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?

Can Premier League Team "C" Challenge and be Champions?

Team C probably has the largest squad of any of the teams in this particular series and with so many options, you could arguably play a number of different formations and styles. Let’s have a look at the starting eleven that I have selected, then we can argue about who should have been included later.

Goalkeeper: Cech

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Seamus Coleman (Everton), Coloccini (Newcastle United), Gael Clichy (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Coutinho (Liverpool), Cattermole (Sunderland)

Forwards: Andy Carroll (West Ham United), Peter Crouch (Stoke City)

Squad Players/ Reserves: Cuellar (Sunderland), Chico & Canas (Swansea), Collins, Collison & Carlton Cole (West Ham), Caulker, Cowie & Campbell (Cardiff City), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Cameron (Stoke City), Chiriches, Capoue & Chadli (Spurs), Clyne, Chambers & Cork (Southampton), Cleverly (Man United), Clark (Aston Villa), Chester (Hull City), Chamakh (Crystal Palace), Cisse (Newcastle United)

There shouldn't be any arguments with the goalkeeper. Not only is Petr Cech the only “C” goalkeeper available but at the age of 31, still has plenty of years at the top left in him and there is no denying Cech is still a great goalkeeper.

The defensive unit is also very strong with plenty of interchangeability on the bench but Cahill and Coloccini are a pretty solid unit. Seamus Coleman has arguably been the best fullback in the Premier League this season, so gets the nod and I have opted for Clichy over Ashley Cole at left back. Neither of them are regulars for their clubs any more but with Clichy being 5 years younger, that’s my choice. Vlad Chiriches and Steven Caulker are able deputies in the centre back position.

In the starting positions in midfield, we have passing ability (Carrick), flair (Cazorla and Coutinho) and ball winning ability (Cattermole). Capoue and Chadli of Spurs are high profile alternatives, but neither have set the world alight this season during Tottenham’s stuttering campaign. The same could be said of Tom Cleverly and his season at Old Trafford.

With capable passers and creators in midfield, you would hope there would be plenty for Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch to feed on but might two tall strikers limit the team’s style of play? Possibly, so Frazier Campbell or Papiss Cisse could step in and replace one of the big men if it all got a bit predictable.

What do you think? Is this the right starting eleven or would you change things up a bit?

Can the "B" Team Raise its Game to Compete at Premier League Level?

If you have been following this series, you will know how it works. We select a single letter from the alphabet (in this case “B”) and try to pick a first 11 and hopefully some squad members too, selected entirely from players whose surnames begin with that letter and who currently ply their trade in the English Premier League.

Team B turns out to be surprisingly strong, let’s take a look.

Goalkeeper – Begovic (Stoke City)

Defenders – Baines (Everton), Wes Brown (Sunderland), Bacuna (Aston Villa), Bardsley (Sunderland)

Midfield – Ben Arfa, Gareth Barry, Ross Barkley, Chris Brunt (West Brom)

Forwards – Benteke (Aston Villa), Bony (Swansea City)

Subs and squad players – Boruc (Southampton), Buttner (Man United), Bruce (Hull City), Bennett (Norwich), Briggs (Fulham), Baker (Aston Villa), Britton (Swansea), Bentaleb (Spurs), Bannan (Crystal Palace), Bent (Fulham), Bellamy (Cardiff City), Berahino (West Brom), Demba Ba (Chelsea), Borini (Sunderland), Bendtner (Arsenal)

Perhaps the most noticeable thing about team B is the strength on the bench, particularly in forward positions. The manager could effectively start with a different strike force every week and still be a threat.

This is an all-round solid team rather than being particularly spectacular, although the strength and power of Benteke and Bony is likely to cause any defence some problems. Midfield has a nice blend of experience, hard graft, vision and skill, although the 4 starters shouldn't have too much trouble holding down their positions.

So, what do you think? How do you think the A Team would fair against this B Team?

The "A" Team Brings its "A" Game to the Premier League

Let’s go right back to the start of the alphabet to see if we can create teams of current Premier League players with some of those early letters, starting with the A Team.

