We could discuss all we want about the continuous shuffle that is occurring at the top of the MVOP rankings. Yet, we would rather discuss about a player that isn’t even close to cracking the top 15: Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic came to Manchester United with a lot of goals and trophies under his belt. He was supposed to lead Man United’s revival, but after 10 matchdays and 2.6 million pounds earned for those matches, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has earned his team 1.71 points.
Ibrahimovic is in 51st place in the rankings and has not helped Manchester United earn a single point since Matchday 2. Is he a failure? It’s too early to tell, but if Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn’t pick up the scoring pace soon, Man United fans might be wondering if they were better off having a 35-year-old Dimitar Berbatov on the team instead.
It’s not like Ibrahimovic’s teammates are performing either. The highest ranked Manchester United player is Wayne Rooney in 36th place with 2.29 points earned. Rooney hasn’t even started the last 5 matches.
Man United’s offensive woes are beyond just Ibrahimovic or any individual player, and it is up to manager José Mourinho to fix it. Besides Man United, all the other league favorites are doing well in the MVOP rankings. Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham all have at least two players representing their side.
Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez has had a remarkable start to the season and is currently in 1st place in the rankings with 7.22 points earned. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has picked up the pace the last two weeks to take over 2nd place. Previous rankings leader, Southampton’s Charlie Austin, sits in 3rd place. An interesting note: Stoke City’s Joe Allen and Xherdan Shaqiri are the only two players to represent a team that is in the bottom half of the table. This goes to show that it is hard to crack the MVOP top 15 without your team earning victories.
The Most Valuable Starting Squad in the EPL
Utilizing the most commonly used formation in the Premier League, 4-2-3-1, we determined the most valuable starting squad through Matchday 10 (excluding goalies).
There are 5 new members in the most valuable starting squad compared to our previously shared squad, but only Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren is a first-timer this season. We also moved Liverpool’s James Milner from central midfield to left back after noting that he has earned all of his points while in that position.
Get an update for the rankings and starting squad after Matchday 12.
For more information on how we calculate the MVOP rankings, click here.
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