i saw this on soccernet and i thought its not bad to share
Team of the Week
By Chris Murphy
(Archive)
March 22, 2009
After having four smashed past him in the FA Cup Mark Schwarzer exorcised his demons against Meltdown United on Saturday, and no doubt had a little chuckle to himself as Rooney and Ronaldo et al spent the entire afternoon hurling toys from any pram they could find. The big Aussie's denouement came in the form of a superb double save after Ji-Sung Park and Rooney had both fired efforts on goal.
What a time for Ryan Shawcross to conduct his very own mini goal glut. The Stoke defender added to his recent strikes at Aston Villa and Everton with a priceless winner against fellow stragglers Middlesbro' in a game that distinctly lacked any sort of quality. Unless you count a Rory Delap long throw as quality.
Often ignored in favour of his bigger, and some would argue better, centre half Brede Hangeland, we here at soccernet thought it was time we made a bit of a fuss about no nonsense Northern Ireland stopper Aaron Hughes. Unspectacular in the extreme but a model pro, Hughes never lets anyone down and against Kindergarten United he proved it, forming a last-ditch line of defence that ultimately proved successful in keeping the spoilt megastars at bay.
The hot-air machine that went into overdrive upon Micah Richards' emergence in 2006 seems to have gone strangely quiet this season, after the defender seemed to be suffering from an acute case of believing your own hype. After labouring for much of the last two seasons his performance against Sunderland, which included the match-winner a clean sheet, suggests he may just be on the long road to recovery.
I bet Ben Watson is pretty chuffed he decided against a move to Middlesbrough in favour of Wigan back in January. Instead of scrapping for his Premier League life on Teeside he's currently chillaxing in the glamorous environs of, err, the JJB. He seems to have settled well though, notching his second goal in as many games with a delightful, improvised lob as the Latics condemned Hull and anti-gob merchant Phil Brown to another defeat.
The defining chapter in Arsenal's win at beleaguered Newcastle came when Toon stalwart Steven Taylor hobbled off the field for treatment in the second half. Spotting a gap as wide as Yorkshire in between the now depleted black-and-white back line, Abou Diaby jogged through to fire the Gunners in front and cap a typically confident, if understated showing. Exactly the sort required at potentially tricky outposts like Newcastle. Luka Modric took a while to adapt to life in the Premier League, largely due to his unloving former manager Juande Ramos. But since Harry Redknapp blustered his way down The Lane the Croatian is a skinny man reborn. He proved as such against a lacklustre Chelsea, digging in in midfield and popping up with the match-winning goal, a crisp and measured strike from the edge of the area.
The recent 'Matthew Taylor for England' talk may be a little premature but if he carries on this goal scoring form Fabulous Fabio may have to take a second look at Bolton's midfield general. At West Brom Taylor not only scored with a decent volley but also had a powerful free kick go close. The only blot on his copybook was his late miss when clean through on goal, but it did at least underline his knack for getting in the right positions.
It's about time Peter Crouch started banging in a few headers for Portsmouth given he's about three-foot taller than any other player in the top flight. It was a tad surprising however, that he chose to do it against Everton, who have more than their fair share of lofty defenders. Both were classic Crouchy, leaping early and staying high to power downward headers into the net.
Liverpool cruised to three points against a meek Aston Villa side with winger Albert Riera and Steven Gerrard the stand-out performers. Former Espanyol winger Riera lashed a beautifully controlled shot into the net after a huge punt downfield from his 'keeper, then outwitted half-wit Nigel Reo-Coker to win the penalty that second striker Gerrard converted. The skipper then scored a sublime second, passing a free kick into the bottom corner past Brad Friedel before completing a hat-trick with his second pen, this time past Brad Guzani.
Rafael Benitez deserves a mention for his side's demolition of Aston Villa but our boss of the week has to be Roy Hodgson. Show a football fan who doesn't like him and I'll show you a buffoon. Mild-mannered as they come and always respectful, he showed his opposite number and his players how it should be done. Moulding a formidable unit out of the ashes of last season's relegation dogfight, this was surely his moment of the season and fully deserved. Well done Roy, we doth our cap in your general direction.
ITS THE KINDERGARTEN UNITED NDIO WALIOFUNGWA NA FULHAM AND NOT MAN UNITED... I DIDN'T KNOW THAT REALLY