The 2007-08 season is drawing to a close and the skysports.com team have been making their selections from another thrilling campaign.

Over the coming days, our journalists will be picking from a range of categories. We are also giving you the chance to comment on our choices as well as selecting your own team of the season.

To choose your own Team of the Season, click here

Our readers' choices will be revealed as part of a special Sky Sports end-of-season review entitled Premier League - Team of the Season to be broadcast at 6pm on 14th May on Sky Sports 1. To make

Deputy Editor Mark Buckingham makes his selections, together with a look at his pre-season predictions, some of which proved a trifle wide of the mark!

Team of the Season

Ivanovic: Have you seen this man?

PRE-SEASON PREDICTIONS
Title winner: Man Utd
Relegated: Derby, Wigan, Birmingham
Best buy: David Healy
Biggest flop: Darren BentPlayer of Year: Robin van Persie
Goalscorer: Dimitar Berbatov
Dark Horse: Man City

Related links

News

• Season reflections
• Season's selections
• Season's selections

Also see

• Editor's selections
• Chris Burton's selections
• Follow the action with skysports.com
• Sky Sports experts' weekend preview

David James may take many of the plaudits, but for me he has made just as many mistakes as before, only he has got away with them this season. Therefore, my goalkeeping choice is Tim Howard - like all keepers he is prone to the odd error - but he has conceded 10 goals fewer than James and has made some stunning saves.

Protecting the American are his former Manchester United team-mates Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who have once again proved to be the outstanding central defensive pairing this season and are the perfect match. Howard's Everton colleague Joleon Lescott slots in at left-back after chipping in with some big goals in addition to displaying his defensive qualities, while I wouldn't say anyone has been outstanding as a right-back this season, so Bacary Sagna just edges out Glen Johnson after a solid first campaign at Arsenal.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the obvious candidate to take the right-wing berth, for reasons see below, while Niko Kranjcar has enjoyed an impressive debut season for Portsmouth and is picked on the opposite flank. Mathieu Flamini has taken on the 'water carrier' role with great relish for Arsenal this season and is accompanied in midfield by Michael Essien, who continues to be a powerhouse for Chelsea and their most consistent performer.

Up front, Fernando Torres has quickly adjusted to the demands of Premier League football after his club record arrival at Liverpool and he is partnered in attack by Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz, who must rank as the bargain of the season.

Player - Cristiano Ronaldo

There seems little point in suggesting anyone else for this award as almost 40 goals in a season would be considered a marvellous achievement for a world-class striker, let alone a winger. He continues to infuriate opponents and opposition fans with his tricks and other antics, but the Premier League would be a poorer place without his talent.

Manager - Harry Redknapp

An FA Cup final appearance, and a consistent challenge for European qualification through the league, means Redknapp is my choice for manager of the year. He may have bought a dud in David Nugent, but he has also made a string of quality signings over the past 12 months to add flair to the undoubted steel in his side. And, using average attendance as a guide, Pompey are the second smallest team in the top flight, so to attract the players he has to Fratton Park and to achieve what he has, once again underlines Redknapp's qualities.

Rising star - Wilson Palacios

Okay, so he may turn 24 in the summer, but he was unheralded when he moved to the Premier League from Honduras last summer. On the recommendation of Arsene Wenger, he was taken to Birmingham by Steve Bruce and then followed the same manager to Wigan in the January transfer window. He has flourished in the centre of midfield and has been a key figure in Wigan's climb towards safety. He has been linked with Manchester United and can expect to go on to greater things next season.

Best buy - Roque Santa Cruz

For the second season running, Blackburn boss Mark Hughes has brought in a top-line striker for very little outlay. A fee of roughly £3.5million was all that was required to bring Santa Cruz to Ewood Park from Bayern Munich and the Paraguayan has paid back more than that with 20 goals in all competitions. Consider that Derby paid around the same sum for Robert Earnshaw, and it's not hard to see who has got value for money.

Biggest flop - Branislav Ivanovic

Perhaps it is harsh to brand someone a flop when they haven't even played, but you would expect a sighting of a player who cost £9million, even if it was Chelsea who were paying. The Serbian defender has yet to make a single appearance in a Blue shirt since his January arrival from Lokomotiv Moscow, if indeed he has even arrived in the country.

Best match - Middlesbrough 2 Man Utd 2

Perhaps a strange choice, but it is one of the few games this season that I can say I actually enjoyed and thought this is how football should be played in every game. United took an early lead and, for the first half-hour, pinged the ball from one end of the pitch to the other with wonderful aplomb. Then Boro did what few other lower table teams tend to do against United and went forward, and with some quality as well. Afonso Alves produced two excellent finishes and Boro had further opportunities to increase their lead before Wayne Rooney plundered an equaliser. Maybe the snow in early April affected my judgement, but I just thought it was a wonderfully open, entertaining, end-to-end game - makes you wonder why Boro don't try to play that way every week.

Personal highlight - Jose Mourinho's departure

Chelsea fans may, nay, will disagree given the impact of Mourinho's replacement at Stamford Bridge, but I, for one, shed no tears upon the Portuguese's exit from the Premier League. The self-titled 'Special One' was merely a poor man's Brian Clough in my book and hardly pushed back the boundaries with the way Chelsea played during his reign. Sure, they were successful, but he quickly became tiresome with his antics and his ham-fisted theatrical gestures and snide asides.

Season lowpoint - Ashley Cole

The respect issue has come to the fore in recent weeks and the worst example of a lack of respect towards officials was Ashley Cole's petulant show in Chelsea's 4-4 draw at Tottenham Hotspur. Lucky not to be sent off straight away for an awful challenge on Alan Hutton, Cole then turned his back on referee Mike Riley when he was being booked for the tackle. And he wonders why fans give him stick!

Best goal - Adebayor v Newcastle

This goal had athleticism, power and precision as Adebayor gave Arsenal an early lead in their 1-1 draw at St James' Park in December. Emmanuel Eboue flung in a cross from the right which Adebayor chested into the air before swivelling to catch a stunning volley at a decent height that fairly rocketed past helpless Newcastle keeper Shay Given.

PRE-SEASON PREDICTIONS

Title winner: Man Utd

Relegated: Derby, Wigan, Birmingham

Best buy: David Healy

Biggest flop: Darren Bent

Player of Year: Robin van Persie

Goalscorer: Dimitar Berbatov

Dark Horse: Man City

Have your say on the selections using the form below.