In truth, the more exciting battle in the season was the race to get into the league, with Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich eventually being those who got in ahead of a chasing swarm. This one may not have been an exciting vintage, but has nevertheless held moments of excitement, as all good football season should. With it now over, all the 20 teams that fought it out have some interesting stories to tell of their campaign, and will certainly be preparing to see how they can duke it out better next season.
Chelsea
Final Position: 1st (Champions)
Can they be happy with their season?: They most certainly can. Chelsea set out to get the title and swept to the top quickly, before easily holding on. No team came close to stopping Jose Mourinho from lifting the Premier League title, and they were also Capital One Cup winners. The team may've disappointed in the Champions League again, but they got what they wanted, and comfortably.
Star Players: Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were major successes in the opening half of the campaign as Chelsea assembled their advantage. Eden Hazard was also consistently impressive, while Thiabult Cortouis and Nemanja Matic were more unsung heroes.
Need To Improve: Its hard to find anyone specific that disappointed. Full-back Filipe Luis is perhaps the nearest, but with Cesar Azpilicueta proving an adept left-back, he didn't really play anyway. Loic Remy could also have played more, but scored a healthy total when he did, including vital winners against Hull and Stoke.
Best Moments: Most of Chelsea's season was fairly effortless, but they had plenty of delightful results along the way. Nevertheless, the sweetest moments for Blues fans will be the victories over Spurs and Crystal Palace respectively that confirmed their two trophies.
What's Next?: Chelsea will be happy enough to have won their first two trophies of the second Mourinho era. Now that is done, the goal is now to get some more shiny trinkets, with Roman Abrahmovic's dreams surely focused on bringing another Champions League title to Stamford Bridge. No doubt he will provide Mourinho a handsome treasure chest with which to do so.
Manchester City
Final Position: 2nd
Can they be happy with their season?: Not especially, although it could've been more disastrous. The Citizens finished eight points behind Chelsea in the end, with a fairly terrible start to 2015 ending their title hopes after they had managed to reel Chelsea in over the Christmas period. In truth, they could've done a lot better, but they ultimately showed more to get a runner-up spot, although its clear it will be a busy summer.
Star Players: Sergio Aguero ended the campaign as the Premier League's top scorer and among them, racked up some extremely impressive strikes. Its no secret that Manuel Pellegrini's team would've done better had Aguero not sustained injuries and a blank patch. Elsewhere, Joe Hart looked impressive, while David Silva had another nicely productive campaign.
Need To Improve: Yaya Toure received a pasting from pundits at various points in the campaign, but in truth, Man City were worse with him out of the team. The central player who disappointed was Vincent Kompany, who had an underwhelming campaign by his standards. Eliaquim Mangala did not look stable alongside him, although he did have his moments. Wilfried Bony also needs to start producing goals to justify his big money transfer.
Best Moments: The best performances were usually away, with a thumping 3-0 demolition of Southampton at St. Mary's arguably the team's best showing of the lot. Similarly resounding successes at Stoke and Sunderland were also achieved in a pleasing manner, while the biggest away day victory was at Roma to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League.
What's Next?: Whether or not Pellegrini remains will have to be determined quickly. After that, its most likely the management team will be engaged in a clear out, with the next step being attempts at challenges for further silverware. A Champions League campaign that goes beyond the round of 16 is a must.
Arsenal
Final Position: 3rd
Can they be happy with their season?: More happy than not. In truth, most of it is down the final months, with Arsenal's title challenge being effectively over by Bonfire Night and Monaco dumping the Gunners out of the Champions League. But the team's league form was more consistent than not, and a very proficient run to the end of the campaign saw them secure an automatic Champions League spot for the first team in three seasons, another FA Cup Final appearance, and a suggestion of a squad that can challenge next year.
Star Players: Alexis Sanchez was widely seen as a big capture when he moved from Barcelona in the summer, and the Chilean was a delightful star in his first campaign in the Premier League. Francis Coquelin proved a surprise key cog in the run-in despite failing to play regularly in a loan spell at Charlton, while Olivier Giroud delivered a very healthy goal total.
