Premier League Top four XI: 11/12 season

This article is a bit late. No wait, it’s hideously late. But I was bored and I’ve always wanted to make a top four XI, especially considering I did a relegation XI.

But doing a top four XI is tough and controversial. On one hand there is no Chelsea, as they didn’t finish in the top four. But on the other hand the Blues have only gone and won the Champions League, so you ask yourself do I consider the Chelsea players or do I leave them out?

These are the questions that keep me awake at night..

Well, for the sake of the challenge, I have decided to keep Chelsea out of it. Now Chelsea fans, don’t be hurt, I have done this as I wanted it to literally be the Top Four XI.

Here we go,

Goalkeeper

Green =best, Red = worst

For me, the keepers argument is quite simple. It’s gotta be Joe Hart hasn’t it? He is the man, he makes goalkeeping look cool.

But in terms of football, he has been fantastic. Hart is incredibly well rounded, focused and often saves his team’s bacon countless of times.

But what impresses me about Hart is his leadership and organisational skills. He really settles and calms Man City’s backline, the understanding between him and his defenders is fantastic and is visible to anyone who watches City.

Right Back:

Again, this area is relatively straight forward for me. Although he didn’t feature as much as expected last season, I do feel Bacary Sagna is the best right back in the Premier League. A few months ago, I did an analysis on right backs here. And Sagna dominated over a number of leading right backs in the Premier League.

Sagna offers something many full backs crave, and that’s balance, in terms of offensive duties and defensive duties. Sagna’s great positioning and reading of the game allows him to roam forward and defend adequately.

Centre Backs:

Stats via EPL Index

 This is tough, probably because most of the top four have very gifted centre backs.

Looking at the stats, im going for Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott. Now, I know it’s dead boring and is a bit like someone having the chance to pick anything to have for dinner and they go for the old routine of bangers and mash. But these two are pretty good and cover a lot of bases.

Kompany is arguably the best centre back in the Premier League. He dominates his opponents; he wins most of his tackles and reads the game very well. While with Lescott, we have a left sided centre back, who is a tackling specialist. Lescott is dominant in the air too.

Left Back:

This is an interesting one to call. If Chelsea made the top four, Ashley Cole would certainly be up there. But even so, it’s still a hard question. A few months ago, I also did an analysis on some left backs in the Premier League, and Gael Clichy really impressed me. Like his former Arsenal team-mate Sagna, Clichy is well rounded in regards to his offensive and defensive work. But my one issue with Clichy is that he doesn’t play as many games as he really should at Man City. Perhaps that’s due to Mancini..being well, Mancini. It’s quite clear, Roberto loves to shuffle his full backs. But, I love the balance Clichy brings at full back. He defends well, and support attacks pretty effectively too.

Defensive midfield:

The Premier League is actually blessed with some very talented defensive midfielders.

Looking at the stats, it’s hard. It’s like choosing a chocolate from a Celebrations tin. There are too many tasty, yet different types of defensive midfielders. But I will go for Mikel Arteta. His passing, composure and ball retention is absolutely key in that role.  Furthermore, his tackling isn’t that bad either. The Spaniard is a resilient leader who really gets his teams to tick and can often dictate the tempo of games. Something which I feel Carrick, Parker and Barry struggle to do.

Midfielders:

Comparison of the deeper lying central midfielders

Yaya Toure has to be in this side, without a doubt. One could easily argue, Toure is the best box to box midfielder in the world. Toure has the characteristics to dominate games and he’s proven time and time again he is the man who can make the difference for Man City. One of the things I admire about Toure is his vision and passing abilities, they compliment physicality and the dominant stature he has. 

Comparison of the play makers in the top four

 Toure’s partner in this midfield is no other than the great Luka Modric. I feel both players would link well together. Modric’s movement and passing range would bring a slickness and fluidity the side. While Toure’s physicality would give the side a bit of drive.

