My Barclays Premier League Awards 2011-2012

What an end to this season. We all thought City would finally win it at the beginning of the season, but not in the conditions we've just witnessed last night! Manchester City has won their 3rd title, and despite their exceeding spending, boy do they deserve it. It was a rare occasion as well at the Etihad, where both sides were celebrating. QPR managed to stay up despite losing, so there were 2 parties in Manchester. From the time I started following football and BPL specifically, this has been the best season ever if you count for drama.

This post is to give out mentions to people who deserved the recognition.Last year, PFA and FWA gave undeserving players the nod of "Footballer of the Year", and this year both awards went to the deserving Robin van Persie. Barclays gave their version of the award to an even more deserving Vincent Kompany. But there are other players who have stand out and also deserves recognition for their efforts this season, so here are "MY" notable mentions:

Player of the Year: Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)

Manager of the Year: Alan Pardew (Newcastle United)

Young Player of the Year: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Best Transfer Signings:

5. Mikel Arteta (Everton to Arsenal) £10M

4. Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid to ManCity) £38M

3. Yohan Cabaye (Lille to Newcastle) £6.5M

2. Demba Ba (West Ham to Newcastle) £0

1. Papiss Cisse (Freiburg to Newcastle) £9.5M

Worst Transfer Signings:

5. Jordan Henderson (Sunderland to Liverpool) £16M

4. Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht to Chelsea) £18M

3. Roger Johnson (Birmingham to Wolves) £7M

2. Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan to Aston Villa) £9M

1. Stewart Downing (Aston Villa to Liverpool) £20M

Best Loan Signings:

5. Ben Foster (Birmingham from West Brom)

4. Kyle Naughton (Norwich from Tottenham)

3. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea from Hoffenheim)

2. Nicklas Bendtner (Sunderland from Arsenal)

1. Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham from ManCity)

Worst Loan Signings:

5. Federico Macheda (QPR from ManUtd)

4. Royston Drenthe (Everton from Real Madrid)

3. Jermaine Jenas (Aston Villa from Tottenham)

2. Wayne Bridge (Sunderland from ManCity)

1. Anthony Modeste (Blackburn from Bordeaux)

PFA Team of the Year:

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders: Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Leighton Baines (Everton)

Midfielders: David Silva, Yaya Toure (both Manchester City), Scott Parker, Gareth Bale (both Tottenham)

Strikers: Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

My Non-PFA Team of the Year:

Goalkeeper: Tim Krul (Newcastle)

Defenders: Micah Richards (Manchester City), Jonny Evans (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Jose Enrique (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Alex Song (Arsenal), Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle), Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

Strikers: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham)

Top Goalscorer: Robin van Persie (Arsenal) - 30

Most Assists: David Silva (Manchester City) - 15

Champions: Manchester City

Relegated: Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Champions League Qualifiers: Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur

Europa League Qualifiers: Newcastle, Chelsea (FA Cup Winners), Liverpool (Carling Cup Winners)

What to expect if Redknapp became England manager for Euro2012?

I'm back!! Now where was I? Oh yeah. We're going to talk about England: the land of overrated stars.

As you may know, Fabio Capello has resigned from his England job after the FA decided to strip John Terry from his captaincy following his alleged racial abuse on Anton Ferdinand. Capello complained about the decision on RAI and FA wanted to squeak out an apology from Capello. However, he refused to apologize and has now stepped down from his overpayed throne.

Fig 1. Ex-England Manager Fabio Capello

EURO 2012 is just around the corner and England are now without a captain, without a coach, and without their best striker for their first 2 matches. Could it get worse? When big 'ol Harry is there, expect not!

Fig 2. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, England manager elect.

Harry Redknapp has had a not-so-bad managerial career before his Spurs gig. Might be a bit mediocre to be exact but he's had his fair share of brilliance during his time at West Ham and Portsmouth. But ever since he moved to Tottenham, he has become more known as a 'messiah' at White Hart Lane. Not only saving them from relegation in his first season, he managed to guide them to 4th in the next, allowing them to qualify for Champions League football.

Redknapp & his Spurs side currently is still riding high in 3rd just behind both Manchester clubs and ahead of London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal and looks as strong as ever. But know he's being linked to the vacant England job and is odds-on favorites to take the job. "Why not?" you may ask. Yes, he is the best English manager around. But like everyone who comes from England that is associated with football, he is extremely overrated.

Fig 3. Spurs stars Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart. Incredible players, horrible outfits.

