Best player
Mohamed Salah. The numbers don’t lie – 47 goal contributions in the Premier League was an outstanding return from the Egyptian, who seems to be getting better with age. Ed Aarons
Salah, obviously. Just behind him, the evolution of Declan Rice into a dominant, productive all-round midfielder has been tremendous to watch. Alexander Isak is, when fit and firing, comfortably the world’s most thrilling striker. Matheus Cunha also requires a mention for his sensational performances at Wolves. Nick Ames
For sheer entertainment value, it has to be Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze: just a joy to watch as he slaloms past defenders, making the long journeys to Selhurst worth it. The time for every team having a maverick is long past for English football but Eze keeps the tradition alive while being a true match-winner, as he proved in the FA Cup final. John Brewin
Salah. What more can be said? In May 2024 he declared: “We know trophies are what count and we will do everything possible to make that happen next season.” Followed it up with one of the great individual seasons. His evolution as a creator has been a joy to watch and it will be intriguing to see how he adapts to a new right-back partner next season. Yara El-Shaboury
Salah. Morgan Rogers, Eze and the Nottingham Forest pair Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic also had superb seasons. Ben Fisher
Salah, for more or less the same reasons I presume everyone else picked him. Barry Glendenning
Salah. His first season at Anfield remains untouchable but this comes close. The numbers are, frankly, quite silly, and I’m not just talking goals and assists – he started all 38 games, his fitness record over the past eight years a ridiculous achievement in itself. Taha Hashim
Salah. A second Premier League championship medal was his stated goal and he made it a reality with a phenomenal campaign. Premier League Golden Boot winner, most assists, most goal involvements. Peerless. Andy Hunter
Salah. The numbers make it a no-brainer. David Hytner
Salah. A magnificent 29 Premier League goals from the wizard from Egypt who started all 38 games and is the reason why Liverpool are champions and is simply the best. Bravo. Jamie Jackson
Salah. Sometimes it just pays not to overthink these things. Jonathan Liew
Virgil van Dijk. Salah’s goals and assists thrust Liverpool towards the title but it was Van Dijk who guided the on-pitch operation. This was the season the Dutchman well and truly re-established himself as the best centre-back in the league, combining superb leadership with sublime technical gifts. And the fact he conducted mixed-zone duties after practically every game provided me with a curiously large amount of amusement. Sachin Nakrani
Van Dijk. A one-man all-you-can-win league title plan. Liverpool’s key player. And by some distance the only Virgil van Dijk in the league. Barney Ronay
Well done to me for suggesting last year that Liverpool could help Arne Slot by selling Salah (admittedly he had just had that tantrum at West Ham). The coldest of takes. Jacob Steinberg
Salah. Simply a joy and a privilege to watch. Not to mention virtually indispensable to Liverpool. Enjoy the Egyptian’s truly special talent while you can. Any runners-up are specks in his rearview mirror but Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali excelled after Eddie Howe moved him from No 8 to No 6. Louise Taylor
Salah. No need to be clever on this one: he has the most goals and assists, hence Liverpool have won the title. Will Unwin
Salah. In some ways it feels too easy to give it to a goalscorer, but you can’t argue with a joint-record 47 goal involvements this season. Liverpool won the title with consistency and discipline and the odd flash of inspiration, almost all of which came from the Egyptian. Jonathan Wilson
Best manager
Oliver Glasner. Slot turned Liverpool into title winners with virtually the same squad he inherited from Jürgen Klopp. But after leading Crystal Palace to their first major trophy and a record Premier League points tally having failed to win any of their opening eight matches, Glasner has performed miracles in south London. EA
The first manager to walk in a legend’s footsteps is usually on a hiding to nothing, so let us not overlook Arne Slot’s achievement in leading Liverpool to such a runaway title win. If it was so easy, everybody else would have done it. Vítor Pereira’s transformation of Wolves from lost cause to comfortable survivors was hugely impressive; David Moyes’ turnaround at Everton merits similar acclaim. NA
Glasner and Thomas Frank are coaches who pair intensity with humanity, polite to the last yet clearly heavy-duty competitors and full of ideas. In helping Liverpool get over the Klopp love affair and winning the title so easily, though, Slot clearly has something special. Liverpool chose well. JB
While Slot deserves his flowers, Nuno Espírito Santo’s transformation of Nottingham Forest has been a revelation, taking them from a relegation fight to within a point of the Champions League, and European football for the first time in 30 years. Though they ran out of steam, the potent counterattack of Chris Wood, Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White was one of the best in the league. YES
