FOOTY FAIR

The Lion of Muthurwa - Victor Wanyama's Journey in Football (Video)

2016-02-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

24 year old Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama became the first EPL footballer from his nation when he signed for Southampton from Scottish club Celtic in 2013. The Lion of Muthurwa is a fantastic short film about his dedication and journey in football.

Who the Heck Are FC Midtjylland?

2015-08-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

With the Europa League moving into the playoff round on 20 August, Premier League side Southampton, who surprised perhaps even their most ardent fans last season with a seventh place finish after losing many of their best players in the summer of 2014, were drawn against FC Midtjylland after an impressive 5-0 aggregate win over Vitesse Arnhem.

While the glitz and glamour of the UEFA Champions League often gives us matchups between the big sides in Europe, with only the occasional lesser known side making an appearance in the later stages of the competition, the Europa League is a different proposition altogether.

Granted there are sides with proud history's like Borussia Dortmund and Ajax featuring in this year's competition, a quick scan through the list of teams in the playoff round presents us with quite a few sides that will have many of us non-football hipsters doing a bit of Googling.

One such side that I will admit to not being that familiar with before this week was Southampton's earlier named opponents Midtjylland.

But with the Danish club only coming into existence in 1999, I felt a little bit better about this particular gap in my football knowledge, but upon further research I found this small club to have quite an interesting story despite their relative lack of history.

The club, which is based in Herning and Ikast in the Western part of Jutland, wasted no time in gaining promotion to the Danish Superliga in 2000, after only one season of play in the second tier, and thereafter established themselves in around the top 3 or 4 places in Denmark's top division.

Off the pitch though the club struggled with finances and the threat of bankruptcy loomed large before Brentford owner Matthew Benham stepped in with a £6.2m investment in July of 2014 that saw him become the club's majority shareholder.

Benham is a firm disciple of an analytics approach to football which bares many similarities to the "Moneyball" concept which is employed by baseball's Oakland Athletic's general manager Billy Beane and made famous by the Brad Pitt film of the same name.

Using statistical data and mathematics to measure every tiny aspect of the club's recruitment, performance, along with measuring individual player data down to how they kick a ball on a clearance, Benham has also employed specialist coaches from the U14's up to the senior squad to translate this data into their technical work.

All matches are analyzed in real time by Benham's backroom statisticians who pass their analysis down to the dressroom at half-time so any problem areas can be addressed during a match.

Using this approach the club won their first league title in 2014/2015 and although they weren't able to get past Cypriot side Apoel in the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying, the Europa League offers another chance for this tiny club to push on in Europe this season and make a name for themselves.

Random Footballer I Idolized: Matthew Le Tissier

2015-07-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Matthew Le Tissier didn't look anything like the typical professional footballer you see gracing the Premier League nowadays, in fact during his prime in the 1990's he didn't look like many of the players that played then either.

Lacking the slim, muscular physique of many of football's top stars, and without the salon styled haircuts of England's finest, he looked more pub league than Premier League, but then if you saw him with the ball at his feet you understood why Southampton fans and neutrals like me revered him so much.

Born in the channel island of Guernsey in 1968, the player Saints fans would come to call Le God made his debut for the south coast club in 1986.

The one club for life man went on to score 161 goals in 443 appearances for Southampton, but he's remembered more for the quality of his goals than the number of them.

Appearing to glide lazily across the pitch, in a style reminiscent of the great Brazilian midfielder Socrates, Le Tissier could suddenly burst with pace, dribble past a defender or two and then send the ball rocketing towards goal.

When compiling a list of the greatest goals of the Premier League era, several of Le Tissier's strikes would feature highly. In fact, he probably needs a list of his own considering the number of brilliant goals he conjured up.

In 1993 Newcastle United were on the receiving end of two of his moments of genius.

His first resulted from the knock-down of a long ball by Iain Dowie. With the ball dropping behind Le Tissier he exquisitely controlled it with his heel and then volleyed it past defender Barry Venison. Surging into the box, he then lifted the ball over another defender before guiding it beyond keeper Mike Hooper. The supreme skill and effortlessness of the finish almost made it look easy.

Southampton's attacking midfielder extraordinaire wasn't finished there though, with the match later tied, he brought a headed pass 30 yards from goal under control with his thigh, turned and hammered an 88th minute winner for Southampton into the top corner.

Besides these two moments of genius, there were many others including a stunning dribble that culminated in a superlative 40-yard chip against Blackburn Rovers in 1993/1994 which many view as the greatest goal in Premier League history.

Despite offers to move on to bigger sides, Le Tissier always stayed loyal to Southampton, despite this and his individualist style of play likely costing him England caps.

Considering his talent it's quite incredible that he only played eight times for his country.

Football supporters can be odd characters, whereas on one hand you have players slated for a lack of loyalty when they force moves to other clubs, Le Tissier was criticized for his lack of ambition.

After retiring in 2002, Le Tissier has concentrated mainly on media work and for his part he holds no regrets over how his playing career unfolded.

Speaking earlier this year to the Guardian's Barry Glendenning, Le Tissier said that his dream growing up was to "play football professionally, play for England and just enjoy his football", he was doing all of those things by the time he was 25 years old.

5 Weird Football Moments

2015-04-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

If you were to ask someone what football is all about they would probably say great goals, or perhaps they'd use more of an abstract term like glory or passion.

Those terms do come to mind for me too when thinking about football, but I also think about the sheer madness of it all. Getting up at 4am on a Saturday to drive nine hours to stand in a rainstorm and see your team probably lose on the road, or watching a player get subbed on and within thirty seconds getting sent off for a wild lunge on someone or simply staying up until 1am to argue with a basement dwelling numskull over the merits of ticki-tacka are some of the more minor examples of football madness.

But what of the moments that seem to come straight out of a Z-Grade film on the SfyFy Channel, when football truly loses the plot?

The following are five examples of genuine football weirdness:

The Sheikh Who Got a Goal Disallowed

Remember when you were a kid playing soccer in the street with a bunch of your friends, when some filthy cheating ratbag who you didn't really like but you allowed them to join in just so you had enough players would blatantly score a goal with his hand? Then the cry baby kid, who invariably owned the ball you were playing with and was probably named Blake, would scream and cry about the unfairness of it all and take his ball home?

Well a scenario somewhat similar to that happened in the 1982 World Cup. France were thoroughly outplaying Kuwait and already up 3-1, when Alain Giresse scored a very controversial fourth goal that looked miles offside.

Not having any of it, Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the President of the Kuwait FA, then tried to either get the match abandoned or France's fourth goal disallowed because his team had stopped running because they had heard another whistle.

Incredibly the referee wilted under pressure and disallowed 'Les Bleus' fourth goal and the match restarted as if it had never happened.

The French would have the last laugh though as they added a legitimate fourth goal later in the match.

Flare for the Dramatic

In September of 1989 with Chile needing a win at the Maracana to have any chance of reaching the 1990 World Cup, but down a goal to Brazil with only twenty minutes to play, Chile's goalkeeper Roberto Rojas executed his wild plan.

As a flare dropped near Rojas' goal mouth, he pulled out a razor blade he had hidden in his glove, cut his forehead and dropped to the pitch with blood streaming from his wound.

His concerned teammates, who may or may not have been in on his plan, rushed to his aid and told the referee that they were leaving the pitch due to unsafe conditions.

The only flaw in the crafty keepers plan was that he had forgotten about the invention of camera's, several of which captured images of the flare dropping nowhere near him, while others showed him cutting himself.

