Vital member Young_Jonah did an exhaustive season preview for the season just ended, YJ’s Premiership Preview (our archives are currently offline so I can’t point you to the actual article!)
Now YJ has summarised his predictions, where he went right and where he went wrong… and promises more of the same for the next season which I’m sure will be upon us faster than a blink of an eye after yet another rain soaked summer!
YJ’s predictions were:
1 Manchester United
2 Chelsea
3 Liverpool
4 Aston Villa
5 Everton
6 Arsenal
7 Tottenham
8 Portsmouth
9 Manchester City
10 Newcastle
11 West Ham
12 Sunderland
13 Fulham
14 Middlesbrough
15 Bolton
16 Hull
17 Blackburn
18 West Brom
19 Wigan
20 Stoke
Arsenal
I predicted that the side would drop from the top4 this season due to the departure of many experienced players, and for the majority of the season that looked to be the case. I stated that Fabregas was likely to be their key player and that I felt he was a better candidate for captain over Gallas, as the season progressed Gallas lost the armband to young Fabregas. My potential flop was Samir Nasri, he turned out to be a quality player and scored a few quality goals too.
I predicted – 6th, they finished – 4th.
Aston Villa
My prediction for Villa was that we would push for a top4 place, which we did and had it not been for one of the worst patches of form in the clubs history, we may well be preparing for life in the Champions League. I felt Laursen would be our key man, and some might argue that his absence in the latter weeks played a key role in our season. I predicted Cuellar to be our flop in the summer transfer market, that’s up for debate. I also thought Barry would end up staying which he did, and after Laursen’s injury he even regained the captain’s armband.
I predicted – 4th, they finished – 6th.
Blackburn
Blackburn appointed Paul Ince as the manager following Mark Hughes’ departure, and I predicted that Ince would be the first managerial casualty of the season, I think he was 2nd after Keegan? Someone might be able to correct me on that one. I had Derbyshire to be the club’s key player, unfortunately Sam Allardyce thought differently to me and Matt was soon loaned out. Julio Santa Cruz was my prediction for flop, he is only a young lad and spent the season in the reserves, so I guess I had that wrong too!
I predicted – 17th, they finished – 15th.
Bolton
Bolton was a toughy, I predicted Nolan to be their key man, which I got wrong as he was sold to Newcastle half way through the season, I also said that Johan Elmander would be a flop, when in actual fact he had a reasonable season considering it was his first in the Premier League. It was in fact Kevin Davies that proved to be the key man in Megson’s team and his performances have seen some backing him for an England call up.
I predicted – 15th, they finished – 13th.
Chelsea
I predicted that Terry would be the key player for Chelsea this season, and among others I think that he played an important role, although Anelka for me was their best player overall. I said I felt Deco would be a flop, and for the first few weeks of the season he was proving me wrong, but as the season went on his performances fizzled out. Once again Chelsea will be looking for a new manager this summer.
I predicted – 2nd, they finished – 3rd.
Everton
For Everton I predicted a good season, and stated that Everton may even win a cup along the way, well that may very well be the case. I stated that Cahill would be their key player and to be fair he did play a huge part this season, he even played up front for a handful of games when Everton had no recognised striker fit. I stated Gosling could well be a transfer flop, but the lad had a good season given his age and as such he proved me wrong.
I predicted 5th, they finished – 5th.
Fulham
I predicted Fulham could potentially have a good season, and what a season it was for the cottagers, they qualified for Europe only 12 months after finished above the drop zone. I predicted Andy Johnson would a key player and did weigh in with a few goals but I think Hangeland was probably their main man, holding on to him is a must. Zamora was my potential flop and he did struggle at times for goals even going a long period without a goal.
I predicted – 13th, they finished – 7th.
Hull City
Hull came up and almost everyone predicted their would ending up going back down, not me though, I felt Brown made some key signings one of which being my pick for their key player, George Boateng, it did take him some time to settle in at Hull but towards the end of the season when their results were not going their way he was one of the better players. Geovanni was my predicted flop and to the neutrals he was they key player but many Hull fans were frustrated with Geovanni only playing well in a few matches.
I predicted – 16th, they finished – 17th.
Liverpool
Liverpool had a great season, I had predicted Torres to be their key man and that is up for debate, but that goal he scored against Blackburn sticks in my mind as one of this year’s Premiership highlights. I had Andrea Dossena down as a potential flop, to be fair I am not sure how he got on this season so I cannot really comment. It is probably an exciting time to be a Liverpool fan, can they win the league next season?
