SPORTbible writers hand out 2022/23 Premier League awards as best player, biggest flop and early 2023/24 predictions named

Sunday marked the end of the Premier League season as the curtain was drawn on the 2022/23 campaign.

Manchester City had already secured their fifth title in six seasons prior to the final day while the top four and Europa League spots were also sewn up but the relegation battle went right to the wire, with Everton eventually staying up at the expense of both Leicester City and Leeds United.

It's been a memorable season with three new teams climbing into the top four, plenty of surprises both positive and negative in terms of league finishes and a number of standout individual performances too.

So we challenged our team of SPORTbible writers to come up with their picks for eight different categories: player of the year, young player of the year, surprise of the year, manager of the year, team of the year, best signing, biggest flop and an early prediction for next season.

Here are the selections they made.

Tom Marshall-Bailey

Player of the Year – Erling Haaland

I tried my best to come up with a convincing argument for anyone other than the most obvious pick but in the end, Erling Haaland has been the reason City have won the title. Kevin De Bruyne has a credible argument to be the winner of this category but it's worth remembering he had a period out of the team earlier this year, which left him well-prepared to play a pivotal role in the run-in. Haaland has obliterated the previous goalscoring records held in the Premier League and has been a phenomenon.

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Young Player of the Year – William Saliba

Defenders don't get enough praise but Saliba's impact on this Arsenal team is undeniable. The Gunners added Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to their squad last summer and it's true that they would not have mounted a title challenge without either. It's also true they wouldn't have without Saliba. The analysis on him and how Arsenal conceded goals even with him in the team has been way too simplistic; his absence was about more than just leaking goals. It destroyed the structure of this Arsenal team, just look at the impact it had on someone like Bukayo Saka in recent weeks. The Frenchman would be in a best XI of the year.

Surprise of the Year – Liverpool's demise

I feel like not enough has been made of Liverpool dropping from second to fifth. They have had a pretty disastrous season given the expectation last summer was that they and City would be streets clear of everyone once more. Their failure to live up to that pre-season billing has been dismal and their struggles are slightly more surprising to me than Tottenham's own fall from the top four.

Manager of the Year – Gary O'Neil

What he has managed to do with that Bournemouth team is nothing short of miraculous. They had no right to stay up this season with the squad he inherited. Yes, he was backed in January given the Cherries' new influx of cash but he spent that money wisely and has built an exciting, attacking team and preserved the club's top-flight status comfortably in the end.

Team of the Year – Brighton

The easy answer here is Manchester City. And if they go on to win the treble, it does probably change the conversation slightly. But at the time of writing, I have found Brighton's achievement to this point to be the most impressive of any team this season. Newcastle United and Aston Villa deserve huge credit too but Brighton have not just survived the inconvenience of having their managed nabbed mid-season. They have thrived. Manchester City were expected to win the league title, probably at even more of a canter than they have secured it. Brighton were not expected to earn European football for the first time ever.

Best signing – Morgan Gibbs-White

Yes, Haaland is probably the most obvious pick again here. But Nottingham Forest would not be a Premier League club without Morgan Gibbs-White. It's not quite been an over-reliance on him but his impact has been defining and there are very few signings who have had such an influence on their teams.

Biggest flop – Yves Bissouma

I remember Arsenal fans being distraught at missing out on him and allowing Spurs to have a free run at him. That feels a long time ago now. Perhaps a slightly harsh selection given his troubles with injury but given Tottenham were expected to cement their top-four spot this season and perhaps even push on for a title challenge, their signings last summer were an absolute disaster. Richarlison comes a close second in this category.

Early prediction for next season – Chelsea will not make the recovery many expect them to

I'm sorry, but I just don't see it. That is a squad that is completely imbalanced and will need years to fix. There is a mixture of players who are in the departures lounge, some who have outstayed their welcomes, some who need time to adjust to the Premier League and others who are talented but still raw. Even a manager as talented as Mauricio Pochettino will find this an incredibly difficult job in his first season and I don't see how they can jump from 12th to top-four contention so quickly, even without European football.

Josh Lawless

Player of the Year – Erling Haaland

An absolutely phenomenal first season in English football for the Norwegian Viking. 36 goals in the Premier League and 52 in all competitions means he has to be an absolute shoo-in for the main individual award.

Young Player of the Year – Bukayo Saka

Arsenal ultimately fell at the crucial hurdle to allow Manchester City to capitalise but Bukayo Saka was their best player by a country mile. 11 goals and 13 assists from the right flank is an excellent return for the 22-year-old.

