- MESUT OZIL
The German signed for £42.5m from La Liga giants Real Madrid where he had dipped in form and was no longer a regular on the first team. However, when he played, the German breathed creativity and life into the midfield. He had a formidable partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo which yielded a lot of goals and silverware. When national duty called the German answered with glowing performances which earned him accolades within the national team.
However since moving to arsenal the midfielder looks out of his depth, disappearing and loosing concentration in big matches when Arsenal needed him most. Nevertheless, Arsenal legend, Robert Pires came to his defense saying that he also had problems in his first season as he got used to the tempo and pace of the English Premier League. Let’s hope that next season Ozil will have gotten his act together.
2. WILLIAN BORGES DA SILVA
Chelsea outsmarted Tottenham to clinch this 25yr old’s signature even after undergoing a medical examination at Tottenham. The Brazilian winger has had some good games but for a player of his pedigree and price a lot more is expected from him. He has also had some good games for Brazil and we all know that making it to the Brazilian starting eleven is no mean feat. Hopes he gets better playing alongside the very talented Eden Hazard and brings his A game next season.
3. PAPISS CISSE
Cisse, who has scored 27 goals for the Magpies since joining from Freiburg two years ago, is 15th in Newcastle United’s all-time Premier League goal scoring chart, but has been forced to sit out of plenty of the action this season. Nobody can argue with the form of Loic Remy this term, while Shola Ameobi has been an effective presence and influence in attack despite failing to find the net as much as Newcastle fans would like. All of it is a far cry from when the Senegal international burst on to the scene; scoring a sensational winner against Aston Villa two years ago in a 2-1 win before going on a hot streak to help New Castle clinch a place in Europe.
However he is one player who has shown us what he can do and we are hoping that he finds his scoring rhythm once again.
4. MAROUANE FELLAINI
It might be unfair to label Fellaini a disappointment, when it was David Moyes and Manchester United’s woeful transfer strategy that brought the midfielder in from Everton for an enormously inflated $60m.
But the big-haired Belgian looks a shadow of the man he was at Everton. Without wanting to dismiss his technical abilities, questions hang over his ability to fit into a United squad built in an entirely different way to Moyes’s at Everton. He also seems to be played out of his preferred position a lot but that’s Moyes’s mistake. But more than that, it has been Fellaini’s inability to influence games that has been the biggest disappointment. Moyes knows his players and might be attempting to restructure his midfield to bring the best out of his talents – but it seems more likely that Fellaini is just not a Manchester United player.
For £27.5m on deadline day, Fellaini is increasingly looking like a very expensive panic buy. He doesn’t seem to fit into United’s passing style, and his technical weaknesses has been clear for everyone to see. The worst part about it all is the insane sum that was spent on him meaning he cannot be thrown off the wagon, all United can do is hope that Fellaini will pull a Ramsey and surprise all his critics and fans alike.
5. ROBERTO SOLDADO
For £26m, quite frankly, Spurs fan were hoping for a lot more – especially when you see how well the slightly cheaper Alvaro Negredo is doing at Manchester City; furthermore the Spaniard netted 30 goals for Valencia last season. Soldado has only scored once in the league from open play, he might as well say that he has lost his starting spot to Emmanuel Adebayor who has been in sensational form of late.
There is no doubt that Soldado is just a striker having a string of bad lack coupled with trying to fit into the English Premier League sort of football. A striker of his pedigree will acclimatize and get back to his goal scoring ways, preferably sooner than later.
6. TOM CLEVERLY
There can be no question that Tom Cleverley belongs on the list of most disappointing players for Manchester United this season. As a staunch Arsenal supporter, Cleverley is one of my favorite Manchester United players because he has no discernible qualities. Manchester United have had their central midfield criticized for a few years. Tom Cleverley was supposed to be the answer to their problems and the eventual successor to Paul Scholes. Despite his lack of creativity and goal scoring prowess, Cleverley has not only been a regular for Manchester United but he often finds himself selected for the England squad. He has no hope of improving and Manchester should give up on him already.
7. JOE HART
During the 2011/12 season, when City won the Premier League, Hart was widely regarded as ‘head and shoulders’ above every other keeper in the country. However since then the keeper has been out of his element, a succession of error-strewn performances though, have led to Hart being dropped by new coach Manuel Pellegrini. 2nd choice keeper Costel Fane Pantilimon has therefore been called upon numerous times to cover for Hart. Joe Hart is still a quality keeper and this can be evidenced by the fact that Real Madrid are rumoured to be scouting him as a possible replacement for Iker Cassilas who has fallen out with the club.
