In 1968 Philip K. Dick wrote the story, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep."
Flash-forward to May 2010 and I'm left pondering which tune Didier Drogba dreams of when strumming the Stamford Bridge corner flag like an electric guitar during Chelsea's 8-0 rape and pillaging of Wigan Athletic, which clinched the 2009-10 Premier League title.
Sigh.
And no, this isn't going to be a deluded essay in which Drogba is compared to an android human replicant, either, even if the case probably could be made rather convincingly.
As I predicted back in August*, Chelsea ended up the eventual champions. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the Blues this season was that whenever Carlo Ancelotti's boys dropped a game, it still seemed like a big deal.
* Fair to say, my August guesses deserve a solid B+. Whiffed on Liverpool. Way too high on West Ham. Nailed all three relegation teams, for whatever that is worth.
What's unusual, as the final table collects dusts this morning and is etched into the pages of history, was that Chelsea were only one point better than Manchester United, 86-85. Each club finished even with 27 wins, so all that separated the clubs was a single draw. Hell, if United didn't lose back in August at Burnley, who knows where we would've ended up.
Yet, though the table may not lie, didn't Chelsea always seem miles, err kilometers, better than United?
From my neutral perspective as much as anyone wanted to drum up some drama for the title, it always felt like it was Chelsea's to lose, especially after winning at Old Trafford at the start of April. Honesetly, back in August it seemed pretty clear Chelsea had an assembled team of proven Premier League performers who were head-and-shoulders better than their closest rivals.
The charts of history will make this look like a great race, but was it? It went down to the final day, but it seemed all but over as soon as Joe Cole back-heeled that ball over the line at Old Trafford in April.
If Arsenal hasn't stumbled at both Birmingham and Wigan and it was a three-horse race, perhaps then it would have been memorable.
Plus, with a clearly ailing Wayne Rooney, this wasn't a great Manchester United team. Fans won't take solace in it, but somehow using Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to carry this mismatched team to within a point of the title is an accomplishment.
As it turned out, Sunday's match at Stamford Bridge felt like a coronation planned months ago. Didn't you all receive the 'Save the Dates' cards like I did a couple weeks ago?
When you boil it all down, Chelsea certainly had the one attribute that mattered the most this year -- goals. All 103 of 'em. While United needed the weekly heroics of Rooney and his cap-wearing sidekick "Own Goal", Chelsea seemed to batter and bludgeon opponents almost on a weekly basis.
To their credit, in a season which saw the also-rans of the league show a lot more resolve against the "Big Four", the fabled Blue Flag of Chelsea had the similar affect on teams as the Jolly Roger flying from the tall mast of the Black Freighter of "The Watchmen" fame -- total demoralization.
Yes, the stats again say Chelsea dropped more points from winning positions than anyone this year. What I say, though, was when Chelsea got a goal the floodgates opened up to smother opponents in a Blue Wave of pain.
The one time Chelsea's season appeared on the brink in mid-March following Jose Mourinho KO-ing the Blues from the Champions League with his Inter Milan side followed by a surprising 1-1 draw at Blackburn the Blues circled the wagons and out-scored opponents 33-4 in the final eight games, positing a 7-1-0 record. In the process, they overcame a four-point deficit, roaring up from a brief place in third place to their rightful perch atop the league.
Credit Ancelotti for sticking with a system that worked and got results.
Beside the ever-present Drogba and Lampard, the emergance of both Flourent Malouda and return from injury by Joe Cole made Chelsea a balanced, powerful squad, which most teams couldn't match with them bearing down at full speed at goal. With nearly all the same components in the attacking third -- minus Michael Essien -- Chelsea had a familiarity in its squad nearly every time it stepped onto the field. Lining up in the standard 4-3-1-2** proved to be the winning formula.
Maybe this identity was forged years ago by Mourinho, but it was an identity nonetheless.