It is easy to suddenly diminish Nottingham Forest’s season on the basis they came up short in their improbable quest for the Champions League but Santo took a team from 17th to seventh, within a point of qualifying for Uefa’s premier competition. BF
The speed with which Pereira extricated Wolves from the relegation mire and propelled them up the table after his appointment in December made the efforts of several of his more high-profile Premier League counterparts to get a tune out of their underperforming squads look fairly amateurish. BG
Slot. The contrarian within was tempted to go with David Moyes, the league’s oldest manager having brought grandfatherly calm to Everton. But Slot’s introduction has been too classy. TH
Slot. Yes he inherited a fabulous squad but he made the awkward Klopp succession appear so smooth, and confounded expectations of his debut season by winning the title in comfort. AH
Slot has not only taken over from one of the five managerial greats of the Premier League era to lead Liverpool to a second title in 35 years, he has made it look easy. DH
Slot. Sure, he inherited a top-grade squad from Klopp but he transformed last season’s third place into the title, as the Dutchman showed precisely how to execute a debut Premier League campaign in the No 1 hot seat. JJ
Nuno. Turned the Premier League’s bin-fire punchline club into its most disciplined, resilient, hard-working side against a backdrop of spending controls and an overbearing owner. JL
Slot. There are a few candidates but ultimately it’s impossible to look past the man who won the title at the first time of asking. An incredible achievement, made even more so by the pressure of having to replace a legend. That Slot did so with such good grace, seen most strikingly with his singing of Klopp’s name on the day Liverpool were confirmed champions, only adds to his success. SN
Slot. Come on. No one saw this. Super-smart, quietly spiky, just the right balance of self-belief to let the basics he inherited run on. Next season will be harder. This one was perfect. BR
Honourable mentions to Glasner, Nuno and Andoni Iraola but there weren’t many people tipping Slot to win the league in his first season, let alone to do it so easily. JS
Eddie Howe. Admittedly Slot did more than OK but Newcastle’s manager achieved what Kevin Keegan, Bobby Robson, Rafael Benítez and a host of predecessors could not by ending the Tyneside trophy drought. The brilliantly choreographed Carabao Cup triumph against Slot’s Liverpool was the club’s first piece of domestic silverware for 70 years. Oh, and Howe also led a slender squad back into the Champions League. LT
Nuno. Considering Nottingham Forest survived on the final day of last season, to take them into Europe is a phenomenal achievement. The success is based on clever tactics and getting the best out of individuals who have been expertly recruited. WU
Slot. Good cases can be made for Frank, Glasner and Pereira, but it’s very hard to look beyond a manager who replaced a legend and won the league in his first season in charge after minimal expenditure. JW
Best goal
Kaoru Mitoma v Chelsea. The Japan forward’s stunning touch and finish against Chelsea in February was poetry in motion. He is capable of things most players wouldn’t even dream about. EA
For those old enough to remember when Jhon Durán looked set to be one of the season’s stars, his mind-blowing blast against Everton in September takes the honours. If only because it had the unprecedented effect of leaving Emiliano Martínez speechless. NA
James Tarkowski v Liverpool. A goal that meant everything to Everton fans before the men’s side said farewell to Goodison Park. There were far better finishes this season but a nod-down-and-wallop goal will always be satisfying. Wild celebrations added to its cachet. JB
Mitoma v Chelsea. Every touch Mitoma took against Chelsea seemed better than the last but an outside shout, in the spirit of variety, is Ethan Nwaneri’s strike against Manchester City. It capped a stunning 36-pass sequence, lasting nearly two minutes and involving every Arsenal outfield player. To twist the knife, the final whistle blew immediately, denying City another touch. YES
It feels like it should be one of Durán’s worldies but Mitoma’s against Chelsea was a kind of lesser-spotted, more graceful wonder, a thing of beauty. BF
A team renowned for their own innovative set pieces, Arsenal were undone by a wonderful corner routine straight off the Bournemouth training ground. With Lewis Cook standing over the ball, Justin Kluivert darted across the Arsenal penalty area and deftly flicked the short, low delivery with inch-perfect precision into the perfect spot for Ryan Christie to send a missile past a motionless David Raya. Sublime. BG
Omar Marmoush v Bournemouth. As the ball takes off, you’re wondering which row it’ll land in. Then comes that vicious dip – a juicy full toss turning into a stump-rattling yorker – Kepa Arrizabalaga’s dive futile. TH
