TOP 5: Premier League's Underachieving Clubs (2016/2017)

Another Premier League season has come to an end. Teams such as Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Bournemouth have all impressed this season and can be satisfied with their efforts as they surpassed the targets they set for themselves at the start of the year.

However, proceedings have not gone quite as planned for several Premier League clubs. This can be highlighted by the eleven managerial casualties that have taken place since the start of the 2016/2017 season; showing that a plethora of clubs have underachieved this season.

In this article, the Football Addick lists the five Premier League clubs he thinks has underachieved this season...

5) Manchester City
5) Pep Guardiola has not been able to work his magic as his team finished in a disappointing 3rd place

Expectations were lofty for Manchester City this season. Firstly, they hired the manager that has achieved all there is to achieve in the game, all at the age of 45; Pep Guardiola.

They also bolstered their squad with several high-profile players, with John Stones, Leroy Sane, Nolito, Ilkay Gundogan and Claudio Bravo all arriving for large sums of money.

And it looked as if they would live up to expectations as they maintained a 100% record after six games. But it all went downhill rapidly, and it became apparent they would not be challenging for the title.

Despite spending £181 million on player fees, they could only finish 3rd in the league, whilst also recording disappointing performances both in domestic and European cup competitions. That is quite simply unacceptable for a team of Manchester City's stature.

4) Middlesborough
4) Middlesborough have been defensively solid, but atrocious in attack

 It has been a dismal season for Middlesborough upon their return to the Premier League, as a series of disappointing results ended in relegation back to the Championship.

The most disappointing part of Middlesborough's season is they spent big to try and remain in England's top division. In total, they spent £44 million on transfer fees, with Martin De Roon, Adama Traore, Rudy Gestede and Patrick Bamford all arriving for considerable sums.

But with the exception of Martin De Roon, the other summer signings have failed to add quality to the newly promoted side. They failed to break teams at down as they finished the season with the least goals scored with 27.

Despite a relatively strong defence, Middlesborough just failed to accumulate points. Over the course of the season they only won five times, picking up 28 points in the process. They ended up finishing 12 points adrift of safety.

3) Manchester United
3) Manchester United have had a poor season by their standards

Surprisingly, Manchester United finished the season having won three trophies. However, despite this silverware, they still had an extremely disappointing season given their lofty expectations.

Jose Mourinho broke the bank to try and restore Manchester United to their former glories, bringing in Paul Pogba for a fee of around £90 million, as well as spending large sums of money on Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly. They also acquired the services of one of the greatest forwards of his generation, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

But in the league, a series of draws derailed their title bid. These draws also destroyed their chances of finishing in the top four, as they ended the season in 6th; a whopping 24 points behind Chelsea.

Fortunately for United, they beat Ajax in the Europa League final to scrape qualification into the Champions League next season; but they were expected to achieve so much more.

2) Sunderland
2) David Moyes and Sunderland have had a nightmare of a season

Year after year Sunderland battle against relegation, and somehow always managed to defy the odds and stay up. Not this year.

David Moyes has endured a horror year at Sunderland. The Scot failed to add enough quality to a side in dire need of talent, and he paid the price as he lost his job at the end of the season.

Sunderland ended the season rock bottom, having accumulated 24 points over the course of their 38 games. They ended up 16 points away from safety.

Amazingly, it could have been even worse if it had not been for the heroics of Jermaine Defoe and Jordan Pickford; both of which are the only two men at Sunderland that emerge with any credit for their performances this season.

1) Arsenal
1) Alexis Sanchez has had a good season.... but the rest of the Arsenal team has not

Arsenal have hit an all-time low. They have endured many disappointing seasons over the course of the last decade, but this year has undoubtedly been the worst of the lot.

Prior to this season, Arsenal had finished in the top four for 20 consecutive seasons. However, after a tumultuous season where several 'Wenger Out' protests occurred, that streak was broken after a disappointing 5th place finish.

On the European front, there was yet again more disappointment as they were humbled by Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Even if they do beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday, regardless of the result it would not eradicate the anguish that many Arsenal's supporters feel about proceedings this season.

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