Gameweek 21 kicks off on New Year’s Day, the perfect time to have a quick recap on some of the season’s best performers so far.

Starting between the sticks we have Manchester City’s Joe Hart, the Blue half of Manchester are serious title contenders and much of this is due to the brilliance of their young stopper. Points wise Hart is head and shoulders above all other Goalkeepers with an impressive total of 95. If his 6.8 million price tag puts you off, there are cheaper alternatives. Birmingham’s Ben Foster(5.1) 81 points and Blackburn’s Paul Robinson(4.6) 72 points provide excellent value for money.

There is a reason Nemanja Vidic(8.0) is at the heart of 32% of Fantasy League defences, well actually there are 87 reasons. Man United’s rock at the back is top of the defensive pile going into the New Year. Following closely behind are Chelsea’s Ashley Cole(8.3) with 86 points and Everton’s Leighton Baines(7.5) 85 points. Sneaking into the top ten defenders is Sunderland’s Ahmed Elmohamady(4.8) with a 68 point return. Just one point behind Elmohamady is Baines’ team mate Seamus Coleman(4.9). Directly below Coleman you will find Patrice Evra(7.3) and John Terry(7.0), even further down the list is Man City’s Kolo Toure(6.4). It just goes to show that you don’t always get what you pay for.

Moving into midfield we start to find members of the 100 club. Rather surprisingly Everton’s Tim Cahill(9.3) leads the way with 106 points. Not only does the Australian run the midfield he often finds himself thrust upfront and has tucked away nine league goals in the process. Man United’s Nani(9.6) is just 2 points behind Cahill. The winger has been showing real quality throughout the campaign. Like Ronaldo before him Nani looks to have learnt that the tricks, however pretty they may be, do not win you Football matches and has vastly improved his all round game.

Special mention goes to Stoke City wide-man Matthew Etherington(5.9). Normally any left footed Englishman with an ounce of talent is treated like the second coming, however Etherington has quietly gone about his impressive business, three league goals and numerous assists place him ninth overall in the midfield rankings with 85 points.

Leading the way upfront is Newcastle’s Andy Carroll(6.5). They love a number 9 at St James Park and Carroll is no disappointment, the lanky striker has bagged 11 league goals this season and has 113 points to show for his efforts. It’s no surprise that the young Magpie is in 55% of Fantasy league teams.

Hot on Carroll’s heels is Carlos Tevez(11.3). The Argentine has 12 goals to his name and now that his Wayne Rooney style transfer tantrum is done and dusted he can get back to doing what he does best. A note of caution on wee Carlos this week as he is a slight doubt with a thigh injury.

And finally, I can’t go without singing the praises of Bolton’s front two. Johan Elmander(6.5) and Kevin Davies(6.5) have 191 points between them. Owen Coyle’s team are enjoying a cracking season so far and are the only team to have two strikers in the top ten.

That’s all for 2010 folks, I sincerely hope you all have a very Happy New Year.

If you feel like joining in the fun then join the EPL League by visiting: http://fantasy.premierleaguem.com/ the code you need to join is 13413-5300

The Premier League has plenty of incredibly talented players, but who is getting more praise or attention than they merit, here is a countdown of the Premier League’s most overrated players. Feel free to add your suggestions.

10- Matthew Upson –West Ham

Played a key role for England during the 2010 World Cup, Upson was often seen as England’s third choice centre half. However at club level Upson hasn’t excelled, and has made some costly mistakes.

9- Charles N’Zogbia – Wigan

The controversial French winger has had some excellent performances over the last few years but is a real hit or miss player. On his day N’Zogbia is a real handful for defenders, but more often than not he frustrates. The former Newcastle United man has only played 45 minutes for his country, despite all the turmoil that has surrounded the France squad.

8- James Milner – Manchester City

After a couple of good seasons at Aston Villa, England midfielder James Milner made the move to Manchester City this summer, but the price tag surely isn’t a reflection on his ability. At a reported £26 million Milner has a world class price tag, but is far from world class, and while he may develop over the next few seasons, at present his transfer fee has made him very overrated.

7- Joe Cole – Liverpool

Another player who on his day has the ability to cause defences some real problems, but often frustrates. Cole’s move to Liverpool in the summer was supposed to be a time where he re-launched his career after been frozen out of the frame at Chelsea, but has struggled to find any real form in Liverpool’s disappointing start to the season.

6-Joleon Lescott – Manchester City

After a couple of good seasons at Everton, Manchester City made Lescott one of their top transfer targets in the summer of 2009. They signed the defender for a massive fee of between £22 million and £24 million, but since then Lescott has never really found any level of consistency and looks to be amongst one of the Premier League’s biggest transfer flops.

5- Ashley Cole – Chelsea

Cole is often labelled as the best left back in the World, but when he has come up against real quality Cole has often come up short. He has never really lived up to the hype, and for his country Cole disappoints on a regular basis, however he does have 85 caps to his name. For Chelsea, Cole is consistent but when things go wrong for him, he can become a real weak link in their back four.

