The best (and most disappointing) Premier League team of the year | ESPN FC

ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden joins Mark Donaldson to explain his picks for the best Premier League XI of the year, and the XI of players who were the biggest disappointments in 2023.

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So the task was such for Mark Ogden give us your best team of 2023 the calendar year and give us the not so good team of 2023 so before we get to the Mark just a quick word on how you went about this it’s not like they’ve been the best

Players or they’ve been the worst players injuries and various things have have come into that is that the kind of Criterion that you went based on yeah I mean so you know on the team of the Year first it’s difficult because you have to judge on how they ended last season how

They’ve started this season so a lot of players you know have had a good start to the season but not so good last season or you know certain the case of others in the disappointing team some of the players have picked had a great couple of months no guessing who Marcus

Rashford and not so good 10 months so it’s it’s a case of overall the calendar year and and you’re right there are some players who’ have made the disappointing team who have been let down by injuries and it’s disappointing for that reason and some players in my team of the year

Are based on how well they’ve stepped up to the plate and how maybe how they’ve exceeded expectations and you know some players would be thinking why he picked him because he’s not as good as him but it’s because of the consistency and the he they basically stepped up to the

Plate so it was it was a tricky challenge actually it wasn’t as easy it might seem okay let’s see if there’s any controversy in this now we’re about to approach 2024 and some of the the technological advances Ai and everything like that it means that with our graphic

We don’t have to put all the players on at one time we can start with the defense so let’s do that for your team of the year we’re going to build some drama and suspense here the one that I kind of thought okay that’s an interesting one was your left back Dan

Burn but the moment I thought about it I thought well who else could it be but obviously with a Scottish hat on I thought Andrew Robertson but burn was that one of the harder decisions that you’ve had to make well it was because like you say you look at the potential

Candidates Landy Robertson’s had he lost a bit of form at start last year with Liverpool you know his form was up and down he had injuries this year he’s not been his best but on his day he’s probably one of the best left backs in the world but I think this year he

Hasn’t been at that level for a variety of reasons you could say that Man City and Arsenal don’t operate with a left back a traditional left back Luke short man united being in and out up and down so I went for Dan burn because he’s been

A pivotal part of Eddie House’s team at Newcastle they qualifi for the Champions League they played the the first madej major final this Century he scored some big goals in those runs but he’s also stepped up to the point where nobody really thought that Dan bur who’s

Really a center half had it in to play left back and I just think he has had a sensational year at left back he’s really risen to the challenge is grasped the chance of playing for his Boyhood club and I think that nobody stepped up and and grasped the opportunity more

Than Dan bur so he’s he’s my left back because I just think he has exceeded expectations much more than any other left back all year round any other suggestions that you may have put in to your defense for your best players of 2023 in this team yeah obious the

Goalkeeper might cause a few surprises I’ve gone for Emmy Martinez at at Villa but I think he’s got such a personality and such a presence that he’s been a massive part of Villa’s season you know that the fact that they’re challenging for the title when a year ago following

Steven Gerard’s departure as manager un Emory came in they were mid-table people say Edison Alis and Becker have had great years but I think Emy Martinez has been consistent all year round and I think the fact that he’s had s he’s had he’s had a huge impact on his team

Probably more than the other go goalkeepers I mentioned M no let’s go to the Midfield and look just with a a little swoosh the Midfield appears it’s incredible stuff I mean the money that we spend on this goodness me I don’t think we’re going to give the ball away

Too much with this team with rodri with rice and igard we’re going to have plenty protection for that back four were you of the opinion that it was either rodri and rice to fit in another creative midfielder or were you just simply look this this isn’t who’s

Playing in which exact position this is just the best players in Midfield of the calendar year yeah I think look if Kevin De bruyne had been fit then he’d be the first team first name on any team of the year would because Kevin De Bru has been the best midfielder in the Premier

League for 10 years but he’s not been fit he’s had a he’s had a very patchy year Al together in terms of injuries so you know rodri as as a defensive Midfield that he is he’s also great pass with the ball he scores big goals he scored the winning goal in the Champions

League final so he’s not just a defensive midfielder he is you know he’s he’s a classic midfielder in a sense and I think Dean rice is is blossoming into that but rice is obviously a bit more box to boox I think I think Dean rice is your traditional you know the 1980s

Style box to box defends tackles attacks does everything really so I think there’s a good blend there I think Martin alard is as we’ve seen with Arsenal he’s got such creativity in his left foot the assist that he racks up he scored a lot of goals certainly last

Season for AR I think he scored 15 Premier League goals so there is a blend of of real flare and durability there so I think if if I’m if I manag one of the top teams in the world and you give me three midfielders to buy I think they’d

