Premier League season in review

So there it is, another Premier League season confined to the record books and an episode of Premiership Years. I'm sure I'll be forgiven for pointing out that it wasn't exactly a vintage one.

Chelsea eventually came to provide its main highlights. They put seven goals each past Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke City, and signed off yesterday with an 8-0 thrashing of Wigan Athletic, who managed to keep it below the nine they conceded to Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the season. In doing so, Carlo Ancelotti's men secured a title which was thoroughly deserved but not won convincingly.

While Michael Essien and the in-form Ashley Cole was lost to lengthy injuries and John Terry did little to enhance his reputation on or off the pitch, a handful of players further up the field were unswervingly reliable. Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda and Golden Boot winner Didier Drogba always seemed to be present on the scoresheet and each had arguably his best season. Lampard in particular was brilliant, even if he doesn't shout about it so much these days.

For all Chelsea's ability and coolness under pressure, the fact that they were able to slip up all too often and yet still have it all in their own hands yesterday shows that their rivals aren't quite in their league. Liverpool quickly fell away, losing matches far too easily and dropping points in games they would, back in August, have been expected to win. The blind support for Rafael Benitez by a large portion of Liverpool's fans is puzzling in the extreme. Even within the context of unfortunate ownership, the Spaniard has failed spectacularly this season.

Arsenal improved a lot this season and took their title challenge further than predicted. A number of Arsene Wenger's young players are starting to come into their own and the team as a whole seems mentally stronger than in seasons past. Adversity no longer spells doom. Unfortunately for the Gunners it was another campaign of 'what if'. Chiefly, supporters will ask 'what if Robin Van Persie wasn't injury prone and we weren't carrying two substandard goalkeepers?'

Chelsea's main challenge came from Manchester United, themselves a shadow of what they used to be. An over-reliance on Wayne Rooney was, like Cristiano Ronaldo, met with admirable vigour by the player himself, but the rest of the team wasn't up to it. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes won't be around for much longer and there is much work to be done at Old Trafford. Can Alex Ferguson build another world class team? I wouldn't put it past him.

Lower down, the so-called 'race for fourth' showed that football is resigned to its own futility. In the end, it was Tottenham Hotspur who celebrated fourth (that's the fourth that comes after first, second and third) like a league title win - Manchester City or Aston Villa would have been exactly the same and it's tragic.

Spurs triumphed when City took out Villa's feeble challenge and then fell foul of a late Peter Crouch header at Eastlands, but for me the quest was successful simply because Tottenham faced Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City in the final weeks of the season and beat three of them in style.

The relegation battle was something of a damp squib, and for that West Ham United will be grateful. The Hammers survived in 17th place with just 35 points in the bank. The story at the bottom this season has been financial chaos at Fratton Park, a situation which had a huge effect on Portsmouth's footballing fortunes. Their ten-point penalty wasn't the difference between survival and relegation mathematically, but their relegation reflects badly an all involved behind the scenes.

Joining Pompey in the Championship next season, Burnley might look back at their scientific appointment of Brian Laws and wish they'd taken more of a gamble, but his appointment was almost certainly geared towards next season rather than this. Time will tell on that one - I wouldn't be surprised to see Laws sacked before October and the new man guide the Clarets into the playoffs.

Hull City also face a return to the Championship, and it sounds very much like the rot began a good 18 months ago. George Boateng's comments confirmed what many of us suspected: that Phil Brown's attitude and arrogance cost him the dressing room. But while Boateng's using it as an excuse, it reflects very badly on the players that they allowed their personal baggage to lead to relegation a full season later. Appointing Lord Relegation in Brown's lieu simply put the seal on it.

Credit must go to Fulham and Birmingham City for excellent seasons in which both have been impressive in the league and had very decent cup runs. Roy Hodgson and Alex McLeish will rightly be regarded highly as a result, as should Stoke City's Tony Pulis.

What were your highlights of the season?

(Pic via BBC Sport/AP)