** Chelsea used a 4-3-3 three times with mixed results, a draw at Hull, a win at Manchester United a loss to Tottenham.
Chelsea, too, weathered the short-term injury crisis to Petr Cech. The Blue got enough out of Yuri Zhirkov and Paolo Ferreira while Ashley Cole was sidelined. Never my favorite player, Ancelotti cast his lot with John Obi Mikel in the wake of Essien's injury and didn't allow the young Nigerian's tendency for the stupid foul derail the season.
In a season where Liverpool slipped all the way back to the pack, Arsenal couldn't quite hold its nerve and Manchester United was a shell of its title-winning self, Chelsea remained Chelsea -- feared, dominant and unrelenting.
Long story short, Chelsea might not be my favorite collection of personalities on the soccer field, but they certainly deserved*** to lift the trophy adorned with blue ribbons Sunday.
And for the record, Drogba was probably thinking of, I don't know, Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" when he was strumming the corner flag. Maybe it was a Queen song. Or better, I'd love to think he was humming "Tom Hark."
Guess, its one of those mysteries of life we'll never know the answer.
** Nearly every piece I read Sunday felt it necessary to deem Chelsea "worthy" champions. On top of making me think about that old Wayne's World routine, it made me question how a champion can, in fact be, unworthy? Unless you're winning a title when the actual champion is stripped, a la Juventus a few years ago, isn't this another silly axiom or mentality that soccer belongs to a "higher" realm of existence than other sports?
A sign of things to come?:
Until this season, the Prem was fairly straightforward and predictable. You had the "Big Four" and everybody else.
This year, things changed up a bit, obviously, with Tottenham posting a top four finish.
Methinks next year gets even crazier.
For one, Liverpool slumped to a miserable seventh-place finish. With double-digit losses Los Reds ended with a mere 63 points, a total closer to 13th than first place. Considering the uncertain ownership, the status of Rafa Benitez and possible exit of Fernando Torres, to expect Liverpool to bounce right back to the Champions League is foolhardy.
Manchester United, too, face plenty of uncertainty and are tied at the hip with Wayne Rooney's long term commitment. The once bedrock foundation that defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic collapsed about as quickly as the Dow Jones Industrial average plummeted Thursday afternoon.
I'm done getting burned by Arsenal, which too, have issues but those issues are much more manageable than Liverpool and Manchester United. All Arsenal need to do is sign a competent keeper and defender and finally figure out a way to get results when they matter against the top of the league. Marouane Chamakh? Let's wait-and-see.
Counting on the Gunners, to ever mature into a side that wins trophies -- not just the hearts of fans from their supposedly champagne football -- remains to be seen.
Chelsea even with a squad of 30-somethings should be fine for another run next season. How many fronts they can fight on will remain to be seen, although allegedly the Chelsea youth team has some talent on it. From what I've seen it's hard to gauge how much of an impact Kun Aguero will make on the Premier League weekly, but he's another world-class warm body that should only make the Blues better. If anything, he's a different kind of player than who's already at the Bridge. For one, he's not a giant on the pitch, which seems to be the (no pun intended) standing order at Stamford Bridge.
With the looming would-be giant of Manchester City, probably, bringing in even more stars to Eastlands, they'll certainly be a favorite to finish in the top four.
Tottenham may have issues trying to repeat a fourth-or-better position, if only due to it's remarkable run (until Sunday vs. Burnley) to end the season. Spurs are a fairly youthful squad. If Gareth Bale and Luka Modric are only hinting are thier potential, then there is clearly room for Tottenham to grow.
You know Harry Redknapp, assuming Spurs gain the group stage of the Champions League, is spending like a sailor during fleet week.
Even with these issues, it's not like there's a fleet of teams in the Premier League ready or capable to make a jump toward the top.
Aston Villa? Without two or three major signings, Martin O'Neill seems to have reached both his glass ceiling and Peter principal with the Villains.
Everton? As many miracles as David Moyes works, the only way the Toffees mount a challenge is if they post an injury-free season.
Doubt anyone lower in the table, has the players, infrastructure or ambition to mount a challenge at the top four.
So, even as the specter of debt looms over nearly every club in the league, chances are we'll probably be right back where we are next year, barring another high-priced foreign takeover, but eventually those wells will run dry, too?
