Wayne and Rob’s EPL Team of the Week

By: Wayne Farry | December 9th, 2008

Hey, welcome to Rob and my new feature. Every week we’ll discuss between ourselves regarding who have been the best players at the weekend. We’ll base it on who’s scored, who’s got clean sheets, who’s had a one-off great game and who has been continuing their blistering form. So I’ll just kick it off then.

Goalkeeper
First off, in goals Rob and I have gone with Pepe Reina of Liverpool. Liverpool beat Blackburn 3-1 away and although he did concede a goal, that was more down to his defence as opposed to his own misgivings. One of the main reasons that he got this is because of his extraordinary save from Morten Gamst Pedersen’s long-range effort. It was a beautiful shot which Reina dealt with very well…

Defenders
So now to the backline. First off we’ve gone for the standout candidate, Joleon Lescott. He scored 2 goals for Everton against Aston Villa that in the end were in vain. His second goal was a cracker and one that a striker would be proud of. Secondly, we’ve chosen Nemanja Vidic. Throughout United’s game against the Black Cats Vidic was in control. He headed out every ball knocked in. More crucially however, he scored the 91st minute goal that won United the game and that could end up being a pivotal moment in this season’s campaign. Thirdly, we’ve chosen Anton Ferdinand of Sunderland. Although Sunderland lost to Man Utd at the weekend, they resisted United’s pressure for most of the match and Ferdinand Jnr. was key to the resistance. As he usually does, he played well against his big brother. Finally, after last night’s game we’ve chosen Spurs‘ Ledley King as our final defender. He scored a nice header, and although Spurs can only use him sparingly these days, whenever they do he’s usually their best player.

Midfielders
Midfield was probably the toughest of all the spots to pick player’s for. There were some great midfield performances this week and we’ve had to narrow it down. According to Rob, Setanta had Steven Gerrard in their Team of the Week. However, both of us agreed that he was poor in the Blackburn match, so that’s a certain no-no! There was one player that was a cert however, and that is Deco. His overall performance for Chelsea against Bolton was great and was capped off with a stunning bicycle kick. Like Lescott’s goal, any striker would’ve been proud of that goal. He continues to prove that he’s certainly not past it, far from it! Our next player is Jimmy Bullard of Fulham. His goal and general play against City was very good and his equalizer ensured that Fulham kept their good home record. Next, is a fairly obvious one, Ashley Young. The Villa star showed a masterclass against the Toffees at Goodison. His first goal from Jagielka’s pass back was pure opportunism and he finished it superbly. However, his winner was where it was at! The way he knocked the ball past Lescott and rifled the ball past Tim Howard was world-class and won an incredible game for Villa. For the final spot in midfield we were undecided. Were deliberated between Steve Sidwell and Michael Carrick. Sidwell scored a stunner in the early seconds of Villa’s match and had a fairly good game throughout. His tackling was good and his passing was brisk. Michael Carrick had a quality game for United against Sunderland. Like in his past few matches his passing was spot on and he ran most of the game through midfield. Also, it was shot that came off the post for Vidic to score the rebound. He had a controlled display that in my view was reminiscent of Paul Scholes. Due to his general influence throughout the match and control of the ball I’m going to choose Michael Carrick, although it was a really tight one.

Forwards
This one was fairly straightforward to be honest. First off we’ve chosen Michael Owen. The wee man may be injured half the time, but when he’s fit he scores, simple as that. His 2 goals against Stoke proved that, and with them he’s now scored 11 goals in his last 17 Toon games. That’s a great record. Another man with a great record is Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka. The Frenchman continued his ridiculously good form against his former club. He has a wee knack for scoring against former employers and he continued that, and his illustrious form against Bolton on Saturday.

So there we have it. It wasn’t easy but we’ve picked our EPL Team of the Week. Let us know whether you agree or disagree with our choices. The Carrick-Sidwell decision was a tough one, so maybe you guys think a wrong decision was made. Whatever you think, let us know. Feedback’s the name of the game.