihood of Semeno being the next out the door,
02:572026 doesn't look like he's getting off to a good start either.
03:01Antillaga wins it for Brentford!
03:03Now, I've actually swapped Brentford's around because it kind of makes sense, so we'll start with
03:08the worst. And that's very similar to Bournemouth, actually, in the way that the shark circled and
03:12their whole spine was ripped apart in a matter of weeks this summer. First was Thomas Frank,
03:18who joined Spurs. Then, captain Christian Norgard went to Arsenal. Brian and Bermot joined Manchester
03:23United. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Visser joins Newcastle. That's a
03:29stunning 39 league goals from last season completely gone. However, the form of Igor Thiago has been,
03:35just like the Swiss flag, a massive plus. Missing so much of last season with injury,
03:40the Brazilian forward has been more than playing his part in keeping Brentford going
03:44in the post-Frank and Bermot Visser era. And if it wasn't for his goals, new boss Keith Andrews
03:49would find himself in a much worse off position. Also, replacing Mark Flecken with a more than capable
03:54Keevan Kelleher has also been a good bit of business.
03:57Welbeck! Daniel Welbeck!
03:59Now, Brighton are a club constantly improving, no matter who's playing, who leaves, which manager
04:04is in charge. So it's no surprise to see Fabian Herzler doing well. But even so,
04:09for such a young manager to guide the club to an eighth place finish and put in big wins against
04:13Liverpool, Spurs, Man City, Chelsea, twice by the way, is just representative of what has been a
04:19pretty good year for the club. Quirky fact as well, showing Herzler's high level of decision-making
04:24and in-game match analysis, Brighton substitutes have scored more goals than any other team substitutes
04:30in the Premier League this season. On an individual level, the form of Danny Welbeck is definitely
04:34something to shout about. Maxim de Kuiper looks like a brilliant signing.
04:37Yacouba Mintos rises as rapid as he is, and holding on to Carlos Baleba, even if it's
04:42not forever, was also a pretty good outcome after a summer of speculation.
04:47So, is it all pretty rosy on the south coast? Well, in context of Brighton, who they are,
04:51the size of the club and their resources, yeah, it's looking pretty good. I mean,
04:55shipping seven goals against Nottingham Forest back in February is nothing short of diabolical,
04:59but hey, you can't win them all.
05:00Now we get to Burnley, with promotion to the Premier League and some brilliant football along
05:07the way. There were plenty of clean sheets, and even though the season ended with them losing
05:11out and being champions on goal difference, the signing of Karl Walker was exciting, it took three
05:16points off Sunderland early on, and well, that's about as good as it gets. Look, I know they're a
05:21newly promoted side, so I'm hesitant to say the worst thing about their year has been poor form and
05:25looking a shoo-in for relegation. But to be honest, aside from the Sunderland game, it has been all doom
05:30and gloom, and they are statistically the worst team to watch in the Premier League, with the lowest
05:34XG and lowest number of shots in the whole division. And this, after losing their best defender in CJ
05:40Egan-Riley and goalkeeper James Trafford to not only go on to bigger, better things, but to sit on the
05:45bench at Manchester City, that's the sort of modern-day football lark that won't sit well with those at
05:50Turf Moor.
05:51Next up, and Chelsea, because winning the FIFA Club World Cup was a high point for them, despite
05:58the mockery the tournament got. Celebrating becoming world champions is something that teams and fans
06:03will never get a chance to do, so it's not nothing. And this came just a couple of months after winning
06:08the Europa Conference League, where yes, they were heavy favourites, but again, how many teams get to
06:12win European trophies? Aside from lifting silverware, the best moment of the year was surely when Esteval
06:18officially joined the club, because in him, they have a bona fide superstar in the making,
06:23who has already produced some outrageously good displays, not least in the 3-0 dismantling of
06:27Barcelona in the Champions League.
06:30For their worst bit, this is an unusual one, but Chelsea's disciplinary record. Holy moly,
06:35that's crap. They've got six red cards in all competitions this season, and some of them
06:38will file under the category of silly. Like, I know Mareska's blamed the inconsistency of
06:43refereeing, but at some point, you've got to look at yourselves. And if you're wondering whether
06:46they'll be the least disciplined Premier League team of all time, it's highly unlikely. They have
06:51three in the league so far, whilst the record is held by Sunderland and QPR, who got nine in 2009-10
06:56and 2011-12, respectively.
