Each Premier League Side's Biggest Flop of the 2014-15 Season
We all know who the star performers of this Premier League season have been. Alexis Sanchez, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and the like have thrilled us each and every week, but what about the flops?
For some, this season simply hasn’t got going for any number of reasons, be it injury, a failure to adapt to a new climate or just plain poor form.
But who has been each team’s most disappointing performer of 2014/15? (We're looking at you, Radamel).
Let’s take a look.
Arsenal: Jack Wilshere
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Can you call someone who is constantly injured a flop? Maybe it's a bit harsh, but until Jack Wilshere gets over these constant fitness issues, there are always going to be those who are disappointed in him.
Arsenal's season has been one which has featured plenty of underperformance, but most of their players seem to find a way out of that and improve further down the line.
Wilshere's addiction to the treatment table means that he's unable to do that.
Aston Villa: Tom Cleverley
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The move to Aston Villa was supposed to free Tom Cleverley from the pressures of the Manchester United goldfish bowl, it was supposed to see the midfielder recapture form we saw during loan spells at Watford and Wigan and it was supposed to make us all see just what made Sir Alex Ferguson rate him so highly. None of that has happened.
Showing an apparent addiction to passing the ball sideways, Cleverley has been just one element of Villa’s extremely disappointing season, and whilst he’s not wholly responsible for it, he hasn’t exactly helped matters.
Burnley: Lukas Jutkiewicz
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Burnley continue to scrap away gamely near the foot of the Premier League table, and so it is pretty harsh to criticise any of their players.
But whilst the likes of Danny Ings, Ashley Barnes and George Boyd have been working hard for the cause, summer signing Lukas Jutkiewicz just hasn’t worked out.
A frequent late substitute, the former Everton, Coventry and Middlesbrough forward has now failed to score in 22 Clarets appearances.
Chelsea: Ramires
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Chelsea have been a relentless machine for much of the season and so it is very difficult to pick out a poor performer, but Stamford Bridge supporters have noticed a drop-off in the displays of Brazilian midfielder Ramires for much of the campaign.
By no means a regular starter for Jose Mourinho, Ramires’ energy levels which so characterise his game don’t seem to have been there for much of 2014/15, and in comparison to the likes of Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas he’s had a minimal impact on the team.
Crystal Palace: Brede Hangeland
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What looked a solid signing in the summer, Brede Hangeland’s switch to Crystal Palace from relegated Fulham hasn’t really worked out.
The Norwegian saw the man who signed him, Tony Pulis, leave the club before a ball had even been kicked during the campaign, and after being in and out of the team under Neil Warnock he now finds himself behind Scott Dann and Damien Delaney in Alan Pardew’s central-defensive pecking order, and it would be a surprise to see him still at the club beyond the end of the season.
Everton: Tim Howard
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The World Cup, the tweets and the memes must seem like a long time ago for Tim Howard now, with the US international becoming the symbol of what has been a season of struggle for Everton.
The ageing goalkeeper has seen his position questioned by some increasingly exasperated Blues supporters, and he might find that Roberto Martinez is shopping for a new stopper once the season ends.
Hull City: Abel Hernandez
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There was a brief period just after the summer transfer window closed when Hull City looked to have made some outstanding additions, and one of which was the Uruguayan forward Abel Hernandez.
Goals against West Ham, Manchester City and Arsenal in three of his first five league games for the club only added to that theory, but Hernandez has failed to net in 13 appearances since then as injuries and poor form have taken their toll.
Leicester City: Marc Albrighton
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From being a youngster on the fringes of things at Aston Villa, Marc Albrighton’s move to Leicester City was supposed to allow the winger to spread his, well, wings, and show everyone just what he was all about.
He’s struggled to make an impact at the King Power Stadium, though, failing to do anything memorable in nine Premier League appearances.
Injuries have affected him, but at 25 he no longer has the “youthful promise” card to play.
Liverpool: Mario Balotelli
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Remember when Liverpool’s £16 million outlay on Mario Balotelli was being praised for being a good piece of business?
That seems like a long time ago now, and as the Italian continues to struggle at Anfield it remains to be seen just what Liverpool will do with their misfiring forward in the summer.
Do they cut their losses, or give him yet another chance despite having just one Premier League goal to his name?
Manchester City: Eliaquim Mangala
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Central defence was, we were told, a position that Manchester City desperately needed to invest in in the summer and they ended up investing a lot in Frenchman Eliaquim Mangala from Porto. Things haven’t quite worked out.
