1) Can Manchester City dominate with the spectre of FFP looming

Following Manchester City's second Premier League crown in three seasons the talk from Manuel Pellegrini, Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri and everyone else was how the next quest is to paint the next decade sky blue with success.

This makes City's next move regarding Uefa's Financial Fair Play ruling against them materially fascinating. The challenge now is to retain the title and win the Champions League next year. Yet if the club is fined £49m and has its European Cup squad reduced to 21 – as is expected – this seriously hobbles these ambitions.

Appeal, though, as City are deliberating – there may be movement on this today – and the risk is the punishment could become greater.

So as Manchester becomes annexed later on Monday for the club's trophy-winning parade, the executive decide on a crucial game of stick or twist that may shape English and European football for the forseeable future. Jamie Jackson

• Match report: Manchester City 2-0 West Ham
• Grass turns from green to blue
• Paul Wilson: Pellegrini can drive City further

2) Defence not the only place where Liverpool require support

"We know where we need to improve," said Brendan Rodgers during his deservedly up-beat appraisal of a title challenge that just fell short at Liverpool. Naturally, the spotlight falls on a defence that has conceded far too many goals to sustain a title success, 50 compared to the champions 37 and only 27 conceded by third-placed Chelsea, and has lacked consistency in its selection as well as its concentration. Even on the final day there was confirmation that Rodgers does not have a settled central defensive partnership as Daniel Agger was recalled at the expense of last summer's costliest signing, Mamadou Sakho. But as Liverpool's toils against a packed Newcastle defence showed, and against Chelsea in the previous home game, there remains a lack of ingenuity up front when Luis Suarez is having an off-day and more options are needed to stretch compact opponents. The interest in Adam Lallana makes perfect sense from that point of view but represents just the start for Liverpool this summer. Andy Hunter

• Amy Lawrence: Gerrard walks alone with his thoughts
• Match report: Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle

3) Does Sherwood deserve to be sacked?

Tim Sherwood referenced his 59 per cent win ratio in the Premier League after the final-day victory over Aston Villa, which compares favourably to his managerial predecessors at Tottenham Hotspur and he believes that the numbers make the case for the continuation of his employment. His record, since taking over from Andre Villas-Boas last December, reads: P22 W13 D3 L6 GF40 GA30 Pts42. Transpose it across 38 matches and you get 72.5 points and, although the half-point does not scan in real terms, the tally essentially would have put Tottenham in fifth place this season which, Sherwood argues, is their level. "It will be interesting to see what I've been judged on," Sherwood said, with a nod towards his looming meeting with the chairman Daniel Levy, which will decide his fate. "If I am to leave, it can't be on results."

It is an interesting point, even if it overlooks the exits in the cup competitions, and it raises the question as to whether Sherwood will pay the price for his confrontational style; his readiness to lob the gilet around and call it on with opponents, under-achieving players or the board of directors who, he feels, have not offered him any support. Sherwood loves the club; he knows it from the bottom up and he is committed to the promotion of players from the ranks. His team scores goals and he believes that with a summer to shape the squad how he wants it, he will do better next season. The worry for him is that Levy believes the club can be better with somebody else. David Hytner

• Sherwood says he will manage elsewhere if Spurs don't want him

4) Will Cardiff's relegation spark an exodus from the club?

As Cardiff supporters said goodbye to the Premier League on Sunday, it was tempting to wonder how many of their players were saying farewell to the Welsh club. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Cardiff manager, talked afterwards about how he would "try to keep the most important ones" but it seems a foregone conclusion that Steven Caulker and Gary Medel, both of whom have relegation clauses in their contracts, will not be playing for Cardiff in the Championship next season. Craig Bellamy, whose contract is up this summer, may also have played his last game for the club, and possibly his final match in professional football. The biggest loss of all, though, would be David Marshall, the Scotland goalkeeper who was the club's player of the year and was so outstanding for Cardiff this season that he can count himself unfortunate not be named in the PFA team of the year. Marshall signed a long-term contract earlier this year and is not the sort of player to rock the boat but he belongs in the Premier League, as he proved, once again, in the 2-1 home defeat against Chelsea, when his outstanding one-handed save from Cesar Azpilicueta prompted an ovation from the Cardiff supporters moments after Andre Schurrle had turned in the rebound. Stuart James

• Match report: Cardiff City 1-2 Chelsea

5) Shaw can be sure of a World Cup spot

Another visit to St Mary's for Roy Hodgson, another superb from Luke Shaw, another bout of speculation re a move. The teenager has been excellent all season and will fully deserve his call-up ahead of Ashley Cole to the England World Cup squad when the official announcement comes later this afternoon. That announcement will leave Hodgson with quite the welcome headache once the World Cup rolls around. Does he start with 18-year-old who has proved all season that he has the solidity, temperament and the talent to cope with the best that the Premier League can offer? Or does he go with the experience and attacking verve of Leighton Baines? You can bet your bottom dollar that Hodgson would like that predicament in every position. Ian McCourt

