As we draw a close to the season with this weekends play-off finals its about time we sat back and took stock of what has been a rollercoaster 10 months in preparation to do it all again next August. This season has provided us with some dramatic action, on and off the field. Some of it has made your jaw drop in astonishment whilst other moments have had us yell at our television in outrage. For every fan who has experienced an unbelievable high this season their have been those who have been brought close to tears. Football has the ability to either light up your life or cast a huge rain cloud over it. These are just a collection the highs and lows of a season which has been as brilliant as it has been infuriating. Part 1 while be all the highs whilst part 2 will include the lowest of the lows.

Highs

Cristiano Ronaldo - Where else can we start other than with the man who has managed a staggering 42 goals for his club this season. The Portuguese winker has simply been on fire for the majority of the season, his electrifying pace and skill terrifying defenders and fans alike whilst bring the biggest of smiles to those who worship at the church of Old Trafford. He may not be loved by everyone, and you have to agree that his ability to go down under a gust of wind does damage his overall reputation but take nothing away from him otherwise. If he doesn't receive goal of the season for either his flick against Aston Villa (lucky maybe, brilliant, definitely) or his fantastic freekick against Portsmouth then you have to question the sanity of those who judge these contests. All this praise coming from an Arsenal fan who thinks life is unfair when we have Emmanuel Eboue as our comparison.

Check out what is next for Ronaldo here at Betting.Betfair.

Manchester United - Can't really mention just one player without mentioning the team around him. The Red Devils have been fairly unstoppable since September, steam rolling nearly all of those who dared to enter Old Trafford this season and to hold their nerve and win the title in what was the closest title race for 10 years is very impressive. They may not have played well every game but it is the sign of great team that they have managed to pick up the points when they have needed to in such a high pressure season. Then to go and cap it all off by winning the Champions League in Moscow has made this a great season for Alex Ferguson and United. Not only have they been successful but they have done it with style, playing attacking free flowing football, proving to those managers that you don't have to play 4-5-1 to be successful these days.

The FA Cup - This category could be filled up by Barnsley's exploits alone this season but that would be doing a disservice to all those other clubs who have made this FA Cup the most unpredictable in recent times. The likes of Staines and Chasetown need to be acknowledge for managing to knock out Port Vale and Stockport respectively. They have flown the non-league flag for this season, but they didn't quite manage to reach the heights of Havant & Waterloovile. The Blue Square South side firstly holding League 1 champions Swansea at the Liberty Stadium before dumping them out in fabulous fashion in the replay and booking themselves a game at Anfield where they lead before losing in a valiant effort which I will always remember for Gareth Crooks shocked face on the BBC's Score when they scored again. Liverpool didn't survive for long though and soon became the victims of the biggest cup upset since Wrexham dumped Arsenal out. To beat Liverpool is one thing but to do it in their own back yard is simple astonishing, especially in a time when the gap between the Premiership and Championship continues to grow. Barnsley then did it again against Chelsea on a rainy Saturday at Oakwell and by rights they should have been in the FA Cup final based on those results alone. But all credit to Cardiff, beating Middlesbrough away is no mean feat and to reach an FA Cup final, pushing Portsmouth the majority of the way is a credit to the side. I don't think we will see an FA Cup final like that again, there is always going to be the odd shock but never as many as this seasons competition.

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The Champions League - From the oldest cup competition in the world to the biggest prize in European club football. This has been included based on the domination of English clubs in the competition this season. If Arsenal hadn't drawn Liverpool we could have easily had all English semi-finals because to be honest the quality of the opposition from Europe this season was poor. Inter Milan and AC were dispatched in relative ease by Liverpool and Arsenal, who both recorded rare victories in the San Siro. Chelsea had possibly the easiest run to the final whilst Manchester United cruised past Roma before coming up against a toothless Barcelona side who could have been dispatched in the first leg if Ronaldo hadn't bottled it. Whilst its great to see the English sides dominate Europe it also troubles me that they weren't given more of a challenge by the likes of the Spanish, Italian and German sides, there is nothing better than watching your side pit their wits against the best Europe has to offer and come out on top, this season the competition might as well have been combined with the Premier League to decide the winner.

