The 2012/13 Premier League season is starting to hit its stride, with some of the big teams making a great start, with a few surprise names featuring near the top of the table. However, last season still lingers long in the memory, and no wonder. Here are just ten of the many things you might need to know about the 2011/12 campaign in case you decide to visit the ladbrokes sports page and have a little flutter:

• Robin van Persie was top scorer with 30 goals, being the first Dutch player to win the golden Boot since Ruud van Nistelrooy back in 2002/03.

• Manchester City’s title win was largely down to terrific home form, with the moneybags outfit winning 18 of 19 games at the Etihad Stadium.

• Despite an impressive points tally of 89, the champions’ rivals Manchester United missed out on the big prize by goal difference. 89 is the most points ever won by a second-placed team in Premier League history.

• 2011/12 saw 1066 goals scored, including 10 in the 8-2 victory for Man Utd against Arsenal at Old Trafford.

• In his debut season, City winger David Silva made the most assists last season with 15.

• The most fouled team last season were QPR, who avoided relegation on the final day.

• 2011/12 saw a total of 19 hat tricks scored, two of which came from Wayne Rooney against Arsenal and Bolton for Man Utd.

• The woodwork wasn’t Liverpool’s best friend last season, as the reds managed to hit the post or crossbar an astonishing 33 times.

• The 20,000th goal scored in the history of the Premier League was scored by promising Aston Villa midfielder Marc Albrighton in their defeat at the hands of Arsenal.

• Man City left-back Gael Clichy became the third player to win the Premier League trophy with two different clubs, following in the footsteps of Ashley Cole (Arsenal and Chelsea) and Henning Berg (Blackburn and Manchester United).

Here’s an interesting article from The Guardian that highlights some different perspectives.

It was not what Arsenal supporters, or indeed any supporters of Premier League clubs, might have expected to hear in Stan Kroenke’s first interview in England. Kroenke, however, made little attempt to sugar the pill. What had the Glazer family, he wondered, done wrong at Manchester United? In his deep Missouri drawl, the largest shareholder at Arsenal made it sound like they had his admiration.

“What was so tough about the Glazers’ situation?” Kroenke said. “They won. And they have increased revenues by a huge amount. If I was a fan of that club, I would sit there and go, ‘Wow.’ Because how could you do it any better? That’s what I would say.”

It was put to Kroenke that United fans were deeply unhappy at how the American owners had taken money out of the club, following their heavily leveraged takeover. “But they still won,” Kroenke said. “We don’t need to get into an exchange here but I don’t know as a fan … how could you do it much better? They have increased massively. Some of their players have taken money out and maybe they haven’t performed.

“We have a whole different philosophy in the States but I think it’s time, maybe, for everybody to think a little bit and, maybe I’m saying too much but I think they ought to think a little bit about who invests in these clubs. What do you want for the long term?

The entire article is worth reading.