What if we had our injured players available?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about what I perceived as a general mediocrity in this year’s La Liga campaign.
I personally feel that many teams have underperformed, including Barcelona, Valencia, and Villareal. As I got to thinking, it occurred to me that all of the above teams have suffered from horrendous injuries to key players.
Barcelona lost Samuel Eto’o, arguably the best striker in the world, for the great majority of the season, as well as less influential players such as Gio Van Bronckhorst and Silvinho, Valencia have gone large periods of time without the services of Del Horno, Marchena (a hugely underrated defensive bulwark), Edu, Baraja and Vicente (as usual), all first team players, and Villareal face(d) the loss of Arruabarrena (whom they have really missed), Pires (who showed what he could have done all season with his goal against Barcelona), Riquelme (in odd circumstances, but a superb and inspirational player), José Mari and, last but not least, of the talented Nihat Kahveci.
So, my question is the following: which teams do you think have been worst affected by injuries, and what might have happened had certain players avoided treatment?
- Would Watford have stayed up had Marlon King been fit for the whole season?
- How different would Chelsea’s title challenge have been had Terry and Cech avoided their respective injuries?
- Has Dean Ashton’s absence contributed largely to West Ham’s demise?
- Is Tottenham’s laughable defensive record in the main attributable to the consistent absence of talismanic skipper Ledley King?
- Would Fulham’s season have been greatly improved if Bullard had never been injured?
- Would Newcastle have escaped mediocrity were it not for their injury problems, particularly if Michael Owen were to have been fit?
- Would Manchester United have faired better over two legs if Neville, Rio, Vidic and Saha were fit for both Milan games?
- Would Arsenal’s season have tailed off like this with Henry and van Persie fit?
Your thoughts please.
I understand that this list is hugely Premiership-ocentric (quite a neologism indeed). I’d be happy to hear from Championship and football league fans, as well as foreigners! For example, what’s going to happen to Derby in the play-offs without Giles Barnes? (please sign him Spurs!).
Topics: English Premier League, La Liga
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Tottenham wouldn’t have done any better and neither would’ve chelski.
Arsenal didn’t just miss Henry and RVP, there have been long periods without Gallas, Rosicky, Ljunberg to name a few. The finishing of Henry and RVP has been misses especially since Arsenal have about 8 goal scoring chances per match and score 1 or 2.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 14:24Chelsea would be Champions now if Terry and Cech played 35 league games, spurs would of improved but not broke the top 4, Arsenal would of pushed a lot more towards the top 2, the only team who havent suffered is Liverpool and they are still shit in the league even tho they are in the CL final.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 14:50Watford no…King even if he was around and scoring,he’ll probably be snapped up in the mid season transfer window;Dean Ashton was there too when they got relegated…
Yes Chelsea would have been super invincible and won the league with many games to spare…
WHU not really…the whole team was playing like crap,and its not like he’s Steven Gerrard or something;Watford referral here…
Spurs probably…King’s a pretty decent centre who would probably shored up their defence better albeit a little bit…
Bullard,i don’t know,is he that good??
Newcastle for certain yes…it seems all the good players they have and brought was injured…Owen was most notable though…
Man United…for sure of course,basically the three was the undisputed kings of Man U backline which matched or bettered Chelsea’s…Saha?? Given,with the assurred presence of these three in the backline,United probably wouldn’t even need to score in Milan…
Arsenal not much of a difference…Henry even when fit wasn’t firing on cylinders and RVPs only good for certain crucial goals nothing much really…
Derby…the whole team is made up mostly of youngster “discarded” from the big four…so maybe not huh…
So in my opin,Chelsea and United are the two biggest losers here…being,the first now chasing wind for the EPL,& the latter ousted from the CL in Milanistas fahion…
All thanks to Hugo…
May 3rd, 2007 @ 14:50Correction on Arsenal,Franny Jeffers is spot on there…
May 3rd, 2007 @ 14:51“Ifs and nuts were sugar and nuts we would all have a merry Christmas”
Injuries are part of the game. You have to deal with them not complain about them. That’s why the big teams buy expensive “squads”.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 15:08The difference between the Ac Milan – Manutd was this. Gattuso. Once he’s taken off in the first leg, ManUtd started to dominate the midfield. We clearly see how important he is on the 2nd leg where he owned ManUtd.
Can you seriously say that Rvp and Henry would not have put in those chances? Yet you seriously believed that a fully fit Gary + Rio + Vidic would had stopped Milan. Hmm …
They both MAKE a difference. Henry and RvP, if they were fully fit, and if they even put in HALF of the chances created, we would be having a better season – a lot better.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 16:17Spot on Mark, injuries to affect teams, but so do suspensions, tiredness etc. It’s a part of the game that managers just have to deal with.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 16:25Phil,
If Henry was FULLY FIT, and so was Robin Van Persie, the Gunners wouldn’t have trouble of scoring as they do now. They had to rely on 3rd, 4th 5th choice strikers.
Watch the games buddy. They Creates chances after chances only there’s no one up there to finish it. Only morons would say Henry and Robin Van Persie are terrible finishers.
read it up mate.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 16:31what you on about phil ‘king’s a pretty decent defender’, he’s the best in the country when fully fit. spurs would have definitely done better with him there all season.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 17:19I feel it’s a little too much of ‘ifs and buts’. My point is, every season we have a host of teams having major injury problems. United had a bad time last year and Arsenal have been having it for the past two seasons now. Chelsea are probably having their first major injury crisis under Mourinho. Same can be said of clubs like Newcastle (who had a horror season with injuries). We really can’t have all clubs playing at full strength for an entire season, can we? I mean that would present an ideal scenario that would please everyone, but that’s how football (and sport in general) is and it has to be accounted for in the final analysis as if teams are at full strength. So I personally believe it to be a non-issue, in general.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 17:51Just to make it clear…the last two examples are Ahmed’s, not mine
May 3rd, 2007 @ 18:24As for Spurs, I have no doubt that had King been available for another 10 games or so, then they’d be in fifth place right now. He’s good enough to have had an effect on a couple of the close games they’ve had (3-3 at Wigan?!) that could have given them an extra win or two out of the draws they had.
Add to King’s absence the injuries to Gardner, Lee, Assou-Ekotto, and Stalteri at various times – especially during the UEFA Quarters and the run-in to the end of the season – and thewy’ve had barely enough first-team players to fill the defense (see: Rocha at left back). It’s a blessing that Keane and Berbatov have been in such fine form. If that hadn’t been the case, then I can only imagine what a woeful season Spurs would have had.
May 3rd, 2007 @ 18:52Liverpool – Harry Kewel
May 4th, 2007 @ 14:04Shropshire Yid – u must be a Chelsea fans who r still yet to recover from the defeat..Liv have many new players which need time to gel..don’t forget Kewel out for the whole season..
May 4th, 2007 @ 14:11TaoZhe & Nathan Mel – ok ok my bad..so i was wrong about Arsenal as i’d mentioned #4,i get the point already yes yes Henry is one top finisher RVP more or less there…
DaoZhi – i honestly believe had the three been fit,Milan attacks would have been nullified and United could go through based on their home win scoreline…
Mike – seriously King’s pretty decent;sure he’ll marshall the Spurs backline well,but at best he’ll be the fourth defender in the national team behind Terry,Rio and Carra,so no arguin there on the best in the country…
Red Ranter – spot on there,cause all in all,if & buts are very strong words in football…
May 4th, 2007 @ 16:07