Let's look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of this last season and the people who defined this strange campaign
(Image credit: Getty)
The silent season is finally over - 760 games played in empty stadia, pretty much back to back, every day for nine long months - and Manchester City stand tall at the top of the tree.
But that doesn't quite tell the whole story. There were title bids from Aston Villa and Everton - admittedly, only in the first few weeks of the season before they fell away. There was a title decider between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, which wasn't even close to deciding the title. Arsenal nearly got relegated in November - except they didn't and were never going to.
The players who defined the first half of this bonkers near-year in the Prem slipped out of view for the second, as if those pesky five substitutions hadn't been outlawed after all. We've had the Super League to contend with. We've had postponed games. We've seen - for the first time ever - teams go 38 matches without playing a single one at Saturday 3pm.
But in this year in which you've probably watched more games than ever, it's quite possible that you've forgotten most of it. Allow our trusted writers to help us look back in anger, dismay and joy at the 2020/21 season in all its gory glory.
Chris Flanagan, Senior Staff Writer (@CFlanaganFFT): Kasper Schmeichel, Vladimir Coufal, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Luke Shaw, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Bruno Fernandes, Mo Salah, Harry Kane.
Mark White, Staff Writer (@markwhlte): Ederson; Joao Cancelo, Fabinho, Ruben Dias, Luke Shaw; Kevin De Bruyne, Declan Rice, Ilkay Gundogan; Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Jack Grealish.
Fabinho played most of the season in defence and Liverpool finished third - sorry, but I need to make that selection clear.
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Ed McCambridge, Staff Writer (@EdMcCambridge): Emi Martinez; Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Luke Shaw; Bruno Fernandes, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan; Mo Salah, Harry Kane, Jack Grealish
Player of the Season
(Image credit: PA)
Chris Flanagan: Ruben Dias
No single player had a bigger impact on the Premier League title race. Manchester City had been weak in central defence for some time and it may well have cost them the league again this year, before Dias signed from Benfica in September. Finally, they had the leader in defence to replace Vincent Kompany, and they've been rock solid ever since.
Mark White: Harry Kane
"What's the point, man," it looked like Harry Kane said, when Sergio Reguilon comically sliced the ball into his own net against Aston Villa. That's his season in a nutshell. No one has scored more goals and no one has assisted more than him - and he's managed by a 29-year-old. It seems bizarre to call the England captain underrated but for me, I don't see how he's not the unanimous choice for this gong.
Ed McCambridge: Harry Kane
None of this Ruben Dias lark, for me. Scoring and creating goals is gazillion times harder than defending (don’t even @ me) so I’m going for the man who did those things better than anyone.
Young Player of the Season
Phil Foden, stop that! Stop that right now! 🔥🔥🔥That is a magical individual goal! pic.twitter.com/QumfqACKg2May 18, 2021
Chris Flanagan: Phil Foden
This has been his real breakthrough season, and it was always a matter of when rather than if. His talent has always been very obvious, - ever since he helped England win the Under 17 World Cup, it's been clear that he could be the most important English player of his generation.
His performance at Anfield in February not only ended Liverpool's hopes of retaining the title, it showed he was now one of the very best players in the Premier League.
Mark White: Wesley Fofana
Obviously, it's Phil Foden but I really like Wesley Fofana, despite Ed's fury when it comes to awarding things to defenders. He wins everything in the air (Fofana, not Ed), he's a calm presence next to Soyuncu (who isn't?) and he's still just 20 years old. He's been superb this season.
Ed McCambridge: Phil Foden
The Stockport Iniesta has arguably had a bigger impact in the Champions League than domestic competitions but it’s been a breakout term for the England international. His false nine display against Liverpool in February showcased his intelligence, movement and eye for goal in all their breathtaking glory.
Manager of the Season
(Image credit: PA Images)
Chris Flanagan: David Moyes
People said he was finished at the top level not too long ago, but the way he has turned West Ham from relegation candidates to a team that has finished sixth in the Premier League has been highly impressive. Smart signings like Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal have been a big part of that.
