Best player
Goalkeepers never usually get a mention for this award but David Raya played an integral role in Arsenal finally getting over the line, winning the Premier League’s Golden Glove award for a third year in a row thanks to 19 clean sheets. Declan Rice and Bruno Fernandes were the outstanding outfield players. Ed Aarons
Admitting on social media that I’d voted for Fernandes in the football writers’ award caused all manner of weirdness. It would be fair to say the amount of good Arsenal players split my vote but Fernandes was a pleasure to watch once Michael Carrick freed him up. John Brewin
With Arsenal finally getting over the line, Rice edges it. The midfielder spent the season fuelled entirely by pressure, becoming the heartbeat of Arsenal’s title charge when they built the early lead. His form dipped slightly in spring, but the past few weeks have been a reminder of just how dominant he can be and he has looked every inch the leader England will lean on at the World Cup. Yara El-Shaboury
Antoine Semenyo. Phenomenal for Bournemouth and superb for Manchester City. Scored 21 goals across the season, including the only goal at Wembley to clinch the FA Cup. Now the 26-year-old has the World Cup with Ghana on the horizon. Raya and Elliot Anderson have both been magnificent, in contrasting circumstances. John McGinn is still criminally underrated, too. Ben Fisher
Raya for me too, Clive. Barry Glendenning
Fernandes. Manchester United’s best player for six and a half years, bringing colour to their gloomiest days. Let’s not get bogged down with the assists record; it’s the swagger that stood out this season. Taha Hashim
Rice. Given the importance of set pieces and defensive organisation to the destination of the title, it has to be the player who was key to both for the champions. Andy Hunter
I have most enjoyed watching Fernandes. No player created a greater buzz when he got on the ball. He represents possibility. David Hytner
Jérémy Doku. The jet-heeled winger elevated his output to a relentless threat, eradicating the former inconsistency. You now know what is incoming: a veering run – often inside from the left – and a swish of the boot, for a killer pass or goal-threatening shot. The problem for rearguards is stopping him. Jamie Jackson
Look, anyone can excel in a brilliant team. Jack Rodwell has a Premier League medal, for heaven’s sake. But excelling in a flawed, disjointed team? Elevating them, inspiring them, fighting the tide, creating function out of dysfunction? That’s why it’s Fernandes by a distance. Jonathan Liew
Rice. He was right, it wasn’t done. The energy, determination and set-piece delivery that drove Arsenal all season. Paul MacInnes
Raya. You could argue Arsenal’s ability to defend set pieces has been just as important as their attacking output. Raya has barely put a foot wrong and has made crucial saves in key moments. Billy Munday
Gabriel Magalhães. The spirit animal of Arsenal’s title win: good in his own box, even better in the opposition’s when a corner was being swung into a crowd of bodies. His late winner at Newcastle in September was also the first time I felt this was probably, definitely, going to be their year. Sachin Nakrani
Raya. Overwhelmingly key to Arsenal’s season as playmaker, spectacular save-maker and groovy and stylish spirit animal. Barney Ronay
With apologies to Fernandes after all his assists, Raya has been the most decisive player in Arsenal’s title win. The goalkeeper’s save to deny Mateus Fernandes at West Ham was probably the season’s defining moment. Jacob Steinberg
Enzo Le Fée. Sunderland fans have a song in honour of their French playmaker that includes the lines: “We’ve got Le Fée, Enzo Le Fée, I just don’t think you understand.” Anyone still to cotton on should try to view Le Fée in action at first hand. On the ball, this glorious amalgam of 3D vision and exquisite technique is invariably a joy to watch but, off it, the Breton is a tenacious team player, prepared to suffer for the cause. Louise Taylor
Raya. Goalkeepers often do not get the credit they deserve in title wins but the Arsenal No1 has ensured his side have always been on the right side of tiny margins. Will Unwin
Best manager
Andoni Iraola ended up deciding the Premier League and looks destined for the very top one day. But it was no surprise to hear Mikel Arteta was too nervous to watch Bournemouth’s draw against Manchester City given what it meant to him. The Arsenal manager has transformed the entire club and done it his way. EA