Brazil were awarded a 2-0 win, while Chile were banned from both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. Rojas himself was banned for life by FIFA.

In a strange twist the fan who threw the flare, Rosemary de Mello, went on to pose for Playboy.

Scotland vs. Themselves

As they stepped on the pitch in Tallinn, Estonia on October 9, 1996 for a World Cup qualifier, the only team that could beat Scotland was themselves. That's not a comment about how poor Estonia were at the time, but because the Baltic nation didn't even show up for this match and I'm not talking figuratively.

With FIFA ruling that Estonia's floodlights did not meet the required standards for an evening kickoff, the match was moved from it's scheduled 18:45 kickoff to 15:00, so the Estonians staged a protest and opted not to turn up for the match.

In order to gain their three points though, Scotland still had to take to the pitch, shake hands with the referee and actually kickoff to make it official.

This farce didn't bother the travelling Tartan Army too much though as they joyfully sang, "There's Only One Team in Tallinn" up in the stands.

Graeme Souness and Southampton Sign Ali Dia

Chances are if you're reading this article, at one point in your life you dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. Hell, you probably still drift off during a morning meeting and dream of smashing a volley into the top right hand corner deep into injury time for your favourite club.

For people like you or I, Ali Dia is a legend. Dia, who had really no football ability that would mark him out as a professional, once conned his way into a one month contract with Premier League side Southampton by claiming to be the cousin of George Weah.

He even convinced then Saints manager Graeme Souness that he had played for Liberia 13 times. With none of the aforementioned facts true in any way, Dia joined Southampton and was thrust into action as a substitute on 23 November 1996 against Leeds United following an injury to Matthew Le Tissier in the 32nd minute. Dia was absolutely woeful and was eventually subbed off himself in the 85th minute.

The gig was up and Dia's contract was quickly cancelled by the club. Le Tissier later said of Dia's appearance: "He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice; it was very embarrassing to watch."

The Referee is... Wasted?

If you've watched football, at some point you've seen some terrible refereeing and likely screamed out your disapproval at the man with the cards, likely questioning his eyesight or his parentage. If you're a fan of a side in the MLS, you likely do this on a weekly basis.

But as poor as some of the displays I've seen from officials they would have to go a long way to match the exploits of Sergei Shmolik who refereed a Belarusian Premier League match between Vitebsk and Naftan in 2008 completely wasted.

Shmolik, who didn't leave the centre circle for the entire match, somehow made it through the entire 90 minutes before being escorted off the field. A blood test run after the match by the Belarusian FA found high levels of alcohol in his system confirming what most people watching the match had already assumed. He was subsequently suspended for his lack of professionalism.

There's been no word yet as to whether or not there is any testing that would determine if a referee is in fact a wanker though.

The Best of Football's Whose Line Is It Anyway?

2015-02-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

The guys and girls at Reddit.com's soccer 'subreddit' have come up with a way to entertain thousands of subscribers and themselves of course by playing a game they call football Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Based on the infamous improvisational comedy series that started as a radio show in the UK in the late 1980's, the users come up with a football related statement or a question and then anyone who has a funny or clever idea posts the answer or completes the statement that was put forth.

We have collected some of the funnier entries for your enjoyment.

Things you can say to Diego Costa but not your wife

I wish you wouldn't go down so often
Is it me, or is that a Brazilian?
Watching you score is a pleasure, but sometimes I want to see other people too
Your arse is on your chin

Things you can remember more easily than Burnley players' names

The name of a Welsh town
Through Fire and Flames on Guitar Hero 3
Lyrics to "Rap God"

Celebrity endorsements doomed to fail

Rooney hair products
Diego Costa... anti-aging cream
Diaby's recovery center
Messi's accountant
Gerrard's anti-slip boots
John Terry's brocode

Things less tragic than Fernando Torres' career since leaving Liverpool

Balotelli's scoring record
The scene where Bambi's mother dies

Things Southampton can't produce

A decent Liverpool team

Things more likely than Liverpool getting top 4 this season

Franck Ribery having sex with someone his own age
Mignolet moving to United in a straight swap deal for de gea
Diaby having an injury free season (or week)

People better at their jobs than Balotelli

The captain of the Costa Concordia
Arsenal's physio
Comcast customer service

Saints Valentine's Day: Southampton Help a Fan Get a Date

2015-01-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

Southampton FC have won a lot of plaudits this season for coping quite well with the loss of several key players last summer, while playing some great football under new manager Ronald Koeman.

Currently sitting in a lofty fourth position in the Premier League after defeating Arsenal 2-0 on New Years Day, the club not only took home three points but they may have also helped a shy man win a young ladies heart.

Saints fan Timothy, tweeted the club on December 21 asking if they could help him find "the girl who sits 4 seats along" from him at St. Marys and described her as "Unreal looking".

Remarkably the club responded and told him to "man up" and ask her if she'd like a cup of Bovril.

Bovril, for the uninitiated, is a warm beef drink that's popular at many football grounds in the United Kingdom. Although it sounds a bit gross, like you're drinking a cup of gravy it's more of a light broth that really hits the spot on a cold night.

I once brought a cup of it for a girl I was dating, who was a vegetarian, at half-time of an Under 21 match between Spain and England at St. Andrews in Birmingham, and I believe it may have brought her back to the meat eating fold.

Anyhow, after Timothy's initial nervousness he promised to say hello to this girl that had caught his attention at the next home match.

Then even Saints legend Matt Le Tissier got involved as he tweeted #GoodLuckTim at the love struck Southampton fan.

For the club's home match against Southampton, Timothy found to his surprise that the club had placed a good luck note, flowers and a coupon for Bovril on his seat.

Plucking up his courage, Tim approached the girl in question and although she wasn't keen on the Bovril, she happily accepted the flowers and took a selfie with her admirer.

After the match Southampton's official Twitter account Tweeted, "We're proud of you. Our work here is done. #WellDoneTim"

Can Blades Take it One Step Further Than Bradford City?

2014-12-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

League 1 side Sheffield United have qualified to their second consecutive major tournament semi-finals after defeating Premier League side Southampton 1-0 in the Football League Cup last eight stage on Tuesday. Last year's Blades made it to the last four of the FA Cup and will now try to emulate the shock final appearance of the last League 1 club that made it to the final match of the Football League Cup competition, Bradford City in 2012-13.

The Bantams shocked England and followers from the world over when they competed six rounds of play to qualify for "the big match" at Wembley Stadium, a run that included wins over Wigan Athletic, Watford, Aston Villa and a penalty shootout win over Arsenal after a 1-1 full-time score in their quarter-final affair.

Sheffield United have already gone through five rounds eliminating Premier League sides Southampton and West Ham United and will now look to the semi-final draw due to take place after the Tottenham versus Newcastle United match later today, the winner of which could very well be drawn against the Yorkshire club. The other options of course will be Chelsea who defeated Derby county yesterday, or perhaps the winner between Liverpool and Bournemouth. Whichever the case, United is looking at opposition from a higher tier of English football.

But while repeating Bradford City's success of two seasons ago is something any Sheffield United supporter would love to see, surely emulating their performance in the final is not exactly the fairy-tail ending the underdogs would like to experience. After their incredible run, Bradford's club went down like the third tier club that they were, losing 5-0 at Wembley Stadium to the tournament champions, Premier League side Swansea City.

