In the history of the Premier League, we have seen some truly terrific players to grace our shores; which has considerably raised fans’ expectations of other players. These fine men on the list represent those who have been put under unnecessary pressure to deliver, with undue criticism occurring as a consequence. These are players with varying abilities, but ones who have either felt like scapegoats or not given enough time to succeed.
Some of these players are undoubtedly talented, but have been portrayed as villains and attracted some unwarranted criticism from some football fans. This has sometimes been caused by making a wrong career move or a few negative headlines appearing off the pitch. Other players on the list have simply been unable to impress at our country’s biggest clubs; and have now forged careers for themselves at smaller teams. As always, the list is purely subjective, likely to cause many of you to scream at your laptops in frustration. But anyway, here is my list of the top 15 players who have attracted unwarranted stick and criticism in their careers during the Premier League era.
Click on Robbie Savage to see the full list
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At just shy, bang on or a little bit more of £60million (it depends on what figure you want to believe), Manchester United forked out a British record transfer fee to bring the Real Madrid ace to Old Trafford.
You’d obviously expect an instant, and big, return on such a price and after opening the scoring today, combined with his overall performance, the Argentina international looks to be worth the astronomical cost.
Manchester United are back!
Okay, it has only been 90 minutes but what a 90 minutes it was for Louis van Gaal’s boys.
The Red Devils performance was full of energy, pace, creativity and goals; four things we were accustomed to during the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
LvG now has a platform to build upon as the Dutchman looks to get United back into the Champions League.
Robin van Persie is no longer the main man
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Before Louis van Gaal announced his starting line-up for the game today, a lot of the talk surrounded whether it would Wayne Rooney or Juan Mata to lose their place to Falcao.
LvG surprised us all, though, when he started the Colombian on the bench. However, it won’t be long before the man on loan from AS Monaco will be commanding a starting place and, on today’s performance, Robin van Persie may well be the fall guy.
Newcastle United club captain Fabricio Coloccini is the subject of a shock bid from Argentinian club San Lorenzo as reported by the Daily Mirror.
The 30 year old enjoyed 19 games on loan at the club from AC Milan in the 2000/2001 season and San Lorenzo hope that Coloccini being a fan of the club could lure him back to South America.
The curly haired centre half has been a rock at the back for Newcastle in recent seasons and is currently the highest played player at St James’ Park, a factor that could work against San Lorenzo.
It would be a shock if Newcastle let their captain go, especially considering that their central defence is considered their weakest area.
Despite admitting that the deal will be difficult to pull off, the Argentinian club are refusing to rule out the possibility of Coloccini joining the club in the January transfer window.
“We know he is a fan and wants to return, so there could be a possibility,” said club President Matías Lammens on Radio La Red.
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“It’s not impossible but of course the only thing that can accelerate the situation is Fabricio’s intentions.
“It could be difficult but that doesn’t mean it’s fallen through.”
Sam Allardyce has warned his players that they will need to improve their game if West Ham are to bounce back from their disappointing recent form against Norwich on New Year’s Day.
The Hammers were beaten by relegation-battlers Reading on Saturday and have now won just one of their last eight Premier League fixtures.
And Allardyce admits his side have lacked quality in recent matches, after finding the net just three times in their last four league fixtures since defeating Chelsea 3-1 in early December.
“We need to bounce back,” Allardyce told ITV Sport.
“We’ve got to make sure we become better at creating and taking our chances, otherwise it’s going to be tough.
“The balls into the box haven’t been given enough quality to open up a defence as everybody starts tightening up at this stage of the season.”
West Ham will look to return to winning ways in front of their home supporters against a Norwich side who have lost their last three matches since an impressive 10-match unbeaten run.
Despite the Norfolk-club’s recent form, Allardyce is wary of the threat posed by Canaries counter-attacks, and is expecting a tense atmosphere at Upton Park.
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“I think it is going to be a big test for our nerve for the first time this season,” he said.
“Norwich have been very good defensively, particularly away from home and I think that they make life very difficult for you to break them down and play very well on the counter-attack if you leave too many spaces.”
Queens Park Rangers striker Rob Hulse has completed a move to Charlton Athletic on loan.
The R’s frontman failed to make Ranger’s 25 man Premier League squad and will now join up with the London outfit on a three month temporary deal.
QPR.co.uk confirmed the 32 year old is on his way, he made 25 appearances at Loftus Road, netting just twice since a 2010 move from Derby County.
Hulse will be hoping to be involved in the Addicks mid-week fixture against Watford at the Valley.
Charlton are the lowest scorers in England’s second-tier and are perilously close to the Championship drop-zone.
Chris Powell’s striking options recently took a hit with frontman Ricardo Fuller missing their draw with Blackburn Rovers due to a virus.