Need To Improve: Despite delivering a good goal total, Giroud's game still falters against bigger opposition, as proved following a horror show against Monaco, and the Frenchman needs more consistency. Wojeich Szczesny had an error-strewn campaign that was ended after his pain relief for gifting Southampton two goals was a cigarette in the showers afterwards.
Best Moments: For many, the catalyst for Arsenal's improved showing in the second half of the campaign was a deserved victory at Manchester City in the kind of game the Gunners have had a reputation for losing. Sandwiched by comprehensive wins over Stoke and Villa, it certainly helped, as did mauling Liverpool in a close attempt at getting payback on their defeat at Anfield last year. Edging out Manchester United and a sprited Reading to make the Cup final for a second successive year also helped.
What's Next?: The next step for Arsenal is making more of an impression in the Premier League title race and in the Champions League. A few further additions in key areas would certainly help - particularly up front, and perhaps between the goalposts.
Manchester United
Final Position: 4th
Can they be happy with their season?: A little, but not by much. The goal for Louis van Gaal's first season in the hot seat at Old Trafford was to right the wrongs of the failed Moyes experiment and restore a top four placing. After a ridiculous start that included a mauling by MK Dons and a defeat from 3-1 up at Leicester, the Red Devils put together some wins, but it took them quite a while to really look like a team with anything like the swashbuckling verve of old, and in truth, they never really looked like showing it over consistent stretches.
Star Players: David de Gea is pretty much single-handedly responsible for getting the Red Devils as many points as he did. The Spanish goalkeeper made some beautiful saves that helped the team gain a myriad of points, and its vital that van Gaal keeps him in England. Further forward, Wayne Rooney again lead the line well, while Marouane Fellaini and Ashley Young proved to be unexpectedly key cogs.
Need To Improve: Much was made of the troubles of Angel di Maria, who in truth didn't have that bad a campaign, but was perhaps expected more of given he cost a British transfer record. Saying that, he was of more use than Falcao, who cost a ridiculous fee for a loan and did barely anything, while Robin van Persie was also disappointing more often than not.
Best Moments: After being dismantled at home by Liverpool and Manchester City last season, it will have been of immeasurable satisfaction for Red Devils fans that they handed out some heavy beatings to these two rivals in this campaign. A pair of quickfire jammy victories away at Southampton and Arsenal where Manchester United were largely dominated also proved delights, not to mention vital in that top 4 chase.
What's Next?: For many, the rebuild was a two-step process, with the first being a return to the Champions League revenue streams, and then a title chase. For some, next year is seen as a year for the chase at the top, but the Red Devils need some key additions to stay close, not to mention keeping De Gea at the club. Holding onto a top 4 place is probably the starting point, although that's not to say a title chase is entirely beyond them.
Tottenham Hotspur
Final Position: 5th
Can they be happy with their season?: Not really. To some degree, fifth put a layer of gloss on another transition season at White Hart Lane. This is not to say that Mauricio Pochettino's first season at White Hart Lane was a disaster, and they will be relieved to avoid the dreaded Europa League qualifiers. But in truth, a top 4 challenge rarely looked likely, and some poor home form in the first half of the season did not help.
Star Players: "Harry Kane, he's one of our own", was the popular chant from the Spurs fans. He wrote himself into the club folklore with a brace on his first North London Derby start on his way to 21 Premier League goals, and lead the line in an unexpectedly impressive manner. Hugo Lloris also looked high quality in the goal and kept Spurs in several games, while Christian Eriksen and Nabil Bentaleb were key men in the midfield.
Need To Improve: Defensively, Spurs need reinforcements in the summer. Vlad Chiriches and Federico Fazio were particularly inept, Kyle Walker has had his progress stalled, while even the better Eric Dier and Jan Vertonghen have had moments of brain fades. Further forward, Erik Lamela and Andros Townsend require greater consistency next year.
Best Moments: The first half of the campaign saw Spurs become late-in-the-day specialists, with late winners at Villa, Hull, Swansea and Leicester picking up three points. But things looked to change after a tremendous result on New Year's Day at home to Chelsea, where Spurs came from behind to net five. A very impressive comeback win over Arsenal lead by Kane was a tremendous result.
