It has become a staple of football quizzes in Britain. ‘How many non-British or Irish players started in the first weekend of the Premier League season?’. The answer, of course, is thirteen, and every time someone hears it anew, they’ll look to the person next to them, roll their eyes, tut and say “You wouldn’t see that these days would you? These days you get arrested just for saying you’re British!”

Yes, for better or worse, the Premier League is now a multinational, multicultural, global phenomenon. Thanks to the introduction of Norwich City’s Onel Hernandez in the opening game of this season, 110 of the 211 FIFA-affiliated nations have now been represented in England’s top flight, and on the opening weekend of last season the number of foreign players in the starting lineups of the first weekend of the season had risen to 126. Thanks to England’s surprising run to the semi-finals of the World Cup last summer, we were spared the bi-annual knee-jerk handwringing of the tabloid press, blaming the “invasion of foreigners” off the back of another disappointing tournament showing. Instead, it was the first international break of last season that sparked the chin-stroking around opportunities for young English players, as reflections on the success of the national team led to questions around how Gareth Southgate and any potential successor could use the performance in Russia as a springboard for the future.

It was Southgate himself that alerted the football media to the drop in minutes given to English players over the first few weeks of last season, complaining that the pool of players to pick from in the top flight was “getting smaller and smaller”, with just 30.4% of minutes in the opening weeks of the season being given to homegrown squad members. It’s an issue that has plagued English football since the inception of the Premier League, exacerbated by the introduction of the Bosman ruling and, most pertinently, the ever-increasing riches being pumped into the game by broadcasters. Suggestions of the introduction of ‘B’ teams at club level have been floated regularly – the implementation of under-21 sides into the EFL Trophy has hardly made a difference and, if anything, has only devalued the competition – while talk of reintroducing quotas for overseas players is likely to receive short shrift from those at the top of the game.

Luckily, if the opening weeks of the season are anything to go by, the problem of English players getting minutes may be a thing of the past. In the opening weeks of the season, Premier League sides have given an average of 34% of pitch time to their homegrown contingent. Unsurprisingly, the none-more-British Sean Dyche leads the way, with 60% of Burnley’s minutes being given to their English (and Austrian U21) players, though the sight of Watford – who former Hornets manager and current England U21 coach Aidy Boothroyd described as ‘unrecognisable’ when asked about the dearth of minutes for British footballers – in the upper echelons of the chart may come as a surprise. Last season, just 20.56% of minutes were given to English players by the top six sides, a figure that has so-far been improved upon by Manchester United (44%), Tottenham Hotspur (33%) and both Liverpool and Chelsea (23%), while on the whole Manchester City and Arsenal have stuck to relying on imports.

Dig a little deeper however, and there are more encouraging signs for Southgate and the future of English football. While minutes for English players as a whole have increased, the opportunities for younger players breaking into their respective first teams are also on the rise. Only two sides in the top flight – Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers – have failed to give at least 90 minutes to an English player under the age of 25 over the course of the first four games of the season, while Arsenal and Leicester City can point to four each. Among those regulars are some seasoned internationals, such as Raheem Sterling, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marcus Rashford and Ben Chilwell, but for the most part its players that have yet to establish themselves in the national side that have caught the eye.

From the promoted teams, who historically rely more on homegrown talent, Norwich City’s trio of Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey and Todd Cantwell have all enjoyed impressive starts to the season, while Sheffield United’s Dean Henderson is one of three young English goalkeepers to have played every minute of the season so far, alongside Southampton’s Angus Gunn and Bournemouth’s Aaron Ramsdale. Manchester United’s summer transfer policy of Buying British has seen Aaron Wan-Bissaka play every minute of every game so far, with Rashford and Luke Shaw not far behind, while the combination of a transfer ban and the appointment of a manager keen to promote youth has seen Chelsea emerge as a surprising hotbed of young English talent, with newly-capped Mason Mount and four-goal Tammy Abraham reaping the benefits of Frank Lampard’s arrival at Stamford Bridge.

So what’s behind this sudden resurgence of young English stars? Well, the fact that the start of this season has seen more English managers in post than any since 2008/09 – coincidentally the last time Gareth Southgate managed in the top flight – might have something to do with it. Of those eight, only two – Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace and Steve Bruce at Newcastle – form part of the ‘old guard’ that have come to rely on imported players throughout their career. Both sides rank below the average for minutes given to English players so far this season.

Another pair – Chris Wilder and Dean Smith – have arrived in the top flight from the Championship in charge of their boyhood clubs, and while both have given the full 360 minutes to an English player under 25, Sheffield United have relied considerably more on English players, with 52% of available minutes going to homegrown squad members so far this season. Given the squad overhaul that saw twelve new players arrive at Villa Park, including seven from overseas, its perhaps unsurprising that Aston Villa have given just 29% of minutes to their English contingent.

Two English coaches newly appointed ahead of the season – Lampard and Brighton’s Graham Potter – earned reputations for working with homegrown youngsters in the Championship last year with Derby County and Swansea City respectively, and while Chelsea have only given 23% minutes to their English starlets, the fact that Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount have played more than 600 minutes between them already is a far cry from their struggles to break into the first team under previous managers. Brighton, meanwhile, remain loyal to their homegrown lot, with the likes of Adam Webster, Glenn Murray, Lewis Dunk and Solly March making up 43% of the available playing time.

The final two English managers in the top flight – Eddie Howe and Sean Dyche – have undoubtedly benefited from cast iron security in their jobs, which has allowed both to slowly bring players through the ranks and into the first team. Of the players Burnley have given 60% of available minutes to so far this season, five made their debut before their 24th birthday. Bournemouth, who rank 7th with 42%, have long been associated with their commitment to playing British talent, and while the all-English back four that brought them up through the leagues is beginning to disband, Howe continues to add exciting homegrown talent to his ranks, with Lloyd Kelly and Jack Stacey joining the likes of Lewis Cook and Dominic Solanke this summer.

Besides the sudden dearth of competent English managers, we can also point to the small matter of England’s record-breaking summer of 2017 as a likely factor for the upturn in minutes for young English players. Two years ago, England’s youth teams set a new bar for international success winning four age-group tournaments (including two World Cups) and reaching the semi-finals of the under-21 European Championships. Since then, national team fans have been keeping a keen eye on the progress of players from each of those squads.

Of the thirty-five English players under 24 to have played 90 minutes or more so far this season, eight were part of one of the winning squads in 2017, while a further eight were in the squad beaten by Germany in the Euros. While the likes of Phil Foden, and Rhian Brewster – two of the standout stars in the U17 World Cup winning squad – have struggled to displace their senior counterparts at club level, Ramsdale and Mount from the U19 Euros winning team, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Fiyako Tomori, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dean Henderson from the U20 World Cup winning squad, and Harvey Barnes from the Toulon Tournament winners have all been given major roles in the top flight so far this year.  Further encouragement can be found in the Bundesliga, where Jadon Sancho continues to shine at Borussia Dortmund, while on-loan Jonjoe Kenny has played every minute for Schalke 04.

The question now remains whether this flurry of first team action for England’s youngsters is a flash in the pan or whether we can now expect team to put their faith in youth for the foreseeable future. Given the impact the likes of Abraham and Mount have had in the opening weeks of the season, there are certainly encouraging signs. It’s also worth remembering that there are still a host of players waiting patiently in the wings for their opportunities, with Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes, and Ryan Sessegnon all having tasted varying amounts of Premier League football, but yet to establish themselves as first choice, while Callum Hudson-Odoi is likely to be a starter for Lampard once he returns from injury, and Freddie Woodman has impressed in the opening weeks of his loan spell at Swansea City, having played his part in helping the Swans to the top of the Championship.

Mason Mount’s inclusion in Southgate’s squad for the first international break of the season also suggests that the national team manager will give youth the chance they deserve, and with a major tournament on the horizon, there will be plenty of new faces clamouring for a place in the squad come next summer. The pool for England’s manager suddenly resembles an ocean.

By now we’d been attending our local team’s home matches for half a season. It wasn’t unusual to hear home fans barracking their own players, however counter-intuitive that seemed to my young brain. What I hadn’t heard before was skin colour being used as some kind of qualifier for an insult. It instantly jarred. The player in question had quickly become one of my favourites, owing to his brace in the first live match I ever attended, and so any criticism thrown his way was met with my internal disapproval. This felt different however. The spite in my fellow fan’s voice provoked a physical reaction in the pit of my stomach.

I didn’t speak out because, well, I was ten years old and as much of a coward as I am now. Nobody else spoke out either. For context, this game took place in a market town in the East of England, in a constituency that would later record the largest leave vote in the country for the 2016 EU Referendum.

In the hundreds of games I’ve attended since, at grassroots, non-league, and professional level, across the UK and in Europe, I haven’t encountered another incident of racist abuse. I, and perhaps millions of others, might have been fooled into thinking it was something that no longer happened in this country. Racism on the terraces seemed to belong to the distant past, to the times of Cyrille Regis, Lawrie Cunningham and Brendan Batson. Abuse of BAME players became something that happened elsewhere; in Spain, Italy, and Eastern Europe. We’d chalk up the accusations against the likes of John Terry, Luis Suarez, and Emre Belözoğlu as one-offs, and point to Ron Atkinson as ‘part of the old school’ in a bid to maintain the charade, while simultaneously airing hand-wringing documentaries about the climate of racism in Poland, Ukraine and Russia ahead of major international tournaments.

“We’ve got to get our own house in order. There are things going on in our own country that aren’t correct. Until we do, I think we should stop firing off those things elsewhere”
Gareth Southgate, speaking ahead of the 2018 World Cup

Fans directing Islamophobic chants towards Egyptian striker Mido, anti-semitic songs at Tottenham Hotspur fans and former Chelsea and West Ham manager Avram Grant, and even, in the case of Ji-Sung Park, singing culturally insensitive songs towards their own players, were marked out as ‘the noisy minority’, the ‘few that spoil it for everyone else’. The deeper the football authorities have buried their heads in the sand, the louder that so-called minority have got. In their annual summary, campaigners for equality in football Kick It Out have seen reports of discrimination rise season-on-season since 2011. In 2018/19, these reports rose by 32%, with a 42.7% rise in reports of race-related discrimination on the previous season. Racism in English football is reaching critical mass.

The debate has been pulled into sharp focus in the last few weeks after a slew of incidents on social media in which footballers missing penalties have been the target for racist abuse from their own supporters. Reading’s Yakou Meite, Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Manchester United pair Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford have all been singled out by Twitter users, with the Pogba incident in particular leading to a long-overdue moral panic from the club, the FA, players and pundits alike.

“Give enough social media users enough keyboards and they will eventually write the works of Shakespeare, but it’ll take eons because so many of them will be busy revealing themselves to be dickheads.”
Daniel Storey, Football365

In the week following the targeting of Pogba, Kick It Out joined forces with Manchester United and arranged to meet with Twitter representatives with a view to thrashing out a plan to protect BAME footballers from online abuse. Meanwhile, the social media site has reportedly drawn up a plan to ‘monitor the accounts of fifty high-profile black footballers’ in order to get a grasp of the size of the issue. Whether this gesture proves to be as tokenistic as it sounds – surely a more proactive plan would send a stronger message to users – remains to be seen, but given the platform’s chequered history in combating hatespeech, this latest guarantee promises to do little more than pay the problem lip service.

Elsewhere, players and pundits have put forward their own suggestions as to how the worlds of football and social media can team up to counter online abuse, with Pogba’s teammate Harry Maguire donning his New Labour cap and calling for forms of identification to become part of the sign-up process for new accounts. Whilst this may tackle the issue of anonymity online, as well as prevent those with banned accounts re-registering with a different email address, it has the potential to lead us headlong into a world of identity fraud and concerns around data protection.

Phil Neville meanwhile has called for professional footballers to boycott social media altogether, removing the privilege for supporters to connect with their heroes that sites like Twitter have used as their USP for so long. Whilst this tallies with Neville’s suggestions that he would lead the England Women’s team off the pitch if they were ever subject to racist abuse during a game, there’s the sense that a boycott would not only be seen as a victory for the perpetrators, but also offers only a short-term solution for a longer term problem.

In a broader sense, there’s a split of opinion among social media users when it comes to combating abuse online. Those condemning racist posts have been met with responses that suggest amplifying these users only encourages their actions. Others simply feel that the best course of action is to ignore it and hope it goes away. That these opinions are largely shared from accounts of those that have not personally received abuse is perhaps telling. It is far easier to ignore something that has little to no impact on your own sense of identity.

While Twitter have agreed to look into ways to stem the rise of racism on its platform, they’ve also been quick to absolve themselves of total responsibility. And that’s fair enough – discrimination wasn’t invented by those who can only form opinions in 180 characters. Responding to initial queries around the abuse of Pogba, a spokesman for Twitter said, “This is a societal issue and requires a societal response.” Now if only there had been some kind of all-encompassing divide in British society in the last few years, perhaps we could land on a root cause for the new wave of racism in English football…

In all seriousness, Brexit is not wholly responsible for the upturn in incidents of discrimination. Whilst “legitimate concerns” around immigration were undoubtedly a major factor in the victory for Leave in 2016, to suggest every vote for Leave was a vote for intolerance is irresponsible and disingenuous. Any sensible, balanced commentator on the topic wouldn’t stoop so low as to state this as fact. Those that stand to benefit from that narrative – for example that it bolsters their own prejudiced beliefs – are a different story. There will be members of the British public that didn’t even vote in the referendum that have taken their cues from the sloganeering of the Leave campaign, deliberately misreading the phrase ‘Take Back Control’ and using it to their own ends.

“If we’re seeing a rise in hate crime, the Home Office is seeing a rise in hate crime and other bodies are seeing a rise in hate crime, it’s linked because that’s what is going on in society at the moment. If it’s there, we’ll see it in football”
 Roisin Wood, CEO of Kick It Out, speaking to BBC Sport

It can be said with near certainty that racism in British society has become more visible since the result of the EU referendum. In a poll by the Guardian conducted in February 2019, 71% of people from ethnic minorities reported having faced racial discrimination, compared with 58% in January 2016. If its happening on our streets, is it any great surprise that it has returned to our stadiums and now pervades our discourse online?

Since the referendum instances of racist abuse towards players in the Premier League have risen dramatically. Just last season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was targeted by Tottenham supporters during the North London derby, West Ham and Chelsea fans aimed Islamophobic chants toward Mohamed Salah, Brighton’s Gaetan Bong was subjected to abuse by a Burnley fan, whilst the racist barracking of Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge prompted the Manchester City forward to take to social media and address the issue head on. Because whilst Brexit has emboldened racists to air their backwards views publicly, there has long been a quarter of the British media informing and encouraging their point of view.

There’s more than a little irony in the fact that Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB company played a major role in moving the top flight of English football away from its dark past of hooliganism and intolerance on the terraces to the shiny multicultural cash-shitting machine is it today, particularly given the Antipodean coffin-dodger’s stranglehold on Britain’s right-wing tabloid media. Murdoch’s News Corp are responsible for the sluice of sewage that pollutes our newsagents and baby-boomer relatives homes in the twin guises of The Sun and The Daily Mail, both of whom not only banged the drum for Brexit with the sustained demonisation of immigrants, but have also been found guilty of singling out black footballers for criticism over the most trifling matters. By engendering an ‘Us and Them’ narrative, both publications earn their fair share of responsibility for the rise of racism in English football.

Rather than spending time pointing blame, it would perhaps be more beneficial for those in the media and positions of real power to begin formulating a plan to tackle this issue sooner rather than later. Tangible punishments for those spouting racial abuse online and at games must be introduced and enforced. The FA, Twitter, and football clubs at every level must be seen to be taking this matter seriously and, moving down the chain of responsibility, we as supporters can also play our part. Reporting accounts on social media, and reporting abuse in the stands is the very least we can do. I was ten years old when I first heard racist abuse at a football match. I knew it was wrong. Let’s not allow the next generation of supporters grow up thinking it isn’t.

These days its rare that an FA Cup final doesn’t feature at least one of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ teams. In fact, besides Portsmouth’s victory over Cardiff City in 2008, you’d have to go back to 1984 and Everton’s win over Elton John and Watford to find a cup final that didn’t feature any of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur. Of course the so-called ‘Big Six’ is a relatively recent construct, and Chelsea’s win over Middlesbrough in 1997 was only the beginning of their steady rise to English football’s top table, but it would certainly raise a few eyebrows to see the teams that finished 13th and 15th in the top flight meet in the showpiece of the world’s oldest cup competition.

That Manchester United and Crystal Palace had reached the final was remarkable in itself. United, struggling badly since the sacking of Ron Atkinson, had only got as far as the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in four seasons under new manager Alex Ferguson, while their league form had largely been underwhelming. A second-placed finish in 1988 was the outlier in half a decade of underachievement and, as the story goes, the Scot was under mounting pressure to turn the tide at Old Trafford. A miserable Christmas period had seen United fail to win in eight games, including a home loss to newly promoted Palace, as the Red Devils plummeted down the league table. Their next match, the FA Cup Third Round tie at Nottingham Forest, was make or break, with whispers in the corridors of power suggesting a defeat would see Ferguson sacked. Mark Robins struck the only goal of the game to secure victory for the visitors at the City Ground, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Except that doesn’t quite tell the whole story of how desperate Manchester United remained for the rest of the season. The winless run continued into Februray, until a late Mark Hughes goal secured a 2-1 win at Millwall and dragged Ferguson’s side away from the relegation zone. They would continue to hover there until a four game winning streak in April secured top flight safety. Finishing 13th flattered them. The FA Cup proved a welcome distraction however, with consecutive draws away from home shielding the team from the fury of Old Trafford. After Forest had been sidestepped, United were rewarded with trips to Hereford United, Newcastle United, and Sheffield United, before an epic semi-final against Oldham Athletic was decided in a replay at Maine Road, Mark Robins again proving the hero. Despite their wretched league form, they were tipped to lift the cup.