Goalkeeper – Adrian (West Ham United)

Defenders – Azplilcueta (Chelsea), Agger (Liverpool), Amat (Swansea), Alonso (Sunderland)

Midfielders – Arteta (Arsenal), Joe Allen (Liverpool), Charlie Adam (Stoke City)

Forwards – Aguero (Man City), Adebayor (Spurs), Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)

Subs or Squad Players – Albrighton (Villa), Alcaraz (Everton), Assaidi and Arnautovic (Stoke), Aluko (Hull City), Altidore (Sunderland), Anita (Newcastle)

There’s not a lot of defensive cover on the bench but that’s not a bad side, especially in an attacking sense. With Sergio Aguero, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gabby Agbonlahor bearing down on an opposing defence, there are sure to be goals, with a supply line coming from Arteta in particular.

There weren't many “A” goalkeepers to choose from, in fact West Ham’s Adrian was the only one currently playing. However, he has been in fine form so certainly an inspired choice! Defensively, there is a mixture of experience and inexperience so it would be up to Agger and Azpilicueta to guide the other defenders through each game. There are plenty of options on the bench for an attack minded team but there isn’t a lot of depth to this squad.

It’s not often the B team is stronger than the A team but we will find out soon. Stay tuned.

10 Things that Could Still Happen In the Premier League this Season - Updated

A little bit earlier in the season, I highlighted 10 things that could still happen in the Premier League this season. With most teams only having 11 more games to play, let’s take a quick look back and see how many of those 10 things have happened or could happen.

1. Romelu Lukaku could end up as Premier League top scorer – Barring a major miracle, this one isn’t going to happen. After a very bright start and steady stream of goals, the Midas touch seemed to desert the Belgian international. The dry spell was followed by an injury and even if he returns for the final 10 games of the season, he is miles behind the likes of Suarez, Sturridge and Aguero.
2. Someone other than Man City, Man United and Chelsea could win the Premier League this season – This one is still alive and well. Although many will have Chelsea and Man City as favourites to battle it out, at the time of writing both Arsenal and Liverpool have a genuine chance of winning it.
3. Paulo Di Canio might not be the only manager to lose his job this season – Martin Jol, Rene Meulensteen (both Fulham), Ian Holloway (resigned not sacked), Andre Villas Boas, Michael Laudrup, Steve Clarke and Malky Mackay all followed in a domino rally meaning that with just over a quarter of the season still to play, we have lost more Premier League managers (eight) this season than we did in the whole of last season (seven).
4. This could be the closet title race for years – Still on! 11 games to play and only 4 points separate the top 4!
5. Leighton Baines could finish the season at a different club – Not going to happen. The transfer window slammed shut with Baines still very much an Everton player and seemingly happier than he was in the summer when both Manchester United and Chelsea showed an interest. Everton’s steady improvement under Roberto Martinez and the struggles at old Trafford, may have made it easier to convince him to stay at Goodison Park.
6. Romelu Lukaku might score more Premier League goals than the Chelsea frontline combined – Lukaku has 9 league goals, Eto’o has 6, Torres has 4 and Demba Ba has 1. That puts Lukaku behind by 2 and up against it. It could still happen if he gets back from injury and the Chelsea strikers continue at their current pace!
7. A Welsh player could win player of the season for the second time running – The chances of this are fading fast. If the season had ended at Christmas, Aaron Ramsey would surely have won but an injury has interrupted his season and a host of other players have come into contention – Suarez, Aguero, Yaya Toure, Hazard to name but a few.
8. Man United could finish outside the top 4 – This is now probably a likelihood rather than a possibility.
9. Tom Huddlestone could cut his hair – Done and dusted! In fact after scoring against Cardiff recently, he could have cut it twice!
10. Stoke City could become the next Arsenal (in style of football) – Okay, so this was going a little bit far but it is fair to say that Mark Hughes and Stoke are not as predictable as they have been for the past few seasons. They are in a relegation battle (just 3 points from bottom 3) but they are also in the battle to finish where they usually finish in mid table (just 4 points off 10^th). So, that one could go either way.

So, out of those 10 items written about earlier in the season, only 1 of them definitely won’t happen, 2 or 3 of them are unlikely to happen, a couple of then happened already while some still remain in the balance. Watch this space!

Team "T" is in Town - A Terrific Premier League Line Up

If you were a football manager who could assemble a squad of players from the Premier League with the only restriction that their surnames begin with the letter “T”, then your team may look something similar to the one below.

