The Art Of Falling Off In Football

Now sometimes it only takes one season, one season for a player to reach a peak, rise, shine and then fall. A season of great moments, spectacular goals and unfulfilled potential. So in today's video we're going to be talking about some of the greatest one season wonders in football. And I think the first name that would come to a lot of people's minds is And no I'm not talking about... Nice to meet you. I'm talking about a Spanish striker that took over the Premier League for one season and one season only. Because back in the 2012-2013 season, Michu arrived, did the work and then vanished. He took England by storm, signing to Swansea from Rayo Vallecano for £2m, netting 18 goals in the league alone and getting 22 in all competitions. And this was all for Swansea City. This is no big club, this is a side that was relishing towards the bottom of the table. He was Swansea's top goalscorer that season and he had big performances against many of your favourite teams, including one of mine, which is Arsenal, who he terrorised throughout the entirety of the season. I remember him just coming to the Emirates and just dinking the ball over our keeper at the time and I was like, who is this guy? His performances put him at the helm of this club, leading them to success that season with a league cup triumph, winning them their first major trophy and again establishing his name in their history. And post this breakout stellar season, he battled with injury upon injury that slowly made him an inconsistent player. A failed loan move to Napoli couldn't re-spark the light and eventually Michu was just sent back to Spain playing for clubs like Oviedo. And as for one season wonders in Premier League history, he is right up there as one of the best. Now from one striker that took over the Premier League to another that took over the Bundesliga. We have to talk about Graffiti's campaign in the 2008-09 Bundesliga season. Now this season he had with Wolfsburg has to go down as one of the most iconic in Bundesliga history. Forming this deadly partnership with Edin Dzeko up top, Graffiti and Dzeko would just bounce off each other all season long. And combined with manager Felix Magath's attacking philosophy, it was, you know, written that these lot were going to do it. Have a historic season and actually bring some silverware to this club. And Graffiti was at the helm, the absolute pinnacle of strikers during this season. He helped Wolfsburg write a historic season, scoring 28 goals in 25 Bundesliga games. That's a rate of 1.12 goals per game. That's not normal, especially in a competitive league. This is not baller league, you know. He was doing this in the Bundesliga, outscoring teammates in Edin Dzeko and also rivals in Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose. And I'm not just going to gloss over the fact that Edin Dzeko also got 26 goals this season too. Graffiti and Dzeko would form a formidable duo, getting 54 league goals between the two of them. With Graffiti being unpredictable and technical, and he played off beautifully with Dzeko, who is more of a classic striker up top, who could hold up the ball and lay it off, Wolfsburg would win the Bundesliga that season and their first and only trophy in their history. With Graffiti's impact coming in clutch moments against big teams, like back in April of that season where Wolfsburg beat Bayern Munich 5-1. With Graffiti scoring one of the greatest goals in Bundesliga history, with a bit of technical brilliance, this guy fake shots and just goes round the keeper and back-heels the ball into the back of the net whilst the other defenders are reaching for it. It was like a movie. In all competitions, he would get 35 goals and 12 assists that season in 39 games. And when you really look at Graffiti from an outsider looking in, a year prior to this season, he was not very known. As a former striker for Le Mans, this guy just came out of nowhere and at 29 years old, he just had this miracle season doing unbelievable things. With hat-tricks, clutch finishes and goals to seal games, this guy was the key man this season and it was like he just took his game to a whole different level. And after this peak season, his form just slowly but surely dipped off, causing him to move to Al-Ali in the UAE, where he enjoyed some success before stints in Brazil and Qatar. Now Saido Barahino's 2014-15 season with West Bromwich Albion was the pinnacle of his career. A breakout campaign turning him from a prospect into an established striker in the Premier League. Because after this season, the academy graduate would be one of the most talked about strikers in English football. As a 21-year-old playing for West Brom, he scored 20 goals that season, being the first to do that for the club since Bob Taylor back in 1993. Bro, I have never heard of that name and that year is prehistoric. And in the first 6 games that season, he would score 5 goals, just putting his name on the map. We did not know who this striker was, but we were going to get to know him this season. Because despite who West Brom were, you know not a side that was really challenging to do much, they were just fighting to stay up. He would pull out some great performances and some big goals. And of course the English media were getting behind this new striker that was making waves. And it was these type of performances that would see him be picked for the England national team under Roy Hodgson. And although he never earned a full cap for the senior team, he was brought along to train and be amongst some of the best English talents back in 2014. He had previously also starred for the under 21 scoring 10 goals in 11 games. And again, it was just written that this guy was eventually going to make a move next season and do big things. And one of the big teams at the time that was interested in him was Tottenham Hotspur. You know a team that had Harry Kane just breaking through, but they needed some competition. Two English strikers that were both growing in confidence and playing out of their skin. But West Brom would refuse to sell him, causing a public feud between Barragino and the club. With West Brom even rejecting bids on deadline day, Saino Barragino couldn't get out. And only Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa would score more goals in the Premier League than him that season. He would then make failed moves to the likes of Stoke City and even a club in Belgium. And we would never see the potential of Saino Barragino ever be fulfilled. And again, he would go down as just a one season wonder. Now the next one season wonder we have to talk about is Cristian Menteke. Because back in the 2012-13 season, he had an incredible campaign with Aston Villa before the Odi Watkins of the world and the Marcus Rashfords. Cristian Menteke was a real striker. Signing from Genk for around £7 million, Villa would certainly get a return in their investment. Just like you would if you liked this video and