All be in the top five I think that they’ve had great years all around any potential others that might have gotten there ahead of those three well I mean you could say that you know Dominic SOS had a great start to life at Liverpool but you know over the year does he get

In exact you know maybe not I think you know you’re looking around I’m not sure I’m not sure there’s many that you know you don’t see anybody at man united what break into that team you know man city have got Talent all over the pitch Bernardo Silva perhaps

But I’m happy with that that three that pit yeah it’s it’s solid now when I saw your front three which we about to see as well I mean th this is this is mustard this really is uh how do you go against this three well I mean I I ended up having

One pick because you have to pick erling Harland you just have to of course no doubt about and and you can’t have a team with the year that Mel cell you know even though Liverpool had a tough second half last season he always scores the goals but for me son the one thing

That that W it for me the fact that first of all the pressure that he was under this year with Harry Kane leaving to step up to the plate well he’s done that this this season he also you know he’s also his presence and his work rate

And his and his tenacity were a big part of Harry Kane’s uh you know goals output last season but what you just watch sun and I watch other players in his position and they don’t quite put the work you know they don’t trap back as they should do and sometimes he’ll take

A breather he never takes a breather he never takes his his foot off the I think if you’re a young kid making your way in the game and you look at a great example of how to be a forward it’s it’s Youngman son because he just works so

Hard he works so hard and he finishes so well doesn’t give referees too much of a problem he’s had a couple of issues in the past with the late tackles but for me he’s just a perfect forward and he’s scoring the goals and he’s he’s showing real leadership at Tottenham this season

I think you ended that team very strongly and for those in the UK that remember the Church Hill advert on TV with the dog that just kind of nods like this that’s that’s decent I remember once listening to a commentary and I have to say I’ve used this line in

Commentary once or twice as well about a player who was so inconsistent he was either P or smelly now we’ve seen the py team and it’s time for the smelly team basically the Misfits of 2023 so let’s bring up the graphic for the players that underachieved and we start as we

Did with the good team with the back four plus goalkeeper the first thing I want to say is Ree James is in there maybe not through any fault of his own just because he’s been injured and he hasn’t played as anywhere near as much as he would have liked um so you can

Talk about that but I also want you to talk about the goalkeeper because you see Manchester United Manchester City a lot you see Onana a lot and he’s in your disappointing Team of the Year for what reason yeah I I had a real kind I was torn on this one because I actually

Think Anana will come good at United but because I was torn between him and David de Gea I I thought I could pick David de GE in this team because he had a terrible end to his time at United last season a wful six months which led to

His departure really and he doesn’t have a club but we don’t know if he doesn’t have a club because he doesn’t want a club he wants a bit of timeout or because he can’t find the club so but whatever it’s not been a great year for David de Gea But ultimately Andre anada

Came in with the the pressure of replacing David de Gea he had a great second half of last season with Inter Milan get the Champions League final but he came to United and he he started disastrously some really big big mistakes in in big games you know Champions League games that you know

United probably would have been in the The Knockout stage by now but for the mistakes he made in in games certainly against Bayern Munich and and Galatasaray so he made a great savey against cop egg in the penalty spot but I think Anana came with such a

Reputation having had a good year with him Landa he’s just not lived up to it but I do think he’ll come good but I just don’t think you could pick a a disappointed Team of the Year and pick a goalkeeper ahead of Andre Anana because he came with such high

Expectations and when Eric Dy remains on the bench when there are no other Center halfes available and Ana kogo still plays Four fullbacks across his back four rather than go to Eric D it’s not been great take take the hint pal I don’t think your future is it Spurs

Kukar and guial is an interesting one because kuchara came with a big fan fair but never really got involved and especially with Ben chilwell getting injured as often as as he has he would think that that’s whats Kar is to lose but no he’s thankfully he’s got good

Hair because he’s just had 2023 right oh just terrible I mean look it probably wasn’t his fault that Chelsea paid so much for him I think man city were trying to sign him half the price and and Chelsea came in and automatically put a massive lump of pressure on his

Shoulders I think he had four managers last season and this season started with Chelsea considering him as a lone move to man united but they pulled out of that one because of injuries that they had and it’s just not been able to convince and the last time I saw him

Play he was playing at right back against Man United at Old Trafford and he was taken off at halime so he’s a left back who can’t defend according to Jamie Carri and I think Carri has got a point so if a left back is left footed

He can’t defend and he’s playing on the right and he’s taking off at half time that isn’t great for Mark Kara but the reason he played on the right that night by the way is because ree change was injured and just to go back on your point about the selection Reese Jang is

A brilliant right back and when he’s fitting at the best of his form he he is up there with of course England’s vast array of great right backs Kyle Walker Kieran trippier TR Alexander Arnold but I think he’s had seven injuries this year he’s already now out for another

