EPL Team of the Year 2009 - Right Midfield

The Volt

The voting continues with Right Midfield.

Frisbee

Kuyt

Ronaldo, I know he didn't always play there but when he did there's no-one who can rival him

Johner

Diouf

Went for Milner, he plays everywhere for Villa and is just a brilliant player to have.

Holsten

Kuyt

Now this postion really doesn't need a poll.

Ronaldo by a mile.

Peyton Manning

Diouf

Seeing as its just 2009, and Ronaldo only played the second half of last season (predominantly as a forward), I have to give this to Milner. He's been fantastic for Villa, and O'Neill has uncovered a real gem by putting him in centre midfield too.

ADTR

Diouf

Milner.

Peyton Manning

Diouf

Id also point that if you were one of the people who didnt vote for Richard Dunne because of his poor end to last season, then by the same reasoning, you shouldn't vote for Ronaldo - he's gone missing in the league this season Dunne's beginning to this season has been as impressive to Ronaldo's end to the 08/09 season in pound for pound terms.

DSB

Diouf

Definitely Milner for providing a full year of quality.

Pepe LeFrits

Lawrence

Lennon.

OPENROAD

Eboue.

d22ontour

Why is Babel in this ? As much as i think a right sided player might actually perform on the right side, has he ever been picked to play there ?

curry-muff

Kuyt

I know Ronaldo only played 5 months in 2009, but when he was here, he was just awesome. Milner would definetely be my second choice though.

therokerroar

Diouf

Not really any stand out names when you think that Ronaldo only played a small part of 2009 and that was mainly up front.

I'll give it to Milner.

Just looking back over the winners of the other positions, this team is actually fairly ****.

MUSEIST

Cech

flahavaj

Kuyt

therokerroar wrote: »

Not really any stand out names when you think that Ronaldo only played a small part of 2009 and that was mainly up front.

I'll give it to Milner.

Just looking back over the winners of the other positions, this team is actually fairly ****.

I think it might have been better to go the 4-2-3-1 route that was devised for the World Team during the Summer. Gives more flexibility, esp since a lot of teams don't play traditional wingers or indeed 4-4-2 anymore.

K4t

Kuyt

It boggles the mind how anyone could pick Milner over Ronaldo! Granted he's a good player and capable of playing at a certain high standard but he is nowhere near the level of Ronaldo as a player.

It would be laughable to have him in the team at Ronaldo's expense. Even the msot hardened ABU supporters surely can see this!

Peyton Manning

Diouf

K4t wrote: »

It boggles the mind how anyone could pick Milner over Ronaldo! Granted he's a good player and capable of playing at a certain high standard but he is nowhere near the level of Ronaldo as a player.

It would be laughable to have him in the team at Ronaldo's expense. Even the msot hardened ABU supporters surely can see this!

I dont think anyone is arguing that Milner is a better player than Ronaldo. Im a United fan, Ive spent hours making tribute videos to Ronaldo - I love the bloke, Im probably a little gay for him considering what he achieved for us for christs sake! :o if anyone quotes this to make fun at me, you're a bellend!

But we're probably keeping the literal meaning of these polls to the fore of our decision - who has had the best performances in the Premier League spread out over January - December 2009. Ronaldo was great alright, albeit not to the high standards of his previous season. But I think his stock falls when you divide it out over the whole year considering he's not in the league anymore so theres no August - December to keep his name up there. Whereas Milner has been one of Villa's best players and has been present the whole time. Plus, Id much rather give it to somebody who earned the award playing in the position listed (granted, he has been moved to central midfield lately )

K4t

Kuyt

Ronaldo is a better player and plays better than Milner when in that position. That's my basis. Simple really.

Peyton Manning

Diouf

K4t wrote: »

Ronaldo is a better player and plays better than Milner when in that position. That's my basis. Simple really.

Fair enough, I tried explaining why I picked Milner over Ronaldo. If you cant see what I was getting at, there's not much else I can do.

