More fans of each Premier League club give their verdict on their own side’s 2021/22 season…
Liverpool
Jordan Chamberlain, Empire of the Kop
Rating: 10/10. Whatever happens. Two cups in the bag, so close to a third already and a Champions League final to come. We’ve played in every possible game and lost only three of them so far.
Best performance: The 3-2 victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. The scoreline was close but the level Liverpool reached at Wembley was insane, blitzing the other best side on the planet and leaving the game over as a contest within 45 minutes.
Player of the season: Before Christmas, Mohamed Salah by a country mile. Since the turn of the year, Sadio Mane. The correct answer is probably Salah, but we’d have won nothing without Alisson. And a big shoutout to the best centre-back in Premier League history, Virgil van Dijk, too.
Player whose time is up: Sadly, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Not good enough for central midfield – great guy, though, and I wish him well.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Kevin de Bruyne is the best central midfielder playing in England I’ve seen since Steven Gerrard.
Happy with your manager? No, get rid of him…! I actually laughed when I read this question.
One learning to take into next season: There’s nothing wrong with a big signing in January if the player fits the bill. Luis Diaz has sparked even more life into an already brilliant Liverpool attack.
Manchester City
Nigel Rothband, The Man City Show podcast
Rating: 9 out of 10. Back-to-back Premier League champions!
Best performance: Chelsea away.
Player of the season: Kevin de Bruyne wins it, although a number get mentioned in despatches, including Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Rodri.
Player whose time is up: With the arrival of both Erling Haaland and Julien Alvarez, one of Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus or Raheem Sterling.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Son Heung-min of Spurs or Chelsea’s Reece James.
Happy with your manager? Next question! Let’s get his next contract extension signed please.
One learning to take into next season: Finishing. It’s ironic that the top-scoring team needs to be more clinical.
Manchester United
Alex Turk, Stretford Paddock
Rating: 3/10. One mark for Cristiano Ronaldo’s return. One mark for another academy product brought through in Anthony Elanga. One mark for the progress being made off the pitch in the club’s hierarchy. Other than that, without doubt the worst season of my lifetime. A nightmare.
Best performance: Tottenham 0-3 United. United’s response to the 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool at Tottenham in a reshuffled system was sensational and one of only a handful of ‘good’ performances this season. The opening day 5-1 mauling of Leeds and the character shown in Michael Carrick’s 2-0 win at Villarreal in the first match after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking are strong contenders.
Player of the season: Ronaldo. David de Gea has saved United from further humiliation and Fred is one of a few who deserve praise, but you can’t look beyond Ronaldo and his 24 goals – where would we be without them?
Player whose time is up: Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He only joined in 2019, but isn’t part of Erik ten Hag’s plans and Jurrien Timber’s expected arrival will spell the end.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Declan Rice. United have plenty of areas to fix, including in defensive midfield. Rice is at the top of the list, is only 23 and would fit Ten Hag’s preferred 4-2-3-1 seamlessly.
Happy with your manager? Ralf Rangnick had an incredibly tough job to pick up the scraps after Solskjaer, but I expected plenty more. He talks a brilliant game but his coaching stint in England has been a disaster. Ten Hag is absolutely the right man to replace him and his efforts to start work as early as possible backs that up.
One learning to take into next season: What Ten Hag says goes. He arrives in England with the same aura Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp carried into Manchester City and Liverpool. Off the pitch, new chief executive Richard Arnold has given football heads the freedom to make football decisions, and Ten Hag should be central to those.
Newcastle United
Matty Renton, The Magpie Channel TV
Rating: 7/10 – considering the sorry state of affairs we were in until Eddie Howe took over. To have comfortably stayed up after no wins in the opening 14 games is remarkable.
Best performance: Beating Everton 3-1 at home. That was the turning point and the atmosphere at St James’ Park was electric.
Player of the season: Joelinton. From failed striker to midfield enforcer. He’s been an absolute powerhouse.
Player whose time is up: Ciaran Clark. Jeff Hendrick. Dwight Gayle… the list goes on.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Kalvin Phillips from Leeds.
Happy with your manager? Over the moon. Howe should win manager of the season for the incredible turnaround he’s achieved.
One learning to take into next year: Don’t panic-buy strikers.
Norwich City
Gary Gowers, My Football Writer
Rating: 1/10. In fact, if Susie Dent could find us a 17th-century word that mashes together woeful, gutless, pathetic, joyless, abject and lamentable, then that’d be our season.
Best performance: Watford 0-3 Norwich City. Considering we only managed a miserable five wins, I’m not exactly spoilt for choice. To think we finished that game so full of hope…
Player of the season: Easy one – Teemu Pukki by a mile. He was the only City player who looked remotely at home in the division.
Player whose time is up: Far too many to mention. Although I should say we’ll not miss any of the high-profile loan players.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Emi Buendia. Obviously we’d all love Kevin de Bruyne, but it was Buendia – who left us for Villa last summer – who would have made such a difference to us this season.
Happy with your manager? No. But equally, it’s impossible to blame either Dean Smith or Daniel Farke when they were both handed such a technically poor and lily-livered squad to work with.
