There have been players who have struggled in their respective clubs and there will continue to be such players now and in the future. There are various reasons why players don’t find their rhythm in the club and end up being termed as flops after they fail to deliver on their expectations. There can be high profile flops and some medium and low profile ones as well, but here we are, counting the eleven flop players of this season’s Barclay’s Premier League.
- Vito Mannone (Sunderland)
He was Arsenal’s third choice keeper once and barely got game time. Gus Poyet got him to Sunderland and got some great performances from him last season and people hailed this transfer to be quite a sharp one. But this season’s howlers have been very noticeable and he has been conveniently replaced by the more consistent Costel Pantilimon.
- Eliaquim Mangala (Man City)
He is a high profile flop. Mangala was expected to slot in right next to Captain Vincent Kompany and dominate the central defence. He looked to be on course for that when he gave a good performance against Chelsea in his first game. But ever since that, he showed lack of tactical awareness and a reckless trait in his defending, which has seen Demichelis rise as a real competitor for the position relegating Mangala to the bench on many occasions now.
- Dejan Lovren (Liverpool)
He was bought by Liverpool for a whopping price to bolster their leaky defence. He had a solid season at Southampton last season and was expected to be a boost to Liverpool’s squad. But he has been anything but that, as he has failed to rise to the occasion and has been a liability to the Reds’ defence. He has quite rightly fallen below Sakho for the spot and midfielder Emre Can is playing the role of a Center back, such has been the failure of Lovren in Liverpool.
- Rio Ferdinand (QPR)
Rio is definitely not in his prime and was expected to wear on with age, but for his somewhat legendary status at Man Utd and the wealth of experience he carries, he has been a thorough disappointment for QPR. A team that has the sole objective of staying in the top flight needed a defender to guide and organize the back four. Ferdy may not have the legs of a 25-30 year old, but he was expected to give brain to the back four, which he has failed to do so as the Rangers are yet to register a single point away from home.
- Mauricio Isla (QPR)
Another QPR defender in this eleven. He has been a disappointment for the Rangers. After a good showing in the World Cup and experience in Juventus, a loan spell to QPR was seen as a great move for the relegation threatened club. But his performances in the league have been average for even QPR standards and has failed to raise the quality bar of the team as he has gone unnoticed.
- Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
He is talented no doubt about that, but this season he has barely been consistent and good enough for Villa which have the poorest goal record in the league having scored only 11 goals till now. Benteke has scored only 2 goals in the league so far, which is poor by his as well as most prolific strikers’ standards.
- Emmanuel Riviere (Newcastle United)
Well he wasn’t expected to set the league alight with his goal tally but was signed as a player who can help the team by scoring some important goals and nick in a decent tally to justify his price tag. On hindsight, Riviere has been an utter disappointment as he has not yet scored in the league and he’s clearly fallen down the pecking order behind the attacking midfielder Ayoze Perez, who is filling the role of a striker.
- Rickie Lambert (Liverpool)
Well, he may not be world class or high profile, but he is certainly a striker who has proved his worth in the Premier League by scoring in the range of 10 to 15 Premier League goals for the past two seasons and has experienced the rigours of English football by climbing through the ranks and playing in various levels and scoring well over 200 goals in his career. But in Liverpool, he has just been a shadow of his previous self (which gave him an England berth) as he has scored only twice in 17 appearances.
- Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
The big Belgian has 6 goals in 21 appearances this season, which is hardly the form he showed in his past two seasons which prompted Everton to pay £28m for him, an amount that they couldn’t easily afford. In fact Lukaku’s form has been low for a long time and that’s when Everton had that miserable slump in form that sees them in the 12th position. Local rivals Liverpool are 8th and 12 points better off, such has been Everton’s showing.
- Radamel Falcao (Man Utd)
A very high profile flop as he is unable to gain the trust of his manager. Van Gaal still prefers Robin van Persie, despite the flying Dutchman struggling with weary wings. Falcao has managed to score 3 goals in 13 appearances in the league playing a bits and pieces role. It’s not worth for a player who cost a lot even in a loan deal, to be used as a substitute, who doesn’t even get the goals Hernandez used to score.
- Mario Balotelli (Liverpool)
Balotelli was supposed to be the one who would manage to get Liverpool their goals along with Sturridge. It was also a risk by Brendan Rodgers to get a troublemaker like him in a bid to replace the departing Suarez. Well, no doubt about his talent but his commitment on the pitch has been questionable as he is not working hard enough at times and he’s not taking his chances as well. Liverpool struggled through the period giving Balotelli game time as Sturridge lay injured out of the team. Balotelli’s yet to score in the league and Rodgers has boldly made Sterling his temporary first choice striker after Lambert and Borini have also been poor.