Football Season Review

Burton are coming from a remarkable season which ended with them finishing as League One runners-up to clinch automatic promotion and secure Championship football for the first time in the history of their club. This result is even more remarkable when having in mind that this was the Brewers first-ever League One campaign, but their lack of experience at this level never really told, as they won promotion due to the simple fact that they were the only side in the league that did not have a single period of poor results throughout the course of the campaign. Their most turbulent period was in January, when they lost both manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and star winger Nasser El Khayati, who both joined Queens Park Rangers, but the club made a smart managerial appointment in Nigel Clough, while El Khayati's attacking output was replaced by the likes of Stuart Beavon and Lucas Akins, who both upped their game, as well as on-loan signing Mason Bennett. The Brewers were never the most pleasant to watch side in the division but were always very hard to beat and ended the season with only 37 goals conceded, less than any other side in the division. It needs to be noted that they had a lot of luck of injuries, as virtually none of their important players suffered any physical problems that caused them to miss more than a couple of weeks of action at the time. Their squad is short in both numbers and players proven at Championship levels and Clough will have to purchase smart during the summer if his side are to continue leaving the dream and avoid a swift return to the third tier.

Player of the Season: Stuart Beavon