07:01Crystal Palace are up next. The trips to Wembley, need I say more? Beating Man City in the FA Cup final,
07:07beating Liverpool in the Community Shield, their first foray into European football,
07:10Mateta scoring for fun, watching Adam Wharton pass a ball. These 12 months have literally been one big
07:16highlight reel for Palace fans, and I don't blame them for enjoying every single bit of it.
07:21I will, however, point out, though, the definite low point of the year, and that
07:25is being demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League due to ownership issues and
07:29ties to Ligue 1 Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League. Like I said, after winning the FA Cup
07:35and earning that spot, that must have been a hard one to swallow. Having said that, the summer months
07:39usually come with a bit of disappointment for Palace anyways, when one of their biggest players is
07:43inevitably sold. It was Alise, then Eze left, Gaye will probably leave in the next summer,
07:48if not before. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be much that this club can't overcome.
07:52To Toothbury Hall! And what a finish that is!
07:55Now for Everton. Making it to the new stadium in the Premier League is the best thing they've done.
08:01Honestly, there would be something so Everton about surviving relegation year after year,
08:05then finally succumbing to it as they say goodbye to Goodison Park, starting life in the new
08:09Hill Dickinson Stadium in England's second tier. Thankfully for them, though, they didn't. In fact,
08:14they weren't ever really that close. If you had to narrow it down, though, the finest moment of
08:192025 would have been in the 98th minute of the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
08:24It's Raboonham! It's Charcot-Gill! Unbelievable! Look at the scenes at Goodison Park!
08:33Now, as for the worst part, I couldn't really find one. It's all pretty positive.
08:37Moisey is back. Dewsbury Hall looks good, as does Grealish. They've started well.
08:42I mean, let me know in the comments, Everton fans, what you think. But my one argument is that they
08:46are still pretty poor in front of goal. Yes, it's a little too early to judge, but from what I've seen
08:51so far, Tiana Barry does not look worth the 27 million paid, and they are still crying out for
08:56a top centre-forward. Still, they could, and have, had way worse calendar years in recent times than 2025.
09:03Ah, Fulham. The sort of neither here nor there team who are equally good and bad in flashes,
09:11meaning that the best and worst of this year are made up of multiple smaller things,
09:15as opposed to one big moment of glory or disaster. I mean, on the plus side, there's been the
09:20finally finished new stand at Craven Cottage, which is worth a visit. They also released a kit
09:24for the ages with the outrageously cool black and gold third shirt. Plus, onto some actual footballing
09:30positives, we've seen the emergence of Josh King. The 18-year-old signed a new four-year deal in the
09:35summer, has found his place in the starting 11 ahead of vastly more experienced players, and having
09:39played at every England level from under-15 to under-21, is set for a big year ahead. Oh, they also beat
09:45West London rivals Brentford too. Twice. That's always a good thing. As for the worst part of the last 12
09:50months, I'm picking at a multitude of small pieces here. They lost an FA Cup quarter-final so comfortably
09:56to Crystal Palace. It almost felt as if a place at Wembley in the semis wasn't up for grabs. They've also got a
10:01comically inconsistent record since January, and if that wasn't enough, the summer transfer window was, let's say,
10:07less than inspiring. Up until the last day, their only signing of the summer was a 34-year-old backup goalkeeper
10:15in Benjamin Lecomte. A deadline-day scramble that saw Kevin Chakwezi and Bayern youngster
10:20Jonah Koussi-Asare join on loan, did little to reverse the perception that the club didn't do
10:26their best to push on, and another lower mid-table finish looms.
10:32For Leeds United, it's promotion to the Premier League. That was the best moment. Of course it was.
10:37Back in the big time, and what a way to do it as champions on 100 points above Burnley on goal
10:42difference, like I mentioned. They were scoring six and sevens, and it was just a good few months for
10:46those at Ellen Road. The worst is the fact that, and I'm happy to be wrong here, but that they've
10:52entrusted their goal scoring, and therefore their chances of survival, into the hands of an injury-prone
10:58and often inconsistent Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
11:04So, the best part for Liverpool was their title victory. No prizes for guessing that one correctly.
