Premiership team of the season.

After a long hard season for England's top clubs the final day brought both tears of joy and of despair for fans of teams at the wrong end of the table. Tears of joy for the fans of Wigan, Wolves and Blackburn as their teams retained their Premiership status. For the fans of Blackpool, West Ham & Birmingham it was sadly a different story as their beloved teams dropped out of the top tier and into the quagmire that is the nPower Championship, a league that is notoriously tricky to get out of.

Enough of the talk of the bottom of the league though that is a post for another day, after the conclusion of one of the most competitive seasons in recent memory there were some performers who stood out amongst their piers.
For my team of the season I've decided to use a 4-2-3-1 formation as in my opinion is the most effective and prominent formation in European football. There will be the full starting XI and 7 substitutes comprising of players from all over the league, some positions in particular right-back were harder to fill than others.

Goalkeeper: Edwin Van Der Sar (Manchester United)

The grand old man of Premiership goalkeeping finished an illustrious career in style performing head and shoulders above all other keepers this season. Van Der Sar kept 14 clean sheets behind United's watertight back line and made many superb saves which led the Red Devils to their record 19th league title. Van Der Sar was particularly imperious at Old Trafford where United dropped only two points all season. The Dutchman's retirement will leave big boots to fill in between the posts at Old Trafford and his absence next season could be the undoing of the champions.

Right-Back:  Seamus Coleman (Everton)

Everton once again had a superb season finishing seventh after once again spending a pittence in the transfer market, that they achieve like this season after season is testament to both David Moyes and his scouting department. The embodiment of Everton's shrewd transfer dealings is the standout right back in the Premiership this season, Seamus Coleman. Signed for £60,000 from Sligo Rovers, Coleman played a key part in getting Blackpool last season and in his first full Premiership season he delighted Everton fans by marauding up and down the right flank both setting up goals and chipping in with a few himself. Despite this undoubted attacking flair Coleman showed himself to be an adept defender also with him helping Everton maintain one of the tighter defences in the Premiership in 2010/2011.

Centre-back:Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)

 The standout centre-back in the Premiership was the mammoth Belgian, Vincent Kompany. Manchester City's qualification for the Champions League was based around a solid defence with Kompany being the focal point of it all. The pace and power of City's defence in particular that of Kompany was a terrifying prospect for Premiership strikers. Conceding the joint fewest goals in the league this season showed that Roberton Mancini's tight, conservative approach is definitely working and without the big Belgian it may not have been possible. Whilst a rock in the centre of defence Kompany also proved himself to be an adept ball player, starting moves off with a delicate touch and getting the ball swiftly to City's more creative players.

Centre-Back: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Featuring alongside the pacey Kompany comes the best centre-half from the other side of Manchester, Nemanja Vidic. The key cog in the centre of the champions defence, Vidic was arguably United's most consistent performer in a season where few stars really shined for United. Forming the best partnership in the country alongside Rio Ferdinand, Vidic provided the defensive base in Sir Alex Ferguson's record 19th title winning side. Some would argue that Vidic is the best centre half in the world at this moment in time, an opinion that I personally would disagree with, it does however show just how highly regarded the Serbian warrior is and that he deserves a place in the team of the season.

Left-Back: Leighton Baines (Everton)

The easiest pick so far is that of Leighton Baines for the left-back position. A truly outstanding performer for David Moyes' excellent Everton side. Going forward Baines has been a real force for the Toffee's, given the licence to roam up and down the left flank by his manager he has been the outstanding full-back in the country this season and arguably Europe. If it wasn't for the consistency of Ashley Cole for England then Baines would have nailed down a starting spot for the national side this season without question. Moves to bigger European clubs such as Bayern Munich have already been suggested for the 26 year old Scouser yet he appears comfortable in his Merseyside surroundings and may be a fixture in the Everton side for years to come.

Central Defensive Midfield: Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

The highest paid player in world football arrived in Manchester to much skepticism from the City fans. By the end of the season though he had played his way into their hearts with his powerful midfield play driving City to their first major trophy in thirty five years. A Goliath in the middle of the park Toure provides a physical presence that opposition midfield's find hard to contain. Equally adept as a destroyer of the oppositions play or as a driving midfielder going forwards, Toure quickly showed himself to be worthy of his hefty price tag. Amongst the legion of foreign stars that have failed at City, Yaya began to embody CIty's new found resilience under boss Roberto Mancini, shielding an already watertight defence and chipping in with crucial goals himself.

