End of Season 15/16 Thread

[RealGunner]

15/16 football season ends with the CL final last night.

Think overall the banter era has gone up another level. Leicester winning the PL was the most shocking thing in football last season definitely.

Madrid winning the CL was also a surprise with Bayern and Barca both being the favourites at the start of the tournament.

I didn't watch as much football as I used to but I personally enjoyed watching Serie A more this season than any other league. PL was personally not that great for me as Arsenal disappointed and the quality was a bit poor overall. Most of the entertainment was provided with Chelsea doing shit, LVG and smaller teams punching above their weight.

Watched a lot of Serie A last season and really enjoyed watching Napoli and Juve. Inter at the start but they lost their charm.

Hated watching La liga bar Madrid matches. Was really bored watching Barcelona as I think the level of football from them has gone down ever since Xavi retired.


In terms of players. For me Higuain, Mahrez, Ronaldo, Suarez, Messi, Pogba and Griezmann were in the top tier.

In terms of Managers. Ranieri was above everyone. What he did was a miracle.

Overall season wasnt as good as 14/15 imo but still decent enough. Provided decent banter.

7/10

[Kebab]

Not happy not angry. just a boring season for me. There was no jaw dropping performances except Bayern's second leg display against atletico. It was the true CL final. There should be more matches like this but didnt happen. CL lacked quality
If i rank teams for this moment in normal form Bayern Barca A.Madrid and Leicester are top teams
Overall boring season for most people

[Doc]

The EPL was as entertaining as it can be though I don't think it can ever reach the banterific year of the Slippy G and Suarez crying. Something about that entire season was just a legit joy but this season was entertaining nonetheless. And Leceister won so there is also that.

La Liga was not as bad as RG is making it out to be but it definitely was not the best edition of the competition. Thank goodness Barcelona decided to kinda capitulate to give us a chance to not have a chance. Very kind of them. The relegation battle actually was way more interesting which says a bit (or a lot).

Serie A was pretty nice from my point of view. Really enjoyed watching Napoli this season and as much as do not like them, Juve were way too good to not win Serie A again. Always though ES and others were over exaggerating Milan's bad form until I saw some of their matches. Turns out, they maybe underestimating how bad this club has become. Didn't get to see much of Inter or Roma though I doubt it mattered.

Watched like 5 Bundesliga matches and I can't remember a single one of them. But I'm gonna pretend I viewed the entire season and it was amazing. Great stuff.

All in all, 8/10 viewing for me. Also, we won the UCL, yay.

[Kebab]

Do you really have time to watch other leagues (except derbies and big matches) or you are just pretending?

[RealGunner]

I am not saying La Liga was bad at all. I personally couldn't get into it as much as I used to before. Normally I watch Barcelona and Madrid 95% of the time and then I pick a random team to follow (Betis, Sociedad, Valencia etc). This year I tried to watch Celta but interest only lasted till Nolito. Barca put me off big time.

it was most likely still good for many without a doubt though.

[Doc]

Do you really have time to watch other leagues (except derbies and big matches) or you are just pretending?

It's not that hard to take in EPL, Serie A and La Liga matches. Of course, I'm no Arte (EPL) or Rincon (Serie A) when it comes to those 2 leagues but I watch my fair share. Also, when you're interested in something, you're gonna find time for it.

[El Gunner]

Crazy how we rate football these days in terms of banter and not quality.

Forgettable season imo, despite the obvious (aka Leicester).

Really can't comment on other leagues or even CL. My football watching is almost reaching Mole level now.

[rwo power]

Well, as I mainly followed Borussia Mönchengladbach other than my real team (that no one here know anyway as it floats somewhere in the 4th division of German football - so I will spare you the good and bad times of my RWO boys - but let it be known, we did manage the derby double triumph against RWE *boogie*), I have to admit I'm still amazed that they ended in the CL qualification after losing the first 5 matches of the season.

No other team ever in Bundesliga history has even managed to land in the first half of the table after such a miserable start, and interestingly, VfB Stuttgart who also started with 5 losses together with Gladbach, ended relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga.

So one could say that despite a catastrophic start, the season ended better than expected for the Foals. Moreover, they managed again not to lose both of their Bundesliga matches against Bayern, just like in the season before.

