Twenty things we learned this season, from Eden Hazard's No 10 evolution to a surge in schadenfreude

Our footballers writers reflect as the curtain comes down on another domestic season

1) Response to racism remains gestures and gimmicks

This was the season when overt racism returned to Premier League stadiums in a big way. There was the banana skin thrown at Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the north London derby. There was the abuse of Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge. There was the Islamophobic abuse of Mo Salah by a West Ham fan at the London Stadium. And that was just one city’s worth. Among sections of the English football fanbase, base racist sentiment never really went away, it was always just bubbling underneath. But in recent months, that sentiment has found an emboldened voice and increasing outlets.

The response from those in authority has been predictably lamentable. The FA chairman Greg Clarke has said Uefa must do more. Uefa have said referees must do more. Meanwhile in March, the Premier League launched its No Room For Racism campaign, a pathetic, meaningless charade consisting of a few pitch-side adverts, a nice social media video and zero concrete policies. And this remains English football’s default position when it comes to racism in 2019: 1) Say you don’t like it. 2) Try and find someone else to blame for it. JL

2) The No 10 isn't dead

It’s become fashionable in recent years to lament the passing of the No10, the Bergkamp-Zola-Cantona-type player who became a staple of the Premier League’s early evolution. The regression of Mesut Ozil at Arsenal is generally considered in parallel with this phenomenon, a victim of the trend towards shuttling, vertical midfielders like Gini Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko, or deeper-lying playmakers like Kevin De Bruyne or Christian Eriksen. But the No 10 didn’t disappear. He just evolved.

Look at the two players who made the most assists in the Premier League this season. Neither Eden Hazard nor Ryan Fraser are conventional No 10s, but in a way that’s what’s made them so effective. Often they come in off the left wing and end up in central areas, directing play that’s been disrupted partly because they’ve left their original position. Raheem Sterling, James Maddison, Felipe Anderson and even Wilfried Zaha are others who frequently find themselves “in the hole” – the traditional playground of the No 10 – despite not starting there originally. JL

3) Draws mean little in a title race

In the title race, the values of draws is almost totally gone. This is what Manchester City have done. Their quality has conditioned the league so you can't slip at all, and just have to win every game. There are no good title-race draws any more. Hence Liverpool's 0-0 away at Everton and Manchester United weren't good away results to their biggest rivals, but arguably where they lost the league. That is not necessarily to criticise them for those slips. It is just the nature of the league now. It is one of City's greatest influences. It is why Liverpool only lost one game but still lost the league. MD

4) Big six get bigger

The "big six" is more durable than ever. That is the only conclusion you can draw when all of them have stayed in the top six, despite four of them suffering what were among their worst seasons in years. They were that bad, and still stayed that high. That should be a worry for the rest of the league, although should also be something of a target for clubs like Wolves and Everton. The hope is this season merely illustrates their vulnerability, rather than how sturdy they are. MD

5) Get it right off the pitch

Has there ever been a clearer proof of the importance of getting ownership, structure and ethos right than this year? Manchester City and Liverpool, two clubs with a clear plan, strong set-up and trusted manager have been unprecedentedly good. While Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United, three teams who have their own off-field issues, have been nowhere near. JPB

6) Read your history...

Last summer there was plenty of anticipation about whether or not this would turn into a ‘Mourinho Season’ at Manchester United. And there were plenty of doubters, people saying that Chelsea 2015 was a one-off, and that Mourinho would built on last year to mount a strong challenge this year. They were wrong. It was a Mourinho Season after all, and those who said it would not should have been more aware of the precedents. JPB

The 'Mourinho Season' (Reuters)

7) …But don’t be prisoner to it

The appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as caretaker manager was the best decision United have made in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. The jury remains out on his permanent appointment, however. After a dismal end to the campaign, it appears premature. United are seeking to build their future out of the familiar comforts of the past, and yet they end the season with more doubt than certainty. MC

8) The middle class are coming back

It may seem a strange conclusion to draw when the league appears as divided between the haves and have-nots as ever, but there are signs of life in the Premier League’s middle order. Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers look well placed to push the top six next season, while Everton’s improvement in the second half of the campaign should not be ignored. United, Arsenal and other top-six stragglers need to watch out. MC

9) Schadenfreude is now the point

Is it more important that your club wins, or that somebody else loses? For most of the history of football fandom, it was an elementary question with an elementary answer. Of course, fans have always revelled in their rivals’ disasters and indignities, but never to the point where it felt like the central and fundamental goal of supporting a football team. This may be the season where that began to change.

If it wasn’t Wolves fans celebrating wildly at Anfield as news of Manchester City’s title-winning goals filtered through, it was Frank Lampard and his Derby squad bizarrely singing the Leeds United song ‘Stop Crying, Frank Lampard’ after beating them in the play-off semi-final. The underlying idea is that triumph is only the secondary goal: the fullest and richest reward football can offer is to be able to rub it in somebody else’s face. Maybe it’s the miserable old git in me, but I just find it... weird. JL

10) The Premier League, as an executive body, no longer exists

You may not have noticed this in all the excitement, but the Premier League hasn’t had a chief executive for about six months. Since stepping down at the end of last year, Richard Scudamore is yet to be replaced, and the latest is that it may well be the end of the year before a new CEO is sourced. And if it feels strange for the world’s biggest league to essentially have no leader for an entire year, than it’s worth wondering what that says about the future of the organisation.

