May

14

After a dramatic season Manchester United finally lifted the Premier League trophy aloft on Sunday narrowly seeing off the challenge of plucky Chelsea. There were tears in Reading, Birmingham and Derby as the three sides dropped into the Coca-Cola Championship. GRAHAM CLIFFORD looks back on each sides performance in 2007/8 and issues them with the grade he thinks suits them best:

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1. Manchester United:

Love him or hate him the achievement of Alex Ferguson in winning his tenth Premiership title is simply outsianding. This season the addition of Tevez, Nani, Hargreaves and Anderson strengthened an already strong side. It goes without saying that Ronaldo was simply amazing and after scoring 31 times from midfield in the Premiership this season he deserves all the accolades that he gets. At the back Ferdinand and Vidic stood out while Evra was once again a massive weapon in Fergie's armory.Stuttered in the closing stages but worthy Champions - GRADE : A-

2. CHELSEA: Considering they changed horses mid-stream the Blues season has been nothing short of excellent. He's had his critics but Avram Grant has brought Chelsea to within any inch of the Premiership, to a Champions League final and to a League Cup final - not bad going for an unknown! - Grade B+

3. ARSENAL: What started off as a mad dash for the league ended in a lazy stroll over the finsihing line. Adebayor, Clichy and Sagna impressive but still well off the pace of the top two. - Grade B-

4. LIVERPOOL: All the talk this season has been on events going on off the field. Despite this Benitez steered his side to fourth place in the Premiership and a Champions League semi-final. Torres the star of the show while Gerrard and Carragher were simply wonderful once again. - Grade B+

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5. EVERTON: The achievements of David Moyes at Goodison Park are every bit as impressive as Fergies at Old Trafford when you consider the difference in budgets. Yakubu was in good form for the toffeemen and for a while it looked like Champions League football next season was a possibility. Grade B+

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6. ASTON VILLA: With Gareth Barry pulling the strings 2007/8 saw a different Aston Villa with the Midlanders outscoring the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton. Grade B+

7. BLACKBURN ROVERS: While Mark Hughes will be disappointed that his side didn't make it into Europe for next season he and his chairman will have been delighted with the success of star striker Roque Santa Cruz. Cruz paid only £3.5 million for the Paraguayan from Bayen Munich and he hit 19 Premiership goals this season. Dropped points to the likes of Birmingham, Fulham and Reading though . Grade C+

8.PORTSMOUTH: Pompeys season will be best remembered for their exploits in the FA Cup rather than their League run. However David James had another brilliant season between the posts for Portsmouth. Grade C-

9. MANCHESTER CITY: What a season for supporters of City!? After an amazing first half of the campaign the men in blue looked destined to take a Champions League spot but after things dipped Sven received his marching orders. Grade: C+

10. WEST HAM UNITED: After their lucky escape last season hammers will be delighted with how this season fared. Football fans everywhere were delighted to see Dean Ashton back playing and the big man contributed 10 league goals in an impressive campaign for the men from East London: Grade C-

11. TOTTENHAM: Having won the League cup with victory over Chelsea Premiership form however inconsistent

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 could be excused by the White Hart Lane faithful. However despite excellent returns from Berbatov and Robbie Keane they leaked too many goals at home. Jol was replaced by Ramos and at the moment it seems like a clever move. Grade: C-

12. NEWCASTLE UNITED: Another Premiership side who changed managers mid-stream Kevin Keegan returned to football after big Sam Allardyce lost the Magpies supporters. Keegan took a while to get going but with Michael Owen (RIGHT) back scoring again theres hope for the future. Grade: D+

13. MIDDLESBROUGH: Having lost Yakubu to Everton there was genuine fear at the

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Riverside that goals would be hard to come by - then on the last day of the season they netted 8 against Manchester City! Hard fighters they at times rely far too much on the skill of Stewart Downing - Grade D+

14. WIGAN ATHLETIC: After a shaky start Steve Bruce took over at the JJB and as a result the side went from strength to strength. Wigan took points off Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal this season and I for one was delighted that they secured another top flight season. Grade: C+

15. SUNDERLAND: For a while during the season it looked as though the magic of Roy Keane was beginning to wear off. Somehow (and thanks mainly to home form) the black cats managed to hold their heads just above water this season. Having sepnt £9 million on goalkeeper Craig Gordon it was obvious that Keane was expecting a season of chances for the other side! Kenwyne Jones was excellent for the northern outfit scoring seven league goals though the introduction of Andy Reid in January was also a good move by the gaffer: Grade: D+  

16. BOLTON: Still perhaps one of the hardest sides to watch playing though fair dues to Gary Megson for turning around the side's ill fortune after the departure of Nicholas Anelka. Grade: D-

17. FULHAM: The seasons end was nothing short of a fairytale for the West London side as they won four out their last five games (three of those away from home). Jimmy Bullard's return to fitness came at just the right time but while they'll be celebrating on the bank of the Thames for some time Fulham have a mountain of work to do if they want to stay in the top division next season. Grade: D- 

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18: READING: Statistics will show that the Royals lost 22 of their Premiership games this season yet still people were suprised when the Berkshire club finally went down. The likes of Kevin Doyle and Dave Kitson were far from their best and ultimately their lack of squad depth cost them. Grade: D- 

19: BIRMINGHAM CITY: When the blues lost 5-1 to Aston Villa on April 20th in a game they had to get something from you just knew their goose was cooked in the Premier League. James McFadden was a good addition to the side but in the end their poor start to the season cost them dear. A big club though who should bounce back. Grade: E

20: DERBY COUNTY: The worst side the Premiership has seen in it's history. They make a good case for allowing only two teams to win promotion each season. Relegated this time last year! Grade: NG

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1 Comments

free bet said:

as long as C Ronaldo plays well in this match I will be satisfied watching the team win...he needs a good game to be player of the year

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This page contains a single entry by Graham Clifford published on May 14, 2008 11:51 AM .

Would Steve Bruce really deny United the title? was the previous entry in this blog.

Is Nick Faldo finally hanging up his clubs? is the next entry in this blog.

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