The FIFA Rankings have often been a source of derision, with many arguing that they are deeply flawed. Certainly, we have seen some bizarre results, such as:
So, after the usual last minute drama, the play-off line up is complete. In the Championship, late entrants Brighton face a tough tie with Derby County, who achieved their record points tally for a season. In the other game, inconsistent QPR play Wembley specialists Wigan for a place in the final. League One sees an all southern-clash in the Peterborough v Orient matchup, while the north provide Rotherham and Preston. Finally, in the bottom division, Fleetwood face York and Southend take on Burton.
So Roy's boys kick off their final friendly tonight with 10 changes to the Ecuador game. But will all 23 squad members get a chance to shine when it really matters?
In 2010 Stephen Warnock and Joe Hart were the unlucky two to never make it onto a South African pitch - and there has never been a World Cup squad that used all of the players selected. While many unused squad members have gone on to become England regulars (such as Bobby Charlton (0 games in 1958); David Seaman (1990); Rio Ferdinand (1998); and Steven Gerrard in 2002), 51 of the 203 players named in England World Cup squads have never played a moment on football's biggest stage, even in later tournaments. Below, I've picked a best XI from that unlucky 25%, arranged into a classic English 4-4-2.
Unsurprisingly, goalkeepers are the most represented position among the "nearly men". With squads taking three 'keepers to international tournaments, even the number two rarely gets a game. But our pick of a very strong bunch is Ray Clemence, who went to the 1982 World Cup but, along with Joe Corrigan, never got a look in as Peter Shilton began a run of three World Cups where he was ever-present.
Clemence began his career at Scunthorpe United but before he was out of his teens Bill Shankly had spotted the young stopper and signed him for Liverpool. Clemence went on to make 470 appearances for the Reds, staying at the club for almost fifteen years. Among his medals from that period were five First Division titles and three European Cups. Had England qualified for the World Cups in 1974 and 1978, Clemence would probably have played, but instead he had to wait for 1982. By then he had moved to Tottenham Hotspur, where he would win his second FA Cup and his third UEFA Cup.
Retiring in 1988, he was a coach at Spurs and also managed Barnet, before joining the England setup once more in 1996. He spent the next 11 years as England's goalkeeping coach, serving under four different national managers, until he was replaced by one of Fabio Capello's Italian retinue in 2007. He continued to serve with distinction in a senior development role at the FA, until retiring from football aged 65 earlier this season.
Reserves: As mentioned above, there are a lot! In the 1950s, Edwin Ditchburn, Edward Burgin and Eddie Hopkinson were the three similarly-named unfortunates to miss out. In 1958, someone not called Ed enters the frame, as Alan Hodgkinson missed the '58 World Cup in Sweden. Hodgkinson was just 5' 9, yet made 576 appearances for Sheffield United. He is one of the few players to fail to play in two international tournaments, as he was also an unused squad member in 1962. Two others in that category are Chris Woods and Nigel Martyn.
However, our third goalkeeper for our nearly squad is Dave Beasant. Beasant played for fifteen clubs in a varied career but is best known for his time as part of Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang'. The first goalkeeper to save a Cup Final penalty in 1988, he went to the 1990 World Cup but this time could only watch as penalties knocked England out at the semi-final stage. The other goalkeepers to never play in a World Cup despite having been selected are Gary Bailey, Joe Corrigan, Tim Flowers and Alex Stepney. Two current players also fit the bill - Scott Carson and Joe Hart.
Just as German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann is famous for playing in the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck, so Gerald 'Gerry' Byrne is perhaps most remembered for playing in the 1965 Final despite a broken collarbone. Getting injured in just the third minute, Byrne played on for the remaining 87 - and half an hour of extra time, as Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first ever time. Partly as a result of this incredible story, substitutes were finally introduced to the FA Cup two years later.
Yet Byrne had a long and prestigious career outside of that famous final. He had been a Liverpool regular since 1959 and a key part of Bill Shankly's first great side. In 1966, his performances were recognised by England manager Alf Ramsey, and he was called up for the tournament. Sadly for Byrne, he never made it on to the pitch, and as only the 11 players who contested the Final won a medal, had nothing to show for being part of England's only World Cup winning squad. Soon afterwards, early in the 1966/67 season, Byrne was badly injured playing for Liverpool. He continued playing until 1969, but the injury had robbed him of his best abilities and in that year he retired, aged just 31.
In 2009, along with the rest of the 1966 squad, Byrne finally received his winner's medal.
