Premier League Review: Bottom 5

QPR - 20th (30 points)

QPR have never had much luck when it comes to England's top flight of football. They looked like a team ready for the top following their play-off win at the end of the previous season though.

They didn't get off to a winning start, but it didn't take them too long to get their first points on the board with their win against Sunderland. Their home form was good and they earned some good results there including a 2-2 draw against Manchester City.

The Christmas period wasn't exactly great for the team as they didn't pick up a single win. They didn't stop scoring goals though, mostly due to the brilliant form that Charlie Austin was in. He was in fine form throughout the season, and it was arguably him that kept the hopes of their Premier League survival alive.

In February, Harry Redknapp left the club due to health issues and was replaced by Chris Ramsey who greatly improved the team's terrible away form, at the cost of their home form it seemed. After a win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in early February, they went on a losing streak which ended in style with a big win against West Brom.

Consistency was a problem for QPR in the second half of the season which proved to be costly in their downfall, but if they can keep their key players over the summer, they'll have a solid foundation behind them as they try and fight their way back up.

Burnley - 19th (33 points)

Being one of the newly promoted teams, Burnley were predicted to be relegated almost instantly. Going into their first game against Chelsea, the team that many predicted would win the Premier League this season, people just didn't give them any chance. Even though they lost the game, the fact that they had scored the opening goal meant that fans saw that they could be a threat to their opposition. Sean Dyche's team worked hard on the pitch and it saw them get their rewards. At the end of August, Burnley held Manchester United to a goalless draw at Turf Moor and things really began to look up for them going into the international break.

Only, things didn't exactly go as expected. Following the draw with United, they went on a dismal run of eleven games without a win. A big problem for Burnley was the one in front of goal. They were without one half of the strike partnership that lifted them up the Championship table last season and it really showed.

Then in early November, they turned it around. At Turf Moor, they battled to a 1-0 victory against Hull City which gave them a lift. In the run-up to Christmas, Burnley managed to rack up some good results, and got Danny Ings back on top form in front of goal which gave them a big boost going into the New Year. These results included a brilliant comeback to earn a draw against Manchester City and a hard fought win against Southampton.

However, following this good run of form they just couldn't establish any consistency. Dyche stood by his team throughout, but they just didn't show up in a lot of games which caused them to drop many needless points. They regularly fell short in front of goal, and they finished off the campaign as they League's lowest scorers. Every so often, they managed to give their supporters some morale boosting wins over Manchester City and Hull City towards the very end of the season.

Despite that win over Hull in May, the results elsewhere during that weekend caused their relegation fate to be confirmed. Overall, it was a mixed season for Burnley, but with enough bright sparks to give them optimism when looking forward to the next season.

Hull City - 18th (35 points)

Many people had high hopes for Hull's season after their last one. They recorded one of their best points tallies and were narrowly beat in the FA Cup final by Arsenal; so they definitely showed a lot of promise. Steve Bruce also brought in some big names to the club that looked like they would help the team further improve on the season before.

This didn't go to plan though. Their record signing Abel Hernandez didn't police up to expectation in front of goal, Robert Snodgrass and Mo Diame suffered serious injuries that kept them out for big parts of the season and Jake Livermore tested positive for cocaine towards the end of the campaign. Loan signings Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaston Ramirez also didn't make the impact that Steve Bruce had hoped for.

Hull did get through their first Europa League qualifier in August but didn't make it to the group stages after falling just short. They started the season with a terrible run of only one win in 16 games. Although the team was playing well, they kept dropping needless points in games they possibly could have won. Due to this run of games, by Christmas they sat in the relegation places.

They did pick up two good wins over the Christmas period against Stoke and Everton though. However, just like Burnley, they couldn't find any consistency which let them down in the second half of the season. They did get a good result against Manchester City, a game they could have won if not for a last minute goal and they almost earned a draw against Chelsea if not for another late goal in that match. 

Against the big teams, Hull had a knack for putting in a big performance, but at the end of the season, this didn't happen. They suffered consecutive defeats to Arsenal, Burnley and Spurs in May which left them needing a win against Manchester United on the final day of the campaign. Their goalless draw, coupled with Newcastle's win, just wasn't enough to save them. 

Aston Villa - 17th (38 points)

Like many previous seasons, this one brought on a fresh relegation battle for Villa. Paul Lambert didn't get his team into a rhythm at the beginning of the season as he only racked up a few wins, including ones against Stoke, Hull and Liverpool. It didn't go too well though and in February, the club were still seeking a new manager.

Aston Villa was another team that didn't enjoy the Christmas period as they struggled to pick up three points overall, never mind in just one game. One thing that did prove to be a highlight in their season though was the FA Cup. 

Another bright spark in Villa's season was Tim Sherwood. Many of the fans didn't see him as their ideal replacement for Lambert, but they soon changed their minds. Within five days, he had led the team to two consecutive victories over rivals West Brom and that was only the start. 

Towards the latter end of the season, Sherwood led his team to victories against both Sunderland and Spurs which started moving Villa away from the danger of relegation and had the fans dreaming of a Wembley finish to the season as well as they progressed further in the competition. 

Their form remained consistent unlike the teams below them, but when those teams did find form, Sherwood's team kept their cool by picking up important points, including those from wins against West Ham and Everton.

One of their best results of the season came at Wembley when they faced Liverpool in the semi-final and knocked them out to the surprise of many people. Even though Christian Benteke had returned to form, the results after that went downhill, including a heavy 6-1 defeat to Southampton.