What's Next?: Pochettino has already said that the goal of next year will be Champions League qualification. Whether or not they get it depends on keeping Kane in the goals and/or finding someone else to rack them up alongside him, while bringing in defenders that can do their jobs more consistently.
Liverpool
Final Position: 6th
Can they be happy with their season?: Not at all. Matching last season's 2nd place was always going to be a hard ask even before Luis Suarez left and Daniel Sturridge spent the majority of the campaign injured. But a poor first half of the season left them up against it for the entire campaign, amid serious rumours over Brendan Rodgers' future. An impressive winning run at the turn of the year left them in a decent spot, but defeats in the FA Cup semi-final and to top 4 rivals saw Steven Gerrard's final campaign at Anfield end on a whimper. An inexplicable thrashing by Stoke on the final day has certainly made Liverpool fans even more scathing on the way out.
Star Players: Phillipe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson were somewhat overlooked heroes during Liverpool's 2nd place run, but here, both were cornerstones for Liverpool, and provided the consistency that some of their more decorated contemporaries lacked. After being a public whipping boy in the opening half of the campaign, Simon Mignolet also delivered an improved second half of the season.
Need To Improve: Liverpool's attack was part of the reason their 2013/14 campaign sizzled. Equally, their attack was part of the reason why this one was a disappointment. Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli failed to convince they were anywhere near replacing the goals gone, while Raheem Sterling didn't always look comfortable in the myriad of positions he was asked to play, and faded badly amid a contract furore that quickly went sour.
Best Moments: A 3-0 victory over Spurs in August was a great result, albeit a false dawn of one. The start of 2015 was nevertheless an impressive one, with some high quality football and impressive victories picked up against the likes of Spurs, Southampton and Manchester City that had given themselves hope of the top 4.
What's Next?: Next season will be something of an unknown, with Gerrard gone, Sterling likely to also be gone, and Sturridge still looking for fitness. The goal nevertheless remains the same that it was 24 months ago - Champions League football. Whether or not Brendan Rodgers is overseeing that remains to be seen.
Southampton
Final Position: 7th
Can they be happy with their season?: Very much so. Doom mongers were out in pre-season for Southampton after the Saints sold £90million worth of talent. But while relegation fears as some suggested were always over-the-top, very few predicted their tremendous start, with the team spending the majority of the campaign in the top six. In truth, the team slowed down a little towards the end, but Ronald Koeman's first season in England was certainly excellent.
Star Players: Jose Fonte was a colossal presence in the centre of the Saints backline, and looked very strong in a defensive unit with Nathaniel Clyne, Toby Alderweireld and Ryan Bertrand. Despite fading badly after January, Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic have adjusted to England very nicely, while Morgan Schneiderlin shrugged off his early transfer wrangle to be a dominant midfield presence.
Need To Improve: The Saints squad was largely trimmed of fat and was filled with players giving their all. You could argue some of the less-often used defenders could've made a greater impression, but such was the form of those ahead that they couldn't. Maybe Eljero Elia could've done more after a bright start, but he will be an asset if his loan becomes permanent.
Best Moments: The memories will presumably last a lifetime of the eight goal mauling of Sunderland, which was the pinnacle of attacking class for most teams. A 6-1 win against Aston Villa to round off the home campaign was also delightful, while maiden away day triumphs of this century at Manchester United and Newcastle were achieved by impressive back-to-back away displays.
What's Next?: Its not entirely surprising that the Saints have been linked with another mass exodus. Koeman's goal is strengthening this collection and preparing for a tilt at continuing with the Saints' five years of flight up the football pyramid, which will most likely include requiring a new striker.
Swansea City
Final Position: 8th
Can they be happy with their season?: Indeed they can. This is Swansea's second highest league position in their history, as pre-season fears of a relegation fight were quickly eroded. In truth, the second half of the campaign was not as impressive, but a remodelled Swans team coped impressively well even after losing Wilfried Bony in a big money move, and they remain an asset to the division.
