Premier League 2013-14 Season Review: Blue Moon rises again

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

It was one of the most closely fought Premier League years of recent times. The title was only settled on the final day of the season in a campaign that was full of unexpected twists and turns, but lacked a fitting finale to it.

A comfortable final day win at home to West Ham United ensured the blue half of Manchester celebrated again, as Manchester City (pictured below) won their second crown in three years.

Vincent Kompany and Manchester City regained the Premier League crown in an epic tussle

Manuel Pellegrini won the league in his maiden season in the Etihad dugout, as they held off challenges from a resurgent Liverpool, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and Arsenal to claim top honours.

It was a season of change. No fewer than 10 managers lost their jobs during the campaign, we saw the introduction of goal-line technology, a striker who found redemption and swept the awards board and a manager who decided his head would do the talking in one of the league’s craziest moments of madness ever seen.

Simon Wright now reviews the 2013-14 campaign from the opening kick in August to the final whistle in May as the Barclays Premier League continued its reputation as the most unpredictable division on the planet.

CHAMPIONS: Manchester City

RUNNERS-UP: Liverpool

THIRD PLACE: Chelsea

RELEGATED: Norwich City, Fulham, Cardiff City

TOP SCORERS: Luis Suarez (Liverpool) 31, Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool) 21, Yaya Toure (Manchester City) 20, Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 17, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 17, Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) 16, Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) 16, Wilfried Bony (Swansea City) 16, Romelu Lukaku (Everton) 15, Jay Rodriguez (Southampton) 15, Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 14, Loic Remy (Newcastle United) 14, Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 13, Rickie Lambert (Southampton) 13, Robin van Persie (Manchester United) 12, Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham Hotspur) 11, Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) 10, Christian Benteke (Aston Villa) 10, Alvaro Negredo (Manchester City) 9, Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) 9, Samuel Eto’o (Chelsea) 9, Danny Welbeck (Manchester United) 9, Adam Lallana (Southampton) 9, Oscar (Chelsea) 8, Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) 8, Kevin Mirallas (Everton) 8

BIGGEST WIN: Manchester City 7-0 Norwich City (2 November 2013)                                    

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Manchester City 6-3 Arsenal (14 December 2013), Cardiff City 3-6 Liverpool (22 March 2014), Manchester City 7-0 Norwich City (2 November 2013)

PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Luis Suarez (Liverpool) 

PFA YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

The 2013-14 Barclays Premier League campaign was going to be a season of charge, especially at the top. The top three clubs from 2012-13 all changed managers at the start of a new campaign. David Moyes was ‘The Chosen One’ to begin life at Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson. The calm Chilean Manuel Pellegrini replaced the sacked Roberto Mancini at Manchester City and Jose Mourinho made his second coming to Chelsea as Roman Abramovich finally indicated that he had found no-one suitable to replace the so-called ‘Special One.’

There were other new managers arriving too. Roberto Martinez moved on from relegated Wigan to succeed the departing Moyes at Everton and Mark Hughes returned from the managerial exile at Stoke City after the Potters elected to go down a fresh direction without Tony Pulis.

The transfer market was dominated by three players and their futures – that of Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney. Suarez was the subject of a ridiculous £40,000,001 bid from Arsenal – intended to trigger a clause in his contract. The striker spoke out and wanted to leave but the owners stood firm and he remained a Liverpool player. Rooney was courted by Chelsea but stayed loyal to the new regime at Old Trafford and would sign a new contract by the season’s climax. It was Bale who went though as Real Madrid got their man. Tottenham received £85.3m for the Welsh wizard – becoming the most expensive transfer in the history of football.

Manchester City spent nearly £100m combined on the Sevilla pair Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo, Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk and Montenegro striker Stevan Jovetic. After missing out on Rooney, Mourinho went for Samuel Eto’o after a restructuring plan saw Russian club Anzhi sell all their stars. Willian was another who ended up at Stamford Bridge as the Blues stole the Brazilian at the last minute from under Tottenham’s noses.

With the Bale money, Spurs spent it on almost a brand new team. Spanish striker Roberto Soldado and Roma playmaker Erik Lamela were the biggest additions – costing £56m in total. Liverpool paid £17m to PSG for rising defender Mamadou Sakho and Southampton forked out £8.5m for Lyon centre back Dejan Lovren.

Domestic moves saw Romelu Lukaku go out on loan again, but this time to Everton. The Toffees made a similar move for out-of-favour Gareth Barry and Martinez went back to his former club Wigan on deadline day to acquire James McCarthy for £13m. Joe Kinnear controversially returned to Newcastle as director of football, although he only made one addition which was the loan signing of Loic Remy from relegated QPR. Adel Taarabt swapped the Hoops for the Cottagers of Fulham on a loan deal too and newly promoted Hull City broke their transfer record for Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone.

As deadline day ticked down, Manchester United were noticeably quiet. Despite pursuing the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Leighton Baines, no new signings were made until the final hour. Moyes eventually forking out a club record £27m for Everton’s Marouane Fellaini. It was a deal that would backfire badly for both player and boss.

