Graphic showing top six table when conceding first:

Pos Team              P     GD  PTS
1	Brighton	17	-11	20
2	Liverpool	13	6	19
3	Man City	14	-4	19
4	Newcastle	20	-15	19
5	Fulham	        16	-5	18
6	Aston Villa	14	-12	18

As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

"We never do it the easy way."

Something muttered by many a football fan as they watch their side go 1-0 down again.

As frustrating as it can be watching from the stands or on the TV, it is a position some teams thrive in.

Luring the opposition into a false sense of security, it is almost as though they do not get going until they have given the other team a chance.

And if the league was measured on how well a team bounces back after conceding the first goal, then this season would have seen Brighton coming away with a Premier League title.

There were 17 occasions in 2024-25 when the Seagulls conceded the first goal, but from those they came back to win five and draw five - rescuing 20 points in the process.

It will not have made for comfortable watching for the fans, but it does show the tenacity of Fabian Hurzeler's side to turn a match around.

The sign of champions is to win when you are not at your best and that is what Liverpool did this campaign. They may not have have conceded first as often as Brighton, but they still came back to win four times and draw seven.

It will not have always helped the cause of those chasing European spots, but Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa all showed the resilience that they could go one-goal down and still get much-needed points from a game.

At the other end of the scale, while some teams thrive in this situation, others flounder.

Nottingham Forest surprised many onlookers going from relegation candidates to battling for a Champions League spot in less than 12 months.

But key to that was their defence. There were not many occasions where they went 1-0 down - however, when they did, their ability to turn it around was in relegation territory.

The silver-lining for Reds fans, though, is that they really did make it difficult for the opposition to get in front and this is a strength they will hope to build on going forwards.

Graphic showing bottom six table when conceding first:

Pos Team                              P     GD  PTS
15	Wolves	                        23	-27	11
16	Leicester City	        30	-49	11
17	West Ham	                21	-30	6
18	Nottingham Forest	12	-17	5
19	Ipswich Town	        22	-44	3
20	Southampton	        25	-51	2
  • Knoop and Stern to exit as part of backroom reshufflepublished at 18:55 3 June

    Marco Knoop and Jack Stern

    Goalkeeper coaches Marco Knoop and Jack Stern will leave Brighton this summer as head coach Fabian Hurzeler shakes up his backroom team.

    The club have also confirmed the Seagulls boss will appoint a replacement goalkeeping coach and recruit a new set-piece specialist, with Knoop also responsible for defensive set-pieces in his one season at the Amex.

    Stern ed the club in 2022 and had signed a new deal last summer.

    "On behalf of everyone at the club, I take this opportunity to thank Marco and Jack for their efforts here," said Hurzeler.

    "Marco is returning to and goes with our thanks and best wishes. He made a lot of sacrifices to me in England, and I will always be grateful to him for that.

    "Jack and Marco have helped us to achieve a successful season in my first campaign at Brighton and I wish both well for the future."

    Technical director David Weir added: "It's never an easy decision when people leave the club and I echo Fabian's sentiments.

    "Jack has been part of a very successful period for club, working under Graham Potter, Roberto de Zerbi and Fabian.

    "We thank both for their service, professionalism and hard work and wish them well for the future."

  • 'Two big-money sales the maximum Albion should consider'published at 12:57 3 June

    Scott McCarthy
    Fan writer

    Brighton fan's voice banner
    Karou Mitoma and Fabian HurzelerImage source, Getty Images

    The past two summers have been one of considerable change at the Amex.

    In 2024, Brighton signed nine players for £193m and appointed a new head coach. Yet 12 months earlier it was outgoings that dominated the Albion news cycle.

    The midfield pairing which had taken Brighton into the Europa League were sold, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister bringing in a cool £150m combined.

    Everyone knows the Albion have a model. Buy young players. Develop them into stars. Sell if a buying club offers more than Brighton value said player at.

    The model means any of Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro, Carlos Baleba, Bart Verbruggen and Jan Paul van Hecke could depart this summer, depending on who or what you believe.

    But there is a growing feeling among some Seagulls ers that the model might need to change slightly. And much of it comes from decision-makers at the club publicly describing 2024-25 as a transitional season.

    The implication is that a young squad and young manager will be better in 2025-26 for the experience gained in the campaign just finished.

    But if Brighton were then to sell off the family silver this summer, the risk is that 2025-26 becomes a transitional season again.

    Young and inexperienced replacements take over from Verbruggen in goal, Van Hecke in defence, Baleba in midfield and Mitoma out wide.

    Meanwhile, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea or whoever else benefit from the work the Albion put into developing those players in that transitional 2024-25 campaign.

    Mitoma seems most likely to go. He is 28 years old and deserves to achieve his long-stated dream of playing Champions League football. Pedro's off-field issues may also ease the way for his exit.