But this article here isn't to bash on Redknapp. This article here is simply to imagine if he took the job and what to expect if he took the job. Here are five things to expect:

1. Jose Mourinho to take vacant Tottenham job.

Fig 4. Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho

Mourinho? Really? Yes. Really.

In recent weeks, there have been rumors that he will be leaving his post at Real Madrid by the end of this season. He has also said that he wants to come back to England after his great Chelsea spell. Its a public secret that he wants to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager, but since he's not retiring any soon - and with Harry could be leaving his job - Tottenham could be the next stop for "The Chosen One". After all, Spurs aren't that bad and with Mourinho's guidance they could be a force to be reckoned with.

2. Wholesale changes to the England set-up for Euros with surprise inclusions & exclusions

Harry has got this reputation of being a "wheeler-dealer" (no matter how much he thinks he isn't). He has made tons of player transfers in and out of the club during his time at West Ham and Portsmouth, but his business has slowed down a little at Spurs. He has bought and sold players to always improve the squad and up until now, he has done a terrific job at it at White Hart Lane. Probably this would be very great thing for England because everyone might be given a chance.

With England having lots of overrated talented players to choose from, maybe under Redknapp he could pick the right ones. He is even known to handle the worst types of players to bow down under him. Just ask Paolo Di Canio. Maybe this could help for calling up Joey Barton in the future.

3. Expect Scott Parker to captain England at Euro2012

Fig 5. Scott Parker

He's not going to give it to Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, is he? And I don't know why but I have a feeling most of his Spurs players would make it into the squad as well. Harry is also known to be loyal to his former players despite being a 'wheeler-dealer' at the same time. Parker is doing well for Spurs and even though he's not Spurs' captain, he has enough leadership qualities to make him good enough as an England captain. And considering this would be Harry making the decision, I wouldnt be too surprised if he went along with this.

4. Expect Spurs-based players at Euro2012

Fig 6. Spurs Captain & Vice Captain Ledley King & Michael Dawson

Adding to the last paragraph, there would be most Spurs playing for England and that would be bad news for most other players. Namely Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry, Darren Bent and Andy Carroll. Players like Kyle Walker, Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Scott Parker and probably Jermain Defoe would be considered over these players, but could you argue with that?

I'm not that sure on King or Dawson due to their injury woes, but I'd definitely pick Kyle Walker and Micah Richards over Glen Johnson. Gareth Barry is good, but Redknapp sees Parker could give something better for England, and Darren Bent's relationship with Redknapp isn't the best ever since Bent missed a chance that Harry claimed so easy his grandmother could have scored during Darren Bent's career at Tottenham.

Then you consider Jermain Defoe over prolific Bent. By saying that, Defoe is not in Harry's first team plans at Tottenham but has always trusted him everywhere he went. He was an uprising youngster at West Ham during Redknapp's spell there, he bought Defoe to Portsmouth and was his key striker, and bought him back to Tottenham after he moved there as well. Expect a surprise when both of these players are called up.

5. England will only reach the Euro2012 Quarterfinals.

Fig 7. England striker Wayne Rooney

Most of us will remember 4 years ago Zenit attacker Andrei Arshavin was suspended for Russia's first 2 games of the campaign and when he came back he inspired Russia to the semifinals of Euro2008. 4 years past, England will hope Rooney could do something like Arshavin or even better. Sadly, we all know that it most likely not happen.

England is in a tough group with hosts Ukraine and two other great teams in France and Sweden. Even if they go through to the quarters, they are most likely to face either Spain or Italy. Most of us know as well that England - even with Redknapp's touch and Rooney's comeback - will not be able to beat such illustrious sides with stellar names and high quality. But with Redknapp, we'll probably see a better result and showing compared to Capello's failed World Cup campaign. Face it, this nation indeed are quarterfinal specialists.

So as I was saying, should Redknapp take the job now? If he leaves Spurs now, there won't be a chance for Mourinho to take over. Would FA consider Redknapp special dispensation to manage both club and country? Guus Hiddink did it with Australia a couple of years ago while managing PSV and did the same again when he was managing Russia while being caretaker at Chelsea. Either way, Redknapp is certainly the best guy for the job, the British media definitely loves him, and has the backing of most of the England players to take the job. He only gets one chance to manage England, and if it is offered to him, its only about how can he leave Tottenham now? His choice.

BPL Underperformers XI 2010-2011

I would like to name the article "Worst XI" but that would be an overreaction. This article will consist of players who many thought would perform well but they actually flopped. Players who are expected to shine yet to no avail and make you wonder where was the hype in the first place.

