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)

January Transfer Roundup: Conversation Style

Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan) loan to Twente

Milan fan: "What? has he even played yet?"

Neutral: "No, I dont think so. He's got a great physique, sad for him not to play much."

Milan fan: "I know! Why didn't Twente sign (Daniele) Bonera instead?! We'd rather have him out!"

Neutral: "Well even Twente knows he's crap, thats why they've taken Onyewu instead!"

Edin Dzeko (VFL Wolfsburg) £27M move to Man City

Neutral: "Okay he's great, and a fair amount of money considering his talent. But don't they have 5 strikers already?"

Man City fan: "Yeah; Tevez, Adebayor, Balotelli, Jo, and Santa Cruz. Sadly we only play 1 up front."

Neutral: "Thats their problem! What a waste though... unless you sell 2 or 3 of your strikers everything will be fine..."

Roque Santa Cruz & Emmanuel Adebayor (both Man City) loan to Blackburn Rovers & Real Madrid respectively

Man City fan: "We've just sent 2 of our strikers on loan. Is that enough for you? now they can be happy with their respective clubs."

Neutral: "Unless if Dzeko does become signing of the season and they flop in their new clubs then great move, Arabs!"

Darren Bent (from Sunderland) £24M to Aston Villa

Neutral: "Ain't that too much for someone of Bent's calibre?"

Sunderland fan: "Well if James Milner costed as much then I say hes a bargain... yet why would he want to play for Villa? Sunderland's doing better than them!"

Villa fan: "I don't care how much we paid at least we got someone better than Emile Heskey!"

Neutral: "And another overrated England player goes on the list..."

Steven Pienaar (From Everton) £3M to Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs fan: "I can't believe we got someone who was almost certain to move to a team like Chelsea!"

Neutral: "Yeah but I can't see how Pienaar would improve the squad. They've got enough players in and across midfield anyway. He ain't bad, but I can name about 4 players similar type to him who are better than him in this very squad!"

Spurs fan: "Come to think of it, we actually didn't need Pienaar here... but we'll see what will he offer."

Ryan Babel (from Liverpool) £6M to Hoffenheim

Liverpool fan: "Hoffenheim? What kind of team is that?"

Neutral: "Thats an uprising club in Germany. It would do him great after being underplayed at Anfield where he will go straight into the first team."

Liverpool fan: "I wish he'd stayed, David Ngog is absolutely horrible and I can't believe Hodgson put him over Babel! I hope now he's happy and can tweet more often..."

Antonio Cassano (from Sampdoria) free to AC Milan

Neutral: "Wasn't he supposed to move to Juve?"

Juventus fan: "Naah we don't need a troublemaker, besides I think we're going to sign Toni"

Milan fan: "Cassano over Toni anyday! Great signing in Rossoneri's eyes."

Luca Toni (from Genoa) loan move to Juventus

Juventus fan: "Screw this signing. Only 2 matches into his deal and already he gets a knee injury. Why didn't we sign Cassano in the first place?"

Milan fan: "I bet Cassano's glad he moved to the right team. LOL."

 Giampaolo Pazzini (from Sampdoria) £10M + Jonathan Biabiany to Internazionale

Neutral: "Both of Sampdoria's strikers both has left for teams in Milan. But nice signing for Inter! Finally an Italian striker since Christian Vieri would play up front for them."

Inter fan: "He could be our savior! When Milito and Eto'o aren't cutting it, he'll be there! AC Milan, here we come~"

Ibrahim Afellay (from PSV) £3M to FC Barcelona

Neutral: "I've seen him play at PSV and for only 3 Milli hes a real bargain!"

Barca fan: "He will definitely improve an already squad!"

Neutral: "Really? I don't know how will he play because Mascherano can't seem to take Busquets place. Everyone know Mascherano is better than him!"

Barca fan: "Well Afellay can play in Xavi's position or even Iniesta's. You'll just have to believe someone of his talent and age can only improve in time. And don't be hating on Busquets..."

Neutral: "LOL sorry I forgot he's a world champion though!"

Mark van Bommel (from Bayern Munich) &a Nicola Legrottaglie (from Juventus) both free to AC Milan

Milan fan: "Great players with great experience and we didn't spend a penny. Just what we needed though... but why sign old players like them?

Neutral: "They are only contracted until the end of this season so if they're crap Milan wont extend their contracts. Besides they're still too young to join Milan..."

Milan fan: "Very funny my friend."

 Andrea Barzagli (from Wolfsburg) £250K to Juventus

Neutral: "I thought they needed a striker. Why would they sign another defender?"

Juventus fan: "Even I'm not pleased. I respect Barzagli and think he's awesome, but we need a striker more than another defender!"

Neutral: "I bet refusing Cassano is still a mistake isn't it :D"

Juventus fan: "I know! I think it's goodbye Champions League..."

Luis Suarez (from Ajax) £27M to Liverpool

Liverpool fan: "Yeah! finally we have someone to duet with Torres up front! Ngog is certainly not good enough... He will change our season around!"

Neutral: "But have you heard Torres is pushing for a move to Chelsea?"

Liverpool fan: "What?!!"

Fernando Torres (from Liverpool) £50M to Chelsea

Chelsea fan: "Finally we have a caucasian striker who is actually good!"

Liverpool fan: "Damn Torres, how could you leave us in the worst ever situation?!"

Neutral: "Hey at least you have enough money to buy a new striker, right Liverpool fan?"

Liverpool fan: "But who?!"

Neutral: "Just wait a for couple of hours before the window ends..."

Andy Carroll (from Newcastle) £35M to Liverpool

Liverpool fan: "Wow! Great signing, Kenny! He's a talent and I know he can help us forget about Torres!"

Neutral: "Yeah but the money's ridiculous. 35M? That means hes more expensive than David Villa, Carlos Tevez, Karim Benzema, Wayne Rooney, even his new teammate Luis Suarez for Christ sake!"

Newcastle fan: "Poor management though from (Newcastle owner) Mike Ashley. I can't believe the club allowed him to leave!"

Neutral: "I say this was a good piece of management though. Newcastle actually made Liverpool buy a player with only 4 months of Premier League experience... who is actually injured at the time he was signed!"

Liverpool fan: "Blablabla and your criticism, he'll be a great signing and you will want to take your words back!

End. Which of these conversations most intrigued you?

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 ;)

10 Things I've learned from my first GBK experience.

10. A Diego Forlan-less Uruguay side can still annihilate Indonesia.
9. No Blackberry internet services exist in and around Gelora Bung Karno.
8. Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez could've easily scored more.
7. Indonesia's Bambang Pamungkas should have never been taken off. We lost all aerial battles since he left the field.
6. The Indonesia team were actually good enough to score 1 against a team who came 4th in the last World Cup.
5. Everyone in the stadium agreed on one chant, "NURDIN TURUN!! NURDIN TURUN!!"
4. The battle of the #15's were the best! Diego Perez vs Firman Utina.
3. Step aside Nurdin Halid, PSSI doesn't need a guy with a bad criminal record to control our football!
2. After the final whistle, let the Indonesian players have your jersey guys! It might be their only highlight of their disappointing career which was crushed by Nurdin Halid.
1. Hey! At least I get to see 8 goals on my first game at the Gelora Bung Karno stands.

Yugoslavia's National Team - If they never broke apart

Fig 1. Yugoslavia's old National Flag

Yugoslavia, the country in the heart of Europe with a large de facto area highlighted by numerous political conflicts within the country. The country also produced some fine talents in football and qualified for Euro 1992 which was held in Sweden but later was forced to pull out of the competition due to political issues in the country that couldn't be resolved easily which eventually led to be sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 thus leading to being banned from appearing (not going to detail on the history here, just stating the outter line for more info on their break up click here). Their replacements Denmark won Euro instead.

Now Yugoslavia is now long-gone and their former countries had considerable success in terms of Footballing sense. Yugoslavia broke to 6 different countries. Those countries are Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Macedonia.

Croatia has reached 3rd place in the 1998 World Cup, while Slovenia has qualified for 2002 & 2010 World Cups. Serbia(& Montenegro) reached the last 2 tournaments in 2006 & 2010 with ease but underachieved in the final stages. Bosnia-Herz has gona closer and closer to achieve something big and their national players have gone better and better. The least successful of them are Macedonia, and their not half bad themselves actually.

The writer wrote this article here to imagine "Who would make it into a 23-man Yugoslavia squad??" since with the wealth of talent they have, few faces might miss out on the chance.

Goalkeepers:

Fig 2. Samir Handanovic

If you are going to a World Cup or a EURO tournament, there should only be 23 players in a team with 3 Goalies. Samir Handanovic of Slovenia gets my vote alongside Serbia's Vladimir Stojkovic with Bosnian youngster Asmir Begovic completing the Goal line.

Defenders:

Fig 3. Nemanja Vidic

Serbia has some of the best defenders across the European elite leagues so their first choice defense line will definitely make it into my squad in the form of Nemanja Vidic, Branislav Ivanovic, Aleksandr Lukovic, and Aleksandr Kolarov. Croatia's Vedran Corluka & Darijo Srna will add depth in the Yugoslavia squad on the flanks and in the middle along with Branko Ilic of Slovenia who had a great World Cup a couple of months ago.

Midfielders:

Fig 4. Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar

Here, all of the countries had strong competition - so strong I decided to pick only 7 defenders to compensate with 8 midfielders. Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar of Croatia are definite picks for my Yugoslavia team. Slovenia captain Robert Koren will be great in the middle of the park alongside Serbia's captain Dejan Stankovic. Competition on the wings would be completed with two Serbs in newly-signed Juventus player Milos Krasic and newly-signed Liverpool player Milan Jovanovic. Montenegro's Simon Vukcevic would make my team for his ability in dead-ball situations.

