Best player
Daniel Taylor: N’Golo Kanté. If he can keep Cesc Fàbregas out of the Chelsea team, he must be some player.
Barney Ronay: Friendly midfield interceptors are the fashion, but Harry Kane has been the outstanding single player: top scorer, team man and with just enough comic-book star quality.
Dominic Fifield: Eden Hazard, liberated by Antonio Conte’s switch in system, provided the cut and thrust which inspired Chelsea to their title success. Given his toils last season as he struggled with a hip complaint, his revival was eye-catching.
Paul Wilson: It probably doesn’t matter which Chelsea candidate gets the vote, so in the interests of sharing things around I am going to go for César Azpilicueta. He seems to be able to play in any position across the back line and his consistency and tenacity are unaffected.
Amy Lawrence: If you could bottle the spirit of Kanté and market it to football clubs it would be a bestseller. He has an ability to make others around him better, to make a game plan quicker. The way he carried his Leicester qualities so easily to Chelsea, to be transformative instantly, deserves all the plaudits.
Barry Glendenning: Jordan Pickford. Only in Sunderland’s first team because David Moyes was unable to lure Joe Hart on loan to Wearside, the 23-year-old pulled off the impressive feat of making himself one of the most sought-after young goalkeepers in Europe despite playing in the Premier League’s worst team. Although he’s prone to the increasingly rare gaffe, it’s difficult to pick holes in any aspect of Pickford’s overall game and it’s no exaggeration to say that without him, Sunderland might well have been relegated before the sighting of this spring’s first swallow.
David Hytner: Eden Hazard. Back to his very best. His ability to make the difference when it matters the most marks him out.
Scott Murray: Diego Costa kept Chelsea going throughout the autumnal odyssey that effectively decided the league, all the while staying in character as pantomime provocateur. Homeric. We’ll miss his entertaining presence when he’s gone.
Jamie Jackson: Dele Alli. Seventeen Premier League goals at 175 minutes per strike for a No10 is top class. At 21, a player with that edge all elite players possess has to get better.
Andy Hunter: Eden Hazard. The champions were not simply “a very defensive team”, as a former manager bearing sour grapes suggested. They were also the most devastating and intelligent team in the final third thanks largely to the Belgium international’s return to form.
Louise Taylor: Sam Clucas, Hull City; runner up, David Luiz, Chelsea. There are other, far more obvious, candidates but placed in the context of Clucas’s achievement in ascending five rungs of the league ladder in successive seasons it has to be the left-footed midfielder. Impressive since being shifted from a wide role to central midfield this term, the intelligence of Clucas’s passing bears the hallmarks of Glenn Hoddle, who persuaded him not to give up the game before honing his skills at his football academy in Spain. David Luiz, meanwhile, is lovely to watch and his re-invention in Antonio Conte’s back three has thoroughly confounded the doubters.
Stuart James: Gylfi Sigurdsson. Directly involved in 22 of Swansea City’s 43 goals. For a player to continually create and score so many goals in a team that spent almost the entire season fighting relegation is quite something.
Jacob Steinberg: After last season’s sabbatical, Eden Hazard rediscovered his mojo in thrilling style and found the consistency to go with his outrageous talent. N’Golo Kanté was a worthy recipient of the PFA and FWA awards, but Hazard was Chelsea’s match-winner on so many occasions.
Paul Doyle: Kasper Schmeichel. While the rest of last season’s champions lost their way, the goalkeeper was the only Leicester player to improve. Yes, there was that 6-1 defeat by Spurs but, taking a broader view, Schmeichel was an example to us all in these troubled times.
Simon Burnton: The brilliant, hard-working, humble and likeable N’Golo Kanté deserves all the player-of-the-season awards currently cluttering his mantelpiece.
Ed Aarons: N’Golo Kanté deserves his awards for winning a second successive Premier League title, but Christian Eriksen’s return to form coincided with Tottenham’s emergence as Chelsea’s only genuine challengers. Even 13 assists and eight Premier League goals do not explain the importance of the Denmark international to Mauricio Pochettino. César Azpilicueta also deserves a mention.
Sachin Nakrani: Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Iceland international directly contributed to almost half of Swansea’s Premier League goals and, quite simply, without him they would have been relegated, suffering all the fallout that comes with that, which, it should be remembered, includes people losing their jobs.
Best manager
Daniel Taylor: Antonio Conte. Even José Mourinho has stopped – temporarily, at least – trying to undermine him. How, possibly, can anyone question what he has done to get Chelsea back on top?
