2013 Monaco Grand Prix – Rosberg roars to the top step in Monaco

By Simon Wright

Red Bull’s recent stranglehold of the Monaco Grand Prix was ended today in superb fashion by Nico Rosberg.  On a great weekend for German sport following Bayern Munich’s Champions League victory at Wembley on Saturday night, Rosberg dominated around the streets of Monte Carlo to take the second victory of his career.

He was fastest in every single session, and controlled an action-packed race with two safety cars and a red flag thrown into the drama.  The Red Bull pair of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber completed the podium positions, with Vettel extending his championship lead to 21 points in the process.

Britain’s Lewis Hamilton lamented his sudden drop in pace during a safety car period, which cost him a podium.  He still finished fourth, and there were useful points for Jenson Button and Paul di Resta too, but championship contenders Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen had a miserable afternoon, finishing well down the order and leaving Monaco with only minor championship points.

Mercedes’ victory was thrown into doubt by a protest launched by Red Bull Racing and Ferrari over an illegal test in-between this race and the event in Barcelona two weeks ago.

The German manufacturer claim Pirelli asked them to stay behind and do a 100km test over three days, to get an idea for next year’s tyre specification, and to solve some of the alarming safety concerns on the 2013 trends.

Red Bull and Ferrari feel that this is against sporting regulations, despite Pirelli and the FIA allegedly giving the team based in Brackley, Northamptonshire the green light to do this extra testing.  The result of this race will stand, but the matter has been referred by the stewards, with the FIA opting to launch an investigation.  Should they be found guilty of any wrongdoing, Ross Brawn’s operation could face an uncomfortable tribunal into the matter at an FIA World Motorsport Council meeting in Paris next month.

Away from the bickering that clouded race morning and the stars came out in force to watch the spectacular around the principality.  Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden, Cameron Diaz, film director Ron Howard, singer Nicole Scherzinger and bike legend Valentino Rossi were among those in attendance.  However, they would all take a backseat as the drivers strapped up for the start at 1pm.

Nico Rosberg was the king of the streets.  The Red Bull pair seem content.

And it was Rosberg (pictured with Vettel and Webber) who converted pole position into a lead by Ste. Devote, despite making a terrible getaway.  It was Vettel who made the best start from third position on the grid, but with the short, narrow run to turn one, he couldn’t utilise this advantage and had to tuck in behind the Mercedes duo of Rosberg and Hamilton as they went up the hill to start the 78-lap encounter.

The first stint of the race was a very cagey affair.  Apart from some frisky racing between the McLaren pilots on the opening circuit, it was a slow burner, with everyone settling into a rhythm, controlling the tyre life as has so often been the way in 2013.

It was Webber who broke the stalemate when he pitted on lap 24 to get rid of his option tyres.  He was swiftly followed by Raikkonen, Jenson Button and an off-colour Alonso, but the top three elected to stay out, as it became clear that a one-stop strategy was the way to go for most teams.

Two big crashes turned Felipe Massa's weekend into a nightmare

The first main drama of the race came on lap 28, when Felipe Massa (pictured) had another big accident at Ste. Devote.  At exactly the same spot as a crash in Saturday practice which had ruled the Ferrari man out of qualifying, the Brazilian suffered an almost complete replica on raceday, destroying another chassis.

Ferrari’s technical director Pat Fry later confirmed afterwards there was a technical failure behind the crash.

Speaking to Autosport.com, he said: “Today’s accident looked very similar to what happened in the third free practice session, but in fact the two incidents are very different.

“Unlike yesterday, it seems that today’s incident can be attributed to a problem on the left-front corner of the car.

“It’s too early to say precisely what happened and in the next few days, we will try and ascertain the exact cause in Maranello.”

The safety car made its first appearance of the season, while a clearly shaken Massa was attended to at the scene by the doctors.  He was taken to the Princess Grace Hospital nearby for checks, but was released this evening with just neck pain and is on his way home to Sao Paulo after a truly forgettable weekend for the likeable Brazilian.

It was at this stage where Hamilton’s afternoon began to fall apart.  Mercedes asked him to drop six seconds behind Rosberg to ensure no delay in a stacking queue in the pits.  However, he fell too far back, and realised his error when he arrived to find Rosberg had already left the box.  The damage was done, and he lost track position to both Red Bulls.

When the race restarted on lap 38, it was Sergio Perez who started to make the moves.  The aggressive Mexican pounced to pass team-mate Jenson Button at the chicane when he was wrong-footed after tagging Alonso at the Fairmount hairpin.  A few laps later, he tried the same trick on Alonso for sixth and it worked.  Alonso had to cut the chicane to avoid a collision, but he would have to let the McLaren through on a restart.

That was after a temporary halt to proceedings on lap 46.  Max Chilton was under pressure and had just been passed by fellow rookie Esteban Gutierrez in the chicane.  As he tried to regroup, Chilton misjudged exactly where Pastor Maldonado was on the outside of Tabac, and the contact was scary.  Maldonado was lifted into the air, before a hefty shunt into the TechPro barriers.  The Williams removed the barriers into the middle of the road, causing a roadblock.  A red flag was inevitable, whilst the marshals put the structure back into place.  Maldonado luckily was unhurt, while Chilton was given a drive-through penalty for his dangerous move.

