Manchester United; season rating: 6/10
Pre-season prediction 1st; Position now 6th
Everyone expected better. There’s no escaping the fact that we’ve drawn 15 games this season in a league where no side has really shone. Maybe I was too optimistic in thinking José Mourinho could waltz in and turn us into challengers overnight but, make no mistake, he’s the right man for the job. We’re still in transition four seasons after Fergie retired: we need more quality and more killer instinct in the final third, and José will address that. We have a Europa League final too, a shot at Champions League football via the back door, and we won the League Cup, so it hasn’t been a barren season.
The stars Valencia has been superb: he has such a physical presence and has steadied the right side of a shaky defence. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was our talisman: he rolled back the years as the focal point of all our attacks until he was injured.
The flops It’s hard to fathom what has gone wrong with Luke Shaw. He used to look like a world beater. And Chris Smalling remains an accident waiting to happen.
Summer targets We need at least five new players: a centre-half to play alongside Eric Bailly, a left-back, a deep-lying midfielder, a centre midfielder and a match-winning striker. It’s too soon to be relying on Rashford and Martial for that. I expect we’ll keep chasing Antoine Griezmann, but he’ll probably end up on the wing if he signs.
Best and worst away fans St Étienne home and away were the best fans I have seen for years. The worst were Liverpool. Strangely subdued.
Moment that made you smile Manchester City fans celebrating winning the league in September.
– Shaun O’Donnell Observer reader
Middlesbrough 1/10
Pre-season prediction Top half; Position now 19th (R)
What a disaster. My 1/10 rating is generous. We knew it would be difficult to stay up after promotion, but we didn’t expect to surrender so meekly and fall so far short of the points mark. Aitor Karanka totally failed to change course and tactics from the Championship. We attempted to draw our way to safety, and that proved a catastrophic policy.
The stars Ben Gibson was one of the few who made the step up in some style, and his call-up to the full England squad was fully deserved. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that he will want to lead us on a quick return route again next season.
The flops Everyone else. The worst of all was Gastón Ramírez. Despite having been given a second chance by Boro when frozen out at Southampton, he wanted out and then appeared to refuse to play. He was a key player and therefore a key reason for our relegation.
Summer targets We’ll need to hang on to the survivors from our promotion team and build on that. But we need a new manager first – someone who will target players with the ability and the character to fight for Championship promotion.
Best and worst away fans The worst were probably Hull in terms of number, but they have special problems with their club owners. In general it was fantastic to welcome so many away fans, and we loved the way Bournemouth’s crowd made such a long trip and took the time to look around, and report so many complimentary things about our town centre.
Moment that made you smile There’s been gallows humour only. This season wasn’t a laughing matter.
– Robert Nichols fmttm.com; @rob_fmttm
Southampton 7/10
Pre-season prediction 9th; Position now 8th
The weirdest season possible. It exceeded expectations in getting to a cup final that we really should have won, but we probably underachieved in Europe and we’ve been hit-and-miss in the league. We’ve struggled to convert chances at home, but mitigating factors – including key injuries and being completely stitched up by the Christmas and end-of-season fixture schedules – mean it’s a “not as bad as some are making out” verdict for me.
The stars Oriol Romeu was a solid 7/10 from August to May, but in truth there were no absolute stars this season. Charlie Austin, Nathan Redmond, Virgil van Dijk and Manolo Gabbiadini have excelled in patches, but getting that quality out of each of them on a more consistent basis will be Claude Puel’s big aim next season, if he’s still here.
The flops Historically, we have a bit of an issue with club record signings. Ulrich van Gobbel, David Hirst, Rory Delap, Gastón Ramírez and Dani Osvaldo have held the dubious honour in the past, and now the baton has been passed to Sofiane Boufal. The talent is there for all to see, but he’s been disappointing.
Summer targets As usual, it depends on who goes. But I think we need a new keeper: Fraser Forster’s saves-to-shots ratio is abysmal for a top-flight keeper.
Best and worst away fans The best of a limited bunch were probably the 1,500 or so from Hapoel Be’er Sheva. The worst? Sparta Prague’s 200 seemed interested only in fighting the police.
Moment that made you smile The Sam Allardyce sting operation. It meant I had to endure only one England game under his management.
– Steve Grant SaintsWeb.co.uk; @SteveGrant1983
Stoke City 4/10
Pre-season prediction 10th; Position now 14th
A hugely disappointing season, for a number of reasons. Losing in both cup competitions early on set the tone for the whole campaign. We had no memorable victories against the elite seven clubs; we played consistently negative football; the manager picked his favourites; and we had too many defeats by four goals. Mark Hughes has had a rotten season, and the funereal atmosphere during the players’ lap of honour added to the case for a change. If we finish any higher than 14th it won’t be a fair reflection on our performances this season.
