Manchester City
It’s been amazing. Flying in the league, and near faultless form in the Champions League too, with five wins from five before a meaningless dead rubber, including a crucial win away in Naples against one of Europe’s finest sides. We’ve broken countless records already and I’m sure there are more to come. What a time it is to be a City fan. 10/10
Stars and flops: Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva have been on a completely different level to anyone else in the league. It’s been great to see Silva finally get the praise he deserves after six stellar seasons. The way the pair have dominated games (most notably at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge) is testament not only to their ability, but to their mentality. They’re players of the highest quality, and at this stage, De Bruyne is surely a shoo-in for footballer of the year. Ederson deserves a mention too: he’s completely transformed the way we’re able to play. He’s everything we hoped Bravo would be, and more. Fernandinho and Otamendi have been excellent, flying under most people’s radars. As for the flops, there hasn’t been one. Even Eliaquim Mangala has been better in recent weeks.
Happy with the manager? The talk of Pep signing a new contract is music to my ears. We could be set for a Ferguson-esque period over the next few years, playing some of the best football the league has ever seen. And Martí Perarnau, who wrote Pep Confidential, reckons this City team are still only operating at 80% of their full potential. 10/10
Moment of 2017: Besides all those City moments, Lionel Messi’s last-minute goal against Real Madrid.
– Lloyd Scragg, ninetythreetwenty.com, @lloyd_scragg
Manchester United
We’re a better side than last season but there’s no escaping the gulf between us and City. José is slowly turning it round but there’s a huge amount still to do and the next two transfer windows are massive in terms of what we can achieve. The more optimistic Reds say this season’s title race isn’t over yet, but it would take a Devon Loch-style collapse for us to peg it back. As we’re in the knockout stages of the Champions League I’d expect us to concentrate on that more than on chipping away at City. 7/10
Stars and flops: There’s no doubt Paul Pogba creates the tempo in this team. When he’s not available we lack the creativity and the drive he delivers. De Gea, meanwhile, remains at the very top of his game – some of his saves defy gravity. As for flops: Herrera still looks really limited to me – like a boy trying to play in a men’s team.
Happy with the manager? Against West Brom we started with seven players from the Sir Alex era, despite having spent over £600m since his farewell. There’s only so long we can say we are still in transition. I’m confident José will get it right. He has successfully repaired the spine of the side – a process that has delayed the surgery needed elsewhere. We need a huge clearout at the end of the season. 7/10
Moment of 2017: Two moments: the Europa League win that put us back in the Champions League and the League Cup final. Challenging for trophies is what it’s all about: the fact we got to two finals and won both meant two great days out.
– Shaun O’Donnell
Newcastle
The chickens have come home to roost. Mike Ashley’s failure to back Rafa in the summer looks like it could have disastrous consequences. West Ham result aside, it seems that solid start to the season, where organisation and determination saw us through, was a false dawn. We have a team built to win the Championship, not to survive in the top division and while you can’t fault our players for their spirit and work rate, there usually isn’t enough finesse, pace or guile to get back into games once we’ve conceded. The tragedy is that with just two or three quality additions pre-season, it could have been very different, as our early form suggested. 3/10
Stars and flops: The team look stronger with Jamaal Lascelles at their heart: he’s improved under Benítez and is a worthy captain. Young Mikel Merino has adapted quickly but too many of our players lack the class to flourish in this division. Mo Diamé in particular looks out of his depth. We’ve also been let down by the ill-discipline of Jonjo Shelvey and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Happy with the manager? He’s dignified, intelligent and dedicated to the club and the community it serves. He’s still loved here but has to take some responsibility for our dreadful run. That said, he can’t be blamed for the lack of signings. Like many before him, he must be bewildered by Ashley’s willingness to gamble with the club’s future. 6/10
Moment of 2017: Seeing Isaac Hayden helping out at Newcastle West End food bank: his actions are typical of a team who have embraced and connected with the community. Rafa seems to have instilled this ethos throughout the club and it’s a welcome change.
– Richard & David Holmes
Southampton
Failing to beat a pathetic Swansea side on the opening day rather set the tone. The problems from the end of last season have continued, with the added reduction in the number of chances that we’re creating (and missing). A dismal cup defeat to Wolves at the first hurdle ensured Mauricio Pellegrino’s honeymoon period was pretty short. 2/10
Stars and flops: Sofiane Boufal is finally starting to add some end product to his undoubted talent and Pellegrino would do well to build the attack around him. So, of course, expect him to be on the bench for the next game. Mario Lemina hit the ground running, but has lately been troubled by an ankle injury. Fraser Forster has gone in the opposite direction, having been a complete liability for a year, he’s been more reliable in the last six weeks. Some work to do on lining up defensive walls, though. Shane Long hasn’t scored since around 2013.