Barney Ronay: Antonio Conte. Hurled together on the hoof a wonderfully well-grooved champion team, eased John Terry out of the picture without the slightest friction and on match days remains the most ludicrously excited man about anything ever.
Dominic Fifield: Antonio Conte. In a league crammed with elite managers, he adapted best to the peculiarities of the Premier League and ended up putting all the other big names to shame.
Paul Wilson: It was going to be Marco Silva until a few days ago, but now Hull are back in the real world after a brief visit to dreamland there seems no point in looking past the obvious. Antonio Conte could hardly have hoped for a better first season in England. In terms of impact, it says it all that he can now match Carlo Ancelotti’s double as well as José Mourinho’s Premier League record of wins in a season.
Amy Lawrence: Conte. From the very first game of the Premier League campaign when he celebrated a late win over West Ham with that zealous touchline passion, he has managed almost every situation with authority, class and style. In tactical alterations and man management, bringing the best out of characters as different as David Luiz, Diego Costa, Victor Moses and Pedro, he barely missed a beat.
Barry Glendenning: Antonio Conte. Charming and handsome, with the touchline demeanour of a man who has just had a large handful of red ants dropped down the trousers of his expensive designer suit, there is little to dislike about Chelsea’s manager. His switch to a back three in the wake of defeat at Arsenal has been hailed in some quarters as the greatest managerial masterstroke in the history of football and while that may be be over-egging the pudding somewhat, the manner in which he steered his team to the title with a minimum of fuss in a season when one or more of Messrs Klopp, Mourinho and Guardiola were expected to have his measure was no mean feat.
David Hytner: Antonio Conte. It has been another hugely impressive season for Mauricio Pochettino but Conte’s has been better. Took over a Chelsea squad with problems and, in what has been his first season outside of Italy, moulded them into champions.
Scott Murray: Here’s a respectful nod to Arsène Wenger, who in addition to yet another high league placing and yet another cup final, somehow maintained super-human levels of dignity despite intense provocation from an entitled minority. An extraordinary feat. His will be much the better look when this story is told 20 years from now.
Jamie Jackson: Antonio Conte. He coached the volatile Costa to 20 league goals and may win the classic English double in his debut season.
Andy Hunter: Conte is the stand-out choice, not only for winning the Premier League title in his first season in English football but for how he responded to potential crises – notably the 3-0 defeat at Arsenal and January’s stand-off with Costa.
Louise Taylor: Sean Dyche, Burnley. Antonio Conte clearly has a strong case while, despite narrowly failing to keep Hull up, Marco Silva turned water into wine in east Yorkshire. Then there’s Mauricio Pochettino, whose Tottenham team play fabulous football on around half the collective wage bill of other top six sides, but keeping Burnley in the Premier League is a significant achievement. Given the same relatively limited resources as Dyche, would José Mourinho or Pep Guardiola have done anything like as well?
Stuart James: Antonio Conte. Hugely impressive to win the title in his first season in English football – tactically astute, full of passion for the game and gives the impression that every player, even those not regularly in his starting XI, buys into his work.
Jacob Steinberg: A nod to Sean Dyche for keeping Burnley away from the relegation scrap, but it has to be Conte, who outperformed his rivals by reviving a misfiring, uneven squad with the power of his motivational qualities, tactical acumen and infectious will to win.
Paul Doyle: Sean Dyche. Burnley never looked like going down, which is remarkable.
Simon Burnton: Great as Tottenham have once again been under Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte’s impact at Chelsea has been greater.
Ed Aarons: Antonio Conte. The Italian only arrived at Stamford Bridge a month before Chelsea’s first game of the season but has emerged as a title winner in his first season in English football. The switch to 3-4-3 has defined Conte’s success but the former Juventus midfielder has also shown his man-management skills in dealing with Diego Costa’s regular tantrums.
Sachin Nakrani: Antonio Conte. Winning the title in your first season in England is a superb achievement, particularly when it involves reinvigorating a squad that had been in turmoil during the previous campaign.
Best goal
Daniel Taylor: Olivier Giroud’s scorpion kick for Arsenal against Crystal Palace.
Barney Ronay: Giroud’s running scorpion volley, a lovely move and a ludicrous finish, made all the more improbable by the fact he seems to stop mid-scorpion to winch his leg up a little higher, like a very stiff man trying to wriggle his way over a garden fence.
Dominic Fifield: Eden Hazard against Arsenal, sprinting away from Laurent Koscielny and holding off Francis Coquelin’s attempts to bring him down, then finishing before Shkodran Mustafi could block.
Paul Wilson: Sam Allardyce will have been more concerned about some unconvincing Crystal Palace defending, but Andy Carroll’s overhead kick against Crystal Palace takes some beating for wow factor. Not a team goal, perhaps, but Carroll put a lot of himself into it.
