By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
After last
season’s dramatic finale, the 2012-13 Premier League season was all about
saying goodbye, as many managers bit the dust, and the ‘golden generation’ hung
up their boots.
Manchester
United overcame an early Chelsea challenge, and the defending champions from
across the city and ultimately coasted to their 13th Premier League
title, finishing 11 points clear of their nearest challengers.
It was a
fitting finale for Sir Alex Ferguson, who decided in early May to retire from
the manager’s hotseat at Old Trafford, after 26 trophy-filled and golden years
at Old Trafford.
After a brave
eight-year sojourn in the top flight and a shock FA Cup final victory, Wigan
Athletic waved goodbye to the Barclays Premier League, and were joined in the
Championship by Reading and a QPR outfit that flopped spectacularly.
Freelance
journalist Simon Wright reviews the 21st Premier League campaign,
and analyses where the title was won and the fight to stay in the elite was
lost.
CHAMPIONS: Manchester United
RUNNERS-UP: Manchester City
THIRD PLACE: Chelsea
RELEGATED: Wigan Athletic, Reading, QPR
TOP SCORERS: Robin van Persie (Manchester United) 26, Luis Suarez
(Liverpool) 23, Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur) 21, Christian Benteke (Aston
Villa) 19, Michu (Swansea City) 18, Romelu Lukaku (West Brom) 17, Demba Ba
(Newcastle United & Chelsea) 15, Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham) 15, Rickie
Lambert (Southampton) 15, Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 15, Edin Dzeko (Manchester
City) 14, Theo Walcott (Arsenal) 14, Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 12,
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 12, Juan Mata (Chelsea) 12, Santi Cazorla
(Arsenal) 12, Adam Le Fondre (Reading) 12, Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) 11,
Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea & Liverpool) 11, Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) 11,
Marouane Fellaini (Everton) 11, Steven Fletcher (Sunderland) 11, Jermain Defoe
(Tottenham Hotspur) 11, Arouna Kone (Wigan Athletic) 11, Olivier Giroud
(Arsenal) 11, Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 10
BIGGEST WIN: Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa (23 December 2012)
HIGHEST SCORING GAMES: Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle United (29
December 2012), West Brom 5-5 Manchester United (19 May 2013), Chelsea 8-0
Aston Villa (23 December 2012)
PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gareth Bale
(Tottenham Hotspur)
PFA YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Gareth Bale
(Tottenham Hotspur)
As defending Premier
League champions after last season’s sensational climax, the pressure was on
for Roberto Mancini to build on the success, especially after being rewarded
with a five-year contract at the start of the season. However, his attempts to strengthen his
Manchester City squad sufficiently in the transfer market didn’t reap
rewards. Jack Rodwell, Maicon, Scott
Sinclair and Javi Garcia were all added, but weren’t the marquee signings the
Italian was after.
It was Manchester
United who achieved the first psychological blow of the season, by snapping up
Robin van Persie when the Dutchman decided he wouldn’t sign a new contract at
Arsenal. Last season’s PFA Player of the
Year moved to Old Trafford for £24m, and would be joined by Shinji Kagawa, who
moved to the Premier League from German champions Borussia Dortmund.
After last season’s
European heroics in Munich, Chelsea gave the manager’s job to Roberto Di Matteo
on a permanent basis, and he added talented midfielder Oscar, the creative Eden
Hazard and dynamic Nigerian winger Victor Moses to the ranks in west
London. However, they would start a
season without Didier Drogba for the first time in nine years, as he opted for
a brief new career in China with Shanghai Shenhua, before moving to Galatasaray
in January.
There was a new face
in the dugout at White Hart Lane, as Chelsea reject Andre Villas-Boas was Harry
Redknapp’s successor at Tottenham. He
was unable to stop Luka Modric make a move to Real Madrid, nor Rafael van der
Vaart heading back to Hamburg SV, but did splash the cash on highly-rated
Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen from Ajax, his compatriot Mousa Dembele from
Fulham, then pounced for Clint Dempsey on transfer deadline day when a move to
Liverpool fell through.
The Reds themselves
were under new management, as Brendan Rodgers was chosen as the man to lead the
club after the owners sacked Kenny Dalglish at the end of 2011-12. Rodgers did add Swansea midfielder Joe Allen
and striker Fabio Borini, and persuaded Luis Suarez to sign a new contract, but
Andy Carroll was loaned to West Ham for the season, and with Dirk Kuyt, Maxi
Rodriguez and Craig Bellamy all leaving Anfield in the summer, striking options
looked thin on the ground.