Reserves: Only one left back since Byrne has been to a tournament but never played in a World Cup, and that is current Leeds defender Stephen Warnock, who went to South Africa in 2010. Further back, two "full backs" (although they played a lot more centrally than today's full backs) failed to make a World Cup appearance. The second was Birmingham City's Ken Green, but we are going to go even further back to 1950 (and fudge it a bit as our player was naturally right-sided). Our reserve is Laurie Scott, who played for Bradford City, Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Unfortunate that the best years of his career coincided with WW2 (in which he worked as a PT instructor for the RAF), Scott nevertheless played 17 times for England.
An Arsenal legend, Martin Keown was part of the famous Gunners defence under George Graham that made '1-0 to the Arsenal' such a footballing cliché. He made his England debut in 1992 and played in all three games as the Three Lions went out at the group stage of that year's European Championships. Once Graham Taylor was replaced by Terry Venables, Keown lost his international place and had to wait until 1997 to return to the side. He remained involved in the England setup until 2002, going to the World Cup that year as well as France in 1998. On neither occasion did he get a game.
Keown made 43 appearances for England, scoring twice. Despite relatively lengthy spells at Aston Villa and Everton, he is almost entirely remembered for his time with Arsenal. While playing for the Gunners, he won three FA Cups and three Premiership titles (including two "doubles"). The most recent league win, in 2003/04, saw Keown play a small but important role as a squad player in the unbeaten 'invincibles' side (making 10 league appearances). Perhaps most memorably, he had quite a bit to say to Ruud van Nistelrooy after he missed a key penalty in what is apparently now called the "Battle of Old Trafford"
After spells at Leicester City and Reading, he retired in 2005. Today, he is still active in football as a BBC pundit.
Nicknamed 'Crazy Horse', Hughes was a much-beloved member of the 1970s Liverpool side that contained his fellow squad member Ray Clemence. Similarly to Clemence, he would probably have played at a World Cup had England qualified in 1974 or 1978, after he travelled to Mexico in 1970 but did not play. He made 62 appearances for England (more than any of our other "nearly men") mainly during the 1970s, and captained the national side on a number of occasions.
At domestic level, he was part of a more successful team, winning four league titles, two European Cups, two UEFA Cups and the FA Cup with Liverpool. After leaving Anfield in 1979, he went on to appear for Wolves, Rotherham, Hull and Swansea City. He went on to win a new set of fans as a team captain on A Question of Sport, at one point famously confusing jockey John Reid with Princess Anne. He died from a brain tumour aged just 57, and in 2008 was posthumously inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Reserves: Two players remain active, Wes Brown (2002) and Michael Dawson (2010). From earlier years, we could also include centre half Jimmy Taylor (1950). However, our two reserves for Hughes and Keown are Allenby Chilton and Peter Swan. Chilton begun his career in the late 1930s, joining Manchester United in 1938, but was interrupted by World War II. He saw active service in the Durham Infantry, including being part of the D-Day landings in 1944. Back at United, he won the 1948 FA Cup and the 1952 League title, as a key part of Matt Busby's first great side. At one stage, he made 175 consecutive appearances - some record even today in the age of sports scientists, never mind in the 1950s! Chilton made two international appearances.
Our other reserve, Peter Swan, made his first team debut for Sheffield Wednesday in 1955, aged 19. Over the next seven years, he became an increasingly integral part of the Owls side of the era, and was rewarded with 19 England caps between 1960 and 1962. Selected for the World Cup that year, he managed to fight off tonsillitis in the build-up but immediately came down with dysentery on arrival in Chile, missing the entire tournament. Just six months later, he, along with two other Wednesday players, bet on their own side to lose a match in which they played. After a media scandal, Swan was jailed for four months and banned for life from football. However, the ban was lifted in 1972 and he made a brief return to the professional game, first with Wednesday and then Bury. Unsurprisingly, he never played for England again, and retired to become a manager and then a pub landlord.
Another Hall of Fame inductee, Anderson won two European Cups and the First Division title with Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest; and further silverware under Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Yet he is perhaps most famous for being the first black player to represent England in a full international. Rightly renowned for breaking this important barrier, Anderson should not be forgotten as a talented footballer in his own right. He was a creative, ball-playing right back who went on to make a further 29 appearances for England after his historic debut against Czechoslovakia.