It’s between Keith Andrews and Iraola. Bournemouth played the most watchable football, though Iraola probably had better raw materials to work with. Both bright, personable to deal with, too. Tough to split them but Brentford falling just short of Europe hands it to Iraola. JB
Arteta for finally shedding the “nearly man” label by beating Pep Guardiola to a title with nerve and control. Special mentions to Iraola, who turned Bournemouth into European qualifiers, and Unai Emery, who transformed Aston Villa from potential regressors into trophy winners and Champions League qualifiers. The Basque Country may need to start charging the Premier League at this point. YE-S
Iraola. Lifted Bournemouth, again, to new heights, signing off from an incredible three-year spell by securing sixth and European football for the first time in their history. And that is without accounting for the £250m of key player sales. Régis Le Bris, Emery and Andrews – all of whom have also far exceeded expectations – can fight it out for a place on the podium. BF
Le Bris. Given his rate of progress since taking the Sunderland job two years ago, it will come as no great shock if Le Bris will has them challenging for a Champions League spot next season. A truly great Breton. BG
Arteta. Best not to overcomplicate this one. Denying Guardiola a league title is some achievement, and that’s before you get to the two finals, including an unbeaten European campaign at the time of writing. TH
Le Bris. A close call with Iraola but to take a club that came up via the playoffs into the Europa League at the first attempt, pushing on after hitting every target along the way, was a remarkable achievement by a versatile coach. AH
I have not enjoyed watching his team play in numerous matches so why am I voting for Arteta? Because his title-winning achievement in the face of intolerable pressure trumps everything. DH
Michael Carrick. Walked into a Manchester United dazed by the debacle of Ruben Amorim’s reign and rebuilt morale, changed the style of play from the Portuguese’s rigid 3-4-3 to a far more effective 4-2-3-1 and rocketed results, leading the club to third and back into the Champions League. JJ
Daniel Farke: sure. Le Bris: yes. Emery: strong approve. Iraola: class. But given the stakes, given the journey, given the weight of history and scrutiny and expectation that threatened to cave in on him completely, it’s Arteta. JL
Arteta. Apparently an underestimated achievement in some parts. There has been nothing inevitable about Arsenal’s rise; Arteta made it happen. PM
Le Bris. Most people hoped the promoted teams would do well, but my word. BM
Farke. Was heading for the sack, then made a tactical change at half-time of a game at Manchester City that immediately improved his team, stuck with it, kept his job, and guided Leeds not only to safety but to an FA Cup semi-final. Truly one of the great personal stories of the season. SN
Farke. Wage bill to achievement. Likability. Tactical shift. Adorable crumpled hangdog manner. BR
I was going to give it to Farke but Le Bris taking Sunderland into the Europa League is an incredible achievement. JS
Le Bris. Shortly after Sunderland’s promotion last season, Le Bris met a supporter who told him he would accept relegation providing one of the derbies against Newcastle were won. The tactically adaptable Breton did better than that; not content with a Premier League double over Eddie Howe’s team, a coach who turned potential chaos into coherence after welcoming 14 signings last summer secured seventh place and Europa League qualification. LT
Andrews. Everyone expected Brentford to struggle after selling off their forward line and losing Thomas Frank, but they quickly reassembled and soared, making the Irishman’s appointment as Frank’s replacement more than justified. WU
Best goal
To beat a goalkeeper of David Raya’s quality with a free-kick from more than 35 yards takes something special. Dominik Szoboszlai’s brilliant effort against Arsenal at Anfield in August seemed to cement Liverpool as favourites for another title. Things turned out very differently. EA
Kaoru Mitoma’s Marco van Basten-style strike for Brighton against Spurs was just brilliant, though did get lost within a crazy game, that 2-2 draw. JB
