Why this unique Premier League season is worth remembering from start to finish

The 2019/20 Premier League season won’t be forgotten in a hurry will it?

In terms of quality has it been the very best? Probably not. But it’s easy to forget as you watch them now just how good Liverpool were for the first six months of the season. Look through their results and it’s a constant stream of W’s.

They didn’t score as big, as often, as they did last season, but there was a clear sense from the outset that they were unlikely to lose many games. Their incredible dominance this season – four points dropped when play was suspended in March - might not be seen again for some time.

Enough has been said about City’s struggles and the issues surrounding the teams challenging for the title, but Leicester are worth a quick note. Even though they have collapsed in some style since the restart, there was a time when they won eight in a row - Jamie Vardy scoring in all eight – and were seen as perhaps the closest rivals to Liverpool. Before they were thumped 4-0 by the leaders on Boxing Day. So credit to them.

And also to Wolves, who have again performed spectacularly with a small first-team squad, and Sheffield United, who have been a very welcome addition to the Premier League, and Burnley, who are still punching way above their weight.

Of course, all the above might have been forgotten if the season hadn’t finished.

There were times over the last few months when it looked like it might not.

When the season was first suspended in early March, it was until April 3 as a minimum. Then April 30. Some players spoke out about returning, such as Danny Rose, who said they were being treated like “guinea pigs or lab rats”. Some fans relished in the idea of the season being declared ‘null and void’ and Liverpool not being crowned champions, especially when Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie were declared over.

To go over all the ‘how does football return’ ideas suggested during the suspension would be exhausting, but remember to be thankful the season wasn’t completed in Australia (?!).

So who deserves credit? Frankly everyone who has been involved in it.

There were some fears raised when the first round of testing produced six positive results, but in the two months since – as the amount of tests have more than doubled - there have only been 14 more positive results.

Since the resumption there hasn’t been any negativity from any players or managers, despite the packed schedule, and everything has gone as smoothly as could have been hoped.

There has also been Marcus Rashford’s off-pitch efforts to force the government into a U-turn on free school meals and the league’s coordinated stance against racism - who would have thought that when football did resume it would do so with Black Lives Matter across the back of every players' shirt and teams all kneeling before games?

The big negative? No, it's not Norwich's woeful defence or some of Tottenham's dour displays as of late; it's VAR.

If it was supposed to spell the end of controversy and managers moaning at officials, it has done exactly the opposite. Just in the last few weeks there have been several highly debatable calls, including but not limited to a disallowed goal which Jamie Redknapp called "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen”, and a failure to implement VAR when the goal-line technology couldn’t function properly.

Unfortunately, while water breaks and elbow bumps will hopefully soon be ditched, VAR looks as though it is here to stay. It’s clear – at least it should be - that the rules are in need of a major review though.

Anyway, back to the football, which admittedly hasn’t been of top-notch standard since the restart.

In the first week there was a pre-season feel to some games – not helped by the lack of atmosphere in the stands - and overall it’s been so non-stop that it’s hard to pick out many memorable matches.

The twists and turns in the top-four race and relegation battle have kept things interesting, particularly in the last few rounds, but it hasn’t quite been the “festival of football” that Gary Neville suggested it might be in March when he said teams could “play every day for nine days” if needed.

Still, does that matter? The season has been completed in a fair and satisfactory manner. No null and void. No points-per-game method. Surely that was the ultimate aim considering where we were a few months ago.

So well done all involved. Now to start planning for next season…