Source: Daily_Mail
Review of the sporting year - May
Anothersporting year is coming to an end, and once again 2010 has deliveredthe goods. An Olympic Winter Games, a World Cup and so many othermarvellous events have kept us enthralled for the past twelve months.[LNB]Relive some of those memories with Sportsmail's monthly guide to another year to remember.[LNB] ******************************************************************************************************************************************************MAY1 Tottenham remained just a point ahead of Manchester City in the race for the final Champions League place after the two clubs recorded 1-0 and 3-1 wins over Bolton and Aston Villa respectively. Neil Robertson became the first Australian in 35 years to reach snooker's World Championship final in Sheffield, where he met Graeme Dott. World Twenty20 champions Pakistan began their title defence with a 21-run win over Bangladesh.[LNB]2Chelsea moved a step closer to winning the Barclays Premier Leaguetitle with a 2-0 win at Liverpool, but Manchester United ensured itwould go to the final day by beating Sunderland 1-0 away. Three-timesnooker world champion John Higgins insisted he was '100 per centclear' as he faced an investigation into allegations reported by theNews of the World regarding the fixing of individual frames. RoryMcIlroy became the youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods in1996 as he hit a course-record 62 to claim the Quail HollowChampionship by four shots from Phil Mickelson.[LNB]3Neil Robertson beat Graeme Dott 18-13 in the Betfred.com World SnookerChampionship final in Sheffield. Hull's relegation from the BarclaysPremier League was confirmed after they drew 2-2 with Wigan. Meanwhile,Arsenal lost 2-1 at Blackburn. England lost their ICC World Twenty20opener against West Indies by eight wickets on the Duckworth-Lewismethod.[LNB]Read Ivan Speck's account of Neil Robertson's World Championship final win over Graeme Dott Top of the world: Neil Robertson grabbed Crucible glory in May[LNB]4 England scraped through to the Super Eight stages of the World Twenty20 after rain forced a no-result against Ireland. England made 120 for eight, with Eoin Morgan making 45, with Ireland on 14 for one before rain intervened. Chris Coleman was sacked as manager of Championship club Coventry. Former England World Cup winner Mike Catt announced he was to retire from playing. Catt announced he will continue to coach at London Irish.[LNB]5Tottenham secured qualification to the Champions League with a 1-0Barclays Premier League victory at Manchester City. Bayern Munichmidfielder Franck Ribery lost his appeal against a three-match Europeanban, ruling him out of the Champions League final against Inter Milan.Birmingham defender Roger Johnson was charged by the FootballAssociation with two counts of improper conduct relating to commentsmade to the media after their defeat to Aston Villa.[LNB] And the winner is...Rory McIlroy won at the Quail Hollow Championship[LNB]6 Midfielder John Obi Mikel was ruled out of Chelsea's run-in to the end of the season after undergoing knee surgery. England beat Pakistan by six wickets in their World Twenty20 Super Eight match at Bridgetown. Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak denied speculation manager Roberto Mancini would be sacked in the summer, adding he would be given 'all the tools he needs' to make the club a success.[LNB]7 Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was named as Barclays manager of the season. England midfielder Gareth Barry's participation in the World Cup was thrown into doubt after he was ruled out for a month with an ankle ligament injury. Lee Westwood shot a 65 to hold the lead at the Players' Championship in Sawgrass.[LNB]Read Sportsmail's chief football correspondent Matt Lawton's report on Tottenham's jubilant win over Manchester City Heads up: Crouch nods home Spurs' winner at Manchester City to book Champions League football [LNB]8 England defeated South Africa by 39 runs in their ICC World Twenty20 Super Eight match in Barbados, with Kevin Pietersen's brutal 55 the highlight. The batsman later flew home to attend the birth of his first child. Leeds won promotion from Coca-Cola League 1, while Gillingham were relegated to League Two and Grimsby dropped out of the Football League. Falkirk were relegated from the Clydesdale Bank Premier League after drawing 0-0 with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.[LNB]9 Chelsea won the Barclays Premier League title following an 8-0 win over Wigan. Didier Drogba scored a hat-trick in the match to ensure he ended the season with the Premier League's Golden Shoe award. Manchester United were runners-up and ended their season with a 4-0 defeat of Stoke. Wayne Rooney aggravated a groin injury in the match but Sir Alex Ferguson said it was unlikely to hinder the player's World Cup hopes. Red Bull's Mark Webber won the Spanish Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso and Sebastien Vettel completing the podium.[LNB]10 England progressed to the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 with a perfect record in the Super Eight stage after beating New Zealand by three wickets. The Football League voted to accept Premier League parachute payments being made over four years instead of two. Roy Hodgson was named as the LMA's manager of the season for his exploits in guiding Fulham to the Europa League final.[LNB]Read Sportsmail's chief sports writer Martin Samuel's take on Chelsea's Premier League success We are the champions: Chelsea win the Premier League title with a 8-0 win over Wigan[LNB]11 England manager Fabio Capello announced his 30-man provisional squad for the World Cup. Jamie Carragher returned after retiring from international football in 2007 but Paul Scholes turned down the chance to come out of retirement. West Ham sacked manager Gianfranco Zola. Former England boss Steve McClaren was appointed manager of former German champions Wolfsburg.