Other stuff:
Aside from Birminham's top half finish and Liverpool's slump, any real surprises in the final table? ... Only eight teams finished with a positive goal difference. ... I'd love to throw some other nuggets here, but a Mother's Day brunch coupled with working Sunday night crippled my writing time. Hope everyone understands.
Superlatives:
Everyone loves 'em so...
Best keeper -- Gomes, Tottenham. Maybe it's Gomez to some, but he was awesome down the stretch. From acrobatic saves to his ownership of the peanlty box, the former PSV "flop" earned sweet redemption. Honorable mention: Anyone who didn't play for Arsenal.
Best defender -- Richard Cuellar Collins. Sorry, but I morphed the trio of Richard Dunne, Carlos Cuellar and James Collins into one, angry, bearded ginger super defender. Honorable mention: Michael Dawson, John Terry, Roger Johnson.
Best midfielder -- Frank Lampard. Twenty-plus goals from the midfield is one thing. I'd love to see the stats on how many miles Lampard traveled over the course of the 2009-10 season. Based on the amount of minutes he played and the spot on the field he inhabits it would be a fun, possibly mind-blowing number to read. Lampard may not shine the brighest as all the other Prem midfield stars, but he consistently burns at a high level the longest. Honorable mention: Cesc Fabregas, James Milner, Antonio Valencia.
Best striker -- Drogba. It's half surprising opponents nets didn't light up with a triangular set of dots, a la the Predator when Drogs had the ball near him in the box. The scoresheet shows it, but my eyes saw how lethal he was, too. Drogba didn't just stack up tack-on goals, either, netting important tallies in crucial stretch drive games at Old Trafford and Anfield. Honorable mention: Rooney, Darren Bent, Own Goal, Carlos Tevz.
Best manager -- David Moyes. Yeah, he screwed up in the Europa League, but figure this. Everton could have rolled over this season. Instead, in January they became perhaps the league's best team for a month, on a reletive shoestring budget. After November Everton lost only twice, to Liverpool and Tottenham. Everton almost snuck into Europe and were only two points off city rivals Liverpool. The Toffees also swept Manchester City, beat and drew Chelsea and defeated Manchseter United once. If not for a 1-0-3 start and three straight losses in November -- Hull City? -- this team would've pushed for fourth place. Honorable mention: Ancelotti, Alex McLeish
Best transfer -- Carlos Tevez, since he basically transformed Manchester City all by his lonesome at times. Considering City spent nearly as much combined on Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry, this was probably worth the roughly $45 million the club shelled out for Tevez. Honorable mention: Adam Johnson to Man City; Barry Ferguson to Birmingham City; Richard Dunne to Aston Villa; Darren Bent to Sunderland. (Bent's move, for less than half the Tevez fee would top the list, except for the fact he racked up the goals and it netted Sunderland a 12th place showing.)
Most improved -- Gareth Bale. Another Spur that went from a punchline -- Tottenham never won with him in the team -- to a player who's quickly become very fun to watch galloping up the left wing. Honorable mention: Bobby Zamora, Steven Pienaar.
Best American -- Going out on a limb here, Marcus Hahnemann. Yes, Clint Dempsey was good for Fulham, but he missed time and did a lot of his stuff in the Europa League. Hahnemann, meanwhile, shored up Wolves defense and helped them stay afloat in the Prem despite the lowest scoring average per game in the league. All of Hahnemann's countrymen were good, but this season might have been his 'Dark Side of the Moon', wait, he's a confirmed metal head, how about his 'Ride the Lightning'? 'Ænima' seems more likely in his case. Honorable mention: Dempsey, Tim Howard, Brad Friedel.
Best Player -- Rooney. Not much to say here. Without Rooney, were was United? Even in the Top 10?
Best Goal -- White Hart Danny Rose's once in a lifetime volley vs. Arsenal. Runner up: Maynor Figueroa vs. Stoke City from the halfway line.
