Season In Review: Revisiting Preseason Predictions

Last week we said goodbye to our lord and master, Martin. He got married on Saturday (Eboue’s birthday. Coincidence? I think not) and is currently on his honeymoon. I wish him all the best and I know you all do too. Unfortunately, this will be my last week and I will be signing off and bidding you all adieu on Friday. In the meantime, I’ll try and get a few posts up this week about our season and hopefully keep it from getting too depressing.

Today, I’ll be looking back at Martin’s preseason predictions and poking fun at everything he got wrong. I can do this because he’s not here and I can wreak all sorts of havoc. Also, I didn’t make preseason predictions, so I am immune to criticism. That’s how that works. Onto the predictions!

Question 1: Will the Top 4 Change?
Martin’s Answer: Yes. He thought Tottenham would have a big challenge staying in the top four, especially with Manchester City and Liverpool looking to break through. He also mentioned we could be vulnerable, citing our defensive issues.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: Wah-hey! First one and he got it right! Yes, the top four did change. In 2009/10 the top four were: Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Tottenham. This season the top four turned out to be: Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal. He nailed City breaking into the Champions League spots, but not so much Liverpool (though King Kenny did turn things around after a dismal run under Hodgson to get them to finish a respectable 6th). It also turned out Arsenal were vulnerable at the top, but I don’t think he could have predicted the manner in which we almost lost our place. Ok, maybe he could have. It is Arsenal, after all.

Question 2: Who Will be the League’s Leading Goalscorer?
Martin’s Answer: Drogba. Though he tried to cover his butt by mentioning Rooney, Torres, Tevez, and van Persie.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: Aw, we started off so well didn’t we? I thought we could last longer than the second question, but here we are. No, Drogba did not win the Golden Boot. In fact, he was outscored by DJ Campbell of Blackpool, Peter Odemwingie of West Brom, and Dirk Kuyt of Liverpool. In the end, Drogba came 14th in the goal-scoring charts with 12 goals in the league, level with Kevin Nolan (Newcastle), Charlie Adam (Blackpool), and Clint Dempsey (Fulham). I’d give Martin some more credit if he wasn’t so insistent in our Mid-Season Review with sticking with Drogba. So stubborn. Looking at the others he thought might take the Golden Boot, Rooney was hilariously out of form for the first half of the season and ended his campaign with 11 goals in the league. Torres moved to Chelsea midseason where the Blues got some bang for their buck at £50 million/goal. Tevez was scoring goals like mad for Manchester City until he got injured near the end of the season, but he still managed to finish joint-top scorer with Dimitar Berbatov, whose goals came in batches of threes and fives to give him 21 goals total this season. I will give partial marks to Martin for mentioning Tevez because I’m cool like that. As for van Persie, he could have finished top scorer easily if he had been fit at the start of the season. As soon as he came back, he was scoring for fun and ended 3rd highest scorer in the league with 18 goals. Let’s hope he bubble-wraps those legs until August.

Question 3: Which Newcomer Will Have the Biggest Impact on the Premiership?
Martin’s Answer: Yaya Toure. Also mentioned were Marouane Chamakh, Ramires, and David Silva.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: This is a tough one. I thought David Silva was excellent for Manchester City and didn’t get enough credit for his performances. Yaya was also an important player for City and he scored the winning goals in the FA Cup semifinal and final at Wembley to lead the way for City to collect their first trophy in decades. Chamakh had a big impact in the first half of the season, but was non-existent in the second half, so that didn’t pan out as expected. I’ll give Martin credit for Silva and Yaya, but there were several other newcomers that had a big impact for their teams this past season. Odemwingie, Demba Ba, and Chuck Tiote proved their worth for West Brom, West Ham, and Newcastle respectively. However, I think the newcomer who had the biggest impact was Javier Hernandez for Manchester United. He slowly worked his way into the starting eleven over the course of the season and scored some big goals that no doubt helped them clinch the title. His effectiveness in front of goal saw him grab 13 goals with only 24 shots on target and he managed to solidify his place ahead of Berbatov as Rooney’s striking partner. Damn that Hernandez.