Taken to the 1982 World Cup, Anderson found himself behind Mick Mills and Phil Neal. He made a number of appearances prior to the next tournament in 1986, but he was again to be left on the bench, this time in favour of Gary Stevens. Having played for Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Manchester United (where he was Fergie's first signing), Anderson continued playing until 1995, when he retired at age 38. Having already been player-manager of Barnsley, he coached at Middlesborough until 2001.
Reserves: With just one more defender to mention, our reserve is almost picked by default. However, Peter Sillett would get into many teams, having had a distinguished career at Southampton and Chelsea. He scored 34 goals while at Stamford Bridge, making him the highest-scoring defender in the club's history until John Terry broke his record. A penalty specialist, he scored the crucial goal from the spot to win the club's first, and until the Mourinho era, only, league title in 1955.
Huh? Why's there a picture of a cricketer here? Well, that's because Willie Watson was one of that rare breed who have represented England in both football and cricket. Having followed in his father's footsteps by playing for Huddersfield Town in the late 1930s, Watson spent most of his time in football at Sunderland. He made over 200 appearances for the Wearside club, during which he was an unused player in England's first ever World Cup squad in 1950. The following year, he made his Test debut and went on to score 879 Test runs, playing first-class cricket for Yorkshire and later Leicestershire until 1964.
Reserves: Our reserve for this position is George Eastham, a talented inside left who is perhaps better remembered by lawyers than football fans. In 1960, Eastham, having scored 29 goals in 124 appearances for Newcastle United, wanted to move to Arsenal. At the time, clubs were under no obligation to transfer a player if they did not want to, under the 'retain and transfer' system. Newcastle only relented after Eastham went on strike, and backed by the PFA, he also took the club to court. In 1963, the landmark verdict in Eastham v Newcastle United FC held that the system was an unfair restraint of trade. Today's millionaire footballers have much to thank Eastham for! While at Arsenal, Eastham made 19 England appearances, joining Gerry Byrne as the other non-playing member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad.
A managerial legend at Tottenham, Bill Nicholson was also a talented player before he took charge of the club where he spent his entire career. Having made his debut just before the Second World War, he served in the same regiment as Allenby Chilton and, due to being stationed in Italy, did not return to England until 1948. On his return, he once more turned out for the Lilywhites, having moved back from inside forward to half back. As part of the legendary "push and run" Spurs side of the era, Nicholson won the Second Division championship in 1950 and the First Division title the following year.
International recognition came with his first, and only, cap against Portugal late in the 1950/51 season. Unfortunately for Nicholson, his rival for his spot in the England side was the great Billy Wright. As a result, despite having being named in the 1950 squad, he never played a World Cup match. Nicholson seemed unperturbed by this - in a quote that shows the "Club vs Country" debate is nothing new, he admitted "My duty is to get fit for Tottenham. Well, they pay my wages, don't they?"
They were wages well spent by Spurs. After retiring in 1954, he immediately joined the Tottenham coaching staff, becoming first team coach the following year. After returning from assisting Walter Winterbottom at the 1958 World Cup, Nicholson was appointed manager. He led Spurs to three FA Cups, the first league and Cup double in the 20th Century, and in 1963 the European Cup Winners Cup - the first ever European trophy won by a British club. He remained as manager until 1974, when he resigned, mainly in disgust at the increasing illegal payments in the game. Having spent almost 40 years with Spurs, he was and remains a true legend at the club.
With the energetic Nicholson helping break up the play, we're going to pick the creative Terry McDermott alongside him. McDermott made his England debut in 1977 and went on to play in the European Championships in 1980. Firmly establishing himself in the side, he played in every qualifying game for the World Cup in 1982, but failed to make an appearance in the tournament. It marked the end of his career at the very top level and he never played for England again.
Having joined Liverpool in 1974 after spells at Bury and Newcastle United, McDermott struggled to hold down a place in Bob Paisley's side. However, in 1976-77 he finally established himself in the first team, going on to win the first of four league titles. He went on to add to that collection with array of medals, most notably three European Cup wins. An exciting player who provided a true goal threat from midfield, McDermott scored what the official Liverpool website claims is "arguably the best goal ever seen at Anfield", as part of a 7-0 demolition of Spurs in 1978.
After leaving the Reds in 1983, McDermott returned to Newcastle, before spells in Ireland and Cyprus. Retiring from playing in 1987, he had spells as assistant manager at Newcastle (twice), Huddersfield and most recently Birmingham City. Both of his sons, Neale and Greg, are professional footballers.