One learning to take into next season: Self-funding doesn’t work in the Premier League. A noble and worthy ideal it may be, but football isn’t going to hang around waiting for Norwich City and their model to become global.
Southampton
Ray Hunt, In That Number
Rating: 4/10. We saw some improvements through the emergence of Tino Livramento, the early goal tally of Armando Broja and more pieces of magic from James Ward-Prowse. But it turned sour quickly. If it wasn’t for the FA Cup run, then that rating would be generous.
Best performance: The win over West Ham at London Stadium on Boxing Day was crucial to turning our season around, but the best has to be the victory at Tottenham – going behind twice, then finding two goals in the last 10 minutes to snatch the points.
Player of the season: It has to be Ward-Prowse, but Kyle Walker-Peters has also been so consistent.
Player whose time is up: The biggest disappointment is Moussa Djenepo. He arrived for £14m but has continuously failed to impress.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: We are crying out for a playmaker of real quality, so I would love to sign Kalvin Phillips from Leeds.
Happy with your manager? The #RalphOut is in full force due to his lack of a plan B. I’m not convinced he knows his best eleven. I want to see him succeed but I’m questioning whether he’s the right fit for what we need right now.
One learning to take into next season: Consistency. We cannot slip into losing streaks or allow another 9-0 or 6-0 thumping.
Tottenham Hotspur
Anna, Spurs XY
Rating: 9/10. It’s almost a perfect 10 considering where we when Antonio Conte took over.
Best performance: I’ll have to say the north London derby at home. That was the night I believed that this team, with these fans, belonged back in the Champions League.
Player of the season: Son Heung-min, without a doubt. To top off his amazing goals, he seems a lovely, genuine person who is passionate about Spurs.
Player whose time is up: It’s time for Harry Winks to move on to a club where he will get more game time.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Kevin de Bruyne – midfield goal and assist machine, with style too.
Happy with your manager? 100%. I just hope he agrees a new longer contract.
One learning to take into next season: Patience. Good things take time. Conte did not have pre-season but all the players benefited and improved under his coaching.
Watford
Matt Rowson, BHaPPY blog
Rating: 1/10. Unremittingly, maliciously miserable and chaotic. Big wins over Manchester United and Everton were incongruous bright spots.
Best performance: Probably our first ever win over Everton at Goodison Park. It showcased an ability to open teams up on the break that we were able to mobilise too rarely.
Player of the season: Hassane Kamara. Signed in January, a gutsy source of positivity in a team devoid of similar.
Player whose time is up: There are a number but Ozan Tufan, unfit and unbothered, was supposed to be our midfield creativity. He was returned to sender in January. Honourable mention for Danny Rose too.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Ashley Barnes. A one-man pub brawl who would inject some much-needed aggression.
Happy with your manager? Which one would that be? Roy Hodgson succeeded in stiffening our limp away performances, but left us punchless and shapeless at home. As for new man Rob Edwards… he looks and feels the part. Let’s see.
One learning to take into next season: Helps to win at home every now and then. Radical, I know.
West Ham United
Mia Claydon, Green Street Hammers
Rating: 8/10 – thanks to an unbelievable journey through European football and David Moyes showing that last season’s final league position was not a fluke.
Best performance: West Ham v Sevilla. One of the best team performances from a West Ham side I’ve ever seen.
Player of the season: Declan Rice or Jarrod Bowen. Five players could conceivably win this, but without Rice or Bowen, the team is unstable. Honourable mention to Craig Dawson – what a season!
Player whose time is up: Arthur Masuaku. He is not a contributor to this team any more, and lacks the quality and confidence we need to progress further.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: I do not hide my love for Manchester City’s Nathan Ake. Him partnering Kurt Zouma or Dawson would be an incredible sight.
Happy with your manager? Absolutely. I know this is just the beginning – Moyes wants silverware.
One learning to take into next season: Discipline needs to improve. It’s clear how passionate they are, which is great, but multiple red cards and fines, as well as Moyes sent to the stands, could all have been avoided.
Wolves
Matt Cooper and Dave Azzopardi, Talking Wolves
Rating: Matt – 6/10; Dave – 7/10
Best performance: Matt – Manchester United away. Wolves came with a gameplan against a faltering United and both Bruno Lage and the team executed it perfectly.
Player of the season: Dave – Jose Sa. Defensively, Wolves have looked shaky, but they still have one of the best records in the league, thanks to the keeper.
Player whose time is up: Matt – Raul Jimenez. The man has given everything to Wolves, but he just doesn’t look the same player post-injury.
Opposition player you’d love at your team: Dave – Renato Sanches. Wolves are desperate for a bit of energy in midfield and Lille’s Portugal international would be a phenomenal addition.
Happy with your manager? Matt – You can’t judge a manager until he is backed and the club have failed to do that this season. However, we’ve shown relegation form in the past two months and that’s alarming.
One learning to take into next season: Dave – Spend properly on players ready for the first team. Wolves have been looking at “investments” over the past few years, and while a few have come good, some haven’t really worked out.
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