EPL Review
Straight Talk, How I See It

So, what was your major disappointment over the EPL campaign?

This isn't a cup half full or half empty question.  Its about who, in the end, didn't quite have the drive, the commitment, the desire, the gumption, or as they might say in England "the confidence" on the run-in.

Its easy enough to start at the bottom of the table with this sort of question but frankly I think the real lack of gusto and follow thru was at the other end.  Arsenal had it going; Tottenham didn't.  For me, Tottenham's failure to hold 4th and earn a Champions League spot was telling.  How it happened has me wondering if my respect for Jol was premature.

Jol's lack of confidence in Germain DeFoe was surprising to me because what that team seemed to lack was sufficient flair in the attack.  His choice to send Routledge on loan to Pompey will be second guessed I'm sure and rightly so, but at the time Wayne was having a tough time recuperating from injury and Jol had Aaron Lennon waiting in the wings.  But, he surely needed the flair and creativity of a guy like Routledge.

This is born out by their relatively poor goal difference (+15) for a team that finished in the top five.  Taking only 10pts from the final 6 matches while the challenger for your spot (Arsenal) was winning 14 tells you why the loss of 4th occurred.  Their lack of goal production was key as their losses among the final 6 were both by 2-1 scorelines to Man United (at home) and West Ham sealed their fate.  To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

I scratch my head in total disbelief that Jol played DeFoe only sparingly and Mido not at all in the final 5 games.  Spurs best ever finish (5th) in the EPL made the season a success for many, but it should have been better too.  All they had to do was win and it would have been, but they fell short when it counted the most (sick or not).

Now, Liverpool; well, they did come 3rd you say, so what's the deal here?  Hmmm, yes, they did get 3rd and only a single point behind Man United.  How that happened is what really tells the tale about why there will be some changes this off season.  Liverpool was on the best run of form and had two games in hand.  Taking maximum points from both of them would have vaulted them into 2nd at the time.  They managed to squander them and won only 1pt with a lackluster draw with now relegated Birmingham City and a horrific 2-0 loss to Charlton.

Lost opportunities, but even worse, it told the tale of this team and its lack of desire to actually win something in the league.  Yes, they went on a blistering run after that and ended the season in fine form, but the pressure was off after they failed to gather the points from those two matches and they then knew there was no chance at all even if Chelsea came totally unglued.

Oh yeah, they are in the FA Cup Final and that is a big deal of course, but its still another season of EPL action where they've not won the most important trophy; the league.  This Liverpool team may not be good enough to handle an in form West Ham in the Cup Final either.  Don't be surprised if Teddy wins it for the Hammers and Liverpool's season ends with no hardware for the trophy case.

Ok, how about some good news then?  Well, I really don't like saying this because I'm no fan of SAF, but his turnaround of Man United amidst all the turmoil of losing Keane, the revolution of the Glazer takeover of the board room and the horrific season ending broken leg to Alan Smith you gotta hand the prickly old man a solid handshake for a job well done despite his war with Ruud.

United began the campaign with a strange run at Old Trafford that saw them score only 2 goals in their first 5 games at home.  That failure to produce on their home ground soon saw them unceremoniously dumped out of the CL in the early action by what some said at the time was a much lesser team (Villareal).   Not only were they out of the CL their performance was so substandard they missed the safety net of UEFA Cup too. 
Liverpool's failure in those makeup games handed SAF a golden opportunity and he didn't squander it overtaking Liverpool and finishing 2nd.

Then there's Wigan.  What, they were terrific in their first run ever in the EPL right?  True enough.  Lets lay out how that happened though and you'll wonder too why they didn't end up even higher in the table.

Remember the season kickoff at home at the JJB to Chelsea?  0-0 with about 40 seconds remaining and Crespo nets the goal for the champions and its a 1-0 defeat for the new boys.  But what a game it was huh?  Now what happened?  Well, Wigan went on an unbeaten run after losing the following week in another 1-0 game at Charlton and didn't lose again until Nov 19 at home to Arsenal (the Gunners 1st road win of the year) 3-2.  Wigan rose from bottom to 2nd in the table on that run.

Terrific so far then right?  Absolutely.  What about the 2nd half?  Well, they won only once at home in 2006 (a 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Apr 18).  They tumbled from 2nd to finish 10th.  Surely a successful 1st ever campaign in the EPL but you can bet your last dollar that Paul Jewell is wondering what could have been.  The loss of Pascal Chimbonda to the Cup of Nations was a key to their slump in form there is no doubt about that.

Ok, to the relegated.  West Brom was a real disappointment over the last ten as they went out limply and Robo seemed in a daze for much of it.  Birmingham City's army of underachievers sealed their fate and I say beware the temptation to any EPL side to sign Emile Heskey.  His failure to produce at City when he was their only real chance to succeed due to the raft of injuries tells me he's not worth what a transfer would cost any takers.  Dunn is another matter but his difficulty getting back to real match fitness makes me wonder about him too.

And to end it on a high note, Pompey's recovery was simply spectacular.  Winning the points that mattered when it mattered saved the day and Harry did it in the end.  After winning only a single point from 24 centered on the holiday period nobody on earth expected they would turn that around and survive.  It did take the gift of 3 points from   Pardew and the utter failure of Birmingham City to open the door but when it did Harry took full advantage and made it happen.

This pains me to say, but credit to Redknapp for getting the job done.

Isn't it convenient for the EPL season to end just in time for the Barons season opener?  See you there tomorrow night.