Tom's Season Highlights

Easy now rudebois, it's apparently now my turn to take you throw my favourite parts of the wonderful season we've had. I apologise for the lateness, I've been ill, poor me.

Game of the season:

Tottenham 3-3 Arsenal

I wanted to disagree with Dan, I really did, just to make things a little bit more interesting. I tried to convince myself that the Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal was better, or that Man Utd and Everton's draw was more worthy, but alas I could not. The first North London Derby of the season may have had a more enjoyable result for us Spurs fans, but the second was just sensational from start to finish. Great goals, midfield displays as good as any all season and, in a game that meant everything, not a single player on either team could be accused of not giving it their all. Football at its best.

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Goal of the season:

Mark Davies v Blackpool (skip 2 mins into the video)

Many have been quick to hand this award to the Rooney overhead kick. I have three main problems with this. Firstly it came from a bad cross, secondly it came off his shin and thirdly it's Wayne Rooney and I don't like Wayne Rooney. If it was merely the spectacular I was looking for here I would have picked Gareth Bale's volley against Stoke, at least as hard to execute as Rooney's and for my money more aesthetically pleasing. Instead I savour the team goals and have chosen one which at first glance one would assume had been scored by Barcelona, not Bolton. Stylish, slick, samba football - it's just like watching Brazil.

Djibril Cissé Award for Worst Hair:

Benoît Pierre David Assou-Ekotto

There were a few contenders this year. Aaron Lennon's refusal to grow up and take those silly  lines out of his hair and eyebrows makes him a key contender. Joey Barton's Hitler 'Tache & Side Parting combo was just as tragic. In the end it was a straight race between two North London rivals but Alex 'I dyed my hair so my son could tell who I was on the TV' Song narrowly lost out to everyone's favourite pineapple-haired defender.

Signing of the Season:

Cheick Ismael Tioté

Hernandez and Odemwingie may have scored key goals for their respective teams. Van der Vaart may have saved the blushes of Tottenham's faltering strikeforce. But Newcastle, in their first season back in the Premier League, never looked liked going down and for my money there is one man who can take the credit for this. You can point to Carroll, Nolan and Barton but without Tioté they would have no platform on which to play. He epitomises Newcastle's stability this year, oh and he scores 35-yard screaming volleys.

Flop of the Season:

Joe Cole

I won't spend much time here. I don't like him as a player, I never have done. I was delighted when I discovered he had chosen Liverpool over Spurs. Merely a playground trickster who brings little to nothing to a team, and this year finally got shown up for being just that.

Player of the Season:

Luka Modric

An honourable mention for Vidic, a rock for Man Utd even when they looked poor, but for me there is only one man who deserves this title. You can label me biased if you please but anyone who truly understands football will know that the little Croatian is the best player to grace the premier league in a long time. He can completely dictate a match, has strength one would not expect and just makes the game seem beautiful again. Some may point to his stats - three goals and three assists in the league - but they do not even begin to tell the story of this man. In fact Xavi has the same amount of goals and only seven assists in La Liga this season, and that is who Modric is - he is the Xavi of the Premier Leage, no exaggeration. He may not have the last pass before a goal but he is in some way responsible for most goal-scoring opportunities that come Spurs' way. After Barca won The Champions League a discussion amongst many well-respected football writers ended with the conclusion that Modric is the only central midfielder in the world who could play for Barcelona and not make them worse, high praise indeed. One of the best players I have ever seen and a worthy winner for me this year.