Players Who Haven’t Shown Up Yet

It’s been only 8 games into the season, but some of last season’s headline makers haven’t got going yet. Here’s a list of players who really need to pull their socks up for their clubs to succeed.

1) Arsenal strikers

At the start of the season, every football pundit in the world was talking about Arsenal not strengthening in the forwards department. Having brought in only Petr Cech, and announcing that Danny Welbeck was set for a long lay-off with injury just one day after the transfer window slammed shut, Arsene Wenger was clearly putting a whole lot of faith in Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud.

In 8 premier league games, the gunners have scored 13 goals, but only 4 have come from the Arsenals strikers. Both Walcott and Giroud are guilty of not taking their chances, and even missing gifted opportunities in front of goal.

With Chelsea misfiring, and Manchester United having a hit-and-miss start to the season, Arsenal’s title push against Manchester City lies firmly in the hands of their English and French attackers. If they fail to produce an end product in the next 5-6 games, City could well be on their way to an easy title victory.

2) Chelsea midfield

Enough and more has been said about Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas’ poor form this season, but an article about underperforming premier league players is unfinished without mention of the Blues’ midfield pair.

Amidst Jose Mourinho’s media misadventures and Chelsea’s horrible start to the season, Hazard and Cesc are the key to turning the club’s fate around. Last season we saw how destructive the pair could be and to say they’ve been underwhelming this season would be an understatement.

What’s needed is simple – goals from Hazard, and assists from Fab. Where they get it from is down to the players and the Blues’ boss. One thing is for certain, if the two midfield maestros fail to get going, Chelsea are in for a rough ride.

3) Harry Kane

Last season Harry Kane stepped up to the plate and scored 21 goals to lead Tottenham Hotspur to a 5^th place finish. This season, he has scored just 1 in 8 games. It’s quite possible that opposition managers have directed their defenders to play a lot tighter on the English striker after last season’s exploits, but great players and managers need to learn to adapt and evolve to such situations.

Even without Kane’s goals, Tottenham haven’t struggled this season  - what with a 4-1 victory over league leaders Manchester City and a seven game undefeated run since their loss to Manchester United in the season opener. Nonetheless, 4 of those seven games have been draws, and draws do not make for a successful 4^th spot challenge. If Spurs are to achieve their long standing hopes of finishing in the Champions League spot, they’re going to need goals, and Harry Kane better find his bag of them soon.

4) Wayne Rooney

3^rd on the table and tied on points with 2^nd place Arsenal isn’t a bad situation at all for Manchester United. What is a bad situation though, is their striker Wayne Rooney’s form – One goal in 8 premier league games.

The England hero’s football career has forever been in the spotlight and now, more than ever, is coming under scrutiny as the goals dry up. The media hype around every game will not help relieve the pressure on Rooney, but hopefully for United, Van Gaal’s latest acquisition – Anthony Martial, could.

With Depay looking in good knick, Martial keen to make a name for himself, and Juan Mata finding his form again, this could be the best time for Rooney to find his shooting boots and get going. The 3-0 loss to Arsenal showed just what Manchester United are missing – a sharp, quick attacking force that can punish teams on the counter. Right now, with Wayne’s form, all they’re doing is knocking the ball around until the England captain boots it out for a goal kick.

5) Coutinho

Arguable Liverpool’s best player last season – Philippe Coutinho hasn’t quite carried his form forward into 2015-16. 1 goal from 25 shots, and 2 assists in 8 games is not a record to boast of.

Jordan Henderson’s absence means Coutinho’s freedom to roam is a little limited, and departing manager Brendan Rodgers might not always have given Coutinho a license to shoot, but now that the boss is gone, Phillipe needs to make the most of this opportunity.

It’s almost certain that Jurgen Klopp will come in to replace Rodgers and what that means is that Coutinho’s aggressive approach will be favoured a lot more. Klopp’s mentality and approach to the game could be the turning point in Coutinho’s season and career. It’s only a matter of time before the Brazilian makes a name for himself, or goes down as a one-hit wonder.

Too much pressure on International players?

Are international players treated differently than English players in the league? Are they under too much pressure?

