Overlooked: Four Who Missed Out on the PFA Team of the Season

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By now we all know who made the Professional Footballers Association 2013 Team of the Season, but what about those who didn't?  farlieonfootie sends our crack reporting team in search of those who fell just short:

o Michu: How can the league's fifth leading scorer be kept off the team, particularly by the likes of Eden Hazard...?  Sure, the Frenchman showed some fancy footowork, but 17 goals can't -- and shouldn't --be ignored.  If the awards had been announced midway through the season, Michu would likely have won PFA Player of the season hands down.  Yes, he cooled off somewhat in the season's second half, but let's not forget what he did and what he meant to his team.  A certain oversight.

o Asmir Begovic or Simone Mignolet: It's tough to distinguish between the two, as they made spectacular save after spectacular save virtually all season long.  Injuries took their toll on Stoke's defense, and Sunderland is Sunderland -- but look at what their 'keepers did....  Think about how bad Stoke would be without the big Bosnian in between the sticks.  Hint: they failed to score in 15 of their games this season; that's relegation material if ever we heard it.  And as for Sunderland, 11 clean sheets with that motley crew is pretty damn impressive.  We love David De Gea, but come on -- someone give these two some love, as well.

The farlieonfootie Halfway-To-Home BPL Team of the Season

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With half of the BPL season now done and dusted, it's time to announce our editors' picks for the all-BPL starting XI.  This may be a slightly unbalanced side with no pure wingers, but these guys are so good they may even give the all-Spanish FIFA XI a run for their money.   Interestingly, only two sides (Manchester United and Everton) managed to get more than one player in the team, and Arsenal got no one at all:

o Goalkeeper: Asmir Begovic, Stoke City. The big Bosnian narrowly edges out Sunderland's Simon Mignolet for our pick in the nets.  Ably assisted by his well organized defense, Begovic has been stingier than Scrooge in conceding opposition goals this season.

o Right Back:  Pablo Zabaleta, Manchester City.  Not only is he a fine defender, but the Argentine shoots like a cannon and is capable of popping up on the scorer's sheet when you least expect him.

o Center Back: Ryan Shawcross, Stoke City.  Shawcross just re-upped his contract with the Saints, and you can see why Tony Pulis and the Stoke fans love him: big and rangy, the Englishman has become one of the more complete center halfs in the League today.   He's also a threat on set pieces in the opposition box.

o Center Back: Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham Hotspur.  He plays with such ease that it's easy to forget that this season is the Dutchman's first in the League.  He's currently holding only the narrowest of advantages over Norwich's Sebastian Bassong in our minds, but if we were forced to pick between the two of them we'd take the Tottenham man.

o Left Back: Leighton Baines, Everton. The Fifth Beatle may have started the season slowly, but he's come on like the freight train force of his free kicks and penalities.

o Midfield: Michael Carrick, Manchester United.  Criminally underated for much of the past few seasons, the Englishman's standard has been so high this season that he's impossible to ignore.  Pinpoint passing was only one of the many outstanding facets of Carrick's play in 2012.

o Midfield: Michu, Swansea City.  The Spaniard is the buy of the season, and he just can't seem to stop scoring.  A wonderful addition to his team and the League, Michu's fine club form may even see him force his way into the Spanish national team -- and that's saying a lot.

The Winter of Our Discontent: Five Thoughts on Manchester United 1 - Swansea City 1

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As the calendar turned to the Winter season, Manchester United traveled to Wales yesterday to see if they were able to reclaim the three points lost with Manchester City's late, dramatic win at Eastlands on Saturday.  Here are five things we saw that may have made the difference in a frustrating draw that saw the lead at the top shaved to four points:

In Tom We Trust...: It appears that young Tom Cleverley has earned the Gaffer's trust enough to nail down a semi-regular spot in an extremely unsettled United midfield. True, the likes of Anderson, Nani and Kagawa are all still out injured, and their return will complicate Sir Alex's task, but for now the young Englishman appears the Manager's choice to pair with Michael Carrick in midfield -- although he was unable to inject much dynamism into the match at the Liberty on Sunday.

