For many people the Premier League is deemed the best league in the world, given its competitive nature and the quality of players that have plied their trade on these shores.
Whether it be a Jurgen Klinsmann, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona, Gianfranco Zola, or in more recent times Cristiano Ronaldo; few can deny that the Premier League hasn’t had its fair share of talents to grace the pitches around the country. It is also important to recognise that it has also had to witness some absolute shockers as well, with the likes of Mido, Boogers, Prunier and Cheyrou still etched on the minds of Premier League supporters up and down the country.
The Premier League has always seen a mixed bag of players and I, for one, always welcome witnessing a mismatch on the field whether it is Ramon Vega looking to mark Dennis Bergkamp; Tony Hibbert attempting to shackle Cristiano Ronaldo, or simply Gregorsz Rasiak attempting to take on any Premier League defence. The bad will always play a major part in adding to the excitement of the league.
This current Premier League season has been no different and this is the FIRST PART of my look into, who I consider to be, arguably the worst players plying their trade in the league at present.
Click on Stefan Savic to unveil the top 10
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Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri was ecstatic after his side sealed a Champions League berth next season with a 1-1 draw at home against Inter Milan.The point was enough for Napoli to clinch third place on the Serie A table, and they are now set to tackle European heavyweights such as Barcelona, Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the Champions League next season.
It will be the first time for 21 years that Napoli will play in Europe’s premier competition and Mazzarri was understandably a happy man.
“It has been an extraordinary night and I have to thank everyone who works around the team, creating a sense of harmony to help the players give their best,” he said.
“This journey has been going for two years now and after talking to the club I will go into the press room and say what needs to be said.”
“Quite aside from personal rapport, we are professionals and have to be clear at the end of every season on where we are going in future.”
While Napoli know what they will be doing next season, the same cannot be said for Mazzarri.
The 49-year-old said last week he may leave the club at the end of this season, but the experienced manager would not expand on his statement when quizzed after the Inter Milan game.
“I really cannot answer this question until I have spoken to the club. I could lie, but I am always clear and I say that we must talk things over with the club before making any decision,” said Mazzarri, who is under contract with the club until June 2014.
“My honesty is often inopportune for this football world and admittedly I lack something in diplomacy. Please be patient, as after the meeting with the President we will be able to make everything clear.”
“I don’t know when the meeting will be, as I am an employee and have to wait for the President to call me in. Once we discuss everything in a 360 degree analysis, we’ll inform the media of our conclusions.”
“The first time I said that I’d have to talk things over with the President was before the Parma game, when we had four consecutive victories. It is nothing new, as I do this every summer. I just wanted to talk about this celebration and the wonderful atmosphere.”
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has questioned the wisdom of stripping Steven Gerrard of the England captaincy.
Gerrard, who assumed the international armband when Rio Ferdinand picked up a knee ligament injury on the eve of the World Cup, saw the captaincy return to the fit-again Manchester United defender for Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro.
Hodgson was surprised by the decision of England coach Fabio Capello, which he hopes doesn't have an impact on Gerrard's role as Reds skipper.
"I was disappointed to see that he had the England captaincy taken away from him," he told the club's official website ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby against Everton.
"I've got to be honest and say I don't really understand that decision.
"As much as Rio is a great player as well, I think if you have been out for a long time through injury and you're making your first England appearance for a long, long time, someone who actually had the captaincy for three games and had done brilliantly deserves to keep it.
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"I haven't spoken to Steven about the subject but I just hope he is not too disappointed about it because at the moment, in his form and with his ability and desire to take responsibility, he plays a true captain's innings for us and I think he did it for England in the three games before."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Arsenal’s 4-0 humbling at the hands of AC Milan just further emphasised the dawning realisation about just how far off this current Arsenal side are in terms of quality when compared to the old Arsenal teams of yesteryear. But when it comes to the issue of the manager, and whether the club should continue to back him or politely thank him for his services and usher him out the back door quietly, it appears that the club’s supporters are split.
Every single time Arsenal are dealt a thrashing these days, we have to go through the inevitable rigmarole of listening to the Wenger Out bridge. It’s a divisive topic that’s for certain, but has Wenger taken the club as far as he can go?
The two camps now take completely polar views with concerns to Wenger’s future position at the club. There are those that still trust Wenger’s judgement to deliver and hail the job that he’s doing at the club with comparibly small finances to his nearest rivals.
