Yet again the Premier League gave us footy fans a season with triumphs, heartbreak and entertainment. In amongst all the emotions and money, players became cult heroes, teams over achieved and managers came and went. Javier Hernandez was arguably the bargain of the season, but does this mean he will improve next season? Tottenham Hotspur missed out on Champions League qualification; will they regain a top four berth in the coming campaign? Already we all cannot wait for the next season to get up and running and we all have our predictions on who will achieve and who will fall through the Premier League’s trapdoor; here are mine.
Luis Suarez for player of the season- Harry Redknapp reportedly turned down the chance to sign the former Ajax man in the recent transfer window, how he must be cursing that decision now. Suarez has injected energy, desire and flair into Liverpool, and has been a major influence on the Merseyside club’s climb up the table. The Uruguayan has turned in numerous Man of the Match performances, most notably in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over bitter rivals Manchester United, where he single-handedly terrorised the entire defence. It’s those sort of performances that make me think the Liverpool ace will collect Barclay’s Player of the Season for 2011/12.
QPR in dreamland- Every season needs a ‘fairytale’ and for me I think it will be that QPR will be in the Champion League places at Christmas. I don’t for a second think they will stay there, but West Brom were up there this season and Ipswich in the past nearly achieved the unthinkable. QPR’s return to the top flight of English football may well be ‘the stuff dreams are made of’.
Norwich will be relegated with five games still to play- This season’s relegation battle has gone right down to the wire, with the first confirmed relegation only happening on the penultimate fixture. It has been entertaining down the bottom of the league, with no team standing out as the ‘whipping boys’. However, for me, I think this will change, with Norwich City’s return to the top flight being short lived.
Torres will be the highest scorer in the league- There is only so much criticism a man can take before he bites back, and next season, I believe the former Liverpool man will take up the mantle of Chelsea’s main man.
Robert Huth will score 15 goals- His scoring ratio, for a defender, is amazing, with 9 goals in all competitions this season. It would be a brave man betting against the Stoke defender breaking into double figures next season.
Newcastle will sack Alan Pardew before Christmas- Mike Ashley doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to managers and Pardew, as of yet, hasn’t won over all the St James Park faithful. Newcastle will no doubt soon want to challenge for the European places again and I don’t think the former West Ham manager is the right guy to do it.
Everton to get caught in relegation scrap – Admittedly, the Toffees have turned their season around in the second half but at the beginning of the season it was looking bleak for David Moyes’ side. With reported debts of up to £45 million, Everton will have to look to sell the likes of Jack Rodwell and Leighton Baines. Unless Moyes can pull off another signing that has the impact of Tim Cahill, for minimum expenditure, I fear for Everton could get dragged down to the lower reaches of the table.
Owen Coyle will win manager of the season – I’m not quite sure what Coyle will achieve to warrant such an award, but this season I have been very impressed with the Bolton manager. The former Burnley man has transformed their style of play and Bolton even threatened to break into the Europa League places earlier in the season. Next season could really see Coyle take his management to the next level.
Arsenal will win something- Surely they have got to?
Manchester United will beat there 29 match unbeaten run- They play poorly, they get criticised and yet they still grind out results to win the Premier League title, and very convincingly in the end. Sir Alex Ferguson instils an incredible self belief into his side, and assuming the Premier League’s most successful manager is still around next season, then who knows what can be achieved.
Tottenham Hotspur will finish as the League’s highest scorers- Funny old game is football; with the constant criticism the Lilywhites strike force has received this season, with Crouch, Defoe and Pavlyuchenko failing to score 20 league goals between them. It is written in the script for Spurs to dominate the scoring charts next season.
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Sunderland will finish in the top eight- Steve Bruce’s side had a superb start to this current season, and although injuries are expected in the game, Sunderland had more than their fair share, with eleven first players being out injured at one point. A couple of signings to replace the returning loanees’ Danny Welbeck and Sulley Muntari and Sunderland will be in and around the top half come the final whistle of next season.
Roy Hodgson will achieve some unimaginable feat- Hodgson has a knack for working miracles with the ‘lesser’ clubs, ignoring his disaster stint on Anfied, the Blackburn manager lead Fulham to a Europa League final last season and turned West Brom from relegation candidates to a comfortable mid table side. I’m not saying West Brom for the title but they will achieve something.
Wigan Athletic will get relegated- The only reason Wigan stayed in the Premier League was Birmingham’s inability to score (37 goals in 38 games). Wigan’s final two fixture victories was their first back to back wins since Roberto Martinez took over in 2009, and that is not the sort of ‘achievement’ a side in the world’s ‘greatest’ league, should be achieving.
Aston Villa will continue moving backwards if Houiller stays in charge- Despite being controversial, Martin O’Neill had the Villians dreaming of Champions League football. One season after his departure, Villa only secured their Premier League survival in the penultimate league fixture. Randy Lerner needs to hire a young visionary of a manager or Villa’s decline will continue.
Blackburn Rovers will sack Steve Kean- The new owners Venky’s showed there policy on managers for the inexplicable sacking of Sam Allardyce in December. Steve Kean still gets the odd chant of “Who?” and it wont be long before he heads for the exit door after failing to build on Allardyce’s top ten finish last season.
Karl Henry will recieve the most red cards- I love a committed, strong and passionate slide tackle as much as the next football fan, but a few times this season the tenacious Wolves centre midfielder has escaped punishment, but next next season he may not be so lucky.
Fulham will be last in the fair play table- There are a few suggestions that the Cottagers will miss out on Europa league via the fair play league after Zoltan Gera’s sending off on the final day of the season, their first red of the season. Football loves irony, and although Fulham should be alright this season in securing their Europa cup spot, next season will probably result in a postponement of a game Fulham had five men sent off.
Manchester City will fail to finish in the top four- Yes this season looks impressive with an FA Cup final win and finishing third in the Premier League. However Manchester City have hardly looked a fluid unit this season; and if we are all honest the only reason they qualified automatically for the Champions League this season, was because of Arsenal and Tottenham’s massive dip in form. Furthermore with Carlos Tevez reportedly readying his suitcase and Edin Dzeko looking about as useful as Emile Heskey, will they really push the ‘big boys’ again?
Depending on who gets promoted:
Scott Sinclair will get a transfer to a ‘bigger’ club in January- If it wasn’t for Adel Taarabt’s performances the former Chelsea man would be getting more of the limelight. Sinclair has had a phenomenal season in front of goal and setting up goals, combined with his pace and flair, it won’t be long before the Premier League vultures straight circling around Liberty Stadium.
Shane Long will score ten goals in the League by Christmas but finish the season with only 11- So many times we have seen players fail to live up to the Premier League standard despite impressing in the Championship. Reading’s Shane long could very well be the next Dave Nugent.
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