Stoke City

Premier League Wishlist: Part 2

Chris McGlynn EPL, Soccer , , , , , , , , ,

Continuing from where we left off, this is what is topping each Premier team’s wishlist as they head into the January transfer window. To see Part 1, click here.

Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United: Left Back
If you want to maintain that you belong in the Premier League, then Paul Dummett cannot be your best option at left back. Massiado Haidara has mixed in with him as well but neither one is ready to be a starting full back in England. The Magpies have allowed the second most goals in the Premier League this season. Some of that can be attributed to the rash of injuries at keeper but the poor play at left back definitely does not help.

Nathaniel RedmondNorwich City: Striker
In their return to the Premier League, Norwich has held their own, but if they plan to stay here they are going to need some attacking help. Youngster Nathaniel Redmond leads the team in scoring at the moment with only four goals. Cameron Jermone is the leading scoring forward with just three. Norwich needs to spend a little bit to bring in a quality goal scorer. In 11 out of 17 matches, Norwich has been held to one or fewer goals. That cannot continue if they want to start thinking about year 2 in the top division.

Morgan SchneiderlinSouthampton: Creative/Controlling Midfielder
To say that Southampton are reeling is a bit of understatement. This team finished just outside of a Euro League spot last year but find themselves in the bottom half this season with a lot of question marks. The departure of both Nathaniel Clyne and Morgan Schneiderlin over the summer has left this team starved of creativity and reliability. Infusing a player that can control the pace and create chances will give Southampton the boost they need back into the top half.


Bojan KrkicStoke City: Attacking Midfielder
Go ahead. Try to score against Stoke. It has been nearly impossible to net one against Mark Hughes side this year. That is a credit to the backline and the play of the rising star in Jack Butland Stoke have in between the pipes. Despite that, Stoke are midtable with the worst offense in the league. Scoring only 14 goals in 17 matches is a recipe for disaster. The lack of scoring options on the team is astounding. Stoke only have four players to score for them this season, and they are all strikers. Hughes needs to have someone from the midfield who can pose a threat as a goal scorer to push this team higher up the table.

Billy JonesSunderland: Defender (Any Position)
Sunderland are in danger of relegation. They sit just five points behind Newcastle and Norwich, who are just above the relegation zone, but the Black Cats are going to need some major defensive overhaul to stay up this year. Sunderland has allowed the most goals by any Premier League side this season, almost two per game. John O’Shea is on his last leg and Billy Jones commits a lot of fouls. This team needs to find some new blood to reinvigorate one of the worst backlines in European top division football.

Bafetimbi_GomisSwansea City: Striker
To say Swansea need some more scoring options is an understatement. Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis have accounted for 11 of Swansea’s 15 Premier League goals this season. As a result, Garry Monk is gone and Swansea is in free fall. Finding a reliable goal scoring option to supplement Ayew and Gomis would stop the bleeding and put Swansea back on track for staying in the Premier League.

TottenhamTottenham: Controlling Midfielder
Spurs reach the halfway point in a Champions League spot with a healthy goal difference. Spurs have only lost twice the whole season but have drawn a league high eight times. If Tottenham want to make a push for the top then they are going to need to control the game a bit more to avoid giving up late goals. They have a tendency of blowing late leads. Finding a midfielder who can hold possession and run with the ball late in games could prove to be the difference maker between Tottenham being good and great.

Troy DeeneyWatford: Keep Deeney and Igahlo
You might even be able to add Etienne Capoue and Nathan Ake to that list. They have been the core that has led Watford to a Europa League spot in their first season back in the top division. To say Watford has been impressive is an understatement. Deeney and Igahlo have been at the center of that. Deeney has scored five goals while setting up four goals. Igahlo has scored a whopping 12 goals and even chipped in two assists. Watford could easily finish in the top half if they can keep their key pieces in place.

Saido BerahinoWest Brom: Goal-scoring option
I doubt they will care where the goals come from but West Brom needs to score more. So far this year, they are averaging a goal per match and the teams leading scorers only have three goals to their names. Saido Berahino hasn’t helped the situation much with his refusal to play at times, especially when you consider that he is one of those players for West Brom to have scored three goals even though he only has eight starts to his name.