Happy with the manager? I was very much on Team Puel last season, so I wanted to be convinced that making a quick-fire change in the summer was definitely going to improve us. Appointing a manager whose team were low scorers in La Liga didn’t seem to fit the bill to me and it’s proving that way. We’ve been scoring less than a goal per game while the defence – so strong for the past four or five years – has looked creaky to say the least, with the clearly-not-arsed Virgil van Dijk’s situation not helping matters. 3/10
Moment of 2017: For fans of schadenfreude, Everton’s sacking of Ronald Koeman was sweet. It was genuinely impressive how he managed to spend £150m and make the team worse. Still, I’m sure he’ll be expecting that call from Barcelona any day now.
– Steve Grant, saintsweb.co.uk, @SteveGrant1983
Stoke
I was quietly confident in the summer. I thought 2017-18 couldn’t be as bad as a lot of fans were predicting. Sadly, that optimism was misplaced. Even after the West Brom win it feels like a relegation season. We’re dropping too many points and the relationship between the manager and the fans is at breaking point. The chairman seems fairly unmoved by it all, though. Unless things change our 10-season stay at the top table will be coming to a sad end. 3/10
Stars and flops: Our main man has been Xherdan Shaqiri, in his third season with the club. We’re now seeing more frequently the world-class player he is. But there have been far more flops than stars – none bigger than joint-record signing Kevin Wimmer – truly awful. I’ve also been disappointed by Ramadan Sobhi.
Happy with the manager? Sparky has done a good job in his time here but ever since the League Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool in January we just haven’t looked the same team. The problems have stacked up: his persistence with Diouf at right wing-back earlier in the season; hanging young Tom Edwards out to dry; his mismanagement of Saido Berahino; the numerous heavy defeats; the poor signings. All in all, the Spark has well and truly gone. We should be looking for a new manager now. 1/10
Moment of 2017: Waking up to hear Lionel Messi had scored a hat-trick to fire Argentina to the World Cup – it’s the kind of thing that only happens on a computer game. You want the best teams and best players to be taking part in the World Cup and they don’t come better than him.
– Rob Holloway
Swansea City
I didn’t think we could do much worse than last season when Bob Bradley was here but we have - far worse. But what do you expect under owners whose focus since last year has been on selling their shares to an American consortium while excluding the Trust from negotiations, selling our two best players and failing to reinvest in the squad? The state of things can simply be summed up by the fact a new group has been set up – the Swansea City Supporters’ Alliance – to try to remove chairman Huw Jenkins. 1/10
Stars and flops: Keeper Fabianski is our only star for keeping the scores respectable. We’ve not really had a properly embarrassing scoreline yet. Our flops? Seriously, how long have you got?
Happy with the manager? Clement’s sacking was the right decision, although it should have happened after we lost against Brighton at home. Since then we’ve lost another five games and you wonder now if it’s too late. He was given a really poor squad to work with but he has to take a fair share of the blame. His approach was just far too negative and conservative. He’s a manager whose instinct was to focus on defence, leaving us clueless in attack. He seemed unwilling to accept any responsibility for our lacklustre form, was full of excuses, and completely void of ideas of how to change things. Whoever we bring in now needs to be far more positive and ambitious – even if it means taking a long view and preparing a squad for the Championship next season. 3/10
Moment of 2017: Winning at home at the end of last season while Hull lost, confirming our safety.
– Kevin Elphick, Swansea.vitalfootball.co.uk
Tottenham
It’s been extremely frustrating. I was full of hope in the summer, but it’s now hard to look at the rest of the season with an ounce of excitement (apart from the Champions League). For me, there’s still a lack of depth in the squad – we have no quality options from the bench. The big games have been a non-event for us – the players just haven’t turned up and there have been too many stupid draws. This happens every year and every year it costs us. 6/10
Stars and flops: The stars for me have been Sánchez and Son. Sánchez has slotted into the back seamlessly, plays with the confidence of an established centre-back and has a great career ahead. Son has been brilliant, too – he deserves more of a chance. His pace is what differentiates him from the other attacking options in the squad. As for the flops: Sissoko. Need I say more? I hate being negative about Spurs players but what does that man do all week? It’s painful to watch. And Dele Alli hasn’t been firing on all cylinders either, which is a real shame. We’re missing his goals and assists.
