A thrilling title race and a ferocious battle to avoid the drop kept onlookers fascinated until the final minutes of the campaign. And in the midst of all the excitement came a host of high-scoring, memorable matches. Footballing World pick out the top five from the 2007/08 season.

1. Portsmouth 7-4 Reading
Saturday, 29 September 2007

Early season excitement as Portsmouth run riot against a Reading side seemingly incapable of defending. The drama was reserved for the second half as an incredible eight goals were scored along with a missed penalty; Benjani netting a hat-trick as nine different players got their name on the score-sheet in a match that set a new Premier League record for the most aggregate goals scored in a single match. Sadly, it proved an exceptional afternoon for the home side and their supporters: Pompey finished the season failing to score in 10 of their 19 home games.

Portsmouth goals: Mwaruwari 7, 37, 70, Hreidarsson 55, Kranjcar 75, Davis 81, Muntari 90 pen.
Reading goals: Hunt 45, Kitson 48, Long 79, Shorey 90.

2. Tottenham 4-4 Chelsea
Wednesday, 19 March 2008

These two London sides provided various classic encounters against fellow Premier League sides during the season, but they managed something even better when they met in late March. A bustling, high-octane clash ended with Robbie Keane’s stunning late equaliser to earn the hosts a point, just weeks after they had beaten Chelsea in the Carling Cup final. Three goals in the opening 20 minutes set the tempo, but Tottenham left the happier after coming from 3-1 and 4-3 down to rescue a point while helping to ruin Chelsea’s title ambitions, who added to their poor reputation when Ashley Cole threw a tantrum after receiving a yellow card for a challenge that deserved red.

Tottenham goals: Woodgate 12, Berbatov 61, Huddlestone 75, Keane 88.
Chelsea goals: Drogba 3, Essien 20, Joe Cole 52, 80.

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He also compared this to David O’Leary’s managerial reign during the same number of games and Martin O’Neill, according to Marcotti, comes out worse by four points.

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Man Utd A money-making global machine which will never stop. However, at some point Alex Ferguson will and Ronaldo will play in Spain. United’s next manager will still have the undoubted superstar that is Wayne Rooney but the pressure of following Alex Ferguson will be a massive challenge. They will remain in the top four but trophies will become more difficult to collect in the future.

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Most football fans assumed that Aston Villa would become a stronger team when Martin O’Neill took charge of the club in August 2006. His track record spoke for itself and his motivational skills seemed a perfect tonic for this depressed Midlands giant. In short, he was exactly what Villa needed.

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While Aston Villa are the masters of scoring from dead ball situations, Liverpool are the worst at defending them. 14 of the 20 goals conceded by Rafa Benítez’s side have derived from set-piece situations, a defensive problem that has been a recurrent worry through the season and continued at Bolton on Sunday where the visitors were lucky to concede only one. Inter Milan have taken note.

2. Aston Villa’s late goal syndrome

Martin O’Neill’s men have been active in the final few minutes of games at both ends throughout the season, though the six goals Villa have conceded in the final five minutes of their last eight matches suggests concentration is an issue. It has cost them five points and reduced their positive goal difference by five. Avoiding those lapses in defence would have seen Aston Villa in equal fourth, just two goals behind Everton on goal difference. In the whole campaign, Villa have netted seven times in the last five minutes (and on nine occasions inside the last six) and conceded a total of nine. Net cost of those 18 goals? -1 point.

3. Another goals crisis in France

It was the same situation last season, and Ligue 1 is again attracting negative headlines for its lack of entertainment. Just 13 goals were scored in the weekend’s 10 matches, and nine of those came in three games - meaning four 0-0s and two 1-0s. The lack of predatory strikers in the league is critical and its saleability is taking a knock accordingly. Vivendi’s Canal Plus and France Telecom’s Orange have recently retained the rights for the broadcast of Ligue 1, paying a massive 668 million euros a year but, crucially, Vivendi will pay 460 million euros per annum, less than the 600 million euros it has paid since 2005 and the overall value of the deal has fallen substantially. The league shan’t have much of a future on foreign television networks either at this rate.

4. Benzema; Rooney, but better

The ever-useful Opta has delivered a Champions League comparison between Wayne Rooney and his Lyon counterpart Karim Benzema (the latest and freshest new Zidane), and all the indicators point to a superstar in the making. Benzema has netted four goals to Rooney’s three (at 126.3 minutes per strike; 166.3 for Rooney), enjoys superior shooting accuracy, chance conversion, pass completion and dribble completion - and is only 20 years of age. His goal at the Stade Gerland against United, however, is the greatest evidence that the Frenchman will soon be lighting up one of the peninsula’s major clubs.

