Reflecting on the 2025-26 Premier League: The biggest disappointments and frustrations of the season

Besides the dramatic title chases and a few explosive highlights, the 2025-26 Premier League season was also one filled with a series of forgettable setbacks, ranging from costly signings to projects that crumbled just a few weeks in.

Moreover, the overall quality of the league left many feeling disheartened. The Premier League now sometimes feels more like a battle of physicality and set-pieces than a stage for technique, creativity, and inspiration.

The biggest disappointments of the season

A year ago, Newcastle was seen as a team capable of breaking into the title contenders. But after the 2025-26 season, they finished only 12th and didn't even secure a spot in European competition.

The main reason lies in their failed transfer policy. Newcastle spent £55 million to sign Yoane Wissa after a long chase. Wissa had scored 19 goals for Brentford and was expected to become the Magpies' new attacking spearhead. Yet reality was exactly the opposite. The striker managed just one goal in 13 Premier League appearances and was often benched. Worse still, other new signings like Nick Woltemade and Anthony Elanga also disappointed similarly.

If Newcastle's disappointment came from a decline in form, then Tottenham left fans exasperated with their prolonged chaos. After last season's huge letdown, Spurs appointed Thomas Frank hoping to restore order. The start wasn't too bad—Tottenham lost only one of their first seven games, even crushing Man City at the Etihad. But that was almost the only bright spot.

From November 2025 to mid-April 2026, Spurs won just two Premier League matches. Frank was sacked in February, and the dressing room began showing signs of unrest as Cristian Romero publicly criticized the board. Things turned even more farcical when Tottenham struggled to find an interim manager. Igor Tudor was chosen but lasted only 44 days. Roberto De Zerbi then became the third manager of the season and had to fight to keep Spurs up.

On the coaching front, after leaving Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou was given a chance by Nottingham Forest, who hoped he could recreate the attacking football that once made him famous. But this was a decision that was questioned from the start.

Forest had just parted ways with Nuno Espirito Santo, a coach who was popular with both players and fans. Postecoglou entered a new environment with a very different philosophy and lacked the right personnel to execute it.

The result: the team earned just two points from eight games. The Australian manager was sacked after only 40 days, becoming one of the shortest tenures in Premier League history.

Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim was once seen as the future of Manchester United. But after a turbulent season, he became the next name to leave Old Trafford.

When he took over from Erik ten Hag, Amorim inherited a squad lacking confidence and direction. However, the biggest issue was his rigid insistence on the 3-4-3 formation.

Amorim also sparked controversy with his squad management, especially limiting Kobbie Mainoo's opportunities. Those puzzling decisions ultimately cost him his job.

The most annoying aspects

There is a growing feeling that the Premier League is no longer as beautiful as before. Many matches have become battles of physicality, pressing, and set-pieces rather than skill or creativity.

Teams constantly look to win corners, lump balls into the box, and exploit dead-ball situations. That may be effective, but it makes the viewing experience tedious. The overloaded fixture schedule also contributes to the declining quality. Top players are run ragged, turning many matches into mere endurance contests.

This Premier League season also saw a surge in long throw-ins. Quite a few teams treated them as a primary tactical weapon. But for many, this simply made the game ugly. The sight of players drying the ball, taking a few steps back, and hurling it into the box kept repeating to the point of frustration.

One of the most distasteful images of the season appeared during corner kicks. Players pulled shirts, hugged opponents, pushed, and fouled openly inside the box, yet almost everything was ignored. The VAR incident in the Arsenal-West Ham game was a classic example. Inside the penalty area, players from both sides were practically wrestling instead of playing football. At one point, up to 15 players were crammed into the six-yard box, and most were fouling each other. More worrying, that wasn't an exception but has become a familiar sight in the modern Premier League.

Another thing that annoys viewers is how referees increasingly like to "lecture" players before set-pieces. The familiar scene now is the referee blowing the whistle, stepping into the box, pointing and warning a few players, then making everyone start over. This constantly breaks up the rhythm of the match!