Season Predictions: End of Season review

The football season is over for another year, but back in August the iThinkUnited season predictions were published on the blog. In January the blog underwent a mid-season revision of those predictions. Now at the end of the season, here is a review of how those predictions matched up to reality:

Cup Winners

COMMUNITY SHIELD:

August prediction: Manchester City

Mid-season prediction: N/A

Reality: Won by Manchester City

City did indeed win the community shield over ten-man Chelsea as a show of intent for the coming season.

CAPITAL ONE CUP:

August prediction: Manchester United

Mid-season prediction: Chelsea

Reality: Won by Swansea City

United unluckily fell to Chelsea in the fourth round, who themselves were knocked out by Swansea in the semi-final, with the Welsh team going on to claim the crown.

FA CUP:

August prediction: Liverpool

Mid-season prediction: Liverpool

Reality: Won by Wigan Athletic

A foolish bet on Liverpool was proved wrong as Wigan Athletic were the surprise winners.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

August prediction: Real Madrid

Mid-season prediction: Real Madrid

Reality: Won by Bayern Munich

Even Jose Mourinho still can’t weave his magic for Madrid in Europe. Madrid were knocked out by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals, who succumbed to the impressive Bayern Munich in the final.

Premier League

CHAMPIONS:

August prediction: Manchester United

Mid-season prediction: Manchester United

Reality: Won by Manchester United

United’s unassailable points lead at the top of the table made this one of the dominant title wins.

TOP FOUR:

August prediction: 2-City, 3-Arsenal, 4-Chelsea

Mid-season prediction: 2-City, 3-Arsenal, 4-Chelsea

Reality: 2-City , 3-Chelsea , 4-Arsenal

Just a couple of points away from reality in the prediction. Nevertheless, the predicted top four did become reality.

RELEGATED:
August prediction: Southampton, Aston Villa, Reading

Mid-season prediction: Southampton, QPR, Reading

Reality: QPR, Reading, Wigan

Wigan almost looked like pulling off the great escape, but in the end were dragged down along with QPR and Reading.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

August prediction: Nani

Mid-season prediction: Gareth Bale

Reality: Gareth Bale

Whilst you can’t doubt Nani had the potential to be player of the season, he couldn’t have been further from the award by May. By far the worst prediction of the lot, Nani has had a torrid season. Gareth Bale’s enormous impact on Tottenham secured him the award ahead of Robin Van Persie and Juan Mata.

TOP SCORER:

August prediction: Wayne Rooney

Mid-season prediction: Robin van Persie

Reality: Robin van Persie

A late suspension for Luis Suarez meant Van Persie could go on with ease to become the season’s top scorer for the second year in a row.

Other Predictions

BEST SIGNING:

August prediction: Eden Hazard

Mid-season prediction: Michu

Reality: Robin van Persie

Hazard, Michu and Van Persie have all been fantastic signings, as have the likes of Moussa Dembele for Tottenham and Santi Cazorla for Arsenal. Van Persie’s impact on United’s title win just edges him to victory in this category however.

SURPRISE TEAM:

August prediction: Fulham

Mid-season prediction: Fulham

Reality: West Ham United

To call Fulham the real surprise team of the year would be wrong. A poor finish to the season leaves some big questions at Craven Cottage. The ‘surprise team’ section was meant in a positive sense, and therefore the impressive final positioning of recently promoted West Ham United just about wins them the award.

FLOP TEAM:

August prediction: Newcastle United

Mid-season prediction: Newcastle United

Reality: Newcastle United

Never looking near their 5^th place finish of last season, Newcastle have certainly flopped, and been lucky to narrowly avoid relegation.

Results

Original Predictions: 3/12

Mid-season review: 4/11 (minus the community shield)