The 2013/2014 make-or-break XI

So here we are.  The new Premier League season is underway.  Fans and players have managed to contain their excitement (just).  The anticipation is over and the big kick-off has arrived.  But whilst excitement is virtually universal some players are experiencing a very different emotion as they step on the field for their first competitive fixtures since May.  The pressure is on and a sense of nervousness overpowers any excitement.  For some this season could be the making or breaking of them, a season that could define the rest of their career.  This is my make-or-break XI for the 2013/2014 season.

 

GK - David de Gea (Team: Manchester United, Age: 22)  
 
Spanish goalkeeper De Gea goes into the 2013/2014 Premier League season with the opportunity to seal his long-term future for both club and country. After sharing goalkeeping duties with Andres Lindergard at the start of last season, by the time it came to a close he found himself not only undisputed first choice but also a member of the PFA team of the year. Since signing for Manchester United in the summer of 2011, the young keeper has featured in over 80 games for the reigning champions and last year kept 11 clean sheets in the league from his 28 starts. A product of the Atlético Madrid youth system, he has already featured 27 times for the Spanish U21 team and last summer was on the cusp of making the Euro 2012 senior squad. With Iker Casillas turning 32 and Spain's other established squad keepers in Valdés and Reina now also the wrong side of 30 De Gea surely has the chance to claim at least a  place in the senior set-up, if not a starting role. Many of his early critics have been impressed by his increased physical presence and the way in which he has shown himself capable of competing in the air with the biggest strikers that the English game has to offer. This will be a pivotal season for the United keeper as it gives him the ideal opportunity to establish himself as first choice for the next decade both for his club and for the Spanish national side. A poor season may see new manager David Moyes look for a new man between the sticks so it is essential that De Gea performs to his best and recaptures the form which saw him lead by example as Atlético Madrid claimed the Europa League title in the 2009-2010.  He will be hoping to add to his already impressive medal haul in the season ahead.

 
 
RB - Martin Kelly (Team: Liverpool, Age: 23)    

Martin Kelly will be looking to leave his injury problems behind him this season and regain his place in the Liverpool starting XI. His impressive debut against Lyon way back in 2009 was ended by injury and it has been a similar story ever since for the athletic right back. Having joined the Liverpool academy in 1997, he came through the ranks and at the start of the 2010-2011 season managed to oust first choice right back Glen Johnson from his preferred position, a feat which he will be looking to repeat this year. After spending a promising 5 months in the first team his season was ended in February 2011 by yet another injury and since then he has struggled to match the 23 games that he had featured in until injury hit. Last season again started positively but was ended before it really began with a cruciate knee ligament injury in September limiting Kelly to just 7 appearances. His injury troubles have gradually seen him slip down the pecking order at Anfield as a result of new acquisitions and the emergence of young defenders like André Wisdom so it is essential that he makes his mark this season or else risk becoming Liverpool's forgotten man. He has all the attributes to develop into a fine central defender but his pace, strength and stamina make him legitimate competition to Glen Johnson who may find himself switched to left back should Kelly return to top form. His one England cap so far came in 2012 and he was part of the injury-hit England squad that departed for the European Championships. He will undoubtedly be targeting a return to the England set-up but before he does that he must first prove that he is worth a place in Liverpool's first team.  Although competition is stiff, if he delivers performances akin to those put in during his breakthrough season then he will make it difficult for manager Brendan Rodgers to leave him out.
 

 
CB - Phil Jones (Team: Manchester United, Age: 21)

Preston-born Jones is a player whose versatility seems to be working against him so far in his career.  Like Jamie Carragher and Phil Neville before him the young defender has been used in a variety of roles during the early stages of his career without ever establishing himself as a permanent fixture in any position. After making his professional debut at Blackburn Rovers he was snapped up in June of 2011 by Manchester United yet has struggled to make his mark thus far at Old Trafford again often finding himself played out of position. 46 league games in two seasons for United doesn't tell the full story as he was frequently deployed at right back or in central midfield rather than in his preferred position of centre halve. It is a similar story on the international stage.  7 caps at just 21 is of course a great achievement but it was only this week that he saw minutes at the centre of England's defence, coming on for the final 7 minutes of the 3-2 win over Scotland. Roy Hodgson and former manager Fabio Capello have both chosen to play him in England’s holding role which not only exposes his flaws in possession but prevents him displaying his full defensive capabilities.  He even found it impossible to make the centre back role his own at club level last season in spite of United's persistent injury struggles which saw them experiment with a variety of defensive partnerships.  Nevertheless with Rio Ferdinand approaching the end of his career Jones must surely be in with a shot of taking on Ferdinand’s mantle for both club and country. He is blessed with the physicality necessary to thrive at the heart of the defence but the real challenge for him this season is to prove that he is more than just a stop-gap who can be thrust into the action wherever he might be needed. This is the season when he must prove that he was worth every penny of his £16.5 million transfer fee.
 

