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The FA, UEFA and FIFA got it right? If I could paraphrase Jeremy Bentham, (the 19th century philosopher) it would be that be that the more teams that achieve a happy outcome, then the better football is for all. And this season has epitomized that. In years to come, pub quizzes will ask what had Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and the Spuds got in common in 2025, it would be that they all won major trophies after a long wait. So have the footballing gods of the FA, UEFA and FIFA got it right at last? Have they listened to the spirit of the great utilitarian philosophers of the 19th century and finally created a system that gives a chance to the many instead of the same boring old teams whipping up all the happiness? Did the ghost of Jeremy Bentham permeate the football gods? But is the real question whether or not the teams, their owners, staff and fans are actually happy? Are Liverpool’s fans happy or are they worried about their bad results at the end of the season, possibly particularly being second best to PSG over the 2 legs of the Champions League? Or the Spuds having an abysmal season but pulling a beautiful pearl out of their final oyster after a year of eating rotten ones? Only the above mentioned stakeholders can answer that but I can tell you as an Arsenal supporter that even when we were winning things there was always grumblings and discontent no matter what we achieved. Should Arsenal be happy? Let’s look at Arsenal. We finished second with 74 points as opposed to 89 and 84 in the previous seasons. So we should be unhappy, yes? But we did much better in the Champions League reaching the semi-finals with some great results along the way ,as opposed to the quarter-finals the year before that and the previous year getting knocked out in the Europa League round 16. Progress each year. So we should be happy, yes? We were knocked out in the 3rd round of the FA Cup this season and last with being beaten by Man City in the 4th round the previous year. So we should be unhappy with no progress, yes? But we got to the semi-final of the League Cup this season, being beaten by eventual winners, the happy Geordies as opposed to reaching the 4th round last season and the 3rd round the season before that. So we should be happy, yes? Was a fight between Edu and Arteta the reason we couldn't sign a striker? We had good progress in 2 competitions and sort of similar results in the 2 others over the past 3 seasons so maybe overall we should have a level of happiness. We have not gone backwards but probably slightly forward this season, particularly coupled with the amount of injuries we sustained and the unique sendings off we have had, not seen before or since. If the argument is that a manager and staff can coax better performances out of their players than seems likely then they can be happy that they have done their best with the resources we have. Jose Mourinho, one of the most decorated managers ever, claims that Man Utd’s second place season he achieved was his best ever as a manager, testament to the belief that getting the best out of the players you have is the ultimate test of a manager. That means Arteta and his staff can be happy. Are they? I doubt it. But I don’t know for sure. There is no way of predicting such a series of outcomes and we were left without crucial players all season. It may well have been a better conclusion, given the circumstances, than could have been expected and a large credit should be given to the backroom team for being competitive in 3 of the main trophies. Fans are never happy I think it is fair to say that Arsenal’s fans are not happy. City’s collapse should have been our opportunity, and big teams stuttering in the Champions League meant we lost one of our best opportunities to win my most coveted trophy. Not buying a striker is the familiar refrain and it has resonance, for sure, but Jesus, our only recognized striker, was out for most of the season, Kai Havertz, his replacement, was also injured for many games, as was Bukayo Saka, possibly our best player, and Gabriel Martinelli also lost quite a few games. Coupled with our main supplier of assists, Martin Odegaard, missing a huge chunk of the season meant we were short of the possibility of scoring goals, the hardest thing to do in football, yet we still managed 69, the 3rd highest in the league. That is a good achievement under the circumstances. I emphasise that this is with the players we had on the pitch, not phantom ones we could have bought. Man Utd are surely miserable but one win would have made them happy? Salah had 29 in the league, Diaz 13 and Gakpo 10, by contrast, in their 86 goals, whereas none of our boys managed 10. Man City had 72 goals with 22 of them coming from Haaland who had an up and down season. It is fair to say that the management team got good outcomes with what they had to work with. It’s all Edu’s fault? The loss of Edu may well have played a part in why we could not nab a striker. Something was going on behind the scenes for sure. Possibly a disagreement between Edu and Arteta over who to sign that would gel with Arsenal? The story never leaked as to what went wrong with the relationship but I feel it is a good bet that that was the reason no striker was signed in January. One pearl in a rotten season for Tottenham made all the difference I feel we should be happy. Such a combination of events rarely happen often. Some good new players in from outside and the academy plus a normal season regarding injuries and I feel we have the players and the hunger to succeed. Happiness is on the way, folks, you read it here first. Most teams should be happy? I do want to finish with the main point we had at the start. If we disregard the 3 relegated teams who surely could not be happy, and throw the once mighty Manchester United in there as well, who else deserves to be unhappy? Not many, I posit. The Spuds managed an unlikely end to a disastrous season and they are celebrating. Chelsea are back among the elite. They do look happy Aston Villa are disappointed but this was their first attempt at the Champions League, a long way from their success in the European Cup over 40 years ago. They could not cope with fighting on two hard fronts and lost some points along the way. Bad luck on their last game cost them and even that was by a tiny fraction because of goal difference. I think they deserve to be more happy because they showed they don’t need much improvement to stay up there amongst the best. The old order has changed? Forest, Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth all had their highest Premier League points totals, Everton jumped up the table and while West Ham are disappointed, they did finish midtable and can have some optimism for next season. And by the way, the Champions League win will go to a team outside the usual suspects, although Inter do have a Champions League pedigree, meaning that possibly we will have a new winner and both teams surely regard it as a good achievement to have got there. Will PSG be among the ones who grabbed a new trophy? In short, a lot of happiness for the maximum amount of teams have been achieved. So many fans have had their lives enhanced by the buzz around their team and perhaps the FA, UEFA and FIFA can take solace that an element of utilitarianism has surfaced. Football has become fairer. Or has it, really? Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea are the top four. And maybe this season with all the lesser teams becoming happy is just an anomaly, like Arsenal’s run of injuries and weird refereeing decisions, and everything reverts to the rich next season? We can only hope Arsenal becomes that giant next season, the one who conquers all on behalf of the super-rich. Will that make us happy? I will ask Jeremy Bentham.