Three months I think with an injury so you got a feel for ree James but if he looks back in 2023 it’s been a disappointing year a very disappointing year and that’s why he’s in my team okay so in the good Midfield we have odard we

Have rodri and we have rice in a three on three in training against that three Enzo Phillips and mount yeah it’s a bit of a no contest Enzo again could fall into the category of it’s not his fault they paid as much he could have ended up somewhere else Mount just hasn’t done

Anything at Old Trafford and Calvin Phillips his boss has apologized to him for his lack of game time so three very different candidates here yeah well you know m m is a bit like uh ree James with a sense that he’s he’s had injuries all

Year round but he went to man united he passed his medical so he was fit when he signed and he’s just had the same problems again and when he has been fit he’s just not performed and he’s gone from being in the England squad to be

Nowhere near it so it’s been a terrible year for Mason Mount Calvin Phillips he just you know he’s won he’s won a treble he’s won a I think he’s won five trophies this year if he count the club World Cup but he’s probably not contributed much to any of them he’s I

Think he’s played he started four games all year so not a great time for calvan Phillips and you know Enzo let’s let’s not forget that he had he had a great World Cup for Argentina a year ago but PRI six months prior to that he left

River play for Benfica for less than 10 million pounds six months later he’s gone to Chelsea for 105 million pounds so again it’s not his fault that Chelsea was so ridiculous in the transfer market but by paying such a fee they put a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders and

He’s a good player Enzo but he’s nowhere near that he was at the time the most expensive player in the Premier League’s history and he’s not that player you know Dean rice has gone to Arsenal for a similar fee and being outstanding but he’s a bit older he knows the league I

Just think Enzo is just suffering for the fact that Chelsea signed him on the back of a good World Cup and paid way over the odge for him and I think it’s difficult for him to succeed at that level I wonder if mudri thinks to himself well I’ve given that away who’s

In your front three now mudri is one of them I wonder if he thinks to himself I wish I’d gone to Arsenal instead of gone to Chelsea or maybe it’s another that might come good rashford’s an interesting one want used to talk about that one because he had a really good

Season or a decent chunk of the season last year with Manchester United but can’t even get into the team right now and Anthony ever since I read someone describing him as a YouTube footballer I can’t get that out my head that’s your front three yeah well let’s start with Marcus

Rashford he had two two fantastic months but he’s had 10 terrible months and you know in in the recent weeks he has been so bad for Man United he’s been dropped from a front three that is not very good you know the front three right now that

Eric Tag’s been using in the last couple of games has been Alejandro gono Rasmus hland and Anthony and all three of them are very very raw forwards who haven’t got a lot of goals this season so rashford can’t even getting that team for me everything is wrong about Marcus

Frash his body language his commitment his performance at Newcastle recently was so bad that he was taken off and we haven’t seen him start a game since so you know rashford needs to look at himself really his 26 he should be the peak of his career and he’s letting it slip away so

He makes his team despite his great two months he’s just not done it for the rest of the year Anthony again you know talking about players that can’t really dictate how much clubs spend on them 85 million pound for a player that is utterly one-footed not very not very quick not

Very very strong as we recall this he’s not created an assist all season I don’t think he scored All Season either so he just doesn’t do it he’s he’s just a player that is is not good enough for Man United he’s not good enough for the

Premier league and I’m amazed he gets in the Brazil squad but he’s he’s simply not good enough and I think whenever there’s a change in the hierarchy at man united in terms of the the Jim rackler take over and the you know the football directorship of the football control I

Think Anthony will quickly have to find a new club because he’s simply not good enough MAA MRI think I think there is something there in MRI I think there’s a player there I think I think that with the right coaching and the right faith and I think I think m poino is slowly

Getting something out of madri but as you said you know at the start of January he was going to Arsenal he was telling everybody he was going to arsal because he kept liking the games on FIFA and it never happened and then he went to Chelsea again for an inflated fee and

Moved to a club in chaos with managerial uncertainty and he’s not been able to settle and I think also with K mudrick as well which we have to factor in which I think gets overlooked he’s come from Ukraine his first move abroad he’s a young lad and he’s got you know despite

The fact he’s strugg on the football pitch what is his life like off the pitch the worries he’s got to deal with family worries his countryes in in a absolute turmoil right now so the fact that he’s been able to perform at any level is is amazing considering what

He’s come from so I think MRI needs a bit of patience But ultimately he’s not had a great year on the football pitch and that’s why he’s in the team yeah plenty of debate to be had one thing I would say about a fair number of those players in your disappointing Team of

The Year it’s not really their fault that they’ve paid overinflated prices for a lot of them and it’s like Harry MaGuire at man united being that 80 million Defender it’s not easy for some of them but if they’ve got that ability that club’s willing to pay that amount

For them as you say you might have expected a little bit more mark thank You