Crystal Palace, on the other hand, were riding high, in spite of finishing two places below the Reds. Having spend most of the 1980s perpetually plodding in Division Two, Steve Coppell had chanced upon the potent strike force of Mark Bright and Ian Wright, whose goals fired the Eagles into the top flight via the playoffs in 1989. What started out as a dream return quickly turned into a nightmare by the fourth game of the season, as Palace were humbled at Anfield. On a balmy Tuesday night by the Mersey, Perry Suckling watched helplessly as Liverpool scored nine past him without reply. It marked Palace’s biggest ever league defeat, and led to a serious inquest in the dressing room. Shortly afterwards, Steve Coppell made Bristol Rovers’Nigel Martyn the first £1m goalkeeper in English football.

Palace’s form would soon improve, and a kind run in the FA Cup saw them head deep into the competition without breaking too much sweat. Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town and Rochdale were all dispatched at Selhurst Park, before Cambridge United – the lowest ranked team left in the competition – had their cup run ended by Geoff Thomas at the Abbey Stadium. The semi-final draw would not prove so benevolent, and Liverpool would stand in the way of the Eagles’ first appearance in an FA Cup Final.

Revenge is a dish best served with a side of heart palpitations. On a sun-kissed afternoon in Birmingham, Crystal Palace and Liverpool served up one of the greatest FA Cup ties in the competition’s history. Pulsating from start to finish and packed with more drama that an Eastenders Christmas Special, even Kenny Dalglish kept his coat on in the blistering heat lest he miss a second of the action. Ian Rush’s goal after fourteen minutes had the travelling Palace fans wary of a repeat of that Anfield nightmare, but Bright’s equaliser just after the break set the tie up nicely for the remainder of the second half. Gary O’Reilley’s goal twenty minutes from time gave brief hope that the underdogs could clinch a famous victory, before those hopes were extinguished quickly by Steve McMahon and a John Barnes penalty. At 3-2 with seven minutes to go, Coppell could at least console himself with the effort his players had put into the match. But two minutes from time a melee in the Liverpool penalty area saw Andy Gray outjump four defenders on the line to nod home a dramatic equaliser. In extra time, at the Holte End of Villa Park, it was Alan Pardew that rose highest to power Gray’s corner beyond Bruce Grobbelaar and finally floor Liverpool for good.

Ian Wright

FA Cup Final

THIS IS THE REVIEW.

Manchester City

Pre-season prediction: 1^st
Mid-season prediction: 1^st

What We Said Then
“Despite going into Christmas in second place, City clearly have a few more gears to crank through before they’re playing at full potential. With De Bruyne now ready to be reintroduced into the first team, and Aguero well rested, it would be a big surprise to see the Cityzens anywhere but top come the end of the season.”

What We’re Saying Now
Two points fewer than last season, eleven fewer goals, two more defeats, and a winning margin of just a point compared to the nineteen of 2017/18. Diminishing returns it is then, and surely its only a matter of time before the light aircraft are hired, bedsheets are daubed and #PEPOUT starts trending on Twitter. No? Of course not. Manchester City become the first team since their neighbours a decade ago (yes, Manchester United used to win this thing as well) to retain the Premier League, having earned a staggering 198 points across the last two seasons. This time out they even made it interesting by splashing the cash on just one player – and not even a fullback – and teasing us all with an uncharacteristic wobble in December that saw three defeats in four as City plumbed the unthinkable depths of third. Between the Boxing Day defeat at Leicester City and the end of the season, however, Pep’s men dropped just three points – the defeat at Newcastle the kind of freak result that often derails a title bid, but inspired the reigning champions to string together a run of fourteen victories, during which they trailed for just 83 seconds. A preposterous squad of footballers coached by a man firmly on his way to becoming the best the game has ever seen. The Blue Moon has now risen, and there’s a long night ahead. 

Sleeper Hit Bernardo Silva
It’s mad to think that modern Manchester City legend, loyal servant, World Cup winner and all-round wizard David Silva would one day only be the second best player in the squad bearing his surname, but here we are. After a decent first season in Manchester during which Bernardo showed flashes of the player that impressed so much at Monaco, the Portuguese’s second campaign in the Premier League has seen his stock rise as one of the league’s outstanding playmakers. A constant goal-threat drifting in from the right, seemingly always waiting to pounce on the merest hint of a goalscoring opportunity, and able to deliver a killer pass from anywhere across the park, Silva Jr looks set to continue the good work of his namesake for years to come.

Season-Definer  Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool
A title decider in January? What a preposterous idea! And yet, thanks to the relentless nature of both Manchester City and Liverpool’s quests for glory, the destination of the Premier League trophy can be traced back to a baltic night at Eastlands, where City withstood the frenetic early pressure from Klopp’s men, John Stones prevented an opening goal by eleven millimetres, and Leroy Sane settled a pulsating game by thumping an effort in off the post eighteen minutes from time. Back then we all thought there’d be plenty more twists and turns before the season ended. There weren’t.

Liverpool

Pre-season prediction: 2nd
Mid-season prediction: 2nd

What We Said Then
“In the week before Christmas, Dejan Lovren announced that Liverpool could go the whole season unbeaten, which is as good as surrendering the title, but it does as least look like we’ll have something closer resembling a title race than most predicted pre-season.”

What We’re Saying Now
Liverpool. Mates. Any other year (apart from last year). Any other team except Pep Guardiola’s banterless automatons. In practically any other league in world football. This would have been the year. To start a season twenty games unbeaten, and to end it with another seventeen games without defeat. To go on two separate nine-game winning streaks. To be seven points clear. To lose just one game. To reach ninety-seven points. Football in 2019 is grounded in schadenfreude; dreadful memes poking fun at teams who can spark real unadulterated joy posted in the meanest of spirits. Socially-challenged slugs who take to their keyboards and relish their Nelson Muntz moment, pointing and laughing at supporters who’ve witnessed breathtaking games, unforgettable moments and unthinkable disappointment. Perhaps it’s po-faced to want to banish the banter, albeit momentarily, in lieu of applauding Liverpool for a momentous season. Perhaps its sycophantic to hope that Jurgen Klopp and his players can somehow build on the Reds best ever points tally and go one better to lift the title next season. Perhaps its time we retired the word ‘bottle’ from the football lexicon altogether.

Sleeper Hit  Georginio Wijnaldum
Newcastle fans might have afforded themselves a wry smile when Liverpool were convinced to part with £20m for the services of a player who’d a) just been relegated and b) only seemed impactful during fixtures played at home. Indeed, during his first two seasons on Merseyside the Dutchman struggled to shake suggestions he went ‘missing’ during away games, but under Klopp’s tutelage, Wijnaldum has blossomed into an all-action midfielder. Posting the highest passing accuracy of any Liverpool player with 91%, Gini has spent the season dicatating play from the centre of the pitch, screening the most resolute defence in the league, and offering a goal threat with his runs from deep. His cameo from the bench against Barcelona in that staggering Champions League comeback demonstrated the midfielders abilities in microcosm.

Season-Definer Liverpool 1-1 Leicester City
Twenty-four hours earlier Rafa Benitez, that man so connected with fans on the red half of Merseyside, who calls the area his home, had masterminded Newcastle’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City at St James’ Park and opened the door for Liverpool to take one giant step towards that elusive first Premier League title. A win over an ailing Leicester City, who’d lost their last two, would restore the Reds seven point lead at the top of the table. Sadio Mane’s goal in the third minute looked to settle any early nerves, and everything seemed business as usual before Harry Maguire’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time. Forty-five minutes of huffing and puffing couldn’t blow the Foxes rearguard down, and a golden opportunity had gone. A draw at West Ham five days later only further compounded that missed chance. Manchester City would not drop a point for the rest of the season.

Chelsea

Pre-season prediction: 5th
Mid-season prediction: 4th

What We Said Then
“There’s questions to be answered when the going gets tough, but with Arsenal emerging as the Blues main challengers for that fourth Champions League spot, you’d back Sarri to get the job done.”

What We’re Saying Now
Chelsea have changed, man. For so long the Shed End was the preserve of skinheads in casual wear who could see where that Enoch fella was coming from but still loved a bit of reggae, and had no time for none of your Fancy facking Dan nonsense. Now they’re actively trying to alienate a coach that’s taken them to domestic and European finals and finished top of the chasing pack, all because he dresses like your intimidating uncle who’s off for a day down the bookies. Okay fine, so Maurizio Sarri has spent the season playing Chelsea’s most effective midfielder – nay the best destructive protector of the back four in the world – out of position in favour of a stat-padding teacher’s pet. And fair enough, he oversaw an embarrasing defeat at Bournemouth. We get it, he stood and watched as Manchester City dished out the Blues worst defeat for nearly thirty years. Okay, okay, he’s lost certain members of the dressing room and couldn’t even get the goalkeeper he brought to the club to obey his instructions in the League Cup final. But given Roman Abramovich’s clear disinterest in the whole project, and considering he continued to get a tune out of a wantaway star, and harking back to the twelve game unbeaten run at the start of the season, has it really been all bad? Oh it has, right. As you were, then.

Sleeper Hit Callum Hudson-Odoi
Perhaps its another stick to beat Doctor Fags with, but the fact that Chelsea supporters spent so much of the season being so enraged at Sarri’s steadfast refusal to pick the most hyped product of their academy since John Terry is…a good thing? Particularly since the formerly free-spending West Londoner’s now face a year of watching from the sidelines as all and sundry throw billions of pounds at the transfer market. Hudson-Odoi’s first season in the limelight has been promising, with four goals in Chelsea’s run to the Europa League final a particular highlight, along with excellent displays against Brighton and West Ham, but Sarri’s caution in burdening him with expectation is a smart move. The eighteen year old has a bright future ahead of him, and should get plenty of chances next season to prove his mettle. Good things come to those who wait.

Season-Definer Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
The opprobrium towards Sarri reached new heights after the staggering Etihad collapse in which Manchester City waltzed to a four goal lead after a quarter of the match, eventually inflicting a record defeat on the Blues. Defeat to Tottenham at Stamford Bridge a few days later might have been terminal for the Italian, but a far more disciplined and professional showing saw Pedro give the hosts the lead, before a comical own goal from Kieran Trippier wrapped up the points. Whilst it might not have restored the supporters trust, any win over Tottenham will buy a manager time.

Tottenham Hotspur

Pre-season prediction: 4th
Mid-season prediction: 3rd

What We Said Then
“A club seemingly lost in transition, the stewardship of Pochettino has ensured limited damage to the good ship Hotspur in the past couple of years. It now falls to Daniel Levy to secure the Argentine’s services for the forseeable future if Spurs are to remain at English football’s top table.”

What We’re Saying Now
A record breaking season for Tottenham, as they become the first football club in the Premier League era to have more videos of pints being poured at their stadium published on social media than footage of actual football. Oh and they also went the whole season without making a single signing, a decision that began to look a little questionable when Mauricio Pochettino was forced to bring the faded memory of Vincent Janssen off the bench on two separate occasions. Still, Spurs struggled through, managing to completely take their eye off the domestic season from mid-February to concentrate on reaching the Champions League final, losing seven of twelve to record their highest defeat count in a decade, picking up just two points against teams in the top half in the process, and still qualifying for next season’s premier continental competition. And they say the Premier League is becoming less competitive. Still, with their shiny new stadium (which, if you haven’t heard, serves craft beer that fills up FROM THE BOTTOM), and record profits, Spurs look more likely than ever to take the next step and seriously push at a title bid. It’s Tottenham lads, but not as we know them.

Sleeper Hit Son Heung-Min
It’s long been clear that Tottenham’s #7 is a special player, but this season, returning from a mentally draining Asian Games in which Son and his South Korea team-mates swerved two years of national service, he stepped out of Harry Kane’s shadow to become Pochettino’s main man. Registering his lowest tally of minutes for a season since his first for Spurs thanks to international commitments, Son strode past Fernando Llorente into the vacancy for a scorer of important goals and took on the added responsibility with gusto, with crucial strikes against Watford, Newcastle and Leicester along with first goal scored at Tottenham’s swanky new stadium. It would be in the Champions League that the forward proved his worth however, almost single-handedly putting Manchester City to the sword with the winner in the first leg and an outstanding brace at the Etihad. So long the unsung hero, he’s now the prodigious Son.

Season-Definer Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Crystal Palace
We hadn’t seen a stadium this hyped up since West Ham fans bid farewell to the Boleyn Ground by pelting bricks at a bus containing Louis van Gaal, but given Tottenham’s reputation for soiling their pants on the big occasion, the signs that the opening night of the As-Yet-Untitled Arena would turn into a damp squib for the locals were strong. It wasn’t to be as, in front of a rousing and raucous crowd, Spurs got the job done thanks to goals from Son and Christian Eriksen. While the game itself may have had little bearing on the outcome of Tottenham’s season, it felt like Pochettino’s side were finally home after a difficult eighteen months at Wembley.

Arsenal

Pre-season prediction: 3rd 
Mid-season prediction: 5th 

What We Said Then
“On current form, you’d be barmy to bet against the Gunners securing a return to the Champions League, but they’re also up against another two sides that have been ruthless in their pursuit of points. It’ll be close, but we think they’ll just miss out. Fortunately they’ve got a Europa League specialist in the dugout.”

What We’re Saying Now
Seven points better off than last season, a Golden Boot winner in their team, and a Europa League final to look forward to, and yet some Arsenal supporters are grumbling that Unai Emery’s first season hasn’t lived up to expectations. That the Gunners played a starring role in the end of season parlour game ‘Please, After You’ and missed out on a top four spot thanks to a run of four defeats in five, with a limp draw against a dreadful Brighton side as the encore, might go some way to explaining the sense of missed opportunity at Ashburton Grove. Still, there are signs of a team ready to challenge the chasing pack over the next few seasons, with Lucas Torreira enjoying an impressive debut campaign, while the strikeforce of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks among the most potent in the league. If they can adequately replace their departing playmaker and finally bring in a half-decent central defender, they’ve half a chance of building on this season’s modest success.

Sleeper Hit Aaron Ramsey
After eleven years, countless crucial goals, and a particularly gruesome leg break, Aaron Ramsey is departing north London for pastures new and guaranteed trophies as he jets off to Turin to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus. Rather than phone in his final months at the Emirates however, Ramsey posted some of his best performances in recent memory, driving the team towards the Europa League semi-finals with an inspirational display against Napoli, and signing off in his final derby with the opening goal against Tottenham. Often the midfielder’s ability has been the subject of debate between Arsenal fans and neutrals alike, but his commitment to the cause could never be questioned, and his departure – for absolutely nowt, no less – could prove a massive blow to Emery’s attempts at building a squad that can challenge.

Season-Definer Arsenal 2-3 Crystal Palace
The scene was so typically Arsenal. Unbeaten at home since the opening day visit of Manchester City, and possessing the second best home record across the league, the Gunners had taken advantage of their wobbling neighbours to nip into the top four, with a chance to give themselves some breathing space with the visit of a bottom-half side with little to play for. The hint that it might not be Arsenal’s day arrived in the 17th minute wearing a ten foot neon sign reading ‘this might not be Arsenal’s day’ as perennial figure of fun Christian Benteke, holder of a Premier League record for shots taken without scoring, put Roy Hodgson’s side in front. Though Mesut Ozil levelled up shortly after half-time, a combination of Shkodran Mustafi and the Gunners’ insistence on picking Shkodran Mustafi led to two quickfire goals for Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur, putting the Eagles out of sight. It would prove the first of four fatal blows to Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the top four.

Manchester United

Pre-season prediction: 6th
Mid-season prediction: 6th

What We Said Then
“Solskjaer’s appointment was met with a wave of positivity from United supporters who, having been through two and a half years of painfully dull football, are just happy to see something – anything – different. In truth its impossible to say what’s going to unfold at Old Trafford in the second half of the season, but based on the new bosses debut in the crushing victory over Cardiff, the sacking of Mourinho may see an upturn in form from the likes of Pogba and Lukaku, and an unlikely push for the top four might be on the cards.”

What We’re Saying Now
Assembled on a big budget and embarking on a crucial season that had even the most hardcore fans fearing the outcome, after hours of talking and some of the most eye-rollingly predictable plot twists you’re ever likely to come across, when it came to the final reckoning everyone was left a little bit disappointed wishing they’d stopped watching back when it was enjoyable. If HBO and Sky Atlantic are looking for something to fill their primetime spot over the summer, then they could do a lot worse than re-run the dross that was Manchester United’s 18/19 season. From the mildly amusing Mourinho meltdown, to the bizarrely endearing new manager bounce under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, through to the loudest chorus of ‘I told you so’s’ since Lord Varys first raised a sceptical eyebrow in the direction of Tyrion Lannister, it has been a season to forget. The twelve game unbeaten run that earned Ole a proper go at the wheel seems a distant memory after the car crash run in that saw United embark on their worst run on results since football was invented in 1992. Expect a massive overhaul at Old Trafford in the summer, ideally beginning with the executive vice-chairman.

Sleeper Hit Diogo Dalot
Signed as one for the future for the not inconsiderable amount of £19m, the Portuguese full-back finally began to string together a run of games once Mourinho had left the building, posting some impressive performances and helping himself to two assists in the process. Whilst United have problems all over the pitch, much of their defensive fragility has been put down to a pair of fullbacks who share the combined age of someone who’s no longer legally permitted to control a moving vehicle. For all the flashes of promise Dalot has shown in his first season at Old Trafford, his biggest asset is that he isn’t Antonio Valencia or Ashley Young.

