Premier League Team of the Season 2014/15

The new season is fast approaching and so I have had a quick look back at the 2014/15 season and what was my 'Team of the Season'.

Some of these players have moved on since the end of the last season, while others may also perhaps be on their way ahead of September when the transfer window is closed.

However, these were the top performers of last season in my mind and perhaps those to look at when determining where the prizes go in the coming year.

GK- David De Gea

There were some games where David De Gea might not have been at his best, but there wasn't another goalkeeper in the League that Manchester United fans would have called to replace their own.

He made big saves throughout the season and helped United into the top four, although rumours about an impending move to Real Madrid won't seem to go away.

Right Back- Nathaniel Clyne

This was a tight choice between Nathaniel Clyne and Branislav Ivanovic for this spot but I ended up siding with the former who had his best season in the top flight. Ivanovic has had the more consistent career, by Clyne offered both the attacking requirements of a full back coupled with decent defensive performances to earn his spot.

The performances saw Clyne linked with the big teams in England, and this summer he moved on to Liverpool where he takes over from Glen Johnson and will hope to push his England credentials ahead of Euro 2016.

Left Back- Aaron Cresswell

There actually weren't a lot of options in this position as injuries seemed to affect teams in the left back position through the season.

I liked how Aaron Cresswell made the move up from the Championship to the Premier League with West Ham United and he is perhaps another player hoping to break into the England team ahead of next summer's European Championship.

Centre Back- Jose Fonte

When Dejan Lovren moved on to Liverpool last summer, many expected Southampton to struggle, but Jose Fonte was part of a very impressive defence.

He helped Southampton surpass all expectations that many had for them and formed an impressive partnership with Toby Alderweireld but the pressure will be on Fonte to continue that form with more movement out of St Mary's this year.

Centre Back- John Terry

I am not a fan of the man, but I respect the player and there is no doubt that John Terry was back to near his best last season for Chelsea. He continues to be part of a strong spine at Stamford Bridge that helped Jose Mourinho bring the title back to the capital last season and will remain a stalwart at the heart of the defence.

Age is beginning to be an issue, but Terry was still the first name on the team sheet for Jose Mourinho and he will continue to lead them going forward.

Centre Midfield- Nemanja Matic

As well as John Terry played for Chelsea, he would have been grateful for the presence of Nemanja Matic in front of the back four.

There is no better defensive midfield shield in the Premier League than Matic and you have to credit Mourinho for bringing him back after previous years had seen him moved on to Benfica.

Centre Midfield- Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas was the perfect partner for Nemanja Matic to pass the ball off to in the Chelsea midfield.

The Spaniard is playing much deeper than in his Arsenal and Barcelona days which means he isn't scoring as many as some may have thought, but the assists continue to climb.

A top midfielder that I really wish Manchester United had signed last summer and I expect Fabregas to have another big season for Chelsea.

Attacking Midfield- Alexis Sanchez

Without a doubt he proved to be the signing of the summer in my opinion as Alexis Sanchez proved why Arsenal paid as much as they did to bring him in.

He can do a bit of everything- he scores goals, he creates chances, he can beat a man on the dribble and he isn't that bad in the air despite not being the tallest player.

If Arsenal are going to win the Premier League this season, I would bet Alexis Sanchez is at the heart of things and he looks a player that might even win the Player of the Year award in the coming year. One question mark would be how much winning the Copa America with Chile has taken out of him both physically and emotionally but expect Arsene Wenger to ease him back into proceedings.

Attacking Midfield- David Silva

Manchester City might have lost their title last season, but David Silva continues to ooze class and I think he can have an even better season when picking out the pace of Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling ahead of him.

Not many can play the Number 10 role better than David Silva and my one previous criticism of him was that he doesn't score enough goals.

However, he got 12 in the League last season and getting into double digits again might help Manchester City get close to reclaiming the title they lost last season.

Attacking Midfield- Eden Hazard

It is no surprise that I have four players from Chelsea, the Champions, in my Team of the Season, and the biggest shock would have been if there was no room for Eden Hazard.

While I am not ready to say he is the third best player in the World behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Hazard has the pace, creativity and goalscoring to certainly get up to that level.

If Chelsea are going to win the Champions League, they will need Hazard firing on all cylinders in the coming season.

Centre Forward- Sergio Aguero

Some might have called for Harry Kane, but he didn't have the same consistency as Sergio Aguero in the games he played and I don't think there is a better striker in the Premier League.

