Gameweek 38 – ‘Revelation’

Happy Wedenesday loyal readers and thanks for sticking with us all the way to the end of our first full season; it’s been hard work at times but we’ve got there. Anyway enough back-slapping, on with the vitals.

Manchester United were rightly crowned champions after beating Wigan, while Chelsea were held at home by Bolton. Over the season there can be no doubt that United have gone about things the right way, played the best football, and in Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez they have perhaps the most deadly forward three in recent memory. At the back too they have been sublime, with Vidic and Evra particularly worthy of plaudits, but everyone has played their part in reality, from the frustrating Nani to the experienced professionalism of Ryan Giggs.

Arsenal and Liverpool take their standard Champions League qualification spots then, while Everton got the win they needed to secure UEFA Cup football yet again next season. Villa, Blackburn, Portsmouth and Man City can feel happy with themselves over the course of the season too, challenging at times for that fifth spot but never quite maintaining the form in long enough spells to really pressure Everton. Middle of the road outfits such as Spurs, West Ham, Newcastle and Middlesbrough have been uneven to say the least and have surely infuriated fans with sublime play one week, only to not turn up at all the following week.

Down at the bottom then and Fulham were rewarded for excellent recent form over the last ten games of the season. Reading and Birmingham were cruelly relegated despite scoring four each on the last day against teams with nothing to play for. Wigan, Bolton and Sunderland have played their part in reality throughout the year too, but will certainly be looking for more consistency next year to avoid another relegation scrap post-Christmas. Until August…

	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
C	1	Manchester United	38	27	6	5	80	22	+58	87
	2	Chelsea	38	25	10	3	65	26	+39	85
	3	Arsenal	38	24	11	3	74	31	+43	83
	4	Liverpool	38	21	13	4	67	28	+39	76
	5	Everton	38	19	8	11	55	33	+22	65
	6	Aston Villa	38	16	12	10	71	51	+20	60
	7	Blackburn Rovers	38	15	13	10	50	48	+2	58
	8	Portsmouth	38	16	9	13	48	40	+8	57
	9	Manchester City	38	15	10	13	45	53	-8	55
	10	West Ham United	38	13	10	15	42	50	-8	49
	11	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	13	14	66	61	+5	46
	12	Newcastle United	38	11	10	17	45	65	-20	43
	13	Middlesbrough	38	10	12	16	43	53	-10	42
	14	Wigan Athletic	38	10	10	18	34	51	-17	40
	15	Sunderland	38	11	6	21	36	59	-23	39
	16	Bolton Wanderers	38	9	10	19	36	54	-18	37
	17	Fulham	38	8	12	18	38	60	-22	36
R	18	Reading	38	10	6	22	41	66	-25	36
R	19	Birmingham City	38	8	11	19	46	62	-16	35
R	20	Derby County	38	1	8	29	20	89	-69	11

Premier League Team of the Week (based on OPTA stats, Fantasypremierleague.com ratings and my own expert eye):

Keeper – Casey Keller (unbeaten)

Defence – Wes Brown (solid), Joleon Lescott (quality), Gael Clichy (expansive), David Murphy (class)

Midfield – Stuart Downing (brace), Manuel Fernandes (tricky), Nobby Solano (cultured)

Up Top – Alfonso Alves (triple), Fernando Torres (swift), Leroy Lita (sharp)

Weekly Awards:

Goal of the Week – This goes to Fabio Rochembach for his absolute pearler of a free-kick, hit with Ronaldo-esque swerve. See it and the rest of Boro’s rout here, and watch out for other contenders for this prize from Stuart Downing and City’s Elano with a consolation effort late on:

Nutmeg of the Week – Matty Taylor nails both Alex and Petr Cech with a pin-point drive to silence the already-pretty-quiet Chelsea faithful

Save of the Week – Jamie Ashdown claws out a vicious a Simon Davies shot lowdown on his left-hand side

Skill of the Week – He’s done it time and time again this year, but Fernando Torres sublime shoulder-drop-and-gas-pedal earned him yet another goal this weekend

Miss of the Week – Cameron Jerome produced one of the misses of the season, somehow skying in front of an open goal 3 yards out

ASBO of the Week – Paul Scholes, not exactly renowned for his tackling ability, goes right through the back of Wilson Palacios and sends him about ten feet up in the air.

Embarassment of the Week – A certain England international puts on the worng shorts and has to quickly change in the tunnel:

Ouch of the Week – Poor John Terry dislocates his elbow after a clash with Petr Cech.

Quote of the Week – Alen Hansen speaks the truth about Alex Ferguson: “If he wins the Champions League again he may have a claim to be the best there has ever been”

Hero of the Week – Ryan Giggs had basically a perfect footballing day; he equaled Bobby Charlton’s appearance record for United, scored the winning goal, and claimed his record-breaking tenth league title. Doesn’t get much better than that but he still wasn’t remotely excited in the post-match interview.

Zero of the Week – Alex McLeish and Steve Coppell have to hold their hands up and take responsibility. The former took what was a talented, above average side and got them relegated, while Coppell was all too happy to rest on his laurels from last season while the rest of the league figured them out.

Personal Highlight of the Week – Ronaldo, Torres, Fabregas, Bentley etc etc…it’s been the most exciting season for some time and it’s been a pleasure to walk you all through it.