 
CB - Jack Rodwell (Team: Manchester City, Age: 22)    

Yes I know that Rodwell isn’t really a centre back but he more than warrants his place in this make-or-break XI. Just 5 years after making his debut for Everton at the age of 16, the Scouse midfielder sealed a dream £12 million move to Manchester City and his career has been stagnating ever since. After just one season at the 2011/2012 Premier League champions it looks as if Rodwell may have made a huge mistake in leaving his home town club as the dream move slowly turns into a nightmare. With injury problems and competition for places limiting him to just 15 appearances last year, it seems unlikely that he will add to his 3 England caps any time soon. His best season to date came in 2009/2010 when the then 18 year old featured in 36 matches, the consistent run in a strong Everton side seeing him put in some excellent performances at the heart of midfield. New club City have again spent big this summer on midfield options with the £30 million acquisition of Fernandinho so Rodwell goes into this season knowing that he can't have a repeat of last year’s inconsistency if he wants to break out of his slump and continue the development which has stalled since swapping Merseyside for Manchester just 12 months ago. He has good pace, enough stamina to get box-to-box for the full 90 minutes and the composure on the ball to find a team-mate when under pressure making him well suited to a fluid passing system. There have already been flashes of his goal-scoring ability and being comfortable with either foot makes him adept defensively as well as going forward. It is crucial this season that he gets the first team football he evidently needs to reproduce the form which has brought him international recognition in the past.  If he can’t find that at City then maybe Rodwell’s only option is to move on once more.  A return to former club Everton would surely be his preferred destination.
 


LB - Danny Rose (Team: Tottenham Hotspur, Age: 23)   

Yorkshire-born Danny Rose seems to have finally found his best position and he will be looking to make the Spurs left-back slot his own during the coming season after 4 loan spells honing his game away from White Hart Lane. It was during the last of these at Sunderland that he began to show his full ability, making 29 appearances and performing well in a struggling team. The fact that he retained his place when Paolo Di Canio replaced the much criticised Martin O’Neill is testament to the consistency he showed prior to the Italian’s appointment at the end of March.  Rose signed for Spurs in July 2007 and was initially employed as a left winger, although during his reign former boss Harry Redknapp suggested that he would eventually settle at left back and the current QPR manager may yet be proven right. It took almost 3 years after his arrival at Spurs before he made his league debut but in the 2010/2011 season he featured in 20 games and many predicted that to be his breakthrough year. Nevertheless the following year he found himself again shipped out on loan and his aim this season will surely be to show enough form to ensure that this isn’t just another false dawn. The opportunity to nail down a first team spot seems to be open to him with manager André Villas-Boas seemingly unconvinced by Benoit Assou Ekotto who has occupied the left side of the Spurs defence for much of the last 2 seasons.  A good start to the season is crucial as he may only get one chance to prove to his manager that there is no need to invest in that area of the team. He already has 29 U21 caps to his name and after playing for Great Britain at last year's Olympic Games he will surely have his eye on a spot in the England squad. First however he must prove to the Tottenham coaching staff that he is capable of repeating his performances from last year and hope that this is enough to avoid adding yet another club to his list of loan destinations when the 2014/2015 season rolls around.
 

 
CM - Aaron Ramsey (Team: Arsenal, Age: 22)

Some may think it strange for me to include a player with 70 league games for Arsenal over the last 2 seasons in my XI but Ramsey is facing a massive season in 2013/2014. Despite starting 9 of Arsenal’s first 10 games last season he spent the remainder of the year entering the fray as a substitute as he struggled to displace Wenger's first choice midfield of Arteta, Wilshere and Cazorla. Making his debut for Cardiff at just 16 and performing well in the Championship, the long-time Arsenal manager had no hesitation in shelling out the £5 million needed to bring Ramsey to the Emirates where he made quick progress under the experienced Frenchman. The terrible injury that he suffered against Stoke in February 2011 which saw him ruled out for more than 9 months greatly affected his development and since then he has struggled to consistently reproduce the form which got him his move to Arsenal in the first place. Despite Wenger's reluctance and at times downright refusal to spend the transfer funds afforded to him, Ramsey has found himself gradually slipping down the pecking order at the North London club. At times last season Wenger chose to deploy him in a wide position where he is considerably less effective.  It is key then that he performs well from the off this year in order to convince his boss to restore him to his preferred central midfield role where he sees more of the ball and can show what he is all about. Ramsey undoubtedly has talent, 25 Wales caps and a stint captaining his country attests to that, but there is still much more to come from him. Having the Wales captaincy taken away from him, apparently due to his inconsistent performance, will make the young Welshman even more determined to get back to his best but to do that he will need a consistent run playing in his favoured role.  Like Rodwell at Manchester City, perhaps Ramsey needs to step down to a less illustrious club in order to return to his previous level of performance.
 

