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PostPosted: 19 Jan 2018, 03:30
by lw789
Did your club live up to expectation in the Premier League this season? We asked former Leicester and Arsenal striker, and Sky Sports commentator, Alan Smith to grade each club based on their performances this season.So how did your team fare? Did they get an A or an F, or somewhere in between? Read on to see how each top-flight side has been ranked... Leicester City - A+What can you say? They confounded everybody, not least the bookies. What a story! I still cant quite believe it and I dont think they can. It just goes to show what can be achieved with the right blend if players, good quality and good team spirit. Hopefully their victory can set an example for similar sized clubs and it wont always be a monopoly with the big teams. Alan Smith gave champions Leicester an A+ Tottenham - AThey say the table doesnt lie but I think on this occasion it does. For nearly all of the season Spurs were very impressive. Once they couldnt win the league they couldnt reach those levels again. You can understand that to a certain extent. However, they have been brilliant this season and Ive loved watching them. I dont see them going away any time soon.Southampton - AThis seasons been a triumph for the Saints. Theyve got an extremely good manager, who must be coveted by a few clubs out there. It seems hes going to stay with Southampton for another year at least so thats great news for the club. They had a dip in the middle of the season but they bounced back. Its been another excellent campaign and for their resources Ill give them an A. Southampton had another excellent season under Ronald Koeman West Ham - ASlaven Bilics first instructions from the owners would have been: Make sure we are in the Premier League for the move to Olympic Stadium. Theyve done much more than that. Dimitri Payet has been an absolute revelation and hes given them something extra. Mark Noble has probably had his best season in all his years at Upton Park and again, they have a very good manager, who has instilled a bit of steel in the team.They are no pushovers these days and the future must be very bright for them. They have sold 52,000 season tickets for the new stadium and that will give them the power to buy better players.Bournemouth - ATo achieve safety in April for a club of Bournemouths size is a fantastic achievement. They have got a bit of money behind them but to do what theyve done has been superb. Eddie Howe used a number of the players that got them up from the Championship. He had faith in those boys and theyve rewarded him. He also bought really well in January with likes of Benik Afobe coming in. Its a real success story there. Eddie Howes Bournemouth were safe with weeks to spare Liverpool - B+Its still early days for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Hes now assessed his squad and he will look to try and bring in two or three players in the summer. Its going to be competitive for the best players in Europe when you look at all the English club trying to strengthen. However, hes already made a marked improvement there.Hes improved players such as Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino. He seems to be a good coach in the week and certainly a good man manager. The Liverpool fans should feel optimistic about being able to move up the table next season. Before that they have a huge game against Sevilla and its exciting times for Liverpool with a manager a lot of other teams would have liked. Liverpool have reason for optimism under Jurgen Klopp, says Smith Stoke City - B+There were some exciting games involving Stoke. Marko Arnautovic has had a very strong season and hes added a consistency to his game that he didnt have before. Then theres Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan who have both certainly helped transform the makeup of the side. Credit has to go to Mark Hughes for that. Again, like most managers hell want to add to that but its never an easy job changing the style of a team. They had been very successful playing one way but now the fans will go into the summer happy in my opinion.Watford - B+If youd offered Watford the season theyve just had at the start of the campaign they would have snapped your hand of for it. That first half of the season where Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo were linking up worked for Watford. To think that 15 new players came in at the start of the campaign and the way Quique Sanchez Flores brought them into a unit was very impressive.In the end they tailed off when they were safe but that did happen to a few other teams as well. The clubs owners think a new manager can take them onto the next level but Flores will certainly be remembered fondly at Vicarage Road. Troy Deeneys partnership with Odion Ighalo was a key factor behind Watfords successful season Swansea - BAt one stage Francesco Guidolin looked like a stop gap until they could get someone like Brendan Rodgers in but hes signed a new two-year contract and theyve been on a great run of late. Over the years they have become an established Premier League club and you can never take that for granted, just look at Aston Villa. Guidolin has done very well