If United was somehow to pull off an incredible capture of the Football League Cup, this would mark their first cup win since their 1925 FA Cup victory; their fourth overall, and last major cup win to date.

Rare photograph from Sheffield United's 1915 FA Cup Final match

5 Interesting Manager Facts - Ronald Koeman

2014-11-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

This week on 5 Interesting Manager Facts we take a look at Dutch footballing hero and current Southampton bench-boss Ronald Koeman. Here are 5 very interesting facts about the man who has got The Saints sitting in the second place in the EPL after 12 matches played.

Every club but his first

FC Groningen was the first professional football club Koeman ever played for. Nonetheless, after becoming manager the Dutch coach was able to find a managerial job in some capacity with every team he had once played for except for his first. Koeman was an assistant with both the Dutch national team and Barcelona and was the head coach for his former sides Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord. But the former Groningen youngster had never been appointed to the managerial staff of his very first professional side.

Half-half

It's hard to tell whether Koeman preferred playing with the national team on home soil or on the road. While part of the Dutch national outfit, Koeman scored 14 goals which were split right down the middle, scoring 7 in the Netherlands and the same amount while playing with the Oranje away from home.

Win or lose, he still wins

The only time Koeman recorded more losses than wins as a manager was during his stint with Spanish club Valencia. Regardless of the losing record however, Koeman's side was able to win the 2007-08 Copa del Rey.

The winning goal that saw England stay home

Leading up to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Ronald Koeman essentially became the reason why The Three Lions would not travel to America. Prior to the second-last match of qualifying for both teams England was sitting one point clear of the Dutch in their qualifying group. When the two faced each other in the Netherlands it was free-kick specialist Koeman who would score the game-winning goal against the visitors in a 2-0 final. After both teams went on to win their final matches, the Dutch qualifyed for the tournament in second place, while England was eliminated in third.

The wipe

After the Netherlands' win in the semi-finals of the 1988 Euros against the Germans (which was also hosted in Germany), Ronald Koeman went on to pretend to wipe his ass with the jersey of German footballer Olaf Thon in front of the German crowd. Ronald's Dutch side would go on to defeat the Soviet Union in the finals and Koeman still says he does not regret the action when asked about his controversial gesture.

5 Matches to Watch This Weekend

2014-11-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

Some very intriguing action is coming our way throughout the European football leagues. Here are the five matches we here at Footyfair.com recommend watching this weekend.

Juventus vs. Torino (Italy, Sunday)

The Derby della Mole (Turin derby) is on display this Sunday at the Juventus Stadium. A rivalry that has been contested for 106 years, Juventus and Torino don't always get to play out this local derby due to the fact that Torino tends to jump back and forth between the top tier of Italian football and the lower league. Torino hasn't won a match against Juventus since 1995 when they defeated the 'Old Lady' both times during league action in the 1994-95 season. Since then, the derby has been contested 16 times, with Juventus winning on 12 occasions while the other 4 ended in a draw.

Saint Etienne vs. Lyon (France, Sunday)

Derby du Rhône as it is known in France, is the rivalry between Saint Etienne and Lyon and the two are due to rekindle their hate for one another once more this coming Sunday. Home squad Saint Etienne is sitting in the 6th spot in Ligue 1 while Lyon has enjoyed a better start to their season, placed in third.

Valencia vs. Barcelona (Spain, Sunday)

An intriguing meeting at the Mestalla Stadium is set to take place Sunday as second place Barcelona takes on hosts Valencia who are currently sitting in 4th. Barcelona is just two points behind league leaders Real Madrid and if they are looking to keep pace with the high-flying 'Galacticos 2.0' a test against Valencia on the road could prove crucial.

Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach (Germany, Sunday)

While catching up to league leaders Bayern Munich will be a nearly impossible task for any club in the Bundesliga this year, other Champions LEague spots seem to be very much up for grabs as Borussia Dortmund struggle near the bottom of the table. Second place home side Wolfsburg are taking on third place Borussia Moenchengladbach as both clubs look for the push that will keep them close to the league leaders.

Southampton vs. Manchester City (England, Sunday)

The Saints' start to the season has been something out of a fairy-tail book. Shocking the EPL world with their feet planted in second place behind league leaders Chelsea FC, Southampton have proven week in week out that perhaps they truly deserve to stand where they are. But this weekend's challange comes in the form of defensing EPL champions Manchester City who are not only looking to improve their year after some inconsestant result, but also sit in third place just two points behind Southampton.

Can Southampton Finish in the Top Four?

2014-11-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

As Southampton's supporters witnessed the nightmare of their team, which had finished in 8th place in the Premier League in 2013/2014, ripped to shreds in the summer through the sale of several of their best players, you couldn't blame them for being concerned.

By early August, with defender Dejan Lovren, striker Rickie Lambert, and attacking midfielder Adam Lallana sold on to Liverpool, left-back Luke Shaw sold to Manchester United, and right-back Calum Chambers transferring out to Arsenal, the prospect of relegation seemed to loom large for the Saints.

With Argentinian coach Mauricio Pochettino leaving for Spurs, the club appeared to be going through it's most traumatic period since the dark days of League One.

Prior the season starting I tuned into BBC's 606 Phone-In show to hear an interview with Southampton's new Chairman Ralph Krueger. Coming to the club after a long spell in North American and European hockey, the Canadian seemed from the outside to be an odd choice to take up such a post at the football club.

In light of what had occurred that summer, Krueger was predictably skewered by Saints fans and neutrals a-like who called into the show. Some even suggested that it was a "Fire Sale" and that the club didn't care if they got relegated.

Krueger, for his part, displayed a quiet confidence in the face of such a strong backlash and told caller after caller to have faith in new manager Ronald Koeman. He suggested that the club would bring in replacements for the players that had left and he believed that there was talent in the youth ranks that was ready for the step up to the first team.

Despite his positive outlook many, myself included, remained unconvinced. But then something incredible happened.

With the club bolstered by the signings of Dušan Tadić from Twente, Sadio Mané from Red Bull Salzburg, Hull City's Shane Long, Toby Alderweireld on loan from Atletico Madrid, and best of all Graziano Pellè from Feyenoord, the club has roared to their best-ever start to a top flight season.

Southampton haven't been scraping results either, rather they have pulled themselves to within four points of league leaders Chelsea by playing terrific attacking football.

Under Ronald Koeman, they have become one the best sides to watch in the Premier League and many neutrals are now hoping that they can stay in the top four.

In the years since the Champions League was expanded to include four sides from England, the usual suspects for qualification into the biggest competition in club football has been made up of a small number of teams. For years it was Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal that consistently locked down the qualifying spots, with Manchester City's new riches later forcing out Liverpool, and outside of that it was only Tottenham and Everton occasionally threatening to force their way in.

This season though with Manchester United still struggling through their post-Alex Ferguson transition, Liverpool in a mess after the sale of Luis Suarez, Arsenal dropping silly points, and Manchester City nowhere near as good as they were last season, the only one of the big clubs that's assured of finishing in and around the top of the league is Chelsea.

So if Southampton can maintain their current form, even allowing for one rough patch at some point, this season may be the best opportunity for the club to break into the Champions League.

Looking at the Saints schedule after a match with Aston Villa at Villa Park, they then have matches against Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal in consecutive weeks. It's a tough run of matches, but if the club can come through that relatively unscathed they should be in great shape heading into the New Year.

For Southampton to make the top four, after the trauma of last summer and being only a few years removed from League One and Administration, this would certainly rank as one of the greatest single season accomplishments of the Premier League era.

