Some beautiful stories from the recently concluded Premier League season
Year after year the Premier League never fails to amaze us. The quality involved in the games, the spectacular goals, the OMG! moments, the unpredictable twists and turns is the mainstay of any Premier League season since its inception. Be it the nail-biting title race or the fight till the last breath for survival and avoiding the drop, nothing captures the emotion better than the English Premier League.
Players dream of playing in this league, mainly because of the lucrative money involved in it as well as the worldwide fan base that this league has. Legends of the Premier League era like Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have graced this league to impart the lustre and make it shine. Future stars like Harry Kane and Charlie Austin are making this league even more happening. This league is only going to get more exciting and awesome in the future.
The 2014-15 season was no different to the above-mentioned thrills as it unfolded in grand fashion and culminated with the Chelsea becoming the deserving champions. The season was also amazing due to the fact that teams who were expected to struggle, defied all odds with an impressive showing which reflected in their position in the final points table. We take a look-back at the season and its noteworthy incidents.
Southampton’s amazing run to Europe
This is also down to the fact that Arsenal won the FA Cup, but Southampton deservedly qualified for Europe, having worked so hard. They were amazing at the start of the season and reached dizzying heights.
As the festive period came around, they were strong contenders for a top-4 finish. The team under Ronald Koeman, played attacking football and left everyone amazed with their display. All the players, especially Sadio Mane in attack and Jose Fonte in defence stepped up their game after the departure of players like Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana to Liverpool and Luke Shaw to Manchester United.
They were involved in the biggest home win of the season by any team when they trounced Sunderland 8-0. They were also involved in another high scoring game against Aston Villa where Tim Sherwood’s hapless side were drubbed 6-1.
Leicester City’s Houdini act
Undoubtedly, the best of the lot. Nigel Pearson’s Leicester City arrived amongst the big boys of the Premier League as champions of the second division. But they soon realized what it was like to play in the top-flight.
They were rooted to the bottom of the table and having lost more games than they had won, they were destined to go down. But the Fearless Foxes had other ideas. Stranded in the bottom until April, they embarked on a remarkable journey of notching up vital wins and losing only against Chelsea in the process.
Survival was confirmed on the penultimate weekend of the season, with a goalless draw against Sunderland, and Leicester lived to fight another season and also amassed 41 points finishing as high as 14th in the table. Leonardo Ulloa, Jamie Vardy and Esteban Cambiasso all got in on the act and the rejuvenated players scripted one of the most historical comebacks in the Premier League era.
Rise of Harry Kane and Charlie Austin
The sensational Hurri-Kane and marvellous Charlie Austin were the success stories of the by-gone season, amongst the more talked about stories of Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard. Kane scored his first goal with a delightful free-kick to win the game against Aston Villa in a rain-soaked match and 21 goals later found himself second in the goal-scorers list, only behind Sergio Aguero and one more than Diego Costa.
Kane also had a dream England debut when he scored 67 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute. It would be hard for Spurs to keep him during the summer but manager Mauricio Pochettino has promised to do all he can to keep him at White Hart Lane.
Charlie Austin, also had a dream season with Queens Park Rangers. His tally of 18 goals was the second highest tally by an English player for the season and although Rangers were relegated, he was amongst most of their goals. Mid-season, when Loftus Road was a fortress, Austin scored most of their goals and had also notched up a hat trick against West Bromwich Albion.
Austin might leave the club at the end of the summer but his stellar season will always be remembered by the fans who also got to see a goal from the man on the last day of the season as well. He had scored the team’s last goal before bidding goodbye to the Premier League.
Legends bid adieu
Can’t help mentioning the fact that two of the biggest stars of the Premier League era played their last season in English Football. Frank Lampard, the Chelsea legend and Steven Gerrard, the one-club man have entertained us with their awe-inspiring and amazing displays, thus lighting up the league in the process.
Gerrard was given a fitting farewell at Anfield by everyone present and Lampard, although not in the way he would have liked it, bid farewell with Manchester City. Both interestingly and deservingly scored a goal on the last day of the season. The Premier League will surely miss them and we also will.
Honourable mention
Sadio Mane’s hat-trick was nothing short of remarkable. In next to no time, Mane scored the fastest ever hat trick in Premier League history in 2 minutes and 56 seconds beating Robbie Fowler’s record of 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
Also, a personal record for Yannick Bolasie as he became the first player ever in the history of Crystal Palace Football Club to score three goals in a game. Charlie Adam unleashed an audacious attempt from long range to beat the Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Matty Phillips also unleashed a 40-yard screamer against Crystal Palace. The scintillating display of team-play was on show when Andre Schurrle scored from a brilliant ball by Cesc Fabregas after a string of passes against Burnley.
August 8th, 2015 and it all starts again. The Champions, the challengers all will be there for the football party, everything will be in place, and the ball in the centre will be waiting to be kicked and waiting for someone to hit it into the net with his foot.
The Premier League will go again, the tension, the drama, the joy, the ecstasy, the hysteria will be there again. The weekends will not be boring anymore, and cries of United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool will all be heard. Can’t wait for next season!