Basque in the glory, remember the shame
Season’s Awards
Team – Arsenal. Didn’t bottle it and won by 7 points in the end. The season could get better if they beat PSG tomorrow, but it’s already been an historic one to end a 22-year drought. They bought well, didn’t really have a weakness and made the most of the All-In wrestling in the six-yard box. Raya, Rice, Gabriel and Saka were outstanding and they have the wonder kid Matthew Dowman, 16, to come. With everyone else in flux, the Gunners will be hard to shift from their perch.
Manager – Mikel Arteta. He’s the official winner and it’s hard to argue, except that he really should be called the 12th Man. At times, he seemed to cover more distance inside his technical area than his players did on the entire field, and I’m sure he got an assist or two.
Runner-up – Unai Emery. His symbiotic relationship with European football’s second trophy continues. His stewardship of Aston Villa was another masterclass and it’s now 5 Europa League/UEFA Cups with 3 different clubs. And Villa finished 4th in the league, too.
Honourable mention – Andoni Iraola. He leaves Bournemouth in Europe and playing great football. The recruitment has been brilliant but the Spaniard made them play. He has to be destined for great things.
Managerial hotbed – All three of the above hail from Gipuzkoa, the smallest province in the Basque Country of northern Spain, and were born within 50km of each other. Someone should go and find out what’s in the water.
Second season syndrome – Arne Slot. After filling the unfillable shoes of Jurgen Klopp to win the title by 10 points, the Dutchman found a few pebbles in them last season. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, besides the tragic loss of Diogo Jota. Of the £450m signings, only Hugo Ekitike delivered and then he ruptured his Achilles. It was a season too many for Mo Salah and another rebuild is needed. Liverpool are backing him and showed no interest in Xabi Alonso, but he will need a good start and more help for Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield.
Under the radar: Regis de Bris (Sunderland). An unknown Frenchman who took everyone’s favourite for the drop to seventh and a European place.
Keith Andrews (Brentford). Went from set-piece coach to running the team and kept the Bees buzzing. Unlucky to fall just 3 goals short of Europe.
Player – Bruno Fernandes. Another official decision, although his ‘record’ of 21 assists is in dispute, thanks to a busy-body ex-referee. Still, if he has to settle for 20, he’s in good company with Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Honourable mentions for David Raya, Declan Rice, Dominik Szoboszlai, Morgan Gibbs-White and Junior Kroupi.
Signing of the season – Rayan Cherki. Cost about £80m less than Florian Wirtz and could have won it for City if he’d not been crocked for the first two months of the season.
Honourable mentions for Antoine Semenyo, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Granit Xhaka.
Departing kings – Mo Salah, Pep Guardiola.
Two members of EPL royalty depart, having left legacies that may not be matched. Their stats were overwhelming but so was their style. They were two big reasons the league is the most watched in the world.
Dud of the season – Florian Wirtz. Sorry, but for £116m, a lot more was expected. There were glimpses of class but nowhere near enough to justify such a fee. Kopites must pray he’s another Robert Pires, who also made a slow start at Arsenal, but was brilliant in his second season.
Dud Manager – Ange Postecoglou by a distance. No wins in eight games and a PR disaster. Tried to change a counter-attacking style but was tactically clueless. Also alienated Forest fans by only talking about himself and how he fluked a trophy in his second season at Spurs. Another couple of games, he would have taken them down.
Dishonourable mention – Ruben Amorim. Despite his reputation at Sporting Lisbon, he just didn’t cut the mustard at Old Trafford. Obsessed with three at the back, inflexible and guilty of criminal neglect of a minor in Kobbie Mainoo. But the enduring memory of him is cowering in the dugout at Grimsby, unable to watch the 12-11 shootout that gave the fishermen their biggest catch.
Caretaker – Michael Carrick undid the damage of Amorim in 16 games. Picked Mainoo, played players in the right positions. Genius. Finished above Liverpool and got the job on a permanent basis.
Sacking Owner award – Evangelos Marinakis (Forest). Took the title Jim Ratcliffe didn’t want by having four managers in a season. Went from Nuno Espiritu Santo to Ange to Sean Dyche to Vitor Pereira. But is there method in his madness? Forest survived and reached the semi-final of the Europa League, which Marinakis’s Greek club, Olympiakos, won in 2023-24. You’ve guessed it: he employed four managers that season, too.
Best EPL Export – Harry Kane. We created this award for him as he didn’t have any at Spurs, but he’s certainly making up for lost time with 62 goals and 7 assists.
Pouring petrol on a fire – Real Madrid. A second season without a trophy, the cabinet is gathering dust, and players are fighting with each other. Who to sort out the mess? None other than the shy, retiring figure of Jose Mourinho. Good luck with that!
Now some gripes.
VAR – It goes without saying. Ditch it.
Handball law – Fix it.
Long throws – A variation on the long ball, they’re taking the game back to the Stone Age. Notice that Pep never used them. It’s killing the spectacle. Arsenal took most advantage. They’ll be playing javelin throwers next. That’s what Rory Delap was.
Unnecessary kit changes
Many games see clubs wearing alternative kits when there’s no clash with their originals. We know why – it’s greed – but it detracts from the spectacle and makes teams unrecognizable to their own fans. Teams should wear their first-choice kits unless there’s a direct clash. Worst offenders? Man City.
Verdict on City’s 115 charges – Let’s have it. Don’t be surprised if it comes during the World Cup’s final stages. It’s going to need a major distraction, whichever way it goes.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
المصدر: Free Malaysia Today