EPL Team of the Year 2009 - Central Midfield

therokerroar

Voltwad wrote: »

Reid

Surely not Andy Reid you have suggested there? He's played in the centre of midfield around 8 times at most in the whole of 2009.

therokerroar

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

People rave about him and I don't see what they are seeing.

Some people really don't get the concept that football is about a lot more than scoring 30 yard screamers like.

Essien is the best player in the world in his position.

He gives you tough tackling, ball winning, stamina, pace, strength, he gives you 110% of commitment and hard graft everytime he steps onto a football pitch. That's not to mention the other side of his game which gets overlooked as he generally sits back infront of the back four, of the attacking side of his game he gives you fantastic movement on top of an excellent range of passing and shooting.

With the exception of Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra, there is no other defensive midfielder in world football fit to lace his boots.

That's what people see in him.

Mr.Nice Guy

therokerroar wrote: »

Some people really don't get the concept that football is about a lot more than scoring 30 yard screamers like.

Essien is the best player in the world in his position.

He gives you tough tackling, ball winning, stamina, pace, strength, he gives you 110% of commitment and hard graft everytime he steps onto a football pitch. That's not to mention the other side of his game which gets overlooked as he generally sits back infront of the back four, of the attacking side of his game he gives you fantastic movement on top of an excellent range of passing and shooting.

With the exception of Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra, there is no other defensive midfielder in world football fit to lace his boots.

That's what people see in him.

That's all fantastic but we're talking about 2009 here and he hasn't shown many of those attributes this year. Hell, he's hardly even played.

The guy unsurprisingly didn't make the 2009 PFA Team of the Year nor the FIFPro Team of the Year yet I'm the one with a flawed concept of football because I haven't included a guy who sat out most of the year injured, and was unspectacular when he did feature. Figures.

d22ontour

Fletcher and Fabragas.

PHB

You should stick with the system you used last time. While I'd prefer the other system, I think you should be consistant

Spiritoftheseventies

Masch and Alonso (Gerrard playing in front of them)

The Volt

I went for Fabregas for obvious reasons. I also thought Danny Murphy was worthy of a mention, Fulham have been so impressive overall but he's their captain, he plays simple balls when needed to calm things down, rarely wastes possession, goos range of passing and a good dead ball expert. Perhaps let go prematurely by Liverpool.

Eire-Dearg

Cesc and Mr Essien.

seany2929

Fletcher & Fabregas

eZe^

I decided to go for a pairing of Fabregas and Fletcher. I don't think anyone in the world could begrudge Fabregas' place, he has arguably been the best player in the world so far in 2009/2010. He has been fantastic everytime I watched him (bar the Chelsea game I think..). Also, he has added consistent goal scoring to his play which is only going further to round him out as the complete midfielder.

I agree with Mr. Nice Guy, Essien is arguably the best CMF in the world, but over 2009, I really don't think he deserves his spot, he has been injured for quite a large portion no? I went with Fletcher because I literally think that without him Man United could possibly have been trophyless last season, his addition to midfield means that the whole team can tick over more comfortably. Carrick can concentrate more on making a killer pass, Rooney doesn't have to drop back and harry the opposition as much, Valencia/ Ronaldo doesn't/ didn't have to worry as much about supporting the RB...

I also think Fabregas and Fletcher is a more complete partnership, as Fletcher can be an out and out workhorse, intercepting play and putting in a defensive shift, and Fabregas can concentrate on keeping the team ticking over when in possession. I really think Essien is wasted when made play DMF, he would be at his best in a midfield trio like;

---

Mascherano

---

---

Essien

---

Xavi

---

That way his primary role isn't to attack or defend, it's a mixture of both, something that wouldn't be the case if he was in Mascherano's position, or in a genuine AMF position a la Kaka.

therokerroar

If Fletcher gets into this side it's safe to say it's probably one of the worst "Team of the Years" that I have seen in a long, long time.

Pepe LeFrits

I'd actually like to vote for Fletcher for the DM spot but seeing as people have already put in Giggs, Ronaldo, Evra, Vidic and O'Shea I'm going to resist the temptation. I'll probably go with Essien. Going to ponder a little more.

// edit - went for Essien. Honourable mentions to Fletcher and Song. The latter who hasn't been heralded much but has been an absolute beast this calendar year. Arsenal's most improved player in recent times.

