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Premiership Player Draft - Picks Only
Comments
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Roberto Di Matteo
Goalscoring midfielder, one of the driving forces behind Chelseas resurgence in the late 90.
Fastest ever goal in a FA cup final
Team so far
Pearce
Terry
Di Matteo
Hughes0 -
Ashley Young
I urge you all to play this youtube video while reading the rest of this piece.
For my fourth round pick I have decided to add some width to my side. Having thought long and hard about it I feel that there is no better option then that of Aston Villa's flying winger Ashley Young.
A few eyebrows were raised when Villa paid an initial £8m to Watford for Young, with the potential for his fee to go even higher, but he has already proved that he was an absolute steal. I must admit that when Villa signed Young I was with the, what the, who the, 8mil!?! brigade. But without a doubt Young has been one of, if not, the best signing MON has made while at Villa park.
Young's performance last season earned him widespread praise, earning him a place in the PFA team of the year.
At 22, there is still much to come from the young man from Watford, but his ability to skin opposition players, deliver a perfect final ball and his deadly ability from the set piece has set Ashley Young apart from much of his compatriots.
Many have been outspoken at their shock that Young hasn't been a regular in the England setup, undoubtedly he has done more then enough to prove himself so far.
Another great attribute of Young is his versatility, he is able to play on the left or the right or in the middle. Often this season he has performed at his best in a free role, starting off on the left but often coming infield to get more involved in the game.
Young is a real game changer, like Gerard, he seems to pop up at the crucial time in a game to produce a real moment of magic. For his sheer athleticism ability to beat opponents and to scare defenders whenever the ball is at his feet I am delighted to have Ashley Young in my team.
Players Picked so far:
Steven Gerard MC/OMC
Paul McGrath DC
Didier Drogba FC
Ashley Young OML/OMC/OMR0 -
I have been debating firstly whether to start building a defence or getting another midfielder in but I dont think at this stage I will be able to have the best defence in the league or the best base to build a midfield on as nearly all the top players are gone but I think atacking wise I can be one of the best going forward so i have gone for
Pick 4 - Kevin Phillips.
Now while there may have been better players to choose from in the end I guess Jeff's consistent ranting about creating a team rather than a collection of individuals is the reason why I chose him. No doubt there will be strikers available later on that will offer a goal every 2 games but I tihnk that of the ones left Phillips would compliment my team better than anyone else. He is best remembered for his sunderland days where he scored 115 in 208 games admittedly 50 or so of those goals were in the championship. In his first season in the premiership he was insanely good scoring 30 that year and winning the european golden boot. He continued this form for the first half of the next season but while the amount he scored dropped a little his over all work rate increased a lot.
In Euro 2004 Rooney was by far the standout england player until his injury because everything suited him. I think this was because he was playing with a pacy forward in front of him and a creative midfielder behind him. I think that with Phillips up front and Fabregas in midflied supplying the passes I have an attacking force that will be able to unlock any defence......even jeff's mighty all english one.
edit. team so far
Cech
RB
CB
CB
LB
RM---CM---Fabregas---LM
Rooney
Phillips---0 -
Shaun Wright-Phillips
I saw the Phillips in the name above and was almost ready to throw in the towel,
but alas I'm taking the man in his second spell at Man City,
Making a huge name for himself at City - absolutely terrorizing defenses and on his day practicaly unplayable - he soon earned a move to the biggest club at the time, Chelski.
3 reasonable quiet seasons (underplayed and undervalued) saw him drop off the radar a little and struggle to get his england oppurtunities, but while many will say he's chelsea time was somewhat a failure winning the preimier league in 05/06 will have him tell you otherwise. To be quiet honest I've never seen him have a bad game.
Only Mark Hughes has spoken out about just how good SWP is, and back at man city he's already clearly back to his best.
Team to date,
Sol Campbell, Robert Pires, Jurgen Klinsmann, Shaun Wright-Phillips.0 -
Whatever round this is IU'm in a big rush so keeping up with my team of midgets I'm putting the best left back ever in. Him and Ronaldo down the left is just unstoppable sometimes so I think he could work well with Overmars who also never tracks back.
Team to date. Essien, M Owen, Overmars and Evra0 -
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ROUND 5 - PICK 97
This is without a doubt the hardest pick I've had to make so far. So I've gone with the player who I thought most unlikely to make it through the next 46 Picks...
I picked Nigel Winterburn as I now have two of the players from one of the most feared Premiership defences guarding my flanks.
It total Nigel made 440 appearances for Arsenal, 274 of these in the EPL.
He won the European Cup Winners Cup, FA Cup and Premier League with Arsenal. He was however, often overlooked by the various Managers of the England National Team and only ever made a handful of appearances for them.
