31st May 17

Andy Murray and Jo Konta had mixed fortunes in Round One at Roland Garros...

Murray Finds His Feet

The British and world number one cruised through to the second round of the French Open with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov. What will be more promising for Murray and his team is the manner of the victory. With morale low and illness taking its toll, there was very much a sense that Murray would do well to even scrape into the second round against a tough opponent, let alone play with any sort of conviction. 

And whilst the first two sets of the match merely underlined that view, a pivotal period at the end of the second set and start of the third gave Murray some momentum, and with that, he found his form, brushing aside the Russian with two almost perfect sets of tennis. 

It did take Murray a while to get going, as he was sloppy in the early stages, but Kuznetsov wasn't playing particularly well either, and he handed Murray an early break of serve, only to break back. But Murray was able to grind out the first set, breaking the Russian in the 10th game to take the set 6-4. 

But Murray simply couldn't keep his form going, as Kuznetsov broke straight away to move into the lead at the start of the second set. Murray broke back immediately, but the Russian won four straight games after that, as he started to dominate the match. 5-2 up in the second set, Murray needed to  break Kuznetsov twice in a row to stay in the set. But whilst he didn't manage that, he did break once, and found something resembling form at the end of the set, despite Kuznetsov managing to force a hold to level the match. 

If Murray's return to form began at the end of the second set, it flared into life in the third, as he came out like a house on fire, breaking Kuznetsov easily to move 3-0 and then 4-1 up. The turning point in the match arguably came when Kuznetsov lobbed Murray in sensational style, only for the Briton to somehow chase it down and flick the ball back over the net. But that was merely a touch of class that confirmed that Murray was near his best; the world number one had already been playing at top form for a couple of games by that point. 

From there Kuznetsov simply had no answer as Murray broke him for a second time to take the third and crucial set 6-2, and went on to steamroller him 6-0 in a sensational final set. What had threatened to be a frustrating and tense afternoon for Murray turned into a stroll in the park by the end. It was arguably the perfect day for Murray, as he was able to feel his way into form against a tricky opponent but was forced to play well; by the end he was somewhere near his best. Hopefully, Murray can use this win to springboard his Roland Garros, and keep playing somewhere near his best for the next two weeks. 

Konta Crashes Out

For Johanna Konta it was sadly the opposite story, as she crashed out 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 to Taiwanese world 109 Hsieh Su-wei. Konta had started brilliantly, and her opponent simply had no answer to her sensational first set of tennis. It helped that Konta was able to serve herself into a rhythm nicely, and her service game was never even close to disrupted until mid-way through the second set. As a result, Konta, serving first, was able to get stuck into Hsieh early on, and used her power game to give the world number 109 no chance. 

But Hsieh was able to get a bit of form together at the start of the second set, serving better and although Konta still looked the more likely to break, Hsieh was still playing well. Then midway through the second set, Hsieh's momentum grew, as she was able to attack the Konta serve for the first time. Whilst Konta managed to save four break points in that game, and then was able to scramble, holding her serve to take the second set to a tiebreaker. By that point though, there was only one winner, as Hsieh was playing the better tennis and won the tiebreaker comfortably to level the match. 

There was only one winner in the final set. Hsieh broke early but failed to hold her nerve and let Konta straight back into it. Nevertheless, Konta's unforced errors just kept coming, and Hsieh broke again straight away, before holding her serve twice more. Konta had her moments towards the end of the match, but truthfully she'd looked a beaten woman for the back half of the match. 

It's a real shame for Konta, given that she had started so well and looked really really good for the first half of the match. But she fell away and wasn't able to regain any form, although in her defence she did well to hold out under pressure and grind a few crucial games. It all counts for naught though, as the number seven seed is out of Roland Garros in the first round yet again. 

The Hard and Fast Section

• Wenger in. Two more years confirmed. 
• Nuno appointed Wolves' boss. 
• Stokes likely to feature against Bangladesh. 
• Tom Wood gets 6 week ban. 

30th May 17

Some brilliant motorsport at the weekend, so let's have a look at two of the biggest events on the calendar.

Vettel Wins Well in Monaco

On a day where the overcut proved to be the tactic of choice, which all three of the big teams used to their advantage, ultimately team tactics barely played a part as Sebastian Vettel took full advantage of Lewis Hamilton's horrendous qualifying performance to move 25 points clear of his title rival. For all the talk of team tactics being utilized to switch the Ferrari drivers, and that certainly played a role as overtaking is nigh on impossible in Monaco, the simple truth is that Vettel drove vastly quicker than his teammate, and could well have got past him regardless of which way round the drivers were pitted. 

But as much as this was a race where Vettel was the superior driver, it was also a day where the overcut - staying out longer with clean air to drive into, worked a treat. Whilst Vettel was streaming off into the sunset to overcut his teammate, Daniel Riccardo was securing a podium for Red Bull with exactly the same tactic, as his pace took him past the scrap between Max Verstappen and Mercedes' front-runner Valteri Bottas. It was a frustrating day for Verstappen whose pit stop took 0.8s longer than Bottas', only for the young driver to end up less than a second behind Bottas as the Finn left the pits, and Verstappen to be stuck behind him for the remainder of the race. 

The other main benefactor was Lewis Hamilton whose own racing strategy did a fantastic job of limiting the damage that was done on Saturday. It was clear that if the top five cars all finished, Hamilton would be capped at 6th place, so for him to finish 7th, unable to overtake the frustrating Carlos Sainz and accepting that risking a DNF was stupid, is a good race for him. Whilst Lewis will be frustrated to have lost ground on main title rival Vettel, he'll also accept that things could have been a lot worse. 

But whilst the top seven were largely set after the first round of pit-stops, without a single memorable overtake in the race, as is traditional at Monaco, the back half of the race was lit up by a series of mad crashes, including one extremely dangerous clash between Jenson Button, filling in for Fernando Alonso who was at the Indy 500, and Pascal Wehrlein. Button was too aggressive, smashing into the side of Wehrlein who ended up sideways in the barrier but mercifully wasn't injured. Then Marcus Ericsson crashed trying to get past the safety car, and Sergio Perez managed to run Stoffel Vandoorne off the road before slamming into Daniil Kvyat. 

Overall though, although neither Mercedes nor Red Bull will be overly unhappy with the way that the race panned out, this was Ferrari's weekend. A massive 1-2, a big win for Vettel, and stretching their lead both in the Drivers and Constructors Championships. Mercedes have some catching up to do. 

Sato Wins Emotional Indy 

For all the talk of Fernando Alonso, who made a fantastic fist at the Indy 500 title before his engine blew out (a feeling that will be all too familiar for the Spaniard), it was another former F1 driver, the Japanese driver Takuma Sato who claimed the race win after a frenetic final few laps, in which he duelled with Helio Castroneves, who had run an almost perfect race up until that point. 

Castroneves, the three time winner, had been driving brilliantly all day, riding the yellow flags well and picking his moments. But Sato, who surged past Max Chilton, who had led the race for the majority of the big half, and rookie Ed Jones, timed his move to perfection and Castroneves had no answer. 

It had looked for large periods like the trio of Fernando Alonso, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay for Honda/Andretti would be the three that would be competing for the title, but with Alonso and Hunter-Reay both suffering Honda engine failures, and Rossi suffering a problem with a pitstop that put him back in 7th and unable to pounce near the end, it was fellow Andretti rider Sato who took the glory. 

It was a race that could have ended very differently however, after a red flag on lap 53 for a truly horrendous crash. Jay Howard hit the wall and skidded back across the course, in the process slamming into Scott Dixon. Dixon went flying, and his car bounced three times after smashing into the safety barrier. It was nothing short of a miracle that Dixon was able to climb out of the wreckage of his car, let alone without a serious injury. The race was stopped for 20 minutes, but if Dixon had been seriously hurt or worse, it would have put a very different gloss on proceedings. 

As it was, it was Sato's historic victory, the first for an Asian ever in the Indy 500, that took the headlines. It was a thumping race, and one that will be memorable for multiple reasons. 

The Hard and Fast Section

• Murray through. Konta out. More depth tomorrow. 
• England imploded as South Africa took the last ODI.
• Tuchel and Spalletti gone. Lots of change. 
• Wenger In. Two more years. Oh boy. 

26th May 17

So, Liverpool Player Ratings, it's been a hell of a season for the Reds and whilst it's been far from perfection, a lot of players have really impressed me this year. Going from best to worst rather than by position this year. As ever, minimum of five league starts: the only main squad casualty from this is Alberto Moreno, but it's harsh to give him a rating given that he's not even played 300 league minutes, especially since that rating would be low.

