After what has been a truly remarkable season, the Premier League finally came to an end on Sunday May 22nd with a mixture of emotions for different clubs across the country. The joy of Manchester United, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic was in stark contrast to the despair felt by Birmingham City, Blackpool and the tame end of season performances from Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Looking at the league as a whole, it seems the bottom teams are getting closer to the established big clubs, as is exemplified by a gap of just 41 points between champions and relegation zone, as opposed to 56 points last season. While Manchester United were undoubtedly worthy victors, finishing nine points clear of last year’s winners Chelsea, their well-documented struggles away from home go to prove just how competitive the Premier League really is. Many have claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson’s current team are by no means vintage, but the squad that claimed the record-breaking nineteenth title will certainly be remembered at Old Trafford for many a year. The strength in depth of United has been proven across the season perhaps best exemplified by the first half of the season, being led impressively by Dimitar Berbatov (20 goals) and Nani (18 assists) while Wayne Rooney was out of sorts and Antonio Valencia was injured, before the latter two stormed back into form and essentially benched the former duo for the business end of the campaign. The acquisition of Javier Hernandez was also vital to the title victory, as were sterling performances from veterans Ryan Giggs and Edwin van der Sar and a rock-solid defence marshalled by Barclays player of the year Nemanja Vidic.
A season that started so brightly for Chelsea, with back-to-back 6-0 victories ended on a sour note with popular Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti being sacked despite winning the double only twelve months ago. In truth, it was obvious he had lost the trust of Roman Abramovich earlier this season when assistant coach Ray Wilkins was dismissed against the Italian’s will and the club embarked on a dismal run of just 11 points from 11 games. With big name players such as Didier Drogba almost certain to leave in the summer, a new manager may have to oversee a transitional period for Chelsea. Whether the £50m spent on Fernando Torres will ever be considered money well spent is certainly a question that needs answering.
Manchester City will be thrilled with their late season surge which saw them leapfrog Arsenal and seal a guaranteed place in the Champions League group phase next season. With a budget to die for, a Yaya Toure-inspired FA Cup victory in the bag and a very good squad already in place, the Citizens will certainly be expected to challenge for the title next season, with or without want-away captain Carlos Tevez. Whether the same can be said of Arsenal is not so sure. A truly dreadful end to the season saw them drop out of contention for the title and they now face the prospect of a tricky Champions League qualifier in August. With the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri possibly eyeing a move in the summer, Arsene Wenger surely needs to listen to the public and sign some experienced players as well as a new goalkeeper and proven defenders. However, the Frenchman has never been one to bend to popular belief and Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool will be eyeing the Gunners’ top four position next season.
Spurs and the Anfield club have been two of the most interesting stories of the season, with the former impressing in Europe only to falter badly in the league before a late revival secured the debatable prize of Europa League football next season and the latter unbelievably flirting with relegation under Roy Hodgson before the return of ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish sparked an impressive return to form in the Spring. Tottenham will be looking to hold on to star trio Gareth Bale, Rafa van der Vaart and Luka Modric over the summer and will certainly fancy their chances of challenging for Champions League football if they can do so – like their North London rivals they are expected to be looking for goalkeeping and defensive reinforcements too. The return of Kop icon Dalglish was one of the most amazing stories of the season, coupled with the acquisition of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll which looks to have ushered in a new era at Anfield. There seems to have been a long overdue change in dynamics for a team which was reliant on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for such a long time. With Dalglish tied down to a contract and money apparently available, the Kop faithful will be expecting at least a top four finish next season.
The teams to finish mid-table represent a contrast of emotions with Everton and Aston Villa probably disappointed that poor starts to the season left them with too much ground to make up to challenge for Europe, opposed by Fulham and Sunderland happy to be there. West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United will both be pleased with their debut seasons back in the top flight, and both chairmen will feel vindicated that their somewhat-controversial mid-season managerial changes paid off. In Peter Odemwingie the Baggies have unearthed a natural goalscorer and the Toon have seen both Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan step up their game this year. Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers were both distracted by extensive FA Cup runs and may be slightly disappointed that they failed to make the top half in the end, although the fans will no doubt be happy that they avoided the drama of the relegation scrap.
That can’t be said of West Ham United, who were quite simply the worst team in the Premier League this season. The apparent non-management of Avram Grant, whose days as a Premier League manager seem unlikely to return, coupled with some poor signings and terrible injury problems left the Hammers rock bottom and facing the prospect of Championship life next season. Not even the admirable Football Writer’s Player of the Year Scott Parker could save the day, and he missed the crucial run-in with injury. Both Blackpool and Birmingham City will feel hard done by in joining the Upton Park outfit in the second tier. Ian Holloway’s men played a brand of attacking football rarely seen from a newly promoted side and scored the same amount of goals as fifth placed Spurs, yet their defence was never good enough to stay up and despite a memorable double over Liverpool, they were sent back to the Championship after an eventful final day match at Old Trafford. Birmingham City fans may be in a state of shock for a long time after seeing their Carling Cup winners fold and lose their place amongst England’s elite. The St Andrews faithful will now have the unusual combination of Europa League and Championship football next season and they will surely lose many of their best players.
The real elation on the final day of the season was found at Molineux where a thrilling 3-2 win for Blackburn over Wolves turned out to be enough for both to survive and Mick McCarthy in particular will be delighted with a job well done in maintaining his team’s survival. Home victories over the league’s final top three as well as a win at Anfield showed the character of McCarthy’s men and they have certainly played better football than many have given them credit for. Blackburn’s new Indian owners may try to forget that they claimed a ‘top five finish’ was achievable this season and just be grateful that the rookie manager Steve Kean managed to keep them in the Premier League. They will surely be looking to bring in more players and a more experienced manager in the summer though. The other team who went into the last day of the season looking to survive was Wigan Athletic, who yet again upset the odds by beating Stoke away for their seventh consecutive season in the top flight. They are, in fact, the only club never to have been relegated and Roberto Martinez certainly seems to be running the club well.
So after plenty of controversy, foul language, dodgy transfers, Ian Holloway quotes, incredible goals, a record-breaking number of hat-tricks, a second team breaking into the big four in two years and a team of relegated cup-winners, the Premier League is over. The start of the next campaign, on the 13th August, couldn’t come soon enough.
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