It isn't just about what I think of someone, because Aguero also finished as the top Premier League goalscorer and Manchester City will be desperate to get him through the season unscathed this time around.

If they can keep Aguero fit and pair him with both David Silva and Raheem Sterling, Manchester City will feel they can cover defensive vulnerabilities by out-scoring anyone in the Premier League.

These players will all be expected to have a big impact going into the new season but I wouldn't be surprised if half of them are in the Team of the Season at the end of this campaign too.

I would hope there are more Manchester United representatives in the Team next time around, but there is some gelling to be done at Old Trafford and I am not that surprised that the majority of players came from the top three teams.

A few thoughts from the last week in Football (April 21-22)

Title race is back on: I watched with disbelief and disappointment as Manchester United threw away a 4-2 lead against Everton with less than 8 minutes remaining at Old Trafford to drop 2 more points in the the title race and once again give Manchester City a real boost in the arm.


That means there are just 3 points between the teams with 3 games left to play, the first of which is the big Manchester Derby next Monday night.


It is very strange to see United playing in this manner once they had opened up an 8 point lead in the title race, but I think Sir Alex Ferguson will make sure he is all over his players for the next few days and make sure they are ready for the big game at City.


However, I still favour United to win the title as I do think they have the 'easier' matches on paper- I would expect United to beat Swansea at home (but then I was sure they would get the win over Everton) and then win at a Sunderland side that is struggling for goals.


On the other hand, City have a really difficult game at Newcastle United, especially with the latter fighting for a Champions League place and then face relegation threatened QPR that may still need the points- what are the chances of Mark Hughes getting his revenge on Sheikh Mansour and his cronies by preventing them winning the title on the final day of the season?


Sky couldn't have been more pleased with the outcome though, as they have a chance to over-hype the game- there is no doubt this is one of the biggest end of season clashes I can remember in a long time.


While it isn't quite the Liverpool-Arsenal game from the end of the 1989 season, it is obviously a match that can have a huge bearing on where the title is going to end up.




Wolves are gone, Bolton Wanderers are in big trouble: Wolves couldn't delay the inevitable any longer on Sunday as their relegation was confirmed from the Premier League, while the results at the weekend have made it that much more difficult for Bolton Wanderers who could only pick up a 1-1 draw against Swansea at the Reebok Stadium.


With QPR and Blackburn Rovers both winning, Bolton are now 4 points behind the teams in the safety zone, although they still have 5 games to play this season. However, it is the points that matter at this stage rather than the games in hand, and Bolton need to find a win in one of their next two games at Aston Villa or Sunderland.


It still looks really tight down the bottom though- Aston Villa are only 6 points clear of Bolton so a defeat for them tomorrow night will really up the pressure on Alex McLeish and for a young team that is suffering from a number of injuries.


There are some big matches yet to be played in the final weeks of the season, with none looking bigger than the Blackburn Rovers-Wigan Athletic game in two weeks time.




Harry Redknapp for England(!): Why are so many people quick to protect Harry Redknapp and blame Tottenham's lack of form on his links with the England job rather than poor management? As I have said all season, the team had a lack of depth not because Redknapp was not backed in the market, but because the manager continues to stock-pile midfield players without adding strength to his forward line nor his defence.


The other factor people continue to overlook is the lack of a 'plan B' for when things are not going right for the team, all factors that are highlighted in International tournaments when games come thick and fast.


He has also allowed Gareth Bale to play without fear of retribution if he fails to perform, letting the winger get away with thinking he can drift wherever he wants on the football field, usually to a lack of effect.


Bale's own constant self-comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo has been tolerated when someone should really be sitting him down and warning him how far he is from that consistent performances the former Manchester United play provides- the fact Bale is allowed to constantly talk about potential moves to Barcelona or Real Madrid (he wouldn't get near either team in my honest opinion) is another issue that could potentially divide a dressing room.


All of these questions should be left at the door of Redknapp, but far too many are blinded by achievements which, while good, are vastly over-rated.




So Roy Hodgson has as many wins at Anfield in 2012 as Kenny Dalglish: I know Liverpool are going to be playing their second Cup Final of the season next month against Chelsea in the FA Cup, but surely this has to be considered a season when the club has regressed.


Alan Hansen said recently that Liverpool had become a 'Cup team' and I think he has pigeon-holed his former club in the exactly correct way.


The Reds are 8th in the Premier League table, but there has to be a real fear that they will not even finish in the top half of the table, a far cry from the expectations of a battle to finish in the Champions League places and a lot of the blame has to fall at Kenny Dalglish's door, although you wouldn't hear a bad word said about the manager from the fans.