Amy Lawrence: The Emre Can/Giroud/Henrikh Mkhitaryan showpieces lead the way for individualism, but there was something that struck a chord about Willian’s goal for Chelsea at Everton in a game that felt so influential for the title. What a fine team goal. The quality of Cesc Fàbregas’s run and pass for Willian summed up the brio Chelsea rediscovered this season. That was the moment they felt undeniably like champions again.
Barry Glendenning: Gastón Ramírez. Possibly not the best, but almost certainly the only thing of interest any Middlesbrough footballer did all season – Ramírez’s fine solo effort sent goal-shy Boro on their way to their first home win. Picking up the ball inside his own half and encouraged by the strange reluctance of anyone in a Bournemouth shirt to close him down, the Uruguayan embarked on a 70-yard run down the inside left that climaxed with him abruptly cutting inside and slotting home. Buoyed by this rare moment of quality and inspiration, Middlesbrough went on to win three more Premier League matches, while their increasingly unpopular summer signing would go on to score only one more goal as his side sank below the depths.
David Hytner: Andy Carroll v Crystal Palace. Nothing has the ability to bring jaws to the floor more quickly than the thumping scissor kick. Especially when it is executed by a big man.
Scott Murray: Olivier Giroud against Palace. A finish so absurd it’s easy to forget the six-player pitch-long romp that preceded it, embellished by a centre-circle back-flick from Giroud himself. English football’s most eye-catching sweep forward since Terry McDermott scored against Spurs in 1978.
Jamie Jackson: Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scorpion kick versus Sunderland on Boxing Day. Zlatan Ibrahimovic pings a cross over from the right and the Armenian lets go a flying back-heeled volley. Delicious.
Andy Hunter: Dimitri Payet, West Ham United v Middlesbrough. Other goals carried more weight in the context of the season – Emre Can against Watford and Eden Hazard’s v Arsenal being the most notable examples – but based purely on its merits this fleeting reminder of the quality the France international could bring to the Premier League had no equals.
Louise Taylor: Robert Snodgrass v Leicester City. The winner in a 2-1 shock opening-day victory against the defending champions for Mike Phelan’s side. When Wes Morgan could only half-clear Ahmed Elmohamady’s vicious cross, the ball fell to Snodgrass whose first-time, left footed, half-volley arrowed into the bottom corner.
Stuart James: Emre Can’s bicycle kick against Watford must take some beating. In fairness, Olivier Giroud’s scorpion kick against Palace is also worthy of a mention.
Jacob Steinberg: Gaston Ramírez’s slaloming 70-yard run against Bournemouth ended with a clever trick and a cool finish. Sure, Andy Carroll, Olivier Giroud and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all took the breath away with those scorpion kicks and bicycle blasts. But in an otherwise grim season for Middlesbrough, the fact Ramírez’s solo effort was a rare moment of excitement makes it all the more precious.
Simon Burnton: Olivier Giroud’s New Year’s Day scorpion kick wasn’t even January’s goal of the month, and there are a few rival volleys that compare with it, but to my mind it is the best of the bunch. It has grown on the scorer as much as it has grown on me: after the game he said he “was a bit lucky. It was the only thing I could do. I tried to hit it with a backheel and after it was all about luck”, but by March he was saying: “I don’t want to big myself up but goals like mine leave a mark on history. Andy Carroll’s [overhead kick] is magnificent, but maybe people won’t remember it in two years’ time. Mine, yes.”
Paul Doyle: Wayne Rooney against Stoke. It was a hell of a way to snatch a late equaliser, set a wonderful record and convince José Mourinho he could finally jilt an over-the-hill hero.
Ed Aarons: In a season of spectacular volleys, Emre Can saved the best for last. His brilliant overhead kick against Watford left nothing to chance, unlike Olivier Giroud or Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scorpion kicks.
Sachin Nakrani: Olivier Giroud v Crystal Palace. In a season of notable scorpion/overhead kicks, this one edges it because of the slick counter-attack that preceded it – and which Giroud was involved in – as well as the height at which boot met ball prior to it looping into the net.
Best match
Daniel Taylor: At the risk of sounding like a misery, it’s not easy to think of a stand-out match this season. Nothing left me as excited as, say, seeing Monaco in the Champions League.
Barney Ronay: Swansea 5-4 Crystal Palace. Messy, wild and desperate at times, but this is basically what the Premier League is for.
