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A helter-skelter season, but no memorable climax

After 34,200 minutes of frantic Premier League action, the 2016-17 season can now be consigned to the history books. Chelsea are champions. Hull City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland have bid tearful goodbyes. But how will we remember this helter-skelter campaign? Here is TODAY’s Premier League analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) with his highs, lows and end-of-year awards…

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte celebrating after his team’s 4-3 win over Watford in their first home match after clinching the title. The Italian’s first-season success rubbished a few myths about what it takes to win the league. Photo: Reuters

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte celebrating after his team’s 4-3 win over Watford in their first home match after clinching the title. The Italian’s first-season success rubbished a few myths about what it takes to win the league. Photo: Reuters

After 34,200 minutes of frantic Premier League action, the 2016-17 season can now be consigned to the history books. Chelsea are champions. Hull City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland have bid tearful goodbyes. But how will we remember this helter-skelter campaign? Here is TODAY’s Premier League analyst Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) with his highs, lows and end-of-year awards…

 

THREE CHEERS

 

#1 Conte’s classic campaign

Foreign managers are supposed to take time to acclimatise to the Premier League. It is supposed to take multiple transfer windows to get the players you need. It is supposed to be the most difficult title to land.

Antonio Conte rubbished that nonsense, dispelling all three myths to blow English football away with a season that will be defined by his spectacular coaching skills.

Reacting to a 0-3 demolition by Arsenal in 45 humbling minutes last September, the Italian ripped up his 4-2-4 Plan A, and switched to a 3-4-2-1 that was to prove a master stroke.

No coach had ever made a three-man defence work in the Premier League before, but Conte’s commanding style ended that historic pattern too. He is the manager AND man of the season.

 

#2 Goals galore

Fans want to see the best teams and the best strikers plunder plenty of goals, and the big guns did not let them down in 2016-17.

Each of the Top Seven sides scored substantially more goals. Even before Sunday night’s matches, they had already plundered 496 goals among them, compared with 376 last season.

Their principal front men all shone, too, battling it out for the coveted Golden Boot.

While I would still label the Premier League’s standard of defending as average, at best, we should not take too much away from the attackers, who have entertained us richly.

With Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero all in excellent form, and others such as Sadio Mane and Gabriel Jesus on the rise, the quality of the division’s goal getters is in rude health.

 

#3 British bosses on the rise

British managers have a bad name across Europe (no one wants to give them a decent job), but this was a satisfying year for home-grown coaches.

Paul Clement and Sam Allardyce were the headline grabbers, saving Swansea and Crystal Palace from extremely precarious positions at the business end. And they were not alone.

The job Craig Shakespeare did to lift Leicester City away from the bottom, after Claudio Ranieri was sacked, was outstanding; Tony Pulis kept West Brom inside the top half for most of the season; and Sean Dyche, despite having less cash than anyone else, performed miracles to keep Burnley out of trouble.

Maybe British coaches are not so bad after all?

 

THREE GROANS

 

#1 A lame effort from the mid-table lightweights

So many clubs have an awful lot of answering to do.

When you count up the money spent by the 10 teams that were placed 8th to 17th in the final table, it amounts to a minimum of £464 million (S$840 million) on 80 new players. What a monumental waste of money.

Did any of them improve?

West Brom and Bournemouth did, but the rest have gone backwards.

Did they thrill of us with their influx of fresh talent? Hardly ever.

Famed for its competitive nature, the Premier League this season saw the seven biggest clubs wipe the floor with the rest, all of whom failed to reach 50 points.

Most of them put up a pitiful fight against the so-called big boys too.

Massive money was splashed out on too many average players.

For that kind of outlay, I had expected those outside the elite to put up a significantly better fight. Next season, they must do better.

 

#2 Rubbish refereeing

I go on national radio here in the United Kingdom every Monday morning to review the sports pages, and a controversial refereeing mistake dominates the agenda most weeks. I am getting sick of it.

There have been too many ridiculous red cards, poor penalty calls, failures to spot dives, and eye-wateringly-bad offside calls.

Terrible decision-making has impacted heavily on a number of sides this season. The use of video technology cannot come quickly enough. I welcome the Football Association’s decision this week to introduce a three-man panel to review “simulation”.

If they decide that a player has conned a referee into making an incorrect decision, the culprit will from now on receive a two-match ban.

Finally, there is a deterrent in place. The next step is to look at suspending referees and linesmen for gross incompetence.

 

#3 No defining end-of-season games

It was a flat finish.

In terms of drama and spectacle, the Premier League chiefs would surely have wanted more matters to be decided at the death rather than who finishes fourth.

Dead rubbers just do not get the juices flowing. As impressive as Chelsea’s title triumph was, we were also denied an unforgettable day or night when they stamped their authority on the division inside the final furlong.

The Blues met only two of their title rivals in the final 14 matches of the season, beating Manchester City and losing to Manchester United.

Neither game changed much. We missed out on memorable big-game drama.

 

 

What would a review be without some awards being given out. So, I’ve decided to hand out some gongs to acknowledge some of the excellent stuff we’ve witnessed this season. I’ve also come up with my team of the season. So here we go...

 

Best Match – Swansea City 5 Crystal Palace 4

Best Goal – Olivier Giroud’s scorpion kick v Crystal Palace

Best Performance – Chelsea’s 3-1 win away to Manchester City

Best Player – Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Most Improved Player – Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur)

Best New Emerging Talent – Tom Davies (Everton)

Unsung Hero – Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)

 

Adrian Clarke’s Team of the Season (3-4-2-1)

 

GOALKEEPER

Jordan Pickford (Sunderland)

The Blacks Cats stopper had plenty of practice and came up with so many sensational saves

 

DEFENDERS

Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Mr Consistent. Adapting to a right-sided centre back role, his defending was exemplary

Virgil van Dijk (Southampton)

Until injury ended his season prematurely the Dutchman was the EPL’s best central defender

Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham)

Still criminally underrated, the Belgian is the pick of Tottenham’s back four. Mistakes are collectors’ items

 

MIDFIELDERS

Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)

The Ecuadorian produced a power-packed campaign. His engine and crosses are superb

N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)

The duel Footballer of the Year is a serial title winner. The signing of the season

Dele Alli (Tottenham)

Scoring 18 goals from midfield, Alli is developing into a world-class star. Pure talent

Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

I can’t leave out a player that’s got 18 assists. Infield or out wide he’s a sumptuous creator

 

STRIKERS

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

Where would the Gunners be without him? Alexis’ end product has been immense

Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Producing his best displays in the matches that mattered most, the real Eden Hazard is back

Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Kane has walked off with the Golden Boot, despite missing a chunk of the season. Comfortably the best centre forward in the league.

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