Star Players: Gylfi Sigurdsson's second spell in South Wales has been excellent, with the Icelandic attacking midfielder slotting in extremely nicely. Lukasz Fabianski has also stepped up very nicely after moving from North London in the summer, with the Polish keeper making some fantastic saves along the way, while Ki Sung Yeung has formed an excellent pairing with Jonjo Shelvey.
Need To Improve: The nearest you could argue is French striker Bafetimibi Gomis, who struggled during the first part of the campaign, but bagged a number of vital goals after top scorer Wilfried Bony joined Manchester City in January.
Best Moments: The big highlight for some is a first ever league double over Manchester United, with the Swans party-pooping van Gaal's arrival in style on the opening day and then doing as well at home. The South Welsh club also picked up 6 points from Arsenal, and also had a very pleasing style once more on their way to some impressive home results.
What's Next?: After getting along reasonably well, the big challenge is now replacing the goals of Bony in order to keep themselves in a high-riding fashion. Manager Garry Monk is expected to sign a new contract soon and wants to bring in five or six players as the Swans seek to continue their upwards trajectory.
Stoke City
Final Position: 9th
Can they be happy with their season?: Yes, even if it took a little bit to get going. Stoke started off surprisingly inconsistently, as they lost early home games to Aston Villa, Leicester and Burnley. Despite the blow of losing new attacking lynchpin Bojan to injury in January, Mark Hughes was able to galvanise runs that got the team a second top 10 position in a row.
Star Players: A re-modelled strike force of Mame Biriam Diouf and Bojan provided plenty of impressive and enterprising attacking play throughout the campaign, while loan signing Victor Moses also proved useful. But the biggest surprise was Charlie Adam, who belied his love-him-or-hate-him nature with some excellent displays and wonderful goals - not least his 65-odd yarder at Chelsea and a sumptuous volley against Sunderland.
Need To Improve: Considering how integral he had been, it was a surprise to see Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic give away some easy goals. The Bosnian was still a key presence, but his form wavered a bit more than previous seasons. Marko Arnautovic could also have contributed a few more strikes than his one Premier League goal in the entire campaign.
Best Moments: Stoke's seemingly annual home win over Arsenal was this time secured with an impressive attacking first half. But one of the big results was an excellent away display at Manchester City that saw them secure their first win of the campaign. There were also some delightful displays against QPR and Spurs as Stoke continued their attempts to divorce themselves of their long ball reputation. The icing on the cake was the final game, as Stoke demolished Liverpool.
What's Next?: The long game for Mark Hughes is trying to get Stoke towards the top seven or even an outside chance of a top 6 challenge. One aim is a new goalkeeper, amid rumours Asmir Begovic is a set to depart and concern over Jack Butland, while a long term successor to Peter Crouch in attack should also be sourced.
Crystal Palace
Final Position: 10th
Can they be happy with their season?: Very much so in the end. It could all have been so different. Tony Pulis' resignation on the eve of the first game was not a great start, and Neil Warnock struggled to get results before leaving just after Christmas. In came Alan Pardew, who immediately turned things around. The victories saw them zoom up the league, with Palace ultimately ending in their highest league placing since 1992.
Star Players: Goalkeeper Julian Speroni entered his 10th season at Palace and was once again responsible for keeping Palace in games with some excellent stops. A reformatted front group also worked wonders for Jason Puncheon and Yannick Bolasie, while Glenn Murray provided an unexpected impression up top in the home straight.
Need To Improve: Until Pardew arrived, goalscoring proved problematic. Marouane Chamakh's goal on the final day was his first league goal since August, Fraizer Campbell has stalled, Dwight Gayle has proved inconsistent and Yaya Sanogo has not impressed in his loan from Arsenal. Palace could use a new face or two up top.
Best Moments: Before Pardew arrived, the big highlight looked like being a deserved victory over Liverpool in early November. Palace continued to be a thorn in Liverpool's side by then winning at Anfield in Steven Gerrard's last game, and deservedly so with a very impressive performance. The biggest result was arguably coming from 2-0 down to win at Burnley in Pardew's third game, which hinted that the players and manager had got something in motion..
