Football across 2015-16 has boasted plenty of memorable moments as the season unravelled itself across Europe. From ‘MSN’ plundering teams at will to Leicester City’s very own double act of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez dragging the Foxes to the top of the English Premier League, the season has seen its share of surprises.
However, for every moment that has wowed the global football audience this year, there have been situations and circumstances that have led several sets of fans towards the nearest exit to this season’s show. Many fans have looked on in horror as their teams have capitulated on or even off the pitch.
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From having to see their clubs on the brink of relegation to seeing their beloved club unceremoniously brought down from their more elite standing to watching trigger happy owners dismantle their club’s proud heritage, fans have experienced it all in 2015-16.
Here’s a look at ten clubs who have had a season, both on and off the pitch, that they’d only be too glad to forget.
1) Aston Villa
The midlands club has seen its fair share of struggles and strife under Randy Lerner’s ownership. The team has gone from continually finishing in the top ten to ending up flirting with the bottom of the table.
When Tim Sherwood took over as manager, the Villains had dared to suggest that an era of stability on the pitch was on the horizon. Even with the record transfer of their coveted striker Christian Benteke to Liverpool and dynamic midfielder Fabian Delph to Manchester City, the Villa fans had high hopes of this season.
It was a show of positive intent that Aston Villa moved quickly to reinvest the money from the aforementioned transfers on imports that, at least on paper, made Villa a stronger team.
However, that momentary positive feeling has evaporated since. Tim Sherwood departed after a set of poor results whereas most of their transfers in have failed to settle into the rigours of the rather physical Premier League.
The owners have failed to find new buyers for the club and the side is all but relegated from the Premier League having been stranded at the bottom of the table for most of the season.
The fans too have lost their usual patience and from the look of things, Remi Garde also left the club, just a few months into the job. With the boardroom re-shuffle set to change the way things are done at Aston Villa, fans can be seen clamoring for the season to end, having already made peace with an impending relegation.
2) Sunderland
Sunderland have hoped, over the last few seasons, to finally find a more permanent solution to the messes they have often found themselves in. The club is in all sorts of trouble all over again after a disastrous season on the pitch so far, having barely averted relegation the season before.
Dick Advocaat seemed to have offered them an opportunity to set things right after taking over at the fledgling Wearside club.
After much drama in the summer break, Advocaat’s decision to stay at the club as manager over the course of this season was welcomed by Sunderland supporters. However, things really haven’t worked out according to plan for the club.
Advocaat left after the team started meekly surrendering games right at the beginning of the season and the results haven’t gotten much better since.
Sunderland, now under the guidance of Big Sam Allardyce, still aren’t clear of the relegation spots with only a few games to go.It doesn’t seem to help that their best player is in prison, incarcerated for having groomed a minor and indulged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old.
Sunderland fans continue to hope that all that’s happened this season is just a big bad nightmare that’ll all be over soon. They’ll be lucky if they don’t wake up from this bad dream right in the middle of the Championship.
3) Newcastle
Newcastle fans haven’t really had the best possible equation with owner Mike Ashley over the years. In spite of all the hubbub around the way the club is run, it seemed like Newcastle were really heading in the right direction this season.
Having invested heavily in the squad and taken on a reputed British coach in Steve McClaren as manager, this season was primed to see the Toon Army back in the upper half of the table.
Things didn’t turn out to be as simple as Newcastle now sit deeply entrenched in a relegation scrap with signings having underperformed and boardroom antics having scuffled Steve McClaren’s hopes of working out the problems.
Steve McClaren may still be reeling from the shock of having managed the Tyneside club with his squad having completely made a meal of his plans with their performances on the pitch.
There’s a new coach at the helm now as Rafa Benitez will look to guide a beleaguered Newcastle side away from the threat of relegation. Newcastle fans will want this nightmare of a season to end and will hope to be in the Premier League by the time it does.
4) Chelsea
When you end the last season as Premier League Champions, you hope for the club to push on this season and fight for the Champions League title as well. Chelsea though decided to do the exact opposite.
Half way through the season, Chelsea, far from being convincing in the Champions League, were battling it out with the relegation contenders in the bottom half of the table.
Before long, the fans started hearing of discontent between the players and the coach and Jose Mourinho’s dream return to Stamford Bridge descended into a full-fledged nightmare.
The man treated by the faithful with integrity soon left Stamford Bridge for a second time in his career. Trigger-happy Roman Abramovich had given Jose close to half of the season to turn it around but it just did not work for the manager.
Even with results improving now, it seems preposterous that last season’s most influential players, Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic are still struggling to come anywhere close to last term's celestial form which drove Chelsea to the Premier League title. Goal-machine Diego Costa and midfield orchestrator Cesc Fabregas have looked shoddy for most of the season as well with others in the squad not catching the eye.
Interim manager, Guus Hiddink seems to have battled out the worst for Chelsea and has stabilised the ship with a run of decent results. However, it seems unlikely that Chelsea will be in contention for a place in Europe the coming season. Evidently, the bigger you are the harder you fall.
5) Marseille
Football has always been more than just a game for the French and no club embodies the spirit of the sport as much as Marseille do in the French Ligue 1. Marseille has been home to some of the most exciting football sides over time and the fans have witnessed many special moments domestically and in Europe over the years.