Sunday Trivia - 5 Faceless Players - Saints Edition

2014-11-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

With the incredible run The Saints have made this year in the EPL, we give you a Southampton FC edition of Sunday Trivia.

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8 Great Southampton Youth Academy Graduates

2014-10-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

In an English Premier League awash with money provided by, mainly, rich foreign ownership now, one club has fought the trend and continually developed their own stars.

Throughout the history of Southampton FC, the club has been famous for bringing through their own talent from the youth ranks and giving these players first team opportunities.

Although quite a few of these players have moved onto bigger clubs, their contributions whether on the playing side or by bolstering the Southampton coffers via their outgoing transfer fees have been key to the club's success.

The following are a few of the more notable players The Saints have brought through into their first team over the years:

1 - Mick Channon

Making his debut for Southampton in 1965, Mick Channon would go on to score 185 goals over two stints with the South Coast club. Channon was a part of The Saints 1976 FA Cup winning squad, who upset Manchester United by a score of 1-0 at Wembley. The future successful racehorse trainer also made 46 appearances for England, for whom he scored 21 goals.

2 - Matthew Le Tissier

Debuting in 1986 at 18 years old, the supremely gifted midfielder Matthew Le Tissier went on to score 161 goals for the club, including converting an incredible 47 of 48 penalties. Despite offers to go to Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea, he snubbed both clubs and played his entire career for his beloved Saints.

3 - Alan Shearer

Making his full debut for Southampton at 17 in 1988, Shearer would break the legendary Jimmy Greaves record for the youngest player to score a top division hat-trick, as he put away three against Arsenal in a 4-2 win in his debut at The Dell. Shearer would move on to Blackburn in 1992, where he would win a league championship, before eventually going home to Newcastle after a star turn for England at Euro '96. Over the course of ten years at St. James' Park he would become the Tyneside club's all time league and cup record goal scorer with 206 in total. He also bagged 30 goals in 63 England appearances.

4 - Theo Walcott

Making his first appearance for The Saints at 16 in 2005/2006, Walcott would within a few months be sold on to Arsenal for £5 million, with the fee rising to £13 million based on appearances. Coming through the youth side as a striker, he was moved out to the wing by Arsene Wenger and has had a stop-start career thanks to injuries. Despite this, Walcott has made nearly 200 appearances for Arsenal in eight years and has been capped 36 times for England. One of his career highlights, so far, was a memorable hat-trick for the Three Lions away to Croatia in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

5 - Gareth Bale

Beginning his career as a left back, Bale broke into the first team at the age of 16 at the tail end of the 2005/2006 season. With a reputation for marauding attacking play down the left, and deadly free kicks, Bale was bought by Tottenham for £7 in 2007. After a slow start at Spurs, Bale was moved further up the pitch and would go on to become one of the most exciting attacking players in England. Thanks to his inspired play, he would win the PFA Players' Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2013. In the summer of 2013, the Welsh winger was sold for a world record £85 million to Real Madrid and would help the club to the 2014 Champions League crown.

6 - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

By making it into the first team at only 16 years and 199 days in 2010, Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second youngest player to make a first team debut for the club after Theo Walcott. After only one full season at St. Mary's, in which he was named in the League One Team of the Year for 2010/2011, 'The Ox' was sold on to Arsenal though for £12 million. The exciting winger, who is somewhat similar in style to Walcott, was a surprise inclusion for England's Euro 2012 side and has won 18 international caps to go along with his 64 first team appearances for Arsenal.

7 - Luke Shaw

Joining the Southampton Academy at the age of 8, Shaw worked his way through the youth ranks before making his debut for The Saints at age 16. By the time he had made his debut clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City were already showing an interest in him. Southampton was able to hang on to him though for a couple of seasons as he was first a part of the side that stormed to promotion to the Premier League and then helped the club consolidate their position in the top flight. Along the way he was named as the left back in the PFA Team of the Year for 2013-2014. Shaw would end his breakout season by earning three international caps for England. In the summer of 2014, Shaw was sold to Manchester United for £30 million and thus becoming the world's most expensive teenage footballer.

8 - Adam Lallana

Starting his youth career at Bournemouth, Adam Lallana would move over to the Southampton Academy at the age of 12 and would make his first team debut at 18 years old. Coming into the side at time when Southampton were struggling in League One, Lallana lit up the third tier and finished the 2009-2010 season with a total of twenty goals in all competitions. The first Saints midfielder since Matthew Le Tissier to score twenty or more goals in a season. Lallana would help the club progress out of League One, through the Championship and finally back into the Premier League before departing for Liverpool for a fee of £25 million in the summer of 2014. To date, Lallana has also made 11 appearances for the senior England side.

5 Interesting Manager Facts - Alan Pardew

2014-10-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

Alan Pardew is very much under pressure at his current club Newcastle United as results in 2014 have not been spectacular at all. Nonetheless, Pardew is still the boss in the North East and here are some interesting facts about the man.

Fact 1 - Playing in the lower leagues

In his 7 first years as a footballer Pardew spent time with semi-professional clubs on part-time basis. His first club was Whyteleafe who are currently in the seventh tier of English football. Before he made the move to Football League club Crystal Palace, Pardew also played for Epsom & Ewell, Corinthian Casuals, Dulwich Hamlet and the only one of those clubs that would eventually make it to the Football League, Yeovil Town.

Fact 2 - Negative for Xenophobia

In March of 2006, while in his last couple of months in charge of West Ham, Alan Pardew was called xenophobic by Arsenal's boss Arsene Wenger. (Xenophobia: the unreasoned fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.) The reason for that was because Pardew had criticized Wenger's club earlier for not fielding a single English footballer for The Gunners' Champions League win over Real Madrid. Pardew quickly put an end to the xenophobia rumors started by Wenger, pointing out the fact that he was married to a woman from Sweden.

Fact 3 - Winning percentage

Of the 5 clubs Alan Pardew had been in charge of to date, only with one of those clubs Pardew enjoyed a record in which he had more wins than draws and losses put together. While the boss of Southampton, The Saints had won 34 times while either losing or drawing on 30 occasions, putting the manager's record at 53.13%

Fact 4 - Worst loss on loan

In 1995 while playing for Charlton Athletic, Pardew was loaned out to Tottenham. But while he did not make any league appearances with the Spurs, he did play in 4 UEFA Intertoto Cup matches, one of which was recorded at the worst loss in Tottenham's history, an 8-0 trashing by German side FC Köln

Fact 5 - Only trophy as a footballer

As a player Pardew had won just one 'major' trophy, that while playing for his first Football League outfit, Crystal Palace. The trophy was a Promotion Playoff win over Blackburn in 1989, a trophy that also put Palace in the first division. In 1990, Pardew was one match away from much more impressive silverware as he helped his side to the FA Cup Finals after scoring an extra-time game winning goal against Liverpool in the semis. In the finals, Pardew's Crystal Palace managed to get a 3-3 draw with Manchester United, just to lose 1-0 in the replay match.

Weekend Recap - Top 5 Surprise Results (Highlights)

2014-10-21T12:00:00.000-04:00

Not too many shocking results this past weekend, nonetheless, there were a few matches that turned some heads around. We have the most surprising results from Greece, Belgium, Italy, Spain and one shocking final score from the English Premier League.