Harrison Reed v Liverpool. Fulham looked beaten after the defending champions snatched a dramatic late lead at Craven Cottage, only for Reed – a player who had barely started a league game in more than a year – to vaporise the ball in the 97th minute. YE-S
Emi Buendía v Tottenham. After Lucas Digne’s wonderful, juggled layoff and Matty Cash’s initial zipped 50-yard pass, this was a thing of beauty. It was like Aston Villa were playing up in the clouds. Harry Wilson’s off-the-cuff, outside-of-the-boot strike v Crystal Palace was also a delight. BF
Mitoma v Tottenham. The Brighton winger’s perfectly-cushioned, inch-perfect back-post volley was exquisite. He’ll miss Japan’s World Cup campaign through injury and that is a shame. BG
João Palhinha v Bournemouth. Lost in Spurs’s vortex of misery, this equaliser was quickly overtaken by Antoine Semenyo’s added-time winner in his farewell game at the Vitality Stadium. From the scraps of a corner, Palhinha expertly judged the bouncing ball to spring up for an immaculate overhead kick. TH
Wilson v Crystal Palace. An exquisite finish with the outside of the boot, after a slick one-two with Raúl Jiménez, was the pick of a healthy collection from the Wales international. A little different from the other contenders too. AH
Max Dowman v Everton. There was the richness of the storyline and the rarity of knowing a player was going to score for a full six seconds before he put the ball in the net; an incredible crescendo. The drive, balance and switch of feet went into the irresistible mix. DH
Rayan Cherki v Arsenal. Comparing any player to Lionel Messi can be facile unless they can produce a snake-hipped shimmy, a spurt of lightning pace and leave defenders scattered before shifting the ball from left foot to right and threading home off the inside of the far post. Which is precisely what the Frenchman to give City an early lead in this title showdown. JJ
Did your favourite goal involve all 11 players? Back to front, right to left to right, outrageous skill, vision and perfect timing against, at the time, one of the Premier League’s best defences? No? Then it wasn’t Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Leeds v Sunderland. Sad for you. JL
Antoine Semenyo v Liverpool. The one where he sprints from one end of the pitch to the other and has Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk back off and back off, before sending them the wrong way on the edge of the box and finishing. Lethal. PM
Reed v Liverpool. As aesthetically pleasing a goal as possible, coming down off the crossbar like that. The fact that it came from such an unlikely, peripheral figure made it even better. BM
Cherki v Arsenal. A big moment in a big game that ultimately wasn’t big at all. Still, Cherki’s devastating dribble through the heart of the best defence in the league remains a bold and brilliant piece of skill, especially standing out given the largely drab nature of attacking play this season. SN
Buendía v Tottenham. Three players doing three perfect things: the Cash pass, the Digne touch, the Buendía glide into the corner. Why don’t Premier League players do this all the time? BR
Mitoma’s volley against Tottenham. Bosh. JS
William Osula v Manchester United. Osula is a whirlwind on legs and the substitute blew Manchester United’s house down with a pace-suffused, step-over heavy, defender-disorientating, angled 90th-minute winner. Michael Carrick’s side were sunk 2-1 and Osula’s decision to accelerate down the right and somehow keep an apparent lost cause of a ball in play was fully vindicated. LT
Cherki v Arsenal. Not many players attempt to dribble through defences these days – Cherki is one of the few mavericks who does. His risk-taking was fully rewarded against the eventual champions. WU
Best match
Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City. Another stunning free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai seemed to have ended any hopes Manchester City had of chasing down Arsenal but they roared back through Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland’s penalty. There was still time for a third City goal to be disallowed in farcical scenes as Szoboszlai was shown a red card for fouling Haaland before the striker returned the favour and then put the ball in the net. EA
Igor Tudor’s time at Tottenham must have Spurs fans waking in the night. Spurs equalised at home to Arsenal in Tudor’s first match but then succumbed 4-1 in the fashion that took them so close to relegation. “The medicine is to look in the mirror,” said Tudor, highly memorable if so short-lived. JB