4- Fernando Torres- Liverpool

There is no doubting that on his day, Torres is amongst the most deadly players in the league, however over the last few seasons the Spanish striker has struggled with injuries and a general lack of form. But despite just five goals this season Torres is still seen as talisman for Liverpool and amongst the world’s best forwards.

3- Steven Gerrard- Liverpool.

Liverpool’s second talisman and a player that could walk in to every single Premier League side. But Gerrard is another over-hyped player and is labelled amongst the world’s best midfielders, but in big games often struggles to impress. On his day, he can win Liverpool points on his own, but on others can go missing and make no impact whatsoever.

2-Wayne Rooney- Manchester United

Another English player who struggles to live up to a tag as one of the world’s best. At the World Cup in South Africa, Rooney made no impact at all, and has since struggled to find any sort of form. Rooney will need to consistently perform for the next few seasons if he is to really establish himself amongst the world’s footballing elite.

1-Glenn Johnson- Liverpool

The former Chelsea and Portsmouth man has been labelled as the league’s best right-back for the last few seasons now, but is so often exposed for his lack of prowess in the Liverpool defence. While very good going forward, his lack of awareness gets Liverpool in to trouble on a regular basis, and has often lead to dropped points. Johnson arrived at Anfield for a fee of around £17.5 million, which only emphasises how overrated he is.

After the draw at St. Andrews I contended that Liverpool needed to change the way they played to get results. They were too narrow, with no pace and their full-backs went nowhere. It led to a dour game of football and a nil all draw that kept Liverpool in the lower regions of the table. The problem then was a lack of invention, a resistance to change and a team still getting to know each other, yesterday that all changed.

When the game kicked off and Chelsea kept the ball bouncing around their defence for 1 solid minute I felt a cold sense of dread as I expected a dour game of Football as Liverpool would kill the game by sitting behind the ball. I was wrong, whilst the plan was to allow the Chelsea back line (and Mikel) on the ball the rest of the team would be hussled and harried all over the pitch. I thought Kuyt would be on the right, he wasn’t. He popped up ‘in the hole’ and played off Torres whilst providing the Energy in the middle of the park to keep Ramires (one word, woeful) off balance whilst allowing Lucas and Gerrard to keep Florent Malouda quiet. It was a terrific team effort and showed a cohesion and unison that had been hitherto missing.

Also, I didn’t expect to see young Martin Kelly in the line-up which was as brave as it was successful. With Malouda being choked in midfield, Kelly and Meireles (nominally on the right) kept Zhirkov and Ashley Cole quiet, which was a truly remarkable achievement given his particular form this season. Throwing the young Englishman into a match against the Champions could’ve easily back-fired and left Hodgson in the lurch. It wasn’t the only brave decision that Hodgson has taken over the past fortnight – his decision to leave Torres and Gerrard out in Naples was justified by the result as was putting his captain on the bench for the return leg. It has been said that it is better to be lucky than good but there is no luck involved so far in this Anfield turn-around.

In terms of the match itself it was (sigh) a game of two halves – the first Liverpool showed verve and dynamism during the game. Martin Kelly was encouraged to get forward and Kuyt exploited the space he was afforded to exquisite effect as he released Torres. The second goal came from a similar position as the much maligned – by me – Raul Meireles was in the same position but laid the ball off to Torres. In the second half the tables were turned, Didier Drogba’s introduction coincided with a ‘you shall not pass’ performance from Liverpool’s defence and midfield. Helped by the ever-excellent Pepe Reina, whose stop from Malouda was only eclipsed by Cech’s later save, Reina has and always will be key this season if only he had captured that ball on opening day(without his lone mistake, Liverpool would be joint fifth).

Of course, all this Liverpool talk takes out of the equation the other team on Sunday. If this was Liverpool’s best performance of the season (almost certainly so) then it was Chelsea’s worst. The forced omission of Drogba (reports of a fever) and the continued absence of Essien and Lampard stripped Chelsea of any industry in midfield, Ramires looks a very good player when he has time but he was roughed up on Sunday to good effect, something that would not work on Essien. Nicolas Anelka continues to be a riddle inside a mystery wrapped in an enigma. On the right side of an attack he can drift in an out of a game but as the central attacker he needs to be more disciplined and going up against a fired-up Jamie Carragher he was ineffective to say the least. However he was Fernando Torres in comparison to Salmon Kalou whose completely inept display rivalled only that of Theo Walcott over the weekend for record breaking futility.

Speaking of ‘El Nino’, this really couldn’t be an analysis without the temperamental Spaniard.  Channelling the form of the striker who burst onto the Anfield scene against, who else, Chelsea. Torres picked apart the Chelsea rear-guard, on a day that John Terry would like to forget, he hussled and harried and generally looked like he was fit. His omission from the Europa League has been a success as he really hasn’t been ready for two games a week; in fact he was barely ready for one game. If he continues this level of fitness his form will continue, look at the picture at the top is that a man dissatisfied with his club? For me, he has been carrying an injury rather than being unsettled (of course I thought that about Rooney).