subscribed to the channel. I am grinding every day. For what? You don't even like the video. And while you're at it, follow me on Instagram. I'm not even at 10k yet. I have no motion whatsoever. This season, Cristian Menteke became Aston Villa's talisman, dragging them from the depths of the table back to where they belong. This guy had power, precision and poise in front of goal. And in his first season in a brand new country, this guy would score 23 goals in all competitions. With 19 goals in the Prem, there's people that would die to have a striker to score 19 goals in the Prem for their team. Let's talk about Chelsea. Imagine if they had a consistent striker that was scoring 19 goals in the Prem. What about Arsenal? If they had a striker that scored 19 goals in the Prem, maybe they would have won the league. He would finish fourth in the Premier League goal scoring charts that season. But you know, fourth is an achievement when you think about the names that were in front of him. With the only players in front being Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale. These are absolute icons of the game and Menteke was chasing their tails. Menteke this season would directly contribute to 40% of Aston Villa's goals this season. Carrying them through their relegation dogfight where they would finish 15th in the table. And it was during their most needed times where Menteke said, you know what, I'm the guy now. Because from March all the way to May, he would score 9 goals in 11 league games. And I know you might be thinking these aren't the greatest numbers, but he's doing it Including vital goals against the likes of QPR, Sunderland and Norwich who were again amongst the battle. And at 22 years old, Cristian Menteke would outscore some of the more formidable strikers in the league. The likes of Demba Ba, Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe were all being outshone. He was a striker that was strong in the air, could hold up the ball and was also quite technical too. He would be nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year and also the PFA Fans Team of the Season. And a big money move to Liverpool would see him leave Aston Villa, but honestly that signing just didn't work out. And after struggling to fit in with the side's playstyle, you would see him move again to the likes of Crystal Palace. Where his career was shrouded by mixed results, you know, sometimes he would get you a goal and other times he wouldn't. He wasn't the most reliable and he had never reached the peak that he had during that one season for Aston Villa. Now another season of brilliance that was followed by unfulfilled potential happened to Tanguy Ndombele. Now I might have pronounced that absolutely incorrectly, so someone correct me in the comments. Yeah, Ndombele. During the 2018-19 season for Lyon was absolutely out of this world and one of the, you know, biggest prospects in world football. A campaign filled with dazzling technical displays and dominant performances in the Champions League where it mattered the most. He was the type of midfielder that could just shield the ball with ease, honestly shrugging off opponents and having lighter than ever feet. His control caught the eye of many top clubs in football that season and he led Lyon to do many great things. With commanding performances in the Champions League against the likes of Manchester City and if you remember it was a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium where he really took over the game. Completing five dribbles, three tackles and two interceptions that just completely summarised his style of play. A box-to-box midfielder that could do it all. Controlling a midfield that had the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva and Fernandinho. Lyon would finish third that season and although, you know, they didn't win the league. Ondonbele just really stood out in each and every performance that caught the eye of the world because he brought something new to the position of a midfielder that we rarely see in football. A player that could play in a double pivot, play as a six or an eight. A box-to-box guy, he could get you goals but also assist and also break the lines and all that information is without talking about his best component which was take-ons. This guy could just get the ball and progress it forwards whilst taking on three or four players. And of course, this season would lead to things like him being called up to the France national team and also a £60m move to Spurs. But again, this season would never be topped with inconsistency and also injury spells just being, you know, thrown at his career. From being a player that was described as a hybrid between Pogba and Kante to completely falling out of the game. Now, Nicolas Pepe is another player in Ligue 1 that broke out in the 2018-19 campaign. This was the year that he exploded onto the European stage whilst playing for Lille in a campaign that would earn him a spot in the team of the year and a big money move to the Premier League. This season, he would pull out some crazy numbers scoring 22 goals and getting 11 assists being the second highest goal scorer in the league behind Kylian Mbappe. In 38 games, he had 33 goal involvements and it was looking like we had, you know, a new winger in football that was going to absolutely rip it to shreds. Because watching some of his gameplay, he could just take on a defender with ease. And with only Messi, Mbappe and Quadrilla having more goals and assists combined that season, Pepe was looking next up. A specialist in fast break transitions, being able to take on a defender with ease and also get down the pitch. 1v1 take-ons averaging 2.8 successful dribbles per 90. All the stats said that this guy was going to be one of the best. And this season would earn him an £80m move to Arsenal. Arsenal fans were expecting that this productivity was going to be replicated in the Premier League. Something like Eden Hazard when he made a similar move from Lille to Chelsea. We were thinking Pepe was going to be one of the best. But unfortunately, it looked like it was a one season filled with wonder. He never really replicated the heights that he had, you know, established in Ligue 1. Although, you know, he did have some big moments for Arsenal. You know, a game against Manchester United, back two free kicks in a Europa League game. And honestly, I would still kind of label him as a one season wonder. But I wouldn't say he's one of the more obvious picks. Today, we talked about some of the greatest one season wonders in football. But let me know if you have any other suggestions. Because I have a 27 page script of even more players that would fall into this category. So if you enjoyed the video, leave a like, subscribe. And that will be a sign that I can make another part to this. Or we will move on to the next topic. It has been Gibrals as always. Make sure you leave a like, comment and subscribe. And of course, stay safe, stay blessed and peace.