How much of your lives have you dedicated to studying football? How many hours have you whiled away reading about the sport, stacking up knowledge and expertise, observing the game's nuances and dissecting its complex ways? Not enough.



Evidently, you need to raise your game. When it comes to understanding the game well enough to predict the seemingly predictable Premier League, Guardian readers are abysmally underprepared.



Did you foresee that Manchester City would win the Premier League? No. Did you anticipate the relegation battle? No. Did you predict that Paolo Di Canio would be the first manager sacked. Of course you didn't.

You thought Chelsea would win the Premier League. You were wrong. You thought Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and would finish higher than Liverpool. You were wrong. You thought Crystal Palace, Hull City and Stoke City would go down. Wrong, wrong, wrong.



Were we to blame? Did we not inform you well enough? Did we mislead you with our own predictions? Probably. But still, not even our writers were this wrong. You thought Roberto Soldado would score more goals than Luis Suárez on his way to becoming the best signing of the season.



You thought Alan Pardew would be sacked, Robin van Persie would win the Golden Boot and that Ricky van Wolfswinkel would be in contention for signing of the summer. Ricky van Wolfswinkel! The man who scored with his first shot on target and never troubled a goalkeeper again.



Could you have been more wrong? Expressions of guilt, regret, embarrassment and remorse are welcome in the comments section below.



Guardian readers' predictions for the 2013-14 season

Who will win the Premier League in 2013-14?



Chelsea 38%

Manchester City 26%

Manchester United 16%

Tottenham Hotspur 4%

Liverpool 4%

Which clubs will be relegated from the Premier League?



Crystal Palace 78%

Hull City 77%

Stoke City 48%

Cardiff City 26%

Sunderland 13%



Who will be the first Premier League manager to be sacked?



Alan Pardew 32%

Mark Hughes 14%

Paolo Di Canio 8%

Steve Bruce 7%

Who will be the top goalscorer in the Premier League?



Robin van Persie 48%

Sergio Agüero 11%

Roberto Soldado 8%

Luis Suárez 6%

Who will be the best signing of the summer?



Roberto Soldado 17%

Wilfried Bony 17%

Paulinho 11%

Jesús Navas 10%

Ricky van Wolfswinkel 6%

Better luck next year

Guardian writers' predictions for the 2013-14 season



In the interests of balance, not all of our writers' predictions came to pass. Here, as requested from our chastened readers, is a full naming and shaming of the "experts":



Premier League winners

Michael Cox: Manchester City

Dominic Fifield: Manchester City

Andy Hunter: Manchester City

Daniel Taylor: Manchester City

David Hytner Manchester United

Jamie Jackson: Chelsea

Amy Lawrence: Chelsea

Scott Murray: Manchester United

Jacob Steinberg: Chelsea

Louise Taylor: Tottenham

Paul Wilson: Manchester City

Player of the season

Michael Cox: Sergio Agüero

Dominic Fifield: Eden Hazard

Andy Hunter: Luis Suárez

David Hytner: Robin van Persie

Jamie Jackson: Jack Wilshere

Amy Lawrence: Eden Hazard.

Scott Murray: Robin van Persie

Jacob Steinberg: Eden Hazard

Daniel Taylor: Robin van Persie

Louise Taylor: Hatem Ben Arfa

Paul Wilson: Luis Suárez

Signing of the summer

Michael Cox: Leroy Fer

Dominic Fifield: Paulinho

Andy Hunter: Roberto Soldado

David Hytner: Jesús Navas

Jamie Jackson: Jesús Navas

Amy Lawrence: Stevan Jovetic

Scott Murray: Wilfried Bony

Jacob Steinberg: Roberto Soldado

Daniel Taylor: Nicolas Anelka

Louise Taylor: Paulinho

Paul Wilson: Gerard Deulofeu

Young player to watch

Michael Cox: Ross Barkley

Dominic Fifield: Jonathan Williams

Andy Hunter: Philippe Coutinho

David Hytner: Gedion Zelalem

Jamie Jackson: Wilfried Zaha

Amy Lawrence: Philippe Coutinho

Scott Murray: Jordan Ibe

Jacob Steinberg: Jonathan Williams

Daniel Taylor: Ravel Morrison

Louise Taylor: Philippe Coutinho

Paul Wilson: Gerard Deulofeu

Relegation candidates

Michael Cox: Crystal Palace, Hull City, Sunderland

Dominic Fifield: Sunderland, Norwich and Hull City

Andy Hunter: Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Stoke City

David Hytner: Crystal Palace, Hull City and Cardiff City

Jamie Jackson: Hull City, West Brom and Stoke City

Amy Lawrence: Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Stoke City

Scott Murray: Cardiff City

Jacob Steinberg: Crystal Palace, Hull City and Stoke City

Daniel Taylor: Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Hull City

Louise Taylor: Crystal Palace, Hull City and Fulham

Paul Wilson: Fulham, Crystal Palace and Cardiff City



Guardian writers' predicted table

1) Chelsea

2) Manchester City

3) Manchester United

4) Tottenham Hotspur

5) Arsenal

6) Liverpool

7) Swansea City

8) Everton

9) West Bromwich Albion

10) Aston Villa

11) West Ham United

12) Newcastle United

13) Fulham

14) Southampton

15) Norwich City

16) Sunderland

17) Stoke City

18) Cardiff City

19) Crystal Palace

20) Hull City