SlickRic

Diouf

K4t wrote: »

It boggles the mind how anyone could pick Milner over Ronaldo! Granted he's a good player and capable of playing at a certain high standard but he is nowhere near the level of Ronaldo as a player.

this is not the argument.

is JOS the best RB in the league? No. was he last year? a lot more debatable.

is Dunne as better CB than Ferdinand, Carvalho, Terry, etc? No. was he last year? at least debatable, even though he was extremely ordinary last season for City.

Milner v Ronaldo in this instance is similar.

1. Milner has been excellent all year; plus he has been very consistent. as well as this he has had a sensational start to this season, becoming, arguably, his club's most important player.

Ronaldo had a great goalscoring end to last season, scoring some vital ones, including the Porto goal, and is more talented than Milner. but he didn't reach the heights he did the previous year.

2. Milner's been ever present, and performed well pretty much every time i've seen him play.

Ronaldo has been in Spain since August, and isn't coming back.

so no, it doesn't boggle the mind. taking the year as a whole, Milner deserves to be in with more than a good shout of this.

PHB

Lawrence

Milner has 4 goals and 8 assists so far this season in the league. In the 2nd half of last season, he got 4 goals and 3 assists. A combined total of 8 goals and 11 assists

Ronaldo in the second half of last season got 11 goals and 3 assists. I think Milner edges him, but it's much closer than people realise.

However, since Milner is now playing a lot in central midfield, I think the award has to go to Lennon.

SlickRic

Diouf

PHB wrote: »

However, since Milner is now playing a lot in central midfield, I think the award has to go to Lennon.

Milner's had 3, maybe 4 games in there as far as i can see, since downing came back. the rest were out wide.

Lennon hasn't got near the consistency of Milner imo.

L'prof

Ronaldo is definitely the best Right Midfield player to have played as a forward for 5 months of this year.

SlickRic

Diouf

jasonorr wrote: »

Ronaldo is definitely the best Right Midfield player to have played as a forward for 5 months of this year.

i don't think Ronaldo should win, but the 'right winger as a forward' argument doesn't wash with me.

he played CF sometimes, but apart from that he was positioned at RM, but given the freedom to roam.

L'prof

SlickRic wrote: »

i don't think Ronaldo should win, but the 'right winger as a forward' argument doesn't wash with me.

he played CF sometimes, but apart from that he was positioned at RM, but given the freedom to roam.

With the right to roam forward and never track back, he was more a forward than a RMer for me.

GavRedKing

Lawrence

Taking everyhting into account it has to be Lennon, as mentioned Ronaldo only played 5 months in the calendar year and most of it was played up frony or as a forward, not a right midfielder, in the calendar year its Lennon for me.

eagle eye

Wright-Phillips

I've laughed all along at how much of a joke this thing is. Seeing Ronaldo getting so many votes even though he hasn't played in the Premier League since May is just so stupid.

I wouldn't mind but its mainly United fans, but of course they probably didn't see Antonio Valencia last season for Wigan and they are comparing him to Ronaldo so he is never going to get a vote.

I mean Valencia has only got 4 goals and 3 assists this season while United have picked up the 1 point less that they had at this time last year and thats without the outstanding defense which has been riddled by injuries so far this campaign.

There is no doubt imo that Antonio Valencia has been the most outstanding right midfielder over the whole of 2009 in the Premier League.

Or is this a fantasy football poll where players who score big points get picked?
Excuse me if we are basing it on fantasy football scores.

keane2097

Kuyt

This "Team of the Year" thing, while a lovely idea, clearly isn't working at this point and should be scrapped before it leads to further heartache and embarrassment IMO.

Johner

Diouf

Agreed.

leninbenjamin

Lawrence

What idiot put Ronaldo in the poll?

a) he's a forward, he ceased being a midfielder a long time ago. Just because he happens to pop up in the right side of the pitch a lot does not make him a midfielder, if you'll remember Henry used play a very similar position for Arsenal coming in from the left.

b) he only played half a season...

