Championship Sunday signaled the finale of the Premier
League campaign for the 2013-2014 season. Wins from Manchester City, Liverpool
and Chelsea meant the Premier League table finished in that order. Fans invaded
the Etihad Stadium pitch, delaying the trophy presentation for several minutes
before jubilant celebrations from Manchester City players took over. This scene
drew the curtain closed over a season that saw City win the Double and Steven
Gerrard’s Liverpool fall just short of their first ever Premier League title.
There are many notable story lines within a Premier League season and here we summarize the best that the league has had to offer:
Manchester City
The Premier League trophy returns to Manchester this season,
although it will be housed across town at the Etihad, rather than the familiar
resting place of Old Trafford. Manchester City capped off a spectacular
campaign with five consecutive wins to earn their second trophy of the season.
Manuel Pellegrini delivered the results he was expected to achieve with the
league’s highest wage squad.
The campaign began with some inconsistency in the early
stages, but City rattled off a twelve match unbeaten run from late November to
the end of January that saw them skyrocket up the table. Despite falling twice
to Chelsea and once to Liverpool, City was able to make the most of their
matches in hand by gaining valuable wins. Manchester City lost only two Premier
League matches in the 2014 calendar year, making it impossible for rivals
Liverpool to maintain pace despite their goal scoring form.
City was led by the indomitable Yaya Toure who contributed
20 Premier League goals to the cause. Despite finishing as runner up for PFA
Player of the Year, Toure filled an attacking void left during injuries to
leading goal scorer Sergio Aguero and in form striker Alvaro Negredo. At times
he was a one man show, like last week against Aston Villa where Toure ran 60
yards before firing a shot past Brad Guzan in the match’s closing moments to
seal a 4-0 victory.
City’s main strength was their quality of attack, making up
for a defense that while solid, developed a habit of capitulating to teams of
similar quality. Defender Martin Demichelis brushed aside the label of aging
defender prone to lapses and turned in positive performances that led to him
being named Etihad Player of the Month for April. Captain Vincent Kompany
remained a resolute influence over the squad, a true captain in every sense of
the word. Possibly the Premier League’s most eloquent and thoughtful speaker,
Kompany gives the squad its tenacity and composure that saw them through
difficult stretches with positive results.
When a team has embarrassment of attacking riches such as
Samir Nasri, Jesus Navas, Edin Dzeko, David Silva and Stevan Jovetic, egos can
often take over. So many times clashes are seen between teammates and
management, but City is almost devoid of those issues. They remained a cohesive
unit throughout the season and have been handsomely rewarded for their efforts.
Pellegrini can be to thank for this and despite his vampiric appearance he has
breathed lifeblood into the City squad giving them the belief to be champions.
Liverpool
When Brendan Rodgers and his Liverpool squad appeared on the
reality television program Being Liverpool, few believed they were viewing
potential title contenders in just under two seasons. Brendan Rodgers has
rejuvenated Steven Gerrard, redeemed Luis Suarez and transformed Liverpool from
a mid-table team to the most potent attacking force in world football in under
24 months on the job. This remarkable effort has been long awaited from the
Liverpool faithful and although they fell short of capturing their first
Premier League title, faith has been restored in management at Anfield.
Liverpool scored an incredible 101 goals on the season,
making them one of the most potent attacking sides in Premier League history.
They were led by the oft-maligned Luis Suarez who scored an incredible 31 goals
in their campaign. In the course of the season, Suarez attempted to overturn
his public image of a comic book villain by convincing the world he has changed
through beautiful football. Suarez’s attack partner, the fashionable Daniel
Sturridge, contributed 21 goals to the cause making them the most prolific
attack partnership in the Premier League.
Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard had arguably one of the
best seasons of his incredible career. He was at times a one man show in the
midfield and at others an action movie hero keeping his team motivated and
focused against all odds. Despite being unable to deliver on the Liverpool
chants of “We’re gonna win the League!” Gerrard turned back the clock and led
them on an incredible run of eleven consecutive victories during the spring.
Liverpool stumbled down the stretch, falling to Chelsea and
drawing against Crystal Palace, but second place and Champion’s League
qualification are a tremendous improvement over finishing seventh the previous
season. Young players Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, and Jon Flanagan
contributed significantly to the team’s efforts and give Liverpool fans reason
to believe in the future of the club. With some investment into the defensive
elements of the squad, this team looks like they will be one to watch going
forward.
Everton
Everton finished just outside of Champion’s League
qualification this season, but had a remarkably successful campaign which
earned them a spot in next year’s Europa League. Often regarded as the “other”
team in Liverpool, Everton signaled their arrival in the top tier of the
Premier League following the departure of David Moyes. Roberto Martinez entered
the Everton setup and hit the ground running by going undefeated in his first
six matches as manager before falling to Manchester City. Everton managed to
recover and go on another unbeaten streak which continued until Boxing Day.
