Well what a season we had.Who would have thought that Manchester United would be winning the title at the end of the season considering the start that Chelsea had,and Arsenal who until February were in the supposed "Two horse Race" for the title and somehow found a way to self destruct themselves again and finish 4th behind the money spinners Manchester City.So many heroes crept up from nowhere,so many new talents emerged,and so many profile players had a disappointing season.Teams like Blackpool brought a breath of fresh air within the league,even though they were relegated,but the likes of Charlie Adam and co took the plaudits for their style of play and credit must go to Ian Holloway for what he brought out from his team.
Manchester United won the league with just 80 points,yes there was real competition this time around and stiff opposition was provided by the teams in the bottom half of the table,and the league which was a Big two before 10 years and then turned into big 4 can now boast of a big 6.I wouldn't be surprised if we have more teams competing for top honors after some years.Chelsea started in blistering fashion but just before Christmas their form dipped and they were struggling for even the top 4 places,but they regained their form in February and leapfrogged Arsenal and Man City to finish the season in 2nd position with 71 points.Man City had a good season,they won the F.A.cup and qualified for the champions league and in the end finished above Arsenal and equal on points with Chelsea on 71(losing out on the 2nd place due to an inferior Goal Difference).Arsenal started well and till February were on course for the quadruple,but somehow Arsenal's self destructive qualities came to the fore again and Arsenal,who were gunning for the league title and were supposedly in a two horse race for the title with Man Utd,finished the season in a disappointing 4th place,and a 6th year without a trophy.Tottenham Hotspur were on course for the final champions league spot,but like their North London rivals and neighbors Arsenal,had a disappointing end to the season and finished with a Europa league spot in 5th place.Liverpool had a horrible start to the season,Hodgson was sacked and King Kenny was brought back,and he turned Liverpool's fortunes upside down and finished in 6th place which was looking really unlikely under Roy Hodgson,and i am sure liverpool will give a strong fight next season for the Champions league places.Below Liverpool were Everton,Fulham,Aston Villa,Sunderland,West Brom,Newcastle,Stoke,Bolton,Blackburn,Wigan and Wolves with Birmingham,Blackpool and West Ham having to undergo the agony of relegation,though Birmingham will be playing in the europa league next season along with Stoke,Spurs and the highest placed team in the Fair Play table which looks likely to be Fulham.
There were some really good performances this season,Vidic was a rock a the heart of the Defence for Man Utd,Nasri in the first Half and Van Persie since his return has been breathtaking,Scott Parker and Charlie Adam were awesome though they could not save their teams from relegatioin,Rafael Van der Vaart,Gareth Bale,Nani,Chicarito,Wilshere,Tevez,Peter Odemwingie the list goes and on.So this is my team of the year.
Goal Keeper-Joe hart(Man City),closely followed by Ben Foster(Birmingham) and Edwin Van der Saar(Man Utd).....Some others who had a good season were Petr Cech(Chelsea),Ali Al Habsi(Wigan)
Left Back-Leighton Baines(Everton),closely followed by Ashley Cole(Chelsea)
Right Back-Bacary Sagna(Arsenal),honourable mention to Micah Richards(Man City) and Branislav Ivanovic(Chelsea)
Centre Back-Nemanja Vidic(Man Utd),Vincent Kompany(Man City).....others who had a good season were John Terry(Chelsea),Gary Cahill(Bolton) and Brede Hangeland(Fulham)
Right and Left Midfielder/Winger-really tough but i'd go with Nani(Man Utd)and Nasri(Arsenal),others who had a great season were Gareth Bale(Spurs),Ashley Young(Villa),Clint Dempsey(Fulham),Dirk Kuyt(Liverpool) and Florent Malouda(Chelsea)
Central Midfielders-now this was tough but i'd shortlist it to Scott Parker(West Ham) and Charlie Adam(Blackpool),though i really wanted to include Rafael Van der vaart(Spurs),Luca Modric(Spurs) and Jack Wilshere(Arsenal)
Forwards-Again a tough one but i'd go with Carlos Tevez(Man City) and Robin Van persie(Arsenal)....and giving them competition were Berbatov(Man Utd),Peter Odemwingie(West Brom),Didier Drogba(Chelsea) and Darren Bent(Villa).Yes people might argue Van Persie didnt play for half of the season but the fact that he scored 18 goals in the other half,averaging a goal a game makes him arguably the most lethal striker this season in the league.
This season many players emerged and took the premier league by storm.Few people would have known about them but their performances have earned they applauds all round.These players exceeded all expectations.Some of them were Peter Odemwingie,Jack Wilshere,Charlie Adam,Javier Chicarito Hernandez(Man Utd),Daniel Sturridge(On loan from Chelsea to Bolton),Matt Jarvis(Wolves),Jose Enrique(Newcastle),Andy Carroll(Newcastle and liverpool),Kevin Nolan(Newcastle),Martin Kelly(Liverpool),Phil Jones(Blackburn),DJ Campbell(Blackpool)......
So can't wait for the start of next season.I think Liverpool will come back stronger and will want to get their champions league spot back.Its gonna be a great 2011-12 season and let's see which new faces arrive to the greatest league on the planet and how many of them can make an impact....Hope u football fans enjoyed the season.Till next time see u all Cyonara