There is no doubt that the English top division boasts the highest spending power in all of Europe’s football leagues, a fact that is backed by the presence of world-class international players at the leagues smaller clubs. Just have a look at this list:

1)     Stoke City – Xherdan Shaqiri, Ibrahim Affelay, Bojan Krkic

2)     Crystal Palace – Yohan Cabaye

3)     Newcastle United - Georginio wijnaldum

4)     Swansea City – Andre Ayew

The most telling statistic to come out of this list is that Stoke City now boast of a squad that has more Champions League winners than Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City put together!

Foreign players have made it clear that their intention with moving to lesser premier league clubs is to be seen by the English elite. It’s a pathway for them to prove that they can compete at England’s extremely intense levels, and possess the quality to play for a top English club. What this does is it makes the premier league a highly competitive competition where every game has to be taken with utmost seriousness.

It’s become increasingly difficult for managers to rest key players, and conversely, clubs are heavily reliant on their star players to shine. This is all great for football fans that now get to watch nail-biting matches, week-in week-out. Sadly, there is an inverse effect that the quick turn-around demands of the league and the pressure of performance have on international players.

In the past few years, we’ve seen big names like Angel Di Maria, Mario Balotelli, and Radamel Falcao walk in and out of clubs in the matter of a year. Eliaquim Mangala is relegated to the Manchester City bench, as is Juan Cuadrado at Chelsea. It’s quite clear that premier league clubs and bosses do not have much patience when it comes to form and output. Gone are the days when international signings were allowed a season or two to adapt to a new country, its language, the new manager’s tactics and so on.

If you look at some of the premier league’s greatest international players, you’ll see that a lot of them took time to fit into their role. Dennis Bergkamp took 7 games to score his first goal in Arsenal colours and scored 11 goals in his first season. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a combined 18 goals in 3 full premier league seasons at United before hitting his peak form. Didier Drogba took his time and finished his first season at Chelsea with just 9 goals.

The fact is simple - when you take a player out of his usual, comfortable setting and throw him into a new, foreign land - his life is disrupted. No, he doesn’t forget how to play football, but he might not been mentally 100% to play at his peak. Footballers are humans too and they need to get acquainted with their new surroundings, teammates, manager, club, environment – the whole lot, before they can play their best football.

With intolerance towards player performances growing, we’re going to see a lot more foreign players leave England after a season or two. The end result will be more Messis and Ronaldos playing in Spain or Germany, and fewer of them in England – in the end, the EPL and its fans will be the real losers.

Top 10 WORST Footballer Haircuts Of This Generation

Is it just us, or have footballer haircuts been getting more and more ridiculous off late? Everyone has a buzz line here or an afro there. What happened to the good ol’ days of normal hair and fantastic football?

Footballers these days have been taking their hairstyle game to newer levels. It’s quite clear that they have no obligation to be “formally” dressed anymore, what with the ridiculous wages they earn, but what they really need to realize is that they’re role models for football fans world over – and often the easiest way to emulate your footy hero – is to get the same haircut!

It was okay seeing every kid sport a David Beckham spike do or a Cristiano Ronaldo waxed mop, but now things are getting out of hand. We for one, hope never to encounter fans of these players sporting their ridiculous haircut:

1) Gervinho

The man whose head looks like a living room.

2) Niklas Bendtner

The “I am a big baby” hairdo.

3) Bacary Sagna

Mr. Maggi Head.

4) Ratinho

This is what happens when your head gets stuck in the nets.

5) Raul Miereles

It seems Raul passed out on the beach and a bird built a nest on his head.

6) Joe Cole

We’re assuming he had a lizard on his head that the barber just trimmed around.

7) The many dos of Mario Balotelli

We just pity the parents of any kids who are huge fans of Mario.

8) Luis Ronaldo

Ronaldo took the 2002 Brazil world cup by storm. And so did his barber.

9) Cristiano Ronaldo

The one where his hairstylist watched too much anime the previous day.

  

10) David Luiz

The one true mop.

  

We’re sure there are tonnes more out there, so if you’ve got one in mind, or have spotted one recently – let us know in the comments below!