On the other hand we have those that decry everything Arsenal have come to represent. This is, after all, a team formed very much in the image of its manager. The power that he has over recruitment at the club is nearly unparalleled in the english game. It is in Wenger’s judgement that players like Djourou, Walcott and Rosicky are up to the task, when at the highest level, the evidence just continues to mount that they are patently not.
From an outsiders perspective at least, I find it simply amazing the sheer amount of bile-based rhrotic that is sent Wenger’s way. It’s disrespectful and ignorant of the superb job that he’s done at the club. Arsenal wouldn’t be where they are today without him, it’s as simple as that.
He didn’t reinvent the wheel when it came to dietary requirements as it’s often made out to seem. He isn’t the first manager to appreciate that pasta instead of chips and a pint are better for a professional athlete’s body and diet.
Nor is he in anyway professioral in style apart from being French and quite posh looking . He isn’t a master tactican and the malaise in terms of playing style and squad depth is almost entirely of his own making.
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These false myths built up around him at the height of his success appear to be the very things hindering him most now. He isn’t all of a sudden a complete dunce, but at the same time, the personality cult based around the principle of ‘Wenger knows’ is equally just as ridiculous a notion.
Against AC Milan, his face had the look of a beaten man already resigned to his team’s fate. He is continually let down by a group of players that he has emplaced so much belief in. He lauds their ‘mental resilience’ at every turn and to what effect? They were out-played, out-fought and out-thought.
Is it simply that Wenger has raised expectations so high by over-performing in the past that he is now unable to meet them with an inferior squad? Or is it more to do with the modern-day football fan and their penchant for knee-jerk reactions and drama?
Of course, as is often the way with issues as complex as this, the truth lies somewhere in between. To criticise Wenger, as his supporters often complain, is not to completely disregard the job that he has done in the past. His successes in the past grant him a degree of freedom, a measure of credit if you will, but it’s worth noting that he is becoming in increasing danger of fully cashing that in now.
The rumbles on the terraces are growing and Wenger looks to be running out of answers. Is fresh impetus needed? Most definitely, but that doesn’t neccessarily mean a change in management, it could simply mean a new coach or two, perhaps even a new assistant manager instead of Pat Rice; but most importantly, someone with new ideas willing to challenge Wenger’s all-encompassing authority.
Wenger can be criticised for a lot of things – a near constant obsession with planning for the future, a failure to spend money in positions that require reinforcements and the failure of the experimentation with club’s change in playing style.
However, should the club banish a manager after so many years of distinguished service after one and a half seasons of indifferent form? We are often told that no one person is bigger than the club, but when it comes to Arsenal, that just simply doesn’t apply or ring true.
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Arsene Wenger is Arsenal. If the club’s fans think that a change in manager will supply a quick fix to a team and infrastructure formed completely in Wenger’s image, then they have another coming. Any decision to remove Wenger could have wider-held implications to the club than we cannot possibly fully envisage at the moment. This is not the time for snap decisions based on a bad performance or two.
It’s easy to criticise the manager when performances go south, and Wenger certainly deserves a lot of the flak that goes his way, but the influence of the manager is often overstated in today’s game. The players simply aren’t holding their end of the bargain up.
Results are the managers perogrative, performances are the players. So far, against the odds, Arsenal are on course to secure Champions League qualification for the 12th successive season, which in itself is tantamount to a title win at the moment; a salient point worth remembering for Arsenal fans everywhere in the aftermath of a what will ultimately go down as a deeply humiliating evening for the club.
The Daily Mail is reporting that Real Madrid has joined Manchester United and Liverpool is the race to sign Aston Villa winger Ashley Young. Young is valued at around £15m and Aston Villa will be prepared to sell in the summer because he will only have one year left on his contract.
Young has been in decent form this season in the Premier League scoring 6 goals and providing assists for a further 10 goals. Young is believed to have told his Aston Villa teammates that his preferred destination is Old Trafford but Liverpool also hold out strong hopes.
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has indentified Young as a player that who can not only succeed in Spain but also make the La Liga outfit a profit. Manchester City is also believed to be monitoring the situation.
Ashley Young is also beginning to establish himself as a regular in England squads and has now won 14 caps for his country. If Young was to move for £15m in the summer that would represent a decent profit for Villa – who paid an initial fee of £8m when they signed the wide player from Watford in January 2007.
Follow me on Twitter @jimlk2007
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New Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier enjoyed the perfect return to the Premier League as his side grabbed a late 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.