Liverpool Player Ratings

Phillipe Coutinho - 9/10: Player of the season. 13 goals and seven assists in what amounts to about 25 games of game time is a seriously good return. Not only that but the quality of Couts' goals has been magnificent, including three free-kicks and six goals total from outside the box. Liverpool's all-round best forward has not just scored big goals, but produced some utterly masterful performances. When he plays well, Liverpool play well. 

Sadio Mané - 9/10: What a debut season Sadio Mané has had. 13 goals himself, with six of those against members of the top seven, Mané has offered a constant threat, with directness, pace and serious quality. Hasn't gone three league games without scoring in his Liverpool career, and adds something unique to this team, which simply hasn't looked the same without him. 

Emre Can - 8/10: I freely confess that I love Emre Can. It took him a while to get back to full fitness and into the side early on but once he did he instantly stepped up, playing vital roles in wins over Palace and Watford, turning in a top performance against Man United and man of the match in Liverpool's unfortunate defeat to Bournemouth. Despite struggling with an injury in January and February, he's been Liverpool's best player in 2017, with a string of incredible performances in March-May, including two unstoppable winning goals against Burnley and Watford. 

Joel Matip - 8/10: The biggest criticism people have made about Matip is his injuries which says it all really. He's had some iffy performances in 2017 next to Klavan and Lucas, but truthfully where Matip has struggled has largely been down to organisational problems, and in terms of top performances, Matip is by far and a way Liverpool's top performing defender. 

Georginio Wijnaldum - 7/10: I was very torn between 7 and 8 for Gini and Lallana. But whilst Wijnaldum produced some massive goals and performances in the back half of the season, particularly very late on but also in February and March, it took him until New Year's Eve to produce a top class performance for the club. There were too many performances where Gini went missing in smaller games early on to give him an 8, but an encouraging first season nonetheless and very much a potential fan favourite. 

Adam Lallana - 7/10: Lallana has the opposite problem to Gini. Whilst he started the season like a house on fire, notching seven goals and seven assists in the 2016 half of the season, it took him until the final day of the season to add to that tally. An excellent performer in some of Liverpool's best performances this season, and certainly a large part of why they were so good, but on the other hand, a massive contributing factor in why they were so bad, when they were so bad. 

Simon Mignolet - 7/10: Another player who had a strong case for scoring higher than 7, Simon Mignolet has significantly upped his game since returning to the side in December. Since April's game against Stoke, where he pulled off possibly the save of the season, he's been absolutely pivotal to Liverpool's final run in. But his start to the season underlined why he was being dropped for Karius and he's not immune from criticism in January or February either, as he made some reasonable errors across the Christmas period. 

Jordan Henderson - 7/10: A recurring theme on this list is players whose seasons were blighted by injury. Hendo played as a defensive midfielder this season and after a bad start against Arsenal and Burnley, took to it like a duck to water. Easily Liverpool's most consistent player, it's hard to remember the last time he turned in a bad performance. Dictated the play well from deep. 

Roberto Firmino - 7/10: This time last year, I had Bobby Firmino as my player of the year, and a player I was buzzing to see develop for Liverpool. It's been another extremely solid year for Bobby, with 11 league goals, but having played up front all year, it would have been nice to see a more productive output. When he's been good he's been sensational, but he's also been very inconsistent and blown hot and cold all year, similarly to Gini and Lallana, he's not been consistently good enough. 

Divock Origi  - 6/10: Down to the players that have had decent seasons, but not lived up to their potential. There's no denying that Divvy's goal return of seven goals and three assists in less than 1500 minutes is good, with five goals in his fourteen league starts, but whilst goals are a good metric for a striker, they're not the only thing that's important and for large swathes of his opportunities, Origi's all-round play hasn't been up to scratch. 

Daniel Sturridge - 6/10: A season of few opportunities for Studge, limited by injuries and by team selection. Seven league starts have yielded two goals and one assist, but his general play has been solid, even he's not been able to play in his favoured position all of the time. Encouraging, but not encouraging enough. 

Nathaniel Clyne - 6/10: Here's where we start to get into the controversial ones. I think Clyne's had a very solid season. Defensively he's been very solid, albeit with a few small errors here and there. In attack, Clyne hasn't been bad either. But neither has he excelled, and whilst his lack of end product has been drastically overstated, as he creates plenty of chances, he nevertheless hasn't done enough. 

James Milner - 6/10: Milner is another player who's not had a bad season, especially considering how out of position he's been for the entire thing. Whilst he's been defensively susceptible at times, his attacking play has largely been good, especially in the front half of the season. His penalties have also been vital. Overall, he's not had a bad year. 

Dejan Lovren - 6/10: For all the flak that Dejan Lovren gets on a weekly basis, and with much of that deserved, the simple truth is that Liverpool look a much better side defensively when he's partnering Matip. Of the nine league games he's missed this season, Liverpool have kept just one clean sheet, and whilst he's too error-prone to get a high mark, he's been surprisingly solid for large portions of the season. 

Loris Karius - 6/10: Karius will get a lot of hate in post-season ratings, but in my opinion he's been treated unfairly. Whilst he made a couple of high profile errors, it was harsh to drop him, even if Mignolet absolutely vindicated that decision. Eleven goals conceded in ten games and three clean sheets across those games isn't worse than Mignolet. 

Ragnar Klavan - 5/10: Klavan hasn't been significantly worse than Lovren overall, but he has been worse. Big errors have cost him a regular starting spot, and 21 goals conceded in 15 starts is really not great. Just three clean sheets in those games, all of which with Lovren steadying the ship alongside him, but it was a pairing that never looked stable. 

Lucas Leiva - 5/10: I love Lucas as much as the next guy, and the wave of nostalgia around him means he will be remembered fondly. But he was a car crash at CB. Four shipped against Bournemouth, three against Leicester, and two against Hull. He was solid enough in defensive midfield in the latter stages of the season, providing the fans one or two fond moments with some good play against West Brom and Everton. But yeah. Not good. 

The Hard and Fast Section

• Stokes back in action. Good news for England. 
• Zabaleta on a free transfer to West Ham. Huh. 
• City bringing in Bernado Silva. Yikes. 
• Murray drawn against Kuznetsov at Roland Garros. 

25th May 17

Okay so today's blog is brought to you by guest writer Ben Howarth. Liverpool Player Ratings for the 2016/17 season will be coming tomorrow, so for now, enjoy Ben's take on the season of his beloved club, Wolverhampton Wanderers. I'm going to do more of these if I can over the next week or so. 

Wolves Season Review

Out of Darkness Cometh Light

Wolves have been using this trite phrase on marketing and season tickets for years now. But this season, after the exercise in existential tedium the prior campaign turned into, had so much potential to deliver on the promise.

After a Summer of rumours and speculation FOSUN, a Chinese conglomerate represented at the club by Jeff Shi, bought out Liverpudlian businessman Steve Morgan on the 21^st July and promised slightly surreal levels of investment. The gossip columns had a field day. The headline linking Mario Balotelli to Molineux will forever remain a personal favourite – a sign that sports journalism is indeed dead and now all we witness are the spasms of its decaying corpse.

Kenny Jackett’s days were numbered. Our Chinese owners got into the traditional British football spirit of things by offering him their full support before kicking him out unceremoniously less than a week later. Despite being a club with half a squad and no manager optimism remained high. First we were linked with Marco Silva. The fans scoffed. A foreign manager who apparently can’t speak English? No chance of thriving over here. He duly disappeared from the running and hasn’t amounted to much anywhere else.

Next we apparently had a Spanish chap called Julen Lopetegui all lined up. Again, scepticism was high. Again, he dropped out the running. Some tinpot minor football power wanted him to run their national team. Fans sighed a sigh of relief, another pretender defeated. Lopetegui moved quietly into retirement and anonymity.

Then we signed Walter Zenga as head coach.

The Zenga Bus

The 87 days that followed were occasionally entertaining, but sadly predictable. Zenga brought great passion, promises that Wolves had a massive Italian following (yes, really) and some truly great chants. He also delivered, at St James’ Park, one of the best Wolves performances in the Championship within recent memory. On that balmy afternoon one of our many new Portuguese wingers, Helder ‘the best thing to come out of Portugal since Peri-Peri Sauce’ Costa came of age and ran a beleaguered Magpie’s backline ragged. The centre of the park was dominated by Romain Saiss, our highly rated new Moroccan hard man, who had Jonjo Shelvey so sewn up that the Voldemort enthusiast resorted to some traditional British racism. Optimism reigned. At least the play-offs called. The Zenga bus was rolling in the right direction.

