Der Fremde » second one is your test. He pauses

Worthy Champions On the final Saturday of the season, Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini signed autographs and posed with fans for pictures. Less than 24 hours later, the Chilean was being thrown into the air by his jubilant players underneath him, the unlikeliest Premier League champion. A year ago to the day many of those players walked off the famous Wembley pitch as losers, to lowly Wigan in the FA Cup final. Many said then that manager Roberto Mancini should be given another year but no one in Manchester cares about the Italians whereabouts today. Citys title victory signaled their second in three years; the start, perhaps, of a dynasty in the Premier League but, in truth, their second one was very different to their first. This is a different kind of City. The noisy neighbors, as once dubbed by a rude, naïve Sir Alex Ferguson, beat United two years ago in the most narrow of circumstances, goal difference. That year City were abysmal for over three months on the field while allowing the petulant Carlos Tevez to stay in Argentina, the immature Mario Balotelli to continue to disobey team rules and the mouthpiece Mancini to comment far too aggressively on far too many topics. City were champions but didnt stand for what they felt they should stand for. Enter Chief Executive Ferran Soriano and Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain. For a year, much like they did at Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard before getting Pep Guardiola, they watched and took it all in. Last season City never looked like winning the title, falling behind by 12pts by the end of February and by 15pts at the end of March. They lacked width, had no real identity and creative players like Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri looked lost. Enter Pellegrini. City needed a manager who would never be bigger than the club, whose calmness and belief in his players would help the team on the pitch. His first test regularly came away from home. In September he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in disbelief when his team lost at Aston Villa. Theyd played three away games and won none of them. By the fifth away game, at Chelsea, Citys latest setback was called a crisis by the media. The team was, supposedly, not a good side away from home but Pellegrini knew just how incorrect that statement was. Results are crucial, of course, but losses at Cardiff and Aston Villa should have been victories and City were outstanding in the second half at Stamford Bridge before Joe Hart lost his mind for a second and allowed Fernando Torres to score a late winner. Pellegrini kept his head and believed in his team. Quietly results started to match performances, yet it would be months before City would be top again. On the morning of April 21st, City woke up nine points back of Liverpool. In 21 days the season would be over and they had five leagues games remaining to Liverpools three. A win against West Brom that night started a run of five straight victories that culminated in a much-deserved title. It is easy to say City bought another trophy but this Premier League powerhouse is not at a level, yet, where they are easily unlikeable. Their style of play has to be admired, dictated by genuine world-class stars like David Silva, Yaya Toure and, when healthy, Sergio Aguero. Right now City is responsible for bringing such wonderful talents to the English game. It is clear their place at the top table of English football is here to stay but, so far, their inconsistencies have meant they havent always laid claim to the giant throne. Until now. Smart, shrewd leadership has made its way from the boardroom to the dugout and on to the pitch. Noisy neighbors? More like ruthless, quiet assassins led by a real gentleman in Pellegrini. Champions League Qualifiers Liverpools season had a cruel, unfortunate final act dubbed ‘the collapse by some but it is all too simple to say that without Steven Gerrards slip against Chelsea and the ‘Cyrstanbul 3-3 the Reds would have won the league. It was a year that Liverpool locked up talisman Luis Suarez and then spent the rest of the campaign showing him just why he should stay. Just quite what the striker decides to do next is anyones guess, after all he did turn his back on the club last summer after they had gone out of their way to support him in his darkest hours. Thankfully, for the club, Suarez, and the sport, once he returned from his suspension in September, dark days disappeared and the Uruguayan shone brighter than any other player in the league, on his way to matching Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Shearer on 31 league goals. Chelseas year was, naturally, all about Jose Mourinho. He started the season proclaiming ‘this is a team of kids, it is not a team to win tomorrow and he spent the season proving himself right. He also remolded the side, making them much more difficult to break down, while selling on Juan Mata and Kevin De Bruyne, Tomorrow came and went for the Blues and next season, with presumably one very good new striker, they will be much stronger, not least in central midfield where the likes of Nemanja Matic, Ramires, Marco Van Ginkel, and possibly, Paulinho can take over games at a level that Eden Hazard and Willian did this year. Arsenal spent more days than any team at the top of the table but were out of the title hunt with two months to go. Again. The Gunners blew away many teams in the bottom half of the league, helping them race to 22pts through the first nine games. Arsene Wenger still kept his job despite three humiliating performances away from home at the teams above Arsenal and after allowing the club to go through the entire campaign with one legitimate striker. Of the 20 teams in the league this season, only Everton and Newcastle have spent (net) less than Arsenal in the past