Observer fans' network 

Premier League fans’ verdicts part 2: Manchester United to West Ham

From 'woeful' at Old Trafford and 'miserable' at Norwich, to 'joy' at Southampton and an 'exhilarating' time at Sunderland: 2013-14's best and worst
  
  

Sunderland fans
Sunderland fans react during their 1-0 Premier League win at Manchester United on 3 May 2014. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

Manchester United 3/10

That was woeful. I knew it would be a transition season but I didn't think the players would lose heart so soon. The whole Moyes debacle was doomed from the start. Ferguson appointed his successor, a man who had never won anything and who instantly removed a winning backroom staff, replacing them with what looked like a group of middle-aged lads on a golfing weekend. To go from champions to seventh is unforgiveable, and added to the fact that we had teams coming to Old Trafford who hadn't won here since the 60s taking us apart with ease spoke volumes of how out of his depth Moyes really was.

The stars Adnan Januzaj was a revelation. Hopefully the kid will make the No7 shirt his own.

The flops Senior players let themselves down when they didn't buy in to the new regime, and the paceless, overawed Fellaini just isn't a United player.

Transfer targets The old guard need replacing and Carrick looks like he's on his last legs. I can see us buying Shaw from Southampton and a dream list of Hummels, Reus and Kroos would turn us into challengers again. I just hope Van Gaal has a shortlist ready for Ed Woodward to move on quickly.

Best and worst away fans Spurs made plenty of noise as usual. And Man City were the worst. Where they used to draw their support from places like Stockport, Gorton and Levenshulme, their away support looked like a load of daytrippers.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now – The Smiths.

Shaun O'Donnell, Observer reader

Newcastle United 10/10

Why a 10 rating? It's mission accomplished. Top 10 finish, no pesky cup runs to threaten Premier League status, healthy balance sheet, best player sold for a nice profit, fractured relationship with the local press, classy sponsor… what more could a football supporter wish for?

The stars Mike Williamson has become a mainstay of the defence, Yoan Gouffran has worked his socks off and we'd probably be down without Rémy's goals. Oh, and we used to have a superb French playmaker in the middle of the park … whatever happened to him?

The flops Where do you start? Few players covered themselves in glory, but Coloccini (right), Anita, De Jong and Santon were among the worst offenders. And just what did Joe Kinnear do as "director of football"?

Transfer targets Streetwise players with character and passion who know what it means to wear a black and white shirt, and will put up a fight when we go 1-0 down.

Best and worst away fans Cardiff were the best. The worst? Man United. Arrogant as always.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap – AC/DC

Richard and David Holmes, Observer readers

Norwich City 3/10

In a word, miserable. The quality and excitement levels have bumbled along at three or four out of 10, while the away form has been as wretched as I can recall in four decades of supporting Norwich. Along the way we have parted company with a manager who took pragmatism to a whole new level and replaced him with a rookie who was handed the impossible task of salvaging a 33-game season in just five. The upshot has been relegation and a feeling of "what if…" Numerous opportunities to haul ourselves clear of the drop zone were spurned; finally they ran out. The journey from the depths of League One to a three-season stopover in the Premier League has been one of a lifetime, but like all good things…

The stars Only Martin Olsson excelled, though in the face of a full-on relegation battle Robert Snodgrass has shown grit and fortitude.

The flops No shortage of contenders but one man stands out way above the rest. Ricky van Wolfswinkel arrived from Portugal amid a crescendo of bells and whistles – and a £8.5m price tag – and delivered one goal all season. Need I say more? 

Transfer targets Time for a total overhaul.

Best and worst away fans West Brom were the best: noisy, humourous and passionate. Man United were quiet, humourless and imperious.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day.

Gary Gowers, NorwichCity.MyFootballWriter.com

Southampton 8/10

The football has been a joy to watch. Our youth policy and the way we play has earned plenty of admiration – but, considering our mid-table position was secured relatively early on, it was disappointing that we couldn't progress past the fifth round of the FA Cup. This summer the club must do everything they can to keep Mauricio Pochettino and our talented squad together.

