Interviews for a new independent chair are set to start after the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) finalised a shortlist of candidates.

The WRU says there are more than 300 candidates for the chair, two further independent non-executive roles and the vacant chief executive (CEO) post.

The new chair is expected to be announced before the end of the summer.

"The new chair is the keystone appointment, everything will follow from this moment, but the general calibre of applicant in all areas has been outstanding," said people director Lydia Stirling, who joined the WRU in September 2021 having held previous senior human resources roles at Arup and McLaren Racing.

There is no current shortlist for the CEO position, as the new chair will play an integral role in this appointment process.

The changes follow in the wake of a catalogue of damaging allegations that saw Steve Phillips resign as chief executive last January.

His interim replacement, Nigel Walker, was forced to appear before a Senedd hearing following a BBC Wales Investigates programme that provided allegations of sexism and misogyny within Welsh rugby's governing body.

The WRU is attempting to redress the gender imbalance, with an ambition that at least five of the 12 board members are women, including one of the top two jobs - the chief executive or chair.

"We have a fine shortlist for the chair position, we are in advanced stages in the recruitment process for CEO to the extent we will be able to pass over an impressive long-list of names to our new chair on appointment and, in total, more than 300 high calibre candidates are on our radar for our vacant positions," Stirling added.

"The whole recruitment process has met the expectations raised by the seismic decision our member clubs took to modernise our governance in March.

"Our new chair will naturally be from a different mould.

"We know, from our shortlist, we will gain a chair from a professional background. Someone who has held a prestigious executive position, from one of our senior institutions in the UK or perhaps from a major blue chip company, but all candidates are united by one thing; a passion and connection to Welsh rugby."

Stirling also revealed that the board position, which will carry specific responsibility for the women's and girls' game in Wales, has more than 80 candidates.

The WRU passed a special resolution in March to allow the appointment of the new independent chair and recruit a two further new independent non-executive directors (INED) to its 12-person board, doubling the total number of INEDs to six.

In the new configuration, four board members will still come from the WRU Council which is entirely elected by member clubs, one of whom will be the community game board's chair.

The remaining two spots on the board will be filled by the WRU chief executive and a new director role for someone who can support and further the women's game.

Rhys Webb has become the third Wales veteran to announce his international retirement before the 2023 World Cup.

He has joined fellow Ospreys Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric in ending his international career.

"An opportunity to play abroad" amid Welsh rugby's "difficulties" influenced Webb's decision.

After being overlooked by Wayne Pivac, Wales coach Warren Gatland recalled Webb for the 2023 Six Nations and named him in the nation's extended World Cup training squad.

Since then Jones, 37. and Tipuric, 33, opted out of any international future.

Webb wrote: "Having the opportunity to play for Wales again recently has been a huge honour and I am proud to have been named as part of the World Cup training squad.

"However, whilst I would have relished the chance to end my career playing for a Welsh region, the present uncertainty and difficulties in Welsh rugby, meant there was little opportunity for a contract that offered security for the coming years, as I see out my professional career.

"As such, when an opportunity to play abroad arose during the off season, enabling me to provide greater career security for myself and my family, I decided to accept the offer.

"I feel that after achieving my goal of returning to the Wales set-up, it is the right time now for me to step away from international rugby and just enjoy my last few years as a professional rugby player.

"I'd like to thank the Ospreys for continuing to believe in me, even when my omission from the Welsh squad sometimes had me doubting my own ability and Warren, for giving me a chance to pull the famous red jersey on once again."

More to follow

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia -- Michael Simpson stopped 26 shots, Tucker Robertson, J.R. Avon, Avery Hayes and Connor Lockhart scored and the Peterborough Petes avoided elimination in the Memorial Cup, beating the Quebec Remparts 4-2 on Tuesday night.

The Ontario Hockey League champion Petes (1-2) will play Thursday night against the loser of the game Wednesday night between the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds (1-1) and host Kamloops Blazers (1-1).

