Manager
of the season:
David Moyes. Tottenham, West Ham, Newcastle, Portsmouth and
Manchester City all spent heavily in a bid to creep closer
to the big boys but humble Everton were the most consistent
challengers, marrying meticulous organisation and astute signings
with resilience and artful attacking.
Player of the season:
Cristiano Ronaldo. No one else came close.
Newcomer of the season:
Roque Santa Cruz. Picked up where Benni McCarthy mysteriously
left off, scoring 23 goals in all competitions. Mentions
also for Liverpool's goal-machine Fernando Torres and Arsenal's
fullback Bacary Sagna.
Match of the season:
Tottenham 4-4 Chelsea. A wonderfully unpredictable concoction
of exquisite skill, breakneck speed, brutal challenges and
elementary errors.
Flop of the season:
Nicolas Anelka. Previously prolific and regularly in excellent
form for his country but found the net just once since joining
Chelsea for £15m. Which probably says more about the
club than the player.
Worst decision of the season:
Derby sacking Billy Davies. Could he really have done worse
than Paul Jewell? Could anyone?
Enigma of the season:
Sven-Goran Eriksson. How could Manchester City thrill while
temporarily topping the league and deservedly do the double
over United in the same season as they bored all onlookers
with inexplicably negative tactics and played like idiots
at Chelsea. And lost 8-1 to Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough!
Goal of the season:
Cristiano Ronaldo against Portsmouth. A swirling, dipping
free-kick that flew into the top corner.
One to watch for next season:
Wilson Palacios. Both a powerful marauder and a nimble passer,
this young Honduran is so good Steve Bruce signed him twice.
Best quotes:
"It is omelettes and eggs. No eggs - no omelettes!
It depends on the quality of the eggs.
"In the supermarket, some are more expensive than others
and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one
eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a
problem."
Jose Mourinho ponders his latest omelette recipe.
"That wife of mine just bullies me. She throws me out
of the door at seven o'clock every morning! So that's a
definite no. Oh no, I dare not risk the wrath of that lass
from the Gorbals."
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson claims that it's
his wife Cathy who stops him from retiring as he wins his
latest Premier League title.
"I haven't seen that. I don't know anything about
it. I don't know what you're talking about."
Wenger amazingly misses the on-field spat between Arsenal
team-mates Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner, witnessed
by the rest of the universe.
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