Attacking Left

David Silva – He has got to be in the team hasn’t he? David Silva is like the bread of a sandwich, he is the one who completes the team. He is the one gives the team texture. David Silva’s quick feet, agile style and his creativity make him imperative for this team. The Spaniard is class, he makes creating chances look like a simple task.

David Silva is silent, but deadly.

  

Attacking Right:

Seeing there are so many quality strikers and wingers in the Premier League, it’s hard to pick someone, over another talented player. As you can go with someone like Nani, and think, ‘yeah, he’s a good player.’ Then later you may ponder, what about Bale, his directness, assertiveness and powerful left foot makes him a must have.

But, for the attacking right position, I am going for Robin Van Persie.

Van Persie is awesome. And let’s be under no allusions, he is a complete striker. He has wonderful feet, great variation in his finishing and can create chances for his team mates too. Van Persie proved last season, if he can stay injury free, he can score for absolute fun. He really can. His positioning, composure and decision making is first class.

Centre Forward:

Originally, I wanted to compare Aguero, Rooney and Van Persie to each other, but I liked them so much I wanted them all in the team. It was a bit self indulgent of me, it’s like finishing that whole box of celebrations by myself.

But I have gone for Sergio Aguero up front. This man is sensational. I think his price tag has made people not recognise how crucial he was last season for Man City. People forget, he joined the club aged 22. In his debut season in English football, he scored an impressive 23 league goals. And if you watched him with Man City, he was fully embedded into the side. His understanding and vision of the game was complimented by his City team mates. Aguero himself bagged 8 assists too, a symbol of his cohesion in the team. One aspect of Aguero’s game which impressed me was his physicality. Although he may not be the biggest player, he certainly stood his ground and led the City line very effectively.

So here's how the team would look on paper.

 

(Stats from EPL Index, taken from the 2011/12 season) 

Football Tweets of the week 27/08

We haven't done this in a while, but here are our 10 funniest football tweets of this week! (In no order too!)

1.) Joins Man United. Stops loving kids and wife.-  @Sc0tt_Campbell

2.)   This is brilliant: - @Jake__Baxter

 3.) According to @SkySports, Man United have bought Arsenal for £24m...

4.) Oh Steven, I love you man - @MarioBaloltelli

 5.) Ever wondered what Gary Neville gets up to with his big pen during the game? - @oscarpyejeary

 6.)  What!? - @Now__Football

  

  7.) Players who can make a goal from nothing...: @FootballFunnys

  8.) 98 - Barca's away kit looking suspiciously like some of the kits you would design for your FIFA98 custom team. Monstrosity- @OptaParody

9.) This is brilliant! - @Gerrard8FanPage

10.) How does this even happen? Someone needs to have a word with the #mufc kitman. - @SoccerBible

Be sure to follow all these guys on Twitter, you can follow us at @ReviewFootball

See last weeks funny tweets here  

Football Tweets of the week 28/07

This weeks 10 funniest football tweets! (In no order too!)

1.) Owen Hargreaves is training with QPR. Their physios will be the only people busier than John Terry's lawyers. - @PickThatOneOut

2.) Man United change their logo to match their new kit: - @AndreVillyB

3.) Maradona: "Messi scores a goal and screams. Cristiano scores a goal then poses as if he's trying to sell you shampoo in a commercial."- @Simon_Hughes__

4.) FIFA13 Achievement Unlocked: Complete a full 90 minutes with either Owen Hargreaves, Keiron Dyer or Michael Owen- @BigJohnTerry

5.) How do you fix a £50m striker who never scores? Sign 4 attacking midfielders worth £90m (Mata, Marin, Hazard & Oscar). @FootballFunnys

6.) This Olympics opening ceremony costs £27m, or roughly half a Fernando Torres. @scatterbull

7.) BREAKING: Luis Suarez may have apologised for his racist remarks, but this is a little too far. - @BBCSporf 



8.) Mancini's answer to Fergie. - @FootyMemes

 9.) BREAKING: Nuri Sahin is set to move on-loan to a "Big Premier League Team". That's Tottenham out of the queston.- @FootyTrollz

10.) Exclusive images of Robin van Persie in a Manchester United shirt. - @robboma3

 Be sure to follow all these guys on Twitter, you can follow us at @ReviewFootball

See last weeks funny tweets here 

Football Tweets of the week 12/07

Here's this weeks 10 funniest football tweets! (In no order too!)