Worst player -- Ryan Babel. Maybe unfair to the Liverpool winger, but 23 games and four goals later? Babel seems to manifest the later years of the Benitez era, now doesn't he? Not even an option when Fernando Torres was hurt. Pretty much worthless right now. Made no impact and cost a lot of money. No, he's not a bad player per say, but he brought nothing to the table. Not even a new rapping video.
Worst manager -- Gianfranco Zola. No, West Ham wasn't blessed with an over-flowing abundance of talent, still, 17th is a limp showing. Zola takes the blame for inconsistencies in the lineup. A lack of options when Carlton Cole was dinged up. More than that, he tried to shirk responsibility for the team's problems. Runner up: Gary Megson, remember him?
Worst transfer -- Tuncay Şanlı, Stoke City. Stoke paid near relegated Middlesborough over $7 million for the Turk, who did next to nothing and even left a match at halftime. 'Boro did okay for itself, netting over $30 million for Tuncay, Roberth Huth and Adam Johnson. Runner up: Santa Cruz, for the money.
Fantasy Team O' the Year:
Top honors for the season go out to Kevin Bagley's MVee FC, who finished 15 points clear of Ian Podraza's Merrimac United.
Smart and active management seemed to be the key here for Bagley.
Get in touch with me in some shape or form and we'll talk about your prize.
One other thing:
It's corny and against type, but thanks go out to each and every single person who takes the time to click in this here slice of the Inter-nets on Friday and Monday for my half-baked thoughts on a league thousands of miles from my home. It wasn't always easy and chewed up way too much of my personal time, but the readers and commentors kept me going. Thanks guys.
I'd say I'm going to take a few days to collect my thoughts, but of course, the USMNT preliminary World Cup roster comes out Tuesday. Darn.
Final prediction count:
Last week: 6-4
Season: 192-181 ... 51 percent. Frankly, unacceptable.
Flash-forward to May 2010 and I'm left pondering which tune Didier Drogba dreams of when strumming the Stamford Bridge corner flag like an electric guitar during Chelsea's 8-0 rape and pillaging of Wigan Athletic, which clinched the 2009-10 Premier League title.
Sigh.
And no, this isn't going to be a deluded essay in which Drogba is compared to an android human replicant, either, even if the case probably could be made rather convincingly.
As I predicted back in August*, Chelsea ended up the eventual champions. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the Blues this season was that whenever Carlo Ancelotti's boys dropped a game, it still seemed like a big deal.
* Fair to say, my August guesses deserve a solid B+. Whiffed on Liverpool. Way too high on West Ham. Nailed all three relegation teams, for whatever that is worth.
What's unusual, as the final table collects dusts this morning and is etched into the pages of history, was that Chelsea were only one point better than Manchester United, 86-85. Each club finished even with 27 wins, so all that separated the clubs was a single draw. Hell, if United didn't lose back in August at Burnley, who knows where we would've ended up.
Yet, though the table may not lie, didn't Chelsea always seem miles, err kilometers, better than United?
From my neutral perspective as much as anyone wanted to drum up some drama for the title, it always felt like it was Chelsea's to lose, especially after winning at Old Trafford at the start of April. Honesetly, back in August it seemed pretty clear Chelsea had an assembled team of proven Premier League performers who were head-and-shoulders better than their closest rivals.
The charts of history will make this look like a great race, but was it? It went down to the final day, but it seemed all but over as soon as Joe Cole back-heeled that ball over the line at Old Trafford in April.
If Arsenal hasn't stumbled at both Birmingham and Wigan and it was a three-horse race, perhaps then it would have been memorable.
Plus, with a clearly ailing Wayne Rooney, this wasn't a great Manchester United team. Fans won't take solace in it, but somehow using Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to carry this mismatched team to within a point of the title is an accomplishment.
As it turned out, Sunday's match at Stamford Bridge felt like a coronation planned months ago. Didn't you all receive the 'Save the Dates' cards like I did a couple weeks ago?
