The 2010/11 Premier League season is over!

Another season has finished and it's time for a quick round-up of how things finished at the top and bottom of the table. 

As we already knew, Manchester United are Premier League champions once again with Chelsea finishing in second place and Manchester City coming in third. Arsenal, who only a few weeks ago were challenging for the title, fell into fourth place winning only one of their last six Premier League games. Things need to change at the Emirates for Arsenal to recapture the glory of the late 90s and early 00s. Tottenham Hotspur edged out Liverpool to finish fifth and qualify for another year of European football, albeit the Europa League and not the Champion`s League.

The other big story at the end of the season concerns the teams that have been relegated. Falling at the last hurdle this year were Birmingham and Blackpool who join West Ham in preparation for the Championship.

Blackpool had started the season so well and were high flyers in December, looking at possible European qualification. However, as I predicted, those good times did not last long and Blackpool started to plummet down the table. Their gung-ho style of football was never going to work in the long run with the squad they have.

Birmingham fans will be looking back on a bittersweet season that saw them capture the Carling Cup (defeating Arsenal in the process) and get relegated. I think if you ask most Birmingham fans, they would trade the Cup for Premier League status but at least they have something to smile about. I had predicted that Birmingham would struggle to stay up despite their Cup success because the squad was playing like a team who believed it had done its job after winning a major trophy. They simply failed to find the same form in the Premier League as they had in the Carling Cup.

Scott Parker will be on the move

West Ham were relegated a week or so ago and it has been a long time coming for the Hammers. They have been on the verge of relegation since they came back to the Premier League a few years ago. Hammers' captain, Scott Parker, will be highly sought after over the summer so it should be interesting to see who bags him. Arsenal could really do with a player like Parker who can keep running hard for 90 minutes and put in a strong tackle. 

 

Come back in a couple of weeks to find out who has been promoted to the Premiership along with QPR and Norwich and how the new teams stack up. 

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EPL News Round-up

Plenty of news to hit you with this weekend. 

First off, I want to say good luck to Arsenal in the Carling Cup final today. I think that Arsene Wenger is easily the best manager in the Premier League. He barely spends any money (Arsenal are the only club in the top four that actually makes a profit every year) and has spent several years cultivating a young team that, on its day, plays the best football in the world (cemented by the fact they recently beat Barcelona). He deserves a trophy and I hope he wins it this afternoon.

Right, on with the news.

Newcastle United have signed Cheik Tiote to a new long-term deal. For Toon fans that is great news. Tiote has been one of their best players all season and they are going to need more players like him if they are to kick on in the Premier League next year and reclaim their position as one of the biggest clubs in the country.

Liverpool midfielder Raul Miereles has come out and said that he feels he has more support from Kenny Dalglish than he got from ex-Reds manager, Roy Hodgson. I can't stand when players come out and say derogatory things like that. If he feels that then he should keep it to himself. I can't imagine it is true anyway considering Roy Hodgson bought the guy, paying 11.5 million quid for him. Why would Hodgson do that and then not give Miereles enough support? I like Miereles as a player but I am losing respect for him as a person after he came out and said that.

Wayne Rooney reckons this is the worst season he has ever had. Really? Thanks for updating us Wayne but we already know.

With less than 18 months left in his contract, Samir Nasri is still locked in discussions with Arsenal regarding a possible extension. If Arsene Wenger wants continued success with his young team, he is going to need to keep a hold of players like Nasri. It will be interesting to see if Nasri waits until the end of the season to sign a contract or not. If he does and Arsenal don't win a trophy I have a hunch he might follow Fabregas out the door.

More news just in. West Ham 3-1 Liverpool. Not a good result for the Reds there. I wonder if Miereles didn't get enough support in this game because I don't see him on the scoresheet.

Enjoy the Cup Final.

Update:
Birmingham City 2-1 Arsenal - Yet again Arsenal prove that for all their flair and skill, when it really matters they can't finish the job. All the possession in the world won't win you a Cup if you can't score. Oh yeah, if you try to kick the ball out of your Keeper's hands in the 88th minute it won't help either. Epic finish to the game.

I feel for you Wenger.

Well done Birmingham! Carling Cup Champions 2011

Premier League Round-Up

Another Saturday in the Premiership has come and gone and there were, as there always are, a few important results to discuss.

Man Utd's 2-1 win over rivals Man City (thanks to a contender for goal of the season from Wayne Rooney) was a huge relief for Sir Alex after last weekend's slip up at Wolves. Man City would have managed to get themselves back in the race for the title if they had won today, instead they are now firmly out of it. Only Arsenal are left to try and catch the Red Devils this season and that might be too difficult a task as this is typically the part of the season where Man Utd get stronger and stronger and Arsenal tend to fade away.

The Gunners, however, did their title bid no harm today by overcoming last week's conquerors of Fergie's men at the Emirates Stadium. Wolves, for all their endeavour, never looked like scoring today and so Arsenal keep the pressure on United at the top of the table courtesy of two Robin Van Persie goals.