That wasn’t enough for the Venezuelan, who expressed his anger on Sky Sports F1, saying: “It was a big impact; I didn’t expect Chilton to cross my line.  I’m disappointed, as I didn’t expect him to do this kind of manoeuvre.”

After a delay of approximately 20 minutes, the action resumed behind the Safety Car and when it pulled in, Rosberg quickly built up an advantage of around four seconds, with his tyre wear being controlled brilliantly against the Red Bull cars, which seemed to be wearing their tyres out faster.

Perez continued his aggressive approach, and his next target was Raikkonen.  After one near-miss, he tried again on lap 68, and this time, his ambition outweighed his talent.  Perez came from too far back into the chicane, and clouted into the rear of Kimi’s Lotus, damaging both cars.

Raikkonen picked up a puncture a lap later, and was forced to pit.  Meanwhile, Perez’s front wing damage had lodged some debris in his rear brakes and on lap 72; he was forced to stop at La Rascasse with his car totally undriveable.

Lotus was furious with the driving standards of Perez.  Team boss Eric Bouiller told reporters after the event: “He tried once and if you look at the video he was attempting very, very late braking misunderstanding the braking line of Kimi.  I think that was a little bit too much.

“He nearly crashed with his team-mate in Bahrain, here there was also a little bit of action.  It looks like he’s trying to often to be too aggressive and attempt something which is most of the time impossible to do.”

Raikkonen’s response was quite telling.  When asked about if speaking to Perez would calm him down, Kimi is quoted as saying by BBC Sport: “That won’t help.  Maybe someone should punch him in the face.”

If Lotus thinks Perez is a pain, Romain Grosjean is starting to become a real inconvenience.  The Frenchman returned to his wild 2012 antics this weekend, as he crashed three times in practice.  Then in the race, he assaulted Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso entering the chicane on lap 61, ending the races of both drivers. 

The stewards took a dim view, and slapped Grosjean with a 10-place grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.  Serious questions have to be asked about his lack of judgement and his future as a Grand Prix racing driver.

Rosberg reeled off the final lap in commanding fashion, to complete the father and son double act.  30 years ago, his dad Keke won the race in Monaco for Williams, and now Nico has completed history by becoming the first dad and son combination to win in Monaco.

Vettel’s second place means he is the only driver to finish in the top four at every Grand Prix in 2013.  Third for Webber was a good result, as he had to hold off a feisty Hamilton for the majority of the afternoon, and keeps his record up of finishing in the top five in Monaco every time since retiring from the 2007 edition.

Behind Hamilton, Adrian Sutil made some bold passes on Button and a sleepy Alonso at the Fairmount hairpin to come home a well-deserved fifth.  Di Resta’s recovery to ninth after a strategy error in Q1 yesterday means Force India have achieved their highest ever points total in the first six races of any past season.

Button fought validity to sixth, whilst Alonso’s pace was poor all day and the Spaniard was never a factor in contention for victory.  Seventh place was all the team deserved from a miserable Monaco for the Scuderia.  Their winless run here stretching back to 2001 continues.

Jean-Eric Vergne matched his best ever career result with eighth on the day Toro Rosso announced they would be switching to Renault engine power from Ferrari for 2014, and some superb driving from Raikkonen on the final lap saw him overwhelm Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg to steal the final point.  That was Kimi’s 22^nd consecutive points finish, and despite receiving a reprimand afterwards for failing to meet safety car delta requirements, this means he is just two races away from Michael Schumacher’s all-time record.  Despite his close shave with Maldonado, 14^th is Chilton’s best finish to date in his short career.

Mercedes have proven this weekend that they can turn Saturday form into a great result on Sunday.  Whether this will be a turning point for their season is too early to say, but whilst the storm clouds hang over the tyre test that could end up with severe repercussions, Nico Rosberg was truly the king of the streets in Monaco this weekend.

	FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2013  RESULT
Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Reason	Grid
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP	78	2hr 17min 52secs	1
2	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	78	+3.8secs	3
3	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	78	+6.3secs	4
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes GP	78	+13.8secs	2
5	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	78	+21.4secs	8
6	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	78	+23.1secs	9
7	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	78	+26.7secs	6
8	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari	78	+27.2secs	10
9	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	78	+27.6secs	17
10	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus Renault	78	+36.5secs	5
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber Ferrari	78	+42.5secs	11
12	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Renault	78	+42.6secs	14
13	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber Ferrari	78	+43.2secs	19
14	Max Chilton	Marussia Cosworth	78	+49.8secs	22
15	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham Renault	78	+1min 02.5secs	15
16 R	Sergio Perez	McLaren Mercedes	72	Brakes	7
R	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	63	Collision with Ricciardo	13
R	Daniel Ricciardo	Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari	61	Collision with Grosjean	12
R	Jules Bianchi	Marussia Cosworth	58	Accident	20
R	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	44	Collision with Chilton	16
R	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	28	Accident	21
R	Charles Pic	Caterham Renault	7	Gearbox/Engine Fire	18