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Remparts (2-1), with Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy stepping aside as coach after the tournament, were already guaranteed a berth Sunday in the championship game.

James Malatesta and Nathan Gaucher scored for Quebec.

Roy is seeking his second Memorial Cup after leading the Remparts to the 2006 title in Moncton, New Brunswick. Also Quebec's general manager, Roy is turning over the coaching duties to fellow former NHL player Simon Gagne.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Earlier this month, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan appeared to offer the final voice on the debate about whether the designated events will have cuts starting next season.

“Our preference on where we are at this point is that all those events, the designated events, would be no-cut events. But we're in the middle of figuring all this out, so you've got to consider all that input,” Monahan said.

That input has largely built on the side of the three player-hosted invitationals – the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial – having cuts.

“I've gone back and forth on this issue. I was an advocate for no cut and the more time has gone by I've become an advocate for a cut,” Jon Rahm said Tuesday at the Memorial. “It's a part of the game, and I think it's an important part of the game, as harsh as it may be to cut out maybe only 20 players. You earn your way into the weekend, and then you earn that win. It's a part I enjoy and I experienced recently at the PGA.”

The 16 designated events next year include the four majors, The Players Championship – which will remain full-field tournaments with cuts – as well as the three playoff events. The remaining eight events will feature 70-to-80 player fields and, as of right now, no cut.

“No offense to the best players in the world, but nobody wants to watch you shoot 80 on Sunday if they’re playing like crap,” Brandt Snedeker said. “The Tour has always been set up for meritocracy, you keep what you earn and you need to play well on Thursday and Friday to make the cut. If it’s me and I’m playing like crap, I don’t want to go and finish dead last on Sunday, and I don’t think anybody wants to watch it.”

The Tour’s push for no cuts at the designated events did receive a boost Tuesday at Muirfield Village when tournament host Jack Nicklaus appeared to reverse his previous thoughts on not having a cut at the Memorial.

“I liked the cut before because we felt like having guys play all day was nice to have on the golf course, giving some young [players] an opportunity to play that might not otherwise get a chance to play,” Nicklaus said. “But as I said, there's two sides to that coin, and I think I'm going to leave that to people that are certainly a lot smarter than I am, which would be [Monahan] and those guys.”

At the Masters, when he was asked about his event, the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods was a proponent of keeping a cut.

“There's still some ongoing discussions about some of the designated events and whether or not we're going to have cuts going forward,” Woods said. “I certainly am pushing for my event to have a cut.”

Ludvig Aberg is heading to the PGA Tour with a lot of hardware in tow.

The Texas Tech star, who finished first in PGA Tour University on Monday, was announced as both the Haskins and Nicklaus award winner on Tuesday. In addition to earning the Hogan Award last week, he becomes just the sixth player ever to sweep the three honors in one season.

He joins John Pak (2021, Florida State), Sahith Theegala (Pepperdine, 2020), Patrick Rodgers (Stanford, 2014), Ryan Moore (UNLV), Bill Haas (Wake Forest) and Hunter Mahan (2003, Oklahoma State) as the only players to accomplish the feat.

With his PGA Tour U win, Aberg earned full status on Tour for the rest of 2023 and 2024.

All three awards are presented to the nation’s best male golfer that season, so you could say, by all accounts, the current No. 1 amateur in the world is truly the best of the best in the NCAA, even if he fell short of the individual title.

Aberg will make his first start as a professional next week at the RBC Canadian Open. It marks the first time a player has gone directly from college to a full PGA Tour card, thanks to the PGA Tour U initiative.

The Swede won four times in 2022-23, including back-to-back victories at the Big 12 Championships and the Norman Regional.

Aberg also won the Ben Hogan Award in 2022.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ricky Castillo birdied the third extra hole to beat Brett Roberts and give Florida a 3-2 victory over Florida State in the NCAA semifinals Tuesday at Grayhawk.