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Powell told Charlton’s official website: “I’m really pleased to have Rob on board and look forward to working with him.
“With the squad we have we do have one or two players that have played at this level before and a couple that have played Premier League, but you need that Championship know-how week in, week out and I think Rob will give us that.”
Tottenham Hotspur defender Kyle Walker was forced to shut down his Twitter account after Spurs fans berated him over yesterday’s defeat to Chelsea, as reported by the Daily Mail.
@kyle28walker was bombarded with abusive tweets from his own fans after his mediocre performance in the London derby that saw rivals Chelsea come from 2-1 down to win 4-2 in the second half.
Walker was at fault for the final Chelsea goal in injury time and it seems that despite his full commitment to the club, some sections of online Spurs fans needed to vent their anger.
“Would love to know what I’m doing so different I give 100 per cent every game and still u (have) something to say I’m 22 and learning #embarrassing,” Walker wrote before deleting his account.
“If I said what I thought to these people I would get done humans make mistakes it was 90mins and I though(t it was) a foul end off (sic)!!!!”
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It’s the subject that simply refuses to go away within English football at the moment and for Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale, he’d do well to pick up a couple of newspapers of late. In a series of weeks that have seen the issue of diving hop straight back up to the top of football’s agenda of malaise, you would have thought that the Welshman would have the nous to avoid a complete PR disaster.
Indeed, while the actions of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez has catalyzed a whole catalogue of fierce debate over the practice of simulation, Bale has played his own part in ensuring it continues to produce column inches. And a further contentious tumble on international duty against Scotland, has shot Bale straight into the spectrum of chief suspects.
But the issue for Bale isn’t one of personal integrity. It’s one that has the ability to cause both himself and his side some serious problems later along the line this season.
The issue of diving isn’t anything new on these shores. As with so many other issues in football, there is something very topical about the way it manages to creep up onto the footballing radar. As the fickle finger of the Premier League spins round on a never ending basis, talk about top flight thespians will usually subside and make way for the two-footed tackle debate or the flailing elbow argument.
But things feel different this time. For many people, Spurs fans included, there was a sense of poetic justice in seeing Luis Suarez get planted over by Norwich’s Leon Barnett for a stonewall penalty, only for referee Mike Jones to wave his claims away. The proverb “you reap what you sow”, has been wheeled out often in the past few weeks and in fairness, it certainly rings true to a certain extent.
But as the Suarez debate rumbles on, it seems to have reopened another and the school of thought that Premier League referees are beginning to judge the Uruguayan on reputation, rather than an incident on it’s own merits, is one that should cause equal cause for concern. And it’s one that Gareth Bale in particular, should give more than a moment’s thought to.
Fans of teams who have been on the receiving end of one of his tumbles (Villa and Arsenal supporters, take a stand), may be happy to dispute this, but Bale bestows a more polished public profile than Luis Suarez. A modest, humble talent, there are no bans for racial abuse or red cards for blatant hand ball on his resume. But if he continues to fall to the ground under little to no contact, that will all count for diddly squat.
Bale has already faced several allegations of diving and despite his claims to the contrary, his justifications for going down easily, hardly endear himself to a wider audience.
Following critique over his penalty winning dive in the 5-2 defeat against Arsenal last season, Bale responded that his art is more injury prevention, than diving:
“It’s annoying. You have people flying in at you, it’s not really diving, you’re trying to get out of the way of the challenge if anything,” the Welshman said last year.
“It’s a difficult one. You can see why people say you’re diving but at the end of the day I’d rather dive than get hurt.”
While Bale’s viewpoint maintains a certain amount of gravitas, it’s impossible to skirt round the viewpoint that he has more than a tendency to go down to easily. The wider debate surrounding simulation can be extended to very specific and technical instances and whether by launching himself over a full-back’s trailing leg at regular intervals is any better, is highly disputable.
But the stonewall acts of cheating are simply unforgivable and his fall in Spurs’ 2-0 victory over Aston Villas was totally unacceptable. The sight of watching Bale go down under thin air as he pre-empted a kick from Brad Guzan that never came, was really quite hard to watch. It gets worse every time you see it and if anyone was still to doubt the Welshman’s tendency to dabble in football’s darkest of arts, they can surely be in no doubt now.
Although, it’s not just his own morality that he’s damaging by going to ground like that. If Bale waltzes into the penalty area and is hacked down against Chelsea this weekend but the referee waves him away, then Spurs fans will be left with a Luis Suarez situation all of their own. Premier League referees must stay subjective, but does human nature dictate that when they see him go down, his fall against Villa will come into their head? It shouldn’t, but it could well do.
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Even if referees are wrong to not judge each situation on their own merits, but Bale shouldn’t even be putting them in a position for that to become an issue. If he goes down in the penalty area against Roberto Di Matteo’s side on Saturday, you can bet your mortgage that his side will be screaming dive regardless of what happened. Bale’s behavior has only played into their hands.
