Players admired
1 Vincent Kompany 20%
2= Yaya Toure 10%
2= David Silva 10%
2= Alexis Sanchez 10%
Also admired: Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ben Davies, Juan Mata, Leighton Baines, Eden Hazard, Gary Cahill, Vito Mannone, Frank Lampard, Ross Barkley
The most loved player was Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, who got 20% of the vote, half of which came from the two Merseyside clubs. "In a time where footballers are often viewed in a negative light, he comes across as both a consummate professional and a thoroughly likable guy," said Sunderland fan Chris Weatherspoon.
City must be doing something right PR-wise, because Yaya Toure and David Silva both got 10% of the vote, while Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez also got 10%, despite having not actually played a Premier League game yet.
There was a lot of love for former players, with shouts for Ben Davies from Swansea, Vito Mannone from Arsenal and Gary Cahill from Burnley. There was even one from a prospective future club: "Ross Barkley is a quality player and hopefully he'll be playing for Chelsea one day," said Blues fan Asa Clark.
Players hated
1 John Terry 20%
2= Ashley Young 10%
2= Kevin Nolan 10%
2= Joey Barton 10%
Also hated: Didier Drogba, Lee Cattermole, Charlie Adam, Frank Lampard, Peter Odemwingie, Jonny Evans, Ramires, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Shawcross, Jack Wilshere
Somewhat less popular is Chelsea skipper John Terry - surprise, surprise - who was voted the most hated player by 20% of the fans polled. "Fantastic player, but horrendous human being", says Hull fan Greg Whitaker, although Palace fan Kevin Gunner insists that "good defenders don't do 'last ditch'."
Manchester United's Ashley Young ("He's always been a diver and that won't change" - Ed Mackey, Leicester), West Ham's Kevin Nolan ("I’ve seen that stupid chicken dance far too often" - Sam Dobson, Southampton) and Twitter's Joey Barton were all Public Enemy No.1 with 10% of our fan panel.
Other villains included Lee Cattermole, Wayne Rooney and Charlie Adam ("A nasty piece of work on the pitch. Let’s get Sandro after him this season" - Mike Wynn, Tottenham).
Clubs admired
1 Everton 35%
2 Southampton 20%
3 Arsenal 15%
Everton are clearly (almost) everybody's new second favourite team, as a whopping 35% of our panel voted for them as the rival Premier League side they most admire. "Everton have managed to remain a well-run, likeable club with less of the unpleasant 'brand' awareness of the other top teams in the division," says Stoke fan Rob Doolan. "At this rate I may as well get my season ticket for the Lower Gwladys, paint my room blue and get Baines on the back of an Everton home kit," adds Aston Villa fan Ryan Walmsley.
Also popular among the neutrals were Southampton ("I’d like them to regroup and do well this season after they’ve been raided over the summer," said Spurs man Mike Wynn); Arsenal ("Great ground, consistent decision making and not just been pumped with money from an owner" - Rob Fisher, Everton) and Crystal Palace ("Amazing what they did last season" - Asa Clark, Chelsea).
Clubs hated
1. Manchester United 25%
2= Tottenham 15%
2= Aston Villa 15%
3= Man City 10%
3= Chelsea 10%
Despite their struggles last season, it seems few rival fans have taken pity on Manchester United. The Red Devils led the way in our most hated club poll, with 20% of the vote. "They were like the Empire from Star Wars when I was growing up," says Palace fan Kevin Gunner. "Cheating b*stards," adds Hull fan Greg Whitaker, more succinctly.
Also clearly unpopular with 15% were Tottenham ("Their fans are eternally deluded" - Daniel Harrod, QPR) and Aston Villa ("I found it difficult to get through Aston Villa games last season when watching as a neutral" - Mike Wynn, Tottenham). Mega-rich Manchester City ("Simply because of the arrogance shown over the FFP issue" - Tony Attwood, Arsenal) and Chelsea ("I'm not a fan of their tactics and Mourinho's antics when they fail to win" - Matt Phillips, Swansea) didn't get much love either, with both getting 10% of the vote.
Managers admired
1 Roberto Martinez 40%
2= Brendan Rodgers 15%
2= Jose Mourinho 15%
3= Sean Dyche 10%
3= Arsene Wenger 10%
When it came to naming the top flight's favourite dugout dweller, there really was no competition. With 40% of the votes, smiley Spaniard Roberto Martinez earned our fans' affections after guiding Everton to fifth, and putting the frighteners up Arsene Wenger & Co. "He worked wonders last season – and he's a lovely guy," noted besotted Hull fan Greg Whitaker, while Man United nut Bryan Waters lamented: "Wish we'd picked him and kept David Moyes at Everton." Bah.
Messrs Rodgers and Mourinho shared 15% of the votes each, though the latter is more hated than loved, apparently (more on that shortly). Newbie Sean Dyche sidled up to Arsene Wenger with 10%, with Stoke fan Rob Doolan hailing the former as "surely some kind of necromancer" after guiding Burnley to promotion.
Managers hated
1 Harry Redknapp 25%
2 Jose Mourinho 20%
3 Alan Pardew 15%
And so, to the Premier League's most detestable chief. With a healthy 25% of votes, the tabloid press might be surprised to hear that FFT's fans have welcomed back QPR boss Harry Redknapp with folded arms. "The car-window interviews, Sky Sports News fawning over him, describing every player as 'triffic' and doing an utterly terrible job at QPR but getting away with it in the play-off final. I could go on," fumes Villa's Ryan Walmsley, stopping short of showing us his personalised dart board. He's not alone, mind. "The manager for people who don’t know football," says Kevin Gunner of Crystal Palace.
Not far behind was that man Mou with 20% of the share, our mob happily pointing to the Portuguese prince being a "cry baby", "crass, classless" and "infuriating". Alan Pardew was unpopular (even with his own club's fan), and Liverpool boss Rodgers afforded some special words from Man City fan Daniel Burke. "Somewhere, a provincial Tesco Extra is missing its smooth-talking, self-aggrandising store manager," he mused. Token votes were reserved for Alan Irvine (Burnley), Sam Allardyce and even Nigel Pearson (Hull, if you're wondering).
Your 2014/15 Premier League table
If your team hasn't done well, don't blame us...
1 Chelsea
2 Manchester City
3 Arsenal
4 Manchester United
5 Liverpool
6 Everton
7 Tottenham
8 Newcastle
9 Stoke
10 Crystal Palace
11 West Ham
12 Sunderland
13 Southampton
14 Hull
15 Swansea
16 QPR
17 Leicester
18 Aston Villa
19 West Brom
20 Burnley
So there you have it. Agree? Disagree? Let us know over at @FourFourTwo.
