The football season comes to a close and the ridiculous transfer rumours now take up the back pages. So, what better distraction than to look back over the year and pick my best XI of the season.
Again, these are just my views, feel free to debate. I'll keep a simple 4-4-2 formation, to avoid any slight confusion.
Goalkeeper: Edwin Van der Sar
It was sad that he didn't end his United career with a Champions League trophy in his arms, but his performances for United were consistently impressive. His handling and reflexes were superb for a man of his age and played a massive part in the winning mentality of Man Utd this season. People will argue he had a strong defence in front of him, but when called upon, he did not disappoint.
Right-Back: Kyle Walker
A season which saw this man enter the England squad, Kyle Walker has shown he is more than ready for the Premier League after a highly successful loan spell with Aston Villa. His attacking mentality, which seems evident in most top-class right back's nowadays, has certainly turned some heads. The advantage with Walker is that he is strong as well as quick, and has a real chance of cementing a place in the Tottenham side. What's more, he's young and English, but he will have to up his game if he wants to maintain his spot in the England squad, especially with Micah Richards waiting in the under 21's, a close second it must be said.
Centre-Back: Nemanja Vidic
A predictable choice I am sure. Vidic is a rock at the back which no striker wants to come up against. His aerial ability, leadership and dedication could make him a United legend for years to come. Whether he be at the back with Ferdinand, Smalling or Evans, he controls that back four like his life depends on it. An obvious choice.
Centre-Back: Vincent Kompany
Man City certainly have made the most of having alarmingly rich owners, but among all the star names, Kompany keeps City ticking. Given Mancini's tactics, a substantial amount of pressure is put on the defenders to keep that clean sheet. With Kompany at the back, they have been able to do that. His organisation has pushed Man City to just where they want to be, third place and a Champions League spot.
Left-Back: Ashley Cole
Say what you want about Cole, he has consistently performed for whatever side he has played for. He has attack and defence in his game and will not be shifted from his position at Chelsea in a hurry. He knows what his job is, and he delivers. One of England's few consistent performers over the past couple of years.
Right Midfield: Antonio Valencia
I apologise for now picking three Man Utd players...
But they did win the league.
Valencia may have been out injured for a few months in the season, but when he re-emerged late in the season, he ran riot down the right flank. The combination of strength and pace was nothing short of destructive, not to mention the fact that he can cross. Three key attributes which make the perfect winger. I had my doubts when Man Utd signed him to fill that slot, but he has proved me so wrong.
Centre Midfield: Luka Modric
All the talk at Tottenham this year has been Van der Vaart and Bale. However, this man in the centre of midfield has been genius. His ability to hold on to the ball for such a small player is incredible and very rarely does he miss-place a pass. Spurs may not have managed Champions League football this year, but if they manage to hold on to Modric, their attacking flair will continue to pressurise the top four.
Centre Midfield: Jack Wilshere
The exciting young talent of Wilshere has been talked about constantly this season, and rightly so. His ball carrying ability is brilliant and he should now be an England regular for years to come. He plays football like a boy in a playground with his mates, no sense of pressure and wants to be on the ball as much as he can. England fans suddenly have something to smile about.
Left Midfield: Gareth Bale
Bale did have an on and off season overall, but his initial impact is enough to give him a spot in my side. His performance against Inter Milan was a joy to behold, even though Spurs lost 4-3, it was the start of quite a special season for the Welshman. His acceleration is incredible and not many in the Premier League can keep up with him. It'll be interesting to see if he can maintain his form next season.
Striker: Javier Hernandez
Difficult to avoid picking this man. Surely signing of the season, 'Chicarito' has taken to the Premiership like a duck to water. His composure in front of goal this season is similar to that of team-mate Michael Owen when he first shone in the top league. The question is, can he maintain this for years to come? If he can, the partnership of himself and Wayne Rooney is something that will put fear into the eyes of any defensive unit.
Striker: Carlos Tevez
The Argentinian may not be in the league next season and I am not sure how Manchester City would plan on replacing him next year. He works hard and scores goals and it would be a shame to see him leave. Without him, City don't look half as good in the attacking part of the pitch, any club in the world would be extremely happy to have him in their side. He scored 20 goals from 31 appearances this season, not a bad record at all.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Friday, 11 February 2011
ENGLAND!
That's right. I can't stop myself.
I have read through the BBC feed for the last two hours and I can't actually stop myself from writing about the England team at the moment because so many people's views just make me ridiculously angry.
And I'm honestly sorry, because I hate reading this sort of thing after England games. Everyone thinks they have the answer and that England are either terrible, amazing, dysfunctional, oblivious, fantastic, blah blah blah.
But I really just fancy a rant. Problem is, I have no idea where to start.
I suppose the whole Wilshere, is he holding role/is he not holding role, is he being over-hyped/is he not being over-hyped is a start.
Let's put it this way, he isn't Gareth Barry, which is always a win. Because, as we all know, or we all SHOULD know, he has been sitting in that role for too long now with no impact whatsoever.
Wilshere was brilliant, deserved of praise in the papers, but what I have been reading in the BBC feed is that he didn't play well as a defensive midfielder.
Since when was he ever going to do that? Since when has Barry ever done that for us in the past?
He was a brilliant ball-carrier, lovely touch and not too many miss-placed passes. Obviously, more ideal with a rock like Parker behind him in a say a midfield of five, but against lesser international teams it should be fine.
The other point that caught my eye was people saying Phil McNulty was 'harsh' on his criticism of John Terry. I would say he was being generous.
It was as if Capello had set him on 'More Roaming' on Football Manager. I mean it was as if he wasn't taking it seriously, he has done it at times for Chelsea but not as much as he did in that game.
And while were on the back four, the half-time analysis of the first goal suggesting Dawson was poor with the marking, I think you'll find that was because he had the impossible task of marking three players at the same time. Yes, I am a spurs fan, but to suggest that was solely his fault was outrageous. I would need to look at it again to see who the two guilty players were who left him to take the blame, but I think you might find one of them was Frank Lampard. The experienced letting us down slightly, the theme of the evening, arguably.
Glen Johnson is just awaiting his card membership to join the 'I won't get dropped yet continue to play horrifically for England' club. I would have put Micah Richards, Nedham Onuoha and Kyle Walker ahead of him, yes I know Micah was injured but this would be more for the future. Kenny Dalglish has got it right with playing him at wing-back, but he still, clearly, needs to work on his defending.
Theo Walcott did a superb job on the right and did well to work an assist for Darren Bent. His pace was good and I think it helped playing with Wilshere as they probably know each others games quite well.
I'm going to make a light point about Aaron Lennon not being considered, once again, trying to be neutral. I'm not saying he should start ahead of Walcott, but being omitted completely is ridiculous. He is starting to get back to his best in a Spurs shirt, I don't know whether the World Cup performances are still lingering in Capello's mind, but he is second in line to Walcott at right midfield in my view. Also, I know Roberto Mancini hasn't been starting Adam Johnson (a mind-bender) but I still think he should be getting a call-up.
James Milner, a brilliant performance. One on the bbc feed gave him man of the match, when I had a think about it, he/she might be right. Most of his balls into the box were of good quality and showed no signs of tiring. Him and Walcott switching was good also, especially with the contrast between pace and delivery quality.
Wayne Rooney scored for United at the weekend so were thinking his form has just kicked into gear. Unfortunately, he did not show it for England and hasn't done for a while. But, I can't see him being dropped and I think that is pretty logical. Saying that, Ashley Young played alarmingly well playing just off of Darren Bent. The more I think about it, the more I think that dropping someone like Rooney from the first team is exactly what the aggressive striker needs. Ferguson has done it at times this season, but then he has the quality with Berbatov and Hernandez, what do we have?
In steps Darren Bent, who finally got himself 90 minutes in an England shirt. And another goal. Problem with Bent is, he misses very, very simple chances. This is something you can get away with at club level, but at the international stage, he will get fewer chances and if he stands any chance of maintaining that spot, he needs to take them more regularly. The advantage with this we have competition in this position, Carroll, Defoe, Crouch, Agbonlahor and if he plays anything like he did the other night, Ashley Young.
The one thing I have noticed about England is that we tend to play well we have many players who play at the same club playing together. People are saying that not enough players Englishmen are in the top four, I don't see that as a big issue. Especially as, due to the quality of the league we have in England, we have many players that I would much rather see playing every week for someone such as Sunderland or Aston Villa than be fringe players at Chelsea or Manchester United.
I think the other thing people need to realise is that if we go to Euro 2012 and get to the quarter-finals, it is a good achievement. The pressure we put on our players is enormous because they know that if they don't perform, they will receive a post-match boo, which Rooney certainly didn't appreciate.
With England, it seems like there are two extremes, England are the best or England are the worst. How about England are somewhere in the middle? How about England had good points and bad points? I think when England are off-form, instead of saying "We'll learn from this and improve", we as the public go immediately to "We are rubbish, this is depressing". We are not the best team in the world, if we come to Euro 2012 and we get to the quarter-finals, I could accept that, but I don't think a large amount of football fans in the country would.
So, I shall end as I began. I am sorry I have resorted to this. But these are my views, do with them what you wish.
The England Football Team: The Ultimate Debate.
I have read through the BBC feed for the last two hours and I can't actually stop myself from writing about the England team at the moment because so many people's views just make me ridiculously angry.
And I'm honestly sorry, because I hate reading this sort of thing after England games. Everyone thinks they have the answer and that England are either terrible, amazing, dysfunctional, oblivious, fantastic, blah blah blah.
But I really just fancy a rant. Problem is, I have no idea where to start.
I suppose the whole Wilshere, is he holding role/is he not holding role, is he being over-hyped/is he not being over-hyped is a start.
Let's put it this way, he isn't Gareth Barry, which is always a win. Because, as we all know, or we all SHOULD know, he has been sitting in that role for too long now with no impact whatsoever.
Wilshere was brilliant, deserved of praise in the papers, but what I have been reading in the BBC feed is that he didn't play well as a defensive midfielder.
Since when was he ever going to do that? Since when has Barry ever done that for us in the past?
He was a brilliant ball-carrier, lovely touch and not too many miss-placed passes. Obviously, more ideal with a rock like Parker behind him in a say a midfield of five, but against lesser international teams it should be fine.
The other point that caught my eye was people saying Phil McNulty was 'harsh' on his criticism of John Terry. I would say he was being generous.
It was as if Capello had set him on 'More Roaming' on Football Manager. I mean it was as if he wasn't taking it seriously, he has done it at times for Chelsea but not as much as he did in that game.
And while were on the back four, the half-time analysis of the first goal suggesting Dawson was poor with the marking, I think you'll find that was because he had the impossible task of marking three players at the same time. Yes, I am a spurs fan, but to suggest that was solely his fault was outrageous. I would need to look at it again to see who the two guilty players were who left him to take the blame, but I think you might find one of them was Frank Lampard. The experienced letting us down slightly, the theme of the evening, arguably.
Glen Johnson is just awaiting his card membership to join the 'I won't get dropped yet continue to play horrifically for England' club. I would have put Micah Richards, Nedham Onuoha and Kyle Walker ahead of him, yes I know Micah was injured but this would be more for the future. Kenny Dalglish has got it right with playing him at wing-back, but he still, clearly, needs to work on his defending.
Theo Walcott did a superb job on the right and did well to work an assist for Darren Bent. His pace was good and I think it helped playing with Wilshere as they probably know each others games quite well.
I'm going to make a light point about Aaron Lennon not being considered, once again, trying to be neutral. I'm not saying he should start ahead of Walcott, but being omitted completely is ridiculous. He is starting to get back to his best in a Spurs shirt, I don't know whether the World Cup performances are still lingering in Capello's mind, but he is second in line to Walcott at right midfield in my view. Also, I know Roberto Mancini hasn't been starting Adam Johnson (a mind-bender) but I still think he should be getting a call-up.
James Milner, a brilliant performance. One on the bbc feed gave him man of the match, when I had a think about it, he/she might be right. Most of his balls into the box were of good quality and showed no signs of tiring. Him and Walcott switching was good also, especially with the contrast between pace and delivery quality.
Wayne Rooney scored for United at the weekend so were thinking his form has just kicked into gear. Unfortunately, he did not show it for England and hasn't done for a while. But, I can't see him being dropped and I think that is pretty logical. Saying that, Ashley Young played alarmingly well playing just off of Darren Bent. The more I think about it, the more I think that dropping someone like Rooney from the first team is exactly what the aggressive striker needs. Ferguson has done it at times this season, but then he has the quality with Berbatov and Hernandez, what do we have?
In steps Darren Bent, who finally got himself 90 minutes in an England shirt. And another goal. Problem with Bent is, he misses very, very simple chances. This is something you can get away with at club level, but at the international stage, he will get fewer chances and if he stands any chance of maintaining that spot, he needs to take them more regularly. The advantage with this we have competition in this position, Carroll, Defoe, Crouch, Agbonlahor and if he plays anything like he did the other night, Ashley Young.
The one thing I have noticed about England is that we tend to play well we have many players who play at the same club playing together. People are saying that not enough players Englishmen are in the top four, I don't see that as a big issue. Especially as, due to the quality of the league we have in England, we have many players that I would much rather see playing every week for someone such as Sunderland or Aston Villa than be fringe players at Chelsea or Manchester United.
I think the other thing people need to realise is that if we go to Euro 2012 and get to the quarter-finals, it is a good achievement. The pressure we put on our players is enormous because they know that if they don't perform, they will receive a post-match boo, which Rooney certainly didn't appreciate.
With England, it seems like there are two extremes, England are the best or England are the worst. How about England are somewhere in the middle? How about England had good points and bad points? I think when England are off-form, instead of saying "We'll learn from this and improve", we as the public go immediately to "We are rubbish, this is depressing". We are not the best team in the world, if we come to Euro 2012 and we get to the quarter-finals, I could accept that, but I don't think a large amount of football fans in the country would.
So, I shall end as I began. I am sorry I have resorted to this. But these are my views, do with them what you wish.
The England Football Team: The Ultimate Debate.
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