Enner ValenciaWest Ham United: Sell Enner Valencia
He played a lot last season but this year, Valencia has failed to work his way into the first team. He has been subbed on four times this season and has failed to make any sort of impact after joining the fray. He notably said that the club had forgotten about him. It is pretty clear that he is not fitting in and he has only scored four goals in his now year and half with the club. If West Ham could find a taker in the vicinity of the £12 million they paid for him last summer, the Hammers could look to improve the midfield and invest in a young defender or two to ensure future success.

 

Advertisement

The best Premier League players from each club

Chris McGlynn EPL, Soccer , , , , , , , , ,

This is the first of a two part series where we identify the top player on each English Premier League team. Big thanks to my friend Jack Venezia for helping me out with this one. 

Jordan AyewAston Villa
Jordan Ayew, Forward
Aston Villa just barely survived the Premier League last year placing 17th in the English top flight. To make matters worse, captain Fabian Delph and star forward Christian Bentke have left Villa for Manchester City and Liverpool respectively. However, both of those players went for hefty fees, leaving Villa’s manager Tim Sherwood a lot of money to play with. So far, Sherwood has spent all of that money on two things: replacing Delph and Benteke and giving Villa’s defense a much-needed overhaul. Idrissa Gueye from Lille looks to take Delph’s spot in the midfield while Jordan Ayew signed to help alleviate the loss of Benteke. Considering that Benteke scored or assisted just about every other goal Aston Villa scored since he joined the club, Jordan Ayew has the biggest shoes to fill. However, I would like to add an asterisk to this decision. Since Villa placed 17th last year, they are literally the worst team from last year still in the league. That means that more than just Ayew will have to step up this year if they expect to see improvement.

Eden HazardChelsea
Eden Hazard, Wide Midfielder
Chelsea won the league last season and still have one of the most star-studded rosters in the world. It is difficult to say who is the most important player on Chelsea, because they have some many tremendously good players. Even if Diego Costa went down with an injury, Chelsea still have Loric Remy and Ramadel Falcao waiting in the wings to take his place. This is true at practically every position. Hence the difficulty in picking Chelsea’s best player. Personally, I am going with Eden Hazard. He won best player in the league for a reason. Not to mention Hazard is only 24 years old. He is both the present and future star of this team. If Chelsea wants to repeat as champions, Hazard must perform. 

Romelu_LukakuEverton
Romelu Lukaku, Forward
After a disappointing 11th place finish, Everton will be looking to return to their winning ways. In the 2014/2015 season, Everton scored 13 fewer goals than the year before and had 5 fewer shutouts than the year before. Everton’s worst spell ran between the end of November and March. A span where Everton only had two wins, five draws and nine loses. That spell can likely be attributed to Tim Howard’s winter injury. Still, all of the onus cannot be placed on Howard’s injury. As mentioned above, substantially fewer goals were scored. This lack of goals was likely due to Samuel Eto’o being a flop of a signing. That means the pressure falls on Romelu Lukaku as Everton’s most important player. He is being asked to be THE goal scorer for this team and there are not many options behind him. Plus, Everton shelled out more money for Lukaku than any other player in club history. If Lukaku disappoints, Everton will be in deep trouble.

Philippe CoutinhoLiverpool
Philippe Coutinho, Attacking Midfielder
Last season was slightly disappointing for Liverpool, placing 6th in the Premier League. Liverpool’s goal is always a top four finish and qualification for the UEFA Champions League. A positive aspect to last year’s disappointment was the play of Phi         lippe Coutinho. Coutinho is obviously the most important player on for Liverpool right now. He will have many new players around him in James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Christian Benteke, but Coutinho must be the glue which holds this new group together. With the loss of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, the team will need a new leader on and off the field; Coutinho is in poll position to pick up where Gerrard left off. I am not saying that Coutinho will be replacing Gerrard, but Coutinho can take control of this team and lead it where he likes. 

