Ten years ago Instagram didn’t exist, meaning you had the same amount of followers as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kim Kardashian combined.
Congratulations.
But how much do you remember about 2008? More specifically, the 2007/08 season.
Man United pipped Chelsea to a 10th Premier League title while at the other end of the table Derby were relegated with all of 11 points.
Fast forward ten years and it’s the blue half of Manchester celebrating, which is quite fitting for what you’re about to read.
Because ten years ago the footballing landscape was very different, as each current Premier League side’s best player at the time highlights.
Man City- Elano
While none of City’s 2007/08 squad would get in Pep’s current side, Elano would at least show up in training when it came to free-kick practice.
The Brazilian was City’s top scorer with eight goals, all of which probably made Match of the Day’s Goal of the Month compilation.
Man United- Cristiano Ronaldo
This was a pale imitation of the Ronaldo we see now, given he scored 31 times in 34 matches at well under a goal a game.
To think Dong Fangzhou, Chris Eagles and CR7 were once team-mates. Wonder what they are all up to now?
Liverpool- Fernando Torres
You’ve got to go some way to beat Stevie G but Torres’ performances during his first season in England, in which he scored 24 goals, were magical.
Only special players coast past the defensive behemoth that is Tal Ben Haim to score their first goal for Liverpool.
Spurs- Dimitar Berbatov
This was a glorious era where Spurs only signed mavericks and didn’t care that they finished mid-table every season.
King Maverick was none other than Dimitar Berbatov- the Bulgarian who could send you for a hot dog before chipping your goalkeeper without getting out of bed.
Chelsea- Frank Lampard
Chelsea weren’t short of a player or two but the best of the bunch was Lampard, who was putting up elite striker numbers from midfield.
Lamps outscored Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko and Nicolas Anelka meaning he just about kept Steve Sidwell, aka Chelsea’s number 9, out of the side.
Arsenal- Cesc Fabregas
Look away now Arsenal fans. This was a squad littered with class.
Fabregas sees off strong competition from Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie, Alexander Hleb… we could go on.
Burnley- Gabor Kiraly
Wade Elliot picked up his second consecutive Player of the Year award for Championship side Burnley in 2008.
But we’ve gone for Kiraly as Burnley’s best player, purely because of his dedication to Uhlsport tracksuit bottoms.
Leicester- Richard Stearman
Getting relegated to League One was clearly part of a cunning ten year plan to win the Premier League.
Stearman was Leicester’s best player at the time although Andy King would go on to lift the title in 2016.
Everton- Yakubu
Before David Moyes was Moyseh he was overperforming as Everton manager, thanks in part to Yakubu.
Everton’s top goalscorer treated penalties with the composure of a man who was deciding whether to have jam or honey on his morning toast.
Bournemouth- Sam Vokes
Bournemouth were relegated to League Two at the end of the 2007/08 season despite having Sam Vokes up front.
Oh, and a slightly injury-prone ex-England midfielder named Darren Anderton.
Watford- Tommy Smith
The days of Abdoulaye Doucoure were still some way off.
Back then Watford fans were happy watching one-cap, one-goal England Under-21 star Smith tear about Vicarage Road.
Newcastle- Michael Owen
Sam Allardyce, Nigel Pearson and Kevin Keegan. Name a more iconic trio than Newcastle’s managers during the 2007/08 season.
Owen was still fit although a squad also containing Obafemi Martins, Damien Duff, James Milner, Mark Viduka and Alan Smith should have finished higher than 12th.
Brighton- Dean Cox
Want to know how far Brighton have come in ten years?
Their 2007/08 season doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry meaning you’ll have to take our word that Cox was Brighton’s best player.
West Ham- Dean Ashton
What could have been.
Ask any West Ham fan what they think of Ashton and they’ll tell you he was the second coming of Alan Shearer before injury struck.
Swansea- Jason Scotland
Scotland from Trinidad and Tobago playing in Swansea.
The striker helped himself to 24 league goals to get Swansea promoted to the Championship in the 2007/08 season.
Huddersfield- Andy Booth
While not quite on Brighton’s Wikipedia-less level, Hudderfield were hardly recognisable from the Premier League outfit we see today.
Club legend Booth top scored with nine goals, which is about par compared to the latest squad.
Crystal Palace- Clinton Morrison
Wilfried Zaha or Morrison?
We know who we’d back to pinch a scruffy last-minute winner from two-yards out.
Southampton- Stern John
The second entry from Trinidad and Tobago is another man who could sniff out a goal or two (or 19).
John took a young Adam Lallana under his wing but neither could help Southampton finish higher than 20th in the Championship.
Stoke- Liam Lawrence
This was a vintage Stoke squad. Everywhere you looked there were 6ft 4in shaven headed giants.
Ireland international Lawrence was the man chosen to bring a bit of a flair, which tells you all you need to know about Tony Pulis’ tactics.
West Brom- Kevin Phillips
It would have been impossible for West Brom not to win the Championship with a European Golden Boot winner up top.
Phillips scored 22 goals, eight short of his Golden Boot winning campaign in 2000.
Dream Team World Cup has landed
The greatest show on Earth just got that bit more exciting.
That’s because the Dream Team World Cup game is coming ahead of this summer’s tournament.
Dream Team World Cup
- Completely free to enter
- £50m budget and 20 transfers throughout the tournament
- £175k total prizepot (for UK players only)
- PRE-REGISTER FOR DREAM TEAM WORLD CUP NOW
The game officially launches on June 1 – but you can pre-register for the game now.
If you’re an existing Dream Team customer the World Cup game now appears in the app or you can enter here, but if you’re not follow these simple steps:
- Download the Dream Team app
- Create an account
- Click on the World Cup banner below in the app and follow the pre-registration instructions
From Russia with a whole lot of love.
