Here is the 3-2-1 of your chalkboard efforts this week and focusing on West Ham's Scott Parker proves to be a winnerOur new chalkboards are brilliant. There, we've said it. They're the new black, the new rock 'n' roll, the new sex, the new skinny, the new missionary position, the new Eldora – hang on, we've lost our thread. They're the best thing since sliced bread; that's what we're basically saying. And clearly the great unwashed agree. Each week, the creator of the best chalkboard receives a signed Premier League shirt, and this week we had over 200 reader chalkboards to sift through. Every single one helped us understand the beautiful game that little bit more. But we can only pick three, so let's count them down, just like Mark Goodier did back in the day.3) Villa miss out the middle menThis week, Martin O'Neill has bridled at suggestions from Zico, the CSKA Moscow manager, that Villa are a direct side, or at least one that depends hugely on the contribution of the wide players. But BeChampions' chalkboard, showing their second-half passing against Chelsea last weekend, suggests Zico may have a point.Opta's Duncan Alexander concurs.Martin O'Neill, from his time at Wycombe, made use of direct play and a steady supply of crosses. Villa played in this vein in the second half against Chelsea last weekend but failed to get enough penetrative balls into the penalty area.NB: LINK HERE FROM WHICH TO EMBED CHALKBOARD (CAN ONLY BE DONE IN R2)http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/6nx3G5IHBN3g2Xuph36k2) The Alonso factorA number of you, including RoscoSCM and IanB1969, pointed out the extent to which Liverpool missed Xabi Alonso in their draw against Manchester City last week, with a deep-lying-midfield combination of Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva failing to offer anything in the way of penetrative passing. Indeed, Lucas did not play a single successful pass to Fernando Torres in the entire match. The view is shared by Opta's Duncan Alexander.Great minds think alike, and these two entries both looked at the failure of Liverpool's midfield to break down Manchester City last Sunday. Lucas Leiva and Javier Mascherano were tidy enough but without the twin creative force of Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard, the Reds foundered.NB: LINKS HERE FROM WHICH TO EMBED CHALKBOARDS (CAN ONLY BE DONE IN R2)http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/Mpqil5132MzI7bo7jZ8Bhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/W153BEG8p7z69V040L671) Scott Parker: West Ham's flexible friendThis week's winner is sderby, who highlighted the entirely different roles played by Scott Parker in West Ham's two most recent Premier League away games, at Bolton and Arsenal. Duncan Alexander agrees.Flexibility is one of the key demands of modern footballers and these Chalkboards show Scott Parker adopting two distinct roles in recent weeks. He can play as a box to box powerhouse (Bolton) or a defensive shield (Arsenal) and do it equally well.NB: LINK HERE FROM WHICH TO EMBED CHALKBOARD (CAN ONLY BE DONE IN R2)http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/4a2Vkk6e1SP5397515dtClick here to find out how you can win a signed Premier League shirtAston VillaLiverpoolWest Ham Unitedguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Comments