English Premier League: The 21 Biggest Surprises of the Premier League Season
With the conclusion of the 2010-11 English Premier League season, there were many surprises in one of the most exciting EPL seasons ever.
From the transfer madness in the summer and in January to the managerial changes that were highly unexpected to the players who came out of nowhere to have spectacular seasons, this was definitely a year to remember in the Premier League.
The Fall and Rise of Liverpool
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When Rafa Benitez was fired at the end of last season, Liverpool appointed Roy Hodgson as the new manager, and things did not go well at all.
Hodgson was relieved of his duties as manager on Jan. 8th and then came the unexpected, Kenny Dalglish came back to the club.
Dalglish was able to guide the Reds from the bottom half of the table to sixth place in a run of form that saw the club beat former Big Four rivals Chelsea and Manchester United. The Reds also saw a improvement in goals scored with many of their wins being multiple goal wins.
Roy Hodgson Leads West Brom to Survival
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A month after Roy Hodgson was sacked as manager of Liverpool, the Englishman replaced Roberto di Matteo at The Hawthorns and led the Baggies from the relegation zone to 11th place.
Once Hodgson took charge, it was a reminder of what a great job he did at Fulham three years ago to keep them up.
The Baggies took points from the first seven games that Hodgson was in charge and that strong run of form led them to an 11th place finish.
Chris Hughton's Shock Firing
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Chris Hughton guided Newcastle to a return to the Premier League from the Championship last season and then became the first manager sacked this season on Dec. 9th.
The firing came after a 3-1 loss to West Brom and with owner Mike Ashley wanting to bring in his man Alan Pardew to manage the team, and that is exactly what he did.
Newcastle ended up finishing in 12th, one place below where they were when Hughton was sacked.
Birmingham Wins Carling Cup, Then Gets Relegated
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It is rare occurrence that a club can be relegated and qualify for a European competition, but that is exactly what Birmingham did this season.
The high point of the Blues season came from their Carling Cup final win over Arsenal.
The 2-1 win came thanks to Obafemi Martins' winner in the 89th minute. but from that point on, the season went downhill.
Alex McLeish's club lost five of their last six games while other relegation contenders were winning, and in turn, it led to the relegation of the club to the Championship alongside Blackpool and West Ham.
Blackpool: 8th on New Years to Relegated on Final Day
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Much like Hull City in the 2008-09 season, Blackpool came up from the Championship and caught everyone by surprise by being in eighth place at New Years, but after that, they hit a slump.
Ian Holloway's club were only able to attain 14 points since New Years, and with a loss to Manchester United in the final game of the season, that sealed the fate of the Tangerines to the Championship.
Many Premier League fans enjoyed the attacking style of the club featuring Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell and even Holloway admitted that the club will most likely break up with certain players like Adam and Campbell staying in the Premier League with other clubs.
Sunderland's Horrible Run of Form Puts Them Near Relegation
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In one of the worst runs of form this season, Sunderland went 10 games without a win and almost found themselves in the relegation battle.
After the sale of Darren Bent to Aston Villa at the end of the January transfer window, the Black Cats had no real goal threat as they suffered many injuries to the squad before and after Bent's departure.
Manager Steve Bruce was able to get the club back on track and win three of the club's last five games to boost the club back up to 10th place to finish the season.
Wolves Pull Themselves out of Relegation in Final Weeks
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For a club that was mired in the relegation zone for the entire season, Wolverhampton somehow pulled out a string of results that gave them a place in the Premier League for another season.
A pair of 3-1 wins over Sunderland and West Brom gave Wolves enough points to go up to 17th place before the final day of the season.
Although they suffered a 3-2 loss, Mick McCarthy's club survived thanks to poor results from Birmingham and Blackpool to give the club a place in Premier League next season and a chance to hold on to key players like Matt Jarvis, who would have exited the club if relegation happened.
Andy Carroll's Record Transfer to Liverpool
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As Kenny Dalglish took charge of Liverpool in January, he was looking for new signings, and he found his man in Andy Carroll.
The amount spent on Carroll was a record for a British player, the Reds paid £35 million for the forward who was one of the leading goal scorers in the first half of the season.
Carroll barely played for Liverpool after the signing because of nagging injuries, the forward played only six games for the Reds this season.
Torres Moves to Chelsea and Does Not Score
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As part of the January transfer window, Liverpool sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea for £50 million.
Torres had scored 65 goals for Liverpool in four years at Anfield, and Chelsea were expecting a similar goal amount but were disappointed.
El Nino played in 14 games for Chelsea this season and was only able to produce one goal.
With the amount of forwards on the Chelsea roster, Torres will have to score more next season, or he could spending more time on the bench, especially with a new manager coming to Stamford Bridge.
Stuart Holden Impresses at Bolton
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Not many people expected the American midfielder to have such a productive season at the Reebok Stadium, but by midseason, Holden was getting many praises.