Arsene Wenger did his
business early on in the transfer market once again. The classy Santi Cazorla arrived from
financially stricken Malaga for around £15m, and Olivier Giroud was chosen as
the man to replace Van Persie. The
Frenchman had been the top scorer in the French league with Montpellier in the
last campaign.
Other managerial
changes saw Paul Lambert quit Norwich in acrimonious circumstances to take the
Aston Villa job. Dane Michael Laudrup
filled the Swansea post vacated by Rodgers, while Chris Hughton succeeded
Lambert at Carrow Road, and Steve Clarke got his first big break in management
at West Brom.
Elsewhere in the
transfer market, QPR added Esteban Granero, Ji-sung Park and Julio Cesar to
their squad, Sunderland broke their club record to sign Steven Fletcher from
relegated Wolves, Dimitar Berbatov linked up with Martin Jol again at Fulham,
and Southampton snapped up Gaston Ramirez, who had impressed at the Olympics
for Uruguay.
So, with everything
in place, the 21st season of the most envied league in the world was
about to get underway.
Fellaini floors United
If Manchester United
were hoping for a comfortable start, they didn’t get it at Goodison Park.
Ferguson’s side were physically outfought by an Everton side that looked sharp
under David Moyes. A second half header
from Marouane Fellaini helped the Toffees to a deserved 1-0 victory, and
inflicted an opening weekend defeat on United for the first time since 1995.
Defending champions
Manchester City lost Sergio Aguero to a knee injury, and fell behind against
newly promoted Southampton, before goals from Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri helped
them overcame a spirited Saints challenge 3-2 at the Etihad.
QPR’s season started
with a bang, but for the wrong reasons. They
were torn apart by Swansea, losing 5-0 at home on day one; with bargain buy
Michu scoring twice. The Swans followed
this up with an impressive 3-0 home victory over West Ham United, playing some
delicious football that would ultimately end with a top half finish and a
League Cup trophy to their name.
The first signs that
the reigning champions were not going to have it their own way came in late
August, when they travelled to Anfield. Liverpool
led twice, and deserved the victory had it not been for a calamitous Martin
Skrtel backpass, that allowed Carlos Tevez to pinch a lucky point for the
Citizens. This was followed by a nervy
home win over QPR, and a hard-fought point at Stoke, where Peter Crouch clearly
handled the ball in the build-up to his opening goal.
Van Persie started
repaying his sizeable transfer fee with a debut home goal in a 3-2 victory over
Fulham, and a hat-trick at St. Mary’s as the Red Devils came from behind twice
to edge out plucky Southampton, who were still without a point after three
matches.
It was Chelsea though
who set the early pace, with maximum points from their opening three games, and
with eight goals scored. It looked like
the reigning European champions might be able to launch a genuine title
challenge.
The truth is out
 |
| The truth about Hillsborough finally came out in September |
Liverpool’s start to
the season was dismal, with just two points from their opening five matches,
but they and the football world came together from the shocking revelations in
the Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report into the 1989 disaster in
September.
The cover-up from
South Yorkshire police was totally exposed, and the supporters were finally
exonerated after 23 years of lies and scandal.
The families of the 96 who lost their lives on that sunny Sheffield
afternoon finally had the truth (the Kop pictured), and look ever closer to justice with fresh
inquests due to start early next year.
The Reds first
Premier League match at Anfield after the panel’s findings was against
Manchester United. Luis Suarez and
Patrice Evra buried the hatchet after last year’s spectacular falling out, but
Jonjo Shelvey was sent off before half-time, and the visitors won 2-1 with a
late Van Persie penalty.
Aston Villa’s signs
of a tough season ahead were documented at Southampton, where they lost 4-1,
despite leading at half-time. Rickie
Lambert scored twice in a productive first season in the top flight, but this
win was the only victory the Saints would collect in their opening 10 fixtures.
Villa at least were
doing better than QPR, who were on course to make the worst start to a Premier
League season. A 2-1 home defeat to London rivals West Ham in early October
left Mark Hughes’ side bottom, with just two points from six matches.
John Terry bowed out
of international football ahead of an FA disciplinary hearing into the racism
row he had with Anton Ferdinand last season.
