This season has yet again come to an end. As usual, or should I say, typical of every season, a lot has happened. Managers being hired and fired – Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho being the biggest casualty/departure – players being bought and sold, referees being accused of making wrong decisions in terms of sending players off, or making a bad call – usually penalties – etc.. Well, almost all the same things happen every season. This season, however, popped up a couple of surprises.
First of all, was the early form of Arsenal. A very young squad, and especially after the departure of their club captain and legend Thierry Henry to Barcelona, many expect them to struggle. They however, prove the critics wrong, scoring goals, playing typical “Arsenal” football, and having quite a gap at the top of the league at the early stage of the season. Many people, including the manager Arsene Wenger himself, though this was going to be the Gunner’s season.
As the season wore on, there will come a period of time where managers will leave due to poor results on the pitch. And so it began – Billy Davies leaving Derby County, Martin Jol fired from Tottenham, and others including Lawrie Sanchez (Fulham), Sam Allardyce (Newcastle), and Sammy Lee (Bolton). There were also managers who left for another club: Paul Jewell departed from Wigan to replace Davies at Derby, while Steve Bruce left Birmingham City to replace Jewell at Wigan. However, none of theses departures were able to compare to the biggest departure of the season – as mentioned earlier – the Special One.
Next, was the surprising goal scoring form of certain players. Notable names are the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Emmanuel Adebayor, and at the earlier stage of the season, Francesc Fabregas. However, there are two other players, who are new to the league scored almost as many goals, yet being new to the league – Roque Santa Cruz and Fernando Torres.
These two players, who signed from Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid to Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool respectively, have shined for their clubs while others players struggled to, in terms of goal scoring. Santa Cruz, who struggled to hold a place in Bayern, showed that he still has some goal scoring instinct with him, bagging 20 odd goals. As for Torres, well, need I say more? I have posted a blog about him, entitled “Fernando Torres – First Season Summary”. Read it from there. It should be below this blog.
Other notable “surprises”, well, the inverted comas, was the sudden turn in form of Matthieu Flamini. Suddenly turning into one of the best midfielders in the league, he became a key player to the team. Well, he left for AC Milan. That’s another surprise. Wishing him all the best in Italy then.. Chelsea bidding £80 million for Barcelona star Lionel Messi.. So typical of them isn’t it? Just how desperate are they? Anyway, they just signed a player from FC Porto, Bosingwa. Well, whatever…
Well, I’m sure there are lot more surprises but I can’t remember all, so let me just give you readers the overall summary of this season: Manchester United fought Chelsea to the last game of the season to defend their EPL title, while at the other end of the table, Fulham, completed the “Great Escape” by beating Porstmouth in their final game of the season, in which saw Reading, Birmingham City, and Derby County being relegated to the championship. Chelsea were runner up; Arsenal finishing third, while Liverpool fourth. Everton finished fifth to grab the UEFA Cup spot.
Well, the season overall hasn’t really ended yet. There is still the All English Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea, while the FA Cup Final will feature Porstmouth versus Cardiff City. Footie fans still can enjoy the Italian Seria A, which is also going down to the wire, where Inter Milan and AS Roma are fighting for the tile.
Ah, even after this season ends, there will still be football to enjoy, which is the EURO 2008, although many of the fans I’m sure will be missing a PARTICULAR TEAM which will not feature in this competition. But whatever, they did not qualify, so we should not mourn for them. heh..
Alright, that’s all I have for you.. Bye bye season 07/08, welcome season 08/09.. Out
*Ps - the missing team - I'm sure you footie fans know which team I'm talking about - but for those who do not know, it's England...
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