Warning: mysqli_query(): (HY000/1030): Got error 28 from storage engine in /home/sportsun/public_html/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 1942

There weren’t really too many surprises in the English Premier League (EPL) this season unfortunately. Most fans figured it’d be either Manchester United or Chelsea winning the league with Arsenal and perhaps Liverpool being outsiders. Well guess what? Chelsea lifted the trophy, while Man United came in just a point behind. However, for a neutral, the league going down to the very last game of the season was a bonus, even though Chelsea’s 8-0 thrashing of Wigan on the final day made things anti climatic and took a lot of possible excitement out of the day.

It also wasn’t much of a shock that Chelsea pulled off a double by beating EPL bottom feeders Portsmouth 2-0 for the FA Cup. It was also wasn’t news that most of the league’s upper-echelon teams continued to field weakened sides in both of the English domestic cups. This is something the FA will have to look into as the League and FA Cups need to be seen as priorities during the season not as nuisances.

As for Arsenal coming in third and winning nothing again, what more can you really expect from a team that continuously chokes under pressure every time it’s faced with a big game.

Some people may have also been shocked at Liverpool coming in seventh and out of the Champions league. But with the extremely overrated Rafael Benitez in charge there, it should have been expected. Benitez has done nothing at all to improve this squad through his odd buying and selling of players, his brutal tactics, terrible team selection, and nonsensical substitutions during games. This guy has lived on his past reputation for far too long, blamed everybody else for the team’s problems, and has brainwashed most Liverpool supporters into believing all of the club’s problems are caused by its ownership.

One of the only true surprises this season was how well Tottenham Hotspur managed to play. They definitely earned their way to fourth place and a shot at the Champions League. As for Manchester City, was anybody really left scratching their head that mark Hughes would have been sacked as manager and all of the club’s money wouldn’t be able to buy then a spot in the champions League.

At the other end of the table, the fight to stay out of the relegation zone went just about as expected, especially with so many downright poor and mediocre teams and managers in the EPL again this season. Even if Portsmouth wasn’t deducted nine points for the financial mess they’re in, they still would have ended up last place. Hull and Burnley lacked the type of managers needed to keep a limited squad afloat. However, we keep seeing poor teams recycling the same poor managers and expect to see miracles happen. West Ham, Wigan, Wolves, and Bolton should thank their lucky stars that there were actually worse teams than them in the league this season.

We shouldn’t expect to see much of a difference next season either as the strong keep getting stronger and the weak get weaker. Unless there’s some sort of salary cap brought into the EPL, don’t expect to see anything change in the near future. We can also expect to be saddled with numerous mediocre teams again until we finally see some managers who go out to win games instead of just trying not to lose them.