Premier League Review: Bottom 5

QPR - 20th (30 points)

QPR have never had much luck when it comes to England's top flight of football. They looked like a team ready for the top following their play-off win at the end of the previous season though.

They didn't get off to a winning start, but it didn't take them too long to get their first points on the board with their win against Sunderland. Their home form was good and they earned some good results there including a 2-2 draw against Manchester City.

The Christmas period wasn't exactly great for the team as they didn't pick up a single win. They didn't stop scoring goals though, mostly due to the brilliant form that Charlie Austin was in. He was in fine form throughout the season, and it was arguably him that kept the hopes of their Premier League survival alive.

In February, Harry Redknapp left the club due to health issues and was replaced by Chris Ramsey who greatly improved the team's terrible away form, at the cost of their home form it seemed. After a win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in early February, they went on a losing streak which ended in style with a big win against West Brom.

Consistency was a problem for QPR in the second half of the season which proved to be costly in their downfall, but if they can keep their key players over the summer, they'll have a solid foundation behind them as they try and fight their way back up.

Burnley - 19th (33 points)

Being one of the newly promoted teams, Burnley were predicted to be relegated almost instantly. Going into their first game against Chelsea, the team that many predicted would win the Premier League this season, people just didn't give them any chance. Even though they lost the game, the fact that they had scored the opening goal meant that fans saw that they could be a threat to their opposition. Sean Dyche's team worked hard on the pitch and it saw them get their rewards. At the end of August, Burnley held Manchester United to a goalless draw at Turf Moor and things really began to look up for them going into the international break.

Only, things didn't exactly go as expected. Following the draw with United, they went on a dismal run of eleven games without a win. A big problem for Burnley was the one in front of goal. They were without one half of the strike partnership that lifted them up the Championship table last season and it really showed.

Then in early November, they turned it around. At Turf Moor, they battled to a 1-0 victory against Hull City which gave them a lift. In the run-up to Christmas, Burnley managed to rack up some good results, and got Danny Ings back on top form in front of goal which gave them a big boost going into the New Year. These results included a brilliant comeback to earn a draw against Manchester City and a hard fought win against Southampton.

However, following this good run of form they just couldn't establish any consistency. Dyche stood by his team throughout, but they just didn't show up in a lot of games which caused them to drop many needless points. They regularly fell short in front of goal, and they finished off the campaign as they League's lowest scorers. Every so often, they managed to give their supporters some morale boosting wins over Manchester City and Hull City towards the very end of the season.

Despite that win over Hull in May, the results elsewhere during that weekend caused their relegation fate to be confirmed. Overall, it was a mixed season for Burnley, but with enough bright sparks to give them optimism when looking forward to the next season.

Hull City - 18th (35 points)

Many people had high hopes for Hull's season after their last one. They recorded one of their best points tallies and were narrowly beat in the FA Cup final by Arsenal; so they definitely showed a lot of promise. Steve Bruce also brought in some big names to the club that looked like they would help the team further improve on the season before.

This didn't go to plan though. Their record signing Abel Hernandez didn't police up to expectation in front of goal, Robert Snodgrass and Mo Diame suffered serious injuries that kept them out for big parts of the season and Jake Livermore tested positive for cocaine towards the end of the campaign. Loan signings Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaston Ramirez also didn't make the impact that Steve Bruce had hoped for.

Hull did get through their first Europa League qualifier in August but didn't make it to the group stages after falling just short. They started the season with a terrible run of only one win in 16 games. Although the team was playing well, they kept dropping needless points in games they possibly could have won. Due to this run of games, by Christmas they sat in the relegation places.

They did pick up two good wins over the Christmas period against Stoke and Everton though. However, just like Burnley, they couldn't find any consistency which let them down in the second half of the season. They did get a good result against Manchester City, a game they could have won if not for a last minute goal and they almost earned a draw against Chelsea if not for another late goal in that match. 

