Tottenham
Season round-up
After their 4th place finish last season, fans of Tottenham may be disappointed at their failure to make the Champions League again this year. That said, in an ever competitive Premier League, Tottenham have still had an impressive season and must strive to keep the likes of Luka Modric, Rafael Van Der Vaart and Gareth Bale. The distraction of the Champions League may have affected their domestic performances and Tottenham fans will hope they can aim for a top four finish next season.
Key-player
Rafael Van Der Vaart – Has been Tottenham’s best player this season and the exact kind of player they needed to take them to the next level. He finished the season as the clubs top scorer, with 13 goals and 9 assists. People are questioning whether he will stay after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League but he has quashed those rumours, insisting he is happy at White Hart Lane.
Honourable Mentions
Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Huerelho Gomes
Key signings
William Gallas, Free, Arsenal – Has played very well since his move from bitter rivals, Arsenal. He has appeared in 31 of Tottenham’s league appearances and played without the attitude he sometimes showed at Arsenal.
Sandro, £6 Million, Internacional – Has been more suited to Tottenham’s European campaign than the league, coping with pace better. He featured more in the final run in of the season and scored 1 goal in the 1-2 defeat to Chelsea.
Stipe Pletikosa, Loan, Spartak Moscow – The Croatian number one has failed to make an appearance for Tottenham, coming in behind Gomes and Carlo Cudicini.
Rafael Van Der Vaart, £8 Million, Real Madrid – See above.
Bongani Khumalo, £1.5 Million, Supersport Utd – Hasn’t featured this season.
Steven Pienaar, £3 Million, Everton – Has barely featured since his move from Everton but has shown he is a skillful player, like he did at Goodison Park.
William Gallas
Next Season?
Keeping Harry Redknapp away from Chelsea, as well as maintaining the services Modric, Bale and Van Der Vaart are essential. Spurs have been linked with Ben Foster, Scott Parker, Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Ipswich’s teenage sensation Conor Wickham and with these acquisitions, Spurs will look to make the top 4 again next season.
Conor Wickham
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West Brom
Season round-up
Roberto Di Matteo’s sacking seemed strong at first, but West Brom have been a different side since Roy Hogdson took over from him in February. There Premier League survival was guaranteed before the final day of the season thanks to their squad, most notably Chris Brunt and Peter Odemwinge.
Key-player
Peter Odemwinge – Odemwinge was by far West Brom’s best player this season and scored 15 goals, along with 9 assists. West Brom may have a tricky task keeping hold of him over the summer but this will be essential if they hope to maintain their Premier League status next season.
Honourable Mentions
Chris Brunt, Youssouf Mulumbu, Jerome Thomas
Key signings
Gabriel Tamas, £800k, Auxerre – Was in the starting line-up in every game but one under Di Matteo, but has not featured as heavily under Hodgson.
Steven Reid, Free, Blackburn – Has had a torrid time with injuries over the last few seasons and his 1 goal and 6 assists were a credit to him as he managed 23 appearances for The Baggies.
Boaz Myhill, £1.5 Million, Hull – Only played 6 games this season, as backup to Scott Carson, conceding 13 goals along the way.
Nicky Shorey, Undisc. Aston Villa – Appeared in 28 games this season, after a disappointing time at Villa and has been a mainstay of the West Brom defence.
Peter Odemwinge, £2.5 Million, Lokomotiv Moscow – See above.
Somen Tchoyi, Undisc. Red Bull Salzburg – Tchoyi has managed 6 goals in the few appearances he has made, including a hat-trick on the final day of the season against Newcastle.
Marc-Antoine Fortune, Undisc. Celtic – Has not been among the goals as much has he may have hoped thanks to the form of Odemwinge. Fortune only managed 2 goals despite appearing in 29 games this season.
Paul Scharner, Free, Wigan – Featured in all but 2 games this season and notched up 4 goals. The versatile midfielder has been in good form since his move from Wigan.
Carlos Vela, Loan, Arsenal – Managed 2 goals in the 8 appearances he made, mainly from the bench. May return to West Brom as his future at Arsenal is still uncertain.
Somen Tchoyi
Next Season?
Will hope to play with the same form they have started with under Hodgson and keeping Odemwinge may be difficult. They have been linked with Fulham stiker Andy Johnson as well as a return for former goalkeeper, Tomasz Kuszczak. Leicester City’s Welsh midfielder, Andy King has also been linked with The Baggies.