The only drawback was that their first CL group stage match was during the time of their false start and so they got defeated by Sevilla, which ultimately dragged them down, even though they managed to fight Juve to two draws and they only lost against ManCity due to inexperience and part stupidity (something they vowed they wouldn't repeat anytime soon).

Well, so all in all it was an exciting season, and the 4th rank finish was far more than was expected, especially after the first 5 matches. ^^

[rincon]

The CL of the last 4-5 years has been much more entertaining personally. This was easily the worst CL in recent memory for me.

In terms of the leagues this year was great though. Leicester winning, Barca winning by 1 point, Juve coming back from like 8th at mid season, Dortmund back to life. Better than the last few years in terms of leagues imo.

[Jay29]

The Europa League was the most entertaining part of the season, imo. Several great matches, lots of drama and, most importantly, banter.

[Robespierre]

Yes , I am always more on "Mole level " too so my judgement is negative  . Despite Leicester... I believe it will go always worse and I will watch further   less football matches. It is going to be so . Besides my football pleasure depends enough on my team , basically if my team is shit I 'm less enticed to watch  football matches . so I suppose I  need to search another hobby soon

[Luca]

Of the past 5 seasons of Juventus' resurgence, this was the greatest one. Successfully transitioned from Pirlo, Vidal and Tevez into something even better. Allegri had the team playing very positively, morale was great. Signings like Dybala, Khedira, Mandzukic, Zaza, Sandro, Cuadrado (loan), were very well received. The Champions league exit will leave a sour taste for years to come, for two reasons: first, a loss to Sevilla in a somewhat meaningless final group game made the difference between the first and second seed, this difference resulted in drawing Bayern Munich- a very difficult task right out of the group and two: the performance against Bayern was very positive. Anyways, that Cuadrado goal was one of pure quality.

In Italy, Napoli and Inter started positively only to fall off. Roma fell and came back all within the same season, Spaletti is a welcomed return to Italy. Somewhat surprised from Milan, they made some good signings in the summer, but could not put it together just yet.

Outside of Italy, I followed La Liga more than any other league. The title race was exciting, I think Benitez's Real was harshly judged. Zidane's Real, for me, isn't better- but better liked, clearly Zidane is more revered, but next season is the real test between a Conte like management regime or a Di Matteo flutter. Barcelona, Suarez put in an immense season again and as they looked to drop the league, he picked it back up. This "Messi Generation" of Barcelona is very special. Messi and Ronaldo, I thought, did not live up to their greatest player reputation this season, at times they looked it, at others they really did not. Atletico had a good season, but behind Real and Barcelona seems like where they belong.

In England, all Ranieri. The other aspects of the league are characterized by Chelsea having a shocker and Manchester United really playing the worst football maybe ever. The league capped off with relegated Newcastle pummeling Tottenham and Arsenal leapfrogging them to finish, again, ahead of Spurs.

The Champions League. This season really has to show you that match ups are everything in this tournament. On one side, you draw Barcelona and Bayern Munich- match up well and beat them. On the other, you draw Wolfsburg and Manchester City. Some people will try to discredit Real Madrid, I say: what for? As a Juventus fan, I will take the latter draw every season if I could. Anyways, this seems like Atletico's ceiling, they lost yet again in the final. The first time, they were seconds away from winning 1-0. Now, two years later with a better team, they lose on penalties. Congratulations to Real Madrid, beating their little brother since, forever.

Don't expect anyone to read my wall of text, bless ya'll. We did it, another season in the books

[Kaladin]

Absolutely trash season, wouldn't watch it again even if you paid me to

[Freeza]

Won the most important trophy in the world. That's 9/10 for me.

The first half was the worst ever. But I can't be disappointed any more.

Lowlights include everything Rafa. Especially that copa exit

[rwo power]

The Champions league exit will leave a sour taste for years to come, for two reasons: first, a loss to Sevilla in a somewhat meaningless final group game made the difference between the first and second seed, this difference resulted in drawing Bayern Munich

Moreover, you were at fault that Sevilla could win the EL again. Had you not lost, then Gladbach would have ended in the EL and Sevilla ousted at 4th place

[Valkyrja]

It was good imo. Leicester making history by winning the Premier League, Goatdrid fighting against all odds in the CL while the favorites Barca and Bayern felt short (Bayern are always favorites at the start of the season ) . Pique's tweet form was also spot on.

