The F365 Players Of The Season - Part Two

The first part of our assessment of the season quite reasonably dealt with the letters A-L, so now to the latter half of the alphabet...


MANCHESTER CITY
Player Of The Season: Stephen Ireland
From hair issues, to grandparent issues, to that ludicrous car, Stephen Ireland's life off the pitch seems fairly tragicomic, but on the pitch he's anything but. In a season when City spent the rough end of £100million on new players, their most dynamic and creative force cost diddly squat. A graduate of the hugely promising City academy, Ireland's tireless running and subtle touches outshone all of the massively expensive purchases, and it's he who Mark Hughes should build his top four challenge around, not Robinho.
Let Down Of The Season: Richard Dunne
What the hell happened here? For years the rock around which City's (limited) success was based, Dunne became something of a liability at times, dropping some stinking clangers to hand goals and points to opposition players at will. Sadly, might be a casualty of the summer rebuilding plans.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Robinho
Sure, he doesn't look arsed most of the time and wouldn't be in Manchester were it not for a massive falling-out in Madrid and a stack load of cash, but Robinho has provided enough flashes of brilliance to prove that he was very much worth buying. However, his signing provides a different purpose altogether, namely that he proves City can get the big names that their owners and probably their Champions League ambitions demand.
They Could've Done With...: Centre forward
City have eight forwards on their books, but none that could realistically be called a top-class centre forward. They tried a number of times to sign Roque Santa Cruz, but failed, and top of their summer shopping list should be, if not the Paraguayan himself, someone in his image.


MANCHESTER UNITED
Player Of The Season: Nemanja Vidic
While a dog of a game against Liverpool and a below-par showing in the Champions League final (although he was hardly alone there) shouldn't be ignored, neither should the other 48 games, in most of which he was a colossus. The run of 14 clean sheets earlier in the season gave many an opportunity to praise Edwin van der Sar, but it had much more to do with Vidic than the keeper, and it was telling that the Serb was missing when that run was broken against Blackburn.
Let Down Of The Season: Dimitar Berbatov
It's the easy answer, but last summer Alex Ferguson put all of his transfer eggs in one lackadaisical Bulgarian basket, and the man who gives new meaning to the word 'languid' hasn't exactly been value for money. While he hasn't been quite as bad as those who prefer the sometimes headless chicken style of Carlos Tevez claim, he has produced nothing like the form he did at Spurs. Nani was a strong contender for this one too, but he still has time to develop.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Rafael da Silva
Brought in last summer as the future, Rafael became the present very rapidly indeed. Along with his twin Fabio, he'll be bombing up and down the flanks of Old Trafford for years to come, and luckily for him United currently have enough cover to allow him to be eased in.
They Could've Done With...: Owen Hargreaves. Only sometimes though
There's a reason Alex Ferguson thought Hargreaves was worth £18million, and it's because there are few better at his job. That job is spoiling, and boy could they have done with Hargreaves against Barcelona. Granted, he might not have been good enough to stop the genius of Xavi and Iniesta, but he would have done a better job than Anderson and Ryan Giggs.


MIDDLESBROUGH
Player Of The Season: Sanli Tuncay
Probably the most underrated player in the Premier League, it felt like Tuncay was carrying Boro on his back for much of the season. The only player who consistently performed for Gareth Southgate, it will be a massive shock if he isn't snapped up this summer.
Let Down Of The Season: Afonso Alves
Crivens. £12.7million? Last season he showed glimpses of promise, that he might one day be worth that beefy sum, but by golly has he regressed. Four goals in 27 league games (although he did bag two against Barrow in the FA Cup...) is a shoddy return for a free transfer, never mind someone who cost that much. Boro will be lucky if they get half their money back for the Brazilian, who has to go down as one of the worst buys made by Southgate. And he bought Didier Digard.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Matthew Bates
If you listen carefully, you can just about hear the sound of a barrel being scraped in F365 Towers. Not much to shout about at all in terms of Southgate's new signings, but Bates did at least show some gumption after being shunted from right-back to central midfield. May well leave come the summer, but for different reasons than Alves.
They Could've Done With...: Replacing key men
Last summer both Lee Cattermole and Mark Schwarzer left the Riverside, and neither were replaced. Replaced convincingly in Cattermole's case, and replaced at all in Schwarzer's, with Southgate trying to muddle through the season by using Brad Jones and Ross Turnbull on some sort of doomed rotation system. Neither proved adequate, and Boro went down.