When you boil it all down, Chelsea certainly had the one attribute that mattered the most this year -- goals. All 103 of 'em. While United needed the weekly heroics of Rooney and his cap-wearing sidekick "Own Goal", Chelsea seemed to batter and bludgeon opponents almost on a weekly basis.
To their credit, in a season which saw the also-rans of the league show a lot more resolve against the "Big Four", the fabled Blue Flag of Chelsea had the similar affect on teams as the Jolly Roger flying from the tall mast of the Black Freighter of "The Watchmen" fame -- total demoralization.
Yes, the stats again say Chelsea dropped more points from winning positions than anyone this year. What I say, though, was when Chelsea got a goal the floodgates opened up to smother opponents in a Blue Wave of pain.
The one time Chelsea's season appeared on the brink in mid-March following Jose Mourinho KO-ing the Blues from the Champions League with his Inter Milan side followed by a surprising 1-1 draw at Blackburn the Blues circled the wagons and out-scored opponents 33-4 in the final eight games, positing a 7-1-0 record. In the process, they overcame a four-point deficit, roaring up from a brief place in third place to their rightful perch atop the league.
Credit Ancelotti for sticking with a system that worked and got results.
Beside the ever-present Drogba and Lampard, the emergance of both Flourent Malouda and return from injury by Joe Cole made Chelsea a balanced, powerful squad, which most teams couldn't match with them bearing down at full speed at goal. With nearly all the same components in the attacking third -- minus Michael Essien -- Chelsea had a familiarity in its squad nearly every time it stepped onto the field. Lining up in the standard 4-3-1-2** proved to be the winning formula.
Maybe this identity was forged years ago by Mourinho, but it was an identity nonetheless.
** Chelsea used a 4-3-3 three times with mixed results, a draw at Hull, a win at Manchester United a loss to Tottenham.
Chelsea, too, weathered the short-term injury crisis to Petr Cech. The Blue got enough out of Yuri Zhirkov and Paolo Ferreira while Ashley Cole was sidelined. Never my favorite player, Ancelotti cast his lot with John Obi Mikel in the wake of Essien's injury and didn't allow the young Nigerian's tendency for the stupid foul derail the season.
In a season where Liverpool slipped all the way back to the pack, Arsenal couldn't quite hold its nerve and Manchester United was a shell of its title-winning self, Chelsea remained Chelsea -- feared, dominant and unrelenting.
Long story short, Chelsea might not be my favorite collection of personalities on the soccer field, but they certainly deserved*** to lift the trophy adorned with blue ribbons Sunday.
And for the record, Drogba was probably thinking of, I don't know, Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" when he was strumming the corner flag. Maybe it was a Queen song. Or better, I'd love to think he was humming "Tom Hark."
Guess, its one of those mysteries of life we'll never know the answer.
** Nearly every piece I read Sunday felt it necessary to deem Chelsea "worthy" champions. On top of making me think about that old Wayne's World routine, it made me question how a champion can, in fact be, unworthy? Unless you're winning a title when the actual champion is stripped, a la Juventus a few years ago, isn't this another silly axiom or mentality that soccer belongs to a "higher" realm of existence than other sports?
A sign of things to come?:
Until this season, the Prem was fairly straightforward and predictable. You had the "Big Four" and everybody else.
This year, things changed up a bit, obviously, with Tottenham posting a top four finish.
Methinks next year gets even crazier.
For one, Liverpool slumped to a miserable seventh-place finish. With double-digit losses Los Reds ended with a mere 63 points, a total closer to 13th than first place. Considering the uncertain ownership, the status of Rafa Benitez and possible exit of Fernando Torres, to expect Liverpool to bounce right back to the Champions League is foolhardy.
Manchester United, too, face plenty of uncertainty and are tied at the hip with Wayne Rooney's long term commitment. The once bedrock foundation that defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic collapsed about as quickly as the Dow Jones Industrial average plummeted Thursday afternoon.
I'm done getting burned by Arsenal, which too, have issues but those issues are much more manageable than Liverpool and Manchester United. All Arsenal need to do is sign a competent keeper and defender and finally figure out a way to get results when they matter against the top of the league. Marouane Chamakh? Let's wait-and-see.