Drivers’ Championship after 6 rounds: 1. Sebastian Vettel 107, 2. Kimi Raikkonen 86, 3. Fernando Alonso 78, 4. Lewis Hamilton 62, 5. Mark Webber 57, 6. Nico Rosberg 47, 7. Felipe Massa 45, 8. Paul di Resta 28, 9. Romain Grosjean 26, 10. Jenson Button 25, 11. Adrian Sutil 16, 12. Sergio Perez 12, 13. Daniel Ricciardo 7, 14. Nico Hulkenberg 5, 15. Jean-Eric Vergne 5

Constructors’ Championship after 6 rounds: 1. Red Bull Racing 164, 2. Ferrari 123, 3. Lotus 112, 4. Mercedes GP 109, 5. Force India 44, 6. McLaren 37, 7. Scuderia Toro Rosso 12, 8. Sauber 5

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Premier League review 2012-13: Sir Alex retires at the top

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

After last season’s dramatic finale, the 2012-13 Premier League season was all about saying goodbye, as many managers bit the dust, and the ‘golden generation’ hung up their boots.

Manchester United overcame an early Chelsea challenge, and the defending champions from across the city and ultimately coasted to their 13^th Premier League title, finishing 11 points clear of their nearest challengers.

It was a fitting finale for Sir Alex Ferguson, who decided in early May to retire from the manager’s hotseat at Old Trafford, after 26 trophy-filled and golden years at Old Trafford.

After a brave eight-year sojourn in the top flight and a shock FA Cup final victory, Wigan Athletic waved goodbye to the Barclays Premier League, and were joined in the Championship by Reading and a QPR outfit that flopped spectacularly.

Freelance journalist Simon Wright reviews the 21^st Premier League campaign, and analyses where the title was won and the fight to stay in the elite was lost.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester United

RUNNERS-UP: Manchester City

THIRD PLACE: Chelsea

RELEGATED: Wigan Athletic, Reading, QPR

TOP SCORERS: Robin van Persie (Manchester United) 26, Luis Suarez (Liverpool) 23, Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur) 21, Christian Benteke (Aston Villa) 19, Michu (Swansea City) 18, Romelu Lukaku (West Brom) 17, Demba Ba (Newcastle United & Chelsea) 15, Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham) 15, Rickie Lambert (Southampton) 15, Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 15, Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) 14, Theo Walcott (Arsenal) 14, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 12, Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 12, Juan Mata (Chelsea) 12, Santi Cazorla (Arsenal) 12, Adam Le Fondre (Reading) 12, Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) 11, Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea & Liverpool) 11, Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) 11, Marouane Fellaini (Everton) 11, Steven Fletcher (Sunderland) 11, Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur) 11, Arouna Kone (Wigan Athletic) 11, Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) 11, Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 10

BIGGEST WIN: Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa (23 December 2012)                                               
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle United (29 December 2012), West Brom 5-5 Manchester United (19 May 2013), Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa (23 December 2012)

PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur) 

PFA YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur)

As defending Premier League champions after last season’s sensational climax, the pressure was on for Roberto Mancini to build on the success, especially after being rewarded with a five-year contract at the start of the season.  However, his attempts to strengthen his Manchester City squad sufficiently in the transfer market didn’t reap rewards.  Jack Rodwell, Maicon, Scott Sinclair and Javi Garcia were all added, but weren’t the marquee signings the Italian was after.

It was Manchester United who achieved the first psychological blow of the season, by snapping up Robin van Persie when the Dutchman decided he wouldn’t sign a new contract at Arsenal.  Last season’s PFA Player of the Year moved to Old Trafford for £24m, and would be joined by Shinji Kagawa, who moved to the Premier League from German champions Borussia Dortmund.

After last season’s European heroics in Munich, Chelsea gave the manager’s job to Roberto Di Matteo on a permanent basis, and he added talented midfielder Oscar, the creative Eden Hazard and dynamic Nigerian winger Victor Moses to the ranks in west London.  However, they would start a season without Didier Drogba for the first time in nine years, as he opted for a brief new career in China with Shanghai Shenhua, before moving to Galatasaray in January.

There was a new face in the dugout at White Hart Lane, as Chelsea reject Andre Villas-Boas was Harry Redknapp’s successor at Tottenham.  He was unable to stop Luka Modric make a move to Real Madrid, nor Rafael van der Vaart heading back to Hamburg SV, but did splash the cash on highly-rated Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen from Ajax, his compatriot Mousa Dembele from Fulham, then pounced for Clint Dempsey on transfer deadline day when a move to Liverpool fell through.

The Reds themselves were under new management, as Brendan Rodgers was chosen as the man to lead the club after the owners sacked Kenny Dalglish at the end of 2011-12.  Rodgers did add Swansea midfielder Joe Allen and striker Fabio Borini, and persuaded Luis Suarez to sign a new contract, but Andy Carroll was loaned to West Ham for the season, and with Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez and Craig Bellamy all leaving Anfield in the summer, striking options looked thin on the ground.

