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Old 13th May 2008, 14:24   #1 (permalink)
united.7
 
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Garth Crooks' team of the season...

They thought it was all over - it is now.... and here is my verdict.

What do you make of Garth's team of the season?

The most exciting and unpredictable Premier League season in a long time has come to an end, with Manchester United emerging as top dogs after a dramatic finale at both ends of the table.

So here is my team of the year, playing in a 4-4-2 formation. What do you think of my selection?


DAVID JAMES (Portsmouth)


His selection emphasises the season he has had - he has regained the England number one spot and I agree with that.

James has been instrumental in Portsmouth's progression to the FA Cup final and, for me, the stand-out game was their win at Manchester United, where he was outstanding.

Like all goalkeepers he gets better with age. All keepers are susceptible to the odd clanger but he seems to have overcome the unreliable tag for a wonderful season and to win the FA Cup would be a fitting end.


BACARY SAGNA (Arsenal)


Phil Neville was also in contention, being in the unique position of being a midfielder or a right-back, but as a consequence it was hard to put him in either position, so I have gone for Sagna.

The injury he sustained at Chelsea has put him at disadvantage but I have given my vote to Sagna.

He was having a fantastic year until he picked up the ankle problem and that injury, along with Eduardo's, may have cost Arsenal the title.


PATRICE EVRA (Manchester United)


He gets in the team just ahead of Gael Clichy of Arsenal.

They were neck and neck all season but it is hard not to go with him as he is a championship winner.

I have tried very had through the year to focus on my team of the week votes but I have also had to take into account where teams finished and what they achieved.


RIO FERDINAND (Manchester United)


Rio is in the team of the season for the second year running, he is Manchester United and now England captain and I would have him as the skipper of this team too. He has had another magnificent season.


RICARDO CARVALHO (Chelsea)


Carvalho has been an unsung hero, a silent and consistent force in Chelsea's back four throughout the whole year - their rock.

He was also their player of the year and if he stands out among that lot, he must be pretty good.


CRISTIANO RONALDO (Manchester United)


Simply the best player in the world at the moment. That's it.


STEVEN GERRARD (Liverpool)


Alongside Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard is the only player to make my team of the season for the second season running, which demonstrates his amazing consistency.



CESC FABREGAS (Arsenal)


He has put in some outstanding performances for Arsenal this season. Their future success depends upon his future at the club.


MICHAEL BALLACK (Chelsea)


He won a lot of team of the week selections in the last third of the season and it was always Chelsea's biggest matches - he is clearly a player for the big occasion. If Chelsea win the Champions League, it will centre on him.


FERNANDO TORRES (Liverpool)


He just edges out Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, both of whom won a number of weekly selections, but the Spaniard's performances and goals for Liverpool have been the driving force for the Merseysiders this season.

I don't think Benitez's rotation policy has helped but he has still had a fantastic season in spite of that and has adapted to English football superbly.


WAYNE ROONEY (Manchester United)

He has picked up team of the week nominations almost unnoticed. I'm quite surprised he was up there but clearly his contributions and goals have come at a vital time for United.

Ronaldo's performances have eclipsed everyone this season, including him, but Rooney has obviously had sufficient goals and games to warrant selection.

He just edged out Yakubu, who had a fantastic season.


HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Fulham's Jimmy Bullard got a lot of votes towards the end of the season and if he had played a full season he might have been in the team.

Apart from David James, all those team of the season players are from the top four. Bullard would have broken that.

He picked up three team of the week selections in the last five weeks, which ties in with Fulham's escape.

Ashley Young at Aston Villa was also very unlucky not to get in.

He had an outstanding season but has fallen victim to the best player in the world. Similarly, his team-mate Gareth Barry was unlucky to be edged out by Steven Gerrard - but he could be his biggest supporter next season!

GOALS OF THE SEASON

It would have to be the goal by Torres in the Champions League against Arsenal, Ronaldo's free-kick against Portsmouth or Emmanuel Adebayor's peach of a volley against Newcastle at St James' Park.

All three of them scored spectacular goals, which is why people will always want to go to watch them. It is not only that they are great players but they score goals that people really like to see, which bulge the net.
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Old 13th May 2008, 14:26   #2 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by united.7 View Post
They thought it was all over - it is now.... and here is my verdict.

What do you make of Garth's team of the season?

The most exciting and unpredictable Premier League season in a long time has come to an end, with Manchester United emerging as top dogs after a dramatic finale at both ends of the table.

