Paul Fennessy
What will be your defining memory from this season?
Astonishing, barely believable record-breaking feats, whether it be individual (Mo Salah) or collective (Man City) brilliance.
What prediction do you wish you hadnโt made?
Tipping Tiemoue Bakayoko to be an instant success at Chelsea wasnโt my finest hour.
Who was your Player of the Season?
Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne have received enough praise, so Iโll opt for David Silva. At 32, he has looked as accomplished as ever, with his trademark incisive passing and intelligent movement routinely spreading panic among opposition defences. As strange as it may sound, he has probably been slightly underrated since joining City in 2010 โ this year was just his second appearance in the PFA Team of the Season. And were it not for his emergence coinciding with Andrรฉs Iniesta and an abundance of other remarkable Spanish attacking midfielders, the irrepressible Silva would probably be even more highly thought of.
Name the best and worst signing of the season.
Thereโs no justifiable answer other than the peerless attacker and likely Golden Boot winner Mo Salah for best signing. There are a few contenders for worst, but Everton bringing in Davy Klaassen for ยฃ24 million stands out. The Dutch midfielder has made just three Premier League starts since joining the Toffees and was subbed off on each of the occasions in question. Not one but two Everton managers in Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce clearly had grave doubts as to whether the former Ajax star was equipped for the rigours of Premier League football.
Best individual performance you witnessed this season?
Kevin De Bruyneโs display in Man Cityโs 4-1 victory over Tottenham back in December was a joy to behold. Gary Neville has justifiably described the Belgian international as a hybrid of Paul Scholes and David Beckham and the Spurs game was probably the best and most high-profile instance in which his brilliance was patently clear. Honourable mention too for Ederson, whose distribution in the same game was sublime and key to Cityโs success in launching attacks.
Which team did you most enjoy watching (aside from the club you support)?
With an attack as formidable as the defence was dodgy, Liverpool were practically guaranteed to be a consistently entertaining and unpredictable watch.
Name your favourite moment from this season.
Burnley substitutes let kids onto the bench to escape fighting in stands #WHUBUR pic.twitter.com/VVaVNoxICj
โ Johnny Phillips (@SkyJohnnyP) March 10, 2018
Jeff Hendrick and other Burnley players giving their seats on the bench to kids as angry West Ham fans invaded the pitch was a touching moment amid otherwise ugly and chaotic scenes at London Stadium last March.
Describe the season in one sentence.
Pep Guardiola silences the sceptics.
Gavan Casey
What will be your defining memory from this season?
Though an utterly miserable game, there was one particularly profound moment some 50-odd minutes into West Hamโs stalemate with United on Thursday night, during which several midfield players became embroiled in a lesser-spotted game of knee tennis. I had only one viewing, and itโs possible that neither man was within an assโs roar of the ball, but Iโm willing to bet Mark Noble and Scott McTominay were at the coal face of this especially bleak exchange. Anyway, after several pings and pongs โ think โnods and volleysโ but bereft of all joy, cohesion and purpose โ the ball was plonked upon Paul Pogba in a yard of grass.
โFinally,โ I thought. โSomeone with a modicum of guile; a man who โ to a fault โ possesses within him the moral courage to get the ball down and play.โ With one fluid adjustment, Pogba swiveled, languidly extended his right peg and shinned the ball out for a West Ham throw-in.
Imagine thinking this guy hasnโt taken to the Premier League like a duck to water.
What prediction do you wish you hadnโt made?
It wasnโt a prediction, per se, but Iโd no longer like to go for a pint with Eddie Howe. I would instead love to go for a pint with Eddie Howe โ or even without him.
Who was your Player of the Season?
Mo Salah over Kevin De Bruyne from where I see it. Occamโs Razor.
De Bruyne had a greater impact on the title race, sure, but on a pound-for-pound basis, Salah was equally impactful: just ask the small contingent of Chelsea fans whoโll find themselves booking hotel rooms in the Baลakลehir district of Istanbul next season.