Against the big teams, Hull had a knack for putting in a big performance, but at the end of the season, this didn't happen. They suffered consecutive defeats to Arsenal, Burnley and Spurs in May which left them needing a win against Manchester United on the final day of the campaign. Their goalless draw, coupled with Newcastle's win, just wasn't enough to save them. 

Aston Villa - 17th (38 points)

Like many previous seasons, this one brought on a fresh relegation battle for Villa. Paul Lambert didn't get his team into a rhythm at the beginning of the season as he only racked up a few wins, including ones against Stoke, Hull and Liverpool. It didn't go too well though and in February, the club were still seeking a new manager.

Aston Villa was another team that didn't enjoy the Christmas period as they struggled to pick up three points overall, never mind in just one game. One thing that did prove to be a highlight in their season though was the FA Cup. 

Another bright spark in Villa's season was Tim Sherwood. Many of the fans didn't see him as their ideal replacement for Lambert, but they soon changed their minds. Within five days, he had led the team to two consecutive victories over rivals West Brom and that was only the start. 

Towards the latter end of the season, Sherwood led his team to victories against both Sunderland and Spurs which started moving Villa away from the danger of relegation and had the fans dreaming of a Wembley finish to the season as well as they progressed further in the competition. 

Their form remained consistent unlike the teams below them, but when those teams did find form, Sherwood's team kept their cool by picking up important points, including those from wins against West Ham and Everton.

One of their best results of the season came at Wembley when they faced Liverpool in the semi-final and knocked them out to the surprise of many people. Even though Christian Benteke had returned to form, the results after that went downhill, including a heavy 6-1 defeat to Southampton.

Although Villa were pulled back into the relegation battle towards the end, their survival was confirmed before the final day. Their form at the end of the campaign took its toll though and the crushing defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup final was one of the only downsides to the Sherwood reign.

Sunderland - 16th (38 points)
Gus Poyet came up with some magic at the end of last season to keep Sunderland in the Premier League. Even though they went the first six games without a win, they did earn 5 draws, including ones against Manchester United and Spurs, which suggested they were in for a better season than before. They did follow this with a win against Stoke to give them a further boost.

However, they couldn't follow this up. Humiliation followed in the shape of an 8-0 loss away to Southampton. They rallied back in terms of performance, but couldn't put together one that would win them the three points until their game against Crystal Palace. The one thing lacking from their season was consistency and Poyet just couldn't stabilise this. 

The best result during Poyet's tenure was the last gasp win against Newcastle through Adam Johnson's last minute goal. They weren't close to the drop at this point, but things soon took a turn for the worse. In the next 12 games, they only managed one win, which was against Burnley, and they were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Bradford. 

Poyet's last match in charge ended in a 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa. All of the goals were scored in the first half which sparked a mass exodus from the stadium. The club acted quickly in finding his replacement and installed Dick Advocaat when they were just one point above the relegation places.

His reign started with a defeat, but just like Poyet he gave the fans hope through a derby win. Although, again, just like Poyet, the game after that ended in a loss, so it looked as if Sunderland might be dragged into a last day relegation battle. This didn't happen though, as Advocaat turned things around and went on a five-game undefeated run which meant their survival was confirmed with one match to spare.

MATCH REPORT: Slovenia vs England [Euro16 Qualifier]

After last weekend's dull draw against the Republic of Ireland for England, Roy Hodgson would be expecting a lot more from his team in a game which has more at stake. England are currently 6 points clear of their opponents at the top of their group and inch closer to qualification if they win this game today. However, it wasn't going to be an easy game, as Slovenia have a lot more to play for in their bid to gain the second automatic qualification spot. England can go into the game with confidence though, as they remain unbeaten in their qualifiers and knowing that they did beat Slovenia 3-1 the last time that the two teams faced each other.