To think they are now 37 points behind the leaders Manchester United and only 23 ahead of the Wolves team that props up the rest of the table should put it all into perspective for how bad a season this has actually been for Liverpool.




How did Sergio Aguero not win an award in the Player of the Year categories he was nominated in?: I had Sergio Aguero as an absolute shoo-in to win the Young Player of the Year award as I thought the main award would go to Robin Van Persie, but I am more than a little surprised that he didn't get it.


Kyle Walker was given the Young Player of the Year award and, while I recognise he has had a very good season, I think it's a little disgraceful that Aguero was not given it, despite powering Manchester City's title race with his goals in the absence of Carlos Tevez.


So many times we have seen a foreign import come into the Premier League and really struggle, but 22 League goals later and I think Aguero has proven he can more than handle what the League brings.


I would have also had the Argentine in the Team of the Year (he missed out on that to Van Persie and Wayne Rooney), but I could understand that a little more considering the goals of the two players that did make the team.




My Team of the Year in the Premier League: So we got the Team of the Year in the Premier League earlier this week and I have to say I don't think there was much wrong with the team at all.


I think the only changes I would have made would be to bring in Jose Enrique for Leighton Baines at left back, and Clint Dempsey for Scott Parker (but I really don't rate Parker as highly as others do)

Premier League Team of the Year 2010/11

I have to admit it, I hate this time of the year as the season draws to a close and I know it is going to be a 3 month wait until we see any more football. The NBA Play Offs are drawing to a close too, and the NFL are still not quite sure if they will have a season at all this coming year, let alone in September.

Still, United have a big European Final to look forward to on Saturday and 3 months can fly by with various trips to the bars after work, watching all the posh people at Wimbledon for the tennis, and the Major League Baseball season hotting up.

One thing I have never understood about the Premier League is why they pick their Player of the Year and Team of the Year so early in the season? They say its something to do with making sure all the players vote, but surely they could open it up today and finish the voting in 10 days time and announce the winners in the first week of June.

Well I have the luxury of not being a player (luxury? Think I would rather have the hardship of earning £50,000 a week and voting in January in all honesty) and have created my Team of the Year below:


Goalkeeper
There were not many goalkeepers that really stood out for me this season, and my choice came down to Ali Al-Habsi of Wigan and Edwin Van der Sar at Manchester United. The first choice may surprise some people, but Al-Habsi displaced Chris Kirkland as the Number 1 at the DW Stadium during the season and has had some really good performances.

He did make a couple of mistakes, most notably in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City a couple of months ago, but generally Al-Habsi was solid and helped keep Wigan in the Premier League.

However, for consistency, Van der Sar surely has no rival and proved beyond doubt that he is still at the top of his game. The Dutchman will be hard to replace at Old Trafford, and I really hope he can go out in the same manner as Peter Schmeichel, holding the Champions League trophy aloft.


Right Back
Possibly one of the hardest positions to fill this season with very few outstanding players here. The player I have ended up picking is Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea. The Serbian is a consistent performer for the most part and has really made the right back position his own at Stamford Bridge.

He may favour the centre back position, but there really are not too many that provide his consistency at this position.


Left Back
The PFA Team of the Year picked Ashley Cole here, but I have gone with Leighton Baines of Everton. Defensively he has been sound, while his crossing and ability from a set piece has helped Everton no end this season. It is no surprise he has been linked away from Goodison Park this Summer and I think he has a genuine chance of fulfilling a full international career with Everton as Cole looks on the way down from his peak.

Another who deserves a mention is Jose Enrique of Newcastle. The Spaniard looked like a rabbit in the headlights in his debut season in the Premier League, but a year in the Championship strengthened him up and he has been brilliant all season. Enrique has pace, power, and is a threat going forward as well as defending superbly... He is another who looks set to move to a bigger club in the Summer.


Centre Backs
My first choice here was easy- Nemanja Vidic. With Rio Ferdinand missing chunks of the season, it was down to the new Manchester United skipper to lead by example and help Chris Smalling through games and he has been a real key foundation in the title winning side. Vidic has proven he is a leader, and he remains a tower of strength in the back 4 at Old Trafford. The next big step for the Serb will be to help the new goalkeeper bed in to the club.

The second choice comes from across Manchester in the form of Vincent Kompany. Kompany was expected to be one of Europe's top players in his time at Anderlecht, but it is at City this season that he has been the most consistent player in the backline. His pace allows him to help others out of trouble, and he has become a real leader in the absence of Kolo Toure. Kompany is still young and City have a solid foundation to build upon.


