Please excuse the forced alliteration in the title, but I couldn't results having Winners and Losers triple E. Here we will look at the team and figure out who ends the month on a high note and who ends on a low note.
Esteban Granero- El Pirata is finally getting his chances. Any true Madridista gets warm fuzzy feelings everytime they see Esteban getting a start. Given Arbeloa, Callejon, and Granero it looks our alternative youth policy (selling them young and buy them back later) might be working. Pepe- Yeah he had some issues during the middle of the month, but he got through those troubles and put in a decent performance against Zaragoza. He now has every chance to win over Madridistas as we resume Champion's League play in February. Mesut Oezil- Wizard of Oz, started the month in a haze and ended in a blaze... of awesomeness. Sorry, really bad literary techniques all around in the edition. In all seriousness though, the little German has found the form that made him look to be one of the best signings of last year and euro for euro one of the best signings we have made in a long long time. Kaka- Just like Oezil, and at a similar position too! The Brazilian entered January looking like he might be on his way out in a Winter Transfer, but has put a lot of those fears to rest. He still needs to string consistent good performances together, but has been one of our best performers in the bast two games. Cristiano Ronaldo- Yet another that started the new year low and ends the first month on a high. Given his history and skill level, we might want to consider ourselves lucky that his lull came in January and not April. Even with the dull performances he still remains atop the scoring sheet for our team and the league and everyone is expecting him to take home his second Pichichi in a row, again not even needing any help from Marca. I can guarantee you he would trade every single goal for La Decima or a Champion's League medal, but there is a chance he won't even have to.
Marcelo- Defensive questions have returned to Marcelo's game, and although some (such as myself) still have a lot confidence in the lad, he must be counted on the losers side. This is made especially so by his unfortunate injury that takes him into February. It shouldn't last long though and he will most definitely find himself on the winners list again soon. José Callejón- Doesn't really deserve to be here, but his stock has undeniably dropped over the course of the month. I fully believe he is the perfect sort of player for or squad and hope this is a momentary stop on his way back to the winner side of this table. Karim Benzema- Yet another player that few would say has played poorly (why is my list so lacking in that? Perhaps Zaragoza just left a good taste in my mouth) but he has ended the month at a lower point than he started it. Benzema didn't have the best game and we need that to be a one off, because clearly our man when it comes to European play and we need him scoring goals in Moscow, Madrid, and wherever else the tournament leads us. Yes I resisted the urge to include Altintop on the losers, because you know even he played a bit better than expected against Zaragoza. So did I make a mistake there? Who else did I make a mistake on, should Varane have found himself on the loser list (playing time gone down as Carvalho has returned to fitness) or should someone else have an L slapped on their forehead. What about my winners list, was it not long enough for you? Let me know what you think in the comments section.
I think Altintop should be on the winners list. He's getting more playing time and in my opinion is showing he is a skilled player.
Kaká hasn't showed great play lately but just his presence on the field seems to make our attack more lethal and the defenses more confused. He definitely needs to keep playing, if we have ozil, kaká and di maría on at once they'll drive other teams crazy trying to mark them.
Karim has dropped his level but he had the awesome play/goal against barca so I don't think he should be on the losers list..
I mostly agree with your Winners, although I still can't believe you -of all people- put Pepe there! LOL I actually wouldn't have put him there myself, funny how things turn out!!
Given the current situation (and I hope this weekend's matches don't make me regret my words), I'd also put the whole Real Madrid squad on the winning side, and Barça on the losing side: we have a solid lead plus we got an increased confidence out of the last Clásico I think, while Barça is currently in ok-but-not-outstanding form.
On the losers list, I'd also put Iker and Xabi. I'm not saying they're losers (calm down, people!), just that I've found them less brilliant than usual so... That's what happens when you're great, you get a slap on the hand for being just good. :-)
Varane is safe for now, in my opinion, because I haven't had the feeling Carvalho's comeback was going to affect Raphaël's chances to play. We'll see what February brings.