England started the game fast and kept a lot of possession in the opening minutes of the game. Within five minutes, Wayne Rooney had picked up the ball in a dangerous position up the field, and managed to play it forward before the defender took him down. His pass still managed to find Raheem Sterling who could only side foot the ball over the crossbar from a very close range. Not even two minutes later, Slovenia also proved what they could do. From a corner, Milivoje Novakovic made a good run to get in front of Phil Jones and he flicked his headed shot towards goal that only went wide because of a deflection off Jones which the referee didn't spot meaning Slovenia didn't get a second corner.

England were dominant in the first half in terms of possession and they did well to keep Slovenia off the ball, and they created a few chances for themselves. Rooney slipped in Sterling again, but this time they were further away from goal which allowed him to run at the defenders. He did well to get through the crowd and his shot at the end took a nick off the opposition player to take it just wide of the post. On the 22nd minute, Fabian Delph is allowed time and space with the ball and he plays the ball forward to Rooney. The captain took the shot with his left foot and directed it low towards the bottom far corner of the goal. The keeper got a good hand to it to tip the ball past his far post and out of play. 

After this, England lost their foothold in the game. Slovenia won a free kick before the half hour mark near the halfway line. The ball was put into a good area of the box and Branko Ilic moved away from the crowd after brushing off the two England defenders around him and glanced the ball towards goal with his head. Joe Hart was already in a good position though, and he calmly collected the ball. 

Unlike England, when Slovenia gained confidence in the game, they took the chances that they were presented with. From a throw near the corner flag in the half of the pitch that England were attacking, Jones gave the ball straight to a Slovenian player. When Josip Ilicic got the ball, he ran at the England defenders who had clearly been caught out by this, and put a great ball forward to Novakovic. He pulled away from the England defence who were holding a very high line and were calling for offside. He wasn't though, and carried on forward leaving him in a one-on-one situation with Hart, who had come off his line early and was committed to closing the player down. The keeper tried to spread himself, but Novakovic read the situation well and sent his shot low across the ground into the bottom far corner of the net. 

This goal was the first one that England had conceded from an opposition player in their qualifying campaign and for all the chances and possession they'd had in the first half, they just didn't make it count. However, if they wanted to carry on their unbeaten run, they needed to change their mentality towards this game. At the beginning of the second half, England came out full of energy once again and were pressing the ball when they didn't have it, but they just couldn't get close enough to the Slovenian goal to create any clear cut chances. Slovenia were doing extremely well to make sure the England players didn't get any space around their goal. 

However, on the hour mark, one of their players stepped up and turned the game around. Jack Wilshere, who had been good throughout the game by winning back possession and pushing the team forward, found himself in a position to change the game for his side. Ilicic gave the ball away to Sterling in his own half, who quickly passed it onto Adam Lallana, who had replaced Jones at half time. The defenders closed him down quickly and managed to crowd him out and clear the ball. The clearance was poor though and it landed at the feet of Wilshere, on the edge of the box, he hit the shot sweetly and it swerved up, and even though the keeper got his hand to the ball, he had no chance of stopping it from nestling into the top corner.

Suddenly, it was all England again. Sterling created another chance straight after the goal, this time for Rooney. From a close range, he turned the ball over the crossbar. Moments later, Rooney was set up with another opportunity that looked just as simple as the last one, but it just didn't look like it was going to be his day in front of goal as this time he turned the ball wide of the target. Andros Townsend also had a chance in the 70th minute. Using a move that he is known for, he shifted the ball from his right foot to his left and from outside the box he took on the shot, sending the ball just wide of the near post. 

The big talking point of the last 15 minutes in the match? Goals. Wilshere stepped up to the plate again after brilliant build up play by England. It started from a defensive position where Townsend flicked the ball onto Jordan Henderson who was allowed to make a run down the right wing due to the Slovenian players being drawn towards Townsend. He crossed the ball across to Lallana early, who deftly flicked the ball behind him onto Wilshere. He shifted the ball onto his left foot and fired it directly over the keeper and let it nestle in the same top corner as his last goal. 