Arsene Wenger did his business early on in the transfer market once again.  The classy Santi Cazorla arrived from financially stricken Malaga for around £15m, and Olivier Giroud was chosen as the man to replace Van Persie.  The Frenchman had been the top scorer in the French league with Montpellier in the last campaign.

Other managerial changes saw Paul Lambert quit Norwich in acrimonious circumstances to take the Aston Villa job.  Dane Michael Laudrup filled the Swansea post vacated by Rodgers, while Chris Hughton succeeded Lambert at Carrow Road, and Steve Clarke got his first big break in management at West Brom. 

Elsewhere in the transfer market, QPR added Esteban Granero, Ji-sung Park and Julio Cesar to their squad, Sunderland broke their club record to sign Steven Fletcher from relegated Wolves, Dimitar Berbatov linked up with Martin Jol again at Fulham, and Southampton snapped up Gaston Ramirez, who had impressed at the Olympics for Uruguay.

So, with everything in place, the 21^st season of the most envied league in the world was about to get underway.

Fellaini floors United

If Manchester United were hoping for a comfortable start, they didn’t get it at Goodison Park. Ferguson’s side were physically outfought by an Everton side that looked sharp under David Moyes.  A second half header from Marouane Fellaini helped the Toffees to a deserved 1-0 victory, and inflicted an opening weekend defeat on United for the first time since 1995.

Defending champions Manchester City lost Sergio Aguero to a knee injury, and fell behind against newly promoted Southampton, before goals from Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri helped them overcame a spirited Saints challenge 3-2 at the Etihad.

QPR’s season started with a bang, but for the wrong reasons.  They were torn apart by Swansea, losing 5-0 at home on day one; with bargain buy Michu scoring twice.  The Swans followed this up with an impressive 3-0 home victory over West Ham United, playing some delicious football that would ultimately end with a top half finish and a League Cup trophy to their name.

The first signs that the reigning champions were not going to have it their own way came in late August, when they travelled to Anfield.  Liverpool led twice, and deserved the victory had it not been for a calamitous Martin Skrtel backpass, that allowed Carlos Tevez to pinch a lucky point for the Citizens.  This was followed by a nervy home win over QPR, and a hard-fought point at Stoke, where Peter Crouch clearly handled the ball in the build-up to his opening goal.

Van Persie started repaying his sizeable transfer fee with a debut home goal in a 3-2 victory over Fulham, and a hat-trick at St. Mary’s as the Red Devils came from behind twice to edge out plucky Southampton, who were still without a point after three matches.

It was Chelsea though who set the early pace, with maximum points from their opening three games, and with eight goals scored.  It looked like the reigning European champions might be able to launch a genuine title challenge.

The truth is out

The truth about Hillsborough finally came out in September

Liverpool’s start to the season was dismal, with just two points from their opening five matches, but they and the football world came together from the shocking revelations in the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report into the 1989 disaster in September.

The cover-up from South Yorkshire police was totally exposed, and the supporters were finally exonerated after 23 years of lies and scandal.  The families of the 96 who lost their lives on that sunny Sheffield afternoon finally had the truth (the Kop pictured), and look ever closer to justice with fresh inquests due to start early next year.

The Reds first Premier League match at Anfield after the panel’s findings was against Manchester United.  Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra buried the hatchet after last year’s spectacular falling out, but Jonjo Shelvey was sent off before half-time, and the visitors won 2-1 with a late Van Persie penalty.

Aston Villa’s signs of a tough season ahead were documented at Southampton, where they lost 4-1, despite leading at half-time.  Rickie Lambert scored twice in a productive first season in the top flight, but this win was the only victory the Saints would collect in their opening 10 fixtures.

Villa at least were doing better than QPR, who were on course to make the worst start to a Premier League season. A 2-1 home defeat to London rivals West Ham in early October left Mark Hughes’ side bottom, with just two points from six matches.

John Terry bowed out of international football ahead of an FA disciplinary hearing into the racism row he had with Anton Ferdinand last season.  The FA found the Chelsea skipper guilty of racially abusing Ferdinand, but the four-game ban seemed quite lenient.  In one of his final games before suspension, Chelsea continued their early championship form with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the Emirates. 

Later that day, Manchester United lost their first home game of the season.  Clint Dempsey scored the winning goal as Tottenham achieved a brilliant 3-2 triumph at Old Trafford, to record their first win at the home of the Red Devils in the Premier League era.

Although they weren’t showing any of the title winning class from last season, Manchester City continued to grind out results.  Edin Dzeko scored late winners to defeat Fulham and West Brom, either side of a comprehensive 3-0 success against Sunderland, which was their first clean sheet of the season.

Controversy at the Bridge

Still unbeaten and having dropped only two points all season, Chelsea were in confident mood when Manchester United arrived at Stamford Bridge in late October for a controversial and stormy encounter.

The Red Devils raced into a 2-0 lead inside 12 minutes, courtesy of a David Luiz own goal, and a typical Van Persie effort, but Chelsea’s response was superb.

