How do you define value? It’s a difficult thing to quantify. In football terms at least, it’s the players who are of the most use and importance to their respective clubs. This won’t be a list of the 20 best players in the Premier League for example, as bigger clubs obviously have more money, pulling-power and a greater number talented players at their disposal than those that battle it out for relegation.
No, here I’ll go through each Premier League club and try to pick out just the one player from each side and explain why I view them as the club’s most valuable player – a player of quality so important to their style of play that it would be to the whole team‘s detriment if they weren‘t in the side. For some clubs it’ll be easier and for other more contentious. If I have made any heinous errors of judgement on your respective clubs’ most valued players let me know in the comments section below…
Click on Fabregas below to launch Part 1 of the most valuable players in the Premier League
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England national team head coach Fabio Capello hinted that he will make changes for the crucial World Cup Group C showdown with Slovenia, after seeing his side labour to a 0-0 draw with Algeria.
Capello's side gave an insipid display in Cape Town, leaving them needing a win on Wednesday to ensure a place in the knockout stages in South Africa.
The Italian commented:"We still have to play another game and we hope that will be happier.
"I don't know if it's pressure or we're not in a good moment. We lost too many balls, it's not the same team I know.
"We played a good team, but we played too slowly. The players play well during the training – I don't know why it is.
"I want to see the spirit of the team and I didn't see it this evening. I said to the players it wasn't a good performance, but we are really lucky because we can play another game and I'm always confident in my team."
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"I don't like to speak about individual players. When you don't play well it's because of the team.
"I can change the tactics, I will try to do something different. It won't be difficult to lift them before Slovenia – they know what they have to do."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Carlo Ancelotti has hinted that he would relish a return to management in England with the big clubs in England. The Italian suggested that Wenger is up against it Arsenal, while claiming that with Capello set to be replaced by an Englishmen for the national team there is likely to be a vacancy to fill at the end of the season (Tottenham job anyone?)
Elsewhere in the news today Everton pledge action on unruly fans; Maiga wants Newcastle move, while Chelsea toy with Stadium move.
Capello wants a win in Montenegro
Ancelotti wants management role in England
Chelsea toying with Stadium move
Revenge on Scholes’ mind
Everton pledge action on unruly fans
Wenger gives up on title ambitions
Niall Quinn moves roles at Sunderland
Maiga wants Newcastle move
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Marseille moved to second in Ligue 1 with a 2-1 triumph over Saint-Etienne at the Stade Velodrome on Saturday.The match was poised as a battle between fourth and sixth prior to kick-off, with Marseille leading Saint-Etienne by four points as both sides search for a Champions League berth for next season.After a goalless opening hour, Marseille broke the deadlock in the 68th minute through Lucho Gonzalez, who found the back of the net after Andre-Pierre Gignac had cut the ball back into his path.Striker Loic Remy doubled the hosts’ advantage 11 minutes later when he tapped in a partially-blocked shot, before Christophe Landrin pulled a goal back late for the visitors.Valenciennes produced a late fightback to secure a 2-2 draw away to Caen.Benjamin Nivet and Sambou Yatabare put Caen two up at the Stade Michel d’Ornano, and they were on track for a vital victory to lift them above Valenciennes on the table.But Gregory Pujol set up a dramatic finish with an 80th-minute goal, before Steven Langil broke Caen hearts when he equalised in the 88th minute for the visitors.Brest ensured Monaco would remain in the relegation zone with a 2-0 win at the Stade Francis-Le Ble.The home side went ahead in the 14th minute through Jonathan Ayite, and the striker netted his second late on after Monaco’s Adriano Pereira was dismissed in the 89th minute.Sochaux shot back to form with a 3-2 away win over Lens, turning around a run of one win in seven league games.Both sides played more than half the match with 10 men, but it was all Sochaux early as Nicolas Maurice-Belay and Modibo Maiga netted in the opening half-hour.Lens pulled a goal back in the 36th minute via Issam Jemaa, before Sochaux’s Kevin Anin and Lens’ Toifilou Maoulida were sent off in the 42nd minute.Alaeddine Yahia put Lens back on level terms in the 59th minute, as they looked for a point that would have moved them above 18th-placed Monaco.But Ryad Boudebouz produced the winner for Sochaux in the 66th minute.Auxerre and Arles drew 1-1, a result that helps neither side in their respective relegation battles, with Arles still rooted to the bottom of the table 14 points behind 19th-placed Lens.In the later game, Lorient bounced Bordeaux 5-1 in an incident-packed encounter – headlined by a Kevin Gameiro hat-rick – that sends the winners to seventh on the table.Midfielder Morgan Amalfitano put Lorient ahead in the 14th minute, with fringe France striker Gameiro putting his side 3-0 up with a three-minute salvo not long after.Brazilian Fernando Menegazzo pulled a goal back five minutes later, and Bordeaux were offered further momentum to draw back into the game when Lorient defender Franco Sosa was shown a second yellow card.The dismissal only seemed to galvanise Lorient, who extended their lead once more through a penalty from former Portsmouth midfielder Arnold Mvuemba on 61 minutes before Gameiro’s hat-trick-sealing goal in the shadows of full time wrapped up the 5-1 win.More salt was rubbed into Bordeaux’s wounds when goalkeeper Cedric Carasso was sent off in the 90th minute.