Then all the wheels fell off. Our only fully fit and scoring striker from the start of the season, Jón Daði Böðvarsson, stopped doing so. Nouha Dicko came back promising many goals, between them they provided 6. Our defence, never the most resolute aspect of the club, began to resemble a sieve that had been shot multiple times by a tank. We went from upper mid table, to below even Aston Villa in 18^th and, having won a mere 4 of his 14 games in charge, Zenga was given the boot. The man had admirable passion and formed a deep connection with our hardcore fan base. Unfortunately, he was also about as tactically astute as Harry Rednapp’s Mum. Shine on Walter you crazy diamond, but please do it away from Wolverhampton.

Mitigating circumstances

Much as it might pain me to admit it, perhaps not all of Walter’s failures were brought about by his many obvious weaknesses. FOSUN’s acquisition of Wolves came about a mere fortnight before the season began and the squad they inherited was, with the best will in the world, crap. The trolley rush that followed was not dissimilar to Arsenal’s entertaining 2011 deadline day rush. 13 players were brought in, either on loan or permanently. Most were linked in one way or another to the ‘super agent’ Jorge Mendes. Of these 5 were Portuguese – every one of whom spent at least some time playing on the wing. At one point Wolves managed the seemingly impossible and played 3 of them (Costa, Caveilero and Teixera) on the wing in a 442. Yes, it was one of those seasons.

Some of the other signings made more sense. The highly rated Borthwick-Jackson came in on loan from The Special One at Old Trafford (Agent: Jorge Mendes. Me, implying anything? Surely not). Unfortunately, Cameron appeared more fussed about his hair and keeping his boots clean than playing football. He returned to the Manchester United youth side mid-season. Jón Daði Böðvarsson also seemed a good buy. Fresh from dumping Woy, Wazza and the lads out of Euro 2016 he started like an Icelandic freight train, and continued to show enough later in the season to believe he could be a club stalwart for years to come. Also, he allows us to legitimately do that thunder clap thing. Money well spent. Richard Stearman returned on a year loan, after we’d sold him to Fulham 12 months previously for ‘football reasons’. Eyebrows were raised, but dear Richard is an experienced centre back and we have a young defence. It made at least some sense.

The less said about Prince ‘formerly known as a footballer’ Oniangue, Paul ‘even I don’t know who I am or why I’m offside 37 times a game’ Gladon, Ola ‘so nondescript the writer can’t think of a nickname’ John the better. The loan signing of Joao Teixera is worth an honourable mention. He looked good for at least a fortnight. then he was so bad we somehow managed to sub-loan him to Forest, who literally never played him. Likely to be an answer on Pointless sooner or later.

The squad didn’t even begin to look balanced before the excellent January additions of Andreas Weimann and Ben Marshall brought about by Zenga’s able successor – Paul Lambert. Would Zenga have been able to settle the ship with a transfer window? Maybe. Was it worth risking given trajectory? Absolutely not.

Enter Lambert – Let’s go to Liverpool

As the astute reader will no doubt have noticed, Paul Lambert was FOSUN’s next choice as head coach. He solidified our defence admirably and noticeably improved the style of our play. Under Zenga there was no continuity in tactics. Lambert utilised our pace out wide to turn us into an excellent counter attacking side. Unsurprisingly, this meant that we were a lot better away from home than at Molineux. A table made up purely of our home results would have seen Wolves playing in League One next season, and deservedly so. He also had the worst ‘blip’ in results I’ve ever seen a manager survive; losing 5 games back to back in February – making it the worst February in our recorded history. And let me tell you, we’ve had some proper stinkers. Safety was secured with 4 games to spare. Everyone was embarrassed that it was even a possibility. But, aside from a few deluded denizens of the internet, most credited Lambert with stabilizing the club and felt that he could kick on next season. There was also the small matter of the FA Cup.

This season saw the best FA cup run for the Old Gold in nearly 15 years. A third round draw away at Stoke was viewed by most, including your humble guest blogger, to be a solid way of exiting the competition respectfully and concentrating on the league. Instead, an understrength Wolves side deservedly beat a full strength Stoke team. To say that this provoked bemusement would be an understatement – who the hell were these players and where were they most Saturdays?

More surprise was to come in the next round – away at Liverpool. Richard Stearman justified his entire season’s wages with a beautiful headed goal in front of the Kop inside 2 minutes. Andreas Weimann, brought in on loan a mere week earlier, won himself an immunity from any and all criticism, by leaving Karius prostrate and rolling home a second shortly before half time. In truth, it could have been more. Helder Costa added a good £5m onto his price tag when he is inevitably snapped up by a bigger club this summer by running the length of the pitch, leaving a succession of pampered Anfield starlets in his wake. Origi clawed one back in a scramble with 5 minutes to go but the Reds never seriously threatened to steal the Mighty Wanderer’s thunder and had to slink back to their changing room shortly after with their pride in tatters. The like hadn’t been seen at Anfield since 2010 and Stephen Wards apotheosis, but those are memories of a happier time. Can we play them every week?

To add insult to injury, the Liverpool-Wolves tie was televised. Similarly, the cameras came to Molineux for their showdown with Chelsea in the next round. Antonio Conte didn’t make the same mistake as Klopp and named a strong team, showing a great deal of respect. Yet when the unlikeliest of potential heroes George ‘occasionally a footballer’ Saville rattled the woodwork of Begovic’s goal in the first ten minutes, Chelsea were visibly rattled. Unfortunately, that was the closest the boys in gold got and Chelsea eventually ground them down, with Pedro scoring an excellent goal in the 65^th minute and the other, less impressive, Costa adding a second at the death. Conte introduced the best player in the Premier League, Kante, to shore up Chelsea’s defence for the last twenty minutes, in perhaps the most effective tribute to Wolves’ efforts. The players were rightly applauded off the pitch by the largest crowd at Molineux since it became an all seater stadium.

Where next?

So in summary, calamitous start to the season, Lambert in, stability, excellent cup run. What’s more, there was enough shown at the end of the season to hope that perhaps next season light could really ‘cometh out of darkness’. The horrifically injured Jordan Graham re-emerged for the final few matches and, at home to Preston on the final day, looked to almost immediately be back to his best. With the potential return of Ebanks-Landell from his triumphant season at Sheffield United (who have subsequently become the least moral club in the country) and a full preseason with our many signings, Wolves fans were cautiously optimistic.

And yet.

News has recently emerged than Paul Lambert’s position has become untenable. Apparently, he wanted the final say on transfers. FOSUN, in bed with Mendes, felt that this was unreasonable. The issue has now rumbled on for a fortnight with multiple managers, each as uninspiring as the last, touted for the job whilst Lambert clings on, a dead man walking. Transfers are on hold. A deal to bring in Weimann permanently, which looked a shoe in, is now up in the air. A decision on the excellent, but perpetually crocked, Silvio likewise has been left in limbo. The air of optimism which saw an immense number of season tickets bought, especially for a club who have had two utterly uninspiring seasons back to back, has swiftly been dispelled.

Out of Darkness Cometh Light? I’ll believe it when I see it.

Player of the Season: Helder Costa for his immense ability comes in second, but is just edged out by Dangerous Dave Edwards. The two are tied for league top scorer (10 goals) but only one of them has been a servant for 10 years and literally never stops running. Seriously, the Duracell Bunny needs to watch his back.

Highlight of the season: ‘Costa with the free-kick…and arriving is STEEEEEEEEEARMAAAAAN…THE OLD GOLD IS GLEAMING AT ANFIELD’

Lowlight of the season: Wolves 0-4 Barnsley. Specifically, the 73^rd minute onwards. It was 0-0 before then. In the words of Walter, “It is a shame not only for me but for the fans as well, the club and everybody.”

Overall score(s) – The Zenga Bus 2/10. The Lambert Cup Revolution 9/10. The Lambert League stabilisation 6/10. Overall C- (Could do better, please see me)

The Hard and Fast Section

• Morgan and Woakes KO'd South Africa. Very promising. 
• Man United saw off Ajax to win the Europa League.
• Gary Monk and Big Sam are gone. Madness. 
• Vettel flying in Monaco practice. 

23rd May 17

Okay, so yesterday was Part One of my end of season review, and today is Part Two, featuring the bottom half of the Premier League and some really interesting seasons.