Central Defensive Midfield: Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

To play alongside the destructive, powerful, ball-winning Toure we have the diminutive new star of English football, Jack Wilshere. An adept passer of the ball, Wilshere started the season as an unknown quantity in Arsene Wenger's young attacking side. With only half a season's Premiership experience under his belt whilst on loan at Bolton he represented a huge gamble for Wenger if he were to be placed straight into the starting line up, needless to say this gamble more than paid off. A virtual ever present in the Gunners line up, the young play maker quickly proved himself to be a veritable star in the making. With the eye for a killer through ball and outstanding dribbling skills, Wilshere played himself into the England national side where he will surely remain for the next decade.

Right Attacking Midfield: Samir Nasri (Arsenal)

 

For the first half of the season their wasn't a better, more explosive player in England than Arsenal's French dynamo Samir Nasri. Epitomized by his exhilarating display against Fulham, Nasri showed himself, in my opinion at least, to be the Gunners true star eclipsing Cesc Fabregas in that regard. Dribbling with the ball has always been a strength of Nasri's as well as his eye for a pass, this season however the French man added the ability to find the back of the net on a regular basis to his game. Finishing the season on ten goals was an impressive return for Nasri even though his form dipped towards the end of the year alongside the rest of the Arsenal squad. Holding onto Nasri in the summer will be a tough task for Arsenal with rumours linking him to Manchester United refusing to go away, I do however believe that keeping Nasri rather than Fabregas would be a masterstroke by the club and would go a long way to challenging for the title next season.

Central Attacking Midfield: Rafael Van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur) 

A fantastic signing by Harry Redknapp at a snip of a price (£8 million), the Dutch play maker showed himself to be a touch of class in his debut Premiership season. Often finding himself on the end of knockdowns from Peter Crouch, Van der Vaart finished the season with 13 goals, fantastic stuff for a player playing in England for the first time. Despite an apparent lack of fitness Van Der Vaart found himself to be a focal point for Spurs' attacking brand of football alongside the excellent Croatian Luka Modric with the pair providing their fair share of assists and goals. Much is expected of the Dutch star in his second season with Tottenham aiming to bounce back into Champions League contention.

Left Attacking Midfield: Luka Modric (Tottenham)

One of the hottest talents in English football is the brilliant Croation Luka Modric, the Tottenham superstar is attracting the attention of both Chelsea and Manchester City. A superb season for Tottenham has seen the Croat become the standout in a packed Spurs midfield. With an eye for a killer pass as well as silky dribbling moves Modric is arguably the most talented attacking midfielder in the Premiership. If Tottenham fail to keep him in the summer then it will be a significant step backwards for the North London club. 

Striker: Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

Joint top scorer in the Premiership alongside Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez's goals propelled Manchester City to Champions League football for the first time. With the ability to score any type of goal whether it be a rocket shot from 30 yards or a cool side foot finish whilst one on one with the keeper Tevez has it all. Also proving himself to be a superb link up man as the lone striker in City's formation, Tevez showed himself to be a great all round player. The only issue with Tevez is his volatile personality, clashing with boss Roberto Mancini throughout the season and requesting to leave several times. This disruptive attitude looks likely to see Tevez leave Eastlands in the summer transfer window.

Substitutes:

Goalkeeper: Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan Athletic)

A fantastic loan signing by Roberto Martinez, Al-Habsi showed himself to be a superb Premiership calibre goalkeeper by helping keep Wigan in the Premiership.

Centre-Back: Brede Hangeland (Fulham)

A man mountain in the centre of defence for Fulham ever since he arrived at Craven Cottage, the Norwegian dealt superbly with everything that was thrown at him all season long. He helped Fulham concede the fewest goals in the league since January.

Centre-Back: Christopher Samba (Blackburn Rovers)

Another beast of a human being in the shape of Blackburn's 6 foot 5 behemoth Chris Samba. Samba has shown himself to be a top quality defender for Rovers and looks to have sealed himself a move to a top Premiership club this summer.

Defensive Midfield: Youssuff Mulumbu (West Bromwich Albion)

My player of the season for West Brom in a season of unparalleled Premiership success for the Midland's outfit. Mulumbu started the season as an anchorman in the mould of Claude Makalele (ironically the man who replaced him at PSG) yet by the end of it he was a dynamic force in the middle of the park, chipping in with seven goals.