Spend, spend Arsene!

Whilst their rivals paid out big amounts to strengthen their squads, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger decided again not to make any moves. The fans grew frustrated, especially as the debt on the Emirates Stadium that had restricted deals before had now been paid off.

It got really ugly in north London on the opening day when Aston Villa blew the Gunners apart with a stunning demonstration of how to play counter-attacking football. Arsenal lost 3-1 and the supporters started hurling ‘Spend, spend, spend Wenger’ banners out around the ground.

He eventually did buy on deadline day and what a capture. £42m was paid to Real Madrid for German superstar Mesut Ozil, doubling the club’s previous transfer record. By then, Arsenal were back in the top three including a north London derby success over a new-look Tottenham side.

It was Liverpool who were the surprise early pacesetters. Brendan Rodgers side played carefully in the opening three weeks and his measures paid off. Three goals, all scored by Daniel Sturridge were enough for three 1-0 wins to ensure they had the only 100 per cent record in the division. One of those winners from Sturridge came in early September against Manchester United as Moyes suffered an early taster of what was to come.

One of the biggest upsets in the entire campaign came in late August. On a bright late summer’s August afternoon, Cardiff City memorably defeated Manchester City in their first home match among the elite. Frazier Campbell scored twice in a sensational 3-2 win but there were already evident cracks in the cordial dialogue between owner Vincent Tan and manager Malky Mackay.

Di Canio bites the dust

The other main headline in the opening two months was the poisonous atmosphere around Sunderland. Despite bringing in 12 players, the club was on the verge of meltdown under Paolo di Canio.

Constant criticism of the first team players in the media, plus excluding the popular Phil Bardsley and Lee Cattermole from his plans made him a scapegoat in the local and national media and with the Black Cats fans. Those who couldn’t work out whether he was a genius or an idiot quickly had their answer and after a public remonstration to the visiting fans following a 3-0 defeat at West Brom on 21 September, he became the first boss to bite the dust in 2013-14. The former Brighton manager Gus Poyet replaced him and Sunderland became a much better environment for this decision.

Meanwhile in Manchester, David Moyes got another indication of the task he had at Old Trafford. Manchester United were trounced 4-1 in the first Manchester derby of the season, with Sergio Aguero scoring twice. The following week, United caved to a shock 2-1 defeat by West Brom. Albion recorded their first victory at the Theatre of Dreams since 1978 with goals from Morgan Amalfitano and youngster Saido Berahino. Already, the champions crown was slipping.

Vilified after his bite out of Branislav Ivanovic in April of the previous campaign, Luis Suarez returned in late September from his 10-match ban for the incident. He made a scoring return too in Liverpool’s 3-1 away win at bottom club Sunderland and he didn’t stop scoring until the season ended.

With Chelsea losing for the first time under Mourinho’s second spell 1-0 to Everton and Manchester City slipping to a 3-2 loss away to Aston Villa; it was Arsenal who led the way at the end of September. Helped by the goals of Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud and with Ozil settling in quickly, the Gunners had chalked up five successive victories. The gloom over the club from six weeks earlier had most definitely disappeared.

Carnage at Cardiff

When Jordan Mutch scored a stunning 90^th minute winner to help Cardiff to a 2-1 win away at Fulham, the Bluebirds were sitting in a fine seventh place in the table. It rapidly went downhill from there.

Chief scout Ian Moody was unceremoniously fired by owner Vincent Tan at the start of October and replaced with an unknown individual from Kazakhstan, who was one of Tan’s closest friends. An ally of Mackay, Moody’s departure sparked carnage which remained at the club for the rest of the campaign. Cardiff’s form on the field started to take a nosedive in October with successive defeats to Newcastle and Chelsea, followed by a 0-0 draw away against Norwich City. They plunged into the bottom half and the chaos wouldn’t end there.

Moody eventually turned up as the director of football at Crystal Palace who were also about to experience a managerial change. After a pitiful 4-1 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Fulham, not helped by a Goal of the Season contender from Patjim Kasami, Ian Holloway resigned from his post, believing he had lost the dressing room in south London. After Keith Millen stood in as caretaker for four games, the call went out to Pulis to try and save the Eagles. However with just four points from 11 games, they already looked good as doomed.

Arsenal held onto top spot throughout October, with Jack Wilshere starting to show some good form. He finished off one of the team goals of the campaign as Norwich couldn’t cope with the Gunners’ incisive movements in a 4-1 defeat, where Ozil also scored twice. At the wrong end of the league, Fabio Borini hit an 87^th minute winner in the Tyne & Wear derby to spearhead Sunderland to a 2-1 triumph over Newcastle and their first win of the campaign and for new boss Poyet.

The month ended with a gladiatorial showdown at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea and Manchester City were deadlocked at 1-1 going into stoppage time when a nightmare mix-up between Matija Nastasic and Joe Hart allowed Fernando Torres in to score the winner. Cue ecstatic celebrations from Mourinho on the touchline which rattled Pellegrini, who didn’t shake his hand at the full-time whistle. It also was the final straw with Hart’s form too. After a series of erratic performances, England’s number one was set for a spell on the bench at Eastlands.

