ENGLISH football ruled Europe with an iron fist in 2019 but also struggled to get its own house in order.
The year was a mishmash of extremes which ranged from sporting drama to complete disaster as some clubs reached for the stars while others scraped the bottom of the barrel.
Resurgent Liverpool celebrated winning the top European club tournament for the first time in 14 years
Lioness Ellen White hit six goals as the Lionesses reached the World Cup semis
Liverpool and Chelsea triumphed on the Continent and the Reds have since added the Club World Cup to complete their stunning 2019.
Manchester City played more fantasy football to win a domestic Treble.
And the senior England men’s side — thanks to its new conveyor belt of exciting young talent — became the envy of an increasing number of international coaches.
Yet, to be brutally honest, these 12 months also provided a reminder the game is far from perfect.
Whether it was disgraceful club owners, bigoted fans or those in charge of introducing VAR in England not getting it quite right, football in this country received a few taps on the shoulder.
But when thinking of 2019, we should try to remember the positive moments.
CRIED UNCONTROLLABLY
Like Jordan Henderson striding over to the side of the pitch at the Wanda Metropolitana in Madrid just minutes after lifting the Champions League trophy.
Henderson bear-hugged his father Brian and cried uncontrollably. The player’s dad had recovered from throat cancer and this was a triumphant moment that both men, for various reasons, feared may never happen.
Liverpool had become champions of Europe for a sixth time although their 2-0 win over Tottenham was hardly a glowing advert for the Premier League.
What was so refreshing was the way 70,000 fans from these two clubs took over Madrid.
The Spanish capital became a sea of red, white and blue with Liverpool and Spurs fans drinking themselves senseless and laughing together in the city’s bars and squares.
They proved English football fans are actually able to avoid acting like idiots abroad.
Jordan Henderson and dad Brian enjoyed a momentous night in MadridCredit: Reuters
Delays and controversies with newly-introduced VAR brought frustration for fans and teams alike
Liverpool and Spurs had put on unbelievable performances just to get to the final.
Jurgen Klopp’s team delivered the greatest semi-final recovery of all-time to beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield after getting thumped 3-0 in the first leg.
Although not entirely predictable, it was a shame defender Virgil van Dijk lost out to Lionel Messi in both the FIFA Best and Ballon d’Or awards.
Tottenham overcame Manchester City in a classic quarter-final battle but only after Raheem Sterling had an injury-time goal ruled out by VAR.
Also in dramatic fashion, Spurs scraped into the final by beating Ajax on away goals thanks to Lucas Moura’s 96th-minute effort.
JOSE’S SURPRISE RETURN
Behind the scenes at Tottenham, the cracks were already appearing. It was a silly decision by boss Maurcio Pochettino to claim before the Ajax game he would leave if his team won the Champions League final.
With Tottenham wobbling this season, it came as no surprise when Pochettino departed but the move to appoint Jose Mourinho was something we did not expect from Daniel Levy.
In the Europa League final, Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Forgetting the gaze of the world’s TV cameras, Maurizio Sarri got wonderfully lost in the moment and smiled with immense satisfaction and pride at his first winners’ medal.
But Sarri was no longer manager by the time Chelsea lost on penalties to Liverpool in the Uefa Super Cup in Istanbul.
Maurizio Sarri steered Chelsea to lifting the Europa Cup but still left for Juve
Instead, Frank Lampard was thrown into the deep end at the Bridge but his positive impact has been a pleasant surprise.
Even though many neutrals have detested Chelsea for the way Roman Abramovich has thrown money at the club, there should be some admiration for the way English players have been able to flourish under Lampard — albeit due to the summer transfer embargo.
At the Emirates, Unai Emery, after taking his team to a European final, also left his club.
Just over a year following Arsene Wenger’s exit, the fans started to sing, “We’ve got our Arsenal back”. Then they sent their Emery back.
Manchester United have been treading water with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position appearing under constant threat.
The trophy collection down the road at the Etihad made United’s mediocrity even more painful.
KEPA CONTROVERSY
City beat Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup final with Blues keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga showing total disrespect to his manager by defying Sarri and refusing to be substituted towards the end of extra-time.
Pep Guardiola’s side retained the Premier League title despite only finishing one point ahead of Liverpool who lost just once all season.
City humiliated Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final and skipper Vincent Kompany announced he was leaving 24 hours later.
Since then, life has become complicated for Guardiola, with the team appearing to go backwards.
Not so for Sheffield United and their outstanding boss Chris Wilder.
The Blades have enjoyed a fine start to life in the Premier League and proved you do not need to spend money to survive.
Meanwhile, Cardiff, one of the teams United replaced in the Premier League, featured in the type of story we must all hope never happens again.
Bury were thrown out of the EFL as an increasing number of lower-league clubs struggle to survive
Emiliano Sala squeezed into a Piper Malibu aeroplane on January 21 with his last belongings from a spell at Nantes, along with his hopes and dreams of becoming a major football star.
But along with pilot Dave Ibbotson, he never made it over the Channel.
Subsequently, Cardiff attempted to avoid paying Nantes the transfer fee but Fifa told the Welsh club they must pay the first £5.3million instalment although it has now gone to an appeal.
Add to that, Bury owner Steve Dale managed to get his club kicked out of the EFL, Bolton were also a mess at the start of the season and missed fixtures.
Macclesfield’s cash-starved players have also refused to play some games. Over the next 12 months, more teams will suffer hardship, you can be sure.
MASSIVE LOSS
In an era where some footballers drive £150,000 cars, it is just wrong that many club staff with mortgages of similar amounts are living in fear of losing their homes because wages are not being paid on time.
Leyton Orient are one of those clubs working in the lower reaches and they ended their two-year exile from non-league football in April.
But just a few weeks later, their 49-year-old manager Justin Edinburgh died after a heart attack.
A remarkably popular man, what a massive loss to football.
In terms of football’s big issues, racism still continues to blight our game.
While England’s players suffered disgusting abuse in Montenegro and Bulgaria, there were also enough incidents at home to prove the disease is spreading in England.
Racism was a persistent problem in football this year, including when England travelled to Bulgaria in October
Other than racist issues during Premier League games including at Tottenham on Sunday, Haringey Borough walked off the pitch during an FA Cup game against Yeovil.
There were similar problems which held up Hartlepool’s match against Dover in the National League along with many other issues in non-league football.
On the pitch, the main gripe among fans is VAR has ruined the experience at the ground as they do not know what is going on.
Surely referees can be encouraged to use the pitchside monitors and, hopefully, goals will stop being chalked off for an armpit or hip straying offside.
Meanwhile, the women’s game continues to take great strides forward.
Phil Neville’s team reached the World Cup semi-finals before losing 2-1 to the USA, the eventual winners.
Maybe more importantly, England’s biggest clubs have finally realised they have a duty to promote women’s football and attendances will continue to increase as the game evolves.
As for the senior men’s team, they lost their first qualifying match for a decade in a 2-1 loss to Czech Republic but still comfortably secured a spot at Euro 2020 — and all the Three Lions’ group matches are at Wembley.
However, England’s showing in a 3-1 defeat to Holland in the Uefa Nations League semi-finals was poor and proof that without a solid defence, Southgate’s team will win nothing.
However, this attacking team is still on an upward trajectory.
And they will have a major advantage — if they get past a potentially nasty last-16 game and the quarters — as the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final are also at Wembley.
This is a fine chance for this young group of players to be remembered as THE Golden Generation.
And what an opportunity to make 2020 truly unforgettable.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
