Premier League - Team of the Week: Etherington tops Drog

Eurosport - Mon, 08 Feb 11:48:00 2010

Matthew Etherington's display at the weekend eclipsed that of Didier Drogba - and makes him an outside bet for a spot in the England squad.

Stoke City's Matthew Etherington - 0

How it works

We take marks out of 10 awarded to Premier League players from a selection of six national newspapers - The Sun, Daily Star, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, The Times and The Guardian - then create an average and round to the nearest half. The top player in each position will be rewarded with a spot in the Team of the Week, while the worst scorers will be named and shamed in our Flops XI.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Didier Drogba might have hogged the headlines after firing Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League, but it was Stoke midfielder Matthew Etherington who edged the Ivory Coast striker for top spot this weekend.

Etherington's form has been so good this season that he's being talked about as a possible contender for a World Cup place - and given his history of gambling problems, he'd probably be worth a seat on the plane just to ensure a full house of vices within the England squad. His team-mate Andy Wilkinson also makes the side for his part in the Potters' 3-0 win over Blackburn.

Just behind Etherington on the left flank is Burnley's new signing Danny Fox, who marked his move from Celtic with a man-of-the-match display and a goal in his side's win over West Ham.

Fox and Wilkinson held off stiff competition for the left-back spot, with Ashley Cole in particular unlucky to miss out after a reportedly sterling display to nullify Theo Walcott in Chelsea's win over Arsenal.

Two Liverpool players make the starting line-up after the 1-0 win in the Merseyside derby, while the surprise inclusion up front is Wolves hitman Kevin Doyle.

Doyle's inclusion - and high marks all round for the Wolves side - strongly suggests that several of Fleet Street's correspondents are putting together the player ratings some time before the final whistle.

But there was bad luck for Birmingham's super-sub Kevin Phillips: his two late goals gave the Blues a derby win over Wolves and would have made him a shoo-in, but TOTW rules exclude subs from the reckoning. Sorry, Kev.

Team of the week (4-4-2):

GK: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) - 7.5

RB: Andy Wilkinson (Stoke) - 7.5

CB: Leon Cort (Burnley) - 7.5

CB: Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) - 7.5

LB: Danny Fox (Burnley) - 8 (Premier League debut)

RM: Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool) - 7.5

CM: Fabrice Muamba (Bolton) - 7.5

CM: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool) - 7.5

LM: Matthew Etherington (Stoke) - 8.5 (Player of the week)

FW: Didier Drogba (Chelsea) - 8.5

FW: Kevin Doyle (Wolves) - 8

FLOPS OF THE WEEK

No surprises to see five Portsmouth players in the Flops after yet another drubbing. No doubt the bookies would already be paying bets on them to get relegated if it weren't for the fact that the club may not exist long enough to get relegated.

Manchester City were also on the wrong end of a defeat, and the papers weren't shy about sticking the boot in to poor old Dedryck Boyata on his first start of the season.

Theo Walcott similarly got hammered by the press after failing to make a mark against Chelsea - though coming up against an in-form Ashley Cole is at least partly to blame.

David James's chances of a spot in the England squad look to be fading after a reportedly woeful display from the Portsmouth keeper as he let five goals in against Manchester United. Chronic fitness issues are one thing, but not putting in a decent showing when you do actually start is another issue entirely.

Flops XI (4-3-3):

GK: David James (Portsmouth) - 4.5

RB: Anthony Vanden Borre (Portsmouth) - 4

CB: Tal Ben Haim (Portsmouth) - 3.5

CB: Dedryck Boyata (Manchester City) - 4.5

LB: Gael Clichy (Arsenal) - 4.5

LCM: Tamir Cohen (Bolton) - 4.5

CM: Richard Hughes (Portsmouth) - 4.5

RCM: Lorik Cana (Sunderland) - 4.5

RW: Theo Walcott (Arsenal) - 4.5

FW: Frederic Piquionne (Portsmouth) - 4

LW: David Elm (Fulham) - 4.5

TEAM OF THE SEASON

No new entries in the TOTS this week, but Brad Friedel's TOTW performance and another lacklustre display by Shay Given means that the Irish keeper is on the verge of being overtaken between the sticks. Freidel's average of 6.83 leaves him potentially just one great performance from making the side.