Manchester United 4-4 Bournemouth. Some matches are tactical masterclasses. This was not one of them. An eight-goal fever dream at Old Trafford where defending seemed optional. Both teams led twice, momentum changed every few minutes and nobody watching had any idea what would happen next. Amad Diallo, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Antoine Semenyo, Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier piled into the chaos before Eli Junior Kroupi delivered Bournemouth’s late equaliser. It was frantic, ridiculous and gloriously Premier League. YE-S
Aston Villa 0-3 Crystal Palace, if only because before the game Unai Emery was asked about Emiliano Martínez’s absence, leading to an iconic pre-match interview: “Marco Bizot,” he said three times. Manchester United 4-4 Bournemouth and Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool were insanely watchable contests. BF
Fulham 4-5 Manchester City. Quite the white-knuckle ride and highlighted a weird inability to control games that would ultimately cost City the title. BG
Everton 3-3 Manchester City. A forgettable first half, with City a goal up, was followed by an implosion in the second. Marc Guéhi’s oh-my-days backpass led to Thierno Barry’s equaliser as the visitors combusted, only for Jérémy Doku to close up in the 97th minute with his second stunner. It felt as if that goal would be key in the title race; Arsenal said nah. TH
Fulham 4-5 Manchester City. There were not many great ones but the highest-scoring game of the season was hugely entertaining as Pep Guardiola’s side almost managed to blow a 5-1 lead. Fulham had enough chances in stoppage time to have completed a stunning comeback. AH
Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United. It was overloaded with nervous tension from an Arsenal point-of-view, which seemed to amplify everything. Especially Cunha’s stunning late winner. DH
Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal. Four weeks after Guardiola’s side downed Mikel Areta’s team 2-0 in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, the clash at the Etihad Stadium was billed as a championship decider. When City again emerged as victors a view formed that the Gunners would crumble. Instead, they won their last five matches and City managed only five wins from their final eight. JJ
Crystal Palace 3-3 Bournemouth. Late drama, VAR controversy, brilliant attacking play, set-piece goals, a Jean-Philippe Mateta hat-trick (which should have been four in the 99th minute), Kroupi announcing himself in English football. If you want to on explain the 2025-26 Premier League to future generations, this is what to show them. JL
The best match I was at was Fulham 4-5 Manchester City, a proper ding-dong battle that had several sumptuous strikes, a mighty comeback and nearly finished as a 10-goal draw. PM
Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City. Another stunning free-kick from Szoboszlai. A late City comeback that ignited the title race. Capped off by that bizarre push-and-pull non-goal involving Szoboszlai and Haaland. BM
Leeds 3-3 Liverpool. Six goals, the blowing of a 2-0 lead and then a 3-2 lead via a 96th-minute equaliser, all occurring amid a febrile atmosphere and followed by the mother of mixed-zone interviews. This was one hell of a night in Yorkshire. SN
Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal. No high jinks, no farce, and instead a brilliant, high-spec, high-grade game. The 2005-2012 BMW 320d of the Premier League season. BR
From the ones I attended, West Ham 0-1 Arsenal was unbeatable in terms of sheer tension and meaning at both ends of the table. It wasn’t a great game but the VAR ending summed up the season. JS
Newcastle 4-3 Leeds. As stoppage time began Leeds led 3-2 thanks to two goals from Brenden Aaronson and a Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty. But then Bruno Guimarães equalised from the penalty spot and Harvey Barnes lashed in a 102nd-minute winner to conclude a swashbuckling night of glorious tactical anarchy and thrillingly cavalier, end-to-end attacking football. As the Leeds manager, Daniel Farke put it: “No one was in control; anything could have happened.” LT