Panathinaikos 1 - 2 OFI Crete

The Greek giants stared off a bit slow with (for them that is) and were sitting with 10 points from their first 5 league matches of the season. Hosting OFI Crete should not have been an issue, but instead Panathinaikos found themselves down 1-0 in the first half. It seemed they were saved in the second 45 thanks to an own goal from the visitors but OFI had other plans as they grabbed the winner with very little time left in the match.

Standard Liege 1 - 2 Zulte-Waregem

Like Panathinaikos in our first surprise result on this list, Standard Liege were expected to start the season off in much better form. Instead, Liege managed to grab just 12 points from their 10 first matches. Hosting last place Zulte-Waregem was a welcomed fixture and one that may have been seen as one that could turn Standard's fortunes around. Unfortunately that was not the case and the home fans showed their disspleasure throwing seats onto the pitch as their beloved club lost 2-1 to the team sitting at the very bottom of the table.

Sassuolo 1 - 1 Juventus

Holding a perfect record after 6 matches, Juventus headed to Sassuolo to take on the city's club who sat dead last in Serie A standings. After Simone Zaza surprised the home fans by opening the score in favor of the local club, Paul Pogba equalized a few minutes later. The defending champions would not be able to score again however, handing the hosts a much needed point and ending Juve's perfect run.

Deportivo La Coruna 3 - 0 Valencia

Sitting in second place before the weekend's action began, Valencia traveled to A Coruña to play local side Deportivo who were in last place. Deportivo provided the home fans with big value for the money they spent on the ticket, defeating Valencia by a 3-0 final. La Coruna moved up to 15th place, while Valencia dropped to 4th after wins by both Real Madrid and Sevilla.

Southampton 8 - 0 Sunderland

Whether or not they were favorites to win makes no difference in this match, because any way you look at it this is a shock result. A result Newcastle fans may very well consider one of the best of the year, but one that neither of the fan bases involved in this particular match expected. It all started with what could only be called a disastrous blunder by The Black Cats as Santiago Vergini shot the ball into his own net in a fashion that some star strikers rarely get to score in the correct direction. Graziano Pelle was a star again with two goals of his own and Sunderland added another ball into their own net to make it a total of 8 at the end.

The Monday Meltdown - Should Sunderland Pay Their Away Fans Back?

2014-10-20T18:00:00.001-04:00

As more than 2,500 Sunderland fans prepared to make the 653-mile round trip between Tyne and Wear, and the south coast they certainly had no idea what they were in for.

After a host of summer departures which included Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and manager Mauricio Pochettino, Southampton were expected to struggle this season. But under new manager Ronald Koeman however they have absolutely flourished.

Sitting in third place in the table in this young Premier League season, the Saints have been a revelation so far. Key to their play so far has been Koeman's commitment to attacking football and the inspired form of new signing Graziano Pellè. The Italian striker, who received his first cap for the Azzurri this month, has been one of the players of the season so far, with a blistering 6 goals in 8 matches.

With that said, Sunderland have played better than their league standing of 17th place suggests and would have gone into St. Mary's expecting a tight battle.

After an encouraging start though, the game descended into a nightmare befitting the Halloween season for The Black Cats.

A ridiculous own goal by Santiago Vergini, that was later described by stunned Sunderland manager Gus Poyet as "a goal from another planet", got Southampton on the board and it was followed up by goals from Pellè and Jack Cork before halftime.

The wheels positively came off for Sunderland in the second half as Southampton continued to relentlessly attack and found the net another five times. With one of the goals coming by virtue of another laughable own goal, this time by Liam Bridcutt, the away sides fans were left with red faces for their long journey home.

It was a weak surrender by the club and one that will have left Poyet wondering which of his men truly has the fight within them to get Sunderland away from the relegation zone.

Goalkeeper Vito Mannone admits that the performance was unacceptable. “It was a difficult afternoon but we need to react,” said the Italian. “We have to do it for ourselves, for the club and for our great fans as well that came all that way. I will personally talk to the team to see if it is possible to pay their tickets and their trip. It is difficult for us but it’s very difficult for them as well.”

Mannone himself did not cover himself in glory, and could have done better with a few of the Saints goals, continued.

“I take all the responsibility I can take for each goal,” said Mannone. “I will try to work on it and try to improve. Each one of us should do the same. To try to defend and be in a game properly as a unit. Each one of us knows there were mistakes on the field.

“I really mean that we should pay their tickets and travel. I will do everything possible. We should do it because we didn’t work hard. We started the game well but after we conceded we threw in the towel – and I include myself.”

After the goalkeeper comments the question has to be posed will Sunderland pay their fans back for such a wretched performance and should they?

As someone who has traveled hundreds of miles following a team, which has included overnight hotel stays, only to see the side play like garbage on the day, I can understand the fans fury.

When paid professionals take the day off, allowing themselves and the fans to be completely humiliated I think compensation of some sort should be in order.

Fans pay thousands of dollars, or pounds in this case, to follow their clubs on the road and the least the side can do is put up a good effort. As fans the minimum requirement we have is that our players fight for the badge and that's something that Sunderland's beleaguered side certainly didn't do on Saturday.

Hopefully the club will compensate those that traveled down to the south coast this past weekend and in the meantime Poyet has promised that "it's going to be an interesting week in training, that's for sure."

That Bale is a Work of Art (Gallery)

2014-10-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Gareth Bale, the incredible Welshman of Real Madrid in the best of artwork from around the internet.

EPL Top 5 Spending Clubs During Summer Transfer Window

2014-09-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

This summer, Premier League clubs broke the record for most spending during a summer transfer window. The total amount spend was £835m, breaking the previous record of £630m set last summer.

Now that the window is closed and the dust has settled, we can take a look at who the top 5 spending clubs were in this summer’s transfer market.

#5 Southampton: £57.9m

Southampton signed 9 new players during this summer transfer market to make up for the 14 players that left the club during the same period. While the club was the 5th top spender in EPL, they actually made a profit during the transfer market. The 14 players that left the club included Luke Shaw and Rickie Lambert and the amount made on all the sales totaled £88.6m while spending £57.9m on new acquisitions. This gives them a profit of £30.7m. Not bad at all for Ronaldo Koeman and company.

#4 Arsenal: £78.2m

Arsenal signed 5 new players this transfer window with the two biggest names being Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck. The total spent by Arsenal makes the 4th in the list of clubs that spent the most during this transfer market. Arsenal saw 11 players leave during the transfer window, not all of them wore sold, some left on free transfers, so the total made on transfers was £31.8m. The amount of money leaving the Emirates surpassed the amount coming in, putting Arsenal’s total overall costs at £46.4m.

#3 Chelsea: £87.7m

Third on the big spenders list is Chelsea, which signed 6 new players including Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas for a total of £87.7m. While spending the third most by an EPL club, it looks like Chelsea spent it wisely on well-known commodities. Mourinho was done there, so he offloaded a total of more than 22 players, some on free transfers and loans and some on a permanent basis. Overall he received £88.5m, from the players that left the club, putting him with an overall positive balance of £0.8m.This is an incredible job by Chelsea, adding quality, selling surplus players and making a profit in the process.

#2 Liverpool: £116.8m

Liverpool signed 9 new players at a total cost of £116.8m. Perhaps the biggest name of them all is Mario Balotelli that they acquired from AC Milan for €20m. Liverpool was one of the busiest EPL clubs during the transfer window and it shows not only in the number of players purchased but also in the amount spent. On the other hand, 20 players left the club, and nobody was a bigger name than Luis Suarez that moved to FC Barcelona. Liverpool earned £81.1m total from all players that were sold, which puts their overall costs at £35.7m.