This idea that Salah is โjust a goalscorerโ is laughable when you consider heโs notched 31 of them in the league alone โ many of an almost ostentatious quality โ while feeding off a midfield in which Jordan Henderson is the conductor-in-chief. Salah has scored three more goals than Harry Kane having taken 25 fewer shots โ or four more if youโre into woeful, aged banter.
Iโll attempt to rubber-stamp this shout with my own Bill Simmons-esque, borderline nonsensical criterion: who would you rather be unavailable for selection against the team you support: De Bruyne or Salah? Based on the frequency with which each produces โah, piss offโ moments upon which games might hinge โ and not discounting De Bruyneโs ability to dictate a game generally โ I feel the Egyptian King inflicts more nerve damage than his Belgian counterpart.
Name the best and worst signing of the season.
Best: Mo Salah, clearly.
Worst: Davy Klaassen. One of โthoseโ ones from Holland, obviously, where a Premier League club calls heads and lands on tails. 16 Dutch caps, 2016 Dutch footballer of the year, 23.6 million bob and six league appearances for Everton, who tried to loan him to Napoli in January. Thatโs Afonso Alves territory, really.
Best individual performance you witnessed this season?
Kevin De Bruyneโs magnus opum: Man Cityโs 4-1 win over Spurs back in December. He scored their second, won a penalty and sprayed passes like it was nobodyโs business โ a couple of which were obnoxious in their conception and execution. What impressed me equally that day, though, was the mileage he clocked up in defence: De Bruyne put in demonic work, blocking channels and nibbling at heels to the point that were a casual observer unfamiliar with him, they could have been forgiven for thinking he was a player cognisant of his limitations in possession โ โthere to do a jobโ.
You compare that all-round midfield display, then, to the discourse which often surrounds the even more athletic (and often wrongly-maligned) Paul Pogba: โWell, Mourinho didnโt buy him for his defensive qualities.โ Sure, but he can run โ he just has to want to.
Which team did you most enjoy watching (aside from the club you support)?
Caveat unnecessary as Iโm a United fan, which makes the following admission all the more difficult to bear: City plainly played the best football, but Liverpool probably made for the most electrifying viewing experience.
Favourite moment from this season.
When Renato Sanches โ with Swansea wearing all red at Stamford Bridge โ coolly passed the ball to the red Carabao logo on an advertising hoarding. A reminder that thereโs always someone worse off.
Describe the season in one sentence.
โAs the light begins to intensify, so does my misery, and I wonder how it is possible to hurt so much when nothing is wrong.โ
โ Tabitha Suzuma, Forbidden
Fintan OโToole
What will be your defining memory from this season?
Kevin de Bruyneโs midfield brilliance and ability to find a way around packed defences to provide assists.
What prediction do you wish you hadnโt made?
Huddersfield to get relegated. Not alone in having them as certainties for relegation but their feat in avoiding the drop given the resources at David Wagnerโs disposal is remarkable.
Who was your Player of the Season?
De Bruyne but the argument for Mo Salah is as convincing.
Name the best and worst signing of the season.
Best has to be Salah for approaching Ronaldo/Messi-esque totals of goalscoring. Worst between Davy Klaassen or Sandro Ramirez, symbols of Evertonโs summer spending spree yielding a poor dividend.
Best individual performance you witnessed this season?
David de Gea for the brilliant series of saves he produced in Man Unitedโs 3-1 win over Arsenal in December.
Which team did you most enjoy watching (aside from the club you support)?
Man City. With De Bruyne, Silva, Sane, Sterling, Aguero and Jesus, their attacking play was consistently great.
Name your favourite moment from this season.
Burnley fans joining in with Arsenal fans to sing about Arsene Wenger during his last game at the Emirates. For longevity and the volume of trophies he won, he deserved a fitting send off.
Describe the season in one sentenceโฆ
โIโm very proud, Iโm super proud, Iโm the proudest man in Proudsville.โ
Gavin Quinn
What will be your defining memory from this season?
