The most unpredictable and exciting Premier League season ever came to an end on Sunday 11 May 2014 with the most predictable of finishes.
Manchester City became champions of England for the 2nd time in 3 seasons with a highly professional and clinical performance against West Ham at home, and thus denying the fairytale finish that the media was hoping - a first Liverpool title win since 1990 in the year of the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy.
However, the fact that Liverpool despite their attacking play, two of the league's in-form strikers, aren't the champions that they deserved to be, Manchester City's achievement should not be regarded with less respect.
One must remember that for all of City's current wealth, this was only their 2nd title in the last 45 years and City fans worldwide, long-time or new, will celebrate this with great joy. Furthermore, their title win was achieved close to the record number of goals scored in a season and with as much endeavour in attack as Liverpool.
It is funny just talking about Manchester City and Liverpool in the scope of the title in a season when as many as 5 teams were in with a shout of winning the title at one stage. Indeed, Chelsea were only eliminated from contention last weekend and one must remember that Arsenal were leading the table at Christmas before their usual collapse in the spring due to poor luck with injury.
It is also funny not mentioning last year's champions, Manchester United in this season's title race - not once were they a factor, as they provided regulation 6 points to the leading title contenders this season. Such has been the failure of the Moyes era and their demise this season. On the other hand, no midweek European football could serve them as well as it did for Liverpool this season particularly with the money that is set to be spent by the new manager in the summer on rebuilding an aging squad.
The battle at the bottom was just as exciting as it was at the top with Sunderland's miraculous escape the highlight of the relegation battle. Them and West Brom are the only two teams ever to be bottom at Christmas yet escape the drop although Sunderland's outcome was settled much earlier and less dramatically than when the Baggies did it in 2005.
It has to be said that the three sides that went down, i.e. Fulham, Cardiff and Norwich all deserved their fate - all experienced turmoil in the backroom and experienced change in managers - often inexplicable ones like in the case of Cardiff's Malky Mackay.
At the start of the season, many were surprised that I tipped Norwich for the drop despite them buying the likes of Dutch internationals, Leroy Fer and Ricky van Wolfsvinkel. It just shows you how competitive the Premier League is and that established internationals and stars don't necessarily ensure your Premier League status is default.
So without further ado, here is a look back at the Premier League season just gone by.
Surprise of the season - Crystal Palace. Southampton, Everton and Liverpool all were my candidates for surprise of the season but I guess for those in the know, their performances this season probably weren't surprising - the Saints under Pochettino late last season indicated potential greatness on the South Coast, Roberto Martinez was expected to maintain Everton in the top half of the table although the fact they came oh so close to Champions League football is a bit of a suprise, and much has been mentioned about how Liverpool weren't meant to challenge for the title this season.
But Crystal Palace takes my pick for surprise of the season on the basis that everyone including myself tipped them for the drop at the start of the season. Even when former Stoke manager Tony Pulis took over from Iain Holloway halfway through the season, Palace were still dead certs for the drop. Incredibly they survived, and not just, finishing comfortably in midtable - and that 3-3 draw with Liverpool at Selhurst Park will forever be remembered by Liverpool and Man City fans for a variety of reasons. Pulis' record of having never been relegated at any level remains firmly intact - could Palace finally stay in the Premier League for more than two seasons?
Disappointment of the season - Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United would have been normally considered but you have to remember that they had a new manager taking over from one who had been there before many young football fans would care to remember. Yes, their performances from a champion side were disappointing to say the least but I think expectations at United were relatively in check compared to those at White Hart Lane. The talk of building the dream team when Spurs used the Gareth Bale money to buy a whole raft of world class internationals seems history now even though Spurs did still finish in the top 6. Not quite the season that we would have expected from a side that claimed to be an all-star team under the guidance of a manager deemed the Next Special One - AVB was gone halfway through the season, replaced by Tim Sherwood who looks set to stay in the helm now that Louis van Gaal is set for Old Trafford.
Player of the season - Luis Suarez - nuff said. Mind you, Yaya Toure, Adam Lallana and Eden Hazard all deserve some mention too.
New star of the season - Christian Ericksen - one of the many "stars" Tottenham bought with the Gareth Bale money, Danish international, Christian Ericksen came from Ajax Amsterdam with huge plaudits but really showed his talents in his first season in the Premier League and he along with Paulinho were two of the best of the "all-stars" bought in the summer. Will be quite a player in years to come.
Game of the season - Liverpool 3-2 Manchester City - they say a good game of football doesn't need many goals to be good but this tie between this year's title contenders was very much up there as one of the best. The sense of occassion was pretty strong too given it was played amidst the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy. Liverpool took a 2-0 lead but City came back to make it 2-2 only for Coutinho to send Anfield into raptures and trigger the now-infamous Steven G "we will not let this slip" cry. Shame that will now be up there with Kevin Keegan's "I'd just love it if we beat Leeds" cry.
Goal of the season - Jonjo Shelvey v Aston Villa - we saw quite a few spectacular goals from the halfway line, i.e. Suarez v Norwich, Rooney v West Ham, but in my opinion, this one tops the lot given the technique required to get the ball on target let alone into the back of the net - this was quite an awkward ball for Shelvey to get a good first touch on so to score from this is quite sensational.
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