Now that Manchester United has safely locked the Premiership title in their cupboard, soccer pundits are taxing their brain thinking who deserves the manager of the season award.
While Sir Alex Ferguson, after winning his ninth Premiership title at Manchester United, is the obvious front-runner, other contenders in the fray ensure that he does not find it a cakewalk.
Chelsea’s volatile manager Jose Mourinho is the next name, even though he might consider the seasons as a disappointing one, especially after the club’s sky-high standards in recent past. While injury plagued most of the Chelsea players, the below-par performance of Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko has affected not only the club’s performance but also the dressing room atmosphere.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez may have failed to guide his club to pole position in the domestic league but the outfit is now just one step away from their second European title in three years.
Arsene Wenger, however, has had a highly disappointing season, which included Arsenal’s defeat in the final of the Carling Cup, failing in Europe and going down to Blackburn in the FA Cup.
In the end, the dice looks heavily loaded in favour of 65-year-old Ferguson and it must be a special feeling for the manager who proved his critics wrong.