National co-runner-up Ross Steelman two-putted for par to beat Peter Fountain, 1 up, giving Georgia Tech a 3-2 victory over top-seeded North Carolina in the other semifinal. The Yellow Jackets will play for their first national championship Wednesday.

Castillo rallied from 2 down with three holes to go with birdies on 16 and 17. Neither player could get up and down for par on No. 18, sending the match to extra holes.

After trading three pars, Roberts missed a birdie putt on the par-4 10th hole. Putting on the same line, Castillo rolled his in, pumping his fist as the Gators rushed onto the green in celebration.

It didn't look good for the Gators for a while.

Florida State won the first two matches, starting with freshman Jack Bigham's 6-and-5 win over Yuxin Lin. Frederik Kjettrup followed with a 3-and-1 decision over Matthew Kress.

Florida tied it when NCAA individual champion Fred Biondi birdied the par-4 17th to beat Cole Anderson, 1 up. Then John DuBois beat Luke Clanton, 1 up, with a par on No. 18.

Castillo, a senior with three career wins, caught Roberts down the stretch with two birdies and made the final one to cap a day that started with an early morning 3-2 win over Virginia in the quarterfinals.

The final match went down to the wire as well.

Georgia Tech needed extra holes to secure its quarterfinal match against Pepperdine in the morning, moving on when Hiroshi Tai birdied the 19th hole against Roberto Nieves.

North Carolina got the early lead in the semifinals when Dylan Menante won six straight holes, starting at No. 6 to beat Christo Lamprecht, 6 and 5.

Georgia Tech’s Bartley Forrester beat Ryan Burnett, 4 and 2. Connor Howe followed with a 4-and-2 win over Austin Greaser.

David Ford then closed out Tai, 1 up, with a par on 18 to pull North Carolina into a tie at 2-all.

That left it up to Steelman.

The senior had a three-shot lead through 15 holes Monday in the individual finale but closed with three straight bogeys to end up a shot behind Biondi.

He finished it off this time.

Leading 1 up, Steelman dropped in a birdie on 17, but Fountain matched him with a birdie putt that rolled around the lip before dropping. Fountain had to lay up after hitting into a fairway bunker and Steelman hit it to the middle of the green.

Fountain conceded the winning putt after Steelman rolled it up to about a foot.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As soon as Florida State junior Brett Roberts asked Florida senior Ricky Castillo to move his mark, Gators head coach J.C. Deacon knew that Roberts likely had to make it.

Roberts was facing 20 feet for birdie on Grayhawk’s par-4 10^th hole, the third extra hole in what had suddenly become the deciding match in Tuesday afternoon’s NCAA Championship semifinal between the two in-state rivals. Castillo, meanwhile, was a few feet inside of his opponent, and on the same line. If Roberts missed, Castillo, one of the most clutch putters in the country, would get a great teach.

After Roberts’ putt slid by low, Castillo re-marked and, on cue, drained his.

“I’ve played this course a lot,” Castillo said, “and I know that putt breaks a lot more than people think. Whatever I thought, I put a little bit extra on it, about 5 feet high, just so I could have it die in there, and as soon as I hit it, I knew it was on a really good line.”

Before the clinching putt even got to the hole, Castillo loaded up his right arm. And when it fell, Castillo unleashed the powerful fist pump while letting out a huge roar.

“A dagger fist pump from ol’ Rick!” Deacon followed, screaming aloud as he and the rest of the Gators mobbed their hero, who had just sent Florida, in match play for the first time at nationals, to its first NCAA Championship final, where the Gators will meet Georgia Tech, a 3-2 winner over top-seeded North Carolina.

“I've known all these guys for years, and we've played together a long time,” Castillo said. “And, you know, when they're counting on you, and you can deliver, it's a pretty special feeling. There’s nothing like it honestly.”

Deacon has known Castillo since Castillo was 11 years old, when Deacon was an assistant at UNLV and recruiting Castillo’s older brother, Derek. There was something special, though, about the younger Castillo bro, and even to this day, Deacon can’t fully explain the complexity of it.