Tomasz Kuszczak
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West Ham
Season round-up
West Ham’s decision to stand by Avram Grant, despite the results going against him, were the reason for their relegation. With a team that possesses such depth and quality, fans will be at a loss to explain how they’ve ended up in the Championship. The interference from David Gold and David Sullivan has not helped team morale and their promotion back to Premier League is not a guarantee without investment and making sure top players stay at Upton Park.
Key-player
Scott Parker – Parker will be remembered for one of the only players who played with the determination to attempt to keep West Ham in the topflight. It is therefore, unsurprising that he is wanted by a whole host of Premiership clubs, including Liverpool and Tottenham. Having finally established himself in the England team you can be Parker will want to stay playing at the top level to maintain his position.
Honourable Mentions
Robert Green, Frederic Piquionne, Carlton Cole
Key signings
Thomas Hitzlsperger, Free, Lazio – Was injured early on in preseason but has played every minute of every game since his return at the end of February. Since then he has managed 2 goals and 4 assists. Maybe if he had been available earlier in season, West Ham’s fate may have been different.
Pablo Barrera, £4 Million, Pumas – Featured frequently from the bench early in the season, however hasn’t played since mid-January.
Frederic Piquionne, £1 Million, Lyon – Has been relegated with two clubs in two in years but his displays for West Ham and Portsmouth have not justified this, as he has played well. He chipped in with 6 goals and 5 assists but this wasn’t enough to save The Hammers from relegation.
Tal Ben-Haim, Loan, Portsmouth – Ben-Haim played nearly every minute of the 8 games he has played this season but hasn’t turned out in the claret and blue since January.
Winston Reid, £4 Million, FC Midtjylland – The New Zealand international has only played 7 games for The Hammers but missed a big chunk of the season through injury.
Victor Obinna, Loan, Inter Milan – Obinna’s performances have been good but his goal return has not been impressive, getting on the scoresheet only 3 times all season, providing 5 assists. Had West Ham not been relegated there may have been a chance he would return to Upton Park next season, but will now return to the San Siro.
Lars Jacobsen, Free, Everton – After two seasons at Goodison Park where he failed to break into the first team, Jacobsen has been a regular starter for West Ham, playing 24 games.
Robbie Keane, Loan, Tottenham – Didn’t make much of an impact at Upton Park, despite scoring 2 goals he will be mostly remembered for the sitter he missed against Birmingham, which could have given them a vital 3 points.
Gary O’Neill, £2 Million, Middlesbrough – Performed well in his performances with the Hammers until an ankle injury put him out for the remainder of the season.
Demba Ba, Undisc. Hoffenheim – Has been a fantastic signing, scoring 7 goals that were unfortunately, too little too late. Sunderland have reportedly made an approach for the player already and it looks unlikely he will stay at Upton Park.
Wayne Bridge, Loan, Man City – Bridge has performed in all but one game since his arrival at West Ham. It remains to be seen whether he will make the drop to play in the Championship or return to Man City, where I assume he will be transferred.
Demba Ba
Nest Season?
Promotion back to the Premiership is not impossible especially with the array of talent available at Upton Park. Sullivan and Gold need to hire a good manager and stay out of the team affairs. With Wayne Bridge, Robbie Keane, Victor Obinna, Tal Ben-Haim all returning to their parent clubs, Hitzlsperger, Ba, Green, Upson and Parker all likely to leave and with Benni McCarthy already released, West Ham will need to invest if they wish to return to the Premier League. Newcastle’s Danny Simpson and Cardiff’s Jay Bothroyd are being sounded out as new additions to Upton Park.
Jay Bothroyd
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Wigan Athletic
Season round-ups
Wigan managed a last day escape, thanks to a 1-0 victory at Stoke, thanks to Hugo Rodallega. Chairman Dave Whelan stood by Roberto Martinez and it was a gamble that paid off, as Wigan survived the drop. Vital wins against relegation rivals West Ham, Birmingham and Blackpool, as well as Charles N’Zogbia’s form, which saw him finish the season as top scorer, were all key to Wigan’s survival.
Key-player
Charles N’Zogbia – Finished the season as top scorer and was instrumental in the victories over The Lactics relegation opponents. 4 vital goals in 3 games at the tail end of the season helped secure Wigan’s Premier League status.