The FA found the Chelsea skipper guilty of racially abusing Ferdinand,
but the four-game ban seemed quite lenient.
In one of his final games before suspension, Chelsea continued their
early championship form with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the Emirates.
Later that day,
Manchester United lost their first home game of the season. Clint Dempsey scored the winning goal as
Tottenham achieved a brilliant 3-2 triumph at Old Trafford, to record their
first win at the home of the Red Devils in the Premier League era.
Although they weren’t
showing any of the title winning class from last season, Manchester City
continued to grind out results. Edin
Dzeko scored late winners to defeat Fulham and West Brom, either side of a
comprehensive 3-0 success against Sunderland, which was their first clean sheet
of the season.
Controversy at the Bridge
Still unbeaten and
having dropped only two points all season, Chelsea were in confident mood when
Manchester United arrived at Stamford Bridge in late October for a
controversial and stormy encounter.
The Red Devils raced
into a 2-0 lead inside 12 minutes, courtesy of a David Luiz own goal, and a
typical Van Persie effort, but Chelsea’s response was superb.
Juan Mata struck a
brilliant free-kick and when Ramires powered in a header early in the second
half, Di Matteo’s side were level and had the momentum.
However, referee Mark
Clattenburg had other ideas. He
rightfully sent off Branislav Ivanovic, and then harshly dismissed Fernando
Torres for two yellow cards, before Javier Hernandez’s winner was adjudged to
be clearly offside from television replays.
United won 3-2 and
Clattenburg would later be involved in an ugly row with Blues midfielder John
Obi Mikel, who accused him of racial abuse.
The FA and the police investigated, but Clattenburg was cleared a month
later, and Mikel charged and banned for bringing the game into disrepute.
From that moment on,
Ferguson’s side went from strength to strength.
Van Persie took just four minutes to remind Arsenal what they were
missing in their next match, as the home side beat the Gunners 2-1 in early
November to go top of the table.
That was followed by
an incredible comeback at Aston Villa, where a Hernandez double helped them
storm back from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 victory.
However, it was
Manchester City who went top in mid-November, when they destroyed Villa 5-0 at
the Etihad and United suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Norwich, helped by an
incredible goalkeeping display from John Ruddy.
For the second
successive season, Arsenal overcame Tottenham 5-2 in the north London derby at
the Emirates. Tottenham took an early
lead, but a moment of madness from Emmanuel Adebayor saw him sent off after 18
minutes, and from that moment on, the Gunners went on to dominate.
At the 11th
attempt of asking, Reading notched up their first victory on their return to the
top flight, when two Adam Le Fondre goals saw off Everton at the Madjeski
Stadium, but QPR’s winning drought continued with a 3-1 home defeat to
Southampton. The loss was going to have
severe consequences for Mark Hughes.
RDM axed and Rafa returns
Following the home
defeat to Manchester United, Chelsea hit a blip. They conceded a late goal to Swansea at the
Liberty Stadium, were held at home by a resolute Liverpool and lost John Terry
for two months to a serious knee injury, then were beaten 2-1 at West Brom.
Four days after the
reverse at the Hawthorns and a Champions League capitulation in Turin, Roberto
Di Matteo became the first manager to lose his job in the Premier League. Roman Abramovich turned to former Liverpool
boss Rafa Benitez, much to the disgust of the Chelsea supporters.
 |
| The Rafa Out banners were frequently seen at Stamford Bridge |
The Blues next match
was one of the worst encounters in Premier League history. They played out a drab 0-0 stalemate with league
leaders Manchester City, only remembered for the vicious reaction to Benitez’s
appointment by the dismayed Chelsea fans.
A second goalless draw with Fulham days later, then a 3-1 beating away
at West Ham finished Chelsea’s title ambitions for another campaign. The ‘Rafa Out’ banners (pictured) would become a common
sight for the majority of the rest of the season at Stamford Bridge.
Two days after Di
Matteo’s departure, Tony Fernandes bowed to pressure from the QPR supporters
and axed Mark Hughes. After nearly
accepting the job as manager of the Ukraine national team, Harry Redknapp was
persuaded to take the role, and save the sinking ship at Loftus Road.
One team going great
guns were Norwich City. After a rocky
start, which included an opening day drubbing at Fulham and heavy defeats to
Liverpool and Chelsea on successive Saturdays, the Canaries went on a 10-game
unbeaten run between mid-October and just before Christmas. Chris Hughton’s side rose as high as seventh
after defeating Wigan Athletic 2-1 on December 15.
