Second Season
Syndrome – 2008/09
ANYONE who has played in the Premiership and even those who have watched it will have noticed that the English game is very different to any other.
For years English teams struggled to integrate themselves into European competition because of the severe difference in styles between England and other leagues across Europe but with recent successes in the Champions League, it appears that the influence of the Premiership is now becoming something other European teams are having to deal with.
Despite that the theory of Second Season Syndrome still very much exists in the English game and even players who come from different leagues in England can adept quite easily before being worked out in their ‘difficult’ second season.
With so many new players coming into the league, let’s take a look at those who established themselves last season but could struggle this time around.
Robert Green
In fairness to Green, he shouldn’t really be included in this list of players as he is probably considered an experienced player in the Premiership after a year in the top flight with Norwich and two with West Ham but it was only really last season that Green established himself as a top class goalkeeper. Many people wonder why the West Ham goalkeeper has yet to be tested by any England manager, especially with such uncertainty over the position before the Three Lions finally decided to return to David James after unsuccessful spells for Scott Carson and Paul Robinson but with a spell of consistency this season, Green may be able to prove that having stood the test of time in the Premiership, something few have been able to do, he is not just a flash in the pan.
Joleen Lescott
What impressed many people about Lescott last season is the fact that he played so often out of position but was still an extremely impressive performer, the big question is when returns to a central defensive position as many expect him to, will be able to be as consistent for Everton as he was in the left back slot. The former Wolves player was only really playing down the left thanks to an injury to Leighton Baynes who was signed from Wigan to play in that position but having played there for England on three occasions, Moyes’ decision to leave the player out there seemed an inspired one. Lescott not only contributed to the overall stability of the Toffees who yet again finished inside the top six but behind Yakubu was their second top scorer with ten goals. It’s a tough as for him to do the same as he will now be more carefully marshalled at set pieces but Moyes will be more concerned with whether or not he can be as effective as part of the Everton defensive unit.
Wes Brown
Another player who perhaps doesn’t deserve to be on this list is Wes Brown, but like Green last season was the first time Brown really shone in a club shirt. With Gary Neville the victim of a long-term injury, Brown stepped in to play right back and was an extreme success as Manchester United swept all before them and claimed the double. Perhaps more impressive than his standing in for the Manchester United club captain were his performances for England which encouraged Capello to pick him ahead of Micah Richards who seemed to have secured the number two shirt with England. As something of a Premiership veteran and having earned himself a new contract, Brown will have to be at his consistent best when Neville returns if he wants to keep his place at club and international level.
David Wheater
Under Gareth Southgate Wheater has gone from a loanee who looked on his way out of the club, to a player who is on the verge of being called up to the England senior side and is one of the first names on his managers team sheet. Wheater has performed consistently for Southgate and it now appears that the ‘Boro manager has found a replacement for himself at the heart of the defence, something his team have lacked in his first two years in charge. Despite his youthfulness, Wheater is experienced football in the ‘lower’ leagues with Darlington and has been brought into the team steadily, but already amassed over 100 appearance. As a member of the England U’21’s squad he has learnt his trade against the best young players of his age and like fellow North-Easterner Steven Taylor will be hoping to continue to be part of the first-team picture.
Bakery Sagna
When he joined from Auxerre, many people questioned why Sagna had spent so much money on a position which seemed to already be filled by Emmanuel Eboue. But whilst the Ivorian full-back was making himself comfortable in a new position of midfield, it was possible to see Wenger’s thinking and when Sagna was out of the team towards the end of the last campaign they looked weaker for losing him. Sagna is arguably better going forward then Eboue and he is almost certainly better defensive as Arsenal look to balance Gael Clichy’s wing play with an equal in Sagna on the other side. Although he missed out on the French squad for Euro 2008, like Clichy he has time on his side and with more performances like he showed last season there is no question that he will most likely be involved in Raymond Dominech’s future selection.
Ashley Young
Villa midfielder Ashley Young may be entering his third season in the Premiership after leaving Watford in 2006/07 but in terms of producing on the ‘big stage’ this could prove to be a breakthrough year for the England starlet. Young received recognition for his performances during the last campaign by being called into the England squad by Fabio Capello but he left himself with a lot to achieve after being one of the national sides most consistent performers at club level. From the left hand side, Young looks set to provide much needed back up to Joe Cole in the wide positions and has integrated into Martin O’Neil’s Villa side perfectly as they pushed for a place in Europe.