One Cold Hand

Diouf

Did Ronaldo not play his best football on the Left wing, when he was cutting in and banging in goals galore? I don't remember him being as effective on the right, or indeed playing there as often as he played on the left.

Bounty Hunter

Diouf

Milner has been brilliant for Villa for all of 2009, i dont know if anyone else in the Premiership can say the same thing from that list and if you aregue someone can (minus the Villa part of course) then im still voting for Villa.

edit: in 2nd place id say Valencia (Wigan and United) or most likely Lennon.

PHB

Lawrence

Em, anyone who says Ronaldo isn't a midfield is just being stupid. The position is defined by the, wait for it, position on the pitch.

Watch United with the ball when he's there. He plays on the right wing. When we don't have the ball, he's on the right wing. He doesn't play centrally [bar the odd game when he was doing a job].

He is an extremely attacking right midfielder, and rarely tracks back. However him not tracking back doens't mean he's not a right winger any more than a full back who does not go forward much.

jesus_thats_gre

Walcott

Ronaldo was the best in the second half of last season, Milner is the best so far this season and I would consider Kuyt to be the best over the full year - I think

noodler

Kuyt. Fell off towards the end of the year though.

GLaDOS

Diouf

Went for Milner, Ronaldo only had half a season

flahavaj

Kuyt

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Ronaldo was the best in the second half of last season, Milner is the best so far this season and I would consider Kuyt to be the best over the full year - I think

Hasn't Kuyt been pretty poor this season?

everdead.ie

Lawrence

Lennon feel that milner is much better in centre midfield

leninbenjamin

Lawrence

PHB wrote: »

Em, anyone who says Ronaldo isn't a midfield is just being stupid. The position is defined by the, wait for it, position on the pitch.

Oh dear, PHB tactical awareness seems to have been left somewhere back in the 1930s. Players roles stopped being defined by their location on the pitch decades ago. Can some please explain to him the Libero? Or the number 10? Or the modern fullback? Or the DM?

PHB wrote: »

Watch United with the ball when he's there. He plays on the right wing. When we don't have the ball, he's on the right wing. He doesn't play centrally [bar the odd game when he was doing a job].

Wait, i seem to remember Ronaldo was United's best goal scorer. Oh, that must mean he came central? Or did he use a teleporter to put the ball in the back of the net from the wing?

PHB wrote: »

He is an extremely attacking right midfielder, and rarely tracks back. However him not tracking back doens't mean he's not a right winger any more than a full back who does not go forward much.

Extremely attacking players, as you so called him, are typically referred to as 'forwards'.

Secondly, there's a difference between not tracking a man and not venturing into his own half. Ronaldo stays as high up the pitch as he possibly can, he rarely ventures deep to pick the ball up off the defenders, he always looks to get behind the opposition defensive lines and his primary responsibility for the teams he plays with is scoring goals. Yes, he may do this from a wider position on the pitch than most forwards, but don't be fooled, he's not the first to do this and he wont be the last. How he behaves on the ball, and off the ball are more in line with a traditional striker than a traditional wide midfielder.

The only difference between Ronaldo and most other goal scoring forwards is his pace, which allows him to execute that role from much deeper on the pitch than most players.

MrKingsley

Lawrence

Whilst being quite new to the soccer forum i fail to see how any discussions in these type of threads can lead to more than a disagreement of personal preferences rather than a rational discussion on footballing principles. Thats not to say that I do not understand the value of opinions but when it comes to a poll like this then there are clearly people voting only for their favoured players, and not on form, and therefore would question their validity.

I commented in the centre back poll that richard dunne cannot be seen as the best centre half of 2009 because he was muck for the first half of it. For the same sort of reason, regardless of his position, Ronaldo cannot be seen as the best right midfielder in 2009 because he hasnt been there since may.

Even seeing theo walcott getting 2 votes pains me. Dirk kuyt aswell who was useless last year and has been as bad as the rest of Liverpool this year.