For me he is one of a small group of left backs left that are capable of making it into a team of Premier League XI.
Picks so Far: Schmeichel, Winterburn, Dixon, Anelka, Dublin.0 -
Round 5 Pick 98
Ole Gunnar Solskjær - The Baby Faced Assassain
The best value pick left in the draft by a long shot - a premiership legend. Quick, skilled, clinical and with a touch flair, in eleven seasons with Man United Solskjær was one of the best goalscorers in the premiership.
With United he won six titles, and of course the European Cup with a last minute goal. Often used as a substitute by Ferguson, Solskjær's goal scoring record is phenomenal - 90 goals in 235 games, and there can be no doubt about his genuine class.
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Pick number 5 for me is Robbie Keane.
This was an incredibly difficult pick, i won't get another go for a long time. I've decided to pick all my creative players first and rely on good organisation and hopefully some decent picks later on at the back.
Anyway, Robbie . . .
A member of the premier league's 100 goal club, he averages one every 2 and a half games. Not bad when one considers how deep he plays and how involved he gets in the build up.
The most successful period of his career so far came at Spurs. In 6 seasons there he scored 80 league goals and got into double digits each season.
Great finisher, hugely intelligent, hard-working and i'm sure he'll relish playing with some of the other attacking talent i have on show.
Youtube vid:
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I have been quite busy lately and only got those pm's now. Anyways I picked up another gem to replace the man I had mistakingly chosen. The only man left for that spot is the Legendary Neville Southall. A former hod-carrier and dustman in Llandudno, Southall began life as a centre half. He was good enough to have trials with Crewe Alexandra and Bolton Wanderers but never made the grade. Instead, he went between the posts for Llandudno Swifts and quickly moved up the football ladder. After brief spells with Conway United and Bangor City, he joined non-league Winsford where he was spotted by Bury, who paid £6000 for his services.
After just 39 games for the Shakers, Southall was snapped up by Everton, completing an amazing transformation - in just less than two years, he had gone from working on a building site to playing First Division football. For the next sixteen years he would remain the Toffees' first-choice keeper, experiencing all their highs and lows.
The honours came thick and fast during those early days. Everton were experiencing something of a revival under Howard Kendall and within the space of three won the League, FA Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup. Southall was voted Player of the Year in 1985 when the Blues won the championship but the Heysel disaster cut short Everton's dominance as the team broke up. And while others went on to enjoy big money moves to the continent, Southall stayed behind, clocking up the appearances.
Although successful on the domestic front, the big Welshman enjoyed little success on the international scene and although he was an established World Class player, he never played in a major tournament. The closest he got was in 1993, when Wales narrowly missed out on World Cup qualification. Nevertheless, he racked up 91 caps - a national record.
Southall played over 700 times for Everton - a club record - and was the first player to make 200 appearances in the Premiership. As he matured with age, many expected him to retire gracefully, but Big Nev confounded the critics and just kept on going, adding a second FA Cup winners medal to his collection in 1995. But time soon caught up with Southall. He returned to the Premier League in with Bradford City at the age of 42 in 2000.
His list of honours below
* Football League Championship winner 1985, 1987
* FA Cup winner 1984, 1995; runners-up 1985, 1989
* European Cup-Winners Cup winner 1985
* League Cup runners-up 1984
* Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1985
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"He has always been a player that I loved." - Arsene Wenger
It will be quite a while until my next pick so I want to get my team's spine sorted out and I've decided to go for a guy who I was close to picking in the last round, and who I'm certain I won't be able to pick the next round - Michael Carrick!
I went for Emmanuel Petit in the last round as I wanted a central midfielder who was renowned for winning tackles. This as we know is not Michael Carrick's greatest strength. What is his strength however is vision and passing prowess which rivals that of any top Premiership player in my opinion. Alan Hansen has described it as "imperious" and it seems a pretty apt description to me. Carrick has an almost continental swagger to his style of play and isn't your archetypal English central midfielder. He isn't fond of tackling players left and right unless it's absolutely necessary. He's a very classy player who much prefers to break up play predominantly through interceptions and his ability to read the game. He's got it in his locker to also create and score goals too.
Here's a good Match of the Day video analysing what he brings to the table...
I must say, like a lot of United fans I imagine, I was sceptical about Carrick when he first started out at United. Maybe it was the fact he was filling Roy Keane's boots, or maybe that he was wearing his shirt number, whatever the reason was he dispelled my concerns with some assured displays making himself a key figure in United's side in recent seasons. From creditable Premiership performances with West Ham and then Tottenham, at United he's matured into a top class Premiership player with a fine trophy haul. He has also very recently played his way into Fabio Capello's thoughts which is not a bad feat for a guy who has Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard as competition.