Barnet - Quick mention to Barnet for implementing a strategy that should really be part of our game by now. Paul Fairclough's side was the first to have only their captain Ismail Yakubu talk to the referee. Since then the Bee's have received just three yellow cards for dissent. A lot of the Premier League clubs should sit up and take notice of the standards being set by this League 2 side. Whilst it is admirable what they have done it should be the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea who make sure their players are under control and sending a good message to all those young supporters who idealise them so much.

 Tottenham - Now as an Arsenal fan it is always difficult to praise your most hated rivals but this season Tottenham have been by far the most entertaining team in the league. They may not have played the best football doing it but they have provided us with a season full to the brim of goals split evenly between going in at both ends. They haven't been involved in a scoreless game at White Hart Lane in all competitions this season and provided us with two of the games of the season with their four all draws against Aston Villa and Chelsea. Most Spurs fans would argue that the 5-1 drubbing of Arsenal would be their best performance but I would respectfully disagree with that one. Lets just hope that Juande Ramos doesn't make Tottenham water tight at the back so they can provide us with another season of goals, goals, goals.

Doncaster, Stoke and Hull - Hats must go off to these teams for gaining promotion when un-fancied by many of the so called experts. To be fair who could have predicted that any of these underdogs would have even made the play-offs at the start of the season. Stoke can only be described as a story of perseverance in the face of adversity for Tony Pulis' side, who you would have got better odds on him getting the sack than rather stirring the Potters to automatic promotion. It's not secret that Pulis isn't in favour with many of the Stoke fans but on a show string budget he has managed to guide them to the Premier League although I would bet on him being the first manager to get the sack if things don't go well at the Britannia next season. As for Hull well after narrowly avoiding relegation last season they are a testament to unpredictable nature of the Championship, put a good run together and you are likely to find yourselves in at least the hunt for a play-off spot. That's what Phil Brown has done and how ironic was it that Dean Windass, the man released by Hull after beginning his career at the club, struck a fantastic winner to send the club into the top flight of English football for the first time in their history. Finally you get to Doncaster, a side who tens years looked likely to be going out of business and saw the fans carrying a coffin with D.R.F.C written on the side of it to mark the clubs slide out of the football league. Well a decade on and they have achieved yet another promotion after climbing out of the non-league mire six years ago they have bounced up the divisions to reach the dizzy heights of the Championship and to do it at the hands of Leeds will have made the victory even sweeter for Rovers fans. With chairman John Ryan completing his five year plan he has now set his sights on the Premier League and Europe. Based on the five years you wouldn't bet against them completing his dreams.

Roy Keane - How refreshing has it been to finally have a manager speak his mind instead of spinning out the tired old cliché we have all heard a hundred times over. I was never Keane's biggest fan as a player but he is quickly developing into one of my favourite managers. The job he has done with Sunderland has been great and all credit to him after their disastrous previous attempts of staying in the Premier League. It's not only his managerial abilities you must admire but also his ability to come out and challenge what a fellow manager has said if he believes it to be wrong. Even Alex Ferguson hasn't escaped a tongue lashing from his former captain after branding him a hypocrite for preaching respect for referee's to his players while giving them a torrent of abuse from the touch line. Keane reminds me of Brian Clough in some ways with his out spoken nature and I just hope that in this P.C world that Niall Quinn and the board try to silence Keane.  

Scotland - The only team from the United Kingdom, with the exception maybe of Northern Ireland, who can feel hard done by in not reaching this years European Championships. The Jocks had a marvellous qualifying campaign with two wins over France, home and away, the highlight of an impressive international season. If only England could have shown some of the fire and passion that Scotland produced on a regular basis. If only they could have kept their home form up when they went on their travels. Eventually it was defeats to Lithuania and Ukraine away that cost Scotland their place in this summers finals and deny France a place in what would have been an historic result for the Tartan Army.  

