The Complete A-Z of the Premier League Season

Another Premier League season is in the books, with Chelsea once again celebrating an impressive title victory under manager Jose Mourinho.

The Blues may have led the league almost from start to finish—a record total of 262 days at the top, in fact, a new record—but there were a lot of twists and turns elsewhere in the league along the way, with plenty of players (and managers) creating headlines for reasons both good and bad.

Here is our brief, not altogether serious, alphabetical look back at another memorable campaign.

A is for ... Awards Nights

As social media continues to become a bigger and bigger part of the game (more on that later), it seems events that previously held little wider significance suddenly become potentially newsworthy items. That certainly is the case with end-of-season awards nights (and, to a lesser extent, Christmas parties), which have taken on a life of their own.

Liverpool's night saw Raheem Sterling booed, for example, but it was at Manchester United where the bar was truly raised—as Louis van Gaal (clearly having enjoyed a drink or two) made one of the speeches of the season. Roll on next season's black-tie evenings.

B is for ... Big Sam

Laughing at the start of the season, by the end of it, Sam Allardyce was out of a job. West Ham have decided to go in a different direction next season, a move perhaps in part motivated by a fall from Champions League contention to a 12th-place finish at the end of the campaign. It remains to be seen how West Ham fare in the post-Allardyce world, but one thing is for sure: Allardyce will not be short of suitors when he chooses to return to the game.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

C is for ... 'Costa crimes' 

The caption that sparked a thousand outbursts (or so it felt). Jose Mourinho was outraged, and not with the alliteration, when Sky Sports decided to use the phrase when highlighting some of Diego Costa's less savoury tactics during the Capital One Cup semi-final against Liverpool—with the Brazilian-turned-Spaniard eventually receiving a three-match ban after a stamp on Emre Can and was retrospectively punished.

Mourinho was incensed, initially embarking on a media blackout before, a few weeks later, taking over Sky's Goals on Sunday programme to rally against his side's mistreatment. It all felt a little over the top, and it all felt a little pre-planned. It probably was. Either way, with a newly discovered siege mentality, Chelsea duly went on to clinch a title that was probably not in doubt anyway.

D is for ... Diving

Sorry, "simulation." Still a problem, but referees are beginning to deal with it with greater attention, and perhaps it is slowly having an impact. Yellow cards are becoming a deterrent, but more can still be done to eradicate the issue from the game.

E is for ... European embarrassment 

For all the excitement, there was nothing but disappointment and embarrassment for English teams in Europe, as they failed to get to the quarter-finals of either UEFA competition. Chelsea's loss to Paris Saint-Germain was particularly galling, Arsenal's exit to Monaco stereotypically laughable, but it was perhaps Manchester City being utterly outclassed by Barcelona that was the most damning. Clearly English teams still have a lot of progress to make to get back on top on the continent.

F is for ... Fellaini and Falcao 

One was the surprise star of the season for Manchester United, the other was a complete flop. And surely at the start of the campaign, few would have predicted which ended up being which.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

G is for ... Gerrard

Did you hear about his departure? At times, it seemed liked the "Steven Gerrard farewell tour" went on for months, and perhaps there was a certain amount of Gerrard fatigue in play as people became increasingly gleeful at the manner of his sign-off.

The game at Stamford Bridge, where he was roundly abused by Chelsea fans, was controversial, the Anfield send-off spoilt somewhat by defeat to Crystal Palace. A final-day 6-1 loss at Stoke was no way to bow out—but Liverpool miss him already.

H is for ... Harry Kane

As one star bows out, another one explodes into life. The "HurriKane" was the breakout performer of the season, a homegrown talent who had everyone talking during a scintillating goalscoring run during the first part of 2015. His two goals in the North London derby win over Arsenal were a particular highlight.

I is for ... Imposter 

Or, more accurately, West Ham fan Jordan Dunn (very similar name to the supermodel, but not quite as much of a looker), who famously ran onto the pitch at Upton Park during the opening-day game against Spurs and curled home a free-kick. He was fined for his behaviour, but there are some who will say it was totally worth it.

J is for ... Jones (Phil Jones)

We're still laughing about that last-ditch tackle in the game against Arsenal. Phil Jones, never change. 

K is for ... Knockout punches 

Phil Jones was not the only Manchester United player to send the Twittersphere into overdrive this season. Fresh off a Sunday newspaper story revealing he had been "knocked out" in his own home by friend (and Sunderland player) Phil Bardsley, Wayne Rooney celebrated his goal against Spurs by throwing a few shadow punches and then pretending to be floored. Unexpectedly impressive comedy work from Wazza.