City’s goalscoring power

Troubles on the road were plaguing Manchester City’s title challenge so far. A fourth away defeat would follow in November when they lost 1-0 for the fourth successive year to Sunderland. The back in-favour Bardsley scored the solitary goal. The Citizens had only collected four points from six trips away from the Etihad Stadium.

At home though they were a different proposition. Norwich were battered 7-0 at the start of November on a miserable afternoon that summed up the Canaries season. Three weeks later, Tottenham fell behind inside 13 seconds to a goal from Jesus Navas and ended up shipping six. It seemed like Manchester City were going to be invincible at home.

Asmir Begovic put himself in the select list of goalkeepers to score in the Premier League. The Bosnian’s goal kick inside the opening minute of Stoke’s home match with Southampton looped over a bemused Artur Boruc and into the net with help from the predictable gust at the Britannia Stadium. Despite that, the Saints were in great form as Hull found out a week later. Adam Lallana scored a superb individual goal in a 4-1 victory for the home side. Under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton had climbed into third place in the table, playing some great football and producing top home-grown talent from this country. The likes of Lallana, Luke Shaw and Jay Rodriguez would blossom all season on the south coast.

The first top flight south Wales derby also took place in November. Steven Caulker’s second half header ensured Cardiff beat Swansea 1-0 in the Welsh capital and claimed the bragging rights in the country for now. Another derby in November was the Merseyside clash at Goodison and what a game it was. A late Sturridge equaliser saw Liverpool rescue a 3-3 draw with Everton but had it not been for the goalkeeping exploits of Tim Howard and Simon Mignolet, it could well have ended 8-8! Arsenal suffered only their second defeat of the campaign at Old Trafford. Robin van Persie found the net again against his former employers in United’s 1-0 win.

One team who had a great month were Newcastle United. Helped by the goalscoring exploits of Remy, the creative influence of Yohan Cabaye and some heroic saves by Tim Krul, the Magpies notched together four straight wins with Chelsea and Tottenham among their noticeable scalps. It wasn’t so good for Fulham and after a meek showing in a 3-0 defeat to West Ham United; Martin Jol’s services were dispensed with 24 hours later.

The axe on Christmas

Christmas is normally a time for giving and receiving but they were only giving at the home ground of the champions. The fortress that formally stood around Old Trafford was fast turning into a festive gift shop! First, Moyes could only look on with pain etched on his face as his former club Everton claimed a 1-0 win at the start of the month. Bryan Oviedo grabbed the winner; the Toffees first win at the ground since August 1992. Three days later, it got worse as Newcastle ended their 41-year drought at the Theatre of Dreams. Cabaye scored the solitary goal as United dropped to ninth and 12 points off the top. The board kept faith with ‘The Chosen One…’ for now at least.

Other owners decided not to though. Getting a new manager seemed to be the hottest fashion accessory during winter. Rene Meulensteen succeeded Jol at Fulham but he began with four defeats in six games – the worst was a 6-0 mauling away at Hull City where Huddlestone ended his three-year drought for a goal and got rid of his ‘afro’ haircut with it! West Brom panicked after losing four games in a row and wielded the axe on Steve Clarke. The Scot was placed on gardening leave and was eventually replaced by Pepe Mel.

The end also dawned on Andre Villas-Boas at Tottenham. A 5-0 drubbing at home by free-scoring Liverpool spelt the end for AVB at White Hart Lane and probably in this country too. Tim Sherwood was promoted from the academy into the hotseat on an 18-month contract. Lastly, Mackay was finally given the chop by the clueless Tan at Cardiff on 27 December. He had told his boss to resign or be sacked before a trip to Anfield six days earlier. Mackay survived that game, but not a 3-0 home defeat to Southampton on Boxing Day. Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was brought in and Mackay took his unfair dismissal to the lawyers as he issued legal action against the Malaysian owner.

Player of the month undoubtedly was Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan was winning back fans and neutrals with his stunning performances and goalscoring exploits. He became the first player in the history of the league to score three hat-tricks against the same opposition as Norwich City once again felt the full force of his power. Suarez scored a stunning four goals in Liverpool’s 5-1 win on 4 December. He added another six during the month, including a double at home to Cardiff and another brace in the Tottenham triumph. Despite losing Sturridge, skipper Steven Gerrard and Sakho to lengthy injury absences – Liverpool were top on Christmas Day.

They ended 2013 though down in fifth spot. Whilst their defensive naivety was exposed in a 6-3 reverse at Manchester City, Arsenal went into the New Year on top of the table, helped by plucky away wins on Boxing Day against West Ham United and three days later on Tyneside over Newcastle United. Liverpool slipped to consecutive defeats over the festive period by the same scoreline (2-1) to Manchester City and Chelsea. With Lukaku banging in the goals, Everton were quietly going about their business, in the top four and having only been beaten twice so far. The bottom three consisted of Sunderland, Fulham and West Ham.