Tarkowski v Liverpool. Unsurpassed in terms of what it meant, plus the celebrations and controversy it sparked. A fitting final act under the Goodison Park floodlights. AH
Mitoma v Chelsea. The first touch makes it; just exquisite, jaw-dropping and he certainly does not let it go to waste. DH
Nicolas Jackson v Newcastle. This one is about Cole Palmer’s genius in swivelling near Chelsea’s area, then firing a 60-yard grass-cutter that takes out Newcastle’s defence for Pedro Neto to run on to before crossing for Jackson’s crisp finish. Lovely. JJ
Tariq Lamptey v Aston Villa. In a season that felt like a kind of armed rebellion against staid systems football, this team goal was the standard-bearer: a move of cinematic scope and full of invention and instinct, beginning on Brighton’s goalline, sweeping from corner to corner and finished first-time from 20 yards. JL
Alexis Mac Allister v Tottenham. A long-range left-footed howitzer that took the breath away and sparked celebrations so raucous that the earth moved. Scientists recorded a tremor peaking at 1.74 on the Richter scale as supporters inside Anfield acknowledged the moment Liverpool had all but sealed the title. A genuinely seismic strike, then. Beat that, Mitoma. SN
Jamie Vardy v Ipswich. Simple. Classic. Coronational. Like Sinatra doing That’s Life for the four millionth time on stage at Vegas, held up only by a hatstand and a bottle of vodka full of sweets. Plus iconic shouting/waving a corner flag celebration. BR
Mitoma v Chelsea. Mitoma’s Bergkamp-esque touch and finish to set Brighton on their way to victory over Chelsea was a thing of beauty. JS
Sandro Tonali v Manchester United. Eddie Howe says he worries for his goalkeepers’ wrists in training when Tonali practises his finishing. This prime example was a ferocious, scorching, tightly angled and utterly inexorable volley in a 4-1 home win against Manchester United. The assist, involving a wonderful dink over the top from Alexander Isak, was pretty good too. LT
Omar Marmoush v Bournemouth. It may be just because I wrote these the night after witnessing the 30-yard strike, but it was an incredible effort from the Egyptian. WU
Mitoma v Chelsea. More and more goals seem to be scored in the Sensible Soccer style, drifting infield and whipping it into the far corner. For all the skill involved, familiarity has eroded the sense of impact, so let’s go for a goal that showcased a different sort of technique, Mitoma stunning a ball that dropped from the heavens, pushing it into his shooting arc and then sweeping a finish into the bottom corner. JW
Best match
Everton 2-2 Liverpool. Tarkowski’s 98th-minute equaliser in the last men’s Merseyside derby at Goodison Park was one for the ages and caused Arne Slot to lose his cool for probably the only time in Liverpool’s procession to the title. EA
The needle, tension and drama during Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal seemed likely to set a tone for the season; as it happened, 22 September turned out to be when things peaked. NA
Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester City. The end of an empire? The end of a 32-match unbeaten run, at the least, with Pep Guardiola puffing out his cheeks in full “wow, guys” mode. Bournemouth played the football of the gods, not City, and for a spell during mid-winter, with an injury-hit team, no one played better. Kyle Walker was given a chasing by Antoine Semenyo, the match that hastened his loan to Milan. JB
Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal. This had it all: goals, milestones, a red card and late drama. John Stones’s 98th-minute equaliser felt like such a dagger to Arsenal after they had absorbed waves of pressure for much of the match. YES
Everton 2-2 Liverpool. The last men’s Merseyside derby at Goodison. BF
Featuring the surrender of a two-goal lead, a Kevin De Bruyne masterclass, a sublime Ederson assist and some outstanding finishing, Manchester City’s 5-2 win over Crystal Palace in April was a tremendously entertaining game that prompted Oliver Glasner to tell Pep Guardiola: “If we meet again [in the FA Cup final] you can’t play this system, because we will solve it.” Cue: much trademark overthinking from the City manager and Glasner having the last laugh at Wembley. BG
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea. The chaos included Marc Cucurella losing his footing twice as Spurs took an early two-goal lead before the visitors hit back with four, Cole Palmer topping it with a delicious panenka. TH
Liverpool 5-1 Tottenham. There were more dramatic contests but the day Liverpool clinched their record-equalling 20th league title, demonstrating their vast superiority while Anfield generated an incredible atmosphere, is the one that stands out. AH
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester United. Mainly for the draining tension of the seesaw second half, which reached its improbable finale with that Harry Maguire chance. DH
Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest. Did Nuno Espírito Santo’s boys really turn over Arne Slot’s relentless unit for a first win at Anfield since 1969? Oh yes, in a result that signalled how good Forest were going to be. JJ
