AuthorJeffEyesRimmer At the beginning of this season I predicted a few players that I thought might do well. It was a mixed bag of youngsters, superstars, loaners and last chancers. That article I wrote for our fellow bloggers over at Sporting Mad and that article is linked below. So how well did I do? Well, there were some good and some bad picks. Below were my predications and some info on how they went this season: The Youngster - Lewis Cook (Bournemouth) - Unfortunately the 20 year was sidelined for much of campaign with a persistent ankle problem and so we didn’t see too much of him. He played a few games in the League Cup but we are hoping to see more of the youngster next season. He couldn’t repeat the trick that the former young player of the year (Dele Alli in the Championship) but hopefully next season he can be more fortunate with injuries.
Honourable mention: Rob Holding (Arsenal) – Arsenal spent over $90million this season, their best signing was the $2million signing of Rob Holding, says it all doesn't it. The Fresh Start - Joe Allen (Stoke) - This might have been Joe Allen’s best ever season. After a great Euro 2016 with Wales Allen moved to Stoke, being unwanted at Liverpool and made 36 appearances this season. He scored 6 goals; his best ever return and was probably Stokes best player this year. I might have been exaggerating when I said it would be a master-stroke by Mark Hughes bringing Allen to Stoke but I wasn't far off. Allen was named in the Euros team of the tournament and he brought that form to his new club. A good season all round for Allen. Honourable mention: Nathan Redmond (Southampton) - Redmond scored on his competitive debut, with the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw at home to Watford, not a bad way to start his saints career. His scored 6 goals this season in an up and down campaign for Southampton but has been a success on the south coast. The Step up – Jordan Rhodes (Middlesbrough) – well this was the big failure of my picks. Rhodes just wasn't trusted by any manager at Middlesbrough, and couldn't do what others like Deeney, Ings and Austin had done previously. Based on Boro only scoring 27 goals all season maybe they should have given him a chance though rather than loan him out to the Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. He made 18 appearances and scored 3 goals on loan, but he might be needed next season when Boro look to bounce back to the EPL. Honourable mention: Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley) – A total of 20 appearances this season and a mixed bag for Gudmundsson. A passing accuracy of 69% isn't the best but he does have a work ethic that seems to appeal to Sean Dyche. The Big Name Player - Zlatan Ibrahimović (Manchester Utd) – And some people said he wouldn't cope with the EPL. Well he made a mockery of that. It’s a shame that the season ended with an injury and potentially it spells the end of his Manchester United career. We hope not because 17 goals in the EPL suggests that he still has plenty in the tank. He has just added his first European trophy to his medal haul as well. Honourable mention: Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City) – Well he looked good until his season ending injury, to be honest I had forgotten about him. The Import - Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) – I'm not sure how to describe Xhaka’s first season for Arsenal? He has been brilliant in patches and then very poor in others. Overall it’s been an ok season but he needs to cut out the daft red cards. Being a $33million signing though means Arsenal fans have a right to expect more than ok. Honourable mention: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea) – scored the goal that won Chelsea the league, he is an expensive sub but might be offered more of chance next season. I hope so as well, I think he’s a good striker. The Loaner - Alvaro Negredo (Middlesbrough) – I thought he might turn out to be the capture of the season. I was a little wrong there. It was a difficult season for Boro as they were relegated but Negredo can return to Valencia with some pride (not much though) having scored 7 of the 27 goals that Middlesbrough managed to score this season. Wow, that’s just a little sad really. Honourable mention: Gokhan Tore (West Ham) – Who? Well this was an error of judgement, only made 5 appearances this season. The Freebie - Joel Matip (Liverpool) – Put simply Matip has been a fantastic free signing for Liverpool from Schalke. It’s now a question of who Kloop brings in to partner him in the defence, when he hasn't been present Liverpool look lost. A total of 5.6 clearances, 1.6 interceptions and 1.6 tackles per game shows his worth. Honourable mention: Havard Nordtveit (West Ham) – A decent season from Nordtveit with a total of 16 appearances throughout the season. An average of 77% passing accuracy is respectable but for a defensive midfielder 1.1 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game is just not good enough. Better things will be expected, but not bad at all for a freebie. The Bargain - Steve Mandanda (Crystal Palace) – The 32 year old looked decent between the sticks but only made 9 appearances for Palace this season due to two injuries preventing him from establishing himself. Which is a shame because Wayne Hennessey was hardly any competition. Honourable mention: Victor Wanyama (Tottenham) – a fantastic signing for Spurs and a bargain at $12million. A total of 35 appearances, passing of 82%, average 2.5 tackles per game. He allows players like Dele Alli and Christian Erikson to flourish. The Justify your Price tag – Paul Pogba (Manchester Utd) – Well it’s hard to say that Pogba has justified the fee paid for him but he has not been as bad as some people have said. He has helped United to two trophies this season, putting in a wonderful dominant midfield performance in the Europa League final. I think he just needs a rest and will be awesome next season. Honourable mention: Jordon Ibe (Bournemouth) – didn’t justify the price tag in any way. There you have it, the players that I mentioned at the beginning of the season. I think to think that I picked more winners than losers in the end (that’s a first). Who else deserves a mention? Previous article: http://www.sportingmad.com.au/epl-201617-players-to-watch/ Go check out the Sporting mad guys Podcasts when you get a chance. |
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