18^th century football!  

2014 began with Manchester City in top form and now having sorted out their early difficulties on the road. They started the month in third and ended it top of the pile. Their year began with a 3-2 win on a soaking lunchtime in south Wales over struggling Swansea City.

After getting some luck in a 2-0 triumph against Newcastle United, the club scored their 100^th goal incredibly in all competitions by this stage of the year when Cardiff were seen off 4-2. Edin Dzeko was the recipient of this honour. The month concluded with another five-star performance against Tottenham. Sherwood’s men were blown away 5-1 by their opponents. With Hart back at the top of his game after his break from first team action and the likes of Aguero, Dzeko and Negredo smashing in the goals, who could stop Pellegrini’s men?

Arsenal did concede top spot after drawing 2-2 at Southampton but were still right in the heart of the battle. Chelsea too, but they dropped two points in a disappointing scoreless contest with West Ham United. After the game, Mourinho had the cheek to accuse West Ham of playing “18^th century football!” Pot, kettle, black spring to mind with this quote Jose!

Sunderland began climbing the table in the right direction and got out of the bottom three for the first time in the season, thanks to the goalscoring exploits of Adam Johnson. He hit a treble in a 4-1 victory over relegation rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage and ended up with an impressive tally of six goals in four matches. The Poyet factor was working on Wearside.

Sunderland’s local rivals suffered a huge blow in the January transfer window as Cabaye was transferred to oil-rich French side PSG and no replacement was brought into Newcastle. Kinnear left his role as director of football shortly afterwards. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City kept their chequebooks in their pockets during the reinforcement month but Chelsea added Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah to their ranks and Hull City boss Steve Bruce splashed out £14m on a new strike partnership in Croatian Nikica Jelavic from Everton and Shane Long who was discarded from West Brom’s plans without much of a fight. The biggest transfer though came in Manchester where United shattered their transfer record again – this time to acquire Juan Mata from Chelsea for £38m. Fed up of warming the bench under Mourinho in west London, the Spaniard hoped the move would give him a new lease of life.

Arsenal start to fade

When Arsenal travelled to Anfield to face Liverpool for a lunchtime kick-off on 8 February, they were back on top of the table and seven points clear of their opponents. Liverpool had dropped costly points at home to Aston Villa and away at West Brom and looked to be fighting Tottenham and Everton for the final Champions League spot. By the full-time whistle, both team’s season objectives turned around in different directions.

Arsenal simply couldn’t cope with Liverpool’s fast-paced start. They caved in dramatically, shipping four goals in a breathless first 20 minutes. The only surprise was Suarez didn’t find the target. Martin Skrtel and Raheem Sterling got doubles as the home side won 5-1 – just 10 days after dishing out a 4-0 scoreline on their Merseyside rivals. Daniel Sturridge also scored as part of a run of games where he would find the target in seven successive Premier League encounters.

Arsenal’s challenge started to fade after that result. Four days later, they played out a forgettable 0-0 draw with Manchester United at the Emirates and Liverpool quickly overhauled their deficit to the leaders. In the other big showdown of the month, Mourinho produced a tactical masterclass to frustrate Manchester City at the Etihad. Chelsea became the first team to win at the home of the champions-elect in the campaign as Branislav Ivanovic drilled in the only goal of the game.

With that, Chelsea took control of the title race. A majestic hat-trick from Young Player of the Year Eden Hazard sank Newcastle 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and they ended February as the team to catch. Manchester City’s response to defeat by the Blues was to draw another blank with Norwich at Carrow Road and then see a game with Sunderland postponed by heavy winds and driving rain in the area.

Meanwhile the battle to stay among the elite was intensifying, with almost half the division scrapping for survival. Michael Laudrup became casualty number seven of the Premier League season. The Dane was fired as Swansea slipped into the bottom six following a run of insipid performances. Former captain Gary Monk was appointed to steer the club through the rest of the season and beyond. Fulham then made another change days later. Having collected just three wins from his 12 games, Rene Meulensteen collected his P45. Felix Magath, never relegated as a manager in his days managing eight Bundesliga clubs was brought in to try and rescue the sinking club down by the River Thames. Going in the right direction though were West Ham. Sam Allardyce spearheaded his club from 18^th to 10^th with four wins in a row, with Kevin Nolan responding to criticism for two childish red cards in quick succession during the winter round of fixtures by scoring six times in these four games.

Pardew’s moment of madness

At around 4.15pm on Saturday, 1 March – Alan Pardew lost the plot and created one of the Premier League’s craziest moments ever seen in its lifespan. With his team cruising at 3-1 up away against Hull City, he reacted badly to receiving a shove from Hull’s David Meyler as the midfielder was trying to get the ball for a throw-in. Pardew (pictured below) leant forward with his head and butted Meyler in a complete moment of madness.

How stupid can you get? Alan Pardew stunned football with this head-butt in March

Pardew was sent to the stands and the book was thrown at him. Newcastle fined him and warned him about his future conduct and the FA banned the Englishman for seven matches – three of which were for permission to even enter the stadium. With Cabaye sold, Remy injured and now their boss public enemy number one Newcastle’s season continued to unravel and they never really recovered.

