So there it is. Another EPL season over, time to go back to our little corners of our rooms and wrap a blanket around ourselves till kick off comes around in August. But thankfully enough, there is Euro 2008 on the way and we will be waking up at insane hours of the night to watch the like of Torres, Ballack, Van Persie, Ronaldo etc etc.. There is no England this time of course so that might be a dampener, because love them or hate them, they also bring some excitement to the competition, mostly off the field.
But back to the main point of my post, a look back and wrap up of the season that has just passed. Everyone of you knows I am a die-hard Liverpool fan, but I will try to make this as objective as possible. First off, congratulations to Manchester United FC, the winners of the 2007-2008 English Premiership. Everyone has their own views about them, me especially, but over the course of the season, through rain, snow and hail, it is the team sitting on top of the league that deserves to win it.
They are the team that have won most games on a consistent basis, no thanks to their really outstanding individual talent, Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez in particular have rescued them time and time again, and that is something that perhaps the other teams in the league don't have at this moment. Plus the fact that Ferdinand and Vidic are really an awesome partnership means they really are a threat.
I don't know if Manu fans will agree with me, but this season, their title was not won based on those amazing 3 or 4-0 wins. Instead, Manu went through a patch where they beat Sunderland, Spurs and a couple of teams 1-0, and it was those really hard-fought wins that propelled them to win it. My team, Liverpool, drew too many games because they threw away the 1-0 games, and that is something we will live to regret and hopefully put right next season.
Chelsea fan(s) will feel sickened at the thought that they were centimetres away from winning it. Heskey's equalizer against them at Stamford Bridge decided the league I feel. Who would have imagined that? But nevertheless, what makes Chelsea so irritatingly despicable is that they have the tendency to just score when they don't play well, and then rely on Terry and Cech to bail them out time after time. They don't play attractive football, say what you want Mr Avram Grant, but they have players who will run till they drop, the likes of Essien and Makelele come to mind.
Arsenal's story was really a case of hard-luck I felt. If you asked me which team played the most attractive football this season, it has to be them. Whether it was Anfield or Old Trafford, they really attacked the opponents and were hard done by some poor finishing. People talk up Adebayor, but I think he has to shoulder a large majority of the blame for Arsenal this season. If you have Fabregas, Hleb and Van Persie behind you, you know if you don't score 20 goals a season, then you really have been wasteful. I really thought that they could do something special this season, but they threw their season away due to some poor draws, which was basically the same mistake that Liverpool did, but Manu didn't, and that's why they are the champions. I honestly think Arsenal's time has come and gone. Flamini is gone. Hleb will go. And everyone will now know what to expect with Arsenal. This might be a little premature, but I think they will not do as well next season as they did this.
Liverpool were talked up at the start of the season after the signing of Fernando Torres, and it doesn't take a genius to say that the guy has been nothing short of magnificent this season. He is still only 23, and I hope he gets better and better. But Liverpool need to make sure they sign well this summer to take them to the next level and I trust that they will put up a better fight next year. It was close, if they had beaten Manu home and away this season, Liverpool would be champions, that's how close it really was. But then again, if is a wonderful word isn't it?
For the sake of our friends, I will also write a little bit about Aston Villa and Newcastle. Villa have had a good season by all accounts, and Martin O'Neill has been nothing short of a revelation. They beat Birmingham home and away, and that got them relegated, so for Villa fans, the 2007-2008 season has seen them reach nirvana. How well they do next season will depend on whether they can hang on to the likes of Ashley Young, Agbonlahor and Barry. They will always be hard to beat, but never really good enough to challenge.
Newcastle did have an upturn of fortunes for about 6-7 games in what has been a terribly disappointing season. The problem with Newcastle is they think they're a big club, and their players think they're big players. Barton thinks he is Gerrard. Taylor thinks he is Ferdinand. And Owen thinks he is Owen from 1998. But there have been a few bright sparks, Martins in particular. From what I have read, there are some internal squabbles going on at Newcastle, so it really depends what happens in the summer over there. Whatever it is, they should do better than this season, they really cannot do much worse.
So there you have it. My season review. It always leaves a sour taste in the mouth to see Manu win it again. They say luck always evens out in the season, but what makes Manu so unlikeable is that they always seem to get the luck at the crucial time. Did Ferdinand handle the ball yesterday? Did Scholes deserve to go? Did Carrick handle the ball against Chelsea you might ask, but that was the ONLY penalty Manu conceded this season, can you imagine that! But oh wells, that is all water under the bridge now, and Manu fans deserve to celebrate. For now, let's all take a breather, play some soccer of our own, and countdown to Euro 2008..
Manu
Player of the Season: Ronaldo, Rooney, Ferdinand
Marcellus of the Season: Nani
Chelsea
Player of the Season: Lampard, Ballack, Cech
Marcellus of the Season: Malouda, Shevchenko, Ben Haim
Arsenal
Player of the Season: Fabregas, Hleb, Flamini
Marcellus of the Season: Gallas, Senderos
Liverpool
Player of the Season: Torres
Marcellus of the Season: Riise
Aston Villa
Player of the Season: Barry, Young
Marcellus of the Season: Carson
Newcastle
Player of the Season: Martins
Marcellus of the Season: Cacapa
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