11:11It was the first in front of their fans since 1990, their 20th overall. Slot's first season,
11:15a thoroughly deserved title win. On a smaller note for best moments, the scenes when 16-year-old
11:21Rio Ngomo scored the last minute win at St James' Park were incredible. To have been in that away
11:26end would have been something else. Aside from the Premier League title, though, this year actually
11:30just slowly went downhill for Liverpool. Losses to Plymouth in the FA Cup, Newcastle in the
11:35League Cup final, blowing a 1-0 lead at home to PSG in the Champions League. Not great. They then lost
11:41the mysteriously already Spanish-speaking Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer, and to
11:45top it all off, they've pretty much imploded since the start of this new season. The crap
11:50form is obviously an issue, but at the heart of it, the downfall of Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk
11:54must be painful for the fans to see. These are the two players who have defined Liverpool's
11:58success in the past six or seven years. Consistently brilliant, world-class in their own right,
12:03so to see such a dramatic drop-off in their performance, plus a public outburst like Salah's,
12:07it's a little crazy. Now, obviously, I will point out at this stage that the loss of Diogo Jota and
12:12his brother is the worst thing, but that transcends and is way bigger than, to be honest, a silly video
12:17that I'm putting together on YouTube. That isn't comparable to anything. It doesn't belong in
12:22comparison to transfer windows or poor form. It's bigger than football. It's the worst thing for a
12:27family to go through and deserves to be remembered in its correct and individual way. Like I said,
12:31not as a small part of some YouTube video that I'm doing. Right then, Manchester City is an odd one
12:39to deal with on this list, and I've sort of thought of it as this. What do you give the man who has
12:43everything? Because they've won it all recently, didn't win anything in 2025, so therefore, does the
12:48whole year go in the worst section? I think the 5-1 humiliation at Arsenal most certainly goes in that
12:54category. Kevin De Bruyne leaving the club goes there too, as does losing the FA Cup final and being
12:58knocked out the Champions League at the knockout stage. It's kind of the same thing for Haaland
13:02and his goal scoring. 22 is great for most strikers in the Premier League, but it didn't win him the
13:07golden boot and contributed to zero trophies. So, is it then bad? Having said that, to be positive
13:12about it all, they did make a huge stride in rebuilding with what I thought was a really good
13:18transfer window, especially with the capture of Tiani Reinders. They beat Ipswich 6-0, which sounds
13:24like a fun day out, and I guess they are looking more like challenging for a title than they did last
13:28season, so that's also a plus. But it's tough to say that any one point this year was the absolute
13:33pinnacle. We're starting with the worst again next up for Manchester United, because, and I'm trying
13:41to not let this happen, but it could get out of hand very quickly. Because amongst the poor form,
13:46finishing a record low of 15th in the Premier League, questions over Amarim's future, and the proposal of
13:51a stadium that looks like a circus, they lost one of the ugliest games of football in the Europa League
13:56final to Spurs. Nobody wanted to be the team that let Spurs finally win a trophy. That's like 90% of
14:02the internet's jokes, and United were the ones to do it. I didn't particularly mind, but hey, that's
14:07neither here nor there. It was such an uninspiring year that even in the new campaign, when they've
14:11threatened to get going again, another poor performance is just around the corner. But, and here is the but,
14:18I do actually see a few good points for United in the past year. Firstly, they bought very well. I
14:23think Umbrema and Cunha are two brilliant signings, and they have immediately upgraded the team.
14:27Secondly, I actually think sticking with Amarim has allowed the club to plan and develop the side
14:32by identifying what they'll need in the coming transfer windows. And lastly, peak moments like
14:37victories away at Liverpool and that insane Harry Maguire win of versus Lyon, in fact that whole game,
14:42showed that the footballing world is still full of drama and unpredictability,
14:46even in the most dire of situations.
14:52Now, here's an easy and obvious one with Newcastle United, because this year was finally the year
14:56that they broke an unfathomably long streak without a major trophy of 70 years. I can't
15:02even wrap my head around the fact that not since 1955 had Newcastle won a major trophy. That's 15
15:08years before club legend Alan Shearer was even born, and I don't think Pele's professional career
15:12had even started yet. Anyways, it was an almighty weight lifted off their shoulders as the Toon
15:17Army saw their side pick up the League Cup at Wembley, and the good times didn't really stop
15:21there. They pipped Aston Villa to the last Champions League spot on the final day, eventually sold
15:26want-away striker Alexander Izak for a ridiculous £125m plus add-ons, then replaced him with a cheaper,
15:32younger player who does a good job at scoring, added some real quality in Malik Tior, and to top it all
15:38off, Dan Byrne scored one of the best headers the Champions League has ever seen. On the flip side
15:42though, two things stick out for me. The first is their inconsistent form, which has made even at this
15:47early stage another run into the Champions League spot seem unlikely, but more than that, I think they
15:52wasted £55m on Visser. Now, don't get me wrong, he had a very good few years for Brentford, we know
15:57that, but with one year remaining on his deal, meaning he'd be on a free next summer, they dropped a huge amount
16:02of money on him, then he got injured on international duty, and didn't make his debut until December.