The same could be said for Manchester United. New low points came in March when both Liverpool and Manchester City won so easily at Old Trafford. The 3-0 scorelines didn’t flatter them and it could have been more in both cases. Liverpool’s visit saw them win three penalties in that match – the first time ever that has happened at the ex-champions’ ground. Steven Gerrard scored two of them but missed the third and the departing captain Nemanja Vidic received a red card against the Merseysiders for the fourth time in his career. Sections of the United support had enough and hired a plane to fly over the stadium during the Aston Villa game at the end of the month with the banner ‘Wrong One – Moyes Out!’ Liverpool fans chose a better banner, going with ‘David Moyes – Footballing Genius!’ Either way, the stressed look on the Scot’s face suggested he was a manager on seriously borrowed time.

Another manager who looked totally crestfallen was Arsene Wenger. Any outside hope Arsenal had of getting back into title contention went when they imploded in his 1000^th game in charge at Chelsea. For once, the Blues had a day where they actually enjoyed attacking their opponents. Chelsea won 6-0, their biggest margin of victory ever against the Gunners. The match is also remembered for a calamitous gaffe by referee Andre Marriner. When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled on the goal-line, he correctly awarded a spot-kick, but then sent Kieran Gibbs off the pitch instead! It was another ridiculous moment from the men in the middle who had another season of regularly questionable decisions in key matches.

Mourinho had continued to dismiss Chelsea’s title claims, even when they briefly went seven points clear after handing Tottenham another hefty beating in mid-March. His claims seemed to be validated when his side slipped to shock consecutive defeats on the road. First was a loss to Aston Villa, where Willian, Ramires and Mourinho himself were all sent off. A fortnight later, a rare error from John Terry saw the defender head into his own net to seal a surprising 1-0 victory to Crystal Palace. When Liverpool beat Tottenham 4-0 the next day, the Reds suddenly had the destiny of the title in their own hands for the first time.

Gerrard’s emotion and slip

April was always going to pack a punch at both ends of the table. At the top, three sides could win the title, whilst at least seven clubs were still fighting for their lives to escape relegation.

The month started with a potential Champions League shootout between Everton and Arsenal. Wenger’s side had now slipped into the clutches of the impressive Toffees, who were in a sequence of seven successive victories. Everton outclassed Arsenal on that day, winning 3-0 to take control of the race for fourth. Unfortunately for Roberto Martinez’s side, three defeats in the run-in ensured they finished seven points off the top four, but with 72 points, still set a record points tally for the club in their Premier League life. All of the top three won, although Manchester City’s 4-1 success against Southampton was overshadowed by a cruel ACL injury to Saints striker Jay Rodriguez that meant he would miss the World Cup finals for England. On that weekend, Chris Hughton lost his job at Norwich following a home defeat to West Brom. Neil Adams took over for the final five games and with a devilish run-in against Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal; relegation looked all but a formality for the Canaries.

Whilst Chelsea were still in the fight, many believed the showdown on Sunday, 13 April between Liverpool and Manchester City would be the title decider. It came at a charged time for LFC, with the 25^th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster lurking around the corner. After an impeccable tribute to the 96 who never came home in 1989 from an FA Cup semi-final, the match lived up to all expectations. Goals from Sterling and Skrtel inside half an hour had Liverpool 2-0 up and their fans daring to dream that the impossible could become the possible. City responded in the second half with two goals from David Silva and had the momentum at 2-2. Then with 12 minutes left, a mistake by City captain Vincent Kompany of all people allowed Philippe Coutinho (pictured below) to strike the winner for the home side. At the final whistle, skipper Steven Gerrard was seen struggling to hold back the tears. The trophy that had eluded him throughout his career was now in touching distance. Liverpool had it to lose now.

Philippe Coutinho hit a late winner as Liverpool beat Manchester City in an April cracker

Sunderland suddenly got into the equation. When they surrendered 5-1 away at Tottenham, the Black Cats had collected one point from a possible 21 and were bottom, seven points adrift of safety. Gus Poyet said afterwards that they needed ‘a miracle.’ The miracle began at the Etihad where Connor Wickham scored twice and only a calamitous Vito Mannone error in the 89^th minute denied the visitors a shock win. The draw gave them confidence though and they then outplayed Chelsea on their own backyard. Fabio Borini’s 78^th minute penalty buried the Blues as far as their title challenge was concerned. Mourinho’s sarcastic comments about referee Mike Dean afterwards led to another fine from the authorities and more criticism about his side’s style of play. It was now a two-horse race.

Liverpool still had it in their own hands, with a six point lead over City, although the Citizens had a game in hand. The decisive moment came in the 44^th minute of Liverpool’s home game with Chelsea on 27^th April. Gerrard slipped on the halfway line and Demba Ba got away from the defence before finishing coolly infront of The Kop. On a day when Liverpool could have won it, their main players had an off-day. Despite parking the bus infront of the Anfield goal, the Blues ended up comfortable 2-0 winners as Willian scored a second in stoppage time. Later than afternoon, City won 2-0 at Crystal Palace to take command of the race for the title.

