Collymore's Premier League Team of the Season
This week we asked Stan Collymore to pick his Premier League team of the season.
Stan opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, deploying two holding midfielders behind a three-pronged attacking line and a lone striker.
Here are Stan's choices, along with his justification. The last slide shows Stan outlining his XI in a Google+ Hangout.
Do you agree? Please leave your comments below.
Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
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Stan went for Chelsea No. 1 Petr Cech as his goalkeeper.
"The most important thing is consistency," he said. "He's helped his team to keep clean sheets at difficult places...Thirty-four games in the Premier League. Mr Consistency."
Right-Back: Pablo Zabaleta
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Stan chooses Manchester City's Pablo Zabaleta.
"I am going for a player who's been consistent, and has been exceptional for two or three seasons. He has aggression in the tackle and the ability to bomb up and down the line. In terms of his all-round contribution, it has to be Zabaleta."
Left-Back: Luke Shaw
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Rising Southampton star Luke Shaw beats Leighton Baines to the left-back slot.
"If he continues on the same trajectory, Shaw can be as good as Philipp Lahm. He has all of the attributes, and he defends very, very well. He's calm, assured and his positioning is good."
Central Defender: Gary Cahill
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Chelsea and England's Gary Cahill gets the nod at the heart of Stan's defence.
"He's really grown as a defender this season. No doubt a lot of that is down to working alongside John Terry at Chelsea."
Central Defender: Vincent Kompany
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Manchester City's defensive rock Vincent Kompany completes the back four.
"I'd like to see him hitting the 30-games-a-season benchmark moving forward, but there is a big difference between Manchester City with and without him."
Holding Midfielder: Steven Gerrard
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Reinvented as a holding midfielder this season, Liverpool's Steven Gerrard unsurprisingly makes Stan's XI in the role he's taken on.
"He's scored 13 Premier League goals from that position," says Stan. "Experienced to travel anywhere on the planet and you know you have a captain and a leader."
Holding Midfielder: Yaya Toure
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Yaya Toure is the man alongside Gerrard in central midfield.
"There's a suggestion that in the very, very biggest games, he can go missing. Nonetheless, he's probably going to hit 20 goals as a defensive midfielder. That's a quadruple A* grade. He's doing his defensive job superbly and yet still adding those goals."
Attacking Midfielder (Right): Adam Lallana
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Most would agree Southampton's Adam Lallana deserves a spot in the team. Stan has him on the right of his three behind a main striker.
"Thirty Premier League games, 11 goals. I would have no problem starting Lallana for England in Brazil. He's great in tight spaces and he can produce a trick."
Attacking Midfielder (Left): Eden Hazard
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Chelsea's Eden Hazard is Stan's pick to attack from the right.
"Eden Hazard takes Chelsea away from the perception they are just playing 19th century, hard-to-beat football. He can drift in, beat players and score spectacular goals."
Attacking Midfielder (Central): Jordan Henderson
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Perhaps Stan's most surprising choice. Liverpool's Jordan Henderson is selected in behind the main striker.
"When you're looking as a central striker, you want somebody to run past you. Somebody in your line of sight, with great athleticism, who can take the ball off you and drive things forward."
Striker: Luis Suarez
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There won't be many arguments here. PFA Player of the Year Luis Suarez leads the line.
"He missed seven games at the start of the season. There was loads of negativity around him. But he's gone on to score 30 goals in 31 games. It's an incredible return."
Stan's XI in Full
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(4-2-3-1) Cech; Zabaleta, Cahill, Kompany, Shaw; Gerrard, Toure; Lallana, Henderson, Hazard; Suarez
Watch Stan Justify His Picks
13 of 13Stan ran through his choices in this week's Google+ Hangout.