Season-Definer Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Manchester United
The game in which Manchester United began to seriously consider whether Solskjaer was the managerial mastermind they’d been convinced he was, or whether he just likes talking about the good old days. The Norwegian’s twelve game unbeaten run had come to an end at Arsenal three weeks earlier, but Woodward had still decided to offer Ole the full time job, thanks to the club’s Champions League progression against Europe’s flakiest oilballers. Against Wolves, the severity of Red Ed’s haste soon became clear, as United were played off the park by a hungrier side. They would win just once more before the end of the season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Pre-season prediction: 8th
Mid-season prediction: 10th

What We Said Then
“Not quite the best promoted side the Premier League has ever seen, nor ready for a push into the race for Europe, Wolves are at least building a foundation for an extended stay in the top flight. With Nuno, they have a tactically adept manager with fresh ideas, and thanks to the owners relationship with super-agent Jorge Mendes, the next big thing from overseas could be just a phone call away.”

What We’re Saying Now
Potential European qualification, best record against the top six of any team outside it, victories over Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham, and an FA Cup semi-final appearance. All in all, not a bad season from a club that were fighting relegation from the second division two seasons ago. Under Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves play attractive, exciting football with a squad that mixes superb technicality and enormous graft, and on this season’s showing they look set to stick around the upper echelons of the Premier League table from some time to come. Their biggest regret, besides the Wembley collapse against Watford, will be the points dropped against sides towards the bottom of the table (37.5% of Huddersfield Town’s points were won against Wolves), with an apparent complacency setting in when lining up against the so-called lesser teams. If Nuno can address that, and add a little more quality to the squad, 2019/20 could be even better.

Sleeper Hit Diogo Jota
Overshadowed by countrymen Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, as well as strike partner Raul Jiminez during the first half of the season, Jota came into his own at the turn of the year. A hat-trick in the breathless 4-3 win over Leicester was followed with crucial goals against Cardiff, Manchester United, Arsenal and Watford, as well as the winner in Wolves’ FA Cup Quarter-Final meeting with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. Ranking joint third with Matt Doherty for assists, and a constant pain in the backside for defenders with his space-making runs, the former Porto man is a key component in Nuno’s system.

Season-Definer Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Manchester City
A credible opening day draw with Everton had given way to a deflating defeat at Leicester City before Wolves welcomed the champions to Molineux back in August. Their commitment to pressing and attacking Pep Guardiola’s side came as a breath of fresh air given the multiple attempts by teams to sit deep and soak up sky blue pressure last season, and the newly promoted side’s enterprise was rewarded with Willy Boly’s dubious opening goal on a sun-kissed afternoon in the West Midlands. Though Aymeric Laporte’s equaliser twelve minutes later denied Nuno’s side a famous victory, the blueprint for Wolves’ gameplan against the top six was plain for all to see, and would reap sixteen points across the season.

Everton

Pre-season prediction: 9th
Mid-season prediction: 7th
 
What We Said Then
“Based on the talent and resources available, Silva’s side look a shoe-in for seventh, beyond that, Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright will have to dig a lot deeper to push the Toffees up the table.”

What We’re Saying Now
A bead of sweat forms on his temple, trickles down past his slate-grey five o’clock shadow and plummets onto a tanned forearm, nestling into the thatched forest of hair. The crunch of grinding teeth syncopates with the tap-tap-tap of his laptop keyboard. With one final, forceful exhale he clicks the ‘Tweet’ button. “BIG SAM HAD THEM FINISHING EIGHTH” says Richard Keys. Which is true of course, he did. And he did it while collecting fewer points, scoring fewer goals, conceding considerably more, and managing to turn a whole fanbase against him in the process. Marco Silva’s first season at Goodison has hardly been sunshine and rainbows. A 6-2 defeat at home to Tottenham two days before Christmas saw the nadir of his tenure, the final humiliating part of a five game run without victory. By the turn of the year, he was clinging on to his job for dear life. The turnaround came with a 0-0 draw against Liverpool, where for once Everton’s inferiority complex didn’t get the better of them, denying their neighbours a crucial two points in the title race. From then on, despite the odd slip, Silva’s team looked transformed, willing to take the game to more illustrious opponents, and playing some genuinely scintillating football. If their late season run is the shape of things to come, then the good times might be returning to the blue side of Stanley Park.

Sleeper Hit Lucas Digne
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it’s still nigh on impossible as a football fan to not be excited when your club signs a player from Barcelona. Rather than the sensible, measured line of thinking that says ‘he’s not good enough for Barcelona’, the more naive among us tend to get carried away into thinking ‘he played for Barcelona!’. With the Catalans sending three of their off-cuts to Merseyside, there was always a chance that Everton might find some wheat among the chaff, and so it proved with Lucas Digne. Desperate for some fresh legs at left-back now that Leighton Baines is spending more time concentrating on aping Paul Weller’s hairstyle, Digne has emerged as one of the signings of the season. Ranking second for both interceptions and assists, and notching the most key passes of any Everton player this season, its Digne’s prowess from dead balls that has wowed the Goodison faithful in his debut campaign. A belting free-kick to equalise in stoppage-time against Watford provided the perfect announcement for his arrival.

Season-Definer Everton 2-0 Chelsea
The same fixture as last season’s defining pick, but a different result altogether, that goes some way to highlighting the leaps and bounds the Toffeemen have come on since ditching the Count of Monte Bisto for Baby Jose. In 17/18, Allardyce set up his Everton side to prevent a lacklustre Chelsea from scoring, managing to register zero shots on target in ninety minutes that none of those who witnessed it will ever get back. This time out, buoyed by that point against Liverpool, Silva’s team went for the jugular. Having allowed Chelsea all of the possession in the first half,  goals from Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson in a much improved second forty-five secured the three points for Everton, and set them on course for a run of form that saw them pick up seventeen points in their final eight games.

Leicester City

Pre-season prediction: 12th 
Mid-season prediction: 12th

What We Said Then
“With a sense that there is little to play for and most of those at the club would like to get this season over and done with as soon as possible, a lower midtable finish will hardly be seen as the end of the world.”

What We’re Saying Now
In a season overshadowed by the tragedy that took the lives of chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, two of his business associates and two pilots, Leicester City have emerged looking ahead to the prospect of a very bright future. The sacking of Claude Puel, unfathomably the most unpopular manager working in club football today, hardly arrived as a shock, and the arrival of Brendan ‘a breath of fresh air’ Rodgers reinvigorated a squad that have a habit of not looking arsed every now and again. Propelled to a top half finish, a squad filled with exciting young players and experienced older heads will head into next season full of momentum, and will fancy their chances of gatecrashing the top six. How would the new manager rate his few first months in charge? “Okay”.

Sleeper Hit Ben Chilwell
A once-popular and now-defunct Fantasy Football podcast once labelled Leicester’s left-back as “one of the worst players the Premier League has ever seen”. This season, whilst that podcast came to a sudden end, Ben Chilwell came of age. Not only has the academy graduate staked his claim as Gareth Southgate’s first choice full-back, he’s also got the likes of Manchester City vying for his signature with a host of impressive performances for the Foxes, flying up and down the left hand side and proving him self as adept at defending as his is going forwards. Ranking in the top five for key passes and successful dribbles for Leicester, his tally of four assists this season will only improve. Sadly, it affords him less time to spend on his two-man Public Information Service on the importance of hydrating at the correct temperature with former teammate Danny Drinkwater.

Season-Definer Leicester City 3-1 Fulham
The last game at the King Power Stadium before the visit of Fulham had seen the end to Whispering Claude’s tenure with a meek defeat to Crystal Palace, and new boy Brendan could hardly have cherry-picked better opposition to drive home the feel-good factor that had greeted his appointment. The free-falling Fulham did at least put up a little resistence as Floyd Ayite equalised Youri Tielemans’ first-half opener, but a brace from Jamie Vardy, a man who loves impressing a new boss – he scored the opening goal of Puel, Craig Shakespeare and Claudio Ranieri’s spells in charge – put the game to bed and set the Foxes off on a four game winning streak. Just like that, the clouds had been lifted in the East Midlands.

West Ham United

Pre-season prediction: 7th
Mid-season prediction: 8th

What We Said Then
“With a generous set of fixtures over the festive period, this is West Ham’s chance to put themselves in the running for that newly-cherished seventh spot in the table. It looks likely they’ll be pipped to the post by Everton come the end of the season, but finally the  Hammers are heading in the right direction.”

What We’re Saying Now
“This is the first time I have not qualified for Europe so I hope that next season we will do it” was Manuel Pellegrini’s relatively downbeat summation of his first season at the London Stadium. But if ardent Brexiteers find themselves conflicted by the Chilean’s approach to the continent, they might also seek inspiration from Hammers’ fans tactics of civil disobedience during last season’s defeat to Burnley that encouraged the club’s owners to secure a top-class manager in the first place. While it’s hardly been a spectacular campaign for the Irons, it has marked a period of transition whereby genuinely talented footballers have been drafted into the squad, a semblance of identity has been introduced to the team’s playing style, and they managed to go a whole season without losing a cult hero. The emergence of Declan Rice alongside the ever-steady Mark Noble, an impressive debut season from man mountain Issa Diop in front of the ever-improving Lukasz Fabianski, and the introduction of the mercurial Felipe Anderson offer plenty of hope for the future, provided those villains in the boardroom don’t cock it up.

Sleeper Hit Robert Snodgrass
A year ago Wee Snoddy was taking nutrional advice from Steve Bruce and living on a diet that largely consisted of cornish pasties and steak bakes during his season-long stay at Aston Villa that saw him commuting from Birmingham to London on a daily basis. Back in the fold under Pellegrini, and older, wiser and a little less divey than during his days at Hull City, Snodgrass has moulded himself into a dependable midfielder that can play across the middle of the park. Any pace lost from the consumption of 235 Costa Caramel Lattes has been channeled into working on his eye for a defence-splitting pass, and his hold up play and defensive contribution have played as much of a part in West Ham’s success this season than his shoulder-dropping mazy runs. Twenty-six starts – the most he’s managed in a Premier League season since Norwich City’s demotion in 2014 – shows the extent of Pellegrini’s trust in the Scot, who’s come a long way since arriving at the London Stadium and being faced with the question “where do you play, then?”

Season-Definer West Ham United 0-2 Watford
A tough start to the season with four defeats on the bounce had been punctuated with dazzling displays against Everton and Manchester United, but after Manchester City strolled to a 4-0 victory in Stratford, fears that Pellegrini had lost his touch began to resurface. That defeat preceeded a scintillating run of four wins on the bounce, with the Hammers scoring eleven goals in the process and looking every inch a team enjoying the injection of some South American flair. Rising to ninth in the table, talk of a push for Europe arrived in earnest, and the visit of fellow challengers Watford offered the perfect opportunity to steal a march in the race for seventh. Instead, shades of the old West Ham emerged, with Troy Deeney’s first half penalty and a late Gerard Deulofeu goal earning the spoils for Javi Gracia’s side. The Hammers wouldn’t find that momentum again before the end of the season.

Watford

Pre-season prediction: 18th 
Mid-season prediction: 11th

What We Said Then
“Oh what fools we were to doubt the Pozzo family. We’re still not entirely sure what their plan is, or even if they have one, but once they’d flown out of the traps at the start of the season, our relegation prediction looked as short-sighted and embarrassing as Elton John after one too many Snowballs. Watford are here to stay.”

What We’re Saying Now
Not since the misguided Omelette Eating Contest at the 2012 London Festival of Football Writing have so many journalists and pundits been left with so much egg on their face as they have witnessing Watford’s extraordinary season. Tipped for the drop by all and sundry, four wins of the bat had some in Hertfordshire indulging in Champions League chat. But while the production of Real Madrid and Watford half-and-half scarves may have been fanciful, to suggest the Hornets season has been anything but a resounding success would be churlish. Javi Gracia, the so-called no-name who had little chance of seeing out the season, has instilled a recognisable footballing philosophy at the club, getting the best out of a group of players that range from limited to mercurial. Whilst the cup run may have caused them to take their eyes off the league in the latter stages of the season, the dazzling performances against Cardiff and Fulham served as a reminder that these boys can play on their day.

Sleeper Hit Gerard Deulofeu
Often cited as a luxury player, and faced with accusations of lacking application, the former Barcelona man hit the form of his life towards the latter stages of the season, finishing with a career high ten goals and adding five assists to-boot. A hat-trick at the Cardiff City Stadium, during a game in which he was given the freedom of the principality, showed signs of a player who has finally found his eye for goal. Provided he can maintain some kind of consistency, Deulofeu could be the man to fill the void as Watford’s creative linchpin.

Season-Definer Watford 3-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers (FA Cup Semi-Final)
For all of the impressive wins in the Premier League, the most memorable afternoon of Watford’s season undoubtedly came at Wembley in perhaps the most stirring semi-final comeback of all time. Two goals down with eleven minutes to play, and having barely troubled John Ruddy for the best part of eighty minutes, a moment of magic from Deulofeu gave Watford supporters who’d made the short trip to North London a glimmer of hope, before a remarkable brainfart from Leander Dendoncker gifted Troy Deeney the opportunity to take the tie to extra time. If there were anyone you’d want to shoulder that responsibility, it would be Watford’s cojone-obsessed striker, and Deeney’s emphatic spot-kick sucked the wind out of Wolves’ sails. In the extra thirty minutes there looked to be only one winner, and so it proved as Deulofeu again came up with the goods, slotting home to book Watford’s place in their first FA Cup final for more than thirty years.

Crystal Palace

Pre-season prediction: 11th
Mid-season prediction: 14th

What We Said Then
“It was the addition of Meyer, alongside Hodgson’s good work last season, that had us thinking Palace could trade blows with the likes of West Ham and Leicester City for a place in the top half this term. Without Luka Milivojevic’s penalties however, the Eagles are lacking a difference maker, and the second half of the season could be a real slog.”

What We’re Saying Now
There’s an unspoken agreement among the football media that Roy Hodgson is exempt from criticism. Everyone loves good old Uncle Roy. He’s intelligent! He’s erudite! He looks like an owl! He’s getting on a bit! He managed an England team that got knocked out of a major tournament by Iceland. He’s managing the club he supported as a boy! But on closer inspection – has he had a successful season? Yes, Crystal Palace are run on a tight budget. Yes, they’ve picked up some eye-catching results this season, not least completing the Abu Dhabi Double away at Manchester City and Arsenal. So why were they still being talked about as outsiders for relegation? And why have they finished in the bottom half of the table again? Probably because Hodgson was forced to spend half a season with Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham as his two senior strikers, but still Crystal Palace remain something of a conundrum. Consistently inconsistent – a run of nine games between February and April saw them record results of WLWLWLWLW – and still heavily reliant on penalties – eleven were awarded to Palace in 18/19 to add to their league high ten from last season – a proven goalscorer will be high on Hodgson’s shopping list this summer. Perhaps then we’ll have a better idea of how far he can take this side.

Sleeper Hit Luka Milivojevic
Before moving to Selhurst Park from Olympiacos, Luka Milivojevic had never taken a penalty in a professional football match before. In the two and a half seasons since joining, he’s taken twenty-one and scored nineteen. For the second season running he’s finished as Crystal Palace’s top scorer, whilst simultaneously running games from midfield and chipping in with the odd ripsnorter from open play. For all the praise the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend rightfully receive as the prongs of Palace’s attack, the Serbian has established himself as perhaps the Eagles’ most important player. After all, it was his goal that secured their first win without Zaha in over two years.

Season-Definer Leicester City 1-4 Crystal Palace
Just as they had the season before, Roy’s Boys arrived at the King Power Stadium and demolished a Leicester City side being tipped for that newly-coveted 7th place finish with some scintillating counter-attacking football. A first goal for Michy Batshuayi since his arrival on loan from Chelsea set the Eagles on their way, before a Zaha double and a Milivojevic penalty added shine to an impressive performance. Having taken five points from their previous three games, the win at Leicester arrived as a timely reminder of how good Palace can be on their day, and perhaps how close they are to joining that cabal of teams outside the top six. With a an extra bit of quality and a little more consistency, we could be seeing a lot more of these kinds of performances.

Newcastle United

Pre-season prediction: 15th
Mid-season prediction: 16th

What We Said Then
“Even with Rafa Benitez’s experience and tactical nous, Newcastle are one or two injuries away from full on crisis. A team lacking in goals and creativity, if Mike Ashley is serious about offloading the club at the highest possible price, he’d be foolish to risk a third relegation in his time as owner by failing to provide the tools to secure safety.”

What We’re Saying Now
For the third successive season, Rafael Benitez has confounded expectations on Tyneside by steering Mike Ashley’s bargain bin of tat to a respectable league position. The most fraught campaign during the Spaniard’s tenure has seen constant speculation surrounding the manager’s future, another alleged takeover attempt, regular fan unrest, and still the occasional reminder that when the team get it right at St James’ Park it’s among the most special places to watch football in the world. An abysmal start to the season saw the Toon fail to win before the nights started drawing in, but an upturn in form and the club-record acquisition of Miguel Almiron in the new year spurred Benitez’s men on to safety, even abandoning the manager’s normally pragmatic approach to play some attractive attacking football. Sadly, thanks to the continued parsimony and procrastination of their wretched owner, Newcastle supporters won’t be allowed to enjoy the prospect of another season in the top flight for too long, as Benitez’s future remains uncertain heading into the summer. The soap opera that is North-Eastenders continues.

Sleeper Hit Isaac Hayden
Summer 2018: Isaac Hayden expresses a desire to leave Newcastle United for personal reasons. August 2018: Isaac Hayden is sent off nineteen minutes after coming on as a substitute at Cardiff. A section of the Newcastle support are vocal in their wish to never see him don the black and white stripes again. May 2019: Isaac Hayden’s imminent departure from St James’ Park is mourned by the Magpies faithful. The 18/19 season has been a wild ride for the Arsenal academy graduate, transforming himself from a player on the fringes of Benitez’s squad to one of the first names on the team sheet with some dynamic and fearless performances in the centre of the park, and a remarkable run that saw him notch a goal and three assists in five games during the Toon’s resurgence. Purchased for a meagre £2.5m, he looks set to make Mike Ashley a tidy profit this summer.