 
CM - Jordan Henderson (Team: Liverpool, Age: 23)

Sunderland-born Henderson will be hoping to avoid becoming another expensive flop at Liverpool after the club made considerable losses on expensive English signings Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing. Last season the former England U21 captain showed flashes of the ability which had led some to anoint him as Steven Gerrard’s natural successor before he even had the chance to set foot on the hallowed Anfield turf. Now closing in on 100 games for Liverpool since his £20 million move 2 years ago, Henderson turned in a series of impressive performances last year most notably in the 6-0 away win against Newcastle in which he scored 2 and created another. More impressive in that game was his all-round play which gave a timely reminder of exactly what had led Liverpool to spend such a huge sum of money in order to tempt him from his home town club.  He returned his best goal-scoring figures last season but this is an area of his game that he acknowledges he must improve although he has shown himself capable of scoring spectacular long range strikes in the past. He is an unselfish player who possesses a good range of passing but beyond that he seems willing to sacrifice his own strengths and play out of position on the left of midfield to the benefit of his team mates and Liverpool’s tactical system. This season is crucial for him as it will be one of the last opportunities he has to learn from one of the best midfielders in Premier League history and he will be looking to add to his 5 England caps given that he is now ineligible for England's junior teams. There is plenty of competition for midfield places at Anfield so he will need to perform consistently well in order to hold down a first team place. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers showed his growing faith in the reigning England U21 player of the year however during pre-season when he named him captain for Liverpool's penultimate pre-season friendly and he will be hoping that the club’s fans are finally beginning to see the real Jordan Henderson. He need look no further than midfield colleague Lucas Leiva to find an example of someone who has triumphed after adversity at Liverpool.
 

 
 
CM - Jonjo Shelvey (Team: Swansea, Age: 21)

Former Arsenal and West Ham trainee Shelvey is another English midfielder who struggled at Anfield under the weight of comparisons to Steven Gerrard. After 3 fairly uninspiring seasons at Liverpool in which he showed only fleeting glimpses of his potential he joined Swansea in July for £5 million. Graduating from the much-acclaimed Charlton Athletic youth academy he made his debut not long after his 16th Birthday before arriving at Liverpool in June 2008.  In spite of his age he arrived with lots of experience and went on to make almost 50 appearances before deciding to move on to pastures new. Some were shocked that Brendan Rodgers allowed such a promising young player to leave but with only 1 goal in 20 league games last season Shelvey clearly hadn't shown the Liverpool manager enough to warrant an extension to his stay.  Nevertheless the move to South Wales may be exactly what he needs. Swansea are an excellent footballing side and if pre-season is any indication of the season to come, the Romford-born youngster will get the first team chances he so desperately needs in order to fulfil the promise that he has at times displayed.  During the England U21 team’s victory over Scotland this week Shelvey showed the full range of passing which he has in his locker and chipped in with a goal before departing the field to a great reception from the Bramall Lane crowd. What he undoubtedly lacked at Liverpool was a consistent run in the team and he will be hoping that with this opportunity at Swansea, he will be able to show the sort of form which earned him his first (and so far only) England cap against minnows San Marino in October of last year. He will be looking to repay the faith that Swans’ boss Michael Laudrup has shown him whilst also proving to his critics at Liverpool that they made a mistake in letting such a talented young midfielder leave for what is a bargain price in the current transfer climate. If he manages this, it is likely that Shelvey and his former team-mate Jordan Henderson will be competing for a place in the England midfield.
 

 

 
RW - Victor Moses (Team: Chelsea, Age: 22)

Nigeria winger Moses is another player facing a crucial season ahead as he looks to force his way into a Chelsea team blessed with attacking talent. He arrived from Wigan last summer in a £9 million deal and managed 10 goals in 43 games during his debut season at Stamford Bridge. These figures don't tell the full story however as more than half of his total appearances for Chelsea last term came off the bench. Despite his obvious versatility, being equally adept on either wing or as a central striker, Moses still finds himself under-used due to the embarrassment of riches that his new club have in these positions, an issue which has only been amplified by the signings of Andre Schurrle and Marco Van Ginkel from Bayer Leverkusen and Vitess Arnhem respectively. Despite playing for England at youth level, Moses chose to represent the Nigerian national team and has so far won 12 caps for the Super Eagles. Whilst he is undoubtedly very talented and possesses both great pace and strong crossing ability, it will be extremely tough for him to displace the likes of Mata, Hazard or even Oscar in returning manager Jose Mourinho's first XI. Without the opportunity to play consistent first team football on a weekly basis it is unlikely that he will be able to replicate the form he showed at Wigan or before that in the Championship with Crystal Palace. What may give the Lagos-born youngster heart however is the style of play which many expect Mourinho to employ upon his return to Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese coach favours a big target man with a pacey winger on each side charged with putting good balls into the box and Moses is well suited to this system so maybe all is not lost for him. Whilst travelling with Nigeria may not always be ideal, the experience and confidence he surely gained from being part of their African Cup winning team this year should give him an excellent platform to kick on and hopefully nail down a place in the Chelsea XI. If he can’t, he too may need to move elsewhere in order to retain his place in the international set-up.
 
 

 
LW - Raheem Sterling (Team: Liverpool, Age: 18)

Jamaican born Sterling differs from others who made this make-or-break team because his main problems are off field rather than on. With a series of unflattering newspaper stories as well as arrests for various misdemeanours the young Liverpool winger risks wasting the incredible ability which saw him become a mainstay in the Liverpool first team at the start of last season. After 2 years dazzling defenders for Liverpool's U18 and reserve teams since joining from QPR as a 15 year old he burst into the senior set-up making 3 league appearances as the 2011/2012 season drew to a close. Last season he appeared in a total of 36 games before his form began to fade. Manager Brendan Rodgers was wise to withdraw him from the first team fold as the season drew to a close, not only to prevent the youngster from burning out but also in order to shield him from the attention he was receiving as result of his off-field behaviour. A whirlwind season last year saw him become Liverpool's 2nd youngest ever scorer (after Michael Owen) and also receive his first senior England call up. Comparisons to John Barnes are inevitable given his heritage but whilst he possesses the same electric pace, change of direction and bag of tricks he currently lacks Barnes’ ability to consistently make the right decisions in advanced positions. Prior to his removal from the first team last year he was beginning to show the composure required from modern wingers in front of goal but he will be looking to improve his goal scoring tally of 2 this season. His 3 goals for Liverpool in pre-season so far suggest he is well on his way to doing so but Sterling will need to fight off plenty of competition for his place this season. Liverpool are still in a position to strengthen from without this summer but the emergence of equally promising winger Jordan Ibe should be enough to convince Sterling to get his head down and ignore the off-field distractions that have so far affected his career. If he can focus on his game, he has the opportunity to grow into one of the most exciting talents that Liverpool FC and the Premier League has ever seen. But that’s a big if.
 
 

 
CF - Romelu Lukaku (Team: Chelsea, Age: 20)   

It is almost impossible not to draw comparisons between Belgian frontman Lukaku and his self-proclaimed idol Didier Drogba. He has so far displayed many of the same attributes which saw Drogba become first choice striker during Mourinho's first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge. He is tall, strong and pacey but he is perhaps an even more complete player than the big Ivorian given his increased mobility and his desire to run the channels and put in the hard yards for his team when they don’t have the ball. He is more than just a big target man. He arrived at Chelsea at just 17 years of age but with 2 years of first team football already under his belt after making his Anderlecht debut at a mere 16 years old. During the 2010/2011 season, he finished as top scorer in the Belgian league and that convinced Chelsea to part with the £10 million required in order to win the signature of one of Europe's most sought-after young talents. Whilst his first season at the West London club was far from spectacular, it was the recent season that he spent on loan at West Bromwich Albion which suggests that Chelsea are likely to see a fine return on their investment. The challenge now is can Lukaku repeat the 17 league goals he managed last season, a feat which shouldn't be too challenging given that he will have Mata and Hazard (amongst others) to create a plethora of chances for him. The 21 cap Belgium international will surely fancy his chances of leading the Chelsea line given the inconsistency of Demba Ba and the out of favour Fernando Torres’ lack of form.  He needs to hit the ground running though as he may only get 6 months to prove himself before Jose Mourinho looks to invest the funds which are without doubt at his disposal. If he can repeat his performances from last season on a more illustrious stage (5 goals in pre-season is a good start) then the Drogba comparisons will flow from all quarters. If his goals dry up however he will have no excuses to hide behind given the incredible array of creative talent which he will be surrounded by this season.