Slovenia weren't ready to give up yet. England seemed to sit back a little after the second goal, which allowed them to push forward one again. None of the England players went to close down the player as they put the ball into the box. Kieran Gibbs was also at fault as he didn't try and challenge Nejc Pecnik for the ball in the air, so the midfielder was allowed to get a good leap and head to the ball before he powered it past Hart in the goal. 

It wasn't over yet though. Henderson tried to play his original pass forward to Theo Walcott, but the defender cleared it. Rooney latched onto the clearance easily though and he kept running at the keeper, and calmly slots the ball into the far bottom corner of the net when the keeper stepped off his line. He had had a terrible day in front of goal, but he managed to round off his performance with a goal that took him within one of levelling Bobby Charlton's record. This was the final blow for Slovenia, and the goal was scored so close to full time that they didn't have enough time to try and push forward for another equaliser.

This leaves England just one win from winning their group. As their next game is against San Marino, a game they are expected to win, it is likely that they will be crowned winners of the group with three games still left to play. Slovenia started the afternoon in second, but due to Switzerland's win later in the evening, the dropped into third place, which leaves them with a lot of work still to go before qualifying for the competition. This result for England also confirmed a whole season of going unbeaten, which no England team has done since the 1990/91 season, and it is a record that they hope sends out a message to their future opponents at the competition.

MATCH REPORT: Champions League Final

This is the night that truly rounds off the football season. There have been many ups and downs for a lot of teams in the competition, but I'm sure many people would agree the best two throughout the competition got what they deserved by getting to Berlin. In their journey to get here, Barcelona have beaten the English champions, the French champions and the German champions on their run to the final and were now faced with the Italian champions. Juventus may the underdogs in the game, but it is worth remembering that they beat Real Madrid over the two legs of the semi-final to be in Berlin so they could prove to be good competition for Barca. Also, both teams have the dream of the treble on their minds, but only one can accomplish it. 

By the fourth minute, Barcelona proved why they were the force to be reckoned with throughout the season, on their first challenge as they moved forward. It was a typical Barcelona goal as Neymar got the ball on the left side of the area and quickly laid it off to Andres Iniesta. As he was being closed down by the defenders around him, he made an even quicker lay off to Ivan Rakitic who took his goal so calmly and made it look extremely easy as he converted it. Gianluigi Buffon had absolutely no chance of getting to the ball as he was left scrambling across his line due to misjudging what Iniesta was going to do. 

This didn't dim the Juventus spirit in any way. Not even 5 minutes after the Barcelona goal, Alvaro Morata made a lung bursting run down the wing, and Javier Mascherano couldn't keep up with him, which allowed Morata to put a good ball into the box. He found Arturo Vidal, who leaned back as he took the shot which caused the ball to fly high over the crossbar, but it was still an attempt from Juve and it also proved to Barca that they were still ready to give them a good competition. 

Up at the other end of the field, Lionel Messi was performing his usual magic and he made a really clever diagonal pass across to Neymar who was ready to make a run from the edge of the six yard box. As he tried to bring the ball down closer to the goal, he slipped which caused him to lose sight of the ball, meaning that the chance went to waste. Buffon was also called into action once again and made a brilliant reflex save with his arm to prevent Barca from doubling their lead. The save that he made didn't go off the pitch, but the defenders cleared their lines before Barca had another chance to put the ball into the box. 

Both teams had a few half chances following this, but most of them resulted in the box flying high over the crossbar, or just not causing the keepers any problems at all. Just before half time, Barca game forward with a lot more threat and looked like they could find the second breakthrough of the match. First chance came after Luis Suarez turned his defender and was allowed to run with the ball, and he took on the low diagonal shot to the far corner of the goal, but the ball was just inches wide of the post. One minute later, a pass to Neymar was cut out as the defender blocked off the player, but he could only deflect the ball into the path of Suarez who curled the ball upward, which caused Buffon to get his hand up well and tip the ball over the crossbar. The third chance just before half time was created after a Buffon mistake. The goalkeeper tried to pass the ball out to his left back, but it was extremely poor, and Neymar quickly intercepted it. His final ball into the box was too high and it skimmed across the head of Suarez, meaning the gifted opportunity went to waste. 