Premier League Season Review Part Two 

11. West Ham 

For Slaven Bilic's team this has to go down as a bad campaign. After finishing 7th last year, and building a brand new stadium and promising to spend £30m on a striker in the summer (which didn't happen), West Ham fans were anticipating another assault on the top four. Instead they got a side that lost five of their opening six games, won just three of their opening fifteen and never rose above lower mid-table. A mid-season spurt turned things from being actively bad to just mediocre, but five defeats in a row in March/April meant that they needed a strong finish just to stay out of the relegation battle. 17 points down on last season. 

Player of the Season: Manuel Lanzini - Only just pipping Antonio who scored lots of early goals. Lanzini was more influential over the whole campaign I think. 

Best Result of the Season: West Ham 1-0 Spurs. Their only win against the top seven all season. 

Worst Result of the Season: West Brom 4-2 West Ham. Having thrown away a 2-0 lead the previous week to lose 4-2 to Watford, West Ham were 4-0 down inside an hour to West Brom. Shocking. 

Overall Score: 4/10

12. Leicester City 

Whilst Leicester were never expected to repeat their title-winning feat, I still don't think it was reasonable to expect them to end up nearly getting relegated. And whilst the sacking of manager Claudio Ranieri in February helped keep the Foxes up, as they went on to win their next five games having lost the previous five, there's no denying that Leicester were poor for the majority of the season. What they did do well was pick up 25 points from their nine games at home against teams in the bottom half, but their away form was ugly, their performances against better sides were ugly, and whilst they rallied well late on, they can be largely disappointed with this season I think. 

Player of the Season: Kasper Schmiechel - Whilst Vardy ended up with 13 goals, their keeper was just about the only player to give 100% and play well across the season. 

Best Result of the Season: Leicester 3-1 Liverpool. Right when they needed it, the new manager bounce appeared. Putting 4 past City in December very close too. 

Worst Result of the Season: Spurs 6-1 Leicester. Plenty of poor results against top sides, but shipping six to the team you pipped to the title last year in front of your own fans has to sting. 

Overall Score: 5/10

13. Stoke City 

After a car crash start to the season that saw Stoke bottom of the table until mid-October as they failed to win any of their opening seven games, it became clear that this was not going to be a season of improvement for the Potters. Whilst Stoke rallied to mid-table by Christmas, a shocking end to the season which saw them win just two of their last eleven games meant that they finished 13th, their worst finish and lowest points tally since 2013. A big step backwards for sure. 

Player of the Season: Joe Allen - Six goals and two assists from midfield, Allen has been one of the few bright sparks of a bad season for Stoke. 

Best Result of the Season: United 1-1 Stoke. Very little to choose from with their 1-0 win on the final day the only win against teams finishing higher. Drawing at Old Trafford with United in form is good.

Worst Result of the Season: Palace 4-1 Stoke. I was with a Stoke fan when this happened. It was ugly. Very ugly. 

Overall Score: 5/10

14. Crystal Palace

Given that Palace are one of the few sides finishing ahead of where they were expected to, and given that they looked like relegation material for significant periods of the season, it would be arguably unfair to call this a bad season for Palace. Indeed, they were only one point worse off than last season. And yet, they lost 12 of 15 games between October and the end of January, notching just one win. Four wins in a row around March, picking up 19 points from 8 games at a crucial point in the season including wins at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and over Arsenal kept them up. Big Sam to the rescue again. 

Player of the Season: Christian Benteke - Wilf Zaha and Mamadou Sakho are both candidates but goals keep you in the Premier League, and Benteke provided 15 of them. 

Best Result of the Season: Palace 2-1 Chelsea. Demolishing a wretched Arsenal comes close, but beating an in-form Chelsea at the Bridge and being only the second team to take points off them there? That takes it.

Worst Result of the Season: Sunderland 4-0 Palace. Losing 4-0 at home to the worst team in the division is about as bad as it gets. Sunderland would win only one more game in their remaining 14.

Overall Score: 6/10

15. Swansea City 

Swansea are another team it's tough to judge as a coherent whole. They were woeful and all but relegated under Bob Bradley, but Paul Clement's resurgence saved them. It's very much a good season in the sense that they didn't go down, picking up 13 points from their last five games in a last ditch survival surge, but picking up three points from 11 games after winning on the opening day, losing four straight games in December and picking up one point from six games in a pivotal period across March and April really does spell a tale of woe. Overall a disappointing season, but one that they survived intact. 

Player of the Season: Gylfi Sigurdsson - Llorente's goals might have been huge, but Sigurdsson's quality was evident throughout, with nine goals and 13 assists. Massive player. 

Best Result of the Season: Swansea 3-2 Liverpool. One of only two teams to win at Anfield all season, Swansea's only win against the top six came at a pivotal time for them. 

Worst Result of the Season: Middlesbrough 3-0 Swansea. Losing 3-0 to the team in the league that scores the least goals? Yeah this compounded Swansea's place as relegation battlers. 

Overall Score: 6/10

16. Burnley

Burnley are the only newly promoted club to survive this season, and frankly the fact that they never looked like going down is a huge achievement. Whilst their final points tally of 40 and position of 16th make things look a bit worse than they were, overall to keep their Premier League status means that they've achieved their goal. Their fantastic home form has been the key to that all season, with 10 wins at Turf Moor and four of their six home defeats coming to the top six. Whilst it took them until their penultimate away game to register a win on the road, they ended up not really needing more away wins to stay up.

Player of the Season: Tom Heaton - Consistently brilliant for the majority of the season, Heaton is a player who won plenty of points for his side. An extremely good keeper. 

Best Result of the Season: Burnley 2-0 Liverpool. Their only win against the top six, but one that resonated early on that Burnley would be tough to beat at home. 

Worst Result of the Season: West Brom 4-0 Burnley. Burnley suffered some hammer blows away from home, but getting obliterated at the Hawthorns was as bad as it got. They were horrendous. 

Overall Score: 7/10 

17. Watford 

Six straight defeats to end a season, not to mention sacking your manager, tends to put a rather bad gloss on a season. Not that finishing 17th and only getting 40 points represents a good season, but Watford hit a very bad patch at the end, having been consistently okay for most of the season. Watford never won three games in a row in this campaign, but until that final run they didn't lose more than two in a row either. Nevertheless, just five league wins and 18 points in 2017 is a horrendous back half of the season, and their front half wasn't much better. Overall a pretty poor season, but it was only their second season back in the Premier League and they never looked like going down, so a bit of context needs to be applied. 

Best Result of the Season: Watford 3-1 Man United. Winning at the Emirates runs it close, but this terrific early win over Man United is their overall best result. 

Worst Result of the Season: Liverpool 6-1 Watford. Losing 5-0 at home to City on the final day was also pretty shoddy, but shipping six at Anfield is the kind of terrible defending that typified Watford away from home. 

Overall Score: 5/10 

18. Hull

Yikes Hull. They really went through the ringer. Written off before the season started. No manager. 13 fit players. A relegation dogfight for the majority of the season despite a reasonable start. Marco Silva and a slew of January signings bringing home. Clawing their way out of the drop zone. And then losing 2-0 at home to Sunderland and 4-0 away at Palace allowing Swansea to leapfrog them to safety having been in the box-seat with only three games to play. Ugly, ugly ending to what ended up being a really long and painful season. Only one away win all season clinched their demise. They always looked up against it, but relegation remains a bitter pill to swallow. 

Player of the Season: Robert Snodgrass - Struggling to score goals or defend, it's hard to pick out a standout. The fact that Snodgrass was comfortably Hull's top scorer despite not being a striker and leaving in January says it all. 

Best Result of the Season: Hull 2-0 Liverpool. *sigh*

Worst Result of the Season: Bournemouth 6-1 Hull. Shipping 7 to Spurs, losing to Sunderland at home with safety in their own hands and the 4-0 to Palace all ran it close. But 6 goals. To Bournemouth. Christ. 

Overall Score: 4/10

19. Middlesbrough

Boro looked reasonably okay for large swathes of the season, as their strong defence earned them four wins in 2016, along with a handful of decent 0-0 and 1-1 draws. But whilst they continued to get a healthy amount of 0-0s in 2017, what wasn't healthy was their inability to put the ball in the back of the net. Nine goals in 2017, just the one win, and just the ten points. An absolute calamity of the back half of the year saw Boro very, very relegated. They scored the least goals, their defence fell apart, and everything just went horribly wrong, as they scratched for momentum. One win. In twenty one games. And it was a 1-0 win at home to Sunderland. Oh dear. 

