English Premier League: 10 Reasons 2010-11 Was the Best EPL Season Ever
The Premier League's inception in 1992 was something of a year zero for English football. A line drawn in the sand between the tiring, hooligan-blighted product of years previous and the truly global conquest it has since gone on to be.
There have been some truly memorable seasons since then, and the 2010/11 campaign just finished was without doubt one of the best.
From the gung-ho return of Blackpool to top-flight football to the return of "King" Kenny Dalglish to Liverpool, here are 10 reasons why this may well have been the best Premier League season ever.
Blackpool's Attack on the Premier League
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Few newly-promoted sides have attacked the Premier League with quite so much much vigour as Blackpool.
Led by captain and maverick midfielder Charlie Adam, Blackpool opted to take games to the opposition rather than sit back and defend. Critics would argue this is a strategy that cost them their place in the Premier League. But that ignores the fact that they were only relegated on the final day, as also were Birmingham City, a team with a decidedly more negative approach.
Along the way they scored 55 goals, the most out of the bottom eight sides, and recorded memorable victories over Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
While their lack of defensive quality ultimately hurt them, players like the aforementioned Adam as well as DJ Campbell and David Vaughan were some of the season's brightest performers.
Then there was of course their manager...
Ian Holloway
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Ian Holloway was more than just one of the most entertaining personalities to grace the touchlines and press-rooms of Premier League stadiums. It was his vision of attacking, pressing football that inspired his Blackpool side into the Premier League in the first place.
With that said, Holloway was without doubt a breath of fresh air for the league. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, he mixed passion with some of the more amusing analogies and metaphors to come out of a football manager's mouth.
It made a refreshing change to the cliches and platitudes employed by the likes of Harry Redknapp and the gloomy, aggressive tone often employed by Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson (with one specific exception).
Holloway goes back down to the Championship now. But Premier League fans should be hoping he and his team return sooner rather than later.
Sir Alex Ferguson Calling out Wayne Rooney with a Press Conference Monologue
3 of 10When it was revealed in October that Wayne Rooney had decided not to sign a new contract with Manchester United and wanted to leave the club, his manager Sir Alex Ferguson opened up to the media with a frank and passionate monologue on the issue.
Ferguson's openness was almost as startling as Rooney's decision. But the calm, calculated manner in which he called out his star-striker ended the situation almost as quickly as it arose. This writer's words cannot do it justice, so check out the video.
It was a reminder of Ferguson's power and talent in management and a real ignition of his team's drive for the title.
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The January Transfer Window Lived Up to the Hype
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The complicated nature of trying to engineer a transfer midway through the football season has nearly always ensured that the January transfer window, though equally filled with rumours and speculation, has not witnessed the kind of big name, big money deals that go down in its summer counterpart.
This year, for once, the deals lived up to the hype.
It was common knowledge Fernando Torres was not entirely happy, but few hadn't anticipated him leaving in January. Even fewer had thought his destination would be rivals Chelsea, and even for the big-spending West Londoners, the sum of £50 million far exceeded their previous most expensive signing.
This set the wheels in motion for Liverpool splashing out much of their profit on two strikers to replace their previously beloved Spaniard. One of the most highly-touted strikers of recent seasons, Ajax's Luis Suarez, was finally snapped up by one of the big European clubs purported to be interested in him.
If one of the stars of the World Cup wasn't enough, the Reds then went onto spend £30 million on one of the rising stars of English football, Newcastle United's Andy Carroll.
As it turned out, bar some strong performances of familiar guile and skill by the Uruguayan Suarez, the big money buys of January left a lot to be desired for in their initial months at their new clubs. But it was nice to have some actual mega-deals from the January sales to talk about for once!
The Return of "King" Kenny Dalglish
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Though the circumstances that led to it were not entirely palatable to those outside of Liverpool, the return of Kenny Dalglish to the Liverpool hotseat was one of the season's best stories.
The nostalgia factor of the man who had taken them so such glory as a player and manager coming home was naturally huge, that he delivered and re-energised Liverpool's season was also an interesting prospect for the rest of the league.
Dalglish took Liverpool to a point where Champions League football was in sight for a few moments. Though it proved a bridge too far, that they got within such a distance suggests the potential for a more substantial tussle with what is becoming the new "Big Six" promises much for next season. The exchange of words with Arsene Wenger after Liverpool snatched a late draw at Arsenal suggesting there could be some fireworks along the way too.
West Brom Showing Signs They Might Finally Lose That "Yo-Yo" Tag
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West Bromwich Albion have rightly received a lot of praise for their careful financial management on their several forays into the Premier League over the past decade. Where others have spent heavily and subsequently paid the price when it didn't ensure they remained a top-flight club, the Baggies' common sense has meant they have been able to return to the Premier League time and time again.
