Alternative Premier League XI – Team of the Season 2013-14

The season is over.

It’s almost been a week, and now that the season has come to a nerve-wracking end after an equally nerve-wracking timeline, it’s time to see who all made the Premier League Team of the Season.

Who are we to judge?

Not a bunch of over-paid men in suits who use dry humour to convey that the players they’ve selected for their teams of the year are part of the club they once played in. No.

We’re just sensible people who know how to read facts and statistics and can tell what is right and what isn’t.

The PFA Premier League Team of the Season looked like this:

PFA’s Team of the Season

While this lineup is nothing short of stunning, it has two or three inherent problems.

The formation is a flat 4-4-2, which is as good as defunct, and the last time it was used in play, it made you wonder why Tottenham chose Tim Sherwood, a Gooner, to manage their team.

This is hardly a defensive lineup.

Neither of the Liverpool strikers is known for their defensive work.

Mourinho is known to be miffed at Hazard’s lack of defensive awareness.

Toure almost cost City the title multiple times every time the innate striker in him woke up and ended up too far up the field.

Vincent Kompany has been almost as erroneous as Martin Skrtel, and that is something to say about the defender.

He isn’t the rock-solid Belgian boulder of the 2011-12 season.

LEFT-WING: EDEN HAZARD (CHELSEA)

Once again, there isn’t much dispute here.

He has single-handedly won several games for the Blues this season.

One hopes that he wishes to stay and be a part of Mourinho’s squad as his defensive work improves.

 

Fourteen goals and seven assists, though.

There isn’t much debate here, otherwise.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: YAYA TOURE (MANCHESTER CITY)

Once again, when the season started, it looked like Aaron Ramsey and Yaya Toure would finish with 20 goals each.

While Ramsey saw his season cut down by four months, Yaya Toure only lost two weeks at the end of the season to injury and saw his tally rise to 20 goals and nine assists in the League, which is bewildering for a 30+ player who many labelled at the dawn of the season as having been past his prime.

Arguably, the second-best player in the league this season after Luis Suarez.

CENTRAL DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD: STEVEN GERRARD (LIVERPOOL)

All one can do is feel bad about Gerrard.

While the start of the season was fairly quiet for the ageing Englishman, he picked up momentum and was pivotal to Liverpool’s resurgence from their drop in form midseason.

He was back to playing like the Gerrard everyone has seen growing up, making phenomenal runs and eye-catching passes.

It would have been more difficult to choose these positions had the likes of Aaron Ramsey been fit and had the likes of Yohan Cabaye not changed leagues halfway through the season.

RIGHT-WING: LUIS SUAREZ (LIVERPOOL)

Once again, the choice for Adam Lallana is a little baffling.

In no respect has Lallana done badly, nor do we question How good is Bradley Wright-Phillips.

However, he has done better as a central attacking midfielder who likes to drift to the wings and pass the ball behind the defence, and the likes of Rooney and Ozil have done a better job of it.

In this case, Luis Suarez has been moved to the wing because he is very good at stretching the play and putting in some amazing balls, as he did against Chelsea, where Coutinho kept moving in as the second forward, and Suarez played as a right-winger.

STRIKER: SERGIO AGUERO (MANCHESTER CITY)

Sergio Aguero has unfortunately missed 15 games this season to injury.

Despite that, he has scored 17 goals and made six assists in 23 games – 1 contribution every game.

In the form that he was in, you could have expected him to have gone on to score as many as Suarez, and it feels unbelievable that Adam Lallana was included over Sergio Aguero, irrespective of their different positions.

Aguero has worked best with a second striker to ease the pressure on him, though he has scored some brilliant one-man goals this season.

His 60% shot accuracy shows how lethal he is in front of the goal and the picture below illustrates how he can score from both sides of the box.

To not include Sergio Aguero in the Premier League Team of the Season is to sin.

Aguero had a diverse portfolio of goals this season.

STRIKER: DANIEL STURRIDGE (LIVERPOOL)

Once again, no surprises here.

Finally, the line-up cannot be a flat 4-4-2.

We opted for a more flexible 4-4-2, which is what it looks like.

It’s been a really exciting season, and this is the team to beat.

Adios 2013-14 Premier League Season.

Welcome World Cup and the Transfer Window.