Happy with the manager? I really like Poch: he’s transformed the club. I think he leaves it too late to make a tactical decision in games when we are struggling, but in the grand scheme of things we have an extremely exciting future with him at the helm. We can’t keep saying that year in, year out, though. This coming transfer window will be interesting: we need a few new options. 7/10
Moment of 2017: 1 November: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club schooling Real Madrid. At Wembley. And I was there. Magical.
– Jonny Holmes
Watford
While last season was never as close a call with relegation as the table suggested it wasn’t a whole lot of fun for the most part. But “fun” just about sums it up so far this time around. The summer surgery to the squad brought in younger players and an awful lot of speed; the new coach has adopted a style of play that’s been invigorating. Only against the extraordinary Manchester City have we been unable to compete. Our recent slump is perhaps cause for concern, reflecting the inability of squad and tactics to accommodate fatigue and injuries - but that shouldn’t distort the season as a whole. 8/10
Stars and flops: Richarlison has been tremendous: 20 years old, playing away from Brazil for the first time and not speaking the language … it’s outrageous how well he’s done. He’s quick and clever, yes, but tough as old boots and good in the air too. Other stars have included Doucouré, Cleverley, Femenía and Kabasele, whilst Chalobah’s bizarre injury was heartbreaking. Get well soon, Nate. Meanwhile, the hope had been that increased competition would provoke more reliable brilliance from Capoue. The reverse has been true, sadly.
Happy with the manager? Very much so. Slightly less enchanted by the way certain other clubs have tried to poach him. But Silva’s done well despite distractions. He’ll move on to bigger jobs than ours (or Everton’s) but hopefully not just yet. 8/10
Moment of 2017: Not a happy one but the coming together of the club and town following the death of Graham Taylor was the most significant event of Watford’s footballing year. A very special man.
– Matt Rowson, bhappy.wordpress.com, @mattrowson
West Brom
August was good results-wise – the rest has been a bit of a shocker. The many pragmatists among the Albion support always felt the Pulis way was acceptable as long as it got results. That stopped happening last March. There’s only so many times that a bunch of professional footballers can be drilled the same way day in day out without them getting jaded and bored. He lost the players and the fans, and, in hindsight, the change should have happened in May. 2/10
Stars and flops: Stars are hard to find but Kieran Gibbs has been a good buy and has been consistent. Hegazi has found his feet in the English game and has looked good at times, while Sam Field has been excellent when given a chance. He’s a future England player. Flops are plentiful. The biggest, purely based on reputation and value for money, has to be Grzegorz Krychowiak. He started averagely and has only got worse. It seems West Bromwich is a bit of a struggle for him after living in Paris and Seville for the past few years.
Happy with the manager? The much-needed sugar rush we thought Pardew would provide hasn’t materialised. But the damage done by Pulis’s negative tactics can’t be erased overnight. It hasn’t helped that our flair players have all been injured. Time is ticking but I think it’s only fair to judge Pardew once he has our better players available. He hasn’t licked himself on camera yet, so that’s a bonus. 6/10
Moment of 2017: Seeing the headline on the WBA site that Tony Pulis had parted company with the club. It felt like a footballing enema.
– Richard Jefferson, wbaunofficial.org.uk/forum, @richbaggie
West Ham
It was a poor start: three away games and three defeats. Then came a brief recovery, and after that a terrible home defeat to Brighton. The usual injury list, stupid sending-offs for Arnautovic and Carroll, letting the points slip in the 97th minute at Palace and conceding from our own corner against Liverpool spelt the end for Slaven Bilic, though he wasn’t helped by the chairman’s public utterances. But we’ve been looking much more resilient under David Moyes.
Stars and flops: Zabaleta has always given everything and although slowing a little, is the sort of player the fans love. Arnautovic has transitioned from flop to star recently, and could now become a cult (I think that’s what the Stoke fans were calling him.) Arthur Masuaku has looked excellent going forward and Rice is a great prospect. Joe Hart, meanwhile, has mixed great saves with errors and his confidence looks shot. Cresswell started poorly, while Obiang and Kouyaté struggled in midfield until the arrival of Moyes.
Happy with the manager? Bilic will always be remembered for what he did in the final season at the Boleyn. He got the West Ham Way but by the end he looked exhausted. Despite the initial derision Moyes has been impressive. Playing Masuaku on the left and making Cresswell a third centre-back has looked inspired, and Arnautovic has started working really hard and scoring. The fans won’t tolerate defensive football forever but have really got behind the team recently as they can see the effort. 7/10
Moment of 2017: Bakary Sako winning the Crystal Palace September goal of the month competition with their only goal of the month.
– Pete May, Author of Goodbye to Boleyn, hammersintheheart.blogspot.co.uk