I feel Michael Carrick will slot very nicely into my team. I think they would compilment each other well and that it's a midfield combo Arsene Wenger would have drooled over. Indeed Wenger at one time saw Carrick as a successor to Vieira so I'm sure he would have appreciated a Petit/Carrick partnership. While I considered going for a more attack-minded player to go alongside Petit, I decided I didn't in fact need one since I have Bergkamp up top to be my side's magician as well as the flying Arjen Robben to give opposition teams plenty to think about. All I need is Carrick to link up with these players well which his passing will certainly do.
With Rio Ferdinand at the back also I think I am well placed to cope with the long wait for my sixth pick and I'm happy to have continued my theme of picking players that ooze style and class!
I'll wrap this pick up with a Michael Carrick compilation showcasing his talents as well as my current status...
My team thus far:
Bergkamp---X
X
Petit
Carrick
Robben
X
Ferdinand--X
X
X
Pick 1: Dennis Bergkamp
Pick 2: Rio Ferdinand
Pick 3 Arjen Robben
Pick 4: Manu Petit
Pick 5: Michael Carrick0 -
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Ok I have a decent spine so I am taking what I feel to be one of the best attacking player left as It is a long time to my next pick. Its a bonus he was ne of my favourite players
Pick 5 : Paul Merson
A clever and creative player, Merson was one of the very few flair players that made in at Arsenal during GG's regime. Can play both wings as well as through the middle so his flexibility will help when making my next pick.
Off field antics stopped him from prolonging his career but reading back at what he did it was a wonder he could make it on to the pitch at all and to play as well as he did showed how much talent he had.
x
Cantona
x
Ince
x
Merson
x
x
Keown
x
Martyn
__________________0 -
This 20 year old power house has been an automatic starter for city in the last few seasons and has been on e of the most consistent performers.
He made his debut against Arsenal in 2005 and was named young player of the year in 2005-2006.
Richards became Englands youngest ever defender when he played against Holland in 2006.
A great player now but one definitley who will be a true world beater in the future.
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To say I'm happy with my latest pick would be an understatement. With so long to go til my next pick I decided to choose the perfect foil for Les Ferdinand up front. Step forward the one, the only Stanley Victor Collymore -
Collymore had all the attributes of a top class striker - power, pace and an eye for goal amongst others. Having been plucked from obscurity at Southend by Nottingham Forest he set the Premiership alight by bagging 22 goals in the 1994/95 season. This saw Forest finish in a fantastic 3rd spot.
A move to Liverpool followed in June 1995 for a British record fee of £8.5million and he promptly scored on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday. He bagged two goals in arguably the greatest Premiership game of all time (Liverpool's 4-3 win over Newcastle at Anfield) and helped the club to 3rd place also, their highest placing since 1991, and also picked up an FA Cup runners up medal as part of the 'Spice Boys'.
Relatively unsuccessful spells at Villa, Leicester and Real Oveido followed, though he did score a superb overhead kick for Bradford against Leeds.
At his peak Collymore was one of the most dangerous strikers in the league and his partnership with Ferdinand in my opinion would have been good enough at international level in another era.
Team so far -
Seaman
xxxx
Carvalho
Southgate----xxxx
xxxx
xxxx
xxxx
xxxxx
Ferdinand
Collymore
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I'm surprised my next pick hasn't already been taken, as I would rate him very highly, though maybe last season has weighed against him, i'm happy to have picked him up though. One of the most cultured midfielders to grace the premiership with a fantastic sense of space and timing, and a fantastic range of passing. Not bad at shooting from distance either. I'm sticking him in midfield to help control the tempo and play in the middle, and keep my team on the ball. IMO, a player who over his premiership career has proven himself a highly valuable member of his side....
Xabi Alonso.
Delighted to add him to my side.0 -
Jussi Jaaskelainen
Jaaskelainen signed for Bolton in 1997 and has shown a rare loyalty., signing another four year contract in June 2008 which could well see him spend the remainder of his career at the club. He is regarded as one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premiership.I dont really know what to say about him so this video should do the rest.
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A classy left back in his younger years who could play at centre half too Staunton was a mainstay for Villa and Ireland throughout the early years of the premiership. Great from set plays he also provided a threat with his crossing and link up with the left winger. Also showed great leadership throughout his career and captained Villa and his country.
He will have no input in tactics or team selection though0 -
Javier Mascherano
Every team needs a solid defensive platform, and few players can offer that as well as Mascherano does.