    Two big-money sales is arguably the maximum the Albion should consider.

    What cannot happen is selling in one summer the entire spine of a team who have shown they have the potential to challenge for the top five. No matter how good the money might look on a balance sheet.

    Otherwise, when does the transitional season end?

    Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

  • Ask our pundit - send in your questionspublished at 19:51 2 June

    BBC Sport columnist Nedum Onuoha

    BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has given us his insight and opinion every fortnight on your Premier League club throughout this season.

    But this week, he's in the hotseat for your questions.

    Maybe ask him who should be on your club's radar this summer, or where a rumoured target or new g might fit into the team.

    Perhaps see what he thinks about how successful a new recruit might be, who it is vital to keep, or what is needed to make next season a success.

    Send in your questions here and we'll put a selection to him

  • What can Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton spend this summer?published at 14:03 2 June

    Steve Sutcliffe
    BBC Sport journalist

    Graphic showing club's Premier League matchday revenues with Manchester United top and Bournemouth bottomImage source, Getty Images

    Bournemouth have the lowest matchday revenue in the Premier League, with a 11,379 capacity at the Vitality Stadium.

    Yet they have recruited shrewdly and the big-money sales of Dominic Solanke and Dean Huijsen during 2024-25 means they could easily part with £100m to bring in new gs.

    Brentford are among the best run businesses in the league and their approach of "spotting players that other clubs have not considered, such as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, is likely to pay further dividends as they are attracting attention from clubs with big budgets", said football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

    "The Bees have no PSR concerns and could spend up to £200m, but are unlikely to break the bank for the sake of it as this is not the way that owner Matthew Benham conducts affairs at the club."

    Meanwhile, another club on the south coast, Brighton, are also in rude health heading into the next transfer window.

    The Seagulls have earned £200m in profit over the previous two seasons and could repeat last summer's heavy spend of more than £200m if necessary.

    However, chief executive Paul Barber has already indicated they will more likely return to their tried and tested model of bringing in relatively unheard of players from unfamiliar markets.

    Brighton's biggest challenge is more likely to be keeping hold of the likes of Joao Pedro, Carlos Baleba and Kaoru Mitoma, who are all attracting iring glances from clubs with bigger budgets.

    Read more about the early transfer window and what each Premier League club can spend this summer

  • What if... the season came down to improvement?published at 11:40 2 June

    Graphic showing most improved teams from 2023-24 to 2024-25:

Pos Team                          23-24 24-25 PTS
1	Nottingham Forest	36	65	+29
2	Brentford	                39	56	+17
3	Brighton	                48	61	+13
4	Bournemouth	        48	56	+8
5	Fulham	                        47	54	+7
6	Chelsea	                        63	69	+6

    As the dust settles on the 2024-25 Premier League season, we have been taking a look at some of the alternative ways the the table could have finished...

    Many of us will have been there in school.

    It was not always about being the best, but about being better. Not trying to beat the others' scores or times, but about beating your own.

    In sport too, it is why personal bests exist. It is a way of measuring your own improvement against what has gone before - we can't all be Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner.

    So if the Premier League season was all about how you compared to the campaign before, who would have come out on top?

    Well, there is one clear winner.

    With 29 points more than they had in 2023-24, Nottingham Forest would have been lifting that trophy.

    They may not have finished the season quite as they hoped having spent so much time in the Champions League spots, but having narrowly avoided relegation a year ago, this shows the sheer scale of the improvement this term.

    Their nearest challenger on this basis would have been Brentford.

    With 56 points, they were three points short of their best ever Premier League tally, but having flirted with relegation last time out, it made for a more enjoyable season this time around.

    Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham may have just missed out on European adventures in the real league, but they are also teams who can be happy with the improvements they are showing as now well-established top-flight sides.

    And despite the chaotic nature of Chelsea since the new ownership came in, they too can look to steady progress.

    At the other end of the scale (or table), it is a very different picture.

    Many question whether the traditional 'big six' teams is still relevant, given how others have broken that mould in recent years.

    But if the season was based on improvement, four of those six would have been at the bottom.

    Tottenham dropped-off in the league nearly as much as Forest improved. Manchester City had a high bar to reach, but a torrid spell proved costly. Manchester United have set multiple unwanted club records, while Arsenal struggled to maintain a real challenge for the title.

    They say beware the wounded tiger, and it is hard to see all these sides having the same difficulties next season, but they will not have it all their own way with those teams that are on the up.

    *All data from Opta and only teams who were in the league in 2023-24

    Graphic showing least improved teams from 2023-24 to 2024-25:

Pos  Team       23-24 24-25 PTS
12	Wolves	        46	42	-4
13	West Ham	52	43	-9
14	Arsenal	        89	74	-15
15	Man Utd	60	42	-18
16	Man City	91	71	-20
17	Tottenham	66	38	-28