Premier League end of season awards: Yahoo Sport's best and worst of 2016-17

Chelsea won the Premier League with a record 30 wins in Antonio Conte’s first season, while Tottenham Hotspur chased them all the way into the last three weeks of the campaign.

Arsenal finished outside the top four for the first time under Arsene Wenger while Liverpool sealed a Champions League return.

READ MORE: Gossip – Griezmann future ‘decided within 2-3 weeks’, Barcelona ‘want Herrera’

READ MORE: Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy relaxed over Pochettino’s future

Various managers came and went, Wayne Rooney became Manchester United’s greatest-ever goalscorer despite hardly playing and Sunderland’s annual battle against relegation ended in abject surrender.

But there was much more to the 2016-17 season than just the top four and bottom three – as the Yahoo Sport team prove as they point out their best and worsts.

Best player

James Dickens

Jan Vertonghen: A left field choice, but the cultured defender has been outstanding in the Premier League’s best defence. While the likes of Hugo Lloris and Toby Alderweireld are rightly showed with praise, Vertonghen goes about his business with quiet brilliance, reading the game wonderfully and being a fantastic playmaker when needed. In the past he has been subjected to central defensive partners such as Vlad Chiriches, Ryan Nelsen, Sébastien Bassong, Stephen Caulker and Federico Fazio, so it’s about time he got some help around him.

Dimitri Kondonis

Harry Kane: You can’t not love a striker as prolific as Kane. He’s a powerhouse, with an astonishing 35 goals for Spurs in 38 appearances in all competitions – and he was out injured for three months. With eight goals in his final week of the Premier League season, he has properly staked his claim to be one of the best Premier League players of his generation.

Hamish Williams

Harry Kane: He is the beating heart of Tottenham Hotspur and his goal scoring record remains second-to-none. Surely he’s world class now?

Mohab Ghobrianos

Eden Hazard: 16 Premier goals, three assists including goals in big games against Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal. I truly believe that N’Golo Kante was the Premier League MVP this season, but if you are looking for the best player this season, it has to be the Belgian.

READ MORE: Gossip – Man City and Bayern ‘want Sanchez’, Chelsea ‘target James’

Matt Lewis

N’Golo Kante: His achievements are all the more impressive given this was his first season in a new team, adapting to a new manager, new players and new system. Deservedly named PFA Player of the Year, the little Frenchman is a big presence in midfield.

Mark Lawford

Jordan Pickford: In kids’ football, a team will lose 10-0 but the keeper will get the man of the match award. Step forward Sunderland custodian Jordan Pickford without whom the Black Cats would have been relegated by the end of January and who proved to be the only shining light in the dark despair that was David Moyes’ 38-game tenure.

Best manager

Mohab Ghobrianos

Antonio Conte: Without a doubt – Manager Of The Month on three occasions this season, LMA Manager of the year, Premier League manager of the year, Premier League title and FA Cup final on his debut season.

James Dickens

Antonio Conte: Naming the formerly bald Italian for this wasn’t difficult. Yes he’s won the League, which is always recommended if you want to be named as the best manager, but look at how. He inherited a mess of a team with a fractured dressing room and a control freak captain who was past his best. He massaged egos, played it their way and when it didn’t work he went ‘full Conte’. Back three, hard graft and manic touchline activity. He has been a breathe of fresh air and is in danger of making Chelsea likeable, which is some going in one season.

Dimitri Kondonis

Antonio Conte: I’m a big fan of how Mauricio Pochettino has transformed Spurs into title contenders, but it’s got to be Conte. He came in to manage a team which had barely finished in the top ten of the Premier League, and led them back to the top at his first attempt. It shouldn’t – and won’t – be forgotten that the squad was already worthy of challenging for the title. But the way in which he brought 3-5-2 into fashion in the Premier League is also creditable.

READ MORE: Wenger doesn’t know if FA Cup final is his last game at Arsenal

Matt Lewis

Antonio Conte: The Italian has now won four successive league titles and has been an excellent addition to the Premier League. He’s had a lot to deal with too, with distractions like Diego Costa and John Terry’s future, but he’s acted with dignity and shown his adaptability with the shift in formation.

Mark Lawford

Antonio Conte: What he has done in transforming Chelsea from last season’s shambles to this season’s record breakers is astonishing.

Hamish Williams

Sean Dyche: Pochettino and Conte rightly stole the headlines but what Dyche achieved was remarkable in it’s own way. A formidable home record, safety secured in April on one of the smallest budgets in the league and a very healthy club profit.

Best goal

Mohab Ghobrianos

Emre Can for Liverpool against Watford. And overhead kick, a match winner, and a crucial goal in Liverpool’s fight to secure a top 4 finish. Quite an easy pick.