His tireless industry and stamina frees up the rest of the midfield (in my case McAllister, Juninho and Le Tissier) to get forward. Importantly, he also offers the defence a great deal of protection, acting almost as a third centre-back. This could prove crucial if I'm forced to settle for bargain-basement defenders in the later rounds!
Although he's only been in the Premiership for a short time, he has had a huge impact since joining Liverpool. He's an automatic first-choice at club level, and since featuring for Liverpool he has gone on to be an integral part of the Argentinian national team. This year he added a second Olympic gold medal as one of Argentina's three overage players, and just this month he was selected as the new captain for the national side.
My team:
x
x
x
x
x
----Mascherano--McAllister
---Le Tissier-Juninho---x
Hasselbaink0 -
well im certainly beggining to find this tricky!
Round 4 (missed pick)
Im gonna go with my Goalkeeper for the next pick, after beginning his UK career at Rangers before spending three years at Hearts Antti Niemi joined the Premiership with Southampton.
His first season in the premiership saw him win praise from many of the leading pundits and managers, as well as an FA cup final experience.
After Southampton eventually succumbed to relegation, he joined Fulham and was once again a big part of keeping his team outside of the relegation zone.
Injuries have forced him to retire this season, and admittedly have hampered him his whole career, but when on form he is a solid, reliable and trustworthy pair of hands.
Team so far
Niemi
Petrescu---Adams----xxx
xxxx
xxx---xxx----xxx
xxxx
----Wright----xxxx
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Well, time to finally pick a striker. My next pick is Dimitar Berbatov.
I know he's still relatively knew to the league, but in each of his two seasons with Spurs he broke the 20 goal mark in all competitions. With United he has 6 goals so far in 13 appearances, and I don't think many would bet against him doing it in his debut season in Manchester.
Again, not the most seasoned Premier League striker yet but I think he's been consistent enough in his time to warrant a place. Between Dimi and Poyet there'll certainly a bit of class in the final third of my team. I think if this draft was to be done in a few years time, he'd be a much earlier pick.
Team so far:
James
x
Stam
x
x
Poyet
x
Giggs-
Berbatov
x
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After a bit of a struggle finding one to suit the job, i actually cant believe i let this one go for so long.
My first midfielder, playmaker, highly attacking, powerful, gets goals.
Tim Cahill31 goals in 106 games for Everton is no mean feat. not to mention his high assist count.
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One of the biggest advantages of the draft is that you just pick a first XI so injuries become irrelevant and if this guy hadn't had so much trouble with injuries John Terry and Rio Ferdinand would be a very worried men
Ledley King
A mainstay of the Tottenham squad since he made his debut, Ledley is one of the best athletic centre backs in the premiership. Strong in the air and a good passer of the ball, he gives me another leader in defence. Also fits my team perfectly as before this pick I had significant gaps in both defensive midfield and centre back, positions that Ledley is luckily a natural in. He also scored the fastest goal in Premier league history, shame he can't score more of them
Teams so far.
x
--Neville---King----x
x
x
x
-Cole
Okocha
Ronaldo
x
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When you pick Andy Cole as your first choice striker you need to make sure of two things. Firstly you've got a player in your team who can stick the ball between defence and goalkeeper with precision and a regular basis, I believe I have that covered with Beckham, who is arguably the best player in the world at doing exactly that.
The second thing you need is a striker that compliments Coles strengths, and smooths over his weaknesses. When Cole first went to United it took him a long time to settle down, mainly because Ferguson wanted him to play a different type of game. Coles strength was in running behind the defence and getting one on one with the keeper, or poaching goals inside the box. He wasn't comfortable with holding up the ball and playing other players in, which Ferguson insisted he do ultimately it made him a better player, but he was still much stronger playing his natural game.
With that in mind I needed to pick a big bustling striker, someone who is comfortable with getting the ball with his back to goal and holding off defenders. The kind of player who can flick on balls into the box or up from the defence to set Cole free in the space he loves. My second striker needs to be able to find the net as well though and give me a much needed physical presence in the box from dead ball situations.
I don't believe there's anyone left who does that better than Emile Heskey..
My 3 attacking players have accumulated some 352 premier league goals between them as well as 377 assists for their team-mates. Whatever else happens, goals shouldn't be a problem!
Team so far:
reina
xxx xxx carragher xxx
Beckham xxx xxx xxx
Cole Heskey0 -
I'm going to take Harry Kewell. It's important to forget how much of a waste of space he amounted to at Liverpool, and instead remember the touch of class that he was while at Leeds.
Blessed with good accelaration and strength, Kewell was a player capable of beating his man and opening up a defense with powerful and direct running. Plus, his left foot wasn't bad - to put it mildly - and his end delivery and shot often bordered on the spectacular.