Young not only has pace and trickery but by being the player with the most assists last season he proved he has an eye for a pass in picking out his team mates and his successful deliveries from set pieces and corners suggest that England may have a second option to David Beckham.
Elano
Brazilian midfielder Elano may have suffered a little bit of ‘SSS’ as Manchester City struggled to cope with the high expectations they placed on themselves in the early part of the season when Elanio helped the blues cure their scoring jinx. Netting in his first three games for his new club, Elano went on to by City’s top scorer in the league and proved his manager right to bring him in when many questioned his suitability for the Premiership. Elano now has two problems, the first, which is curing his ‘SSS’ can be proved by continuing to provide City with a spark going forward and making sure in terms of creativity and goals, he provides as much as he did last season. The second, which is relatively out of his hands, is getting in the team now that City have themselves so much money. Bringing in the likes of Jo and Robinho, Elano may just find himself as the odd Brazilian out if City’s ambitious plans to sign the world’s top players come to fruition. Elano probably has until January to prove that the club don’t need to sign anyone to provide the impact he did in the first half of last season.
LassanaDiarra
Last season was probably the first time supporters found themselves acquainted with the energetic and determined performances of Lassana Diarra considering at his time with Chelsea and Arsenal he barely made it off the bench enough to make an impact but signing for Portsmouth seems to have reinvigorated his career and provided him with the opportunity to show why he spent so much time with two top sides in London. Although he has yet to make his way into the French international squad continued performances like he showed in the Premiership and FA Cup last season will mean that he is continually mentioned as a replacement for Patrick Vieira in the engine room of his nation’s side and with recognition as one of the Premier League’s most impressive performers last season, Harry Redknapp will have to continue to deal with speculation linking him with a return to a club in the Champions League.
Diarra helped drive Portsmouth forward more often than not last campaign and will probably have to be at his best again this season if the south coast side want to achieve anything like they did last season.
Antonio Valencia
Steve Bruce’s appointment as Wigan manager seemed to bring about a complete turnaround in fortune for the club but also some of the players who seemed to be on their way out of the club at the earliest opportunity. Bruce signed Valencia after a recommendation from Arsene Wenger who felt the Ecuadorian international wasn’t quite right for his club at the present moment but with some first team football could be in the future and Bruce took the gamble on a player he felt may turn around Wigan’s ailing fortunes. Almost immediately Valencia proved which he was recommended so highly and with his explosive shooting and hard work down the right hand side of midfielder he quickly became linked with club’s much higher up the league than his own. Respecting the opportunity he had been given, Valencia chose to stay at the JJB Stadium in 2008/09 and will have plenty to do, not only to repay the faith of his manager, but prove himself worthy of being linked with moves to other clubs.
Roque Santa Cruz
The Paraguayan strikers’ abilities have been known for a long time as he helped Bayern Munich to countless German League titles throughout the late 90’s and also helped his nation to the 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals. Arriving from Germany Santa Cruz proved a snip at £3m and he soon proved his abilities as a target man and goal-scorer netting on his Blackburn Rovers debut and going onto be the club’s top scorer in all competitions as Mark Hughes’ side strived to reach the UEFA Cup. This season, with his manager departing to meg-rich Manchester City, Santa Cruz has much to prove if he is to live up to a reputation which saw him linked with Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the summer and more importantly if Blackburn are to achieve a place in the Premiership’s top eight clubs then Santa Cruz will have to continue to find the net on a regular basis.
Fernando Torres
To suggest that the Spanish wunderkind may struggle to adapt to life in the Premiership is a measure of exactly how much he achieved last season with Liverpool. After arriving from Athletic Madrid where he was never a prolific goal-scorer ‘El Nino’ proved himself to be worth every penny of the £28m he cost to bring him to Anfield by becoming the first Liverpool player since Robbie Fowler to score 30 goals in a season.
In the Spanish league Torres was always known to score around 15 goals a season and despite being at Madrid since he was 16 failed to ever pick up the Golden Boot award as the top scorer. Last season he was denied by Ronaldo whose tally of 44 will also take some beating but on the back of a performance in the Summer which saw him score a European Championship Final winning goal, Torres will need to equal his achievements from last season if he is deemed to be a success and more importantly if Liverpool are to come away from a Premiership with their grip firmly on the league title their success hungry supporters crave.