“He's got a special gift,” Deacon said. “I got to walk those playoff holes with him, and that’s just his element, that's where he wants to be. It's where he feels comfortable, and it's where he thrives.

“And he's just got an answer for every situation.”

Especially in match play. Castillo’s record in the format is remarkable. Not only is he now 8-3-1 in college match play, including 2-0 this week, but he’s also shined countless times at the most prestigious match-play championships. He's made the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur three times. He’s won three matches at two different U.S. Juniors. At the grueling Western Amateur, he’s qualified for the 16-man match play four times, reaching two semifinals. And at the 2021 Walker Cup, Castillo went a perfect 4-0.

So, with his Gators' team – though talented with NCAA individual champion Fred Biondi and two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur winner Yuxin Lin also in the lineup – in uncharted territory at nationals, Deacon leaned on Castillo in the anchor spot.

It helped even more that Castillo teed off in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals opposite Virginia’s Ben James, the likely national freshman of the year, with an extra edge. Castillo closed Monday’s final round of stroke play with a costly bogey on Grayhawk’s par-4 finishing hole that not only dropped him out of the top 10 individually but also kept him from improving two more spots in PGA Tour University, to No. 7, which would’ve probably been enough to get him into every Korn Ferry Tour event this summer.

“To be honest, I think that worked in the team’s favor because it pissed Ricky off,” Deacon said. “He didn't say much last night, and he didn't say anything this morning. And when Ricky gets that look in his eye, get out of his way.”

Added Castillo: “I was disappointed for a while, but I just knew that my team is out here counting on me.”

After trouncing James, 4 and 3, in a 3-2 Gators’ win over the Cavaliers, Castillo again back-ended Deacon's lineup for the semis. But Florida State put two points on the board – an easy one with Jack Bigham’s 6-and-5 rout of Lin, and another after Frederik Kjettrup topped Matthew Kress, 3 and 1 – and Castillo suddenly found himself the potential victim of a clinching point, 2 down with three holes to play.

Castillo, though, didn’t quit. Despite finding the front-right bunker at the par-3 16^th hole, he got up and down to save par and win the hole. Then at the drivable par-4 17^th hole, Castillo hit what Deacon described as the “prettiest 3-wood that you’ve ever seen,” a tight draw that hit the green, ran up the slope, used the fringe to kill some speed and finished 15 feet away. A cozy first putt tied the match. But with all the momentum, Castillo spun a drive well right and into the rough, just over the bunker, with some 210 yards left, over water and with a stiff wind at his back.

Deacon considers Castillo world-class in making flush contact from even the worst of lies. As a kid, Castillo would often finish several hours before his brother at tournaments around his hometown of Yorba Linda, California, and as he waited, he’d head to the practice area and see if he could scramble from seemingly impossible spots – bushes, rocks, behind buildings.

So, this lie on Tuesday, it was nothing Castillo hadn’t seen before. And with an 8-iron, he made a steep strike, drew clean contact, and left himself a 15-yard chip from just off the back of the green. Roberts, meanwhile, found the left bunker with his approach. Both would bogey to extend the match. Two straight par-tying holes would follow, at No. 10 and again at No. 18, where Castillo hit another deft approach, this time finding the green from the right fairway bunker, before Castillo finally put away Roberts with birdie on the 21^st hole in what he described as probably his greatest match-play achievement.

“I would put this above the Walker Cup,” Castillo said.

With Castillo in the anchor position for a third time in Wednesday’s final against the Yellow Jackets, that means he’ll face a back-end star that might not have all the credentials of Castillo but who has played better than the Gators’ standout so far this week. Georgia Tech senior Ross Steelman nearly won the NCAA individual competition before finishing runner-up. He then rolled through Castillo’s Walker Cup teammate, Pepperdine’s William Mouw, in the quarters, 5 and 4, and dispatched North Carolina’s Peter Fountain, 1 up, later in the day for a deciding point of his own.