Dominic Fifield: Bournemouth’s madcap 4-3 win over Liverpool was entertaining, but Crystal Palace’s win at Chelsea in April encapsulated everything about the baffling nature of the Premier League at times. Chelsea were superb going forward, playing wonderfully incisive and inventive football. Palace defended ruggedly and, somehow, kept them out.
Paul Wilson: The one that sticks in the mind is Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea. An eventful and entertaining game, with some dead-eyed finishing by Chelsea to leave Pep Guardiola moaning about Kevin de Bruyne’s miss for the rest of the season. A significant title pointer at the Etihad too, for the second successive season following Leicester’s statement win in February.
Amy Lawrence: Swansea 5-4 Crystal Palace. Lovely, wonderful, beautiful, panicked madness. The best of the Bob Bradley experience. Alan Pardew trying to put on a brave face. First on Match of the Day for an unanticipated game. What’s not to like?
Barry Glendenning: Bournemouth 4-3 Liverpool. They don’t get much more entertaining than this white-knuckle ride at the Vitality Stadium.
David Hytner: Swansea v Crystal Palace. Never mind the defending at both ends, this was a classic, loaded with drama, and the scenes after Fernando Llorente’s stoppage-time winner seemed to shake the Liberty Stadium. Both of the managers, Bob Bradley and Alan Pardew, were sacked within a month or so.
Scott Murray: Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool. It really wouldn’t have taken much for this game to have ended 5-0, 0-5 or 5-5. One of those.
Jamie Jackson: Burnley’s emphatic win over Liverpool at Turf Moor on the season’s second weekend punched a hole in the title pretensions of Jürgen Klopp’s team and suggested Sean Dyche’s men would survive. Those auguries were proved correct.
Andy Hunter: Everton 4-0 Manchester City. Selecting from Premier League matches attended, this raucous afternoon at Goodison Park stands out for many reasons. In Ronald Koeman’s eyes it was “really perfect” and a “total team performance” from Everton. It confirmed the emergence of Tom Davies, who scored his first goal for the club with an exquisite chip over Claudio Bravo at the Gwladys Street end, and brought a debut goal for Ademola Lookman with one of the teenager’s first touches in the Premier League. For Pep Guardiola, however, it underlined the defensive and mental frailties at Manchester City, represented the heaviest league defeat of his managerial career and left him conceding the title was beyond his team for this season.
Louise Taylor: If this means watched live, it’s a difficult one to answer. As north-east correspondent I’ve certainly seen a few candidates for worst game at Sunderland and Middlesbrough and the better ones I covered invariably involved Newcastle United in the Championship. One top-tier game does stick in the memory though; Hull 3-3 Crystal Palace in December. A six-goal thriller featuring a brilliant, mesmerising performance from Palace’s Wilfried Zaha.
Stuart James: Swansea City 5-4 Crystal Palace. A nine-goal thriller that was 1-1 with 25 minutes remaining – then all hell let loose. Bob Bradley and Alan Pardew, the respective managers, went through every emotion going and, in truth, it wasn’t really surprising that neither man lasted much longer in the job. For what it’s worth, the reporters at the game were also in a terrible state come the end.
Jacob Steinberg: Crystal Palace 0-4 Sunderland. Sunderland were so surprised about scoring four goals in a single half that they didn’t win another game until they were already relegated. In their defence, I’ve only just recovered from the shock as well.
Simon Burnton: Liverpool’s 4-3 win at the Emirates on the season’s opening weekend was everything you could ask it to be and more. Excellent attacking, lovely goals from open play, a gorgeous free kick, brilliant individual skill, embarrassing manager-hugging celebrations, sunshine, it had the lot. The only possible reaction was yes please, I’ll have nine months more of that. Which, sadly, neither team could deliver.
Paul Doyle: Leicester 4-2 Manchester City. Thrilling and at times brilliant, but also bizarre, outrageous and laughable. A snapshot of this season’s Premier League.
Ed Aarons: Swansea 5-4 Palace. Leading 4-3 with the game past the 90-minute mark, Alan Pardew must have felt pretty good. His team had just battled back from 3-1 down with only 15 minutes remaining to lead, only to surrender the points to Fernando Llorente’s double in injury time.
Sachin Nakrani: Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool. A high-octane, end-to-end, relentlessly-thrilling encounter only let down by poor finishing. A mention, too, for Swansea’s 5-4 victory over Crystal Palace. A madcap encounter that saw two goals in stoppage time and Alan Pardew fearing the worst.
Best referee
Daniel Taylor: Keith Hackett. I see his criticisms of the current crop and marvel that he must never have made a mistake in his life.
Barney Ronay: Clatts. Will be missed, in part for his unintentional comedy, when he leaves for Sauds.