Finally, how is this winning the Liverpool way, well as I indicated earlier I’ve written about Liverpool before this season and had this to say:

“On the player front Liverpool still rely (too) heavily on three players. Steven Gerrard ( who is now playing better for his country than his club), Fernando Torres (who is far from his imperious best) and Pepe Reina”

Perhaps I can add Dirk Kuyt to that list but the point remains salient, Liverpool are relying heavily on their very best players (then again who isn’t) but until now they had not been performing. In one match it all clicked, Liverpool took the lead through Torres and then showed the defensive resilience which has not been evident until now either. Under Benitez this was Liverpool’s forté, relying on Torres, Gerrard and at one point Alonso to unlock defences whilst relying on Finnan, Carragher and Hyypia to be consistently solid at the back. This was the form that led them to a European Cup and to second in the league. A lack of investment strangled the quality out of the squad so only the core remains.  The players have changed, the squad is thinner but the future looks brighter for Liverpool fans.

Yesterday, the formation had changed, the team has been refined and more importantly form and confidence has been restored. Whether this is due to new ownership, a time to adjust to Roy and his training or just a regression to the mean (Liverpool couldn’t be that bad all the time). Whether this positivity is as ‘knee-jerk’ as the negativity was earlier in the season, only time will tell. For me though the changes have been made since St. Andrews, they’ve worked and there is only one man to take credit for that, Roy Hodgson.

Love him or hate him, Ashley Cole is the best at his position in England, and arguably the world. While this has been the case for many years (although I’m sure the Evra family might object), under Carlo Ancelotti Cole has transformed from an indefatigable left-back to an integral cog in Chelsea’s attacking strategy.

Fullbacks are an important aspect of any back four, of course, and the manner in which a manager utilizes this versatile position reveals their attacking intent. Overlapping fullbacks are a staple of most attacking outfits, combining with the wide men to enter dangerous space, or simply to drag defenders out of position to allow attackers more freedom to cut open a defense.

Ashley Cole has been the standard for the fullback position for years now. His tireless work on the left flank for Arsenal gave the Gunners that extra option in attack as he would race to the byline and whip in a decent cross, or simply (as stated above) supply an extra body the defenders had to acknowledge. It was always Cole’s unique ability to both know the right time to join the attack, and then to have the stamina to get back into sound defensive position in the event his team quickly lost possession. This is what has made him the best left-back in England for over a decade. Not to mention his ability to make Ronaldo and Messi look ordinary on more than one occasion.

But under Ancelotti, when Chelsea are in attack Cole has evolved into an auxiliary winger. On paper, the Blues line up in a formation much like this:

We can argue about slight variances, but this is essentially the formation Chelsea use. Within this basic framework, there is an abundance of movement between Drogba, Anelka, Malouda, and Lampard. Particularly those front three, and particularly when the Blues are playing an inferior team, as they have in the first three matches of this Premier League season. When Chelsea are dominating possession, the triumvirate of Drogba, Anelka and Malouda can meander about, dropping deep, going wide, playing high, basically anywhere they can positively affect play.

But with the liberty Ancelotti has granted these three, their tendencies often lean towards playing up the middle. Anelka is a natural central striker, as is Drogba, and for Malouda, he wants to play up the middle to more heavily influence the game, which has transformed him into one of the PL’s best players. These tendencies leave Chelsea a very narrow team at times.

Ancelotti has rectified this would-be problem by ordering Cole to act as his width.

Cole is no longer simply making those blazing, overlapping runs from deep, but he is being stationed on the left of midfield when Chelsea are in attack. He is a full member of the attack, maintaining some semblance of width for the side. We are seeing new runs from Cole: acute diagonal runs from shallower positions, deeper overlaps to release HIM into scoring positions, and coming infield to join Lampard and Malouda in attack.

In the first half of Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Stoke, Cole put on a masterclass of this “new-found” position. Perhaps Stoke aided in this by playing a back 5 with wingbacks and CB’s that rarely looked on the same page, but credit Cole for exploiting such weaknesses. Stoke could not cope with Cole’s attacking forays, and not for the first time this season, Chelsea’s best move of the first half found Cole on the end of it. A quick back-and-forth of possession led to Michael Essien placing an inch-perfect pass through to Cole, who scuffed his shot wide. The fullback was playing higher than any forward on the move.

Later, Drogba dropped deep and wide, while Cole raced into the box on an acute diagonal from the touchline. Drogba did well to lob a 15-yard ball over two defenders and find Cole, who, running towards the goal, one-time lashed it from midair on to the crossbar. A phenomenal attack, which underlines Cole’s new role in the high-flying Chelsea attack.

There are few elite fullbacks who can take on the responsibility of being a dual-role player. Brilliant attacker, miserly defender, Cole has pulled it off with flying colors, and Chelsea are the great benefactor.

Any thoughts?  Leave your comments below.

There is a current malaise effecting almost everyone in England that follows the national side, from fans, retailers, journalists and TV executives. The finger of blame is being pointed fairly equally between Fabio Capello and the highly paid, highly hyped and self important members of the squad. Ashley Cole, despite being the only first team regular who can honestly hold his head high after the South Africa debacle, is now being accused of hating his country due to text messages apparently sent prior to the tournament.