Here would be my Underperformers XI!

Formation: 4-4-2

Goalkeeper: Manuel Almunia (Arsenal)

 From knocking Jens Lehmann's berth, being named captain, to eventually being 3rd choice behind 2 young Polish Goalkeepers in 1 season, Almunia has been through it all. Committing fatal blunders cost him his place in the Arsenal team and trust from manager Wenger. A great case of Top to Flop.

Rightback: John Pantsil (Fulham)

 After experiencing a great World Cup with Ghana, he went back to England only to score owngoal after owngoal, blunders galore, and disappointing outings. This left him to be behind Chris Baird in the pecking order. Even when Baird gets injured, centrehalf Aaron Hughes is preferred to deputize. 

Centreback: Sebastien Squillaci (Arsenal)

Gunner fans were excited of the prospect that a French International defender was to pay for Arsenal and Squillaci already made a name for himself back in Sevilla. Turns out he was more of a Boumsong rather than a Desailly as he never looked convincing with lapses of concentration even Titus Bramble would be ashamed of.

Centreback: Ian Evatt (Blackpool)

 In a season where Blackpool showed a great case of attacking play, their defence has been wobbly. Sure, Evatt wasn't the blame for the whole bad Blackpool defence, but he did have his bad moments. Particularly the standout mistake was when he almost made sure Blackpool were relegated as he scored an own goal against Manchester United, only for Michael Owen to relieve his blushes.

Leftback: Paul Konchesky (Liverpool)

 Liverpool fans were cautious over the move and they had every reason why. A player who hasn't been a standout for Fulham but consistent enough was bought by Roy Hodgson to solve their left-back case. Instead he failed to play well and eventually loaned for 6 months to Nottingham Forest. Bad luck.

Right Wing: Bebe (Manchester United)

 When the headlines read "ManUtd signs young unknown Portuguese winger for £8M", everyone expected someone like a Cristiano Ronaldo or Nani mould who has been a success in their home country. Sad thing is, Bebe was a stranger in Portugal as well, and it showed in his handful of appearances that he lacked any quality of a football player, let alone a ManUtd player.

Central Midfield: Christian Poulsen (Juventus)

It was a curious case when Liverpool signed a Juventus reject when Juve themselves had one of their worst seasons in 09/10, and during his time in Anfield he even lost a starting berth to an unknown quantity of Jay Spearing. He's lucky he cost for a relatively cheap price of £4.5M otherwise he would be an expensive flop.

Central Midfield: Aliaksandr Hleb (Birmingham)

Many thought Birmingham did a fine piece of business to lure in ex-Arsenal star Hleb on loan from Barcelona after a successful spell at Stuttgart. Gosh how everybody was wrong. He barely could break into Birmingham's starting XI and when he did he became non existant on the pitch. Pity.

Left Wing: Joe Cole (Liverpool)

Signing an England International on a free? Couldve been signing of the season if it worked out. He got sent-off on his debut, got injured a lot, and when fit he never shown his quality that made him a star back at Chelsea. Burnout I suppose.

Striker: Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

I feel bad for putting him here on the Underperformers XI, but what can I do? only 4 goals all season? Certainly not his usual Defoe. Yeah he did get injured early on, but he never found his old form since. At least Peter Crouch has been a handful in Europe.

Striker: Fernando Torres (Chelsea)

He wasn't that bad early on with Liverpool. 9 goals when out of form wasn't a bad return. But ever since his surprising £50M big money move to Chelsea, he also became surprisingly horrible. His inability to work well with either Didier Drogba or Nicolas Anelka and only scored 1 goal in 14 appearances, he made himself a laughing stock because of his performances.

Certainly theres more underperformers than these 11 players, namely John Obi Mikel, Andrei Arshavin, Abou Diaby, Jonny Evans, Heurelho Gomes, Pablo Barrera, even Jerome Boateng. 

Agree? Disagree? This my team, don't know yours.

My Barclays Premier League Awards

Its the end of the 2010/2011 season where Manchester United won their record 19th trophy to beat Liverpool's record of 18. We also witnessed a relegation battle that went down until the last minute to determine who would go down. A great season overall where nothing could be predicted.