What's Next?: Some new faces to consolidate their presence in the top half will be sought, with Pardew presumably relishing freedom on transfers after being restrained at Newcastle. One, possibly two strikers are a must.
Everton
Final Position: 11th
Can they be happy with their season?: They won't. Even accounting for the Europa League adding extra games, Everton have gone backwards during the campaign and will finish in the bottom half for the first time in 9 years. Things could have been worse, with an error-prone defence leaking goals and giving them away at an alarming rate, and were it not for some late form, the Toffees could have found themselves in a relegation battle.
Star Players: The Toffees did have consistent performers in spite of their problems. Seamus Coleman had another impressive season his full-back bomber role, while Phil Jagielka and James McCarthy have the makings of a good spine. Aaron Lennon was also impressive, both for good showings in his loan spell and for his unimpressed look in his publicity photos after his signature.
Need To Improve: Romelu Lukaku is a curiosity. He did extremely well to get 20 goals and was his usual combative self, but for most of the season, his form was patchy, and he was dropped on a surprisingly regular basis for a club record signing. Tim Howard and Sylvain Distin underperformed, while Ross Barkley was also a surprise disappointment.
Best Moments: Phil Jagielka's thunderbolt at Liverpool in the final minute of the Merseyside Derby was a sumptuous strike that deserved greater recognition in the end of season goal awards. The best team performances came in the Europa League, with the Toffees thumping Bundesliga high fliers Wolfsburg home and away, and doing similar to Swiss side Young Boys - a result that meant Everton were the last English team standing in a disappointing European season for Premier League teams.
What's Next?: This was a very disappointing campaign and Roberto Martinez knows the most important part is adaptation. The Toffees need some strength in depth at the back, and perhaps a new partner for Jagielka, while some further reinforcements are required in the attacking quadrant.
West Ham United
Final Position: 12th
Can they be happy with their season?: The first half, yes, but the second half, no. Seemingly with a point to prove at the start of the campaign, West Ham begun extremely nicely, and were in the Champions League places by mid-December. But after that, the team bottled it. West Ham only won three league games after New Year' Day, and an FA Cup mauling by West Brom seemed to signal an end to Sam Allardyce long before his exodus was confirmed within five minutes of the final game of the Premier League season.
Star Players: Diafra Sakho had been a relatively unheralded arrival, but his early season form was magnificent, and 11 goals for his first campaign in England is a good haul. Full-backs Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Cresswell proved to be excellent signings, while Adrian was again very good between the posts.
Need To Improve: Kevin Nolan has been a whipping boy for Hammers fans for quite a while, but this season proved to be one where his inclusion was in spite of his merits. Andy Carroll again spent more time with the physio than with a ball, while Mauro Zarate proved to be a massive disappointment - both at Upton Park and at QPR, who tried to return him almost immediately after loaning him in.
Best Moments: The early form will be the most fondly remembered of this campaign, with impressive early successes over Liverpool and Manchester City among their most successful early conquests. The most comprehensive victory was over Hull City, although that masked a few cracks given the Hammers were booed off before the Tigers' second half disintegration.
What's Next?: The quickfire removal of Allardyce has set a mandate for change at the Hammers, with the replacement likely to start by jettisoning of Allardyce favourites like Nolan and Joey O'Brien. Beyond that, the Hammers have to avoid botching it and ending up in the Championship for their first season at the Olympic Stadium. The post-Allardyce record of his former Premier League clubs does not make comforting reading.
West Bromwich Albion
Final Position: 13th
Can they be happy with their season?: The second half of it, yes. WBA gambled by appointing Alan Irvine in the summer and letting him bring in 13 new players, but it was fairly quickly evident that he was not the man to keep them in the Premier League. Tony Pulis arrived on New Year's Day and despite taking some time to adjust, he was able to take the Baggies to convincing survival.
Star Players: Despite various quit threats, Saido Berahino proved key up front and bagged several key goals along the way. A new midfield pairing of Craig Gardner and Darren Fletcher proved to be very consistent after Fletcher's arrival in January, while Boaz Myhill proved to be an unsung hero when he stepped in for Ben Foster after the ex-England international's injuries.