Well those are just a few of my personal favourites from the season just gone, this section could have gone on and on but had to finish somewhere. Stay tuned for part two and the lows from the season just gone.     

Well the season has only just ended but before the final whistle had gone this Sunday there have already been a host of transfer rumours circulating the papers and the internet, not least about the current state of Arsenal who have been widely tipped to lose a host of their players this summer. Whilst Arsenal seem to be giving away some of their best talent some of the not so promising youngsters are being kept on to see if one more season will improve them into the players Arsene Wenger want them to be. The problem is that if they haven't been able to cut it this season then without some Arsenal's best players they are unlikely to improve.

Lets start with who is tipped to go or who actually left. Well the first big lose has been Mathieu Flamini to Milan. The central midfielder has had a marvellous season for Arsenal since being given his chance ahead of Gilberto. The Frenchman has been at the heart of some of Arsenal's best performances, doing a lot of the hard graft which has allowed the likes of Cesc Fabregas so much freedom. Whilst Fabregas has taken a lot of the plaudits, Flamini's hard work has gone relatively unnoticed among much of the footballing world apart from those who wear the red & white of The Arsenal. The move to AC Milan on a free transfer has angered many of the Gooners who felt that Flamini was a key element to the side Wenger was building. To lose Flamini to one of Arsenal's European rivals is a big blow, especially as he left for reportedly only an extra £5,000 per week. I admire Wenger for trying to keep a pay structure at the club but if Arsenal want to challenge domestically and in Europe keeping the likes of Flamini is vital. They may be other repercussions for the Gunners, if Arsenal want to be one of Europe's best clubs then they will have to compete with their wages. Its all very well bringing through youngsters at the club but if they do develop into superstars they are going to want wages to match, not be kept on the wages they received whilst still coming through the youth setup.

The lose of Flamini seems to have sent a shockwave through the side and if you believe everything you read in the newspapers there is a cue outside Wenger's door of players asking to leave. Now whilst this may be utter rubbish Alex Hleb has been strongly linked with a move away to join Flamini in Italy. Hleb, signed for £11.25m in 2005, hasn't been a massive success but there is no doubting the Belarusian players quality. When Arsenal have operated with Hleb playing just behind the main striker Hleb has looked good, stepping through defences like they weren't there at times. There is no doubting that his lose would be a huge blow to Arsenal, who are short on wingers as it is. Wenger has created a side that is capable of challenging for the title, as they proved this season and with a few additions Arsenal would have come back even stronger next season. If Hleb joins Flamini in leaving those few additions may stretch to five or six.

Even worse could follow if Fabregas were to leave, this seem like nothing more than newspaper propaganda but if Hleb and Flamini were to leave then what is to stop Fabregas or anyone thinking that Arsenal aren't going to be challenging for honours next season. Without key players Wenger is either going to have to buy, which he seems reluctant to do, or put his faith in his youngsters once again, which has proven to be hit and miss. Again Emmanuel Adebayor has been linked with a move away, although he has denied that rumour this week. If Arsenal were to lose these four key players they would be unlikely to replace them over the summer or challenge for honours next season.

Another problem that rises out of this major problem facing Arsenal is that if they are to lose key players they will have to really on those who have been ineffective this season, I don't like to use the word failures cause that is too harsh. But the likes of  Philippe Senderos, Gilberto, Emmanuel Eboue and Nicklas Bendtner have all had their moments but overall they have failed to impress and as such these are the kind of players Arsenal should be looking to off load and concentrate on keeping the players that helped them finish just five points behind Man Utd. Wenger is again going to have to pull another rabbit out of his hat if the Gunners are to at least challenge for any silverware next season.

Bet on who is going to win the title next season and who you think will leave in the summer at Betting.Betfair.com.

After having watched the drama of the last day of the Championship season unfold in front of me on Sunday I have come to the conclusion that whilst it will never boost the quality of the Premier League I did in fact find it more exciting to watch than any last day of the Premier League season.

