Premier League (All-inclusive) Team of the Season 2010-2011

Anyone who reads this blog more than once without wanting to take legal action against me for stealing away valuable minutes of their lives, will know my previous reservations about the PFA and their decision to toss out awards to players long before the season's end. As such, I waited until the conclusion of the 2010/2011 Premier League campaign before doing similar.

What follows is the definitive Premier League team of the season. But rather than just select the best XI, I've decided to make things interesting restricting the selection to only ONE player per team. You might want to ask why to which I would simply respond that this is my blog therefore my rules. Deal with it.

GK
Edwin Van der Sar (Manchester United)
Lauded like some sort of evergreen tree not simply because of his size but also his longevity. The 40-year old Dutchman has hardly had a vintage season (admittedly, there are probably more deserving players from the pool of talent at Old Trafford) but is an easy choice as standout stopper in the sense that there hasn’t been much in the way of competition from other keepers this term.

RB
Blanislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)
Again, an absolute dearth of outstanding right backs in the league meant I’ve had to opt for the physically domineering Serb meaning his Chelsea chum Ashley Cole misses out on the left back spot. Not to say he isn’t deserving in his own right. His 'don't fuck with me' stare and general disregard for anyone else on the pitch (teammates included) have made him one the very few consistent performers at The Bridge this season.

LB
Leighton Baines (Everton)
How many players have the same initials as their position? Baines has had a fine season for a much improved Everton side. Like many modern multifunctional full backs, contributes to much of his side’s attacks as well as being a half decent defender. Got a lethal free kick on him too.



CB
Kompany (Manchester City)
The Man City man has stood out as the best defender (yes, better than Vidic!) in the league this season and for all City players that could make the cut, he gets the nod for me. It's easy to piss money on attackers but finding a solid consistent defender is where the real skill lies. Get's extra props for having to carry Joleon Lescott for most of the season too.



CB
Hangeland (Fulham)
Big bad Brede is a typical no frills centre half. Physically commanding, reads the game brilliantly for the most part but also provides a real threat – as in frightens the life out of his opposite number – when getting forward for set pieces. Everyone loves a goal-scoring defender.

CM
Scott Parker (West Ham)
Rightfully the winner of the Football writer's award this year. The only reason West Ham's relegation wasn't confirmed sooner.

CM
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Unquestionably the breakthrough player of the season, there’s nothing new about young players starring in the first team at Arsenal but eyebrows have been raised by the fact that for once, the player happens to be English. At the almost infant age of 19 little Jack has also this season managed to earn his way into the England first team while still desperately being coveted by the U21s.

CM
Luka Modric (Tottenham Hotspur)
A more technically gifted player and more consistent over more of the season than certain more talked about Tottenham teammates. If he could add goals to his game, would be arguably one of the best players in the country.

LWF
Charlie Adam (Blackpool)
Looks like a builder but plays with the grace of a figure skater and has a left foot more practical than most people's hands. A stocky reminder that you don’t need to be 5’4” and built like a flea to be a fleet-footed and skilful. Gives hope to salad dodgers up and down the country. Should no doubt be a Premier League player next season despite Blackpool’s relegation.



RWF
Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
A full back's worst nightmare. Frightening pace and a wicked delivery. Not enough old fashioned out and out wingers these days.

ST
Peter Odemwinge (West Brom)
Straight shootout between him and Asamoah Gyan. The latter's injury means the Nigerian beats the Ghanaian (standard). As has been pointed out elsewhere, cost less and scored more goals for a far more inferior team than supposed “signing of the season” Hernandez.



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Formation: 4-3-3.




Subs

Ben Foster
Birmingham

Jose Enrique
Newcastle

Robert Huth
Stoke

Christopher Samba
Blackburn

Stuart Holden
Bolton

Charles N'Zogbia
Wigan

Dirk Kuyt
Liverpool

Steven Fletcher
Wolves

Asamoah Gyan
Sunderland


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Weekend Observations 16th - 17th October 2010 - Part Two

Part one here

On Saturday, Arsenal took on Birmingham looking to get back on track after a number of recent poor league results. Predictably, the Gunners made hard work of a game they should have strolled to victory in. They did get the win in the end but the main talking point was once again, a dangerous over the top tackle that potentially could have caused serious injury. Yes, those dirty Brummies... hold on. Wait a sec. It says here that it was an ARSENAL player who was the culprit. That can't be right, surely? Wenger’s precious little lambs wouldn’t say boo to a goose! Turns out in their midst is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Step forward Jack Wilshire who rightly saw red for the exact type of challenge on Big Nic Zigic that Wenger has long been calling for to be essentially outlawed. If I knew the proper definition of irony, I'm sure this would be an example of it.



Both Arsene Wenger and Wilshire have been quick to acknowledge that the red card was deserved rather than trying to defend the indefensible as many other managers more often than not will try and do. Some credit has to go Brum gaffer Alex McLeish who had the decency not to complain and even gave the wholly contrived 'not that kind of player' spiel usually reserved for incidents such as this. However, you can't help feel that his motives were less than sincere when you see how smug he came across by suggesting that people 'draw a line' under the Eduardo incident from way back when. You almost think he wanted his own player's leg to be broken just so he could say "now we're quits".

The subject of tough/reckless/dangerous tackling just won’t go away at the moment it seems. Fulham’s Danny Murphy committed the cardinal sin of expressing an honest opinion by suggesting that managers of certain teams are responsible for sending their teams out with less than honourable intentions on the football pitch. Having seen two of his teammates suffer serious injury against two of the teams he mentioned, you might think his frustration was justified. Not in the eyes of the football community unfortunately as all and sundry have rounded on Murphy like he claimed that the slave trade had its benefits.

English football doesn't know what to do with itself. If this was Johnny Foreigner, people could dismiss it but because an old custodian of the domestic game and experienced former England international has spoken out, the entire country seems about ready to combust and it's just absurdly hilarious. The rebuttals have been brilliant; from Scholarly Sam Allardyce's epistemological views on perception to Tony Pulis' shocking revelation that he can actually read, the whole thing is has been reduced to farce and just gives further credence to the theory that football is full of morons. This was further highlighted on Match of the Day 2 this week when Kevin Day presented a feature on arguably the biggest culprits in the league at the moment, Wolverhampton Wanderers who somehow felt one 'clean' game against West Ham vindicates them for the crimes against football they’ve committed so far this season. I used to like and respect Steve Bull until he came across as a pompous arse while Mick McCarthy’s childish, petty, sarcastic retort amused only himself.

But then, you expect the accused to defend themselves no matter how ridiculous they sound. What was really disappointing were the League Managers Association wading in to have a dig at Murphy showing that they completely miss the point. Saying that managers have a responsibility to make sure their players aren't making dangerous tackles is something that the LMA should be addressing to it's members anyway or maybe they're just pissed because Murphy is doing their job for them.



Without wanting to dwell on this, my final point is that it is borderline idiotic to say that "back in the day tackles were worse" because the game has moved on since then. Rules have been changed to prevent reckless play going unpunished and more poignantly, I'm sure you will find that a darn sight more players were effectively crippled, permanently damaged or failed to fully recover from injuries sustained in their playing days. You'll also find that a lot more players were forced to hang up their boots early because of injury in these fabled golden ages of hard men and tough tackling. Having broken limbs isn't 'all part of the game' as some would have you believe.

Part Three to follow...