5. Mind the referee, Juve

Prior to Sunday’s defeat against Fiorentina, Juventus had blamed their three other losses this season wholly on the referee. Valid claims or otherwise, the hypocrisy of their arguments was highly amusing considering the bianconeri’s role in the Calciopoli scandal. Even more satisfying was, after the manner in which they reacted to defeat at Reggina last weekend, the lack of focus coach Claudio Ranieri and his players have demonstrated in their subsequent two matches - a home draw with mid-table Torino and then defeat to La Viola. As scientific studies have previously revealed, players waste substantial mental energy complaining to the referee and Juventus are the case in point as now they face a struggle just to finish inside the top four.

In fact, one of the league’s main attractions is the frenzied pace and nature of any given top-flight game. That’s why clubs look for pacey players to go at speed past ageing defenders - and not many are faster than England duo Gabriel Agbonlahor and Aaron Lennon.

The Aston Villa forward has been in terrific form and earned a first England call-up accordingly while Tottenham’s attacking midfielder has found his best form again and has been the inspiration behind the Juande Ramos revolution at White Hart Lane with Spurs reaching the Carling Cup final and Lennon expected to star at Wembley against Chelsea.

Yet which of the pair can claim to be the quickest? Nike are working on the new
Mercurial Vapor IV boot and created a test to find out just how fast the fastest players in the Premier League really are.

Working with top coaches they set up a challenge to test who was the fastest to the ball and who was the fastest with the ball. This way we wanted to get a better test of a player’s real ‘football speed’ rather than a simple sprinting contest. So they organised for two of England’s fastest players to take part in the timed challenge. The results certainly prove interesting, not just settling the debate on which player is fastest, but also giving us an insight into their speed and technique.

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But this season one of the intriguing of battles is shaping up as the dominance of the media-styled “Big Four” is once again threatened by a cluster of “second tier” clubs, with Manchester City, Everton and Aston Villa at the head of the queue. Lord only knows what Shankly would make of his old side playing for the final “also-ran” slot in the table.

It shouldn’t be like this of course, Fernando Torres’ arrival was supposed to have been enough to give Liverpool the potency to launch a genuine title challenge, after well over ten years of threatening as much. But turmoil on and off the pitch over the last few months has seen Rafa Benitez’s side slip well behind the top three in the title race, and they now sit slap bang in the middle of a dogfight for that final Champions League qualifying spot, two points behind their Merseyside neighbours Everton (albeit with a game in hand).

Benitez’s side have not won in the Premier League since a late win over Derby on Boxing Day, and have been forced to watch the gap to first widen, and the gap to fifth evaporate. They have the best squad of the European challengers of course, but their home form - just four wins from eleven games - is a worry, and with captain Steven Gerrard admitting that an off-the-field situation that is still a long way from being resolved is affecting the players, and away games at Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester Utd all to come, it could get worse before it gets better at Anfield.

Now, if Everton’s appearance in the Champions League race is not too much of a surprise - after all, they did manage to usurp their Red rivals for fourth place in 2005 - the sight of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s hastily-assembled Manchester City side and Martin O’Neill’s perennially under-achieving Villa team challenging for a place at Europe’s top table will raise more than a few eyebrows.

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Since the completion of the takeover from Doug Ellis in August 2006, it is clear that Lerner’s motivations for the purchase of Aston Villa were not money. Ellis, despite his shortcomings, did a good job in appointing Marin O’Neill as manager and his insistence on selling the club to the right man. Many potential investors viewed Aston Villa as a potential cash cow with valuable land and upcoming television revenue coming as part of the takeover deal. However, it was clear from the offset that plundering the club for assets has never been on Lerner’s agenda. Not only has Lerner backed Aston Villa financially, he has overseen many necessary changes in the club’s infrastructure, winning the fans over in the process.

Completing the rebuilding of the outdated Bodymoor Heath training ground and transforming it into a state of the art facility was first on the agenda. Since this was completed, he has paid for fans to be bussed to the Chelsea away game last season, the renovation of the historic Holte Pub, and the appointment of General Charles Krulak as a fans consultant. His re-branding of the club has led to a lucrative deal with Nike and no doubt his contacts can also seal a lucrative main sponsorship deal when the current one runs out.