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Surprise of the Year – Fulham

I thought Fulham would struggle again and do their usual yo-yo trick but they’ve had a brilliant season and secured a top ten finish. Marco Silva deserves an enormous amount of credit.

Manager of the Year – Eddie Howe

He came in and steered Newcastle well away from safety when they looked destined to go down and now Eddie Howe has brought Champions League football back to St James’ Park after a stunning season.

Team of the Year – Manchester City

Winning three Premier League titles in a row is no easy feat and the manner in which they have done it extremely impressive. That 12-game winning run in the business end of the season should not be underestimated.

Best signing – Manuel Akanji

City have had a number of defensive issues this season and they could have been in a lot of trouble if they hadn’t signed Manuel Akanji.

The Swiss international signed for a dirt-cheap £14 million and made 29 appearances. Solid as a rock, he played left-back, centre-back and right-back to an exceptionally high level and lifted the Premier League title at the end of it.

Biggest flop – Kalvin Phillips

Another of City’s summer additions didn’t fare so well. Kalvin Phillips could not force himself into the side ahead of the unplayable and made just a single Premier League start.

He could come good in his second season but Phillips seriously struggled after his £45 million switch.

Early prediction for next season – Vincent Kompany will guide Burnley to a top-10 finish

Vincent Kompany has just led Burnley to record-breaking points tally on the way to the Championship title and with a wonderful way of playing.

I’m tipping them to carry on in the same way back in the big time and finish in the top ten.

Rory O'Callaghan

Player of the Year – Erling Haaland

It has to be. He’s already smashed numerous records in his first season in English football and could end his debut campaign at the Etihad a Treble winner. An easy pick for Player of the Year.

Young Player of the Year – Bukayo Saka

This could also go to Haaland but for variation, I’ll give it to Bukayo Saka. The form of Arsenal’s ‘Starboy’ may have dipped in recent months but he will still end the campaign in double figures for both goals and assists in the Premier League. With a new long-term contract at the Emirates now signed, the future looks bright for both Saka and the Gunners.

Surprise of the Year – Son Heung-min

Back in August, I tipped Son Heung-min to challenge for Player of the Season after his remarkable 2021/22 campaign. Few could have predicted his dramatic loss of form this term, particularly in the first half of the season. A major disappointment.

Manager of the Year – Gary O’Neil

Very tough to pick this year but I’m going to go out on a limb and give this to Gary O’Neil. Everyone, including then-manager Scott Parker, seemed to have written Bournemouth off as relegation dead certs after their 9-0 drubbing at Liverpool in August. But when Parker was sacked days later, Gary O’Neil steadied the ship and managed to guide the Cherries to safety with several games to spare.

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Team of the Year – Manchester City

Another easy pick. Manchester City have won their third successive Premier League title and could end the season as Treble winners. If they achieve the feat, they will have a strong argument to be named the greatest English club side in history. Undoubtedly the best team in world football at the moment.

Best signing – Erling Haaland

Haaland’s £51.2m move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City always looked like a ludicrously good piece of business for the Premier League champions and so it has proved. A contender for the Ballon d’Or after just one season at the club - signings don’t get any better than that.

Biggest flop – Mykhailo Mudryk

While Richarlison and Kalvin Phillips have endured torrid seasons, I’d argue Mykhailo Mudryk has been a bigger disappointment - given the huge hype around his move to the Premier League in January. Chelsea forked out a whopping £88.5m to poach the Ukrainian from Arsenal, who must be counting their lucky stars that he ended up Stamford Bridge instead.

Early prediction for next season – Liverpool to be Man City’s closest rivals

This season has been a huge disappointment for Liverpool but there have been promising signs in the final weeks of the campaign. With no Champions League football to look forward to next season, the Premier League will be Liverpool’s main focus and I expect them to be Manchester City’s closest challengers for the title – but only if they manage to sign two or three top-quality midfielders this summer.

Ryan Sidle

Player of the season - Erling Haaland

I don’t care how obvious it is, if you score 36 goals in a Premier League season you and only you deserve to be the Player of the Season.

Young Player - William Saliba

I refuse to give Haaland both awards, so I’ll hand it to Saliba instead. Without him Arsenal wouldn’t have got close to a title challenge, as shown by what happened when he was missing.

Surprise of the Year - Chelsea

No matter what you tell yourself now, no one predicted that Chelsea would be a bottom-half club at the start of the season. They have been shocking to a degree no one would have ever predicted.

Manager of the Year - Roberto De Zerbi

Might be the hardest category of the lot with so many outstanding candidates. De Zerbi didn’t start the season at Brighton but has completely blown expectations out of the water, even after the amazing job Graham Potter did. They look in a good position even if they lose some top players this summer.

