Round 4 - Pick 15 - Laurent Robert



Despite all the troubles he made off the pitch Robert is one of the best wingers I've seen, great pace, great crosses and a fantastic left foot. Here are a couple of his gems http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PmnwtdAQi4 (my favourite one is probably the one after 1 min)

Shearer is a god in the box and with the quality delivery he'll get from Robert and Beardsley I think he'll score a ton.


------Shearer-----?---------
Robert----Beardsley---Makelele-----?---
--?---?---?----?---
-----------?--------------

Round 4 - Pick 16 - Mark Viduka



This may look like an odd choice (I certainly don't think he's the best striker left available), but I need a striker now before the last few good ones disappear and I think he's a better fit for my side in that Viduka can either spearhead a three man front line with Ronaldo wide, or can play as part of a front two, depending on how I go. He'd also be able to hold the ball up pretty well and allow Lampard and whoever else I get in midfield to come forward on the attack, and can certainly score goals himself, as evidenced by 59 goals in four seasons at Leeds United.

Team: ??? - ???, Keown, ???, ??? - Lampard, ???, ??? - Ronaldo, Viduka, ???

idk whether lloyd is back from watching munster yet so i'll post for him:



Keane grew up a short distance away from where I live, and I have always paid particular attention to his fortunes and performances. As such, I may be slightly biased and rate him higher than most people involved in this process - and they may feel that drafting him in the fourth round (and thus as one of the top 80 players available is a reach).

Well, I would start by noting that I am picking him because I think he would be the ideal partner for Henry and fits the type of player I am looking to fill my team with. The negatives on Keane are that he isn't the most clinical of finishers. He will miss chances - and will infuriate you when he misses an open goal twice then finally scores after a ridiculously ambitious dribble or shot comes off.

However, Henry is going to get me 24 league goals a season plus. And in terms of the period that I am going to take for Keane's assessment, I want his time at spurs, discounting the 2004 / 5 season. At spurs, Keane has scored 80 goals in 197 league appearances. Not too shabby huh? But more importantly for my team, he has massively developed and progressed the edges of his game and his attitude to it since the 2002 WC.

Keane is an attacker who can play football outside the box. He doesn't give you Fowler or RVN like six yard line poaching. He gives you movement, intense workrate, creativity, invention, the willingness to try something and the ability to link up with team mates and bring people into the game. This wan't the case when he joined Spurs where he was quite selfish and prone to dribbling down dead ends and trying two tricks too many, but it is the player he has become over the past six seasons.

Over the past two years he has played his best football, and has served as club captain (and Irish national team captain) during that period in lieu of the constantly injured Ledly King. Keane is apparently a joy to have in the dressing room and off the pitch - and leads by example on it just because he will run his legs off and give you total honesty of effort. While not a spurs fan, I have seen him play three times for them live this past year. Berbatov gets the plaudits - but Keane provides the movement and the support that allows the more vaunted half of the partnership to stand and sulk and wait for the ball to come to him. You need to see first hand the runs Keane makes and the ground he covers - plus his courage and willingness to show for the ball and take the responsibility to make things happen. This is stuff you can't appreciate properly when you watch it on television.

With Henry and him in tandem, I'm going to have bags of pace and movement, and I'm going to put a lot of pressure on even the very best of center back partnerships. I'm not going to hurt you by getting it down the byline and whipping it in of course (even though Keane and Henry have been known to score the odd header and Keane in particular will challenge in the air), but I'm not intending to build my team up to do that - I'm going to try to pass and dribble right through ya!

My pick is Arjen Robben:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXO-XYKq3tk

Bags of pace, great skills, when on song basically nothing to pick between him and Ronaldo save for heading. Can play either wing, or behind the front man or front two. Pace and skills should allow him to play with/off Cantona very well. Plus with my strong defensive core, the ability to counterattack will be key. He gives me all that.

