So the Premiership season is over and we can begin to put things in perspective and let bygones be bygones.  

I was at the Emirates today, and as the mighty Gunners put 4 past Stoke, it became apparent that we really are not lacking too much, sure we need a new centre back and holding midfielder, and we need to replace a disappointing Adebayor, but we are not a club in crisis like it seemed only a matter of weeks ago.  How we lost to Stoke at the Britannia Stadium I will never know.  

As for Hull, they can (hopefully) put a disastrous second half of the season behind them and rebuild for next season.  Their form has been atrocious and they must be early favourites to go down in their 'sophomore' year but at least this year is over and they can begin plotting another survival campaign. 

That none of the 4 teams facing relegation won today is a clear indication that they all deserved to be in the position that they found themselves in.  As for Newcastle...... enough has been said elsewhere, but i will say that the Magpies have a cancer running through the team and let's hope that Shearer is the man to find the cure.  When the news that Newcastle had been relegated their was huge applause around the Emirates, this was surely aimed at the Newcastle ownership and not their fans who are generally a point of pride for the game.

Elsewhere, Fulham crept into the Europa League despite losing to Everton, so congratulations to the Cottages on what has been a fantastic season.

What will happen next season i can't begin to imagine.  Will Liverpool finally win a Premiership title? Will Brown hold another half time team-talk on the Pitch? Will Tevez leave the Red side of Mancherster for the sky blue side of Manchester? Will Lampard score a non-deflected goal?  Who knows.... thats why we love the game.

ET

So we reach that point again. The climax of the footballing season and all of its associated thrills, spills and bellyaches. The excitement of the Cup final and the drama of the final-day relegation battle has always had something distinctly bittersweet - and dare I say anticlimactic - about it for me though. As quickly as it arrives, it's gone, thrusting us all into the football free abyss that is the British summertime. It's the sheer, brutal finality of it that gets me, like the chaotic, heady excitement of that last day of term at primary school - followed by the brave new world of the long, hot summer with its lack of boundaries or certainty.

Almost as soon as the final whistle goes it seems you regain that elusive sense of perspective on it all. Maybe football isn't really that important, not when there are ice creams, jolly japes and warmer climes awaiting. And if it's not, well that's a bit sad really considering you've just spent the last 20 odd years of your life obsessing over it. Maybe, as in life, the thrill is in the chase and none of us quite know what to do with ourselves once it's all over. Or maybe it's just me. Either way, there's nothing quite like the end of the season to bring on a bout of misty-eyed existentialism. Of course, come late August (actually scrap that - September - there's something not quite right about football in the heat of summer) you've realised the error of your ways and will be begging forgiveness from your erstwhile amigo, guilty that you ever doubted him. It's all in the game. Still, you wouldn't have it any other way.

MM

Manager of the Month or Clown of the Year?

If there has been one manager who has added enjoyment to the Premiership this season, it is Phil Brown of Hull City.

Good old Mr. Brown has been acting like he is managing in a long gone era, and i can't remember a manager who has been as eccentric or as single minded as he has during my time watching the English game.  Sure we have had Kevin Keegan and his 'i would love it' rants back in the mid-90s, and we even had Joe Kinnear (another Newcastle Manager - is there something about the Black & White nation that attracts them) going crazy this season to a bunch of journalists, but nothing has matched Phil Brown this season for me.  

The season started for Hull with 4 victories against London clubs and a team of unshaven footballers and manager to boot.  This was done to raise awareness for Testicular Cancer after their goalkeeper - Matt Duke - beat the disease last year.  As noble a cause as this was - combined with his Matrix style jackets - it immediately made Mr. Brown stick out as a man with a bit of character about him.

As results started to turn against the newly promoted Yorkshire-men, cracks started to appear.  First, Tigers legend Dean Windass left the club, complaining of a bizarre style of management that lacked structure and leadership.  Things would soon get even more crazy.

In December, following a particularly bad first half performance against Manchester City (who incidentally have impressed at home all season), Phil Brown decided to hold the half-time talk on the pitch... the team didn't recover in the second half and results since that day have been noticeably worse.

Finally, Mr. Brown has also been mocked for his tan (which he repeatedly claims is all natural), and has been responsible for some classic interviews, particular when asked questions about striker Geovanni. 

As to how much he has lost the dressing room, this was highlighted last week when the entire first team declined on mass an invitation of a team bonding session at the dogs.

Will Brown keep Hull up? he could with even a defeat next week against a weekend Manchester United side.  I for one hope he does, Brown brings a level of entertainment to the Premiership that is unparalleled. 

ET