Winger: Nani (Manchester United)

The standout attacking player for the champions up until Wayne Rooney's timely revival, Nani showed more consistency as he became an important part of United's attacking play. Scoring key goals and providing assists for team mates showed signs of maturation for a player with undoubted talent yet previously at times lacking end product.

Winger: Luis Suarez (Liverpool)

Although he only signed in January the impact of the Uruguayan arguably turned around Liverpool's season. 

Played out on the wing, Suarez revitalized an ailing Liverpool side with his slaloming runs and rocket for a shot. The true impact of Suarez however will only really be felt in his first full season with Andy Carroll in the centre waiting for his pin point crosses.

Striker: Peter Odemwingie (West Brom)

The signing of the season bar none. I don't want to hear about how good Chicarito did, Odemwingie scored more goals for a team that was struggling for most of the season. Signed for a bargain price (£1 million), West Brom truly reaped the rewards of their bargain hunting. Scoring 15 goals and breaking the Premiership record for a West Brom striker was a fantastic debut season for the Nigerian, who West Brom will be desperate to hold onto

In the beginning there was football.

The 2010/2011 Premiership season has been a truly unique one without a side of true quality or even one with great style. There has however been a sign that the gap between the elite of the game and the sides that usually languish around the foot of the table is closing. Wolves and West Brom, two perennial basement dwellers have collectively beaten the established top four this season whilst both playing a more modern passing game rather than the archaic long ball game that smaller sides have attempted to use in years past. Yet despite this Wolves stay firmly established within the relegation zone and will have to fight tooth and nail to retain their Premiership status. This in my eyes at least says a lot about the overall quality of the Premiership this year, despite the lack of a truly great team each team has been able to hold their own.

The Premiership table as of the 25th of April 2011.

If we take a look at the table above there is a quagmire of teams  between 15th and 9th that I believe can consider themselves reasonably safe from the worries of relegation. Each of these teams have reasons to be proud of the seasons they have had with remarkable results and achievements pulled off by each of them. We have Stoke becoming the last founding member of the Football League to reach an FA Cup final and who would put it past them beating Roberto Mancini's millionaire's boys club.

The achievements of Birmingham City must also not be overlooked, with a team devoid of any great natural goalscorers the club has punched above its weight by lifting its first major trophy since 1963 and in the eyes of some single handedly destroying Arsenal's once promising season. The superb Ben Foster has been in top firm for them and is pushing Joe Hart closely for the title of England's number one after some shaky moments from the incumbent for both Man City and England.

The achievements of the two aforementioned clubs in the cup competitions along with a strong showing from English clubs in the Champions League is indicative of a strong Premiership getting even stronger. The away form of Manchester United this season has been a superb example that the smaller teams in the league have gotten better and it is not the failings of the bigger clubs that have led to a tighter league. United have drawn 9 home games and lost three with defeats coming at Stamford Bridge, Anfield and Molineux. This is the opposite of their away form in Europe where United have been dominant, not conceding a goal away from Old Trafford all season against Europe's elite.

With four games to go for each team in the league the true battles left to be decided appear to be the fight for fourth and fifth between Man City, Tottenham and Liverpool and the battle to beat the drop. The prizes of Champions League football and Premiership survival are the two richest in football, yet with relegation condemning three sides to the perils of The Championship costing clubs the vast television money at stake it is arguably this fight that is the most important. With Tottenham, Liverpool and City all firmly established in the Top 6 it is arguable that Champions League football whilst nice the failure to get it would not be a devastating blow to any of them in the long term. The drop to the Championship however has started a rapid decline for clubs once firmly entrenched in the top tier of English football. Prime examples currently languish in the third tier of the English game with teams such as Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Swindon living examples of what relegation from the Premiership can lead to. Braford City are the living example of a team in the Premiership just ten years ago now entrenched in the lower half of the bottom tier of the Football League.  Whilst they are the extreme example of when things go bad teams relegated in recent years have struggled to bounce back, with the exception of Birmingham, West Brom and Newcastle relegated teams have struggled mightily in getting back in the big time.

With all that said its time for some predictions for the end of the season.
Champions: Manchester United
Top four: Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City
Europa League: Liverpool, Birmingham City (LC), Stoke City (FAC)
Relegation:Blackpool (20th) Blackburn (19th), West Ham (18th)