Question 4: Who’s Going to Get Relegated?
Martin’s Answer: Wigan, West Brom, and Blackpool.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: One out of three. Ouch. And that’s only because Michael Owen scored a late goal against Blackpool to send them down on the very last matchday. Why do Michael Owen and Martin hate Blackpool? Why? It was a fun ride for Blackpool while it lasted, but their hunger for goals did not compensate for their leaky defense and they will be playing in the Championship next season. West Ham finished dead last and were the first team to get relegated after a truly awful season that even an English spine of Robert Green, Matthew Upson, and Scott Parker could not save. The final team that got relegated was Birmingham. I have no shame in telling you all that I am over the moon that Brum will not be in the Premiership. They are the biggest bogey team for us that I’ve ever seen and they beat us in the Carling Cup final. Also, I’m still bitter about the Eduardo thing. Good riddance, Birmingham! As for West Brom and Wigan, West Brom were on the ropes until they sacked Roberto DiMatteo and brought in Roy Hodgson who turned things around for them. Wigan were almost relegated until some last matchday heroics. No team baffles me more than Wigan and it looks like they will continue to confuse us all in front of 200 Latics fans at the DW Stadium next season in the Premiership.

Question 5: Who’s Going to Win the League?
Martin’s Answer: Chelsea.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: Close, but no cigar. Chelsea got off to an explosive start scoring loads of goals against the likes of West Brom and Blackpool. Their season took a turn for the worse after Abramovich sacked assistant coach, Ray Wilkins, who was well respected in the Chelsea camp. They went on an absolutely awful run for months, and even though they never quite looked the same force as they once were, the Blues managed to pull themselves together enough to finish 2nd in the league (with a little help from Arsenal, of course). Manchester United ended up champions, securing a record 19th league title for the club. Martin’s prediction that Chelsea would be champions was off-the-mark, but certainly better than my prediction that Arsenal would win the league (I’m a blinkered gooner, what can I say?).

Question 6: Who’s Going to Win the Champions League?
Martin’s Answer: Chelsea.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: Thank Bergkamp he was wrong on this one. If the first London club to win a Champions League had been Chelsea and they won it at Wembley, I would have violently regurgitated for weeks and removed anything blue from my house. The Champions League final ended up being contested by Barcelona and Manchester United. It ended 3-1 and showcased an exceptional performance by a Barcelona team that will be remembered for years and years to come. Chelsea finished the season without a trophy.

Question 7: If You Had to Give Arsenal’s Offseason a Grade, What Would it Be?
Martin’s Answer: In the midseason review, Martin gave Wenger a B for his summer signings, though I’m sure he might reflect differently on that after seeing Squillaci play more. No mention of whether anyone should be signed in January.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: Koscielny had a bumpy season, but he coped well considering it was his first season in English football. He also played extremely well against Barcelona in the Champions League. Chamakh was great, but fell off the surface of the planet in the latter stages of the season. Squillaci, well, the less said the better. Our Poles in goal did well to redeem themselves, but we found ourselves with a pileup of goalkeeping injuries and Wenger ended up signing former Arsenal “Invincible”, Jens Lehmann. Not a bad signing considering he was our fourth or fifth choice keeper, but thank goodness he only had to play one game against Blackpool. We could definitely have used another defensive signing in January, though. Looking back at the end of the season, I’ll be nice give Arsenal a C- in transfer dealings.

Question 8: Which Newcomer Will Make the Biggest Impact for Arsenal This Season?
Martin’s Answer: Koscielny.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: In the midseason review, Martin said he got this wrong because of the huge impact that Chamakh had had for Arsenal in the first half of the season. However, I think that over the course of the entire season, considering van Persie was in blistering form when he came back and we were without Vermaelen for basically the whole season, that Koscielny was the newcomer who had the biggest impact for Arsenal. He certainly played a huge number of games and did well for the most part. He has his flaws, but he showed he was up for the challenge and looks like he could be even better for us in the future. I’m giving this one to Martin. Get in!