five years. Some feel the club continues to overachieve based on this but for a team that is supposed to be big, surely it is time for the club to find a man who puts pressure on rich owners to spend more money and take such a fantastic club to a position it deserves. Europa League Qualifiers Everton finished fifth under the magnificent Roberto Martinez after another entertaining season on the pitch and a tremendously smart campaign in the transfer market. The same could not be said for Tottenham who threw away the season the moment Andre Vilas Boas was sacked. This wonderful club, that has had so many flamboyant, skillful artists play for them lost its way this year and end the season without a real manager or identity. Hull City, under a calm Steve Bruce, were welcome arrivals to the league and never looked in danger of dropping down to the Championship. Their successful season was rewarded with a spot in the FA Cup final and although their league campaign took a turn for the worse late in the season they should be applauded for targeting Premier League caliber players who helped them stay up. The good, the bad and the ugly of mid-table Manchester United finally had the season all the detractors dreamed of. Their worst campaign for 25 years hit rock bottom in April when David Moyes was sacked. It was time, after far too many woeful performances, but at least he showed just how poor many of United players are. No matter which Scotsman was in charge at United, it was clear changes were needed and now it will be interesting to see what the Glazers do after being backed into a corner, one where piles of paper are stashed in a box labeled ‘bad contracts. Southampton finished a wonderful eighth place and brought a fresh, vibrant attacking style to the league. Many of those behind it were, surprisingly, English and the national team manager Roy Hodgson could do worse than send Mauricio Pocchetino a bottle of his favourite red wine for helping some of his players improve dramatically over the cause of a season. Stoke City moved on without Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes rescued his career as they finished a record high ninth, just ahead of Newcastle United who, unlike Stoke, had a tumultuous campaign. It is hard to take club chairman Mike Ashley seriously anymore. Many of his decisions form a moronic pattern. He didnt change the name of the stadium this season but the hiring of Joe Kinnear was a disgrace, as was the latters interview, soon after, on national radio where he mispronounced many of the players at his team. It was like a scene from a comedy show. The episode continued for the Magpies as they spent no money on players, sold their best player in the final week of the window, didnt replace him, let go of Kinnear, watched their manager head-butt an opposing player and then saw the team fall to pieces, claiming just 16pts from their last 19. As the season ended, this proud, historic club, supported by brilliant football fans, who deserve far more, was in the gutter. For Ashley, of course, it was a successful season as they made lots of money and finished mid-table. Many clubs would have swapped with Newcastle but, in truth, all ten teams in the bottom half of the league were below average.Crystal Palace were the best of the rest, a remarkable climb from the mess Ian Holloway had left them in. when they had just three points at the end of October. “We didnt keep the same spirit, with some of the new lads coming in, some of their attitudes I am finding very annoying. Someone else can come in and make that right,” said Holloway as he resigned. Pulis came in and did exactly that. The Relegation Battle The race to mediocrity and the prize of safety that came with it was long, exhausting and very frustrating for many other teams who battled with their own identities. Swansea let go of Michael Laudrup and appointed Garry Monk to get back to the way Huw Jenkins demanded, Sam Allardyce bored his own fans towards safety with a brand of football they disliked. While outsiders told them to be thankful for survival, the intelligent fans, paying good money to watch their beloved Hammers, hit back with hours upon hours of evidence in their favor. Sunderland performed a miracle, winning four in a row in late April and early May after losing five in a row in late March and early April. Aston Villa, one of just three teams in the bottom ten who didnt change their manager, actually went backwards after a dreadful season that was even worse than last year. This once big club has paid a heavy price for previous managers spending money freely and is fortunate to still be in the top flight after three woeful campaigns in a row. Spare a thought for their home fans, whove now watched just 15 wins from their last 57 home games during that stretch. West Brom fans knew too well just how bad ‘the Villa were but had an even worse season, finishing just one spot off the bottom three after finishing eighth just one year ago. The sacking of Steve Clarke in December seemed premature and his just over one point per game ratio wasnt bettered by his successor, Pepe Mel, who took over a team in 16th and finished 17th. Down into the Championship went Norwich, Fulham and Cardiff. All had very different stories of woe. Cardiff, forced to play in the wrong colour all season, were in shambles under owner Vincent Tan, Fulham copied the QPR model for signing too many players and having no identity while Norwich, quite simply, couldnt score goals. No one wants to see their team relegated but, quietly, some Norwich fans will surely be excited at the prospect of playing at a level next season that they will be able to cope with, where they can express themselves and remove the brake that seemed to stunt their progress during their three-year existence in the Premier League. The sport is, after all, in the entertainment business. No matter which side you supported the 2013/14 Premier League certainly did bring entertainment. In the end it came down to a battle between two clubs who scored over 100 goals! In a sport that can be often over regulated, shackled by tactical systems and ‘parked buses, two North West teams exploded with wonderful precision making the hardest thing in the game look easy, time and time again. Kevin Keegans Newcastle was once the reference point for an attacking team in the historical world of the Premier League. They wouldnt have come close to handling these two. Clearance Yeezy For Sale . That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season. Cheap Yeezy China . Just ask last seasons Supporters Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, who were resoundingly defeated last weekend by a rampant Vancouver Whitecaps in a match which produced two contenders for MLS Goal of the Week from Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales. https://www.yeezychina.us/. Cleary also had two assists and Patrick Eaves added two goals for the Red Wings, who also ousted Phoenix in seven games during the first round of the 2010 postseason. Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist for Detroit, which got a goal apiece from Tomas Holmstrom and Niklas Kronwall and suffered no shortage of offense despite the absences of Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen. Wholesale Yeezy Shop . -- Rookie Victor Oladipo came off the bench to score 20 points and Glen Davis had 18, leading the Orlando Magic to a 112-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Wholesale Yeezy China . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality.Harry Kane was pipped to the PFA Player of the Year award by Riyad Mahrez but he could yet finish a brilliant season with the title. Nick Wright talks to his former coaches and team-mates about his unlikely rise from lower league loanee to world-class striker... Harry Kane took two touches, darted into Stoke Citys box and cracked a curling shot through a crowd of defenders and beyond the outstretched Shay Given. It was a stunning goal not dissimilar to the one he scored in the north London derby six weeks earlier, but this improbable penchant for the spectacular is nothing new. In fact, it has been years in the making.Long before the Britannia Stadium, the setting was Millwalls Bromley training ground. One day in training he scored the best goal I have ever seen, former Millwall captain Alan Dunne tells Sky Sports. It came from the goalkeepers throw. He flicked the ball over his marker and hit a stunning volley from the narrowest of angles. It was like Marco van Basten. I thought: Wow, who is this quiet kid? Kane in action for Millwall in an FA Cup tie against Southampton in 2012 It was December 2011 and the quiet kid from Tottenham had just embarked on a loan move he would later describe as a big stepping stone in his career. Kane had spent the second half of the previous campaign at Leyton Orient in League One, and his development was to continue with a fight for Championship survival at The Den. Kanes loan spells Leyton Orient (18 apps, 5 goals) Millwall (27 apps, 9 goals) Norwich (5 apps, 0 goals) Leicester (15 apps, 2 goals) We were struggling at the time and Kenny Jackett brought him in along with Ryan Mason, says Dunne. We didnt know much about him. He was a really quiet lad, a shy lad who didnt say much. But when he went out on the football pitch he showed glimpses of magic Id never seen before from anyone at Millwall.Kane was far from the minds of the Tottenham supporters watching Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart inspire a fourth-placed Premier League finish at his parent club on the other side of the Thames, but in south east London the 18-year-olds contribution was significant, with a run of seven goals in 14 games helping Millwall escape the drop. Much like Kanes career as a whole, however, it was not a straight-forward success story. Kane failed to score in his first eight Championship appearances as he struggled to adapt to the physicality of the division, and Stuart Pearce, the manager of Englands U21s at the time, remembers his inauspicious start.I went to watch him play in his first game out on loan at Millwall and a few others, he tells Sky Sports. It was tough for him. He was being deployed maybe as a No 10, a more deep-lying role than he plays now. He never had that turn of pace and he hadnt matured as a man either. It was tough for him. He never had that turn of pace and he hadnt matured as a man either. Stuart Pearce on Harry Kane Kane did not possess the outstanding speed, strength or flair that sets many young players apart and Pearce decided he was a long way from a call-up to the U21s, but what he lacked in a physical sense he made up for in other ways. The unassuming 18-year-old worked tirelessly and embraced the challenge at Millwall. His enthusiasm was not lost on his team-mates.Sometimes you get young players who come from the big clubs to somewhere like Millwall and they think that theyre it, says Dunne. They think theyre better than everyone else and they look down on you. You never got that from Harry. He had the right attitude and it was a credit to him how professional he was.He wasnt fazed by who he was playing for one bit, and it didnt affect him that he was from a club like Tottenham. He didnt strut around like he was something special. He gave everyone respect and he treated everyone like he was there for the long-term, like he was one of our own. Watch some of Harry Kanes best goals from his loans in the Football League That humility and determination pulled Kane through his tough introduction to Championship football. He was playing in a league where they will kick you and they will try and rough you up, but it never fazed him, says Dunne. No matter how big the centre-half was, he was never intimidated. Hed take a clump and hed get back up and go again.Kanes ascent to stardom has exceeded just about everybodys expectations since those early years, but the raw talent - the magic - was always there. You could see it, says Dunne. His finishing was immaculate. It was always in the same two places. Bottom left, bottom right, bottom left, bottom right. Every single time. Premier League top scorers 2015/16 Player Team Goals Harry Kane Tottenham 24 Sergio Aguero Man City 23 Jamie Vardy Leicester 22 Romelu Lukaku Everton 18 Riyad Mahrez Leicester 17 Kane emerged tougher and more streetwise for his experiences at Millwall, and when he returned to boyhood club Spurs he was handed a Premier League debut as a substitute against Newcastle on the opening day of the 2012/13 season.dddddddddddd It was a taste of what would eventually follow, but there were more hurdles ahead.A top-flight loan at Norwich was disrupted by injury a few weeks later, and when he returned to the Championship with promotion-chasing Leicester on a short-term deal in February 2013, he found himself behind Jamie Vardy, David Nugent and Chris Wood in Nigel Pearsons pecking order. Harry Kane pictured alongside Jamie Vardy on Leicesters bench in 2013 His disappointing stay at Leicester yielded just five starts in three months, and it ended with a traumatic play-off semi-final defeat to Watford. Kane was a second-half substitute that day at Vicarage Road as Troy Deeney scored a dramatic winning goal in stoppage time, seconds after Anthony Knockaert had missed a penalty at the other end.Both Kane and Leicester have hit unimaginable heights since then, but at the time it was a culmination of a difficult year which would have knocked many young players off course. Instead, it stoked Kanes determination, and he immediately put his hand up to join Peter Taylors England squad for the U20 World Cup in Turkey. Kane a complete striker Harry Kane has become the complete centre forward, says Peter Crouch. That tournament was known for the number of players that cried off and didnt come, but Harry was desperate to get out there and be a part of it, Taylor tells Sky Sports. We knew that quite early, which was good for us.Taylor had heard glowing reviews about Kanes character, not least from his assistant Chris Ramsey, who had overseen the youngsters progress as Tottenhams head of player development since 2004. You could just tell what a good type he is, says Taylor. Nothing to do with football, just as a boy. He was very polite. Everything about him was first-class. Kane in action against Egypt during the U20 World Cup in 2013 Englands stay in Turkey was unexpectedly brief as they were knocked out in the group stages, but Taylor came away from it with happy memories of Kane, whose professionalism extended to every aspect of the trip - even a golf tournament that was organised for some light-hearted team bonding.One night we had a putting competition for all the players and the staff for a little bit of team-bonding, recalls Taylor. All the boys were hanging around in the hotel lobby with their tracksuits or shorts on, but Harry came down in all his golf gear. It was as if he was going out onto the first tee. It was hilarious.Taylor chuckles at the memory and his fondness for Kane is shared by almost everyone to have worked with him - as is his surprise at the remarkable speed at which his career has progressed. I had no doubt that he could be a top player, but I didnt think it would happen as quickly as it did, he says. All of a sudden he goes back to Tottenham and hes an unbelievable hit. Its incredible really. Kanes strike against Arsenal was a contender for goal of the season Kane was given his first extended run of games at Spurs by Tim Sherwood in the second half of the following campaign, but it is under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino that he has taken off.The Argentines gruelling training regime has accelerated Kanes transformation from ungainly teenager to the physical powerhouse he is today. He is now the first Englishman since Alan Shearer to break the 20-goal mark in two consecutive Premier League seasons, and last Mondays strike against Stoke was the latest example of the all-round technical excellence that has made him such a fearsome opponent. Kanes eye for goal Harry Kane has had more shots on target than any other Premier League player this season (69) and only Philippe Coutinho averages more shots per game (4.1). He has matured as a man, says Pearce. Physically he is strong, he has a natural eye for goal and he knows full well that when the ball comes into his feet he has to look to unload shots. It just goes to show you never know how young players are going to develop.The attitude, too, is the same as it ever was. Whether hes getting kicked up and down The Den at the wrong end of the Championship or representing his country against the world champions at Berlins Olympic Stadium, Kanes dedication, his determination to improve, is unwavering. Kane scored Englands opening goal in the 3-2 win over Germany Hes a very level-headed young man and hell keep his feet firmly on the ground, says Pearce. The way he comes across in interviews now, you can see theres nothing false about him, adds Taylor. Nothing will affect him. Nothing will stop him from doing absolutely everything he can when he puts on that Tottenham shirt.Kane is now aiming to celebrate a Premier League title before his 23rd birthday, but his extraordinary story has years left to run. For him to get the amount of goals he has done for the second season is outstanding, says Taylor. In the first season he took a lot of people by surprise, but they always say your second one is your test. He pauses. Well blimey, has he come through it or what?Watch Tottenham v West Brom live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Monday Night Football, or watch for £6.99 on NOW TV, no contract. Also See: Sky Live: Tottenham v West Brom Crouch: Kane complete forward ' ' '