Yet there are two points that are seemingly being papered over and as long as it continues, England will continue to regress. Firstly is the ineptitude of the Football Association and the second is the quality of coaching in England. The F.A. board, when it’s not embroiling itself in comedy crisis that are usually self inflicted is a strange beast. Made up of a set of people who’s only interest is themselves and self protection, it is a collection of administrators and people who have progressed through the amateur ranks of the game.

On the 12 man board are 4 members from the County associations, representing those hotbeds of English football, Kent, Hampshire, Gloucesteshire and Essex. One member represents the Scottish football association, for reasons lost on me and 7 other members who have never played football at a decent level. This apparently means these people, who other than working on the administration side of football, are in charge of the English game, its infrastructure, its future and it’s present. An organisation that spent £760 million on a football stadium without a roof and a pitch that has now been relaid 13 times in 3 years. That has had 6 Chief Executives in 12 years and seen 6 different national team managers in the same period. That signed up to a £450 million pound television deal that lasted 18 months until Setanta went bust and treats the Women’s game with utter disdain. Apparently, this is without criticism as they survey the wreckage of South Africa 2010 from the ivory tower of Soho Square.

Why do these people, who have no experience of the game, other than the money making side or administrating side of it, feel they can run the football side of it astounds me. It is beyond belief that people of the abilities of Bobby Robson, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst, Nat Lofthouse, Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney were not involved over the years is a disgrace. This is the organisation that shut the Lilleshall Football Academy in 1999 and is still stalling on its replacement, in Burton Upon Trent which is currently 7 years behind schedule and will apparently be open by 2012. No really it will.

These are apparently all things that we should ignore. Well I’m sorry, you can’t ignore them anymore. Every single one of them should resign immediately, they have created the situation that English football is beginning to feel to its very core. They have strangled the talent, the abilities and the opportunities for skillful, exciting footballers and left us with an academy system that simply produces strong athletes that can run a lot and now clearly cannot play football. It is a national disgrace and leads me to my second point, the quality of coaching.

English football coaching is run by a cabal of men who are obsessed with power, pace, stamina, heart, guts and determination above any technical ability. Skill and technical ability come well down the list of priorities in the coaching system in this country. I have seen this at 3 clubs with my own eyes, players are judged on how strong they are, how tall they are, how long they can run about for. I have been told by two separate football coaches at two clubs that British Asian kids don’t make good footballers because they’re not strong enough. There was no hint of irony or the racial connotations that the statement conjours up. The last great crop of really talented players that came through in English football came through before the academy system came in to destroy any semblance of talent. This country will never discover a Messi, a Ronaldo, a Totti, a Ribery because they would be classed as luxury players. They would never get through the academy system in this country because they are not giants who can run all day. England and its fans often claim that the national side has 5 or 6 World Class players. South Africa has proved that it has one and everyone seems to hate him, Ashley Cole.

Only Rio Ferdinand can possible be held up in Cole’s company now, the rest have been shown to be the overhyped, cossetted athletes honest people believed them to be. Yet, this is what the English coaching system has produced and I’ve seen so many posts, letters and status updates berating the English teams lack of fight, guts, effort, strength. Hardly anyone mentions technical ability or skill and that’s the problem. Fans seem to only judge a player on how much he runs about and gets stuck in. Not the sweet pass, not the dribble, not an ability to control the game.

The situation will not improve until the coaching system is completely changed from top to bottom, allows kids under 16 to play football and not worry about results in junior games. Talent needs to take the place of the winning at all costs method kids have to suffer from, the mad situation that sees 10 year old children playing 11 a side games on full sized pitches that resemble bogs most of the season. No wonder the English players natural defence is to simply learn how to kick high and hard as often as possible. That sees parents of children scream abuse at referees, coaches and opponents if little johnny is tackled or doesn’t score.

Of course, the F.A. will not install this blueprint and will try and fudge South Africa as an aberration. It is not, it is a stark warning to everyone involved in English football of the future. Blaming foreign players, Adidas balls, only playing 4 rounds of golf a week, too much camp discipline or dodgy referees will be put forward as the reason for the death of English football. English football needs major surgery now or South Africa will be the starting point of the end of English football. I fear that once again, the F.A. will blame everyone else but themselves and we will slip away into the shadows of world football.

Please leave me your comments below and you can find me at https://twitter.com/paulbestall

Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Ashley Cole. An illustrious lot, these world footballing stars would make the starting XI of just about every squad on the planet and are known from the Midwest to the Midlands.

Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Tim Howard. While making strides in European leagues, this bunch do not exactly strike fear in their opponents.

But when these players clash on Saturday in Rustenberg, South Africa, you can throw their disparate reputations out the window. This is 90 minutes of football, and to the victor go the spoils.

This is where on the pitch the match will be won or lost:

Michael Bradley vs. Frank Lampard:

Coming off of another monster season where he scored 27 goals in all competitions, Chelsea’s heartbeat Lampard can dictate matches with expert passing and positioning, or by thundering a lightning bolt goal from 30 yards out. Because the U.S. does not employ a holding midfielder in their 4-4-2 formation, Lampard will be difficult to contain.

