Barclays Premier League season review

Another season of Premier League football is in the books, with Chelsea winning their first league title since 2006. Carlo Ancelotti emulated the feat of Jose Mourinho, and won the championship for the Blues at his first attempt. Liverpool’s dismal year which began with genuine hope of success let the door open for Tottenham to break into the top four, and at the bottom, Portsmouth, Hull and Burnley were relegated after being cannon fodder for most of the campaign. Here is my review of another pulsating year, starting with a few brief words for each side:

Chelsea (Grade: A+): Title-winning debut season for Ancelotti. A record goals tally of 103, finishing with an 8-0 rout of Wigan, together with another miserly defence was the key. A much improved record against the Big Four was also vital; the wins at Old Trafford and Anfield were the clinchers. Star Man: Didier Drogba

Manchester United (A-): Alex Ferguson once again produced a solid side capable of challenging at the very highest level without it being a great side like previous years Wayne Rooney had probably the best season of his career, They struggled with the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez and their goals and Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen struggled for form and fitness respectively, and they would come up short at home and in Europe. Star Man: Wayne Rooney

Arsenal: (B): Once again looked unstoppable at times, yet once again looked very fragile at times. They produced a great late run to get back into title contention, only to come unstuck with a series of poor away performances away from home. Undoubtedly suffered with long term injuries, most notably to Robin van Persie, but yet again, it’s ‘maybe next year’. Star Man: Cesc Fabregas

Tottenham (A): Terrific achievement to break into the top four, helped along the way with recent victories over Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Harry Redknapp built a squad to rival the best in the league, and they all stepped up a gear to reach the holy grail of the Champions League. Star Man: Jermain Defoe

Manchester City (B): The multi-millions spent failed to produce the Champions League place the owners wanted and possibly expected. Mark Hughes was controversially sacked before Roberto Mancini came in. Carlos Tevez showed United what they could have had, and Adam Johnson was one of their best – and cheapest – signings. They will need to do better next year if there are not to be consequences for the boss. Star Man: Carlos Tevez.

Aston Villa (B): Pushed the top four for most of the way before once again falling short and settling for a Europa League place. Despite a win at Old Trafford earlier in the year, their undoing was their form against the title contenders, notably conceding seven at Chelsea. Star Man: James Milner

Liverpool (D): Shocking season for Rafael Benitez and his team, finishing seven points behind Tottenham and 23 behind champions Chelsea. Aside from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, who himself missed a chunk of the campaign with injury, they didn't deliver and their lack of strength in depth was there for all to see and it could be a long way back for them. Star Man: Steven Gerrard.

Everton (C): David Moyes and his team enjoyed a fantastic second half of the season, but will lament their injury crisis which was the reason behind their poor first half of the season that would ultimately cost them their European place. Star Man: Tim Cahill

Birmingham (B+): Alex McLeish was the mastermind behind a fantastic year for Brum, who never looked anywhere near the relegation candidates they were expected to be. A solid defence was the key, helped by a great season from on-loan Joe Hart. Star Man: Joe Hart

Blackburn (C): Sam Allardyce’s team got the top ten finish they would have been expecting, helped by great home form. The Ewood Park crowd only saw three home defeats, yet once again, disappointing away form will be a concern. Star Man: David Dunn

Stoke (B): Great effort from Stoke to maintain their top flight status so convincingly amid the fear of second season syndrome. Their away form was much improved, and like last season, their Britannia bombardment was too much for many visitors to withstand. Star Man: Matt Etherington

Fulham (C): Roy Hodgson once again showed his credentials with another good season, particularly at Craven Cottage. Their magnificent run in Europe meant the league often came second, hence a lower finish than last year. Their away form was another stumbling block. Star Man: Bobby Zamora

Sunderland (C): Decent first year in charge for Steve Bruce, helped with another solid season in front of their home fans. But for a poor winless run of games at the turn of the year, they could have finished higher. Darren Bent’s goals have put him on the periphery of the England squad. Star Man: Darren Bent

Bolton (C-): Ended up comfortably safe after Owen Coyle arrived at the club. Looked like relegation candidates for a long time before a late run of results saw them steer clear of danger. They will be disappointed to only have reached 39 points however. Star Man: Kevin Davies