Prior to this spring’s ACC Championship, the Yellow Jackets got together to decide who would anchor should they make match play. Steelman, in his second season with the squad after transferring from Missouri, won the vote unanimously, and he embraced that role to earn winning points in both the semifinals and final that week in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

“He’s tough as nails, and he really believes in himself,” Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler said. “But I don’t know that he’d really been on a lot of successful teams, so he was always like, what’s coach talking about with this team stuff? … And all a sudden, they hand him that ACC Championship trophy, and you can ask him, it was like the light went off; this is the coolest thing ever, I won something with people that I live with, that I eat with, that I work out with and do all this stuff with, and so for him, it was like, wow.”

Steelman usually chooses to ride with assistant Devin Stanton at tournaments because he doesn’t like listening to country music, which is what’s often playing in Heppler’s vehicle. But when the team landed at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport the morning after ACCs, Steelman and Heppler were the last ones to finish some interviews, so Steelman had no choice but for Heppler to take him back to campus.

“I remember he’s sitting in the front seat, and he has the trophy in his lap, and he goes, ‘Coach, when do I need to bring this back?’” Heppler said. “I said anytime you want, so we had a student-athlete dinner that night with the whole department, and guess who’s the dude walking in with the trophy over his head?”

Yes, that would be Steelman, Georgia Tech’s anchor man.

“Whenever a little bit of nerves creep in,” Steelman said, “it’s a nice reassuring factor to think about, hey, my guys wanted me on this spot.”

And with an NCAA title on the line this time, Steelman still isn't losing any votes.

Neither is Castillo, Florida's answer man.

The LA Galaxy have fired president Chris Klein amid a turbulent season that has seen fan protests and the team languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference.

Klein was in his 11th season with the Galaxy but his continued presence had been a source of fan unrest throughout much of this season. The former Galaxy player and U.S. international sent an email to supporters last month stating that he would step down if the team failed to make the MLS playoffs this season.

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However, the club announced Tuesday that he will now leave with immediate effect.

"As a Club we have not achieved our goals or met the standard that we have established for the LA Galaxy," Dan Beckerman, president and CEO of Galaxy parent company AEG said.

"We believe it is in the best interest of the Club to make a change and begin a comprehensive process to seek new leadership that will return the Club to the level that our fans and partners expect. We are thankful to Chris for his years of dedication and commitment to the LA Galaxy as both a player and an executive."

Added Klein: "I'd like to thank Phil Anschutz and Dan Beckerman for the opportunity to serve as president for the LA Galaxy for the past 11 years. My family and I love this club and I'm grateful to have spent 16 years with this organization as a player and an executive. Thank you to our supporters, partners, players, coaches, and staff for all of the passion, dedication and hard work."

Head coach and sporting director Greg Vanney will continue to lead all soccer operations and will now report directly to Beckerman, the Galaxy said.

Last December, Klein was suspended and the team fined $1 million by Major League Soccer for undisclosed payments involving Argentine winger Cristian Pavon in 2019.

MLS also stripped the team of $1 million in future general allocation money and said the Galaxy will not be allowed to acquire players coming to MLS internationally during this summer's transfer window.

Klein was the target this year of several Galaxy fan organizations infuriated by the team's miserable recent seasons and its inability to return to contention despite one of MLS' biggest payrolls. The fan groups threatened to boycott the team if Klein stayed in charge, and they followed through on the threat to varying degrees in recent months.

The record five-time MLS Cup winner has failed to make the MLS playoffs in four of the past six seasons. After 14 games this season, the Galaxy have the worst record in MLS with just nine points.

Also on Tuesday, it was revealed that a Brazilian court is seeking the arrest of LA Galaxy winger Douglas Costa for failing to pay for child support.

An attorney for the former Brazil international said on Tuesday in a statement that he trusts the decision by a judge in the city of Porto Alegre will be reversed.

Details of the case are sealed.

