The year in football: highs and lows of 2016 – from Allardyce to Zlatan

Leicester City’s title win was every bit the fairy story, as was Wales’ run at Euro 2016, but England displayed their unerring ability to ruin the mood

The year 2016 was a terrific one for the Premier League and a terrible 12 months for English football. Leicester City’s title success was every bit the fairytale, the perfect antidote to long-held and justifiable fears that ordinary clubs could no longer dream of glory as the bigger institutions and the Champions League elite had effectively ringfenced all the prizes worth winning.

Related: A 2016 football moment to remember: Dejan Lovren sets the Kop on fire | Paul Doyle

Arsenal and Tottenham are particularly guilty of dithering instead of cashing in on managerial changes elsewhere

I've just Cruyffed them and stuck it in the net

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