Unless American coach Bob Bradley alters his regular formation, his son Michael will have to be extremely disciplined and restrained in linking up with the U.S. attack, and will have to help his midfield partner (most likely Ricardo Clark, Edu, or Jose Torres) in denying Lampard the space between midfield and defense that the English star is a master at exploiting. Bradley is America’s best central midfielder, displaying good composure on the pitch and a fine footballing IQ. Rarely caught out of position, he will have to play his finest match to give the U.S. a chance.

Bradley and his partner will have to keep tight on Lampard, denying him the space he needs to operate. If given space anywhere on the pitch, Lampard has the ability to pick out a defense-splitting pass or simply reversing the field with accurate long-range passing. When the Chelsea talisman gets the ball, an American must press him and knock him off his rhythm, and never allow him to create his own long-range blast which can turn a game on its head in a heartbeat.

Landon Donovan vs. Glen Johnson (or Ashley Cole):

This matchup is dependent on where Bob Bradley elects to start Donovan. The better matchup for the U.S. is for their star player to line up against Liverpool’s Glen Johnson, for the simple fact that Ashley Cole is better than Johnson. For all his attacking flair, Johnson is vulnerable in his defensive positioning, and the U.S. must exploit this when given the chance.

In his time at Everton, Donovan showed that he can be a serious threat when operating as a true, old-fashioned English winger: running at fullbacks and to the byline, keeping defenders on their heels. This is beneficial for two reason. One, Donovan can outmaneuver Johnson and get past him creating dangerous situations for the English defense. And two, keeping Johnson back in defense negates his ability to contribute to the attack, where he is most effective.

If Bradley elects to start Donovan on the right against Ashley Cole, the task is a much taller order. Cole is arguably the best left-back in the world who has made Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo look devastatingly ordinary. With an indefatigable style, Cole can stifle any winger defensively, and after the opposition avoids his flank, he can act as an auxiliary left-winger for the English attack, whipping in fine crosses for teammates to latch onto.

Oguchi Onyewu vs. Wayne Rooney:

The tallest task for the American team is stopping Wayne Rooney, and much of that will fall on the broad shoulders of Milan’s Onyewu. “Gooch” lacked playing time at Milan due in large part to injury, so having to face the English Player of the Year in his first match is not exactly ideal. Although Rooney has looked subdued since his April ankle injury at Bayern Munich, do not doubt that Wazza will bring his A game to South Africa.

And unfortunately for the U.S., that A game translates into a very tough England team. Stopping Rooney is out of the question, containing him is not, however. It will have to be a team effort, and not solely on Onyewu and central defensive partner Jay Demerit. Capable of dropping deep to dictate play, spreading the ball around with near Xavi-like precision on his day, playing off the shoulder of defenders and turning them with world-class acceleration, or simply bulldozing his way into the box to score, Rooney is a true all-around attacker. The man is simply on another footballing level than anyone in the American side.

So how do Onyewu and co contain him?

Perhaps the best remedy, as Jay Demerit has publicly suggested, is to wind Rooney up, to get in his head to the point that he pulls one of his vintage meltdowns. That means coming in hard on the tackle, give him zero space, and get physical at every opportunity. Because if Rooney is allowed to meander about the pitch and control the match with nary a frustrating challenge, he could single-handedly win the game.

While there are many more intriguing matchups across the pitch, these three should be the most pivotal. The team that wins these encounters will win the match.

What other matchups do you consider key to the outcome of this much-anticipated match?  Leave your thoughts below.

Well the 30 players named in Fabio Capello’s England squad have had multiple trainng sessions and two games to earn their place on the plane to South Africa.

Now is the time that this squad must be trimmed to 23 players, meaning that 7 players will soon receive the dreaded phone call ending their World Cup dreams for at least four years if not forever.

I have analysed the squad and named the squad I would name for the World Cup; based on form, formation and ability.

In my opinion the following players should not make it into the final England squad for the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Michael Dawson

Matthew Upson

Stephen Warnock

Gareth Barry

Tom Huddleston

Shaun Wright-Phillips

Emile Heskey

In an attempt to rationalise and justify my choices, the list below shows the 11 players that I would consider guaranteed a place in the squad.

100% On The Plane

Defenders

With the goalkeeping spots decided by default, defence is the first area where a reduction in numbers needs to be made.

I will start by deciding who should definitely make the plane, due to the return from international retirement of Jamie Carragher, it can be deduced rightly that due to his versatility and experience, he cannot be left at home.

Alongside Carragher I would also include Ledley King in the squad, he has just about proved his form and fitness during a long and successful season with Tottenham.

With these decisions in mind, I think the first casualty of the squad reduction should be Matthew Upson, after playing consistently in one of the worse defences in the Premier League, he has shown little to warrant selection ahead of Ledley King or Michael Dawson.

I also think that Michael Dawson should be axed, as despite his solid form the inclusion of Jamie Carragher means that England already have four players that can play in the centre of defence.

The defensive quandaries are therefore reduced to deciding who should deputise for Ashley Cole at Left Back.

I would take Leighton Baines as a dependable back up option, with Stephen Warnock missing out in what feels like an unimportant coin flip between the two.

