19 titles: A look back on a very different Premier League season.

When thinking of where would be the best place to begin this blog there was only one thing that came to my mind as a fan of Manchester United.  The club was able to wrap up its record 19th top division title this past Sunday in what was almost an anti-climactic fashion.  The real big game came a week earlier when United triumph over their closest title rivals, Chelsea, in what was a fairly dominant display.  That win marked the third time this season that United had handed the Blues a crushing defeat having already knocked them out of the Champions League.  The 2-0 win at Old Trafford meant that United were a single point away from claiming that record title and thanks to a Wayne Rooney goal again Blackburn the Red Devils were able to claim a draw and celebrate the title.

Over the course of the season United have had their real ups and downs but history seemed to be on their side the whole way.  Their unbeaten run to begin the campaign was one of the longest in Premier League history and by the time it came to an end it was long enough that history would say they were going to go on to win the league crown.  That was due to the fact that any other club that had gone that far into the season without losing had gone on to win it all.  Even with that bit of history working in United's favour a lot of fans that I talked to seemed to be lacking in the confidence that they often had.  You would be hard pressed to find a fan of the team that considered this years team to be among the best but thanks to some great performances they had enough to win it all.  I guess that raises the question of is this years United team better then people are giving them credit for or was the rest of the league just that much worse?

If you make your decision based solely on the points total then you would have to say that United were far from dominant as such this can not be among their best teams.  You can also see that teams like Chelsea and Arsenal both gave up more points this season then they normally would but I personally feel that this is due to an improvement in the Premier League as a whole.  Looking at the trends in recent years it is clear that as the top sides have stayed at a similar level many teams are starting to close the skill gap down.  Sides like Manchester City and Tottenham are not far away from the big 3 now and on their day they can take the points from any of them.  The same can be said for Liverpool who despite their very poor start finished strong and are back among the league's elite teams.  I would also direct your attention to the bottom end of the table where you can find one of the fiercest relegation battles in a long time with almost all of the teams in the league having a real chance of making it to that 40 point barrier, with the exclusion of already relegated West Ham.  I think the gap from top of the table to the bottom is not what it used to be and that is made even more evident when you look at the styles which many of these bottom teams play.  A look at a few of the teams in the relegation fight can show why the top sides have dropped more points then normal.

First looking at Blackpool who have been this years surprise team under the guidance of Ian Holloway.  This club has come out and looked to attack teams and play exciting football from the start of the league season.  You can not accuse them of trying to put 10 men behind the ball and just hoping to grind out a result but rather they went after it game in and game out.  The same thing can be said for Wigan Athletic who have looked to play an attacking style all season under the guidance of Roberto Martinez.  Their young manager has proven that he wants to play the game his way and be exciting even if some would argue that for both of these teams it could be this aggressive style that may yet see them joining West Ham in relegation.

To me it is evident that a shift has taken place in England and more sides now have the belief that they are going to be able to play the game against the best teams and have a real chance of stealing a result.  The days of packing it in and hoping for a lucky break or a scoreless draw against the top clubs seem to be fading into the past.  I personally feel that for the future of the league this is an exciting way of playing but it will be up to the sides that are promoted each season to continue this trend if they want to generate the same sort of excitement which Blackpool have this year.  This entertaining style of play has won them the hearts of many neutrals and even some support from fans of other clubs who are hoping that these exciting clubs stay up.

But to get back to my original point about the quality of United's team this year I will say that this team is not among the greatest but they are still better then many fans are giving them credit for.  Their title win was about the teams efforts and not just about Chelsea and Arsenal throwing away points and losing the title.  The side that United had this season may have lacked the real star power of Ronaldo and his scoring goals for fun but as an entire squad they are as good as they come.  The additions of Smalling and Hernandez were great for the club and their contributions can not be overlooked in the title win.  In a season that featured the ups and downs of Rio Ferdinand being often injured and the Rooney contract saga/lose of form following the world cup these two youngsters did so well to step into the team and provide stability.  Berbatov is another name who history is likely not going to give the credit he deserves for his roll in the season.  He may yet win the golden boot but by the end of the season he was all but relegated to a seat on the bench next to Michael Owen.  Yet his early season scoring form was crucial in United stay in contention early one while others struggled to find any form.  The same can be said of Nani who should be a leading candidate for player of the year despite being left out of the team a fair bit down the stretch in favour of Valencia and Park who both provide better defending options.  It is clear to me that this was a very deep squad which is what allowed them to triumph in a year filled with a lot of ups and downs.  It was a squad that was stabilized by its veteran presences in the forms of Giggs, Scholes, Van der Sar, and Vidic as well as being willed to win by Sir Alex Ferguson who seems to know just what formula to employ in the big games.

The 19th title may very well be the final one of a glorious generation for United.  With Neville having already decided to hang it up earlier this season and Van der Sar set to follow him in the coming months this are beginning to shift to a new generation.  Scholes is also being linked with retirement having looked just a bit of the pace this year it would not come as much of a surprise.  Giggs will play on at least one more year which is great news for United unless his age finally decides to catch up with him and he will be the final piece of a great group of players which have led the club to the very top of the sport and to the top of the English club standings 19 times now.

This weekend will be all about the relegation battle which is sure to set up a lot of exciting battles as 5 teams on 39 or 40 points are all fighting to ensure that they are not among the two sides that will be joining West Ham in the Championship next season.