And breathe.
The 2021/22 Premier League campaign has finally reached its conclusion and what another wild ride it has been.
Manchester City lifted their sixth Premier League title in the most dramatic fashion thanks to their 3-2 victory over Aston Villa whilst Leeds United escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth on the final day.
Everton nearly provided the shock of the season by suffering the drop - only to confirm safety on the penultimate game of the season and Manchester United sacked yet another manager.
Norwich City finished bottom and we look forward to welcoming them back for the 2023/24 campaign whilst Watford and Burnley also know they will be playing their football in the second tier next year.
It’s been another cracker for the neutral in fairness but for those that have not quite achieved what they hoped for throghout the season, there’s always the case of ‘what if?’
What if Steven Gerrard had been in charge of Villa from the outset? What if Newcastle United would have had Eddie Howe from day one? Would the Canaries have finished second bottom instead of rock bottom with Dean Smith at the helm in August? (Sorry, Norwich fans).
Whilst we’ll never really know - we can look at how the table looked from certain dates this year.
So here’s the how league would have looked in full, based solely on games since Gerrard arrived in the dugout at Villa Park and there’s a few surprise results...

9. Aston Villa (9th) - 35 points
P27 W10 D5 L12 GF38 GA34 GD+4 | AFP via Getty Images

10. Wolves (10th) - 35 points
P27 W10 D5 L12 GF27 GA31 GD-4 Photo: Getty Images

11. Brighton (11th) - 34 points
P27 W8 D10 L9 GF30 GA32 GD-2 Photo: Charlie Crowhurst

12. Brentford (12th) - 34 points
P27 W10 D4 L13 GF35 GA42 GD-7 Photo: GEOFF CADDICK