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Team of the Year - Tottenham Hotspur

Yeah you’d be right to be automatically confused by this. But from a neutral's point of view few teams provided as many laughs as Spurs this season. Whether it was the signing of Richarlison, their own manager digging them out, sacking an interim boss, Liverpool’s hilarious late winner or the 6-1 smashing by Newcastle, they kept us thoroughly entertained throughout. Cheers Spurs!

Best signing - Nick Pope

Haaland once again seems like the obvious answer but City still would have won the league with Julian Alvarez up front let’s be honest. Pope has been utterly brilliant for Newcastle, at one point going 931 minutes without conceding. At just £10 million he’s been an absolute bargain.

Biggest flop - Raheem Sterling

You could probably make an XI out of Chelsea’s flops but few had as big a reputation as Sterling when he signed. He’s scored less than half the amount of league goals he got with Manchester City last season after a £48 million move. Not helped by injuries but he’s been far from the player we saw under Pep Guardiola.

Early prediction - Arsenal don’t make the top four

Let’s not pretend like it can’t happen. Liverpool were expected to be City’s only title challengers this year and didn’t manage it, Jurgen Klopp’s generational side also nearly missed out in 2021 so if it can happen to them it can happen to Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side have to get over the emotional damage of missing out on the league title, compete in the Champions League and hope others don’t improve.

Chris Byfield

Player of the season - Erling Haaland

Having scored 52 times so far in all competitions, including a record 36-goal haul in the Premier League, I think Erling Haaland has just about pipped Joel Ward as my Player of the Season. And at just 22, it’s terrifying to think he could get even better.

Young Player of the Season- Martin Odegaard

I will preface this selection by stressing Martin Odegaard should not qualify for this award, as he is 24 and has been a professional footballer for nine years. But given the Premier League stipulates that the Arsenal captain does qualify, he is my pick for Young Player of the Season.

Odegaard netted 15 times and claimed seven assists as Mikel Arteta’s men topped the table for some 248 days. And to anyone speculating upon my first two choices - no, I am not Norwegian.

Surprise of the Year - Chelsea

I am surprised that, after having spent £600million across two transfer windows on some allegedly talented players, it is possible to be this bad at football. The Blues were essentially a Todd Boehly social experiment by the end of the season - how many players could an eccentric owner give a hapless Frank Lampard before the latter’s head exploded?

Manager of the Year - Gary O'Neil

Gary O'Neil is so low-key many fair-weathered football fans probably don’t know he exists. But in a season where Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola went toe-to-toe at the summit, and Eddie Howe hauled Newcastle to a top-four finish, O'Neil was the manager that pulled off a miracle.

Back in August, Scott Parker left Bournemouth after the club suffered a 9-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool. At the time, Parker insisted that the Cherries couldn’t compete in the top flight, and were destined for relegation.

Most pundits agreed. Hell, even I, a ‘professional football writer’, thought Bournemouth were doomed. Nine months later the club finished 15th, five points clear of relegation. I am digging into my humble pie as I write this.

Team of the Year - Manchester City

Yes, they’re rich. Yes, there have over 100 Premier League charges (which City deny) against their name. And sure, this is a very boring selection. But at face value Pep Guardiola’s side are unbelievable, and should they win the treble, as expected, City are probably the greatest Premier League team in history.

Best signing - Erling Haaland

I have little to add regarding the brilliance of Haaland. He is inevitable - almost like a tax opposition teams must pay when they play City. It’s as if you’re starting the match 1-0 down such is the certainty Haaland will score.

He also cost just £51million. That’s good business.

Biggest flop - Frank Lampard

It’s been fashionable of late to criticise Frank Lampard’s managerial career, but that’s because it's so easy. This season the 44-year-old took charge of 34 games in all competitions across spells at Everton and Chelsea. He won just five of them.

Indeed, in his second stint at the helm at Stamford Bridge, Lampard won just one of his 11 games in charge. Any football expert worth his salt will tell you - that’s really, really bad.

Early prediction - Kenilworth Road to be described as a “fortress”

I guarantee that irrespective of how well Luton perform in the Premier League, the infamous Kenilworth Road will be a football cliche goldmine, described as a “fortress” and a “difficult place to go” by pundits on a bi-weekly basis. It will become a modern-day ‘Stoke City away’.

Rather depressingly, I also think City, who are very much the Death Star of English football, will win the league. Again.

Ryan Smart

Player of the Year - Erling Haaland

It couldn’t really be anyone else. With 36 league goals this season - the most in a single Premier League campaign - Haaland spearheaded Manchester City to yet under league triumph under Pep Guardiola.