Let me explain, firstly the game between Stoke and Leicester may not have been the greatest game on the field but the fans made it into a momentous occasions, momentous for Leicester for all the wrong reasons but still a remarkable day. Who would have predicted that Stoke would be gaining automatic promotion and relegating a side whom, until few years ago, were playing UEFA Cup football and punching above their weight in the Premier League. If anything I would have guessed at the beginning of the season that it would have been Leicester going to Stoke needing a point to gain promotion but that's why the Championship can be so interesting. You can never predict at the start of the season who will be going up or down, many will have picked West Brom to gain promotion but I doubt even the most optimistic Stoke fan would have had their side gaining automatic promotion with them. Along with Stoke who would have guessed that Hull and Bristol City would have been in the play-off places.

At the other end of the table who have believed that the likes of Coventry, Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday would have needed a win to avoid the drop into League 1. I know the likes of Nottingham Forest and Leeds have fallen through that trap door but still it is unusual for clubs who were once in the Premier League to fall further than the Championship (no offence Bradford or Swindon). There is just so much more to play for in the Championship and the league is so open that it makes for an exciting season. I think it's great that Stoke are going to be in the Premier League next season and I hope either Bristol City or Hull join them because it's a testament to the league that those teams can rise to the top and take their place in England's top flight. They may well go straight back down but who knows, they may well shock everyone and force one of the Premier League's more established sides out.

Reading an article by Phil McNulty on the BBC's sport website defending the Premier League after Kevin Keegan's 'boring, but great, leagues' comment yesterday has made me realise that while the Premier League title is going down to the wire, it's between two clubs who you would have guessed would have been up there at the start of the season. You can pretty much dictate how the league is going to go before they kick-off in August. The Premier League has become predictable with the same old sides rising to the top, not so in the Championship this season where it could have easily been Stoke or Hull who took the league winners crown.

That is what I love about football, the unpredictable side of things, something which is slipping away in the top flight of English football. It's why I have enjoyed the FA Cup more this year than any other, but that competition lost its shine as soon as Manchester United decided to play in some silly tournament in Brazil rather than in the oldest cup competition in the world. In Phil McNulty's article he makes a good point when he says that all European Leagues are predictable and on the whole you would agree with him where it is always Inter Milan or Lyon dominating their respective leagues. But Spain's La Liga does not fit into the mould. While Real Madrid or Barcelona do normally end up winning the league at least a different side comes up to challenge them most season's. This year it has been Villarreal and before that Sevilla, Valencia, Real Betis etc.

Perhaps the Championship's biggest plus point is also its downfall because, as the Derby proved last season, you don't have to be brilliant to get promoted. But teams must always have faith and I look forward to Stoke being in the Premier League next season and also look forward to the most nerve racking time of the year now, the Play-Offs.

I imagine that at this moment realistic Manchester City fans up and down the country are shaking their heads in disbelief at the notion that this summer one of their most successful managers in recent history is to be sacked. He may not have won anything but he has made City into a competitive team once again, and to beat their city rivals United home and away is not mean feat when you consider some of the teams that have tried and failed in that task this season. At the end of last season City were perhaps lucky that their early season form meant they weren't relegated because their home form was dreadful and goals were like goal dust for the Citizens. 

To steal a quote from a BBC news reports I saw earlier today, City change their managers more regularly than people change their tooth brush. Sven-Goran Eriksson may not be in the same league as Steve Coppell and his 32 day reign but what Manchester City need, if they seriously want to challenge for honours, is stability and plenty of it. Whilst the former England manager may have dropped a clanger this weekend, I mean who throws away a two goal lead against Fulham, a team single-handedly carried by Jimmy Bullard at times but that's for another blog. Sven may have dropped £46m last summer on a few players who have been less than successful, Bianchi for £8.8m springs to mind. But City were making progress this season, for the first part of the season they were even challenging for a Champions League pace, now I will be the first to admit they have been dismal in the second half of the season but they lack strength in depth in key positions. The lose of Micah Richards and, more recently Richard Dunne, has seem them leak goals like a sieve leaks water but I would have predicted that Eriksson would have added to his squad in that position in the summer. Now he won't get the chance.

