THE LIST: Sportsmail's 50 English flops of the season - The top 10



The end of another dramatic league season is nye and for what seems like the umpteenth season in succession, Chelsea and Manchester United will do battle for the Premier League crown after Arsenal’s bid was ended by Wigan in dramatic fashion on Sunday.

Some teams and characters will not have reason to look back over this campaign with any great fondness, and the time seems right for us to examine those that have had disappointing terms at the office.

From Rafa Benitez’s turbulent campaign at Liverpool, to Richard Keys’ on-air howler, we’ll remind you of the gaffes that have shaped the season.

We've been counting down throughout the week, and today we reveal our top ten. As ever, we'd love to hear your opinions.



10 Mido

Mido: Hasn't impressed at West Ham this season

This was meant to be the deal of the decade, heralding a new attitude from players and clubs alike.

Mido joined West Ham on a £1,000-per-week contract. Many noted that plumbers earn more.



But money has never been his motivation - he comes from one of the richest families in Egypt.

So why has the former Tottenham and Middlesbrough striker tried his luck again in the Premier League?



It is certainly not goals, or staying fit. He’s made a paltry nine appearances and his goal tally is zero.



A number similar to the amount of fans he has made at Upton Park.

9 Wigan at White Hart Lane

You’re 1-0 down at half-time, the manager has some simple words: ‘Hang in there, lads. Nick a goal back and you never know - we could win this.’

Now I’m not privy to what Roberto Martinez said to his Wigan players at White Hart Lane but nothing could have prepared his charges for the eight-goal onslaught they faced.



Jermain Defoe bagged five as Spurs ran riot, and there was even an own goal when David Bentley’s free-kick bounced in off Chris Kirkland’s head.

What went wrong lads? Wigan were thrashed 9-1 at White Hart Lane in November

8 Liverpool fan throwing beach ball

In a season of calamities for Liverpool, the least you want is the fans on your side. Nope, they haven’t been able to manage that either.

Granted, there was no malicious intent when a young Liverpool fan inflated a beach ball, with the club’s insignia on it, and punched it on to the playing surface. But then…



Sunderland striker Darren Bent's shot was heading towards Pepe Reina but struck the inflatable, altered course and bounced past the stranded keeper.

Sales of beach balls in the Manchester area have been very healthy ever since.

Life's a beach: Darren Bent's shot deflects past Pepe Reina

7 Rob Shoebridge

It doesn’t take much to get Neil Warnock’s heart racing. Or his mouth motoring, come to mention it. But can you blame him for becoming a little hot under the collar after the ‘phantom goal’ at Bristol City?

Crystal Palace dominated the match and Freddie Sears, on loan from West Ham, scored a perfectly decent goal in the 30th minute which hit the back of the net and bounced back out . But as the Eagles celebrated, referee Shoebridge awarded a goal-kick.

Warnock exploded: ‘I don't know how the referee did not see it. The players knew it was a goal, their manager knew it was a goal and they could have done something about it - let us go up the other end and score or something.’



To make matters a whole lot worse, City scored a 90th minute winner. Ouch.

Howler: Referee Rob Shoebridge

6 Alberto Aquilani

Season to forget: Alberto Aquilani

In what has been a season to forget for Liverpool, it is no surprise that the club have four entries in the top 10 - here’s the second.

Aquilani’s £20million move was confirmed on August 7 - with the Italy international being ear-marked as the natural replacement for Xabi Alonso.



But the Anfield masses had to wait 12 weeks to witness him make his league debut and his progress since then has been anything but impressive.

To date he has made just 15 top flight appearances and has a solitary goal to his name.





5 Garry Cook

The Manchester City chief executive has earned a fearsome reputation during his time at Eastlands. Not for the right reasons though. He suffers from what is known as Foot in Mouth Syndrome.



Foolishly, he guaranteed Mark Hughes’ job - he even announced to a crowd of 600 City fans that former player Uwe Rosler was to be inducted into the Manchester United Hall of Fame.



But our favourite was this quote to City supporters in New York that it was a case of: ‘Not if but when we are at Wembley having beaten Manchester United yet again.’

Oops: Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook just can't stop putting his foot in his mouth

4 Rafa Benitez

This was meant to be the year for Liverpool, the end of their two decade long wait for the league title. But the back-pedalling the club have done this term has been embarrassing.

Out of the Champions League before Christmas, dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side Reading and at no stage have they looked like troubling the upper echelons of the Premier League.



With Rafa on the rack, he was even forced into ‘guaranteeing’ the club would finish in the top four - a promise which looks certain to come back and haunt him.

What's going wrong? Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has endured a difficult season

3 Portsmouth's owners this season

When the season is over and Portsmouth fans put their finger on where it all went wrong, not many of them will look further than the club’s FOUR owners.

Pompey are now in administration and have suffered the accompanying nine-point deduction. Administrator Andrew Andronikou has also revealed the Fratton Park club have staggering debts of £119m.



Sacha Gaydamak was there at the start of the season, followed by Sulaiman Al Fahim, Ali Al Faraj and, most recently, Balram Chainrai. None of whom will ever be very popular down on the south coast.

How many? Sacha Gaydamak, Sulaiman Al Fahim, Ali Al Faraj and Balram Chainrai

2 Wembley pitch

It used to be the playing surface every young aspiring footballer wanted to play on. The hallowed turf at Wembley was just that, a sacred lawn on which heroes played the national game.

However, since the Twin Towers of the Empire Stadium came down and the £800m new Wembley took its place in 2007 things just haven’t been the same.

In place of the once pristine surface is a slippery carpet of green ice, rendering football nye on impossible. A number of managers have branded the pitch a disgrace.

Work has already begun on relaying the pitch for the 11th time since 2007, a process would could be repeated up to seven times a year, resulting in a bill of £8m over the next 13 years.



However, there may be a cheaper solution. The great chunks of Wembley turf which were dug up by the Tartan Army in 1977 are still growing in back gardens across Scotland. Maybe some could be returned - for a price, of course.



Life's a pitch: Michael Dawson slipped at Wembley to let Portsmouth's Fredrique Piquionne in to score against Spurs in the FA Cup semi-finals

1 Tom Hicks Jnr

Foul-mouthed tirade: Tom Hicks Jr embarrassed Liverpool

That’s right, four Liverpool entries in the top ten and there’s no doubt this was the most embarrassing moment of the season for the Anfield club.

It has been a fraught time for the owners - a club on the slide, the promised new stadium nowhere near being started and serious finance issues.

So what you really don’t need is a director of the club, and son of co-owner Tom Hicks Snr, sending out crass emails to fans.

That of course is exactly what happened, leading to more unwanted headlines for the Merseysiders.



Hicks Jnr responded to correspondence from Stephen Horner with abusive replies. In the first, he called him an ‘idiot’, the second said: ‘Blow me, f***face. Go to hell, I’m sick of you.’



Unsurprisingly, he soon resigned his post.