As the Premier League reaches its quarter stage, many players have excelled and impressed in the opening nine games with some high score demolitions and last gasp winners. However, some players have not been up to expectations and this is a chance to name and shame.
The Champions of last year have been embarrassed by their rivals; however they have inflicted similar defeats of their other rivals. Some teams have underachieved so far and some the complete opposite but there is no denying that some players have just been poor. Whether it be missed chances, lack of effort, goalkeeping howlers or defensive mistakes, plenty of performances have raised eyebrows this season for good and bad reasons and here is a list of the top 10 players that have disappointed so far this season.
Click on Roger Johnson to unveil the top 10 players to have disappointed this season
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Compiled by Brad Pinard
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The future of Cesc Fabregas has been discussed in detail for the last two years. Ever since he has become a top class midfielder, he has been linked to his boyhood club, Barcelona. Arsenal do not rely on Fabregas and his presence in the squad has become disruptive. I think Arsenal should sell Fabregas this summer.
If Fabregas leaves, Samir Nasri can take over the central role. Nasri has been excellent this season and I fully believe he will become as good as Fabregas (if he is not already). In Jack Wilshere, Arsenal have another exciting central midfielder. Wilshere has out-performed Fabregas at times this year and I believe he is good enough to play in a three man midfield. With the combination of Wilshere and Nasri I don’t think Arsenal will miss Fabregas.
So, not only do Arsenal have sufficient cover, but I also think Fabregas has given all he can for Arsenal. It seems to me that everyone has been talking about the fact that Fabregas has not won any major silverware, more than they do about Arsenal not winning any silverware. This is a distraction for the other members of the squad.
Before the Barcelona game, Fabregas hugged and joked with the Barcelona players. That night Fabregas looked like a kid in a playground, not a general going into battle. I cannot imagine Patrick Vieira or Tony Adams acting in this way. The night was ‘his’ not Arsenal’s; he was returning to his old club. I don’t think that benefitted anyone in the team, a captain should be more professional. At the Nou Camp, he put personal history before the future of Arsenal.
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Arsenal is a club where the future is always talked about. They have developed ‘next-year syndrome’ where improvement and development are more common than success. This is something they need to rectify. The Fabregas-Barcelona saga in the last two years has contributed to an attitude where people consider the future of Arsenal and not the present. I say let him go this summer and be done with it.
If Fabregas leaves, Arsenal could be left with between £35-45m; a huge amount of money. With that cash, Wenger, being Wenger, could buy four good players with the potential to become great. I would rather see him buy two quality players in their prime.
Which areas to invest the money would be another matter, personally I would like to see them try and involve Mascherano in the transfer, a defensive-minded midfielder, who is disciplined in a positional sense, could be just what Arsenal are missing. But there are also problems on the wing and in goal to remedy. If Fabregas leaves, who should Arsenal bring in?
I have heard many people calling for the purchase of a new defender but I don’t think that is necessary. Thomas Vermaelen is going to be fit next year, his return will make a difference. Furthermore, Djourou has developed well. Interestingly, Arsenal have conceded just 8 goals in the 17 Premier League games Djourou has started and kept 9 clean sheets.
But before I get any more carried away with future transfers, it needs to be said that Barcelona might not buy him. Their fans are definitely not convinced. Xavi and Iniesta currently boss the Barcelona midfield and are two of the best players in world football. Xavi is 31, so while Fabregas is the ideal long term replacement, he might not be a regular for another three or four years.
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I doubt Fabregas would want to leave Arsenal for anywhere other than Barcelona. So if they do not make a good enough offer this summer, the player will remain at The Emirates. This could mean another few years where the Fabregas story takes precedent over Arsenal’s.
If you agree that Fabregas should be sold this summer you can follow joe on twitter @joeaustin8
Joe Cole has arrived in Switzerland for a medical before officially signing for Liverpool.
The 28-year-old England international has joined up with his new team-mates at a training camp where he will complete the formalities on his free transfer move to Anfield.
Cole is the first player brought to the club by new manager Roy Hodgson following his release by Chelsea at the end of the last campaign.
The Reds beat off interest from Tottenham and West Ham to sign the midfielder and club legend Ian Rush believes Cole can help bring the best out of star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Cole is expected to put pen to paper on a four-year contract worth a reported £90,000 per week in the next few days.
"When you look at what we've got attacking-wise, we've got younger lads but we needed more experience and Cole brings that," said Rush, who is the club's all-time leading goalscorer.
"Joe could play just behind Fernando Torres. People don't know his position because he can play on the left, right and just off the striker, and I think it's a wonderful signing.
"Skill-wise he is the best in England – there is no one better.
"I'm sure Roy Hodgson will play him in every game, especially if he is playing well, and maybe getting regular football is a reason why he has come to Liverpool.
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"To get Joe to come out of London and come to Liverpool is a coup for Hodgson himself.
"A lot of people were expecting him to stay in London because that's where he was born and been brought up.