The mind lingers on Everton 2-2 Liverpool for the pure chaos. But Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal in September pips it for quality and impact: a macabre feast of bad blood, sublime skill, galactic egos and a late, late equaliser by a City team we now know were operating on the brink of catastrophe. JL
Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal. An early season clash between the previous campaign’s top two that more than lived up to the hype. Four goals, one of which was a 98th-minute equaliser, a sending-off, a knee injury that would prove important to the title race, and a player telling an opposition manager to “stay humble” – fast, frantic and furious drama from start to finish. SN
Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal. So many aspects of the weirdness of the season in one game. Soap opera. Frenzy. Tactically nuts. Also dramatic irony. An early season Title Decider that had pretty much nothing to do with the title. BR
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea. Back when no one was wondering if Marescaball was too cautious. JS
Newcastle 3-3 Liverpool. An attacking beauty contest between Isak and Salah, with the Swede, who scored a tremendous goal, eclipsing the Egyptian for a while. With Newcastle 1-0 up, Salah changed the narrative, creating an equaliser for Curtis Jones. Anthony Gordon answered with another home goal but Salah, by now gloriously irrepressible, proceeded to score twice before the ever-dependable Fabian Schär registered a 90th-minute equaliser. Wow. LT
Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea. A really entertaining encounter, a long way from the sterilised chess the Premier League often throws up. Both teams went at each other from the first to the last minute. WU
Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal. Nothing in the Premier League close to the Inter v Barcelona Champions League tie, but Arsenal’s draw at the Etihad had two very different halves of engaging football, anxiety, fury, gamesmanship, a brilliant goal and an injury-time equaliser. JW
Best signing
Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen and Ismaïla Sarr of Crystal Palace were both signed for similar fees and deserve a mention. But the £12m spent by Nottingham Forest on Nikola Milenkovic was worth every penny. EA
It is between a handful of fine centre-backs. Dean Huijsen and Bournemouth were not long for each other but the 20-year-old’s maturity is frightening; Milenkovic was not expected to move the dial at Nottingham Forest but proved a £12m bargain; the January arrival Emmanuel Agbadou was the bedrock of Wolves’ spring recovery. NA
Huijsen, Bournemouth, £12.6m. How Juventus, and Roma before them, let the new Virgil van Dijk/Alan Hansen go is the first question. The next: after selling him to Real Madrid, can Bournemouth’s scouting department pull off a coup like it again? Every elite Premier League club probably wanted him. Instead, he’s off to his adopted country of Spain. It was a pleasure to watch him play in the Premier League while it lasted. JB
Huijsen. His knack for clearing up defensive messes, coupled with crucial set-piece goals in memorable wins against Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal made him an instant fan favourite at Bournemouth. The Premier League is losing a real gem to La Liga. YES
Huijsen. That Real Madrid made him the first signing of the Xabi Alonso era speaks volumes of the season he has had. BF
A steal for from Fiorentina, Milenkovic has proved an outstanding acquisition for Forest and his partnership with Murillo formed the bedrock for a remarkable season. BG
Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Leaving this version of Manchester United promises success: see Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford among others. A difficult campaign for West Ham did not disrupt Wan-Bissaka, named the club’s player of season for his marauding work down the right. TH
Huijsen – £12.6m from Juventus one summer, off to Real Madrid for £50m the next. Bournemouth may bid him farewell with some regret but can take pride in their acquisition and the part they played in his development. AH
Huijsen was a snip at £12.6m when Bournemouth took him from Juventus. Less than 12 months later, he is a £50m Real Madrid player. And it was not only the Spanish club who would gladly have paid his release clause. DH
Liam Delap. Twelve goals in 37 league appearances for an Ipswich that were relegated is a fine return – and at £20m, the No 9 proved a bargain. A move to Chelsea or Newcastle United might be the 22-year-old’s reward. JJ
Elliot Anderson didn’t want to sign for Forest. But Newcastle had to sell him, and so this has been a coming-of-age season in more ways than one: adding grit, control and intelligence to his game. JL
Huijsen. Buy player for £12.6m, enjoy a season of superb defending from him and then sell to Madrid for a £37.4m profit. Bournemouth’s flipping of Huijsen after acquiring him from Juventus in July is testament to the excellence of the club’s scouting and recruitment, as well as to the positive and progressive environment Andoni Iraola has created. SN