at the Liberty Stadium since coming in.Arsenal - B-They finished second which is no mean feat. I dont know how theyve finished second but they have and its something they havent done for a very long time. You just hope they can go onto the next step now but I wouldnt put too much money on them doing it. The fact they had a chance of winning the title and didnt take it is still very disappointing. They should have taken that chance. Arsenal rallied to finish second but it was a season of disappointment for the Gunners, according to Alan Smith Manchester City - B-Getting to the Champions League semi-final for the first time in their history is a huge achievement but in the league its been strangely muted for City. Even before the Pep Guardiola news they had some extremely flaky performances. They started strongly but just never hit the heights expected of them. They should have done a lot better. Its an ageing squad and that needs to be addressed - theres a lot of work to do. In the end theres a feeling of disappointment. Manuel Pellegrinis final season as Manchester City boss ended with a fourth place finish Sunderland - B-Sunderland have been in and around the relegation zone too often in the last few seasons. Its a big club and you would hope they can move forward now and leave behind those relegation scraps. When it mattered Sam Allardyces experience was crucial and he had a player in Jermain Defoe who is one of the best finishers around. Theres so much credit due to the manager. Now its all a bit avoiding those relegation battles in the years ahead.Everton - C+The season has ended on a very low note with Roberto Martinez going. It will now be very interesting to see who they can get in. They did reach two semi-finals so you do have to recognise that but in the league they let themselves down defensively. There was an opportunity to perhaps tighten things up a little bit and use Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley to win matches, but that didnt happen. Roberto Martinez lost his job after Evertons disappointing season West Brom - C+Its been a bit uninspiring at the Hawthorns with four centre-halves playing across the back line. Im sure Tony Pulis will be trying to address that in the summer. I do think the Saido Berahino saga has overshadowed West Broms season. It made things very difficult for Pulis and his side. They lost a striker of immense quality and a side like West Brom just cannot afford that.Salomon Rondon came in and did a job but hes a very different player to Berahino. If Berahino had been fit, on form and scoring goals it would ha been much different. The whole situation has been a handicap for Pulis and hell want to get it resolved in the summer.Crystal Palace - C+Its been a bit of an odd season for Alan Pardews side. They started ever so well. They looked exciting with Yannick Bolasie running riot and Wilfired Zaha joining in. They did lack a goal scoring centre-forward but in Scott Dann and Damien Delaney they had a solid base. They just couldnt buy a win in the second half of the season and confidence really sank. However, they were safe weeks ago and could end up winning the FA Cup. Much depends on Saturday but if they win the cup it would have to be classed as a successful season.Manchester United - CIt all depends on the FA Cup final really but from a league perspective theyve underachieved. They should be doing a lot better given the money theyve spent. Louis van Gaal hasnt been able to move the team forward, in fact theyve gone backwards if you look at their league position. Thats a big disappointment and add on top of that the style of football, which has been pretty dull for large parts of the season. Its been a disappointing season for a club of that stature. Louis van Gaals Manchester United side missed out on Champions League football Norwich - CAlex Neil was learning on the job as a manager. Hes come so far so quickly and great credit to him for getting them where he did in the top flight. Whether he had the money to improve the squad I dont know but it always looked like they would be short in terms of goals. In fairness they probably finished in the position which reflects the strength of their squad. It was just not quite good enough which is disappointing for them, but hopefully they can bounce back.Chelsea - DThey got their season off on the wrong foot against Swansea. Jose Mourinho criticised the medical staff and it just went downhill from there. Putting a finger on the problem though is very difficult. They had a short pre-season and a bigger rest and maybe that backfired for Mourinho. Anyway, a club with the players Chelsea have in their squad should be doing better. It just goes to show what can happen when you lose confidence and belief when you know you are not going to be challenging. It was a shocking title defence and a season to forget for everyone involved. Defending champions Chelsea finished a disappointing 10th Newcastle - DIts been a massively disappointing campaign at Newcastle. They obviously changed the manager and its not really been a settled situation at the club for a number of years. Theres still discontent from the fans towards the owner and you can sort of look back on the Pardew days with fondness. Its