TNA Prediction game - Slammiversary

1. GK - Wojciech Szczęsny

At the start of the 2010/11 Premierleague season Szczesny was 4th choice at Arsenal a club whom pundits continously said needed a new goalkeeper. However to quote Wikipedia his "remarkable composure, agility, and command of his area led to his establishment as Arsenal's first choice at just 20 years of age" and no nobody suggests Arsenal need a goalie. Infact Szczęsny would have been even more impressive if he had not been behind Arsenal's faultering and injury prone backline but he was and yet still has made a huge impact at the Emirates. He has also gone on to acclaim on the International stage for instance when selecting him I brought up how Oliver Kahn, a man who knows a thing or two about goalkeeping, after the 2-2 draw between Germany & Poland described him as the only world class player on display that night, of course that being a night when Kahns own nation had players like Philipp Lahm & Mario Goetze in their starting line-up

CB's - Paul McGrath + Phil Jagielka

4. Jagielka is a tough, uncompromising, committed yet clever defender who is Willing to put his head where it hurts. He also has great positional sense be that as I plan to deploy him in his favoured CB slot or covering for my RB which he is also capable of. That is but one example of his versatility though as Jags is also known not only for his time in DM but also as an emergence GK! He is a man that Arsene Wenger has chased on a number of occasions including this past summer hoping he could form part of a strong defensive unit infront of Szczesny and alongside McGrath that will happen now in my side.

5. Wearing the same number he did for Villa & Ireland will be my captain and the definition of what a footballing Legend really is, "The Black Pearl" Paul McGrath. Go on argue against him, just try it, see it cant be done, he's fkn Awesome! A man who was so good that to this day Villa fans still chant his name at every single game not only that but he is reffered to as "God" by the same fans. Internationally we all remember his excellence, the example which is oft cited being his masterclass of a performance against Italy in the opening group match in the World Cup finals in New York's Giants stadium. Paolo Maldini even said he was the best defender he'd ever played against but sure what would he know about defending. Finally consider this, Injures nor the demon drink are taken into consideration in this draft meerly the mans ability and when a player is able to produce performances like McGrath did against Italy then you know he should be both feared and respected in equal measure in this game.

2&3 FB's - Davide Santon & Martin Olsson

2. Former Italy head coach Marcello Lippi in 2009, who described Santon as "A predestined that reminds of a young Paolo Maldini." Santon is a versatile fullback with great attacking ability having begun his career as a winger and yet is so good defensively that he is a multi-time capped Italian International defender. What the hell he is doing at Newcastle, ive no idea!

3. Matin Olsson is in my honest opinion one of the most underated LBs in the premiership and a player who would not be out of place at one of the the top premiership clubs. Similarily to Santon on the other side he is also very good at getting forward, Is young and can be a creative influence from the back. He has also broken into the Swedish international side and gotten 3 goals in his first 4 appearances for them.

6,7 & 8 CM trio - Marouane Fellaini, Michael Esien & Steven Pienaar

DM: Felliani is a beast of a player and like Olsson one I think is often underated by a lot of people because I think if fit (as he will be here) he would walk into most of the top teams with ease. He is the exact type of player Man Utd or Arsenal need imo for example and like a few of my players named so far is still very young at only 23. His youth makes it even more impressive that he cost Everton 15m back in 2008 and yet they would get far more than that for him today afterall David Moyes has labelled him "as good as anyone in the league" on numerous occasions. His perfered role and the role he will occupy for my team is as a DM due to his strenght, stamina and tackling ability but he can also be a treath going forward primarily due to his arieal ability which is one of the reasons Everton have used him as an emergency CF in the past. Sitting infront of teamate Jagielka and the Legend that is Paul McGrath Fellaini should help my team be defensively sound.

CM: I Guess I could describe this as a box to box role but its just Essien doing what he does and at his best nobody does this role better than the Bison. I'm sure everyone knows why Essien is good and why he suits this role but just incase you dont how about why he has the nickname the Bison, supposidly its due to hi his tough tackling style, boundless energy and physical presence on the pitch. Now combine that with Fellaini in DM and you have a tough combatative CM duo infront of a very secure backline and GK which should allow the creative players license to do what needs to be done in attack. However that isnt all he does afterall the role he plays is described as box to box so yes he can be an attacking threat too with his driving runs forward.

AM: Steven Pienaar is a quality player and one that is a great addition at Spurs even though I think he could be far more than a squad player for a big team. He can play left, right or central so could interchange with my other more attack minded midfielders. Pienaar has bags of pace, a high work-rate and the ability to dribble at defenders. He is an accurate passer and crosser of the ball and despite not being a prolific scorer possesses a vicious right-foot shot. Being a dynamic, fast and tricky player means he is a key source of creativity for the team and after the defense or Felliani/Essien win the ball might be where attacks start with him feeding the main goal threats possesion.

9, 10 & 11: Attacking trio - Franck Ribery, Andrei Arshavin & Emmanuel Adebayor

11. Franck Ribery is the man Zinedine Zidane, has calls the "jewel of French football" and is known for his pace, energy, skill and precise passing. After a huge tournament for France at the 06 WC Ribery could have gone to Arsenal & Madrid among others but when he did leave France it was Bayern Munich he eventually moved to and former France & Bayern great Bixente Lizarazu had this to say about him "he was going past opponents at will, he was virtually unstoppable. As soon as he got possession, the alarm bells were ringing in the opposition defence. This is also what I expect to see from injury free Ribery (Rhymes) as he links up with my other attacking assets, infact he will not only be able to link up with them but could also interchange with players like Arshavin at will creating havoc for apposing defenses.

10. Andrei Arshavin is a versatile attacking midfielder who can also play as a second striker and as stated above could be a real menace to opposing defenses by rotating roles with Ribery in my attacking front 3. Strong with either foot, he possesses expert vision and the ability to find team-mates with ease. He shows some very clever movement also which can make him hard for opponents to pick up and allow him to get free in goalscoring positions from where he can deliver a deceptively powerful shot for such a lil man. An explosive, and intelligent forward who can be a handfull for the opposition especially in a formation/role like he will be deployed in with my side.

9. Emmanuel Adebayor - Strong, powerful and pacy, Adebayor is good in the air but even better with the ball at his feet which is why he will be the perfect focal point for my attack. With players like Pienaar, Ribery & Arshavin creating many chances a player capable of putting them away is a must and there is a reason clubs like Real Madrid wanted Ade and that City payed 25m for him, cos as he showed in 07/08 when he bagged 30 goals in all competitions for Arsenal. He is tall so along with others like Felliani should ensure my side are a threat from set pieces. It isnt right to limit Adebayor like that though as he is really an all round striker and has already gotten 3 goals in only 4 appearances since joining Tottenham where he is playing alongside teamate Steven Pienaar.

This team as Ive layed out in the above write up fit the first formation below but as Ive mentioned with a number of the players above there is a real versatility so the team has options depending on a) the opponents and how a game is going examples are also below.




Trivia fact: Every player on this team has represented a different nation internationally. Poland, Italy, Sweden, England, Ireland, Belgium, Ghana, S.Africa, France, Russia & Togo

The Order with which they were drafted: 1.Essien 2.Fellaini 3.Adebayor 4.McGrath 5.Jagielka 6.Szczesny 7.Pienaar 8.Arshavin 9.Ribery 10.Santon 11.Olsson