Season-Definer Newcastle United 2-1 Manchester City
As the clock ticked down on another frustrating transfer window for Newcastle’s manager, and supporters mobilised themselves to raucously protest at the negligence of their club’s owner, news broke that the Magpies were on the verge of breaking their longstanding transfer record with a £21m bid for Paraguayan playmaker Miguel Almiron. The clouds over St James’ Park were lifted. Then Sergio Aguero put City a goal up in the first minute. The anticipated onslaught from Pep’s oilballers never arrived, however, and with City slowly running out of ideas, Newcastle grew in confidence. Salomon Rondon’s emphatic finish looked to have pinched a point late in the day, before Sean Longstaff, the local boy with only a handful of first team appearances, drifted past Fernandinho and tripped over the Brazilian’s trailing leg to earn a penalty for the hosts. After a lengthy delay, Matt Ritchie thundered home the spot-kick, and against all the odds, Newcastle had beaten the champions. It marked another of those all-too-rare special nights on Tyneside.

Bournemouth

Pre-season prediction: 17th
Mid-season prediction: 9th

What We Said Then
 “Pre-season we didn’t think Bournemouth’s recruitment had sufficiently plugged the gaps from last season, but we hadn’t reckoned with Wilson’s extended period of leave from the physio room, nor Brooks’ seamless transition to the top flight. Despite a couple of heavy defeats, the Cherries are a match for most these days, and an upper mid-table finish would represent steady progress this season.”

What We’re Saying Now
In a season of flaky inconsistency outside the top two, Bournemouth must surely rank high for being the flakiest and most inconsistent of the lot. Their now annual superb start to the season had the Eddie Howe Hype Machine in overload, as football writers (including yours truly) fell to their knees to praise the remarkable work of the future ex-England manager. Then they lost four on the bounce and drifted into midtable mediocrity. Flashes of that old Howe magic arrived in the 4-0 victory over Chelsea and the 5-0 massacre of Brighton, but those outstanding results sandwiched defeats to Cardiff and Burnley and a 5-1 howking at Arsenal (Arsenal!). They were also the only side to lose at home to Fulham. Still, ten years ago they were almost relegated from the Football League, so it could be worse.

Sleeper Hit Steve Cook
Too many Cooks spoil the broth, but with Lewis ruled out for the remainder of the season with a cruciate ligament rupture in December, it fell to stalwart Steve to take on the culinary mantle at the Vitality Stadium. Though not as cultured as defensive partner Nathan Ake, Cook remains the Cherries’ last ditch man, topping the charts for clearances this season with an average of 6.5 per game. His dominance in the air has also played a big part in the five clean sheets earned since the start of the year, winning 120 aeriel duels across the season, more than any of his Bournemouth compatriots. Accused of lacking Premier League class when Bournemouth first arrived in the top flight, Cook continues to defy his critics.

Season-Definer Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester United
It was supposed to be the day that Bournemouth cemented their credentials as top seven challengers. The visit of Manchester United – in the midst of the tri-annual Mourinho meltdown and sitting three places behind the Cherries in the Premier League table – had come hot on the heels of an emphatic demolition of Fulham and the ensuing media love in. Callum Wilson opened the scoring in the eleventh minute, United were struck with that familiar sinking feeling, and another famous victory at Dean Court looked on the cards. Then, ten minutes before the break, Bournemouth were caught napping. The shadow of Alexis Sanchez picked out in-form Anthony Martial, and the French forward restored parity. In the second half, momentum swung the way of Mourinho’s men, as Asmir Begovic flung himself at everything to frustrate the visitors. A point might have kept the Cherries momentum going, but Marcus Rashford’s suckerpunch in the 92nd minute delivered a morale-sapping blow. Bournemouth would win just twice more in their next eleven games, sinking from 6th to 12th.

Burnley

Pre-season prediction: 13th  
Mid-season prediction: 18th

What We Said Then
“Unlikely to transform into the kind of side that wins games 4-3, Dyche has a job on his hands to stem the flow of shots afforded to the opposition. If he can’t, there’s only one way Burnley are headed.”

What We’re Saying Now
If in doubt, drop Joe Hart. England’s #1 anti-dandruff shampoo salesman made what looks to be his final appearance for the Clarets during a disastrous 5-1 defeat to Everton at Turf Moor on Boxing Day, in a game that had all sundry tipping Dyche’s men for the drop. As with West Ham last season, Burnley’s form drastically improved with the fistpumping passion merchant dropped to the bench, and a remarkable run from the turn of the year that saw victories over Spurs and Wolves had last year’s Best of the Rest Champions looking up the table rather than down. The emergence of academy product Dwight McNeil in the second half of the season also provided fans with hope for the future, as long as they can see off interest from the bigger fish in the league. 

Sleeper Hit Tom Heaton
The beneficiary of Dyche’s moment of clarity was the ever-reliable Heaton, and having worked his way back into the first team, he wasn’t about to give up the #1 jersey easily. A clean sheet on his return against West Ham sparked an eight game streak without defeat for the Clarets, during which they conceded an average of 0.9 goals per game. In Hart’s last eight apperances between the sticks, they’d conceded an average of two per game. At 33, Heaton is hitting the prime of his career, and with Hart and Jack Butland fading from view, he has a serious claim to challenge Jordan Pickford at international level. Few goalkeepers have played such a big part in a team’s success this season.

Season-Definer Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 Burnley
It was a game that had no right to be as enthralling as it was. A grim Saturday evening in February in the BT Sports tea-time kick-off slot, a meeting between two sides battling it out towards the wrong end of the table, with neither known for their adventurous football, but Burnley put on a counter attacking masterclass to lift them towards midtable, and send their hosts spiraling towards trouble. For all their admirers, Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk had no answer to the power and physicality of Chris Woods, who bullied the centre-back pairing for ninety minutes and helped himself to a brace in the process, while Ashley Barnes made the usual nuisance of himself and settled the match with a late penalty. Though it may not have mathematically secured survival, this victory on the south coast saw Burnley take one giant step towards maintaining their Premier League status for a third season running.

Southampton

Pre-season prediction: 14th
Mid-season prediction: 15th

What We Said Then
“Even in the early stages of his tenure Hasenhüttl appears to have summoned a little bit extra from his new squad and, if a certain England international’s deleted tweets are to be believed, he’s finally introduced a tactical plan to proceedings.”

What We’re Saying Now
What a difference a talented, progressive and oddly handsome manager can make. When Saints swapped Grandma Leslie for The Rabbit Hutch they were deep in the brown stuff and looking like this season’s contenders for the ‘too good to go down’ crown. With a quick wave of his Alpine wand, Ralph Hasenhüttl had Southampton playing the kind of football that had made them a joy to watch under Koeman and Pochettino in years gone by. Getting a tune out of his motley crew of strikers, making Nathan Redmond look an attacking threat, and encouraging James Ward-Prowse to channel his inner David Beckham, crucial wins over top half teams including Arsenal, Everton and Leicester dragged the south coast side towards safety. If he’s allowed to work with the club’s hierarchy to build a squad in his vision, the Saints might just be marching back into the top half next season.

Sleeper Hit Shane Long
The most Irish face in football has endured years of being a byword for misfiring strikers, thanks largely to his barren run of 23 games without a goal in 2016. After two seasons that returned just five Premier League goals, Long matched that tally in his first four months under Hasenhüttl. The Austrian’s faith in Long to make a nuisance of himself paid dividends, and the former West Brom man even ended the season with a new Premier League record thanks to his doublequick strike at Watford.

Season-Definer Southampton 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Despite the solidity introduced by Hasenhüttl upon his arrival, Saints still found themselves teetering on the edge of the relegation zone heading into March, with a late Romelu Lukaku goal denying them a well deserved point at Old Trafford that would have allayed fears of the drop. At St Mary’s the following week, Champions League chasing Tottenham Hotspur looked in no mood to offer the Saints a helping hand, with Harry Kane providing the visitors with a half-time lead. Revitalised in the second half, Southampton peppered Hugo Lloris’ goal, and were rewarded with Yann Valery’s equaliser, before another Ward-Prowse special stole all three points. Saints would take that impetus into their next five games, reaping nine points and securing safety with a thrilling draw against Bournemouth.

Brighton and Hove Albion

Pre-season prediction: 10th 
Mid-season prediction: 13th
 
What We Said Then
“After a pre-season prediction driven by wide-eyed excitement at Brighton’s summer recruitment, harsh reality has set in, and perhaps Hughton’s team aren’t quite ready to challenge for a place in the top half. Still, one look at their class of 2017 contemporaries is enough to convince Albion supporters that things could be a lot worse, and a season of consolidation is no bad thing.”

What We’re Saying Now
The history books will state that Brighton and Hove Albion finished the 2018/19 season as the 17th best side in the Premier League, but a more honest assessment would have them the fourth worst. An abysmal second half of the campaign, in which they won just twice from the turn of the year, saw Chris Hughton’s side stutter and stumble over the finish line for safety, with only Cardiff City’s inability to capitalise on the Seagulls’ poor form the difference between the Amex hosting Premier League or Championship football next season. Despite spending big in the summer, Brighton found themselves lacking a credible Plan B when it came to scoring goals, a fact which led to a twelve hour drought in April as they were dragged into the relegation dogfight. The sacking of Chris Hughton the morning after the final day of the season provided a clear message from Brighton’s top brass. The winds of change are howling on the south coast.

Sleeper Hit Yves Bissouma
For all the excitement over Brazilian full-backs and Eredivisie top scorers arriving in Falmer during the summer, those in the know had touted the acquisition of Malian midfielder Bissouma as Brighton’s best bit of business. Whilst it took the former Lille man a little time to force his way into the first-team, Bissouma proved one of the few bright spots in a difficult second half to the season, ranking fourth for both successful tackles and successful passes. At just 22, the best is yet to come, and under the right tutleage Bissouma has all the right attributes to become a ferocious box-to-box midfielder.

Season-Definer Crystal Palace 1-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
It’ll rightly go down as the win that kept Brighton up; that it arrived at the beginning of March tells the story of an insipid end to the season. Doing the double over their not-so-local rivals will undoubtedly prove one of the few high points in a disappointing campaign for the Seagulls, but the knowledge that those six points effectively saved them from the drop will make it even sweeter. Anthony Knockeart’s winning goal – a tremendous curling effort from distance – was the icing on the cake, particularly given the Belgian’s fortune in remaining on the pitch following a crunching late tackle in the opening minute.

Cardiff City

Pre-season prediction: 20th  
Mid-season prediction: 17th

What We Said Then
“There’s still a long way to go, but the fact that Neil Warnock still finds himself in a job gives you an idea of how the first-half of Cardiff’s season has gone. One of the favourites for the sack race in the pre-season betting, football’s favourite dinnerlady has shown his ability to work with the tools at his disposal, and get the most from a limited squad. In a season that’s more a race to the bottom than a fight for survival, the Bluebirds might just do enough to survive.”

What We’re Saying Now
It’s a bittersweet symphony this life. The story of Cardiff City’s 2018/19 season will boil down to a host of what-ifs and what-might-have-beens, as refereeing decisions, poor performances at inopportune moments, and real-life tragedy all conspired to condemn them to the drop. Manager Neil Warnock was quoted as saying that this had been his most enjoyable season in management, and its not hard to see why. Slated as the whipping boys in the opening weeks, Cardiff overcame their diminutive budget and lack of top flight nous to mix it with established Premier League teams, but ultimately, when it really mattered, the Bluebirds fell short. They have, for the most part, been a credit to themselves, and can return to the Championship with their heads held high.

Sleeper Hit Victor Camarasa
Arguably Cardiff’s canniest piece of business in the transfer market, the loan signing of tenancious midfielder Camarasa from Real Betis provided some much needed silk in the centre of the park. Camarasa finished the season as Cardiff’s third highest passer, alongside being joint top scorer and providing the most assists of any Bluebirds player. A bright future awaits.

Season-Definer Cardiff City 1-2 Chelsea
Having played themselves into form with back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and Southampton, three defeats on the bounce looked to have all but ended Cardiff’s brave fight against relegation. A comfortable victory over West Ham reignited hopes of Warnock’s men scrambling their way out of danger, and against Maurizio Sarri’s schizophrenic Chelsea side, there was real belief that the Bluebirds could get a result. Camarasa’s goal right after half-time looked like sparking a major upset, but when Cesar Azpilicueta’s equaliser was inexplicably judged to be onside, the South-Walians’ resolve faltered. Ruben Loftus-Cheek delivered the killer blow in stoppage time, and Cardiff struggled to recover from the injustice for the remainder of the season, losing all but one of their remaining seven games.

Fulham

Pre-season prediction: 16th  
Mid-season prediction: 19th

What We Said Then
“So far this season has been a disaster for the Craven Cottage faithful. Hopes of even challenging for a place in Europe weren’t considered delusional following the recruitment of some exciting talent from the continent, but while the likes of Andre Schurrle and Jean Michaël Seri have impressed in patches, other summer signings have flattered to deceive. Owner Shahid Khan won’t be shy with the chequebook in January, but quality, rather than quantity, will be the key to survival.”

What We’re Saying Now
Hiring three different managers in a season tends to suggest all hasn’t gone to plan, and with Slavisa Jokanovic paying the price for sticking to his brand of free-flowing attacking football (conceding an average of 2.6 goals per game), and Claudio Ranieri’s attempts to batten down the hatches proving fruitless (conceding an average of 2 goals per game), it was left to club legend Scott Parker to take on the impossible job and attempt to save the Cottagers (conceding an average of 1.6 goals per game). Whilst plebs like us were impressed with the mass of shiny new things Shahid Khan had assembled at the start of the season, the more learned spectators were questioning whether completely overhauling the squad that had achieved promotion was the wisest thing to do. It wasn’t. Whilst some players completely failed to live up to the hype, others showed they had very little interest in a fight against relegation. Those left over, largely from last season, lacked the quality needed to stay in the Premier League. A run of three victories post-relegation gives hope of fresh impetus for their return to the Championship, but expect plenty of departures before August.

Sleeper Hit Ryan Babel
Ridiculed as a last, desperate throw of the dice by Khan thanks to his chequered spell at Liverpool almost a decade ago, Babel almost single-handedly restored a smattering of pride for the West Londoners in the second half of the season. With a hand in 57% of Fulham’s goals following his arrival, including the matchwinner against Cardiff City, Babel has a claim to be the Cottagers’ most effective player this season alongside Aleksander Mitrovic. Enjoying something of a renaissance, it would be a surprise if the Dutchman isn’t snapped up by a team in Europe’s top five leagues before the start of next season.

Season-Definer Watford 4-1 Fulham
The away end at Vicarage Road told the whole story. Where fans had turned up on the opening day of the season at Craven Cottage full of expectation and looking forward to their return to the big time, they trudged to Watford with a sense of resignation. With banners pronouncing the game ‘Fulham’s Relegation Party’, the travelling support were under no illusions as to how the evening would unfold, and Watford duly delivered the killer blow to their time in the top flight. The damage had long been done, particularly given the fact that they had only picked up four points from teams outside of the bottom five by April, but the limp surrender in Hertfordshire summed Fulham’s season up in a nutshell.

Huddersfield Town

Pre-season prediction: 19th
Mid-season prediction: 20th

What We Said Then
“Huddersfield simply aren’t dangerous enough in front of goal to win games. Unfortunately, without serious investment, there’s little to suggest that’s going to change any time soon. Even Fulham can score goals, for christ’s sake.”

What We’re Saying Now
If Huddersfield Town could be the embodiment of any fleeting character from ’90s reality television, it’d be a cheery-yet-downtrodden dog that’s been admitted to Rolf Harris’ Animal Hospital, with hopes of a full recovery from chronic mange. Sadly, the little fellas didn’t make it. The Terriers have been put out of their suffering after a miserable season that saw them narrowly beat Derby County’s record for fewest goals in a 38 game campaign. They didn’t score enough, they conceded too many, and not even appointing a manager you literally couldn’t pick out of the crowd was enough to save them. With Dean Hoyle announcing the end to his tenure as Town’s owner after ten remarkable years, the future at the John Smith Stadium is uncertain.

Sleeper Hit Karlan Grant
While neither Steve Mounie or Laurent Depoitre will relish adding a relegation to their respective CVs, perhaps the most shameful aspect of such a disappointing campaign for the pair is that 21 year old Karlan Grant, a January signing from League One Charlton Athletic, managed to double their combined goals tally for the season in just thirteen appearances. Grant has been tipped as one for the future, and if he continues to produce this kind of form in the Championship, he could prove vital to any potential promotion challenge next season.

Season-Definer Huddersfield Town 1-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
After a tricky start to the season, seven points from nine at the beginning of December had seen the Terriers begin to build a little momentum, with a surprise victory at Wolves showing glimpses of the side that survived against the odds last time out. The visit of fellow sophomores Brighton provided the perfect opportunity for Town to continue their good run, and head into the hectic Christmas period four points clear of the bottom three. Mathias Jorgensen’s goal in the opening minute looked to set David Wagner’s side on their way to another vital three points, but a straight red for Steve Mounie’s high-footed challenge just past the half-hour mark left Town up against it, and Brighton duly capitalised. Huddersfield would only pick up one more point before the end of February, by which time they were all but down.

So what’s it like following your team in a title race? We spoke to five sets of fans who’ve experienced it down the years, and got an insight into what supporters go through during those stomach-churning final weeks of the season.

1994/95: Blackburn Rovers

The Jack Walker revolution brought the kind of success not seen at Ewood Park since before the First World War. The local steel magnate had taken full control of the club in January 1991, and set to work making Blackburn Rovers the most ambitious side in the country. Sensationally appointing Kenny Dalglish as manager in October of the same year, and providing the former Liverpool boss with a handsome transfer kitty to bolster his squad, Walker oversaw Blackburn’s promotion to the Premier League, breaking the British transfer record to sign Alan Shearer upon arrival, and watched on as Rovers posted their highest league finish since 1914. In their second top flight campaign, Dalglish’s team gave Manchester United a run for their money but ultimately fell short, finishing eight points behind them in second place. Ahead of the 1994/95 season, Walker delivered another shot across the boughs.

