All Leagues, EPL, England, Features, Ian John, Leagues, Regions POSTS
EPL Team Of The Season – Part One
Published by Ian John on April 12, 2009
Are you a soccer fanatic? Do you have strong opinions about the game? Think you have the chops to write about it? Contact Us then...
It has been an interesting season and continues to be so and since now is the time that professionals and football writers are voting on their players of the year and teams of the season, I thought I’d join in a little earlier than normal and give you my “Team Of The Year” for the English Premier League. I have no doubt it will bear little resemblance to the official team of the year, that will be announced at the forthcoming PFA awards, but isn’t that what football is about? Opinions?
Anyway, I’ve picked a traditional 4-4-2 system for simplicity, so let’s get started with my choice for goalkeeper and four defenders.
Goalkeeper : Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) – The usual contenders, David James, Pepe Reina, Edwin Van Der Sar and Peter Cech have all proven themselves to be fallible at times this season or have spent time out of the team injured. Friedel is a model of consistency, is seldom injured and I think has strengthened Villa’s back line immensely by sheer presence alone. I think he just edges out Cech and Reina for this position based on his influence and the improvement Villa have made with him between the sticks. Others who have impressed have been Jussi Jaaskelainen of Bolton, who is as consistent as they come, and Chris Kirkland at Wigan who seems to be fulfilling the potential he showed at Liverpool gradually under Steve Bruce at the JJB stadium.
Right Back : Glen Johnson (Portsmouth) : I must admit, I was not a big fan of Johnson until this season. I always felt he lacked concentration and didn’t use his natural athleticism well. This season, one hot headed instance of petulance apart, has been Johnson’s best ever. He seems to have made the right back slot for England his own and his pace down the right has been a valuable weapon for Pompey. His defending too seems to be improving, so I think he would be fully deserving of a place in this side. Others in the frame for me included Jose Bosingwa of Chelsea, who looks great going forward but less effective defensively and Alvaro Arbeloa of Liverpool who seems to be developing into a consistent right back for the Reds and his pushed his way into a talented Spain squad on the back of some excellent performances.
Left Back : Patrice Evra (Manchester United) : This was a very strong area of the team with Gael Clichy (Arsenal) and Fabio Aurielo (Liverpool) both having very strong claims. However I just feel that Evra has been slightly the more consistent and that he offers greater threat going forward. That combined with Manchester United’s excellent defensive record means that he just, and it was by the tiniest of fractions, gets the nod ahead of the other two players. Everton fans mnay be up in arms at the omission of Joleon Lescott but I have included him in the centre back area of the team as I feel that is his strongest position.
Centre Backs : Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) and Phil Jagielka (Everton) : This was one of the most difficult positions in the entire team to decide from. There were many outstanding candidates. Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United) has been mooted as a potential player of the year but my justification for leaving him out is simply that United seem to miss Ferdinand’s calming assured play at the back more, than Vidic’s physical, combative style, no matter how well he has played. Vidic has also been found wanting on occasions, notably when Fernando Torres roasted him at Old Trafford and if United do go on to lose the title race, his two sendings off at Anfield and Old Trafford this season against Liverpool may well be part of the reason why. The second choice was equally tough. John Terry (Chelsea), Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Joleon Lescott (Everton) and Richard Dunne (Manchester City) have all been excellent, but I think over the course of the season Jagielka has been outstanding for the Toffeemen and I think his performances warrant a place in the side.
Check out the next article as I finish off the Premiership Team of the Season with Four midfielders and two attackers… Is there space in the team for Lucas Leiva? Will I pick a Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal player? All will be explained in the next installment!(Part 2)
Photo Credit : **T.Jones47** on Flickr.com
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...2,204 views
4 so far
EPL Team of the Season Part Two | deciphersoccer.com on Mon, 13th Apr 2009 10:03 am
[...] from Part 1 we have our goalkeeper of Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) and a back line consisting of Glen Johnson [...]
Nabyl Charania on Mon, 13th Apr 2009 11:13 am
I was ok with this until the centre backs, there’s no way I’d pass up Vidic or Lescott for Jagielka as a centerback!
Al-Nashir Charania on Mon, 13th Apr 2009 12:59 pm
Insanity.Pure Insanity. To leave out Vidic must be an oversight. Between Vidic and VDS, the record for clean sheets was set, and ManUtd went on an unbeaten spree that was unmatched.
I can’t wait for you to drop Rooney/Ronaldo in favour of a Murphy/Jo combo. Then It’ll be confirmed you don’t like ManUtd, Ian!:-)
Diego Zidane on Mon, 13th Apr 2009 1:59 pm
why friedel instead of van der saar???