Manchester United 3-2 Burnley. One of the glory days of unpredictable Manchester United under Ruben Amorim. Four goals were exchanged and it looked as if the battling Clarets had earned a draw until Jaidon Anthony gave away an injury-time penalty, allowing Fernandes to hit a 97th-minute winner. WU
Best signing
Martín Zubimendi ran the show for Arsenal before fading badly, and Senne Lammens brought some sanity to Manchester United’s defence. But Granit Xhaka was the inspirational leader behind Sunderland’s remarkable season. EA
Rayan Cherki was brilliant to watch, Xhaka performed like he was Sunderland’s player-manager and I also enjoyed Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s revival at Leeds. But I’ll go for Senne Lammens. Who knew a keeper who can actually make a save can make such a difference? JB
Plenty of clubs spent eye-watering sums on strikers who occasionally remembered where the goal was, Leeds picked up Calvert-Lewin for free and it may have saved their season. The move raised eyebrows (including mine) given his injury troubles and modest scoring record at Everton, but Calvert-Lewin became the focal point of their survival push, scoring 14 league goals and producing a crucial run of six straight games with a goal. YE-S
Adrien Truffert. The 24-year-old started every game, playing almost every minute as Iraola’s side made history. Bournemouth identified the Frenchman before they bought Milos Kerkez from AZ and, after Kerkez left for Liverpool, moved to sign Truffert as his replacement, paying an initial £11m to Rennes. Eli Junior Kroupi, who scored 13 goals in his debut season after playing in Ligue 2 last season, also looks a snip at £12m, and Xhaka was superb for Sunderland. BF
Xhaka. Sunderland signed 13 players last summer and almost all of them have impressed, but their captain has been the standout recruit. BG
Cherki. I was tempted by Semenyo and how quickly he settled after joining City in January. But I’ll opt for his teammate, a free spirit with substance, 12 assists to go with his four goals. TH
Xhaka. Any concerns that Sunderland had taken a risk paying an initial £13m for the then 32-year-old midfielder were quickly erased. The veteran’s leadership on and off the pitch helped the promoted club defy problematic recent trends and banish relegation predictions inside the opening months. AH
Xhaka stamped his authority all over Sunderland and allowed them to consistently look up rather than over their shoulders. DH
Viktor Gyökeres. Fourteen Premier League goals in 36 appearances (10 on as a substitute) is not an Erling Haaland number but the Swede did what Mikel Arteta signed him to do: be a different dimension as the attack spearhead whose muscularity and direct running made Arsenal even harder to deny. The 27-year-old can be mocked for an awkward style but who cares? He is a champion in his debut English season and will (rightly) be proud. JJ
The best new arrival has been Cherki, but that’s not the question. Cherki was a no-brainer. João Pedro? For £60m? With a modest goal record and zero big-club experience? When you already have strikers? Not everything turned out OK for Chelsea this season, but without João Pedro a poor season might have been catastrophic. JL
Kroupi:£10m for a teenager who breezed into the league, scoring 13 goals, more than a few of which gave off exhilarating echoes of Thierry Henry. Will he be at Bournemouth next season? PM
Lammens. Any dependable goalkeeper was going to look good at Manchester United after André Onana but Lammens has been much more than that. Less than £20m to Royal Antwerp looks a steal. BM
Xhaka. Left the Premier League as a really good midfielder and returned as an ever better one, to the extent that he was crucial to Sunderland enjoying an excellent first season back in the Premier League. Survival secured and qualification for the Europa League. Captain, leader and, at £13m, bargain. SN
Xhaka. £13m for a Premier League Gandalf. BR
Buying Xhaka was a smart move from Sunderland. His leadership and experience helped Régis Le Bris’s side enjoy a comfortable season after winning the playoffs. JS
Xhaka. When Le Bris signed Xhaka for an initial £13m from Bayer Leverkusen Sunderland’s manager did not merely sign a former Arsenal midfielder who would swiftly re-establish himself as one of the Premier League’s best No 6s. The Switzerland captain has also proved an inspirational on-pitch leader who, alongside the long serving Luke O’Nien, runs Sunderland’s dressing room. LT