Dimitri Kondonis

Olivier Giroud, but notable mentions to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Andy Carroll. The Frenchman wins it for me after his delightful scorpion kick against Crystal Palace. He just about clinches it because it went in off the crossbar – the benchmark for a wonder strike. Carroll’s strike was also sensational, but scorpion kicks are just about the hardest shots to control.

Matt Lewis

Emre Can for Liverpool v Watford. Not an important goal but in my opinion the most stunning strike of the season. It is a difficult technique to master and he executed it perfectly. It actually gets better with every new angle you watch it from.

Mark Lawford

Gaston Ramirez for Middlesbrough against Bournemouth. When you play at junior or Sunday morning levels you see goals like this when someone runs 70 yards with the ball, weaving through a slalom of tackles before finishing like a 70s icon. I just wish he had knelt before the ball and headed it home to complete the whole thing.

PICTURE SPECIAL: Sport’s most cringeworthy moments

James Dickens

Emre Can, Liverpool v Watford. It’s not every season you see a 6ft, 13 stone defensive midfielder launch himself into the air and hit a perfect scissor kick into the top corner. No shin involved either, struck with the laces. Wayne Rooney take note.

Hamish Williams

Gaston Ramirez for Boro v Bournemouth. The Uruguayan started 70 yards from goal, beat several players on the way before slotting calmly past Artur Boruc in goal. It was about the only time pulses went racing watching Boro.

Best match

Mohab Ghobrianos

Arsenal 3-4 Liverpool in the first week of the season. Thrilling encounter with quality goals featuring two potential title contenders, neither of whom challenged for the title.

Dimitri Kondonis

Bournemouth 4-3 Liverpool. It summed up the magic of the Premier League – the scrappy underdog against the top four team. Liverpool had the game under control, until they didn’t, and contrived to lose. It was breathless, end-to-end stuff and Bournemouth nipped it at the death. It proved to be a recurring theme for Liverpool, losing points to lower-league teams.

Matt Lewis

Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea. There weren’t too many classics last season but this one was a cracker. Conte’s Chelsea produced magic in the second half and City lost their cool at the end. A couple of red cards to finish it off just made things all the more exciting.

Mark Lawford

Swansea 5 Crystal Palace 4: Nine goals, seven in the last 25 minutes and with Palace leading 4-3 in the 91st minute having recovered from 3-1 down in the 75th minute. Classic fare that contained really manky defending and low grade goals but enough excitement to cancel out the dullness served out at Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

James Dickens

Bournemouth 3-3 Arsenal. The Cherries go three goals up after 58 minutes and seem to be cruising, Sanchez and Lucas Perez score to put Bournemouth on the back foot. Simon Francis was unfairly dismissed in the 82nd minute and Olivier Giroud equalised in the 92nd minute, which he celebrated by reenacting his scorpion goal the previous week for quite some time. Perhaps spending less time doing that and more time scoring the winner and they would be in the Champions League?

Hamish Williams

Not much really stands out for me. Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Man City had so much going for it, but in terms of pure thrills and tension it has to Bournemouth’s madcap 4-3 win over Liverpool.

Worst moment

Mohab Ghobrianos

Leicester City sacking Claudio Ranieri after leading the Foxes to the Premier League title last season.

Dimitri Kondonis

Arsenal fans, almost the entire campaign. Yes, Arsene Wenger has seriously underperformed. Yes, you can justifiably air those frustrations. But flying a plane, as well as the over-the-top toxicity around the Emirates? Spare me, it could so, so much worse than finishing fifth.

James Dickens

Claudio Ranieri being sacked by Leicester. No doubt it was the right choice, but having won the title with the players last season, you would think they would have some loyalty to him? Sadly not, their performances at the start of the season were reprehensible and how they suddenly perked up when the jovial Italian was given the boot left a sour taste in the mouth.

Matt Lewis

As a Manchester United fan, I’d have to go with the 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea. I think Pedro scored after about 40 seconds and it just got worse and worse. Other than that, anything that Mike Dean was treated with utter contempt.

Mark Lawford

The level of refereeing inconsistencies continues to infuriate, the worst one being Kyle Walker’s shove in the back of the clean through Raheem Sterling which merited a red card and a penalty but got neither as Spurs came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Manchester City. Andre Marriner hit rock bottom here.

Hamish Williams

John Terry’s 26th-minute substitution against Sunderland. A great player and a club legend sure, but organising your own subbing with the opposition complete with a guard of honour relegated the final game of the season to a sideshow.

