A season of surprises
It has been another sensational season in the Barclay's Premier League so far - with only Sunday's final fixtures remaining - and once again there have been players and teams that have surprised me.
Stilian Petrov - Aston Villa's Bulgarian midfielder - has surprised me greatly. Not only proving he can perform in a competitive league (his previous clubs being Celtic of the SPL and CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria) but perform to a standard that almost drove Villa into a Champions League place - only to miss out to Arsenal due to a lack of squad depth.
I am delighted for Martin O'Neill that his signing has come to fruition following two innocuous seasons. It was the signing of Petrov along with Shaun Maloney - both coming from O'Neill's former club Celtic - that left me questioning his ability in the transfer market, however, with one in the form of his life and the other shipped back from whence he came, my view has changed.
Another surprise has been just how good Stephen Ireland has become. He clearly isn't the brightest of lads and has done some strange things - claiming his grandmother had died in order to avoid playing an international fixture for the Republic of Ireland being one example.
Ireland's performances throughout the season have been sublime. He has the potential to become World-class and will surely be Man City's talisman during their money-fuelled quest for greatness.
Other players deserved of a mention are 17-year-old Federico Macheda - bursting on to the scene with his curling debut winner for Man Utd against Aston Villa that put United firmly on top of the table - and Brede Hangeland - a towering, rock-solid centre-half and cornerstone of Fulham's success this season.
Hull City surprised everyone during the first half of the season - notably beating Arsenal at the Emirates - only for that state of surprise to turn into shock following Hull boss Phil "who wants an interview?" Brown forcing his side to face a humiliating tirade of abuse on the pitch after their poor first-half performance against Man City (gifting them a 4-0 lead). All this for a team well above their station at sixth in the Premier League table - results since that game leaving them one point off the drop-zone.
Fulham have been my surprise team of the season - playing attractive, free-flowing football throughout.
Opinions were few and far between when Roy Hodgson was appointed Fulham boss (often replaced with a casual shrug) but he has installed a great footballing philosophy at the club - bringing the best out of Danny Murphy, who had hidden his talent like a Greek soldier in a horse during his spells at Charlton and Tottenham.
Hodgson miraculously saved the club from the depths of relegation despair on the final day of last season - Fulham winning four of their last five games - and brought them to the brink of European football this season. A great achievement for a great bloke.
