PREMIER LEAGUE
GK: Nick Pope (Newcastle United)
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)
CB: Nathan Aké (Manchester City)
CB: Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion)
RB: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United)
CDM: Rodri (Manchester City)
LCM: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
CM: Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)
RCM: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
ST: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
ST: Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
SUBS: GK: Alisson (Liverpool), LB/CB: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), RB: Ben White (Arsenal), CDM: Pascal Groß (Brighton & Hove Albion), CM: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), CM: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion), ST: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
MANAGER: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
For the singular on the sideline, there’s plenty who’ve had a bright and sunny season, and despite being a singular, ’tis them and their staff that have made this so. Arteta stepped up a gear, De Zerbi and Emery entered and galvanised, Howe delivered what was unthinkable just a few years ago, and Tommy Frank continues to wave his magic wand over his suburb in the North of London. But come on, Pep and his boys looked out of it and then flicked a switch everyone had heard legends of, and then got to witness. They motored relentlessly until the title was in their grasp. When all was said and done, it seemed inevitable, but for a long while, it absolutely wasn’t.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS! Some were closer than others, but all these guys at least knocked on the door.
Arsenal can count Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba, as well as Gabriel trio Magalhães, Jesus, and Martinelli among their unlucky few.
Brentford’s killer season had bright sparks all about, these ones being David Raya, Rico Henry, Ben Mee, Josh Dasilva, Bryan Mbeumo, and Ivan Toney.
Jordan Pickford had to shine all season long for Everton to ensure they could even play for final day survival.
Fulham will wanna keep hold of at least most of the quintet of Bernd Leno, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Harrison Reed, and João Palhinha if they wanna repeat their top ten finish next time out.
Champions Man City have plenty to celebrate, and with these seven only being shortlisted for this specific team of the season… I’m sure it won’t dampen the celebrations of Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva.
Crystal Palace’s youngsters shone, namely Tyrick Mitchell, Michael Olise, and Eberechi Eze.
A season that will be disappointing by Liverpool’s astronomical standards, but Mo Salah and Andy Robertson still made good on their consistency.
Man United seem to have found stability under ETH and that has translated to the pitch, with the likes of Luke Shaw and Casemiro looking like lynch-pins in the side.
Southampton may have had a disastrous season and ended up bottom, but how can you not admire the drive of Kyle Walker-Peters and the impact of James Ward-Prowse? More double-barrelled names needed for that side.
Aston Villa really started to tick as the season progressed, with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa stepping up at the back, Douglas Luiz continuing his raid up the middle, and Jacob Ramsey, Emi Buendia, and Ollie Watkins baring their teeth up top.
Newcastle can count a few in the team, but Sven Botman, Bruno Guimarães, Miguel Almiron, Joelinton, and Callum Wilson weren’t too far off themselves.
Bournemouth pulled off a pretty major (and underrated) miracle to survive from where they were, but it’s a testament to how this club is run. Gary O’Neil won over a lot of doubters and was rewarded with a pretty vicious dismissal. He guided the likes of Jefferson Lerma and Philip Billing to keep The Cherries ticking along nicely. He’ll have a good reference on his CV at least.
Brighton were outstanding. Arguably the best team to watch. Three players in the squad are joined by four further names — Moises Caicedo, Leandro Trossard (shared with Arsenal), Solly March, and Alexis Mac Allister.
Leicester may have been relegated, but two players have been plucked from their descent as further proof of their quality, those being Harvey Barnes and James Maddison.
Declan Rice was, and has been, a consistent threat moving forwards and backwards for West Ham, and this season was no different.
Finally, Forest. Of the Nottingham variety. Plenty of names to look at, and I mean plenty, but it was the contributions of Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson that seemed to drag the squad forward, and had Awoniyi not suffered a mid-season dip before scoring a slew of important goals, he might well be here too.
CHAMPIONSHIP
GK: Ben Wilson (Coventry City)
LB: Ian Maatsen (Burnley)
CB: Tom Lockyer (Luton Town)
CB: Jake Cooper (Millwall)
RB: Connor Roberts (Burnley)
CDM: Lewis Travis (Blackburn Rovers)
LCM: Jack Clarke (Sunderland)
CM: Josh Brownhill (Burnley)
RCM: Gustavo Hamer (Coventry City)
ST: Chuba Akpom (Middlesbrough)
ST: Carlton Morris (Luton Town)
SUBS: GK: Viktor Johansson (Rotherham), LB: Ryan Manning (Swansea City), CB: Callum Doyle (Coventry City), CDM: Jonny Howson (Middlesbrough), LCM: Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), CM: Oliver Norwood (Sheffield United), ST: Viktor Gyökeres (Coventry City)
MANAGER: Mark Robins (Coventry City)
What Robins has managed to do with Coventry over the years, culminating in a dramatic play-off final loss this time out, is outstanding. And this feels like one culmination, next season could well have the finest of The Sky Blues’ highs of recent years. Kompany, Edwards, and Carrick all deserve immense credit for the jobs they did to carry their teams up, and likewise, at the other end of the table, Neil Warnock worked his magic once more, while Liam Rosenior steadied a ship that looked set on sinking itself.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS! So close, yet so far.