Player of the Season: Ben Gibson - Defensively Boro had a solid enough season and Gibson did well to ensure that. Goals were always the problem. 

Best Result of the Season: Boro 3-0 Swansea. The only time Boro scored more than twice all season, and the result that took them to 18 points from 17 games. It all went downhill from there. 

Worst Result of the Season: Bournemouth 4-0 Boro. On the verge of going down, Boro travelled to Bournemouth needing a win to keep their survival hopes just about alive. They were 2-0 down and down to 10 men inside 20 minutes. Disgrace. 

Overall Score: 3/10

20. Sunderland

Oh Sunderland. What is there to say. David Moyes' appointment, their signings, their form, their team. Everything was just an absolute shambles from first kick til last. They weren't bottom of the table from the beginning until the end but they were pretty close. 189 days spent rock bottom of the league, only 21 days total outside of the relegation zone. It took them until November to register a win, They won just two games in 2017, picking up just ten points, same as Boro. Truthfully they never looked close to staying up, and sure enough they were relegated with an absymal 24 points. Two points from ten games in March/April at the pivotal point in the season? Wretched.

Player of the Season: Jermain Defoe - How he scored 15 goals in this side remains a mystery. Him and Pickford are the only two players who are good enough for the Premier League. 

Best Result of the Season: Sunderland 4-0 Palace. If you're going to win just once in 17 games, might as well make it one to remember right? 

Worst Result of the Season: Southampton 4-0 Sunderland. Of all the dismal performances in Sunderland's season, this one sums them up. At home to a mid-table club and they turned in one of the worst team performances in Premier League history. Abysmal. 

Overall Score: 2/10 (Only because a 1/10 is reserved for Aston Villa/Derby levels of bad)

The Hard and Fast Section

• Conte named Manager of the Year. Rightfully. 
• Sangakkara retiring from first class cricket. Legend. 
• Hockey legend Macleod retires from internationals. Champion. 
• PGA Championship this weekend. No Rory. 

22nd May 17

So the Premier League season is over! Last year I did a full round-up of each team's season, which was a lot of hard work. This year I want to try and focus on other things, specifically other sports, so I'm going to do a series of round-ups this week, starting with a general overview of each team's season. There'll be some Liverpool-centric ones, a team of the year piece and maybe some other stuff.

Premier League Season Review Part One

So this is a general overview of how each team's PL season generally went. I'm going to do this is two parts since it's very long, but this is the top ten.

1. Chelsea

Chelsea were the worthy title winners, with a terrific run before Christmas, winning all 13 games in October, November and December. Despite a stuttering start to 2017, they were hardly playing poorly and managed to get deservedly over the line with 16 points from six games in February and March, followed by six straight wins to get over the line and finish the campaign with a flourish. The first team to win 30 games in a season and the only team to come out with a higher points tally in PL history is Chelsea themselves. 

Player of the Season: Eden Hazard - 16 goals and the lynchpin to Chelsea's attack, scoring at crucial times in crucial games. 

Best Result of the Season: Chelsea 4-0 Man United. Just an absolute blitzkrieg. 

Worst Result of the Season: Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea. Shambles that day, but it turned their season. 

Overall Score: 9/10 

2. Spurs

It's easy to mock Spurs for not being able to chase down Chelsea, but the truth is that Pochettino's men had a fantastic season. They scored the most goals, conceded the least, improved drastically on last year and there have been plenty of seasons where 86 points would be enough to win the league. Winning 12 of their last 13 games, losing just twice in 2017, Spurs really ran Chelsea right to the end, despite most pundits assuming they'd drop off. Just dropped too many points in October and left themselves too much to do overall. 

Player of the Season: Harry Kane - 29 goals in 30 games is an insane amount. The best striker in the league and the best English striker since Gary Lineker. 

Best Result of the Season: Spurs 7-1 Hull. Plenty to choose from, but this is hard to look past.

Worst Result of the Season: Liverpool 2-0 Spurs. Comprehensively outplayed from first kick to last.

Overall Score: 8/10

3. Man City 

City are a tough one to gauge. The way they started the season, the hype around Guardiola and the talent at their disposal means that the fact they were never really in the title race is a huge disappointment, but they played some lovely football and were the best of the rest. Ultimately they just couldn't keep their momentum up. They lost three games in December, then hit a rut in their big games in March/April, failing to win four in a row. 12 points better off than last season represents progress, but they're still a solid 10/15 points off where they need to be. Rocky start for Guardiola. 

Player of the Season: Kevin De Bruyne - There are few standout individuals from City's team, but 18 assists and nearly 100 key passes is a pretty unreal creative performance from a central midfielder.

Best Result of the Season: Man City 5-0 Palace. With very few standout performances against the top sides, this one was a one-sided obliteration. 

Worst Result of the Season: Everton 4-0 Man City. Easily the low-point of Pep's season. His team were utterly destroyed. 

Overall Score: 6/10 

4. Liverpool 

Liverpool had a flying 2016, and were looking very hot at the turn of the year. And despite a wretched couple of months at the start of 2017, as they dropped plenty of sloppy points, they roared back to get over the line and secure the top four spot that would have been their target at the start of the season, despite spending comfortably less money than Arsenal, Man United, Man City or Chelsea. A season that didn't quite fulfill its early promise, but remains a huge step in the right direction for Klopp's Reds. On their day, they can beat anyone in this league, and just about did. Almost nobody had them down to finish this high or with this many points. 

Player of the Season: Phillipe Coutinho - 13 goals, 7 assists and played some truly awesome football, all despite missing about two months of the campaign.

Best Result of the Season: Liverpool 6-1 Watford. Despite some top performances against the big clubs, this one was a proper demolition job to send the Reds top of the table. 

Worst Result of the Season: Bournemouth 4-3 Liverpool. Plenty to choose from, but the way this one went down is just plain shambolic. 

Overall Score: 8/10

5. Arsenal 

More than slightly unlucky to finish outside the top four with 75 points, but ultimately the final position is what you're judged on, ignoring the fact that they've only picked up more than 75 points twice in the last eleven years. Still, there's no denying Arsenal have been patchy for long swathes of 2017, with some truly awful results and a horrendous away form. 7 wins out of 8 at the end almost papered over the cracks, but not quite. Europa League football for the first time this century. 

Player of the Season: Alexis Sanchez - 24 goals, 10 assists. Absolutely insane season and talent. Carried Arsenal this year. 

Best Result of the Season: Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea. An early dismantling of their big rivals that convinced us things might be different this year. 

Worst Result of the Season: Palace 3-0 Arsenal. Conceding three to Liverpool, West Brom and Chelsea was all terrible, but this disgustingly poor performance takes the cake. 

Overall Score: 5/10

6. Man United 

Whilst Man United fans could justifiably argue that their cup exploits detract from their league position, that doesn't change the fact that a club who spent over £150m in the summer and were tipped as 2nd favourites for the title, with a manager whose goal was to win the title, not only never challenged for the title, but were barely in the race for top four, spending a record amount of time in 6th place and finishing there. An awful home record for draws, a really poor league campaign and won less than half of their games in 2017. They ended up nearly 25 points off their primary target. 

Player of the Season: Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Mostly by default, but scoring 17 goals is still no mean feat, and overall it's a good season for Zlatan.

Best Result of the Season: Man United 2-0 Chelsea. A season of few league highs, but beating table-topping Chelsea a few weeks ago represents a serious coup for a team that only won two games against the top seven. 

Worst Result of the Season: Chelsea 4-0 Man United. The Mou giveth and the Mou taketh away. A result that showed just how far Man United were from competing at the top end.. 

Overall Score: 4/10

7. Everton 

Considering how poor Everton's last couple of seasons were under Martinez, for Koeman to instantly launch a serious assault on the top six is an achievement. Yes they fell away at the end, but to produce a sustained challenge to what has been the strongest top six in years represents pretty much where Everton can reasonably expect to be. Finished 15 points clear of the mid-table battle that they fell into last year. But their results against the top sides demonstrate that they simply aren't on that level yet. 

Player of the Season: Romelu Lukaku - Goal machine. 25 goals is a huge achievement and he was the standout in a team with few standout performers. 

Best Result of the Season: Everton 4-0 Man City. A huge achievement that saw Everton's young players announce themselves on the big stage with a terrific performance. 

Worst Result of the Season: Chelsea 5-0 Everton. Yikes. Enough said. 

