in fifth.
Second straight fifth in the Premiership, winners of the Prems second division? But whereas last seasons last day fifth spot was seen as a disappointment on missing out on the fourth Champions League spot how should this be viewed?
A season that promised so much got off to bad start league wise, only bright spot in the first half being the glorious 2-1 defeat of the then champions Chelsea. After that it petered out again through a bad New Year period and didn’t really get going until after the 4-0 thumping of Fulham in the cup in the middle of February. Then all of a sudden they couldn’t stop scoring the four against the Pikeys of West Ham and Bolton being highlights.
But through it all they were always vulnerable to letting in soft goals, resulting in only 6 clean sheets in 38 games. The loss of captain King for most of the season really didn’t help in this matter that, with no real cover for him in the shape of Davenport & Gardner and also the lack of a real left back was a problem. Assou-Ekotto looked to have something about him but was out for over half the season with injury and Lee is just too right footed. The addition of Chimbomba (© David Pleat) at fullback certainly helped on the right, just need the same on the left now.
Thank god for England’s number one, Paul Robinson, who yes had a dodgy patch but made some outstanding saves through the season that kept them in games.
The left was trouble all season with no natural left sided midfielder either, just feel that Lennon, Malbranque etc are wasted out there and are certainly not helped with Lee’s one footedness.
The midfield was also a problem, never really able to command a match, especially going missing when other teams are on top. You know who I blame 😆 just doesn’t do enough, too lightweight, too slow of thought, he has to receive the ball before he knows what he’s going to do with it, which is normally play someone else into trouble or just give it away and just stifles the rest of the team.
Someone else is required in the middle, now could I be that lucky getting £10m for him wouldn’t be a sign of a “selling club” cause it’s only that if you sell your best players but for getting £1m less than you paid for the star of the season to get rid of a donkey is just great business. Maybe then we’d see the best of Zokora though I do wish he’d stop falling over for penalties, we don’t do that if he wants to he should have joined ARSEnal when he had the chance.
Huddlestone should be the ideal replacement, he needs to be told to impose himself on the opposition, he’s got the physique and skill to do it, just needs the confidence. Lennon still needs work on his distribution and be told to get to the byline more and put crosses in from there, don’t cut in so much. And to run at players, they’re scared they’ll bring him down, he won’t have to fall it’ll be legit winning of free kicks.
Now the strikers were the best bit but the goals tally should have been more the amount of chances created, especially early in games, where woodwork and goalkeepers were hit with annoying regularity. Berbatov pips McCarthy for buy of the season, he’s just an all round classier player than the South African who had a great first season in England.
In fact the goals were only four up on last seasons league return, with the goals against up 16 and therefore the points tally down five. There was 19 more games played as last year it was two first round cup exits compared to two quarter finals and one semi this season.
It promised so much before, it promised so much during the cup runs, it ended with no silverware promise unfulfiled but with a genuine star player and the chance of more promise…
It’s not been like most end of seasons where you look at the relegated teams and start cherry picking those that you’d want your club to buy, because there isn’t much on show.
Charlton, Watford and Sheffield Utd don’t really have any outstanding players that you’d have to go for. Spurs really need a left back but there’s nothing there to jump in and snap up on the cheap. Personally they should try and go for Wayne Bridge again, he’s the best left back at Chelsea but people at the club can’t see it.
That’s if they are the relegated clubs of course. West Ham should be in that three, yes they did get out of the bottom on the field thanks to someone who was a great buy but a great buy by who?
West Ham shouldn’t just have a points deduction of 2 or 3 they should lose all points gained when Tevez played for them while he was an ineligible player. Everyone knew the situation and who owned the two Argentinians other clubs shouldn’t be punished because those in charge just blindly believed what West Ham officials told them, which were lies.
But it was easier to just fine West Ham and send a “smaller” club down than to send the Pikeys down as well as trying to make sure their last game of the season, a possible title decider at the time, was not a non event.
All the clubs involved should be seeking legal advice, any team that lost points or league position because of their fielding ineligible players have lost money, none more so than the tens of millions Sheffield Utd will miss out on next year.
Also I must have missed something but how do you sign someone outside of the transfer windows as West Ham did with Tevez after the inquiry decision and they ripped up his original contract just before the game against Wigan?
Will the FA or Premier League do anything, not bloody likely, when there’s agreements between teams about who can and who cannot play about, when teams play the 3rd reserves and don’t really bother you’d think the integrity of the game has nowt to do with them.
Quote of the season, then Luton boss Mike Newell when asked what he thought about Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan –
I’ve already said enough about women in football. Mike Newell