So here is my team of the year, playing in a 4-4-2 formation. What do you think of my selection?


DAVID JAMES (Portsmouth)


His selection emphasises the season he has had - he has regained the England number one spot and I agree with that.

James has been instrumental in Portsmouth's progression to the FA Cup final and, for me, the stand-out game was their win at Manchester United, where he was outstanding.

Like all goalkeepers he gets better with age. All keepers are susceptible to the odd clanger but he seems to have overcome the unreliable tag for a wonderful season and to win the FA Cup would be a fitting end.


BACARY SAGNA (Arsenal)


Phil Neville was also in contention, being in the unique position of being a midfielder or a right-back, but as a consequence it was hard to put him in either position, so I have gone for Sagna.

The injury he sustained at Chelsea has put him at disadvantage but I have given my vote to Sagna.

He was having a fantastic year until he picked up the ankle problem and that injury, along with Eduardo's, may have cost Arsenal the title.


PATRICE EVRA (Manchester United)


He gets in the team just ahead of Gael Clichy of Arsenal.

They were neck and neck all season but it is hard not to go with him as he is a championship winner.

I have tried very had through the year to focus on my team of the week votes but I have also had to take into account where teams finished and what they achieved.


RIO FERDINAND (Manchester United)


Rio is in the team of the season for the second year running, he is Manchester United and now England captain and I would have him as the skipper of this team too. He has had another magnificent season.


RICARDO CARVALHO (Chelsea)


Carvalho has been an unsung hero, a silent and consistent force in Chelsea's back four throughout the whole year - their rock.

He was also their player of the year and if he stands out among that lot, he must be pretty good.


CRISTIANO RONALDO (Manchester United)


Simply the best player in the world at the moment. That's it.


STEVEN GERRARD (Liverpool)


Alongside Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard is the only player to make my team of the season for the second season running, which demonstrates his amazing consistency.



CESC FABREGAS (Arsenal)


He has put in some outstanding performances for Arsenal this season. Their future success depends upon his future at the club.


MICHAEL BALLACK (Chelsea)


He won a lot of team of the week selections in the last third of the season and it was always Chelsea's biggest matches - he is clearly a player for the big occasion. If Chelsea win the Champions League, it will centre on him.


FERNANDO TORRES (Liverpool)


He just edges out Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, both of whom won a number of weekly selections, but the Spaniard's performances and goals for Liverpool have been the driving force for the Merseysiders this season.

I don't think Benitez's rotation policy has helped but he has still had a fantastic season in spite of that and has adapted to English football superbly.


WAYNE ROONEY (Manchester United)

He has picked up team of the week nominations almost unnoticed. I'm quite surprised he was up there but clearly his contributions and goals have come at a vital time for United.

Ronaldo's performances have eclipsed everyone this season, including him, but Rooney has obviously had sufficient goals and games to warrant selection.

He just edged out Yakubu, who had a fantastic season.


HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Fulham's Jimmy Bullard got a lot of votes towards the end of the season and if he had played a full season he might have been in the team.

Apart from David James, all those team of the season players are from the top four. Bullard would have broken that.

He picked up three team of the week selections in the last five weeks, which ties in with Fulham's escape.

Ashley Young at Aston Villa was also very unlucky not to get in.

He had an outstanding season but has fallen victim to the best player in the world. Similarly, his team-mate Gareth Barry was unlucky to be edged out by Steven Gerrard - but he could be his biggest supporter next season!

GOALS OF THE SEASON

It would have to be the goal by Torres in the Champions League against Arsenal, Ronaldo's free-kick against Portsmouth or Emmanuel Adebayor's peach of a volley against Newcastle at St James' Park.

All three of them scored spectacular goals, which is why people will always want to go to watch them. It is not only that they are great players but they score goals that people really like to see, which bulge the net.
He didnt put Ronny into his team last year?!?!??!
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Old 13th May 2008, 14:34   #3 (permalink)
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He didnt put Ronny into his team last year?!?!??!
I was thinking exactly the same thing. To me, that summarises his level of football knowledge.
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Old 13th May 2008, 14:36   #4 (permalink)
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Adebayor should be ahead of Rooney.
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Old 13th May 2008, 14:37   #5 (permalink)
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Carrick should be ahead of Ballack. He's right, Ballack has been very good in the last third of the season, but Carrick has been very good for half of the season.
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Old 13th May 2008, 14:45   #6 (permalink)
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I dont agree with:

Ballack, or the inclusion on Rooney.