Overall Score: 7/10

8. Southampton 

Despite a good cup campaign, Southampton are sadly one of a handful of mid-table sides to go backwards this season under Claude Puel. They're at least ten points down on each of the last three years, 17 down on last campaign, and although they've still finished 8th, they were nowhere near the top teams. Inconsistency has blighted their entire campaign, but six defeats in seven games around the turn of the year are where their season really went off the rails and they struggled to get it back on track after that. Six league wins in 2017 is awful for a club of their increasing stature.

Player of the Season: Virgil Van Dijk - The fact he only played 21 games says it all. Brilliant defender who held Saints together. 

Best Result of the Season: Saints 3-0 West Ham. No wins against the top six, so this big early win against West Ham is about as good as it gets. A 4-0 win over Sunderland ran this close. 

Worst Result of the Season: Palace 3-0 Saints. Losing 3-0 to a Palace side that had lost six on the bounce. Christ. 

Overall Score: 5/10

9. Bournemouth 

For Bournemouth to finish in the top ten of the Premier League at only the second time of asking (ever), is absolutely phenomenal. Whilst 46 points is hardly a huge points total, it still represents a big step up for Bournemouth, especially given that even staying in the Premier League at the second time of asking would be considered an achievement, let alone finishing 12 points and nine places above the drop zone. Just two defeats in their final 12 games, and 11 points from their final five shows a strong finish which can hopefully keep their momentum going into the next campaign. 

Player of the Season: Josh King - 16 goals for the versatile forward is better than most Premier League strikers; despite not playing as a striker very often. 

Best Result of the Season: Bournemouth 6-1 Hull. Almost as good as Spurs. 

Worst Result of the Season: Everton 6-3 Bournemouth. Bournemouth are the only team to both score and concede six goals in a game this season. 

Overall Score: 8/10

10. West Brom 

West Brom had a phenomenal 2/3s of the season, and were on course for a 55 point season when they hit the 40 point mark with 12 games to go, calling many to name Tony Pulis manager of the year. A complete collapse since then, with just five more points accumulated is extremely disappointing, and highlights the limited nature of West Brom's ambition, but nevertheless it remains a good season for the Baggies as they make the top ten with two points more than last year. 

Player of the Season: Gareth McAuley - Any defender who scores vital goals is a big boost to the team, but he was also a huge part of West Brom's solid defensive performances this campaign. 

Best Result of the Season: West Brom 3-1 Arsenal. Destroying the Gunners was their most high profile win, but trouncing Burnley 4-0 ran it close. 

Worst Result of the Season: Man City 4-0 West Brom. Very few actively terrible results, but getting beaten 4-0 at home, even to Man City is a pretty poor showing. 

Overall Score: 7/10

The Hard and Fast Section

• Exeter v Wasps after two sensational semi-finals. 
• Rugby Players unanimously reject a longer season. 
• England's Women announce their Cricket World Cup squad. 
• Alonso on the second row for Indy 500.

20th May 17

Final Premier League preview of the season!

All games kicking off at 3pm tomorrow.

Arsenal v Everton

This is a tough one to call because it's quite dependent on what happens elsewhere. You would expect Arsenal to win, given that they're the better side on paper, Everton aren't in great form and Arsenal are at home where they've been excellent. Moreover, Arsenal have everything to play for, with a top four spot still within their grasp, something that Everton are unlikely to be keen to deny them should their arch-rivals Liverpool be the team losing out. However, this game will lose a lot of its sting if Liverpool and City start cruising. On balance, I think Arsenal will win, but if they run out of motivation it could well be a draw.

Prediction: 2-1 Arsenal 

Burnley v West Ham 

A top ten finish looks out of the picture for both of these two, but they'll still be grappling for position, and each spot in the table is still worth a lot of money. That's not to suggest that the battle for 12th place will be gripping, because it won't, but the fact that a team who were serious relegation candidates could still finish ahead of a team who were expecting to turn themselves into European contenders this season is pretty amusing. And I think Burnley's superior home form and West Ham's injuries will mean that the home side edges it. 

Prediction: 1-0 Burnley

Chelsea v Sunderland 

I'm not going to mince words. The best team in the league at home to the worst, this should be a comfortable win for Chelsea, even if they send out the reserves and have nothing to play for. Nothing that is except a winning finish to celebrate lifting the Premier League title at home. It won't be their best performance this season, but they should still win. 

Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea

Hull v Spurs

If you'd asked me to predict this game a week ago, I'd have said that there was a solid chance that Spurs don't turn up and Hull get a result. But then two days ago, Spurs went and scored six away at Leicester. Six! Hull could end up on the end of a real hammering if Spurs scent blood in this one. And given that Hull are now down, they're not going to come out desperate for the win. 

Prediction: 4-0 Spurs

Leicester City v Bournemouth

This could be a really good game. Two teams playing for pride and a top half spot. Bournemouth could yet finish 8th which would be an absolutely incredible season for Eddie Howe's side. But Leicester will be looking to salvage what as been a really disappointing campaign. On balance, I think this one will be too close to call, so I'm going for a score draw. 

Prediction: 2-2

Liverpool v Middlesbrough 

Not gonna lie, I'm very nervous about a game that looking at objectively, Liverpool should win easily. Keeping that objective head on for a moment, it's a home game against the team stuck in 19th place that have absolutely nothing to play for and frankly have been awful even when they've put the effort in. If Liverpool keep the same tempo, lineup and formation that worked so well against West Ham, it should be straightforward, especially with Sturridge and Coutinho in hot form. But then...

Prediction: 3-0 Liverpool 

Man United v Crystal Palace

United are limping to the finish of a pretty average league campaign. With the Europa League final three days away, it's going to be a makeshift eleven for Mourinho's men, who are now five league games without a win. This could play right into the hands of Big Sam's Palace, who are themselves chasing an improbable 11th place finish, having done well to escape the drop. However, based on United's mediocre home form all season, there's only one result I can predict here. 

Prediction: 1-1

Southampton v Stoke City

I'll be honest, this has the feel of a really bad final game of the season. Two teams in poor form, who've not had good seasons, and both are on the verge of sacking their managers (this year is threatening to be a mid-table bloodbath as Mazzarri has gone, Puel and Hughes might be joining him and Bilic isn't safe either). 49 points and an 8th place finish wouldn't be a disaster for Saints, whilst Stoke could still scramble into a respectable 11th, but I think both sides will struggle to make anything happen. 

Prediction: 0-0

Swansea v West Brom 

Swansea fans will be breathing a sigh of relief as their club live to fight for another season. The Swans could still gain another place or two, and whilst West Brom have the possibility of finishing 8th themselves, they've picked up just two points from their last eight games, and it's hard to magically pick up form, especially on the final day with not much to play for. 

Prediction: 1-0 Swansea

Watford v Man City

16th place with just 40 points in the bag, it's been a really poor end to the season for Watford, who have lost five games in a row to slide to the bottom of the mid-table battle. Meanwhile, Man City need a win to guarantee a top three finish, although a point would be enough for top four. With City close to firing on all cylinders, you'd have to back them to win this one comfortably. 

Prediction: 3-1 City

The Hard and Fast Section

• Huddersfield v Reading for Premier League glory
• Aviva Premiership play-off semis today. Tense. 
• County Championship hotting up too. Lancs v Yorks. 
• Alonso not feeling the Indy 500 pressure. Yet.

15th May 17

Bonus set of previews, plus some reviews of yesterday's action!

Chelsea v Watford (8pm) 

Chelsea have officially won the title. Watford are playing for pride, as they could finish anywhere between 17th and 9th still. Realistically, I don't think this will be much of a game of football, but it is Chelsea's first game at the Bridge since winning the title and Watford don't really have much fight, nor have they played particularly well lately, with four straight defeats, so I guess Chelsea will probably still win. 

Prediction: 1-0 Chelsea

Arsenal v Sunderland (7:45pm Tuesday) 

One team who very much still has everything to play for is Arsenal, who need realistically six points from their last two games to have a hope of securing top four. Either way, they need to go out and beat a Sunderland side who can at best hope not to finish rock bottom of the table. Either way, this is one of the league's best teams who need a win, vs one of its worst who are already sunk without a trace. Arsenal should win easily. 

Prediction: 3-0 Arsenal 

Man City v West Brom (8pm) 

Whilst West Brom are nowhere near Sunderland levels of fodder, they nevertheless have nothing to play for, have just two points from their last seven games, and are travelling away to one of the top teams in the league, who still need two wins to be certain of a top three finish, and one win to nail down a top four spot. City have looked very hot lately, and I expect them to continue that as they sprint to the finish. 