Reserves: There were plenty of players to pick from in this position. They included Stan Anderson, the first man to captain Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough; Henry Cockburn, a league and cup winner with Manchester United in the early 1950s; Jermaine Jenas, who represented every England team from Under 15 to full international; and Danny Murphy, who only missed the 2002 World Cup with a last-minute metatarsal injury.
Our first substitute, however, is a tough tackling hardman. Maurice Setters, just 5'7 but weighing over 13 stone, was a bulldog of a midfielder who captained Manchester United as Matt Busby tried to rebuild his side following the Munich air disaster. Setters never played for England, despite being selected for the 1958 World Cup squad - although his replacement at United, Nobby Stiles, went on to play a key role in the 1966 World Cup success. Ken Armstrong is our second reserve. After a long career with Chelsea, during which he made over 400 appearances, Armstrong emigrated to New Zealand. Before he left, he made a single appearance for the English national side, but he then became one of the very few men to represent two countries at full international level, turning out 9 times for the "All Whites" down under, and scoring three international goals. He played on at local level until the age of 46, and later managed the New Zealand national side. Armstrong returned to England in the end however - his ashes are scattered on the Stamford Bridge pitch.
We've generally avoided players who could (or in the case of Joe Hart, will) end up playing at a future tournament, but Theo Walcott deserves a particular mention. A picture paints a thousand words, and the photo above sadly sums up Walcott's international career thus far. First picked as a surprise inclusion in Sven-Göran Eriksson's 2006 World Cup squad, despite being just 17 and having never played a Premier League game, Walcott was never used at the tournament. In fact, he made just one start for the senior international side between then and 2010, and despite appearing in a number of World Cup warm-up matches, he was omitted from Fabio Capello's final squad for South Africa.
Finally appearing in a major tournament in Euro 2012, where he played a key role in England's 3-2 win over Sweden (setting up Wellbeck for the winning goal), Walcott would have been a shoe-in for this year's side, had he not been injured in January in Arsenal's FA Cup derby with Spurs. Still only 25, Walcott and England will be hoping that it's fourth time lucky for Russia 2018.
Reserves: Beating out Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United inside-right Albert Quixall is Harry Hooper. Hooper, best known at domestic level for spells with West Ham and Birmingham, played for England under-23, the England 'B' side and the Football League representational team, but never earned a full international cap. His record of 69 goals in less than 300 domestic matches demonstrates his scoring prowess.
Centre-forward for his midfield colleague Bill Nicholson's double-winning Spurs side, Hooper was a strong, bustling player who scored 13 goals in just 15 international appearances - including a brace against Scotland in 1961's 9-3 demolition job. At first favoured by Alf Ramsey, Smith seemed to suddenly drop off the international scene in 1963, missing World Cup glory by just a handful of years.
A true character, a good idea of Bobby Smith's character can be found in Jimmy Greaves' obituary after his death in 2004. Just as deadly in the league, Smith averaged two goals for every three games he played for Tottenham. After a row over newspaper articles published under Smith's name he was quickly transferred to Brighton, where he showed his continuing class by hitting 19 goals in 31 games. After that, his career petered out with a slide toward non-league football, and then work as a taxi driver, a painter and van driver. He died in north London in 2010.
We round out our nearly men XI with a man whose nickname sums up the affection football fans have for these players who came so close to glory. 'Sir' Les Ferdinand is remembered most fondly by QPR, Newcastle and Tottenham fans but was an ever-present part of the revival of English football in the 1990s. Starting his career in the London non-league scene, Ferdinand was scouted by QPR and signed at age 19. Making his debut within a year, he went on to average a goal every two games in an eight season run that saw the west London club enjoy their last sustained period in the top flight. 24 goals in 1994-5 saw bigger teams come knocking, and Ferdinand moved to Kevin Keegan's Newcastle. 24 became 29 in his first season, and by the time he left in 1997 he'd hit 50 goals in just 84 games. That season saw Ferdinand return to London to partner Jurgen Klinsmann at Spurs, where he found goals harder to come by, but still smashed home the 10,000th Premiership goal.
At England level, Ferdinand was unlucky to play in the era of Shearer and Sheringham, and by the time he visited a World Cup in 1998, a new star was about to be born:
Ferdinand played only 17 games for England, scoring 5 goals. Post-Tottenham, he had spells at a number of clubs, most notably Leicester City, before retiring in 2006.
Oh, and it wasn't him who ransacked the Blue Peter garden...