Birmingham can count John Ruddy, Maxime Colin, Auston Trusty, and Tahith Chong as their unlucky foursome, with half of them looking to seal moves a division higher next time out.
Preston looked to be starting off strong, if dry up top, and so defensive players are the order of the day. Brad Potts still manages to make it in, but Freddie Woodman, Alvaro Fernandez, Jordan Storey, and Ryan Ledson led out from the back.
Sheffield United’s appearances seemed to hold back a few of their names, as the likes of Anel Ahmedhodzic and Sander Berge would have been shoo-ins with a few more. Wes Foderingham, John Egan, James McAtee, and Iliman Ndiaye weren’t too far off either.
Sunderland get one name in and there were many more on the cusp, with ‘keeper Anthony Patterson stepping up, while Danny Batth, Luke O’Nien, Amad Diallo, Patrick Roberts, Dan Neil, and Alex Pritchard each having the season of their lives.
Watford seemed to fall apart despite counting Daniel Bachmann and Ken Sema as highlights.
Blackburn couldn’t push to the very end, but went further than most anticipated; Harry Pickering being a particular standout.
Coventry already have three in, and Jake Bidwell wasn’t far behind joining them.
Luton’s Amari’i Bell and Allan Campbell were constants in anything good The Hatters managed.
Middlesbrough went from strength to strength under Michael Carrick, and as well as the three that made the squad, the two sparks that are Ryan Giles and Darragh Lenihan get close.
QPR seemed to damage themselves while Michael Beale got out blame-free with a shinier reputation than tin foil. The Hoops had to band together to maintain their status, and Kenneth Paal, Rob Dickie, Jimmy Dunne, Sam Field, and Ilias Chair were big parts of that.
Likewise, Rotherham had to scratch and claw as the season pressed on and delivered some impressive results to cement their status. Wes Harding was a versatile presence, and Chiedozie Ogbene gave his all going forward to deliver that.
Stoke’s topsy-turvy season was balanced out (somehow) by the likes of Morgan Fox, Ben Wilmot, Lewis Baker, and Will Smallbone.
West Brom can count a slew of names at the head of their resurgence that couldn’t quite get over the line, namely Conor Townsend, Darnell Furlong, Dara O’Shea, Okay Yokuslu, Jed Wallace, Jayson Molumby, and John Swift.
Cardiff can count themselves lucky to survive, but without Perry Ng and Ryan Wintle, they might not have had the chance to even play for survival.
Hull’s corrected course was characterised by the performances of Lewie Coyle, Alfie Jones, the mighty Jacob Greaves, Regan Slater, and Ozan Tufan.
Millwall were desperately unlucky in their surge for the play-offs, and it was a shame we didn’t get to see the likes of Dan McNamara, George Saville, Zian Flemming, and Tom Bradshaw press on further into their season.
Norwich had a troubled outing compared to pre-season expectations, though stalwart Max Aarons can always be counted on for a sparkling season, and new lad Gabriel Sara gave supporters of the Canaries a new reason to believe the future is bright.
The performances of Andy Yiadom and Tom Ince may be the only things Reading supporters can take away from this season… And no further.
Bristol City surprised a few with their sustained steps away from the bottom bunch, and it was the experience of Zak Vyner as well as the young guns of Alex Scott and Tommy Conway that aided it.
Huddersfield needed consistency, and though it didn’t come in the form of goals, the stability of Jack Rudoni and Tom Lees (along with a few vital goals from the pair) brought what was necessary.
Swansea always seemed like they should have pushed on further, but nonetheless provided an impressive outfit. The likes of Ben Cabango, Matt Grimes, Oli Cooper and Joel Piroe saw to that.
Blackpool seemed unlucky at many turns, ultimately ending up the wrong side of the dotted line despite the apparent form to beat it. Jerry Yates and Callum Connolly were those who continued to push the hardest, but in vain in the end.