“The signing of Chris Sutton in the summer of 1994 was a big statement of intent for me.  He hit the ground running with seven goals in his first eight league games giving you the feeling we would be up there at the end of the season.  We were becoming such a consistent and attacking team, going twelve league games unbeaten and winning eleven between the end of October and middle of January and scoring goals for fun.”
Jonathan Secker, Rovers Chat

Rovers had flown out of the traps, but some sensational early season form from Newcastle United had kept them off the top of the table in the opening months. Defeats at Norwich City and at home to Manchester United had hampered the progress of Dalglish’s team, but a shocking slump in from from Keegan’s men in November all but eliminated the Magpies from the title race. A 4-0 win over QPR in the midst of a remarkable unbeaten run sent Blackburn top of the league.

“We led the way in the league from November, and Shearer and Sutton were on fire. Sutton’s goals dried up towards the end of the season but Sir Al kept us going and the points coming in. The closing stages were very nervy as, despite the loss of Kung Fu Cantona, United were still picking up wins and closing in on us”
Matt Holden, Rovers Chat

For many, the turning point of the season came at Selhurst Park at the end of January, as Manchester United dropped two points to a struggling Crystal Palace and, more pertinently, lost their talisman Eric Cantona for the remainder of the season after the Frenchman’s flying kick into the crowd following racial abuse from a supporter led to a nine month ban. Cantona had scored a late winner against Blackburn three days earlier to swing momentum United’s way, but it would still be another month before the reigning champions returned to the summit, and even then it would only be temporary. Another long unbeaten run for Dalgish’s team cemented first place as they headed into the closing stages of the season. With six games left, and Rovers eight points clear, nerves began to fray.

“Going into the Easter weekend, I felt quite confident we would win the league with games to spare but then conceding a last-minute equaliser at Leeds followed by the home defeat to Manchester City on Easter Monday I started to get nervous. It’s amazing to think a team could lose three of their final 6 games and still win the title.  The pattern became a big win followed by a defeat. We just couldn’t shake Manchester United from our tails.”
Jonathan Secker, Rovers Chat

Blackburn’s lead evaporated to two points by the time they hosted Newcastle in the penultimate game of the season. Knowing that Manchester United still had two to play, both against favourable opposition, anything but three points against the erstwhile table-toppers would put a serious dent in Rovers’ title challenge. An early Shearer goal settled the nerves at Ewood Park, before Tim Flowers’ impression of a one-man wall kept the visitors out and restored Rovers’ five point cushion. With United winning their game in hand, Dalglish returned to Anfield on the final day knowing that only a victory would guarantee the title.

“It all seemed surreal that little old Blackburn could win the Premier League. My brother was a Man United fan so on that final day, I stayed at home and watched Blackburn with my Mum whilst he went to my Nan’s to watch United play West Ham. At half-time I felt relaxed. We were one up, United were one down,  and Liverpool seemed content to  watch us win. What could go wrong?”
Jonathan Secker, Rovers Chat

Shearer’s opener at Anfield had calmed the nerves of travelling supporters, and when news of Michael Hughes’ goal for West Ham filtered through into the away end, the celebrations began in earnest. Though the Hammers had little to play for, Ferguson’s team would need to score twice and hope for a Liverpool equaliser to overcome Rovers. Brian McClair’s goal seven minutes into the second half at Upton Park brought murmurs of concern among the Blackburn fans, before John Barnes levelled the scores for Liverpool. Suddenly the title dream was becoming a nightmare.

 “I remember hearing how United missed chance after chance and I couldn’t sit still. I have to admit on 85 minutes I switched over to watch the last few minutes of the United game!”
Jonathan Secker, Rovers Chat

Like Flowers against Newcastle, Ludek Miklosko was having the game of his career in West Ham’s goal, as Manchester United spurned a host of opportunities. At Anfield, with the clock ticking past ninety minutes, Liverpool were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Blackburn area. Jamie Redknapp stepped up and curled an effort into the top corner, prompting only muted celebrations from the home support and a deathly quiet from the away end. The sound of hearts sinking lasted mere seconds, as news filtered through that United could only draw at Upton Park. Regardless of defeat on the day, Blackburn were champions.

“I was 11 years old and had seen my team win the Premier League. It was surreal, I was so happy and I’m not afraid to admit I shed a tear or two.  I lost count of the number of times over the next few weeks at school I got told to remove my Shearer 9 shirt from over the top of my school jumper.” 
Jonathan Secker, Rovers Chat

1997/98: Arsenal

Arsene Wenger’s arrival at Highbury in September 1996 heralded a new beginning for English football. The dietary habits of top flight footballers began changing in order to maximise performance for the first time, while clubs began to look at promising young players from abroad, rather than established names. The Frenchman’s first season at the helm had seen Arsenal’s highest league finish since they’d last won the title and, thanks to some barbed comments from Alex Ferguson surrounding Wenger’s suggestions to improve the English game (he had just come from Japan, after all) a new rivalry at the top end of the Premier League was brewing.

Though unbeaten in their opening twelve games, the Gunners would find themselves four points behind United when the sides met for the first time in the 97/98 season. A pinpoint David Platt header had secured the win for Arsenal and closed the gap on the league leaders, but a poor spell in the Autumn with three defeats in four left them flagging behind Ferguson’s men. It would take an almighty run of good form to catch them.

“It was tense, having not sniffed a chance of the title for seven seasons. Strangely, because the team were on a winning run and never behind in any game there were never any moments when we thought ‘we’ve made this impossible now’. The run of  ten wins on the trot, including four very narrow 1-0 wins in a row, was memorable.”
Kevin Whitcher, The Gooner Fanzine

From Boxing Day until the 3rd May, Arsenal remained undefeated, dropping just six points in eighteen games. Manchester United, meanwhile, would lose five in the same timeframe, as their thirteen point lead over the Gunners slowly ebbed away. On the 14th March, in a game that came too early to truly be dubbed a title decider, the momentum in the race shifted decisively. 

“Winning at Old Trafford meant we would at least have our fate in our own hands. Were we confident? No. The ref was an undoubted homer, denying an obvious penalty for a foul committed by their drafted in right back, John Curtis, but fortunately justice was done when Marc Overmars put the ball past Schmeichel after a break with touches from both Anelka and Bergkamp. You rarely got anything at Old Trafford, least of all a result, and the footage of the dark curly-haired Gooner celebrating that has been seen many times since sums the moment up beautifully.”
Kevin Whitcher, The Gooner Fanzine

That victory brought Arsenal to within touching distance of United again, and having seen Liverpool take a point at Old Trafford on Good Friday, Wenger’s team were given the opportunity to cut the gap to one point with two games in hand as they travelled to Ewood Park.

“The 4-1 win at Blackburn on Easter Monday was the moment we thought we’d win the league. We played like champions in waiting. It was pleasant enough Bank Holiday weather in the first half, followed by snow after the interval! We were four up before half-time though. The following Saturday we dismissed Wimbledon 5-0 at home. It felt within touching distance after that.”
Kevin Whitcher, The Gooner Fanzine

Manchester United were finally overhauled on the 18th April, and with Barnsley and Derby County both defeated in Arsenal’s next two games, the Gunners needed just three more points from their final three fixtures to secure the title. Emphatically, they managed it at the first attempt.

“Everton in early May was our final home match of the season. It was a gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon. The 4-0 scoreline says it all. Once we took the lead, it was party time, but the fourth goal was just a thing of beauty for so many reasons. I mean, sub Steve Bould playing in midfield, and teeing up Tony Adams for that volley. These are the moments you live for as a fan. Just wonderful.”
Kevin Whitcher, The Gooner Fanzine

2009/10: Chelsea

Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho had ended Chelsea’s fifty year wait for a league title in 2005, playing ruthlessly efficient football built on the foundations of the meanest defence the Premier League had ever seen. Back-to-back titles looked like ushering in an era of dominance for the West London side, but a falling out between the owner and manager brought an end to the winning formula. Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari had both been charged with returning the trophy to Stamford Bridge, but both had fallen short. Carlo Ancelotti was predicted to have better luck.

Six wins on the bounce in the opening weeks of the season saw Chelsea begin the season as pacesetters, though defeats at Wigan and Aston Villa would see them swapping the lead with Manchester United over the course of four weeks. A 5-0 win over Blackburn Rovers restored the Blues into pole position at the end of October. They’d stay there until the two sides met again in March.

“The 2009/10 season produced some of the best memories of my time supporting the club. Chelsea were firing hard, Drogba was leading the line and scoring for fun, and under King Carlo we had so much belief as fans that we would win the league for a third time. Every time we played we had full belief that we would win.”
Simon Phillips, Chelsea Echo

Defeats at Everton and at home to Manchester City represented Chelsea’s first major wobble of the season, allowing Manchester United, themselves struggling for consistency, to get their foot back in the door of the title race. El Hadji Diouf’s equaliser at Ewood Park looked to have put a serious dent in the Blues’ ambitions, seeing them sink to third with eight games to go. The team’s response was devastating.

“I always believed we would win the league again. Although some of them were ageing, we still had such a strong core to the squad with your Lampards, Terrys, Drogbas, Carvahlhos, Ballacks, Coles etc, and a coach who had the players’ full respect and backing. At the same time we lost to Wigan and Man City that season, so it wasn’t plain sailing. Some frustrations would creep in at times and people would lose hope.”
Simon Phillips, Chelsea Echo

A 5-0 win at Portsmouth was followed by a 7-1 victory over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. Through adversity Chelsea had found some unstoppable form, arriving just in time for a trip to Old Trafford. Goals from Joe Cole and Didier Drogba sealed the win over United, and sent Chelsea top again. Though they would lose at Tottenham before the end of the season, they wouldn’t be displaced. Victory on the final day against Wigan would see the Premier League title return to Stamford Bridge. They edged the contest. 8-0.

“It almost became the expectation that when we went 2-0 up, to go on and get 6 or 7! It was a feeling like no other to pay hard earned money to go watch your team play, then they turn out an absolute drumming goal fest for you to feast on! Amazing emotions! There are always nerves, but I think you just know when a squad are world beaters or not. In that season, during that era, I had that feeling inside that we would win every match we came out to play, and there’s no feeling like it.”
Simon Phillips, Chelsea Echo

2011/12: Manchester City

The sensational takeover of Manchester City by the Abu Dhabi United Group in August 2008 changed the course of the club’s history forever. For so long known as ‘Typical City’, with their reputation for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the newly-christened ‘noisy neighbours’ began making a serious splash in the transfer market in a bid to bring trophies to the blue side of Manchester. Victory in the 2011 FA Cup Final brought City their first major trophy in thirty-five years, and after a £90m summer spending spree that included the acquisition of Atletico Madrid’s highly rated Sergio Aguero, Roberto Mancini’s side were gunning for their first Premier Leauge title the following season.

An electric start to the campaign saw them lose just once before the turn of the year, with a ruthless 6-1 victory at Old Trafford signalling the winds of change in Manchester. Despite their remarkable form, City ended 2011 top of the league on goal difference only, as rivals Manchester United matched Mancini’s men pace-for-pace. Defeats at Sunderland and Everton in the New Year saw City begin to stumble, and United took full advantage, taking top spot on the 11th March with a win over West Brom, as Swansea City inflicted the Blues’ fourth defeat of the season on the same afternoon.

“We had a run of 5 games in March and the start of April where we only picked up 5 points. Our challenge looked over as United were winning 8 on the bounce around that time. We were 8 points behind with 6 games to go. It didn’t look like it would happen for us as we needed United to drop points and it didn’t really look likely that they’d drop that many points in the run in.”
Ray, Man City Fan TV 

Heading into April on a run of three games without a win, City had fallen eight points behind Ferguson’s team. A shock defeat at Wigan for United helped the Blues claw themselves back into the title race, but they would still need the league leaders to slip up again before a potentially decisive meeting between the two at the Etihad.

“We knew we were back in it when United drew with Everton. We had to play them at our place and that was really going to decide where the title was heading. After we beat them with Vincent Kompany’s magnificent header, we started to believe.”
Ray, Man City Fan TV

As City hit irresistable form, it was United’s turn to falter. A 4-2 lead at home to Everton was blown in the final seven minutes, and Vincent Kompany struck the decisive goal in the top of the table clash. Now level on points with their neighbours but with a considerably better goal difference, all City had to do was keep winning. A brace from Yaya Toure saw Mancini’s team sidestep a potential banana skin away at Newcastle, before relegation haunted Queens Park Rangers headed to Eastlands on the final day of the season. Surely not even Manchester City could mess it up from here.

“Going into the last game, we were quite confident (as much as City fans can be knowing we’ve done daft things before). I was living in France at the time and couldn’t get back for the game so had to watch on the telly. It seemed like everything was going to plan and then, suddenly, the world stopped spinning. They were down to ten men and winning 2-1. I couldn’t believe it. City had worked so hard to get into this position of winning the title, surely we weren’t gonna blow it against relegation threatened opposition. We weren’t playing well and it looked ominous. I have to say that I turned the TV off with a few minutes to go. My nerves were shattered and I couldn’t take the disappointment. A few minutes after the final whistle, I turned it on again as I needed to take it on the chin to be able to move on from disappointment of throwing the title away. Imagine my shock when I saw Vincent Kompany hoisting aloft the Premier League trophy.”
Ray, Man City Fan TV

2013/14: Liverpool

Sometimes supporting a team in the title race doesn’t have a happy ending. With Sir Alex Ferguson finally retiring in 2013, and Manchester United beginning to fade into the footballing wilderness, a vacancy opened at the top of the Premier League for a new title challenger. Manuel Pellegrini had been installed at Manchester City to return the trophy to the Etihad, while Jose Mourinho was back at Chelsea looking for his third Premier League title. Meanwhile, something surprising was stirring on Merseyside.

“I don’t think we even saw ourselves as title contenders until we were right up there and with City, Chelsea and Arsenal dropping points coupled with us on an unbelievable run, we all started to believe it was possible.”
Laurie Yard, Anfield Edition

The opening weeks of the 2013/14 season saw the lead at the top of the table change with each passing game. Manchester City, Chelsea and even Arsenal took turns in topping the pile during August and September, with a lack of consistency preventing any side from staking a genuine claim for top spot. Under Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool were playing the kind of attractive attacking football not seen at Anfield in years. The front three of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling had clicked in the early stages, and consecutive maulings of Norwich City, West Ham and Tottenham had caught the eye. Their mettle would truly be tested in back-to-back meetings with fellow contenders Chelsea and Manchester City. They lost both games 2-1, and were immediately written out of the title race. 

By Christmas it was Arsenal that led the way, but their credentials were dealt a massive blow by a morale sapping 5-1 defeat at Anfield, in which Liverpool scored four in the opening twenty minutes. That result sparked the beginning of an eleven game winning streak for the Reds, which included a 3-0 victory at the former fortress of Old Trafford, and another shellacking of Spurs. By April, Liverpool had played their way back into contention.

“I think it dawned on me  that we could genuinely win the league after the Man City game. It was a fantastic match and with the 25th anniversary of Hillsborough, it just felt like it was meant to be; when Coutinho scored that goal to make it 3-2, I remember going absolutely mental.”
Laurie Yard, Anfield Edition

Victory over Manchester City took Liverpool two points ahead of Chelsea and seven clear of Pellegrini’s side. At the final whistle, the Sky TV cameras zoomed in on a post-match huddle, with Steven Gerrard insisting to his team-mates that “this does not fucking slip”. With another narrow victory acheived at Norwich a week later, the Reds found themselves three games away from their first league title in more than twenty years. Then Gerrard slipped.

“I felt that we’d blown it after the Chelsea game. The manner in which we lost was so deflating and with it back in City’s hands along with their relatively straightforward run in, I felt it was unlikely. I don’t think any Liverpool fan wants to be reminded of the Palace game. I think that was the game that anyone with any hope left completely lost it. To crumble in the manner we did and concede three in eleven minutes really emphasised how poor the defence we had was. As soon as Gayle got the second, there was a definite sense of inevitability about it all and it was crushing when he scored again. It was an awful feeling at full-time as even though we could mathematically still win it, we all knew it was nigh-on impossible; it was extremely disheartening after the season we’d had.”
Laurie Yard, Anfield Edition

The draw at Crystal Palace gave Manchester City a two point lead at the top of the table going into the final weekend. Though mathematically still in with a shout, Liverpool’s big chance to win the league had all but disappeared. West Ham were comfortably dispatched at the Etihad on the final day, and the Reds’ long wait for a Premier League title went on.

“Here’s hoping we’re able to go one better this time round — the difference this time though is we’ve consistently looked like title contenders and have the makings and mentality of a title winning side. Whatever happens though it’s been an unforgettable ride.”
Laurie Yard, Anfield Edition

2015/16: Leicester City

It was the title race that no-one could have predicted. After an astounding run of form had saved them from the drop in their first season back in the top flight, Leicester City disposed of manager Nigel Pearson and appointed Claudio Ranieri in his stead. Last seen losing to the Faroe Islands whilst manager of Greece, Ranieri had unfinished business in England’s top flight, having been sacked by Roman Abramovich at Chelsea despite overseeing a steady improvement in the club’s standing in English football. Even so, his own reputation was at its lowest ebb, and the reaction to his appointment was far from positive.

The Foxes, though, picked up where they’d left off from the previous campaign, taking twelve points from their opening six games before an Alexis Sanchez inspired Arsenal tempered excitement at the King Power with a 5-2 win in late September. Instead of regressing to the mean, however, Leicester dusted themselves down and got back to winning ways at Norwich a week later. Inspired by the form of mercurial winger Riyad Mahrez, the Foxes went top with a 3-0 win at Newcastle in November, before Jamie Vardy broke Ruud van Nistelrooy’s long standing record for goals in consecutive matches with the opener against Manchester United in a 1-1 draw. Defending champions Chelsea, in the midst of a horror season, were next to fall victim to the Mahrez and Vardy double act, with Jose Mourinho losing his job after the defeat at the King Power. Despite being top at Christmas, few were taking the Foxes title challenge seriously.

