Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Can Dembele, Dejagah and Dzeko Propel Team "D" Up the League?

Throughout the series so far, teams have tended to line up with either a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 system, so team D is certainly a first, with a 4-5-1 system seeming like the best option given the availability of players under this “D” category. Let’s have a look.

Goalkeeper: De Gea (Man Utd)

Defenders: Debuchy (Newcastle Utd), Michael Dawson (Spurs), Ben Davies (Swansea City), Demichelis (Man City)

Midfielders: Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur), David Luiz (Chelsea), De Guzman (Swansea City), Downing (West Ham Utd), Dejagah (Fulham)

Forwards: Dzeko (Man City)

Squad Players/Reserves: Dummet (Newcastle), Delph (Aston Villa), Demel, Diame & Diarra (West Ham), Curtis Davies (Hull City), Dann, Delaney & Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace) Do Prado (Southampton), Duff (Fulham), Deulofeu (Everton)

As with team “C”, David de Gea is really the only available choice in the goalkeeping position and I am not going to complain, despite Manchester United’s poor form this season, de Gea has certainly now established himself as number one at Old Trafford and at still only 23 is becoming a very capable goalkeeper.

In the full back positions, we have the highly rated Debuchy of Newcastle and the equally highly rated Ben Davies of Swansea. In the centre we have the steady Michael Dawson and perhaps the most controversial choice in this team, Demichelis of Man City. Others may opt for Demel or Curtis Davies but I stick by my choice.

Now then, the 5 midfielders in this 4-5-1. Dembele would probably walk into at least 18 of the Premier League midfield units, so is a strong choice here. Perhaps the same could be said of David Luiz, although some might prefer to play him as a defender. Stewart Downing on his day (although he does seem to be having fewer of them) can be terrific and can supply a steady stream of crosses into the box. De Guzman is also creative and gets from box to box well, while Dejagah has been one of the few bright lights for struggling Fulham this season. Dejagah is also possibly the only Iranian international to be playing regular Premier League football.

The lone striker then is Edin Dzeko. I would imagine that Dzeko has one of the best Premier League strike rates (goals per game time) in recent years. He has 38 goals in 98 league appearances for Man City with many of those appearances being as a late substitute. One goal in every 2.5 matches is relatively decent in normal circumstances but taking his game time into account, it’s nothing short of prolific. Dzeko is probably the only out and out striker in the team “D” squad with perhaps only Deulofeu offering any challenge for the position.


I think that this team pretty much picks itself, what do you think?

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