Prediction: 3-1 City

Southampton v Man United (7:45pm Wednesday)

Man United's end of season run has been very stagnant, as they've won just 7 of their 17 league games in 2017, with 8 draws, including 4 draws and just 13 points from their last nine games, and they're now four league games without a win. They're pinning their hopes on the Europa League, having scraped through to the final with a 2-1 aggregate win over Celta Vigo. As a result they'll continue to rest players for that game, whilst Saints have been in patchy form all season long, but will still be looking to secure a top eight finish. This should be a pretty drab game in truth. 

Prediction: 1-1 

Leicester v Spurs (7:45pm Thursday)

On paper you'd say this is an easy one. Spurs turn up, play their best, roll over Leicester, moving on. But it probably won't be that straightforward. Leicester's home form is very strong, and their general form under Craig Shakespeare has been very impressive, whilst Spurs' away form, particularly against strong sides, is what has cost them the title. Spurs have picked up just one win against the current top ten away, and that was at Southampton. So on balance, especially as Spurs have nothing to play for, I'm going for a draw. 

Prediction: 2-2

Crystal Palace 4-0 Hull 

Hull's relegation to the Championship was confirmed in humiliating style, as Crystal Palace ran riot in their final home game of what has to be considered a successful season, all things considered. Given that they looked in serious relegation trouble around the January/February period, Sam Allardyce keeping them up is an achievement. 

For Hull, however, this was the worst case scenario. Swansea's 2-0 win over Sunderland left them needing 3 points to have a slim chance of staying in the Premier League next weekend, and Hull fell apart inside 3 minutes, as Ranocchia's awful swing at a bouncing ball gifted Wilf Zaha a goal to put Hull behind and Palace ahead. From there, Hull pressed, but simply put had no quality in the final third. They had 70% of the ball, but only had 9 shots, none of which hit the target. 

They were however, slightly unlucky with a couple of decisions, first for Palace's second goal, as Zaha appeared to handle in the build up, and shortly afterwards when Jason Puncheon handled the ball inside his own area, but no penalty was given. But if Palace rode their luck, then they deserved to, and more importantly Hull thoroughly deserved to lose. 

The second goal was a simple corner routine, a cross headed in by Christian Benteke who was impossible to handle all day. He may have cost Palace £30m, but his 15 goal return has certainly kept them in the league. And it was Benteke who freed Schlupp for the third goal, as a wild hack from Dawson gave away a stonewall penalty, and Milivojevic relegated Hull by putting the ball in the back of the net. And finally, Palace rubbed salt in the wounds by adding a late fourth, substitute Van Aanholt slotting in after a fluid move. 

The most damning thing for Hull is how they managed to be completely toothless and completely inept defensively, despite controlling the possession. In the middle third they were the better side, but they were woeful in the final third, creating no clear cut chances at all, and shambolic in their own third, as Palace's sharp counter-attacks tore them apart time and again. 

Marco Silva has done a brilliant job to drag Hull close to survival, but truthfully, he had too much to do. Hull's away form is the worst in the division and in this game they were never close to a Palace side that have one of the worst home records in the division, and are hardly title contenders, barely escaping relegation themselves. Hull had every opportunity to stay up, but lost 2-0 to Sunderland at home, and then in this game were summarily thrashed. They deserve to be back in the Championship next year, whilst Palace and Swansea just about deserve to stay up. 

West Ham 0-4 Liverpool

As ever, I've already posted my match review elsewhere, but it was great to see Sturridge and Lallana back, fantastic to see Coutinho pulling the strings from a deeper role, and Klopp's formation change worked a treat, as Liverpool tore strips off an admittedly wretched West Ham side. The offside line for Sturridge's goal was absolutely horrendous, nobody got close to Coutinho for the second, and for the third goal, five West Ham players jogged back whilst six Liverpool players were sprinting past them, creating a massive overload. It really was awful defending. 

West Ham have had a poor season, and look set for a low mid-table finish, as one of the cluster of clubs cemented in the middle of the pack. Considering that this was supposed to be the season that they properly challenged the top six, they've gone significantly backwards and wasted a lot of money in the process.

As for Liverpool, this was a massive result, which takes the pressure off slightly in some ways, but in other ways puts in back on the Boro game on the last day. They've been terrific in clutch away games, with four straight away wins, conceding just once in the process. Now they just need to turn around their home form, as they have just two points from their last three home games. 

Spurs 2-1 Man United

Truthfully, this game was a bit of a non-entity, as I thought it might be. Spurs were cemented 2nd, United cemented 6th, and neither team showed much in the way of desire or quality in the second half. Nevertheless, it was the final game at White Hart Lane and Spurs were easily the better team, with goals from Wanyama and Kane, both off set pieces, wrapping up a comprehensive victory, despite some good counter-attacking play from Martial carving out a goal for Rooney. 

Things started well for Spurs, as Rooney mis-timed his jump, allowing Wanyama a free header from six yards to put Spurs 1-0 up just after the five minute mark. And as they struck early in the first half, so too in the second, as a deft touch from Kane diverted Eriksen's free kick into the back of United's net. In between Spurs had had notable chances, with Son having the pick of them, to kill the game. 

But the second half was played at a genial pace, with the crowd creating a party atmosphere that not even Rooney's near post flick could ruin. Ultimately, Spurs held on without much fuss, condemning United to all but a guaranteed 6th place finish, barring a spectacular collapse from Arsenal, and giving Spurs themselves a cushion as they hit the 80 point mark to nail down 2nd. 

For Spurs, this has been a season of real improvement, and there's no shame in running up short to an unrelentingly brilliant Chelsea team, who have won 25 of their last 30 games, picking up 77 points out of a possible 90 at over 2.5 points per game. 

As for United, their season hinges on the Europa League final. Now they can spin that however they like, but having spent £150m in the summer, and starting the season as 2nd favourites for the title, to not ever challenge for it and to never look like finishing in the top four is a really disappointing league campaign, even if they can redeem their season in the cup competitions. 

If you were to ask me right now which of these teams stands a better chance of silverware next season, I would hands down say Spurs. 

The Hard and Fast Section

• Hamilton bounced back with an exciting win in Spain. 
• Sarries clinched back to back European titles. 
• Monaco have won Ligue 1. Congratulations. 
• Bayern produced an amazing comeback to beat Leipzig 5-4. Unreal. 
• Pakistan win in the Windies. Easy as you like. 

12th May 17

As the season runs towards its conclusion: here is the penultimate weekend's Premier League predictions (I will be running one for mid-week too though). Quick word before I kick off this piece though, I'm hoping to refocus a bit more on the blog once the season ends next weekend as I'll have less work elsewhere and can focus on some other stuff: notably Wimbledon, the Lions Tour and the Champions Trophy.

Everton v Watford (7:45pm) 

As has been mentioned previously, Everton's home form in the league is excellent, as they've only lost to Liverpool and now to champions elect Chelsea. Watford meanwhile have won just one of their last five games, and have won just three games away from home all season. In terms of motivation, neither team has a whole lot to play for, as pretty much everyone from 7th down to 15th, the two spots these sides occupy, is playing for at most mid-table position and Everton aren't even playing for that, given that they're mathematically guaranteed to finish 7th. Either way, I'd say this one is a home win based on form, but also simply based on the fact that Everton are a better side. 

Prediction: 1-0 Everton 

West Brom v Chelsea (8pm) 

Chelsea have the chance to wrap up the title against a West Brom side that had looked comfortable in 8th, but have won just one of their last nine games, and have picked up just two points from their last six. And realistically, there's very little reason to believe that they won't do just that. Chelsea have dropped points just twice away from home against sides outside the top six, not losing either of those. Simply put, there's very little evidence to suggest that Chelsea won't turn up and do the job, as most of their poor results have been against top sides, and West Brom not only aren't that, but are barely playing like a good mid-table side at the moment, and have nothing to play for. 

Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea

Man City v Leicester (12:30pm Saturday)

For Man City, the task is simple, win three straightforward games and finish third. Last weekend they were explosive as they tore apart Palace to stretch their unbeaten run to five games, and although they've dropped some sloppy points recently, Leicester's away form remains woeful and they are one of the teams scrambling for nothing except position. That said, City have dropped too many points to draws at home this season and draws against Boro and Stoke have reinforced the notion that they can't kill off teams. All of that, plus the fact that Leicester are a bogey team of City's, could mean that there's a surprise on the cards. But nevertheless, you have to back City. 