Counting on the Gunners, to ever mature into a side that wins trophies -- not just the hearts of fans from their supposedly champagne football -- remains to be seen.
Chelsea even with a squad of 30-somethings should be fine for another run next season. How many fronts they can fight on will remain to be seen, although allegedly the Chelsea youth team has some talent on it. From what I've seen it's hard to gauge how much of an impact Kun Aguero will make on the Premier League weekly, but he's another world-class warm body that should only make the Blues better. If anything, he's a different kind of player than who's already at the Bridge. For one, he's not a giant on the pitch, which seems to be the (no pun intended) standing order at Stamford Bridge.
With the looming would-be giant of Manchester City, probably, bringing in even more stars to Eastlands, they'll certainly be a favorite to finish in the top four.
Tottenham may have issues trying to repeat a fourth-or-better position, if only due to it's remarkable run (until Sunday vs. Burnley) to end the season. Spurs are a fairly youthful squad. If Gareth Bale and Luka Modric are only hinting are thier potential, then there is clearly room for Tottenham to grow.
You know Harry Redknapp, assuming Spurs gain the group stage of the Champions League, is spending like a sailor during fleet week.
Even with these issues, it's not like there's a fleet of teams in the Premier League ready or capable to make a jump toward the top.
Aston Villa? Without two or three major signings, Martin O'Neill seems to have reached both his glass ceiling and Peter principal with the Villains.
Everton? As many miracles as David Moyes works, the only way the Toffees mount a challenge is if they post an injury-free season.
Doubt anyone lower in the table, has the players, infrastructure or ambition to mount a challenge at the top four.
So, even as the specter of debt looms over nearly every club in the league, chances are we'll probably be right back where we are next year, barring another high-priced foreign takeover, but eventually those wells will run dry, too?
Other stuff:
Aside from Birminham's top half finish and Liverpool's slump, any real surprises in the final table? ... Only eight teams finished with a positive goal difference. ... I'd love to throw some other nuggets here, but a Mother's Day brunch coupled with working Sunday night crippled my writing time. Hope everyone understands.
Superlatives:
Everyone loves 'em so...
Best keeper -- Gomes, Tottenham. Maybe it's Gomez to some, but he was awesome down the stretch. From acrobatic saves to his ownership of the peanlty box, the former PSV "flop" earned sweet redemption. Honorable mention: Anyone who didn't play for Arsenal.
Best defender -- Richard Cuellar Collins. Sorry, but I morphed the trio of Richard Dunne, Carlos Cuellar and James Collins into one, angry, bearded ginger super defender. Honorable mention: Michael Dawson, John Terry, Roger Johnson.
Best midfielder -- Frank Lampard. Twenty-plus goals from the midfield is one thing. I'd love to see the stats on how many miles Lampard traveled over the course of the 2009-10 season. Based on the amount of minutes he played and the spot on the field he inhabits it would be a fun, possibly mind-blowing number to read. Lampard may not shine the brighest as all the other Prem midfield stars, but he consistently burns at a high level the longest. Honorable mention: Cesc Fabregas, James Milner, Antonio Valencia.
Best striker -- Drogba. It's half surprising opponents nets didn't light up with a triangular set of dots, a la the Predator when Drogs had the ball near him in the box. The scoresheet shows it, but my eyes saw how lethal he was, too. Drogba didn't just stack up tack-on goals, either, netting important tallies in crucial stretch drive games at Old Trafford and Anfield. Honorable mention: Rooney, Darren Bent, Own Goal, Carlos Tevz.
