AS Liverpool edged closer to a historic and
drought-breaking Barclays Premier League triumph, skipper Steven Gerrard
implored his teammates to “not let this f***in slip”.
Ironically - and ever so cruelly - the talisman did just that,
losing his footing against Chelsea in a moment that would define the
2013-2014 season, and live long in the minds of Reds fans.Arsenal spent 128 days - or 48.48 per cent - of the season on top, but looking back, the Gunners campaign was to be characterised by an injury to Aaron Ramsey that ultimately put an end to its title hopes.
In a season full of twists and turns, it wasn’t just the race at the top that got us talking. Black Cats should now be associated with good luck after what Gus Poyet was able to achieve at Sunderland, while the less said about Manchester United’s season under David Moyes, the better.
GERRARD’S SLIP
Football is a cruel beast, a fact no one knows better than Steven Gerrard.
The England skipper enjoyed a superb individual season in 2013-2014, scoring 13 goals from a deeper midfield role to earn a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
Gerrard – arguably the EPL’s greatest ever player – was set to finally claim the only trophy that had eluded him in a star-studded career, and, fittingly, it was to happen on the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, in which Gerrard lost his cousin.
Liverpool’s gutsy 3-2 win over Manchester City in mid-April was supposed to be the crowning moment that would see Brendan Rodgers’s outfit push on to the trophy, their first league triumph since 1990.
Gerrard assembled his players in a huddle following the victory and passionately implored them: “We do not let this f**kin slip … we go again.”
But the Merseyside legend lost his footing at Anfield in a costly 2-0 defeat to Chelsea a fortnight later. The gaffe allowed Blues striker Demba Ba to open the scoring as the Reds saw the title ascendancy snatched away from them.
The Reds never recovered from the hammer blow, with a shock collapse at Crystal Palace coming soon after.
Manuel Pellegrini’s City sniffed blood in the water and went on to win its final five games to edge the heartbroken Reds to the title by two points, with victory against West Ham on the final day of the season wrapping it up.
MOYES EXPERIMENT FAILS BADLY
David Moyes’s appointment at Old Trafford was supposed to bring long-term stability to the club, but in the end, all it delivered was a season of frustration for the Red Devils’ faithful.
The former Everton boss struggled with his ‘Chosen One’ mantle, after predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson hand-picked him for the role, and it showed with the performances of his players on the pitch.
United broke all manner of unwanted records under Moyes, with Premier League rivals feasting on the instability at Old Trafford as the Red Devils finished the season in seventh, missing out on Europe for the first time in 25 years.
The Red Devils board – under mounting pressure from stakeholders –admitted it wasn’t working and sacked the Scotsman on April 22, with four games left in the club’s domestic campaign.
The season from hell ended with a ray of sunshine, though. Club legend Ryan Giggs took over as interim boss – winning two games – while Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal will reportedly take the reins full time after the World Cup.
Plenty of work needs to be done before United is competing for the title again, but they surely can’t get any worse, can they?
RAMSEY INJURY SEES GUNNERS FIRE BLANKS
The statistics will say that Arsenal qualified for the Champions for the 17th season in a row, but the harsh reality is that it could have been so much sweeter for the long-suffering Gunners fans.
The north London club – who finished fourth - led the league for 128 days, 114 more days than champion Manchester City.
The 23-year-old Welshman took the league by storm early on, scoring eight goals from midfield in the first 13 games as the Gunners went clear at the top.
Heading into the busy festive period, it was Arsene Wenger’s side’s title to lose. When Aaron Ramsey went down injured against West Ham on Boxing Day, the Gunners hopes went with him.
The club dropped 20 points without him in the second half of the season, as maligned striker Olivier
Giroud and record signing Mesut Ozil struggled to fill the void.While
Arsenal might end its nine-year wait for silverware this year (the
Gunners will play Hull City in the FA Cup final), fans, and indeed
Arsene Wenger must be left pondering what would have been had their
welsh wizard stayed fit
JOSE AND CHELSEA FEEL THE BLUES
Jose Mourinho’s proud 77-match unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge was ended by Sunderland in April, and with it went the Blues’ title hopes.
Well in the mix of a three-way title shootout with City and Liverpool heading into the clash, a controversial penalty to the Black Cats saw Chelsea defeated 2-1 in a match Mourinho described as “my overriding memory of the season”.
The master of the mind games promptly declared Chelsea, the “little horse”, was out of the equation, and despite making the same claim countless times throughout the season, this time he was right.
The loss took the stuffing out of the Blues, and ensured they would only get to play the role of party poopers with the famous win over Liverpool at Anfield two weeks later.
Mourinho - who insists the Blues will come back better next season – was at his brutal best when placed behind the microphone, much to reporters’ delight.
He labelled Arsenal manager and old sparring partner Wenger a “specialist in failure, but it’s his own side who finished without any silverware, despite only losing once to a side (Everton 1-0) in the top seven.
MIRACLES DO EXIST
Gus Poyet described Sunderland’s
survival as an act of divine intervention, but that shouldn’t take away
from the role his Black Cats stars played.
The Tyne and Wear club was rock bottom at Christmas, but a stunning five game run late in the season saw them collect 13 points from a possible 15 – including wins against Chelsea and Manchester United – ensured they’ll be in the top flight again next time around.
“I don’t know if something like this will ever happen again, but I believe in miracles now,” was the enigmatic Poyet’s assessment.
JOSE AND CHELSEA FEEL THE BLUES
Jose Mourinho’s proud 77-match unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge was ended by Sunderland in April, and with it went the Blues’ title hopes.
Well in the mix of a three-way title shootout with City and Liverpool heading into the clash, a controversial penalty to the Black Cats saw Chelsea defeated 2-1 in a match Mourinho described as “my overriding memory of the season”.
The master of the mind games promptly declared Chelsea, the “little horse”, was out of the equation, and despite making the same claim countless times throughout the season, this time he was right.
The loss took the stuffing out of the Blues, and ensured they would only get to play the role of party poopers with the famous win over Liverpool at Anfield two weeks later.
Mourinho - who insists the Blues will come back better next season – was at his brutal best when placed behind the microphone, much to reporters’ delight.
He labelled Arsenal manager and old sparring partner Wenger a “specialist in failure, but it’s his own side who finished without any silverware, despite only losing once to a side (Everton 1-0) in the top seven.
MIRACLES DO EXIST
Gus Poyet described Sunderland’s
survival as an act of divine intervention, but that shouldn’t take away
from the role his Black Cats stars played.The Tyne and Wear club was rock bottom at Christmas, but a stunning five game run late in the season saw them collect 13 points from a possible 15 – including wins against Chelsea and Manchester United – ensured they’ll be in the top flight again next time around.
“I don’t know if something like this will ever happen again, but I believe in miracles now,” was the enigmatic Poyet’s assessment.
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