But, when things went bad at Leeds Kewell failed to pull up the socks and put the work in. During his last season at Leeds, Kewell was prone to standing up front and offering little in the way of movement, workrate or inspiration. Aside from the odd wonder goal. And this failed to change once he arrived at Liverpool - despite repeated second chances from Benitez.
Kewell is a gamble. A technically brilliant player who is severely flawed mentally. In the early years at Leeds, he was consistently great. And he will easily go down as the finest contributor ever to wear an Australlian national jersey. And the rest? Well there was always moments of magic, flashes of brilliance.
Friedel, Desailly and Vieira give me a solid leadership base. Kewell and Ginola give me a cutting edge. They may frustrate for sure. But on their day?
Plus, his wife is awesome:
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Louis Saha - The Fulham years especially but anytime he has been injury free over the last few years he has shown that he still has it.
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I've chosen David Batty this round, as I figure I can pick up the players I want in further rounds, and cos SOMEONE stole... yes, STOLE, Michael Carrick from me. As far as defensive centre mids go, keane, viera, carrick, essien who have all been picked, but David Batty would not be far off. And his overall contribution to the premiership is immense.
Before the premiership, he was at leeds when they were class. Then at Blackburn when they were good. And then at Newcastle, when they were good, and then back to Leeds when they were good again. The fortunes of all these clubs follow a pattern, with Batty = good, without Batty = bad.
And, just to show how much of a hero he is, and not your french wavy gravy type, when he missed the majority of the premier league winning blackburn season due to a knee injury, he refused a winners medal arguing that he hadnt earned it as much as the other lads. HERO!
I think he's a quality choice given that he can definately give keane and viera a run for their money on his day.0 -
John Barnes
For my fifth round pick I am delighted to add the first Jamaican born player to the draft.
John Charles Bryan Barnes OBE.
John Barnes was an electric left-sided midfielder and attacker who had a superb career with Liverpool.
He played 586 league games throughout his career, with 550 of them being at the top level of English football.
Although it could be argued that Barnes played his best football in the old Division 1 (scoring 22 in 34 games in 89/90), in the early days of the premiership he still set the league alight with his lightning runs and some blistering goals.
Not only does he add experiance and leadership to my current team, he also has the skill and talent to beat defenders delivering quality balls into Drogba. That or he could play beside Drogba and score goals like the following,
It was unforunate that injury played such a significant factor in the career of Barnes but none the less I feel there is plenty of value in this pick.
Finally I can not finish the write up on John Barnes without adding a clip of the (in)famous rap skills of the Liverpool Legend.
team so far: Paul McGrath
Steven Gerard
Ashley Young
John Barnes
Didier Drogba0 -
My next pick is Gary Kelly
In the last day or two there has been some consternation as to whether its the best 40 game period or not for a player picked. I could of gone for a player with a better perceived ability but in the end I have chosen consistency which can't be argued with. I know i needed to add a defensive player to my team and with David Batty going just before my turn I thought it best to choose a defender this time out. The majority of good centre backs are gone however I think there is still a lot of fullbacks left in the draft to pick from. It is with this in mind that I have gone for a full back. I already have the spectacular in my team creative wise therefore I need to add a bit of mundane to the team to give that bit of consistency that is required in every team. It is with this in mind that I have chosen Gary Kelly.
There have been better attacking and defensive full backs in the premiership history but much like Denis Irwin Gary Kelly is the type of player you can depend on. I know exactly what I am getting unlike a combination of Ginola and Kewell for example where I can be certain I dont know who is going to turn up. Gary Kelly played over 500 games for Leeds and was an instrumental part of the team when they were challenging for honours around the 2000 mark. He was a guarantee to start in every season bar the 98-99 season where he was injured and it is this longevity that made him such a consistent performer. He played for Leeds for a total of 16 seasons and was vice captain of the team as well. He will add a level head to my team and it is his ability to perform week in week out the reason as to why I have chosen him.
I am not looking for goals from him as I feel I have the most complete attacking force out of all th teams so far so I shall be focussing on creating a solidarity to my team which I hope shall differentiate my team from the others0 -
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Time to get a no nonsense central defender in.
I want some experience and playing with Leeds in the Champions League is the sort of central defender that I want in my team
No time for a proper write up as I'm too engrossed deciding who to put in next.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGxU8a_D6PU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVGi-j2g5CE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UW0BI3-IF8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arSiay642K8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jllklavpk6A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmUOBvhNixg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loNet-1rpcY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwTnvtaM67g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYq1YXa0V6c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnUh5LlrPZ4Advertisement