Tag: Ander Herrera

Five-a-side TOTW: April 18th 2017

by MikeFranchetti, posted in Five-a-side TOTW

Picking an eleven is hard; picking just five is even harder.

Just over a month to go in Premier League and things are getting lively at both ends of the table. It has, however, become quite a slog to select an interesting five-a-side team every week. We’re in the home straight now so we’ll soldier on. This week Manchester United swept past Chelsea to blow the title race open. We’re being serious this time; Chelsea have reasons to be worried.

Goalkeeper – Simon Mignolet

It finally seems that Mignolet’s transition from Liverpool’s burden to ‘actually quite a good keeper’ is complete. He deserves plaudits for stopping Matt Phillips’ big chance to earn West Brom a point but it was his general command in a very tricky fixture that gets him back into our five-a-side team. Simply put, Reds fans (i.e me) no longer wince in fear every time the ball comes into the box.

The Nullifier – Ander Herrera

The Premier League’s prime pick-pocketer put in another perfectly polished performance to force Eden Hazard into anonymity in Sunday’s big fixture. After Nemanja Matic prodded the ball into Herrera’s loose arm early in the first half, the Spaniard broke and pushed a precise pass round David Luiz and into the arching run of Marcus Rashford (who duly tucked it away). He capped his performance by drilling home United’s second, albeit courtesy of a nasty deflection.

The Ball Player – Kevin De Bruyne

It seems as though everybody has forgotten about Manchester City since they tumbled out of the Champions League and lost to Chelsea. Nevertheless, it seems as though their squad are benefitting from time outside the spotlight. Sergio Aguero is inching back to his best alongside the red hot Leroy Sane, but perhaps Kevin De Bruyne’s recovery in form will be the most pleasing development. At his best he is a joy to watch. He was the puppet-master of City’s lethal counter attack against Southampton before lifting a second assist onto the head of Aguero in the closing moments.

The Runner – Xherdan Shaqiri

I’m a huge fan of Xherdan Shaqiri and perhaps only his crippling inconsistencies are stopping him from landing a move to a top club. He blasted in a cracking goal against Hull City and was instrumental in his side ending their woeful run of defeats. He’s a little man full of big moments and is still Stoke City’s most valuable player. The Potters need to overhaul their squad but the Swiss superstar is one who should be retained.

The Finisher – Marcus Rashford

Rashford’s performance against Chelsea did wonders to silence his doubters. Is the Englishman good enough to influence big games? Should he really be considered on equal footing to Zlatan Ibrahimović? Will he carve himself enough goal scoring opportunities? On Sunday’s performance the answer to all three of these questions would be ‘yes’. He beat Asmir Begovic with coolness inside the opening ten minutes and caused Luiz, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma plenty of problems alongside Jesse Lingard.

Mike Franchetti

Five-a-side TOTW: December 13th 2016

by sddsimmons, posted in Five-a-side TOTW

Picking an eleven is hard; picking just five is even harder.

There were 29 goals in the six Saturday games, but only 7 in the four games played on Sunday. Chelsea returned to the top of the league after briefly vacating their place to London rivals, Arsenal. A Fernando Llorente doubled helped Swansea record back-to-back home wins for the first time this season against fellow strugglers, Sunderland, and Manchester United won at home in the league for the first time since August the 19th. Elsewhere, Manchester City lost 4-2 at reigning champions Leicester, and Burnley beat Bournemouth 3-2 at Turf Moor after suffering three successive defeats.

Goalkeeper – Lukasz Fabianksi

Fabianski makes his first appearance in our 5-a-side team of the week. It is hardly surprising that it has taken this long; the Pole has let in 31 goals in his 15 games this season, the most of any keeper in the league. Saturday’s 3-0 win against Sunderland was only their third clean sheet of the season. Fabianski was in good form and will be happy to have kept out his relegation rivals.

The Stopper – Phil Jones

For an awfully long time now Phil Jones has failed to live up to expectations. When he burst on to the scene at Blackburn Rovers he looked to be one of the finest prospects in the game. He did enough to convince Sir Alex Ferguson to pay almost £17 million for him when he was just 19. Unfortunately, he has never kicked on. Still only 24, this is really his make or break season. Mourinho seems to have given him confidence, and he has enjoyed a decent run in the side in recent weeks. United have a wealth of options at centre back already, and are constantly being linked with new additions to their backline. However, if Jones continues to demonstrate the form he showed against Tottenham this weekend then Mourinho may think twice before dipping into his transfer kitty.