#1 Manchester United: £153.1m

Louis van Gaal broke the bank and went on a shopping spree. Manchester United signed 7 new players at a total cost of £153.1m. United’s spending could be seen as a panic move to try to fix problems that had started in previous seasons. The signing of Di Maria, Blind and Falcao added to that inflated number, and not even the departure of 21 players for total earnings of £31.2m is enough to offset the massive amount of money spent during this transfer window. Overall Manchester United spent £122m, by far the most of any club in the Premier League. Will this spending produce results, we will have to wait and see.

5 Matches to Watch This Weekend

2014-08-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

With the English Premier League getting under way it will be an exciting weekend for many football fans around the world. With that in mind we have three EPL matches on our list along with two other fixtures that should be very worthwhile to check out.

#5 - West Ham United vs. Tottenham Hotspur (English Premier League - Saturday, August 16)

What better way to start the weekend than a little London derby action. Sure it ain't one of the "big" ones, but as far as supporters are concerned this is an important one, especially being the first match of the season.

#4 - AZ Alkmaar vs. Ajax (Eredivisie - Sunday, August 17)

After a disappointing eighth place finish last season, AZ will look to start the season strong after winning their first match. Going against last season's champions Ajax, new AZ manager Marco van Basten will look to defeat the club he spent six years with as player and a year as a coach.

#3 - CSKA Moscow vs. Spartak Moscow (Russian Premier League - Sunday, August 17)

Last week we recommended a Moscow derby between Spartak and Dinamo and it did not disappoint. This week there's another derby in the Russian capital and this one may be even more exciting as fouth place Spartak will be visitors at second place CSKA.

#2 - Liverpool vs. Southampton (English Premier League - Sunday, August 17)

With many questions surrounding both clubs, this first match-day meeting could perhaps answer some of them. Will Liverpool miss Suarez? or, will Southampton miss all the players they sold to Liverpool? What ever the answer, this one will be interesting to watch, if only for all the former "Saints" that will now be facing the same club they played for last season.

#1 - Newcastle United vs. Manchester City (English Premier League - Sunday, August 17)

In our number one ranked match to watch this coming weekend we select this affair between the Magpies from the North-East and the defending English champions the Sky Blues from Manchester for a few reasons. First of all, of course, Manchester City are the EPL champions and after their somewhat humiliating loss to Arsenal in the FA Community Shield last weekend, everyone is wondering how they will answer their critics. Newcastle on the other hand is probably the one least predictable club in this EPL season and although they enjoyed a pretty good preseason it is very hard to tell whether they would be able to crack the top 8, or fight relegation this coming year. Last season these two also met one another in the first match of the season with City winning convincingly by a 4-0 final score. Will this year bring the same kind of start for the Champions?

Enjoy the weekend!

My 5 Not So Popular EPL Predictions

2014-08-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

We here at FootyFair have decided not to bother predicting the EPL table for the upcoming year because lets face it, who cares? and when was the last time you saw somebody predict the whole table correctly? Instead, I have a few events that I foresee happening this coming season in England; predictions that are not very popular with most. Most of these are merely gut feelings I can't shake for one reason or another, so I've decided to share them with our readers.

#5 - Liverpool to finish outside of top 4

I have nothing against "The Reds" and was actually really hoping for them to win the whole thing last year, but this season I think it's going to be very tough for them. Although undoubtedly Champions League play is a welcomed event at Anfield, the additional matches will take their toll on a club that has not had such a full schedule in quite some time. Losing Luiz Suarez will also be huge for Liverpool as they did not manage to (at least so far) to sign a proper replacement for the Uruguayan. Their transfer market moves may seem like pretty solid ones, but let's face it, you can't expect to sign half of Southampton and perform like Real Madrid. Predicted finish: 5th-6th

#4 - Southampton in relegation battle

This may seem crazy, but the Saints just can't expect to perform the way they had last season after their power-sale this summer. Tadic, Forster, Bertrand Pelle and Taider are not even close to being the signings to replace everyone they got rid of. I predict Southampton will struggle and while most likely they won't end up going down, they won't be clear in safety until the last few weeks of play. Predicted finish: 16th

#3 - Rooney in contention for top goalscorer

With Suarez gone and new life seemingly injected into the English forward by new Red Devils' coach Van Gaal, this could be the year Rooney puts himself back on the map as a "the" prolific striker of English football. With renewed confidence as club captain, Wayne could be lethal this year if he stays healthy. Predicted league goals: 22

#2 - Sam Allardyce to be first manager to get fired

I'm not sure if it's because I'm just tired of looking at his big face, or perhaps because I think West Ham will struggle to get going this upcoming season, but in any case I believe "Big Sam" will be the first Premier League boss shown the door by his club. He's had one foot out the door for a while now, but even though there are a couple of managers that may seem likelier to go ahead of him, I think Allardyce will in fact be first. Predicted month of firing: October

#1 - Arsenal to finish in top 2 for the first time in 10 years

Just like with Germany winning this year's World Cup, Arsenal has been slowly and patiently building their club. The loss of Vermaelen and Sagna are the only dark spots on their summer transfer activity, but the signings of Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers and David Ospina are in my opinion some of the best overall in the Premier League. With their biggest asset being their stacked midfield, even their style of play could emulate that of the Germans in Brazil. I strongly believe that 2015 could mark the end of Arsenal's ten year run without a top 2 finish. Predicted finish: 2nd

EPL Report Card 2013-14

2014-05-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

We gave you our picks for EPL team of the year, best players and top managers (if you missed it, you can read it HERE). Now it's time for us to grade each team and see how the squads did this year. We took into account initial expectations, mid-season changes and overall performances. So here's the EPL report card for the 2013-14 season.

1. Manchester City - GRADE: A+

Despite Sergio Aguero suffering an injury plagued season, and Manuel Pelligrini having to adjust to a new league, City secured their second title in three seasons. With under a month to go in the season, and the title seemingly heading to Anfield, City took full advantage of Liverpool's slip up (pun intended) and closed out the season in style. Yaya Toure was immense again for the Champions this season and along with great contributions from David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Edin Dzeko, they were worthy title winners.

2. Liverpool - GRADE: B

Liverpool displayed some very entertaining football this season, and with only 2 losses all year at Anfield they made their home ground a fortress. With Gerrard controlling the midfield and Suarez having the best year of his career Liverpool looked all set to win their first league title in 24 years. Brendan Rodgers really looked like a genius most year, and Daniel Sturridge proved that he is talented enough to not always be in Suarez's shadow even when the Uruguayan is having a career year. One thing to consider however, is whether or not Liverpool would be able to repeat a season like this with a full EPL and Champions League schedule.

3. Chelsea - GRADE: C

Chelsea finished in the top 4, with a Champions League spot secure for next season and just 4 points behind league champions City. A year without silverware however, does not spell a successful season in Roman Abramovich’s world. Jose Mourinho looked his old self, with Chelsea playing solid (although sometimes not so interesting) brand of football most of the year, but when push came to shove it seemed that Mourinho’s squad put more emphasis on a successful Champions League run than the title race, and we all know how that worked out. They did have the best record playing against the other top 6 outfits in the EPL, but losses to Sunderland, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Stoke City meant that Chelsea would again watch one of their other rivals lift the trophy at the end of the year.