Midfielders

This is probably the hardest part of the decision process, as there are many players who have had flashes of brilliance, yet not shown enough to warrant automatic selection.

On the right there is a choice between Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright Phillips. The guaranteed spot should go to Aarron Lennon who is stronger, more consistent and a better all round footballer than the other two. I would then include Theo Walcott as an impact player from the bench if required.

The other wide options would be made up of James Milner and Adam Johnson who have both excelled this season and can play on both wings.

In the centre, I would make my most controversial choice by omitting Gareth Barry, he is injured and therefore is unlikely to be at his best for the competition. England have had enough experience of playing with unfit players to know it is better to cut their losses on this occasion.

I would replace Gareth Barry with Scott Parker, one of the most underrated players qualified to play for England, there is a reason that he is the only West Ham player not for sale this summer.

Finally I would omit Tom Huddlestone from the squad, opting to include Joe Cole as he offers something creative which in limited Chelsea and England appearances he has shown this season.

Attackers

Arguably England’s achilles heel, the partnership  options involving Wayne Rooney have not quite been resolved. Based on form Emile Heskey is the man to make way, having not scored since February and unable to hold down a regular starting berth at his club, it is time to accept that dispite his obvious qualities, he is not an international class striker.

Therefore Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent and Peter Crouch join Wayne Rooney as England’s striking options.

Overview of Preparations

The most worrying part of England’s preparation for the tournament has to be a lack of depth, with all the questions raised during the recent friendlies; I hope that Fabio Capello has more of a clue of his best 23 than I do.

The only comforter from recent performances is that very rarely are these true indicators of tournament performance.

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With less than 3 months to go until England’s first group game against the U.S.A on June 12th in the World Cup and one particular pair of positions are causing more problems than anyone envisaged. At full strength, the English full-backs picked themselves with Ashley Cole easily making a case for being the best left back in world football and Glen Johnson’s continual growth as a player. Now with Cole recovering from a broken ankle and Johnson returning gradually from injury, question marks have been raised.

This has indeed opened the door to one or two players that may have considered the chance to get to the World Cup firmly shut. The additional withdrawl of Wayne Bridge from international duty has left Fabio Capello with a quandary. Can he risk hoping Cole recovers in time or simply go with the two main replacements for the position Stephen Warnock and Leighton Baines.

Baines certainly seemed to get a leg up with his starting place in the friendly against Egypt, with Warnock left on the bench. The addition of Gareth Barry as a player who could play there could see that Capello may only take Baines and a half fit Cole, hoping he can recover his fitness toward the tail end of the season. It isn’t unfeasible to see such a situation but that could leave England weak if Barry were to suffer injury or suspension.

Taking Baines and Warnock, for me makes more sense. Warnock, has been impressing ever since he left Liverpool for regular football. His inclusion as an England squad player is long overdue in my opinion. He’s tough but fair, a great ball winner, can ping passes and is flexible in his ability to play not only as a full back, but a left winger and a defensive midfielder.

Baines whilst not as flexible, is certainly no slouch, his bombing runs down Everton’s left flank over the last couple of seasons stands testament to that and he’s a smashing dead ball player. For me, if Capello was looking for a player to fit easier in to the role that Ashley Cole fills for England, Baines is more that type of player Capello likes. Unless Cole stages a miracle recovery, I’d be taking Baines and Warnock. Poor old Nicky Shorey must be thinking what if…..

The opposite flank has seen the worries subside with Johnson’s return but he’s struggled with those annoying niggling injuries recently and with Liverpool having a mixed season in the best possible sense, we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that he doesn’t break down again. Though for all his lovely play going forward, he is still prone to defensive lapses and seemingly switches off still.

That’s not to say the positive doesn’t outweighs the negative, but it’s still a concern. At 25, he really needs to be ironing these errors out of his game but he still can cause more problems than he creates opportunities for the opposition. Fully fit, he’s got the number 2 shirt. My main concern is with the back up for Johnson and the problems an injury could cause.

I’m sorry, but I’ve never rated Wes Brown at all. Yes, I know he plays for Manchester United, Yes I know he’s got 23 caps for England but I just don’t rate him. No pace, consistently caught in possession and dreadful with the ball at his feet, I would be terrified if Brown was our reserve right back. I know he can fill in at centre half, but I don’t rate him there either and he has to be the most average player to have achieved the level of success he has.

Yet, I see salvation on the horizon but I’ll get to that shortly. Micah Richards, who burst on to the scene so memorably for Manchester City as a teenager has had his issues. As with most bright young things, a dip in form is inevitable and for Richards, it unfortunately coincided with Manchester City’s new found wealth. To his credit, he’s dug in and fought his way back in to the Manchester City first team. I have to say I was very impressed with him when he came on the scene, he has masses of potential and is still young.

Ironically, it was his transfer that began the fall out between Mourinho and Abramovich when the chairman refused to meet City’s £20 million valuation. The rest is history but I think this World Cup may be too soon for Richards and I would turn to one of English football’s most consistent and criminally underated players of the last 20 years. Gary Neville.