After leaving Liverpool last Thursday Rafa Benitez already looks set to move back into management by taking the vacant job at Inter Milan after Jose Mourinho departed to Real Madrid, but can he be a success at the club?
His six-year-tenure at Liverpool saw the club win the Champions League, the FA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Community Shield. Arguably Benitez didn’t achieve as much success as he should have, and last year’s dismal campaign which saw the side finish 7th in the league was the final straw for the Anfield board. Although winning the Champions League was an incredible feat and so was getting to the final two years later that wasn’t enough success for him to keep his job.
However his next challenge now awaits and it looks to be managing Inter Milan, he will have a tough act to follow as his predecessor won the treble last season which pretty much means that he will have to win at least one trophy in his first season there. His tactics which same under a lot of scrutiny from the English press will no doubt be more suited to the Italian game as Benitez is a very defensive-minded coach.
Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has already sung the praises of his former coach by saying that he would be perfect for the Inter Milan job. Mascherano said:
“Only Benitez could take the place of a coach like Mourinho, he is a great coach. He has charisma, personality, a winning mentality.” He added: “Moreover, he will find himself brilliantly in Italy because of the tactical game. Rafa studies everything on the table and directs the team from the bench like a orchestra conductor. After Mourinho, he is the only man capable of continuing Inter’s winning run.”
Despite these praises, Benitez has had to cope with a lot of pressure during his time at Liverpool and whilst winning the Serie A title with Inter will be a lot easier than winning the Premier League with Liverpool due to the inferiority of the other sides. Therefore the expectation will be greater than at Liverpool because they had a lot of strong sides to compete with and in Italy the competition simply won’t be as fierce. At times it looked like the pressure got to Benitez at Liverpool so he will have to make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen whilst in charge of Inter.
It will be interesting to see how individual players cope under Benitez’ management, players like Maicon who love to get forward at every opportunity could be made to adapt his game to suit that tactics Benitez employs. A big question will be the future of Mario Balotelli, the youngster who recently revealed he had a love-hate relationship with Jose Mourinho, and Benitez will surely be looking to keep him at the club. Benitez was criticised in England for failing to develop any youngsters at Liverpool with the likes of Stephen Warnock being sold to Blackburn Rovers, before moving on to Aston Villa and is now in England’s World Cup squad. So it will be interesting to see what happens with Balotelli.
Benitez should do well at Inter Milan as it won’t be as tough as managing Liverpool and with Inter President Massimo Moratti already praising Benitez before he has even signed a contract. It shows that he is going to get the full backing of the owner which is something he never had at Liverpool and was one of the reasons why Benitez couldn’t do a better job at the club. He may not have the charisma of Mourinho but Inter fans can be confident that their period of domination in Italian football looks set to continue for a few more years at least.
Do you think Rafa Benitez is the right man for Inter?
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Chelsea look set to beat rivals Arsenal and Tottenham in the race for Bolton defender Gary Cahill when the transfer window opens in January the Metro understands.
Stamford Bridge boss Andre Villas-Boas is keen to strengthen his back line and it’s now being reported that the Blues have an agreement in place to sign Cahill.
The 25-year-old was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal and Tottenham in the summer with both clubs failing with late bids for the player who’s form over the last 18 months has seen him become a regular in the England setup.
