Spare a thought for the clumsy Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who�s missed drugs test, could mean a lack of defensive quality in Euro 2004. Really it does serve him right, if he knew he had to be there, he should be there on time. Having said that Terry and Campbell don�t sound too bad do they? Or, there is always the experience of Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu. Unfortunately, Jonathan Woodgate is out. Having said that, this could be England�s best run in winning the competition � they have more of a chance than in previous years. The key is keeping Gerrard and Scholes fit.
Leeds have struggled unexpectedly, but who could have imagined that they would be spending the majority of the season in the bottom three? They managed to strive off the administrators several times, with their deadlines continuously extended, a luxury most teams never got. Take Oldham for example, they never had these extended deadlines and could have had a possible investor. Leeds have been given preferential treatment because they were one of the big sides � �were� being the operative word. Now they have been relegated. In a way it is good for the game, it shows how no-one is too good to go down. Remember Blackburn? Champions in 94-95, relegated 98-99. You could also apply this philosophy to Tottenham, who have struggled in the scrap at the bottom. Strange isn�t it that Manchester United have been beaten by three of the bottom six teams? Wolves, Portsmouth and local rivals Manchester City have all beaten the champions.
Leicester and Wolves like the majority of pundits expected struggled all season, and right from the off, Wolves suffered a thumping 5-1 defeat at Blackburn. Now those two sides and Leeds United will play Nationwide football next season. From this point most expected they would be the whipping boys of the entire campaign. However, Wanderers came back to score an amazing win over the champions and at the time champions-elect Manchester United. Leicester, with the old head of Les Ferdinand have scored a decent amount of goals, but seem very week defending. Add to all this the La Manga incident and there was no way Leicester were going to survive this season, especially with only three home wins. Poor old Micky Adams has done a fantastic job and deserves better. Portsmouth made a great start and looked the most equipped to do well. Their squad was by far and away better than the other two promoted sides. They have missed Todrov�s goals and with so many injuries were always going to be in the lower regions of the table. However they have deservedly survived. Manchester City, despite such a promising start, found their selves down in the relegation dogfight, and their needs to play pretty football instead of scrapping for points could have been their downfall.
This season�s underachievers � well this list could be endless! Everton and Blackburn who did so well last season have definitely underachieved this term, Blackburn have had their injuries missing Ferguson, Thompson, Amoruso, Reid, Jansen and Short who were all out for considerable periods. Losing Duff has affected the balance of the team and now Chelsea seem lost without him. Chelsea, though are in the breakaway top three haven�t done enough this season, with the players they have should be far and away the top team in the league. Mutu and Crespo have not been regular partners, Hasselbaink seems distracted, and Makelele has failed to live up to expectations. The English players have been the outstanding ones so far. Frank Lampard has been exceptional and can be our star at Euro 2004. They managed a good champions league run � reaching the semi-finals. For Red Rom however, this could be declared a failure. I know that most people would include Spurs in this �underachievers� bracket, but they are no longer the big club they once were. They have at least a decade of mediocrity ahead of them. Finally, Manchester City � whose defensive problems have seen them struggle. Like Blackburn, with a tighter back-line could be at the other end of the table.
Norwich City, champions of the First Division, will be back in the Premiership for the first time since the 1994/1995 season. However, without dramatic funding and a very strong squad, it would mean an almost inevitable return to the First Division. Norwich were relegated in 1995 with Forty-three points from forty-two games. It would be extremely nice to see all three promoted sides survive next term, and prove that these teams can cut it in the top division. West Bromwich Albion will be the second team to join the big time. They have bounced straight back from being relegated, despite the off-the-field problems of ex-top scorer Lee Hughes.
Ok, on the subject of manager of the season, the contenders? Obviously Arsene Wenger could well be the favourite, but what of the others? Poor Claudio Ranieri has had a guillotine hanging over his head all season and been more than unfairly treated. Charlton boss Alan Curbishley must be among the front runners, as his team still has the possibility of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, which no-one would have predicted at the beginning of the season. Similarly, Birmingham City boss Steve Bruce also has the possibility to be playing European football next season, and who could have seen them finishing that high up in the table? Middlesbrough boss Steve McLaren has taken Middlesbrough to their first silverware in their history, and �Boro recently added the youth cup to their cabinet. David O�Leary deserves a mention too; he has guided Villa from the depths of the bottom three in December, to lofty heights of the top six.
Now on to everyone�s favourite subject: M.I.B. � the referees. Since Premier League referees were given the option of turning professional a new higher level of consistency has been expected from them. Inevitably, referees are only human and will make mistakes. It doesn�t matter how many different angles a television camera shows, if a referee is in an angle where he can not see an infringement then he just has to get on with it, leaving the field of play believing he has done his best in directing the match. However, their have been games this season where decisions have been made that have been so blatantly obvious that the officials seem to be the only people in the entire stadium to miss an incident. Take the Fulham game against Blackburn at Queen�s Park Ranger�s Loftus Road ground. You can see that Zat Knight clearly head-butt Jonathan Stead, and how the referee, who was some five yards away, managed to miss the incident is beyond comprehension. It took all of a month for anything to be done before Knight received a ban. It is no wonder mangers show the amount of frustration that they do. Anyway, it has to be said, that for the most part this season referees have done a good job this term, but one incident often outstands the long run of good games a referee does have.
Now manager of the season is one thing, player of the season is another. The contributors and contenders for this area deservedly nominated. Obviously, Arsenal�s Thierry Henry has to be up there, Newcastle�s Alan Shearer, Chelsea�s Frank Lampard, Fulham�s Steed Malbranque, and Manchester City�s Shaun Wright-Phillips. All have been exceptional this term.
Special mention should go to the season�s champions Arsenal. Most, including myself, expected a much closer championship race. Chelsea were expected to do much better than they have, and although their champions league campaign has gone well, they must do better next season. Manchester United will undoubtedly come on strong next season, with their tails up. Of course Arsenal will be there again, perhaps Newcastle or Liverpool will run these three a little closer next season. It will not be anyone outside of the big three.