The 32-year-old Costa cannot be arrested outside Brazil, according to the court's ruling, which was issued on Friday.

Costa has played for Brazil, Bayern Munich and Juventus. He signed a deal with the Galaxy in February 2022, and it runs to December.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Manchester United's preparations for the FA Cup final have been hit by an injury to Anthony Martial.

The Frenchman has been ruled out of Saturday's clash with Manchester City at Wembley after suffering a hamstring injury during the 2-1 win over Fulham.

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Martial came on as a second-half substitute at Old Trafford on Sunday, playing the last 23 minutes.

After reporting the injury after the game, assessments done by United medical staff on Monday and Tuesday revealed a muscle tear and the 27-year-old will now not be part of Erik ten Hag's squad against City.

A statement issued by the club on Tuesday read: "Anthony Martial is out of Saturday's Emirates FA Cup final against Manchester City due to injury.

"The France international strained his hamstring towards the end of Sunday's 2-1 win against Fulham at Old Trafford.

"Assessments have since revealed a muscle tear that rules the 27-year-old out of the Wembley showdown."

Martial has struggled with injury all season and has been restricted to 29 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals.

His latest injury will raise further doubts about his long-term future at Old Trafford, particularly with Ten Hag prioritising a new striker in the summer transfer window.

Martial's absence will further reduce United's options ahead of the cup final with Lisandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek and Marcel Sabitzer already missing.

However, there is hope that Brazilian winger Antony will be fit despite being stretchered off during the 4-1 win over Chelsea last week. Antony's ankle injury is not as serious as first thought and he could be available to face City.

How do you gauge the success of a season? Looking at the final table is factual, but can be a little deceptive, so how about measuring preseason hopes against what was delivered at the end? Where would your team feature with those factors in play?

Here's how this season's Premier League "expectation vs reality" table might look.

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1. Brighton (actual finish: 6th). The club saw manager Graham Potter leave for Chelsea early on, but brought in the brilliant Roberto De Zerbi to replace him. Brighton's sizzling football enchanted fans all over the country and earned them first adventure in the Europa League by finish sixth.

The club is expertly run from top to bottom, especially when it comes to signing quality players on the cheap, and they will already have lined up replacements for star midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo if, as seems certain, they are allowed to go.

2. Bournemouth (15th). Every pundit predicted relegation and even their ex-manager Scott Parker thought they weren't good enough to stay up -- saying so cost him his job after four games at the end of August. But Gary O'Neil came in to defy the critics in his first managerial appointment, keeping kept them in the Premier League by five points.

3. Arsenal (2nd). The Gunners deserve thanks for giving us some sort of title race. They led the table for 248 days -- the most a team has ever done so without finishing top -- and were so good to watch, but ran out of gas. A title challenge was never the objective before the season, so finishing second is a big achievement. They will rue how it all fell apart in the final games, but signing West Ham midfielder Declan Rice would strengthen them this summer.

4. Newcastle (4th). Despite their huge financial backing from Saudi Arabia, a place in the top four and Champions League football came ahead of schedule for Eddie Howe's side. Solid and stylish, they did it playing attractive football and lost only five times -- the same as champions Manchester City.

5. Fulham (10th). In a new division for the fifth year running after bouncing up and down between the Premier League and the Championship, it was evident from an early stage that Marco Silva's dynamic team were more likely to be challenging in the top half of the table than fighting the drop. And so it proved.

6. Nottingham Forest (16th). After a summer spending spree on 30 new players left them with a squad full of strangers, they looked relegation certainties. But manager Steve Cooper deserves credit for moulding a team that managed to stay afloat, with help from a rocking City Ground.

7. Aston Villa (7th). In 16th place when the meticulous Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard in October 2022, Villa rose to 7th and claimed a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League. They ended with seven successive home wins and have a young star in 22-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey to build around.