Theoretically, you could field a back 4 of Taylor’s (2 from Newcastle, 1 from Swansea and 1 from Cardiff) with another Taylor (Matt from West Ham) in midfield. Alternatively, you could opt for a double Taylor, Turner (Ben from Cardiff and Michael from Norwich) defensive unit, but that’s up to you. Let’s see who I would pick and you can agree to disagree if you have a preferred 11.

Goalkeeper – Tremmel (Swansea City) I couldn't unearth another current “T” Premier League goalkeeper, so let’s hope he doesn’t get injured!

Defenders – John Terry (Chelsea), Neil Taylor (Swansea), James Tomkins (West Ham United), Kolo Toure (Liverpool)

Midfielders – Yaya Toure (Man City), Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United), Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Alexander Tettey (Norwich City)

Forwards – Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Lacina Traore

Subs and Squad Members: Taylor x 4 (See above), Turner x 2 (See above), Tonev (Aston Villa), Tiendalli (Swansea), Tunnicliffe and Tankovic (Fulham)

On paper, this “T” team doesn’t look as strong as some of the previous entries into the series but there is still plenty of quality on show. A leader at the back in John Terry, plenty of other experience from Kolo Toure (who has had a hard time from fans of both Liverpool and Man City in recent seasons). The midfield is quite tasty with many believing the Kolo’s brother, Yaya is one of the best (if not the best) midfielders in world soccer. Cheick Tiote will provide plenty of steel and Townsend the flair going forward.

Up front, Fernando Torres may not be the prolific striker he once was but he would still walk into the starting line-up of the majority of Premier League teams, while Everton’s Traore is really untried at this level, but he is an Ivorian international goalscorer so plenty of pedigree.

Do you think you can assemble a better “T” team from the current crop of English Premier League players?

Team "S" Takes its Place in the Premier League Alphabet and has more than a Hint of Liverpool

An abundance of “S” named players has made this the first of my alphabet teams where I have really struggled (with the exception of the strikers) to pick a first choice 11. The quality left on the bench or as squad players is ridiculous, especially in the attacking midfield and forward departments.

So, let’s have a look at the team.

Goalkeeper – Szczesny (Arsenal)

Defenders – Shawcross (Stoke City), Sakho (Liverpool), Skrtel, (Liverpool), Shaw (Southampton) Santon (Newcastle United)

Midfielders – Silva (Manchester City), Sidwell (Fulham), Sigurdsson (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards – Suarez (Liverpool), Sturridge (Liverpool)

Subs and Squad Players – Stekelenberg (Fulham), Smalling (Man United), Senderos (Fulham), Stones (Everton), Sagna (Arsenal), Schneiderlin (Southampton), Shelvey (Swansea City), Sissoko (Newcastle United), Snodgrass (Norwich City), Schurlle (Chelsea), Sagbo (Hull City), Sterling (Liverpool), Sessegnon (West Bromwich Albion), Soldado (Spurs)

Choice of goalkeeper was fairly straightforward and there probably won’t be any arguments there, although Stekelenberg and indeed Speroni are waiting in the wings if Szczesny has a wobbly spell.

Some of the other teams in this series have looked a bit weak at the back so I have opted for a 5-3-2 formation here to emphasise the strength in defence. Both Luke Shaw and Davide Santon (who can play on both sides) are very attack minded full backs so can easily supplement the midfield when called upon. Sakho, Shawcross and Skrtel provide plenty of power and strength in the central positions and offer a significant threat from set pieces.

Midfield was a really tricky puzzle to solve and there are sure to be plenty of disagreements over the selection here. Anyway, David Silva simply had to be in as one of the best creative midfielders in the Premier League. Steve Sidwell, who can score a goal two is really picked for his tenacity in the tackle and ball winning ability, while Gylfi Sigurdsson, who isn't a regular in the Spurs team, offers plenty of craft and invention and is great at striking the ball from distance.

The SAS partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge just had to lead the line. Even as a non- Liverpool fan it’s impossible to play any of the other strikers ahead of them. Mind you, there are plenty of options for impact substitutions and if injuries play their part.

So, what do you think? Who would you have played in midfield? Would you have played a different formation? How does the team compare to the "J" team or the "R" team?