They make the play

So if you’re an avid Newpaper (without the S) reader like me, you would have noticed that one of the writers, Ernest Luis runs a blog called tnppostman.com. Just like ours but only way more popular and he probably has a satay anyway. But that is never the point here. So every week, he poses a football question of some sorts to stir up the minds of the football crazy fans here. In this week’s edition, his question is “ Who’s the best EPL playmaker ”.

He narrowed it down to 5 players ; Cesc Fabregas, Paul Scholes, Mikael Arteta, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Now, for a football purist (ceh ceh) like me, that is one question I can’t help but explore.

(IN ORDER OF RANK)

My personal no.1 choice will be Paul Scholes. All bias aside, he is definitely THE playmaker. Yes, age and injuries have slowed him down but his game never depended on brute strength and speed anyway. What he may lack in pace, he makes it up in his speed of thought. Always thinking, always one step ahead of his opponents. At his prime, he is a class above the rest. Eye for a goal? Check. Killer kisurat shots? Check. Excellent passing? Double check. And why use the left foot when you can do damage solely with your outside foot. Gosh. I can gush about him all day. You’re the man la Scholesy. Just don’t tackle.

Liverpool should soon rename the club Steven Gerrard FC. They should look no further for their own Captain Marvel because in Stevie G, you have the real deal. When a huge Man U fan talks about a Liverpool CAPTAIN in this light, you know he’s good. He has single handedly made Livepool look good over the past years. In Gerrard, you’ll get lung busting runs in the box, bone crunching tackles, thunderbolts, screamers, howitzers, and mad goals when the team is deep deep down in the trenches. Inspirational with a capital G.

Cesc Fabregas. I first had my doubts about him. Who wouldn’t when a 16 years old teenager dons the Arsenal jersey in a professional English competitive match. But then again, he hails from Barcelona and we all know how Spain produces the most beautiful passers ( Me and Nas can talk about them all day). And now at 21, he pulls the strings in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield seamlessly and dictates the game like a seasoned veteran. He has maturity beyond his age and his vision has even put my specs to shame. He plays the simplest of passes and yet produces the killer pass when the team needs most. In a word, FAB-ulous.

Mikael Arteta. The only reason he is not currently playing for Spain is that he is playing for Everton. Again, another Spaniard who is slowly but surely stamping his mark in EPL with his thoughtful and clever game. He packs a punch in BOTH feet but his right foot especially has been the cause of damage for opponents. His set pieces is consistently dangerous and he is surely one of the flair players to look out for.

Frank Lampard. Haizz… boring. Ok maybe credit should be given when it is due because his goalscoring records is quite phenomenal considering he is a midfielder. Then again, if you take away all his deflected goals, you will find out that he is actually level with me in goal tally with 4 goals. But then again, it may be an art that he has perfected over the years. Finding that killer deflection that will lead to a fortuitous goal. If that’s really it, then good for him. Lampard is the typical hardworking English midfielder but too predictable for my liking.

Wow that’s a lot of soccer talk that should put Tohairi Paijan to shame. Maybe I should really write in one day.