Ironically, my defining memory of the season actually comes in the form of West Brom. In a fairly anti-climatic last few weeks of the season, their story made the relegation battle that bit more interesting while the title and the top four was already decided, for the most part.
What prediction do you wish you hadnโt made?
I predicted that both Huddersfield and Brighton would go straight back down this season and I couldnโt have been more wrong. Wagner and Hughton have done an excellent job and embarrassed me a little bit too!
Who was your Player of the Season?
It just has to be Mo Salah. I know its technically not his first season in the league but for a player to come in and break records and perform like he has, he deserves it that bit more than others like De Bruyne and Kane.
Name the best and worst signing of the season.
The best is Andy Robertson to Liverpool, without a doubt. A solid, consistent full back that fits perfectly into the Jurgen Klopp mold has been a revelation both domestically and also in Europe, and brought in for the equivalent of pocket change in the modern transfer market. The worst, Tiemoue Bakayoko. The Frenchman demanded a hefty price tag coming in from Monaco and has been woeful, by no means a fit replacement for Matic in the Chelsea midfield.
Best individual performance you witnessed this season?
It all comes back to Salah, his four goals against Watford on St Patrickโs Day was the complete performance. The variety of different kind of goals he can score is amazing, he was even desperately trying to tee up Danny Ings for shots in the closing stages and, as always, was in the right position to score a rebound, almost by accident.
Which team did you most enjoy watching (aside from the club you support)?
Other than Liverpool, both Tottenham and Manchester City have been the most enjoyable to watch. City have scored the most goals in a single season and Spursโ attacking players are just a joy to watch.
Favourite moment from this season.
My moment of the season is probably Mo Salahโs goal against Manchester City that put Liverpool 4-1 ahead. It was the one time I feel where Guardiolaโs side were really rocked and made look beatable. The game turned out to be a thriller.
Describe the season in one sentence.
The big six are just getting stronger while Premier League regulars are getting weaker.
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Ireland is the only European team left in it.
Delighted, turning his back on our country.
Youre an ignorant fool.
Ridiculously stupid comment.
Oh, the irony! Ha ha ha!
Paul i think that all the fools are flocking to him and weโre the only ones seeing sense in this idiocracy
โThe English language had deteriorated into a hybrid of hillbilly, valley girl, inner city slang, and various grunts.โ
Blame the fatcats that run the game on Eoins decision to play for the neighbourโs ! I will admit I enjoyed watching England fail and Ireland power on ! Test status for Ireland .!!!
Somewhere, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen (recently sacked England captains) are getting absolutely twisted on a big bottle marked โSCHADENFREUDEโ.
Anyone who slates Morgan for declaring for England is either un-educated in the language of cricket or else a total moron, you choose?
Why? Not being smart but I donโt understand the set up, or benefit to declaring for another nation when your own can compete at the WC also, is it just for money or is there more,?
Itโs because England have test status (can play 5 day test matches like the ashes) while Ireland are only associates (can only play ODI cricket). Ed Joyce did the same thing.
I have no ill will towards Morgan for doing it. Iโve more ill will towards the ICC for being so archaic that they refuse to grant Ireland test status.
He will be in much more money with England. It is also about playing Test cricket which Ireland do not play but will hopefully sometime in the near future be granted the chance to play. Also even at one day level outside of the world cup Ireland rarely play the big teams maybe two or three times a year they would get a game. Apart from that they just play the likes of Scotland, Holland, U.A.E. Etc. So the money in that side of cricket isnโt great. Pretty sure all the Ireland team are now signed to English county sides which is ok money but nothing on the level England would pay.
So he went to play against the bigger sides, which pays more.
I asked Captain Hindsight about Morgan and he tells me Morgan should have quit the England set up at the top after the 2010/โ11 Ashes win and come back to play for Ireland with the hope of still being playing when/if we are allowed to play tests.