Now, for me, Neville has never been given the credit he deserves at all for his country. The 10 year relationship that he built with his best friend Beckham playing in front of him for club and country was astounding at it’s best. Both players instinctively knew were the other would be and that type of telepathic understanding of each others game is so rare in the modern game. Recently returning to fitness and at 35 years old, it would certainly be his last hurrah but Cafu played for Brazil until he was 36, so why not. Neville was easily one of the 3 best right-backs in the world alongside Salgado and Cafu.

So maybe a couple of surprises and two differing situations leads me to the following choices then:

If Ashley Cole amazes everyone, and I hope he does I’d take Cole, Baines, Johnson and Neville. If not my four fullbacks would be Baines, Warnock, Johnson and Neville. What do you think? Who would you choose as Fabio’s four full backs?

Is anyone in better form than Wayne Rooney at the moment? Image: MikeEgerton/Empics

The saying goes that ‘form is temporary but class is permanent’ and on many levels this holds true, however such a huge part of professional sport is the mental aspect of the game, which at the highest level can be just as, if not more important than the physical aspect.

With just 8 or 9 games remaining in the Premier League player form and the momentum it provides can be crucial to clubs fighting for something towards the end of the season.  Classic examples include Fulham’s great escape in 2008 and Kevin Keegan’s Love it Rant as the momentum of 1996 title race shifted in Manchester United’s favour.

With this in mind I have been looking at the form players in the Premier League and which players managers would potentially want in their sides for the season’s run-in, should they have their pick of the division.

Adopting a 4-4-2 formation for nostalgic rather than practical reasons, players in this XI have made at least 20 appearances this season and are free from long term injury.

Goalkeeper – Joe Hart

Birmingham are having a fantastic season, chasing a Europa cup dream and this is in no small part due to the safe pair of hands on loan from Manchester City.

A good shot stopper and strong in the air, it will be a travesty if Joe Hart is not on the plane to South Africa with England on current form.

Right Back – Branislav Ivanovic

After signing for Chelsea in January 2008 the Serbian international seemed to disappear off the radar and it appeared as if Chelsea had uncovered a modern day Winston Bogarde.

However when given the chance Ivanovic impressed the Chelsea faithful with strong, powerful displays at both the centre and right hand side of defence. The injury of Jose Boswinga has allowed Ivanovic to show his value on a regular basis this season.

Left Back – Leighton Baines

With the injury to Ashley Cole,an England debut and regular starting berth in a resurgent Everton side gives Baines the nod over Patrice Evra and Stephen Warnock.

Centre Back - Ryan Shawcross

Despite the publicity surrounding the tackle that broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg the 22 year old has received a positive response to his actions in the aftermath of the horror tackle. He has a commanding, committed style that fits into the Stoke ethos that has allowed Tony Pulis’ side to assert themselves in the Premier League.

Shawcross been one of the stand out defenders in the league this season earning himself an England call up and an outside shot at a place at the World Cup.

Centre Back – Thomas Vermaelen

Bought by Arsene Wenger as a replacement for Kolo Toure the Belgian defender has helped plug a leaky Arsenal defence with some commanding defensive displays.

Costing a seemingly bargain basement €10 million the defender has also shown a keen eye for goal netting an impressive 7 times already this season.

Whilst there have been some doubts over his ‘big game’ performances he edges others such as Richard Dunne and John Heitinga.

Central Midfield – Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League for many years despite his young age. This season has arguably been his best so far with the Spaniard adding goals to his creativity at the heart of the Arsenal midfield.

Likely  to make the first team at any club in the world, Fabregas is an uncontroversial central midfield choice.

Central Midfield – Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard has scored more than 20 goals in each of his last five seasons at Chelsea, despite having detractors dating back to his days at West Ham the player has a record that dumbfounds the criticism.

After a slow start to the season, attributed to his role in the Ancelotti diamond, Lampard has returned to form and looks set to reach 20 goals for a sixth successive season.

Winger – James Milner

Aston Villa are once again challenging at the top end of the table, and this can largely be attributed to the speed and skill of their wingers, although now being played centrally by Martin O’Neil, James Milner has shown he is adept out wide and adds versatility to this XI.

An English player having a fantastic season, Milner looks likely to play a large role in England’s World Cup campaign.

Winger – Damien Duff

After seemingly fading into obscurity at Newcastle a move to Fulham has rejuvenated Damien Duff’s career, back to his dazzling best he has won many plaudits this season and scored some incredible goals.

With plenty of attacking options in the league it is the work ethic and consistency of Damien Duff which has given him the edge over Ashley Young, Nani and Florent Malouda.

Centre Forward – Wayne Rooney

The easiest selection of the lot, with 32 goals this season Wayne Rooney has come to the boil in a World Cup year and is seemingly single-handedly dragging Manchester United towards yet more silverware.

Centre Forward – Didier Drogba

During his Chelsea career Drogba has been prone to sulking and picking up ‘minor’ knocks with greater ease than most, particularly odd considering his bullish style and excellent technique. Under Felipe Scolari it seemed as if his days in the Premier League were numbered, but under Guus Hiddink and now Carlo Ancelotti the striker is back to his best, hassling defenders and chasing down Wayne Rooney in a bid for the golden boot.

