2006/07 SEASON REVIEW: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE BUBBLY
Team of the year (4-4-2)
James (Portsmouth); Finnan (Liverpool), Vidic (Manchester United),
Carragher (Liverpool), Lescott (Everton); Ronaldo (Manchester United), Essien
(Chelsea), Scholes (Manchester United), Giggs (Manchester United); Drogba
(Chelsea), Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur). Subs: Cech (Chelsea; g), Shorey
(Reading), Dunne (Manchester City), Carvalho (Chelsea), Bentley (Blackburn
Rovers)
Footballer of the year
Paul Scholes. He scores goals. He makes goals. He goes home. No fuss, no
frills, no dives. A manager's dream, the Manchester United midfielder offers
touch, honesty, passing, shooting, dedication and a refusal to bow to asthma.
No off-the-field headlines. No disrespect to opposition. If only every
footballer were like Scholes. But he should learn how to tackle properly
Managers of the year (joint)
Sir Alex Ferguson and Steve Coppell. Ferguson knocked Chelsea off their
perch, with style and dignity, while Coppell led promoted Reading to eighth,
defying all expectations
Goal of the year
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) at Fulham. Balance, adventure,
pace, technique and the pivotal moment in the Premiership race
Chairman of the year
Chairman of the year: Niall Quinn (Sunderland). Free taxis and a lift to
the Premiership
Best performance
Premiership: Paul Scholes v Liverpool at Old Trafford. Pure class.
Europe: Jamie Carragher v Barcelona (home and away). Pure determination
Worst dives
1, Cristiano Ronaldo v Middlesbrough; 2, Steven Gerrard v Andorra; 3, Joe
Cole v Liverpool (Champions League, a home-and-away tumble-fest)
What a waste of money
1 Michael Ballack (£110,000 a week for one gear); 2 Andrei Shevchenko
(£30m for two gears); 3 Wembley (£757m when England need coaches and players)
Best game
Premiership: West Ham 3 Tottenham 4 - rollercoaster ride ( pictured ).
Europe: Manchester United 7 Roma 1 - steamroller ride. FA Cup: Middlesbrough 2
Bristol City 2 (Boro win 5-4 on pens) - compelling. Carling Cup: Liverpool 3
Arsenal 6 - spellbinding attacking
Best atmosphere
Fratton Park
Best business
1, Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham, pictured); 2, Sir Alex Ferguson's air
ticket to Portugal to persuade Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at United; 3, Aston
Villa's impressive new academy at Bodymoor Heath; 4, Benni McCarthy (Blackburn
Rovers, pictured); 5, Antoine Sibierski (Newcastle United, pictured)
Worst mistake
1, Premier League's failure to deduct points from West Ham ( pictured );
2, Steve McClaren's 3-5-2 aberration against Croatia; 3, Phil Dowd's failure to
punish Arsenal's Mathieu Flamini for hauling down Wigan's Emile Heskey; 4,
Chelsea's failure to sign Tal Ben Haim in January; 5, ticket allocations for FA
and European Cup finals
Most sympathy
Sheffield United's terrific supporters - cheated by the Premier League
and West Ham
Best managerial appointment
Roy Keane (Sunderland)
Best touch in the box
Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough)
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"Anda cuma bisa hidup sekali saja didunia ini,
tetapi jika Anda hidup dengan benar, sekali saja sudah cukup"
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