Best signing

Hamish Williams

Victor Wanyama, N’Golo Kante and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were all crucial for them teams, however I can’t go past Fernando Llorente. The Spaniard was signed for only around £5m but his 15 goals provided fantastic value and were what ultimately kept Swansea in the Premier League for another season.

James Dickens

Leroy Sane. Clearly the correct answer to this question is N’Golo Kante but for the sake of variety I have chosen Sane. He is a work in progress, but at 21 in a new country he’s played 39 games, scoring nine goals and five assists. Not huge numbers but he has shown pace, finishing ability and can only get better. Expect big things from him next season.

Mohab Ghobrianos

N’Golo Kante to Chelsea for £30m. The Frenchman was key to Leicester City’s startling success in 2016, and just as influential to Chelsea’s incredible season in 2017.

Dimitri Kondonis

N’Golo Kante. Hardly an inspired one, granted, but then Chelsea aren’t exactly renowned for their inspired scouting. And why should it matter? They came, they saw Kante, they signed him. They won the league. He reinforced a Chelsea midfielder previously lacking, and allowed Eden Hazard and Diego Costa (ably supported by Pedro and Willian) to run the show in attack.

Matt Lewis

Given I’ve put him as the best player then I’ve got to go with Kante. The fee was around £30million which is basically a third of what United paid for Paul Pogba.

Mark Lawford

N’Golo Kante – no question. You want to the win the Premier League, sign this man.

Biggest flop

Mohab Ghobrianos

Claudio Bravo to Manchester City for £15.3m. Signing the Chilean keeper was a key decision that resulted in Pep Guardiola’s failure this season after bombing out England number 1 goalkeeper Joe Hart, as Bravo made a long list of fatal mistakes this season, that saw him end up on City’s bench.

Dimitri Kondonis

Claudio Bravo. A goalkeeper who can’t really goal keep was brought in to play the ball out from defence. And guess what? He hasn’t even done that properly. A woeful signing from Pep Guardiola, though granted he needed an upgrade on Joe Hart. And, to be fair to Bravo, playing behind the likes of John Stones and co isn’t exactly the most comfort-inducing thought. That said, he has seriously underperformed, and City must reassess their goalkeeping options.

James Dickens

Moussa Sissoko. He has been utterly dreadful. £30m for a player who makes the team worse when he’s in it. He looks scared and lacking in any technical ability whatsoever. Spurs needed a plan B who can open up games when coming off the bench. They have a player who will be sold this summer at a big loss. A side note, but he has also blocked opportunities for younger players like Josh Onomah. An unmitigated disaster.

Hamish Williams

Moussa Sissoko. I wanted to say Claudio Bravo or even Jordan Ibe, but being of a Spurs persuasion I couldn’t go past our record £30m signing. Two assists and zero goals from 40 games is shocking.

Matt Lewis

There’s plenty of candidates for this. Pogba, given his price tag, must be considered. But while Pogba has done little to influence games, Claudio Bravo’s comedy goalkeeping has done just that and is why I’m going to have to pick him. Pep Guardiola made a big mistake with Bravo.

Mark Lawford

With Wilfried Bony not doing enough to be a flop this accolade goes to West Ham’s comedy striker Simone Zaza who not only failed to score while on loan but failed to assist with a goal, get a shot on target or make any sort of footballing impression at all in his 11-game Hammers stint.

Most significant moment/match

Mohab Ghobrianos

Chelsea fans turn on Mourinho, though the end of the love relationship between Mourinho and Chelsea fans was inevitable, but seeing this happening was still shocking for many including myself. There is a new Special One at Stamford Bridge now, and his name isn’t Jose.

Dimitri Kondonis

Chelsea’s 3-0 hammering at Arsenal. Turns out, the joke was on Arsenal the whole time. It forced Conte to change his system, and they barely lost again before the season was out as they romped to the most comfortable of Premier League title wins. And Arsenal finished outside of the Champions League for the first time in many a year. Whoops.

Matt Lewis

The most significant match was Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. After that match, Conte changed his tactics to play three at the back and it sparked Chelsea’s incredible winning run that would form the backbone of their charge to the title.

Mark Lawford

Victor Moses scoring Chelsea’s winning goal in the 2-1 defeat of Tottenham in November as Spurs were arguably the better team and deserved to win – the six-point swing proved crucial in the second half of the season

James Dickens

Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham. Spurs were leading through a fine strike from Christian Eriksen. Chelsea battled back and goals from Moses and Pedro secured the three points. Maybe if Spurs had held out. Maybe just maybe…

Hamish Williams

Chelsea’s 3-0 loss to Arsenal. Antonio Conte may well have ended up shifting to a back three later in the season anyway, but this loss meant Chelsea were still in a position to challenge (and then romp away) for the title