The Enforcer – Ander Herrera

This man has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent months. Signed by Louis Van Gaal two summers ago, the former Bilbao player has often looked to lack the steel required to succeed in the Premier League. However, United’s poor form, and an inability to find a balance in midfield let to Mourinho moving Herrera into more of a sitting role. He has excelled, and has been one of the most consistent midfielders in the league this season. Excellent on Sunday against Tottenham, he kept Mousa Dembélé and Dele Alli relatively quiet. Herrera’s discipline allows Paul Pogba to have that little bit more freedom further up the field, something which United fans have been crying out for ever since he joined for a world record fee in the summer.

The Playmaker – Mesut Özil

The German was in brilliant form at the weekend, and capped his impressive display off with a deft headed lob over Lee Grant in the Stoke City goal. Özil does occasionally look to be uninterested and can sometimes look to be a bit lazy. However, when he wants to turn up he is an absolute joy to watch. Not many players would have made the run he made, let alone had the audacity to lob the keeper in that fashion. It really was an excellent goal, and an important one too, as it gave Arsenal a lead that they were not to relinquish.

The Finisher – Jamie Vardy

It took 12 games, but Vardy finally broke his goal scoring duck for Leicester. His hat trick was his first since scoring one for Fleetwood Town against Ebbsfleet way back in February 2012. All his goals were very much vintage Vardy. He timed his run impeccably for the first goal and finished superbly beyond Claudio Bravo. His second was a wonderful team goal. Christian Fuchs’ searching pass picked out Riyad Mahrez who laid the ball perfectly into the on rushing Vardy’s path. He rounded Bravo before finishing well. The third was just pure opportunism. Manchester City had been aimlessly passing the ball around their defence all match, and Vardy used his intuition to read a predictable back pass from his England colleague, John Stones. Once again, Leicester’s No.9 rounded Bravo before finishing brilliantly from an acute angle. Leicester have been struggling in the league this season, however the performance against City will certainly give them some much needed confidence. Vardy’s hat trick was also a timely reminder to all those who had been saying he was just a one season wonder.

Five-a-side TOTW: November 22nd 2016

by jackbenparker, posted in Five-a-side TOTW

Picking an eleven is hard; picking just five is even harder.

Sunderland claimed back to back victories, and Manchester City claimed a valuable three points at Crystal Palace. But who made it into our five a side team of the week?

Goalkeeper – Jordan Pickford

What a season Jordan Pickford is having! Last season he was on loan at Preston North End, this season he is keeping Sunderland from sitting at the foot of the table. His recent performances have been great to watch and against Hull City he was on top form, again. Five crucial saves and a clean sheet helped Sunderland to their much-needed second win of the season. At the moment, he is one of the best shot-stoppers in the league. A long career ahead.

The Anchor – Virgil van Dijk

Saturday’s fixture at St Mary’s looked set to be a difficult tie for The Saints as they hosted an inform Liverpool team who have scored on average three goals a game this season. However, it was the performances of both van Dijk and José Fonte that stood out at the full time whistle. Though, lucky to not give away a (much debated) penalty, van Dijk was in commanding form epitomised by a superb last ditch sliding tackle on Sadio Mané. There is not doubt that Southampton will need to fend off a few of his suitors come January.

The Middleman – Yaya Toure

Yaya Toure has resurrected from the Manchester City reserve team, much to the demise of Crystal Palace. After a behind the scenes bust up with Guardiola (and a not so behind the scenes rant from his agent) Toure was given a surprise start at Selhurst Park. He was yet to feature in the Premier League the season but you wouldn’t know it. Toure was commanding against Palace. He was a constant threat going forward and ultimately made the difference for City with his brace. It is difficult to say how much he will be involved in City’s title challenge, but he certainly provided the surprise of the weekend.

The Box-to-Box Midfielder – Ander Herrera

This is a player who has come alive under José Mourinho. Since joining in 2013, Herrera has done little to prove he is up to the standard at Old Trafford but this season he has been one of their best players. His work rate and distribution were a joy to behold against Arsenal, keeping United on the front foot and allowing players like Paul Pogba to acquire positions further up the field. If United are going to make it back in to the top four they will need more of their squad to make such improvements.

The Finisher – Victor Anichebe

If you are a Sunderland fan: Victor Anichebe might be the man to save your club this season. Last year Jermaine Defoe saved them from relegation but thus far it is looking like a tall order for the striker to carry the club on his own. Up step Anichebe. The hold up and link up play between Defoe and the Nigerian forward caused Hull City all sorts of problems. He was strong, physical, perhaps at times fortuitous, but most importantly he was clinical with two goals to show for it. His first Premier League brace since 2006. Sunderland will need performances from him to ensure Defoe, and their survival hopes, doesn’t burn out before May.

Jack Parker