At the bottom, Cardiff’s 4-0 defeat to Sunderland left them in a precarious position. Solskjaer had only managed to spearhead his strugglers to three wins since taking over on 2 January. Although they won back-to-back games over Aston Villa and Norwich at the start of the month, Fulham were favourites to join Cardiff in the Championship after throwing away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home to Hull City. Sunderland’s great escape had meant Norwich were now favourites for the third spot. Swansea, Hull, West Ham and incredibly, Crystal Palace all achieved mathematical survival in April. Palace strung a fantastic run of five successive wins to take them to mid-table from almost certain relegation five months earlier. Pulis was the deserving winner of the Premier League Manager of the Year award.

David Moyes’ miserable tenure at Manchester United also finally came to an end in April. He was never going to look forward with any envy to a trip to Everton on 20 April. The home supporters enjoyed taunting their former boss as they won at a stroll 2-0. 48 hours later and with no hope of Champions League football, Moyes was finally given his marching orders after a nightmare year that has severely damaged his reputation in this country as a manager. Playing legend Ryan Giggs took charge for the remaining four games of the season, and would hang up his boots at the end of the campaign to become the assistant to Moyes’ long-term successor which is the experienced Dutch coach Louis van Gaal.

City win it, Liverpool bin it

The final month of the year began with the first two issues to be settled. Cardiff and Fulham were both relegated on the final Saturday of the season after messy campaigns for the pair. Cardiff lost 3-0 to Newcastle – one of only two sides the Magpies beat after the Pardew head-butt at Hull. Fulham put in their worst display of the season away at Stoke City. They were beaten 4-1 and it could have been more. For the first time in his managerial career, Felix Magath had been relegated but both he and Solskjaer have already insisted they will be staying. Despite a shocking run of form that saw them collect just four points in their last eight matches, Paul Lambert guided Aston Villa just about to safety and Midlands rivals West Brom did the same. Lambert will stay in the Villa Park dugout, but Pepe Mel left by mutual consent after just five rocky months at the Hawthorns.

Back in the title race and Manchester City triumphed 3-2 away to Everton. Usually the club’s bogey ground with only one win at Goodison since 2001, City fought back from conceding a magnificent opener from the talented Ross Barkley to win in an end-to-end contest. This defeat for Everton handed fourth spot to Arsenal, who also would go on to win silverware for the first time in nine years after a hard-fought extra-time win against Hull in the FA Cup final.

It was over to Liverpool then on Bank Holiday Monday against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Win and they would at least keep the pressure on City but they binned it. Cruising at 3-0 up on the hour mark with goals from Joe Allen, Daniel Sturridge and PFA Player of the Year Luis Suarez, their gung-ho approach backfired. Pushing for a fourth rather than shutting up shop, they allowed the Eagles to incredibly draw it back to 3-3 with three goals in the last 12 minutes – two coming from substitute Dwight Gayle. The expression on the faces of the players and Brendan Rodgers at the full-time whistle was the telling point. The fight was all but over. 48 hours later, City’s routine 4-0 win over Aston Villa meant they went into the final day with a handy two-point cushion. On the same night, Sunderland’s great escape was complete after defeating West Brom 2-0, relegating Norwich City in the process.

So for the seventh time in the league’s history, the title battle went to the final day although it looked like a formality. Manchester City only needed a point at home to West Ham, who had nothing to play for but pride. Should they blow it, a Liverpool win against Newcastle might have been enough. They were behind at half-time to the Magpies though, as Martin Skrtel scored his fourth OG of the season, a new record in the Premier League. City were 1-0 up when Samir Nasri drilled them ahead in the 35^th minute. West Ham never threatened and didn’t even register a noticeable shot on target at the Etihad and when Vincent Kompany stabbed home a second goal in the early exchanges of the second half, it was all over. Liverpool did recover at Anfield to win 2-1 but it was too late. Their 24-year wait for a league title goes on and so, the crown stays in Manchester but returns to the blue half of the city. Chelsea finished third, followed by Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham who sacked Tim Sherwood after the season’s conclusion. Seventh is Manchester United’s lowest in Premier League history and ensures they won’t be in Europe for the first time since 1990.

It was a campaign of change, a season of revolution and evolution. A year where reputations were both created and destroyed. The Barclays Premier League season of 2013-14 was a classic and a massive improvement on the stale 2012-13 edition. Liverpool came so close, Chelsea gave it a good go but it was Manchester City who ended up deserved champions. The next chapter in 2014-15 could be the most intriguing to date.

Categories: 2013-14, Chelsea, David Moyes, Eden Hazard, Football, Liverpool, Luis Suarez, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Premier League, Steven Gerrard

Football 2013 - New winners and fond farewells

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

12 months of the beautiful game came and went pretty quickly. It was a fairly eventful year too which saw dreams dashed in miserable summer tournaments for our country (no change there), incidents that led to condemnation from governments, records broken in the transfer market and first time winners in cup competitions. 2013 also saw the end of a football dynasty as the greatest boss bid goodbye to football and to Manchester United.