4. Arsenal - GRADE: B-

It was a case of more of the same for the North London side this season as they came flying out of the blocks in first half of the season, but faded badly after January. Injuries to Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey certainly helped derail their title push, but the inability or unwillingness of Arsene Wenger to strengthen a thin squad, again, didn't help their cause. Big summer signing Mesut Ozil sparkled in his first few appearances for the club, but like his teammates "Avatar Eyes" faded badly in the new year. You have to feel that Arsenal is at a cross roads now. Is finishing fourth place every season, but not seriously contending for the title, good enough or does a change in managers have to be made now?

5. Everton - GRADE: A

Losing long-time manager David Moyes to Manchester United must have been hard to take for both the club’s front office and its supporters. Roberto Martinez managed to improve on the position that 11 year manager Moyes set last year (6th place), with a 5th place finish after fighting for a top 4 spot almost all year long. Martinez showed the Goodison Park faithful that he too can spend little and achieve high success with this club. With Gareth Berry, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Ross Barkley and on-loan Romelu Lukaku performing admirably week to week, Everton was one of the better teams to watch this year.

6. Tottenham - GRADE: C

After reinvesting all of the near £100 million received in the Gareth Bale deal and with Andre Villas Boas a year wiser, big things were expected of Tottenham this season. However it was a case of too many changes at once, with many of the new signings failing to properly settle. Roberto Soldado, despite his reputation as a prolific scorer in Spain, couldn't score in a brothel. He was woeful. Fellow new signing Erik Lamela was even worse and failed to find a place in the team. Tottenham's season of woe, featuring several shocking hammerings, led to Villas Boas being shown the door. Despite the chaos that followed under the stewardship of crazed mad man Tim Sherwood, Tottenham still finished in a Europa League spot, which is as good as could be expected.

7. Manchester United - GRADE: D

Who would have thought that one year ago, with Manchester United celebrating their 20th League Championship that the club would suffer through a season like this? David Moyes, sporting a haunted look for most of his time in charge, never seemed to believe he himself was the right man for the job. A squad featuring too many aging players and several players that simply aren't good enough for a club like United made things even harder for Moyes. The former Everton boss didn't last the season and it's hard to see his disastrous first signing Marouane Fellaini sticking around for long either. Fellaini has been about as good as a Wayan Brothers film this season and like the aforementioned "creative duo" needs to go away. Besides out going players, United will need to spend heavily this summer.

8. Southampton - GRADE: A

Last year Nigel Adkins’s sacking may have been seen as odd, after all, the man managed the Saints to two promotions in back-to-back years and had a very solid win percentage while in charge of Southampton. It all seems like a great idea now, after Mauricio Pochettino’s first full year managing the club. Southampton finished the year in 8th place, their best top tier finish since the 1984-85 season when they finished the year in 5th place. Luke Shaw (who now has one foot at Old Trafford), Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Gastón Ramírez all had an outstanding season and fully deserve the “A” grade, and should enjoy it now, as it seems that the big clubs are going to be coming hard for Southampton’s talented youngsters in the summer.

9. Stoke City - GRADE: B

After reaching a ceiling under former boss Tony Pulis and demands for more attractive football, Mark Hughes lifted Stoke to 9th in the table. Playing a more attractive brand of football than they've been used to seeing at the Britannia, Stoke finished as the top team in the Midlands for the first time in their history. The play of Peter Odemwingie and Ryan Shawcross were key to their successful season. With wins against Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, Hughes has gone someway to repairing his damaged reputation after a torrid time at QPR. As during Pulis reign though, Stoke will need to strengthen up front this summer if they want to push higher up the table.

10. Newcastle United - GRADE: C-

Many would grade Newcastle in the D to F scale, but what were really the expectations of the Club from the North-East? Do the Toon supporters really think that the 5th place team from two years ago are the real Newcastle United we should see? Let’s put things in perspective for a second, shall we? Newcastle’s top scorer was Loic Remy, a player who is on loan from another club. Their 2nd highest scorer (with 7 goals) and their best player on the year is Yohan Cabay, and he was sold to Paris Saint-Germain in the January window. They hired Joe Kinnear as Director of Football, he got nothing done and lasted all of 8 months. Alan Pardew is not a “big club” manager, and has never won anything significant in his managerial career, and his assistant is John Carver, a manager who was axed from (arguably) the worst Major League Soccer outfit, Toronto FC. Furthermore, Papiss Cissé is one of the biggest flops in EPL history and the only really talented “bright-spot” on the pitch in Hatem Ben-Arfa has all of a sudden become lazy and doesn’t seem to want to play for the club altogether. Come to think of it, finishing in the 10th spot probably deserves a grade of “A” for Newcastle United. (I’ll stick with the C- though)

11. Crystal Palace - GRADE: B-

When Tony Pulis took over in December, Crystal Palace looked doomed to relegation. Considering he was an unpopular choice for many of the Palace faithful, Pulis performed a minor miracle in not only keeping them in the top flight but taking them up to 11th place. The signings of Scott Dann, Joe Ledley and Jason Puncheon were key to the Selhurst Parks sides improvement. Besides a terrific win over Chelsea, Palace were involved in one of the most bizarre and yet entertaining matches of the season when they clawed back a 3-0 deficit against Liverpool to draw 3-3.

12. Swansea City - GRADE: C+

Considering the difficulty level a team of Swansea’s size has when they are put into a schedule that involves Premier League action and major European tournament games, the 12th place finish doesn’t seem all that bad for a club that was just promoted to top tier football 3 seasons ago. Surely, the front office and the coaching staff will feel that this was not the goal they had set-out before the season started as this would be the lowest league position Swansea will have gotten since being promoted, but the truth is that this club did exactly what they are capable of doing and that’s winning against the less talented teams in the league. The signing of Wilfred Bony and Jonjo Shelvey proved to be very successful and they had a decent run in the Europa League, which eventually came to an end in the round of 32 at the hands of a very talented Napoli team.

13. West Ham United - GRADE: C-

The only surprising thing about West Ham's season is how they managed to finish 13th and not closer to the drop zone. In hindsight the decision to blow most of their transfer budget on Andy Carroll was not Sam Allardyce's finest hour. He has also drawn the ire of Hammers fans with his style of football. In reaction Jose Mourinho's accusation that West Ham play "19th century football" after a 0-0 draw with Chelsea, the big man angrily replied, "I couldn't give a fuck! He can't take it! He just can't take it!" Neither can the Upton Park crowd for much longer though, Sam.

14. Sunderland - GRADE: D

Sunderland reminds us of that kid that always skips school, but studies really hard for the exam that’s worth more than any other and just passes the course at the end. Everyone talks about Sunderland’s “great escape” and the football they played at the end of the year, but what about the rest of the season? The Black Cats were at the bottom of the league almost the entire year, and a few decent performances kept them in the Premier League because the other bottom-feeders couldn’t scratch out a point to save their own lives. Sure they got 13 points of a possible 16 in their last 6 games of the year, it’s impressive but we grade based on the full year and overall their year was pretty crap.

15. Aston Villa - GRADE: F

For the last few seasons Aston Villa seem to have been involved in a relegation battle, and for the biggest side in the "Second City" it simply isn't good enough. With support for manager Paul Lambert dwindling and chairman Randy Lerner putting the club up for sale, change could be in the air at Villa Park. With Fabian Delph providing the few highlights for Villa, the majority of the squad don't look to be Premiership standard. The club needs to spend significant funds this summer or next season may see them finally go down.