Holden's season was cut short on March 19th after Manchester United's Jonny Evans made a tackle on the midfielder that left him with a torn ACL.
Holden hopes to be back for next season as he will miss the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the United States as he recovers from his injury.
Chicharito Becomes United's Next Star
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A year ago, few Premier League fans knew about Mexican forward Javier Hernandez, also known as Chicharito.
Now, he is one of the best young players in the league.
The 22-year-old garnered some attention at the World Cup last summer, but it took until his first goal on Oct. 16th to actually show United fans what he was all about.
Chicharito easily found his way past Dimitar Berbatov in the lineup selection, and with 13 goals this season, he will be a compliment to Wayne Rooney for years to come.
Tottenham's Late, Succesful Signing of Rafael Van Der Vaart
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After a process that took an extra day after the transfer window close, Rafael van der Vaart became a member of Tottenham Hotspur, which came as a shock to many fans.
After falling out of favor at Real Madrid and almost transferring to Bayern Munich, the Dutchman ended up at White Hart Lane and was a huge key to Spurs' success.
The 28-year-old midfielder did not disappoint the anticipation that Spurs fans had for him scoring goals as he netted 13 on the season as Spurs finished fifth and advanced to the Europa League.
Arsenal Loses Momentum After Carling Cup Defeat
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After their defeat in the Carling Cup final to Birmingham on Feb. 27th, the Gunners started a slide that included elimination from the Champions League and FA Cup in the same week.
After being eliminated from the two competitions, all the Gunners had left to win was the Premier League, and they failed at that as well as they slid down the table all the way to fourth place and will now have to qualify for the Champions League group stage through the third-round playoff.
Darren Bent Moves from Sunderland to Aston Villa
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One of the more successful and under the radar signings in January was the move of England forward Darren Bent to Aston Villa from Sunderland.
With Gabriel Agbonlahor out of favor and Emile Heskey not as productive as usual, Villa manager Gerard Houllier went after Bent and got towards the end of January.
Bent scored nine goals with Villa this season after scoring eight with Sunderland in the first half of the season.
Martin O'Neill Resigns as Villa Manager Days Before the Season
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After four years in charge of Aston Villa, Martin O'Neill resigned on Aug. 9th due to a disagreement with the club's ownership.
O'Neill was upset about not having enough funds for transfers in the summer, and it was enough to make him resign and then the club hired Gerard Houllier a few weeks later.
Stoke Makes FA Cup Final
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Stoke made a surprise run to the final of the FA Cup before losing to Manchester City at Wembley, 1-0.
What made the run extremely impressive was the amount of goals scored by the Potters as they had wins of 3-0 over Brighton in the Round of 16 and a 5-0 romp of Bolton in the semifinals.
Tony Pulis' club fell short however and failed to go all the way and win the FA Cup.
Another American Group Takes over Liverpool
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After the long saga that fans and players went through with Tom Hicks and George Gillett owning the Merseyside club, another group of Americans surprisingly stepped in to buy the club.
New England Sports Ventures, the group that also owns MLB's Boston Red Sox, stepped in and bought the club in a much needed change of ownership.
NESV were able to provide the club with money to go out and get Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez during the January transfer window.
Big Sam Gets Boot from New Owners
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Three weeks after new owners, Venky's of India, took over Blackburn Rovers, Sam Allardyce was sacked on Dec. 13th much to his surprise.
The sacking came a day after a 2-1 loss to Bolton and two weeks after an embarassment at Old Trafford when Rovers lost 7-1.
Steve Kean took over as caretaker manager and then was given the job until the end of the season when the club finished in 15th place, barely surviving the relegation race.
Wigan Survives Relegation Race After Horrible Start
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After losing 4-0 to newcomers Blackpool and then 6-0 to Chelsea the next week, many fans and critics had predicted that Wigan would finish in last place and that Roberto Martinez had spent too much time being an analyst at the World Cup instead fulfulling his job as manager.
Martinez survived the whole year, and so did the club in the Premier League, thanks to a 3-2 win over West Ham and then a 1-0 win over Stoke in the last game of the season.
Latics fans will hope for a more promising start to next season and not to be in the relegation race all season.
Consistent Clubs Struggle Early on
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Usually consistent clubs Everton and Fulham had sluggish starts to the season as both clubs struggle to win games with both gaining three wins a piece before New Years.
Both teams had many draws with both teams hitting double-digit draws by New Years, Everton had 11 and Fulham had 10.
The Toffees and Cottagers got their act together in the second half of the season as they finished seventh and eighth respectively.
West Ham Relegated with Many International Players
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West Ham were the first team relegated to the Championship this season, but if you look at their roster, you wonder how does a team with all these internationals get relegated.
With Carlton Cole, Matthew Upson, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Jonathon Spector, Rob Green and Scott Parker all with international caps, a roster with this experience should have stayed up.
But due to injury and poor performance, the Hammers' six-year run in the Premier League was brought to an end and many of those internationals will move on from Upton Park.