Everton were buoyed by on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku
contributed 15 Premier League goals bringing his career total to 32, quite a
sum for a striker currently deemed “not good enough” for Chelsea. The squad was
also lifted by 20 year old Ross Barkley who filled the void left by the
departure Marouane Fellaini. Barkley routinely bossed the midfield while
contributing timely goals including an absolute stunner against Manchester City
two weeks ago. Thanks to his efforts Barkley was named as Everton’s Player of
the Season and has been named to England’s World Cup squad.
The strength of Everton lies in their staunch defense, which
is anchored by goalkeeper Tim Howard. Leighton Baines captured the attention of
the world thanks to his Gareth Bale-like quality performances and spectacular
free kick abilities. Seamus Coleman, Sylvain Distin, and Phil Jagielka rounded
out the defense which allowed Everton to earn a club record 72 points. This was
hardly the only club record broken by Everton this season, which also set
records for wins, home wins, home goals, consecutive wins, and consecutive away
wins.
The club will find it challenging to compete on multiple
fronts next season and will also face the challenge of keeping on-loan players
such as Lukaku, Gerard Deulofeu, and Gareth Barry permanently. They will also
face challenges hanging onto Leighton Baines who has attracted a number of
suitors. Everton’s successful 2013-2014 campaign was memorable and it will be
interesting to see if they are up to the challenges that European competition
offers.
Southampton
Southampton burst onto the scene this season with a fury,
losing only one match out of their first eleven. They surprised their opponents
and rose up the table with intricate passing play and determined defending.
Eventually they tapered off and fell to mid table, where they remained for the
rest of the season, but their efforts attracted the attention of many pundits
who praised their young English talent.
Ultimately an eighth place finish may not seem like a significant
achievement, but for a club that played their football in League One just a few
seasons ago, it is a great success.
Southampton’s success can be attributed to the wealth of
young talent at Mauricio Pochettino’s disposal. English midfielder Adam Lallana
was a revelation this season, contributing nine Premier League goals. Lallana
was joined by left back Luke Shaw, who arrived on the Premier League scene with
spectacular attacking play. Both young
talents will be featuring in England’s World Cup squad along with their fellow
teammate Rickie Lambert who contributed ten goals and eleven assists to the
Saints’ cause.
After a tough stretch from late November to January,
Pochettino rallied his squad and solidified their status in the mid table. The
Argentinian manager’s trademark 4-2-3-1 pressing formation drove his side
forward to important victories over Chelsea and Liverpool as well as a late
season victory against Everton which eliminated them from Champion’s League
qualification. Ultimately, Southampton will face a struggle keeping hold of
their young talent, but should they keep their key players, will be a very interesting
squad in the 2014-2015 campaign.
Sunderland’s Great
Escape
As the Premier League campaign entered the final stages, it
looked all but over for Sunderland who were perched on the bottom rung of the
league table. The season had started terribly for the Black Cats who had lost
seven of their first eight matches. Incoming striker Jozy Altidore struggled to
find form and soon manager Paolo Di Canio found himself on the chopping
block. Not even the entrance of Gus Poyet
lifted the squad immediately.
Despite the instability, there were still signs of life from
the club who rose to improbably beat eventual league champions Manchester City
in November. They showed signs of improvement from mid-December to February,
but still found themselves sitting at the bottom when they eked out a 2-2 draw
against City in mid-April. What ensued was one of the most courageous escapes
from relegation in league history.
On April 19, 2014, Sunderland miraculously ended Chelsea’s
longstanding home unbeaten streak with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. Goals
from Connor Wickham and a penalty conversion from Fabio Borini earned them the
result they desperately needed. They followed that performance up with a 4-0
thrashing of doomed Cardiff City and a then traveled to Old Trafford where they
stole three points from Manchester United. A 2-0 victory over West Brom
followed, sealing their fate as a Premier League team for 2014-2015 before
Championship Sunday. They finished the season with an irrelevant, underwhelming
loss to Swansea. Not quite as dramatic as Fulham’s escape, but their fans and
Barry Glendenning will be thankful for keeping their team in the top tier.
Crystal Pulis
Crystal Palace have earned their place on this list for what
may be one of the most timely management replacements in Premier League history.
Ian Holloway began the season as Crystal Palace manager, but after a difficult
early season stretch in which Palace lost nine of their first eleven matches,
found himself on the firing line. He was eventually replaced with former Stoke
City manager Tony Pulis who restored the club’s belief with a 1-0 victory over
Hull City in November.
The club continued to struggle, but ultimately found form in
mid-January and later on in the spring which lifted the club out of relegation
danger and into the mid table. In late March they began an incredible five
match win streak which saw them beat Chelsea, Cardiff, Aston Villa, Everton,
and West Ham in succession. This string of victories spurred the club on to
eventually finish in 11th position, an improbable improvement from
when they occupied the bottom of the table 21 weeks into the season.
Pulis’ success came following a marvelous January transfer
deadline day coup, which saw Crystal Palace sign five players including Tom
Ince, Scott Dann, Joe Ledley, Wayne Hennessey, and Jason Puncheon. Puncheon
contributed seven Premier League goals to the effort, which was the most for
the team. The true success of the club came defensively, with seven clean
sheets kept in the 2014 calendar year.
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