Valued at around £15 million by the Trotters boss Owen Coyle described the offers from North London as ‘derisory’ but with Cahill’s contract expiring at the end of the season his price will be significantly reduced come January.
It’s likely the centre back will look to leave the Reebok Stadium at the start of next year with Bolton currently rooted to the foot of the Premier League table.
With Cahill looking to maintain his place in the England squad a move to Chelsea will appeal to him as they can offer Champions League football as well as a chance to challenge for the league.
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I’d be interested to know what Tottenham supporters make of their activity during the transfer window. It appears that Spurs were out-priced in their persuasion of a top strikers to come to White Hart Lane and you can see their frustration at that. Aguero, Forlan, Rossi and Carroll were all enquired upon but a deal could not be reached with any of them.
So should this lack of activity be seen as good business or was it a missed opportunity?
My would answer to both would be yes.
Chelsea are desperate, it is the first time since 2001-02 that they might realistically fail to qualify for the Champions League. They have thrown cash at the problem, £70m of cash. For Chelsea, money is not their shortfall, it is players. It would be more stupid not to invest the vast amounts of cash they clearly have, than it is crass to do so. If this is not something that the Tottenham board are willing to do, then I say fair enough.
Rio Ferdinand said on Twitter yesterday:
“David Villa cost £34m… an integral member of successful Spain team and played regular Champions League… UK market is crazy right now!”
Is Torres really worth £16m more than Villa? Is Andy Carroll worth £1m more than him?
The answers are no and no. Ferguson said there was ‘no value in the market’, and there has been some very poor business this window. In fairness to Liverpool, they had the money and absolutely needed the player. Chelsea’s desperation seems to be at the root of this madness.
This window, transfers have come from either within the Premier league, from Germany or Holland. With unsuccessful offers of £40m for Aguero and Forlan and £30m for Rossi, you might ask why Spain was such a hard place to buy from.
I think lesser Spanish clubs have fallen victim to associating the hype and success surrounding Barcelona and Real Madrid and the Spanish national team with themselves. In reality, last year, Barcelona and Madrid finished above third placed Valencia by 28 and 25 points respectively. The gap is vast, and all the Spanish World Cup winners play for Barcelona anyway.
Not only do they have an over-inflated opinion of their own club, but also of the standard of the league they play in. The results are that players are more inclined to want to stay in Spain (Aguero and Forlan), and that Spanish clubs value their own players too highly (Rossi). This is why, unfortunately, Tottenham could not buy from Spain.
Yet the question remains, should Tottenham have bitten the bullet and brought in additional players anyway?
Their aim has to be to finish in the top four again. This is harder this season with the amount of investment from City. Spurs need to start scoring some goals and their strikers are not providing them. Spurs’ front men will struggle this half of the season, especially when compared to those of the teams above them in the table.
Given the choice, would you prefer Rooney-Berbatov, Chamakh-Van Persie, Tevez-Dzeko, Torres-Drogba-Anelka or Defoe-Crouch-Pavlyuchenko?
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There is no contest.
After an appalling performance at Fulham Harry commented that his lads were running on empty. This should not be the case given that players like Kranjcar have hardly played all season. Additionally, this January has seen Tottenham ship out Bentley, Keane, O’Hara and Giovanni and replace them with Pienaar. Before January the squad had good depth, now it is looking thin. So while they may have been only fringe players, their departures have turned a strength into a weakness. Unlike the other top 5 clubs, Tottenham actually needed to strengthen this window.
What makes this even worse is that Tottenham have only kept 5 clean sheets this year and in the recent cup game the defence looked especially thin. It seems without Bale, Tottenham have very few positives to speak of.
Ferguson’s comments on value are true to his side, who sit at the top of the league, look gelled and are yet to lose. The same cannot be said for Harry Redknapp’s. So while it might have been poor business for Man United to buy this transfer window, it may prove to be even poorer business for Tottenham to not invest at all.
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Daniel Agger has stated that he wants to stay at Liverpool, despite interest from Manchester City.
The Denmark international has been linked with a move to the Premier League champions, and Brendan Rodgers has confessed that the Etihad Stadium team have made contact.