[LNB]12 Fulham lost the Europa League final 2-1 as Diego Forlan netted an extra-time goal to hand Atletico Madrid victory. Simon Davies had cancelled out Forlan's opener, only for the Uruguay striker to net a 116th-minute winner for Atletico. Chelsea and England defender John Terry revealed he hoped to play in the FA Cup final after a scan revealed no break to the right foot he injured earlier in the day. There had been fears the Chelsea captain had suffered a broken metatarsal. Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner confirmed manager Martin O'Neill would be staying at the club after talks.[LNB]Make mine a Double: Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti lifts the FA Cup aloft[LNB]13 England defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the ICC World Twenty20 semi-final in Gros Islet to progress to the tournament final. Chelsea defender John Terry told reporters he was 'fine' and 'looking forward' to the FA Cup final against Portsmouth on Saturday after fears of a broken bone in his foot proved unfounded. The Ospreys were fined £100,000 and docked four league points next season for breaching Magners League rules. The breach related to the postponement of their Magners League clash against Ulster in Belfast on March 19, when the Ospreys claimed they lacked sufficient front-row players to fulfil the fixture.[LNB]14 Australia beat Pakistan by three wickets to seal their place in the World Twenty20 final against England. The Confederation of African Football confirmed Togo's ban from the next two African Nations Cups had been lifted. Leonardo announced he was to leave his post as AC Milan coach by mutual consent.[LNB]15 Chelsea beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Wembley courtesy of a Didier Drogba free-kick to complete a Premier League and FA Cup double for the first time in their history. Dundee United won the Active Nation Scottish Cup final, beating Ross County 3-0 at Hampden. Mark Webber claimed pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel. the sixth time in six races a Red Bull had been on pole. Webber would go on to win the following day's race.[LNB]16 England clinched the ICC World Twenty20 trophy with a seven-wicket victory over Australia in the final in Bridgetown, Barbados. Lord Triesman resigned as chairman of the Football Association and England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup following allegations he accused the Spanish and Russian football federations of bribery. Geoff Thompson was confirmed as his replacement as England 2018 chairman. Barcelona retained the Primera Division title in Spain and Inter Milan retained Italy's Serie A.[LNB]17 FIFA announced their Ethics Committee would look into Lord Triesman's comments regarding the Spanish and Russian football federations, while ordering the English FA to produce a report outlining their observations on the scandal. Michael Ballack learned he would miss the World Cup as a result of an injury suffered during Chelsea's FA Cup final victory over Portsmouth. The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected Franck Ribery's appeal against the suspension that ruled him out of the Champions League final.[LNB]18 Tim Cahill signed a new contract with Everton, tying him to the club until 2014. Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter was suspended from the touchline for 14 weeks for making provocative and/or inappropriate gestures and comments during the Guinness Premiership game with Leicester. [LNB] What a feeling: Paul Collingwood leads England to Twenty20 glory[LNB]Read Paul Newman on England's transformation from no-hopers to Twenty20 titans19 Barcelona confirmed they had agreed a fee of 40million euros with Valencia for Spain striker David Villa. Birmingham completed the signing of goalkeeper Ben Foster from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. Luigi Del Neri was appointed Juventus coach.[LNB]20 Avram Grant resigned as Portsmouth manager, paying tribute to the club's fans in an emotional open letter posted on the club's website. Saracens confirmed their intention to appeal against the 14-week touchline ban issued by the Rugby Football Union to director of rugby Brendan Venter. Durham and England bowler Graham Onions was ruled out of all cricket for up to three months due to back and knee problems, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed.[LNB]21 Arsenal announced the signing of striker Marouane Chamakh on a long-term contract. The Morocco international arrived on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract at Bordeaux. Andy Murray was drawn to face Richard Gasquet in the first round of the French Open. Heptathlete Kelly Sotherton was ruled out of the 2010 season with a back injury.[LNB]22 Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League final. Diego Milito scored both goals at Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium, with Jose Mourinho's Inter becoming the first Italian side to win the league, cup and Champions League treble. Blackpool twice came from behind to beat Cardiff 3-2 in the Coca-Cola Championship play-off final, securing promotion to the Barclays Premier League. Toulouse beat Biarritz 21-19 to win the Heineken Cup final in Paris.