Reserves: Only two of our 51 are left, so our reserves are picked for us. First up is the fantastically-named Bedford Jezzard, a one-club man who hit an almost unbelievable 154 goals in just over 300 games for Fulham. Capped by England even when his side were in the second tier, Jezzard then returned to Craven Cottage after his retirement to manage his side back to the top division. He is joined on the bench by Peter Withe, a player who could appear in the dictionary next to "journeyman striker". After spells in non-league football, South Africa and the USA, Withe appeared for a number of league sides, including Nottingham Forest, Birmingham, Newcastle and Sheffield United. However, he was most famous for his five season spell at Aston Villa, during which time he scored the winning goal in Villa's 1982 European Cup triumph. For England he was somewhat less effective, notching just one goal in eleven appearances. Despite being the first ever Aston Villa player to be selected for a World Cup squad, he failed to appear during the 1982 competition.
For more information on these players, and all the rest, I strongly suggest you check out the excellent England Football Online.
Across the land big screen TVs are being hastily screwed to pub walls and livers are quaking in fear. It's the World Cup, and the matches are all in the evening our time. So, without further ado, we proudly present the Stoppage Time World Cup drinking game.
We hope you have fun with the game below, but please do be drink aware
The game is divided into four sections. Choose one, two or all four if you're feeling particularly brave stupid. Each event has a "measure" attached - it's up to you whether that's a sip, a measure or a chocolate for those hoping to feel OK in the morning. Category One - Commentator Clichés
1 measure - Any comparison of the atmosphere to Carnival, or mention of "samba style"
1 measure - Any team ranked lower than their opponents are described as "plucky"
1 measure - For every jovial reference to the time difference, see e.g. "for those of you having your dinner at home"
2 measures - For every awkward silence when the local director cuts to an unknown dignitary in the crowd
2 measures - Clive Tyldesley waxes lyrical about a United player you thought was having a poor game
2 measures - Alan Green waxes lyrical about a Liverpool player you thought was having a poor game
10 measures - Any player plying their trade in the Championship gets anything more than a patronising aside
1 measure - The commentator needlessly explains the offside rule
2 measures - The commentator needlessly explains the golden goal rule, despite the fact it was abolished in 2004
3 measures - The commentator needlessly explains "sudden death" in a penalty shoot-out
50 measures - The commentator explains the theory of Quantum Entanglement, with reference to marking from a corner
Strangely I couldn't find any pictures taken of the back of this German midfielder's shirt
1 measure - You giggle when the commentator mentions Germany's Lars Bender
3 measures - The commentator giggles when he or she mentions Germany's Lars Bender
10 measures - The commentator manages a perfect double entrendre when the USA's Bobby Wood slide tackles French full back Rod Fanni
Category Two - Oh God England are playing
1 measure - The pundits in the studio disagree with Hodgson's lineup
1 measure - Someone mentions 1966
1 measure - Someone mentions Lampard's "goal that wasn't" in 2010
1 measure - Any England match that goes to extra time is accompanied by much joking about viewers calling in sick the next day
2 measures - Someone mentions 1970
2 measures - An England defender is compared to Bobby Moore
50 measures - Chris Smalling is compared to Bobby Moore
Extra points for the "no European country has ever won in South America" cliche
1 measure - An England defeat is blamed on the heat
1 measure - An England defeat is blamed on the manager
2 measures - An England defeat is blamed on the referee
3 measures - An England defeat is blamed on a particular player
10 measures - An England defeat is accepted as fair considering we're not that good
1 measure - Wayne Rooney scores
2 measures - Wayne Rooney gets sent off
3 measures - Wayne Rooney scores and gets sent off
The rest of the bottle - England go out on penalties
Category Three - Johnny Foreigner and other stereotypes
1 measure - Any of the following country/ cliché pairings
The USA have only won one notable match - versus England in 1950
1 measure - Cameraman zooms in on gorgeous Brazilian women in the stand
2 measures - Cameraman zooms in on gorgeous Colombian women in the stand
10 measures - Cameraman zooms in on French woman with hairy armpits
Category Four - Pundit Bingo
1 measure - The only player for a more obscure nation who plays in the Premiership being continually singled-out for analysis, regardless of his impact on the game
1 measure - Someone on the BBC spends far too long explaining some finer point of defending
1 measure - Someone on ITV spends far too long explaining that scoring goals is a useful way of winning the game
1 measure - A former striker thinks the contentious decision is a "stonewall penalty"
1 measure - A former defender thinks the same decision is "never a penalty in a million years"
1 measure - A former goalkeeper complains about the official World Cup ball
Too light/heavy/hard/soft/swervy - delete as applicable (Image by Football.ua)
1 measure - A Scottish or Welsh pundit is less than kind to England, probably with justification
1 measure - The tabloids get inexplicably furious about said pundit expressing his views as he is paid to do
2 measures - Adrian Chiles is insufferably smug (WARNING: SERIOUS HEALTH RISK IF THIS RULE IS USED)
2 measures - Gary Linker ends a broadcast with a bad joke (WARNING: YOU WILL SUFFER LIVER FAILURE IF YOU USE THIS RULE)
Have fun and enjoy the World Cup! AS the tournament progresses, share your additions to the game in the comments below. Bonus internet points to anyone who photographs playing the game and posts the photos on our Facebook site...
