This is how I’ll pick my side – Deeney takes on Team of the Week duty
It’s a new season, and I’ve got a new job – it’s a big one too!
I’m delighted to tell you that I am taking over from the legend that is Garth Crooks to select BBC Sport’s Premier League Team of the Week every weekend, and it is a great honour to get to fill his shoes.
I’ve always had massive respect for Garth for his amazing career in the media after his playing days ended and, as someone who is following in his footsteps now, I’ve always looked up to him.
I also really admire his approach because, when he has an opinion, he is not afraid to say it and he is always able to back it up – yet he never comes across as someone who is trying to be controversial just to get likes or views on social media or anywhere else.
Garth genuinely believes in what he says, and the same applies to me, or at least I’d like to think so!
What I look for in a player
I was lucky enough to make Garth’s Team of the Week on a couple of occasions during my Watford days, although it has to be said I was not always put in the position where I had played on the pitch.
When I helped Watford beat Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-finals in 2016, he picked me but used me as a holding midfielder instead of a striker. That was a new one on me, to be honest!
I know Garth was famous for sometimes choosing unusual formations like that, but I am going to do things a bit differently. In my team, I promise players will be in their correct positions for starters!
Being serious though, it’s a real privilege to continue the incredible work Garth has already done with this piece. I can’t wait to get started and I have already given plenty of thought to my own selection criteria before the new Premier League season begins on Friday.
The first thing I’d say I am going to be looking out for in a player is their bravery or fearlessness on the ball, but I am also going to try to recognise some of the unsung heroes each week – so, any players who might not be in the spotlight or have done anything spectacular for their side, but who I think have played a key part in a big performance.
At the same time, I won’t ignore the obvious candidates. If Liverpool go to Ipswich on the opening weekend and Mohamed Salah scores a hat-trick, then he is definitely going to be in my team, don’t worry about that!
What I really want to do though, is judge players who are going for the same spots by the same standards.
For example, we now kind of expect Erling Haaland to score every week for Manchester City but just because that has become the norm for him doesn’t mean he will have to do more than any other striker for me to pick him.
Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins also set a high bar last season when he scored 19 Premier League goals, and it was the same with Brentford’s Ivan Toney in the campaign before that.
Should they get in ahead of Haaland if they score but still do less than him on a particular weekend? No, definitely not.
I’m going to be picking managers too
Watkins and Toney are two of the players I am expecting big things from this season, although we don’t know yet who Toney will be playing for once the summer transfer window closes on 30 August.
The player I am looking forward to seeing most, however, is Chelsea’s Cole Palmer. Last season he showed so much of that fearlessness on the ball that I love to see.
Palmer was a bit of a surprise package after his move from Manchester City, and I don’t think teams were always set up specifically to stop him.
It will be different this time, and much harder now everyone knows how good he is, but he is so talented, I still think he will shine.
Palmer had a great Euro 2024 and was one of the England players who came out of the tournament really well, but I think the way he was used in Germany is an example of how I will have to be careful when I am picking players who don’t start games.
All five of Palmer’s appearances at the Euros came as a second-half substitute and the earliest he got on the pitch was in the 66th minute, against Slovakia.
It is not his fault he was on the bench and anyone who comes on late and has an impact deserves praise, but it is one thing to make a difference in a game that is drifting and another to dominate it from the start.
Besides, there is another way substitutes might get a mention from me because, as well as picking players for my team of the week, I am going to be selecting a standout manager each time as well.
Bravery matters here too by the way – I am going to be rewarding bold tactics or decisions that make a difference, as well as the big results.
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