Which Players Would Make It Into A Combined Chelsea And Manchester City XI?
The best from the big spenders...
By James Daly
Sep 24, 2010 12:14:00 PM
Since capitalism and football were married in a hyperbolic union of half-time fireworks, £100 match tickets and Sky Sports promos full of ticker tape explosions, the teams who have spent the most have generally prevailed.
Chelsea swept to Premier League domination in the mid 2000s thanks to the billions Roman Abramovich pumped out of the Russian sea and right into Stamford Bridge, and fans of Manchester City were expecting the same thing once their club was bought out by the uber rich Zayed al Nahyan family from Dubai in 2008.
That they haven't won anything in two years and the disappointment engulfing Eastlands is a sad example of the expectations that huge amounts of money bring to the game, and the simple formula now bestowed on football eradicating it of anything as romantic as tactical nous, player motivation skills, or transfer market wheeler-dealery.
On Saturday two of the Premier League's biggest ever spenders meet at the City of Manchester Stadium, but who would get in a combined XI from both sides, and has City's exuberant spending this season really turned them into genuine title contenders?
Here's Goal.com UK's team, lining up in a classic 4-4-2 formation:
Goalkeeper - Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Undoubtably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League and ironically one of the cheapest - a snip at £500,000 from Shrewsbury four years ago. Hart has been in superb form (minus one indiscretion againt Blackburn a couple of weeks ago) the 23-yer-old has gone some way to cementing his place as England No.1, while Chelsea's Petr Cech by contrast has not looked himself. Critics will point to a drop in form since Stephen Hunt's little dig to the head in 2006. Curse you Hunt!
Right -back - Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)
The unassuming Serbian could easily be a baddy in a Scooby-Do episode he is that modest, although Manchester United fans hoping to see him rip his face off and reveal he was in fact, the mild mannered janitor, will be disappointed. The 26-year-old found himself in the Premier League Team of the Year for 2009-10 after a series of solid displays. And who do City have in comparison? Pablo Zabaleta? Give me a break!
Left-back - Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
It's difficult to look past everyone's favourite Cherly-Tweedy-cheating, swerving-off-the-road-in-disgust Englishman for the left-back spot in our exclusive XI, because despite a string of reasons to really not be very fond of Ashley Cole, he continues to churn out world class performances for Chelsea. Kind of makes you hate him even more. Meanwhile, former Chelsea man Wayne Bridge has been shunted out at City for the £18 million Alexsandar Kolarov, apparently because he doesn't refuse hand shakes.
Centre-back - Kolo Toure (Manchester City)
Aside from being a world class centre-back Kolo Toure is also a very successful comedian. When he completed a £14m deal from Arsenal back in August 2009 the Ivorian proclaimed himself to be delighted to to be signing for "Money City" before quickly correcting himself. Well, it made me laugh. Still, Toure has gone some way to living up to that rather hefty price tag with some sterling displays.
Centre-back - John Terry (Chelsea)
As much as it pains me to pick my second least favourite player in the world (see left-back) it's difficult to ignore John Terry's influence over his Chelsea side he leads so proudly. Like a big proud, promiscuous lion. Terry also has a habit of popping up with important goals now and then when he isn't throwing himself head first at bouncing balls in the area, like a fish struggling for air on the deck of a boat. Players that lost out in our centre-back race include Alex (slow), Joleon Lescott (even slower) and Dedryck Boyata (weird face).
Right-midfield - James Milner (Manchester City)
Even though he has a face that looks like a GI Joe doll, Milner is fast becoming one of the best right midfielders in the country. Or centre midfielders, depending on what you fancy, Milner doesn't mind. He showed last season he is just as comfortable in the centre of the park as he is out on the right. A truely dependable and versatile servant. Tenn hut!
Centre-midfield - Michael Essien (Chelsea)
The man with the biggest grin in world football easily gets a place in central midfield for our combined XI. Despite a string of injuries Essien always seems to return full of life and runs the midfield from his position just infront of the defence, but still behind the forwards, yet also on the right. Ok, anywhere he wants. Meanwhile, Gareth Barry's erratic form rules him out, while Nigel de Jong's penchant for round house-kicking opponents means he misses out also.
Centre-midfield - Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
He may struggle to set the world alight in the white of England but when he's wearing the blue of Chelsea, Lampard is one of the best midfielders in the world, regularly scoring 20+ goals from the centre of the park. Plus he has an A Level in Latin. So there. Not that he's bitter about the stick he gets regarding his poor England form: "When you take a lot of stick you want to ram it down people's throats." Oh.
Left-midfield - Adam Johnson (Manchester City)
Finally! A decent left-footed English midfielder. Thank you footballing gods. The 23-year-old Johnson has been plucked from footballing obscurity (or Middlesbrough, as it's otherwise known) and thrust into the limelight at City, but has not disappointed and has already made the left-midfield spot in the England team his own after just a handful of appearances. A classic winger with a cultured left foot. About time.
Striker - Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)
Love him or hate him and his stupid tree trunk neck, Carlos Tevez has a funny knack of putting the ball into the net with alarming regularity. But he doesn't stop there, oh no. The little terrier hassles defenders more than someone trying to convince passeers by to sign up for charity, and often profits from his hard work. However, a 'Samson' style chopping of his flowing this summer locks seems to have affected his recent form. Eek. Meanwhile, Mario Balotelli doesn't make the grade on account of playing about 10 minutes so far for City, while Emmanuel Adebayor is more concerned with silly little dance celebrations than actually scoring goals.
Striker - Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
The ultimate forward? Quite possibly. Role model for children across the world? Er...when he isn't swearing into TV cameras, yes. The Ivorian is unplayable on his day, with a combination of pace, power and the ability to collapse to the floor like a ragdoll being chucked into the toy cupboard despite being at least 95 per cent muscle. Quite often a provider of goals too, making Drogba an easy inclusion into the combined XI, and beats team-mates Nicolas "Did I mention I hate the FFF?" Anelka and Salomon "Am I a man, am I a toy robot?" Kalou into our team.