Need To Improve: Defensively, WBA could use some tightening up, with left back seemingly an issue given their most consistent player in the position was winger Chris Brunt. £9million striker Brown Ideye also proved disappointing, even if he did chip in with vital goals against Burnley and Stoke shortly after Pulis' arrival.
Best Moments: The icing on the cake for the Baggies after securing survival was a 3-0 win over Chelsea. A 1-0 win at Old Trafford a few weeks earlier was also an impressive success story. Irvine's time by contrast peaked with double success over Spurs and Burnley, but while he did beat Aston Villa - something Pulis failed to do in two meetings - WBA showed more than enough to justify the change.
What's Next?: Uncertainty could be part of the scenario. Chairman Jeremy Peace wants to sell the club but has said he will stay if a buyer cannot be found quickly. Provided that's resolved quickly, the next step is strengthening the squad, and with it, attempts at better after consecutive seasons fighting the drop.
Leicester City
Final Position: 14th
Can they be happy with their season?: Ultimately, yes, albeit mainly the start and the end. Leicester had started quite brightly, but after the undeniable high of putting five past Manchester United, they tanked to the bottom and for the majority of the campaign, Leicester looked doomed. But after breaking a winless streak against West Ham, Leicester roared up the league, beating demotion rivals West Brom, Burnley and Newcastle on their way to safety.
Star Players: Esteban Cambiasso has proved to be magnificent in his debut Premier League season, who has bought some Champions League class to proceedings. Striker Jamie Vardy has proved a livewire, and proved particularly useful in the second half of the season, as demonstrated by his England call-up. Robert Huth and Marcin Wasilewski have also proved to be a secure defensive unit.
Need To Improve: In truth, most of the players have done what they needed to when they needed. But more could probably have been expected of some. Striker Andrej Kramaric has only scored two Premier League goals since a big money January move, while Anthony Knockeart has failed to adjust in the same way Riyad Mahrez has. Nigel Pearson's PR skills could also be bolstered a tad, although he won't care too much given he's achieved what he set out to at the start of the campaign.
Best Moments: For a long period, it looked like the 5-3 win over Manchester United in September would stand alone as a highlight. But the impressive run at the end provided a myriad of highlights - the late winner over West Ham, deserved wins over Swansea and Southampton, a thumping win over Newcastle - that Leicester fans will watch on the highlights DVD over and over again.
What's Next?: The goal for the first PL campaign in Leicester in ten years was survival and that has been achieved. The next step is strengthening and consolidation, although the Foxes have to avoid the second season syndrome trap that many have been recently fallen into.
Newcastle United
Final Position: 15th
Can they be happy with their season?: Certainly not. Newcastle's season started badly with no wins in the opening two months, and after the end of February, the bottom fell out of the club's world. One point from ten games is some of the worst form in the team's history, and John Carver proved incapable of being anywhere near replacing Alan Pardew. The Magpies did eventually do just enough to maintain their top flight status, but must do better.
Star Players: Ayoze Perez and Jack Coblack proved to be the best of Newcastle's summer overhaul, with the former proving impressive on his first campaign in England and the latter looking consistent - something his teammates lacked. Papiss Cisse also scored some vital goals, even if receiving 10 games in suspension for off the ball incidents was idiotic. The big cheers were also made for Jonas Gutierrez, after the Argentine came back following testicular cancer treatment and proved to be a key player in the home straight.
Need To Improve: Pretty much everyone else. From owner Mike Ashley underfunding the team, to director Lee Charnley looking woeful, to John Carver's appalling management, and into a large number of players looking disinterested, incapable or woeful, the club is in dire straits and requires large scale alteration in the summer.
Best Moments: If it was crazy at the time that Newcastle ended Chelsea's unbeaten start, it looks even more so now the season is done. But that was a deserved victory, even with Newcastle playing their third choice keeper. Victory at Manchester City in the Capital One Cup was also very impressive. But perhaps one of the big defining images will be a shirtless Jonas running around St. James' after his goal secured victory over West Ham and survival.
What's Next?: Root and branch reform is an absolute necessity. The club's structure has clearly failed everyone supporting it, and if Ashley stands any chance of bringing irritated fans back on side, fundamental changes in model have to be done. This include a new manager that is professionally capable and new players.