[LNB]Read Matt Lawton on a glorious night for Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan in Madrid Eur a bit of alright: Inter Milan striker Diego Milito scored both goals in their 2-0 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich[LNB]23 Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan was named in an England Test squad for the first time, to face Bangladesh at Lord's. Stuart Broad was rested, while Paul Collingwood was absent because of injury. Cardiff Blues beat Toulon 28-21 in the Amlin Challenge Cup final at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. England's Simon Khan, ranked 471st in the world, won the PGA Championship at Wentworth. The tournament was notable for Swede Robert Karlsson shooting a course-record 62 in the third round, having flown home to Monte Carlo the day before thinking he had missed the cut.[LNB]24 England beat Mexico 3-1 at Wembley in their final home match before the World Cup in South Africa. Ledley King, Peter Crouch and Glen Johnson got the goals. The Government announced UK Sport, Sport England and the new UK anti-doping agency will all have to make budget cuts of 3 per cent. The Olympic Delivery Authority, the body building the venues for the London 2012 Games, will also have to make a saving of £27million. Andy Murray fought back from two sets down to beat Richard Gasquet 4-6 6-7 (5/7) 6-4 6-2 6-1 in the first round of the French Open.[LNB]Up the ante: David Gold (right) and David Sullivan increase their stake in West Ham[LNB]25 Rangers manager Walter Smith signed a one-year deal to remain at Ibrox in what will be his last season in football, while Peter Houston signed a three-year deal to remain as Dundee United manager. Liverpool confirmed Fabio Aurelio was to leave the club in the summer after failing to agree a new contract. Aurelio, however, later re-signed for the Reds. West Ham confirmed co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan had increased their stake in the Premier League club to 60 per cent.[LNB]26 Real Madrid parted company with coach Manuel Pellegrini and confirmed their intention to appoint Jose Mourinho as their new coach once he was able to resolve his contract with Inter Milan. Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter had his ban for making provocative and/or inappropriate gestures and comments during the game against Leicester on May 8 reduced to 10 weeks by the Rugby Football Union, but was still not allowed to attend the Guinness Premiership final. Birmingham signed striker Nikola Zigic from Valencia on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[LNB]27 Alex Horne was appointed as the permanent successor to former chief executive of the Football Association Ian Watmore but given the title of general secretary. Andy Murray completed a rain-disrupted 6-2 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 6-2 win over Juan Ignacio Chela in his second-round match at the French Open. Ghana midfielder Michael Essien was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury.[LNB]28 The Glazer family released a statement confirming that Manchester United are not for sale and that they will not entertain any offers for the club. France were named by UEFA as hosts of the 2016 European Championships. Andy Murray reached the fourth round of the French Open after beating Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis 6-2 6-3 0-6 6-2.[LNB]29 Leicester won the Guinness Premiership final 33-27 against Saracens at Twickenham. Millwall moved up to the Championship by winning the League One play-off final against Swindon at Wembley 1-0. Ospreys won the Magners League Grand Final 17-12 against Leinster.[LNB]Read Chris Foy on Leicester's Premiership final victory over Saracens at Twickenham We've done it: Leicester players celebrate victory at Twickenham[LNB] 30 Two own goals helped England recover from a goal down to beat Japan 2-1 in their final World Cup warm-up game in Graz. Dagenham and Redbridge were promoted to League One after a 3-2 win over Rotherham in the League Two play-off final at Wembley. Lewis Hamilton won the Turkish Grand Prix after Red Bull team-mates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber took each other out of the race.[LNB]31 England won the first Test against Bangladesh at Lord's by eight wickets. Steven Finn took five second-innings wickets for match figures of nine for 187. Everton announced the signing of striker Jermaine Beckford on a four-year deal following the expiry of his contract with Leeds. Jose Mourinho was officially presented as the new coach of Real Madrid having signed a four-year deal.[LNB] Sportsmail's month-by-month review of the year - JanuarySportsmail's month-by-month review of the year - FebruarySportsmail's month-by-month review of the year - MarchSportsmail's month-by-month review of the year - April[LNB] Explore more:People: Paul Scholes, Franck Ribery, Marouane Chamakh, Ledley King, Chris Coleman, David Gold, Marcos Baghdatis, Eoin Morgan, Roberto Mancini, Alex Horne, Michael Essien, Fabio Capello, Harry Redknapp, Tiger Woods, Stuart Broad, Fabio Aurelio, Mike Catt, David Villa, Simon Khan, Paul Collingwood, Didier Drogba, Robert Karlsson, Lee Westwood, Steve McClaren, John Higgins, Alex Ferguson, Kelly Sotherton, Jamie Carragher, John Terry, Mark Webber, Brendan Venter, Robert Kubica, Tim Cahill, Michael Ballack, Walter Smith, Gareth Barry, Graham Onions, David Sullivan, Fernando Alonso, Andy Murray, Geoff Thompson, Peter Crouch, Martin Samuel, Phil Mickelson, Sebastian Vettel, Roy Hodgson, Ben Foster, Martin O'Neill, Lewis Hamilton, Glen Johnson, Roger Johnson, Jose Mourinho, Gianfranco Zola, Simon Davies, Kevin Pietersen, Wayne Rooney Places: Barcelona, Manchester, Paris, Leeds, Liverpool, Munich, Madrid, Cardiff, London, Belfast, Birmingham, Milan, Morocco, Barbados, Cyprus, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Italy, Ghana, Bangladesh, South Africa, France, Japan, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom Organisations: Olympic Delivery Authority, Rugby Football Union, Football Association, Football League, Wales Cricket Board