Dominic Fifield: Probably Martin Atkinson or Michael Oliver.
Paul Wilson: No idea. They all look the same to me. Let’s say Martin Atkinson.
Amy Lawrence: Michael Oliver doesn’t seem to want to be the star as much as some. He gives the impression of wanting the best game possible.
Barry Glendenning: Mike Dean. His no-look yellow card to Ross Barkley in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park was a thing of beauty.
David Hytner: I don’t have strong feelings on the category this season. I’d still say Mark Clattenburg is the best.
Scott Murray: Referees are lightning rods for impotent frustration, rampant paranoia and myopic rage. Objective praise doesn’t come into it, it’s not what they’re there for.
Jamie Jackson: The video official – what a brave innovation. What? They still do not exist despite everyone else having access to ad nauseam replays?
Andy Hunter: Any nomination will incur the wrath of at least one club – though Anthony Taylor continues to improve – so in the interests of harmony let’s just say it’s not Jon Moss.
Louise Taylor: Probably Mark Clattenburg (despite missing the latter part of the season following move to Saudi Arabia.)
Stuart James: Not much to get excited about here. Martin Atkinson, Mark Clattenburg (yes, I realise he’s now gone) and Michael Oliver would be in the top three. Oliver, on a good day, gets the nod.
Jacob Steinberg: Michael Oliver gets my vote, capped by punishing Manchester United’s cynical rotational fouling on Hazard in the FA Cup.
Simon Burnton: Mark Clattenburg. He sometimes looks like he thinks he’s the best referee in the land, which is unappealing, but that doesn’t make him wrong.
Paul Doyle: Mike Dean. The only one to enforce the shirt-tugging directive with something close to consistency. And technology will never have mannerisms as entertaining as his.
Ed Aarons: Mark Clattenburg and Martin Atkinson usually get the biggest gigs from Uefa and Fifa, but Michael Oliver remains the outstanding referee in the country. Still only 32, the Ashington official has been in charge of more matches (31) than anyone else and issued just two red cards.
Sachin Nakrani: Unlike 99% of people who watch football in this country, I don’t have a strong view on referees. They all seem roughly the same and their mistakes, while occasionally astonishing, never entice me into reaching for a pitchfork.
Best signing
Daniel Taylor: Mamadou Sakho. People laughed when a January loan signing was nominated for Crystal Palace’s player of the season award. But without him Palace would be down.
Barney Ronay: Leroy Sané. What a lovely mover, what a calm head, what a nice young man. Seems to have no real limit to how good he could be.
Dominic Fifield: N’Golo Kanté was key to Leicester City’s startling success in 2016, and just as influential to that of Chelsea in 2017. A blur of energy and interceptions, and at the heart of everything Chelsea have achieved.
Paul Wilson: Where would Manchester United be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s contribution? Hardly the best value signing, and not exactly one for the future either, but until injury struck he did what he had been brought in to do.
Amy Lawrence: Hard to argue with Kanté for overall impact. Honourable mentions to Mamadou Sakho who made a big difference to Crystal Palace’s predicament, and Gabriel Jesus for being a great signing who looks bound to shine more for Manchester City in future.
Barry Glendenning: N’Golo Kanté.
David Hytner: David Luiz. Has shown that underneath the mad hair lies an intelligent reader of the game. Has excelled in the middle of a back three. Long passing remains beautiful to watch.
Scott Murray: Gabriel Jesus, a score-any-sort genius destined to rattle in an absurd number of goals. Had he not picked up that injury in February, Manchester City would have given Chelsea a race.
Jamie Jackson: Eric Bailly. Manchester United appear to have filled the Nemanja Vidic-sized gap created by his 2014 departure. Costing £30m from Villarreal, the Ivorian is a tough, dominant 23-year-old who can be a fixture for a decade.
Andy Hunter: Paul Clement. Swansea City were bottom and looking certain for relegation when they appointed their third manager of the campaign in January. Astute signings such as Tom Carroll and convincing a squad to buy into yet another managerial voice enabled the former Bayern Munich assistant to have an impact that can shape a club’s short-term future.
Louise Taylor: Eric Bailly for Manchester United. At £30m he wasn’t cheap but goodness knows how far United and Mourinho might have sunk without Bailly’s central defensive excellence.
Stuart James: N’Golo Kanté would have to be up there, though it was a rather obvious piece of business on Chelsea’s part, given the Frenchman’s impact at Leicester the season before. With that in mind, and taking it account the size of the fee, I’ll go for Victor Wanyama, Tottenham’s £11m recruit from Southampton.
Jacob Steinberg: On the basis that signing Kanté was a no-brainer after last season’s exploits, one has to admire Chelsea for making the return of David Luiz a success. It’s easy to forget that there were plenty of doubts about the Brazilian when he signed on deadline day.
Simon Burnton: Crystal Palace won six of the 30 games they played without Mamadou Sakho in their line-up this season, but five of the eight in which the Liverpool loanee appeared, keeping five clean sheets in the process (counting their 1-0 defeat at Spurs, in which he was forced off after 57 goalless minutes and they conceded in the 78th). No other signing was so transformational.
Paul Doyle: Mamadou Sakho. Liverpool outcast, Crystal Palace saviour.
Ed Aarons: Hard to argue with N’Golo Kanté for £30m, who transferred from one blue title-winning shirt to another with minimum of fuss. Victor Wanyama, £11m from Southampton, has had almost the same effect for Tottenham, albeit for a third of the price.
Sachin Nakrani: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I was among the people who thought the 35-year-old, while undeniably talented, would struggle in England. Instead he has gone on to become one of the best free transfers in Premier League history.
Worst flop
Daniel Taylor: Pep Guardiola. Maybe our expectations were too high but, after all that waiting, it has been a real disappointment. Claudio Bravo comes a close second, which probably illustrates the point.
Barney Ronay: Claudio Bravo of course, the first goalkeeper I’ve ever seen receive an ironic round of applause from his own fans for making a save.
Dominic Fifield: Moussa Sissoko has hardly pulled up any trees since becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s record signing, which has not come as much of a surprise to those who watched him regularly at Newcastle United.
Paul Wilson: The man who was tired of London. Dimitri Payet was a big letdown at West Ham United. The club’s 2015-16 player of the year and inspiration for a stadium mural at least ought to have been able to manage a full season before leaving.
Amy Lawrence: Jointly awarded to Manchester United and Arsenal, neither of whom were able to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title despite recruiting heavily last summer to apparently boost their push.
Barry Glendenning: Pep Guardiola. Tasked with his most difficult job in management so far, even by his own admission the Manchester City manager has come up woefully short.
David Hytner: Simone Zaza. His ludicrous penalty at the Euros for Italy was merely the prelude. Saw his loan spell at West Ham United cut short after 11 matches and no goals because, had he played a bit more, the club would have had to buy him outright. Moved to Valencia in January.
Scott Murray: Pep Guardiola arrived in England with a big reputation ... for being super-surly in press conferences. His glorious disdain for daft questions has at times shone through – this was simply majestic – but not yet with Fergie or Louis van Gaal levels of consistency. He’s got the press corps rattled, though, if the repeated raising of the subject on the Sunday Supplement is anything to go by. He now needs to go in for the kill.
Jamie Jackson: Claudio Bravo. Pep Guardiola probably blew Manchester City’s hopes of winning anything in his first season when bombing out Joe Hart and paying £14.5m for the Chilean on 25 August. Bravo in a word? Hapless.
Andy Hunter: Claudio Bravo. There were more expensive mistakes than the Manchester City goalkeeper – Tottenham’s £30m outlay on Moussa Sissoko for example – but his recruitment was fundamental to how Pep Guardiola envisaged his first season in the Premier League and served only to undermine it. That is not to say it was a mistake to replace Joe Hart, who has toiled at Torino, only that Bravo was the wrong choice.
Louise Taylor: Moussa Sissoko, Tottenham Hotspur. Rafael Benítez is rightly proud of persuading Spurs to part with £30m for a midfielder who played a big part in Newcastle United’s relegation last year and whose Euro 2016 cameos for France flattered to deceive. Indeed when HMRC recently raided St James’ Park, club staff joked about whether they were investigating “the theft of £30m from Spurs.”
Stuart James: A few in the mix here – Borja Bastón at Swansea, Jordon Ibe at Bournemouth and Ahmed Musa at Leicester all come to mind. But Claudio Bravo, Manchester City’s £17m goalkeeper, is surely the standout candidate. What were you thinking of, Pep?
Jacob Steinberg: Eleven games, no goals and one shot that went out for a throw: put your hands together for Simone Zaza!
Simon Burnton: José Mourinho might end the season with two trophies and one lengthy unbeaten run, but sixth place represents significant underachievement. Plus he continues to be extremely aggravating.
Paul Doyle: Giannelli Imbula. Stoke’s record signing once seemed to have the potential to dominate Premier League midfields, now he can’t get in the squad ahead of Charlie Adam.