8. Manchester City (1st). They are easily the best team in the country and brushed Arsenal aside in the final weeks of the season to claim a fifth title in six years. Pep Guardiola's side are unplayable at times and won 17 of 22 league games in 2023 (including 12 straight in the run-in) but, given the quality of the manager and players, it was all to be expected. Hence they are only 8th in this table.

9. Manchester United (3rd). Manager Erik ten Hag has overseen a revolution at Old Trafford in his first full season, restoring sanity and discipline. A return to the Champions League is a major target achieved and while United still have their off days, they're trending in the right direction now.

10. Brentford (9th). Thomas Frank's side made nonsense of preseason predictions that they would struggle in their second Premier League campaign. They won twice against Man City -- home and away -- which is a sign of how hard they are to play against. But if they are to do as well next year, they need to sign a striker to fill the gap left by Ivan Toney's eight-month suspension after he was found guilty of gambling offences.

11. Crystal Palace (11th). After failing to win a game in 2023 under Patrick Vieira, the Frenchman was sacked in March and replace by 75-year-old Roy Hodgson. The former England manager completed quite the turnaround to push Palace up the table and, with young stars like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, they could do even better.

Hodgson only signed a contract until the end of the season, but could stay on.

12. Wolverhampton Wanderers (13th). They had a relegation look about them until manager Julen Lopetegui arrived in November to reorganise and revamp the team. They played a better brand of football, too.

13. West Ham (14th). It was mostly disappointing for the Hammers this season, but some important wins (vs. Man United, Fulham and Bournemouth) kept them just out of trouble. Reaching the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina has given the season a gloss it never looked like delivering.

14. Liverpool (5th). By Jurgen Klopp's high standards, this season has been way below expectations. A late revival containing seven straight wins saw them push for the top four and eventually earn the consolation prize of a Europa League place. But Klopp will need to refresh and rebuild to make them title challengers again.

15. Everton (17th). Another season, another relegation scrap. It has been an agonising few years for fans at Goodison Park. Frank Lampard was sacked in January with the club second from bottom and Sean Dyche did a superb job to save them from the drop, via a 1-0 win over Bournemouth on the final day.

The brinkmanship has to stop here. It is a big summer ahead for the owners.

16. Tottenham Hotspur (8th). This season was a mess. Often turgid to watch, Spurs have struggled to find a manager to replace Antonio Conte (who acted as if he was doing the club a favour by being there) since he was sacked in March. They missed out on a European place and need to bring in a top coach quickly.

Persuading star striker Harry Kane to renew his contract, which expires in 2024, might be tough given how things went.

17. Southampton (20th). The Premier League's worst side, statistically, never looked good enough to avoid relegation and they were not helped by poor recruitment and managerial choices. They will struggle to hold on to star midfielder James Ward-Prowse, who would be key to their hopes of bouncing up again next season.

18. Leicester City (18th). The end of an incredible fairytale which brought the Foxes the Premier League title (2016) and FA Cup success (2021.)

Allowing goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to leave last summer was just one of several poor decisions, while manager Brendan Rodgers seemed to lose enthusiasm with no money to spend and not sacking him until early April was too late. Leicester lacked the grit and fight to stay up, with Dean Smith unable to do anything about it.

19. Leeds United (19th). The club have such a rich history and big fan base, but they have lost their way since the iconic Marcelo Bielsa left in February 2022. Leeds signed players unproven in the Premier League and their experiment with a base of U.S. stars failed under American coach Jesse Marsch. Sacked inside a year, the club always had a fragile look about them and that didn't change under Sam Allardyce. No team can expect to concede 78 goals and survive.

20. Chelsea (12th). A calamitous season in which they spent £600m, but didn't bring in a central striker. Thomas Tuchel was sacked days after summer transfer window closed, Brighton's Potter seemed to find the job too big, while re-hiring club legend Lampard as interim boss didn't work as they lost 8 of 11 games under him. Goals were an issue (Southampton only scored two less) and a bloated 31-man squad could never any establish any pattern of play.

New boss Mauricio Pochettino has a lot of work to do.