Young on the wing (Gerrard in the middle or Flamini-debatable), and Adebayor up front.

But he did put Carvalho and Evra in there, which were notable exclusions from the PFA's version. I would agree with him on both fronts.
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Old 13th May 2008, 14:51   #7 (permalink)
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I was thinking exactly the same thing. To me, that summarises his level of football knowledge.
The first sentence is a very good indication of what to expect from the rest of the article.

"His selection emphasises the season he has had"

Er, cheers for that Garth.
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Old 13th May 2008, 14:56   #8 (permalink)
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I dont agree with:

Ballack, or the inclusion on Rooney.

Young on the wing (Gerrard in the middle or Flamini-debatable), and Adebayor up front.

But he did put Carvalho and Evra in there, which were notable exclusions from the PFA's version. I would agree with him on both fronts.
18 goals 13 assists for rooney while being injured a good month and a half atleast. I wouldn't call that shabby. Adebayour had 24 goals and how many assists?
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:03   #9 (permalink)
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18 goals 13 assists for rooney while being injured a good month and a half atleast. I wouldn't call that shabby. Adebayour had 24 goals and how many assists?
I didnt call it shabby, so dont put words in my mouth.

Im well aware of Rooneys exploits (surprisingly?), Adebayor has scored 24 league goals and Rooney 12. You seem to have moved the goal posts for Rooney. Idiot.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:05   #10 (permalink)
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I didnt call it shabby, so dont put words in my mouth.

Im well aware of Rooneys exploits (surprisingly?), Adebayor has scored 24 league goals and Rooney 12. You seem to have moved the goal posts for Rooney. Idiot.
What the hell are you on about where did i say you called it shabby stupid git.

I'm talking about over the season. rooney has performed better overall. If ade doesn't get a goal he does nothing. Rooney still manages to contribute to his team regardless of his finishing.

24 goals and 4 assists vs 12 goals and 13 assists. A whole 3 points difference between them in the prem league while rooney was injured every time he went on a run. Who had the bigger impression on there team is debateable.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:15   #11 (permalink)
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It should be Adebayor and Torres upfront if we're judging them just as strikers.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:16   #12 (permalink)
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What the hell are you on about where did i say you called it shabby stupid git.

I'm talking about over the season. rooney has performed better overall. If ade doesn't get a goal he does nothing. Rooney still manages to contribute to his team regardless of his finishing.

24 goals and 4 assists vs 12 goals and 13 assists. A whole 3 points difference between them in the prem league while rooney was injured every time he went on a run. Who had the bigger impression on there team is debateable.

Then it was irrelevant, nobody said it was shabby.

Adebayor has been the better striker this season, lets not go into what striker contributes and so on...

Berbatov has more points than both of then cnuts, and even Torres, so by your book has he been the better striker? Idiot.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:16   #13 (permalink)
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18 goals 13 assists for rooney while being injured a good month and a half atleast. I wouldn't call that shabby. Adebayour had 24 goals and how many assists?
Why are you comparing Rooney's overall record to Adebayor's Premier league? It isn't even debatable who has had the better season in the league.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:22   #14 (permalink)
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Gerrard? WHY?
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:22   #15 (permalink)
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Why are you comparing Rooney's overall record to Adebayor's Premier league? It isn't even debatable who has had the better season in the league.
Obviously it is or he wouldn't make anyone's team of the season

He's played more than 25% less minutes than ade and still has comparable numbers to him. If that doesn't raise your eyebrows you may need your head examined. But then again neither of you probably new that and the only stats you read are from the sun. People rave on about berbatov being the next messiah but he had very similar numbers to rooney in more time so why not give rooney the same respect.

United7=idiot
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:34   #16 (permalink)
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Obviously it is or he wouldn't make anyone's team of the season

He's played more than 25% less minutes than ade and still has comparable numbers to him. If that doesn't raise your eyebrows you may need your head examined. But then again neither of you probably new that and the only stats you read are from the sun. People rave on about berbatov being the next messiah but he had very similar numbers to rooney in more time so why not give rooney the same respect.

United7=idiot
Dipshit.

12 league goals and 24 league goals are not comparable numbers, since a striker will (usually) be judged on the amount of goals he has scored (assists being a bonus and not carrying the same weight).

Yes people do rave about Berbatov, not purely because of his statistics but because of the way he plays the game. If he is comparable to Rooney; then he is fucking brilliant, nobody said that either of them werent. No it isnt purely a statistical game, they tell you so much, but are by no means perfect.

