Your club’s best/worst day of 2016

It was the year which saw a 5,000/1 outsider win the Premier League then take the Champions League by storm and go into a relegation fight in tandem.

More of the world’s best managers came to England as Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte arrived at Manchester City and Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho also returned to the game at Manchester United as the title race shaped up to be one of the most keenly-contested in several seasons.

This, ladies and gentlemen, was 2016 – and here is our take on what have been the best and worst moments for each Premier League side over the last 12 months.

Arsenal

Best – February 14, Last-gasp win over Leicester

Arsenal blew the title race wide open with a dramatic 2-1 win over Leicester at the Emirates on Valentine’s Day, closing to within two points of the surprise Premier League leaders thanks to an injury-time header from Danny Welbeck, who was making his first competitive appearance since the previous April.

Leicester had been playing with 10 men for much of the second half following Danny Simpson’s sending off and after Theo Walcott had cancelled out Jamie Vardy’s penalty, Arsenal finally found their winner in the final moments.

The Emirates erupted and Arsene Wenger described it as a “pivotal moment” in the title race. Ultimately, his side were unable to kick on and Claudio Ranieri’s team bounced back to clinch the crown. The Gunners did at least complete a final-day leap-frog of north London rivals Tottenham.

Worst – March 2, 2-1 Swansea loss increases pressure on Wenger

Going into 2016, Arsenal were in a good position to push for their first Premier League title in 12 years – but by the start of March those hopes had faded.

Just two points from a possible nine against Liverpool, Stoke and Chelsea was far from an ideal start to the year but a last-gasp win over Leicester had renewed expectations this could be Arsenal’s year. 

However, when defeat at Manchester United was followed by a home loss to Swansea, the task of overhauling the high-flying Foxes, now six points ahead, seemed beyond the Gunners – and left some Arsenal fans calling for boss Arsene Wenger to go.

Wenger stayed on and completed 20 years at the club in October but his wait for a first Premier League since 2004 remains a major blot on his copybook.

Bournemouth

Best – December 4, Historic comeback beats Liverpool

Signing Jack Wilshere on loan from Arsenal for the season raised eyebrows but the manner of Bournemouth’s comeback win over Liverpool confirmed their progress as a Premier League team.

Trailing 3-1 to Jurgen Klopp’s in-form side with 14 minutes left, Scottish youngster Ryan Fraser inspired a stunning response.

Having already won a penalty scored by Callum Wilson, he scored himself and then set up Steve Cook’s equaliser before Nathan Ake won the game 4-3 in stoppage time.

It was a remarkable result for many reasons, not least because Bournemouth’s first win over Liverpool was also their first against a top-four Premier League side.

Worst – July 1, Matt Ritchie leaves for Newcastle 

Despite impressing in their first season in England’s top flight and finishing comfortably above the relegation zone, Bournemouth were delivered a harsh blow this summer when key midfielder Matt Ritchie opted to join Championship-bound Newcastle, who had finished five points behind the Cherries. 

The Scotland international had played in every game during their promotion campaign in 2014/15 and scored a goal-of-the-season contender against Sunderland as helped Bournemouth avoid an immediate return to the second tier.

However, the south coast club were unable to compete with Newcastle financially and had to let their man leave. “We weren’t happy to let him go,” said Eddie Howe. “But the reality is we just couldn’t compete with Newcastle’s finances and Matty expressed a desire to leave.”

Burnley

Best – May 7, Going up as champions

In a league in which consistency can deliver so much, Burnley’s unbeaten 23-game sequence in the second half of the Championship season saw them win the title on the final day.

Having already secured promotion with their 1-0 win over QPR five days earlier, a 3-0 success at Charlton saw them finish ahead of second-placed Middlesbrough.

After the win over QPR, Dyche said: “Two years ago, we went under the radar. This year we have gone 22 games unbeaten and won promotion. That is unbelievable.”

Worst – November 21, Humbled by West Brom

After beating Everton, holding Manchester United to a draw at Old Trafford and then seeing off Crystal Palace at home, Burnley travelled to West Brom for a Monday Night Football clash optimistic of building on their good run. Instead, they left the Hawthorns with their tail between their legs after a 4-0 defeat which saw the hosts equal their biggest-ever margin of victory in the Premier League. 