16:08If I can praise them for the Volta Marder business, I can definitely criticise them for the Visser
16:11business. So, with Nottingham Forest, honestly, everything up until the summer was pretty good.
16:19Great form in the league, finished 7th, European football back of the club, keeping Matt Sells,
16:23shared the Golden Glove, Chris Wood turned into prime Ronaldo, they beat Brighton 7-0, but that is where
16:29the good times ended, because since then, it has been one nightmare after another. They lost a couple
16:34of key players, that happens, it's not the end of the world, but they headed into the new season with
16:39a clear rift between manager and chairman, then they got rid of Nuno, replacing him with Ange, he stunk up
16:44the gaffe for six weeks before also being fired, and now, yes, they look a little bit more stable and
16:48better equipped to fight relegation, but it's a real fall from grace, considering last year's successes.
16:54My fear for them is that with a poor season under their belts, this time around, some key players
16:58like Morgan Gibbs-White might not stick around for too long, despite the fact he signed a
17:02new contract in the summer.
17:06On to Sunderland then, and this is genuinely one of the best. In fact, it's the complete
17:09opposite to another club who we'll get on to in a minute, because Sunderland have had
17:13one hell of a year. First off, we don't only have promotion, but promotion in the most dramatic
17:18of fashions, where a 123rd minute header sent them to the final, which saw a 95th minute
17:23winner send them up to the Premier League.
17:33They followed this with some inspired transfer business, none more so than the capture of
17:37Granit Xhaka, and then put together their best ever start to a Premier League season, comfortably
17:41pushing for a European spot by Christmas time. The worst is, I guess you could say they lost
17:46Joe Bellingham, it's not great, although they did get good money for him, but apart from that,
17:51it's been a brilliant 12 months for the Wearsiders.
17:55Tottenham Hotspur up next, and they broke the hoodoo. They won a trophy, and a European
18:00one to boot. The Europa League final victory will go down as one of Spurs' best ever days,
18:05never mind just in this calendar year. Brennan Johnson's unaesthetically pleasing goal and
18:10Miki van der Ven's goal line clearance summed up Spurs last season. Beautifully ugly, with
18:14sprinkles of individual genius. That victory also brought Ange Postacoglu's second season
18:19manifestation to life in the most glorious way possible, and ensured that somehow Spurs
18:24would be playing Champions League football this time around. This then led to the promising
18:27signings of Xavi Simmonds and Mohamed Kudus. But the worst thing for Spurs, though, aside
18:33from losing club legend Heung-Min Son, also was Ange Postacoglu and his tactical stubbornness
18:39that saw Spurs finishing an embarrassing 17th place with a club record 22 losses. In all fairness
18:46to him and Thomas Frank this season too, the club faced a ridiculous amount of injuries,
18:49but the players left out on the pitch still made for painful watching. Losing 4-1 in the
18:54North London derby is definitely a low point, as was losing to Leicester City at home in January,
18:59giving them their only points over the course of a 16-game horror run. All in all, just another year in
19:06the life of Tottenham Hotspur. I'll be honest now, the last two on this list are absolute stinkers. I'm
19:15not throwing any shade, but my word West Ham have not had much to shout about this year. There was
19:19supposed to be some buzz around the hire of Graham Potter, but that fell flat on its face with his
19:24subsequent firing. Then they lost Mohamed Kudus to rival Spurs over the summer, and then into the new
19:29season, they somehow managed to lose their first four home games of the year, all of which were London
19:35Derby's to Chelsea Spurs Palace and Brentford. That is a surefire way to lose fan support.
19:40On the flip side, Lucas Paquette's betting charges were cleared, meaning he avoided a ban.
19:46That's good. I think in time, Nuno will be a good choice for manager, but first things first,
19:50they need to avoid what would be a very financially damaging relegation.
19:57Finally then, we come to Wolves, where I tried my best to find something good, and my god,
20:01it was a tough ask. However, if you cast your mind back to March-April time this year, you'll find
20:06something that seems very unlike Wolves winning football matches. Six of them, in fact, back to
20:11back to back. This run of form completely erased any relegation concerns, and Mateus Cunha was great
20:17fun to watch, but since then, he has left. They're on course to be the worst Premier League team ever,
20:23and I just don't know where they go from here. A record load two points after the first 14 games is
20:27shocking, and I guess the only positive about hitting rock bottom is that the only way is up.
20:32Well, after what seems like an almost certain relegation. So that is it for my roundup of every
20:37single Premier League team for 2025. Let me know your thoughts on your team's best and worst,
20:42and I'll see you in the new year.
Be the first to comment