Ed Aarons: So many to choose from after a summer that saw Premier League clubs spend money like never before. Borja Bastón and Jordon Ibe have both disappointed after arriving as Bournemouth and Swansea’s record signings, but Leicester’s Ahmed Musa has failed to recapture the form that saw last year’s champions pay £17m for his services.
Sachin Nakrani: David Moyes. Sunderland’s season has been a tale of unrelenting misery with the manager a central figure. Yes the squad he inherited was poor, but claiming in August – August! – that they were locked in a relegation battle hardly helped matters. The Scot stunk the place out from there.
Best pundit
Daniel Taylor: Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher both do it properly and, if necessary, will criticise their former clubs. Their Monday night analysis is, more often than not, more entertaining than the actual matches.
Barney Ronay: Obvious, but still Gary Neville, who stays ahead of Jamie Carragher mainly because he doesn’t have that weird habit of taking a really long breath and just standing there not speaking for ages, before eventually saying “... you look at the defence ...”
Dominic Fifield: Frank Lampard showcased his punditry ability over the latter weeks of the season, and looks a natural in the role.
Paul Wilson: Frank Lampard seems to have what it takes, being both knowledgeable and articulate. Keith Andrews looks like one for the future. Steve McManaman is still pretty good, but seems to be getting more Scouse as he grows older.
Amy Lawrence: Graeme Souness. Always worth listening to, and boy does he look like he means it.
Barry Glendenning: The erudite opinions of Sky Sports pundit Danny Higginbotham are invariably passed off as my own in pub discussions about the Championship, which I don’t see a lot of.
David Hytner: The standard is improving year-on-year. I like Graeme Souness and Jermaine Jenas, while Roy Keane is worth watching simply for the fear he puts into the studio.
Scott Murray: The word pundit is derived from the Sanskrit for “learned man”. So working on an etymological basis, rather than the modern definition of “ex-pro phoning it in to Sky Sports News for coin”, how about Ken Early of the Second Captains? Fiercely intelligent and witty analysis which frequently sails off into the avant-garde.
Jamie Jackson: Jamie Carragher. Always adds something and always emotes being open to differing points of view.
Andy Hunter: Graeme Souness. There was a strong temptation to go for a different choice this year but then came Souness’s withering critique of José Mourinho’s excuses following Manchester United’s goalless draw at Southampton. Anger still suits a pundit who offers cutting insight from both the player and manager’s perspective.
Louise Taylor: Alan Shearer. Radically improved, refreshingly opinionated and, above all, interesting.
Stuart James: Gary Neville is no longer leading the way on this one. Jamie Carragher is decent. I also like Alan Shearer, who is so much better than when he first came on the scene, and Graeme Souness. You want a winner? Carragher.
Jacob Steinberg: Ian Wright was a bit too excitable at the start of his television career, but his humour and decency shone through this season.
Simon Burnton: Sky’s Monday Night Football continues to offer the best football analysis on British television, and Gary Neville remains its sharpest, most perceptive voice.
Paul Doyle: Joey Barton. He talked a good game.
Ed Aarons: Danny Murphy deserves a mention for his no-nonsense approach but Jermaine Jenas has been insightful and informed as the BBC has stepped up its game this season.
Sachin Nakrani: Chris Sutton. Listening to a man who hates humanity give his views on Burnley 1-1 Hull is what radio was made for.
Biggest gripe
Daniel Taylor: England’s motorway network after night matches. There isn’t a back road of Shropshire that I don’t seem to know these days.
Barney Ronay: Once again no actual title race, for all the attempts to massage something out of Spurs pulling to within waving distance. Backed up by a top seven streets ahead of everyone else. For a league that prides itself on its competitiveness, it has not been that competitive
Dominic Fifield: The constant chopping and changing of kick-off times, which admittedly makes me sound like a grumpy old sod. Friday night football just does not feel right, and don’t get me started on midday kick-offs on a Sunday. Those Hull City supporters who made it to Selhurst Park on the penultimate weekend performed heroics.
Paul Wilson: Same as ever, all the tasteless and intelligence-insulting gambling ads that surround the game. Instead of just making an example of Joey Barton, the FA should chuck all the money-lenders out of the temple.
Amy Lawrence: Fly-by messages. To paraphrase the great Brian Clough, “If God had wanted us to watch football in the clouds he’d have put grass in the sky.”
Barry Glendenning: The breezy disdain with which TV schedulers continue to treat people who actually go to games by pairing teams from opposite ends of the country for lunchtime or Monday evening kick-offs.
David Hytner: Quite simply, how was the Wenger situation allowed to run wild over Arsenal’s season? There are sagas and there are sagas. This one would have tested the patience of saints, let alone football fans.
