TEAM COOLREDWINE
Formation:
My team will play the 4-4-2 Diamond. Leading the attack would be Mark Viduka and Eric Cantona, being supported by Jay-Jay Okocha. The midfield consists of workhorses Gary Speed, Dennis Wise and Dietmar Hamann. The defence would be marshalled by Dennis Irwin, Sami Hyypia, Tony Adams and Lee Dixon with Nigel Martyn in the goal.
Defence:
The defence is a solid combination of proven players who have contributed to their teams for a good period of time in the Premier League. Dennis Irwin starts as a Left Back with Lee Dixon on the right with Sami Hyypia joining Tony Adams in the middle. Everything said and done, this defence has the quality of being one of the best defences in the context of the draft. Barring Hyypia, all three of Irwin, Adams and Dixon have been a part of multiple title winning squads, contributing massively to their respective teams’ cause during the League, and helping them win the Premier League on multiple occasions. There is Dennis Irwin, one of the Modern Manchester United greats, who has won 7 Premier League titles and was the part of the Overall Team of the Decade for the Premier League 10 seasons awards. Then there are Tony Adams and Lee Dixon, who won the Premier League 2 times with Arsenal. All of them are disciplined defenders who would lend stability to the team. Both Dixon and Adams also bring the aura of the Famous back 4 from Arsenal, thus adding to the defensive steel of the team.
Both of the fullbacks are seasonal defenders, capable of holding their own while defending against the opposition wingers. During their time in the League, both Irwin and Dixon have been able to stop quite a good number and variety of wingers and have come out on top on most number of occasions. Contrary to popular beliefs, both Irwin and Dixon can also work in a 4-4-2 Diamond. Both of them have similar qualities of a full back, joining and supporting attacks of their respective teams on multiple occasions. Dennis Irwin, being the metronome that he was with Manchester United, never ever had a bad game while Lee Dixon was a marauding RB used by Arsenal to his full effect. Dixon constantly supported his right winger, thus combining with him to launch attacks for Arsenal from the right side of the midfield. Both of them will be going up and down continuously during the game to support the team’s attack and adding an extra man during the attack, alternatively.
Adding to the defence is Dietmar Hamann, playing as a defensive midfielder. While defending, he would drop back between the two defenders, thus forming the perfect shield to keep the attacking opposition players at bay. While Adams would be focussing on Drogba, Hamann would track back the opposition attacking midfielder (be it Lampard or Scholes), covering their late runs in the box and matching them muscle to muscle.
While defending, the defence will drop back forming a 5 man wall with Hamann in the middle Hyypia and Adams on his either side, while Irwin and Dixon will pick up the wingers. As mentioned, Adams will pick up Drogba, Hamann will track back the advanced opposition midfielder while the any other player will be picked up by Hyypia. On the other hand, should the opposition decide to bomb the flanks, Hamann would move out to either flank under pressure and lend support to the corresponding fullback, thus negating the opposition wingers’ influence on the game.
Attack:
Leading the line is Mark Viduka, a proper centre forward who led Leeds United’s attack during their heydays. A striker who scored almost at the rate of 0.5 while at Leeds, makes the perfect foil with Eric Cantona. Not only can Viduka score goals, getting into good positions, he can also use his physical prowess to make space for other players (Cantona, Okocha, Wise) to break through the middle. A striker who was pretty quick and whose heading abilities know no bounds, he can easily be a thorn for the opposition’s side. He can very well use his pace while turning to beat the defender and create space for himself. Cantona needs no introduction to anyone. Much regarded as the player who brought a winning mentality to the Manchester United side, he provides the spark up front. Starting the winning trend and leading his club to 4 PL titles, he is the perfect choice to lead my team as well. He starts just behind Viduka, and would be dictating most of the team’s play. Behind Cantona would be Jay-Jay Okocha. Given his role as an Attacking Midfielder, he will have a free license to roam all over the attacking third. He will pop up on either side of the Cantona-Viduka axis to provide support and wreak havoc in the opposition defence with his trickery and pull defenders out of their positions. This will benefit Dennis Wise in turn, who will make late runs in the box, latching on to second balls and lay offs provided by the strikers and propping the opposition with long shots from the edge of the box. With Okocha showing up on either side while attacking, this will also help the corresponding fullback in that position while attacking. Wise will also make use of his short passing prowess and play them with Okocha and Cantona to keep the play ticking over and move the ball around the centre circle. Wise would also collect the ball from defence via Hamann and start the attacks in conjunction with Gary Speed. While Wise will carry the ball further up the pitch, Speed will distribute the play alternatively by playing a long ball directly upto Viduka who can comfortably shield and control he ball around the opposition defence and then lay it off for oncoming Cantona or Wise.
The important aspect to this formation is that Cantona will not be alone to do things himself. The team has enough goals in them to beat the opposition. Both Speed and Wise average almost 5 goals a season so both of them are good enough to chip in if the strikers aren’t at their A-game during the match so the team doesn’t have to rely on Cantona absolutely.
The team is also high on leadership and influence. Cantona, Irwin, Adams, Hyypia, Hamann, Wise, Speed were all very influential players for their respective clubs, captaining their teams for several periods during the League and winning it as well. The experience that all of them bring to the team is matched by no other team in the draft. Given the workhorse like team, they still have the grit and determination to eke out wins without giving much joy to the opposition and will get the job done. Keeping this in view, I expect a 1-0 win over the opposition with my defence standing strong in front of the opposition attack and the midfield giving no inch or space to the opposition midfielders.