A tough choice but Drogba just about edges out Rooney’s former team mate Carlos Tevez for the second striker position due to his goal return and ability to terrorise even the strongest of defences.

Substitutes: Gomes, Modric, Young, Pienaar, Valencia, Heitinga, Tevez

There have also been many stand out performers this season that did not make the line up, for this reason I have named a strong bench. Last year’s villain Heurelho Gomes is now the hero at White Hart Lane and constitutes the goalkeeping option. John Heitinga is rewarded for his fine form by being named as the main defensive back up.

The game changing options are provided by a strong midfield quartet and Carlos Tevez.

A certainty less than a month ago would have been Ashley Cole who despite his off field woes was having his best season in a Chelsea shirt, before injury made him a doubt for the World Cup and gave England a left-back dilemma.

Interestingly notable players such as John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Rio Ferdinand have been left out. The reason for exclusion is due to either injury or in the case of Steven Gerrard them not being hitting the high expectations they have set in previous years.

All in all I think that any manager in the league would be happy to name this line up on form alone given the choice, it may not be the best XI in the league but on current form each player would be a test for any opposition.

Can Terry rediscover his form in time to rescue Chelsea?

For the entirety of the season, Chelsea have seemed poised to put insurmountable distance between  themselves and the nearest opposition.  Yet this moment never arrived.  Draws and losses, often at those crucial games, have seen them lose ground in the Premier League, till now the gap between first place glory and second ignominy is one point.

The question is, can Chelsea fulfill its promise of this season and reclaim the domestic throne, or will they once again see the trophy lifted elsewhere?

In this article, I’ll discuss the reasons that they’ll lose; in another, I’ll discuss why they’ll win.

1.  Defensive Injuries

Ashley Cole had been the world’s superlative left back until a recent injury.  An excellent defender and a constant option going into attack, Cole’s injury sees Chelsea lose a unique weapon.  His pace allows him both to neutralize opposition counter attacks and beat their defenders at the other end of the pitch.

In fact, Chelsea did have a more than adequate (and for £18 million, he should be) replacement in Yuri Zhirkov.  He too, is sidelined with injury, though not for as long as Cole.  Florent Malouda, an attacking winger, is now the starting left back.  Remarkably, he seemed totally capable against both Inter and Manchester City.

Even if he works in the makeshift back four, Malouda’s repositioning robs Chelsea of an attacking threat that, for parts of the season, had gelled very well with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.  None of his attacking replacements — Daniel Sturridge, Salomon Kalou, Joe Cole — have been able to reproduce the same cohesive, potent football that made Chelsea favorites among many spectators for much of the season.

Petr Cech’s injury is another large blow.  As witnesses to Chelsea’s recent home loss to Man City can attest, Hilario is not the same as the Czech in goal.  He’s not even the same as former backup Carlo Cudicini.  The first two goals he allowed against the Citizens were questionable, and many will be wondering how many points will be dropped if he continues to concede softly in Cech’s absence.

Even when players do return from injury, there’s no guarantee they’ll find their form immediately.  In fact, quite the opposite should be expected, although a match unfit Cole/Zhirkov and Cech are surely better for Chelsea than an out of position Malouda and Hilario.

2.  Fixture List and Form

Put simply, Chelsea have hard games with which they must finish out the season.  Though they have the quality to collect maximum points in March, a visit from Aston Villa could prove to be challenging, and after that, it gets only worse.  The Blues must play away to Man United, Tottenham, and Liverpool in the final month and a half of the season.

Manchester United also have challenging fixtures during the final stretch, but at least they have the luxury of facing Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham at Old Trafford.  They do have a tricky away match to their rivals Man City, but other than that, the challenging away fixtures have been navigated.

Arsenal have by far the easiest finale to the season.  They have two legitimately difficult matches in a home Man City game and visit to White Hart Lane.  Just three points off Chelsea, Gunners fans surely fancy hounding their rivals all the way to the end, especially with their respective fixtures in mind.

In any case, the fixture list favors Chelsea’s on form competitors.

Obviously, Chelsea’s form is also worrying, and not only in their dropped points.  The amount of goals they’ve let in over the past handful of games suggests a former strength turned weakness.  Admittedly, conceding 4 against Man City while fielding a wildly attacking force and playing two men down isn’t a fair estimation of Chelsea’s defense, but one must admit  the overall slackness in defending (now down to third in goals conceded, behind Villa and United) is not a good sign.

3. John Terry

Finally, the collapse of John Terry must be mentioned.  His form has been more than just suspect of late.  He allowed himself to be absolutely hosed down by Milito for the opening goal in the UCL Inter game, and put in another decidedly mediocre performance at the Bridge against City.  Normally poor form merits benching, but as the captain and emblem of Chelsea, no one is willing to do this.  Everyone throws their faith behind him and hopes his form improves.  Meanwhile, on the pitch, it depreciates.  This does not bode well for Chelsea, especially as the team relies on Terry for more than just defensive heroics.

Is all lost for Chelsea?  Obviously not.  It’s a top club with enough class to win the league and then some.  Coming soon, I’ll show how the Blues might do just that.