Worst Premier League XI of the season

You’ll have seen my best XI of the season. Now it’s time for the worst XI! I’ve gone with a 4-3-3 formation for this one.

David Stockdale (Fulham)

He’s been Fulham’s second choice keeper for a long time now, but this season has seen him make 10 starts for the club, only because of Maarten Stekelenburg’s injuries. One clean sheet is all he has managed this season, which came in a home game against Stoke three months back. He has conceded 21 goals, averaging 2.1 goals conceded per game. Just a couple of weeks back he let in 6 against Hull at the KC stadium, a side who averaged less than a goal a game before their clash against Fulham. Then just a couple of days back, he conceded 4 against Sunderland at Craven Cottage. Before this game Sunderland had scored just one goal in their last 7 away games. On the bright side though he helped Tom Huddlestone get his haircut!

Ondrej Celustka (Sunderland)

It was when I thought about Celustka, it struck me that I didn’t know his first name, so I had to Google it. He’s made 18 appearances in the league this season, but none of them have been worth watching. A full back is supposed to be making runs down the flank supporting his winger, but Celustka doesn’t do too much of that. Plus his crosses don’t usually find their intended targets.

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (Newcastle United)

He’s made 13 appearances this season, started 9 of them. He could have started a lot more, but his rash tackles have made Alan Pardew scratch his head a few times this season. He’s already got a red and could have easily got another one for his foul on Samir Nasri a couple of days back. That tackle though will keep Nasri out for 8 weeks approximately.

Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)

Being one of the senior and experienced players of the side, David Moyes showed trust in the centre back pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic which has been so successful in recent seasons. Although Vidic was playing well, it was Ferdinand who was making mistakes like, misplaced passes, miscommunication with David De Gea when the side is being put under pressure by their opponents. He’s had a couple of injuries too during the season but the main reason for him sitting out is his poor form this season.

Patrice Evra (Manchester United)

He’s a good player when on the attack, but when it comes to defending, he gets outrun by his opponents more to his liking. He doesn’t show the same desire while defending when compared to his attacking ability. It is because of this reason, that Manchester United have been looking out for a left back lately. They have been linked with Leighton Baines and Fabio Coentrao, but nothing has been worked out yet.

Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace)

On loan from Southampton, Puncheon hasn’t made the impact when compared to last season. Last season in 2057 minutes of league football, Puncheon managed 5 goals and 6 assists. This season in 1306 minutes, 1 goal and 2 assists is all he has managed. His latest disappointment being the penalty miss at White Hart Lane last week which probably cost Palace a valuable away point to say the least. Many are calling his penalty the worst of the season and I think so too.

Juan Mata (Chelsea)

Chelsea’s player of the year for the last two seasons, but that didn’t matter to Jose Mourinho. He benched Mata for half the games and has succeeded in taking away Mata’s form. When Mata eventually got his chance due to Oscar’s injury, he started 4 consecutive league games during that period, scoring and assisting zero goals. With Willian, Oscar and Hazard in such fine form, I don’t think Mata is going to get too many more starts this season. He’s made many appearances off the bench too, but most of them haven’t made too much of an impact. 2 assists is all he has against his name.

Michu (Swansea City)

He was one of the best players in the league last season. This season’s been a disaster for him. Some would argue he’s played a lot of Thursday night football and is starting the games on Sunday as well, but he should be doing a lot better than 2 goals and 1 assist. His failure to perform in majority of the games is a main reason Swansea are just 3 points above the relegation zone.

Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham)

He used to be one of the most feared players in the league during his time at Manchester United. Now he’s as good as not there on the pitch. He’s lost his passion, his desire, his hunger to do well. For most of the game he’s just walking around with no intentions of involving himself into the game. Although he has shown improvement since Martin Jol got sacked, I don’t think we’ll see the old Berbatov again.

Roberto Soldado (Tottenham Hotspurs)

Much was expected after his 26 million pound transfer from Valencia, but Soldado has been nothing short of a disappointment this season. Tottenham broke their club record to sign Soldado and this is how Soldado has repaid them. He poor form could also be one of the reasons Spurs sacked Andre Villas Boas. Soldado has scored just 5 goals in the league this season, 4 of which have come from the penalty spot. Even Tim Sherwood’s continuous faith in him has seen Jermaine Defoe move to the MLS.Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)

He started off the season excellently. 3 goals in his first 2 games and then another one 2 games after that which made it 4 in 4. He got an injury in the next game against Norwich and that injury did his season in. Even though he came back after 2 games out, all his remaining games got him nothing. Then again after a few games he got injured which kept him out for 3 games this time. Return from that injury didn’t help either. His barren run still continued. It was only last night against Arsenal that he finally got on the scoresheet. Even though Villa lost the game 1-2, their fans should be relieved that Benteke has ended his goalless hoping he continues to score now.