The second half began in the same way that the first one had ended; Barcelona were pressing forward and creating good chances for themselves. Juve even managed to play a part in what could have been their own downfall. From a Juve corner early in the half, Suarez cleared the ball to Neymar, who nodded it onto Rakitic. He led the counter attack which looked promising for Barca as they were left with five of their players against two. As they neared the box, Rakitic touched the ball into the path of Suarez who was on his left, and he tried to curl it into the back of the net using his right foot. Buffon got across well though to turn the ball behind for a corner. Then two minutes later, Barca put on a show with some beautiful build up play. Messi was allowed to play a one-two off both Neymar and Suarez before he took the shot, which was just off target. In truth, the build-up really deserved a goal. 

On the 55th minute, Barca were made to rue the chances they had missed both at the end of the first half and at the beginning of this one. Juve built up the pressure on the Barca goal and the first big chance fell to Carlos Tevez who took his shot on the turn, but Marc Andre ter Stegen got down well to turn the ball away from the net. However, he couldn't get the ball out of the danger area and it landed at the feet of Morata, who was left with practically an empty goal to aim at as ter Stegen scrambled back across his line. Morata calmly turned the ball into the back of the net to level the score line. 

This goal left all of the momentum with Juve and they certainly looked the more dangerous when they reached the final third. The chances they created weren't clear cut ones, but they were putting more pressure onto the opposition goal than Barca were. Just like Barca earlier in the second half, Juve would come to regret the chance they didn't take. Messi made a run from the halfway line and gets away from each one of the defenders that close him down. When he reached the outside of the box, he took on the shot, which Buffon saves, but the ball is deflected into the path of Suarez who calmly turns the ball into the back of the net and gives the keeper no chance of stopping it. 

Barcelona have the ball in the back of the net again moments later, but this one is disallowed. Jordi Alba turned and chipped his cross towards Neymar in the centre of the box. Neymar headed the ball down into the ground, but as it goes down, the ball none deliberately hit his hand, which was close to his body, and bobbled past Buffon and over the line. The Juventus players immediately swarmed the referee and the goal was disallowed quickly. In real time, it is possible that the faint glance that it took off Neymar's head wasn't seen by the officials, but even if they did, it didn't make an effect on their decision. 

As the second half came to a close, Juve suddenly regained their momentum and were pushing towards the Barca goal again, knowing they needed an equaliser to take the game to extra time. Claudio Marchisio had a chance from outside of the box, which he directed on target, but ter Stegen took up a good position and was able to get down low to turn the ball past his near post. Tevez also had a chance to level the score, but he aimed his shot directly at ter Stegen who held onto the ball. If he had directed the ball either side of the keeper, it is possible that he could have taken Juve to extra time. 

In the last minute of added time in the game, Barca confirmed their victory and shattered the hearts of the many Juve supporters around the world. From a Juventus free kick, Gerard Pique cleared his lines with a great header which fell to Messi, who reacted very quickly to chip the ball past the defender who was skin tight to him. Neymar latched onto this pass and was left one on one with the defender before his team mates arrived in support. After a few cute passes between the Barcelona attacking line, the ball was back at Neymar's feet and he directed his low diagonal shot into the bottom far corner of the net, giving Buffon no chance of saving it. 

So Barcelona confirmed their treble trophy win with the last kick of the game in Berlin. It is also worth remembering that Xavi ended his season in style as he leaves Barcelona behind him, while it was the opposite feeling for Andrea Pirlo who could possibly have played his last game in a Juventus shirt. Both teams put on a show, and proved why only the best teams deserve to be in the Champions League final.