More stacked than the shelves of a Tesco in a ghost town, Burnley squad members Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Josh Cullen, and Nathan Tella were desperately unlucky not to get right into the first team here.
Wigan, Wigan, Wigan. Another points deduction and another big ol’ whack to their confidence and belief that they could beat the drop. Max Power and James McClean were two of the biggest drivers in the squad, but inconsistency in that arena saw too many asleep at the wheel.
LEAGUE ONE
GK: Luke Southwood (Cheltenham Town)
LB: Leif Davis (Ipswich Town)
CB: Liam Kitching (Barnsley)
CB: Liam Palmer (Sheffield Wednesday)
RB: Conor Bradley (Bolton Wanderers)
CDM: Will Vaulks (Sheffield Wednesday)
CM: Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday)
CM: Sam Morsy (Ipswich Town)
LW: Aaron Collins (Bristol Rovers)
RW: Wes Burns (Ipswich Town)
ST: Conor Chaplin (Ipswich Town)
SUBS: GK: Christian Walton (Ipswich Town), LB: Marvin Johnson (Sheffield Wednesday), CB: Paudie O’Connor (Lincoln City), CM: Kyle Dempsey (Bolton Wanderers), CM: Scott Fraser (Charlton Athletic), RW: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (Charlton Athletic), ST: Alfie May (Cheltenham Town)
MANAGER: Kieran McKenna (Ipswich Town)
Schumacher obviously delivered the title in the wake of Lowe’s departure, leaving a lot of fans asking ‘Who?’ when it came to their former manager, but in terms of flipping a squad and putting it on a road few saw coming just months prior, Kieran McKenna and his Ipswich side take the cake. It is hard not to award Darren Moore everything, and Michael Duff and Ian Evatt built mighty structures, plus you have Scott Brown laying down stable foundations and Wade Elliott defying odds, but McKenna’s style charged him to the line.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS! I might as well just list everyone.
Bolton — James Trafford, Aaron Morley, and Dion Charles
Derby — Joe Wildsmith, Eirin Cashin, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, and Conor Hourihane
MK Dons — Jamie Cumming
Morecambe — Connor Ripley and Jensen Weir
Shrewsbury — Marko Marosi, Chey Dunkley, Taylor Moore, Jordan Shipley, and Luke Leahy
Oxford — Ciaron Brown
Portsmouth — Connor Ogilvie, Sean Raggett, and Colby Bishop
Accrington — Mitchell Clark
Barnsley — Jordan Williams, Adam Phillips, Mads Juel Andersen, Luca Connell, and Devante Cole
Burton — John Brayford, Sam Hughes, and Deji Oshilaja
Exeter — Josh Key and Sam Nombe
Fleetwood — Shaun Rooney
Lincoln — Regan Poole and Carl Rushworth
Cheltenham — Sean Long
Ipswich — Luke Woolfenden and Freddie Ladapo
Peterborough — Ronnie Edwards, Frankie Kent, Ephron Mason-Clark, Joe Ward, Harrison Burrows, Jack Taylor, and Jonson Clarke-Harris
Plymouth — James Wilson, Bali Mumba, Joe Edwards, Jordan Houghton, and Finn Azaz
Cambridge — Paul Digby, Harvey Knibbs, and Sam Smith
Port Vale — David Worrall
Wycombe — Garath McCleary and Lewis Wing
Sheffield Wednesday — Josh Windass
LEAGUE TWO
GK: Lawrence Vigouroux (Leyton Orient)
LB: Jack Armer (Carlisle United)
CB: Jon Mellish (Carlisle United)
CB: Omar Beckles (Leyton Orient)
CB: Carl Piergianni (Stevenage)
RB: Cameron Norman (Newport County)
CDM: Elliot Watt (Salford City)
CM: Sam Hoskins (Northampton Town)
CM: Owen Moxon (Carlisle United)
CM: George Moncur (Leyton Orient)
ST: Andy Cook (Bradford City)
SUBS: GK: Sol Brynn (Swindon Town), RB: Junior Tchamadeu (Colchester United), CB: Manny Monthé (Walsall), RCM: Luke Bolton (Salford City), CM: Ben Whitfield (Barrow), CM: Will Collar (Stockport County), ST: Dan Agyei (Crewe Alexandra)
MANAGER: Richie Wellens (Leyton Orient)
Those promoted automatically — Steve Evans and Jon Brady — those in the play-off final — Paul Simpson and Dave Challinor — as well as a Barrow manager working with next to nothing to achieve a top ten finish — Pete Wild — fix up the close calls, but Richie Wellens came in last season and took Leyton Orient over. That continued into this season with aplomb, forging a round-the-pitch, clockwork-like outfit that would (eventually) storm to the title.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS! Because I don’t like people to feel too left out…
Bradford — Harry Lewis and Richard Smallwood
Doncaster — Jonathan Mitchell
Stockport — Ben Hinchliffe and Akil Wright