Despite that the theory of Second Season Syndrome still very much exists in the English game and even players who come from different leagues in England can adept quite easily before being worked out in their ‘difficult’ second season.
With so many new players coming into the league, let’s take a look at those who established themselves last season but could struggle this time around.
Robert Green
In fairness to Green, he shouldn’t really be included in this list of players as he is probably considered an experienced player in the Premiership after a year in the top flight with Norwich and two with West Ham but it was only really last season that Green established himself as a top class goalkeeper. Many people wonder why the West Ham goalkeeper has yet to be tested by any England manager, especially with such uncertainty over the position before the Three Lions finally decided to return to David James after unsuccessful spells for Scott Carson and Paul Robinson but with a spell of consistency this season, Green may be able to prove that having stood the test of time in the Premiership, something few have been able to do, he is not just a flash in the pan.
Joleen Lescott
What impressed many people about Lescott last season is the fact that he played so often out of position but was still an extremely impressive performer, the big question is when returns to a central defensive position as many expect him to, will be able to be as consistent for Everton as he was in the left back slot. The former Wolves player was only really playing down the left thanks to an injury to Leighton Baynes who was signed from Wigan to play in that position but having played there for England on three occasions, Moyes’ decision to leave the player out there seemed an inspired one. Lescott not only contributed to the overall stability of the Toffees who yet again finished inside the top six but behind Yakubu was their second top scorer with ten goals. It’s a tough as for him to do the same as he will now be more carefully marshalled at set pieces but Moyes will be more concerned with whether or not he can be as effective as part of the Everton defensive unit.
Wes Brown
Another player who perhaps doesn’t deserve to be on this list is Wes Brown, but like Green last season was the first time Brown really shone in a club shirt. With Gary Neville the victim of a long-term injury, Brown stepped in to play right back and was an extreme success as Manchester United swept all before them and claimed the double. Perhaps more impressive than his standing in for the Manchester United club captain were his performances for England which encouraged Capello to pick him ahead of Micah Richards who seemed to have secured the number two shirt with England. As something of a Premiership veteran and having earned himself a new contract, Brown will have to be at his consistent best when Neville returns if he wants to keep his place at club and international level.
David Wheater
Under Gareth Southgate Wheater has gone from a loanee who looked on his way out of the club, to a player who is on the verge of being called up to the England senior side and is one of the first names on his managers team sheet. Wheater has performed consistently for Southgate and it now appears that the ‘Boro manager has found a replacement for himself at the heart of the defence, something his team have lacked in his first two years in charge. Despite his youthfulness, Wheater is experienced football in the ‘lower’ leagues with Darlington and has been brought into the team steadily, but already amassed over 100 appearance. As a member of the England U’21’s squad he has learnt his trade against the best young players of his age and like fellow North-Easterner Steven Taylor will be hoping to continue to be part of the first-team picture.
Bakery Sagna
When he joined from Auxerre, many people questioned why Sagna had spent so much money on a position which seemed to already be filled by Emmanuel Eboue. But whilst the Ivorian full-back was making himself comfortable in a new position of midfield, it was possible to see Wenger’s thinking and when Sagna was out of the team towards the end of the last campaign they looked weaker for losing him. Sagna is arguably better going forward then Eboue and he is almost certainly better defensive as Arsenal look to balance Gael Clichy’s wing play with an equal in Sagna on the other side. Although he missed out on the French squad for Euro 2008, like Clichy he has time on his side and with more performances like he showed last season there is no question that he will most likely be involved in Raymond Dominech’s future selection.
Ashley Young
Villa midfielder Ashley Young may be entering his third season in the Premiership after leaving Watford in 2006/07 but in terms of producing on the ‘big stage’ this could prove to be a breakthrough year for the England starlet. Young received recognition for his performances during the last campaign by being called into the England squad by Fabio Capello but he left himself with a lot to achieve after being one of the national sides most consistent performers at club level. From the left hand side, Young looks set to provide much needed back up to Joe Cole in the wide positions and has integrated into Martin O’Neil’s Villa side perfectly as they pushed for a place in Europe.