"

Grand Theft Rooney http://t.co/XT4czOY1Uo

— GeniusFootball (@GeniusFootball) March 17, 2015"

L is for ... Long goodbyes

Gerrard, Lampard, Drogba ... all the big names seemed to embark on extended farewell tours this season (Lampard was not even supposed to be here at all, but he ended up spending the entire season with Manchester City). A few less big-name departures next season would be nice.

Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

M is for ... Mourinho 

A born winner, and a league champion once again. Jose Mourinho was the dominant presence and personality from start to finish this season, carving a team in his image: impeccable defensively, unpredictable in attack. Players may grow tired of his methods over time, but for now, Chelsea are fully behind him, with clear results.

N is for ... New faces

At the bottom of the table, the relegation battle was defined in part by the managerial changes the teams involved decided to make. Crystal Palace and West Brom were proactive (in appointing Alan Pardew and Tony Pulis, respectively) and consequently stormed away from danger, while Sunderland turned to Dick Advocaat and eventually clambered to safety. 

Newcastle went for the cheap option and nearly paid the price, something QPR certainly did. Meanwhile, Burnley and Hull stuck with their man the whole season—the Tigers in particular will wonder if they ultimately made the wrong call in that regard.

O is for ... Ostrich

"Are you an ostrich?" as Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson infamously asked one journalist, during one of the less savoury confrontations of the season. Pearson had his other moments: There was the swearing match with a Leicester fan and the throttling incident with Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur, too.

He certainly made it action-packed, although Leicester fans (apart from the one that was sworn at) will presumably not care considering the Foxes stayed up in the end.

P is for ... Pinpoint passes

Cesc Fabregas was the primary creative player in the league all season, eventually finishing with a league-high of 18 assists (just two short of Thierry Henry's all-time record, in fact). Undoubtedly his best pass of the season came in the penultimate game of the season against West Brom, however, when his off-the-ball punt clattered Chris Brunt on the head. A straight red card and an early end to the season for the Spaniard. But what a way to do it.

Q is for ... QPR

Relegated with a bloated, overpaid and under-motivated squad (Charlie Austin excepted). It's like two years ago all over again!

R is for ... Renewed rivalries

The Manchester derby became a big thing once again this season (the two clubs genuinely fighting for position by the time of the last one). It was good to see Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger locking horns once again. This is the Premier League as many of us remember it.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

S is for ... Super Mario

Mario Balotelli hardly did anything on the pitch, but he was almost a constant source of amusement and/or controversy thanks to his love of social media. Particular mention must be made of one post he put on Instagram which played awkwardly off several racist tropes, a bizarre post that earned him a one-game ban from the Football Association. No wonder Brendan Rodgers did not want to have anything to do with him by the end of the season.

T is for ... Television rights

Television rights seemed to double (treble?) in value once again this year (going for over £5 billion this time), for the new deal, which kicks in at the start of next season. The rich just keep getting richer.

U is for ... Unlucky, Ashley Young!

Remember when it looked like Ashley Young had been the victim of an unfortunate (but very precise) aerial (and avian) attack? Yeah, that cannot have been much fun for him (but it was highly amusing for the rest of us).

V is for ... Vines

The one medium that has perhaps reinvented the way many of us digest football. Whoever thought looped six-second video clips would be a popular platform is clearly a visionary, because what sounds a dumb idea on paper is a brilliant one in practice.

Thanks primarily to the good work of Von Strenginho (and plenty of others building on his visionary work), Vines have become one of the most amusing looks at modern football.

W is for ... Winter break 

Still probably a good idea. 

X is for ... Xpensive mistakes

OK, so that's a cop-out. But with plenty of mistakes in the transfer market (Falcao, Di Maria, Balotelli, Mangala) and on the pitch (Falcao, Di Maria, Balotelli...), there were plenty of reminders that we are dealing with humans here, and they are often very fallible.

Y is for ... Youth in revolt

As the season ends at Liverpool, it ends with Raheem Sterling (or, more publicly, his agent Aidy Ward) trying to force his exit from Anfield. Will the Reds be able to keep him?

Z is for ... Zzzzz

OK, so that's another cop-out. But with more than two months until the new Premier League season, how exactly are we going to fill the time?!