How was it for you?

At the end of the long hard season when the plaudits are handed out, only a few will be given to our so-called panel of prediction experts Andy Clark and Michael Warren of DWS and Lawrence Gosling of sports paper Football First.

While it didn't take a genius to predict Chelsea would be Premiership Champions, at the other end of the table our panel got it wildly wrong.

There was universal agreement that West Brom would go down, with the only debate being whether it was Crystal Palace or Southampton who would stay up.

How much did they all know, as Bryan Robson's Baggies performed their version of the Great Escape.

At the top of the prediction league Andy Clark sneaked it by a point, with 38 correct predictions, against Michael's 37, albeit Clark played one round more, so on the count back and weighted averages Michael is the Investment Week Pundit Champion - plus he is the managing director.

However, no matter how you cut the numbers Gosling was rubbish - just as well his paper is a bit better.

Lawrence Gosling, Chelsea fan

"When you've won the biggest prize in English football for the first time in 50 years, it seems churlish to say the season ended a bit flat," says Gosling.

"But going out of the Champions League the way we did in the semi-final to Liverpool, having beaten some great sides in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and with the Premiership effectively wrapped up so early, it did feel a bit anti-climatic."

Chelsea entered the season with high hopes after the progress they had made last year under Ranieri, a year that had also ended in disappointment with a Champions League semi-final defeat.

But how high the hopes were is difficult to judge. The 'Chosen One', José Mourinho, came to the club with a great reputation, but while he talked the talk the question was could he deliver?

And what exactly would he deliver? Given Arsenal's supremacy last season could Chelsea really hope to win the title this year, or would it take a season for Mourinho to fashion the side to his liking?

All these were questions being asked by Chelsea supporters and pundits alike.

Gosling says: "Much as all the fans loved Ranieri, and he was badly treated by the club during last season, he wasn't a winner and what the club has really needed over the decades is a winner.

"Our history since we first won the title in 1955, is as a club which plays great football, has great players but doesn't quite have the killer instinct to win the big trophies.

"What Mourinho has brought is that killer instinct, and he has made the players believe they are winners.

"I think this year he may have achieved more than he expected to in winning the Premiership in his first season, but the scene was set for him. Arsenal have never defended their crown under Wenger and United are clearly a club in decline.

"The challenge is now to repeat the exercise next season and also to win the Champions League. I think winning both the Premiership and the Champions League in a single season is a tall order, as it is to win any of the big domestic leagues in Europe, because the physical demands of winning domestically and in Europe is so great.

"When United did it in 1999, neither the Premiership nor the Champions League were as competitive and it was easier to balance the demands of both by resting players in games. You can't really do that now. And as I'm sure every Bayern Munich fan would agree, United fluked it that year."

The biggest concerns for Chelsea fans are getting a real goalscorer and how long José will stay with the club, says Gosling.

"Ironically given how well we did this season, we don't have an out and out goalscorer. That is not Drogba's role and Kezman has struggled. If we could land someone like Michael Owen we would be even stronger.

"I do worry about how long José will stay. To date he hasn't really put down roots anywhere in football and I think the lure of trying to win titles in the likes of Spain and Italy could prove too appealing.

"But until then we will enjoy our dominance and I expect it to continue next season."

Andy Clark,

Arsenal fan

"I admit it, we were jammy," Clark says, following the Gunners FA Cup Final win over United, 5-4 on penalties after the game finished 0-0.

This year's final didn't quite echo the drama of the 1979 one, which saw Arsenal triumph 3-2, but a win is a win.

Clark adds: "Given the way our season was in danger of falling apart at one point, to end up with second in the league and some silverware is not a bad season. But it's not the season we had expected.

"Realistically we didn't expect to go the whole season unbeaten in the league again, but we thought we would make a better go of defending the title. And the Champions League still looks a bit of a tall order for us.

"But football is a confidence game and when United kicked us off the pitch back in November in the Pizzagate match, we struggled for confidence for a long time afterwards.

"When they outplayed us in our own backyard at Highbury in the league, they put an end to our league prospects and it seemed to have a knock-on effect in the Champions League.

"We didn't really ever look that confident in Europe and ironically last season, when we lost to Chelsea, looked like our best bet of succeeding in the Champions League."

Clark is not expecting a flurry of transfer activity from Arsenal this summer - again.

He says: "We have to be realistic and admit we can't compete with Chelsea in the transfer market and maybe even United, if Glazer gives money to Ferguson as he has said he will.

"But the plus for us this season has been the development of the young players, who will have benefited from playing nearly a full season, particularly in the case of Fabregas.

"Van Persie is beginning to look very accomplished and the emergence of Senderos, after several seasons of build-up, all looks good for the future.

"We are still a team with a couple of key areas that need strengthening. The goalkeeper is one and we are no nearer solving this despite the performance of Lehman in the Cup Final.

"When Henry doesn't play up front we look quite lightweight, but if we land Michael Owen in the summer and Van Persie develops further next season we will be alright.

