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At Wembley

Fabio Capello now has 90 minutes of action to put his final pieces in place for the World Cup - which still leaves time for an experiment that may add the extra dimension England will need in South Africa.

England's players embarked on a low-key Wembley lap of honour after an Mexico accompanied by the wholly inappropriate strains of Take That's syrupy singalong "Rule The World".

It was in keeping with the upbeat party mood Wembley seemed intent on creating for England's farewell appearance on home soil before , but hardly an accurate forecast based on a display riddled with flaws and uncertainty.

Perspective and context are always in danger of being sacrificed amid the hysteria of a World Cup countdown. So to write off England's hopes on the basis of an unfamiliar line-up's struggles against Mexico would be as ludicrous as pronouncing them as sure-fire winners should they thrash Japan in their final warm-up game on Sunday.

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So the Premier League ended pretty much as I predicted - with Liverpool as champions give or take the odd seven places and 23 points.

Best to get that one out of the way first. And in my defence, I will use that as a perfect example of the Premier League's unpredictability that gave this season an intriguing slant to surpass many others of recent memory.

Chelsea were one of the prime pre-season contenders to be champions and ended as domestic double winners - but it was not achieved without some surprise slips along the way which characterised the nature of this campaign.

How will those who played in the Premier League gauge the success of their seasons?

As well as trying to answer that question, I've given them some marks for added interest based on their pre-season expectations.

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At Wembley

Chelsea's supposed lack of history has become a familiar refuge for the desperate and just the plain old jealous since the advent of the riches of the Roman Abramovich era.

The refrain is used around Premier League grounds to suggest any success enjoyed at Stamford Bridge is solely down to the wielding of the mighty Russian chequebook - and is a factual nonsense.

This is, of course, the club that won the European Cup Winners' Cup by beating Real Madrid as far back as 1971 - .

It never does any harm, however, to write fresh chapters in the record books to serve as a timely reminder to your doubters and Carlo Ancelotti was the author as .

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Hamburg

Roy Hodgson did everything in his power to but it was a futile exercise, condemned to join Fulham's Europa League final defeat as a gallant failure.

The wound inflicted by Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan, , was still too raw.

Hodgson, , tried to find solace for himself and his players, who have captured the imagination of the nation and beyond with their European exploits.

Pride will come, as it must, but as Hodgson sat in Hamburg's Nordbank Arena to reflect on , there was no consolation.

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Hamburg

Fulham captain Danny Murphy flew in the face of conventional wisdom when he revealed Roy Hodgson "does not sprinkle magic dust" on Fulham before they embark on their European adventures.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described Hodgson's transformation of Fulham into a serious European force as "miraculous" - the same sentiment echoed by League Managers' Association chairman Howard Wilkinson after .

Murphy's version of the secret of Hodgson's success in guiding Fulham to their first major European final was more conventional and removed all romantic notions. Hard work, meticulous planning and attention to detail in the transfer market are the key elements at Craven Cottage.

Fulham's story has created a stir that stretches way beyond the banks of the Thames, as was proved when Hodgson addressed the media high inside Hamburg's Nordbank Arena ahead of.

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Fabio Capello's mission to become history starts in a month's time in the surroundings of .

As England prepare to take on the United States in an area rich in platinum mines, Capello now has just a few short weeks to polish the gems in his collection in readiness for the country's latest attempt to claim the World Cup for the first time since 1966.

Capello is trying to bridge a 44-year gap that has become a constant source of hope, expectation and ultimately disappointment. So how does England's squad stand as the clock ticks closer to kick-off in South Africa?

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Carlo Ancelotti's glass of red wine - barely touched and described in terms that suggests his grasp of the English language is almost complete - contained the only clouds on his horizon.

Relaxing against the cushion of Chelsea's Premier League title triumph, the Italian let that inscrutable mask slip just a little as he reflected on the scale of his achievements in his first season at Stamford Bridge.

"Just easy questions please because my level of wine is high," he demanded after ditching his traditional suit for Chelsea colours and a blue and white scarf.

But all questions are easy after claiming the domestic game's highest honour with an , Chelsea's biggest league victory of the campaign.

The Premier League season, rather like Ancelotti's dubious wine, has not been vintage quality but everything - well, almost everything - .

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At Eastlands

Harry Redknapp struck the latest blow for English management's older generation by completing the transformation of Tottenham Hotspur from fallen giant flirting with relegation to Champions League qualifiers.

Fulham's 62-year-old Roy Hodgson had already demonstrated there is life in the old dogs yet by guiding the Cottagers to a Europa League final against Atletico Madrid. Now Redknapp, another elder statesmen, is celebrating spectacular success.

The sprightly 63-year-old as Juande Ramos left behind him a team anchored firmly to the foot of the Premier League.

Today, Spurs are back among Europe's elite after beating Manchester City at Eastlands in what effectively amounted to a fourth place play-off.

And Redknapp, as the main strategist, takes most of the credit.

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At Anfield

Rafael Benitez and Carlo Ancelotti have shared honours and a common bond in Champions League finals from to - and the pair stood only a few feet apart again at Anfield.

How times have changed. As they exchanged handshakes after , it was hard to escape the image of two men literally heading in opposite directions at the final whistle.

Ancelotti was able to ponder the prospect of winning the title with victory on home soil against Wigan next week while Benitez's fate was to dodge, duck and dive around constant, and reasonable, questions about his Liverpool future.

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