Wolves (B): Great effort from Mick McCarthy’s team to stay up. Their total of four away wins was four more than their first Premier League season and ultimately those were enough to keep them safe with 38 points. Star Man: Kevin Doyle

Wigan (D): Wigan would have expected to stay up more comfortably than they did, and they were not helped by a very poor defensive record. They conceded 55 away goals, most notably 9 at Tottenham and 8 at Chelsea on the final day. Their unpredictability was illustrated with wins against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool at the DW Stadium. Star Man: Hugo Rodallega

West Ham (D-): Gianfranco Zola just about kept the Hammers in the league, but the season will no doubt be considered an immense disappointment following a decent showing last year. Off-the-pitch problems cast a shadow and there could be a big summer ahead at Upton Park. Star Man: Scott Parker

Burnley (E): Cannot fault their effort but they just weren’t good enough for this level. Owen Coyle’s untimely departure didn’t help, but Brian Laws’ appointment looked like one for next season in the Championship rather than a survival bid this season. Four points away from home was the same as the hapless Derby achieved in 2008. Star Man: Steven Fletcher

Hull (E): Very poor season from a side who haven’t looked good enough for the Premier League since December 2008 in truth. The stats do not lie; no away wins all season and just 34 goals scored. Iain Dowie always had a tough job and honestly, was never going to succeed. Star Man: Stephen Hunt

Portsmouth (F): In a season which can only be described as a disaster, Portsmouth looked doomed long before their nine-point penalty for going into administration. They have defied the odds by reaching the FA Cup final, and Avram Grant has done a decent job to steady the ship on the pitch amid huge problems upstairs. There is going to be a big, big summer on the south coast. Star Man: Jamie O’Hara

As for my end of season awards, they are as follows:

Player of the Year: Wayne Rooney. 26 goals in the league, plus a work rate second to none.

Manager of the Year: If I include European form I will say Roy Hodgson, but purely from a Premier League point of view I will say Carlo Ancelotti

Goal of the Season: Maynor Figueroa’s wonder strike for Wigan v Stoke from inside his own half, with Danny Rose’s volley against Arsenal a close second.

Signing of the Season: Carlos Tevez, Manchester City. 23 league goals for a new club is rarely seen at this level, and how Manchester United could have done with keeping him. I’ll also pay tribute here to my runner-up Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal who settled into English football incredibly easily.

Worst signing of the Season: Alberto Aquilani, Liverpool. No explanation necessary.

See you next season!

Down to the wire...

The Barclays Premier League title race has gone, as I expected, to the wire, with Chelsea and Manchester United both hoping the other slips up on the final day. As it stands, the Blues lead by one point, so a win against Wigan will be enough to earn Carlo Ancelotti's men their first title in four years. Any slip-up will surely let in United, who face Stoke at Old Trafford.
Although Stoke will of course be aiming for a top-half finish, which would be a fantastic achievement and easy to overlook given other teams' accomplishments this year, I can't see them challenging on Sunday. They were beaten 7-0 at Chelsea two weeks ago, and their away-day frailties still remain.
Sadly for Sir Alex Ferguson, three points will not be enough, as I cannot see anything but a Chelsea victory, possibly even as emphatic as the aforementioned Stoke win. Although Wigan beat them 3-1 at the DW Stadium earlier in the season, Wigan's away days have been a very different story; who will forget their 9-1 thumping at Tottenham in November?

It's a shame that the relegation scrap has already been decided; as a neutral I probably prefer these on the last day to the title deciders. It would have been very interesting to see, but in all honesty, the three on their way down - Hull, Burnley and Portsmouth - have looked doomed from the start - I for one tipped those three before a ball had even been kicked. What concerns me though is that there are still seven teams on less than 40 points. As exciting as the league is, there are too many teams just happy to survive rather than risk spending some money to progress, and that is something which needs to be looked at, but that's for another post.

I'll be back on Sunday with a review of the season, so let me know what you think of the title race in the meantime via Facebook, Twitter, or this blog.