Eriksson is a good club manager, winning Serie A with Lazio is no mean feat and while he may have failed to carry England past the quarter-finals at least we reached those major tournaments under the Swede. I think Thaksin Shinawatra is being extremely naïve to presume that success would just come to a club that hasn't won a major trophy since the 1976 League Cup, I don't include the First Division a major trophy for a team like City who have a European tournament. It seems that Mr Shinawatra presumed taking over a football club and success come hand in hand if your knowledge of football is based on how Chelsea have done under Roman Abramovich. Sven was building a squad that would have been challenging for major honours given enough time, the future looks bright for City whose youth side just won the FA Youth Cup. Perhaps like Chelsea it was another clash of personalities between the two or perhaps Now the future for City looks grey, who could they readily get to provide instant success whilst working under some extreme conditions where you are only given a season. Most managers like their own freedom and to have someone staring over your shoulder will only fail to fill your manager with confidence. Anyone with any knowledge of football knows that a manager needs time to build a successful team and it looks like if your thinking of applying to become City manager....don't

Place your bets on Sven being the next manager to get the sack here

With three clubs reaching the FA Cup semi-finals and a host of surprises cropping up along the way you'd be forgiven for thinking that a revival has begun in lower league football. But one look at the lower half of the Premier League table should inform you that those who come up to the most lucrative league in the world rarely seem able to cut it. Every season, apart from the 2001-02 season, at least one promoted club has returned back from whence they came. In fact in 1997 all three were relegated.

Photo by Ofey

So we come to this season and the group of teams that have risen to the top of the Championship. Already questions are being asked of the teams looking for those three precious spots at the top table of English football. Let's take a look at the six teams who occupy the automatic and play-off positions as of the 25^th April 2008:

1.      Stoke City: Haven't been in the top flight for 22 years and a club that made a loss of £3m last season suggests they will not have the financial muscle to stay up.

2.      West Bromwich Albion: Have become a yo-yo side in recent years having spent three years in the Premier League and twice being relegated. Proven in the FA Cup to struggle against top sides, losing to Portsmouth in the semi-final, most likely to stay up if promoted though.

3.      Bristol City: Haven't been in the top division for 28 years, have the smallest ground and the fewest employees at the club. Still relying on the players that took them to the Championship two years ago and haven't made a profit for 14 years as a business.

4.      Hull City: Biggest city in Europe never to have a club in a top flight division. Geographical placement could mean they struggle to attract new players like Sunderland have. Do have a good fan base and a decent financial backer though.

5.      Watford: Twice they have tasted the top division, twice they have finished bottom of the league. Still have a lot of the same players they had the last time they were in the Premier League who proved then that they can't cut it.

6.      Crystal Palace: Have graced the Premiership four times and each time they have gone straight back down. Poor financial set-up with the club running at a lose previously, having to rely on home grown talent this season that probably wouldn't have the experience to cut it in the big league.

The brief look at the promotion contenders maybe a gloomy one and there is every chance that at least one of the clubs will stay up but with the gap between the Premier League and the Championship continuing to grow we shouldn't hold out for a competitive league next season. It already seems set in stone that the big four (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool) will be the top four till the end of time and with a lot of other well established clubs racking in the money from the new television deal it seems newly promoted sides will continue to struggle.

Looking at the teams that were promoted last season (Birmingham, Sunderland and Derby) it's fairly obvious to see where they are going wrong. A lack of Premier League quality players means that all three sides lack goals and are often very shaky at the back. This is taken to the extreme in Derby's case who are set to become the worst Premier League team in history having only won once this season and have managed to concede a staggering 75 goals so far . Every Championship club will be dreading becoming the laughing stock that Derby have but it could well be a reality next season when you look at the likes of Bristol City and Stoke, two sides who lack even the financial muscle of Derby.