The greatest manager to have lived, Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out in May

It was Wednesday, 8 May 2013 and this wasn’t going to be an ordinary day. That morning, just after 9am came a statement on the official website of the Red Devils which confirmed Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured) was to retire as first team manager at the end of the season. It brought the curtain down on the most unbelievable run of success he’d had through 26 years of management at the Theatre of Dreams. When Ferguson arrived after a successful stint north of the border with Aberdeen, Manchester United had been in the doldrums in November 1986. He turned them around from constant underachievers into the most dominant English club of the last two decades. 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, the Cup Winners’ Cup and two UEFA Champions League prizes among the many honours he won as a manager at Old Trafford.

It was a day of celebration four days later when United played their final home game of another title-winning campaign. They beat Swansea City 2-1 but the game itself was just a side event to the announcement made by Ferguson days earlier. He thanked the fans and was given the honour by Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra to hoist the Premier League trophy aloft for the last time. He bowed out a week later with an incredible 5-5 draw away to West Brom and slipped quietly away from the dugout. His replacement David Moyes has had a tough few months with the club looking very distant already in terms of launching a title challenge but a semi-final in the League Cup and a favourable last 16 draw in the Champions League means there is still plenty to look forward to in 2014 for fans at Old Trafford.

Ferguson brought out an explosive autobiography in October which did break record sales for a non-fiction book but did cause some fallout with strong criticism aimed in the direction of David Beckham and Roy Keane especially. Beckham was another famous face to retire from professional football in May and he wasn’t the only one. Michael Owen quit after several injury-hit years for a career as a racehorse trainer and commentator for the new look BT Sport, whilst Jamie Carragher also hung up his boots for a media role with Sky Sports. Paul Scholes completed the list of former England stars to call it quits at the end of the last campaign.

Keane was back in football management in an assistant role by the end of the year. The Republic of Ireland failed to qualify for the World Cup finals next summer which spelt the end for Giovanni Trapattoni. Keane is now number two to Martin O’Neill who will look to revive Irish fortunes. Chris Coleman signed a contract extension to his position as Wales manager and Michael O’Neill hung on to his Northern Ireland job despite embarrassing World Cup defeats to Azerbaijan and Luxembourg. Gordon Strachan’s first full year in the Scotland role was a success. Three wins in their final four qualifiers combined with an excellent performance in a high intensity friendly international with England in August meant the Tartan Army faithful have their heads held high going into qualification for Euro 2016.

With all the other home nations failing to launch serious challenges, it was down to England to keep the flag flying for Brazil and the Three Lions did it but not without some bumps along the way. A cagey goalless draw in Kiev in September saw Roy Hodgson come under some unfair criticism and his response was two tremendous performances when needed at home to Montenegro and Poland. Six points were required, six points gained and with an unbeaten campaign, England topped their group and will be joining the world’s best next summer. However the group with Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica will be tough to get out of. It was also a year where new talent such as Ross Barkley, Adam Lallana and Andros Townsend made their mark on the squad alongside the usual suspects. Back-to-back home friendly defeats at the end of the year to Chile and Germany reminded everyone of the tough task ahead. There was disappointment for England's tournament teams as both the Under-21 male team and the women's squad at their respective European Championship events crashed out in the group stages. Stuart Pearce and Hope Powell paid the price as both lost their jobs. There was another change in the WSL as Liverpool became champions, ending Arsenal's decade dominance of the game.

September saw Gareth Bale get his dream move to Real Madrid

Meanwhile a Welsh wizard was making his mark in the Premier League, so much so, he became the world’s most expensive footballer. The biggest transfer in football finally went through after plenty of negotiation between Tottenham and Real Madrid. It saw Gareth Bale (pictured) seal his Real deal for £85.3m. Bale left after scooping the double of PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Award. After a slow start, Bale is starting to find his feet at the Bernabeu, becoming only the second English player to hit a hat-trick in the history of La Liga in November. Tottenham thought the answer to all this was to buy seven new players for the Bale money with Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Paulinho and Etienne Capoue among the new arrivals. It ultimately finished Andre Villas-Boas off in England. The uncompromising Portuguese boss was sacked in mid-December after a 6-0 battering at Manchester City, followed by a humiliating 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool a few weeks later. AVB wasn’t the only manager to bite the dust in the top flight. Exactly a year after winning the Premier League title, Roberto Mancini was dismissed as Manchester City boss. Failing to win any silverware saw the Italian ousted and he seeked sanctity with Galatasaray. He was replaced by Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. Mauricio Pochettino became only the second Argentine to manager in England when he succeeded Nigel Adkins at Southampton at the start of the year. This change has worked well with the Saints threatening the European positions. Sunderland sacked O’Neill in March, hired then fired Paolo di Canio when the Italian completely lost the plot and finally settled on Gus Poyet in October. Other managers to leave their positions included Ian Holloway (Crystal Palace), Martin Jol (Fulham) and Steve Clarke (West Brom).