This post is to give out mentions to people who deserved the recognition because face it, the awards given by the PFA and the FWA were a bit lousy to give "Player of the Year" awards to sicknote Gareth Bale and relegated Scott Parker. Good thing Barclays themselves gave the award to someone who deserved it, Nemanja Vidic. Here are "MY" notable mentions:

Player of the Year: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Manager of the Year: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

Young Player of the Year: Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Best Transfer Signings:

5. Asamoah Gyan (Rennes to Sunderland) £13M

4. David Silva (Valencia to Manchester City) £25M

3. Luis Suarez (Ajax to Liverpool) £27M

2. Rafael Van der Vaart (Real Madrid to Tottenham) £8M

1. Javier Hernandez (Guadalajara to Manchester United) £7M

Worst Transfer Signings:

5. Paul Konchesky (Fulham to Liverpool) £3.5M

4. Christian Poulsen (Juventus to Liverpool) £4.5M

3. Sebastian Squillaci (Sevilla to Arsenal) £5M

2. Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea) £50M

1. Bebe (Vitoria Guimaraes to Manchester United) £8M

 Best Loan Signings:

5. Nedum Onuoha (Sunderland from Manchester City)

4. Tom Cleverley (Wigan from Manchester United)

3. Danny Welbeck (Sunderland from Manchester United)

2. Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan from Bolton)

1. Daniel Sturridge (Bolton from Chelsea)

Worst Loan Signings:

5. Michael Bradley (Aston Villa from Moenchengladbach)

4. Aliaksander Hleb (Birmingham from Barcelona)

3. Wayne Bridge (West Ham from Manchester City)

2. Robbie Keane (West Ham from Tottenham)

1. Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn from Manchester City)

PFA Team of the Year:

Goalkeeper: Edwin Van der Sar (Manchester United)

Defenders: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Nani (Manchester United), Jack Wilshere, Samir Nasri (both Arsenal), Gareth Bale (Tottenham)

Strikers: Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)

My Non-PFA Team of the Year:

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Gary Cahill (Bolton), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Leighton Baines (Everton)

Midfielders: Rafael Van der Vaart (Tottenham), David Silva (Manchester City), Luka Modric (Tottenham), Florent Malouda (Chelsea)

Strikers: Javier Hernandez (Manchester United), Darren Bent (Aston Villa)

Top Goalscorer: Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United) & Carlos Tevez (Manchester City) - 21

Most Assists: Nani (Manchester United) - 18

Champions: Manchester United

Relegated: Birmingham City, Blackpool, West Ham United

Champions League Qualifiers: Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal (Playoff)

Europa League Qualifiers: Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City (FA Cup Runners-up), Birmingham City (Carling Cup Winners)

BPL title race; and why Chelsea may finish outside the Top 4.

Long time no write, eh? Here goes nothing.

Fig 1. Chelsea's attackers celebrates... but not for long.

To be honest, I am a Manchester United fan to the bone and I thought this season was going to be a bad one considering the bad start of the season and Chelsea to win it again. The first 10 games, Chelsea were the most feared team and won games by thrashing their opponents home & away. Drogba hitting form, Malouda's & Anelka's rejuvenated, and Kalou beginning to shine, I thought this would be THEIR season.

But now its 2011 with 21 matchdays played. Manchester United are surprisingly still unbeaten and top of the league while Chelsea's form has dipped lower than George W Bush's IQ level. What has been the reason of their downfall? Rotation policy failure.

Chelsea has the one of the best starting XI you will see in the world, but when 2-3 players are suddenly unavailable no one can fill in. When you look at Manchester United & Arsenal, they have players who can offer a lot from the bench when the starters are having an off-day. Then you see Manchester City & Tottenham Hotspur building their squad for a couple of seasons and see they both have great squads and will only improve with gametime.

In this article I will compare the starting XI and 7 substitutes of the top 5 teams (Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur) in the BPL standings as of January 4 2011.

Manchester United
-----------------------------------------Van der Sar-------------------------------------
--Rafael-----------Ferdinand-------------------------Vidic-------------Evra-----
-----------------------Carrick------------------------Fletcher--------------------------
Nani-------------------------------------------------------------------------Park---
----------------------Rooney------------------------Berbatov-----------------------

Most frequent subs: Hernandez, Anderson, Scholes, Giggs, Smalling, Macheda, O'Shea

Fig 2. Park Ji-Sung and Dimitar Berbatov.

This team is a great one, especially when you still have players you can't mention in subs bench such as Valencia, Owen, Obertan, and Evans. This squad has depth but sadly not the consistency though. Fortunately Ferguson has that winning mentality installed in the team which brings his team unbeaten up until now.

Manchester United has the quality to win anything if they clicked more with each other and I'm not being biased. What will even be creepier is if Wayne Rooney rediscovers his old form.