Although Villa were pulled back into the relegation battle towards the end, their survival was confirmed before the final day. Their form at the end of the campaign took its toll though and the crushing defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup final was one of the only downsides to the Sherwood reign.

Sunderland - 16th (38 points)
Gus Poyet came up with some magic at the end of last season to keep Sunderland in the Premier League. Even though they went the first six games without a win, they did earn 5 draws, including ones against Manchester United and Spurs, which suggested they were in for a better season than before. They did follow this with a win against Stoke to give them a further boost.

However, they couldn't follow this up. Humiliation followed in the shape of an 8-0 loss away to Southampton. They rallied back in terms of performance, but couldn't put together one that would win them the three points until their game against Crystal Palace. The one thing lacking from their season was consistency and Poyet just couldn't stabilise this. 

The best result during Poyet's tenure was the last gasp win against Newcastle through Adam Johnson's last minute goal. They weren't close to the drop at this point, but things soon took a turn for the worse. In the next 12 games, they only managed one win, which was against Burnley, and they were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Bradford. 

Poyet's last match in charge ended in a 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa. All of the goals were scored in the first half which sparked a mass exodus from the stadium. The club acted quickly in finding his replacement and installed Dick Advocaat when they were just one point above the relegation places.

His reign started with a defeat, but just like Poyet he gave the fans hope through a derby win. Although, again, just like Poyet, the game after that ended in a loss, so it looked as if Sunderland might be dragged into a last day relegation battle. This didn't happen though, as Advocaat turned things around and went on a five-game undefeated run which meant their survival was confirmed with one match to spare.

Premier League: Final Day

At the beginning of the season, whenever somebody reads down for the last matches of the season and sees a date like 'May 24th', it seems like it's a long time away. However, the season is one that goes quick, just like any other time period and it leaves fans and teams alike wondering where all the time went. It also marks the moment when teams can either celebrate or feel the weight of the world fall onto their shoulders. Just like any other last game, this is what it proved to be for so many people. 

Both Burnley and QPR had already been relegated prior to the final weekend, but both would want to go out with a good result that would give their moral a boost ahead of the awaiting Championship campaign. It seemed that since Burnley had been relegated, they felt a lot of pressure lift off them as their results improved, and the final day was another example of this. They faced Aston Villa away, and they faced a tough task as the home team looked completely different to the one they faced earlier in the season due to Tim Sherwood. It was their star man Danny Ings that created the headlines once again after his sixth minute goal gave Burnley the three points that ended their season on a high note. 

For QPR, the story couldn't have ended more tragically. The faced Leicester away from home and that would prove to be a big task as well. Everyone thought that Leicester would be the ones that would be panicking about the last result, but they somehow managed to claw themselves away from danger with relatively little struggle after laying at the bottom of the table for the majority of the season. Leicester certainly ended their season in style after turning 5 goals past Alex McCarthy in the QPR goal to heap the misery on the already relegated team. Charlie Austin did step up and give QPR a consolation goal though after Leicester's fourth, but that's all it proved to be in the end. 

The other two teams in danger of relegation going into the final match were Hull City and Newcastle. Hull needed a win to stand a chance of staying up and if this happened, Newcastle would need a win, but otherwise they would only need to match their result. Hull faced Manchester United at home and gave their all throughout the game. They did have the ball in the back of the net twice, but both were rightly ruled offside. They also looked like they had been handed a gift when Marouane Fellaini got sent off for a stomp on Paul McShane's leg not even 20 minutes after he was sent onto the pitch. The home team couldn't take advantage of this though, and the game ended as a draw, making them the third team to be relegated this season. 

Newcastle faced West Ham at home, which looked like it would be a tough fixture for them after the poor run of form that they have had in the latter end of the season. However, it was like a completely different team was sent onto the pitch on Sunday because Newcastle knew they needed a result to stay in the Premier League. Moussa Sissoko got them the first goal 10 minutes into the second half, but this was overshadowed by the second goal in so many ways. Jonas Gutierrez, who not so long ago didn't look like he would be playing football again for a while, stepped up and wrapped up the three points for Newcastle in what could potentially have been his last game for Newcastle. This was the result that confirmed Hull's relegation, as it took them out of reach. However, West Ham did receive some good news in the shape of Europa League qualifiers due to finishing top of the Fair Play league. 

Then, there was the shock result of the day. Steven Gerrard had already said his farewell to Anfield the previous week, but this was the game that marked his last as a Premier League player. They faced a Stoke team that a lot of fans would expect them to beat to give Gerrard a send off very different to his one at the Liverpool stadium. It just wasn't meant to be though. Stoke held nothing back as they hit Liverpool for 6, 5 of which came in the first half alone. Gerrard was the player that brought one back for Liverpool to reduce the deficit slightly. Peter Crouch then came onto the pitch and made sure that his old team didn't have the last say in the game, marking a devastating end for the Liverpool captain. 

Although everything at the top of the table had been decided, Chelsea rounded of their winning season in style. Although, Sunderland did take the lead and give the champions a scare, their top players were once again on hand to rack up the three points expected of them. Manchester City also cruised to a 2-0 over Southampton, which included a goal for Sergio Aguero who won the golden boot for the 14/15 season. Joe Hart was also among the awards as he kept his 14th clean sheet of the season to win his 4th golden glove. Arsenal and Theo Walcott in particular shone in a 4-1 over West Brom to allow the top three to show their strength one last time before they sign out for the summer.