"I think this sends a sign out to Liverpool supporters that the club do mean business."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
QPR have confirmed that Shaun Derry, Paddy Kenny and Clint Hill will not give evidence against John Terry in the on-going race row.
The Chelsea defender was accused of making racist comments by Rangers’ centre half Anton Ferdinand, and daily newspapers yesterday indicated that the Loftus Road trio were set to tell their story of events regarding the incident.
Despite being caught up the nasty scenes in QPR’s 1-0 win over their London rivals last Sunday, the club have confirmed the players will not be involved in the search for the truth.
‘There is no truth in these stories whatsoever,” an official statement from a QPR spokesman reads
”None of the three players have been called to give evidence or will be called to give evidence.”
The FA continue to investigate Ferdinand’s claims, and have not yet given a ruling for or against the England star.
The allegations have also been taken seriously by the Kick It Out anti-racism group, with it’s head Lord Ouseley calling for severe action against Terry should Ferdinand’s accusations be verified.
Terry was left out of the Chelsea squad that overcame Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park in midweek, but is set to return to Andre Villas Boas’ starting XI for the crunch Premier League fixture with Arsenal on Saturday.
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Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova was full of praise for his side’s gutsy 1-0 La Liga win over third-placed Valencia at the Mestalla on Wednesday.Vilanova – speaking in the absence of manager Pep Guardiola, who had been admitted to hospital with a back problem – said they were relieved to take all three points from a fellow top-four side, despite not being at their clinical best.”We know that there are many games to go, both away and at home. We always know that we can draw or lose, because this can happen against any team in this league,” he said. “We knew that this was one of the difficult grounds, and we hadn’t been able to win here in two years. We had many chances in the first half, especially for (goalscorer Lionel) Messi. We knew that anything could happen, and that is why we celebrated so much.”Vilanova said the La Liga champions were expectant of victory at the Mestalla, but knew it was going to be a tough contest with their Champions League rivals.”We expected a good result, but not a 0-4 or 0-5 here. We knew that it would be hard, the result is great for us and we know that you can’t win every game by a landslide,” he said. “We made changes to be more attacking, not to be more defensive. We are happy, because in the first half we had more chances on goal than them. We are satisfied.””The minutes were ticking away and we had to risk a bit more. We put Pedro on as a goalscoring option, knowing that we could concede a goal as well.” “We saw that Valencia were a little more tired and that we had more of a chance. He played a good game and was good up front, which is what we hoped for. Sometimes you think about the effects of travel, but this isn’t the case.”
Ledley King’s World Cup dreams appears to be coming to an abrupt end before ever actually starting, after the defender suffered yet another injury whilst playing against the US this past Saturday.
The England centre-back managed to play only just 45 minutes before eventually being substituted for Jamie Carragher, which raises a few questions. Was Capello’s decision to include King in his final 23 man squad a correct one? Or has the Italian gambled, and evidently wasted a valuable space by taking the centre-back to South Africa?
King’s recent injury (although not connected to his long-term knee problem) would have no doubt reignited the debate of whether the defender should have been included in the squad in the first place by Capello. The England coach told the gathering media of the defender’s set-back:
“Ledley has a problem with his abductor muscle and will not play in the next game.”
The England centre-back has officially been ruled of the group C clash against Algeria this Friday, and recent reports suggest that the player’s groin injury may take up to three weeks to heal, which has left King’s World Cup dreams in on the rocks. The man likely to take his place, Jamie Carragher, told Sky Sports of King’s dismay:
“Losing Ledley is a blow. He is a top player and it is unfortunate because it is the same position as Rio. You can’t bring anyone else out now, so any injury is going to hurt the squad. But the manager (Fabio Capello ) picked five centre-backs in the squad because he knew there could be problems and his selections have been proved right.”
The Spurs man is not known to have a great fitness level, and as such, stuggled to get game time. Nevertheless, Capello decided to take him to South Africa as he is undoubtedly one of the finest defenders England have to offer.
Capello’s theory behind King’s inclusion was that the player would be a back-up option in the defensive department. Certainly King himself knew that when boarding the plane that he was only a contingency plan, should John Terry or Rio Ferdinand have been unfit, suffered an injury or stricken by a virus. Ferdinand did have fitness problems prior to the start of the World Cup, and unexpectedly suffered knee ligament damage during an England training session. Ferdinand was ruled out so King stepped in.
To be fair King did perform well against USA, but with every touch, run and tackle England fans and maybe even Capello were genuinely worried that the centre-back was going to pull a muscle and sadly he did…a gamble which backfired by the England coach? You better believe it.
Capello could have left King home and instead opted for either Gary Cahill or Ryan Shawcross. However, these two centre-backs are still very young and have only been capped at U-21 level for their country, so to take either one of them would have been a crazy decision by the Italian.
King was unfortunate to pick up yet another injury, although, it was pretty much written in the stars, wasn’t it? Taking all this into consideration, should King have been included in the England squad this summer, despite his injury-prone status? Yes. Secondly, did Capello waste a space on the England plane in regards to the defender? Not really. Thirdly and more importantly, were there better options available to the England coach to consider? Many would think not.