Young not only has pace and trickery but by being the player with the most assists last season he proved he has an eye for a pass in picking out his team mates and his successful deliveries from set pieces and corners suggest that England may have a second option to David Beckham.
Elano
Brazilian midfielder Elano may have suffered a little bit of ‘SSS’ as Manchester City struggled to cope with the high expectations they placed on themselves in the early part of the season when Elanio helped the blues cure their scoring jinx. Netting in his first three games for his new club, Elano went on to by City’s top scorer in the league and proved his manager right to bring him in when many questioned his suitability for the Premiership. Elano now has two problems, the first, which is curing his ‘SSS’ can be proved by continuing to provide City with a spark going forward and making sure in terms of creativity and goals, he provides as much as he did last season. The second, which is relatively out of his hands, is getting in the team now that City have themselves so much money. Bringing in the likes of Jo and Robinho, Elano may just find himself as the odd Brazilian out if City’s ambitious plans to sign the world’s top players come to fruition. Elano probably has until January to prove that the club don’t need to sign anyone to provide the impact he did in the first half of last season.
LassanaDiarra
Last season was probably the first time supporters found themselves acquainted with the energetic and determined performances of Lassana Diarra considering at his time with Chelsea and Arsenal he barely made it off the bench enough to make an impact but signing for Portsmouth seems to have reinvigorated his career and provided him with the opportunity to show why he spent so much time with two top sides in London. Although he has yet to make his way into the French international squad continued performances like he showed in the Premiership and FA Cup last season will mean that he is continually mentioned as a replacement for Patrick Vieira in the engine room of his nation’s side and with recognition as one of the Premier League’s most impressive performers last season, Harry Redknapp will have to continue to deal with speculation linking him with a return to a club in the Champions League.
Diarra helped drive Portsmouth forward more often than not last campaign and will probably have to be at his best again this season if the south coast side want to achieve anything like they did last season.
Antonio Valencia
Steve Bruce’s appointment as Wigan manager seemed to bring about a complete turnaround in fortune for the club but also some of the players who seemed to be on their way out of the club at the earliest opportunity. Bruce signed Valencia after a recommendation from Arsene Wenger who felt the Ecuadorian international wasn’t quite right for his club at the present moment but with some first team football could be in the future and Bruce took the gamble on a player he felt may turn around Wigan’s ailing fortunes. Almost immediately Valencia proved which he was recommended so highly and with his explosive shooting and hard work down the right hand side of midfielder he quickly became linked with club’s much higher up the league than his own. Respecting the opportunity he had been given, Valencia chose to stay at the JJB Stadium in 2008/09 and will have plenty to do, not only to repay the faith of his manager, but prove himself worthy of being linked with moves to other clubs.
Roque Santa Cruz
The Paraguayan strikers’ abilities have been known for a long time as he helped Bayern Munich to countless German League titles throughout the late 90’s and also helped his nation to the 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals. Arriving from Germany Santa Cruz proved a snip at £3m and he soon proved his abilities as a target man and goal-scorer netting on his Blackburn Rovers debut and going onto be the club’s top scorer in all competitions as Mark Hughes’ side strived to reach the UEFA Cup. This season, with his manager departing to meg-rich Manchester City, Santa Cruz has much to prove if he is to live up to a reputation which saw him linked with Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the summer and more importantly if Blackburn are to achieve a place in the Premiership’s top eight clubs then Santa Cruz will have to continue to find the net on a regular basis.
Fernando Torres
To suggest that the Spanish wunderkind may struggle to adapt to life in the Premiership is a measure of exactly how much he achieved last season with Liverpool. After arriving from Athletic Madrid where he was never a prolific goal-scorer ‘El Nino’ proved himself to be worth every penny of the £28m he cost to bring him to Anfield by becoming the first Liverpool player since Robbie Fowler to score 30 goals in a season.
In the Spanish league Torres was always known to score around 15 goals a season and despite being at Madrid since he was 16 failed to ever pick up the Golden Boot award as the top scorer. Last season he was denied by Ronaldo whose tally of 44 will also take some beating but on the back of a performance in the Summer which saw him score a European Championship Final winning goal, Torres will need to equal his achievements from last season if he is deemed to be a success and more importantly if Liverpool are to come away from a Premiership with their grip firmly on the league title their success hungry supporters crave.