Prediction: 3-1 City

Bournemouth v Burnley (3pm)

Bournemouth are in decent form overall in recent weeks, and have only lost to teams inside the top six in their last ten games. Moreover, only Chelsea and City have beaten them at home since January, with ten points from their last five home games. On the other hand Burnley's travels are notoriously bad, although their win at Selhurst Park two weeks ago has lifted their away form ahead of Hull's. Nevertheless, I could see this one being a score draw, but equally you'd have to say that Bournemouth are favourites. 

Prediction: 2-0 Bournemouth

Boro v Saints (3pm)

My initial response to this one was a groan of boredom and I scribbled down 0-0 into my notepad. Both of these teams love a 0-0, with Saints having picked up six all season with two in their last three games, and Boro notching up seven this season, with five of those since Christmas. Boro are relegated, Saints are languishing in mid-table, so there's not much in terms of motivation, and I'm not convinced that Southampton, who will surely dominate the game are good enough in attack to break down a relatively meager Boro defence. 

Prediction: 0-0

Sunderland v Swansea (3pm)

Swansea's 1-0 win over Everton, coupled with the huge favour that this weekend's opposition Sunderland did them by beating Hull, leaves the Swans in pole position to stay up, with one point over their rivals, and two easier fixtures. Sunderland have lost ten games at home this season, with only Palace worse than that. The Swans' away form has been pretty dire but the knowledge that a win would all but guarantee their survival should spur on the superior side. 

Prediction: 2-1 Swansea

Stoke City v Arsenal (5:30pm)

Back to back wins has Arsene Wenger's side sniffing for a top four place, but nothing short of perfection is going to get them over the line. Despite bucking the trend at Southampton, their away form remains an alarming issue, with just ten points from their last eleven away games. Nevertheless, there is plenty of reason to be positive, as Stoke's home form against the top six is awful, with one point from five games this season. It's getting to that time of the season when Arsenal's form becomes unassailable as they gun for Champions League football, and I think that they'll just about the one more away win that they need. 

Prediction: 3-1 Arsenal 

Crystal Palace v Hull (12pm Sunday)

This is a must-win for Hull. With Spurs on the final day and the possibility that failure to win could all but mathematically relegate them (or indeed mathematically relegate them), there simply isn't a margin for error. Unfortunately, they've won just one game away from home all season and have the worst record in the league as a result. Fortunately, Palace's home record is also dreadful, with 11 defeats in 18 games. However, from Palace's perspective, they aren't mathematically safe either, and go to Old Trafford on the final day, so Hull won't be the only side with something to play for. I reckon a score draw, which will be enough for Palace, but could be curtains for Hull. 

Prediction: 2-2

West Ham v Liverpool (2:15pm)

Win, finish inside the top four. For Liverpool this is a simple equation, but one that will have been rattling around their heads all week. West Ham have four clean sheets in five games, three straight clean sheets at home and are five games unbeaten. In ordinary circumstances a draw wouldn't be a bad result for LFC. If Arsenal slip up a draw might remain a good result. But they have to win as it stands, so I think they'll be able to pull it out the bag, as they have managed to in their last 3 away games. 

Prediction: 2-1 LFC

Spurs v Man United (4:30pm)

On paper, this is the biggest game of the weekend, but in practice both teams could be playing for nothing. If Chelsea win, Spurs only need one point from three games to guarantee finishing second and United's Europa League win means that they're unlikely to prioritise a top four finish that would require two teams ahead of them slipping up at this stage. Nevertheless, it's the last ever game at White Hart Lane, which gives the team with the best home record in the division the motivation. I honestly think this will be extremely easy for Spurs. Oh and United are the only team in the league who haven't scored against the top six away this season, so there's that.

Prediction: 2-0 Spurs

The Hard and Fast Section

• Juve v Real Madrid final. Should be excellent. 
• Spanish GP this weekend. Hamilton has work to do. 
• One Day Cup hots up. Yorkshire in hot form. 
• Gloucester v Stade Francais tonight. Sarries v Clermont tomorrow. 

5th May 17

Premier League previews!

West Ham v Spurs (8pm)

Nine wins in a row, surely the Spurs juggernaut has to slow down sooner or later? And where better for them to slip up than away at the London Stadium, against London rivals West Ham? To be blunt, I'm clutching at straws. Spurs surely can't win 13 games in a row, and yet the simple fact remains that on paper they should walk all over a West Ham side that has just one win in their last ten games, and has struggled massively against top sides this season. Kane to do Kane things. He loves a London derby. 

Prediction: 2-1 Spurs

Man City v Crystal Palace (12:30pm Saturday)

City have been really struggling to build momentum in recent weeks, partly because of a tough fixture list, but also because of a combination of poor finishing and shocking defending. This is another game that you would expect them to dominate, but Palace are in good form, particularly against the top teams, as they beat Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in April. Tough one to call, but again, on paper you have to favour City.

Prediction: 3-1 City

Bournemouth v Stoke (3pm) 

I'm a massive fan of Bournemouth under Eddie Howe, and if they can keep their good form going, then a top half finish is very much on the cards. Stoke meanwhile, are in wretched form, particularly away from home where they haven't scored or won since January. As a result, the home team have to be the overwhelming favourites for this one. 

Prediction: 2-0 Bournemouth

Burnley v West Brom (3pm) 

West Brom are on the beach and Burnley just need one more win at most to guarantee survival and launch themselves into the pack. There's just six points between West Brom in 8th and Palace in 16th, as the middle of the table gets more and more congested. I suspect Burnley will make that even more congested by winning this one. 

Prediction: 1-0 Burnley

Hull City v Sunderland (3pm)

Sunderland's relegation has been confirmed, but they have a chance to drag Hull down with them. For Hull, this is a massive chance to pick up three points which could be all they need to secure Premier League football for another year. Given Hull's exceptional home form, and how shambolic Sunderland have been, I think the home side will win. 

Prediction: 3-1 Hull

Leicester City v Watford (3pm)

Watford were disappointing on Monday night against Liverpool, leaving them with one win in four and just three in ten. They've lost their last four away games without scoring, which means that Leicester, whose home form has been excellent, will be massive favourites. And it's hard to argue with that, although there might not be too much between the sides. 

Prediction: 2-0 Leicester

Swansea v Everton (5:30pm)

Whilst every game at this stage of the season is huge, particularly if you're in 18th place as Swansea are, with Hull facing Sunderland, Swansea could be effectively relegated if they don't win this game. The good news for Swansea is that like Hull, they have excellent home form under Paul Clement, and Everton's away form is patchy, having drawn four of their last six away games. That said, they're unbeaten against teams outside the top six since December, and a draw might not be enough to save Swansea...

Prediction: 1-1

Liverpool v Southampton (1:30pm Sunday) 

Liverpool are in pole position for top four once again and a win against the Saints would put them with one foot in the door. On balance, I think that they'll win this one, but it's a tough call at the moment with the Reds not looking overly impressive despite losing just one of their last nine games, and winning six of them. Nevertheless, Saints are another side who looked cemented in mid-table with not much to play for and aren't in the best form.

Prediction: 1-0 LFC

Arsenal v Man United (4pm)

This one could be massive, or it could end up being a dead rubber. Liverpool and Man City both look the most likely to secure top four football but this fixture means that at most one of Man United and Arsenal can join them in the fight. The loser is out of the race realistically, and a draw stitches them both up. United appear to be (rightfully) prioritizing the Europa League, whilst Arsenal are in poor form. It has to be said that Arsenal have been largely very good at the Emirates, and I think they'll come good here, as they simply need it more than United. 

Prediction: 2-1 Arsenal 

Chelsea v Boro (8pm Monday) 

A win over Sunderland and a draw against Man City has given Boro a sniff, but nothing more than that. They now have to go to Stamford Bridge, knowing that Chelsea still need to keep winning if they want to lift the Premier League title. Chelsea need a win, and Boro are no match for them. Simply put, this should be a very, very simple home win, and the only evidence I can offer otherwise is a shrug and a vague mention of the fact that anything can happen. Because football. 

Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea

The Hard and Fast Section

• Rashid tears Ireland apart. 5-27, Ireland 127.
• Djokovic "shock therapy". Ditches his entire coaching team. 
• United 1-0 up on Celta after a poor keeper error. 
• Moyes to stay at Sunderland. Words fail me.