Sunderland
Final Position: 16th
Can they be happy with their season?: Not especially, but it could've been worse. Sunderland proved to be the draw specialists, with no other team coming near their 17 stalemates. But with victories proving elusive, the defeats threatened to be hammer blows, and while nothing matched the 8-0 humiliation at Southampton in terms of ineptitude, all looked lost after a humiliation at home to Aston Villa in March. That proved the end for Gus Poyet, but not for the Black Cats, as Dick Advocaat performed an impressive act of heroism to maintain their survival.
Star Players: The giant frame of Costel Pantilimon struggled to get ahead of Joe Hart at Manchester City, but proved to be an adept presence between the sticks for the North East side. Centre half Sebastian Coates has done well in a loan spell from Liverpool, while Lee Cattermole and Seb Larsson are a pair of quietly efficient and useful midfielders.
Need To Improve: Sunderland's attacking players have a consistency problem. Danny Graham only scored his first goal in the final month, Steven Fletcher remains frustrating, Connor Wickham hasn't followed through his late 2014 form, Jermaine Defoe didn't score as many as perhaps hoped - even if he got vital ones - and Will Buckley and Ricky Alvarez underwhelmed. The best attacker was Adam Johnson, who made more headlines for an off-field underage sex scandal than his football.
Best Moments: For many Black Cats supporters, a second successive pair of Tyne-Wear Derby triumphs is the highlight of the season, with Adam Johnson and Jermaine Defoe writing themselves into Sunderland folklore. This is particularly the case for the latter, whose winner was a goal of the season contender. A proficient sweeping aside of Southampton and impressive rearguard win at Everton also justified the Advocaat change.
What's Next?: It largely depends on the manager situation. Advocaat has confirmed his intentions to retire when he leaves Wearside, but is yet to confirm how far in the future that is. Players will be arriving regardless, but the philosophy will no doubt change if someone else is in the hotseat.
Aston Villa
Final Position: 17th
Can they be happy with their season?: Moreso than the position suggests. Villa looked doomed with Paul Lambert in the manager's seat, with a desperate surrender at Hull in February the nadir. Former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood was put in charge, and pulled off some significant results to keep Villa's heads above water, and even take them to their first FA Cup final since 2000. The less said about a mauling at Southampton and slump to defeat on the final day to end the league campaign, the better.
Star Players: Fabian Delph has proved a consistent powerhouse in claret and blue, and it will have been an immeasurable benefit that he chose to extend his contract. Sherwood was then able to coax performance out of Tom Cleverley as a strong midfield centre. Christian Benteke also improved following the change of management.
Need To Improve: Defensively, questions have to be answered about the Villains. Ron Vlaar is a strong presence, but various members of the back four all seemed to be going through their own inconsistent patches independent of others. Brad Guzan also had a fairly underwhelming campaign, with the veteran Shay Given looking like the better keeper after his recall.
Best Moments: Lambert peaked with a surprisingly impressive start that saw Villa win three of their opening four matches, including a deserved win at Liverpool, but for many Villa fans, a moment that saved them was showing him the door. Impressive free-flowing football shone against Everton, while Sherwood will be particularly happy to have returned to Spurs by leaving with a win. The FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool and a late winner against West Brom in the league would also have proved very satisfying.
What's Next?: Having begun off well enough, Sherwood has to try and prevent Villa's seemingly endless flirtation with the drop. To that end, Villa need a few extra quality players, particularly in defence.
Hull City
Final Position: 18th (relegated)
Can they be happy with their season?: Hell no. Hull begun the season optimistic and hopeful of big things, with pundits suggesting the Tigers for a top half challenge after a big spending summer. But in truth, Hull struggled with their revamp, and soon enough, they began sinking. Despite coming close to saving themselves a few times, the Tigers fell through the cracks in the end.
Star Players: Nikica Jelavic was Hull's top scorer and the Croatian was a lively presence when fit. Ahmed Elmohamady was also a lively presence, even despite a handball goal and a comic dive. David Meyler and Paul McShane were put in the team for the run-in, and put some of their more wealthy teammates to shame.