In such context, it doesn’t augur well that a team, that has over time, been considered as one greater participants in European competition, is now facing ignominy unbecoming of their tradition.
Marseille lie 12th in the Ligue 1 standings and haven’t recorded a win in 13 home games, lying only six points clear of the relegation places. Coach Michel is under considerable pressure and the hierarchy of the club have found themselves in discord with the expectant fans.
The fans took to action recently having shown unexpected aggression in Marseille’s last match vs Rennes at the Stade Velodrome as the home team ran out 5-2 losers on the night even going 3-0 down within fifteen minutes.
Fans were seen clashing with stewards and players found themselves hit with empty bottles as the stadium was filled with banners aimed at club chairman Vincent Labrune who remains an unpopular figure. The club is clearly in turmoil and fans will hope the season’s end brings with it inquests into the club’s process of functioning.
6) Manchester United
It’s not the likeliest thing to see all of West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City all finish above Manchester United in a single season. Yet, this season has seen pretty much exactly that with the league table threatening to end up looking the same at season end.
Manchester United fans have been crying themselves hoarse as to their apprehensions about the direction in which Louis van Gaal seems to be taking the club. The voices, this season, have only got louder with Manchester United playing the part of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to absolute perfection over the last 8 months. Manchester United lie 5th in the table.
They’ve carved out results against teams above them only to falter against less fancied opposition. The team is playing a brand of football at odds with the Manchester United ethos and is riddled with players either past their best or simply not good enough. The Manchester United academy has been the shining light in a poor season having filled in for a list of injured players with a distinction which can only indicate that the future is a bright one. The present on the other hand, is anything but.
7) Wolfsburg
German League Cup winners from 2014-15, Wolfsburg have always been in and around the European places in the league. Having ended last season as Bundesliga runners up, the German side are now reeling from the side effects of what has been a distinctly poor season. Having won the DFL Supercup beating Bundesliga winners Bayern on penalties, Wolfsburg were dumped out of this year’s DFB Pokal in the second round by a rampant Bayern Munich side.
Things have just gone from bad to worse since then as Wolfsburg have managed to end up 8th in the Bundesliga table and with barely a few games left, it isn’t likely they will be making any big moves up the table.
The only good thing about this season for Wolfsburg has been their UEFA Champions League campaign. The German side raced into the quarter-finals, and stunned Real Madrid 2-0 in the first leg. They could find their European adventure coming to an end if Real Madrid show up in the second leg, but apart from the European performances, Wolfsburg fans have not had a lot to cheer for this season.
8) Sampdoria
Having made their way into the qualifying rounds for the Europa League, Sampdoria were looking set to further build on having returned to the Serie A in 2013-14. All those expectations went haywire with the club rooted to the bottom half of the Serie A table presently.
Relegation seems to have become a possibility for the club that seemed well poised to stabilise their position in the top flight.
Having made some reasonable moves in the transfer window in the summer, Sampdoria were expected to compete for the Europa League spots again this season especially with star striker Eder having stayed at the club amidst interest from other clubs.
However, it wasn’t meant to be for the Sampdoria faithful as first Walter Zenga departed the club early into his tenure and Eder eventually jumped ship in January making it all the more difficult for the side to come anywhere close to their initial objective.
They currently sit 15th in the Serie A and are set to fight it out as relegation contenders as the season enters the business end of proceedings. However, Sampdoria will hope to hold on to their top-flight status this season and pray that they have a chance to build their way out of the mire the next.
9) Hellas Verona
You know you’ve had a bad season when your side’s talisman brands the side a joke and says the side deserves to be relegated. Hellas Verona striker Luca Toni is visibly angry with the way things have gone at the club since joining them in their second season back in the Serie A.
Having publicly criticised the team he played for and suggesting that they deserve to be going down for their pathetic displays this season, Luca Toni made no bones about this being a disappointing end to his decorated career. It now seems all but certain that he may have to end his career amidst the impending shame of relegation.
They sit firmly at the bottom of Serie A at this stage of the season, relegation looking more probable than possible with coach Luigi Delneri having given up on all hope even with safety mathematically possible.
It doesn’t bode well for fans who cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel and may only pray that next season works out better.
10) Real Madrid
Rafa Benitez has the distinct (dis)honour of steering two clubs with disappointing seasons, who have managed to make it on this list. With Real Madrid threatening to finish this season in third place and that too a dozen points adrift of the La Liga title, this has been a considerably disappointing season for the Madrid side.
Real Madrid have clearly come off worse from the Barca-Real duopoly and are set to end the season having neither won the title, El Clasico or against their local rivals Atletico.
Madrid also faced the humiliation of disqualification from the Copa del Rey this season, having fielded a suspended player from the previous season in their cup tie.
The side from the Spanish capital tried to buck the trend with a change of managers mid-season but new boss Zinedine Zidane ended up reinforcing the plans set by the previous manager Rafa Benitez, which has left the sacking look somewhat pointless.
With Cristiano Ronaldo having an indifferent season as well, most Real Madrid fans will simply want the season to end so that they can start all over again.