End of season expectations: 1st


Arsenal
-----------------------------------------Fabianski----------------------------------------
--Sagna-----------Koscielny--------------------Squillaci--------------Clichy---
------------------------Fabregas----------------------Song---------------------------
Nasri---------------------------------Wilshere-----------------------------Arshavin
----------------------------------------Chamakh---------------------------------------


Most frequent subs: Walcott, Rosicky, Van Persie, Bendtner, Djourou, Diaby, Eboue

Fig 3. Samir Nasi hugging Cesc Fabregas.

After years in the waiting, finally Arsene Wenger's plans of breeding youngster have paid off. What's even better is they can chip-chop their squad like crazy and still form a great team. Like ManUtd, they have more players than the ones being mentioned such as the injured Vermaelen, Vela, Denilson, and Gibbs.

Based on quality, Arsenal have a great attack, nice hard-working midfield, and a competent defence. The only thing lacking in the squad maybe the Goalkeeper as Fabianski and Almunia aren't that commanding. But their weakness isn't all that "weak".

End of season expectations: a close second 2nd




Manchester City
---------------------------------------------Hart-----------------------------------------
--Boateng-----------Kompany-----------Kolo Toure-------------Zabaleta-
----------------Yaya Toure---------De Jong---------------Barry------------------
Silva-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Milner
------------------------------------------Tevez--------------------------------------

Most frequent subs: A. Johnson, Balotelli, Richards, Kolarov, Lescott, Adebayor, Vieira

Fig 4. Carlos Tevez & David Silva

I've said this before and I will say it again - Money can't buy you happiness, but we will have to see if it brings you a good football team. Manchester City and Roberto Mancini has certainly wanted to try that philosophy as City has the depth in every position. Other players such as Wright-Phillips, Bridge, and Santa Cruz could impact any team as well.

How money can change a mediocre mid-table club into a dark horse to win the title is outstanding, but Man City has sometimes never lived up to the big games which causes them to drop points to often. Unless they start playing the big games, they will only achieve Champions League qualification zone.

End of season expectations: 4th


Chelsea
----------------------------------------Cech---------------------------------------
--Ivanovic------------Terry------------------Alex---------------------Cole--
----------------------------------------Mikel--------------------------------------
---------------------Lampard----------------Essien---------------------------
Anelka----------------------------Drogba----------------------------Malouda

Most frequent subs: Kalou, Zhirkov, Ramires, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Sturridge, Benayoun

Fig 5. Didier Droga & Florent Malouda

Yes, yes. This is a strong Chelsea squad. But have you seen them play lately? When Alex, Ivanovic, Lampard & Essien went missing, this team suddenly becomes another mediocre midtable club. Ferreira & Bosingwa ain't the players they were before their big injuries while Ramires haven't excelled in Lampard's absence. Besides the players mentioned as subs, basically there are only reserve players in the squad.

Their youngsters are not bad, just inexperienced and doesn't mix that well with the seniors which forces Ancelotti to rely on first-team players or dive into the market this month. Unless they buy someone with the wealth they have, they may be disappointed come the end of the season.

End of season expectations: 5th


Tottenham Hostpur
--------------------------------------Gomes---------------------------------------
--Hutton-------------Gallas----------------Dawson---------Assou-Ekotto--
-----------------Huddlestone-----------------Modric-----------------------
Lennon----------------------Van der Vaart---------------------------Bale
--------------------------------------Defoe---------------------------------------

Most frequent subs: Crouch, Palacios, Pavlyuchenko, Kaboul, Keane, Corluka, Bentley

Fig 5. Rafael Van der Vaart and Gareth Bale screaming.

The squad Harry Redknapp has built in Spurs were down to great signings and awesome trust in his players. What's amazing also is the surprising depth in the squad which runs from the goal up to the strikers. They have the luxury of 6 above average centrebacks and 3 rightwings with international credentials.

Sure Redknapp hasn't rotated his side much, but when one gets injured/suspended, the backup players can stake a claim for Harry. What's amazing with Harry is he can trust players and bring the best out of them like what he did with Gareth Bale and Alan Hutton. With the talent in this team and consistency, they are the better of the dark horses in the league.

End of season expectations: 3rd

Conclusion: Consistency and how back-up players will deliver in games will determine the end result of the league. United, Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, and City will need their subs to deliver when their teams needs them the most and now this title race will be the most interesting to watch because virtually 5 teams are in it.

Meet me in May and see if I got my predictions right ;)