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Plymouth teenager Matt Lecointe could be about to become the Premier Leagues next young star with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all chasing his signature according to the Mirror.
The 16-year-old’s has made 10 appearances for the Pilgrims despite his tender years and his performances on the right wing have caught the eyes of the top flight trio.
Scouts from all three clubs have cast their eye over the Plymouth born youngster with many comparing him to new Gunners midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain due his similar style of play.
With all three interested in securing his services it’s likely the teenager will command a sizeable fee that could provide a financial lifeline for the League two side who are battling to stay in business.
The Devon based side have endured severe monetary problems over the last few years surviving a winding up order before going into administration in March.
All that came before Peter Reid was sacked as manager at Home Park with midfielder Carl Fletcher being placed in temporary charge as interim chairman Peter Ridsdale attempts to engineer a takeover of the club.
Should Arsenal, Liverpool or United step up their interest the potential sum Plymouth could receive for Lecointe would go a long way to putting the club back on a firm financial footing and give him the chance to step up his development.
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Win tickets to Legends Lounge to see the titanic clash at Anfield
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Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is hoping his homework will pay off as his side aim to end their Champions League jinx against Lyon.Ligue 1 giants Lyon have an unbeaten record over the Spaniards in European competition, and eliminated Real Madrid in last season’s first knock-out round.
The French side went on to reach their first ever Champions League semi-final, but were themselves defeated by eventual runners-up Bayern Munich.
“Ever since we drew Lyon, we have been studying and learning about them,” Mourinho said.
“It’s been years since Madrid made it (to the quarter-finals), and it’s because they have never beaten Lyon. I am not losing sleep over Lyon or any other team.”
Madrid striker Karim Bezema will once again return to his former club, but the the 23-year-old believes his current side have developed enough to quash Lyon’s record.
“If I’m lucky enough to play I will do everything I can,” he said. “This match will be different to last year. Our team has changed … I think we are going to defeat Lyon and win the Champions League.”
Lyon’s cause will not be helped by the absence of key striker Lisandro Lopez.
The 27-year-old Argentine has found the target eight times this season, but injured his hamstring during training this week.
“You have to respect the player,” said Lyon coach Claude Puel. “He is injured and it’s a handicap for us.”
However, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris remains confident that Lyon can get the better of Real Madrid yet again.
“Faced with a great team like Real, we know that by giving 200% we are not even sure of the result,” he said.
“They are a favourite for the Champions League. And we are an obstacle for Real. We hope to cause an upset.”
Birmingham City have completed the signing of Serbia striker Nikola Zigic from Spanish side Valencia.
The 6ft 8in hitman has joined the Blues on a four-year contract after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £6million.
Zigic, who is part of Serbia's World Cup squad, has been linked with several moves to the Premier League in the recent past.
Valencia paid Racing Santander £13.5million to sign the striker back in 2007 but he struggled to hold down a starting place at the Mestalla.
He was loaned back to Racing last season where he scored an impressive 13 goals in 19 matches.
The 29-year-old has also scored 16 goals in 42 international appearances.
Speaking earlier in the month, agent Milan Calasan said: "He has always said would be interested in a move to England and if he was to go there it would have to be the right club that understands his characteristics."
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Zigic is the third new signing made by Blues boss Alex McLeish since the Premier League season ended.
He has paid a reported £6million for Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster and signed Spanish midfielder Enric Valles on a free transfer.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Carlos Tevez has been handed a two-week suspension by Manchester City chiefs while the club figures out how best to punish for his reprehensible attitude in the Champions’ League defeat to Bayern Munich. Tevez’ refusal to leave the bench during the second half of an abject performance by his team has drawn strong criticism from all quarters, and City boss Roberto Mancini will be looking to ensure that the club supports the hard line he took on Tevez’ actions in the post-match press conference.
Elsewhere in this morning’s headlines, there’s good news for Darren Bent as the Aston Villa striker nears a return from his month-long injury lay-off; more bad news for Bolton’s Stuart Holden, whose knee injury has not healed as expected – meaning the American is back on the treatment table; and an unrepentant Harry Redknapp plans to once again rest his big names for tonight’s Europa League showdown with Shamrock Rovers as he looks ahead to the weekend’s North London Derby.
Carlos Tevez suspended by Man City
Dirk Kuyt issues warning to rivals
Lampard want to play regularly
Oxlade-Chamberlain stars in Arsenal win
Darren Bent gives Aston Villa a welcome boost
Redknapp to rest big names again
Villas-Boas laments poor finishing
Bolton’s Holdon on sidelines for six months
Doyle signs new Wolves contract
Titus Bramble in hot water
Arsenal in Real fight for Hazard signature
Liverpool and Spurs set to go toe-to-toe for striker
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Three London rivals in fight to snap up Brighton wonderkid