Newcastle and Blackburn failed to repeat their goalscoring (and goal-conceding) acts from last week and played out a 0-0 draw. Newcastle had most of the pressure and will probably consider this game two points dropped, although both managers will have been relieved to get a clean sheet.

In a far more entertaining game, West Ham managed a Toon style come-back against West Brom. After going in at half-time 3-0 down and looking like they would rather be at home than on the pitch, West Ham somehow managed to get themselves going in the second half and fought for a hard-earned draw.

Kranjcar "kranks" in another one.

Tottenham march on thanks to yet another wonder goal from Niko Kranjcar and Birmingham battled to a 1-0 victory in a true clash of the giants against Stoke. Despite Miereles getting his fifth goal in six games, Liverpool could only manage a draw as Wigan halted the charge of The Reds. Miereles is getting better and better with every game and looks a class act in that supporting role.

A quick mention should go to Jean Makoun who should be docked wages for idiocy after his inexplicable two-footed tackle today. He is lucky Villa held on for the 1-1 draw after his dismissal. I can't understand players sometimes. If you KNOW that going in two-footed will result in you getting sent off...then why do it? It brings no advantage to a tackle, it could seriously injure the player on the receiving end and you will be sent for an early bath, thereby making the game more difficult for your team so, I say again, why?

Full results:

Man Utd 2 Man City 1

Arsenal 2 Wolves 0

Birmingham 1 Stoke 0

Blackburn 0 Newcastle 0

Blackpool 1 Aston Villa 1

Liverpool 1 Wigan 1

West Brom 3 West Ham 3

Sunderland 1 Tottenham 2

Leave your comments below!

Transfer Deadline Day: EPL

The January transfer window slammed shut at 11pm last night but not before we had seen some huge transfers. Liverpool were arguably the busiest of all Premier League clubs as they try to re-build their squad. Chelsea were also fairly busy and both the blues and the reds spent a record amount of cash. West Ham managed to strengthen their side, as did Sunderland.

Over 200 million pounds was spent in January, which dwarfed the paltry 29 million that was spent at this point last year. Some of the biggest signings included Bent (£24 Million) from Sunderland to Aston Villa, Dzeko (£27 Million) from Wolfsburg to Manchester City, Torres (£50 Million) from Liverpool to Chelsea, Luiz (£21.5 Million + Nemanja Matic) from Benfica to Chelsea, Carroll (£35 Million) from Newcastle to Liverpool and Suarez (£23.5 Million) from Ajax to Liverpool.

Statistics of note:

Andy Carroll's transfer fee is the most expensive between Premier League clubs in history (for a British player) after he was sold to Liverpool by Newcastle for a princely 35 Million.

Fernando Torres broke the Premier League transfer record after signing for Chelsea for 50 Million

Darren Bent is has cost more money than any other player in Premier League history if you count the costs of all of his transfers. If you think that is an odd one, bear in mind that no striker (other than Rooney and Drogba) has scored more goals in the last 5 seasons than Darren Bent.

Winners:

Liverpool – Potentially gone from bad to good overnight with the additions of Suarez and Carroll. Could be a devastating partnership. If they had managed to secure the services of Charlie Adam then it would have been the icing on the cake.

Chelsea – Managed to bag a fantastic young talent in David Luiz and finally got their man in Torres who we all know is an excellent player. Torres and Drogba up front? Terrifying.

Aston Villa – They have paid a lot for Bent, maybe too much, but they have a bona-fide goal scorer now and that is what they needed more than anything else. They should be OK.

Tottenham Hotspur – 3 Million for Pienaar? What. A. Steal.

West Ham United – Robbie Keane and Wayne Bridge bring plenty of talent and experience to a side that desperately needs it.

Losers:

Newcastle United – The 35 Million will help ease the pain but Newcastle have lost their best player and future talisman. With Ameobi as their best back-up striker, things might become very difficult for the Toon. Staying up is more important than ever now so that the 35 million can be put to use in the summer to bolster this team.

Everton - Losing Pienaar for such a small return is going to sting. They didn't pick anyone up to replace him either.

Stoke City – Stoke haven't really lost here, but fans of the Premier League have. John Carew's arrival at Stoke can only mean more of the same boring long ball, physical football that we have come to expect from Tony Pulis' side. Let the yawning commence.

Well that's all folks from an exciting transfer deadline day. It could be the biggest transfer period for a long time as well with those new rules coming in for the 2012-13 season so I hope you enjoyed it.

Did your team win or lose during the window? Let's hear some of your thoughts!

Saints' starlets attracting attention.