• Manchester United make Luke Shaw bid
• Match report: Southampton 1-1 Manchester United
• Leaving out Cole was hardest call, says Hodgson
• Hodgson prepares for fruitful summer

6) Hull will be hamstrung by lack of homegrown talent

Both these clubs will be participants in the Europa League next season, although Everton will be far better equipped to compete, not least because they will have a full 25-man squad to make use of. Hull, who will enter the competition at the group stage if they shock Arsenal in the FA Cup next weekend and in July's third qualifying round if they do not, are likely to forego four places in their squad as they are unable to satisfy one section of the composition criteria. Those four places are reserved for homegrown players reared by the club in question and Hull simply do not possess one. 'Homegrown' players are those to have been developed and served the club for two years of unbroken service. But Hull's production line ceased to operate on their way down the leagues rather on their way up. The most damning statistic levelled against them is that they have not produced a single youth player to have subsequently made 20 league appearances since the 1999-2000 season. Richard Gibson

• Match report: Hull City 0-2 Everton

7) Neutrals should cheer Sunderland's great relegation escape

And here's a few reasons why. They attract crowds of 40,000 plus most weeks – and would routinely fill the 49,000 capacity Stadium of Light were they to become a top-half-of-the-table team. The club's potential is immense – even if actually achieving it is something else. Gus Poyet is implementing a defined, possession-based, passing philosophy which promises to offer them a clear, attractive, identity. In Margaret Byrne they possess that welcome rarity, a female chief executive. The work of their foundation in the local Wearside community is commendable. Their impressive, visionary, marketing operation in Africa features several laudable charitable projects. Premier League football brings vital investment and international recognition to an all too often overlooked, underrated and under-founded region – just ask the local taxi drivers shuttling between Newcastle airport and Sunderland on weekends when Poyet's team are at home or Wearside business people seeking to import their products abroad. Oh, and Connor Wickham is going to end up as England centre forward/the new Alan Shearer one day … Louise Taylor

• Match report: Sunderland 1-3 Swansea

8) Is Hodgson really considering leaving Ruddy out?

Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy made three saves from Olivier Giroud at Carrow Road on Sunday, one of which was genuinely outstanding. As well as serving as a reminder that Ruddy full deserved a back-up goalkeeping position in Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad, however, they also emphasised how badly Arsenal need to sign a top quality goalscorer. Ruddy's best save came after a superb passing move had left Giroud clean through with only the goalkeeper to beat from close to the penalty spot. The Frenchman hit his shot cleanly enough, but Ruddy flung himself to to his right to push the ball over the bar. Brilliant as it was, you knew Luis Suarez or Sergio Aguero would not have given him a chance. Richard Rae

• Match report: Norwich 0-2 Arsenal

9) Will Stoke make bigger waves next season?

While Tony Pulis has been lauded nationally for his achievements at Crystal Palace, you would be hard pressed to find a Stoke City fan who would take him back at the Britannia Stadium. Although Stoke made an uncertain start to the season they have finished in style under Mark Hughes, who has captured the imagination of the club's supporters with some eye-catching one-touch football.

Gone are the days of direct football and the long ball – Stoke are now the pass masters and, with the right players next season, must be confident of further progress under Hughes. The Welshman probably took something of a calculated gamble when he opted to rip things up and start scratch but it's worked. And if the progress of Everton, Southampton and previously Swansea using a similar templates can be used as benchmarks then these are exciting times in the Potteries. Timothy Abraham

• Match report: West Brom 1-2 Stoke City

10) Fulham had been doomed for some time

It appears Felix Magath never stood any chance of keeping Fulham up. For all those stirring victories over Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa, the writing had been on the wall from the moment he demanded fight from his players and was greeted with only blank expressions in response. Martin Jol and Rene Meulensteen had recruited heavily, the latter bringing in a swathe of new players in January, and the squad was bloated. "We had no team who identified with Fulham," said Magath. "If you buy players in January, bring in eight new players, you have a team here already and it cannot fit (together). It was so difficult to get them together.

"We never fought as a team against relegation. I'm sorry to say such things. But I see Sunderland and Norwich playing, even Norwich here at Craven Cottage ... they had much more fight. I asked my team: 'What's going on?' One was telling me: 'We cannot fight.'" That player was apparently referring to other members of the squad lacking the required fight (or, maybe, commitment to the cause). "I was surprised," admitted Magath. "I've never experienced that before." It is also damning and an indication of the amount of surgery required this summer if Fulham are to challenge for an immediate return. There is youthful talent aplenty at the club, as Chris David and Cauley Woodrow demonstrated on Sunday, but they will need some older heads to help steer them through a brutal division. Magath must be shrewd in selecting who to retain, but one suspects a summer blood-letting ahead. Dominic Fifield

• Match report: Fulham 2-2 Crystal Palace