This Saturday, Arsenal face Hull at Wembley in one of the more intriguing Cup Finals of recent years. The Gunners are desperate for silverware, while Hull will be looking to win the Cup for the first time in their history. One statistic that has been mentioned this week is that Arsenal have beaten Hull both home and away this season, with a 5-0 aggregate score. So should City fans be preparing for disappointment. Should Arsene be dusting off the trophy cabinet? Or does league form have no impact on the Cup Final?
I began by compiling all the league results between that season's FA Cup finalists from the 1946-47 season, the first year the First Division returned after the Second World War. As we saw last month, quite a few finals have involved lower league clubs, so those seasons are not counted. With that in mind, we end up with 56 seasons. Let's start by looking at the overall record:
So far, so expected. If we looked at most teams' results, Cup finalists or not, we'd expect to see them winning more at home and losing more away. Still, you might notice that the negative results look at little bit bigger than the win columns. In fact, the winners of the Cup have won 40 league meetings with the runners-up in the league season preceding the Final, and lost 44. What about if we combine both home and away matches together, totalling up the aggregate score?
Here the link is even more pronounced. Apparently, "losing" on aggregate over the League season is actually better in terms of your chances of winning the Final. And as the chart below shows, so is conceding more:
All well and good, you might be saying, but we're comparing apples with oranges. The graphs above were calculated by looking at overall wins, draws and losses, rather than pairing the two results in a season. So what about if we look at Cup Finals where one side has beaten the other in both league matches - as Arsenal have done the double of Hull this year.
Perhaps surprisingly, the same rule seems to apply. Almost 60% of the time, the team beaten twice in the league go on to win the big one. And if we look at the four occasions where there has been a 5 goal or greater difference in the aggregate score:
So, does Stoppage Time predict a Hull City win? I'm certainly tempted to say yes, but we should be wary of relying on historical data to discuss what might happen in the future. If we look at just Premier League results, the side doing better in the league does appear to have the advantage when it comes to the Final.
It's tempting to blame the change on the increasing stratification between the top clubs and the rest, and that might well be the answer. Of course, it might just be complete coincidence. But it is worth noting that both Wigan last year and Chelsea in 2012 had lost both league matches against their Final opponents. Is the pattern beginning to reassert itself, or will Arsenal complete a treble over the Tigers?
Stoppage Time prediction: We're going to trust in the questionable power of statistics and plump for Hull by the odd goal in three.
Agree that Steve Bruce will add a manager's medal to his three FA Cups as a player? Or do you think Arsenal might finally break their trophy drought? Let us know in the comments below, or via Twitter or Facebook
It's that time of year when the world and his wife are picking their team of the season. We here at Stoppage Time are no different, although we've tried to put our own twist on the matter. Rather than picking the eleven 'best' players in the Premiership, we've focused on the 'most improved'. So, rather than pointing out for the umpteenth time how important Vincent Kompany is to Manchester City's defence, we'd rather highlight the strides players like Luke Shaw and Seamus Coleman have made, or how John Terry has proved so many critics wrong.
Of course, this is the most subjective of subjective lists, so I'm sure you'll disagree with at least one of our suggestions. Let us know in the comments, or via Facebook and Twitter, and if enough of you think we've cocked it up we'll do a reader's team as well!
So, read on to see our choices, presented in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Is your player of the season involved?
On being appointed caretaker manager at Manchester United, one of Ryan Giggs first pronouncements was that United would target Europa League qualification this season. League Cup winners . Steve Bruce, whose Hull side are likely to qualify by simply reaching the Cup Final is also dreaming of Europe.
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