Calvert-Lewin. The striker’s goals, aided by a lack of the usual niggling injuries, have been a key reason why Leeds have stayed up. It usually costs a lot of money to sign someone who can hit double figures but Daniel Farke did not have to pay a penny for the 29-year-old. WU
Biggest flop
Liam Delap. A solitary goal and some wretched performances for Chelsea have been a poor return for a striker who managed 12 goals for Ipswich last season and had been tipped to make England’s World Cup squad. EA
Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea caper was tragicomic. A decent man chewed up by a farce of an organisation. His players’ performance at Brighton chucked him under the bus. Disgraceful. Little wonder he threw himself under the same bus. Before that, Enzo Maresca couldn’t wait to get out. You sure about this, Xabi? JB
The 2025 summer striker merry-go-round hit Newcastle hard after the late departure of Alexander Isak, despite the club saying he was not for sale. Nick Woltemade had a good start before an expected difficult spell while adapting to a new league but the attacking pair of Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga combined for six league goals despite costing more than £100m. Poor business all around. YE-S
Isak is the obvious answer given the numbers involved, and Delap, another No 9, also struggled to impress. Can we say Chelsea as a whole? They finished the season humiliated by teams with a fraction of their budget. BF
Wissa. To be the worst of a jaw-droppingly bad bunch of Newcastle summer signings takes some doing but he’s pulled it off with aplomb. BG
Chelsea. The world champions who finished 10th. TH
Both £125m Isak and £116m Florian Wirtz are leading contenders, even accounting for the former’s injury problems and the latter’s occasional flashes of quality, but Liverpool’s season was a collective failure and so the nomination goes to them. Expectations went through the roof after adding almost £450m of signings to a squad that won the Premier League title with ease in 2025 but the signings had little impact, the form of established stars nose-dived and Arne Slot struggled throughout. AH
Tottenham as a collective entity. The call to Roberto De Zerbi saved their skins. The season remained an embarrassment. DH
Ruben Amorim. Surely the greatest managerial misstep of United’s Premier League era. In microcosm: giving Kobbie Mainoo zero league starts this term before his January sacking. How could the Portuguese miss the midfielder’s natural shimmering talent? The lad from Stockport was reinstated by Michael Carrick, performed superbly, and is back in the England squad for the World Cup. JJ
The entire Liverpool squad. And yes, maybe that’s harsh on a couple. But it’s breathtaking how many have underperformed this season. You can throw in Slot, too. Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes. The medical team. The ball boys. The canteen staff. Must do better, all of you. JL
Spurs. Somehow even worse than last season’s epically low fortunes. Only just scraped over the line and have so much to do to improve. PM
Chelsea. Their recent “title challenges” usually drop off around Christmas but this one took a proper nosedive. The wheels came off under Rosenior. To get beaten to the Europa League by Sunderland on the final day summed it up. BM
The Manchester City fan with the Arsenal water bottle. Football’s era of performative idiots has its king. Deserves every bit of schadenfreude that comes his way. SN
Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham. Giving flash and entitled London know-nothings a bad name. You had it all. BR
David Sullivan. No vision, no class, no clue. West Ham’s relegation is Sullivan’s failure. Time to go. JS
Isak. It was not Isak’s fault he broke a leg and missed a sizeable chunk of the season but when the Sweden striker appeared for Liverpool he tended to underwhelm. At one point Slot even suggested his £125m signing from Newcastle was missing his previously right-wing cross-providing Tyneside teammate Jacob Murphy. Isak’s determination to force through a move to Merseyside proved the transfer story of last summer. Almost a year on he may fully comprehend the meaning of the phrases “Be careful what you wish for” and “The grass isn’t always greener”. LT
Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest. The appointment never made any sense. The squad did not fit the Australian’s ideas and he was unwilling to change, making this one of the very worst managerial stints in Premier League history. WU