1.) "I'm not racist. Some of my best friends wives are black." - John Terry- (@StupidFootball)

2.) What do Arsenal and Rangers have in common? They're both losing their whole team. (@CJLowndes)

3.) What happens if you leave Arsenal: - (@FootballFunnys)

 5.)By (@ArsenalMemes)

6.) How was first day training Joseph (Joey Barton)? When I heard QPR making major announcement I thought you may have been arrested again. - (@DietmarHamann )

7.)BREAKING: Steve Kean is appointed as chief-executive of mobile phone company O2, immediately sending the mobile phone network down. - (BBCSporf)

8.) (@ThorpeAFC)

9.) (@UnluckyFutball)

10.) Genius by Arsenal fans: (KaneD101)

Be sure to follow all these guys on Twitter, you can follow us at @ReviewFootball

See last weeks funny tweets here

Does Robin van Persie owe it to Arsenal to sign a new contract?

Jordan Florit evaluates whether Robin Van Persie owes it to Arsenal to pledge his future to the north London club.

His scoring form has been nothing short of sensational, banging in 25 Premier League goals in 27 appearances; his ability to assist too, playing as part of an attacking triumvirate based on fluidity, raw pace and direct running, has seen him have more involvement with goals than any other player in the Premier League this campaign; and, above all, he’s remained fit all season and has thus played at least 80 minutes in every single Premier League game this season bar one – and then, with 25 minutes left, he was brought on to take a game heading for a 1-1 draw with Stoke, to a 3-1 victory netting twice.

It is his richest vein of form since joining Arsenal in 2004 and he has already beaten his previous season’s best return of 22 goals by ten. In the past twelve months, van Persie has been quite frankly unstoppable in front of goal. Firstly, he kicked off 2011, continuing to do so all the way to the end of the season, by breaking the record for the number of consecutive games in which a player has scored a goal away from home, by collecting one on the road for nine successive games. He then carried his exploits in front of goal into the next Premier League campaign and by the New Year, RVP had joined an elite group of players that had scored over 100 career goals for The Gunners – he currently stands as their seventh highest goal scorer of all time – before becoming the fifth player since the Premier League was formed in 1992 to score at least 30 goals in a calendar year.

Yet this isn’t a player who is simply a late bloomer, hitting his finest form at the age of 28. Year upon year, since occupying the role as the main striker having seen Thierry Henry depart for Barcelona, van Persie has improved his potency up front. At the end of the 2007/08 season, the first without Henry, van Persie had a goal to game ratio of 0.39 goals per game (gpg). During the current season, the Dutchman’s ratio has increased to 0.86 gpg. Not only has his potency more than doubled at an increase of 120.51% over the five seasons, but it has increased year upon year at an average of 22.55%.

This is a man who has constantly been improving, but doing so in the face of extreme adversity. The extreme adversity? Injury. Just how extreme? So extreme that since joining Arsenal he has only been able to start 58% of their games.

This is a man who has been held back by injury, but not stopped by it.

Many say that Arsenal are a one man team and looking at the statistics – he’s scored 45% of their goals this season, the highest percentage of team goals scored by any single player in the Premier League – they have a case. Furthermore, the aforementioned example of van Persie’s only non-start still requiring him to come off the bench to win the game for The Gunners only strengthens their claim.