Another man playing his way into the side is, of all people, John Terry. Getting away from his troubles on the pitch is clearly adding something extra to the England skipper - sorry, former England skipper's - game and his average of 6.75 puts him right behind Roger Johnson and Richard Dunne.

Ryan Giggs hangs on to his spot for now, but next week will fall below the minimum start threshold. West Ham's Scott Parker (6.81) and Aston Villa's James Milner (6.79) will be the likely beneficiaries if the United legend does not start at Villa on Wednesday.

Team of the season (minimum 12 starts):

GK: Shay Given (Manchester City) - 6.93

RB: Glen Johnson (Liverpool) - 6.57

CB: Richard Dunne (Aston Villa) - 7.05

CB: Roger Johnson (Birmingham City) - 6.87

LB: Ashley Cole (Chelsea) - 6.71

RM: Aaron Lennon (Tottenham) - 6.95

CM: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) - 7.03

CM: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) - 6.94

LM: Craig Bellamy (Manchester City) - 7.10

FW: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - 7.23

FW: Didier Drogba (Chelsea) - 7.30

FLOPS OF THE SEASON

The FOTS also remain unchanged this week, with the likes of Manuel Almunia, Franco di Santo and the entire Portsmouth contingent delivering the kind of ratings that got them into trouble in the first place.

Flops of the season (minimum 12 starts):

GK: Manuel Almunia (Arsenal) - 5.83

RB: Paul McShane (Hull) - 5.56

CB: Marc Wilson (Portsmouth) - 5.41

CB: Tal Ben Haim (Portsmouth) - 5.36

LB: Herita Ilunga (West Ham) - 5.51

RM: Greg Halford (Wolves) - 5.44

CM: Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth) - 5.78

CM: Radoslav Kovac (West Ham) - 5.70

LM: El-Hadji Diouf (Blackburn) - 5.47

FW: Franco di Santo (Blackburn) - 5.78

FW: Frederic Piquionne (Portsmouth) - 5.74

Eurosport

Comment 14 - 33 of 33

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  1. john terry is the best defender every week

    From simonstanik83, on Thu 11 Feb 5:26

  2. no one from Man united? they won 5-0. this rating is a­ crap

    From Yohannes, on Wed 10 Feb 7:47

  3. You are right for Almunia. He is the worst goal keeper­ ever seen in the premiership

    From Bob, on Tue 9 Feb 22:36

  4. it's good to see Etherington playing so well­ Iv'e always rated him!!

    From Kenneth, on Tue 9 Feb 22:35

  5. and idiotic glory hunter of the day award goes to -­ Manu_Bal!

    goarn ethers lad cracking signing by pulis,­ coming on leaps and bounds! matty 4 england!

    From barnz, on Tue 9 Feb 13:55

  6. Drogba scored 2 goals with power and precision,­ Etherington managed 1 weak shot that bared squeaked­ across the line. Etherington is playing well this­ season, but whoever is comparing him to Drogba should­ stub out that spliff and go splash some cold water over­ their face!

    From square_pyramid, on Tue 9 Feb 12:50

  7. Capello should pop along to the Britannia. Etherington­ is your man - FOREGET COLE AND BRIDGE.

    From john, on Tue 9 Feb 10:35

  8. Susan C, I beleive that Ashley Cole was actually tapped­ up by Chelsea in a candlestine meeting with The Special­ one AKA Jose Murinhio the then Chelsea manager.­ Ashley Cole leaving Arsenal was at the players behest­ and not that of Arsene Wenger. When a player makes it­ so clear they want to leave a club there is little­ point in keeping them. No one is going to give their­ best to an emloyer that they no longer want to work­ for.