Stewart Downing tucked Marc Albrighton's centre away to open the scoring, but when Matt Jarvis' cross shot deceived Brad Friedel in the second half, the points looked set to be shared.
But a fabulous header from Emile Heskey in the 88th minute ensured the points went to Villa Park and the former Liverpool coach was delighted with the promising start to life in the Midlands.
"Emile's goal was fantastic, we know what he's capable of. It's not easy to play up front these days.
"He's got tremendous assets, but sometimes he doesn't believe enough in himself and he should have more faith in what he's capable of doing.
"(It was) the perfect return because we got the three points and we beat a very, very difficult team.
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"The first goal was important because it brought confidence to the team and the two goals we scored were at the end of two could moves and the player's attitudes today were fantastic."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Manchester City winger Adam Johnson has admitted that it would be disastrous if his side were to blow their title chances, after being top of the Premier League for the majority of this campaign.
The Etihad Stadium outfit take on fellow challengers Tottenham at home on Sunday, with cross-town rivals Manchester United lurking three points from the top.
The England winger is hopeful of success this season, but knows it will be a difficult task for Roberto Mancini’s men.
“I’d be devastated if we didn’t win it now,” he stated to Mirror Football.
“Everyone knows we deserve to be where we are and to throw it away would definitely be a disaster.
“Obviously, with the position we’ve got ourselves in now, it’s for us to give it away.
“We’re top of the league by three points and it’s up to us not to make mistakes. But none of the lads want to think about that, nor does anyone else at the club.
“Tottenham are the team who have nothing to lose and all the pressure is supposedly on us and United.
“But the pressure is on whoever is up there to sustain it. If Tottenham do that, there will be massive pressure on them. In the last four or five games, when things are still tight, that is when we can see who will hold their nerve.
“If we win the title, we will have deserved it. We have top-class players but we have to play 38 games.
“We have to try and win every one. Hopefully in May I will be saying that we did it,” he concluded.
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Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was pleased his players showed spirit as their 4-2 win over Wigan came at a cost on Saturday.All six goals were scored in the second half at the Stadium of Light and Wigan went back into the relegation zone on the back of the defeat.
Mohamed Diame had given the visitors the lead but it lasted barely three minutes as a Jordan Henderson brace and goals from Asamoah Gyan and Stephane Sessegnon gave Sunderland a 4-1 lead.
Substitute Franco di Santo pulled a goal back for Wigan late on.
Bruce paid a price for the win, however, as both Phil Bardsley and Gyan were stretchered off and Danny Welbeck also had to be substituted.
“Unbelievable. We go a goal behind and we’ve lost two or three players. We’ve lost every striker at the club but we managed to score four,” Bruce told Sky Sports.
“It doesn’t really make sense but thankfully they’ve shown a bit or resilience and they needed to.”
“It was a bit anxious and a bit nervy at times but we’ve dug deep and got the result we need which catapults us back into the top 10.”
“But we can’t mask over exactly what’s happened to us with the injuries and it nearly wrecked today as well which is the disappointing thing.”
The win broke a nine-game winless run for Sunderland but Bruce will be forced to finish the season with barely a striker left in the squad.
Bruce said there was a problem his club needed to address.
“It’s caused us a huge problem over the last three months,” he said.
“Thankfully today we’ve got away with it and the ones who have really played well, the young ones today especially, have stood up to the task.”
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez says it was ‘impossible’ for his side to get a result with big calls going Sunderland’s way in the loss.
Martinez rued referee Lee Probert’s decision to award Sunderland a 73rd-minute penalty that Sessegnon converted.
“I’m disappointed because it was a very different performance until the first goal. I felt we were well in control, we were growing into the game but we stopped Sunderland completely and then the hardest thing is to score that away goal,” Martinez told Sky Sports.
“From then on we just got a little bit anxious and then we got punished. The penalty is just a ridiculous decision. It is a shoulder-to-shoulder action that should never have been given.”
“And then all of a sudden they get a two-goal lead and then you are chasing the game and the scoreline does not reflect the performance.”
“Overall it was two completely different games. Unfortunately the big calls didn’t go our way and it was impossible to get a result.”
Martinez still feels his team are competitive enough to avoid relegation and that the battle to avoid the drop will come down to the last day of the season.
When talent is wasted through ill-discipline, laziness, lack of application and direction football fans are not particularly forgiving. In contrast there can be no greater shame than seeing a gifted player’s career cut short or disturbed through injury. Below are ten players who were forced into premature retirement or have seen more of the treatment table than the pitch.