To be fair, the Test game is the pinnacle of cricket. Itโs where the big money contracts, the exposure, the big crowds are. The Test arena is where players careers are measured. Any of the Irish players would love the chance to play this โ ideally with Ireland but thatโs not possible at the moment โ and Eoin Morgan was the one that England wanted. I wouldnโt be that harsh on him. The ICC should grant Ireland test status and allow the likes of Morgan and Rankin to come back to Ireland immediately without serving time out of the game.
Itโs one thing to allow people to swap to another country, itโs another to allow them to swap again.
I donโt know the first thing about cricket or how test/associate status is determined, but surely if itโs a case of the better a nation performs, the better chance there is of being granted test status, then the best players should stay and help their own nation achieve that?
But Why can players flit from one country to the next in cricket?
Iโm confused by Englandโs defeat today, my natural reaction is to rejoice at any defeat for that shower. However will the ICC blame the Associate nations for denying them one of their biggest markets in the knock-out stages and see it as proof that their 10 team World Cup is the way to go?
Will the English see our success and poach more of our players, will Balbernie and Dockerill get big offers from county teams this summer?
Or will the opposite happen and the xenophobes in the English media blame Morgan and the other non-Englishmen in the team for the performance and launch a media pogrom?
Bangladesh arenโt an associate.
That said, they are the most recent team to jump from associate status to test status, so the ICC might take it as a warning that if you promote cricket in associate countries and let them make it to test-match level, they might actually get good and remove the teams from the bigger TV markets from the World Cup.
I know Bangladesh are a Test nation but that wouldnโt stop the ICC blaming the Associates as you also hinted. Beat either India or Pakistan and thereโll be no denying that Ireland are in the top 8-10 ODI nations but weโll still be stopped from playing more than a half dozen or so ODIs every year. Thatโs as perverse as the World Cup in Qatar!
Disgraceful individual turning his back on his country, wouldnโt want him back. Hope he enjoys the โunderstandingโ and โsupportโ from his chosen country after this.
sure we wouldnโt have anyone from another country representing
So have you willing Es Joyce to fail then? His century vs Zimbabwe won it for us. He left Ireland and played for England and then came back.
Hope youโre showing the same narrow minded contempt for him as well and booing him when he does well for Ireland.
the best of luck to Joyce and morgan until we get test status this is the way it operates.
Go on Paul Dunne. Nice one. Nailed it with minimal words.
For an English sport youโd expect England to be a bit more of a challenge.. How embarrassing :P
Morgan haters are just idots who obviously do not follow cricket. Should not be criticising a man for wanting to play cricket at the highest level. (Test level not the world cup Iโm sure a lot of people on here wouldnโt know that.) If your gonna slag off Morgan why arenโt you getting at Boyd Rankin as well he did the exact same thing as Morgan and he couldnโt even make it into the England World Cup Squad. We probably are missing him more than Morgan as well. I suppose we shouldnโt be playing Ed Joyce because he turned his back on us and now has come crawling back to play for us.
World Cup quarter finals would be higher standard than the group stages..your argument is flawedโฆ
Itโs still not test cricket, which Morgan has played for England.
India, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand โ theyโre the highest level.
England? Not in a long time.
Aside from the persons who see fit to have a go at Morgan, it has to be said that this English one day team ranks up there with the most abject and gutless seen for a long time. A lot of people said that players like Pietersen and Stokes scare the opposition because they can change a game in a flash. Who do they have now? Batsmen who seem to be in a straitjacket and bowlers like Broad and Anderson who are way past their best. And at the helm a coach who is so bad, itโs sad.
At this rate I would back the Aussies to win the next Ashes series 5-0.
Iโm a complete novice here so go easyโฆโฆ.why is it someone like Joyce can play for Ireland, then England and back to ireland? Thanks
Shite sport โฆ. Simple as
Possibly the worst 12 months for english sport in living memory. Worst world cup ever, a failed six nations campaign and now this.