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.

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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.