Milenkovic. Perfect for the system, all-in from the start. And as an avatar of Old School Proper Defending, perfect also for middle-aged TV pundits looking for something to say. BR
Bournemouth got Huijsen for £12.6m and sold the defender to Real Madrid for £50m a year later. Smart business from a smart club. JS
Huijsen. Last July the young Dutchman joined Bournemouth from Juventus for £12.6m. This month it was announced he will be joining Madrid for £50m. Talk about an investment paying dividends. Runner-up? Anyone for Mikel Merino. Who knew the Spain midfielder, acquired from Real Sociedad, could play so well at centre-forward? Where might Mikel Arteta and his team have ended up without Merino? LT
Milenkovic. Finding value in the market is almost impossible but Forest picked up the Serbian cheaply. He is happy to head bricks and is a key reason his team have shaken up the league. WU
The money almost makes it too obvious, but if you pick up a player for £12.6m and sell him a year later of £50m, it’s pretty clear how good a deal it is. Huijsen was commanding, good on the ball and seemingly unflappable, a key part of Bournemouth’s best ever season. JW
Biggest flop
Raheem Sterling arrived at Arsenal on loan from Chelsea on deadline day and was meant to add the experience and goals required to win the title. The former England forward looked a shadow of his former self and played for only 523 minutes in the Premier League, failing to find the net. EA
Maybe the reasons for the giddy hype around Ruben Amorim will reveal themselves after a full pre-season. Otherwise, while his performance levels were generally fine, Ipswich needed far more than 14 starts out of Kalvin Phillips when agreeing an expensive loan with Manchester City last summer. NA
Sir Big Jim Ratcliffe’s Manchester United revolution continues to cause shivers of embarrassment. Every mistake imaginable, gutting a club for no glory, just utterly naff. There might be some sympathy for someone wanting to make his boyhood club great again making such a mess of things if only Jim’s minions had afforded those laid off with anything approaching decency. Being a billionaire should not grant the privilege of treating human beings like a packet of surplus paperclips. JB
Manchester United. From the bizarre U-turn on Erik ten Hag’s future to the seemingly ill-fitting pursuit of Amorim and Jim Ratcliffe’s controversial cost-cutting, the club’s off-field decisions have been bewildering. Running a club of such magnitude should never look this chaotic. YES
Rasmus Højlund has never looked a £7.2m striker, let alone a £72m one. BF
The sight of a panicked Wout Faes sprinting in futile retreat towards his own goal, elbows pumping and Sideshow Bob hair trailing in his wake as assorted rival players capitalised on yet another error from him or one of his teammates to score against Leicester will be the enduring memory of their miserable season. BG
The season run-in. The battle for fifth isn’t the most enthralling way to finish the campaign. TH
Amorim. Forget being parachuted in at the start of November and him operating an unfamiliar 3-4-3 as these are smokescreens: his job is to make what he has work so, as the Portuguese admits, taking Manchester United to a record-low Premier League finish of 15th was a “disaster”. JJ
Manchester United. Giving Ten Hag a new contract last summer, backing him with even more dreadful signings, Amorim, the job losses, Ratcliffe, the attitude, the performances, the results – woeful in every key area. AH
I hate to single out individual players but Højlund has forced me to do it. Erratic first touch; second best too often in the physical duels; stretches to get there rather than being there. DH
If in doubt, choose the West Ham striker. Niclas Füllkrug cost the club £27m, a considerable outlay for a then 31-year-old with an extensive history of injuries in a side reliant on pace and mobility. Seven starts in all competitions: gosh, who could possibly have seen this coming? JL
Manchester United. From the ludicrous and borderline cruel penny-pinching of the owners, to the shocking records of two different managers, to the consistently gutless displays of the players, seen most strikingly in the Europa League final, this has been a catastrophe of a season. United are a rabble, and there are little to no signs of that changing in 2025-26. SN
Amorim. The most unbendingly evangelical man in football. Live on your knees or die with wing-backs and 3-4-3? Yeah I’ll take the latter. BR
There was a lot of social media hype about Tim Steidten. Shame he wasted so much money before making an inauspicious exit as West Ham’s technical director. JS
Jim Ratcliffe. The Manchester United co-owner has offered a masterclass in how not to run a football club. Ratcliffe’s lack of class has served as a betrayal of far too many good people at Old Trafford. LT
It is often forgotten that Southampton spent quite a lot of money on players who were nowhere near good enough and then used ludicrous tactics under Russell Martin. It was always going to be a difficult season but they made it even harder for themselves. WU