disastrous for everyone connected with the club. Now theres a big call to be made with the manager. Will it be Rafael Benitez? They need to get the right man in and he will need some fighters in his squad to get straight back out of the Championship. Newcastle were relegated despite a resurgence under Rafael Benitez Aston Villa - ETim Sherwood had his hands tied to a certain extent because the players were bought in for him. They were players he probably wouldnt have chosen and in the end they werent good enough. Its just been atrocious. You can date it back to the time Randy Lerner said he wanted to sell the club. He tightened the purse strings and theyve fallen quickly. You hope they can bounce straight back but I think it will be very difficult for them to do that. Much will depend on who they pick as the next manager.What do you think? Do you agree with Alan Smiths grades? If you are reading on www.skysports.com leave a comment below or tweet us @SkyFootball. Also See: Your clubs season review Best stats of the season Quotes of the season 10 for the Premier League? Henry Anderson Jersey . Louis Blues, having added Ryan Miller and Steve Ott from Buffalo, remain the No. T.J. Green Jersey . Ricciardos exclusion from the results tarnished what had been a day of celebration for local fans, who were jubilant that the Red Bull driver had apparently become the first Australian to finish on the podium at his home race. However just before midnight, stewards ruled that Ricciardos car had "exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow" and that the team refused an instruction from the races technical delegate Charlie Whiting to change the fuel-flow sensor before the race and a further request during the race to reduce the fuel flow. http://www.nflcoltsgearsshop.com/Al-Woo ... at=919.com) - Rajon Rondo turned in a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists as Dallas claimed a 102-98 win over the Lakers on Friday. Donte Moncrief Jersey . Last year, Matt Kuchar closed with a 4-under 68 to beat Kevin Chappell by two strokes for his second win of the 2013 season and sixth of his career. Scott Tolzien Jersey . Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister.CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Joe Harris had plenty of company in his misery after a brutal offensive performance for Virginia. Averaging 12 1-2 points per game as the Cavaliers scoring leader, he managed just two in a 48-38 loss to No. 8 Wisconsin on Wednesday night. Harris missed nine of 10 shots. The rest of the starting five? They missed 15 of 21. "We obviously had a horrendous offensive night." Harris said. The Cavaliers 23.4 per cent (11 of 47) shooting percentage was the fourth-lowest in school history, and the 38 points was the second-fewest for a Virginia team in the shot clock era, since 1986. Wisconsin limited Virginia to its lowest point total since a 77-36 loss to Connecticut on Nov. 29, 1993. It figured to make Thursdays film session eye-opening. "Were going to learn how poorly we played offensively and how out of sync and out of character we got," Harris said. "Were all going to be shocked." The Cavaliers (7-2) had won six in a row, helped by unselfish play and ball movement that led to good shots. "I dont know what the heck was going on tonight. The mindset wasnt there," Harris said. The Badgers, led by Josh Gassers 11 points, won despite shooting just 29 per cent, making 15 of 52 shots, and gave coach Bo Ryan his 300th victory with the Badgers. The Badgers (9-0) extended their best start since opening 11-0 in 1993-94. They limited Virginia to just three baskets in a stretch of nearly 22 minutes spanning the halves. Wisconsin avvenged a 60-54 loss to the Cavaliers in Madison, Wis.dddddddddddd., in last years ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Harris scored 22 points in that win. "I think Wisconsin did to us, in a way, what we did to them last year," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "Last year we outlasted them a little bit. When it mattered, they were sounder, more poised and made plays." London Perrantes led Virginia with eight points. The Cavaliers tried to make a run by speeding up the slow pace midway through the second half, but came up well short. Malcolm Brogdon was 1 for 7 and Anthony Gill went 1 for 3. Harris was called for a charge after a steal with Virginia trailing 43-36, and after Gasser made a free throw for Wisconsin, the Cavaliers missed three shots from within 3 feet on their next trip. Wisconsin used a 10-5 run over the last 7 minutes of the first half to lead 25-20 at the break. The Badgers also scored the first five points of the second half as Virginias string of missed shots stretched to 13. After Dario Atkins hit a free throw for the Cavaliers 4:23 into the second half, a putback by Frank Kaminsky and a drive by Traevon Jackson pushed Wisconsins lead to 34-21, and Virginia took a timeout. The Cavaliers scored seven straight points, energizing the crowd as they closed to 37-30 on Akil Mitchells free throw with 8:08 to play, but Ben Brust scored on a drive and Gassers 3-pointer made it 42-30. The Cavaliers got to 44-38 with 1:40 left, but never scored again. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '