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Buy Of The Season?
Published by Ian John on March 16, 2009
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So who has been the best buy of the English Premier League season for you so far? Which player new to his club this season has done the most to galvanise his team and inspire them to performances above and beyond what is ordinarily expected of them?
Manchester City fans will immediately leap up in the air at this point and suggest Robinho. The Brazillian has made an impact for sure at Eastlands, but given Cities erratic league form, which is almost as erratic as the form of the Brazillian himself, does that make him the number one? It’s tough to say at this point. If City can progress into the UEFA Cup Final and possibly win it, then no doubt Robinho will be heralded as the signing of the season but in the Premier League at least, he certainly needs to be more consistent than he has been thus far. He has the potential to be far better than he has shown thus far and it will be interesting to see if he achieves that undoubted potential at City.
Wigan fans can equally claim Amr Zaki has had a big impact this season. The Egyptian striker has certainly raised a few eyebrows with his all action style and goalscoring prowess so much so that Steve Bruce may well have faced a fight to keep hold of him when his current loan deal expires. However recently his form has been not quite so impressive and it seems potential suitors are having second thoughts over the striker.
Arsenal fans can point to the talented performances of Samir Nasri as a highlight of their season. The young Frenchman has been impressive in an attacking midfield role for the Gunners and probably had his best game when scoring both goals in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat of Manchester United. However like Zaki and Robinho, consistency has been a problem for the Frenchman and it seems that getting to grips with the rigours of the English league is problematic even for some of the best young players in the world.
Hull City fans will no doubt be quick to pinpoint the signing of Giovanni from Manchester City as a key point in their season. The Brazillian seems to have enjoyed a rennaissance in form since joining the Tigers and he has played a consistent part for the club all season long. Another who has played his part has been Tottenham’s Luka Modric. The £16m midfielder has been at the heart of most of Tottenham’s better performances this season but neither Modric nor Giovanni can be said to have set the Premier League alight with their performances.
Other than those few players, it is slim pickings. Robbie Keane’s dream move to Liverpool quickly turned into a nightmare and eventually saw him return to Spurs. Peter Crouch has done okay at a struggling Pompey but little more. Jo arrived at Manchester City with plaudits aplenty but has had to move on loan to Everton to find his goalscoring touch while Italian left back Dossena, while being the scourge of Real Madrid and Manchester United, can hardly have been said to set the Premiership alight with his performances. Indeed if anything, his arrival has just inspired Fabio Aurielo to play better. Spurs big money duo’s Gomes and Giovani Dos Santos have both had seasons to forget.
So it’s not been the greatest of seasons for the Premiership new boys. The best of the bunch for me is probably also one of the most unheralded and certainly one of the least talked of, but for me Curtis Davies performances for Aston Villa have been excellent all season long. Deservedly earning himself an England call up into the bargain and replacing the Juventus bound Olof Mellberg in the process. Davies has been the rock of the Villa defence for most of the season and he has played a part in Villa’s much improved showing this time around.
So the new boys have not really made much of an impact despite the millions spent. Whether that is down to their limitations, or just how tough it is in the Premiership, only time will tell.
Picture Credit : **snappycat** on Flickr.com
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Nabyl Charania on Mon, 16th Mar 2009 9:17 am
It just seems that no matter how much money other teams spend, its always Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal uptop, maybe everyone else should just give up….