NEWCASTLE UNITED
Player Of The Season: Sebastian Bassong
Slim pickings here, but Bassong at least represents either a man around which they can base their promotion campaign, or an asset that will actually bring in some revenue. Purchased with an eye on the future last summer, he's turned out to be the lone bright spot in the pitch, pitch black of their campaign.
Let Down Of The Season: The lot of them
It feels unfair to single out one of Newcastle's shambolic collection of overpaid has-beens for special criticism, so we'll simply say this. Apart from Bassong, Steve Harper and sometimes Steven Taylor, they were all terrible.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Sebastian Bassong
See above.
They Could've Done With...: Consistency
People will naturally place all of the blame for Newcastle's demise in front of Mike Ashley's (presumably quite wide) door, but it's well to remember that had Joe Kinnear's - a man appointed by Ashley - heart problems not resurfaced, they would surely have survived. Kinnear stabilised the club after Kevin Keegan's departure, and took them clear of trouble for a while, until a dicky aorta stepped in and they spiralled.


PORTSMOUTH
Player Of The Season: Glen Johnson
With Gary Neville ageing and Wes Brown out for much of the season, the England right-back slot must surely be Johnson's. He's matured beyond all recognition from the raw potential that Chelsea bought back in 2003, and in a reasonably poor and unstable season for Pompey, he has performed with admirable consistency.
Let Down Of The Season: Assorted managers
'Arry Redknapp leaving, Tony Adams being rubbish...take your pick.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Peter Crouch
Imagine what a mess Pompey would be in if they didn't have his 11 league goals.
They Could've Done With...: Not selling their best players
Not so long ago Portsmouth were the paupers of the Premier League, so turning down large stacks of cash for Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe wasn't really an option. However, what might have been had those two stayed? Actually, the downturn started before the transfer window opened and the pair were whisked away, but they would surely have finished higher up the table than they did.


STOKE CITY
Player Of The Season: Abdoulaye Faye
To stand out as particularly physical in a team like Stoke's is a feat and a half, but Faye manages. An absolute beast at the back, Faye fits perfectly with a Stoke strategy that is rarely pretty but often effective. Would you argue with him? Most of the strikers in the Premier League don't seem to have.
Let Down Of The Season: Dave Kitson
After a season like that it almost seems churlish to pick anyone out, but spending £5million on a striker, then sending him back from whence he came six months and no goals later is something of a let down.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: James Beattie
Although Faye was a new signing, the immediate impact of Beattie's goals was invaluable to Stoke. They basically sealed their survival in the ten games between the end of January and the middle of April, a run in which they lost just twice and Beattie bagged five times. At first glance, placing faith in a 30-year old who seemed like he'd well and truly found his level in the Championship looked like a monumental gamble, but not for the first time, we were proved wrong and Tony Pulis right.
They Could've Done With...: People taking them a little more seriously
Although perhaps the 'underdog' spirit was key to their success.


SUNDERLAND
Player Of The Season: Danny Collins
It's been such an odd season at Sunderland that a player who has been solid and unspectacular would stand out rather than blend in. With that in mind, Collins edges out Teemu Taino in the Steady Stakes.
Let Down Of The Season: A faltering strike partnership
It doesn't help that they apparently did not get on at all well, but the failure of Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse to properly gel was a colossal disappointment for Sunderland. 20 league goals between them actually isn't too bad a record, but with their potential, it should have been more, and it's no surprise that they have chosen not to stump up the cash to make Cisse's move permanent. Pascal Chimbonda deserves a mention too, as he does in any list of 'Things That Are Bad'.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Steed Malbranque
It was something of a surprise when Spurs sold Malbranque - a player who seemed happy to fill in as and when required - and the Frenchman has provided some useful attacking impetus from a midfield that often lacks invention.
They Could've Done With...: Some consistency
Whether that's the same manager for the whole season, or a consistent line-up, Sunderland's problem was often that their season was a stop-start-judder affair, eventually limping over the survival line. They used 28 players in the league, and perhaps more importantly only four played more than 30 games. Manchester United can get away with that (they used 33 players) but teams like Sunderland cannot.


TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Player Of The Season: Ledley King
It's simple statistics really. King started 24 league games for Spurs, ten of which they won, giving him a win record of roughly 42%. Without him, they took four wins from the other 14 games, which for the stat fans out there tots up to a little under 29%. If only, if only, if only...
Let Down Of The Season: David Bentley
One of the more curious sights of the season was Bentley appearing for the latter half of Tottenham's final game against Liverpool, having not featured in the league since the beginning of March and not started a game since January. In many ways, his calamitous season is not really his fault. Sure, he's been pretty rubbish, but the fault lies with Spurs for spending £15million on a right-winger when they already had a perfectly good one, and there were plenty of other places in the squad where the money could have been more prudently spent.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Wilson Palacios
Spurs have been screaming for a tough midfielder ever since Edgar Davids left, and finally Harry Redknapp persuaded the guardian of the Lane purse strings that big money was needed to acquire a proper one. His excellence freed Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon to create attacking havoc further forward, as well as providing their often unsure defence with some protection. The most remarkable thing about the awful news of his brother's death in May was that this appalling cloud had been over Palacios for 18 months, when he was kidnapped in Honduras.
They Could've Done With...: Wilson Palacios from the start
If only, if only, if only...


WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Player Of The Season: Chris Brunt
Hmmm, should really be 'Least Rubbish Player Of The Season', but Brunt edges out the always solid Jonathan Greening for some eye-catching displays towards the end of the season.
Let Down Of The Season: Scott Carson
For a while, Carson could get away with blaming the avalanche of goals on the shoddy defence in front of him, but after a while and about a dozen appalling mistakes that excuse started to wear a little thin. He's still capable of the odd outstanding save, but it's not much use after already chucking in three goals a game.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Brunt again
Pffft....by default we suppose.
They Could've Done With...: Erm, lots of things
A better keeper? A convincing defence? Some steel in midfield? A decent striker? Any/all of the above would have been grand.


WEST HAM UNITED
Player Of The Season: Scott Parker
How lucky must Parker feel, having escaped the worst of the shambles at Newcastle before it was too late? Parker has been the very model of consistency when fit (he'd probably like to have played more than 28 times), probing and providing from the centre of midfield. Rob Green deserves a mention too, and England's Number Six should get his chance for Fabio's boys soon, while Herita Ilunga was a pleasant surprise.
Let Down Of The Season: Nobody really
Luis Boa Morte gets a fair bit of abuse, and Savio has thus far done nothing to suggest he's worth the money, but that would be a bit harsh considering he's a mere slip of a lad.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Gianfranco Zola
There's often a feeling that certain figures in the game get praise above their actual ability because they're just really nice guys. That's always something we suspected with Zola the player. Sure, he was great, but perhaps not as good as everyone thinks he was. However, as a manager the praise is justified. He took over a club heading for the financial s**tter back in September, and despite a sticky spell in the autumn he took them to within a gnat's pube of Europe. Carlton Cole deserves a mention too, although the goals did dry up a big after that England call-up.
They Could've Done With...: Dean Ashton being fit
With Cole's goals and Diego Tristan coming good, they were actually okay up top, but imagine how things could have gone with their best striker fit and firing.


WIGAN ATHLETIC
Player Of The Season: Titus Bramble
Suddenly, he looks like a footballer. Previously a byword for tragicomic incompetence, Bramble has been really very useful. If the F365 of a year ago could read these words, we'd be slapped in the mush with a wet fish. There's even talk of an England call. By his teammate Emerson Boyce, granted, but it's still talk.
Let Down Of The Season: Amr Zaki post-October
Ah, the early season promise. Eight goals in the first 11 games got everyone very excited, not least the F365 scribes who placed a wager that he'd top the scoring charts come the end of the season. That's 50p we're never going to see again. If only he hadn't 'gone Bertie' and carried on being really, really good.
Breakthrough/Newbie Of The Season: Charles N'Zogbia
There must be something that we have missed/don't know about, because N'Zogbia should really be plying his trade at a slightly higher level than Wigan (all due respect, etc and so on). Still, at least he's not at Newcastle anymore. The Frenchman provides a genuine threat with his pace and directness that will be all the more important when Antonio Valencia leaves in the summer.
They Could've Done With...: Not selling their best players
Obviously.

Nick Miller

Missed Part One? Don't fret, click here.