Welcome to Row Z, The Athletic’s weekly column that shines a light on the bonkers side of the game.From clubs to managers, players to organisations, every week we’ll bring you the absurdities, the greed, the contradictions, the preposterousness and the oddities of the sport we all love…Well, what a season it’s been. VAR cleared up all the contentious decisions while not slowing down the pace of the game or ruining fans’ enjoyment of the sport, the handball rule was easy to follow, and 115 charges against Manchester City were decisively ruled upon in a swift, timely fashion.Here at Row Z, we’ve got our best suit on and our acceptance speech ready, as it’s time for the end-of-the-season awards. Enjoy!Meeting of minds of the seasonEx-referee Dermot Gallagher and former Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd (or, as Sky Sports News have been captioning him since Arsenal won the title, ‘Arsenal 1995-2000’ even though he was 13 in 1995 and left Highbury without making a senior appearance) had their say on huddle-gate — also known as referee Paul Tierney standing still while some Chelsea footballers creepily surrounded him to fully respect the ball.Gallagher: “Couldn’t believe it. Just couldn’t believe it, honestly. I watched Saturday night just… (shocked expression). I just see no need for it.”Bothroyd: “I’m kind of like, why has Paul got to stand there? Even when I was playing, referees are kind of in the vicinity of the penalty spot, but does he have to stand on the penalty spot?”Gallagher: “That’s the centre spot.”Bothroyd: “Yeah, but does he… I mean, sorry, the centre spot. Does he have to stand on the centre spot?”Gallagher: “Well, he wants to…”Bothroyd: “He doesn’t have to stand there, does he?”Gallagher: “Well, he doesn’t have to but… they don’t have to stand there either, do they?”Quote of the seasonAn honourable late mention for former Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce who, when summarising Pep Guardiola’s impact on the club during 10 years in charge, said on talkSPORT: “I find it quite incredible that with everything he’s achieved we can still look for a negative. People say the charges here and the charges (there). Listen, you can’t pick a negative on him.“It’s like turning around and saying, ‘You know that Mother Theresa, some of her gear weren’t the smartest you know’.”But the winner has to be Southampton midfielder Flynn Downes discussing manager Tonda Eckert’s seemingly uncanny ability to know exactly how the opposition would be lining up.