Johner

eZe^ wrote: »

I agree with Mr. Nice Guy, Essien is arguably the best CMF in the world, but over 2009, I really don't think he deserves his spot, he has been injured for quite a large portion no?.

Essien came back from injury in March and has been fantastic for us all year. On his first game back in the Champions League he scored a very important goal against Juventus,he bascially picked up from where he left off after a knee injury. People saying Essien hasn't had a good 09 obviously don't watch enough Chelsea, I might be a little bias but I honestly think he one of the best players in the world and would walk into any team. Since he came back in March he's been at his best so I don't really get where people are coming from saying he has had a bad 09.

I agree with you about him being a bit wasted in the DMF role.

Gillington

I'm gonna get slated here.I went for De Jong and Danny Murphy.

Nigel De Jong has been the best holding midfielder so far this season imo,by a long mile.He has been consistent all season and has gone about his job un-noticed like any good holding midfielder should.
Fulham would have got nowhere near Europe if it wasnt for Danny Murphy's ability to control a game and also chip in with vital goals.

Plus I wanted to break up the Fabregas,Essien,Fletcher monopoly!

Johner

De Jong is bloody brilliant.

Peyton Manning

I voted for three, I hope thats okay. Fabregas was a no brainer, but I simply could not choose between Fletcher and Palacios for the life of me.

The reasons for Fabregas and Fletcher are well documented already, but Palacios definitely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as them over the last year. He has been a revelation for Spurs, providing them with some no nonsense metal in midfield - something their fans will tell you was desperately needed. He has been nothing short of excellent for them, which is all the more remarkable considering the personal torment him and his family have been through following the murder of his brother. He also seems to have gotten the best out of his team mates, as Huddlestone, Modric and Lennon's performances all noticeably improved since he joined.

CHD

ESSIEN

Looking forward to the reasoning behind not picking Anelka for the striker in this team from some people.

eZe^

Johner wrote: »

Essien came back from injury in March and has been fantastic for us all year. On his first game back in the Champions League he scored a very important goal against Juventus,he bascially picked up from where he left off after a knee injury. People saying Essien hasn't had a good 09 obviously don't watch enough Chelsea, I might be a little bias but I honestly think he one of the best players in the world and would walk into any team. Since he came back in March he's been at his best so I don't really get where people are coming from saying he has had a bad 09.

I agree with you about him being a bit wasted in the DMF role.

Good post, and I hope you know I don't begrudge Essien any of the accolades he gets. I don't think there's a midfielder in the world like him (bar Keita and Diarra, but Keita is more attacking that Essien, and Diarra is more defensive, so Essien is like a hybrid of the two). I just think over the past 12 months Fletcher has been the more beneficial player to his team.

SlickRic

Essien, just ahead of Fletcher, and i mean just on this year's form.

his is simply the best in the world in that position. he was injured until march, so has missed two months of the year. that's not enough time to affect this vote for me.

he scored what possibly should have been one of the best CL semi-final winners ever, drove his team onto a great end of season run, and has been instrumental in his team's start to this season.

Fabregas got my other spot.

i really do not need to explain why he should be in there.

Johner

eZe^ wrote: »

Good post, and I hope you know I don't begrudge Essien any of the accolades he gets. I don't think there's a midfielder in the world like him (bar Keita and Diarra, but Keita is more attacking that Essien, and Diarra is more defensive, so Essien is like a hybrid of the two). I just think over the past 12 months Fletcher has been the more beneficial player to his team.

That's fair enough as Fletcher has been excellent for United. It's hard to believe that the Fletcher of a few years ago has developed into such an important player for United.

GLaDOS

Essien is probably the best all round miidfielder in the league, but I don't recall him playing much last sason due to injury? People seem to forget it's the whole year it is based on...

SlickRic

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Essien is probably the best all round miidfielder in the league, but I don't recall him playing much last sason due to injury? People seem to forget it's the whole year it is based on...

he missed until March.

not that much at all in the grand scheme of things for the year.

The Volt

Given thst Ronaldo got voted for, that's nothing

SlickRic

Voltwad wrote: »

Given thst Ronaldo got voted for, that's nothing

ronaldo has missed August-December due to being in Spain.

very different.

therokerroar

ScienceNerd wrote: »

People seem to forget it's the whole year it is based on...

Any explaination for why Richard Dunne got into the side then?

GLaDOS

therokerroar wrote: »

Any explaination for why Richard Dunne got into the side then?

