Rooney tops the Power Rankings

By Mike Diamente | 3rd March 2010

Rooney tops the Power Rankings | read this item

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Premiership Talk is excited to introduce the inaugural edition of the Premiership Talk Power Rankings. Each week, a panel of Premier League experts will rank the top ten players in the Premier League based on current form.

Players receive 10 points for a first place vote, 9 points for a second place vote, down to one point for a 10th place vote.

Here is this week’s ranking:

10 Bobby Zamora (Fulham)

Points: 5

The 29 year old English striker is enjoying his best season in the Premier League at the moment, with eight goals and four assists in league play. Zamora provided an impressive winning goal for Fulham in their Europa League tie against Shakhtar Donetsk, and more recently the winner against Birmingham City on February 21st. His recent performances have earned him considerations for the English national team.

9 Frederic Piquionne (Portsmouth)

Points: 5

Perhaps the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for Portsmouth fans, Frederic Piquionne has certainly made an impact at Fratton Park. Piquionne has scored seven goals for Portsmouth in all competitions this season, including a goal in Portsmouth’s last match, a 2-1 win over Burnley on February 27th.

8 Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham)

Points: 6

While it seems like Russian has been in great form at Tottenham since his move from Spartak Moscow, Pavlyuchenko has been unable to get regular playing time at Spurs under Harry Redknapp. Pavlyuchenko has scored seven goals in all competitions for Tottenham, despite only starting four games. Pavlyuchenko has amazingly scored five goals in his last three matches, including a brace in only 18 minutes of action on February 21st.

7 Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

Points: 7

Another player who is enjoying the season of their career is Jermain Defoe, whose 16 goals in the Premier League this season ranks him third in the league. Defoe has certainly cemented his place in the 2010 England squad, but if he continues scoring goals at his current pace, he could challenge for a starting eleven spot.

6 Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Points: 15 (1 first place vote)

With 10 games left in the season, Lampard has already matched his production from last season of twelve goals and ten assists in Premier League play. This fact is truly a testament to the man’s consistency in the midfield for Chelsea, a midfield that despite the talented names, can sometimes be inconsistent. Lampard has enjoyed scoring goals in pairs this season, as he has scored a brace in the last three matches in which he has scored, most recently against Manchester City.

5 Patrice Evra (Manchester United)

Points: 20

With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic both missing considerable amounts of time this season for United, Patrice Evra has been the consistent rock at the heart of the Manchester defense. Evra has played in every single Premier League game for United this season, and along with Wayne Rooney has been the key component for United’s success.

4 Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Points: 20

For a man not known for scoring goals, Cesc Fabregas has certainly increased his goal scoring productivity this season. Cesc has scored a career best thirteen goals in the Premier League this season and also leads the Premier League with thirteen assists. Perhaps more importantly, Cesc’s production has insured that Arsenal are within three points of the top of the Premier League table despite the loss of their most prolific attacking threat, Robin van Persie. Look for Fabregas to shine in the Arsenal midfield for the rest of the season.

3 Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

Points: 30

Tevez has always been labeled as a player with a tireless work ethic, and a player as good on defense as he is on offense. But Carlos Tevez the prolific goal scoring threat? Not until this season. Finally given a chance at a starting role and regular playing time on Manchester City, Tevez’s production on the score sheet has exploded, notching fifteen goals and five assists in league play, as well as six goals in the Carling Cup. Tevez most recently scored two goals in City’s shock victory over Chelsea in his return to the team following his departure to care for his ill daughter. Tevez has recently stated he is targeting the Golden Boot, the title for the league’s top scorer, and don’t be surprised if Tevez gets close.

2 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

Points: 35

Didier Drogba’s previous two Premier League seasons were hampered by injuries, limiting the Ivory Coast star to only thirteen Premier League goals in two seasons combined. This year, Drogba has been healthy and is rewarding the Chelsea faithful with plenty of goals, nineteen to be exact in twenty-three appearances. Drogba likely has the best chance to overtake Wayne Rooney for the scoring title. More amazingly, Drogba also leads Chelsea in yellow cards this season.

1 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Points: 38 (3 first place votes)

Who else could it be? Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney has moved back into the central attacking role in the United attack and has been in the greatest form of his career. Rooney currently leads the Premier League with twenty-three goals scored, and has scored 28 goals in all competitions. Rooney most recently proved his irreplaceable worth to United by coming off the bench to provide the match winner in United’s Carling Cup title victory over Aston Villa. Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as many others, believe that Rooney’s current form has vaulted him into the conversation with Ronaldo and Messi regarding who is the world’s best.

The Premiership Talk Power Rankings are decided by a panel of Premier League experts including Premiership Talk founder and Soccer Long Island Magazine writer Brian Lofrumento, Premiership Talk writers Zain Alvi and Taylor Fisher, and il Mondo di Calcio owner and Premiership Talk writer Mike Diamente.

BS Sniffer says:

June 28, 2010 at 1:12 am

How many parameters did you evaluate and what statistical models did you employ?

The complexity of evaluating a striker’s role in a team sports is more complex in Soccer than let us say Basketball. A soccer striker can come out looking good depending on his midfield support. Unless you isolate key performance parameters that can only be pinned to a striker’s role it will be difficult to evaluate his contribution. For example, of the passes delivered to the striker in a strike zone, and that he took a strike, how many did he convert?

Two players who have the same goals, but one made more goals out of few passes, then who is better? (You just can’t look at the goals made) In the NBA this will be laughable, a forward can’t just keep taking shots with low conversation rate.

That was just one such parameter, but in reality you have to analyze multiple set of variables and employ complex mathematical models, before you come to conclude as to which striker is really the best under the stated parameters? Writing neat worded paragraphs and stating Rooney is the best is really an indication of your inherent bias rather than reason based judgement.

As a lead striker, he did not score a single goal for his country in the 2010 world cup. Get of your high horse and use facts to support conclusion, bias has only got us racism.

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