At the end of every season, all the pundits like to compare how things have gone in relation to previous years, so I’m going to be boring and do the same . . .

It’s a shame it didn’t go to the wire, but it was thrilling anyway, especially compared to France and Italy. Congratulations to Manchester United – the right balance between attacking flair and defensive organisation. Chelsea lost only three league games all season and that shows how much it takes to win the Premiership.

Petr Cech’s injury was a big deal and it made us all realise how easily things can happen. One minute he’s enjoying his football, the next his life’s at risk. Closer to home, Jimmy Bullard’s knee injury against Newcastle was enough to make me sick. Come to think of it, most of the time when I look at Jimmy I feel sick, but that’s just his hair.

Did Cech’s injury decide the league for Chelsea? Everyone faces the same challenges and Chelsea are big enough to cope. Key players were out, but maybe those who stepped in didn’t perform well enough. But you also can’t be champions without a bit of luck.

Inspirational to see a team coming up from the Championship and not just surviving but doing really well – and with virtually the same team. They deserve all the compliments.

The way he established Bolton in the top half was tremendous. Sam identified players with a point to prove and almost always got the best out of them. It will be interesting to see where he ends up and just as interesting to see what happens to Bolton.

The attraction of the cups has dipped, but the FA Cup Final will be a cracker. Great to see such a competitive Carling Cup final, too – proved the big clubs do care. Even better to see Arsenal getting to Cardiff with such a young team. Arsenal aren’t underdogs as a club, but that team was and it is always good to see underdogs in a final. It doesn’t tend to happen much now as the big clubs continue to dominate, which brings me on to . . .

Reading manager Steve Coppell recently criticised the loan system for allowing big clubs to own all the top players because they can park them elsewhere if they don’t need them. If loans were restricted, these peripheral players would be available for other clubs to own, which would make the league more competitive. But I got my break after being loaned from Arsenal to Fulham so loans can allow young players an opportunity. But if the system was more controlled, younger players would have to consider if they were really ready to go to a top club, or get experience with a lower level team.

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• Graham Spiers