The stars Adam Lallana won the players' and fans' season awards, and absolutely deserves to be on the plane to Brazil. Jay Rodriguez has also had an amazing season and will return stronger from his injury. And, at 18, Luke Shaw has shown what an exciting player he is going to be.

The flops Dani Osvaldo arrived from Roma with big questions being asked about whether his famous temperament could be controlled. It couldn't.

Transfer targets A striker. The injury to Rodriguez highlighted a serious lack of depth up front. At the back, another quality defender to provide competition for first-choice centre-backs Dejan Lovren and Fonte.

Best and worst away fans Palace were the best, Hull the worst.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Stuck in the Middle With You – Stealers Wheel

Ben Gammon, GoMarchingIn.co.uk

Stoke City 9/10

A first top-10 Premier League finish and a better style of play has made this a very successful first season for Mark Hughes and his team. The home victories over Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal were very special. Expectations are already sky high for the next campaign.

The stars Asmir Begovic, Ryan Shawcross (not that Roy Hodgson has even noticed or visited Stoke to see for himself), Glenn Whelan, Marko Arnautovic and Peter Odemwingie (thanks Cardiff) could have all walked away with the player of the season award.

The flops Kenwyne Jones and Jermaine Pennant. Thankfully both of them have now moved on – and their performances since leaving Stoke have shown it was 100% the right decision.

Transfer targets A 15-goal-a -season striker and a deal for on-loan winger Oussama Assaidi. We are only one or two players away from becoming an established top-10 team. It's obviously vital we keep hold of one of the world's best keepers in Begovic, while the form Arnautovic has shown since Christmas will also have the top club keeping tabs.

Best and worst away fans Man Utd were the most passionate, despite their shocking season. Arsenal were the worst.

TV montage music for the season's highlights That's Entertainment – the Jam.

Rob Holloway, Observer reader

Sunderland 8/10

The most exhilarating season in the 50 years I have watched Sunderland. A disastrous start, a necessary sacking, a brave appointment, a slow pick up, a great two months, a slump and then a fantastic finish. We beat Newcastle twice, took four points off Manchester City, won at Old Trafford for the first time since I was at school, smashed Mourinho's home record and got to a cup final at Wembley. As the Chinese say "May you live in interesting times". We did.

The stars Vito Mannone was exceptional in goal as was Fabio Borini up front. But, when the chips were down, Wes Brown and John O'Shea rose to the challenge. Neither wanted a relegation to blot their career record, and it showed.

The flops Most of the players signed by Roberto Di Fanti during the summer window. Cabral, Valentin Roberge, Mobido Diakité and Ondrej Celustka made no impression on Wearside. Jozy Altidore looked to improve on his first spell at Hull. He didn't.

Transfer targets Jack Colback, Seb Larsson, Marcos Alonso, Santiago Vergini and Borini would do for starters.

Best and worst away fans Kidderminster and Carlisle United; they brought more than their average home gate. As for the worst – The Geordie Nation were as annoying as ever, as were the all-singing, all-dancing, never-watching Manchester United fans.

TV montage music for the season's highlights The away fans picked up on Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream. I would have preferred Hallelujah – the Jeff Buckley version, please.

Pete Sixsmith, SalutSunderland.com

Swansea City 4/10

It has been one to forget, really. The Europa League proved to be too much for us and our league form suffered, prompting Michael Laudrup's exit and Garry Monk being tasked with keeping us away from a relegation scrap – which he eventually did.

The stars Wilfried Bony and Wayne Routledge stand out as two consistent and excellent performers. Bony for his goals and Routledge for his attacking contribution. Jonjo Shelvey had his fair share of critics when he first joined but he has proved to be a very useful signing, thanks to his range of passing and shooting ability.

The flops Loanee striker Álvaro Vázquez was pretty useless. And David Ngog was a pointless signing too – one which puzzled us all.