Young player of the Year - Gabriel Martinelli

This could have been any of William Saliba, Bukayo Saka or Martinelli, in truth, but I’ve gone with the Brazilian. 15 goals represents the best seasonal tally of his career and his early season and post-World Cup form has been consistently strong. His first half display in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool was almost as good as any this season.

Surprise of the Year - Chelsea

When a consortium led by Todd Boehly took over Chelsea for £4.25 million last year, did anyone really see *this* coming?

After winning the Champions League just two years ago, for the Blues to be a lower mid-table Premier League side this season is remarkable. Three managers, over £500 million spent and now another rebuild on the way under Mauricio Pochettino. There is talent in the squad, and you'd expect the Argentinian to come in and improve Chelsea - but how long it takes them to return to past glories is the big question.

Manager of the Year - Eddie Howe

Possibly the hardest decision of them all, with four or five realistic contenders. For me, it has to go to Newcastle’s Eddie Howe, who has once again proven how good coaching can transform a side.

Howe and his staff have enabled Miguel Almiron, Joelinton, Fabian Schar and co to reach new heights. And although they have spent money, they have spent it exceptionally well. Nick Pope, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak have all had big impacts, and the Magpies went on to secure Champions League football. A job well done.

Team of the Year - Manchester City

Pep Guardiola keeps finding a way, doesn't he? After a slow start to the Premier League season (by City’s standards), the Spaniard made some bold decisions in January, electing to allow star left-back Joao Cancelo to leave and move John Stones into an inverted centre-back role. The new tactical system has paid off, and City's staggering run of 12 consecutive Premier League wins between February and May made them champions.

Best signing - Joao Palhinha

Joao Palhinha was one of those players who just seemed to be linked with the Premier League every summer before making his move to Fulham for £20 million last summer.

Deployed in a ball-winning midfield role by manager Marco Silva, he has won an average of 4.2 tackles a game - more than any other player in the division. He is combative, aggressive and drives his team forward - exactly what you need in a Premier League midfielder.

Palhinha was the signing that essentially transformed Fulham into a solid top division outfit, and they have lost all of the four matches he hasn’t been available for.

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Biggest flop - Kalvin Phillips

Kalvin Phillips hasn't been able to assert himself at Manchester City, with no Premier League starts to his name. There are mitigating factors - an injury suffered in pre-season, and the sensational form of Rodri. The England midfielder has proven quality, but he needs to show it next season.

Early prediction for next season - Luton to stay up

After promotion to the top flight, many pundits will no doubt have Luton to go straight back down to the Championship.

It will be a tough ask, no doubt about it. But Rob Edwards' side have built their displays this season on defensive stability, and in Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo, the Hatters have one of the most effective strike partnerships outside of the Premier League.

Signings will be required, and keeping loan trio Ethan Horvath, Marvelous Nakamba and Cody Drameh will be a key first step. Getting points at Kenilworth Road will be crucial, too. But it can be done.

Joe Adams

Player of the Year - Erling Haaland

This one goes without saying. Just 22-years-old and he's turned the Premier League into his own personal playground, scoring more goals than appearances, with a hairstyle to match.

Young player of the Year - Bukayo Saka

Understated, smart and polite on the face of things, but peel back the layers and you have an old-school bully on the pitch, running full-backs ragged. It seems there is no stage too grand for Arsenal's 'star-boy' who grows stronger with every hurdle thrown at him.

Surprise of the Year - Leicester

The Foxes looked to be knocking on the door of the top six just two seasons ago when they qualified for the Europa League. From the outside, they look to be a team brimming with quality, but lacking the all-important catalyst to make it work. It seems like yesterday they were Premier League champions, and while their downfall has been overshadowed by others around them, their relegation is just as shocking as any of their previous success.

Manager of the Year - Roberto De Zerbi

When Graham Potter left Brighton last September, few Seagulls fans would have even dreamt of European football. However, De Zerbi's brave and adventurous style of football has left Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool all stumped. While only three teams have scored more in the Premier League.

Team of the Year - Newcastle

Many thought it would take a bit of time for things to gel at St James' Park since the financial takeover. But it has been quite the opposite, with Eddie Howe guiding the Magpies to their first Champions League finish in 20 years. While they haven't spent a shedload along the way, creating a feeling of equality around the club.

Best signing - Sven Botman

He has formed the joint-best defence in the league, helping to turn St James' Park into a fortress. And at just 23, the Dutchman has plenty more in the tank.

Biggest flop - Antony

Plenty of skills, but yet to live up to his £85 million bill. The Manchester United winger has less goal contributions than Jadon Sancho this season, who is widely considered to have had a poor campaign.