Starting From The Bottom - Part 1

I recently listened to an episode of the Filthy Fellas podcast (which I’d highly recommend by the way) where they talked about something interesting. The topic at hand was, if you were to strip down different Premier League clubs and then rebuild those clubs around one player, who would it be. I thought I’do the same. This may be one of two posts on this subject, but for now, I’ll go through 5 clubs from last year’s top 10 and answer this very question.

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City: Erling Haaland

City have some many talented players that could be the cornerstone of the club. However, considering age, ability & individuality amongst other things, I think the player you build around would be Erling Haaland. It’s so hard to score goals at the highest level, and when you have a guy that can bang them in for fun, who only cares about scoring goals & couldn’t really care less about being involved in any build-up play, you must cater to that player. The scariest thing about Haaland is that he’s still so young and, in truth, still a little bit raw. Yet, he’s already one of the best no.9s around. I mean what he’s already done in the blue half of Manchester is crazy. Unless a Real Madrid comes knocking for him, it’s highly likely that he’ll be at City for the long haul, and it should be in City’s best interests to build a team that allows Haaland to be the best version of himself. As I said, there are some many fantastic players, but Haaland is that guy.

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Arsenal: Declan Rice

I was a little bit torn with this one and let me explain why. Arsenal have three solid candidates. You’ve got Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s starboy. He’s the embodiment of Arsenal football club, a player has ascended from the juniors all the way to the first team. Then you’ve got Martin Ødegaard, captain fantastic, who was brought in at a time when Arsenal were not what they are now, and has helped to transform this team. But the player I’ve gone for is Declan Rice. And the reason is simple. He is Arsenal’s marquee signing, the guy that they believe will help them get over the hump and win a league title. I knew he was a good player, but the impact he’s already had at Arsenal cannot be understated. He’s so calm in the midfield, such a reassuring presence, being that seamless link between the defence and the attack. Imagine if he went to City how different things may have been! He will be Arsenal’s guy for the foreseeable future and someone that the team should be centred around.

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United: Bruno Fernandes

The list of players that you could build around at United unfortunately starts and ends with one player: Bruno Fernandes. It says a lot that there is only realistically one player right now that any fan would want to pin all their hopes and dreams on. The Portuguese hasn’t been that good this season, but since he signed in January 2020, he has been by far our most consistent performer. Despite what you may think of him and his antics on the pitch, one can’t deny that he always gives his all, no matter if the team is winning, losing, or drawing. But again, when I think of other players that I have or will mention, he’s probably the one you’re least likely to build around. No one doubts his quality, but there are question marks about his performances against the big teams as well as his temperament at times. I’ve watched him too many times be a lesser version of himself in games where you need him the most. However, who else are you going to build around? It has to be Bruno.

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Newcastle: Bruno Guimarães

Here we have another team that have a few options at their disposable. You’ve got Sandro Tonali, the Italian who was one of the Toon’s major summer signings. As good as he is, you can’t have a player who can’t stay out of trouble be the foundation of your football club. You’ve also got Anthony Gordon, who at first, I didn’t rate but he’s been Newcastle’s best player this season and has plenty of time to improve. But I’m going for Bruno Guimarães. He’s the lynchpin in the Newcastle midfield. Anytime Newcastle score, assist or just in any of their build-up play, the Brazilian is usually at the heart of it. He’s so key to how his team functions that when he’s off the pitch, you notice the difference. If you find the players that complete his skillset (which Newcastle have done a good job in doing), you’ve got a midfield that is hard to outplay. The Geordie fans love him, and he’s shown in his stint so far that he is the heart and soul of Newcastle.

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Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold

There has been a lot of talk about Trent Alexander-Arnold over the last couple of years regarding his defence ability, specifically the lack of it. However, when you have a player that has such a unique ability, you must centre the team around the ability. We have never in the modern game seen at right-back does the things that Trent does. The passing ability he has is unrivalled, the way he can strike a ball so cleanly for a full-back is remarkable. If you think of the way Liverpool play, it doesn’t work anywhere near as well without the Englishman. Sure, there are better players at Liverpool, the likes of Van Dijk & Salah. But the point remains, Liverpool aren’t Liverpool without Trent. He’s their most creative player and the player that most of the team’s attacks go through. The question is, if you were to build Liverpool up from scratch, do you play in at right back, or midfield. I think it has to be right-back? I’ll leave that one for you to decide!

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This Week’s Hot Take

I do not think you can build a team around a winger, no matter how good they are. The way the game is played nowadays, there’s so much emphasis on the middle of the park. With wingers, you can have some top-tier ones, but I feel that wingers can be more easily replaced than any other positions, and the drop-off would not be that noticeable. I’m not discrediting wide players by any means, just that when focusing a team around a position, it shouldn’t be a winger.