Transfer targets It all depends on who we manage to hold on to – but we could already do with at least one player in every outfield position: a back-up striker as Bony can't continue to carry the team, midfielders to replace Alejandro Pozuelo and José Canas, plus a defender as cover too. Goalkeeper Michel Vorm, meanwhile, needs to return to the form he showed before his injury. He's been poor lately.

Best and worst away fans The best were Crystal Palace for the sheer noise they made throughout the entire game. The worst were Cardiff. I expected much more from them in the derby game.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Daddy Cool – Boney M, in tribute to Wilfried and his relegation-preventing performances.

Kevin Elphick, Swansea.VitalFootball.co.uk

Tottenham Hotspur 4/10

It was awful. We crumbled abjectly against the top four, getting one point out of a possible 24, shipping shedloads of goals home and away. That we still picked up over 60 points speaks volumes about the mediocrity below us. Too often effort has been totally lacking. We've even had West Ham fans wanting to know if they could play us every week. Einstein's definition of insanity is the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This is Spurs to the core. Every season we keep spending money and changing managers but we still have the tendency to curl up like salted snails whoever is in charge and whoever we buy. Don't forget how Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea all put five past us in Redknapp's last season.

The stars Hugo Lloris. I bet he has lost count of the unforced defensive errors in front of him this season. Christian Eriksen looks like he can play a bit, too.

The flops Rose: inept, can't find a man with a simple pass; Lamela: lightweight; Walker: athletic but no skill; Lennon: spends too much time inside to no effect; Vertonghen: not interested. I could go on …

Transfer targets Finding a quality full-back is vital. And let's look for character and desire as well as skill.

Best fans Darren Alexander, co-chairman of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust, died tragically young last March aged 42. Three weeks later at Anfield there was a banner on the Kop in his honour. Class.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Money for Nothing – Dire Straits. The fans who went to every game spent nearly four grand for very little entertainment; the club spent £108m.

Dave Mason, Observer reader

West Bromwich Albion 4/10

Dreadful. Shocking decisions off the pitch have blighted the whole season. A club so well run before now has been totally let down by some terrible negligence and poor thinking.

The stars It's hard to find the shining light among the doom and gloom. Billy Jones when fit and Saido Berahino (right) both made the breakthrough from the youth ranks and they were real plus points. And Ben Foster was blameless.

The flops Take your pick from most of the squad. Only the three players mentioned made any obvious progress.

Transfer targets So many positions need addressing but a goalscorer, a left back and centre half are the most pressing needs. We have so many players out of contract – it's a massive summer rebuilding job.

Best and worst away fans Cardiff were a noisy and passionate bunch, while West Ham were more interested in hating the manager than supporting their team.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Offend in Every Way – The White Stripes

West Ham United 6/10

A bizarre season, but ultimately three wins against Spurs, mid-table safety and a League Cup semi isn't too bad. We're far too reliant on Andy Carroll, whose injury ruined the first half of the campaign, though the defence managed a pleasing number of clean sheets. But Big Sam's tactic of endless high crosses appears to have been rumbled and there's no sign of Plan B. Allardyce has to convince the board he can play more expansive football to fill the Olympic Stadium, settle his differences with Ravel Morrison and learn some PR skills.

The stars Mark Noble was consistent and Carroll made a difference, his beard sparking an "Are you Jesus in disguise?" chant. Adrián has become a cult figure in goal, while Morrison excited in early games and scored the goal of the season. And credit to Carlton Cole and Matt Taylor for doing a job for the team.

The flops Modibo Maïga was a disaster as Carroll's deputy, Stewart Downing is talented but erratic and Kevin Nolan let us down with two red cards and hasn't got his usual quota of goals.

Transfer targets The side desperately needs a second striker to help Carroll, a left-back, a playmaker and the return of Morrison.

Best and worst away fans Crystal Palace fans were noisy and celebrated like they'd won the League. Liverpool were the worst for reviving Boney M's Brown Girl in the Ring.

TV montage music for the season's highlights Anything by Plan B.

Pete May, HammersInTheHeart.blogspot.co.uk

 

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