16. Hull City - GRADE: B-

Many expected Hull to get relegated this year, and the fact they didn’t alone puts their grade higher than a “fail”. That combined with an appearance in the FA Cup final and ultimately Europe next season, makes this season a success for the soon to be Hull Tigers. Hull showed some sparks of brilliance as well with a 3-1 win over Liverpool, 4-0 at Cardiff and a 6-0 total annihilation of Fulham.

17. West Bromwich Albion - GRADE: F

West Bromwich Albion suffered through a disastrous season, with Nicolas Anelka bringing scandal to the club with his 'quenelle' gesture, Steve Clarke being dismissed and problems in the dressing room. Signings Stephane Sessegnon and Victor Anichebe did not pan out and new manager Pepe Mel barely did enough to keep the Baggies in the Premiership. With Mel's departure it'll be an interesting summer at the Hawthorns.

18. Norwich City - GRADE: F

An awful season for Norwich that saw manager Chris Hughton shown the door, the signing of Ricky van Wolfswingel proved to be a disastrous mistake. The £8.5 million Dutch signing never worked out as he only signed one goal in the whole campaign. Norwich looked badly out of their depth this season and will be looking to quickly bounce back next term.

19. Fulham FC - GRADE: F

Probably the biggest disappointment of the EPL season, Fulham enjoyed the last 13 years in top flight football only to see the streak end with a season full of questionable management appointments and terrible play. Fulham has a lineup that at least on paper looks like a solid mid-table squad, but if EPL followers have learned anything from QPR last year, having a bunch of decent football names doesn't always mean successful survival in Britain's top tier. The appointment of Felix Magath and his promises of survival were absurd as well, with the new manager bringing Craven Cottage faithfuls' hopes up, but not providing the results to accomplish what he promised.

20. Cardiff City - GRADE: D

Sure they finished dead last, sure they got relegated, sure their owner is a nut-job who like to micro-manage the club including on-pitch affairs. Let’s be serious though, there are very few people that did not believe before the year started that Cardiff City would be right back in the second tier next season. The change to the Red kits along with the £36,000,000 spent on mediocre (or not yet at their prime) players obviously did not make the club any better on the pitch.

EPL Team Of the Year

2014-05-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

With the EPL Season drawing to a close this weekend, two of our FootyFair contributors ignore the results of the recent PFA Awards and go head-to-head with their own first eleven.

Iain J:

GK: David de Gea - As bad of a season as Manchester United have had, it could have been worse without the Spanish keeper. He's improved every season he's been in England.

DF: Seamus Coleman - The Republic of Ireland right back has been terrific this season. Combining his defensive work with constant forays down the right hand side, the 25 year old has notched 6 goals this season for Everton.

DF: John Terry - Love him or hate him, and let's face it if you don't support Chelsea you probably hate him, Terry has been fantastic this season and was a big reason why Chelsea stayed in the title race into late April.

DF: Gary Cahill - Terry's central defensive partner has gone from strength to strength this season and should be a key player for England in the World Cup.

DF: Luke Shaw - Only 18 years old, the product of Southampton's terrific youth system is rumoured to be the subject of a huge bid from Manchester United this summer and it's not surprising. He could be England's starting left back for the next ten years.

MF: Yaya Toure - What do you need to say about Yaya really? He looks like a grown man playing against little kids when he's on his game. The big man is an absolute force of nature and is also my player of the season.

MF: Adam Lallana - The 25 year old Southampton midfielder has been terrific this season and also unsurprisingly rumoured to be attracting attention from some of the bigger clubs in the league.

MF: Eden Hazard - He might be having problems with Jose Mourinho at the moment, and his work rate might be questionable, but there might not be as technically gifted a player in the league as Hazard at the moment.

MF: Steven Gerrard - Stevie G has missed out on the league title again, but he makes my team of the year based on his play for Liverpool this season. Being the springboard for so many of the Anfield club's attacks, Gerrard has had a great season.

FW: Luis Suarez - Another player who falls under the love him or hate him category, you can't deny how good the Uruguay International has been this season.

FW: Daniel Sturridge - The young England International's career seemed to be spiraling downwards after so much early promise, but his partnership with Suarez this season has been lethal and you have to wonder if Chelsea regrets letting him go.

Player of the Season: Yaya Toure - See Above.

Manager of the Season: Tony Pulis - Without him Crystal Palace would have been virtually relegated by Christmas, so their dramatic turnaround is a huge credit to Pulis' work.

Kon R:

GK: Julián Speroni - Speroni has been unbelievable in goal for Crystal Palace and was instrumental in their eventual stay in the EPL. Some of his wonder saves this season gave Palace the extra points they needed to celebrate a much earlier survival than most expected.

DF: Seamus Coleman - Coleman is a "no-brainer" on my list. At 25 years of age, he is still learning and improving his already great game.

DF: John Terry - Terry had a solid season with Chelsea yet again, and even though he will turn 34 at the end of the year, he proved to management once more that keeping him in the back-four may be a good idea at least for one more season.

DF: Vincent Kompany - This doesn't seem to be a popular pick this year, but I think that Kompany deserves a spot here. His presence in City's back-line is immense. With Chelsea being the only other club to concede less goals than City, it just makes sense to put Terry and Kompany side by side on this list.

DF: Leighton Baines - I had trouble picking this position because both Baines and Shaw were good enough to be on the list. Leighton Baines however, has some of the best "all-around" skills in the EPL and helped his team to a 5th place finish. Shaw is only 18, so he will most likely make these lists for many years to come.

MF: Yaya Toure - Toure is a beast! Both going forward and back. Amazing both in slow lead-up plays, and in quick transition, Yaya has been absolutely amazing, and is one of the biggest reasons why Manchester City are league champions this year.

MF: Adam Lallana - I don't think anyone would predict Lallana to make as much impact as he did this year with the Saints. He took his game to the next level this season and will be a player to watch next year (whether he stays with Southampton or not).

MF: Eden Hazard - The Belgian international was quite solid for Chelsea and now we look forward to seeing him with the star-filled Belgian squad in this year's Fifa World Cup. He does tend to disappear a bit in big matches, but his overall performance this year definitely makes him worthy of being named in the top 11 footballers in the league.

MF: Steven Gerrard - Not sure if he's on my list because of his great play this year, or because I feel bad for him as it's starting to seem that the EPL league title is not in his future. All kidding aside however, Gerrard was key in Liverpool's title run that's just slipped away (see what I did there?)

MF: Mile Jedinak - I decided to go with a fifth midfielder on my list because I believe that Crystal Palace's Mile Jedinak deserves to be named among the best in the EPL this year. His solid play after Tony Pulis' arrival at the club was crucial to Palace's survival this year.

FW: Luis Suarez - Only one striker here, and that's because I don't believe in putting anyone else's name beside Suarez this season. His 31 league goals this year are at least 10 better than anyone else's tally, and his play up front was pretty much the one reason why Liverpool was even close to chasing the title.

Player of the Season: Luis Suarez - Suarez wasn't only the highest scoring striker in the league, but also made Daniel Sturridge look like a superstar along side him.

Manager of the Season: Roberto Martinez - That's right! I haven't seen anyone pick Martinez this year and I'm not doing it just to "be different". Martinez took over an already fairly successful Everton team, and still managed to improve the club's league position to 5th place (a first 5th place finish since 2008-09)

Let us know how you feel. Do you agree with Iain or Kon, or maybe you disagree with both. Comment below!