SEASON SUMMARY

In the end Chelsea ran out pretty comfortable winners as Mourinho brought the trophy back to Stamford Bridge after a four-year hiatus. Nobody can argue that the blues didn't deserve it although chants of 'boring, boring' became a familiar occurrence in games involving Chelsea towards the end of the season. Deep down though we all know that trophies are what matters and fans would prefer a 'boring', trophy-laden season than an exciting one without silverware. Some of those chants had tints of envy and jealousy punctuated by the reality that their clubs were not as good as Chelsea over the course of the season. Chelsea might not have had a strong finish to the season but their hard work during the first half of the season when they were unstoppable was key.

Manchester City put up a rather lacklustre defense to their title. At one point they were even in danger of missing out on the top four but a combination of their rivals poor end of the season form coupled with some sort of resurgence by them ensured they got home in second. They never got close to threatening Chelsea for the title and that should present a worry for the expensively assembled squad. Their key players were hampered by poor form and injuries throughout the course of the season. That Aguero still ended up with the Golden Boot despite missing games is evidence of his world class abilities. The Argentine was a constant bright spot for the Citizens throughout the season with eye catching performances. That cannot be said of some of his fellow starts at City. Yaya Toure had a poor season by his high standards constantly unable to control midfield like he normally does. David Silva put in some good perfomances but not as consistently as he should have. Vincent Kompany, for a long time City's symbol of stability was far from stable at the back. He commandeered a porous defence that struggled in most games especially away from home. His partners Mangala and Demichelis did not fair any better with the former failing to justify his huge transfer fee. City are known for having Fullbacks that regualrly join the attack and provide routes for most of their goals. Their marauding full backs, Clichy, Zabaleta, Kolarov, Sagna didn't contribute enough to their attacking play. Apart from Aguero, the rest of the forwards didn't particularly do much. Dzeko didn't make a lot of contribution this season. The arrival of Bony in January was intended to add spark to the attack but his displays showed he is still adapting to City's way of playing.City look like keeping Pellegrini on for another season to give him time to develop this squad. He has his work cut out in the summer transfer window.

Arsenal once again flattered to deceive before finishing third. Just a few games to the end of the season, Arsenal were the only team that looked likely to catch Chelsea at the top of the log. In the end they were left holding off Manchester United for third place. In retrospect, it wasn't such a bad season for the Gunners though. Yes they once again failed to seriously challenge for the title, but the signs are that Arsenal are improving. The squad is getting better and there's a lot of competition for places especially in Midfield. The one place they probably need to look at during the transfer period is another striker and goal-keeping. The Gunners managed to retain the FA Cup and that at least mitigated their failure to challenge for the title. Arsenal's should now target the title next season. They need to shedd off the title of being shoo-ins for top four but never a title challenger.

Manchester United and Louis Van Gaal managed to achieve their pre-season target of Champion's League football but the feeling is it could have been better.  Out of ten, United probably got a 5 out of 10 for their efforts this season. There's the feeling of what might have been. One side of the argument is that with the resources United have, they should have been challenging for the title. The more conservative approach is that having finished 7th in the previous season, this season was more about rebuilding and qualifying for the Champion's league. The real pressure on LVG will be on show next season when United followers will expect their team to challenge for the title and do well in Europe. United's marquee signings did little to endear themselves to the fans. Di Maria and Falcao were disappointing, Rojo, Herrera and Blind were average and Shaw was injured a bit too often.
Falcao has since left, the five plus any other additions in the summer will be expected to do much better next season. United also face a real battle to keep hold of their player of the season, De Gea. You get the feeling if Real Madrid decide to go for it they will surely get their man. United still need a midfield force to provide cover for Carrick. They probably also need a striker with Falcao gone and RVP's future looking uncertain. It also remains to be seen if Chicharito will be welcomed back.


Player of the season
Eden Hazard

Team of the season
De Gea
Terry
Fonte
Clyne
Azpilicueta
Matic
Hazard
Coutinho
Sanchez
Kane
Aguero