Regardless of whether Shaun Maloney has claimed that his feeble contact with Gareth Bale constituted a penalty last week, it remains a woefully soft decision. And the problem is, with every ridiculous tumble the Welshman is taking, he is subjecting himself to forensic scrutiny in each incident.
Fans who frequent White Hart Lane love watching Gareth Bale for his barnstorming runs and his gifted ability – not for his acting skills. And when his behavior is set to put his side in jeopardy of getting a fair run, fans have the right to demand he cleans up his act. And fast.
What do you think about Gareth Bale’s antics for Spurs and Wales? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and let me know if you think it’s time AVB sorted the Welshman out.
Arsene Wenger has pleaded to Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna to stay with the Gunners, despite the right back’s concerns over the club’s transfer policy.
The Mirror reports that Wenger will offer the right back a new contract despite the French International’s recent outburst.
In a recent interview with L’Equipe, Sagna admitted his frustration at the club’s failure to keep their best players and win trophies.
The Gunners defender’s contract runs until 2014 but Arsenal are keen to tie down one of their prised assets and end speculation of a potential exit from the club. Kieran Gibbs also only has two years left on his deal and will be offered a new contract.
Sales of Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri became inevitable due to the club’s failure to place their star players on long contracts, it’s also unclear whether Theo Walcott will leave the club after contract talks have broke down with the England international. Putting the two full-backs on new long contracts is an attempt from the London club to avoid future high profile exits.
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Achieving 100 caps or more for your country is a rarity and is something only most players can dream of.
In fact, some of them can only dream of gaining one cap. In a time where England is going through a difficult stage, the Three Lions can always look back and see the amount of quality players that have made 100 caps in the famous white shirt.
Ever since Billy Wright became the first player to achieve this incredible milestone, the likes of Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore have all gone on to become England centurions.
As the England squad prepare for their Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia – and the mouth-watering fixture against the ‘Auld Enemy’ in Scotland –one player that has arguably been the Three Lions’ best players over the past five years is set to earn his 100th cap.
Wayne Rooney has served the England national team with great distinction, and without him, English football would be in a much worse place. He is still only 29 years old, so reaching 100 caps is quite frankly astonishing, even by Rooney’s high standards. The question is, can he go on to surpass England’s record cap holder Peter Shilton?
We first saw what the Three Lions and Red Devils captain could produce in 2002, beating then England number one David Seaman with a sublime goal while in his Everton days. The forward was then the youngest ever player to make his full international debut at the tender age of 17.
However, Rooney’s debut was not quite a day to remember for England, as Sven Goran Erickson’s side lost 3-1 to Australia at Upton Park. You know it was a bad day when Darius Vassell, Wes Brown and Paul Konchesky all played a significant parts and England’s only goal came from the one and only Francis Jeffers.
Despite being one of the best strikers on the planet, Rooney has been regularly criticised for his international performances in major tournaments. In the summer’s group stage loss to Uruguay, Rooney notched his first World Cup goal.
For a striker of Rooney’s calibre, this is simply not good enough- but the stats don’t lie. It’s hard not to conclude that Rooney has underachieved at a competitive level for his country. Euro 2008 was probably his best tournament, especially in the game against Croatia where he was simply unplayable, but this isn’t the kind of peak we would have expected from Rooney when he made his debut all those years ago.
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Considering that Shilton played in between the sticks for his country 125 times, and there are around 10 games at international level a year outside of major tournaments, Rooney should easily outstrip his compatriot.
However, whether this makes the Manchester United striker an ‘England great’ is still up for debate.
Newcastle fans are mercilessly bashing Sunderland’s takeover, after it was announced the club was purchased for £40million.
Sunderland fans will all be breathing a massive sigh of relief now that Ellis Short is out of their club, but that isn’t stopping Newcastle fans from giving them some stick.
The Black Cats were relegated to League One in their first season in the Championship, just a year after belittling Newcastle for being promoted as champions of the division.
A consortium led by Stuart Donald has purchased the club, and the man himself reported the fee as just £40m.
Donald said: “We have given Ellis £40million. That’s the deal price. His debt, he’s now tied it up – and that’s now gone from the football club, and it’s not been ported to us. The reality is Sunderland is debt-free.
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“League One transfer fees aren’t too high – so the budget for Sunderland is going to be pretty hefty. It’s going to be a lot more than many of the other teams have got.”
While Sunderland’s size and budget could very well get them out of League One at the first attempt, that isn’t stopping Newcastle fans from enjoying the moment.
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The Toon Army have been hilariously mocking the price of the takeover, most notably because it’s only 25 per cent more than the £30m Newcastle received for the sale of Moussa Sissoko.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…