8/10

[zizzle]

My interest in football was at an all time low this season. I mainly follow Inter/Serie A and the big matches from other leagues and CL, but this season i only watched Inter until the inevitable mid season collapse and from there onward i only watched bits and pieces and Higuain's goals basically, while keeping an eye on Leicester via Livescores. CL final was a snooze fest and the wrong team won (ffs Simione!)

Not sure if i'm just getting old or it's because Inter suck at the moment but i really cant enjoy football the way i used to. All the top players are playing for 4-5 teams who snap up all the young players as well. When was the last time we had an exciting talent take the world by a storm ? Cristiano and Messi have been on top for so long and it's getting boring. I cant name 5 world class strikers ffs.

Oh well, I got wrestling to latch myself to

[McLewis]

Bittersweet is the word for this season from Roma's perspective.

Our resurgence under Spalletti was expected, but still utterly impressive as we took more points from our matches in 2016 than everyone except for Juve of course, although finished the league with most goals scored. The draws in the first half of the season under Garcia truly damaged our chances of a title run in what could've been our best year to truly get it done. That's Roma though. We simply have to do everything the hard way. Everything has to be laced with dramatic effects. It's frankly exhausting and given that for all of that, we end the season yet again with no silverware....bittersweet. Pjanic and Nainggolan correctly have netted praise and applause from all corners, but Francesco Totti yet again shows why he's not ready to hang up his boots. He literally saved 3rd place for us with his crucial goals against Atalanta and Torino. I can only cherish games like that and performances like that because there simply won't be many left. Dzeko's disappointment up top was pretty even tempered with Toni Rudiger's emergence at the back.

Outside of Roma, I enjoyed Serie A this year yet again. This league still entertains me in ways other simply never will. Sides like Empoli and Sassuolo continue give me reasons to watch games outside of the big ones while Chievo's memorable start to the season also turned my head. Individually the league was littered with standouts from everyone's favorite pasta Kevin Lasagna with Carpi to Leandro Paredes and Lorenzo Tonelli at Empoli all the way up to Pipita's brilliant, record-breaking season along with Dybala's successful confirmation that he is the next big thing. The Milanese sides did not fair well (a false dawn at Inter and a neverending nightmare for Milan), but these things are cyclical. I fully expect a resurgence from both just like I expect Napoli to stay strong and Fiorentina to bounce back from their disappointment. Serie A has always had it's naysayers, but this is a strong league. The quality has gotten so much better over the last few seasons. I expect that trend to continue upward.

Outside of Serie A, I really did not pay much attention to La Liga or the Bundesliga as for me they were basically foregone conclusions and although La Liga ended up going down to the wire, the expected winner came out victorious. For the Buli, there was never a question so I did not give it much of my time. I've always watched a fair amount of the EPL solely because of the TV deals we have over here in the States. While I typically skew towards Arsenal, this was the first season I didn't watch them as closely as I normally do. Leicester was no doubt a surprise, but I really liked the football from Stoke, West Ham, and Southampton while I think Sunderland ended up acquitting themselves better than most will give them credit for. Liverpool were fun to watch at times under Klopp, but Newcastle were simply unwatchable for me, just like Chelsea, Man United and Man City. Obvious Leicester win tops the list of achievements this season that I've witnessed. We'll never see something like that again in our lifetimes. I firmly believe this to be a once-in-a-lifetime, lightning in a bottle event. Cherish it, savor it and then be ready for the status quo to take place again. I did not like Ranieri as a coach during his time with Roma as I found him stubborn and his football aesthetically displeasing, but I respect him as a person. They say coaches his age stop learning and stop growing. He's turned that notion on it's head and he's a better coach for it clearly. This man has won football this season. Full stop.

So a good season all in all. Extremely memorable. The Euros and the Copa have a lot of work to do to top that.

[Rebaño Sagrado]

Imagine only watching European football. Imagine.

[MaraVilla]

honestly thought Barca were going to choke. Had to take a 'forget me now pill' to erase that awful April run.

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