Jim Ratcliffe. How is it possible to somehow look worse than the Glazers? Ratcliffe has somehow managed it, with redundancies, mean-spirited cutbacks, inexplicable public statements and a managerial appointment that seemingly paid no attention to the makeup of the squad. JW
Biggest gripe
The ever-expanding calendar is beginning to take its toll on players: evidenced by the amount of injuries so many clubs have had to deal with this season. Extra games in European competition for almost half the Premier League next year – not to mention the expanded Club World Cup this summer – will only add to the burden. Football’s authorities must find a way of balancing the insatiable demand for the game with common sense, or accept there will be a decline in quality. EA
The promoted sides’ concerning inability to lay a glove on the division; the stoppages and “game management” that render the final 30 minutes of many games a non-event; the continuing affront to the sport that is VAR. But here is the biggest: where is the verdict regarding Manchester City’s 130 Premier League charges? What is taking so long, and why? Everyone with an interest in the league deserves an answer. NA
The three relegated teams going down again. There was so much hope and enjoyment at Ipswich in early season, only for it to be trampled all over. Catching up with them towards the end of the season, it was clear the step up had been traumatic once the novelty had gone. Also: ticket prices going up. With TV revenues staying solid, the fans are those taking the hit. Perhaps clubs could instead stop paying silly money to average talents. The football this season hasn’t been good enough to be worth more money. JB
The pervasive nature of abuse and insults has become a deeply concerning issue. While the game has always had its winners and losers, the deluge of racism and death threats that showers down after every penalty, mistaken call or missed chance is alarming. Statements are made, bans and fines are handed out but the trend continues. Is this just the world we live in now? In this hyper-exposed social media era, players, referees, managers, journalists and rival fans are more accessible than ever. It is wider than football and sport. What is the solution? YES
Kit clashes, again. BF
The total absence of a title race or relegation dogfight in what purports to be The Best League In The World™. BG
The never-ending abuse launched at officials, players and managers. TH
The very idea that taxpayers’s money could go towards helping Jim Ratcliffe, the Glazers and Gary Neville become even wealthier. AH
When a player gets to the ball with an opponent at his back, he ought not simply to be able to fall over and win a free-kick. But they do and often with zero contact – just because they “have the position”. DH
The strand of fanship that features incessant crowing about your team and incessant taunting of opposing supporters about theirs. Pure yawns-ville. JJ
The culture of abuse and insults that has seeped into almost every crevice of the game, to the point where it is now essentially priced in like a transaction. A missed penalty or mistimed tackle now equals racist messages. A bad refereeing decision equals death threats. As a sport, as a public, we’ve increasingly started to normalise this treatment. We shouldn’t have to. JL
Nottingham Forest’s banning of Gary Neville from their final game of the season against Chelsea was surprising, troubling and also not the way to deal with him as well as Jamie Carragher: which is to ignore them. Never before have two men influenced football discourse so much and so often, to the point it’s become as divisive as it has tiresome given how much both have leant into the fan-banter side of it all. They love it when you talk about them and they definitely love it when you get angry about them, so stop rising to their noise. SN
Single worst moment: Prince William on TNT Sport talking like an internet football geezer about breaking the press and away days with the lads. Stop doing royalty wrong. Look blank and mutter about horses. Grab the ex-Queen by the elbow for a banter-chat about “threads” and she’d have had you shot by a sniper. The day England finally died. So, on reflection, probably all for the best. BR
So much functional, fearful, overly physical football, too many tired players, too many injuries, too much injury time because of VAR. A lot of this season has been hard to watch. JS
Too many awkward kick-off times. During the Covid pandemic and its eerily empty stadiums there was much talk of how football simply was not the same without fans. Five years on that has been well and truly forgotten by broadcasters who probably never give as much as a passing thought as to how on earth the people that provide the atmosphere, the noise and the emotion, will get to games or, more importantly, return home safely. LT
The schedule. There are too many games and something needs to give. The players do not enjoy it, fans are being forced to spend massive amounts to follow their teams and the product will soon be diminished as people watch tired players in poor atmospheres. WU
“Conspiracy”. Sometimes referees make mistakes. VAR is not a panacea. Journalists are sometimes critical. There is no conspiracy against your club. Grow up. JW