Looking cumbersome and a little slow, Mangala has completely failed to adapt to Premier League life, and given the recent struggles of Vincent Kompany, City fans have been thankful for the consistency provided by the previously derided Martin Demichelis.
Manchester United: Radamel Falcao
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Angel Di Maria has made a late run for contention, but not even the Argentinean’s recent woes can overshadow the sheer misery of Radamel Falcao’s first and perhaps only season at Manchester United, as the previously lethal forward has shown about as much threat in front of goal as a teddy bear.
The Colombian’s injury issues are clearly affecting him, but given the exorbitant money United shelled out on him they would certainly be expecting more.
Or anything, for that matter.
Newcastle United: Yoan Gouffran
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Sometimes pilloried by Newcastle fans for being a seemingly automatic pick during the Alan Pardew era, Frenchman Yoan Gouffran has had a disappointing season which has produced just two league goals—strikes which arrived in back-to-back games against Southampton and Hull in January.
That would be all well and good if Gouffran was creating goals, but he isn’t really doing that either with just one assist registered for the campaign, against Hull in a 2-2 draw in September.
Indeed, it’s pretty tough to work out just what he does.
Queens Park Rangers: Rio Ferdinand
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It’s becoming increasingly difficult to work out just what Rio Ferdinand’s motivation for joining Queens Park Rangers was, bar just picking up a lot of money.
At a time when some of his England “Golden Generation” colleagues are choosing to move abroad and embrace something of an easier life perhaps Ferdinand should be lauded for staying in the Premier League, not that Rangers supporters will feel like doing that following a series of below-par displays.
Southampton: Shane Long
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It’s pretty harsh to criticise any Southampton player during a season in which they’ve taken hysterical early-season talk of relegation and rammed it down people’s throats, but forward Shane Long hasn’t exactly been the success the club would have hoped for.
He’s scored just twice in the Premier League—both in the same game against Leicester in November—and at a time when Graziano Pelle is struggling he really should be providing Ronald Koeman with more of an alternative upfront.
Stoke City: Charlie Adam
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It’s been a strange season for Charlie Adam, who made his first Premier League start since October in the recent 2-0 win over Everton, and has seen his Stoke impact largely reduced to appearances from the bench.
That in turn has affected his output of goals and assists (two and one) in the league and leaves you pondering the question, if he’s not contributing to goals, then just what is he doing?
Sunderland: Ricky Alvarez
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When Inter Milan signed Ricky Alvarez from Velez Sarsfield in 2011 it was believed they were capturing one of the next great Argentinean players to make their impact in Europe. It didn’t quite work out that way.
Three years later he ended up on loan at Sunderland, where he’s played 12 times in the league this season without registering either a goal or an assist.
Swansea City: Bafetimbi Gomis
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Thankfully fully recovered from his recent health scare at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane, attention can now turn back towards Bafetimbi Gomis’s disappointing form in front of goal during his first season at Swansea.
Sidelined by the presence of Wilfried Bony for the first half of the season, Gomis has struggled since being pressed into the side following the Ivorian’s sale, although his only two league goals for the club were winners against Arsenal and Manchester United.
Tottenham Hotspur: Emmanuel Adebayor
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You’re probably expecting to see Roberto Soldado’s picture here, but the poor Spaniard has had to put up with enough this season so it is time to focus on Tottenham’s other misfiring forward.
Emmanuel Adebayor has seen whatever goodwill Spurs fans had for him evaporate during a season which has featured him criticising those same supporters, going on an extended leave of absence and scoring just two Premier League goals, and it has to be time for the Togolese to move on in the summer.
West Bromwich Albion: Georgios Samaras
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It’s over now, and if you’d have blinked you might have missed Georgios Samaras’ West Bromwich Albion career.
The former Manchester City and Celtic forward failed to score in eight appearances for the Baggies in league and cup, before he was shipped out of the club by Tony Pulis in February, joining Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
West Ham United: Mauro Zarate
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Now shipped out of the club on loan at QPR, what had appeared to be a hugely impressive move for both Mauro Zarate and West Ham has gone more than a little sour.
The Argentinean managed two league goals for the club, but the impacts of fellow new arrivals Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho made it difficult for him to get appearances, although he’s not done much since switching to Loftus Road, either.
