The top assist-maker in the EPL plays for the team that won the league.
No surprise there. His name is Nani.
Five players had 11 assists
EPL assists list 2010-11 :
Nani 18
Drogba 15
Fabregas 14
Ashley Young 11
Leighton Baines 11
Arshavin 11
Chris Brunt (WBA) 11
Rooney 11
Those 15 assist tell me that Drogba will still be at Chelsea next season.
Years ago I use to follow the assist table in 90 Minutes, a weekly mag I wrote for.
Le Tissier was often up there, I seem to remember, and Beckham and Pires could get about 14 or 16 assists. They were very productive players.
I was always interested in the goalmakers, and how the goals were scored, and the value of those supply-men.
In 2008, Fabregas got 19 assists in the Premier League, topping the table.
If Fabregas played with red-hot finishers like Messi and David Villa, he would get 30 assists in all comps, easy. If he played 50 games.
So Fabregas, always more of a goalscorer than Iniesta or Xavi, is worth £40m, not the £27m that Barca now say he is worth.
( JJbergkamp adds : Fabregas has the most assists out of any player across Europe over the last 5 seasons with 89.
£27million might buy you his right leg! )
How well will Ashley Young do?
He scored 30 goals in 157 games for Villa, not too shabby for a guy who spent most of his time on the wing.
Clearly, the next five years of his life are big and expectations are very high at Manchester Utd. Ambition is in the club’s DNA.
Star players all say it and, predictably, Ashley says it : I want glory, not money.
He doesn’t want to remain a millionaire with no medals.
And if Manchester United come calling, who can turn down a five-year contract ?
At 25, Ashley Young can’t do everything that Ryan Giggs used to do 12 years ago.
But he’s useful to a manager because he can play in various positions, switch flanks during a game, tuck in behind the centre forward, get the ball to feet and hold onto it
Hope this doesn’t mean Nani will be sold. I love Nani.
And before you ask: I’m not a Man Utd fan.