Walsall — Owen Evans, Isaac Hutchinson, and Tom Knowles
Hartlepool — David Ferguson
Newport — Aaron Lewis, Mickey Demetriou, Scot Bennett, and Omar Bogle
Salford — Ibou Touray, Theo Vassell, and Callum Hendry
Tranmere — Ethan Bristow, Josh Cogley, Jordan Turnbull, and Josh Hawkes
Leyton Orient — Tom James, Idris El Mizouni, Paul Smyth, and Ruel Sotiriou
Mansfield — Elliott Hewitt, Stephen Quinn, and George Lapslie (w/Gillingham)
Sutton — Joe Kizzi
Swindon — Remeao Hutton, Jacob Wakeling, and Ronan Darcy
Barrow — Niall Canavan and Josh Gordon
Colchester — Luke Chambers and Noah Chilvers
Crewe — Luke Offord
Gillingham — Max Ehmer and Alex MacDonald
Grimsby — Luke Waterfall and Harry Clifton
Northampton — Jon Guthrie, Marc Leonard, and Mitch Pinnock
Stevenage — Jake Reeves and Jordan Roberts
Wimbledon — Ethan Chislett
Rochdale — Abraham Odoh
Carlisle — Jordan Gibson, Callum Guy, and Kristian Dennis
Crawley — Jack Powell
Harrogate — Luke Armstrong
NATIONAL LEAGUE
GK: Joe McDonnell (Eastleigh)
LB: Adam Chicksen (Notts County)
CB: Omar Sowunmi (Bromley)
CB: Ben Tozer (Wrexham)
RB: Jeff King (Chesterfield)
CDM: Matt Palmer (Notts County)
LAM: Jack Bridge (Southend United)
CAM: Rúben Rodrigues (Notts County)
RAM: Adam Campbell (Gateshead)
ST: Paul Mullin (Wrexham)
ST: Macaulay Langstaff (Notts County)
SUBS: GK: Nathan Ashmore (Boreham Wood), LB: Kyle Cameron (Notts County), CB: Femi Ilesanmi (Boreham Wood), CDM: Matt Robinson (Dagenham & Redbridge), CAM: Harry Pritchard (Barnet), RAM: Elliot Lee (Wrexham), ST: Inih Effiong (Aldershot/Dagenham & Redbridge)
MANAGER: Kevin Maher (Southend United)
To keep that ship steady and steered in the right direction, there is no doubt that Kevin Maher gets my vote. Sure, Luke Williams and Phil Parkinson pushed the play to its very limits, but they had plenty of resources with which to do so. David Unsworth turned Oldham around beautifully and Stuart Maynard continues to craft Wealdstone against the odds, but Maher seemed to be working against his own club at times, and still managed to deliver a chance to the final day.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS! Because it’s better to have too much sauce than not enough.
Boreham Wood — Dennon Lewis, Zak Brunt, Jack Payne, Tyrone Marsh, and Lee Ndlovu
Eastleigh — JJ McKiernan, Ousseynou Cisse, Charlie Carter, and Danny Whitehall
Oldham — Nathan Sheron and Ben Tollitt
Woking — Dan Moss, Josh Casey, Scott Cuthbert, and Jim Kellerman
York — Oli Dyson, Dan Pybus, and Lenell John-Lewis
Barnet — Jerome Okimo, Idris Kanu, Ryan De Havilland, Nicke Kabamba
Maidenhead — Zico Asare and Emile Acquah
Wealdstone — Nathan Ferguson, Jack Cook, and Rhys Browne (w/Woking)
Aldershot — Tyler Cordner
Halifax — Tyler Golden and Harvey Gilmour
Solihull Moors — James Clarke, Josh Kelly, and Andrew Dallas (w/Chesterfield)
Altrincham — Josh Lundstram
Chesterfield — Jamie Grimes and Liam Mandeville
Southend — Callum Powell
Bromley — Corey Whitley
Gateshead — Dan Ward and Greg Olley
Maidstone — Regan Booty
Notts County — Sam Austin and Cedwyn Scott
Wrexham — James Jones
Dorking — James McShane
WSL
GK: Mary Earps (Manchester United)
LB: Maz Pacheco (Aston Villa)
CB: Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United)
RB: Ona Battle (Manchester United)
CDM: Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
CDM: Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
LM: Guro Reiten (Chelsea)
CM: Kenza Dali (Aston Villa)
RM: Chloe Kelly (Manchester City)
ST: Khadija Shaw (Manchester City)
ST: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)
SUBS: GK: Janina Leitzig (Leicester City), LB: Jess Carter (Chelsea), CDM: Hayley Ladd (Manchester United), LM: Leah Galton (Manchester United), RM: Caitlin Foord (Arsenal), CM: Ella Toone (Manchester United), ST: Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
MANAGER: Carla Ward (Aston Villa)
It’s hard not to constantly give the berth to Emma Hayes, and she was obviously worthy of it again, as was title rival Marc Skinner and survival-deliverer Willie Kirk. But what Carla Ward has managed with Aston Villa, turning the team on its head and galvanising the club as a whole, is the kind of stuff that pushes a club on to that next level.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS! Too much good to concentrate it seems.
