Premier League
Let’s begin, as we should, with the Premier League. Chelsea were crowned champions after an almost farcical 8-0 victory at Stamford Bridge over 10 man Wigan. A dominant display from the champions was never in doubt as many had expected them to destroy a Wigan side that had one of the worst away records in English football. Having beaten Liverpool in their previous match the title was virtually Chelsea’s even before kick off.
But Manchester United did not see it that way and went out against Stoke with the aim of beating them and hoping their neighbours could hold Chelsea to at least a draw. It is not too often that a 4-0 victory at home is greeted with as much disappointment as was felt in Old Trafford.
Overall, I believe the 2009-2010 Premier League was one of the best in recent times. Sure the top 4 lost more games combined than any other season. Sure the bottom seven teams couldn’t reach the ‘magic’ 40 point mark and could have been relegated. Sure Chelsea were capable of putting at least six goals past a number of teams, and Manchester United & Arsenal also handed out some serious beatings.
But I look on these as positives. It shows that the Premier League is becoming more competitive. The leadership of the league changed hands over 20 times over the course of the season and until three weeks ago there was three teams with a realistic chance of winning the league. Would people prefer to see a scenario like that in La Liga or the SPL and have the big teams winning virtually every game?
The race for fourth place was even more enthralling than the race for the title and the last time we were able to say that was back in 2005 when Everton pipped Liverpool to the post. Spurs won out in the end but Man City and Aston Villa will feel they could have taken fourth place. Even Liverpool, with their disastrous season, will feel they could have taken it had just a few results gone their way. In the end it was 70 points which guaranteed a Champions League playoff for next season and in the recent past that number would almost have won you the league. How is that not competitive?
As for the relegation battle. Most pundits correctly predicted the three teams that would go down before the season began. Portsmouth was always doomed due to their financial situation. Hull and Burnley were also doomed because they did not have the players or the management. Once Owen Coyle left for Bolton Burnley were a doomed side, while Hull were always doomed as long as Phil Brown stayed in charge. The only reason any real battle commenced was because the teams immediately above them, West Ham, Wolves, Wigan and Bolton were equally as abysmal. But unfortunately only three could go down, not seven.
Team of the year:
Joe Hart, Branislav Invanovic, Richard Dunne, Gareth Bale, Frank Lampard, Cesc Fabregas, James Milner, Florent Malouda, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Didier Drogba
Player of the year:
Carlos Tevez
Match of the year:
Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City (Old Trafford, Sept 20th 2009)
Championship
The Championship stuck exactly to the script which was written last August. Newcastle and West Brom walked their way through the league and never looked in trouble of losing the automatic promotion positions.
The big surprises in this division came in the guise of Leicester City reaching the playoff’s on the back of League One promotion, Blackpool reaching the playoffs having been tipped for relegation, and Middlesbrough being nowhere near promotion.
In Boro’s case their sacking of Gareth Southgate came about when they were in second place and only one point off Newcastle at the top. Replacing Southgate with Gordon Strachan and virtually the entire Celtic squad proved to be the biggest mistake Steve Gibson has made in his time as Boro owner. Once Strachan took over their league position began to plummet as results went against them at every turn. It was also further proof that Celtic and Rangers would not make it in English football.
Roy Keane’s first full season as Ipswich manager also brought about some talking points throughout the season as the used the position more as a pulpit to tell the world his thoughts about the FAI, Trappatoni, Alex Ferguson and many, many other subjects. Keane would have been better off worrying about his team’s league position and results as they finished in the bottom half of the table and flirted with the relegation places for most of the season. By the looks of it the Roy Keane managerial train could be leaving the station that is Portman Road in the very near future.
At the bottom of the table there were some surprises. Peterborough were an expected casualty but Plymouth, once a competitive team under the leadership of Ian Holloway were surprisingly relegated with three games left and Sheffield Wednesday also joined them through the trap door. Wednesday can consider themselves lucky not to have been relegated at the same time as Plymouth but for the points deduction which was given to playoff chasing Crystal Palace, thrusting them into the relegation battle which came down to the last day. Many people may think Man City-Spurs was a work of genius by the fixtures computer but the Sheffield Wednesday-Crystal Palace game on the final day proved to be the greatest fixture planning of the season. A winner takes all clash at Hillsborough which saw the home side drop back to League One while Crystal Palace may have saved their entire existence in this one game.