For me for playing consistently well for the WHOLE of the year it should be either Milner or Lennon. Put in a very straightforward manner, they have arguably become the most important players for their clubs who have in turn become the most likely to break the TOP 4 which everyone has been saying is crucial to the future success of the Premier League. My vote went for Lennon on the basis that ive seen more of him than milner and he has started to add goals and a lethal final ball to his blistering pace. Also his stats show how influential he has been with 8 goals and 12 assists in 2009. A very good return for a winger

noodler

Archimedes wrote: »

Id also point that if you were one of the people who didnt vote for Richard Dunne because of his poor end to last season, then by the same reasoning, you shouldn't vote for Ronaldo - he's gone missing in the league this season Dunne's beginning to this season has been as impressive to Ronaldo's end to the 08/09 season in pound for pound terms.

MrKingsley wrote: »

Whilst being quite new to the soccer forum i fail to see how any discussions in these type of threads can lead to more than a disagreement of personal preferences rather than a rational discussion on footballing principles. Thats not to say that I do not understand the value of opinions but when it comes to a poll like this then there are clearly people voting only for their favoured players, and not on form, and therefore would question their validity.

I commented in the centre back poll that richard dunne cannot be seen as the best centre half of 2009 because he was muck for the first half of it. For the same sort of reason, regardless of his position, Ronaldo cannot be seen as the best right midfielder in 2009 because he hasnt been there since may.

Even seeing theo walcott getting 2 votes pains me. Dirk kuyt aswell who was useless last year and has been as bad as the rest of Liverpool this year.

For me for playing consistently well for the WHOLE of the year it should be either Milner or Lennon. Put in a very straightforward manner, they have arguably become the most important players for their clubs who have in turn become the most likely to break the TOP 4 which everyone has been saying is crucial to the future success of the Premier League. My vote went for Lennon on the basis that ive seen more of him than milner and he has started to add goals and a lethal final ball to his blistering pace. Also his stats show how influential he has been with 8 goals and 12 assists in 2009. A very good return for a winger

Kuyt simply wasn't awful during the second half of last season.

jesus_thats_gre

Walcott

noodler wrote: »

Kuyt. Fell off towards the end of the year though.

flahavaj wrote: »

Hasn't Kuyt been pretty poor this season?

That he has been. Milner didn't me as being much hat in the second half of last season either though..

Not sure to be honest

curry-muff

Kuyt

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Wait, i seem to remember Ronaldo was United's best goal scorer. Oh, that must mean he came central? Or did he use a teleporter to put the ball in the back of the net from the wing?

So by your reasoning, wingers aren't allowed to score goals or daren't enter the middle of the pitch :eek:

Really???

flahavaj

Kuyt

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

That he has been. Milner didn't me as being much hat in the second half of last season either though..

Not sure to be honest

Ronaldo so.;)

magma69

Kuyt

Anyone who does not pick Ronaldo is completely clueless to the beautiful game. He is head and shoulders above the other candidates. To the big portion who voted Milner, you are either deluded Villa fans or bitter ABU's.

Johner

Diouf

ffs Ronaldo only played a few months of 2009 in the Premier League. Nobody is saying Milner is a better player than Ronaldo.

curry-muff

Kuyt

magma69 wrote: »

Anyone who does not pick Ronaldo is completely clueless to the beautiful game. He is head and shoulders above the other candidates. To the big portion who voted Milner, you are either deluded Villa fans or bitter ABU's.

Sorry I dont agree with this, theyve just ranked it on something other than you or I have. I picked Ronaldo myself on the basis of his contribution to his team, mainly based on goals ill admit. Most of those who argued Milner are doing so because he has actually played the full 2009. Not sure here and I havent checked stats to back this up but I believe Ronaldo has scored more in 2009 than Milner. Thats why I picked him. If im wrong its because I was too lazy to check and an apologize

leninbenjamin

Lawrence

curry-muff wrote: »

So by your reasoning, wingers aren't allowed to score goals or daren't enter the middle of the pitch :eek:

Technically speaking, yes, you want your wingers to offer width to stretch the opposition defence. Hence the name 'winger' or 'wide man'. That is there primary function for any tactical system that uses them. If they abandon this to come central, they are no longer a wide player.