Mark White: Marcelo Bielsa
The Premier League is cold and has no sentiment: no room for a Ravel Morrison renaissance, no mercy when it comes to Stevie Gerrard slipping 20 yards from his own goalmouth. It is exactly the kind of league that should chew up Marcelo Bielsa and spit him out, for onlookers to coo "fraud" from the sidelines.
And yet, Leeds beating West Brom on the final day of the season means that they've reached the highest goals tally of a promoted side since Ipswich Town in 2001. That's astounding. Viva Bielsa.
Ed McCambridge: Sam Allardyce
It doesn't say “Best Manager” anywhere so I am interpreting this to mean what I want it to. I’m choose Big Sam purely for him popping his feet up in the stands and guffawing during the final throes of West Brom’s 5-2 thrashing of Chelsea in April. It lacked tact, especially as West Brom were already heading for relegation, but that's never stopped the big man before.
Goal of the season
Football eh. 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥.Experience 5 minutes 33 seconds of unbridled joy with every angle of @Alissonbecker's goal... pic.twitter.com/QlgWJQ9QcAMay 16, 2021
Chris Flanagan: Alisson
Probably not aesthetically the absolute finest goal of the campaign, but who doesn't love a goalkeeper going up for a corner in the last minute, and then bagging the winner with a sensational header? Given everything that Alisson has been through this season with the shock death of his father, it was a really special moment to see him score that goal.
Ebere Eze scored this sensational solo goal as Crystal Palace eased to victory over Sheffield United today. Report and highlights: https://t.co/5NpfAOvwNHpic.twitter.com/glRiqLVotfJanuary 2, 2021
Mark White: Ebere Eze
There have been few things I've enjoyed more in the last nine months than kicking back and watching the Greenwich Garrincha strut his stuff. This was Eze at his dazzling best.
Not from the Premier League, but Erling Haaland’s scissor kick against Schalke in February's Revierderby was a sublime bit of skill. Volleying a ball back over your own shoulder in mid-flight takes Zlatan levels of skill and flexibility. The fact it was part of a 4-0 win against local rivals made it all the sweeter. Oh, for fans to have been there!
Funniest moment of the season, in association with Florentino Perez
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chris Flanagan: The collapse of the European Super League
Possibly the most farcical 48 hours in the modern history of football.
Mark White: Sergio Aguero
The second half of this season has essentially been a Sergio Aguero love-in, in which we lauded his genius and his unbelievable contribution to the English game. So it was particularly kind of King Kun to show he was human after all with the silliest missed panenka ever seen - yes, worse than Ademola Lookman's - as Man City bottled a chance to go 2-0 up against Chelsea earlier this month. You can almost see the moment in Aguero's eyes when he realises the bollocking he'll be getting from Pep.
Ed McCambridge: Mats Hummels
When Borussia Dortmund accidentally left the Germany defender in Cologne after a Bundesliga match in April. Nobody noticed he wasn’t on the bus until it was too late and he had to make his own way home. There’s a buddy system for a reason, guys!
Unsung hero of the season
(Image credit: PA Images)
Chris Flanagan: Roy Hodgson
Comfortably kept Crystal Palace out of relegation trouble yet again, before calling it a day at the end of the season. A very dignified man who has given so much to football over the years - Palace will face a real challenge to maintain their current position without him.
Mark White: both David Luiz and Granit Xhaka
As Mikel Arteta hammers and chisels out the deadwood from the hull of Arsenal's ever-sinking ship, it seems mad that David Luiz and Granit Xhaka have lasted as long as they have. But really, this is the season that we've realised that the Gunners are actually better with their two error-prone leaders.
They don't win games without them. It's like the point in the rom-com when the leading lady realises that guy - that really annoying one who she never considered at all - was the one for her from the start. Granit Xhaka, David Luiz and Arsenal are a match made in heaven. Who knew? For the neutral, Mikel's tricky reds are only really worth watching if one of his clanger-droppers-in-chief is present.
Ed McCambridge: Andrea Agnelli
For doing more to bring football fans together in one weekend than anyone at FIFA or UEFA ever has.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