You conveniently hide all information about yourself, the only impression you have made is that you are an illiterate delinquent who struggles to put his/her points across in a intelligible manner.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:36   #17 (permalink)
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Obviously it is or he wouldn't make anyone's team of the season

He's played more than 25% less minutes than ade and still has comparable numbers to him. If that doesn't raise your eyebrows you may need your head examined. But then again neither of you probably new that and the only stats you read are from the sun. People rave on about berbatov being the next messiah but he had very similar numbers to rooney in more time so why not give rooney the same respect.

United7=idiot
He has made the team of Garth Crook, let me repeat Garth Crook, his opinions do not matter much to me because he talks shit most of the time.

Adebayor has twice as many goals and played 25% more than him therefore has had the better season. You can twist it how you like but Rooney has not had a good season for a player of his standards, he is nowhere near the form he was showing 2 seasons ago. Stuart Downing has better stats than Hleb but I wonder how many would put him ahead of Hleb?
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:40   #18 (permalink)
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Dipshit.

12 league goals and 24 league goals are not comparable numbers, since a striker will (usually) be judged on the amount of goals he has scored (assists being a bonus and not carrying the same weight).

If that were only the case once again no one would have put him in there team of the season. Simple logic is apparently too hard for you to comprehend.

Yes people do rave about Berbatov, not purely because of his statistics but because of the way he plays the game. If he is comparable to Rooney; then he is fucking brilliant, nobody said that either of them werent. No it isnt purely a statistical game, they tell you so much, but are by no means perfect.

Only thing you've said of any worth. Something you didn't find in the sun today.

You conveniently hide all information about yourself, the only impression you have made is that you are an illiterate delinquent who struggles to put his/her points across in a intelligible manner.
I hide information because this is a public board cretin. Pretending to be a intellectual pompous pretentious jackass on the internet must be the cool thing to do when you're 16.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:46   #19 (permalink)
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Gerrard and Rooney shouldn't have been in there. Tevez has been better than Rooney this season.

Ashley Young should have made it ahead of Gerrard.
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Old 13th May 2008, 15:47   #20 (permalink)
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He has made the team of Garth Crook, let me repeat Garth Crook, his opinions do not matter much to me because he talks shit most of the time.

Adebayor has twice as many goals and played 25% more than him therefore has had the better season. You can twist it how you like but Rooney has not had a good season for a player of his standards, he is nowhere near the form he was showing 2 seasons ago. Stuart Downing has better stats than Hleb but I wonder how many would put him ahead of Hleb?

I agree rooney has not had a good season imo but he's been asked to play a role he doesn't accel in as well as play out wide and while doing so has managed to be near the top of the assists chart and tied for 11th in scoring.

What i would like to see is the goals of the two and which came at the more important times. Anyone have them handy?
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Old 13th May 2008, 16:08   #21 (permalink)
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Crooks said it himself that Rooney made the team because he consistently got into the Team of the Week, did it under the radar of Ronaldo's great performances.
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Old 13th May 2008, 17:08   #22 (permalink)
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That's a pretty damn good team he's picked although I would also put Adebayor in ahead of Rooney. I'm also not sure Ballack did enough over teh whole season to warrant inclusion in the team. There is no doubt he turned it around post Xmas but there are others who may deserve to be in there ahead of him - Young being a good example.

I'll not get into the "should Garrard be included" debate because there should be no debate and anyone who thinks there should needs to take their blinkers off.

I think Vidic has a strong shout of being in there ahead of Carvalho too although it is very close.

PS It's good to see that it's not just the non-United fans that GAngel pisses off.
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Old 13th May 2008, 17:13   #23 (permalink)
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12 league goals and 24 league goals are not comparable numbers,
Technically, they are comparable. In fact, the whole point of numbers is that they provide you with a basis to compare things.

Comparing 12 to 24 I see that 12 is half of 24, and thet 24 is twice - or 'double', if you will - 12.

Hope this helps.
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Old 13th May 2008, 17:19   #24 (permalink)
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Interesting team. Its a shame that Garth Crooks has made some significant omissions.
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Old 13th May 2008, 17:23   #25 (permalink)
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Like?
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Old 13th May 2008, 17:24   #26 (permalink)
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Interesting team. Its a shame that Garth Crooks has made some significant omissions.
Uninteresting post. It's a shame that it had some significant omissions, such as your opinion / insight.
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Old 13th May 2008, 17:24   #27 (permalink)
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The addition of Ballack is what puzzles me.
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