For a Team that Used to Suck at Corners...: ...as recently as a season ago, United have dramatically improved their scoring capability on set plays. It could be the quality of the corners -- RVP vs. Nani, 'nuff said -- or the fact that so many United players appear capable of scoring this season -- stand up, Patrice Evra! -- or that they were playing against Swansea on Sunday -- a team that has conceded 12 times off corners to date this year -- but it should have come as no surprise that the first time the ball ruffled the back of the net came off a Manchester United corner kick.

Michu...!: Nor should anyone have been shocked when the Swansea midfielder (forward?)  leveled the score from directly in front of Big Dave's net. The Spaniard is in the form of his life this season, and was perfectly positioned to tap in the equalizer. That's where the biggest goal scorers almost always are: right time, right place....

Opportunity Knocked in the Second Half...: ...but no one was home -- likely because the game was played away from home for Manchester United.  We can't remember a game in which the visitors spurned so many one-on-one opportunities, with Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie equally guilty in sending the final final pass awry or taking one too many touches to sustain the offensive advantage.  A sharper United could have (should have?) had a two or three goal advantage heading into the final 30 minutes. Instead, the away fans were left slowly simmering, wondering what might have been....

The Mayans Were Right: Round 16 in the BPL

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o Four goals in five days for El Niño, and neither of the weekend's two resembling a goal struck by a man lacking confidence. Maybe the Mayans were right....

o We don't know which sight was more hilarious: Lukas Podolski warming up on the sideline with a substitute's bib pulled over his calf-length puffer coat or yet another Foreign Flopper™ rolling in agony after being airbrushed by West Brom defender Steven Reid: Congratulations go to Santi Cazorla for winning our Play Actor of the Week Award....

o Allowing two goals after the 89th minute is never a good thing, but it's especially bad when your team is developing a reputation for throwing away points late in matches. AVB's boys did it again on Sunday at Everton, and his team looks much too inconsistent to seriously challenge for the last Champions League spot. 

o Not to mention the fact that the Bearded Wonder™ seems bent on making Hugo Lloris his number one goalkeeper, a decision that proved fateful when the Frenchman appeared at fault on at least one -- and possibly both -- of the late Everton goals.

Remember When: Week 15 in the BPL

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o Chelsea finally showed some signs of life on Saturday, scoring their first goal in three games under new coach Rafa Benitez. Unfortunately for Rafa, West Ham scored three of their own and were deserved winners at Upton Park. The Hammers looked a constant threat during the second half, and after 2 points from a possible 9 for the interim Bossman, here comes the inquest....

o And in reflecting on West Ham's magnificent performance, remember when Venky's decided that Big Sam wasn't the right man to lead Blackburn?  We wonder how that decision's working out for them....

o Marouanne Fellaini's fantastic goal against Manchester City this weekend cements his status as the best player of the season to date. The Afro'd one's drive and determination -- not to mention his physicality -- were all on display as he never gave up on a ball that was whipped in by Leighton Baines to earn his side a draw. Another draw for the Toffees -- this is beginning to get a bit repetitive....

o And add City super sub Edin Dzeko to the growing list of Premier League play actors. Dzeko' dramatic fall may have conned referee Lee Probert -- whose decision may also have been influenced by Fellaini's deserved "who me?" reaction -- but television replays confirmed that the contact in the box was minimal at best, and the resulting City penalty and point can most charitably be described as fortunate rather than earned.

Give That Man a Hand: Week 12 in the BPL

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o Spurs fans: after watching the Gunners smash five past your team on Saturday, we have a suggestion for your Manager's new theme song.... Let us know your thoughts:



o Sign o' the Times: Juan Mata created more real chances in his first five minutes on the pitch than Fernando Torres created in over an hour.

o Chelsea with Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard are lacking only one thing: a real live striker who can put the ball in the net. If the Blues can persuade Radamel Falcao to sign on the dotted line, watch out.