    From John Louis, on Tue 9 Feb 10:34

  9. Bet mr Wenger sick as a parrot for letting Cole go. At­ least he has a bit of passion for the team.

    From SUSAN C, on Tue 9 Feb 10:19

  10. just go's to show you. so called reporters know­ diddely squat about football. no terry no lampard &­ a hammers reject. morons!

    From Roger, on Tue 9 Feb 9:52
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    No Man utd players!!!!!!!!
    Are you fuc.king mad.
    What a­ bunch of twa.ts these eurosport journalists­ are.
    ETHERINGTON. WHO THE FUC.K IS­ HE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

    From Manu_Bal, on Tue 9 Feb 9:36

  12. how can glen johnson be in team of the season? he is a­ flop he is rubbish for liverpool and england! maybe he­ should consider a summer move to pompey

    From christiron1, on Tue 9 Feb 9:19

  13. where is bale, hes been flying for weeks.

    From benidorm spur, on Tue 9 Feb 9:10

  14. etherington's form is better than drogba's?­ yeah, cos it's well easy to beat arsenal single­ handed isn't it? What could you expect from the sun­ though

    From michael, on Tue 9 Feb 8:17

  15. Why did the baggies get rid of Phillips saying he was­ not good enough for the prem, he may not be a 90min­ player, but he one hell of a impact sub,

    From Tony, on Tue 9 Feb 7:41

  16. Goalkeeper of the week: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa)­ ????????!!!!?????
    Are you blind or just playing dumb...­ Have you actually seen Cech and his amazing tiger­ reflexes???!?!

    Seriously... Comparing Tot'nam­ attack and Friedel ability to defend it... and Arsenal­ firepower against Cech...
    Ooohh... what's the use,­ you guys were obviously BLIND like BAT!!!

    From ZaX, on Tue 9 Feb 7:35

  17. How about a word for Cech - great foot !! anyway it is­ really just about chelsea and united now - sorry to­ everyon eelse

    From Martin, on Tue 9 Feb 6:46

  18. "Two Liverpool players make the starting line-up­ after the 2-0 win in the Merseyside derby, "

    It­ was actually 1-0..........

    From lfc80uk, on Tue 9 Feb 6:40

  19. Drogba was manificent,perhaps the best current centre­ forward in Europe now he has stopped cheating so much­ but Terry only looked good because the Arsenal attack­ was so short it needed one to stand on top of another­ to beat him. Otherwise Arsenal had enough of the game­ to win it but did not take their chances and Cech is­ so much better than Almunia

    From colinhasson, on Tue 9 Feb 6:17

  20. IT'S DEJAVUE TIME AGAIN. MR ARSENE WENGER STILL­ THINKS ARSENAL HAVE A CHANCE OF WINNING THE­ PREMIERSHIP....STRANGE, HE SAID THAT LAST YEAR AND THE­ YEAR BEFORE..WHY DIDN'T HE PLAY BENDTNER ON­ SUNDAY?..I HAVE SAID THAT BENDTNER IS A POOR STRIKER­ AND HAS BEEN FOR MANY SEASONS, THOUGH ANY STRIKER IS­ BETTER THAN NONE, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT ARSENAL­ HAVE,
    NONE. ROBIN V P OUT FOR REST OF SEASON, ­ EDUARDO NEVER BEEN THE SAME SINCE HIS BROKEN­ ANKLE..ARSHAVIN IS NOT A STRIKER, AND IT SHOWS. IN­ FACT, DEFENCE AND ATTACK ARE POOR. OUR MIDFIELD WITHOUT­ FABRIGAS WOULD BE A DISASTER..I HATE TO SAY THIS, BUT­ ARSENAL WILL BE LUCKY TO FINISH 4TH AT THIS RATE, AND­ FABRIGAS COULD BE ON HIS WAY TO BARCELONA. SAD OLD­ GOONER.

    From DOLPHIN, on Tue 9 Feb 5:45
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