Juan Mata struck a brilliant free-kick and when Ramires powered in a header early in the second half, Di Matteo’s side were level and had the momentum.

However, referee Mark Clattenburg had other ideas.  He rightfully sent off Branislav Ivanovic, and then harshly dismissed Fernando Torres for two yellow cards, before Javier Hernandez’s winner was adjudged to be clearly offside from television replays.

United won 3-2 and Clattenburg would later be involved in an ugly row with Blues midfielder John Obi Mikel, who accused him of racial abuse.  The FA and the police investigated, but Clattenburg was cleared a month later, and Mikel charged and banned for bringing the game into disrepute.

From that moment on, Ferguson’s side went from strength to strength.  Van Persie took just four minutes to remind Arsenal what they were missing in their next match, as the home side beat the Gunners 2-1 in early November to go top of the table.

That was followed by an incredible comeback at Aston Villa, where a Hernandez double helped them storm back from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 victory.

However, it was Manchester City who went top in mid-November, when they destroyed Villa 5-0 at the Etihad and United suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Norwich, helped by an incredible goalkeeping display from John Ruddy.

For the second successive season, Arsenal overcame Tottenham 5-2 in the north London derby at the Emirates.  Tottenham took an early lead, but a moment of madness from Emmanuel Adebayor saw him sent off after 18 minutes, and from that moment on, the Gunners went on to dominate.

At the 11^th attempt of asking, Reading notched up their first victory on their return to the top flight, when two Adam Le Fondre goals saw off Everton at the Madjeski Stadium, but QPR’s winning drought continued with a 3-1 home defeat to Southampton.  The loss was going to have severe consequences for Mark Hughes.

RDM axed and Rafa returns

Following the home defeat to Manchester United, Chelsea hit a blip.  They conceded a late goal to Swansea at the Liberty Stadium, were held at home by a resolute Liverpool and lost John Terry for two months to a serious knee injury, then were beaten 2-1 at West Brom.

Four days after the reverse at the Hawthorns and a Champions League capitulation in Turin, Roberto Di Matteo became the first manager to lose his job in the Premier League.  Roman Abramovich turned to former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, much to the disgust of the Chelsea supporters.

The Rafa Out banners were frequently seen at Stamford Bridge

The Blues next match was one of the worst encounters in Premier League history.  They played out a drab 0-0 stalemate with league leaders Manchester City, only remembered for the vicious reaction to Benitez’s appointment by the dismayed Chelsea fans.  A second goalless draw with Fulham days later, then a 3-1 beating away at West Ham finished Chelsea’s title ambitions for another campaign.  The ‘Rafa Out’ banners (pictured) would become a common sight for the majority of the rest of the season at Stamford Bridge.

Two days after Di Matteo’s departure, Tony Fernandes bowed to pressure from the QPR supporters and axed Mark Hughes.  After nearly accepting the job as manager of the Ukraine national team, Harry Redknapp was persuaded to take the role, and save the sinking ship at Loftus Road.

One team going great guns were Norwich City.  After a rocky start, which included an opening day drubbing at Fulham and heavy defeats to Liverpool and Chelsea on successive Saturdays, the Canaries went on a 10-game unbeaten run between mid-October and just before Christmas.  Chris Hughton’s side rose as high as seventh after defeating Wigan Athletic 2-1 on December 15.

Going in the opposite direction were last season’s surprise packages Newcastle United.  A catalogue of injuries to some of their top players like Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye and Papa Cisse saw the Magpies slide down the table in November, with just one point in five matches.

Under Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool were slowly getting their act together after a poor start, but were becoming heavily reliant on the goals of Luis Suarez.  Suarez was putting in some sensational individual performances, and became a genuine contender for the Golden Boot.  An eight-match unbeaten run was ended at the end of November, when they lost 2-1 at Tottenham.

Spurs were attempting to recover from their own November slump, which had seen them lose three consecutive matches, including a dismal home defeat to lowly Wigan.  Andre Villas-Boas was starting to get the best out of Gareth Bale, and the Liverpool game was the start of a great run of form that would eventually take him to a clean-up of the major football individual awards at the end of the season.

Harry Redknapp’s first game in charge of QPR was an uneventful goalless stalemate away at Sunderland.  Three draws in a row stopped the rot, before an Adel Taarabt double saw them beat Fulham 2-1 on December 15, which was their first win of the campaign.  However, it was only a brief glimmer of hope as their highly-paid players continued to underperform for the rest of the campaign.

West Brom weren’t having any problems of the kind.  Steve Clarke was working wonders in his first management job, and the Baggies achieved four successive victories in November taking them to as high as third in the table.  Relegation worries were non-existent at the Hawthorns all term.

A derby day to remember for RVP

Robin van Persie decided the first Manchester derby in dramatic fashion

The first Manchester derby of the season took place on Sunday, 9 December at the Etihad.  Manchester United were three points clear going into the game, whilst City were protecting the only unbeaten record left in this season’s Premier League.