o Carlos Tevez and Player of the Week Sergio Aguero manhandled an Aston Villa club that had given the Citizens' cross-twin rivals all they could handle the week prior. And ominously for future opponents, David Silva looked fairly good, as well.... But City's best player by far was wearing black: Linesman Adrian Holmes saw hand balls the way some actors see dead people -- imagining things that don't exist. With one fail swoop City were literally handed a game that not only gave them first place, but the resulting five goals they put past the hapless Villans also allowed the Sky Blues to take the lead on goal differential for the first time all season.

o And speaking of handing a result to the other side, Referee Martin Atkinson somehow managed to fluff yet another in a long career of missed penalties and imagined infractions. Atkinson's generous interpretation of Sean Morrison's arm save overlooked the act that the Reading player who stopped Nikica Jelavic's goal bound shot was not their 'keeper, and gave the Royals their very first win of the season.

Thoughts on the Barclay's Premier League Season To Date

Columnist Randy Likes a Close Up View of the Action
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What with all the excitement of the famed FIFA international break, we practically had to chain ourselves to our desk (that's right, we all share one desk here at Corporate) to hammer out the following piece.  Herewith, our semi-lucid thoughts on what's happened so far in the World's Most Exciting LeagueTM:

o Yaya Toure May Be the Most Influential Player in the League: It's no longer a certain diminutive Spaniard who drives the City bus, but a rock hard Ivorian who has become the new measuring stick by which all BPL midfielders are judged.  Although he's eminently capable of just sitting back on the pitch to break up opposition play and transition the ball toward City's offensive movement, it's when Roberto Mancini allows Toure the freedom to roam forward that opponents really begin to fret.  Toure's already bagged two goals in the team's first three games, and has left the rest of the BPL asking only one question: How do you solve a problem like a Yaya...?

o Liverpool's Not as Bad as Their Record Would Indicate: We're going out on a bit of a limb here, but we don't believe the reds will finish the season in the 18th position in the League table that they currently occupy.  17th place possibly, but definitely not 18th.  In all seriousness, though, Liverpool is clearly in a transitional phase, and undergoing a rather strenuous adjustment to Coach Brendan Rodgers' new tactics and schemes.  They'll gradually get there, and we see it as a substantial postive that the new man has decided to bite off the many problems King Kenny saddled the club with in last year's transfer market -- which clearly serves to show that management has learned a bit of collective folk wisdom from the Deep South: "If you've got to eat a turd, don't nibble at it."  The bet here is that Liverpool is only a striker away from challenging for a Europa League spot, and a couple of additional players away from being back in contention for the big time.

o AVB Had Better Start Winning.  And Soon:  He's won only three of his last 15 BPL games as a Manager, and although we believe that both he and Spurs will come good eventually, there's a significant caveat to our thinking: if the Portuguese version of Inspector Gadget doesn't pick up the pace soon -- and by soon, we mean very soon -- his second visit to London may be no more pleasant than his first.  The press love a good villain, and despite his boyish good looks (according to Columnist Ed, who has a bobble-head AVB doll firmly ensconced on his desk) Villas-Boas has already been given all the rope he'll need to hang himself.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Week 3 in the BPL: Traveling Down Route One

Photo by Dougtone on Flickr

o We're hoping Sam Allardyce drove along Route One to get to Upton Park on Saturday, because that's the same path that his football team took as they laid waste to Fulham with a comprehensive 3-nil victory on Saturday. Direct and dangerous, the Hammers used newly signed forward and former Liverpool whipping boy Andy Carroll to his best advantage, outleaping and outmuscling a Fulham defense that looked surprisingly sluggish and confused. If he was slumping in his seat last week, Big Sam must have been parading around like a peacock after this one -- even the second half introduction of Dimitar Berbatov did little to sway the course of the contest. It's too early to tell, of course, but if this weekend was a sign of things to come for Fulham, look out below.

o Another game, another draw snatched from the jaws of victory for Andre Villas-Boas and Spurs this weekend. He can change personnel and systems, but AVB can't change the fact he hasn't had a League win in quite some time. There are lots of new names to integrate into the squad, and the feeling around here is that it may take a fair bit of time for this newlook Spurs' squad -- replete with Dembele, Dempsey, Sigurdsson and Lloris -- to find their footing. Let's hope Daniel Levy displays some patience as the new Manager's seat on the sidelines begins to warm up.