With reports of a bid in the region of £20 million for the Scandinavian a move was touted, but Agger has stated that he wants to stay at Anfield.
“I’d rather stay,” the centre half told The Guardian.
“I can’t imagine playing for any other club in England but you never know if the club think it’s better to sell me.
“I know there has been interest from Manchester City, but I don’t know what Liverpool are responding to it. I am fine with my situation. The club will have to find out what they want to do. I’ve heard nothing from them. I’d rather stay but that decision is not up to me at the moment.
“Yes, Liverpool can do a deal even though I have two years on my contract. But no, I haven’t changed my mind on the subject. Some times you can end up in a position where it’s not your decision.
“I don’t want to be somewhere I am not wanted but I would prefer if they want me to stay. That is my first priority,” he concluded.
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Spain striker Fernando Torres has been told by international manager Vicente Del Bosque that unless he starts scoring for Chelsea, he will not feature for the world champions.
El Nino was not even named on the bench for the Spaniards 6-0 win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday, with the European side having an embarrassment of riches in attack, and was forced to watch the game from the stands.
Del Bosque has explained his selection process, and urged Torres to start finding the net for his club if he wants to feature in Euro 2012.
“Torres is an important player, but those who stand out with their clubs will get the call to the national team, not the other way around,” the former Real Madrid boss told the Spanish press.
Sevilla striker Alvaro Negredo started the match on Tuesday, scoring two goals, and reveals that Torres congratulated him on this feat.
“He came down to the locker room after the game and congratulated me. I’m not going to get into whether he was upset or not. I would understand it if he were, because it is not pleasant to come and then not play a minute. But he is still a great team-mate and one of the national team’s captains,” the forward stated.
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Torres has had an ill-fated time at Stamford Bridge following his £50million move from Liverpool in January, and will find the competition for first team places even more intense this season with the summer additions of Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku.
Back at the start of the season, Heart of Midlothian were 150-1 to win the SPL and become the first non-Old Firm club since Aberdeen in 1985 to take the league championship. After beating Rangers 1-0 on Saturday, those odds shrunk to a remarkable 7-1, the bookies it seems are slowly warming to the idea of a serious title challenge from the Edinburgh club.
However, the club have been here before, and not so long ago. Back in October 2005 a Hearts side managed by former, Ispwich Town manager, George Burley stood six points clear at the top of the division after a scorching start to their league campaign.
Almost inevitably, it could not last. Hearts owner, Vladimir Romanov, already had a reputation for erratic behaviour behind the scenes, and in the months after his takeover in January 2005 it was becoming increasingly clear that he would not take a backseat in team affairs.
Even so, the news coming out of Tynecastle after the Jambos’ 2-0 win over Dunfermline that Burley had been removed from his post was a major shock, one that registered on the back pages across Europe.
It would be naïve to suggest that Burley’s departure cost the club a shot at the title that season, considering the experience contained within both of the biggest clubs in Scotland, there was every chance that with over two thirds of the season to be played that the championship could have gone anywhere.
The dismissal of Burley, followed by a controversial and fractured spell in charge for former Arsenal midfielder, Graham Rix, signalled a slump in the Jambos’ fortunes. A solitary Scottish Cup, the only silverware to show for the last five years.
Looking around the division, Hearts could not have chosen a better time to rise again. Both Old Firm clubs are in some considerable strife, and are in genuine jeopardy of seeing the championship trophy leave Glasgow for the first time since the first Police Academy film was in cinemas.
Rangers, in major financial trouble, have had to kiss goodbye to the league’s top goalscorer, Kenny Miller, no longer able to pay the wages many Championship sides would be able to handle. As a club they did themselves great credit as they pushed Manchester United and Valencia all the way in their Champions League group, however a lack of penetration at the highest level was blindingly obvious, and with the loss of Miller, the second half of the season will be tough.
It is not by any stretch a vintage era for Scottish football. The national team have not appeared at a major tournament for 13 years, and very few players see football north of the border as a viable option, either financially or in terms of career development. The period of UEFA Cup and Champions League glory nights look to be a thing of the past.
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Celtic head the division, and meet their rivals from Edinburgh in a crunch clash on Wednesday night. The Bhoys were well beaten when the two clubs met at Tynecastle earlier on in the year, however, were Hearts to repeat the trick the title race would genuinely be wide open.
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