Ferguson’s side were after revenge following last season’s double defeat to the noisy neighbours and two goals from Wayne Rooney had them comfortably ahead at half-time.  The game changed when Carlos Tevez replaced the ineffective Mario Balotelli and he played a crucial role in goals for Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta to draw the champions’ level.

Step up Robin van Persie (pictured), who in his first Manchester derby struck a stoppage time winner to give United a priceless and pivotal victory.  They wouldn’t be headed for the remainder of the season.

City bounced back quickly with a 3-1 away victory at freefalling Newcastle, and a stoppage time header from Gareth Barry did for Reading just before Christmas, before Boxing Day turned out to be another decisive afternoon in the title battle.

Mancini’s men were lacklustre at Sunderland and lost at the Stadium of Light for the third successive season.  Adam Johnson scored the only goal against his former club, aided by a rare error from the usually reliable Joe Hart.  At Old Trafford, Manchester United had to battle hard against Newcastle, trailing three times before winning 4-3.  Hernandez was on hand to score the winning goal in time added on.

Newcastle’s defensive nightmares continued throughout Christmas when they lost one of the games of the season at the Emirates against Arsenal.  Theo Walcott was in inspired form, scoring a hat-trick, including a goal of the season contender in a 7-3 victory for the Gunners.  Walcott would also sign a new contract a few weeks later after being promised he would play in a central striking role on a regular basis by Arsene Wenger.

However if there was one side who would want to forget Christmas 2012, it was Aston Villa.  Following a highly impressive 3-1 away victory at Anfield against Liverpool, Paul Lambert’s side travelled to Stamford Bridge on 23 December and returned to the Midlands feeling rather blue.

Chelsea recorded an 8-0 victory.  Ramires scored two, and there were also goals for Fernando Torres, David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic, Frank Lampard, Oscar and Eden Hazard.  Had it not been for some Brad Guzan heroics and a missed Chelsea penalty, the final scoreline could have reached double figures.

On Boxing Day, Villa’s youngsters ran into an inspired Gareth Bale.  The Welshman bagged his first ever Premier League hat-trick in Tottenham’s 4-0 victory at Villa Park.  Then, they were trounced 3-0 at home by fellow strugglers Wigan.  2013 looked like it was going to be a long year ahead for the long-suffering supporters in claret and blue.

QPR’s revival didn’t happen either.  They put in another tepid performance against Liverpool, conceding three goals in half an hour, two to the red-hot Suarez.  They were bottom going into the New Year and looking like they would need a miracle to survive.

As 2012 ended, Manchester United led City at the top of the table by seven points.  Chelsea and Tottenham completed the Champions League places, with Arsenal, Everton and West Brom close behind in the chasing pack.  Southampton, Reading and QPR were in the bottom three going into 2013, with Villa just a point above the drop zone.

Shock at St. Mary’s as Adkins goes

Despite being in the bottom three at the turn of the year, Southampton’s form was improving under Nigel Adkins.  They had only lost twice in nine matches when they fought back from 2-0 down to get a creditable point at Chelsea on January 16.

So, it was a real shock to everyone when Saints chief executive Nicola Cortese decided to dispense with the services of Adkins two days later, despite being closer to mid-table than the bottom three.  Former Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino, despite speaking no English whatsoever was chosen as the man to replace Adkins on the south coast.

Amidst the constant snow and freezing temperatures, the January transfer window saw some changes in playing staff, but mainly for those clubs fighting against the drop.

QPR brought in Loic Remy from Marseille, and also added Tal Ben-Haim, Andros Townsend, Christopher Samba and Jermaine Jenas on a hectic deadline day.  However, their efforts to sign West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie ended in a bizarre failure.  Believing a fee had been agreed between the two clubs, the Nigerian turned up at Loftus Road car park.  The poor communication led to some frankly uncomfortable pictures, and the deal broke down, leaving Odemwingie feeling rather stupid as he travelled back to West Brom.

Chelsea activated Demba Ba’s release clause in his Newcastle contract, allowing Daniel Sturridge to leave for Liverpool, where he’d be joined at Anfield by Philippe Coutinho.  Other moves saw Sunderland pay Swansea £5m for Danny Graham, Fulham bring in Emmanuel Frimpong, Eyong Enoh and Urby Emanuelson on loan, and Norwich purchase the Leeds striker Luciano Becchio.

Despite QPR’s activity in the transfer market, the club remained bottom all month despite going through it unbeaten.  The five-match unbeaten run begun with the shock result of the campaign, as Shaun Wright-Phillips scored the only goal to stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

They followed this with four battling draws against Tottenham, West Ham, Manchester City and Norwich, but Redknapp knew the Hoops needed to turn the draws into wins pretty quickly if they were to get out of trouble.

Reading also produced their best form of the season in January.  They produced one of the comebacks of the season, charging back from 2-0 down with eight minutes left to beat West Brom 3-2.  This was followed by a first away win of the season at a Newcastle side that looked a pale shadow on last season’s efforts.  Adam Le Fondre was making a habit for coming off the bench and scoring decisive goals, and he not only hit the two to win the game at St. James’ Park, but also the double to hold Chelsea at the Madjeski, a credible effort considering Chelsea were 2-0 up with 10 minutes to play in that encounter.