Strikers:

Fig 5. Edin Dzeko

Even I'm not going to be pleased with my striker choices because of all the possibilities available. For sure Bosnia's biggest star Edin Dzeko comes into my team alongside Macedonia's biggest star Goran Pandev. Mirko Vucinic is another Montenegro's representative in this star-studded squad. Croatia's striker duo Eduardo and Ivica Olic completes my Yugoslavia 23-man squad.


Final Squad:
Samir Handanovic, Vladimir Stojkovic, Asmir Begovic (GK); Nemanja Vidic, Branislav Ivanovic, Aleksandr Kolarov, Aleksandr Lukovic, Vedran Corluka, Darijo Srna, Branko Ilic (DF); Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Robert Koren, Dejan Stankovic, Milos Krasic, Milan Jovanovic, Simon Vukcevic (MF); Edin Dzeko, Mirko Vucinic, Goran Pandev, Eduardo, Ivica Olic (FW).

My Starting Yugoslavia Lineup (4-4-2):
----------------------------Handanovic------------------------------
------------Ivanovic----------------------------Vidic--------------
Corluka----------------------------------------------------Kolarov
--------------Koren--------------------Stankovic------------------
Krasic-----------------------------------------------------Modric
--------------Vucinic------------------------Dzeko----------------

Virtual 30-man squad players (Honorable Mentions):
Stipe Pletikosa (Goalkeeper) - Croatia
Stevan Jovetic (Striker) - Montenegro
Zvjezdan Misimovic (Midfielder) - Bosnia & Herzegovina
Nikola Zigic (Striker) - Serbia
Ivan Fatic (Defender) - Montenegro
Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Midfielder) - Serbia
Vedad Ibisevic (Striker) - Bosnia & Herzegovina

Imagine if this team had qualified for any competition, who would bet against them? This team is sick! even no place for Kuzmanovic or Jovetic somehow in the team.

Real Madrid vs Manchester CIty: Battle of the transfer quality & quantity.

This transfer season as you may seen has been dominated by 2 teams; The original faces in Real Madrid and new contenders Manchester City. Each team has signed 6 and 7 players respectively as of the time this article has been written (and rumors suggest that Real Madrid wants to sign 1 last player in this transfer window). Both clubs have been splashing the cash and have caused mixed opinions on their signings. Let us take a look on their signings these season shall we:

Real Madrid:

Angel Di Maria (ARG) from Benfica, €25 M.
Pedro Leon (ESP) from Getafe, €10 M
Sergio Canales (ESP) from Racing Santander, €4.5 M
Sami Khedira (GER) from VfB Stuttgart, €14 M
Ricardo Carvalho (POR) from Chelsea, €8 M
Mesut Ozil (GER) from Werder Bremen, €15 M

Total Spending: €76.5 Million.





Manchester City:

David Gonzalez (COL) free transfer
Jerome Boateng (GER) from HSV, €10.4 M
David Silva (ESP) from Valencia, €25 M
Yaya Toure (CIV) from Barcelona, €24 M
Aleksandar Kolarov (SRB) from Lazio, €16 M
Mario Balotelli (ITA) from Internazionale, €24 M
James Milner (ENG) from Aston Villa, €26 M + Stephen Ireland (IRE)

Total: €125 M + 1 player.



Quality indeed these players being brought in of course, but what bothers me is the quantity of the money being spent AND the amount of players being brought in. Seriously, it FREAKS me that these teams just couldn't work and deal with what they have. The difference in both these teams are that Real Madrid looks more likely to win anything while Man City looks to be heading into a mediocre title challenge.

Real Madrid has lost their legends in Raul Gonzalez and Guti Hernandez because they both just wanted a new challenge and they leave being highly regarded for their services in the past and Coach Jose Mourinho just had to by players to cover these departures. Mesut Ozil and Sergio Canales are there to replace Guti while Mourinho is still in the market to by a striker.

While Man City... they're just buying players for fun with good quality players have to be kicked out because of these signings. Players such as Craig Bellamy and Fans 2008 player of the year Stephen Ireland has left while rumors suggest Robinho, Roque Santa Cruz, Jo, and Emmanuel Adebayor are looking to leave. Critics have been doing their job mostly on the signing of James Milner because he has been exchanged with arguably a better player in Stephen Ireland, and the capture of talented young striker (but temperamental) Mario Balotelli.

Both these teams though share a single similarity, which is having rivals who are a bit stronger. Real Madrid's biggest rival Barcelona only spent big bucks on David Villa (Valencia) and Adriano Correia (Sevilla) compared to Real's 6 signings currently. While City's rivals, Chelsea and neighbors Manchester United had spent little amount of money on only few players, with Chelsea signing 2 players and United signing 3. Even with the small amount of transfers among their rivals, Barcelona are still favorites to win the La Liga while Chelsea and Manchester United looks more stronger in many ways compared to Manchester City.

Money can't buy you love, but we will see at the end of the season whether it could buy a good football team.