Question 9: Who Should Arsene Buy Before September 2?
Martin’s Answer: Defender and a goalkeeper.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: He bought Kosicelny and Squillaci, but no goalkeeper. Obviously, Wenger had been trying to get Schwarzer, and later it came out that he had tried hard to get Pepe Reina from Liverpool. In the end, Fabianski and Szczesny did well for us, but starting with Almunia for a number of games was costly at the beginning of the season. As for our defensive signings, I went over that in the last question. Bottom line, signings were made, but the quality of those signings could have been better.

Question 10: Who Will Be Arsenal’s Biggest Disappointment?
Martin’s Answer: Cesc Fabregas.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: I suppose this prediction was fairly accurate. There were many players who disappointed this season, but Cesc had the highest expectations of them all. His struggles with injury were really what held him back. He needs to play more games than he has been fit for and this past season, he was not. There were times when he had some really awful moments, like the game against Newcastle at the Emirates or the Barcelona match at Camp Nou. He still ranked high in our end-of-season player review, which just goes to show that his quality as a player is still higher than most of our squad, and that when he’s fit, he brings something to our team that no one else can replicate.

Question 11: Who Will Be Arsenal’s Most Pleasant Surprise?
Martin’s Answer: Samir Nasri.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: I think this was an accurate prediction, though Nasri’s performances in the last couple months of the season were not as impressive, to put it mildly. I would also have given marks for predicting Jack Wilshere. Considering we weren’t sure if he would be on loan again at the beginning of the season, his emergence as a top midfielder in our first team has been the most pleasant surprise, I feel. He played more games than most of the other players and played with a grit and passion that this team sorely needs.

Question 12: Who Will Be Arsenal’s Player of the Season?
Martin’s Answer: Robin van Persie.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: I know Nasri ended up being our best player on our End-of-Season Player Review, but I totally agree with Martin and think that van Persie was our Player of the Season. He scored in big games, little games, and showed all the fire and passion that we all want to see in the rest of our players. Martin gets full credit on this one as far as I’m concerned.

Question 13: Come January, what Will be the Biggest Story Everyone is Talking About?
Martin’s Answer: Will Cesc Leave Arsenal for Barcelona?
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: Considering it’s the story that will never die until he leaves, I’ll say he got this one spot on. Other acceptable answers include “Why is Wenger not buying a big, strong, English defender?” and “Why are Arsenal the Chokiest Chokersons in the history of Chokerville?”

Question 14: Will Arsenal Stick with the 4-3-3?
Martin’s Answer: He said we would, but that we should switch to a 4-3-2-1.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: Some call it a 4-3-3, but it really is more of a 4-2-3-1, so in the end, I think his prediction was pretty accurate. One wonders how long we will stick with this formation as fans continue to cry out for a 4-4-2. The issue we have as a squad is being able to fit our best players into the best formation for them all to play in. The 4-2-3-1 is no doubt utilized to get the best out of Fabregas and it worked with great effect when Song and Wilshere backed the beast that is Theo van Nasregas up front. Once Fabregas was out of the equation late in the season, it seemed that the team was not as effective. Whether that was because of the formation not fitting the players, or the players not doing well enough in their positions, I’m not sure, but it should be interesting to see if we try a few things a bit differently next season.

Question 15: Final Prediction Time: Will Arsenal Win a Trophy this Season?
Martin’s Answer: He said no because he said yes every other season and we didn’t win anything, so he hoped saying no would act as a reverse-jinx.
Sairax’s End-of-Season Verdict: We made it to the Carling Cup final and blew it in predictable Arsenal-like fashion. We then proceeded to get knocked out of the Champions League at the hands of Barcelona and the FA Cup to Manchester United in the two weeks after our Carling Cup humiliation to Birmingham. We somehow stayed in the league title race until fairly late in the season despite winning only two of our league games since the cup final. In the end we crashed and burned and nearly fell out of the top four even though the other challengers were not exactly convincing. Arsenal ended the season in fourth and without any trophies for the sixth year in a row and I ended the season with a large knot on my head after banging it incessantly into my desk for months. A+ for Martin. Now if you’ll excuse me, I will be over here weeping over what could have been.

Well that was fun, wasn’t it, boys and girls? Yeah, I thought so too. Martin is a right soothsayer, I’d say. He gets a cookie. How did you all do with your preseason predictions? I bet you feel silly for putting down Elmander as top scorer. Oh well, better luck next season!

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