At the top of the table, Manchester United’s lead over Manchester City remained at seven points, but both had uncomfortable moments.  United were pegged back by Tottenham on a snowy afternoon at White Hart Lane in injury time, when Clint Dempsey’s strike earned Spurs a 1-1 draw.  City couldn’t beat QPR at Loftus Road, and the 0-0 deadlock started a run which would ultimately see their faint title hopes disappear.

The club also sold the troublesome Mario Balotelli to AC Milan on the eve of the transfer window shutting.  This followed constant speculation about his happiness in Manchester and a highly publicised training ground bust-up with Mancini.

The title race ends in February

They might have not been playing vintage football, but Manchester United continued to grind out results.  After having to deal with a floodlight failure just before half-time at Fulham, they kept their focus and a late Rooney goal was enough for all three points at Craven Cottage.

24 hours later, Liverpool did the Red Devils a favour by holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad.  Sturridge scored his third goal for his new club, and Steven Gerrard had the visitors ahead with a quarter of an hour to go.  However, Sergio Aguero pulled out a cracking equaliser to ensure a point was saved.

The gap was widening though and a week later, the title race ended when City put in a comical display at Southampton.  Hart made another error and Gareth Barry scored the own goal of the season as the Saints beat Mancini’s outfit 3-1, Pochettino’s first victory as Southampton manager.

A day later, goals from the evergreen Ryan Giggs and Van Persie saw United overcome Everton 2-0 at Old Trafford to extend their lead to a healthy 12 points.  It was a lead they would maintain and even extend at periods until the season’s end.

Whilst the title battle was ending, one player took February by storm and that was Gareth Bale.  He put in a series of performances that took Tottenham into third place and made him look like a genius.

Despite criticisms about his tendency to go down easily under challenges, no-one could deny Bale’s quality with the ball.  He scored a sensational solo effort in a 1-1 draw at Norwich, achieved a double to see off Newcastle 2-1, and then scored another special thunderbolt in a five-goal thriller with West Ham at Upton Park.

Chelsea were still lacking consistency under Benitez.  They lost late on to Newcastle, and then surrendered fairly meekly to Manchester City in late February, losing 2-0 to put them down in fourth place.  There was a frosty truce then between the supporters and Benitez when he ranted at their lack of support after an FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough, which also saw the Spaniard confirm he would not stay at the club past the end of the season.

Although their form drifted away in the second half of the season, West Brom were still putting in some creditable performances, despite Odemwingie’s best efforts to destroy morale in the dressing room.  Goals from Gareth McAuley and Romelu Lukaku saw them beat Liverpool at Anfield, keeping them in contention for European football next season.  Lukaku was on-loan from Chelsea, and was proving to be a revelation, as he scored 17 goals for the club.

Another star striker was Michu.  A £2m buy from Rayo Vallecano in the summer, he was proving his worth to a Swansea City side that continued to defy expectations.  Only Van Persie, Suarez and Bale would score more goals than Michu in the Premier League this season, and he helped Michael Laudrup’s side to a first major trophy in their history when they thrashed surprise packages Bradford City in late February to win the Capital One Cup at Wembley.

Two sides going in the wrong direction were Norwich City and Stoke City.  After their excellent unbeaten run before Christmas, Norwich went nine games without winning before late goals from loan signing Kei Kamara and Grant Holt helped the Canaries to an unexpected 2-1 victory against Everton.  However, that was their only victory between January and late April.

Having been as high as seventh on Boxing Day, Stoke went on a catastrophic run of one win in 13 matches and slid down the table.  The supporters began to turn on manager Tony Pulis for the negative tactics he was adopting.  The club would eventually survive, but Pulis lost his job after seven years in charge at the end of the season.

One manager who didn’t see out the season was Brian McDermott at Reading.  January’s manager of the month was dismissed by the Royals after four successive defeats in mid-March and he would be replaced by Nigel Adkins.

Disgusting Suarez

Luis Suarez is football’s equivalent of marmite.  Most Liverpool fans love him, but neutrals and opposing supporters probably can’t stand the sight of him.

However, his season would end early in frankly disgusting circumstances against Chelsea in April.

Luis Suarez ended his season early with his biting antics on Ivanovic

On Rafa Benitez’s first return to Anfield, Suarez unbelievably took a bite into the arm of Branislav Ivanovic (pictured) right infront of the Kop, and millions of stunned television viewers. 

Suarez went on to bite Chelsea twice, as he netted a 97^th minute equaliser for his side in the 2-2 draw, but that would be his final contribution of the campaign.

After apologising for his actions, the FA took a hard stance and banned the Uruguayan for 10 matches.  Liverpool didn’t miss him though; as they went on to thrash Newcastle 6-0 in their very next match.  Only one defeat in their last nine matches took Rodgers side upto seventh by the season’s end, but keeping their temperamental striker under control might be the biggest test over the summer.