In recent months, the Big Six clubs have used the power vacuum at the top of the organisation to reassess their position. A ‘land grab’ would probably pushing it a bit far, but the rapidly shifting landscape of European football, along with the uncertainty over whether the Premier League can continue growing its broadcast revenue over subsequent cycles, has led some of the bigger clubs to wonder whether ultimately, the Premier League itself is beginning to outlive its usefulness.

Of course, talk of a European breakaway has been around since most of us were children. But there’s a hardening resolve among the Big Six that as the biggest revenue generators, the Premier League should exist primarily to serve and argue their interests. The idea of the league as a regulatory body, keeping clubs in check, is becoming increasingly obsolete. Whoever the new chief is, they’ll owe their position to the patronage and power of the biggest clubs, and will act accordingly. JL

11) Pressing is king

Pressing is now the most influential tactical element in football. It governs all, shapes all. Both of the two leading teams have based their entire games on it, with Pep Guardiola even adapting to Jurgen Klopp's influence. The evidence is there in so many goals that come from breaks and transitions. MD

12) The firefighter manager is over

The full influence of pressing also feels one big reason why the Premier League is finally breaking out of a generation of managers who were considered "specialists", who would always keep clubs up due to their experience. Rather than bosses like Tony Pulis, Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce, the clubs are turning to more modern coaches like Ralph Hassenhuttl. It is also essentially why Brighton and Hove Albion have dispensed with Chris Hughton. MD

Ralph Hasenhuttl had an immediate impact at struggling Southampton (Reuters) (Action Images via Reuters)

13) ‘Harry Kane Team’

Harry Kane is a brilliant striker and leader for Tottenham and England, but one of the most inspiring parts of Spurs’ Champions League run is that they have found a way to win without him. The performances of Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura have improved in Kane’s absence, and it looks at times as if the rest of the Spurs team raise their game in his absence. Because they know that they cannot hide behind him when he is no long there. JPB

14) Southampton finally got it right

One of the most impressive stories in the second half of the season has been the Southampton turnaround under Ralph Hasenhuttl. He has given that team an identity again, and already he looks like their best managerial appointment since they picked up a young Mauricio Pochettino. No wonder Hasenhuttl was previously in the mix for the Bayern job. Richer teams than Saints might well wonder if they should have found Hasenhuttl first. JPB​

15) Jorginho was the best player in the Premier League...

The Italian was lauded upon his arrival in England with his precision in possession seemingly a perfect fit for Maurizio Sarri’s stylish new system. His 180 passes against West Ham in September set a Premier League record as fans and pundits fell over themselves to praise Chelsea’s newest metronome. Always available and keeping things simple at the base of midfield how would Manchester City, who had wanted to sign the 27-year-old, cope now the Blues had so clearly got one over on them? BB

Just how good is Jorginho? (Getty) (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

16) ... Jorginho was the worst player in the Premier League

Nine months and 3,118 passes later Jorginho is still without a Premier League assist. Chelsea’s newest metronome now represents everything that is wrong with Maurizio Sarri’s stale and dated system. Passive and too pass happy he has become the lightning rod for fans and pundits to fall over themselves in criticising Sarri and his team for being too risk-averse on the ball. Manchester City, meanwhile, won the league with 98 points.

The truth I expect, as it often does, lies somewhere in the middle for a player that clearly has all the talent you could want, but perhaps needs more from those around and above him for it to flourish. That and a little more forgiveness from the stands too you suspect. BB

17) Walk before you can run

There was no more disastrous recruitment policy this season than Fulham, who went out and bought exciting players from all over England and Europe, as if they were trying to finish eighth. And they did that at the cost of the identity and unity of the team that had just been promoted from the Championship. By aiming too high, they sunk themselves before they had even begun. JPB

18) City no longer rely on Silva

David Silva has been the best Premier League midfielder of the decade but now, for the first time, it feels as if Manchester City could survive without him. He has slowed down this year and there are times, in the most intense games, when the play passes him by, although he was excellent again at Old Trafford last month. But if Kevin De Bruyne gets fit again next year, then with him and Bernardo Silva in attacking midfield then maybe City can flourish even without David Silva playing every week. JPB

19) Liverpool do not need a creative midfielder

Without Philippe Coutinho and with Nabil Fekir still in Lyon, there were worries that Liverpool would not have the creativity in midfield to compete. The apparently austere axis of James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson began to become known as ‘the Brexit midfield’ by some. But instead, production has come from out wide, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson establishing themselves as the league’s best full-backs and two of its best players in transition too. In turn, Liverpool were more solid through the middle, and this trade-off powered their title challenge. MC

20) Huddersfield were never long for this level

Which was the greater achievement last year: City’s 100-point season or Huddersfield staying up? Only one proved more difficult to repeat, after all. The west Yorkshire club will be disappointed to return to the Championship but a lack of both quality and resources was always likely to cost them. Ultimately, it told. It is becoming more and more difficult for clubs of Huddersfield’s modest size to compete. MC