Frank Lampard Has No Future at Chelsea Under the Misfiring Andre Villa Boas

Frank Lampard's future at Chelsea under Andre Villa Boas has been up for debate since the start of the season. As his manager puts his own personal stamp on the club and shifts the shape of the team in favour of his own footballing philosophies it looks like the England international will be surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

The soon to be 34-year-old midfielder has seemingly struggled in his 34-year-old managers 4-3-3 system this term, and if rumours are to be believed the club legend is now available for transfer.

Hold the BackPage – Team of the Year 2011

Hold the BackPage - Team of the Year 2011 by bpfootball

It’s the first Hold the BackPage of 2012 and Neil Sherwin is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the festive period’s Premier League action, while the lads also pick their Team of the Year for 2011.

The first part of this week podcast looks back at the Premier League action of the past week or so. Neil is understandably relieved that Manchester United slipped up following City’s defeat to Sunderland, something that Ger took great pleasure in. There’s a look at all the big talking points on the field including Stephen Ireland’s return to form against Chelsea and the continuing great form of Spurs, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to delve into the transfer market also provokes some discussion.

In the second half of the show, the lads discuss the best Premier League players of 2011 following Willie’s article on the website this week. There’s some surprise inclusions, not least one Spurs player, while some decisions were easy and unanimous. This week’s FA Cup Third Round also gets a preview with the potential for a couple of shocks on the cards.

English Premier League: Team of the Year 2011

Who have been the best players in the English Premier League during 2011?

We all know there have been a number of outstanding individual displays over the past year ranging from Wayne Rooney's wonderful performance against Manchester City last February to Yakubu's four goal haul for Blackburn against Swansea in December to any number of performances by Newcastle's goalkeeper extraordinaire Tim Krul, who has been outstanding since the beginning of the current season.

However, when all is said and done the cream always rises to the top although picking a Premiership XI is no easy task. There are numerous factors to consider when putting together any list, particularly one as divisive a best team of the year, so in gathering together my XI I have considered consistency, general all around play, whether the player has improved over the last 12 months significantly and last but not least their skill level.

So without further adieu, the EPL 2011 Team of the Year...