“I felt numb to it all if I’m honest, I was trying to savour every moment but refusing to let myself get ahead of myself and believe we could do it. So it felt like quite unemotional for parts of it, it was about trying to protect yourself as a fan of a normal club like Leicester. None of us had any experience of being in the mix for the biggest prize in English football. I didn’t want do be left heart broken if we didn’t do it, like most underdog stories end up.”
Alex, FoxesTalk

A lean spell over Christmas, in which Ranieri’s team dropped seven points and fell into second behind Arsenal, had most believing that the bubble had burst, but victory at White Hart Lane and another Vardy brace against Liverpool took Leicester top again. A trip to Manchester City would provide the real evidence of their title credentials.

“The late winner away at Spurs in January was so important, I was there for that and the celebrations were off the chain. Talking of Robert Huth, his two goals away at Man City when we destroyed them 3-1 is often talked about as when everyone knew we would do it. I can still remember sitting at home in disbelief.”
Alex, FoxesTalk

Mahrez again proved influential, slicing Manchester City apart on their own patch, and inspiring an unforgettable victory for the Foxes. Though the Algerian winger and partner-in-crime Vardy would take most of the plaudits, Leicester’s victorious campaign was underpinned by a solid back five that contained Wes Morgan and Robert Huth, a central defensive pair that made up for what they lacked in mobility with bags of experience, both chipping in with vital goals while hitting the form of their careers at the same time. They were helped immeasurably by the arrival of a little-known defensive midfielder from the French second division. N’Golo Kante had cost Leicester a shade over £5.5m, but throughout the season covered the ground and made the interceptions of three midfielders in one. A natural destroyer, his pace and tenacity in midfield allowed the attacking players freedom to play. Following the win over Manchester City, the next few weeks would offer Leicester’s fans an insight into the rollercoaster ride of taking part in a title race.

There was a defeat at Arsenal:

“As far as blowing it, it’s easy to look at that Arsenal match where we had gone one up and then Danny Simpson had been sent off. After defending for our lives they got back level and then Marcin Wasilewski gave away a needless free kick in injury time and Danny Welbeck nodded in.”

Followed by a win over Norwich:

“The game I thought we might win the league was when Ulloa scored in injury time at home to Norwich. The cheer caused a minor earthquake according to some boffins. I think this was the first game after an international break, on the back of the gutting defeat to Arsenal who celebrated like they’d won the league. That win was massive, it definitely spurred us on, we never looked back.”

Then a surprise draw against West Brom:

“There was also a 2-2 home draw with West Brom not long after that where everyone in the media claimed we’d blown it, but the following night Arsenal, Man City and Spurs all inexplicably lost and we’d actually extended our lead at the top. Summed up the season and the pundits and press, we continued to make a mockery of everything.”
Alex, FoxesTalk

As with any title winning team, there came a point in the season where Leicester were required to dig in, and four 1-0 wins on the bounce in March and April put the Foxes in touching distance of the title. Though they would drop points at home to West Ham and away to Manchester United, the stuttering form of their main title rivals meant that the hard work had already been done. On Easter Monday, Tottenham surrendered a two-goal lead at Chelsea to hand Leicester City an unbelievable Premier League title. The following Saturday, Foxes fans enjoyed a day they’ll never forget.

“I’d had some unbelievable highs and lows supporting Leicester, we are a club that has courted drama both good and bad over the years but this was never supposed to happen. Me and my Dad, who have gone together home and away so many times together over the last 25-30 years,were both in disbelief of what we were experiencing.

Inside the ground it was chaos, I’d lost my voice way before the game but the noise being generated was something else. We’d had some soulless years at what is now known as The King Power Stadium, years where you could barely hear fans sing from the other sides of the ground.

I’m not embarrassed to admit I was in floods of tears during the trophy presentation, I was leathered and all the emotions that I’d refused to let out in the months leading up to this hit me like a bull hammer. I needed it, I needed to feel what we had bloody done. My dad was the same, in fact there were so many people looking an absolute wreck it was unreal.

 We completed football, nothing will ever be the same again. Everything now is a bonus following this club, we will always be thankful. I wish I could re-live the day in slow motion again but I’ve enough memorabilia and footage of our title win and that day to keep me going. We really did it didn’t we?”
Alex, FoxesTalk

Thank you to all the fans that shared their experiences for this piece: Jonathan and Matt from Rovers Chat, the online Blackburn Rovers fanzine; Kevin Whitcher, editor of The Gooner Fanzine and creator of Online Gooner; Simon Phillips, sportswriter on all things Chelsea and founder of Chelsea Echo; Ray from Man City Fan TV; Laurie Yard from the Anfield Edition, your source for up to date Liverpool news; and Alex from FoxesTalk, the Leicester City fans forum. 

The Player: Michael Mifsud

What links Tony Barras, Darren Ambrose, and Michael Mifsud? No, it’s not that they all sound like people you’d hire to sort out a leak in your kitchen. They’ve all silenced Old Trafford with goals that helped knock Manchester United out of the League Cup. What makes Mifsud so special? Well he’s the only Maltese player to have ever scored at the Theatre of Dreams. Born in the coastal town of Pietà just outside the nation’s capital, Mifsud soon became one of Maltese football’s hottest properties, signing with Sliema Wanderers shortly after turning 16. One goal in six appearances in his debut season was followed by a regular spot in the first team, as Sliema challenged at the top of the Maltese Premier League.

His emergence led to the offer of a trial at Manchester United, just weeks after Alex Ferguson’s team had won their historic treble. Though he would return to Sliema after failing to earn a transfer to the English giants, his chance to shine in Manchester would come in good time. Instead, Mifsud continued to tear up his native top flight, banging in sixty goals across four years with Wanderers, though failing to win any silverware.

Manchester United’s loss was FC Kaiserslautern’s gain, with the former Bundesliga champions prising the striker away from Sliema in 2001. Sadly, despite proving a hit in the German’s reserve team, Mifsud would return to Malta with his former club for a season, before heading off to Norway with Lillestrom. In his second season at the Åråsen Stadion he finished top scorer with eleven goals and was voted the best foreign player in the Eliteserien, which was enough to convince Championship side Coventry City to snap him up on a free when his contract expired.

After an impressive first six months at the Ricoh Arena, in which he won Coventry’s Goal of the Season award, Mifsud began perhaps the best season of his career. Having hit a brace against Carlisle to seal the Sky Blues’ place in Round Three, the Maltese striker’s dream of playing at Old Trafford was finally realised. In the 27th Mifsud slid a teasing cross into the far post to give Coventry a shock lead, before his trademark determination saw a goal created from nothing, as the man nicknamed ‘Mosquito’ chased down a long ball forward, nutmegged Gerard Pique and played a one-two with Jay Tabb before blasting into the top corner. Forget that this was an ‘inexperienced’ United defence – there aren’t many that can say they’ve had Pique’s pants down at Old Trafford.

Those confidence boosting goals helped Mifsud reach a tally of fifteen by Christmas, with his giantkilling exploits continuing with a brace at Ewood Park to knock Blackburn Rovers out of the FA Cup. Unfortunately there would be a sting in the tail to Mifsud’s remarkable season, as a protracted move to Bristol City broke down, and the striker fell out of favour. After a loan move to Barnsley, Mifsud returned to Malta, and would finally get his hands on a trophy, winning three Maltese Premier League titles with Valletta in 2012, 2016 and 2018. Now 37, Mifsud is still very much playing, currently turning out for Birkirkara, as well as captaining the Maltese national team.

At international level, Mifsud’s achievements are unrivalled in Malta. Making his debut at 19 against Albania, his career with the Falcons is littered with memorable moments, including a match-winning performance against Hungary in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, and an incredible five goal salvo in a 7-1 victory over Liechtenstein – the nation’s biggest ever win. In 2010, with a goal against Finland, he became the country’s top goalscorer, and continues to add to that tally.

While Mifsud might never reach the heights his obvious goalscoring talents deserve, he’ll probably take the title of ‘The Maltese Messi’ bestowed on him by La Gazzetta dello Sport. And that unforgettable double at Old Trafford of course.

The Game: Malta 2-0 Greece, 1975

Winning games isn’t something that comes naturally to the Maltese national team. In 390 FIFA recognised games, the archipelago have won just 42. If friendlies are removed from that list of victories, the number drops dramatically, with Malta winning just five games in their World Cup and European Championship qualification history. Still, everyone has to start somewhere, and in 1975 they did.

Malta had joined FIFA and UEFA in 1959 and 1960 respectively, but decided against registering for World Cup qualification for their first decade of membership. Their maiden forays into international competition had been in the European Championships, losing 9-2 on aggregate to Denmark ahead of the 1964 tournament, and finishing bottom of a group including England, Switzerland and Greece in a bid to reach the 1972 edition. Their first World Cup campaign, following on immediately from the Euros qualifiers, was similarly disastrous, as Sweden, Hungary and Austria made light work of the Reds, securing another fourth placed finish.

In a desperate bid to drill some competitive spirit into the team, the Maltese FA turned to Italian Terrenzio Polverini to manage the side for their Euro ’76 campaign. Polverini had carved out a career as a half decent defender in Serie B, and had been part of the Bologna squad that won the Scudetto in 1964, before injury had forced him into early retirement. Moving into coaching, Polverini spent six years as part of the backroom staff at Ternana, before making his first steps into management at Sliema Wanderers, winning the Maltese Cup in his first season.

Polverini’s first match in charge of Malta saw a defeat to Libya, one of the few teams the Falcons had actually beaten in previous meetings. A goalless draw in Tripoli was hardly cause for celebration either, and it was with trepidation that fans headed to the Empire Stadium in Gżira to watch their team take on World Champions West Germany. Though hardly an even game, Malta did at least manage to keep Franz Beckenbauer and co. at arms length, losing by a solitary Bernhard Cullmann goal.

On form, their next opponents hardly represented an easier proposition. Greece were slowly emerging in the world of international football, and had already racked up a win and two draws from their first three games before heading to the Empire Stadium. Among the Greek side were Vasilis Kostantinou and Mimis Domazos, both members of Panathinaikos’ run to the European Cup final three years earlier. Malta, meanwhile, gave a debut to young goalkeeper Robert Gatt. In a match dominated by the visitors, two bolts from the blue swung the game Malta’s way. In the 33rd minute, Sliema’s Richard Aquilina was played through on goal by full-back Eddie Vella, before lifting the ball over Kostantinou to give the hosts a half-time lead, before Vince Magro repeated the trick in the second half, as Polverini’s advice to his players to catch the Greek ‘keeper off his line helped seal an historic first competitive win for the Falcons.

Unfortunately that wouldn’t be the beginning of a Maltese resurgence, as Greece wreaked their revenge in the very next game, putting four past Malta in Saloniki. Polverini and his team would have the last laugh, however, as the Greeks missed out on top spot by a point, having lost just once in the whole campaign, and saw their place at the Euros taken by West Germany.

It would be another seven years before Malta won their next competitive fixture, a 2-1 victory over fellow minnows Iceland in the Euro 84 qualifiers. While the nation may have experienced more impressive victories, like a 1-0 win over World Cup-bound Belgium in 1994 or the 2-1 victory over Hungary in 2006, that win over Greece will be forever held dear in Maltese hearts. You never forget your first time.

The significance of that fictional victory over England’s latest all-conquering team wasn’t lost on Billy Sharp. Having just celebrated his seventh birthday, Sharp’s awakening to football was, fittingly, realised during a Valentines Day FA Cup Fifth Round tie between his hometown club and Alex Ferguson’s Premier League champions-elect. The Blades went into the game as underdogs, with the fight against relegation from the newly-established top flight taking priority over a run in the cup, and when Ryan Giggs gave the visitors the lead on the half-hour, Ferguson’s side looked to be on easy street. Sheffield United’s comeback, thanks to goals from Jamie Hoyland and Glyn Hodges, sparked jubilation on Bramall Lane, and lit a fire inside of the young Sharp. That initial burst of joy would be punctured by heartbreak in the semi-final, as Mark Bright’s extra-time winner put Sheffield Wednesday, not United, into the final. It provided an early taste of disappointment that would serve Sharp well throughout his career.

“Besides scoring goals, Billy Sharp will be remembered for being a top bloke who cares about the fans and for the moment he was carried on the fans’ shoulders at Northampton as we were promoted to the Championship”
Sam Parry, Dem Blades Fanzine

Almost twenty-six years after falling in love with football and Sheffield United, Billy Sharp has added his own name to those he used to sing about on the Kop. On New Year’s Day, United’s #10 scored the 220th league goal in his career, making him the highest goalscorer of the 21st Century in English football. Having drifted up and down the Football League in a career that has spanned fourteen seasons, its perhaps unsurprising that a striker as talented as Sharp has found the back of the net so often. What is surprising, is that the 32 year old is now hitting some of his best form in a career that has not always gone to plan.

Since worshiping the likes of Brian Deane, Alan Cork and Adrian Littlejohn, all Sharp had wanted to do was play for Sheffield United. Having been scouted by Rotherham United when playing for Middlewood Rovers Juniors, the Blades acted quickly to add one of their own to the youth team at Bramall Lane. During the 2004/05 season, Sharp made his debut as an 89th minute substitute against Watford, but was soon farmed out on loan to gain first team experience. It quickly became clear that the Blades had a special talent on their books, as Rushden & Diamonds benefited from the teenager’s eye for goal in his half-season at Nene Park. The following year, with Sheffield United Premier League-bound under Neil Warnock, and playing time at a premium, League One Scunthorpe United took a punt on the youngster, spending £100,000 to secure his services. It would prove an inspired piece of business, as a remarkable 53 goals across two seasons helped the Irons to the League One title, and a return to the second tier for the first time in over forty years.

“Every time he goes on the pitch, Billy’s disappointed if he doesn’t score. Sometimes he can be hardly in the game but then he will pop up with a goal. I think that’s the sign of a great striker. It’s a knack, a love for being in the right place at the right time.”
James Coppinger

Having kept an eye on his progress in Lincolnshire, the Blades re-signed Sharp ahead of the 2007/08 season for £2m, with hopes he could repeat his goalscoring exploits at a higher level. After enduring a difficult first season back at Bramall Lane, the homegrown forward sadly slipped down the pecking order under Kevin Blackwell, and was soon on the move again, shipped out on loan to fellow Championship side Doncaster Rovers, initially on loan. Fifteen goals in thirty-three appearances in his first season at the Keepmoat convinced Sean O’Driscoll to sanction a £1.15m transfer for the striker, and the manager’s faith was repaid with twenty five goals in the next two seasons.

Whilst his short career had already provided moments of sorrow for the 25 year old, the tragic death of newborn son Luey in 2011 put professional regrets into perspective. Sharp has spoken intimately of the heartbreaking circumstances of his son’s death and how, just two days later, he was compelled to play for Doncaster against Middlesbrough. Fittingly, Sharp would score in the match, dedicating the goal to Luey. As is so often the case in the face of tragedy, the football world rallied round Sharp, and in the following game at Ipswich the striker received a standing ovation from the Portman Road crowd after scoring again. In a meeting with Sheffield United soon after, Blades fans arranged a minute’s applause in the 24th minute to pay tribute to one of their own.

With his stock on the pitch ever-increasing, and the desire for a fresh start away from Yorkshire, Sharp jumped at the chance to join promotion-chasing Southampton in 2012, teaming up with Nigel Adkins, a manager that would sign the striker on three occasions. Sharp made himself an instant hero on the south-coast with a goal on his debut against Burnley, before hitting a brace in a 2-2 draw with rivals Portsmouth. Thanks to the goals of Sharp and strike partner Rickie Lambert, Saints would finish the season in second, and the striker would finally get a crack at the top flight.

Football though, continued to prove a fickle mistress for the hungry forward. With £7.5m splashed out on Jay Rodriguez from Burnley, and Lambert continuing his goalscoring form in the top flight, the Yorkshireman’s first team opportunities in the Premier League were limited. The sacking of Adkins and subsequent appointment of Maurico Pochettino as his replacement sounded the death knell to Sharp’s career at St Mary’s. In the following eighteen months, loan moves to Nottingham Forest under former manager Sean O’Driscoll, Reading under Adkins and a brief return to Doncaster provided mixed results for Sharp, before Dave Hockaday signed the striker during his brief and disatrous spell as Leeds United manager. Another frustrating year followed, with just five goals in thirty-three appearances under three different managers representing a disappointing return. A shot at redemption, however, was just around the corner.

“He’s a natural finisher, isn’t he? It doesn’t matter whether he’s in the shape of his life or whether he’s been on the beers, he has a natural inclination for being in the right place at the right time.”
Sam Parry, Dem Blades Fanzine

Billy Sharp’s boyhood club had fallen through the Championship trapdoor while he was firing Southampton to the Premier League, and after three unsuccessful play-off campaigns under Danny Wilson and Nigel Clough, Adkins was brought in to steer the Blades back into the second division. His first port of call was to bring Sharp back to Bramall Lane for a third spell. Approaching thirty and already proven a class above League One level, Sharp could’ve been forgiven for surveying his options before dropping down a division. By his own admission, returning was a no-brainer.

Despite the Blades’ inconsistent league form, Sharp hit the ground running. Twenty-one goals in his first season back in red and white represented his best return since firing Scunthorpe to promotion in 2007. An 11th place finish spelled the end for Adkins at Sheffield United, but the appointment of Chris Wilder as his successor inspired the best years of Sharp’s career. A fellow boyhood-Blade, Wilder had impressed in non-league with both Alfreton Town and Oxford United, before winning promotion from League Two with Northampton Town within eighteen months of taking charge. At United, he instilled a gung-ho attacking mentality into the squad, dedicated to attractive attacking football.