Martin Laursen
The former Aston Villa centre-back retired from football last year after sustaining a knee injury in January 2009. Faced with a major operation and a long period of rehabilitation the ex-Milan player who had previously suffered with knee injuries decided to hang up his boots. He had been at Villa Park for five years and was the club captain.
Dean Ashton
Soon after turning 26, West Ham striker Dean Ashton announced his retirement from football. He had failed to fully recover from an ankle injury suffered during an England training session in 2006. After returning the following season he scored 11 times and earned another England call-up. But the superb finisher experienced a reoccurrence of the ankle injury at the start of the 2008/09 season and never played again.
Jonathan Woodgate
Speculation is rife that Woodgate will be forced to retire unless he undergoes surgery on his injured groin. The former Madrid defender who has battled against injuries throughout his career has not featured for Tottenham since November last year. The player who has visited specialists across the world in an attempt to solve his groin problem is not expected to be named in Harry Redknapp’s 25-man squad.
Owen Hargreaves
Another injury ravaged player set to be a victim of the Premier League’s new rules is Manchester United’s Hargreaves. Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be greatly concerned over his chances of recovering from a career threatening knee condition. The midfielder who was sorely missed at the World Cup has made one substitute appearance for the club since undergoing double knee surgery in December 2008 and January 2009.
Kieron Dyer
The West Ham United winger who signed from Newcastle in 2007 broke his leg shortly after moving south to east London. He has recently been dogged by a series of hamstring injuries and co-owner David Sullivan suggested he was a player who may have to accept retirement. Having made only his eighth start for the Hammers on Saturday, he will be hoping to prove his critics wrong.
Continued on Page TWO
Matt Murray
The Wolverhampton Wanderers keeper had to accept retirement from football earlier this week. This followed an unsuccessful battle to return to playing after rupturing his patella tendon. Mick McCarthy believed the 29-year old could have been an England regular.
Ledley King
The Tottenham stalwart continues to struggle with a long-standing knee problem which has restricted his playing time. The defender previously came close to retirement but has managed to assuage his persistently troubled knee. King is put through less combative training techniques and is often rested when games come thick and fast. Due to his immense talent it is a situation tolerated by Spurs and their fans.
Jamie Redknapp
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Another chronic knee complaint forced the former Liverpool and Tottenham captain Jamie Redknapp to retire in 2005. Dr Richard Steadman, whose books are full of crocked footballers, told the midfielder that his career was over. Injury had also ruled the player out of the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
Darren Anderton
Players who have graced White Hart Lane are propping up this list and perhaps the most infamous is the man labelled with the nickname, ‘sick note.’ Anderton played for a host of clubs, most notably Spurs but was beset by a range of injuries. Despite groin and Achilles trouble he made over 30 appearances for England. The unlucky midfielder retired two years ago, finishing his career with Bournemouth.
Michael Owen
After sustaining a ruptured hamstring in the Carling Cup final last season, Owen dismissed suggestions that he is cursed by injury. The former Liverpool, Madrid and Newcastle forward has vehemently rejected his injury prone tag. The label has stuck for the goal-scorer who bizarrely ruptured his anterior cruciate knee ligament against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup.
Manchester City playmaker David Silva has stated that his side have a fighting spirit that can lead them to silverware this season.
A 1-0 battling win over Arsenal on Sunday keeps the Etihad Stadium outfit on top of the Premier League table, two points ahead of cross-town rivals United.
The game was overshadowed by a training ground spat between Mario Balotelli and Micah Richards, but the Spain international feels that incidents like this show the side’s fighting spirit.
“Stuff like that, you can always turn into a positive for the team,” he told Mirror Football.
“Everyone is going at it 100 per cent in training, and stuff like that can happen. But we are very united and there is a great team spirit out on the field.
“I don’t get involved [in training-ground scraps] because I’m very cool-headed and calm.
“You have to respect everyone’s character but I try to keep a back seat view of everything and stay calm,” he stated.
Silva knows that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men will push City right to the end of the season, and the attacking midfielder is hoping the current leaders can keep up their winning form.
“We’re aware that United are going to be pushing us all the way but we have to focus on ourselves,” he added.
“We have to keep on the road we have been on up to now, keep our own affairs in order and the rest will look after itself.
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“At the moment it’s United just behind us, but others will be gathering towards the end of the season. To keep the gap as it is, we have to keep winning our games,” he concluded.