Matt Phillips, James Morrison and Darren Fletcher had the Baggies three to the good by half-time and Salomon Rondon rubbed salt into Burnley wounds after the break. 

“I broke my leg here at 17 and I have never had a result here,” said Clarets boss Sean Dyche after the match. “It’s one of the few grounds in the country where I have had nothing.”

Chelsea

Best – October 1, Changing the system to 3-4-3

After beginning with four wins, Antonio Conte’s promising start to life at Chelsea took a turn for the worse as his team then failed to win any of their following four fixtures.

With the Italian under increasing pressure, a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal saw speculation about his future increase and his reaction was both ruthless and emphatic.

A change of system from 4-3-3 to 3-4-3 saw Chelsea win 2-0 at Hull in their next match and they have since transformed into title favourites, topping the Premier League table at Christmas by six points after 11 straight wins – including headline-grabbing, emphatic triumphs over Manchester Untied, Everton and Manchester City, as well as a comeback success over London rivals Tottenham. Worst – May 15, Finishing 10th and missing Europe

Failing to win any of their last four games of 2015/16 saw Chelsea finish a lowly 10th in the Premier League, their worst finish in 20 years.

That coincided with them not qualifying for European football for the first time in two decades as well after 13 consecutive appearances in the Champions League.

Indeed, the defence of their title was the worst in Premier League history as they won just 12 times – although Leicester are threatening to be even poorer in the months ahead.

Crystal Palace

Best – May 21, First FA Cup final in 26 years

OK, so Palace lost their FA Cup final with Manchester United and in somewhat cruel fashion, as Jesse Lingard scored the winner 10 minutes from the end of extra-time.

But simply getting there was a clear high, however, and let’s not forget they led with 12 minutes left at Wembley through Jason Puncheon.

The dad dancing which followed from Alan Pardew was questionable and things went downhill from there, with Juan Mata levelling before Lingard settled the contest but in a 2016 which has seen Palace win fewer points-per-game than any other team in England’s top four tiers, this was a day to remember. 

Worst – December 17, Two little ducks

But for a couple of weeks at the start of this season, Crystal Palace haven’t spent any other time in the Premier League’s relegation zone – yet you have to wonder how.

Going into their weekend game with Chelsea, there was talk of a 21st-minute walk out from fans in protest at their 21 defeats in 2016 so far.

That didn’t materialise but Diego Costa’s goal ensured a 22nd loss duly followed. With just six Premier League victories in the calendar year, this has been one for Palace to forget.

Everton

Best – August 31, Lukaku stays at Goodison

Romelu Lukaku’s contribution to Everton’s cause has been significant but he rocked them last season with claims he wanted to be playing Champions League football this term.

While John Stones did go to Manchester City for almost £50m despite an indifferent 2015/16, Lukaku was still at Goodison when the transfer window closed.

His exciting partnership with new signing Yannick Bolasie was put on hold when the winger suffered a serious knee injury and the likelihood is there will be more speculation about Lukaku’s future in January but with nine goals so far this season he remains a key figure for Ronald Koeman. 

Worst – May 12, Martinez sacked by Toffees

Roberto Martinez led Everton to the semi-finals of both cup competitions last season but failure to go any further and their poor Premier League form saw him sacked by the club.

Pressure slowly mounted on him throughout last term, with fans ultimately displaying banners calling for his departure.

A run of just one win in 10 matches saw the Spanish dismissed after nearly three years at Goodison Park, with Everton’s end-of-season awards dinner cancelled too.

Hull City

Best – May 28, Diame goal sends Hull back up

After a six-game run without a win saw them drop from first to fourth in the Championship, it looked like Hull had blown their chance of getting back into the Premier League.

They comfortably secured a play-off place, however, and clung on for a 3-2 aggregate win in the semi-finals against Derby.

Meeting Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley, Mohamed Diame’s strike 18 minutes from the end gave them a 1-0 win which sent them straight back up to the Premier League at the first …

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