Wayne RooneyManchester United
Wayne Rooney, Forward
Manchester United finished fourth in the Premier League last season, just barely reaching their goal of Champions League qualification. Over this summer, Manchester have been wheelin’ and dealin’ with transfers both in and out of the club. The biggest of exit had to be the loss of Robin van Persie. Even though RVP didn’t always impressed at United, he gave them more options up front. With van Persie out of the picture, Wayne Rooney is the only pure striker on United of first team quality. I know Memphis Depay was brought in, but it is looking like he will play as an attacking midfielder rather than a second striker up front with Rooney. When you look at Man U’s midfield (Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Juan Mata, Memphis Depay and Ashley Young just to name a few) I have little doubt that Rooney will get the service he needs either. It might seem like a forgone conclusion but I am pegging Rooney as United’s most important player.

Nathan_RedmondNorwich City
Nathan Redmond, Winger
After only one season in the Championship, Norwich have rejoined the ranks of the Premier League. Due to Norwich’s promotion, their numbers form last year sound a lot better than they actually are. Therefore, picking the most important player becomes very difficult. To be honest, in the short term, I cannot point to any one player on the Canaries who has a more important job than another. Cameron Jerome has the weight of scoring goals on his shoulders, Steve Whittaker has to hold down the team defensively, and Nathan Redmond is expected to be the set up man. All of them played well in the Championship but will have to play better to stay in the Premier League. However, in terms of Norwich’s long-term success, Nathan Redmond is 21 years old and may carry this team for years to come if they stay in the Premier League. On a side note, if Norwich fall back to the Championship after one season, I have a feeling Redmond will be picked up by a bigger name club.

Bojan KrkicStoke City
Bojan Krkic, Forward
Stoke City finished in the top 10 of the Premiere League, their best ever finish in the Premiere League, last season. Stoke’s manager Mark Hughes is also an interesting one. He has a very deep team and is apt to use that depth across the board. For example, no one striker played more than 28 games last season. However, that statistic may have been different had Bojan Krkic not gone down with an injury. Krkic is a product of the Barcelona academies and has often been compared to Lionel Messi due to his size, speed, and footwork on the ball. If Krkic can stay healthy, (a big ‘if’ considering last season’s injury was not his first) he can do wonderful things for this football club.

Gylfi_SigurdssonSwansea City
Gylfi Sigurdsson, Winger
Swansea also had their best ever finish in the Premier League sitting at 8th place. Moving forward, Swansea have added a few new players up top with Andre Ayew, and Eder. Both of these players will be supplemental to Gylfi Sigurdsson, who finished third in the league in assists. Sigurdsson spent a lone spell with Swansea back in 2012 and now returns on a permanent transfer. He is the nucleus to this team’s offense. Like many other players who I have named to be most important to their respective teams, Sigurdsson is relatively young at 25 years old. As is Swansea’s manager at 36 years old. This team is playing well now and looks like they will be playing well for quite some time. 

Etienne_CapoueWatford
Etienne Capoue, Defensive Midfielder
Coming from the Championship, Watford have brought a lot of players in this season. That is most likely a result of Watford’s two previous visits to the Premier League, where they were immediately relegated. Fortunately, Watford already have two good goal scorers in Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo who combined for 41 goals last season. However, I believe new signing Etienne Capoue will be just as important as those two. Tottenham was willing to part with Capoue because he never broke into the teams staring 11. Now, he has the job of protecting Watford’s back four from the Premier League giants. If Capoue is a bust, it might not matter how well Deeney and Ighalo play. Similarly though, if Capoue plays incredibly it wouldn’t be able to make up for a lack of goals. I think Watford has a solid chance of staying the top flight of English football, but I am not making any guarantees.

Winston ReidWest Ham
Winston Reid, Center Back
West Ham had a lackluster season last year finishing just 13th in the Premiere League. An interesting statistic I found was that the Hammers lost more games in which they scored first than any other team in the league. Even more surprising is that they lost 20 such games. Let me reiterate that: West Ham was lost the lead in 20 games. Therefore scoring goals is not the issue for this team. Instead, I believe West Ham need more defensive help. Luckily, they do not have to make any big trades to find it. Center back Winston Reid played phenomenally two seasons ago but was injured last season. With Reid’s return, West Ham can hold onto a few more of those leads.

To see part two of this series, click here.