Of course there's nothing wrong with them drifting in to the back post should the play be on the other side, as most wingers will do, but this is secondary to their role and it's up the strikers and forwards to execute this task the majority of the time, as they are the central players.

That's where Ronaldo differs, he was given license to get into the box over the provision of width. He was given license to go forward at the expense of the overall teams shape (Rooney for example would often drop deep to compensate, or at times if United were on the attack Fletcher or Scholes would drift wide to provide the width). Indeed, the general shape of the United Team was to support his role as a forward, not a winger. Think of it as a lopsided 4-3-3.

It's a subtle difference in how he is deployed, but it's one I believe was crucial to his success as a United player.

Pro. F

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Oh dear, PHB tactical awareness seems to have been left somewhere back in the 1930s.
Players roles stopped being defined by their location on the pitch decades ago. Can some please explain to him the Libero? Or the number 10? Or the modern fullback? Or the DM?

You're confusing positions and roles. All those roles that you mentioned have starting positions, reference points on the pitch. So yes you can talk about a players position/role as being related to their location on the pitch, as well as to the role they perform. Ronaldo is a good example of this.

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Wait, i seem to remember Ronaldo was United's best goal scorer. Oh, that must mean he came central? Or did he use a teleporter to put the ball in the back of the net from the wing?

Yes he came central. A lot. Did he start central, when he recieved the ball? No.

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Extremely attacking players, as you so called him, are typically referred to as 'forwards'.

There are different types of forwards. Wing forward is a fine description of Ronaldo (although like many brilliant players he largely defies pigeon holing). Now if you are arguing that a wing forward shouldn't be included in a poll for best L/R midfielder then you are just being pedantic. It's a best of team, decided by poll ffs.

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Ronaldo stays as high up the pitch as he possibly can, he rarely ventures deep to pick the ball up off the defenders, he always looks to get behind the opposition defensive lines and his primary responsibility for the teams he plays with is scoring goals. Yes, he may do this from a wider position on the pitch than most forwards, but don't be fooled, he's not the first to do this and he wont be the last. How he behaves on the ball, and off the ball are more in line with a traditional striker than a traditional wide midfielder.

You are completely and utterly wrong when you say he rarely comes deep to pick up the ball and always looks to get behind the opposition defensive lines. You are almost saying the exact opposite of what is actually the case.

When he was scoring all those goals for United his standard MO was to recieve the ball in much the same position as a standard wide midfielder. Then he would run at defenders and play one-twos, dribble or just turn on the after burners to get passed them. The thing that made him different from a standard winger/wide midfielder was that he was always heading for the goal rather then the by-line. Fergie has talked about how he thinks some attacking players can be more dangerous running at goal with the ball from wide and deep, and Ronaldo exemplifies this.

Now, I agree that United were very fluid positionally in many games so he often came central, but he still picked up the ball from deep so he could run at defenders with it.

leninbenjamin wrote: »

The only difference between Ronaldo and most other goal scoring forwards is his pace,

This is so comically wrong. Such epic nonsense. I'm not even going to bother arguing with it.

Btw, I don't think ronaldo should have been included in this pole at all since he's missed HALF of 09.

eZe^

Kuyt

leninbenjamin wrote: »

That's where Ronaldo differs, he was given license to get into the box over the provision of width. He was given license to go forward at the expense of the overall teams shape (Rooney for example would often drop deep to compensate, or at times if United were on the attack Fletcher or Scholes would drift wide to provide the width). Indeed, the general shape of the United Team was to support his role as a forward, not a winger. Think of it as a lopsided 4-3-3.

It's a subtle difference in how he is deployed, but it's one I believe was crucial to his success as a United player.

Exactly. And that idea is only strengthened by the fact that he is being deployed as a forward for Real Madrid instead of wide man also.

I actually hastily voted for Ronaldo, because I thought it was a 2008/2009 season review, but seeing as it's a calender year vote, I guess it should be Milner. My bad!