While the big six clubs in the Premier League attract the most attention,
there is a wealth of talent beyond those teams.
So, what if we constructed a side of the best players from outside Liverpool,
the two Manchester teams, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur?
The rules are simple: the selection takes into account performances over the last calendar year,
and the team must function as a team – chemistry matters.
Firstly, we must decide on a formation and style of play. Which team outside the top
six has had the best calendar year? Looking at performances from just 2020, it’s Southampton.
They’re the only side outside the top six to make it into a 2020 ‘top six’ league table.
There are a few other reasons to employ Southampton’s 4-2-2-2.
They are a pressing side – which is fashionable - and they employ a back-four,
with which most players are familiar. And they have two strikers as well, which
allows us to pick more than once from the extraordinary pool of talent in that position.
But how does this formation determine our starting eleven - what qualities are we looking for?
The goalkeeper needs to have good distribution, long and short.
The full backs need to be energetic and capable of providing attacking thrust in the wide areas.
The centre backs should be good on the ball but defensively solid.
The midfield should be able to press and win the ball,
but also contribute to vertical, progressive passing.
From the wide attackers comes creativity, but also enough defensive ability to help the press.
And the strikers must be able to drift wide, run the channels,
drop off to press, and – of course - finish chances.
While the selection of the starting eleven, and the rest of the squad,
will have some basis in statistics, it’s also crucial that they work as a team. For that
reason, there will be some contentious omissions, although at the end of this,
we’ll pick a squad of 23 for depth and which allows some tactical changes.
There are two names that demand inclusion: Jamie Vardy and Jack Grealish.
Grealish has ten goals and seven assists in the last calendar year,
wins more fouls than any Premier League player, and contributes ball-carrying,
shot creation, and key passes. He’s the only possible choice for the left-wing role.
Wilfried Zaha, Harvey Barnes, and Richarlison are unlucky to face such stiff competition.
Vardy is the league’s most consistent striker. He’s adapted his game to rely less on pace and to
become more of a predatory penalty-box operator. His subtle shifts of movement are superb,
his finishing efficiency remarkable, and he’s also a hard-worker without the ball.
Two strikers warranted significant consideration to partner Vardy:
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Raul Jimenez. Calvert-Lewin brings physicality,
pressing, and a significant aerial threat; Jimenez is a superb link-man and finisher.
But we’ve picked Danny Ings. He’s the best pressing striker in the league, and with 22 goals
he’s the competition’s top-scorer in the calendar year. Both he and Vardy can drop deep or wide
and link play, both press well, and both will put away the chances created by the rest of the team.
In goal, Newcastle United’s Martin Dubravka and Crystal Palace’s Vicente Guaita were the top
performers when considering goals they conceded versus the expected goals against they faced.
But, despite currently recovering from injury, Dubravka is our choice on the basis he was playing
behind a less solid defence and had more to do, while his distribution is also solid enough.
Full backs are key to this system. Ryan Bertrand and Enda Stevens all came close on the left,
but - with the most assists and deep completed crosses in the league after
Andy Robertson - Lucas Digne is selected. Digne also has the highest expected assists per 90
in his position over the last calendar year, and would work well in tandem with Grealish,
overlapping the midfielder and adding real thrust down that flank.
On the right, Ricardo Perriera is discounted because of long-term injury.
His replacement, Timothy Castagne, has done well, while George Baldock,
Ryan Fredericks and Tariq Lamptey also made strong claims. But our selection is Luke Ayling.
Although he’s only been in the Premier League for eight games and has yet to register a goal
or assist, no full back other than Trent Alexander-Arnold has made more progressive
passes per 90, while he is top five for key passes, passes to the penalty area,
and through passes per 90 among all right backs. He’s also able to tuck in and make a back three
in build-up, possesses extraordinary stamina and work-rate, and is excellent in the press.
Our two centre-backs are Brighton’s Adam Webster and Burnley’s James Tarkwoski.
Both possess good defensive numbers and can play out from the back.
This duo offers a stable base from which to build and is defensively very strong.
Webster also excels at bringing the ball out and will add some transitional dynamism to the team.
One midfielder is a clear selection. Wilfred Ndidi leads the league for
possession-adjusted interceptions and is third for successful defensive actions per 90.
Aerially strong, he’ll help our team contest the long balls that will come from the press.
But who goes alongside him? We’ve gone for Tomas Soucek from West Ham.
He was a transformational signing for the Hammers, does everything well and is one of
the league’s few genuine box-to-box midfielders, adding a goal threat arriving from deep positions.
That just leaves our right midfielder, where the outstanding choice is Everton’s James Rodriguez.
Of right-side players, he already has the best assists per 90 and fifth best non-penalty goals
per 90 in the league for the period under consideration. He’s not the best presser but
with Ayling behind him, that shouldn’t matter too much. He can slow play up, drift inside, and play
cross-field passes to Grealish with a creativity no one else outside the top six can manage.
And that’s our Tifo XI.
And here is our full, tournament-style 23: