The Disappointments Of The EPL Season

The English Premier League has undoubtedly the most diverse set of talented players from all over the world. They are the players that amaze us day in and day out. They are the ones that make us jump out of our seats when they make a remarkable run or when they score an unbelievable goal or make a great, last minute block. They are what is best about the Premier League. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes the manager makes the wrong call when they sign a player. Sometimes the media hype creates unbelievable expectations from the player. So much is expected from them in September but by January we can’t wait for the team to sign someone else instead. This is a list that attempts to name all those hyped players with possible reasons as to why they have not been able to match their expectations.

#1 Shinji Kagawa

The first ever Japanese player to play for Manchester United is a case of being hyped by the fans rather than the media. With no big names available over the summer, fans were looking a player who could pick out the right pass, keep possession and provide the creativity that Manchester United only got from Wayne Rooney till now. While Moyes was trying to get Cesc Fabregas or Andy Herrera, fans wanted Moyes to give Kagawa a chance.

Kagawa has had his share of chances this year. He has appeared in 10 games with only an assist to his name. Although he looked good at the start of the season when linking with Rooney and Valencia, the arrival of Juan Mata will surely reduce his chances of returning to the starting XI.

Now with Van Persie's injury, Kagawa was introduced into the starting lineup against West Ham and he went on to have the best game of his season. Hopefully the Japanese international can keep up this form.

Stats for the 2013/14 season (up to Gameweek 30): 0 goals 1 assist

#2 Christian Benteke

Christian Benteke must be regretting the fact that he signed a contract extension that keeps him at Aston Villa until 2017. If any of the summer rumors were to be believed, many top clubs such as Chelsea and Arsenal were interested in signing the Belgian.

Last season, Benteke was to Aston Villa what Gareth Bale was to Tottenham. He single handedly kept them in Premier League with his 19 goals. His bullish play, pace and his age got other clubs interested in him, as they envisioned what he could do with a team of significant quality after what he did with Aston Villa.

This season has been a completely different story. He seemed to have started where he had left off with 2 goals against Arsenal in the opening match and 1 against Chelsea in the first Gameweek of the season. He scored two more goals in all competitions before picking up an injury which forced him to miss 3 games. Since his return he has found the back of the net only 5 times. Considering the quality of Benteke, it is rather disappointing.

His drop in form could be because of the niggling injuries he has suffered throughout the season, but it is more likely the Aston Villa squad that he has to carry on his shoulders. Goals for Aston Villa seem to come through Benteke or nearly none at all, which puts an enormous amount pressure on the young lad to perform in every match. It would be worth seeing whether he decides to continue at Aston Villa despite signing the new contract.

Stats of the 2013/14 season (up to Gameweek 30): 9 goals 2 assists

#3 Andros Townsend

Andros Townsend’s case is a bit different from the others. He is on this list for the hype he generated at the beginning of the season rather than before the season began.

To put it into perspective, Townsend has had a fairly successful year so far. He broke in to Tottenham’s first team, was selected in the England squad and scored in the 4-1 win over Montenegro in a qualification match.

He is being touted as one of the players that could replace Theo Walcott in the English squad for the 2014 World Cup. He was even called the next Gareth Bale. So one may ask, why is he on a list that features the most over-hyped players?

It’s simple. He may have broken into the Tottenham first team, but he hasn’t done much since. He has one goal and one assist to his name all season. That's all! This form coupled with the hamstring injury he picked up, has resulted in him losing his place in the starting XI. For a player who is contention for a spot in the English World Cup squad, this is simply not good enough.

Stats of the 2013/14 season (up to Gameweek 30): 1 goal 1 assist

#4 Emanuele Giaccherini

The media went abuzz when news came out that Sunderland had signed the Italian from Juventus. For £6.6 million, Sunderland thought they were going to get a proven player at his peak who could turn the fortunes of this team, and move them away from relegation fears.

One could see why Sunderland and the rest of Premier League were expecting so much out of him. He was a capped European winger who was coming off a great season with Juventus and was a key part on their success in Serie A. The slight concern that the media had was whether he could cope with Premier League' style of football, which had been a problem in the past for players coming from the Italian leagues.

Following Murphy’s Law (If anything can go wrong, it will), the slight concern became the major problem. The physicality of the Premier League seems to have gotten the better of him this year. Although he scored a goal in the first game of the season he has only been able to score two more since then.

Also, Giaccherini has been dealing with injury problems since the turn of the year and with Adam Johnson’s superb run of form in his absence, it is hard to see Giaccherini getiing his starting position back.

Stats of the 2013/14 season (up to Gameweek 30): 3 goals 1 assist

#5 Ricky Van Wolfswinkel

The Dutch striker was signed by Norwich in March last year for a club record fee of £8.5 million. It was a gamble on Norwich’s part to sign someone for that kind of money 4 months before he even stepped into the club. But Norwich needed someone who could score goals as their top striker was leaving. It was this gamble that resulted in the hype around Ricky Van Wolfswinkel’s arrival at Norwich.

He started off with a header against Everton that helped the Canaries draw the match 2-2. Then he suffered from a 6 game goal scoring drought before picking up an injury that kept him out of action until Gameweek 17. Since returning from injury he has not to scored nor has he secured a permanent position in the starting XI.

Stats of the 2013/14 season (up to Gameweek 30): 1 goal 2 assists

#6 Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela

Tottenham’s summer signings can be the definition for over-hyped players. None more so than Soldado and Lamela. It’s strange to see how they used the £85 million they got for Gareth Bale and an extra £20 million on several players who haven’t improved the Spurs squad (with the slight exceptions of Vlad Chiriches and Christian Eriksen).

Both Soldado and Lamela were coming on the back of great seasons in Spain and Italy respectively. They both cost around £26 million each and were brought in to replace the void left by Bale.

Sadly it hasn’t happened so far. Soldado has been a major disappointment, scoring only 6 times this season with the majority of them coming from the penalty spot. Soldado seems to have last all the confidence that he had gained in the previous year. Tim Sherwood starting Adebayor in the front line instead of Soldado (when he goes with a lone striker) says a lot about Soldado’s time at White Hart Lane.

Stats for the 2013/14 season (up to Gameweek 30): 6 goals 4 assists

Lamela’s is a completely different story. He is only 21 and hasn’t even impressed the manager enough to be allowed an opportunity to succeed or fail. He has only played one 90 minute game and has only appeared in 9 games so far. He has been sidelined with a thigh injury with no known return date.

Lamela’s stats for the 2013/14 season (up to Gameweek 30): 0 goals 1 assist