Premier League - The Premier League All-Star game!

Eurosport - Tue, 17 Feb 07:38:00 2009

On Sunday night, the NBA played its annual All-Star game - so why doesn't the Premier League do the same thing?

2008-2009 Liverpool-Chelsea Steven Gerrard Frank Lampard - 0

The concept: Fans vote for the best players in the Premier League, including representatives from each team. These players are divided into two teams (in this case, North and South), who play a showpiece exhibition match at Wembley.

Why? For fun, basically. Who wouldn't want to see two teams of the Premier League's best players going head-to-head? And with Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in charge of their respective teams, there would be no shortage of a competitive edge. It would also be a fitting reward for players who have enjoyed a good season.

When? The Premier League could follow the example of baseball and basketball, and hold the event at the mid-point of the season. Many managers have called for a winter break, and a short hiatus to play the All-Star game in January might be welcomed. Alternatively, it could be played at the start of the season instead of the Community Shield, which has become an increasingly irrelevant event.

The teams: While the NBA pits the Eastern and Western Conferences against each other, our game focuses on the North-South divide.

On one side, we have 11 clubs to represent the North, and on the other the remaining nine make up the Midlands/South region.

North - Blackburn, Bolton, Everton, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Sunderland, Wigan.

Midlands/South - Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Tottenham, West Brom, West Ham.

Rules:

- Players are selected by the public based on a combination of form this season and overall reputation.

- Each squad consists of 20 players, including at least one from every club.

- Maximum of two players per club in a starting XI.

- If a player has moved, he represents his present club, although performances for both sides count towards his selection.

Eurosport-Yahoo!'s Premier League All-Star selections:

THE NORTH - Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

GK: Shay Given (Manchester City)

RB: Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic)

CB: Michael Turner (Hull City)

CB: Phil Jagielka (Everton)

LB: Stephen Warnock (Blackburn Rovers)

RM: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

CM: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool),

CM: Stephen Ireland (Manchester City)

LM: Mikel Arteta (Everton)

FW: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

FW: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Subs: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Emanuel Pogatetz (Middlesbrough), Luis Antonio Valencia (Wigan Athletic), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Kieran Richardson (Sunderland), Tim Cahill (Everton), Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Robinho (Manchester City)

THE MIDLANDS/SOUTH - Manager: Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)

GK: Robert Green (West Ham United)

RB: Glen Johnson (Portsmouth)

CB: Brede Hangeland (Fulham)

CB: Matthew Upson (West Ham United)

LB: Gael Clichy (Arsenal)

CM: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

CM: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

CM: Wilson Palacios (Tottenham Hotspur)

RW: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)

LW: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

FW: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)

Subs: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa), Martin Laursen (Aston Villa), John Terry (Chelsea), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), James Morrison (West Brom), Rory Delap (Stoke City), Mark Noble (West Ham United), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur)

Have your say! What do you think of our All-Star format and selections? How would you organise the game and who would you pick? Leave your feedback below.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 283 - 302 of 302

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  1. lol very interesting idea .. would be one hell of a­ match. Would be interesting to see Rooney and Torres­ play forward together.

    From Sean V, on Wed 1 Jul 4:13PM

  2. Read the rules, only 2 players allowed in the starting­ line-up that play for the same EPL team. That would­ explain why certain players aren't included in the­ squad. There are players from the same EPL team that­ are considered better.

    From karlf2008, on Tue 30 Jun 6:55PM

  3. This thing is @#$% I tried to post a comment and it­ said it was invalid.

    From karlf2008, on Tue 30 Jun 6:52PM

  4. ????????

    From karlf2008, on Tue 30 Jun 6:51PM

  5. Where is cech and why have they got Emanuel Pogatetz­ for northerners why not taylor (newcastle)?

    From geekboy93, on Thu 19 Feb 2:31PM

  6. How can the north team survive without Vidic he is­ indeed the main player. Because of his bravery and many­ more attitudes that Vidic have shown he must be­ included!

    From ahshikmuhammad, on Thu 19 Feb 1:24PM

  7. Craig Bellamy?

    From JAR3, on Wed 18 Feb 3:27PM

  8. go north team!

    From georgkaseorg, on Wed 18 Feb 2:40PM

  9. Is he in relationship with a pretty girl on Love­ Wealthy *c om now? Omg. Which relationshi p he is­ searching for?

    From Thomas R, on Wed 18 Feb 3:45AM

  10. Is he in relationship with a pretty girl on that site­ now.

    From Thomas R, on Wed 18 Feb 3:39AM

  11. :)

    From Thomas R, on Wed 18 Feb 3:20AM

  12. Buffon

    Ferdinand
    Nesta
    Puyol

    Ronaldo
    Gerrard
    Messi
    Ka­ ka
    Viera (yes he is still­ awesome)

    Torres
    Eto'o

    Aka, win every game 10 nil.­ I also get the feeling I am drifting away from the­ purpose of this article somewhat...

    From PaulF, on Tue 17 Feb 5:40PM

  13. A novel idea, but will never happen. Can you imagine­ the uproar from Ferguson or Wenger if one of their star­ players got injured?? They won't even release­ players for an international match, let alone a­ 'meaningless' friendly like this.

    As for the­ Charity Shield being meaningless, it is (or should be)­ the one game a year where all tv revenue and gate­ receipts are given to charity, and in an increasingly­ capitalist sport, the fans should do everything they­ can to ensure the game stays on the footballing­ calendar.

    From mike m, on Tue 17 Feb 4:02PM

  14. @ # 285 - a Canadian invented basketball....while­ working at a school in America. American Football­ derived from rugby.....and who cares? It could be­ derived from the biggest eskimo sport, but it is still­ an American game. Ice Hockey by British servicemen­ according to you - again, who cares, it was in Canada,­ according to you. And baseball derived from a British­ game...who cares, we are looking at big sports in­ America. If the discussion was sports invented­ elsewhere but adopted in America, you'd have a­ point, but the discussion was whether the main sports­ in America had an international particpation or just­ purely American. You must have done a lot of Wiki­ searching to come up with all of that irrelevant stuff­ :-)

    From Blue, on Tue 17 Feb 10:50AM

  15. dat is a S.H.I.T north london team, i thought u were­ supposed to b professionals

    From Shakz, on Tue 17 Feb 9:04AM

  16. are you crazy
    you forgot something?????????????/

    From vladimirmmm81, on Tue 17 Feb 8:55AM

  17. Are they supposed to be all star teams? do you watch­ football? Shay given before Pepe Reina? Or EVDS of man­ u? The arguments would rage on all day long! Bad idea!

    From Stu G, on Tue 17 Feb 8:51AM

  18. Nice idea yahoo but can we make something a bit­ different from the Americans or we must follow follow?­ My suggestion is, can we make it this way: that ALL­ foreign STARS playing in EPL against English National­ team players playing in EPL. What do you think?

    From Michael, on Tue 17 Feb 8:47AM

  19. SHAY GIVEN,HA HA HA

    From Terry M, on Tue 17 Feb 8:31AM

  20. @#$% man utd and the north but i think that modric have­ to play he is better than palacios big blues­ fannnnnnnnnnnnn

    From aaklegend, on Tue 17 Feb 8:29AM
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