GOALKEEPER AND DEFENDERS (Click here)

MIDFIELDERS (Click here)

STRIKERS

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

£35 million from Atletico Madrid

The pint-sized Argentine, often compared to his father-in-law Diego Maradona, owing to his short stature and style of play, was a frustrated sole at Atletico Madrid this summer, repeatedly asking for a move away, mostly due to his club’s title drought and a lack of ambition for one. With big clubs all over Europe jostling for his signature, the Sheikhs of the Middle East came to Kun’s rescue, landing the 5 foot 8 inch striker a five-year contract at Eastlands.

Aguero was already a well-established figure in the football fraternity, having scored plenty of goals for both club and country and forming one of the most feared attacking partnerships in Spain with fellow South American, Diego Forlan. The Citizens were looking upon the dawn of a new era, with Roberto Mancini trying to a build an all-star team to challenge the might of their crosstown rivals.

Huge things were being expected from both City and Sergio, and the boy didn’t disappoint. He gelled into the team magnificently and also immediately started firing on all cylinders, netting twice in the opening game of the season against newly promoted Swansea. His debut performance was just a sign of things to come, as he scored 6 times in the next 4 league games, including his first hattrick in a 3-0 win over Wigan. Aguero was off to a blinder and led City to an undefeated start to a promising season.

Mancini decided to use his trump-card sparingly thereafter, and with equally classy alternates at his disposal, Aguero saw a little less playing time than one would have hoped for. But the pocket-sized dynamite has been an incredible signing for the Citizens, a player who is an integral and crucial part of the highly ambitious Manchester City setup.

14 Appearances- 11 Goals, 5 Assists

Demba Ba (Newcastle United)

Free from West Ham United

If Aguero’s transfer was embroiled in speculation, media glare and fanfare, not forgetting bucket-loads of money, Demba Ba’s move to the North East was pretty much an unnoticed piece of news. Newcastle had safely survived in the top-flight after being relegated and promoted in consecutive seasons. But fans at St. James’s were hoping to see their team get back to their glory days, a time when they were counted in the top teams of England. Managerial crisis kept haunting the sea-siders, but fortunes change, sometimes for the better.

The Magpies had struggled for goals and desperately searched for an able replacement since the departure of legend Alan Shearer. No striker managed to stay for long enough, with the walking-wounded Michael Owen probably being the best exception. Alan Pardew had realised that until he found a prolific striker, his team didn’t have any chance of claiming for European places, let alone fighting for top honours.

Who knew that one Demba Ba, a little known Senegalese until his move to West Ham, would be the perfect answer to all questions and apprehensions. Ba showed his hunger for goals after he moved to London this January. Although the Hammers failed to avoid the drop, Ba managed to turn a few heads, ending the season with 7 goals in 12 matches- West Ham’s top-scorer of the season!

Ba signed for the Black and Whites for free, courtesy a clause which was triggered by West Ham’s relegation. Not many fans and pundits knew much about the French-born centre-forward, and even fewer had expected him to make much of an impact. Their fears came true as he failed to make any kind of an impression in the first few games, as his team’s lack of firepower was severely exposed.

But Ba wasn’t to be deterred by any such developments, as he came out a completely evolved player against Blackburn on September 24th, when he scored his first goal for his new club in a fabulous hattrick to hand his team a 3-0 win. This display started Ba’s love affair with the Premier League scoresheet as he then banged in goal after goal to help Newcastle climb into the top five of the table.

Ba bagged another hattrick against Stoke in late-October and also turned provider for his strike partners as the Magpies continued their dream run in the league. Newcastle might have suffered twin setbacks in their consecutive defeats to Chelsea and Norwich (Ba scored a brace), but their fans and manager will be pinning their hopes on their inspirational goal-getter to lift their spirits and fly his team into fabled territories.

14 Appearances- 11 Goals, 3 Assists

Final XI- Vorm, Luke Young, Phil Jones, Wes Brown, Jose Enrique, Sebastian Larsson, Mikel Arteta, Charlie Adam, Juan Mata, Sergio Aguero, Demba Ba

0 votes