The stars With Jack Butland missing the majority of the season we needed someone to fill his gloves and thankfully we found Lee Grant. If it hadn’t been for Grant we would have been far lower down the table. Not only the star of the Stoke side, I would say one of the best goalkeepers in the league this season.
The flops Where do we start? Glen Johnson hasn’t looked the same player since his return from injury; Erik Pieters has looked shaky; Wilfried Bony has been a huge let-down; Giannelli Imbula hasn’t lived up to his £18 million price tag; and Xherdan Shaqiri has spent far too much time on the treatment table.
Summer targets We need to start with Bruno Martins Indi. He’s been our best outfield player: we have to retain his services. A left-back and a central midfielder are crucial areas of the team, too.
Best and worst away fans Spurs best, Liverpool worst.
Moment that made you smile Peter Crouch’s 100th Premier League goal – and the robot celebration that followed.
– Rob Holloway Observer reader
Sunderland 0/10
Pre-season prediction 13th; Position now 20th (R)
It was wretched. It reminded me of Blackadder’s critique of Baldrick’s war poem: “It started badly, tailed off in the middle and the least said about the ending the better.” We went into it hoping to build on the progress made under Sam Allardyce and most fans welcomed the appointment of David Moyes – a pragmatic and safe choice. Or so we thought. He made Eeyore sound like Norman Wisdom on nitrous oxide with his downbeat assessments. We didn’t win a game until October and scraped together five more in the whole season.
The stars Jordan Pickford is a potential England mainstay, and Jermain Defoe’s goals gave us a smidgeon of hope through the winter.
The flops The rest. Fabio Borini was a particular disappointment, and Adnan Januzaj cemented his place in anyone’s worst ever Sunderland XI.
Summer targets We need at least seven players. The manager has been working on it, so we can expect a load of ex-Evertonians pitching up in July.
Best and worst away fans Swansea roared their team to safety, and Everton always travel well. Frankly, most fans who came to Sunderland went home happy. Arsenal’s incessant angst annoys the life out of me, though. They should be given an award by the British Banner Towing Association.
Moment that made you smile There was nothing to smile about at all. But at least Jermain Defoe showed the human side of football with his love for Bradley Lowery. Defoe is a fine man as well as a fine footballer.
– Pete Sixsmith SalutSunderland.com
Swansea City 4/10
Pre-season prediction 13th; Position now 17th
It’s been a shambles. The season started with the controversial American takeover, as our former major shareholders turned their attentions away from improving the squad to ensuring the sale went through without consulting the Supporters’ Trust. That meant Francesco Guidolin wasn’t backed in the summer window, and was soon, as expected, sacked. Then came Bob Bradley, one of the worst Premier League managers of all time. 11 games later and it’s another sacking. Then we finally get it right with the arrival of Paul Clement – and fortunately for us he was able to pull off a minor miracle and save our disastrous season.
The stars Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente: I don’t think there’s a better combination for assists and goals than those two, and without them we’d have definitely been relegated.
The flops Record £15m signing Borja Bastón has appeared only a handful of times and scored just once. It’s been baffling. He even lost his place on the bench to youngster Oli McBurnie in some games.
Summer targets Our chairman doesn’t believe a major overhaul is needed, but the last two seasons suggest otherwise. There’s still 10-12 players in the squad who aren’t Premier League standard.
Best and worst away fans Stoke were silent for the entire game. The best were Crystal Palace: not quite as loud as previous seasons but they still created more atmosphere than any other club.
Moment that made you smile Becoming a Palace fan for a couple of hours as they beat Hull 4-0. We were all celebrating, players included.
– Kevin Elphick Swansea.VitalFootball.co.uk
Tottenham Hotspur 9/10
Pre-season prediction 5th; Position now 2nd
Much like the season before, too many draws before Christmas have ultimately cost us – but only Spurs had it in them to mount a title challenge to Chelsea. Mauricio Pochettino has only enhanced his reputation. The one disappointment was such a dreadful Champions League campaign.
The stars Harry Kane and Dele Alli showed remarkable consistency during the long winning streak, but Mousa Dembélé is still the most important part of the jigsaw. Christian Eriksen has the odd bad game but is a delightful footballer to watch. Danny Rose has improved a great deal too and, while he took a while to adjust, Victor Wanyama has been excellent.
The flops Eric Dier took a long time to reach last season’s levels. He’s not a good enough central defender yet to play in a back four but has the awareness to be part of a three. It’s harsh to call Vincent Janssen a flop as his hold-up play is good but he could do with a fast start next season. And evidence of precisely how and why Moussa Sissoko is a professional footballer remains thin on the ground.
Summer targets Janssen is worth persevering with but a real goal threat if Kane isn’t firing would be good – we could do worse than Jermain Defoe.