“Billy leads from the front. He does what he does but he drives all of the other lads forward as well. He deserves all of the plaudits that come his way.”
Chris Wilder

Wilder’s first piece of business was appointing Sharp as club captain. Not only did he see an intelligent, technically gifted and hard-working footballer, but a leader who could drill the importance of representing Sheffield United into his team-mates. A warrior on the pitch that would bleed red-and-white for the cause. The new manager’s faith was repaid in spades, as Sharp plundered thirty of United’s ninety-two goals in a procession to the League One title; the Blades finished the season with 100 points, fourteen ahead of second-placed Bolton Wanderers.

Thoughts of a relegation battle the following season were quickly dispelled, as United raced into the automatic promotion spots by the end of September, with an emphatic win at Hillsbrough in the Steel City derby an early high point. Sharp continued to lead the line effectively, finishing the season with thirteen goals despite his side tailing off into mid-table towards the end of the campaign. Consolidation achieved, the objective ahead of the 18/19 season was a serious challenge for promotion to the Premier League. Even approaching his 33rd birthday, Sharp continues to lead the line.

In fact, if anything, he’s getting better with age. The (whisper it) veteran striker admits that he’s had to sacrifice certain aspects of his lifestyle in order to maintain his physical condition, and under Wilder his game had found new dimensions. Formerly more of a fox-in-the-box type forward, Sharp now provides the focal point for United’s upfield forays. He’s as effective now with his back to goal as he ever has been facing it, using his famed bulk to hold off defenders and bring team-mates into play. Most importantly, he’s never lost that striker’s instinct. You’ll struggle to find a more ruthless striker from twelve yards outside of Europe’s major leagues. Already this season he’s beaten his best tally in a Championship season of fifteen, and with his goal at the DW Stadium he overtook former striker partner Rickie Lambert as the highest goalscorer of the 21st century in English football. Now, he’s ready for a proper crack at the top flight.

“I’d love to have another crack at the Premier League, give myself 10 games because I know I could get the goals. I’d love to do that at Sheffield United because that would be the complete dream for me, to play for Sheffield United in the Premier League”
Billy Sharp

Glenn Murray’s form for Brighton and Hove Albion over the past eighteen months is proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks. At 35, Murray remains the Seagulls’ most potent goal threat, and there’s real belief that, should the Blades earn promotion this season, Sharp can match the exploits of the man that replaced him at Reading. It’s been a long, tough, and often cruel career in football, but with all the battles now won, Sharp’s war continues apace. Having once dreamed of emulating Sean Bean’s fictional character, Billy Sharp can now bask in the reality of being the hero when Saturday comes.

Not bad for a fat lad from Sheffield, eh?

Thanks to Sam from Dem Blades fanzine for providing the supporters’ view on this piece. You can subscribe to the fanzine here.

Last season Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City staked their claim as one of the greatest teams English football has ever seen. With 100 points and 106 goals, the meticulous Spaniard’s methods saw records broken for the most points accrued in a top flight season, and the most goals scored in a 38 game top flight season. Some were even bold enough to claim that City had earned the status as the very best team the country has ever seen, such was their dominance. Even without taking the 103 years prior to the inauguration of the Premier League into account, there are at least two teams that might have something to say about that.

Since 1992, only two teams have won back-to-back Premier League titles. Chelsea, in the brave new world of the Roman Abramovich regime, managed it in 04/05 and 05/06, while Manchester United have done it six times in the last twenty-six years. While each league champion must be judged on their own merits – and undoubtedly City’s 17/18 victory sits alongside Arsenal’s unbeaten season as one of the great feats in the modern game – received wisdom suggests that, for a team to truly be held among the pantheon of greats, they must successfully defend their crown. Ahead of the 18/19 season most pundits had Guardiola’s side penned as eventual champions. The manner in which they won the league last season, finishing a staggering nineteen points ahead of second place, made them seem untouchable. Now, with just over half the season gone and with Liverpool sitting top of the pile, doubts have crept in. So what’s the secret behind retaining the Premier League title, and do Manchester City have what it takes to become back-to-back champions?

First, a history lesson. We tend to associate decades with dominant teams. The 1920s belonged to Herbert Chapman’s Huddersfield Town, before the trailblazing manager took his pioneering methods to Arsenal for a decade of dominance in the 30s. More recently Liverpool have laid claim to the 70s and 80s, while Manchester United became the team of the 90s. Despite this clutch of juggernauts, the English league title has only been retained twenty-five times in its 130 year history. Ironically, Preston North End won the First Division in its first two seasons, while Aston Villa followed suit with a pair of defences at the end of the 19th century. Sheffield Wednesday, Liverpool, Huddersfield, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers all added their names to the illustrious list back in the sepia-tinged days of the mid-20th century, before Manchester United added to their back-to-back win in the 1950s by making title defences look easy at the beginning of the Premier League era.

“Sir Alex Ferguson made the observation that a ‘team’ lasts for about three years before it transitions again. If a club built a core as good as Manchester United’s during those years, and had a manager as effective as Ferguson, that might win them three league titles. If you look at La Liga you’ll see a Barcelona side capable of retaining the title for 2 or 3 years thanks to a strong core of club loyalists and a healthy and competitive squad.“
Jojojo, RedCafe.net

On average, the English league title has been retained once every five years. That figure is skewed by Manchester United’s haul of Premier League trophies of course, but it’s a far cry from the other top leagues in Europe. Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint Germain currently hold a monopoly over their respective divisions, save for the occasional surprise challenger, while Barcelona and Real Madrid regularly exchange the honour in La Liga.  Curiously, as those contemporary leagues have become less competitive, the Premier League has lurched the other way, with no back-to-back winners since 2009. Indeed, across the 55 UEFA member nations, only one has failed to produce a defending champion in the last ten years. Should Manchester City fail to win it this year, it’ll be the first time since the 1960s that a full decade has passed without a team retaining the top flight trophy.

All of which suggests that, compared to its continental brethren, the Premier League offers more competition, making that second league win all the more difficult to achieve. That competition is often cited as the primary hurdle for sides failing to record successive first place finishes, and there is evidence to support the claim. In recent seasons both Leicester City, with their direct counter-attacking football, and Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, whose 3-4-3 formation saw the league won at a canter before the world and his wife (and even Arsene Wenger) adopted the same setup, both stuttered in their bid to win a second title due to wiser opposition and increased competition. So far this season it seems Manchester City have suffered a similar fate. With their fearsome, one-touch, free-flowing attacking football last year, the best tactic opposition managers could come up with to counter Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side was to sit deep, defend, and hope to catch them on the break. As a result, City finished the season with an average possession percentage of 66.4, facing an average of just 6.2 shots per game. By the midway point of the season they’d accrued 55 points.

“Competition in the Premier League is definitely stronger, and managers are analyzing the weaknesses of the best teams at much improved rates, but the onus falls on the defending champions, really — they have their own standard to match, and recent ones have failed to do so. If their own benchmark is not met, champions will find it impossible to retain their title given how quickly the competition is evolving and improving.“
Invictus, RedCafe.net

This season, City picked up where they left off, and emphatic victories over Huddersfield, Fulham, Cardiff, Burnley and Manchester United suggested that teams were yet to find a way to stem the sky blue tide. That was until December, when Chelsea condemned the champions to their first defeat of the season. Though Sarri is a manager that cherishes possession, he also recognises the importance of being effective with it, and the eight shots on goal that the Blues conjured up at Stamford Bridge brought two crucial goals. Crystal Palace used Chelsea’s game plan as a blueprint for their shock victory at the Etihad, scoring with all three shots on target, while Leicester City ensured Ederson was kept busy on Boxing Day by firing ten efforts at goal, scoring twice to earn a 2-1 win. In the corresponding fixtures last season, City had allowed just eleven shots on goal. This year, their three conquerors managed twenty-three. By the halfway point of the season, City’s average possession had dropped to 64.2%, whilst their defence had faced an average of 7 shots per game. Premier League titles are won and lost on such fine margins.

But it takes more than a few well-drilled teams to stop a side retaining the title. Perhaps the biggest hurdle Manchester City will have to overcome this season is the emergence of a serious challenger for their crown. Last year second placed Manchester United finished nineteen points behind City, and trailed by thirteen points at the halfway stage. This season, Liverpool were top coming into the new year with a seven point cushion. Depending on your outlook, the omens are both good and bad for the holders. No team has had more than City’s 47 points at the halfway stage and not gone on to retain the title. However it’s also the case that no team has been behind the eventual runners-up after nineteen games and gone on to retain the title. Manchester United trailed Liverpool at Christmas in the 96/97 season, but went on to comfortably win the league seven points ahead of Newcastle. In fact, only twice (07/08 and 08/09) has a team retained the title with a margin smaller than three points, as Chelsea pushed Manchester United all the way on both occasions.

Given their activity in the summer transfer market, it has come as no surprise that Liverpool have emerged as the main challengers to Manchester City’s crown this season. The £168m splashed out on Alisson Becker, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri, combined with the £75m spent on Virgil van Dijk last January, has gone a long way to solving the persistent issues that have dogged Jurgen Klopp’s team for the past few years – namely a shaky backline and a lack of strength in depth. City, meanwhile, made just one major signing in the summer – the club record £60m purchase of Riyad Mahrez. Dipping into the transfer market off the back of a league win has often been a bone of contention, but when it comes to retaining the title should a manager stick or twist?

“In 2013 and 2015, City were hamstrung by poor transfer windows. They won the league and then didn’t improve the squad. In 12/13 the transfer business was that bad it was almost like self-sabotage. They brought in Jack Rodwell as their first signing on the day of the Community Shield, and followed it up with deadline day signings of the likes of Richard Wright and Scott Sinclair. In 2015 they faced an FFP punishment and had limited funds to spend – and then blew pretty much all of it on Eliaquim Mangala“
David, Blue Moon Podcast

In the first decade of the Premier League, Sir Alex Ferguson tended to stick with a winning formula. Having won the title in 92/93, Manchester United added one new face to their squad for the following season, signing Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest for a British record £3.75m. Blackburn Rovers, their closest challengers that season, were the busiest in the transfer market, spending £8.65m on the likes of Tim Flowers, David Batty and Kevin Gallacher, but still finished eight points behind Ferguson’s men. In 96/97, it was Newcastle’s turn to make a statement, breaking the world transfer record to bring Alan Shearer back to Tyneside for £15m, while reigning champions United spent half that amount on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jordi Cruyff, Karel Poborsky and Ronnie Johnsen. Though not all were successful signings, Solskjaer in particular proved crucial in returning the Premier League trophy to Old Trafford.

The trend of low spending champions continued into the late 90s, as Ferguson continued to gently tweak his squad while Arsenal threw money around building the side that would eventually become the Invincibles. Roman’s rubles changed all that and, having won their first league title for fifty years, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea weren’t about to give it up easily, becoming the first back-to-back champions to outspend their rivals, with £50m bringing the likes of Michael Essien and Shaun Wright-Phillips to Stamford Bridge to bolster the Blues squad. Once United had wrested the trophy back from West London, Ferguson followed suit. In 07/08, £50m was spent to add silk and steel to the Red Devils’ midfield, as Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani all arrived in the summer, while another £30m secured the services of Dimitar Berbatov the following year. On both occasions even the new money of Abramovich was unable to compete with United’s spending power. Relatively speaking, City have been passive in the transfer market this season. Whether that will cost them a second successive league win remains to be seen.

Without a collection of new recruits to fall back on, Guardiola must rely on the team that won the league last season, and it’s the make up of this squad that perhaps holds the key to retaining the league title. It’s no secret that, over the last decade, Khaldoon Al Mubarak and his associates have been attempting to build the most indomitable group of players the Premier League has ever seen, but beyond transfer fees, is there any evidence that City’s squad has what it takes to secure that second title?

“The biggest problem for City has been that element of complacency. Even in the first half of this season, you could argue that the players just haven’t hit the same heights after winning the title. Keeping the players motivated to outperform their previous best has been difficult.“
David, Blue Moon Podcast

Statistically, the make-up of the squad is ideal. Guardiola has a core of twenty players that are regularly given minutes, with a supporting cast of promising youngsters that can be relied on in the first team. Consistency in team selection is key, and since the Premier League began it’s rare to find back-to-back title winners using more than thirty players in a season – usually the preserve of crisis teams. Manchester United and Chelsea averaged around 27 players used when retaining the trophy. So far this season, City have used just 21 – the same as Liverpool – but once the Champions League returns in February this number is expected to rise.

Alongside strength in depth, experience is also cited as key to any title-winning team, but the suggestion that you’ll never win anything with kids is wide of the mark. Since Manchester United’s first back-to-back league win in 1994, every repeat champion has won their second title with a squad younger than their nearest challenger. The average age of United’s team in ’94 was just 24 years old, despite the experienced presence of Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce. In ’97, a year after Alan Hansen’s ill-fated judgement of Fergie’s Fledglings, the Class of 92 drove United to their second successful Premier League title defence, making up a squad with an average age of 23.2, a full two and a half years younger than Newcastle’s squad. At 26.3, the average age of City’s squad is older than previous back-to-back winners, but younger than Liverpool’s by four months.

Experience, though, comes in many forms. Not just in Teddy Sheringham’s crows feet or Ricardo Carvalho’s alarming hairline, but in being part of a winning team. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, winning was bred into Manchester United’s players and, after that first one-two, each of United’s subsequent defences were spearheaded by those who knew what it took to retain a league title. Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs and Eric Cantona were able to call on that experience in 96/97, a season that provided the same experience for David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and the Nevilles ahead of the 99/00 and 00/01 defences.  When his squad looked short of the nerve and steel it took to win back-to-back titles, Ferguson brought in players like Edwin Van Der Sar who knew what was necessary to achieve the feat.

“A coach goes a long way in terms of refining the culture of a club, but instilling a deeply rooted win-at-all-costs mentality is a drawn-out process and Pep hasn’t been at City for long enough to do that.“
Invictus, RedCafe.net

While Guardiola can call upon Claudio Bravo (Barcelona), Nicolas Otamendi and Danilo (both Porto) for successive title-winning experience, a big question mark remains over the mentality of Manchester City’s squad. At United, Ferguson was unafraid of casting his star players aside for the good of the team. In the season before he left Old Trafford, Ruud van Nistelrooy had scored 21 goals in the Premier League for United. After he was sold, the Red Devils won three league titles on the bounce. The element of fear instilled into his players helped Ferguson guard against complacency – something Guardiola has seemingly yet to master.

And what of the tiki-taka taskmaster? Does Pep have what it takes to become only the third manager in the Premier League era to win the league two seasons on the spin? His record in both Spain and Germany would suggest so, with the Catalan born coach winning three La Liga titles in three years with Barcelona, before repeating the feat with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Sceptics will point to the fact that the top flight in Spain and Germany is nowhere near as competitive as the Premier League, and the stats bear that out – La Liga has been retained 31 times in the post-war era, while the Bundesliga has seen 20 repeat champions since its induction in 1963 – but to suggest Guardiola is anything other than one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game is nonsense. On both occasions, the manager saw the importance of keeping his side’s approach fresh, swapping the pace of Samuel Eto’o for the physical presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the Camp Nou, before significantly weakening Bayern’s title rivals by poaching Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund. This season may be unchartered territory for the former Barcelona man, but there are few in the game you’d trust more to get the job done than he. The new year meeting with Liverpool provided a timely reminder that Manchester City’s manager can construct and execute a gameplan in high-pressure moments.

“If United were in City’s place behind Liverpool right now, I’d bet on us to win the League.“
Jojojo, RedCafe.net

In the most overhyped fixture in Premier League history since the last one, certain sections of the media were billing Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad as a title-decider. Admittedly, had Klopp’s side made the trip back down the M62 with a ten point lead over the champions, it would take a collapse of Steven Gerrard proportions for City to overhaul the Reds. In the event, the spoils from a frantic encounter fell Guardiola’s way. Permitting his players to cede possession to the visitors, and encouraging fierce, full-blooded attacking play paid off for the Spaniard, as City’s intensity and a sprinkling of luck saw Leroy Sane’s goal settle a chaotic contest. The dream of back-to-back league titles is back on, and only a fool would rule Manchester City out.

There may not be a defined recipe for retaining the title. Great teams full of great players trained by great coaches consistently win trophies, and City are undeniably formidable. What does seem clear is that the sustained periods of dominance we saw from Ferguson’s team in the 90s and Liverpool before them are over. With no end in sight to the money being pumped into the Premier League, the top four being extended to the top six, and a secondary league full of teams who can afford to splash the cash on talent, the only way to ensure a team remains on top is to constantly evolve. For now, Manchester City’s eyes remain firmly on the prize.

Thanks to David from the Blue Moon Podcast for providing the Manchester City perspective for this piece. You can catch a new episode of the podcast every Friday on Spotify.

Thanks also to Invictus and Jojojo, staff writers from United forum RedCafe.net, for giving us the view from the red half of Manchester. 

The Player: Paul McGrath

“Ooh, aah Paul McGrath, say ooh ahh Paul McGrath!” There is surely no better accolade for a professional footballer than having your name worked into a timeless wedding disco classic. The chant aired across West Germany, Italy and the United States came from a place of adoration; a serenade from supporters to one of their nation’s favourite sons. Nowadays footballers are constantly criticised for being overly-pampered man-babies with too much time and money on their hands, shielded from the harsh realities of everyday society. The same could never be said of Ireland’s greatest defender.

Like many of his international teammates, Paul McGrath was born on the outskirts of London. Unlike Andy Townsend or Tony Cascarino though, the first awayday of McGrath’s life was borne of shame and desperation. With his Irish mother terrified of her father’s reaction to falling pregnant out of wedlock with a Nigerian man, she travelled to England to give birth to the future captain of Ireland, and immediately gave him up to foster care. McGrath would eventually find a childhood home in the orphanages of Dublin, and enjoyed a close, if unorthodox, relationship with his mother and sister. It was his time in care, under regimes of high-discipline and amidst torrents of racial abuse, that McGrath developed a thick skin and determined outlook.