Arsenal — Manuela Zinsberger, Katie McCabe, Rafaelle Souza, Lotte Wubben-Moy, and Frida Maanum
Everton — Courtney Brosnan, Gabby George, Karen Holmgaard, Jess Park, and Hanna Bennison
Liverpool — Taylor Hinds, Emma Koivisto, Ceri Holland, Missy Bo Kearns, and Katie Stengel
Man United — Hannah Blundell and Alessia Russo
West Ham — Risa Shimizu, Grace Fisk, and Dagny Brynjarsdottir
Aston Villa — Anna Patten, Lucy Staniforth, and Alisha Lehmann
Man City — Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp, Filippa Angeldahl, and Laura Coombs
Chelsea — Erin Cuthbert, Lauren James, and Beth England (w/Spurs)
Brighton — Veatriki Sarri, Katie Robinson, Lee Geum-min, and Elisabeth Terland
Leicester — Sam Tierney and Hannah Cain
Reading — Justine Vanhaevermaet
FA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
GK: Fran Bentley (Bristol City)
LB: Kiera Skeels (Charlton Athletic)
CB: Harriet Scott (Birmingham City)
CB: Louise Quinn (Birmingham City)
RB: Elisha N’Dow (Charlton Athletic)
LCM: Amy Rodgers (London City Lionesses)
CM: Ella Powell (Bristol City)
RCM: Emily Syme (Bristol City)
LF: Jade Pennock (Birmingham City)
RF: Sarah Ewens (London City Lionesses)
ST: Melissa Johnson (Charlton Athletic)
SUBS: GK: Claudia Moan (Sunderland), RB: Vicky Bruce (Bristol City), CB: Rosanna Parnell (Southampton), CM: Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), CM: Annabel Blanchard (Crystal Palace), LF: Abi Harrison (Bristol City), ST: Shania Hayles (Bristol City)
MANAGER: Lauren Smith (Bristol City)
It had to be Lauren Smith delivering what she has promised with this Bristol City side, and Darren Carter’s Blues came on just too late to catch up with The Robins, such was their lead. Karen Hills deserves some credit for keeping Charlton in the chase despite their losses in personnel, but it is in that same market within which they recovered themselves under Hills’ guidance.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS! Could have had three or four teams.
Southampton — Kayla Rendell, Megan Collett, Ella Morris, Millicent Mott, Lucia Kendall, and Katie Wilkinson
Charlton — Sian Rogers, Bethan Roe, Angela Addison, and Mia Ross
Birmingham — Lucy Thomas and Christie Murray
Lewes — Ellie Mason, Natalie Johnson, Rebecca McKenna, Amelia Hazard, Paula Howells, and Emily Kraft
London City Lionesses — Harley Bennett, Grace Neville, Hayley Nolan, Atlanta Primus, and Jamie-Lee Napier
Coventry — Alanah Mann
Sunderland — Grace McCatty, Emma Kelly, Neve Herron, and Emily Scarr
Sheffield United — Grace Riglar, Naomi Hartley, Rebecca Reynor, and Courtney Sweetman-Kirk
Durham — Grace Ayre, Rebecca Salicki, Saoirse Noonan, Beth Hepple, Mollie Lambert, and Sarah McFadden
Crystal Palace — Anna Filbey and Coral-Jade Haines
Bristol City — Naomi Layzell
Blackburn Rovers — Saffron Jordan
Keep it streets ahead,
C.L.R.
