The Premier and Championship
Sky will not get the rousing finale of the season going from ground to ground with breathless coverage but rather a damp squib. The only issue to resolve is fourth place and surely Liverpool can get 3 points at home to Middlesbrough to achieve that . Not that the season is without interest . We have had the mighty revival of Chelsea who under new manager Antonio Conte and in his first season in the Premier may well achieve the double. Spurs have finished second and just as importantly above Arsenal , appropriately for their last season at White Hart Lane though they have scarcely moved far. They do not pay the wages of their peers but have secured their young stars on long contracts. Arsene Wenger seems to have won the war against the vocal critical fans and reached a compromise with the board and chief executive over appointing a sporting director . Manifestly they are not the force they were without a league title for 13 years and elimination at the round of 16 in the Champions League 7 consecutive seasons . Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp with his bubbly personality has achieved much at Liverpool but they need o be more consistent and acquire a 20 goal striker if they are actually going to win anything .
I bear no allegiance to any Premier side but I do like Southampton. I was surprised that after eighth place and finalist in the League Cup new manager’s Claude Puel’s position should be under review. Southampton have long been a selling club too and Puel had to start with a new deck of cards. He deserves a second season more than Pep Guardiola who with far greater resources has won precisely nothing at Manchester City.
We also went into The Championship’s final day with all the issues decided. So much as that the teams already in the play offs could rest players. Fulham played the best football in the division losing out to cynical, clinical Reading but at least Huddersfield ‘s flair disposed of the more pragmatic Sheffield Wednesday in their play off semi final. Huddersfield’s slick passing under manager Wagner, the number two to Klopp at Dortmund , would grace the top flight. Reading, Huddersfield and Fulham finished 17,18 and 2o last season which shows what a fluid league the Championship is as you could hardly expect Watford or Swansea to be a top six side next season. With two of the promoted teams, Middlesbrough and Hull coming right back again , this does not bode well for Brighton and the play off winner.
I have noted that the Premier is now more rarely called the best league in the world. None of its teams made an impact in the Champions League though Manchester United , another team in decline, are contesting the Europa League final. Perhaps Conte’s Chelsea can challenge Bayern, Barcelona, Real and Atletico Madrid and Juventus but I doubt it.