However, this season is Robin van Persie’s first at Arsenal without any significant absence enforced through injury since the 2008/09 season and even that was an anomaly, with the Dutchman missing large chunks of seasons at a time dating back to 2005/06. Gunners fans have always known the quality they had in Robin van Persie – the past 12 months has been his uninterrupted time to show it to the world. He ceased the opportunity, and the superlatives, as well as the speculation, followed.

His contract is up at the end of next season, having signed an extension back in July 2009 at which point, he was described as “a big part of Arsenal’s future” and Arsene Wenger himself stated that he “has the potential to become a true Arsenal great.” Undoubtedly, both statements have been realised: he stands, three years later, as their most important player and provider of goals and has cemented himself in the top ten Arsenal goal-scorers of all-time.

He may well have earned the title of “a true Arsenal great,” but can he do more to secure legendary status at The Emirates?

When he signed the deal, the number 10 announced his love for the club and it was a love tinged with the humility so often used synonymously with another great – Lionel Messi: “My heart is with Arsenal and I just can’t picture myself in a different shirt. I just can’t see it now because I love this Club so much.”

Three years have nearly passed and the club he adores so much hasn’t had quite the “bright future” van Persie stated that he wanted to “be a part of.” You could forgive him for wanting to move on now. He’s in his peak flow, he’s 28 and the clubs that consistently find themselves among the silverware are sniffing about like grotty pensioners on a morning bus in January.

However, does van Persie owe it to Arsenal to sign a further contract extension?

Over his Arsenal career, the striker has started in just 58% of Premier League games because of injury and since he joined The Gunners from Dutch side Feyenoord, Arsenal have won just one trophy – The F.A. Cup in the forward’s first season. Imagine if Robin van Persie hadn’t endured such an injury plagued career at the club? How much more success could’ve Arsenal achieved?

Lukas Podolski will join Arsenal in the summer at which point his new strike partner will have just one year left on his contract. If he stalls his decision over signing an extension and a club come in for him, he could leave for nothing. If he signs prematurely and another wave of Arsenal transfers fails to deliver, silverware may continue to elude him as he approaches his 30^th birthday next summer.

Does Robin van Persie owe it to Arsenal to sign a new contract or will much the same happen with Podolski taking the van Persie role and the Dutchman leaving akin to Henry? The only difference is, the Frenchman left with a vast trophy collection – how much does van Persie want the same?

This article was written by Jordan Florit. For more of Jordan’s work, take a look at his website: www.maycauseoffence.com/. Jordan is also on Twitter: @JordanFlorit

Arsenal and Chelsea’s fight for fourth will be settled in defence

Jordon Florit explains why Chelsea and Arsenal's race for the top four will be determined by who can stay the most solid in defence.

If it wasn’t for Andre Villas-Boas’ failure to make an immediate impact at Chelsea, something that he undoubtedly intended to do given his insistence that “there is no calling this a year of transition,” earlier in the season, despite evidently being in a year of transition - something that has become painstakingly obvious to the rest of the world who hadn’t already realised it was underway, thanks to Villas-Boas all but admitting the transition by stating, “we have a three-year project to change, not only the team but, the culture and structure of the club” - Arsenal’s season would be dead right now. Luckily for Arsene Wenger, they still have the much-coveted “trophy” of fourth place to cling on to.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s season has taken a rather different path to Chelsea’s, yet both teams are still going into the last thirteen games on level points (43) with the same goal difference (13). The only thing that currently keeps Arsenal in the top four over Chelsea, a position Arsene Wenger has never finished below during his Arsenal career, is the goal machine Robin van Persie, rather than a 3 Premier League goals Fernando Torres.

Chelsea’s defence has been marginally tighter than Arsenal’s (I emphasize marginally) and whilst both teams have suffered defensively this season, with Chelsea’s Mourinho-instilled focus on strong foundations at the back finally all but fading out as Villas-Boas adopts a risk-taking and attacking defence, and Arsenal’s back four providing all but stability or consistency, with a total of eleven plays being used across the back, if The Blues were going to pip The Gunners to fourth place, it will be won at the back.