Team of the year:
Lee Camp, Chris Guntner, Fabricio Colloccini, Ashley Williams, Jose Enrique, Graham Dorrans, Peter Whittingham, Kevin Nolan, Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll, Michael Chopra
Player of the year:
Kevin Nolan
Match of the year:
Bristol City 2-2 Newcastle United (Ashton gate, March 20th, 2010)
League One
The 2009-2010 season finally saw Leeds United climb out of the third tier of English football. Having spent much of the season leading the way, they had an 11 point lead with a game in hand at one stage shortly after Christmas, Leeds almost threw it all away with very poor form from January through to the end of the season. Eight wins and nine losses contributed to a close escape as a final day victory over Bristol Rovers in front of a full Elland Road saw them finish second.
Ahead of them were the seasons surprise champions, Norwich City. Many people would have expected Norwich to compete for promotion but following a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Colchester United on the opening day of the season it looked like a long year ahead. However, the hiring of the manager who handed them that defeat, Paul Lambert, saw Norwich turn their season around and end up champions by a margin of nine points.
Elsewhere Millwall, Charlton, Swindon and Huddersfield will compete in the playoffs for the opportunity to join Leeds and Norwich in the Championship next season. Any one of these teams could have stolen second place from Leeds on the final day, Millwall almost did, and will see a chance to further their development at a higher level next season.
At the other end of the table Stockport County finished in the relegation zone once again. It seems to be becoming a recurring theme for Stockport to gain promotion and then follow it with a dismal season, finishing last by a whopping 25 points. Southend, Wycombe and Gillingham all joined Stockport. Gillingham could possibly count themselves unlucky as Tranmere, Exeter and Hartlepool all gained better results on the final day to send the Gills down following a single season back in League One.
It was not a vintage year for League One, but it certainly was an exciting one with any one of five teams in with a chance of promotion on the final day and any one of four teams fighting relegation on the final day. It was probably the most exciting of all the leagues in England.
Team of the year:
Kelvin Davis, Frazer Richardson, Paddy Kisnorbo, Ian Harte, Wes Hoolahan, Robert Snodgrass, Jason Puncheon, Nicky Bailey, Jermaine Beckford, Ricky Lambert, Grant Holt
Player of the year:
Paddy Kisnorbo
Match of the year:
Leeds United 2-2 Huddersfield (Elland Road, December 5th, 2009)
League Two
The League Two form table stuck to what was expected as Notts County walked their way to the title. The Sven Goran Eriksson project may not have been a complete success but it did bring the team up a level to League One for the first time since 2004. The money which came with the Middle-East consortium done enough to help Notts County achieve promotion. They may have lost Sol Campbell back to the Premier League after just one game but they kept hold of Kasper Schmeichel and Lee Hughes. These players’ wages may have epitomised all that was bad about the new Notts County, but their on-field performances showed everyone all that was good.
Bournemouth and Rochdale joined Notts County in heading up the leagues while Morecambe, Rotherham United, Dagenham & Redbridge, and Aldershot Town, will battle it out in the playoffs for the right to join them.
At the bottom of the table Darlington were virtually relegated by the time they turned to Steve Staunton after only nine games, seven of which they lost. I say they were virtually relegated because hiring Staunton could only mean that the club had given up and were marking the season as a write off. However, even at that they still got rid of Staunton after twenty-three games, of which he only won four. Darlington eventually went down, 18 points behind safety.
Grimsby Town will join them in non-league football next season as they went down on the last day of the season. Grimsby looked doomed with five games left but a run of three wins and a draw gave them a glimmer of hope which was diminished on the last day as they lost 3-0 to Burton Albion. What should have been a good season following their exploits against Leeds United in the FA Cup has ended with them dropping out of the football league for the first time in 99 years.
Team of the year:
Kasper Schmeichel, John Brayford, Craig Dawson, Ian Sharps, Tom Kennedy, Ben Davies, Stephen Dawson, Gary Jones, Nicky Law, Lee Hughes, Adam Le Fondre
Player of the year:
Kasper Schmeichel
Match of the year:
Bury 3-3 Notts County (Gigg Lane, November 14th, 2009)
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