I predicted – 3rd, they finished – 2nd.
Man City
Richard Dunne got my backing to be the key player this year, in actual fact it was probably Robinho, he scored some wonderful goals, but I hear (similarly to my comments above about Geovanni) that he frustrating they Man City fans by only putting in a performance on occasion. I predicted Jo would be a flop and I think its fair to say that he was, although he did much better at Goodison following his loan move.
I predicted – 9th, they finished – 10th.
Man Utd
I predicted that Gary Neville would be a key player this season, which was a poor prediction, Neville is now getting on and as such has taken the role of squad member; I also had Ronaldo down as a potential flop following his Real Madrid transfer saga last summer. Although Ronaldo didn’t set the world alight to the same level he had the season before he was still a key member in Man Utd’s season, and has another league winners medal to add to his collection.
I predicted – 1st, they finished – 1st.
Middlesbrough
I had a feeling Middlesbrough would be battling relegation this season but I didn’t think they would end up going down. David Wheater was my prediction for key player but he spent much of the season out of position and never really got going. Didier Digard was my pick for potential flop and in a season that saw the team get relegated, I am guessing he didn’t make much of an impact.
I predicted – 14th, they finished – 19th.
Newcastle
Too big to go down apparently, I predicted they would be mid table, and that Keegan would walk. I also had Owen to be their key player if he managed to stay fit. He didn’t and as such, he wasn’t. Jonas Gutierrez was my pick for potential flop and although he did have his moments during the season, I would argue he was a flop.
I predicted – 10th, they finished – 18th.
Portsmouth
Pompey had a tough start to the season with Harry Redknapp leaving and Tony Adams struggling to get the points on the board. Had Redknapp stayed then my prediction may have been about right, as it was, I was wrong. I backed David James to have a good season, which I think he did, and I felt Kaboul would potentially flop, which I don’t think he did after some solid performances towards the back end of the season. Overall Portsmouth will be happy with their season, but it was always going to be hard to top an FA Cup win.
I predicted – 8th, they finished – 14th.
Stoke
How wrong could I have been? I had Stoke to finish bottom, as it was Stoke had an incredible season and finished up in 12th!! Dave Kitson was a major flop despite me picking him to be the key player and Seyi Olofinjana didn’t make any impact as I predicted. Will Stoke be able to stay up next season though?
I predicted – 20th, they finished – 12th.
Sunderland
Another side that had Managerial issues this season, I had Dean Whitehead to be the key player this season, I remember him getting injured early on and I am not sure whether he played much of a part later in the season though. But my prediction that Diouf would be a flop was probably right as he was shown the door in January.
I predicted – 12th, they finished – 16th.
Tottenham
I had predicted Ledley King would be the key player for them and barring his off field antics near the end of the season he actually had a decent year, Luka Modric was my prediction to be a flop and I think he was. One funny prediction I made was that Dos Santos could prove to be a world class signing, he spent the latter half of the season at Ipswich on loan…………..
I predicted – 7th, they finished – 8th.
West Brom
A disappointing season for the Baggies, they had actually played some decent football yet still found themselves relegated. I felt Greening would be their key man, but looking back over the season I would probably say it was Chris Brunt who proved to be their best player. I consider Scott Carson as their potential flop from their signings, and although he made some errors, I think he actually had a pretty decent season overall.
I predicted – 18th, they finished – 20th.
West Ham
Gianfranco Zola has really turned West Ham into an exciting side to watch. Some good performances throughout the season from the Hammers. Scott Parker was my pick for key player but the former Chelsea man didn’t really stand out this season. Behrami proved to be a good signing at times and I wouldn’t consider him the (potential) flop that I had him down as being in August.
I predicted – 11th, they finished – 9th.
Wigan
Another I got completely wrong, I had Wigan to go down but like Stoke they finished just outside the top half. Scharner was my pick for key player and he had a reasonable season, but I think Olivier Kapo, who I predicted to be a flop didn’t do too much to impress this season, big reputation but I think he has little to offer the Premiership.
I predicted – 19th, they finished – 11th.
Overall I think my predictions weren’t too bad, there as some that were way off the mark but I still think the majority were good shouts. Certain players I predicted to do well, did well yet others didn’t.
I think the season was one of the best in the history of the premiership, we had a title chase that went to the final weeks, a relegation battle that went down to the wire and we had plenty of other talking points too. Bring on next season!!
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