However, news that John Terry - who was set to be risked by the Portuguese boss against Napoli, (a clear indication of just how important Terry is to Chelsea, despite not being quite the player he was a few years ago) - is out for two months. This could scupper Villas-Boas’ chances of Chelsea finishing in a Champions League spot and mount further pressure on the 34-year old.

John Terry suffered a blow to his knee in a collision with the goalpost in Chelsea’s F.A. Cup victory over Championship Portsmouth on January 7^th: an injury he played through for two more games. Since then, The Blues have failed to keep a clean sheet and have slipped from 4^th place and just four points off of 3^rd and six clear of seventh, to 5^th place, where 3^rd seems unreachable at 10 points away and 7^thplaced Liverpool have closed the gap by two.

The reading doesn’t get much better for Chelsea fans as not only are Chelsea without a clean sheet in a Terry-less side so far this season, but in addition, last season Chelsea kept just one of their 15 clean sheets without Terry, in a season in which the centre-back missed 5 games. Last campaign, Chelsea kept a clean sheet with Terry 42% of the time and without him, just 20% of the time. This season, Chelsea have kept a clean sheet 27% of the time in which John Terry has played and without him, it currently stands at 0%.

Chelsea’s defensive woes are further encapsulated by the fact that they’ve only won two of their last ten games, one of them against relegation zone dwellers Wolves. And whilst they may’ve only lost two, both were bottom half at the time and their six draws have been score draws five times, with their only goalless draw coming against Norwich, a game fans would’ve hoped Chelsea would’ve won. Their 3-0 lead against Manchester United could’ve galvanised Chelsea’s season, but even that was carelessly thrown away, to add to their other two score draws that saw Chelsea lead.

Chelsea fans may take some hope from January signing Gary Cahill: however, the centre-back is stepping into the shoes of a Chelsea hero in an extremely frail Chelsea team that, simply put, is lacking leadership, belief and confidence. He’s stepped out of the fire, in the form of Bolton, who have only kept one clean sheet since the opening fixture, and into the fire at Chelsea.

So, can Chelsea turn to last season’s Player of the Year Petr Cech for help? Seemingly not. This season, you could make a claim for Petr Cech being the worst shot stopper in the league, although much blame should be put down to a defence lacking in organisation, something further hindered with the absence of Terry: this season, Cech’s saves-to-shots ratio in the Premier League is 65% and therefore the worst in the league.

Now turn to Arsenal and in a season in which the Premier League’s top four has been more hotly-contested than Miss Universe and saw The Gunners seventeenth after an embarrassing 8-2 defeat at the hands of a ruthless Manchester United, their current position of fourth place is rather admirable. Yet, the past ten days has seen The Gunners lose everything they were fighting for but fourth place, crashing out of the F.A. Cup in a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland and their Champions League adventure all but over after a 4-0 first leg loss at the San Siro.

Yet, news that Laurent Koscielny should be back for Arsenal’s next Premier League game – the North London derby with Tottenham – has given a cloudy Arsenal week a much-welcomed silver lining. With Bacary Sagna firing on all cylinders again and Thomas Vermaelen at the heart of defence with the Frenchman, Arsenal fans have the right to celebrate.

The ever-changing back line, eluded to in the opening of this article, has finally mustered up some strength and stability: a blend of leadership, provided by Vermaelen, experience, courtesy of Sagna and ability, supplied in heaps from the much-improved Koscileny, may well prove to secure fourth place in a season where defence has been far from Arsenal’s strong point.

It would be careless to rule out Newcastle or Liverpool sneaking in and snatching the last Champions League spot, especially with the momentum Liverpool are gathering and the focus Alan Pardew has on the league campaign: but, ultimately, if Arsenal or Chelsea do indeed finish fourth, the fight will be settled in defence.

This article was written by Jordan Florit. For more of Jordan’s work, take a look at his website: www.maycauseoffence.com/. Jordan is also on Twitter: @JordanFlorit