Right Wing
This is another easy choice for me to make- Nani. The Portuguese winger was sensational in the first few months of the seasons, scoring key goals and creating them too. He really has been playing well up until a few weeks ago coinciding with the return of Antonio Valencia. Nani has not been as effective on the left as he has on the right, and seems to be trying too hard at the moment.

If he can return to his form up until March, Nani can become a big performer at Old Trafford.


Left Wing
This is one of the tougher positions to pick a winner and it came down to Gareth Bale and Ashley Young. Bale was magnificent in the early part of the season, but injuries have really made his season a stop-start one, while it is arguable to say that his best performances have come in the Champions League.

I would also go a step further and say Bale was not so effective in games against Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City this season, although he did play well at the Emirates against Arsenal.

Ashley Young, on the other hand, has been incredibly consistent for most of the season in a team that has been struggling. He made an impact at international level and has been widely assumed to be the player that Manchester United came close to signing in the January window.

Young is bound for bigger and better things this Summer and I would still not be surprised if he was to walk through the doors at Old Trafford. His performances have been solid for most of the season and he deserves his spot.


Centre Midfield
Over the last few seasons, this category would have been dominated by the likes of Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas, but I none of those 4 players merit a place in this team.

Charlie Adam was an important piece of the puzzle at Blackpool and his 12 goals and ability from set pieces have to be respected. Jack Wilshire has had a solid first season in the middle for Arsenal and looks to provide the bite the midfield has been lacking for a few seasons.

The first player to get in to my team is Yaya Toure. Toure is a player I thought could have played a huge role at United with his defensive ability, but his move to Manchester City has shown there is a player with an eye for goal, as well as the ability to get box-to-box in games.

Toure's drive reminds me of Patrick Vieira in his pomp at Arsenal and he is young enough to provide some real steel to the City midfield for some time to come... Still dont think he is worth a reported £220,000 per week after tax though!!

I would partner Toure with Rafael Van der Vaart at Tottenham. It can be argued that he went through a period where he was not performing to a high standard, and was being brought off on a regular basis by Harry Redknapp, but Van der Vaart has scored plenty of goals and really helped add another dimension to the Tottenham attack.

The Dutchman had a solid first season in a new league and it will be interesting to know what his plans are now that Spurs are no longer competing in the Champions League.


Stikers
This is another category with the usual suspects- Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres- failed to fire, although one player has been consistent in his performances for the last few seasons, Carlos Tevez.

Tevez scored 20 goals in the League this season, and his influence at the City of Manchester Stadium surely was the key to the team winning the FA Cup and securing a Champions League place this season. The Argentine may already have played his last game for City, but it was yet another successful season on the pitch for him.

I had a couple of choices as to who to partner him with- Javier Hernandez has been a real revelation at Manchester United while Dimitar Berbatov finished as joint top scorer with Tevez. Peter Odemwingie's goals were inspirational in keeping West Brom in the Premier League, while Robin Van Persie had his best goal scoring year at Arsenal.

However, I decided to pick Darren Bent although the others all had strong cases. There has been a direct correlation with Sunderland's bad run of form and Aston Villa picking up form with the transfer of Bent from the former to the latter.

Bent has proved himself a more than capable scorer at this level and is likely to get more chances with England on the back of his performances. He scored against Manchester United, Arsenal , Manchester City and Liverpool this season for either Sunderland or Aston Villa which shows he is not merely a flat-track bully.


Player of the Year
I would have picked Nemanja Vidic for this award as he has been consistent and a real leader for Manchester United while being partnered by different players. All at Old Trafford should be proud of him as the Captain.

2nd- Carlos Tevez, 3rd- Nani


Manager of the Year
I have to give a lot of respect to the likes of Tony Pulis at Stoke, Owen Coyle at Bolton and  Ian Holloway at Blackpool for the way they have performed this season. Holloway would have definitely made my top 3 if he had kept Blackpool in the Premier League, while both Pulis and Coyle have done fantastic jobs at unfashionable clubs.

However, the winner, and I may be biased, is Sir Alex Ferguson. He has guided perhaps the weakest Manchester United squad in recent years to a Premier League title and also a place in the showpiece Final of the Champions League against Barcelona.

The biggest compliment he can receive is that if he managed any of the sides that finished in the top 4, I believe they would have won the League, and to take this transitional team to title number 19 is an incredible achievement.

2nd- Tony Pulis, 3rd- Owen Coyle