Another manager who moved on was Rafa Benitez but not until his reputation as a world class boss was restored. Considered damaged goods by Liverpool in his final year with them in 2010 and after a difficult six months with Inter Milan, the Spaniard reminded everyone of his capabilities at Chelsea. The faithful didn’t want him at Stamford Bridge with the ‘Rafa Out’ banners becoming a common theme. He had enough after an FA Cup replay win at Middlesbrough in late February and let his emotions out in a post-match TV interview. The fans relented and it led to the Blues having a strong end to the 2012-13 campaign. Frank Lampard surpassed Bobby Tambling’s all-time goalscoring record for Chelsea when he scored two away to Aston Villa in May. A top three league finish was backed up by another European trophy in the cabinet. Branislav Ivanovic’s stoppage time header beat Benfica 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League final. With job done, Benitez moved on to Napoli. 

Napoli lost star striker Edinson Cavani to PSG for £55m but bought Gonzalo Higuain with the money received. Another star striker who was on the move was Radamel Falcao as he swapped Atletico Madrid for newly oil-wealthy AS Monaco for just over £50m. There were other movers in the managerial market. After the fans and the Spanish media fell out of love with him at Madrid, Jose Mourinho made a homecoming to Chelsea, insisting he should now be called the ‘Happy One.’ Barcelona was made to change their manager as Tito Vilanova had to step aside to continue his cancer battle. Geraldo Martino succeeded him in the summer.

The enigma that is Luis Suarez continued to write more headlines. In April, everyone was stunned when he took a bite out of Ivanovic during a Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea. Fined by the club, Suarez was then suspended for 10 matches by the FA and the outrage was so strong, even Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the actions in the House of Commons! Feeling unloved, Suarez then attempted to force a move to Arsenal in the summer and claimed he would take the club to court over a broken promise in his contract regarding clauses. The Gunners’ bid of £40,000,001 led to jokes all over social media but the Reds dug in and kept their star asset. The result has led to 19 Premier League goals already this season meaning he is a shoe-in to win the Golden Boot in 2013/14. Suarez has recently signed a new four-year contract, making him LFC’s most expensive footballer in the process.

There was a new name on the FA Cup and that was Wigan Athletic

Of course the year wouldn’t be complete without a wrap for the various trophies given out. Wembley hosted a couple of brilliant fairytale stories. In February, Bradford City from the fourth tier of English football emerged from the tunnel to compete in the League Cup final. They were the first team from this level to appear in a domestic final in over four decades. Outclassed in the final 5-0 by Swansea City but the Bantams came back to the home of English football to defeat Northampton Town 3-0 in the League Two play-off final three months later. For Swansea, it was their first major piece of silverware won and they would be joined in that group by Wigan Athletic (players celebrating pictured above). Dave Whelan’s dreams came true as Ben Watson returned from a broken ankle sustained six months earlier at Anfield to head home a stoppage time winner against highly fancied Manchester City. They deserved it on the day too and it reminded everyone that money doesn’t always guarantee success. Sadly the club were relegated from the Premier League 72 hours later and boss Roberto Martinez elected to take the vacancy left by Moyes at Everton. Uwe Rosler is now in charge after Owen Coyle’s managerial return lasted an inconsistent five months. 

Later that month, Crystal Palace edged out Watford after extra-time to win the Championship play-off final and join Cardiff City and Hull City in being promoted to the elite. 40-year-old Kevin Phillips scored the winner from the penalty spot. Bayern Munich lay to rest the ghosts of 2012 with a historic treble campaign of their own. The UEFA Champions League was theirs in the German invasion on Wembley. Arjen Robben’s 88^th minute goal crushed Borussia Dortmund as the Bavarians gave the retiring Jupp Heynckes the perfect gift. Pep Guardiola succeeded him. Brazil won the warm-up to the World Cup as Spain were outclassed and overpowered 3-0 in the Confederations Cup final while Doncaster Rovers beat Brentford with almost the last kick of the League One season to earn promotion and the title in the process.

There were sad stories throughout the year too. Bury were saved from going bust by a consortium takeover, while Coventry City had to move to Northampton to play their home games as a row over rent payments between the local council and unreliable owners SISU nearly put the club on the brink of extinction. Kettering Town weren’t so lucky and were wound up in the High Court in September. Football had to deal with the passing of Bill Foulkes, one of the survivors of the Munich air disaster. Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez died suddenly, suffering a cardiac arrest hours after his debut in the Qatari League and there were fond goodbyes to Bert Trautmann, Dave Hickson, Ron Davies, Tony Gubba and David Oates.

Football in 2013 has been an eventful 12 months and with a World Cup in 2014 to come in Brazil, the next calendar year has the promise to be even more spectacular. 

Categories: 2013, Football, Gareth Bale, Manchester United, Premier League, Rafa Benitez, Real Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson, Wigan Athletic, World Cup

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