Worst XI of the season so far...

Two thirds of the season up, and we head into the business end of the season. Who has failed to perform so far this season? Of course, it would be easy just to name 11 Sheffield United and Burnley players as they are clearly awful. However, there has to be some correlation between expectation and performance.

Gk - James Trafford
Still very young, but came to Burnley with a massive price tag on his head. Hasn't looked up to the task, and has been at fault for a few goals. Now is being targeted as weak from crosses.

RB - Kieran Trippier
Bit harsh this one, especially as Trippier has contributed 10 assists. It is largely based on a spell where Trippier's errors contributed to Newcastle conceding 7 in 2 games among a run of 5 defeats in a row in games he played. He served a yellow card suspension, perhaps highlighting struggles.

CB - Cristian Romero
Own goal and conceding a penalty in the North London derby looked as bad as it could get, but his self destruction at Chelsea totally destroyed Spurs imperious start to the season. May be a bit harsh to include a player who has only lost once when he has played the whole game, but the Spurs defensive record is noticeably worse than the teams they are chasing.

CB - Sheffield United
It would be wrong not to include a defender from the team that has already conceded 60, but none have stood out as more awful than the other, so the whole unit gets chucked in.

LB - Marc Cucurella
Despite Chelseas full back injury woes, Cucurella struggled to get games. When he did, he wasn't great. Not entirely his fault, but his last 3.5 league games saw Chelsea concede 12 and he was hooked at half time in one of those. Been out injured for a couple of months.

DM - Moises Caicedo
Has looked very bad every time I have seen Chelsea. Poor on the ball, easily dispossessed. Really adds nothing positive. His team mate Lavia could get in solely on lack of playing. Casemiro another candidate.

CM - Mason Mount
The fact no Man Utd fan seems bothered by his continued absence says a lot about his dreadful start to his United career. Has made 8 league appearances, but half have been off the bench and the other half cut short by being subbed off.

CM - Bruno Fernandes
Just 3 goals for the Portuguese man. He really epitomises Uniteds struggles - their 33 goals this season is comparable to the likes of Luton, Forest, Brentford and Fulham.

RW - Antony
Feels like United are getting picked on, but their goal return is awful and Antony has contributed absolutely no direct goal contributions in 19 league games. He did score and assist against Newport County in the cup, God was good to him that day...

LW - Ansu Fati
A fair bit of surprise and a lot of fanfare down on the South Coast when Brighton got the Barca youngster on loan. He was eased in and even got a couple of goals (both in defeats) but injury meant he missed a chunk of the season. Even without that injury he wasn't doing enough to get starts, but now he is available again he may step up in the end part of the season.

ST - Gabriel Jesus
Has had injuries, but his output of 4 goals in a title chasing team is simply not good enough. He is even behind his back-up, Nketiah, in the scoring charts. Missed a lot of sitters. Arsenal need to replace if they are going to win the title.


I'm sure there are a few obvious candidates passed over here, and I am sure Nickasaurus will say Havertz at some point...