Need To Improve: Its too easy to criticise Hatem Ben Arfa, even if the loanee from Newcastle was a failure. But Hull had bigger problems as well as that. The physio room had problems given Hull had an improbably large injury list for most of the season. On the pitch, Abel Hernandez proved to be a waste of £10million, while Tom Huddlestone was pedestrian, and Jake Livermore was disappointing even before his ban for a positive drug test.
Best Moments: Hull fans thought they had it done when a twin success over Crystal Palace and Liverpool with less than a month to go seemed to have got them clear of danger. This was ultimately a false dawn, and not the only one in a campaign full of them for long-suffering Hull fans.
What's Next?: Hull have go down riddled with divisions, with owner Assem Allam's "Hull Tigers" re-brand plot still irritating them, along with the Tigers owner kicking community teams out of a sports facility by the stadium. When it comes to the team, Hull will be a different looking team by the time they wander onto the field for the opening day of next season, although Steve Bruce will be hopeful of trying again to get promoted.
Burnley
Final Position: 19th (relegated)
Can they be happy with their season?: Not particularly. But few people had Burnley down to survive and they did nicely enough to keep their fight alive for so long. The team was full of hard workers and graft, but ultimately, they did not score anything near enough to keep them in the Premier League.
Star Players: A hard-working front pair of Danny Ings and Ashley Barnes proved to be a lively presence, while Tom Heaton looked at home as a Premier League goalkeeper. But one of the big stars was George Boyd, who grabbed vital goals and looked excellent out wide.
Need To Improve: In truth, Burnley lacked options in attack. Ings and Barnes may have been lively, but they needed to score more, while the likes of Lukas Jutkewicz, Sam Vokes and Marvin Sordell didn't score a single Premier League goal.
Best Moments: Taking four points off champions Manchester City was an excellent memory, including the very nicely won victory over the Citizens in March. The team also provided some pleasant memories throughout, with impressive victory over Southampton an impressive day.
What's Next?: Burnley's net spend was very low and even despite the likely departure of Ings, the team should have a squad already capable of returning to the top flight. Whether or not Sean Dyche can keep them there is a tricky one, but instant promotion back to the Premier League is certainly the goal.
Queens Park Rangers
Final Position: 20th (relegated)
Can they be happy with their season?: No. This was an unmitigated disaster, with heroically terrible away from pre-Christmas and equally terrible home form after Harry Redknapp left in February. Chris Ramsey took the reigns but the QPR side never looked like staying out of the bottom 3 after slipping below the line of doom, and they cannot complain they're heading back to the second tier from whence they came.
Star Players: Two players can really come out of this debacle with credit. Charlie Austin bagged a very impressive 17 goals in his debut Premier League season, including some important victories in the early half of the season. At the other end, goalkeeper Robert Green pulled off some beautiful stops that bailed out his inept defensive unit.
Need To Improve: With the exception of those two and possibly Leroy Fer, Joey Barton and Matty Phillips, QPR have been abysmal. The purchasing strategy has left QPR filled with uninspiring heavily moneyed mercenaries yet again, and the Hoops need to shed as many of them as quickly as possible.
Best Moments: It looked for a brief moment like two exhilarating and well-earned victories against Leicester and West Brom would get QPR somewhere. Both games were impressively earned wins, and are perhaps as good as it got for the Hoops.
What's Next?: Provided the Football League don't fine them £50million+ as has been rumoured, whoever takes the reigns needs to desperately rebuild. But the Championship is an unforgiving league, with the likes of Fulham, Cardiff, Wigan, Blackpool and Wolves all recently finding it a struggle, and QPR have to be wary of avoiding a plummet.
With everything now done and dusted for the campaign, we now have a tournament-free summer to focus on what most football fans consider one of the fundamental parts of football supporting - rampant transfer speculation.
There's a full 75-odd days before everything starts back up again, with the FA Cup Final and the European finals the final things wrapping us all up before the summer, and then eventually going back into the groove of league football.
All we can do now is wait up for the next chapter to be written.