Biggest gripe
Aside from the giant new speakers at Selhurst Park that block out the view even more than previously, the never-ending schedule was partly to blame for a dip in standards this season. It will be interesting to see if that takes its toll on Premier League players at the World Cup. EA
It’s a concern that two of English football’s – and Stockport’s – finest talents in Cole Palmer and Phil Foden look so careworn. The Fifa Club World Cup – the Copa Gianni – was a terrible waste of time, and very few felt any benefit as this season went on. JB
Rich owners who do not care about the football or the fans. David Sullivan ignored the signs at West Ham and is largely to blame for the club going down. FSG wanted to raise Liverpool ticket prices using a multi-year approach during a cost of living crisis. And who can forget the political lecture from the billionaire tax exile Jim Ratcliffe, who spewed that the UK has been “colonised by immigrants” and backed his point using incorrect numbers? Grim given the city and community Manchester United represent. Wealthy owners have always been part of football, but increasingly it feels as though the business of the game matters most. YE-S
The vitriol towards referees. Having seen them at close-quarters last summer, their professionalism, preparation and training is comparable to a player’s. BF
The increasingly unfathomable handball law and VAR’s role in ensuring its implementation provides new and interesting ways to bewilder everyone. BG
The title not being decided on the final day. We were so very close to a thrilling finish at the top end, goal difference threatening to enter the equation. TH
The International Football Association Board’s inability to introduce a law change that improves the game. In fact, it seems intent on ruining it. AH
Kobbie Mainoo had it right when he posted a picture of a WWE Royal Rumble after United had just about repelled each of Everton’s 10 corners to get a 1-0 away win over the line. It is wrestling not football and it must be addressed. DH
Not being told the truth by the folk of the great game. An illustration? Pep Guardiola’s “No way, no way, I have a one year [left on my] contract” to this correspondent when asked whether Manchester City’s FA Cup final would be tinged with sadness because it could be a last trip there should he leave at the season’s end. Pep, you and other culprits can do better. JJ
If a player has a stinker, they get dropped. If a coach fails, they get sacked. Meanwhile Ratcliffe can spout quasi-racist rhetoric on live television and suffer zero negative consequences. My gripe – specifically – is billionaires, everything they stand for, and everything that enables them. JL
VAR. Continues to move the sport away from the spontaneity that made it great. PM
The mic’d-up refereeing announcements. In theory, good idea – supporters should know why a decision has been made. But the words “sustained pulling action” should not produce wild celebrations from fans in a football stadium. BM
Co-commentators. They’ve been talking too much for a while now and, it felt, went to another level this season, no one more so than Ally McCoist. Yes, he’s a lovely fella, but his constant jabbering alongside ‘Fletch’ made any game he worked on - and there were a lot - an annoying listen. McCoist, and all co-comms, need to be reminded that their job is to provide concise, infrequent analysis, that less is very much more. SN
The new words of death: Grappling. Unnatural position. Sent to the screen. Delete this new power lobby. Abolish VAR. Accept our human capacities and imperfections. Never say any of these words ever again. BR
We still haven’t abolished VAR. JS
Apart from grappling at corners and robotic set-piece reliance? Increasingly inconvenient kick-off times with no regard to fans struggling to get to and from games at times when, outside London, public transport is strictly limited, if not nonexistent. Television schedulers may be king but, with many supporters increasingly feeling priced out as clubs cut concessions for children and senior citizens and chase high spending “Premier League tourists”, they need to be careful. Without so-called legacy fans the much vaunted “football product” would lose considerable televisual appeal. LT
VAR. The decisions are often confusing and even basic ones take too long. Please get rid. I can’t take it any longer. WU
