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All Leagues, EPL, England, Europe, Fantasy EPL, Features, Ian John, Leagues, Regions POSTS

A Challenge…

Published by Ian John on May 4, 2009

Do you reckon you have what it takes to build a title winning football team? Well I have a little experiment for you to try out to see if you could manage it…

Imagine the scenario, Club X FC, Premiership also rans have sacked their manager and been bought out by the next billionnaire who appoints you manager and gives you a blank chequebook to sign players from any club (bar the top four). Bearing in mind it is highly unlikely that any side would sell you more than two players at any one go (even Harry Redknapp would think twice about this), could you build a side capable of challenging the top four buying from only the rest of the Premiership? It is more difficult than it sounds…

The rules are as follows:

1. You can pick any player from any premier league side APART from Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool. So you cannot pick any players from these clubs.

2. You can only pick a maximum of TWO players from any one team.

3. The aim is to build a side, regardless of cost, that could realistically challenge the top four. By realistically, I mean be up with Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea at the top of the table, not put up a valiant effort for 5th spot as Everton and Aston Villa are doing.

It sounds easy doesn’t it? But I found this exercise really showed me just how far ahead the top four are in terms of quality… Here is my team and even so, I’m not sure they would realistically challenge the top four, unless I was allowed to bring in a few foreign players…

I am basing my team on a basic 4-4-2 formation.

Goalkeeper : Chris Kirkland (Wigan Athletic)
Right Back : Glen Johnson (Portsmouth)
Left Back : Joleon Lescott (Everton)
Centre Back : Micah Richards (Manchester City)
Centre Back : Christiopher Samba (Blackburn R)
Anchoring Midfield : Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)
Right Midfielder : Aaron Lennon (Tottenham H)
Left Midfielder : Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
Attacking Midfielder : Tim Cahill (Everton)
Attacker : Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)
Attacker : Peter Crouch (Portsmouth)

Subs:
Sub Gk : Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton W)
Sub Def : Anton Ferdinand (Sunderland)
Sub Mid : Luka Modric (Tottenham H)
Sub Mid/Att : Robinho (Man City)
Sub Att : Dean Ashton (West Ham Utd)

The reason for this exercise? Consider Manchester City. Consider the millions Mark Hughes has to spend and the seemingly endless choices he has. Or has he? Would many players “take the money” as Robinho is said to have done? Or would they do a Kaka and stay at a club that seems to have a realistic chance of success each season? I think there are more players in the latter category than the former. Now if you rule out all of English (and European) football’s superpowers then you are left picking from the best of the rest.

And that, as I think this exercise shows, is rather difficult to do even if you can pick ANY player and sign them.

I think the problem City have is that money can certainly buy players, but players nowadays want is a proven history of winning the top competitions and the prestige that comes from that. That is the one thing City lack
and it is also the one thing money can’t buy.

Picture Courtesy of **tonycpt74@sbc.globalne t**