Celebrate and ridicule the worst of the 2024/25 Premier League including Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham
Every child is taught ‘if you can’t say anything nice, say nothing at all’, but sometimes that’s no fun and 3 Added Minutes has chosen to ignore that mantra and name and shame the worst of the Premier League in 2024/25.
So roll out the red carpet, seat Will Smith and Chris Rock on opposite sides of the audience and don your best tuxedo or evening gown as we reveal the worst players, managers, transfers, club performance and VAR decisions of the season.
Paul Jewell Award for Worst Manager of the Season
Nominees were made to work for The Paul this season with a bumper crop of contenders, but three clearly stood out as having stunk out Premier League dugouts the most in 2024/25:
3.Russell Martin (Southampton) - Julen Lopetegui receives a dishonourable mention but Martin’s commitment to his kamikaze playing style was too pitiful to leave out. What’s most surprising about Martin’s season is that Bayern Munich didn’t offer him a head coaching role after he was sacked.
2. Ivan Juric (Southampton) - When your biggest achievement is being better than Jewell himself, you know something’s gone badly wrong. And if you think we’re being too anti-Southampton under the influence of Big Portsmouth, consider that Martin was the joint-worst Premier League manager ever of over 10 games when he was sacked yet incredibly Southampton managed to find the one boss who could produce an even worse points per game ration.
1.Ruben Amorim (Manchester United) - Possibly the only coach in the world to be more destructively stubborn and steadfast than Ange Postecoglou, the way Amorim guided one of the biggest clubs in the world to 15th after a £117.64 million net spend in the summer meant Juric would’ve needed to somehow get the Saints relegated to League 1 this season to stand a chance of winning The Paul.
Danny Drinkwater Award for Biggest Transfer Flop of the Season
Rasmus Hojlund is seriously close to securing the naming rights in this category, as Manchester United and Chelsea continue their domination of The Danny. Indeed, a transfer between the two clubs made the shortlist in the form of Jadon Sancho, as Chelsea are prepared to pay 5m for him to play for Manchester United next season.
3. Niclas Fullkrug (West Ham) - It was a vintage season for West Ham’s black hole at striker as it sabotaged not one but two big name careers. Evan Ferguson went goalless in eight games but at least he was only on loan - Fullkrug cost the Hammers £27m after scoring 16, assisting 11 and starting in the Champions League final for Borussia Dortmund last season, yet netted just thrice this campaign amid injury trouble.
2. Joshua Zirkzee (Manchester United) - Manchester United decided signing a Serie A striker who averaged less than a goal contribution every two league games went so well with Hojlund that they decided to repeat the trick 12 months later. Zirkzee’s comparatively bargain fee of £36.5m prevents him featuring higher but four Premier League goals in 32 games is exactly the kind of underwhelming return on investment the The Danny is designed to reward.
1. Joao Felix (Chelsea) - Felix continues a long tradition of formerly world-class attackers who’ve failed miserably at Chelsea, taking the mantle from luminaries such as Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o, Radamel Falcao, Gonzalo Higuain and Andriy Shevchenko. So bad he was shipped out to AC Milan in January, Chelsea paid £46m for Felix to score one Premier League goal before that. And if the Blues sign Hugo Ekitike as their new number nine as expected this summer you can already pencil him for this award next season.
Manchester United Award for Biggest Under-Performing Club
One can only get so creative with these award titles and you know as well as we do that naming this award after four-time English champions Sheffield Wednesday or the nation’s only true Invincibles Preston North End wouldn’t have the same gravitas. Besides, the Owls actually had quite a good 2024/25 season, unlike:
3. West Ham United - Manchester City won a fierce fight to avoid the podium, as finishing third in the league isn’t really the pioneering underachievement we’re after even if they did go without a trophy. Judges were particularly depressed by West Ham’s complete inability to improve under two otherwise accomplished managers.
2.Tottenham Hotspur - With all due disrespect to the Hammers, this was a clear two-horse race. Spurs’ blue highlight sitting right above the red of the relegation zone will never not be funny in league table graphics - ending their trophy drought in their worst domestic campaign for half a century is just who they are, mate.
1. Manchester United - The Red Devils wrestle back their award from Chelsea in emphatic style. You thought the Glazers were bad? “Hold my crystal champagne flute” says Sir Jim Ratcliffe, before realising there’s no one to give it to except Mason Mount because he just fired Manchester United’s last minimum wage employee.
Ali Dia Award for Worst Player of the Season
As always with this category there were a number of candidates who would no doubt be top of Graeme Souness’ shopping list if he ever makes a return to management, but all were outshone (or out-darkened?) by:
3. Archie Gray (Tottenham) - Archie Gray is a supremely talented midfielder who could have a very bright future ahead of him in the Premier League and potentially beyond, having only recently turned 19. But Arche Gray is not, as this season has decisively taught us, a centre-back. In fairness, Postecoglou’s got to take a hefty share of the blame for this one.
2. Cameron Archer (Southampton) - Archer’s two Premier League transfer fees total £33m, while his pair of seasons in the top flight total six goals. Two-thirds of which came last campaign. And Archer could have the chance to complete a (we think) unprecedented hat-trick of successive relegations in 2025/26 with Leeds reportedly interested in signing the 23-year-old.
1. Conor Coady (Leicester City) - Coady decisively sticks it to whoever coined the phrase ‘nice guys finish last’... by… being named champion in a competition to find the Premier League player most similar to Ali Dia this season. That’ll show them.
Darren England Award for Worst VAR Decision of the Season
Next season could see a David Coote Award for the worst referee (or most catastrophic leak) of the season introduced, but for now we’re sticking with everyone’s favourite technological advancement and its most high-profile gaffes:
3. Joao Pedro elbow v Brentford - Joao Pedro didn’t make contact when he attempted to viciously elbow Yehor Yarmoliuk in the face, but it was still an outrageously violent reaction that should’ve earned him an early bath. Instead, Andy Madley didn’t even caution Pedro even after VAR got involved.
2. Dango Outtara ‘handball’ v Newcastle - VAR Time Robinson pulled off the impressive feat of making Coote not look like the member of the officiating team with the least integrity when he overruled Liverpool’s favourite referee to cancel out Outtara’s 93rd-minute winner against Newcastle for a handball, without even sending Coote to check the incident on the monitor. The problem was the ball wasn’t low enough on Outtara’s arm to count as handball, and PGMOL chief Howard Webb said it was the wrong decision to intervene.
1. Danny Ings penalty v Manchester United - Given extra gravitas as the decision that got Erik ten Hag sacked, VAR Michael Oliver intervened to instigate a review of a Matthijs de Ligt challenge on Ings that Coote had waved away, but then gave as a penalty. Jarrod Bowen dispatched the spot kick, Ten Hag was sacked, Webb said the Hammers shouldn’t have been given the penalty, Amorim was appointed as Ten Hag’s successor and then Amorim won our Paul Jewell Award for the Worst Manager of the Season. So at least we got a full-circle moment out of such a howler.
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