Scott Murray: Last season’s freewheeling Chelsea-Tottenham donnybrook suggested the old-fashioned bench-emptying brawl would soon be back in fashion. But no. Referees and captains keep intervening and calming things down. Let events take their natural course, will you! Better out than in, and vicarious fun for those of us who couldn’t fight our way out of a wet paper bag.
Jamie Jackson: Players having to be ‘man-managed’. You’re a Premier League footballer. You’re living the dream. Any chance of man-managing yourself?
Andy Hunter: The blatant disregard for away supporters when selecting kick-off times. Has always been a problem but it appears to be getting worse. The proposals for next season’s festive schedule – which if implemented would see six rounds of matches played between 16 December and 1 January to shorten the season ahead of the World Cup – threaten to continue that trend.
Louise Taylor: The negativity of David Moyes at Sunderland and Aitor Karanka at Middlesbrough. No wonder their teams were relegated – Sean Dyche and Marco Silva (who would surely have kept Hull up if he’d had a whole season in charge) – proved that fortune really does favour the brave.
Stuart James: Guesswork being applied to key refereeing decisions – don’t point to the spot if you’re not sure. José Mourinho’s moaning has become pretty tiresome as well.
Jacob Steinberg: The tedious moral outrage that greeted Claudio Ranieri’s sacking by Leicester City, who looked a good bet to go down before replacing the Italian with Craig Shakespeare. So what if the players wanted him out? It doesn’t make them rats or weasels; it makes them professionals.
Simon Burnton: Nonsensically enormous home-and-away performance dichotomies. It his hard to comprehend how Burnley, a team capable of winning so many points at home, can manage only seven away. Hull and Tottenham are also guilty here. On the other side of the coin there is Crystal Palace, whose consistency is a marvel and a joy.
Paul Doyle: People complaining about player power as if blind obedience is better.
Ed Aarons: For all the money flowing into the Premier League, the lack of any formulated plan to encourage managers to give young English players a chance remains absent. Bridging the gap from youth team to first team will be vital to maintain the overall standard of our competition in future years.
Sachin Nakrani: The ubiquity of betting adverts. I chose this last season and, if anything, it seems to have got worse, with the issue particularly pressing in light of figures showing Britons lost £12.6bn through gambling last year.
Change for next season
Daniel Taylor: It is obviously sensitive, to say the least, but it’s time Liverpool and all the relevant people on Merseyside listened to the growing number of fans who realise safe-standing should be embraced.
Barney Ronay: Give the FA Cup winners a Champions League spot just to confuse everybody.
Dominic Fifield: I repeat: how about having 25-man match-day squads, with a guarantee that at least five have been nurtured through the club’s academy or youth system? That might encourage a few more youngsters on the benches with a chance of game-time in the top flight.
Paul Wilson: Everton to finish higher than Liverpool, please. Failing that, it would be good to see a few more of the now quite encouraging number of English and home grown managers in the Premier League operating in the top half of the table.
Amy Lawrence: With experiments increasing, the sooner the Premier League can fast-track video referees to assist with difficult decisions, the better.
Barry Glendenning: The record, José. Change the bloody record.
David Hytner: It has been said before but I strongly believe that the summer transfer window should close the night before the Premier League season starts. I’d also like to see transfer fees made public, including loan fees.
Scott Murray: All pseudo-heraldic club crests to be ditched and replaced with a 1970s-influenced stylised logo. Good, crisp, clear design, and guaranteed to appal small-c conservatives everywhere.
Jamie Jackson: Can we have a rolling seven-day-a-week Premier League programme, please?
Andy Hunter: The trial of, or at least a renewed debate at the appropriate level about, safe standing at Premier League grounds.
Louise Taylor: The abolition of Friday night games. Invariably inconvenient for fans who actually go to matches.
Stuart James: Clamp down on dissent – far too much of it goes on still. And the sooner video assistant referees are introduced, the better.
Jacob Steinberg: Stop squeezing in Premier League matches on Thursday nights.
Simon Burnton: Scrap Friday night football altogether. Unpopular with TV viewers and therefore schedulers, but still officially a thing. Football fans deserve and need a night off.
Paul Doyle: Teams should be docked a point for losing without scoring.
Ed Aarons: The introduction of video assistant referees is long overdue, as is retrospective punishment for players found guilty of ‘simulation’. The challenge will be to ensure the VAR system does not impinge on the general flow of the game.
Sachin Nakrani: No more José Mourinho. I’m John Lennon, sat at a piano, asking you to imagine a Premier League without the sour-faced, relentlessly spiteful, ultra-negative and generally washed-up manager of Manchester United. Marvellous, isn’t it?
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