I started this discussion for the last two seasons about this time, I am interested to read peoples thoughts on this, note this is not who is not about who is going to win awards as that is calendar based and we are talking season here and also sadly many of the awards are now largely a popularity votes, lets concentrate on who have been the best players this season...
In the Premier League, Hazard, Sanchez, Kante, Mane, Ibrahimovic, David Luiz, Rose, Alderweireld, Kane, Alli, De Bruyne, Defoe, Pogba, Lallana, Coutinho, Heaton, Moses, Azpilicueta, Costa, Lukaku, Firmino, Herrera, Walker.
What do you guys think of Hazard's form this season? Particularly, Hazard and Sanchez always impress me when in form. In La Liga, Messi and Modric stand out for me, though I haven't been following La Liga closely this season. NOTE: And I'm glad that David Luiz is having a good season with a big team in a big league. He gets a lot of shit for his NT career, but overall, I've seen him play well against good teams a good number of times, so in that sense I'm glad that he's so far has enjoyed a good season (I mean, it's been pretty horrible for him over the past few seasons, which I think was somewhat unlucky).
Totally agree re Hazard and Sanchez, I believe they are (just like two seasons ago) the best two players in the PL, next I would throw in Costa and probably Mane and also Kante who sometimes is unbelievable re ground covered and tackles, interceptions made. Zlatan has been good and I am a big fan, but I have seen a far few average games and missed chances to put him with the top two, still 3-4 months left though. Agree re Messi in Spain but also I have not been following La Liga that much, I have much more Serie A and impressed with Higuain this season at Juve and Dzeko has been great for Roma. I have also watched a bit more Ligue 1 this season and Cavani has had his best season in France by a mile.
La Liga Ronaldo - Griezmann - Messi Modric - N'Zonzi - Kroos Marcelo - Ramos - Pique - Carvajal Rulli Premier League Hazard - Costa - Mane Pogba - Kante - Lallana Rose - Alderweireld - Luiz - Valencia De Gea Serie A Dybala - Higuain - Dzeko Pjanic - Nainggolan - Mertens Sandro - Bonucci - Rugani - Hysaj Buffon
Good lineups. Surprised to see Pogba and Lallana in your Prem midfield. Who else did you consider for those spots?
The formation Conte's using really suits him (or should it be he really suits the formation?), much more than a back four does.
Mostly agree, but I wouldn't include Heaton (he faces a lot of attempts, but most saves are those you would expect a keeper to make). I would add Valencia and Gueye as well. Possibly Antonio. Van Dijk before his injury maybe.
Dele Alli De Bruyne Well that's about it. For all the criticism Pogba has received he's been of the best mids this year. Lallana's having the season of his life
I think maybe Eriksen and Silva have shown signs that by the end of the season they could be in the mix, with a continued run of top form between now and then. Maybe that's the category I'd think of Pogba as being fairly placed in too though actually.
I think although he did well a couple of season ago too obviously, it really suits Hazard too (and likewise to mention him again Eriksen at Tottenham similarly I think). It's probably not as simple as this, but this season does seem sort of proof that sometimes a formation(/formation change) can win titles. In theory it takes an attacking player out of the line-up, but the extra freedom given to the likes of Hazard seems to make up for that - sometimes we like to speculate on these boards about which modern positions old legends would play in todays game - I think someone like Faas Wilkes would probably thrive in the role/position Hazard has now - in some ways it's not that different to the old inside forward role, except no wingers are on the outside so it's half-way towards wing-forward I suppose and players like Hazard can use the outside at will, while also having the wing-backs (the right sided one not being formerly a defender) getting down the outside. I quite like it with one of the CM's being a playmaker but I think Conte/Pochettino use that idea sparingly. Not to say it's some super formation everyone should be copying from now on (I think increasingly there will probably be a variety of different systems even it it's hard to invent a good new one nowadays - this one might be new though as a regular top level formation unless my memory is off - it's like a hybrid between a 3-5-2 with one AM and one SS, and a Christmas Tree perhaps), but it's clearly working very well for Chelsea.
Big one not mentioned is Thiago Alcantara. He's been the best player so far this season in the Bundesliga.
The Bundesliga ratings for WhoScored align quite well to the Kicker ratings as well: http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...bundesliga/2016-17/topspieler-der-saison.html
I generally agree about Heaton (he makes a lot of saves you would expect) but I do think he has also made a lot you wouldn't. Maybe it is just in certain high profile games (particularly the United game) but whenever I see him (mainly on MOTD) he has been important and very rarely at fault for goals conceded. I was going to come back and mention Gueye as well. He's like a less good Kante and has been integral to Everton's good form. Van Dijk is an excellent player as well and surely won't be at Saints for much longer.
While I agree with some picks as N'Zonzi (has done very well at Sevilla, meanwhile Krychowiak has gone downhill) I'd say that Suarez is clearly better than Griezmann. Not only many more goals but also more dribbles for example. He's not as energetic as he once was but still a better player. The third spot is a toss up between Ronaldo and Neymar in my view. Ronaldo has more goals, Neymar is overall the better footballer and has done well when the other two FCB forwards were missing or not performing well (which is in 50% of the stronger matches the case). I also tend to think Alexis has to be in for either Lallana or Mane. I've watched EPL the most, also because I feel/think the refereeing has been of a higher level as in either Serie A or Primera Division.
Yes, I do think Alexis Sanchez has to be in really (well nobody has to select any particular player in an XI, but I mean I think he's an obvious choice, almost as much as Hazard still....even if he seems to becoming unsettled and even losing focus as a result now).
It's always been quite inexplicable to me, how Barcelona got rid of Thiago Alcantara more or less at the same time that Xavi looked well past his best (and therefore closer to retirement), that Fabregas was sold, etc.
actually. i don't think it's barcelona that got rid of him, it's that Thiago wanted to be a regular stater. i remember thiago stating, ''i want to be a winner, i don't care if it's at barcelona or another club'' or something of the like. at that point he was not playing consistently and with guardiola at bayern munich, i think he could see a more brighter immediate start given that no player like xavi or inesta were in the mix, who both have very similar capabilities to thiago at a higher level (at that point in time)
01. LIONEL MESSI (FC Barcelona) 02. ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI (Bayern Múnchen) 03. LUIS SUÁREZ (FC Barcelona) 04. EDEN HAZARD (Chelsea FC) 05. GONZALO HIGUAIN (Juventus)
Obviously Neymar bolstered his case midweek against PSG https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1...eague-2016-2017-Barcelona-Paris-Saint-Germain https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1...aris-Saint-Germain#live-player-home-offensive As an intriguing perspective, it is worthwhile to share this piece http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...lona-barca-went-mes-que-un-club-just-another/ Or a similar 'devils advocate' column in the largest quality paper of 'my' country.
No love for Harold (3-season-wonder) Kane? I find him difficult to love myself sometimes, what with his antique haircut, gormless gaping mouth expression, and he's a bit greedy. But i can't argue with his stats which suggest he's one of the best strikers in European leagues yet again.