Best manager -- David Moyes. Yeah, he screwed up in the Europa League, but figure this. Everton could have rolled over this season. Instead, in January they became perhaps the league's best team for a month, on a reletive shoestring budget. After November Everton lost only twice, to Liverpool and Tottenham. Everton almost snuck into Europe and were only two points off city rivals Liverpool. The Toffees also swept Manchester City, beat and drew Chelsea and defeated Manchseter United once. If not for a 1-0-3 start and three straight losses in November -- Hull City? -- this team would've pushed for fourth place. Honorable mention: Ancelotti, Alex McLeish
Best transfer -- Carlos Tevez, since he basically transformed Manchester City all by his lonesome at times. Considering City spent nearly as much combined on Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry, this was probably worth the roughly $45 million the club shelled out for Tevez. Honorable mention: Adam Johnson to Man City; Barry Ferguson to Birmingham City; Richard Dunne to Aston Villa; Darren Bent to Sunderland. (Bent's move, for less than half the Tevez fee would top the list, except for the fact he racked up the goals and it netted Sunderland a 12th place showing.)
Most improved -- Gareth Bale. Another Spur that went from a punchline -- Tottenham never won with him in the team -- to a player who's quickly become very fun to watch galloping up the left wing. Honorable mention: Bobby Zamora, Steven Pienaar.
Best American -- Going out on a limb here, Marcus Hahnemann. Yes, Clint Dempsey was good for Fulham, but he missed time and did a lot of his stuff in the Europa League. Hahnemann, meanwhile, shored up Wolves defense and helped them stay afloat in the Prem despite the lowest scoring average per game in the league. All of Hahnemann's countrymen were good, but this season might have been his 'Dark Side of the Moon', wait, he's a confirmed metal head, how about his 'Ride the Lightning'? 'Ænima' seems more likely in his case. Honorable mention: Dempsey, Tim Howard, Brad Friedel.
Best Player -- Rooney. Not much to say here. Without Rooney, were was United? Even in the Top 10?
Best Goal -- White Hart Danny Rose's once in a lifetime volley vs. Arsenal. Runner up: Maynor Figueroa vs. Stoke City from the halfway line.
Worst player -- Ryan Babel. Maybe unfair to the Liverpool winger, but 23 games and four goals later? Babel seems to manifest the later years of the Benitez era, now doesn't he? Not even an option when Fernando Torres was hurt. Pretty much worthless right now. Made no impact and cost a lot of money. No, he's not a bad player per say, but he brought nothing to the table. Not even a new rapping video.
Worst manager -- Gianfranco Zola. No, West Ham wasn't blessed with an over-flowing abundance of talent, still, 17th is a limp showing. Zola takes the blame for inconsistencies in the lineup. A lack of options when Carlton Cole was dinged up. More than that, he tried to shirk responsibility for the team's problems. Runner up: Gary Megson, remember him?
Worst transfer -- Tuncay Şanlı, Stoke City. Stoke paid near relegated Middlesborough over $7 million for the Turk, who did next to nothing and even left a match at halftime. 'Boro did okay for itself, netting over $30 million for Tuncay, Roberth Huth and Adam Johnson. Runner up: Santa Cruz, for the money.
Fantasy Team O' the Year:
Top honors for the season go out to Kevin Bagley's MVee FC, who finished 15 points clear of Ian Podraza's Merrimac United.
Smart and active management seemed to be the key here for Bagley.
Get in touch with me in some shape or form and we'll talk about your prize.
One other thing:
It's corny and against type, but thanks go out to each and every single person who takes the time to click in this here slice of the Inter-nets on Friday and Monday for my half-baked thoughts on a league thousands of miles from my home. It wasn't always easy and chewed up way too much of my personal time, but the readers and commentors kept me going. Thanks guys.
I'd say I'm going to take a few days to collect my thoughts, but of course, the USMNT preliminary World Cup roster comes out Tuesday. Darn.
Final prediction count:
Last week: 6-4
Season: 192-181 ... 51 percent. Frankly, unacceptable.
Labels: Chelsea, Didier Drogba, English Premier League, Premier League, Soccer
Awesome season Cardillo.
I enjoyed the Twitter feed too... looking forward to the first World Cup twitter experience too (did Twitter exist during '06?)
Cardillo,
I agree with Adam above, another outstanding season of Premier League commentary on your end. While I rarely comment on posts, your site is one I make sure to check daily for a great read. I look forward to your take on the Cup this summer and again in a few short months for the next season!