I did not vote for Dunne and if you read the thread I posted saying voting for Dunne was silly imo

therokerroar

ScienceNerd wrote: »

I did not vote for Dunne and if you read the thread I posted saying voting for Dunne was silly imo

I never said you did, I'm just saying that if Dunne gets in, then Essien should be running away from Fletcher in the race for second behind Fabregas.

tdv

This is the easiest posistion so far to pick.

Essien & Fabregas. Its a perfect combination.

curry-muff

No doubt Essien is a better player.

But Fletcher had the best 2009.

Voted for Fletcher.

Really unfair if Essien who underperformed in 2009 gets in ahead of Fletcher just because he is seen as a better player. The work that Fletcher put in to help United win the Premiership paired with his tenfold improvement means that if we are ranking this on the 2009 performance Fletcher really has to get in.

SlickRic

curry-muff wrote: »

Really unfair if Essien who underperformed in 2009 gets in ahead of Fletcher just because he is seen as a better player. The work that Fletcher put in to help United win the Premiership paired with his tenfold improvement means that if we are ranking this on the 2009 performance Fletcher really has to get in.

rubbish.

he was injured until march, but when he came back, it was as if he hadn't missed a step.

Fletcher's improved 10-fold, as you say, but nobody has dominated games like Essien has, even considering Fletcher's improvement. if Essien had been fit earlier in the 2008/09 season, Chelsea may well have won the League.

Johner

curry-muff wrote: »

No doubt Essien is a better player.

But Fletcher had the best 2009.

Voted for Fletcher.

Really unfair if Essien who underperformed in 2009 gets in ahead of Fletcher just because he is seen as a better player. The work that Fletcher put in to help United win the Premiership paired with his tenfold improvement means that if we are ranking this on the 2009 performance Fletcher really has to get in.

What are you basing that Essien underperformed in 2009 on? It's not from watching Chelsea anyway, as he has been fantastic since he has come back from injury in March.

Hank_Jones

Voted for Fletcher and Fabregas.

Essien has been great as well but I just felt that these two stood out more with their performances for me.

SlickRic

f*ck me Flecther's going to get in this.

Johner

SlickRic wrote: »

f*ck me Flecther's going to get in this.

Yeah of course, A United player will get in every poll for this apart from keeper.

Liam O

Fletcher deserves to get in. That said, so do Essien, Fabregas and Ireland. I'm not gonna vote for Fletch but there's no doubt he's had a fantastic year

oh and Johner, Carvalho got plenty of votes despite being injured/rubbish for most of 2009 so stop whining please.

looking at the results can't believe Ireland only has 6 votes. Hasn't been brilliant this season but I feel throughout the year he's done enough to at least rival Essien. Fabregas wasn't great for the end of last season by his standards either.

Johner

Liam O wrote: »

oh and Johner, Carvalho got plenty of votes despite being injured/rubbish for most of 2009 so stop whining please.

No thanks.

PHB

I voted for Fletcher. Had he not gotten suspended, he coulda made the difference in the champions league final. For anyone to berudge the level of support he has in this poll is just being silly, and its cross-team support to.

Essien has been very good, and imo is a better player all round, but I think the reason I went for Fletcher is because he's utterly dominated United's midfield on its own, while Essien has talented partners next to him.

Hammer Archer

I'm very biased but I'd have Parker in there. He never will as the Arsenal, Chelsea and United fans are too great, but all year he has been the engine of West Ham and it's no surprise that we put up roughly zero fight against Spurs when he went off on Monday.

therokerroar

PHB wrote: »

I voted for Fletcher.

I stopped reading after that sentence.

Unearthly

therokerroar wrote: »

I stopped reading after that sentence.

You clearly didn't.

I voted for Fletcher, and therokerraor is clueless about football*

*it's ok, he won't see what I said......

RasTa

You could vote for as many as you like btw.

Frisbee

CHD

Hammer Archer wrote: »

I'm very biased but I'd have Parker in there. He never will as the Arsenal, Chelsea and United fans are too great, but all year he has been the engine of West Ham and it's no surprise that we put up roughly zero fight against Spurs when he went off on Monday.

Its team of the year not Team of the last 2 weeks.

Pepe LeFrits

rofl!

ADTR

Fabregas.

eoin2nc

I may be biased but I think Cattermole has been a revelation this year, granteds still not near making this team. Gave hime the vote though

OPENROAD

Fabregas and Song for me.