Going in the opposite
direction were last season’s surprise packages Newcastle United. A catalogue of injuries to some of their top
players like Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye and Papa Cisse saw the Magpies slide
down the table in November, with just one point in five matches.
Under Brendan
Rodgers, Liverpool were slowly getting their act together after a poor start,
but were becoming heavily reliant on the goals of Luis Suarez. Suarez was putting in some sensational
individual performances, and became a genuine contender for the Golden
Boot. An eight-match unbeaten run was
ended at the end of November, when they lost 2-1 at Tottenham.
Spurs were attempting
to recover from their own November slump, which had seen them lose three consecutive
matches, including a dismal home defeat to lowly Wigan. Andre Villas-Boas was starting to get the
best out of Gareth Bale, and the Liverpool game was the start of a great run of
form that would eventually take him to a clean-up of the major football
individual awards at the end of the season.
Harry Redknapp’s
first game in charge of QPR was an uneventful goalless stalemate away at
Sunderland. Three draws in a row stopped
the rot, before an Adel Taarabt double saw them beat Fulham 2-1 on December 15,
which was their first win of the campaign.
However, it was only a brief glimmer of hope as their highly-paid players
continued to underperform for the rest of the campaign.
West Brom weren’t
having any problems of the kind. Steve
Clarke was working wonders in his first management job, and the Baggies
achieved four successive victories in November taking them to as high as third
in the table. Relegation worries were
non-existent at the Hawthorns all term.
A derby day to remember for RVP
 |
| Robin van Persie decided the first Manchester derby in dramatic fashion |
The first Manchester
derby of the season took place on Sunday, 9 December at the Etihad. Manchester United were three points clear
going into the game, whilst City were protecting the only unbeaten record left
in this season’s Premier League.
Ferguson’s side were
after revenge following last season’s double defeat to the noisy neighbours and
two goals from Wayne Rooney had them comfortably ahead at half-time. The game changed when Carlos Tevez replaced
the ineffective Mario Balotelli and he played a crucial role in goals for Yaya
Toure and Pablo Zabaleta to draw the champions’ level.
Step up Robin van
Persie (pictured), who in his first Manchester derby struck a stoppage time winner to give
United a priceless and pivotal victory.
They wouldn’t be headed for the remainder of the season.
City bounced back
quickly with a 3-1 away victory at freefalling Newcastle, and a stoppage time
header from Gareth Barry did for Reading just before Christmas, before Boxing
Day turned out to be another decisive afternoon in the title battle.
Mancini’s men were
lacklustre at Sunderland and lost at the Stadium of Light for the third
successive season. Adam Johnson scored
the only goal against his former club, aided by a rare error from the usually
reliable Joe Hart. At Old Trafford,
Manchester United had to battle hard against Newcastle, trailing three times
before winning 4-3. Hernandez was on
hand to score the winning goal in time added on.
Newcastle’s defensive
nightmares continued throughout Christmas when they lost one of the games of
the season at the Emirates against Arsenal.
Theo Walcott was in inspired form, scoring a hat-trick, including a goal
of the season contender in a 7-3 victory for the Gunners. Walcott would also sign a new contract a few
weeks later after being promised he would play in a central striking role on a
regular basis by Arsene Wenger.
However if there was
one side who would want to forget Christmas 2012, it was Aston Villa. Following a highly impressive 3-1 away
victory at Anfield against Liverpool, Paul Lambert’s side travelled to Stamford
Bridge on 23 December and returned to the Midlands feeling rather blue.
Chelsea recorded an
8-0 victory. Ramires scored two, and
there were also goals for Fernando Torres, David Luiz, Branislav Ivanovic,
Frank Lampard, Oscar and Eden Hazard. Had
it not been for some Brad Guzan heroics and a missed Chelsea penalty, the final
scoreline could have reached double figures.
On Boxing Day, Villa’s
youngsters ran into an inspired Gareth Bale.
The Welshman bagged his first ever Premier League hat-trick in Tottenham’s
4-0 victory at Villa Park. Then, they
were trounced 3-0 at home by fellow strugglers Wigan. 2013 looked like it was going to be a long
year ahead for the long-suffering supporters in claret and blue.
QPR’s revival didn’t
happen either. They put in another tepid
performance against Liverpool, conceding three goals in half an hour, two to
the red-hot Suarez. They were bottom
going into the New Year and looking like they would need a miracle to survive.