17 year old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

For a number of years now the Southampton FC Youth Academy has been producing some of the brightest young talents in the UK. Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Wayne Bridge and even the great Alan Shearer are all products of the Southampton youth system. All have since left the Saints to go on to bigger and better things in the Premiership. Walcott plays for Arsenal, Bale for Spurs and Bridge now plays for West Ham but had stints at Man City and Chelsea too. Alan Shearer initially left Southampton for Blackburn before returning to his home town of Newcastle, where he played for the majority of his career.

Anyways, enough of the history lesson. The fact is, two new youngsters, both products of the Saints Youth Academy, are being watched by Premier League clubs. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam “I don't-have-a-fancy-double-barrelled-second-name” Lallana are playing some great football for Southampton down in League One.

Adam Lallana (Right)

Lallana had a breakout season last year, scoring 20 goals as Saints marched towards success in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and a 7^th place finish in the League (they started the season with -10 points). Oxlade-Chamberlain, on the other hand, is currently in the middle of his breakout season. His recent form on the wing for Southampton has been nothing short of astonishing and he deserves all the plaudits he is getting.

Despite the undoubted talent of both players, whether or not they could play in the Premier League, at least right now, is disputable. If either player moved to a club like Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea, they wouldn't get anywhere near the first team. They would be playing reserve team football or warming the bench. They might get 10 minutes of game time here or there in the cup competitions but they won't progress as players.

Theo Walcott made the mistake of leaving Saints for Arsenal at too young an age and sat on the Gunners' bench for two years before playing. In contrast, Gareth Bale stayed at Saints for an extra year after gaining the Premier League's attention, learned his trade by playing regularly, and is now thought of as one of the best left wingers in the world.

Southampton do not have to sell their prize players any more (thank you Markus Liebherr), but if the players really want to leave and would like to ply their trade at a higher level, they should really make sure they are ready to do so. Lallana seems to have already made his decision by signing a four-and-a-half year deal with Saints in a move that will delight the fans.

It is worth noting that Southampton have yet to recieve any offers for either player despite Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain being linked to Newcastle United and Liverpool respectively.

Premiership Preview 18/12/10

Saturday's Games:

Sunderland v Bolton
Arsenal v Stoke
Birmingham v Newcastle
Blackburn v West Ham

Liverpool v Fulham (Match called off)

Wigan v Aston Villa (Match called off)

The wintery weather has claimed two of today's games but the remaining four fixtures should provide plenty of entertainment.

Wenger needs a win today

Arsenal v Stoke is obviously the biggest of the games as Arsenal look to reclaim their spot at the top of the Premier League before Manchester United travel to Chelsea on Sunday. Arsenal, despite their ability and skill, always seem to struggle against big, physical sides like Stoke, Blackburn and Bolton. These teams close down the fragile Arsenal players as quickly as possible and put in hefty challenges when they can to disrupt the flowing football that is so crucial to the Gunners' success.

However, if Stoke don't play as hard and as fast as they can, Arsenal have the ability to cut them apart and turn this game into a drubbing. Arsenal have been painfully inconsistent this season but are miraculously still in the title race. I can't see them faltering today with such a big opportunity to go top once more. I reckon Arsenal will take this game by two or three goals. Whatever the result, it should be a very interesting affair as two contrasting teams clash at the Emirates stadium.

Newcastle and Sunderland will look to continue their impressive seasons with games against Birmingham and Bolton. Sunderland may find the going difficult against Bolton, who boast a ton of Premiership experience throughout their side. Led by the effective Kevin Davies, Bolton are currently sitting in 6^th place, two points ahead of today's opponents. I fancy a draw here as both teams are full of running and effort and will probably cancel each other out. However, that superior experience may swing things Bolton's way.

Newcastle talisman Andy Carroll

Newcastle claimed a fine win last weekend over Liverpool at St. James' Park in Alan Pardew's first game in charge. Today they face a Birmingham side who have been struggling of late. An easy win for the high flying Magpies? Im not so sure. Newcastle fans will be the first to tell you that the Toon Army have been throwing away points against sides they should be beating, like West Brom and Blackpool, all season. So, while Newcastle will be hoping today is the day that trend comes to an end, I suspect that instead Birmingham will snap their recent slide.

The last game is a clash between Blackburn and West Ham. The Hammers have been struggling all season and this is one writer who hopes they get relegated. They have been clinging on for too long in the Premiership and I'd like to seem them gone. Blackburn, on the other hand, recently sacked their manager, 'Big' Sam Allardyce. 

Sam Allardyce is out of a job...again.

While many pundits are dumbfounded by this news, because Blackburn are doing OK, I welcome it. Allardyce is a blight on the game. His boring long ball strategies are a sin and his overly physical tactics are thuggish. Blackburn are a side who are a bore to watch week in, week out and I agree completely with the new owner's decision to rid himself of one of the most overrated managers in the league in an effort to change his team's playing style. Allardyce should be managing in Leagues one and two where his playing style is more welcome. If he ever gets the England job, I'm switching nationalities. That being said, I can see Blackburn taking this game today and further compounding West Ham's miseries.

Enjoy the football!