The Best Worst 11?

There's nothing quite like the frustration of watching your football team play terribly, other than being able to see why they're playing so bad. That one player on the pitch that you can see, your mate can see, even someone who doesn't have an interest in the game can see, that just isn't up to the standard required.


For most players this is just one of those 'off days'. However, there are those men that grace our teams pitches every weekend, who we can say have a real disproportionate 'off days' to 'on days' ratio.

Even these lads would give my team a game.

Now everybody is an armchair manager, thinking that they have the tactical secret to winning England the World Cup. But could you pick the worst 11 players in the Premier League? I've decided to give it a go.


I've opted for a standard 4-4-2, and the players are picked for a number of reasons - whether it be that they are just painfully poor, or that they're greatly overrated.


Goalkeeper - Scott Carson: Unfortunately, he'll always be remembered for his part in England not making Euro 2008, but it certainly wasn't his last mistake. It's no surprise to see West Brom slipping down the table after a number of errors from the once England man. Needless to say Roberto Di Matteo has opted to replace him in goals with Boaz Myhill.


Right Back - Rafael: Or is it Fabio? I don't have a clue. The pair of Brazilian twins clearly have something, otherwise Sir Alex wouldn't have shown such faith in them. Rafael, a potential replacement for the now retired Gary Neville, will have to drastically improve his temperament if he's going to fill the potential Man Utd see in him. Red cards against Bayern Munich and Tottenham have left his side vulnerable, with Utd crashing out of the Champions League against the Germans.


Left Back - Wayne Bridge: It's been a tough year or so for Bridge, but not so tough that it should have such an affect on his game. A steady demise from Chelsea to Manchester City to West Ham shows which way his career is headed. His debut for West Ham vs. Arsenal was enough to win him his place in the side, in a display which saw him skinned time and time again. Although, that dismissal of John Terry was brilliant...

Bridge: Shite, but hilarious.

Centre Back - Titus Bramble: Being a Newcastle United fan, it's easy to criticize the big man. But he does make it easy for us to do it. Bramble has a knack of choosing his moments to cock up, doing so with perfection. The guy can boot a ball for a mile, but in trying to do this, he so often manages to end up with a knee jerking fresh air shot. Clumsy is the word.

Centre Back - Ledley King: Maybe a bit harsh to include him in this team, but a professional footballer who can only play one game every 3 weeks or so has to be considered. It's almost become cliché that "when he's fit, he's one of the best in the country." Sorry Ledley, it's all becoming a bit wearisome. 

Right Midfield - Joe Cole: Once considered England's brightest talent, Joe Cole has never quite lived up to his  billing. When league champions Chelsea allowed him to leave on a free transfer in the summer, it showed that he's being looked less and less upon as an elite player in the country. His performance's so far for Liverpool have again been under-par, being sent off on his league debut against Arsenal. Will we ever see the true Joe Cole again?

Left Midfield - Stewart Downing: Another selection which is a bit dubious, as I actually do rate Downing quite highly. Unfortunately, I think he's another player who hasn't quite lived up to the expectations (England's left wing problem), and that most of the left sided midfielder's in the country are playing quite well! Sorry Stewart!

Cattermole - No remorse. 

Centre Midfield - Lee Cattermole: Simply just a thug. Everybody wants to see some passion from their captain, but Cattermole shows more malice than devotion. Anybody who is sent off in his first game back after serving a suspension for a red card is surely worth a place in this team?

Centre Midfield - Lucas: The most un-Brazilian, Brazilian I have ever saw. Lucas would be more suited to the game of rugby with his outstanding ability to pass the ball backwards all of the time. Not particularly great at tackling, not particularly quick and all-round just unspectacular, Lucas Leiva serves as an extremely poor compliment to the fantastic Steven Gerrard in Liverpool's midfield.

Hang your head in shame, Nick.

Striker - Nicklas Bendtner: Anybody who knows me, knows that I have a severe dislike of Bendtner. He's simply terrible. The big Dane really does make the game of football look incredibly difficult to play, with one of the worst first touches a centre forward could have. He did manage a hat-trick against Porto in the Champions League last year, consisting of a goal that was offside, a rebound and a penalty - top class. He is the teams captain. 

Striker - Bobby Zamora: It would have been so easy to slap Emile Heskey in here, but he deserves a break, so I've opted for Zamora instead. Zamora had a decent season last year, but I would have been most disappointed if he'd gone to the World Cup. In the Premier League for Fulham, the England hopeful has scored only 11 goals in 66 games - 1 in 6 - surely not good enough for the national side. 

So that's my pick of the 11 worst players in the Premier League. Okay, totally biased and a bit harsh with some of them, but aren't we all? Be sure to let me know who you'd pick.