Once again in football it all comes down to money and with the new television deal done between Sky and Sentanta the Premier League clubs .The new television deal means that each top flight club will receive, on average, £45m per season from the new contract. Contrast this with the Championship clubs who receive just £1m per season and it's no wonder they struggle when they come up.

David Gold, Birmingham City chairman, realises that this new deal means we will have a less competitive league on our hands, both in the Premier League and the Championship: "The major issue and the reason to get promoted now is to get relegated. The reality is that the real difference is that if you can be in the Premiership with this new money, the gap between the relegated teams and the others in the Championship becomes huge." The clubs that go down this season will receive £11m per year for the first two season's now which could well mean that team's who come down this season will bounce straight back and we could well end up with clubs yo-yoing between divisions.

 
The dilemma comes when you realises money doesn't always buy success and the nightmares some clubs have faced after splashing the cash to maintain their Premier League status. Take Bradford City for example, spent big in their second season in the top flight which, after relegation, nearly cost them dearly. Now they find themselves in the bottom tier of English football.

The Championship is synonymous with the idea that anybody can beat anybody but in the Premier League that is a fantasy where teams in the lower half of the table are happy if they just take a point off one of the big four. Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd sums up the Championship nicely when he said: "The way this league is going, it could be that you'll need the highest amount of points ever to avoid relegation and the least amount to win promotion." The latter tells a story. The culture shock that the newly promoted teams face after coming through a league where anyone can gain promotion is monumental and some fail to cope with it, a reality that more and more will continue to face as the gap continues to widen between the two leagues.

Things have certainly changed at the Bridge, in the days of Mourinho you kind of expected Chelsea to score at some point in the game and you knew that against most teams they were never going to concede. Now they look shaky at the back, without Drogba they lack much of their goal threat and since the Mourinho left the players no longer look interested. The likes of Drogba and Lampard have been cruising through the season waiting for what the summer may bring, a move away from the Blues. With the squad Avram Grant has you would expect Chelsea to be up there with United and Grant has done that but where he has failed, and Mourinho succeeded, is with his tactics. When things aren't going Chelsea's way the man look clueless, his substitutions are ones that have many of

the fans shaking their heads at. Aside from bringing on Nicolas Anelka against Arsenal it's hard to think of a change which has worked. While the Chelsea players mind may be on the Champions League  Semi-final it will still be lurking at the back of  heads that  this Saturday will be do or die.

Whilst down in London Chelsea have been scarping by in Manchester teams have simply been blown away by United this season. I can't remember a side looking like they are going to score every time they go forward since the Arsenal invincible's. Frankly United have been awesome, strong at the back whilst playing some magical stuff further up the field. They may have dropped off the pace slightly in the past few weeks but I don't think anyone expected them to keep it up right until the end. They no possess something they haven't had since the treble winning squad of 99 which is not only a great team but a great bench as well, back in 1999 Ferguson had players like Teddy Sheringham and Old Gunnar Solskjaer to bring in when things were going against them. Now Ferguson has the likes of Nani and Anderson to call on, both players who can change a game in a heartbeat.

Photo by Wallyg

Now we have come to the crunch part of the season with United still left with Chelsea on their coat tails and this Saturday's massive game. Despite Chelsea's formidable home record and their gluttony of stars I can only see this going one of two ways, either a predictable draw or a heart wrenching lose for the home side. It's ironic that it comes down to games like this where sides can win the title at the home of their closest rivals, Arsenal did it in 2002 at Old Trafford and in 1989 at Anfield. United will have bitter memories of being spanked 3-0 by Chelsea at the bridge for them to lift the title and they won't have forgotten it. Patrice Evra has stated his desire to win the title at Stamford Bridge and what a way to cap off a majestic season it would be. That is why I am going for a United win to once and for all end the stuttering dreams of Chelsea for this season at least.