Nail Arsenal as leaders but get so wrong about Ronaldo and Rooney – revisiting 2022 predictions

Looking back at the 10 predictions we made for 2022 in January, five were right and five were wrong. Arsenal in the lead? Nailed it. Harry Kane wins a trophy? Uh.

The predictions themselves are worth a look before we start again with predictions for 2023 in the next few days.

10) Burnley are relegated ✓ Even the combined forces of Sean Dyche and Mike Jackson couldn't keep Burnley safe for a seventh consecutive season. The Clarets are a division lower but still in a better position now.

9) Jurgen Klopp finally lifts a domestic cup in England ✓ Liverpool were so enamored with their win over Chelsea on penalties in the thrilling Carabao Cup final in February that they won the FA Cup exactly the same way three months later; Jurgen Klopp has completed his set of Anfield trinkets.

8) Manchester City smash Premier League winning streak record x The runaway Premier League leaders claimed a dozen consecutive wins before being held back at Southampton to fall seven times from the record. They lost to Tottenham a few games later. Pfft. Twelve straight wins? Pathetic.

7) Norwich breaks at least one Premier League record x They were terrible yet again, but Norwich at least broke those ridiculously low bars for points, wins, losses and goals.

6) English clubs reach the semi-finals of three European competitions ✓ Liverpool went all the way to the Champions League final, while West Ham and Leicester ventured to the Europa League semi-finals and of the Europa Conference before falling to the eventual champions in either case.

5) Someone beats Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United x This was a much wackier prediction at the start of the year than it seems at the end. A late challenge from nearest challenger Marcus Rashford, who scored 11, prompted Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom it has been far from an easy year despite scoring 13 for Manchester United in all competitions.

4) Arsenal are in the lead at some point ✓ Not half. They are seven points clear and damn it. I didn't even need the alphabetic warning.

3) Newcastle escapes relegation ✓ Not half. Again, it looks like an absolute p*ss grab from the depths of December, but Newcastle started 2022 in 19th, well settled in the relegation zone between Burnley and Norwich, before finishing the year 2nd and breaking up a fight between Arsenal and Manchester City.

2) Wayne Rooney gets Premier League job x Wayne Rooney horrifies players with motivational team talks about his small penis as a top manager. But he even rejected the chance to interview for Everton in January - saying "I believe I will be a Premier League manager" - out of loyalty to Derby. And on leaving the relegated Rams, he headed to DC United in MLS.

1) Harry Kane wins his first x Balls trophy. We knew we should have said 'Harry Kane awarded a penalty in the knockout stage with England's World Cup future on the line'. So close.