"In the last few seasons when Sol Campbell doesn't play we look very weak at the back, but Senderos has been excellent and we seem to have some very good cover there."

Clark is quite bullish about their domestic prospects for next year. "I shall have a small wager on us winning the Premiership next year, for two reasons," he says. "Firstly it's very hard to defend the title, as we know, and secondly offering Chelsea at 11/10 on to retain it means Arsenal are a very attractive price.

"We will do well again in the FA Cup and Carling Cup because Wenger's approach of fielding sides with youngsters and then playing stronger teams later in the competition works well."

However, Clark is still not sure about Europe. "We haven't really cracked playing in Europe, which is ironic given Wenger is European and you see the success of Mourinho and Benitez in Europe," he says.

"It's all about having the right mentality and balancing the demands of the Premiership with the demands of the Champions League. Being able to change our formation when required, particularly in Europe, is another area we need to focus on. We bored our way to success in the FA Cup Final and perhaps we need to do this in Europe.

"This is not a problem just for Arsenal but all clubs in the Premiership. Liverpool and Chelsea are good examples. Liverpool's league form was poor this season, while their European form was inspirational. Chelsea were more consistent in both competitions, but ran out of steam when they came to play Liverpool in the semi-final.

"If I was betting on the Champions League next season, I doubt I would put money on Arsenal."

Michael Warren, Man United fan

"Watching Ronaldo terrorise Lauren all afternoon and out sprinting Vieira was a joy, it was almost worth losing the FA Cup Final to Arsenal, just to have witnessed that," says Warren.

It says much about the season if that was among the highlights and no doubt he would rather have won the trophy playing as boringly as Arsenal.

He adds: "Stuffing Arsenal twice in the league, and particularly ending their unbeaten run back in November, was brilliant.

"But those wins summed up the season. We didn't get going early on. Even when we lost to Chelsea in the first game of the season we played well, but couldn't score.

"We got going very well in the middle of the season and had a great run, but Chelsea never faltered so we weren't really ever in the hunt for the title. On the occasions when we could have closed the gap, and there was one week where we could have cut the deficit to one point, we didn't manage it.

"Then our season tailed off at the end and the FA Cup Final just summed it all up. We are still playing some great football, but not scoring.

"Looking ahead to next season I can see it being more of the same, but the five year plan looks really good. With the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo already world class players and then Fletcher and Richardson coming along well, there is great potential for the future."

The concern for Warren remains finding a replacement for Roy Keane, which United still look incapable of doing.

"The likes of Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson are clearly not in this bracket and even Liam Miller and Alan Smith are not living up to their potential at the moment," he says.

"There has also been a knock-on effect on Paul Scholes who has had a patchy season by his standards, which may be because he is doing more of Roy Keane's running, combined with the fact that playing just one up front in Van Nistelrooy doesn't suit him either.

"United were unlucky with injuries and I think the players coming back early for pre-season training in June should help the club. They will hopefully get off to a better start in the league, because this year they left themselves too much to do in catching Chelsea and Arsenal.

"The only position we are really struggling in is the goalkeeper, which is surprising given the good first season Tim Howard had. The defence is solid, conceding fewer goals in the league than anyone except Chelsea, and we had more shots on target than any other Premiership club. It's just we didn't score that many goals. I think if Van Nistelrooy can have a good rest and get some good pre-season training under his belt then we will be fine.

"We are not a spent force and the balance of power has only moved south temporarily."

DWS Investments, sponsors of Aston Villa

"Villa could be the new Everton next season," according to Warren, who has seen a lot of Villa games this year as part of DWS's sponsorship of the club.

He says: "Depending on the players they get in during the summer, Villa should be looking to repeat what Everton have achieved this season, or at least try to finish in the top seven, which would get them into the Uefa Cup.

"They have already signed Patrik Berger from Portsmouth on a free transfer and Aaron Hughes from Newcastle, which are good deals and they have been linked with Craig Bellamy, which would bring some much-needed fire power up front.

"Villa's problem has been scoring goals this season. Angel and Vassell have both suffered from injuries and a loss of form, while Carlton Cole (on-loan from Chelsea) has also struggled. A player like Bellamy, even if he is a bit of a maverick, would make a big difference."

Warren feels there were many successes for Villa on the field.

"A few young players emerged this season such as Stephen Davis, along with the likes of Liam Ridgewell, which shows there is the platform for the future.

"But I think, as David O'Leary has said all year, the young players don't have the experience or physical presence to last a full season.

But you put these lads alongside experienced, but young players, such as Lee Hendrie, Gareth Barry and Nobby Solano, and you can see the side has some real potential. They obviously need a lot of luck with injuries, but the defence is solid and you can see how they could make fourth place next season, or definitely have a go for the top seven."

For the company's first year as sponsors of Villa, it has been a very good one, says Warren.

He adds: "We have been very well looked after by the manager and players when they have been involved in events with us and the recent 5-a-side tournament we held at Villa Park was a great success. We have enjoyed our season and really look forward to next year."