Naturally, this has been at times frustrating for the club's supporters. Though they avoided relegation on the final day of the 2004/05 campaign, they did go back down to the championship the next season.
A bright start this season faded into troubling loss of form heading into the busy Christmas fixture period, resulting in the unfortunate sacking of Roberto Di Matteo. While it was a harsh dismissal for a manager who did so well in getting them promoted, his replacement was an inspired choice by the West Brom board.
Roy Hodgson did a fantastic job with Fulham, not only keeping them in the division but sowing the seeds that has led them to becoming one of the best teams outside of the top six or seven. The manner in which he helped West Brom become one of the in-form sides of the second half of the season bodes well for the club.
Their previous leaky defence upped their game, while some of the club's best attacking talent like Chris Brunt and Peter Odemwingie flourished. Hodgson brought similar performances out of the established names at Fulham in his first season then added some sound acquisitions as the club pushed forward and enjoyed that terrific run to the Europa League final.
Signs are West Brom might finally drop the "yo-yo" tag and henceforth be referred to as an established Premier League club.
The Evolution of Stoke City
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Few teams have been as divisive in recent seasons as Stoke City.
There are those full of admiration for the way Tony Pulis put together a tough and pragmatic side that achieved their objective of remaining in the Premier League. Others have sniffed at their physical, direct football and their continued deployment of Rory Delap's cannon long-throws.
This writer admittedly edged towards the latter for a time, especially in regards to those Delap throw-ins. But credit where credit is due; since their promotion, Stoke have progressed as their experience warranted it.
The Potters have evolved from doing what was necessary to survive, to now coloring their direct approach with brushes of style and just a little panache. The fast, skillful and most importantly effective wing-play of Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington meant the Britannia Stadium faithful were witness to two of the star players of the season.
Augmented by the persistent trickery of Jonathan Walters up-front and a continued adherence to strength and solidity throughout the rest of the team, Stoke were one of the most dangerous prospects in the league, most typified by their demolition of Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup semi-final.
The Calibre of Attacking Talent on Display
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Followers of Spain's La Liga would argue that they are witness to the best talent on offer in Europe. While past stars like Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo have long moved on, the Premier League still boasts a vast array of some of the most skillful, talented and entertaining players around.
Few of the stars this year dazzled quite as consistently as the aforementioned two, but the occasional sparkles were well worth watching. Also, arguably in the Premier League era, there has never been quite as good a spread of talent among the teams as there is now.
The top six offered up stunning displays from Wayne Rooney, Samir Nasri, Gareth Bale, David Silva, Carlos Tevez, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Javier Hernandez.
Further down, you could witness the goal threats of Everton's Jermaine Beckford, Fulham's Clint Dempsey and Darren Bent at Sunderland and later Aston Villa. While in the bottom half Charlie Adam, Craig Gardner, Matthew Etherington, Scott Parker and Peter Odemwingie, to name but a few, all contributed goals and performances that lit up Saturday afternoons throughout the season.
The Thrilling Conclusion to the Relgation Battle
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Five teams went into the final day of the season hoping not to be one of the two clubs filling the two remaining relegation spots. What transpired was quite possibly the most exciting conclusion to a relegation battle the Premier League has ever seen.
Blackpool were leading Manchester United 2-1 at one point, suggesting Ian Holloway's side might spoil the Red Devil's title celebrations and ensure their own safety. They were quickly brought back down to earth as United went onto win 4-2.
Perhaps more unexpectedly than the possibility of Blackpool winning at Old Trafford was the shocking first-half capitulation of Wolves at home to rivals for the day Blackburn Rovers. With so much on the line, the bad timing of their 3-0 deficit looked to have ended their two year stay in the Premier League.
As Birmingham City drew level with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, they looked to be the beneficiaries before Wolves finally woke up and got two goals back against Blackburn. This put Birmingham down, a realisation they only comprehended too late, which was then rendered futile by a late Tottenham winner.
Wigan did their job and beat Stoke 1-0. And if all this reads confusingly now, it was a whole lot more exciting watching it happen!
Everybody Beat Everybody
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Some observers have argued this was a down year for the Premier League. Nobody really excelled, with perhaps only Manchester United remaining out of the grasp of inconsistency. Everybody was beating each other.
Yet this was precisely why it was one of the best seasons in the Premier League's nearly 20-year history.
From Wolves ending United's unbeaten run and Blackpool winning at Anfield, to the near-weekly battles between the top six that saw them all beat each other, it was as competitive and unpredictable season as we are likely to witness.
Whether this was because the gap between clubs throughout has become closer to the best sides aren't quite as good as they were in years gone by, we should not sniff at such excitement and entertaining football.
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