Posts Tagged ‘premier league’

The Best Players Chelsea Has To Offer

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

While Chelsea’s team is packed with skill all across the field there are a few key players that make the team perform at the level they do. Without these players Chelsea just wouldn’t be on the same level.

1. JOHN TERRY (England, Central defender)

Terry is captain of club and country and he sets the benchmark which the other Chelsea players adhere to. A skilful and brave defender, showing technically sound style and a great amount of skill. Always a danger at set pieces and never afraid to lead by example, you could not find a better player to captain your club and country.

2. ASHLEY COLE  (England, Left back)

He may not be the most popular player amongst Arsenal fans, although he is still considered by many to be the best left back in the soccer world. His form and confidence has not been consistently great, but at his best his marauding runs down the left and quality balls into the box are only matched by his ability to shut down some of the world’s best players. noone else managers to keep players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo quite during games. That’s no fluke, that is because Ashley Cole is a world class left back.

3. MIKAEL ESSIEN (Ghana, Central midfielder)

Last seasons injury made all Chelsea fans realise how important a role Mikael Essien played, even in a midfield that boasts so many outstanding, world class players. Essien gives the midfield wonderful balance. His energy, work rate and defensive skills are first class, but he is also a technically gifted soccer player of great intelligence. He gets forward at the right time along with a powerful and accurate kicking game from a distance. At today’s prices the 24.4 million pounds that it cost to buy him looks like a bargin.

4. FRANK LAMPARD (England, Central Midfielder)

Who wouldn’t want a player like Lampard in the midifled scoring handfuls of goals. This season he has been deployed in a slightly deeper role under Carlo Ancelotti and the result has been a marked return to form for the midfielder and the goals are once again going in. Frank Lampard is a vital source of attacking strength due to his accurate shooting and ability to link play with his strikers.

5. DIDIER DROGBA (Ivory Coast, Attacker)

There are many who believe that Didier Drogba is the finest attacker in world at the moment, and on current form, it is hard to dispute that. Didier Drogba wearing the 09/10 Chelsea jersey makes all goalkeepers fear the upcoming game. The big striker may have his critics, who lambaste his theatrics when he falls over when tackled, or who bristle at his continual insistence to argue with officials and opposition players, but on his day the Ivorian striker is unstoppable. His goal scorring ability and excellent presence are vital for Chelsea, and at times he has carried the team on his back. His form is vital for Chelsea if they are to end Manchester United’s dominance of the Premier league.

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Is The Michael Owen Experiment Working?

Monday, December 28th, 2009

The move of Michael Owen from Newcastle United to Manchester last Summer was unexpected and surprising, mainly due to Michael’s injury prone history.

Many experts were left confused by the decision of Sir Alex Ferguson. After Ronaldo’s transfer, most people expected that a big name would automatically pop in to the latest Manchester United soccer apparel to replace him. however, Manchester United got Luis Valencia from Wigan and Michael Owen. A player who for the past five years has been beset by injury problem after injury problem and who was not only struggling for fitness, but form too. The fact that he is a former Liverpool player only adds insult to injury. Their were a few unhappy faces from Manchester United fans when the transfer was announced.

When the finer details of the agreement were released it became clear that Alex Ferguson had, as always had a plan. Owen was on a pay as you play deal at Old Trafford and Ferguson intended to use him sporadically from the bench and in the team. He did not have to hold the whole team up with his striking abilities, he is being used from the bench when the team needs him.

Not the best start Owen would have wanted at Manchester United, only featuring in a few games as a late substitute. However his role in the team seemed apparent when he was called in on the Manchester United derby game against Manchester City scoring the last minute winning goal. This goal was expected to kick start more involvement from Owen in the team, their was even talk about a place in the England soccer team if he could find consistent goals.

Things however have not worked out that way for Owen. Another two goals has given Owen four this season from 18 games, which is not great statically despite the fact that in many games he was a substitute, Doubt is starting to spread on Alex Fergusons decision to transfer Michael Owen and how long he has left in the team.

It seems highly unlikely that Owen will make it back onto the England squad. Fabio Capello has repeatedly reiterated the need for players to be fit and playing regularly in order to play.Over the past few years Owen  has managed to be neither of these things. However it should be known that Capello doesn’t seem to apply this rule to all of England’s strikers, Emile Heskey seems certain to make the squad regardless of consistence and performance of Aston Villa.

The high point of the experiment so far has been Owen’s last minute goal against City.It will be highly unlikely for Alex Ferguson to continue the agreement with Michael Owen unless the former English striker can find form and consistency in the remainder of the season, much in the way youngster Darron Gibson is doing. Whether Owen has the ability and level of fitness to do that remains questionable and as such, it seems likely that Sir Alex Ferguson’s gamble, in the long run, may not pay off.

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