The Premiership has been superb this season. There has been plenty of talk about how the league has been weaker than previous campaigns but I beg to differ. The top four may not have been quite as strong on paper than in years gone by but the rest of the league sides certainly have.
Just look at Tottenham. They have been excellent throughout and although it pains me to say it, probably deserve to get fourth and a shot at the Champions League.
But then again, had Man City or Aston Villa snagged that precious ticket to the world’s premier club cup tournament I would be saying exactly the same. All three of these teams have made some good signings, been pretty consistent in general and played some top football too. It has taken a ridiculously under-par effort from Liverpool and a cracking one from Spurs to change the order of things near the top of the Premiership but finally it looks as if the elite top four may have been broken up. For now at least.
Chelsea lift the Premiership title for the first time since 2006_47810281_chelsea466pa.jpg
At the top, Chelsea and Man Utd took the race to the final day of the season. This is good for the Premiership because if this league gets criticised for one thing it is for being too predictable. Granted, it didn’t take a genius to guess that these two clubs would be the ones fighting it out at the top but nobody can slag off the title race as having been boring.
Many people have said the top sides are not as good as some other recent ones such as Mourinho’s title winners or Man Utd’s Cristiano Ronaldo-led outfits but this doesn’t take into account the fact that the rest of the Premiership sides are stronger than ever and so winning weak in, weak out has been no walk in the park, even for Chelsea and United.
Now, as both Chelsea and United have discovered, just turning up at St Andrews, Ewood Park or Craven Cottage is no guarantee of three points. That is why both the top two have lost six games apiece. But, despite this, Chelsea won this year’s title with a total of 86 points having bagged 103 goals in the process. Points wise this is more than United’s 1997, 1999 and Arsenal’s 1998 efforts while no top-flight side has scored more than 100 league goals since Spurs in 1963 so they can’t have been that bad.
Florent Malouda and Carlo Ancelotti celebrate the emphatic win over Wigan by hoisting aloft the Premiership trophy_47810282_ancelotti466ap.jpg
The biggest improvement has been the sides in mid-table. Could Fulham, Birmingham and Everton (in the second half of the season) have been any more impressive considering the strength of the teams above and around them? Birmingham’s run of 12 Premiership games without defeat from November to January is testament to this.
The league has been lit up by two individuals in particular in Messrs Rooney and Drogba. There have been the usual superb efforts from Fabregas, Lampard and Tevez to name a few. There have also been some stunning seasons from slightly less heralded players like Scott Parker, Ledley King (when he played), Joe Hart, Pepe Reina (who has almost singlehandedly kept Liverpool out of the relegation zone) and Bobby Zamora.
Apart from Fulham’s superb effort in reaching the Europa League final, English clubs disappointed in Europe. This is seen as evidence that we have not been as strong as in recent years but again, there may be a counter-argument.
Chelsea came up against a very, very good Inter side led by the bombastic but pragmatic Jose Mourinho who proved too good over two legs and will probably go on to win the tournament.
Arsenal met Barcelona at a time when Messi looked like Pele, Maradona and Cruyff rolled into one while United bumped into Bayern who have themselves reached the final and look to be stronger than they have been for many years.
So, after dominating the tournament over the last few years the continental clubs finally sharpened up and showed the English what they are made of. We probably should have had at least one representative in the semis but it just goes to show that European football is not the stroll in the park for English clubs that people began to think – that is unless you are Roy ‘The Boy’ Hodgson!
I would normally think this was not such a good thing but in a World Cup year surely it can only benefit English football that our top players are not playing in such high profile matches so close to the start of the tournament and raising the possibility of injuries etc…Every four years I am more than happy to not see an English club in the final if it means that England can play like lions in the greatest tournament in the world.
To close, I want to congratulate Chelsea on their title win. To win a title is special wherever you are but to win 8-0 at home to win the trophy back is phenomenal. It probably should not have gone down to the final day but all the fretting was well worth it to be in West London when it all went down. To Wembley now. Que sera sera…
Jack Travers' Blog 