Best and worst away fans Bayer Leverkusen were excellent at Wembley, banging their booming drums. Chelsea fans’ sense of entitlement is unpleasant.
Moment that made you smile Harry Redknapp keeping Birmingham up, after all those endless but amusing gags about signing Niko Kranjcar on a short-term deal.
– Alex Preston Observer reader
Watford 5/10
Pre-season prediction 14th; Position now 16th
We’ve stayed up, if barely, and despite a systematically vicious injury list. We’ve beaten Manchester United, won at Arsenal and come back from two down to win at West Ham. So the head says we’ve done fine, but the eyes and the heart have had a tougher time of it. Our play has been shapeless, we’ve been pretty ugly and have lacked spirit. That injury crisis meant Walter Mazzarri rarely had anything like a full hand to deal with, but the low priority he attached to learning English limited his ability to develop a relationship with the support, who found little reason to side with him as things started to go pear-shaped. His exit was no surprise and he won’t be mourned, much as it fuels the lazy labelling of the club’s management.
The stars Deeney, Gomes and José Holebas were the stalwarts; Abdoulaye Doucouré and Tom Cleverley have both done well since January.
The flops Isaac Success hasn’t been the instant smash that his early cameos threatened, although injuries haven’t helped. M’Baye Niang’s loan featured flashes of brilliance and quite a lot of not looking terribly bothered.
Summer targets The average age of the senior side is high; we need legs and energy all over the pitch but especially at the back. Nathan Aké would be splendid.
Best and worst away fans Sunderland had staying power, and a nod and thanks to Boro for their respectful participation on the Saturday after Graham Taylor’s passing. None stand out as awful.
Moment that made you smile Payet et al, who were showboating at 2-0 up after half an hour at West Ham, looking less cocky at 4-2 down.
– Matt Rowson BHappy.wordpress.com; @mattrowson
West Brom 6/10
Pre-season prediction 14th; Position now 9th
It’s such a difficult season to assess. Fans are divided, as tends to happen with teams managed by Tony Pulis. The pro camp are saying it’s been a success based on where we’re likely to finish; the anti camp are saying its been average at best, with a poor showing in the cups and an awful last three months. What everyone can agree on is that the middle part, between October and February, was very good given the squad and the lack of investment last summer. Overall I’d say Pulis did a brilliant job to get the squad to eighth for so long, but questions have to be asked about five points from the last 11 games. I’d liken the season to a confused sandwich. A lovely bit of prime rare beef between two pieces of mouldy bread.
The stars Unsurprisingly for a team based on defence, the stars were Jonny Evans and Ben Foster. Matty Phillips was excellent too, until injury ruined his season.
The flops Nacer Chadli faded badly. Rondón, after a great couple of months before Christmas, has looked a shadow of the player I feel he can be. And Darren Fletcher’s standards have dipped.
Summer targets Strikers. We also need pace in midfield, and a left-back. Repeat to fade…
Best and worst away fans Bournemouth really got behind their team. But Chelsea lording it up in the home sections, no matter how they got hold of tickets, was poor.
Moment that made you smile The comedy value, especially early in the season, provided by the tweets of Villa chairman Tony Xia. He rivalled Trump.
– Richard Jefferson WBAunofficial.org.uk/forum; @richbaggie
West Ham 5/10
Pre-season prediction 6th; Position now 12th
A traumatic season: poor signings, new stadium problems and Dmitri Payet’s strike almost took the club down. Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool enjoyed thrashing us at home and at times it was embarrassing. But team spirit improved after Payet left. Bilic deserves credit for holding it all together – but he also has to take the blame for transfers.
The stars Michail Antonio has given everything in a variety of positions, while Lanzini has made the playmaker position his own following the departure of a certain Frenchman. Credit to James Collins for inspiring some late-season solidity and Mark Noble for playing on with a hernia. Andy Carroll scored the goal of the season against Palace but, as ever, just can’t stay fit. He’s even added whiplash to his list of injuries.
The flops Virtually all the signings, particularly Zaza. Sam Byram looks inexperienced, and André Ayew hasn’t looked like a £20m striker. José Fonte had a poor start and Snodgrass just hasn’t got going.
Summer targets A new right-back and a top-quality striker who doesn’t get injured – Sturridge is too risky. And the huge number of injuries also suggests we could do with an improved medical/fitness team.
Best and worst away fans Best were Arsenal for their rather witty chant of “Is this the Emirates?” The worst were oligarch-owned Chelsea for trying to claim moral superiority with the chant: “You sold your soul for this shithole!”
Moment that made you smile The speedy rewording of our Payet chant. And the uplifting “Super Slaven Bilic” chants against Palace: that’s when the stadium started to feel more like home.
– Pete May Author of Goodbye to Boleyn; HammersInTheHeart.blogspot.co.uk
