The BPL All­Stars

08/03/2014

Recently we saw New Orleans play host to the 63rd annual NBA All­Star weekend festivities, in which the Eastern conference beat the West, in a record scoring game, for the first time in four years.

If you’re not familiar with the NBA, the All Star game is an exhibition match to celebrate the best players in the league, and raise some money for charity (but mainly about the players’ egos, let’s face it) In the weeks leading up to the game fans voted for who they think the best players in each position are, the players with the most votes represent their conference in the highly revered All­Star game. And for an Englishman, peering over the Atlantic in the dead of night, it’s tempting to wonder what it’d be like if a game of similar format took place here, for the Premiership.

First off, given that we don’t have set conferences in the Prem, we’d have to draw up an arbitrary divide. I think North vs South works pretty well, with the line being drawn just below Birmingham, and snaking up above East Anglia (Yes, yes, I know, but that’s just so there’s 10 teams on either side, give me a break) For the sake of simplicity I think fans would be asked to vote based on a 442 template, and include one sub for each position. Below is how I think the vote would/could/should go:

Here’s what my predicted line­ups would look like:

North

With 7 clean sheets under his belt already this season, and the power of a huge number of Liverpool fans to vote for him, I think Mignolet would be almost certain of a starting place in goal for the North. Škrtel’s four goals grabs him a place in my Northern back four, in the same way Coleman’s five and Baines’ three secure them a starting spot. Zabaleta’s yet to find the net so far this season, but I think his five assists, the most of any defender thus far, more than make up for this, and go some distance to winning him some votes.

Yaya Touré is an obvious inclusion, having a spectacular season with 12 goals already, and an unbelievable record of seven goals from eight set plays! (three penalties, and four of five free­kicks ­ even more impressive when you compare this with Cristiano Ronaldo’s three goals from 67 direct free­kick attempts) Five of Gerrard’s seven goals may have come from the penalty spot, but the role he plays in anchoring Liverpool’s rejuvenated midfield is an important one, and having provided nine assists to his in­form strikers I think his inclusion in the All­Star team is a no­brainer. The other two midfield spots in the Northern starting eleven are not so clear­cut, however. Navas has had a fantastic start to his premier league career, but I think goven the extra time David Silva has had in a Man City shirt, to win hearts and minds, he would edge the voting, and with two more assists than Jesus I don’t think it would be too unjustified. That leaves just one spot in the middle of the park, and I think with six goals in his last seven premier league games, Adam Johnson’s revival under Poyet could sneak him a place in the team.

No prizes for guessing the two starting strikers from the northern clubs. Suárez and Agüero have been in blistering form this season, scoring 21 and 17 goals respectively, having both missed a considerable amount of games. No doubt the weight of support Wayne Rooney would receive from Man Utd voters would put him in the hunt of a place on the bench, but I think Sturridge really deserves it: 26 goals and 7 assists in 32 games for Liverpool so far, breaking Torres’ best effort of 24 goals and 3 assists in 33 appearances, can’t really be argued with, no matter how terrible that post­goal jig is.

As for who would join him on the bench, I’ve gone for: Tim Howard, for his nine clean sheets, Vincent Kompany, because he’s a key member of a Man City defence that has only conceded 27 goals in the league, and finally Coutinho for his ability to repeatedly open up defences with one perfectly placed through­ball.

South

The South would have some fantastic goalkeepers to choose from but I think two stand out as having particularly strong seasons. Norwich’s John Ruddy has been in superb form, keeping clean sheets in nine games, having faced a monumental 412 shots (second only to Cardiff’s David Marshall) but I think topping the clean­ sheets chart, and having a bigger fan base to draw votes from, would see Szcz?sny safely into the starting eleven. Arsenal’s defensive form would also earn Per Mertesacker a place, in my opinion.

The giant has been a rock at the back for The Gunners this season, and but for two thrashings at the hands of the league’s two top scoring sides, has made Arsenal look a much more solid unit. Southampton’s defensive record surprised a lot of people in the first half of the season, and although this solidity has somewhat tailed off, I feel José Fonte’s recent goal contributions would win him a spot. Terry’s re­integration under Mourinho has no doubt gone some distance to helping his Chelsea side concede the fewest goals so far this season, and with two goals to go along with his ten clean sheets, I think he would be deserving of a place. Tottenham’s Kyle Walker got off to a flyer, and although Spurs’ performances haven’t set the world alight he’s picked up nine clean sheets, and is a constant danger getting forward on the right wing, as his four assists show.

Eden Hazard’s inclusion is obvious really, the Belgian has scored twelve goals and is arguably the most exciting midfielder in the league when he has the ball at his feet.  Arsenal’s record signing, Mesut Özil, would also surely be up there, his eight assists and constant creativity has been a real boost to the North London side, especially in the absence of his Welsh teammate ­ who I have also included for his blistering start to the campaign, assuming we’re ignoring injuries for now. Adam Lallana’s season so far has put him right in the hunt for a place in England’s World Cup squad, and right into my Southern All­Star starting line­up too.

Up front the South would be somewhat short of options. Jay Rodriguez has ten goals for Southampton, so I think he is deserving of a spot, but as for who to join him…Lambert with eight in 25? Bony with eight in 22? Perhaps, but I’ve gone for Adebayor, simply because I think his form under Sherwood has been impressive enough to win him votes, eight goals in eleven appearances is decent by anyone’s standards. I think Giroud would make the bench, even though his strong start to the season has slowed considerably, ten goals and six assists is a reasonable return from the Frenchman, who will be looking to kick on now, and finish the season as strongly as he began it. Elsewhere on the bench I’ve gone for two Chelsea men? Oscar and Ivanovi?, for their ability to create goals out of almost nothing for the current league­leaders.

So who do you think would come out on top? Personally I’d stick a few quid on the north, that attacking prowess looks irresistible on paper.

How would your first elevens differ from mine? Who have I criminally overlooked?

Stats from:

www.soccerway.com
www.whoscored.com
www.thescore.com

This was written by a very kind contributor called Tomm, check him out on Twitter