Sunderland dispensed with the services of Martin O’Neill after defeat to Manchester United on Easter Saturday.  Into the Wearside dugout came the flamboyant Italian Paolo di Canio.

Di Canio became an instant hero with the fans, especially when he guided Sunderland to a spectacular 3-0 away victory at Newcastle, a result that would ultimately keep them in the top flight.

Reading and QPR played out a dire 0-0 draw in late April, which saw both clubs deservedly relegated.  The Royals only managed one win under Adkins in eight matches, and that was a 4-2 away success at Fulham a week after relegation.  Despite a brief rally in March, which entailed back-to-back victories against Southampton and Sunderland, Redknapp couldn’t pull off the great escape at QPR.

Their resolve was broken by Wigan, when Shaun Maloney’s 94^th minute equaliser at Loftus Road earned Wigan a priceless point in early April in their own battle against the drop.  After that blow, QPR only scored one more goal and earned just one point in their last six matches.  Redknapp now has the toughest job of his career in trying to get his players back up from the Championship at the first attempt.

Ultimately, the point at QPR wasn’t enough for Wigan either.  Their traditional end of season surge didn’t happen this time around, with only one win in their last seven games.  Despite winning the FA Cup, Roberto Martinez’s side lost their fight against the drop when they crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Arsenal.  The Latics eight-year stay in the top flight was over.

Bowing out on top

When Tottenham produced a brilliant final 20 minutes to beat Manchester City 3-1 on Sunday, 21 April, Manchester United were handed their first chance to win back the Premier League title.

They took the invitation at the first attempt.  After a goalscoring drought of two months, Van Persie found the right night to find his scoring boots again.  He scored a first half hat-trick, including a goal of the season contender in a 3-0 success against Aston Villa.

Manchester United were champions for the 13^th time in the Premier League era, and for the 20^th time in total.  Only a home defeat to Chelsea and a draw with Arsenal at the Emirates prevented the club from breaking the all-time Premier League points and wins records.

Then, Sir Alex Ferguson dropped his own bombshell on Wednesday, 8 May and announced his decision to retire as manager at the end of the season.

The Scot had decided at Christmas that this was to be his last season in the Old Trafford dugout after 26 trophy-filled years.  His retirement was to be one of many on the last day of the season.

Joining Fergie in retirement at Manchester United was Paul Scholes for the second time.  Michael Owen admitted defeat in his fitness struggles and called it a day at Stoke, and after over 700 games for Liverpool, Jamie Carragher also decided to stop playing at the end of the season for a new career in punditry.

Although he has recovered from his battle against leukaemia, Stiliyan Petrov has also decided to say goodbye, as has Premier League referee Mark Halsey after his own battle with cancer.  Football also said farewell to David Beckham, who ended his career with PSG in France, but will always go down as a Manchester United and England legend.

Ferguson’s successor at Old Trafford is the Everton boss David Moyes, who left the Goodison Park post after 11 loyal years to the Toffees.  Roberto Mancini won’t get the chance though to take on Moyes.  Manchester City’s season without a trophy saw the Italian sacked on the first year anniversary of their title success.

Chelsea won more European silverware with the Europa League and Benitez ultimately guided the club to third place and automatic qualification for the Champions League.  Frank Lampard made Chelsea history, when his double at Aston Villa on the penultimate weekend of the season saw the midfielder break Bobby Tambling’s record of 202 goals to become the Blues all-time leading goalscorer.

The only issue to be settled on the final day of the season was fourth spot.  Having beaten Arsenal 2-1 at White Hart Lane in March, Tottenham opened up a healthy eight-point lead over their neighbours.  However, defeat at Liverpool a week later, and a shock home reverse to Fulham put Arsenal back in striking distance.  Wenger’s side only dropped four points between the derby defeat and the final game of the campaign.  They had a one point lead going into the day.

Tottenham battered Sunderland, and only some desperate defending and Simon Mignolet’s goalkeeping efforts kept them at bay.  In the 89^th minute, Bale produced another of his trademark specials to help Spurs to a 1-0 victory.

However, the news from St. James’ Park was not good for them.  A second half volley from Laurent Koscielny helped Arsenal to a win at Newcastle by the same scoreline.  For the 16^th successive season, Wenger’s side will play in Europe’s most decorated club competition.  For Tottenham, it will be another frustrating campaign in the Europa League, where they will be joined by Swansea and Wigan.

Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out with top honours once again

In summary, the 2012-13 campaign failed to live upto high expectations, but it was always going to be a tough act to follow on last season’s heroics.  However, in a season of gracious goodbyes and fond farewells, Manchester United crushed the opposition and fully deserved to regain their crown as England’s best.

Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager of all-time, and as he goes into a healthy and happy retirement, there could be a changing of the guard next season.  With the top three all starting with new men in the dugout, the 2013-14 edition promises to produce much better quality and excitement that at times was lacking in Sir Alex’s final farewell.

Categories: Chelsea, Hillsborough, Manchester United, Marouane Fellaini, Premier League, Roberto di Matteo, Roberto Mancini, Robin van Persie, Sir Alex Ferguson, Wigan Athletic