English Premier League (EPL) Soccer Season in Review 2013

The top 3 places – Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea – secured spots and big money for playing in next year’s UEFA Champions League.

Fourth place Arsenal will enter a playoff (and should win) against lower level European teams to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Fifth place Tottenham just missed out on a highly desired Champions League spot. Instead they will get to play in the 2nd tier Europa League.

Manchester United dominated the league most of the season and coasted to victory by clinching the season with several games in hand. ManU was led by strong play all around. They were especially tough to stop up front with Van Persie, Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck.

ManU Dutch Striker Robin Van Persie led the league in goals with 26. Liverpool’s Uruguan Luis Suarez scored 23 despite being suspended for games after actually biting a player. Phenomenal Welschman Gareth Bale of Tottenham netted 21 goals.

Wigan became the first EPL team to win the single elimination tournament (FA Cup) and also finish in the bottom 3, meaning they will be relegated to a lower division. The shocking FA Cup win came against Manchester City in a 1-0 end of game goal.

Manchester United’s iconic manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, retired after 26 seasons. During his time at the club he lifted 38 trophies, including 13 EPL titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies.

Although ManU’s dominance resulted in a predictable finish at the end of the season, the other top teams battled tooth and nail for the remaining spots.

Manchester City’s talented and expensive roster did manage to get second place but it was not enough for coach Manchini to keep his job.

Chelsea had a challenging season while its fans were unhappy with manager Benitez and striker Torres. However, the team added some young stars like Mata, Oscar, Hazard and Ba to hold on to a coveted top 3 position.

Arsenal finished the season strong with 8 wins and 2 ties to barely edge out London rival Tottenham for the last Champions League spot. Manager Arsene Venger found a way to get into the top 4 for the 16th consecutive season. Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski led the way for Arsenal.

Tottenham earned the most points in club history but it was not quite enough. Gareth Bale proved to be a brilliant star with amazing goals at crucial times. Dempsey, Defoe and Adebayor helped the club. Rumors have Bale moving to a top flight club so that he can be in the Champions League next season. This could set Tottenham back for years.

The 2013-2014 season starts back up in mid-August.

-Bourke MacDonald

IFX Blogger