As 2012 ended,
Manchester United led City at the top of the table by seven points. Chelsea and Tottenham completed the Champions
League places, with Arsenal, Everton and West Brom close behind in the chasing
pack. Southampton, Reading and QPR were
in the bottom three going into 2013, with Villa just a point above the drop
zone.
Shock at St. Mary’s as Adkins goes
Despite being in the
bottom three at the turn of the year, Southampton’s form was improving under
Nigel Adkins. They had only lost twice
in nine matches when they fought back from 2-0 down to get a creditable point
at Chelsea on January 16.
So, it was a real
shock to everyone when Saints chief executive Nicola Cortese decided to
dispense with the services of Adkins two days later, despite being closer to
mid-table than the bottom three. Former
Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino, despite speaking no English whatsoever was
chosen as the man to replace Adkins on the south coast.
Amidst the constant
snow and freezing temperatures, the January transfer window saw some changes in
playing staff, but mainly for those clubs fighting against the drop.
QPR brought in Loic
Remy from Marseille, and also added Tal Ben-Haim, Andros Townsend, Christopher
Samba and Jermaine Jenas on a hectic deadline day. However, their efforts to sign West Brom
striker Peter Odemwingie ended in a bizarre failure. Believing a fee had been agreed between the
two clubs, the Nigerian turned up at Loftus Road car park. The poor communication led to some frankly
uncomfortable pictures, and the deal broke down, leaving Odemwingie feeling
rather stupid as he travelled back to West Brom.
Chelsea activated
Demba Ba’s release clause in his Newcastle contract, allowing Daniel Sturridge
to leave for Liverpool, where he’d be joined at Anfield by Philippe
Coutinho. Other moves saw Sunderland pay
Swansea £5m for Danny Graham, Fulham bring in Emmanuel Frimpong, Eyong Enoh and
Urby Emanuelson on loan, and Norwich purchase the Leeds striker Luciano
Becchio.
Despite QPR’s
activity in the transfer market, the club remained bottom all month despite
going through it unbeaten. The
five-match unbeaten run begun with the shock result of the campaign, as Shaun
Wright-Phillips scored the only goal to stun Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
They followed this
with four battling draws against Tottenham, West Ham, Manchester City and
Norwich, but Redknapp knew the Hoops needed to turn the draws into wins pretty
quickly if they were to get out of trouble.
Reading also produced
their best form of the season in January.
They produced one of the comebacks of the season, charging back from 2-0
down with eight minutes left to beat West Brom 3-2. This was followed by a first away win of the
season at a Newcastle side that looked a pale shadow on last season’s
efforts. Adam Le Fondre was making a
habit for coming off the bench and scoring decisive goals, and he not only hit
the two to win the game at St. James’ Park, but also the double to hold Chelsea
at the Madjeski, a credible effort considering Chelsea were 2-0 up with 10
minutes to play in that encounter.
At the top of the
table, Manchester United’s lead over Manchester City remained at seven points,
but both had uncomfortable moments.
United were pegged back by Tottenham on a snowy afternoon at White Hart
Lane in injury time, when Clint Dempsey’s strike earned Spurs a 1-1 draw. City couldn’t beat QPR at Loftus Road, and
the 0-0 deadlock started a run which would ultimately see their faint title
hopes disappear.
The club also sold
the troublesome Mario Balotelli to AC Milan on the eve of the transfer window
shutting. This followed constant speculation
about his happiness in Manchester and a highly publicised training ground
bust-up with Mancini.
The title race ends in February
They might have not
been playing vintage football, but Manchester United continued to grind out
results. After having to deal with a
floodlight failure just before half-time at Fulham, they kept their focus and a
late Rooney goal was enough for all three points at Craven Cottage.
24 hours later,
Liverpool did the Red Devils a favour by holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw
at the Etihad. Sturridge scored his
third goal for his new club, and Steven Gerrard had the visitors ahead with a
quarter of an hour to go. However,
Sergio Aguero pulled out a cracking equaliser to ensure a point was saved.
The gap was widening
though and a week later, the title race ended when City put in a comical
display at Southampton. Hart made another
error and Gareth Barry scored the own goal of the season as the Saints beat
Mancini’s outfit 3-1, Pochettino’s first victory as Southampton manager.
A day later, goals
from the evergreen Ryan Giggs and Van Persie saw United overcome Everton 2-0 at
Old Trafford to extend their lead to a healthy 12 points. It was a lead they would maintain and even
extend at periods until the season’s end.
Whilst the title
battle was ending, one player took February by storm and that was Gareth
Bale. He put in a series of performances
that took Tottenham into third place and made him look like a genius.
Despite criticisms
about his tendency to go down easily under challenges, no-one could deny Bale’s
quality with the ball. He scored a
sensational solo effort in a 1-1 draw at Norwich, achieved a double to see off
Newcastle 2-1, and then scored another special thunderbolt in a five-goal
thriller with West Ham at Upton Park.
Chelsea were still
lacking consistency under Benitez. They
lost late on to Newcastle, and then surrendered fairly meekly to Manchester
City in late February, losing 2-0 to put them down in fourth place. There was a frosty truce then between the
supporters and Benitez when he ranted at their lack of support after an FA Cup
tie at Middlesbrough, which also saw the Spaniard confirm he would not stay at
the club past the end of the season.
Although their form drifted
away in the second half of the season, West Brom were still putting in some
creditable performances, despite Odemwingie’s best efforts to destroy morale in
the dressing room. Goals from Gareth
McAuley and Romelu Lukaku saw them beat Liverpool at Anfield, keeping them in
contention for European football next season.
Lukaku was on-loan from Chelsea, and was proving to be a revelation, as
he scored 17 goals for the club.
Another star striker
was Michu. A £2m buy from Rayo Vallecano
in the summer, he was proving his worth to a Swansea City side that continued
to defy expectations. Only Van Persie,
Suarez and Bale would score more goals than Michu in the Premier League this
season, and he helped Michael Laudrup’s side to a first major trophy in their
history when they thrashed surprise packages Bradford City in late February to
win the Capital One Cup at Wembley.
Two sides going in
the wrong direction were Norwich City and Stoke City. After their excellent unbeaten run before
Christmas, Norwich went nine games without winning before late goals from loan
signing Kei Kamara and Grant Holt helped the Canaries to an unexpected 2-1
victory against Everton. However, that
was their only victory between January and late April.
Having been as high
as seventh on Boxing Day, Stoke went on a catastrophic run of one win in 13
matches and slid down the table. The
supporters began to turn on manager Tony Pulis for the negative tactics he was
adopting. The club would eventually
survive, but Pulis lost his job after seven years in charge at the end of the
season.
One manager who didn’t
see out the season was Brian McDermott at Reading. January’s manager of the month was dismissed
by the Royals after four successive defeats in mid-March and he would be
replaced by Nigel Adkins.
Disgusting Suarez
Luis Suarez is
football’s equivalent of marmite. Most
Liverpool fans love him, but neutrals and opposing supporters probably can’t
stand the sight of him.
However, his season
would end early in frankly disgusting circumstances against Chelsea in April.
 |
| Luis Suarez ended his season early with his biting antics on Ivanovic |
On Rafa Benitez’s
first return to Anfield, Suarez unbelievably took a bite into the arm of
Branislav Ivanovic (pictured) right infront of the Kop, and millions of stunned television
viewers.
Suarez went on to
bite Chelsea twice, as he netted a 97th minute equaliser for his
side in the 2-2 draw, but that would be his final contribution of the campaign.
After apologising for
his actions, the FA took a hard stance and banned the Uruguayan for 10
matches. Liverpool didn’t miss him though;
as they went on to thrash Newcastle 6-0 in their very next match. Only one defeat in their last nine matches
took Rodgers side upto seventh by the season’s end, but keeping their temperamental
striker under control might be the biggest test over the summer.
Sunderland dispensed
with the services of Martin O’Neill after defeat to Manchester United on Easter
Saturday. Into the Wearside dugout came
the flamboyant Italian Paolo di Canio.
Di Canio became an
instant hero with the fans, especially when he guided Sunderland to a
spectacular 3-0 away victory at Newcastle, a result that would ultimately keep
them in the top flight.
Reading and QPR
played out a dire 0-0 draw in late April, which saw both clubs deservedly
relegated. The Royals only managed one
win under Adkins in eight matches, and that was a 4-2 away success at Fulham a
week after relegation. Despite a brief
rally in March, which entailed back-to-back victories against Southampton and
Sunderland, Redknapp couldn’t pull off the great escape at QPR.
Their resolve was
broken by Wigan, when Shaun Maloney’s 94th minute equaliser at
Loftus Road earned Wigan a priceless point in early April in their own battle against
the drop. After that blow, QPR only
scored one more goal and earned just one point in their last six matches. Redknapp now has the toughest job of his career
in trying to get his players back up from the Championship at the first
attempt.
Ultimately, the point
at QPR wasn’t enough for Wigan either.
Their traditional end of season surge didn’t happen this time around,
with only one win in their last seven games.
Despite winning the FA Cup, Roberto Martinez’s side lost their fight against
the drop when they crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Arsenal. The Latics eight-year stay in the top flight
was over.
Bowing out on top
When Tottenham produced
a brilliant final 20 minutes to beat Manchester City 3-1 on Sunday, 21 April,
Manchester United were handed their first chance to win back the Premier League
title.
They took the
invitation at the first attempt. After a
goalscoring drought of two months, Van Persie found the right night to find his
scoring boots again. He scored a first
half hat-trick, including a goal of the season contender in a 3-0 success against
Aston Villa.
Manchester United
were champions for the 13th time in the Premier League era, and for
the 20th time in total. Only
a home defeat to Chelsea and a draw with Arsenal at the Emirates prevented the
club from breaking the all-time Premier League points and wins records.
Then, Sir Alex
Ferguson dropped his own bombshell on Wednesday, 8 May and announced his
decision to retire as manager at the end of the season.
The Scot had decided
at Christmas that this was to be his last season in the Old Trafford dugout
after 26 trophy-filled years. His
retirement was to be one of many on the last day of the season.
Joining Fergie in
retirement at Manchester United was Paul Scholes for the second time. Michael Owen admitted defeat in his fitness
struggles and called it a day at Stoke, and after over 700 games for Liverpool,
Jamie Carragher also decided to stop playing at the end of the season for a new
career in punditry.
Although he has
recovered from his battle against leukaemia, Stiliyan Petrov has also decided
to say goodbye, as has Premier League referee Mark Halsey after his own battle
with cancer. Football also said farewell
to David Beckham, who ended his career with PSG in France, but will always go
down as a Manchester United and England legend.
Ferguson’s successor
at Old Trafford is the Everton boss David Moyes, who left the Goodison Park
post after 11 loyal years to the Toffees.
Roberto Mancini won’t get the chance though to take on Moyes. Manchester City’s season without a trophy saw
the Italian sacked on the first year anniversary of their title success.
Chelsea won more
European silverware with the Europa League and Benitez ultimately guided the
club to third place and automatic qualification for the Champions League. Frank Lampard made Chelsea history, when his
double at Aston Villa on the penultimate weekend of the season saw the
midfielder break Bobby Tambling’s record of 202 goals to become the Blues
all-time leading goalscorer.
The only issue to be
settled on the final day of the season was fourth spot. Having beaten Arsenal 2-1 at White Hart Lane
in March, Tottenham opened up a healthy eight-point lead over their neighbours. However, defeat at Liverpool a week later,
and a shock home reverse to Fulham put Arsenal back in striking distance. Wenger’s side only dropped four points
between the derby defeat and the final game of the campaign. They had a one point lead going into the day.
Tottenham battered
Sunderland, and only some desperate defending and Simon Mignolet’s goalkeeping
efforts kept them at bay. In the 89th
minute, Bale produced another of his trademark specials to help Spurs to a 1-0
victory.
However, the news
from St. James’ Park was not good for them.
A second half volley from Laurent Koscielny helped Arsenal to a win at
Newcastle by the same scoreline. For the
16th successive season, Wenger’s side will play in Europe’s most
decorated club competition. For
Tottenham, it will be another frustrating campaign in the Europa League, where
they will be joined by Swansea and Wigan.
 |
| Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out with top honours once again |
In summary, the
2012-13 campaign failed to live upto high expectations, but it was always going
to be a tough act to follow on last season’s heroics. However, in a season of gracious goodbyes and
fond farewells, Manchester United crushed the opposition and fully deserved to
regain their crown as England’s best.
Sir Alex Ferguson is
the greatest manager of all-time, and as he goes into a healthy and happy
retirement, there could be a changing of the guard next season. With the top three all starting with new men
in the dugout, the 2013-14 edition promises to produce much better quality and
excitement that at times was lacking in Sir Alex’s final farewell.
Comments
Post a Comment