Medals:
English Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06

Football League Cup: 2005, 2007

FA Community Shield: 2005

England FA Cup: 2007

European U-21 player of the year (2005)

My squad:


------Cantona-----?---------
Robben----?---?-----?---
--?---Rio---Campbell----?---
-----------?--------------

Here are my two picks:

Round 4, 20th Pick: Ashley Cole



Everyone hates on Ashley Cole because of the "Cashley" style transfer from Arsenal and his relatively stale performances with Chelsea. What's been forgotten is that Cashley, er, Ashley was the PFA Team of the Year leftback for three consecutive years from 2003 to 2005 while playing a major part in Arsenal's very successful run from 2001 to 2005. 2 Premierships, 2 FA cups, and 3 PFA Team of the Year honors over a 5 year run is quite a haul, and I'm pleased to pick up another first rate full back in the fourth round (albeit not quite the balanced offensive/defensive force that Neville is).

Round 5, 1st Pick: Eidur Gudjohnsen



I'm pretty surprised that Eidur dropped this far. He was a big fan favorite at Chelsea and played at a very high level in his first few year's with team. Even after more high profile strikers were brought in during 2003-2005 Eidur continued to impress and held his spot in the Chelsea starting 11. He's also the perfect deep-lying strike partner for Drogba, so he'll fit in great with my existing team.

Here's my team so far, with empty roster spots assuming my team evolves into a standard 4-4-2.

[keeper]
Gary Neville, [central defender], [central defender], Ashley Cole
[right midfielder], Roy Keane, [central midfielder], [left midfielder]
Eidur Gudjohnsen, Didier Drogba

Round 5: Damien Duff. It's hard to remember, cause he's kinda crap now, but Duff was awesome for Blackburn and for a year or two with Chelsea (when he and Robben were pretty terrifying for opposing full backs as a tandom. Plus, my team had dire need of a ginger.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY0y5IEL_pE

* FA Premier League: 2004/2005, 2005/2006
* English League Cup: 2002, 2005

Squad

------Cantona-----?---------
Robben----?---?-----Duff
--?---Rio---Campbell----?---
-----------?--------------

Lloyd's next pick:

Shay Given


Given is different to the other keepers taken thus far in that he is a dynamic shot stopper who has possibly hit his peak performance earlier in his career than the average for great goalkeepers. Over the course of five seasons between 2001 and 2006 Newcastle and the Republic of Ireland achieved many results they didn't deserve just because Given was in a "**** you, I'm doing an impression of a wall here" mood.

Given has great agility and reflexes and is technically very sound at cutting down angles and getting his footwork and body position right. Despite his relative lack of height and bulk for the position, he still deals well with weight and is good at parrying the ball out of danger rather than coughing up easy rebounds. He recovers quickly and makes a great second effort when required.

Since September 2006 he has struggled somewhat with injuries and has subsequently lost his job to Steve Harper. At 32, it is debatable as to whether he will reach the levels he showed during my preferred period - but if he does it would certainly be worth a fair few extra points to Newcastle per season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J45DIQ4zmlg

Round 5 - Pick 4 - Gary Speed



I was in a really tough spot for this pick, I was mulling over several people in many different positions, the player I wanted who I think is the best available in any position would tie me down to one formation which I don't think would work well with Ronaldo, so I've gone with the player who, to the best of my knowledge, has got the most Premiership appearances of anyone. In Speed, I've got someone who can either play a decent box to box game or hold, depending on how I go in later rounds. He's been around for so long that people forget how good he was in his Leeds days.

Team: ??? - ???, Keown, ???, ??? - Lampard, Speed, ??? - Ronaldo, Viduka, ???

Round 5 - Pick 5 - Frank LeBoeuf


Time to start working on my defense (I was going to pick Given this round tbh) and I'm kinda in a hurry but he was the first centre-back that I thought off just now. Seems like my team is going to be a pure Newcastle/Chelsea team

------Shearer-----?---------
Robert----Beardsley---Makelele-----?---
--?---?---LeBoeuf----?---
-----------?--------------

Round five, pick 6
Lee Dixon



With most of the best keepers gone, I feel now is a good time to beef up my back four, especially at a position that lacks a lot of stand out quality, RB. Gary Neville is obviously class, but I don't think Lee Dixon is far behind(if at all).