During his youth career with Pearse Rovers and Dalkey United, McGrath stood apart from his peers, both in physical presence and technical ability. His impressive performances at junior level led to St Patricks Athletic offering the 21 year old his first professional contract. After just one season at Richmond Park, McGrath had earned cult-hero status, and had already caught the eye of visiting scouts from England’s First Division. It would be Ron Atkinson at Manchester United that won the race for the defender’s signature, and struck up a dazzling partnership with fellow Irish centre-back Kevin Moran. Ironically, it was Moran’s dismissal in the 1985 FA Cup final that inspired McGrath’s most iconic perfomance in a Manchester United shirt, as he effectively did the job of two defenders to keep Everton at bay and help United lift the trophy at Wembley.

Under Atkinson’s laissez-faire management, McGrath struck up a firm friendship with Northern Irish wonderkid Norman Whiteside, and the two fast became drinking buddies. Though not unusual in 80s football culture, the pair’s habits soon became problematic, as injuries took their toll and alcohol proved obstructive to their recovery. When Alex Ferguson replaced Atkinson in the 86/87 season, both players found themselves on course for the exit door at Old Trafford. The arrival of Steve Bruce and persistent arguments over McGrath’s drinking habits saw the defender eventually leave for Aston Villa ahead of the 89/90 season but, while Ferguson believed he had sold a busted flush to the Birmingham club, the best years of McGrath’s career were yet to come.

A second-placed finish in his first season at Villa Park saw the centre-back post some vintage performances, earning him the first of four consecutive club player of the year awards, before heading to Italy with the national team in a memorable World Cup campaign. Used as a defensive midfielder by Jack Charlton, McGrath faced off against the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Frank Rijkaard and Gheorghe Hagi as Ireland made their way to a quarter-final defeat at the hands of the hosts. By now the Villa defender was a crucial part of Charlton’s dogged team, being named captain after the retirement of Mick McCarthy.

With Graham Taylor leaving the West Midlands to manage England, Aston Villa’s form took a sharp dive, though McGrath continued to earn plaudits for his performances. Narrowly avoiding relegation in 90/91, the arrival of former manager Ron Atkinson would reinvigorate the Irishman’s club career as, in Atkinson’s second season, Aston Villa pushed Manchester United all the way in the title race, eventually losing out by ten points. That disappointment was eased somewhat by the PFA Player of the Year award bestowed on McGrath at the end of the season. In the following campaign, Villa would only finish tenth, but the centre-back would get his long-awaited revenge on Alex Ferguson by leading his team to the League Cup at Wembley, at the expense of the Red Devils.

That summer marked perhaps the defining moment of McGrath’s career as, in the Giants Stadium in New Jersey, Ray Houghton’s goal gave Ireland a stunning victory World Cup victory at the World Cup. Much of the pre-match build-up had been spent talking about the defensive majesty of Franco Baresi and the irresistable magic of Roberto Baggio. On a red hot day on the east coast, however, it was Paul McGrath that emerged as the most impressive player on the pitch, shackling Baggio and outshining Baresi. Ireland would only make it as far as the second round in the United States, but for the second tournament in a row, McGrath had left his mark on the world stage.

Another League Cup winners medal would be added to the Irishman’s collection in 1996, but his time at Villa Park would end shortly after, as Brian Little looked to build his own defensive unit around Gareth Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu. Spells at Derby County and Sheffield United followed, but by the late 90s McGrath, by his own admission, was long past his best. The knee problems that had plagued his whole career were by now too severe to ignore, and after making one final appearance for Ireland against Wales in February 1997, his last appearance on a football pitch came at Ipswich Town in November.

Throughout his life, Paul McGrath has suffered with chronic alcoholism, a disease that has irrevocably affected his work, relationships, and family life. In his autobiography Back From The Brink, the Irishman recounts, in excruciating detail, the harrowing effects of alcohol abuse that left him bereft of empathy and stripped of self-worth. That he was able to carve out such a storied career whilst battling his own personal demons is miraculous. That he is able to share his story with the world, raise awareness of this affliction, and help others in a similar position is perhaps his most important work yet. For all of his flaws, there’s a very good reason the Villa Park faithful gave him the nickname ‘God’.

The Game: Republic of Ireland 1-0 England, 1988

Familiarity breeds contempt, which probably explains why relations between Ireland and England have always been less than cordial. That or the colonisation of Ireland in the 17th century. Or the part that English landlords played in the Great Famine. Or British involvement in the Boer War. Or the centuries of condescension aimed at the Irish. Or, taking us to the present day, the attempts to stir-up anti EU feeling across the Irish Sea in order to make the lives in Westminster a little easier. Whatever the reason, meetings between the English and Irish national teams have always been supercharged with animosity.

At the 1988 European Championships, there was an extra incentive for Ireland to get one over their nightmare neighbours. The opening game of Group 2 was the Republic’s first appearance at a major tournament, having qualified impressively ahead of Bulgaria, Belgium and Scotland thanks to the form of Paul McGrath and Frank Stapleton. Jack Charlton’s team arrived in West Germany leading a mass convoy of fans who’d travelled by land and sea to support their team. This was Europe’s introduction to the Green Army and, compared to the hooliganism from England’s supporters, their behaviour was exemplary, as they mingled with the locals and brought some much needed levity to an intense fortnight.

England, still reeling from that Diego Maradona handball in Mexico two years earlier, would have fancied themselves to reach the semi-finals. Besides Ireland, the skillful Soviet Union and reinvigorated Netherlands stood in their way, but Bobby Robson’s team had qualified with ease, seeing off the threat of Yugoslavia and sticking eight past Turkey on the way. By now, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle were among the best players in the First Divison, while Gary Lineker had lit up La Liga with Barcelona. The meeting with Ireland was the perfect way to ease into the tournament.

Charlton and Ireland, however, had other ideas. From kick-off, they put a nervy looking England backline under pressure, with the physical presence of Stapleton and Tony Galvin clearly worrying rookie centre-backs Tony Adams and Mark Wright. A trademark lumped ball forwards caused confusion in the English defence, and when Kenny Sansom failed to connect with Galvin’s cross, John Aldridge pounced to nod the ball towards Liverpool teammate Ray Houghton. The Scottish-born midfielder waited patiently, before looping a standing header over the prone Peter Shilton to give the underdogs a fifth minute lead.

From then, England’s drab performance across the tournament played out in microcosm, as Robson’s team were kept at arms length by Packie Bonner’s impossibly long clearences, Ireland’s frontline press, and the dogged determinations of Kevin Moran and Mick McCarthy to send every punt forwards back where it came. In the second half, England finally found a semblance of attacking threat, and only Lineker’s uncharacteristic profligacy prevented an equaliser. Still, luck was on the side of the Irish, and though Glenn Hoddle’s introduction produced some difficult questions for Charlton’s defence, the win looked safe after a spell of intense English pressure had been seen off. With the game ticking into stoppage time, Ireland embarked on a rare foray forward, were caught in possession, and forced to concede a free-kick thirty yards from goal. Hoddle’s cross was met by a powerful Lineker header, which looked destined for the bottom corner. Bonner, though, was equal to it, pulling off an acrobatic stop to secure the win.

For England, the tournament went from bad to worse as, first Marco van Basten, then the Soviet Union put Robson’s fragile team to the sword, and they returned home to ridicule. Ireland, meanwhile, played Valeriy Lobanovskyi’s talented Soviet side off the park in their next game, but took just a point after Oleh Protasov’s late equaliser. Victory against the Dutch in the final game would secure an unthinkable semi-final place, and even a draw might’ve done the job. As it was, Wim Kieft’s late goal snatched the glory from Charlton’s charges.

Of course, more impressive and important victories would follow for Ireland, both in Italy and against Italy, but there will always be a special place reserved in Irish hearts for that sun-drenched afternoon in Stuttgart. You never forget your first time.

In matters more spherical, Jose Mourinho gave his most convincing performance as football’s biggest shithouse (a remarkable feat in such an abundant field), giving it the big one at the end of his side’s barely deserved 2-1 victory at Juventus, explaining afterwards that the nasty men in the stands were calling him bad names. Back home Sam Allardyce, the Jabba the Hut to Mourinho’s Darth Vader, somehow ended up back on our screens and took the opportunity to label suggestions that he plays negative football as “fake news” in a moment so cringeworthy it might just surpass your Dad doing his Kim Jong-un impression at Christmas dinner. Having been presented with the miserable statistics during his time at Everton, Allardyce had the temerity to claim the players at his disposal weren’t good enough. £50m Gylfi Sigurdsson might have something to say about that.

Fortunately, there was some actual football to help us forget all this unpleasantness, with concerns as the wrong end of the table taking precedence on Saturday, before all three unbeaten sides looked to extend their run on Sunday. Here are the Hitters & Shitters from Gameweek 12.

Hitters

Manchester City – Were it not an editorial decision to spread the plaudits across the league this season, picking up on notable performances from teams, players and managers on a week-by-week basis, its likely that Manchester City would make the cut in this column 99% of the time. This week their inclusion is unavoidable. Though their trophy-laden neighbours have increasingly become a parody of a team in decline, City’s dismantling  of Manchester United, even 2018’s Manchester United, was stirring in its efficiency and professionalism.

When the inevitable opener arrived for the Premier League Champions, its was via a familiar source. David Silva, tormenter of Manchester United for the past eight years, slamming namesake Bernardo’s cross-cum-shot into the roof of the net. The second, shortly after half-time, was a classic Sergio Aguero finish, thundering through the hands of David De Gea after a slick one-two with Riyad Mahrez. The only blot on the afternoon was Ederson’s momentary headloss, bringing substitute Romelu Lukaku down to gift Anthony Martial a penalty and Jose Mourinho’s team a lifeline. They’d get no chance to use it, as City continued to dominate and, in the ultimate pisstake, strung together before finding Ilkay Gundogan unmarked eight yards out to prod the ball home.

There’s been an unspoken feeling among neutrals that Pep Guardiola’s side aren’t quite the runaway freight train they were last season. Whether its the two fewer points they’ve picked up after twelve games or the four fewer goals they’ve scored we’re not sure. More likely, its that Liverpool and Chelsea have so far managed to cling onto the Cityzens coat-tails by the skin of their fingertips. By this time last season second-placed Manchester United already trailed the leaders by eight points. All the pressure is on Jurgen Klopp and his charges, and it shows in the way City have gone about their business.

Salomon Rondon – After their first win of the season last weekend, Newcastle United had the opportunity to make it back-to-back victories over in-form teams as Bournemouth arrived at St James’ Park looking to record their third win in a row in the north-east. An entertaining, end-to-end, blood and thunder match was decided by the quality of the home side’s finishing, as  one man in particular finally made his mark in the black and white stripes. Salomon Rondon start to life as Newcastle’s number nine hasn’t exactly been storybook, with a lack of pre-season and a string of niggling injuries limiting the Venezuelan to just 233 minutes before his start against Watford last weekend.

Against Bournemouth, Rondon posted the consummate centre-forward’s performance. A bustling, bruising battering ram, the on-loan striker caused havoc for Eddie Howe’s backline all afternoon. In the seventh minute, with both sides  having set out their stall, a clever chipped pass from Mohamed Diame landed in the path of the speedy DeAndre Yedlin, and the full-back’s centre was turned towards goal by Rondon. Denied at first by Asmir Begovic, the Venezuelan kept his cool and rifled in the rebound to give the Magpies an early lead.

Though the Cherries would enjoy a decent spell of pressure midway through the first-half, the hosts advantage would be doubled five minutes from the break with a sumptuous team move. Ki Sung-yeung, deputising for the injured Jonjo Shelvey, fired a crossfield ball towards Kenedy, and the young Brazilian’s pinpoint cross was hammered into the top corner via the head of Rondon. Not so much a bull in a china shop as Minotaur at a Ming vase exhibition. Though Bournemouth would pull one back in first-half stoppage time through Jefferson Lerma’s header, Rondon could and should have completed his hat-trick in the second half, first spinning a header from Matt Ritchie’s cross wide, before Begovic’s big toe turned his goalbound effort past the post.

It wasn’t just the penalty box threat that Rondon offered that impressed the gathered Toon Army, as every rushed clearance seemed to stick to his 6’1” frame, and every long ball forward was chased down like a juggernaut. Benitez said after the match that his first-choice striker wasn’t yet fully fit, and there’s plenty more to come from the West Brom man. If Rondon can find some kind of consistency, Newcastle United might just have found their latest striking hero.

Marco Silva’s new-look Everton – It was fitting that, the day after Fray Bentos Ambassador Sam Allardyce appeared on BT Sport bemoaning his reputation for negative football, Everton faced the team they failed to register a shot on target against under their former manager last season. That goalless draw at Goodison, the first of two consecutive home games in which the Toffees failed to trouble the visiting goalkeeper, marked the moment any shred of goodwill for the Count of Monte Bisto dissolved like his beloved gravy granules.

Now, though, things are different. Though Kepa Arrazibalaga was only tested once on an overcast afternoon at Stamford Bridge, Marco Silva’s charges were able to dig in at a ground in which they’ve conceded ten goals in their last three Premier League visits, heading back to Merseyside with a point and a clean sheet. It leaves them a point behind the chasing pack for a top six finish, surely the ceiling target for the Portuguese manager in his first season.

After a wobble in September, where West Ham were able to capitalise on some sloppy defending, the Toffees are beginning to build some momentum. Silva, too, looks to be learning from his mistakes. His gung-ho approach at Watford, which saw the Hornets concede three or more goals on seven occasions, has been replaced by a modicum of defensive solidity – Everton have conceded nine fewer goals than at this stage last season, though that’s damning with faint praise.

Shitters

Crystal Palace’s Home Form – Even before Wilfried Zaha’s omission from the starting line-up, the omen’s for Crystal Palace’s match against Tottenham Hostpur were grim. After all, they were playing at home. The Eagles are yet to win at Selhust Park this season, and the visit of a team they’d only manage to beat once in their last five meetings in South London hardly inspired confidence.

The inclusion of Jordan Ayew in place of hamstring victim Zaha was of little solace either. The on-loan forward has managed a solitary assist in his eight appearances for Roy Hodgson so far this season, and even that was for a goal made by Zaha’s brilliance. In the event, the Eagles were narrowly beaten by Juan Foyth’s second-half header. The Argentinian defender feeling far less charitable than his slapstick performance at Molineux last weekend, as he and his defensive cohorts kept the hosts largely at bay. Only Alexander Sorloth’s effort in stoppage time caused Hugo Lloris momentary discomfort.

There tends to be one team a season that are apparently too good to go down. Given the plaudits Palace have received for their performances, and the lack of correlation in points, they might just find themselves the most suitable candidates, particularly if Zaha’s injury keeps him out for any significant amount of time. Should this barren spell of home form continue for much longer, could Croydon Roy be for the chop?

Simon Hooper – The VAR debate was reignited last weekend by some particularly poor decisions by referees in the matches at Cardiff, Arsenal and Wolves, but taking the heat off his colleagues this week was Simon Hooper. The Swindon official, making just his third appearance in the Premier League, was the man in the middle at St Mary’s, as goalshy Southampton welcomed high-flying Watford looking to record a rare home victory.

Things looked to be going Saints way at the break, with Manolo Gabbiadini giving Mark Hughes’ side a half-time lead and, when Hooper inexplicably missed Ryan Bertrand’s clattering challenge on Nathaniel Chalobah in the hosts penalty area, the St Mary’s faithful could have been forgiven for thinking it was their lucky day. Sadly, though, Hooper’s incompetence ran both ways, and when Charlie Austin netted Saints’ second to surely secure the win, an erroneous offside flag for Maya Yoshida denied a game-settling goal, paving the way for Jose Holebas’ to score a late equaliser for Javi Gracia’s team.

In a refreshingly unhinged post-match interview Austin ripped into the officials, declaring the need for VAR to be introduced to the top flight, and conveniently forgetting that Southampton had been fortunate to be leading before his ‘goal’. Austin, however, does have a point. Year on year we seem to be spending more time talking about bad refereeing decisions than anything else, and clearly the Premier League needs to adjust and evolve with the game it promotes. The days of plodding part-timers being able to keep tabs on the action are a thing of the past, and clearly technology is the only way to eliminate these clear and obvious errors. With every refereeing mistake, more and more are converted to the VAR cause.

David De Gea – On a personal level, last season was perhaps the best of David De Gea’s career. It mightn’t have ended with trophies or trinkets, but his stance as one of, if not the, best goalkeepers in the world was boosted tenfold thanks to a series of miraculous performances in the Manchester United goal. From the World Cup onwards, however, the Spanish goalkeeper’s mojo has been majorly misplaced.

On Sunday, given little protection by his defence, De Gea could do little to fend off Manchester City’s assault on his goal, but the panicked, indecisive manner in which he failed to face up to David Silva for the hosts’ first was a far cry from his one-man wall performances of last season. For the second, United’s #1 did a mighty good impression of someone with sandwich bags for hands, as Aguero’s vicious effort faced more resistance from the Manchester drizzle than the Madrilenian’s digits. The nutmeg from Gundogan for City’s third was the poisoned cherry on a cake of excrement.

After twelve games last season, Jose Mourinho’s men had conceded six goals, and had a goal difference of +21. This year, they’ve conceded 21 and, incredibly, are the only team in the top half with a negative goal difference. Much of their defensive issues are down to the personnel in front of De Gea, but the former Atletico Madrid man doesn’t escape criticism. So far this season’s he’s conceded a goal from roughly every seventh shot faced – last season it took on average sixteen shots to breach United’s goal. The xG against for Mourinho’s team last year was 37, nine more than the amount they actually conceded. This year it’s 19.

If United are going to turn their season around, their leaky defence should be the first port of call. Otherwise De Gea might soon be seeking a career-saving move.