Honourable Mentions
Hugo Rodallega, Ali Al-Habsi, Antolin Alcaraz
Key signings
James McArthur, £1 Million, Hamilton – McArthur mainly featured as a substitute in his first season at the DW Stadium, making 18 appearances altogether.
Mauro Boselli, £6 Million, Estudiantes – Despite his hefty price-tag, he was a complete failure for the Lactics and his since moved to Genoa on loan.
Ali Al-Habsi, Loan, Bolton – Was a very important factor behind Wigan’s survival and they will look to make his loan move permanent over the summer. Al Habsi successfully pushed Mike Pollitt and Chris Kirkland out of the first team.
Antolin Alcaraz, Free, Club Brugge – Was a strong performer all season, scoring a single goal. Alcaraz was named as Wigan’s captain for a number of games.
Ronnie Stam, £3 Million, FC Twente – Played in every single game until February, but has only featured once since then. He scored his first goal for the club in the 1-1 draw with Bolton.
Steven Caldwell, Free, Burnley – He only appeared in 9 games for Wigan this season, reuniting with his brother Gary, in the heart of the Wigan defence.
Tom Cleverley, Loan, Man Utd – Cleverley looks an exciting prospect and has already been told he will be staying at Old Trafford next season. He finished his first season in the Premiership scoring 4 goals.
Franco Di Santo, Undisc. Chelsea – The giant striker only scored one goal, adding 3 assists. Wigan will hope he can provide more firepower for them next season.
Adrian Lopez, Free, Unattached – Only made a single appearance in the 0-1 loss with Man City.
Connor Sammon, Undisc. Kilmarnock – The youngster played in 7 games since his move and his only goal came in the vital 3-2 victory over West Ham.
Tom Cleverley
Next Season?
With Dave Whelan targeting a top 10 finish next season, he will have to invest in the team next season. While there won’t be megabucks to spend, Martinez has been shrewd in the transfer market in the past and will hope to unearth some gems. Middlesbrough’s Julio Arca has been suggested as a possible target, as well as Coventry goalkeeper, Keiren Westwood.
Keiren Westwood
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Wolverhampton Wanderers
Season round-up
Mick McCarthy’s men survived the drop on the last day of the season and Wolves will look to pick up points against their rivals next season. While they managed to beat Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd, it was against their performances against other relegation candidates where they failed to pick up points and this ultimately led to their final league position.
Key-player
Matt Jarvis – Had a great season at Molineux, playing in all but 1 game. Jarvis served his teammates with 8 assists and 4 goals. He also received his first England call-up and there is speculation to whether he will be playing for Wolves next season, with Liverpool reportedly interested.
Honourable Mentions
Steven Fletcher, Kevin Doyle, Kevin Foley
Key signings
Michael Mancienne, Loan, Chelsea – Made a decent start to the season until he was struck down with a knee injury. He was fit again for the title run in but made some significant errors, including gifting Sebastian Larsson a goal, denying Wolves 3 vital points in their 1-1 draw with Birmingham.
Jelle Van Damme, £2.5 Million, Anderlecht – Scored a goal in one of his 6 appearances but failed to settle and returned to his native Belgium, signing for Standard Liege.
Steven Fletcher, £6.5 Million, Burnley – Fletcher led Wolves’ scoring charts this season, despite mainly appearing from the bench. With 10 goals and 3 assists Fletcher will hope to continue his good form next season.
Stephen Mouyokolo, £2.5 Million, Hull – Only made 4 appearances since his arrival from Hull.
Adlene Guedioura, £2 Million, Charleroi – Scored 1 goal in the 10 appearances he made this season.
Geoffrey Mujangi Bia, Loan, Charleroi – Only made 1 appearance, in which he created an assist in the 3-4 defeat to Man City.
Jamie O’Hara, Loan, Tottenham – Has played in all but 1 game since his arrival from Tottenham, getting on the score sheet 3 times, including a crucial goal on the final day of the season. O’Hara has stated his desire to make his loan deal permanent this summer.
Adam Hammill, £500k, Barnsley – The youngster has been impressive since his arrival from Barnsley and has been a creative force in the Wolves midfield.
Jamie O'Hara
Next Season?
Mick McCarthy will hope to improve his side’s fortunes next season, while keeping hold of Matt Jarvis and making Jamie O’Hara’s move permanent. Millwall’s Steve Morison has been suggested as a possible transfer target, as is John Carew.
John Carew
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