His crowning glory thus far, however, came during the last home game of the 2006/07 season against Sheffield United, where he honoured the heroes of Aston Villa’s historic 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam in 1982, parading the players and the European Cup on the pitch before the game to a rapturous reception.

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With so many foreign players being exhibited each week in the Premier League, it was refreshing to see Aston Villa, a historic club with strong traditions, field a side containing eight English players this week.

Whilst building the defence around experience of Laursen, Mellberg and Bouma, Villa were able to field a side against West Ham on Saturday with a core of English talent. This is mainly due to the traditions and beliefs of their current manager Martin O’Neill. O’Neill has been touted as a future England manager, and it was widely thought that he would succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson after last year’s disappointing World Cup in Germany.

England’s loss has been Aston Villa’s gain. Thought of as a sleeping giant, the Midlands club have made a steady start to their new association with O’Neill and the signs are looking good for the future. Despite bringing in some experienced journeyman immediately after O’Neill took charge at Villa Park, this was seen as only a temporary fix until he was able to assess the requirements of the club. Players have come and gone in the first year of his tenure and the present squad boasts an array of fine English talent.

“It is refreshing to see a club like Aston Villa invest in some of the best talent that England has to offer”

Although current market forces have made O’Neill arguably pay over the odds for certain individuals - captain Nigel Reo-Coker cost the club £8.5million and Curtis Davies could cost the club £9million if his current loan deal is made permanent next season - the £8million paid for Ashley Young looks like a shrewd piece of business with the exciting youngster starting the season in exceptional form and, as a consequence, he is surely close to a full England cap.

The Aston Villa manager has also been able to blood exciting academy players Luke Moore and Gabriel Agbonlahor into the first team with great success, whilst it has been goals from Craig Gardner that has secured the points for the Villans in their last two league outings.

The question of Aston Villa’s possible challenge to the monopoly of the top four remains in doubt for this season although it is clear that the inspirational Irishman is looking to build a team capable of challenging in the future. O’Neill’s side will undoubtedly have a core of English players for the foreseeable future and it is of no coincidence that Gareth Barry looks like becoming an England regular under his stewardship. On-loan goalkeeper Scott Carson, who performed well in last summer’s under-21 European Championships, may also be seeking a permanent contract at the club if discussions over his future with Liverpool continue to falter come the end of the season. Paul Robinson’s recent misdemeanours for club and country could even open the door for Carson to become England’s number one for next summer’s European Championships, should they qualify.

Much has been made of the dearth of home grown talent coming through the academies at Premier League clubs and graduating into the first team. With international investment at an all time high in the Premier League, clubs are able to attract the best young players from all over the world with extensive, well-paid contracts at the expense of young English players. It is refreshing to see a club like Aston Villa invest in some of the best talent that England has to offer, as well as developing the skills of academy players.

With the American investment of Randy Learner behind him, O’Neill will be determined to prove the doubters of the quality of young English players wrong and move Aston Villa forward. They could be at the start of an exciting chapter in the club’s history.

Will Villa benefit from picking English ahead of foreign players? Share your views by leaving a comment below.

Liverpool and Arsenal lead the table after victories against Derby and Portsmouth respectively, the Reds hammering Billy Davies’ Rams side 6-0 with Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso scoring twice apiece as Liverpool indicated for the first time in a long, long time that they will sustain a challenge for the league. Arsenal recorded their most convincing victory of the campaign, 3-1 winners against Portsmouth, and despite the lack of transfer activity and departure of Henry, Arsène Wenger’s side also appear ready to contest for the title. While Liverpool and Arsenal have ten points after four matches, Chelsea stayed on that number following their fifth game and first defeat of the season. They fell to a 2-0 defeat against an impressive Aston Villa side with Zat Knight doing more than he did in eight years at Fulham by scoring the opener and keeping a clean sheet.

Everton also lie on ten points after Joleon Lescott netted in the 90th minute to give David Moyes’ outfit a 2-1 victory at struggling Bolton, who now reside in 19th position. The most exciting game of the weekend came from Craven Cottage as Tottenham threw away a 3-1 lead with 12 minutes remaining to draw against Fulham, Diomansy Kamara netting a brilliant overhead kick in the final minute to ensure the points were shared, although the visitors dominated throughout. Martin Jol’s position as coach has become even more precarious. Manchester United beat Sunderland by a single goal from Louis Saha as they continued to flounder in front of goal, and there were wins for Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham too. Reading, after losing 3-0 at home to the Hammers, lie in the relegation zone and second season syndrome is hitting them hard.

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