Dixon was a key part of Arsenal's defensive dominance throughout the late 80's until the end of the 90's. I suppose, an integral part of the "boring, boring Arsenal". Playing alongside Tony Adams, Keown, and a few others. Dixon was also an attacking FB, scoring an impressive 24 goals in 458 games.

I think this pick definitely beefs up my back line and gives me a lot of options for my other CB. Also, it gives me some more options at RMF because I have an attacking option for the back. It also means I can probably get by with a lesser GK than those like Cech, Seaman, Schmuckell.

Team thus far:
-----Tevez----?-----------
Pires-----Viera----?-------?
------Carvalho---?-----Dixon
-----------?----------------

I dont know how many picks I've missed but I think its two and if not please disregard my second pick. I"m not gonna have time till tomorrow to get caught up on this thread and I apologize for being gone so long but it was memorial day weekend here in the states.

Round 5 pick 7,8





------x------
--x----Gallas-----Terry----x
--x----Ballack----ococha-----x----
-----Bergkamp------x------

Round 5 pick#7

Lee Sharpe



With the run on left sided players I had to get in quick and grab to mind the last of the really class ones. Sharpe was a product of the Torquay YTS scheme who made a record transfer to Man u after only 14 appearances. Hugely versatile He found him self fighting Giggs for the left mid position and lost becoming first choice back up for left mid, left back and right mid. A flying winger who could shoot tackle and put in a better cross then Giggs Sharpe was hurt as much as helped by his versatility making occasional appearances as a striker and for England as a wing back, had he only been able to play one position he would probably have been transferred earlier and gone on to make the role his own. In the end a falling out with Ferguson over his social life “allegations of cocaine use partying and lose women” saw him become Leeds record signing He played one season before a serious knee injury marked the beginning of the end for his career. He proudly admits the women and the drink but still maintains he never touched drugs.



Achievements
92/93 League
93/94 League
94/95 FA cup
95/96 League

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6EpPWqPejA&NR=1
Sadly the only bit of youtube I could find of him

Round 5 Pick #8

Paul Merson



I disagree with AJW's claim Sharpe is the last really class left midfielder, I think Merson definately comes under that bracket too. A clever and inventive player, Merson was one of the very few flair players that made it into Graham's otherwise rigid defensive side in the early 90s. Capable of playing both sides of the field as well as through the middle, his ability will be a decent asset to my side. Off field problems didn't help him throughout his career, but like Adams, McGrath and others, that he was able to put in such quality performances despite them says much about his talent.

A first team regular at Arsenal right up until 1997 when he was sold to Boro, he went on to make England's 98 World Cup squad even though playing in Division 1, before moving onto Villa. A real fan's favourite.

Schmeichel - ???? - ???? - ???? - ???? - ???? - ???? - McManaman - Solskjaer - Hughes - Merson

QFMFT

Duff was on another level for about a season and a half and then faded away to nothing allmost overnight. I would say arguably the best player to don the Chelsea colours. I know Zola was awesome, but if Duff has sustained his intergalatic level for a bit longer I think he would have eclipsed his legend.

Round 5 Pick 9

Le Sulk



I need a proven goalscorer up front and despite all his bad points, Nicolas Anelka is great value at this spot. In his spells at Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, Bolton and Chelsea, Anelka has scored 80 goals. Many people will cite the fact that he can often be lazy and bad for team chemistry, but I think you get that with a lot of strikers in honesty (even one of my favourites JFH had this problem).

The fact of the matter is than when played bang up front (Avram grant refused to do this the fool), the man is a clinical finisher and in his younger days had electrifying pace that tore open defences.


Team so far:

Seaman
Carragher
Petit
Giggs
Anelka