o For the first time in a long time, I think Liverpool may be headed in the right direction under new head man Brendan Rodgers, despite their 2-nil loss to Arsenal this weekend. The Scousers looked smooth and flowing in the midfield Sunday, combining lots of movement off the ball with dangerous interplay between the squad's many accomplished midfielders. Once they have adapted fully to Rodger's way of playing, Liverpool will lack only one thing: a true center forward, rather than a racist diving cheat who can't seem to find the net on a regular basis.

o Luis Suarez plays as if he's never seen a clear chance on goal that he didn't think he could easily put well over the bar.

o BTW, can someone please tell me why Pepe Reina is considered a world class goalkeeper?  Talk about double standards.... Reina's Sunday howler gave the Gooners their second goal of the afternoon and all we could think about was this: imagine the reaction in the British tabloids if David De Gea had done that?!

o On a weekend in which we saw plenty of strikers miss open headers -- Olivier Giroud comes to mind -- how is it that Michu needed only the slightest of openings to bury his fourth goal of the season against Sunderland on Safurday?  The Spaniard is proving to be the buy of the season, at least for the early going, and Manager Michael Laudrup can only hope that his midfielder's strong start to the campaign can help the Swans through a tough time now that Neil Taylor is out with a broken ankle and Chico Flores is lost to suspension.

Week 1 in the BPL: Where the Storylines Never Change

A Behind the Scenes Look into Columnist Ed's Office
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The Barclay's Premier League is back, and a new season is well and truly underway, which can only mean one thing: new names and new kits, but the same old crazy outcomes. Some observations forthwith on a weekend that was predictably uncommon, and left Swansea and Fulham in unfamiliar territory at the top of the League:

o For once I found myself agreeing with Steve McMananman, who pointed out while Arsenal have brought in a bunch of firepower to replace Robin Van Persie, they've chosen to stand pat on a defense that includes the wobbly Per Mertesacker, the shaky Kieran Gibbs and the bumbling Wojciech Sczcesny.  We've pointed it out before on these pages, Arsene, but you can't expect to win in this league without a rock solid defense. Not that you were thinking of doing that this campaign.... 

o Of course, Arsenal did manage to shut out Sunderland on Saturday, but let's remember that this was a Black Cats squad that found the net impossibly small during their run in last season....

o With all the fuss about Joey Barton, someone forgot to tell Mark Hughes and QPR that the season kicked off this past weekend. Although somehow we imagine that 5-0 home thrashings will have a way of grabbing your attention.

o It was strange to see Fabio all decked out in his natty sailor boy QPR kit. Same for Parky, as well. After Saturday's thrashing, I'm pretty certain they've figured out their newest stop is a bit closer to Siberia than it is to Manchester. And while Parky's move is sadly permanent, Sir Alex may want to re-think the Fabio loan deal: it now appears as if the only defensive experience the Brazilian will pick up at QPR is learning how to pick the ball out of the back of the net.

o I'll say it now, so you can't accuse me of an unsubtle bias later in the season: I don't like QPR after the way they handed the title to City last season -- not even one little bit -- and I hope they get relegated.

o Gylffi who?  Welcome to the Premier Leage, Michu....  It looks as if Swansea may have found a goodun'.

o Another season, another shutout for Villa, and this to a newly promoted side.  Welcome to the hot seat, Mr. Lambert. You're not in Norwich anymore....

o Just sayin', but I'm not certain that Adam Federici, Reading's goalkeeper, is ready for prime time.

o Granted it was against Wigan, but if Eden Hazard continues to look as good as he did on Sunday,  the rest of the League had better stand up and pay attention. Juan Mata may have made a decent impact on the Blues last season, but Hazard's not just about the pretty stepovers and a pass -- he seems to have a genuine knack for finding the open man in front of net. Playing largely from the right, Hazard gave Chelsea not only an extra offensive gear, but more importantly the width that the Blues have lacked the last couple of campaigns.